Kevin Durant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Rubio, Morrow, Price, Malone

August 16th, 2016 at 4:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ricky Rubio will start the season with the Timberwolves, but may be in Sacramento before it ends, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Speaking on an ESPN podcast, Wolfson said the Kings are a team to watch if Minnesota decides to part ways with the Spanish point guard. Trade speculation involving Rubio intensified when the Wolves drafted Kris Dunn of Providence with the No. 5 pick, after adding Tyus Jones through the draft last year. Rubio has three seasons and more than $42MM left on his contract. There has been talk that the Wolves and Kings might agree on a swap involving Rubio and swingman Rudy Gay.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Thunder shooting guard Anthony Morrow said he understands Kevin Durant‘s decision to leave Oklahoma City to join the Warriors, relays Erik Horne of The Oklahoman. Some teammates have reacted angrily over Durant’s move, but Morrow, in a recent appearance on Sirius XM NBA radio, said he never had any feelings of betrayal. “It’s business,” Morrow said. “It’s basketball. That’s that man’s career. That’s that man’s life and he made his own decision as a man. Hate it or love it, he made his decision.”
The Thunder used cap space, not their room exception, to sign veteran point guard Ronnie Price, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Oklahoma City still has $2.3MM remaining under the cap, along with its room exception.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone doesn’t admit to harboring bitterness over his firing by Sacramento, but USA Today’s A.J. Neuharth-Keusch writes that he has cut the Kings’ dominant color out of his wardrobe. “I have not [worn purple since the firing],” Malone said during an appearance on an ESPN podcast. “And what I really love about that is I haven’t, it’s my wife’s favorite color, she hasn’t, and my daughters haven’t. It’s almost become taboo, forbidden in our household.”

And-Ones: Salary Record, LeBron, CBA, D-League

August 12th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA’s record $24MM television deal is playing out just as predicted, writes Mitch Lawrence of Forbes. With LeBron James signing a three-year, $100MM deal with the Cavaliers, a record 17 teams now have the highest-paid players in franchise history on their current rosters. However, most of them are players who re-signed with their current teams or agreed to contract extensions. The only players who earned that distinction by changing teams this summer are Atlanta’s Dwight Howard, Boston’s Al Horford and Golden State’s Kevin Durant.

There’s more NBA-related news this afternoon:

Because James has a player option for the third season of his new contract, he can become a free agent in July of 2018, along with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, tweets Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. In March, James made headlines by speculating on the possibility of the four close friends one day joining forces.
A “super max” contract is among several changes the NBA and the players union should consider in a new collective bargaining agreement, suggests Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That provision would allow for a contract that is 40% of the salary cap, but would only count as a normal maximum deal against the cap. It would be available only to a player who remains with his current team and it would not be tradeable. Kyler also would like to see a third round added to the draft to help teams stock their D-League affiliates, a two-way contract with different salaries when players are in the NBA and D-League, and minimum qualifications that players would have to meet before being eligible for maximum contracts.
The D-League will holds its national tryouts Sunday in Manhattan, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Among the players who received invitations are Sterling Gibbs of Connecticut, Jonathan Holton of West Virginia, Chris Obekpa of St John’s and Markus Kennedy of SMU (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Silver, Wafer, Restricted Free Agents

July 31st, 2016 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

NBA commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t believe the one-and-one contracts that LeBron James and Kevin Durant have signed are good for the league, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The arrangements give the players one guaranteed season with the chance to opt out and sign a bigger deal the following year. Durant did it to gain the benefits of being a 10-year veteran when he hits free agency again next summer. James is also maximizing his earnings, while giving the Cavaliers incentive to put the best possible team around him each season.

“One of the unintended consequences I feel on behalf of the players is the fact that they end up putting themselves in this position where they’re taking enormous financial risk,” Silver said. “The system is designed for guys to enter into long term contracts, so, and you can only get so much insurance. So one of the unintended consequences is they take risk beyond what we would like to see them take.” After a month that saw several stars change teams, the commissioner said he would like to work with the union to modify the system to give franchises a better opportunity to keep their own players.

There’s more NBA-related news this morning:

Von Wafer, who last played in the NBA in 2012, is campaigning for another shot on social media, relays Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com. Wafer, who just turned 31, had short stints with the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Blazers, Rockets, Celtics and Magic, but never lasted more than one season in any location. In a series of tweets, Wafer says he has a different mentality now and warns younger players not to follow his example.
Restricted free agency typically sours the relationship between players and their teams, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. Because teams are reluctant to tie up cap space for three days while waiting to see if offer sheets are matched, restricted free agents are typically at the end of the line when it comes to getting paid. Also, they often build up resentment toward their original franchise if their offer sheets are matched. As examples, Lang cites Jeff Teague, Nicolas Batum, Paul Millsap, Eric Gordon, Roy Hibbert, Marcin Gortat and DeAndre Jordan.

Pacific Notes: Gay, Durant, Stoudemire, Suns

July 29th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

Rudy Gay made some comments earlier this week that made NBA observers raise an eyebrow, as he complained about the lack of stability and consistency in Sacramento and admitted that he hadn’t even been following the Kings‘ offseason moves. Gay has since followed up on those comments, so let’s dive into a Friday morning round-up of Pacific notes for the latest on Gay and a couple other players…

According to Sean Cunningham of ABC10, Gay said that he spoke to Kings GM Vlade Divac this week. And while Gay acknowledged that things haven’t necessarily changed since Monday, he expressed some optimism about his situation going forward, whether that’s in Sacramento or somewhere else. “At this point in my career I just want to be happy,” Gay said. “I talked to Vlade and we’re trying to make that happen.”
Refuting a report that surfaced recently, Kevin Durant tells Shams Charania of The Vertical that he never promised Oklahoma City teammates Russell Westbrook and Nick Collison that he’d return to the Thunder before he signed with the Warriors. “I didn’t say that – words about me telling Russell or Nick that I would stay or leave never came out of my mouth,” Durant said. “We met as teammates, but no promises came out of it. … I never told Russell or Nick [Collison], ‘All right, guys, I’m coming back to the Thunder’ – and then a week later, I decide not to. Never happened. I don’t operate like that.”
Speaking to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic, Amar’e Stoudemire confirmed a Tuesday report, admitting that he had interest in rejoining the Suns during the past couple offseasons, but that there wasn’t mutual interest in that scenario. “The last two years, we made phone calls to Phoenix but I wasn’t getting any positive response,” Stoudemire said. “That would’ve been the perfect way to go out. I didn’t want to beg Phoenix. My heart was in two places – Phoenix and New York. I just went where I was wanted.” Stoudemire ultimately signed a ceremonial contract this week to retire as a Knick, rather than as a Sun.

Doc Rivers Talks Durant, CP3, Griffin, Roster

July 28th, 2016 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Clippers president and head coach Doc Rivers made an appearance this week on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast at The Vertical, and Rivers made several interesting comments about his team’s offseason and its future.

Notably, Rivers indicated that the Clippers were “in the top three at the very end” in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, a statement which seems to be odds with reports that surfaced at the time. A Los Angeles Times story published two days before Durant announced his decision suggested that the Clippers had been informed they were out of the running. Based on Rivers’ comments, it’s possible the Clips found out they weren’t one of Durant’s top two choices and decided to move on and lock up other free agents rather than waiting for his final decision.

Rivers spoke more extensively about his club’s pursuit of Durant and touched on several other noteworthy topics, so let’s round up a few of the highlights, courtesy of RealGM.com:

On how the Clippers’ cap limitations affected their pursuit of Durant:

“We had to actually ask each guy to take a hit financially. We needed Kevin to take a hit this year to fit and next year we would have needed Blake [Griffin] and Chris [Paul] to take a hit financially. He didn’t have to do that if he stayed in Oklahoma. He didn’t have to do that if he went to Golden State. Plus they had room to build around that. I think at the end of the day, they looked at is as far as roster-wise, well, ‘The Clippers look great, we love who they are, but financially they are going to be so strapped, it’s going to be so hard to work, I think we’re going to go the safer place,’ and that was Golden State.”

On whether the Clippers will be able to lock up Griffin and Paul beyond 2017:

“It would be interesting if Steve Ballmer wasn’t the owner, I don’t know how confident I would be. With Steve, I’m extremely confident that we can keep both. You know, listen, winning is the key. The better we play on the floor, the better chance we have of not only keeping those guys but actually adding to our basketball team. That’s always the key factor in this. Quality of life is important, being comfortable, players getting along with the staff and each other. All that goes into it. But I think we’re in a good place there. I know both of them have said they want to play here. They want to play for us forever.”

On the Griffin trade rumors:

“It’s funny, you don’t want to go out and send out a press release every time there’s a rumor about Blake. We’re hoping Blake ends his career playing for the Clippers. Period. So when teams call, we say we have no interest.

“No team is calling right now because teams know we don’t have any interest.”

On the Clippers’ hole at small forward:

“We have a good core. The problem team-building with our core is we have three max players. I don’t think people understand that. I think since I’ve taken the job, even before then, we need a three, we need a three, we need a three. Yeah, we all know that but we also only have the minimum to try to go out and get a three. I think it’s been actually miraculous what we’ve done with just having minimum contracts.”

On the pros and cons of minimum-salary contracts:

“One thing I’ve learned with teams like ours, if you have a good team, you can convince guys to take the minimum. The problem is you’re going to keep losing guys. Every year we do it. Every single season we sign guys to the minimum and then we lose them to higher contracts. Cole Aldrich is the example from this year.”

Western Rumors: Warriors, Galloway, Harden

July 25th, 2016 at 5:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Changes at the center spot made to accommodate Kevin Durant‘s contract could lead the Warriors’ downfall, Jonny Auping of RealGM.com opines. The Warriors traded starter Andrew Bogut to the Mavericks and lost Festus Ezeli in free agency while signing Zaza Pachulia and retaining Anderson Varejao. Pachulia put up solid stats with the Mavs last season and is noted for his leadership, but his second-half performance was a disaster, Auping continues. He shot just 52.6% in the restricted area after the All-Star break, making him the team’s biggest offensive liability and essentially played himself out of the rotation by the postseason, Auping notes. And at this stage of his career, Varejao is arguably the worst backup center in the league, according to Auping. The offensive limitations of Pachulia and Varejao will allow opponents to double-team one of the Warriors’ stars and defensively, they offer no rim protection, Auping adds.

In other doings around the Western Conference:

Langston Galloway isn’t sure how the Pelicans will use him in the backcourt, according to John Reid of the New Orleans Times Picayune. The former Knick, who signed a two-year, 10MM deal with New Orleans, told Reid that coach Alvin Gentry and GM Dell Demps informed him that he could play extensively at both spots. ”So far, getting a chance to meet with Alvin and Dell, we just had a chance to say it’s a great opportunity to work hard and compete at the point guard and off-guard positions,” Galloway said.
Derrick Favors, Russell Westbrook and Paul George are some of the other players eligible to renegotiate their contracts and receive an extension, as James Harden did this month, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders writes. Any team trying to trade for Westbrook, who can hit the free agent market next July, would probably want him to sign an extension before agreeing to a deal, Pincus continues. Harden’s actual salary over the last three years of his extension won’t be determined until the 2017/18 salary cap is announced, as Pincus details while breaking down all the figures.
Durant’s restaurant in Oklahoma City will close and open under a new name, part of the fallout from his decision to join the Warriors, Brianna Bailey of The Oklahoman reports.

Western Notes: Oladipo, Beasley, Cuban, Parsons

July 24th, 2016 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Victor Oladipo had 10 days to enjoy being teammates with Kevin Durant, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. That was the time between Oladipo’s arrival in Oklahoma City in a draft-night trade and Durant’s departure for Golden State as a free agent. But now that the shock of Durant’s decision is starting to wear off, Oladipo looks forward to helping the Thunder rebuild. He will team with one of the best point guards in the game in Russell Westbrook and a young roster that inclues Enes Kanter (24), Steven Adams (23), Andre Roberson (24), Cameron Payne (22) and Alex Abrines (22). “We could do something really special,” Oladipo said. “I really believe we can. I think it’s gonna be crazy to watch, crazy to be a part of. We could overwhelm guys on both ends of the floor.”

There’s more tonight from the Western Conference:

At 27 and with a job already secured, the Rockets‘ Michael Beasley seemed out of place on a summer league roster. But Beasley played just one game before settling into the role of a mentor, and he tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe that he has a lot to share with younger players. Beasley was the second pick in the 2008 draft, but off-court incidents and issues with defense forced him out of the league. He signed with the Rockets late last season after playing in China. “I’ve been one to take my game seriously, but it’s just a little more special, a little more precious, just slow down and enjoy the ride this time,” Beasley said. “My first time, I was 19, 20 years old, I thought I knew everything and y’all gave me all the money in the world, so I wasn’t thinking to look at y’all [in the eye] anymore. I’m doing it the right way this time, slowing down, enjoying the process, falling in love with the process. You see young players and I try to give them a little bit of what I learned and what I’ve been through.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he and Chandler Parsons remain friends even though the free agent forward decided to sign with the Grizzlies, relays The Dallas Morning News. In an interview on 105.3-FM The Fan’s “Ben and Skin Show,” Cuban said “things other than basketball” factored into the decision. “We gave him some options and he went in a different direction,” Cuban said. “That was his choice and I respect it and again, I think he’s a great guy and I hope he has a great season other than the four games we play him.”

And-Ones: Big Men, Colangelo, Fortson

July 23rd, 2016 at 5:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The emphasis on guard play and the 3-point shot hasn’t depressed salaries for big men, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders notes. High-profile players like Al Horford, Hassan Whiteside and Dwight Howard were paid over $20MM annually in this year’s free agent market but less heralded centers also cashed in, Greene continues. Timofey Mozgov (Lakers) and Ian Mahinmi (Wizards) were both signed to four-year, $64MM deals, even though Mozgov had a diminished role with the Cavs last season, while the Wizards already had an established center in Marcin Gortat. Bismack Biyombo received an even bigger contract from the Magic after playing a limited role with the Raptors much of last season, while the Bucks will pay Miles Plumlee an average of $13MM annually over the next four seasons even through he’s never averaged more than 25 minutes during his career.

In news around the league:

USA Basketball executive director Jerry Colangelo will not discourage Team USA players from speaking out on social or racial issues, The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears reports. NBA and WNBA players have increasingly taken public stands on hot-button topics, while the league pulled the All-Star Game from Charlotte this week over a controversial North Carolina law. “No, we’re not telling them what to say,” Colangelo told Spears. “We are saying we’re supportive. We’re in fact encouraging and they have to make their own choice. We’re not telling them what to say and what not to say.”
Courtney Fortson has signed with the Chinese team Zheijiang Guangsha, international journalist David Pick tweets. Fortson played last season with Banvit in Turkey. The point guard appeared in a combined 10 games with the Clippers and Rockets during the 2011/12 season.
The Warriors’ new trio of Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant played two minutes together during Team USA’s exhibition win over Argentina but more often in pairs, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. Team USA had a lot of success with a smaller lineup featuring Green at center and Durant at small forward, according to Windhorst. “Honestly, if you want me to be quite frank with you, I didn’t even notice me, Klay and KD were out there together,” Green told Windhorst.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Lakers, Green

July 21st, 2016 at 9:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Jae Crowder, who participated in the Celtics‘ pitch to Kevin Durant earlier this month, isn’t thrilled that Durant ended up choosing the Warriors over Boston, or even over Oklahoma City. As Crowder tells Tom Westerholm of MassLive.com, the Celtics were the only team to beat both the Cavaliers and Warriors on the road last season, and the team’s presentation to Durant included an explanation of its strategies in those games.

“We played him clips from both games and told him basically the scouting report of how we guarded Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) — our entire game plan, basically,” Crowder said. “That’s what made me mad. We (expletive) told him everything we do to beat these guys, and we beat them, and he went and joined them. I mean, that’s part of the process, but I did not think he would go to those two teams.

“I felt like afterward, I was talking to Isaiah (Thomas), like maybe after you sit back, you shouldn’t have told him everything, but who the (expletive) thought he was going to Golden State, realistically?” Crowder continued. “It was like a slap in the face for us, basically.”

Here’s more on Durant, along with a couple more Pacific Division notes:

The Lakers have an “unnamed trade target” in mind, but the team would be willing to use its cap room to accommodate another Jose Calderon-esque salary dump, writes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Taking Calderon off the Bulls’ hands landed Los Angeles a pair of future draft picks.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com examines how Durant is adjusting to his new role as a villain, while Michael Lee of The Vertical explains why the newest Warriors star isn’t worried about his legacy.
Draymond Green‘s attorney, James Heos, tells Christopher Haxel of The Lansing State Journal that his client’s court case could be resolved at any time. However, if a trial is set, Heos will ask that it happen after the Olympics and before the NBA regular season begins. The Warriors forward faces a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery stemming from a July 10 incident in East Lansing.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Garnett, Williams

July 18th, 2016 at 6:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kevin Durant didn’t consider signing with the Lakers because the timing wasn’t right, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com passes along (Twitter links). “Nothing against the Lakers, but I already had my eyes set on who I wanted to talk to,” Durant said. “I really respect their team, but I just thought they were a couple years away from where I wanted to be.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Suns have hired Marlon Garnett as an assistant coach/ player development coordinator, reports Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Garnett previously worked for the Spurs as a video coordinator.
Alan Williams‘ Summer League performance could guarantee him a roster spot on the Suns, Matt Petersen of NBA.com speculates. The big man earned first team honors out in Vegas, pulling down 11.2 rebounds per game.
Patrick McCaw proved that he deserves to make the Warriors‘ roster with his play out in Summer League, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders argues. The No. 38 overall pick accumulated 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game out in Vegas.