Kyle Korver Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Grizzlies, Baynes, Sloan, Lakers

January 18th, 2013 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, fans voted Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Andrew Bynum to be the Western Conference's starting lineup for the All-Star Game. This season, fan voting produced nearly the same result, with four of the same five guys returning as All-Star starters. The only difference? One Lakers center replaces another, as Dwight Howard, rather than Bynum, will start for the West.

Here are a few more notes from around the conference:

Zach Randolph and the Grizzlies are still adjusting to the new ownership group in Memphis, as Randolph tells Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "It was definitely (former owner Michael) Heisley's plan to keep us all together and make a run for the championship. So when you come in with something different, of course, it kind of bothers you."
Australian big man Aron Baynes is on his way to San Antonio to take a physical and begin completing his paperwork with the Spurs, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com and Sportando. We heard earlier this month that the Spurs were working to sign Baynes.
The Hornets don't plan to sign Donald Sloan to another 10-day contract at this point, tweets Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Sloan's first 10-day deal expired Wednesday at midnight.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link) believes Kyle Korver makes sense as a trade target for the Lakers.

Odds & Ends: LeBron, Wall, Pacers, Rose

January 11th, 2013 at 10:55pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening:

Nuggets coach George Karl told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida that he wouldn't be surprised to see LeBron James return to the Cavaliers in the future.
John Wall will return to action for the Wizards on Saturday.
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star writes that chemistry has trumped star power for the Pacers this season.
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reports that Derrick Rose is not rushing his rehab from knee surgery and doesn't know when he will return to the Bulls.
Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune talks to Hawks teammates Devin Harris and Kyle Korver about their time playing for the Jazz.

Eastern Notes: Rich Paul, Magic, Hibbert

December 22nd, 2012 at 11:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque

You can find the miscellaneous links we've gathered up out of the Eastern Conference below:

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (via Twitter) says that Rich Paul, who is currently the agent of Heat star LeBron James, may have violated Texas agent laws as it relates to the investigation regarding college sophomore Myck Kabongo.
Magic rookie Andrew Nicholson is showing signs of a promising career as he continues to be a productive player for Jacque Vaughn in Orlando, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld. Another impressive young player has been second year center Nikola Vucevic, who Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel points out is among the double-double leaders among sophomore players as well as top 15 overall in rebounding. Lastly, Schmitz talks about how the team has adjusted while Glen Davis deals with a shoulder injury.
Roy Hibbert spoke about how the weakness in his right wrist has significantly hindered his shooting touch as of late (Mike Wells of IndyStar.com reports).
Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver had nothing but good things to say about Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and his tenure in Chicago, says Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago. In what also could be perceived as an indirect compliment to Thibodeau, Atlanta's Jeff Teague admitted that he was happy that his brother (Bulls guard Marquis Teague) had been drafted by a team with a reputation for hard work.

Greene On Lou Williams, Morrow, Korver

October 3rd, 2012 at 10:51am CST by Luke Adams

The sound bites we hear in the first week of NBA training camps often fall into the same few categories: Every player is in great shape, no one is worried about contract situations, and every team expects to be in the playoffs. It makes it all the more difficult to get an interesting quote, but Lang Greene of HoopsWorld managed to get a few out of some Hawks, which he rounded up in today's NBA AM piece. Here are the highlights:

Lou Williams admits that he was caught off guard when the Sixers decided they didn't want to bring him back: "Just to be honest, I was completely surprised. But I think they were in a position where they were trying to transition to a different style of basketball and that showed with them going with bigger guards and getting Andrew Bynum."
After playing his college ball at Georgia Tech, playing in Atlanta is something of a homecoming for Anthony Morrow, who says he'd like to remain with the Hawks past this season: "I would love to be here long term. It’s like home for me. I’m familiar with here. It would be great. I’m looking forward to it, when that day comes. So I just want to come out and focus on having a great season."
According to Kyle Korver, the Bulls' front office was upfront with him toward the end of last season about the fact that major personnel changes were coming in Chicago. Korver, along with most of the rest of the Bulls' "bench mob," including Omer Asik, C.J. Watson, John Lucas III, and Ronnie Brewer, are playing for other teams now, and Korver understands why: "It wasn’t anything about our play. It was strictly a business decision. They were way over the salary cap. Derrick [Rose]’s contract is a big one and it kicked in and you already have a lot of other guys locked in."

Nugent On Bulls’ Future

August 4th, 2012 at 7:57pm CST by Sean Highkin

Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld has a new column discussing the Chicago Bulls' playoff hopes for the 2012/13 season, as they cope with the loss of Derrick Rose to a torn ACL:

Nugent believes the losses of Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson, and Ronnie Brewer will weaken Chicago's bench, as Taj Gibson will be left as the sole remaining member of the unit that many believed was the best bench in the NBA last season.
Nugent considers Marco Belinelli to be a downgrade from Korver as the team's designated three-point specialist.
While Kirk Hinrich has proven a capable veteran presence, Nugent points out that injuries have been a concern with the Bulls' newly signed point guard.
Regardless, Nugent expects the Bulls to make the playoffs this season, even if much of their title contention hope rests with Rose's recovery timetable.

Hawks Acquire Kyle Korver

July 16th, 2012 at 5:22pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16: The Hawks have announced via a team press release that they have officially acquired Kyle Korver from the Bulls in exchange for cash. As noted on Twitter by ESPN.com's John Hollinger, the Bulls receive a $5MM trade exception in the deal, and the Timberwolves are no longer involved.

JULY 13: The trade will also include the Timberwolves, according to Johnson (via Twitter). Korver will be absorbed into the Hawks' $5MM trade exception, and the Bulls will receive a second-round pick from Minnesota, says Johnson. It sounds as if one more detail is required here.

2:18pm: The Bulls have agreed to trade Kyle Korver to the Hawks, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical, and could become a sign-and-trade involving Kirk Hinrich, according to Johnson.

Nicolas Batum Signs Timberwolves’ Offer Sheet

July 14th, 2012 at 7:46pm CST by Luke Adams

SATURDAY 7:46pm: The Trail Blazers' unwillingness to work out a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves may stem from the two teams' ongoing discussions to resolve a dispute involving a prior trade for Webster, reports Ric Bucher of ESPN.com.

FRIDAY 6:15pm: After waiving Martell Webster and trading Brad Miller earlier today, the Timberwolves will not be able to submit their offer sheet to Nicolas Batum until Sunday, writes Jaynes.

THURSDAY 9:51pm: Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com writes that Minnesota added a 15% trade kicker to Batum's offer sheet in which a hefty 15% tax is imposed on the team that trades him during his new contract. This essentially makes it more difficult for Portland to match the deal, however, since the Timberwolves have not submitted the offer sheet to the league yet, there still remains the possibility of a sign-and-trade with the Trail Blazers.

7:13pm: Joe Freeman of OregonLive.com tweeted that the Trail Blazers have not received a signed offer sheet from Batum yet. Freeman also added that GM Neil Olshey did not indicate whether or not Portland and Minnesota were engaged in sign-and-trade talks (Twitter link).

6:24pm: Jason Quick of The Oregonian reiterated a point that the Timberwolves would have to waive Martell Webster and Brad Miller before Minnesota can extend an offer sheet to Nicolas (Twitter link).

1:29pm: Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor says the Timberwolves will submit Batum's offer sheet to the NBA by the end of the business day, giving Portland one last chance to work out a sign-and-trade, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Zgoda adds (via Twitter) that the T-Wolves are offering draft picks, but won't give up Derrick Williams or Nikola Pekovic.

11:53am: Nicolas Batum has officially signed a four-year, $46.5MM offer sheet with the Timberwolves, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. In order to make room for Batum's offer sheet, the Timberwolves officially announced that they have amnestied Darko Milicic.

Batum's signing gives the Trail Blazers three days to either match the offer or let the young forward head to Minnesota. It also means that a sign-and-trade is no longer an option for the Blazers and T-Wolves.

Batum and his agent have both indicated that the 23-year-old would like to move on from Portland, leading to speculation that the Blazers and Timberwolves could work out a sign-and-trade deal that would net Portland some assets for letting Batum go to Minnesota. However, it appears the two sides were unable to work out a deal, so the Wolves will take their chances with the offer sheet and hope they've called Neil Olshey's bluff — the Portland GM has said the Blazers will match any offer for Batum. If Portland does officially match the deal, the club can't trade Batum for the next year without his consent.

The Bulls, meanwhile, had been involved in three-way trade talks with the Wolves and Blazers about a Kyle Korver deal, but those discussions are now dead, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Johnson speculates that the Bulls could revisit Korver discussions with the Hawks.

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Timberwolves Amnesty Darko Milicic

July 14th, 2012 at 5:08pm CST by Luke Adams

5:08pm: Count the Celtics, Nets and Clippers among the frontrunners to acquire Milicic, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

SATURDAY, 4:15pm: Milicic has cleared waivers and is now an unrestricted free agent, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 11:55pm: The Timberwolves have officially waived Milicic and designated him as their amnestied player, the team announced (via Twitter). Teams with cap space can place bids on Darko, starting at a minimum of about $2.5MM, according to SI.com's Zach Lowe (via Twitter). If he goes unclaimed, he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

Bulls Exploring Kyle Korver Trades

July 11th, 2012 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

11:13am: According to Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Hawks had interest in Korver, but it appears he's "likely" heading to the Timberwolves in a trade. The T-Wolves need to clear some cap space for other moves they've lined up, so I wonder if they intend to trade guaranteed salary for Korver's non-guaranteed deal.

8:12am: The Bulls have until Sunday to decide whether or not they'll bring back Kyle Korver for another season, and haven't ruled out retaining him. However, in the meantime, the team is also exploring trade possibilities that could send Korver to another club, such as the Timberwolves or Hawks, according to Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Odds & Ends: Duncan, Kaman, Miles, Korver

July 1st, 2012 at 11:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Tim Duncan is having good contractual talks with the Spurs about re-signing and it’s very unlikely that he will consider another team, sources told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Then again, it seems like Duncan never thought about leaving San Antonio to begin with. In the middle of the team’s postseason tear, the big man admitted to reporters that he had little interest in testing the open market. Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..