Kyrie Irving Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Irving, Brown, Nets, Sixers

September 2nd, 2018 at 7:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

When Danny Ainge decided to pursue Kyrie Irving last summer, he didn’t have a tough sell to the rest of the organization, relays Chris Forsberg of ESPN. The Celtics‘ president of basketball operations said there was complete agreement in the front office on the deal that sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s unprotected first-rounder to Cleveland.

“I feel like there’s opportunities that you have to look at and explore, and Kyrie was one of those opportunities that, unanimously, internally it was something that we all felt like we should do,” Ainge said. “Everybody, unanimously, wanted to do it.”

Forsberg recounts the details of last summer’s blockbuster, including the eight-day wait as the teams tried to work out compensation after the Cavaliers claimed Thomas’ hip was in worse shape than they were led to believe. Irving was shooting his “Uncle Drew” movie at the time, and fellow cast members recall his excitement once the deal was completed. Ainge, meanwhile, was concerned that it might get rescinded.

“It’s like you’re a real estate agent and someone has agreed to buy your house, but until the papers are signed and the bank is on board, the sale doesn’t go through,” he said. “And that’s sort of how it is after you make any deal in our league. It’s never done until it’s done.”

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Gordon Hayward‘s return may cut into Jaylen Brown‘s playing time, but Brown will still serve an important role for the Celtics this season, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. Brown is an elite defender, Blakely notes, and he provides lineup flexibility if coach Brad Stevens wants to change his starting five depending on matchups.
The Nets are among three NBA teams that haven’t filled either two-way slot and that’s not likely to change before training camp, according to Net Income of NetsDaily. The team plans to have players compete for the spots in camp. Brooklyn signed Jake Wiley and Yakuba Outtara to two-way deals last summer and wound up replacing them with Milton Doyle and James Webb.
The Sixers are expected to begin interviews for their GM opening on Tuesday, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. They have received permission to talk with Larry Harris (Warriors), Gersson Rosas (Rockets), and Justin Zanik (Jazz), and all three are set to interview the week. Mike Sielski of the Inquirer is criticizing the team for keeping the position open for so long after Bryan Colangelo’s departure in June.

Celtics Notes: Irving, Hayward, Stevens

August 28th, 2018 at 7:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics have the ability to offer Kyrie Irving the most money next summer when he hits free agency. They can also offer him a familiar situation and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski believes Irving will ultimately look at the situation in Boston and stay put.

“I still would take Boston against the rest of the field,” Wojnarowski said on The Woj Pod (h/t NBC Sports Boston). “I still think in the end there comes a moment of truth when you look around, and you have to make a decision about somewhere else. And when you really start inspecting the questions that are in almost any other circumstance he would go to, you would say: ‘Boy, it’s pretty good here.’ … I still think it is going to be really hard to walk away from this [Boston].”

The Knicks loom as a possible destination for Irving, so would any team with enough cap space to fit him and Jimmy Butler on a pair of max deals, as the duo has been rumored to have interest in teaming up.

Here’s more from Boston:

Both Gordon Hayward and Irving will enter camp ready to play at full speed, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays. “I don’t want to hype it up too much, but I’m saying that if our training camp were starting today that they would be here today going full speed,” GM Danny Ainge said. “It’s not like they need an extra month. I think that they know they have an extra month, so they are sort of pacing themselves. They’re playing as if to build up to that opening day of training camp [Sept. 26].”
Brad Stevens will face more pressure this season than any of his previous five in Boston, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports writes. The scribe believes the Celtics have the talent and depth to live up to the expectations.
Hayward’s health will be a key storyline for the Celtics this season, Blakely writes in a separate piece. The team will need his versatility on the court if they are going to compete with top teams like the Rockets and Warriors.

Ainge: Irving, Hayward Should Be At ‘Full Speed’ For Camp

August 28th, 2018 at 9:39am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward are returning from major leg injuries, but team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is confident that both players will be ready to go when training camp gets underway next month. Ainge told ESPN’s Chris Forsberg that Irving and Hayward already appear close to 100% after finishing last season on the shelf.

“I don’t want to hype it up too much, but I’m saying that if our training camp were starting today that they would be here today going full speed,” Ainge said of the two veterans. “It’s not like they need an extra month. I think that they know they have an extra month, so they are sort of pacing themselves. They’re playing as if to build up to that opening day of training camp (September 26).”

Hayward only played five minutes in his first season as a Celtic, with his year coming to an abrupt end when he landed awkwardly and suffered a bad break of his left ankle on opening night. As for Irving, he was nagged by knee issues and eventually underwent season-ending surgery in April on his troublesome left knee.

The Celtics won two playoff series and pushed the Cavaliers to Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals without Hayward and Irving, and now have their sights set on bigger goals with both players on the road to recovery. Ainge, who says he’s “really excited” about seeing the duo back on the court, told Forsberg that the team will ramp up activity for Hayward and Irving during camp. Boston will have the luxury of easing its stars back into key roles since the team has a ton of depth it can lean on in the early going.

“They’ll both be here within the next week or so; by the time Labor Day is over, they will all be playing 5-on-5,” Ainge said of Hayward and Irving. “I think it’s just a matter of, if they’re not playing 5-on-5 now, then it’s only because they want it more of a controlled environment, I guess. They’re doing everything — dunking the basketball off both legs and playing one-on-one live and jumping and cutting and defending. I’m excited for them.”

Celtics Notes: Irving Trade, Hayward, Morris, Brown

August 22nd, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

One year has past since the Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving to the Celtics, and the aftershocks are continuing throughout the league, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. Irving demanded a deal last summer because he was tired of being in LeBron James‘ shadow in Cleveland. He wound up going to Boston in a move that may have launched a rebuilding project for the Cavs and set the Celtics up to be an elite team for several years.

The final deal sent Irving to Boston in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and Brooklyn’s unprotected first-rounder that became Collin Sexton. The Cavaliers received a 2020 second-round pick as added compensation when they claimed Thomas’ hip was in worse shape than they were led to believe.

The addition of Irving changed the Celtics’ prospects, Blakely notes. It gave them more size in the backcourt and ended the need to compensate for Thomas on defense. It upgraded the talent level and gave Boston a chance to compete with the Warriors if they should meet in the Finals. And it validated Danny Ainge’s decision not to go all in with trade offers for Paul George or Jimmy Butler earlier in the summer.

There’s more tonight from Boston:

Gordon Hayward has made significant progress in recovering from a severe ankle injury, but his greatest challenges still lie ahead, Blakely notes in a separate story. Blakely talks to Chauncey Billups and Reggie Jackson, who have both been through long rehab processes, about the difficulty involved. “You’re a shell of yourself when you first come back,” Jackson said. “That’s the toughest part … every player that makes it here, has some type of greatness. So, you can’t be that until you’re full-go again.”
Marcus Morris is the latest NBA player to speak out about mental health issues, sharing his story with Jackie MacMullan of ESPN in her five-part series running this week. Morris discusses the trauma of growing up in a violent North Philadelphia neighborhood and said he never sought help until Ainge and coach Brad Stevens urged him to see a psychologist. “I know lots of guys who are dealing with some kind of anxiety and depression — not knowing if they have a job next season, not knowing if they’re going to get traded,” Morris said. “It’s so stressful. Everyone is pulling at you. They want your time, your money, a piece of your fame. … If you have depression, you should be trying to get rid of it instead of bottling it up and letting it weigh on you and weigh on you and weigh on you.”
Jayson Tatum looks ahead to training camp and talks about his offseason work with Kobe Bryant in a question-and-answer session with Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

And-Ones: 2019 FAs, MVP Odds, Oldest Vets

August 15th, 2018 at 7:38pm CST by clarkcrum

An ESPN panel was asked where they think some of the top-projected free agents of 2019 might end up next summer. The results were interesting, with the panel making a prediction for five players: Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson.

As we explored earlier this summer, both Irving and Butler have reportedly expressed interested in playing together, and the panel obviously took that into consideration, predicting both players to suit up for the Knicks next season. However, the Celtics were a close second for Irving.

Interestingly, the Lakers were the second-highest voted selection for both Butler and Thompson, and the first-place selection for Leonard by a wide-margin. Meanwhile, both Thompson and Durant are projected to return to the Warriors.

We have more from around the league:

Bovada has come out with their latest odds for next season’s MVP award, with LeBron James the favorite to win the award at 10/3. Anthony Davis is at 4/1, with Giannis Antetokounmpo at 4.5/1 and last season’s winner James Harden at 5.5/1.
Only three players who began their career before the turn of the century remain playing today. Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki, who debuted in February, 1999 during the lockout-shortened season of 1998/99; and Jason Terry, who debuted later that calendar year during the 1999/00 season.
Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders has created a list of players who he feels are prime candidates for a bounce-back season during 2018/19. The list includes Leonard, Markelle Fultz, Jabari Parker, Isaiah Thomas, Carmelo Anthony, and Danilo Gallinari.

Celtics Notes: Theis, Bird, Irving, Schedule

August 10th, 2018 at 8:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward Daniel Theis is making steady progress in his recovery from a torn left meniscus injury and expects to be ready for training camp, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston reports. The 6’9” German native was enjoying a solid rookie campaign before his season ended in mid-March. Theis has returned to the team’s training facility to continue his rehab and recently began doing full-court sprints. “I’ve been back two weeks,” he told Blakely. “I’ve been doing new stuff every day.” Theis was a rotation player last season, appearing in 63 games, including three starts. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 14.8 MPG. He’ll have to fight for minutes next season with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum established as starters and Marcus Morris, Semi Ojeleye, Guerschon Yabusele and rookie Robert Williams also on the 15-man roster.

In other developments involving the Celtics:

Swingman Jabari Bird considers his first opportunity to play last season as a turning point in his career, as he explained to Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com. Bird got his number called in the second half with the team trailing by eight against the Sixers. Boston rallied for its first win of the season. “Getting drafted is one thing. That’s an honor. Playing Summer League and having some good games, that’s one thing,” he said. “But when you do it in an NBA game, regular season, road game, hostile environment, it just felt like I really belong at this level. Moving forward, I just knew: I’m here for a reason.” Bird parlayed his two-way deal last season into a standard two-year contract this summer with the first season guaranteed.
Kyrie Irving is expected to opt out of his contract next summer and become a free agent but coach Brad Stevens has no plans to discuss the situation with his point guard, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports reports. Stevens told Mannix that the atmosphere around the franchise speaks for itself. “I’m not going to talk to him about it at all,” Stevens said. “One of the things I want to do is give everything I can to all these guys while they’re here. Hopefully, the people that are here recognize that it’s a really good environment with a high upside for a long time.”
In his latest post, Blakely offers a month-by-month breakdown of the Celtics’ just-released regular-season schedule.

Atlantic Notes: Z. Smith, Monroe, Nets, Irving

August 7th, 2018 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Sixers rookie guard Zhaire Smith suffered a left foot injury during a development camp in Las Vegas on Monday, the team announced this morning in a press release. According to the club, the 16th overall pick is headed back to Philadelphia for further evaluations on his injured foot.

The Sixers’ announcement doesn’t offer up a preliminary diagnosis and is short on specifics, so the severity of Smith’s foot injury isn’t clear. Training camps will begin in less than two months, but if Smith’s recovery is a short-term one, he could still be ready to go by the time the preseason begins.

Here are a few more odds and ends from across the Atlantic division:

The Raptors‘ deal with Greg Monroe signals that the team appears to be “punting on the concept of elite room protection,” according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who suggests that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Meanwhile, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star views the decision to sign a veteran like Monroe over an untested developmental player as a reflection of the Raptors’ title aspirations.
During their rebuilding process, the Nets have showed a knack for turning marginal players into reliable contributors. Net Income of NetsDaily wonders if Treveon Graham could become Brooklyn’s next project of that sort, following in the footsteps of players like Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie.
The 2018/19 season has yet to begin, but oddsmakers are already looking ahead to 2019 player movement. As NBC Sports Boston relays, the Celtics and Knicks have been installed by one bookmaker as the early favorites for Kyrie Irving‘s free agency.

Stein’s Latest: Sixers, Warriors, Rockets, Nets

July 31st, 2018 at 6:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers’ much-anticipated offseason fell far short of expectations, Marc Stein of the New York Times opines in his latest newsletter (Sign-up link).

Philadelphia didn’t come close to signing either LeBron James or Paul George in the free agent market and couldn’t swing a deal with the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard, Stein continues. With Leonard landing in Toronto, the Sixers no longer have a clear path to the conference finals. They’re also still looking for a GM and the most consequential moves they made were re-signing J.J. Redick and dealing for Wilson Chandler, Stein adds.

We have more of Stein’s insights:

The Warriors were the biggest winners in the offseason. They not only stunned the NBA world by signing DeMarcus Cousins but they also made some underrated moves, such as locking up coach Steve Kerr to a long-term contract and signing serviceable forward Jonas Jerebko.
The Rockets’ offseason has been unfairly criticized. Re-signing Clint Capela to a team-friendly contract was a major coup and they should extract more production out of Carmelo Anthony than any other team in the league could.
The Nets will be active on the free agent market next summer but they won’t spend money simply because they’ll have a lot of cap space. Kyrie Irving will be a target if he declines his player option and becomes a free agent.

Atlantic Notes: Irving, Loyd, Nader, Knicks’ Plans

July 26th, 2018 at 9:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving fully expects to be ready for the start of training camp, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. Irving told Goodman he hadn’t yet participated in a 5-on-5 full contact scrimmage but he has been working out with his trainer. He underwent a surgical procedure on his left knee in early April in which he had two screws removed. At that time, the team provided a projected recovery time of four to five months.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Combo guard Jordan Loyd is finalizing a buyout agreement with Turkish club Darussafaka, which will allow him to sign a two-way contract with the Raptors, Sportando reports. Loyd, who played with the Raptors’ summer-league squad, spent last season in Israel after playing the previous season in the G League. The 6’4” Loyd made a strong impression on Toronto’s brass while mostly playing the point in Las Vegas, leading to the contract offer.
The Celtics will pay the Thunder $450K before December 2nd as part of the Abdel Nader trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Celtics, who will get a trade exception at the same amount, will essentially be paying the guaranteed portion of Nader’s contract, Pincus notes. The swingman, who was on the verge of being waived, was dealt to OKC for guard Rodney Purvis.
The current Knicks’ front office is not fully committed to signing two top-level free agents next summer and that could be a good thing, as Sean Deveney of the Sporting News explains. The Knicks would have to clear a lot of cap space to get into that position and would likely have to give up a lottery pick to move a bad contract, Deveney continues. With a young core that includes Kristaps Porzingis, Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina, dumping a high pick to improve their free-agent market prospects sounds unwise, Deveney adds.
The Raptors have officially added Adrian Griffin, Sergio Scariolo, Nate Bjorkgren and Phil Handy to Nick Nurse’s coaching staff, the team’s media relations department tweets.

Celtics Notes: Smart, Luxury Tax, Irving, Hayward

July 20th, 2018 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

Marcus Smart essentially ended up with the same contract as the one the Celtics offered him via an extension last fall, sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The combo guard inked a four-year deal worth $52MM on Thursday.

That contract technically has a base value of $50MM, but annual $500K bonuses will bring the total value to $52MM, notes Fred Katz of MassLive.com (Twitter link). Those incentives aren’t linked to playoff success or individual accolades, but rather to body-fat and weigh-in requirements, according to Katz. They’re considered likely to be earned, which means they’ll count toward Smart’s annual cap hits.

With Smart under contract, the Celtics are now about $3.9MM over the luxury-tax line, tweets cap expert Albert Nahmad. Boston could cut costs slightly by waiving Abdel Nader‘s partially guaranteed contract, which could also open up a roster spot for two-way free agent Jabari Bird, as Nahmad observes. Trading Marcus Morris‘ $5.38MM salary at some point could allow the C’s to avoid the tax, but there’s no indication the team is considering that for now.

Here’s more from Boston:

The Celtics may have first reached a four-year, $52MM agreement with Smart on Tuesday — a source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that GM Danny Ainge changed his mind after initially making an offer at that price. In the ensuing 48 hours, Ainge changed his mind again and the deal was finalized, says Schultz.
Three player agents tell Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald that they expect Kyrie Irving to opt out and leave the Celtics next summer. However, sources close to Irving tell Bulpett that the point guard is happy with Boston and has been talking about his future with the franchise beyond the 2018/19 season.
In an Insider-only piece, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton explores what Smart’s new deal means for Irving and Terry Rozier, speculating that the Celtics may eventually have to decide between Smart and Rozier.
Re-signing Smart was worth the cost for the Celtics, according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com, who gives the club a B grade for the move.
During a media appearance on Thursday, Gordon Hayward expressed confidence that he’ll be back at full speed by August, suggesting he’ll “see how [his] ankle reacts to that,” per Jacob Wolf of ESPN.com. Hayward also said he likes the Celtics’ chances to make a run at a title in 2018/19.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.