LeBron James Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Rumors: James, Pacers, Bulls, Pistons

September 29th, 2016 at 10:40am CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James averaged a career-low 35.6 minutes per game during the regular season last year and Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue plans to limit his minutes even more this season, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com reports. Lue is determined to keep James and his other veteran players fresh heading into the postseason as they try to defend their championship, McMenamin adds. “I’ve looked at the schedule, just seeing what makes sense and what’s smart when playing four-in-five type of nights,” Lue told McMenamin. “Can’t run our guys into the ground. We have to be smart, understand we have to take care of our bodies and take care of our key guys. Make sure that when we get to the playoffs we’re ready to go.”

In other news around the Central Division:

Pacers power forward Kevin Seraphin thought he might end up in Europe this season because there was so little interest in him during free agency, Jim Ayello of the Indianapolis Star writes. Seraphin signed a two-year, $3.6MM deal with Indiana after a poor season with the Knicks in which he was overweight, missed games with a knee injury and lost confidence, Ayello continues. Seraphin fired his agent and thought he’d end up in Europe until the Pacers came to the rescue, Ayello adds. “It was tough,” Seraphin told Ayello. “All that waiting. I kept thinking, ‘How the (heck) do I not have an offer?’ I feel like I’m young, and I still have a lot of potential; I still have a lot in the tank.”
Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo have taken leadership roles in the Bulls’ early practices, Sam Smith of Bulls.com reports. They have already done some on-court counseling to their younger teammates and that’s an encouraging development for a team that suffered through chemistry problems last season, Smith adds. “You just want to cut down all the chatter,” Rondo told Smith. “Only a couple of guys should be talking in practice. As far as disrupting, when they do stop practice coach has the voice, then assistant coach has the voice and then the other players.”
The Pistons gave journeyman power forward Jon Leuer a surprisingly lucrative four-year, $41MM contract this summer because of his offensive versatility but he’s also making a strong impression defensively in training camp, according to Aaron McMann of MLive.com. “The one thing I would say I’m surprised with is that he’s a lot better defensively than I thought,” coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy told McMann. “I thought he was decent – maybe average – defensively. I think he’s got a chance to be a lot better than that.”

Cavs Notes: Anthony, Smith, Dunleavy, D-League

September 28th, 2016 at 7:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is hoping his friend J.R. Smith can work out his contract situation in time to receive his championship ring on opening night, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York will be the opponent when Cleveland starts its season October 25th, but Smith’s presence is far from guaranteed. The veteran shooting guard has been in a contract impasse with the Cavaliers all summer, reportedly wanting a $15MM annual salary, while the team wants something in the $10MM to $12MM range. Word broke this week of an “aggressive” offer by the Cavs, but the situation remains unresolved. “I don’t know what’s going on over there with that,” Anthony said. “I hope they don’t prolong the situation. He helped them win that championship. He was a major part of that team, and I hope they can get something done. If not, we’ll see him somewhere else.’’

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

After being with four other teams in his 14 NBA seasons, Mike Dunleavy is overjoyed to wind up with the Cavaliers, writes Sam Amico of AmicoHoops. Cleveland acquired Dunleavy in a deal with the Bulls when Chicago was trying to clear cap space to sign Dwyane Wade. The veteran swingman described the trade as “Christmas in July.” The Cavs plan to use him as a shooter to stretch the floor alongside LeBron James, and in combination with Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye to have three tall shooters on the floor at the same time. “I see myself being involved in whatever way, shape or form we need,” Dunleavy said. “It’s as simple as that. I can play a lot of different roles, anything necessary to get these guys back to the mountain top. Basically, Coach [Tyronn] Lue can use me however he wants. I’m just happy to be here.”
James can expect to see reduced minutes this season, as well as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. After two consecutive seasons that stretched into late June, the Cavaliers will be emphasizing rest. Measures will include monitoring players’ energy levels and staying longer in cities after road games. “My thing is just making sure guys are healthy, continue to limit LeBron’s minutes … watch Kyrie’s minutes because we know we’re playing for something big,” Lue said. “We know when we get to the playoffs it’s going to require a lot of minutes so with those guys and with Kevin [Love], just have to watch guys getting to the red zone.”
Nate Reinking was named coach of the Cavaliers’ D-League affiliate in Canton, according to D-League Digest (Twitter link). He has been an assistant with the team since 2013.

And-Ones: Fredette, Alexander, Hunter

September 12th, 2016 at 9:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jimmer Fredette, who signed a one-year deal to play for the Shanghai Sharks in China, is disappointed he isn’t playing in the NBA this season, but looks at his overseas trek as the next chapter in his career, Dick Harmon of The Deseret News writes. “I’m anxious to get it started,” Fredette said. “It is very similar to an NBA style of play with the Sharks,” Fredette said. “And in a city three times the size of New York City, it will be a lot of fun. I can’t imagine a city that size after being in New York last year.”

The guard hopes his experience overseas will make him a better player and help him land another NBA shot in the future, Harmon relays. “I just want to get better. My goal is to improve everything I do,” Fredette said. “As an American, they want you to go over there and score the basketball, to be free and play your game and try to produce. That’s my game, to be aggressive, to score, make the right play. I think it will continue to grow my confidence and get me prepared for my future.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Magic training camp signee Cliff Alexander is a decent pick-and-roll player, has good hands and is physical around the rim and in the paint area, NBA.com’s Josh Cohen opines in his analysis of the player. The 20-year-old will compete for one of the remaining two regular season roster spots in Orlando during the preseason.
LeBron James, James Jones and Chris Paul have been served with notices of deposition in former NBA players’ union executive director Billy Hunter’s wrongful termination lawsuit against the NBPA, Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com reports. Paul is the union president, James serves as vice president and Jones as secretary treasurer. Hunter is suing the NBPA for $10.5 million in addition to attorney’s fees, for compensation he allegedly did not receive after his ouster in February 2013, Strauss notes.
The Bulls, who completely overhauled their roster this offseason, could struggle mightily this season if the team is unable to get consistent production from its reserves, Bobby Marks of The Vertical opines in his look back at Chicago’s summer.

Western Notes: Lakers, Jianlian, Singler

August 19th, 2016 at 9:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers have hired Jud Buechler, Brian Keefe and Theo Robertson as player development coaches, BA Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Casey Owens has also been hired as an assistant coach/advance professional scout, while Will Scott has been named a video coordinator to round out Luke Walton’s staff. Brian Shaw, Jesse Mermuys and Mark Madsen had previously been named as assistants by Walton.

In other news around the Western Conference:

Veteran coach Del Harris believes Yi Jianlian’s second foray into the NBA will go much more smoothly than his first one, Kevin Wang of ESPN.com reports. Jianlian signed a one-year deal with the Lakers this week that could be worth as much as $8MM. Yi bounced around the league for five seasons before returning to China in 2012. Harris, who is familiar with Yi after coaching the Chinese national team, said Yi’s style of play fits Walton’s offensive scheme. “I think that is the right team for him,” Harris told Wang. “He should be able to play for them and will really fit the style Luke employed so well last year [with the Warriors].”
Mavs guard Deron Williams believes LeBron James solidified his legacy by winning a championship with the Cavaliers, he said in an NBC Radio interview that was excerpted by the Dallas Morning News. James formed a “super team” with the Heat but proved he could win it all with an arguable lesser cast, according to Williams. “He went back to a team that won – what? – 20 games before he got there, and took them to the Finals, and now they won a championship,” Williams said. “And if you take him off that team, I don’t know where they’d be, they’d still be a good team, but they wouldn’t be competing for a championship.”
Thunder small forward Kyle Singler is preparing himself for a much larger role in the wake of Kevin Durant’s decision to join the Warriors, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. Singler got in the gym right after the season and worked out with the summer league team, Horne continues. “When I was trying to think about how I want to maximize my summer, my first thing I wanted to do was play as much basketball as possible,” Singler told Horne. Oklahoma City doesn’t have another small forward with Singler’s combination of size, length and shooting ability, making him a prime candidate to receive the bulk of Durant’s minutes, Horne adds.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, Hornets Arena, Bradley

August 17th, 2016 at 2:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

LeBron James doesn’t want his involvement in the NBA to end when his playing career does, with the Cavs superstar having designs on owning and running a team in the future, Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group relays. “I feel like my brain as far as the game of basketball is unique and I would love to continue to give my knowledge to the game,” James said. “And I would love to be a part of a franchise, if not at the top. My dream is to actually own a team and I don’t need to have fully hands on. If I’m fortunate enough to own a team, then I’m going to hire the best GM and president that I can. But I have a feel like I have a good eye for not only talent, because we all see a lot of talent, but the things that make the talent, the chemistry, what type of guy he is, his work ethic, his passion, the basketball IQ side of things, because talent only goes so far.”

While we await all the “LeBron already owns the Cavaliers” comments, here’s more out of the East:

The Hornets officially announced that the “Spectrum Center” will be replacing “Time Warner Cable Arena” as the name of the team’s home arena. “We are pleased to have Charter’s Spectrum brand become a part of our arena as Charter prepares to make its entrance into the Charlotte area,” said Hornets Sports & Entertainment president & COO Fred Whitfield. “We look forward to partnering with Charter for many years to come as we continue to provide the best in sports and entertainment for Charlotte and the Carolinas at Spectrum Center.”
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com weighed in on what he believes Celtics guard Avery Bradley‘s ceiling and floor is as a player. The scribe lauds Bradley’s positive impact on the team, noting that if he can improve his outside shooting, the guard could perform at an All-Star level for the team. At worst, Bradley will remain a defensive-stopper who provides far more than shows up in the nightly box score, Blakely opines.
The Knicks added a number of potential high-reward players this offseason that carry little long-term risk for the franchise, but the team’s bench remains dangerously thin, Bobby Marks of The Vertical opines in his look at New York’s offseason.

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).

Cavaliers To Re-Sign LeBron James

August 11th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

4:40pm: The third year is a player option, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).

4:26pm: The last major free agent has finally come off the board, with the Cavaliers and LeBron James reaching an agreement on a new deal, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). According to the scribe it will be a three-year, $100MM arrangement. There is no indication yet if the deal includes any options, be it player or team.

The agreement will see James become the highest paid player in the league for the first time in his career, with the veteran set to earn approximately $31MM this coming season, Windhorst notes. The deal will pay him in excess of $33MM in 2017/18, which would be the highest single-season contract in league history, per the ESPN scribe.

There was little intrigue this offseason regarding James making his return to Cleveland, despite the superstar remaining unsigned until now. With the Cavs securing the NBA title this past season, it was merely a matter of when James would sign, not if.

James appeared in 76 games this past campaign, averaging 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 35.6 minutes per outing while shooting .520/.309/.731 from the field. The 31-year-old was equally impressive in the postseason, logging 26.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 7.6 APG in 21 contests.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Kyler’s Latest: Kings, Gay, Koufos, Cavs, Smith

August 10th, 2016 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the majority of teams’ offseason roster work has been completed by now, there are still clubs around the NBA that are exploring the free agent and trade markets in an effort to upgrade their squads. Steve Kyler’s latest piece for Basketball Insiders focuses on two teams whose summer work may not be quite done yet. Let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

The Kings have been active in exploring the trade market as they attempt to move players who may not be fit into the plan going forward, per Kyler. Rudy Gay has long been available, but despite receiving several inquires on the veteran forward – most notably from the Rockets, says Kyler – Sacramento has been having a hard time finding anything of real value in a trade. There’s a belief among some sources that the Kings won’t ask for a whole lot for Gay, and could move him before training camp, according to Kyler.
Kyler adds that the Kings are also believed to be looking into possible deals involving center Kosta Koufos, who signed with the team a year ago. Sacramento used several draft picks on frontcourt players, and wouldn’t mind turning Koufos into another piece, such as a backup point guard.
J.R. Smith remains a free agent, and while his return to Cleveland isn’t a lock like it is for LeBron James, there’s still a belief on both sides that Smith and the Cavaliers will eventually reach an agreement. According to Kyler, there’s a belief that Cleveland put an offer in the $10MM-per-year range on the table a few weeks ago — Smith and his camp are waiting to see if a bigger offer comes in, but will likely end up getting something done with the Cavs.
Cavaliers sources have pointed out to Kyler that if and when James and Smith sign new deals, the club figures to be in luxury-tax territory. That would make trades a little trickier to complete, so the Cavs may simply be exploring all their options on that front before locking in new contracts for James and Smith.

Free Agent Notes: Gordon, T. Robinson, Spurs

August 2nd, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Ben Gordon, who will suit up for Great Britain during the Eurobasket qualifiers in the coming weeks, tells Ian Begley of ESPN.com that he’s still looking for an opportunity to return to the NBA.

“I would definitely love to get back in the league after being out for a year,” Gordon said. “Just watching the way the game is being played, up and down. Obviously, the 3-point shot is always a big deal but it seems like just now, more than ever, that shot is being used more and more. So I feel like I can still play at a high level and shoot that 3-ball and add that kind of depth to a team that may be looking to fulfill that need. So yeah, I definitely have hopes of making a return with an NBA team or just playing period, wherever that may be.”

Here are a few more free agency notes and rumors from around the basketball world:

According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the Spurs have been the “most vocal” team when it comes to showing interest in free agent power forward Thomas Robinson. A former fifth overall pick, Robinson spoke to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders about the strides he feels he has made on and off the court since entering the league in 2012.
The Rockets made Andrew Goudelock a free agent last month by waiving him before his 2016/17 salary became guaranteed, and the veteran point guard has since found a new home. According to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link), Goudelock has agreed to a $1.2MM deal with Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando had passed along a report on the agreement between the two sides earlier today. Meanwhile, Pick tweets that Goudelock turned down a slightly larger offer from Turkish team Galatasaray.
LeBron James remains the top player who technically remains unsigned, but his free agency is such a non-story that Lee Jenkins’ latest piece on SI.com about the Finals MVP barely mentions it, with Jenkins noting that signing a new contract with the Cavaliers is merely a “formality.” Still, Jenkins’ story on LeBron is worth reading in full.

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.