Lucas Nogueira Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Wroten, Durant, Porzingis, Ferry

January 26th, 2016 at 12:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Tony Wroten would apparently like to sign with the Knicks, as evidenced by a pair of tweets he issued Monday night from his verified Twitter account. He said he hopes his chances of signing with the team are high, that he’d love to join Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, and that he’s dreamed of playing in Madison Square Garden. That seemingly counters a report that he was unlikely to end up with the Knicks and was looking for a team that would give him a better chance to stick around, but while the Knicks apparently have some interest, they’re reportedly concerned about his gambling style of defense. See more on the Knicks and other Atlantic Division news:

Count soon-to-be free agent Kevin Durant among the early fans of Porzingis, as Durant said to reporters Monday that he texted Knicks coach and former teammate Derek Fisher during the draft to tell him that he liked the pick, notes Royce Young of ESPN.com. Porzingis has since won plaudits from across the league. “He can shoot, he can make the right plays, he can defend, he’s a 7-footer that can shoot all the way out to the 3-point line,” Durant said. “That’s rare. And block shots — that’s like a unicorn in this league.”
Nets GM Billy King is indeed stumping behind the scenes in the organization for Danny Ferry, his college teammate at Duke, to become the team’s next GM, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. The team is reportedly consulting King about his successor, but Mazzeo opines that Ferry, shrouded in controversy after the racially charged remarks he read from a scouting report in 2014, would be the wrong choice.
The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira and Norman Powell from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). The team sent the trio to its Mississauga-based affiliate Friday.

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Raptors, Heat

December 6th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Will Joseph

This is only Reggie Jackson‘s first season as a full-time starter so it is conceivable that the 25-year-old still has plenty of room to grow, which bodes well for the Pistons, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports writes. The Pistons surprised many when they locked up Jackson for five years and $80MM, but if Detroit signs Andre Drummond to another contract, Zillgitt adds, they will have their point guard-center combo for the future. Jackson has impressed this season by averaging 20.1 points and 6.6 assists per game.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Goran Dragic is feeling more comfortable in the Heat‘s offense, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel details. From the Heat’s perspective, that is likely a relief considering Miami re-signed the point guard to a five-year, $90MM deal in the summer. “Of course it’s more fun,” Dragic said of his recent string of solid play, per Winderman. “Even my body language is a little bit different. I’m smiling on the court. I’m enjoying. And that’s the most important thing, try to enjoy and at the same time play hard. As long as the team is winning, it’s all good.”
Lucas Nogueira is playing well in limited minutes lately for the Raptors, his fourth team in two years, and his opportunity will likely continue because Jonas Valanciunas isn’t expected back this month, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca writes. The Raptors picked up their 2016/17 team option in September on the rookie scale contract of Nogueira.

And-Ones: Towns, Magic, Raptors

November 21st, 2015 at 10:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Karl-Anthony Towns has been able to contribute right away for the Wolves and he credits his experience playing for Kentucky for his ability to succeed, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders writes.

“It feels like I already played a full professional season having been at the University of Kentucky,” Towns told Brigham. “Put that with the amount of away games we had there and we were also never home, so I transitioned well into the NBA with the travel and everything. It just has come easier for me than for a lot of people.”

New additions Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince as well as Kevin Garnett, who came back to Minnesota via trade at last season’s deadline, have also helped Towns avoid a learning curve.

“When you talk about a mentor like KG, for me, [he] just teaches me a lot of the knowledge that he possesses,” Towns said. “That’s a lot more valuable than any of the shots that I might shoot in the gym. His experience, his talent, his ability to do things that so many people in this game have never figured out how to do, having him here to teach me those things is a blessing.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Magic are unlikely to seek out trades or make major changes this year, as they will use this season to figure out which players are long-term pieces, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes. Kyler examines the roster and believes the team is still one major piece away from becoming a real contender.
Jonas Valanciunas will forgo surgery on his left hand and will instead opt for rehab, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports. The center fractured his hand during Friday’s win over the Lakers and he will miss an extended period of time, though no timeline for his return has been given.
The Raptors have recalled Lucas Nogueira from the Raptors 905, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to a team press release. The center played four games during his assignment, averaging 9.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.

Eastern Notes: Harris, Stoudemire, Dudley

November 20th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite beginning their inaugural campaign winless, the Raptors‘ D-League affiliate isn’t going to judge its success based on winning percentage, but rather by how well it develops the franchise’s young talent like Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca writes. “It’s hard because so much in professional basketball is gauged on wins and losses, and it’s just not that way here,” said Raptors 905 coach Jesse Mermuys. “That’s not the goal and so really if we start getting guys called up, then we’re having success. And if we start losing players to other teams and for some reason Lucas and Bruno are able to enter a [NBA] game this season for whatever reason and perform at a decent level, then it’s a success. We’re just going to really focus on the players, put the players’ development in the forefront. That’s a hard thing for a coach to do but I’m fully aware of it. I’m committed to it.”

Here’s more from the East:

The Cavaliers have assigned shooting guard Joe Harris to the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the second jaunt of the season to Canton for Harris.
Heat power forward Amar’e Stoudemire has only made two appearances this season and says that keeping himself prepared for this type of role is the most difficult thing that he has had to do in his career, Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald tweets. The veteran big man inked a one-year, $1.5MM deal with Miami this past summer.
Jared Dudley is finally healthy and he is beginning to make an impact on the court for the Wizards, but despite the swingman being primarily known as a scorer, he’s finding other ways to contribute to the team, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com notes. “It’s not so much scoring,” coach Randy Wittman said of Dudley. “Spacing, smart, ball movement, being in the right spot, fighting his tail off at the defensive end. I like those things that he’s done the last couple of games.“

D-League Notes: Harris, Dekker, Patterson

November 13th, 2015 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Raptors‘ D-League affiliate has added swingman Nick Wiggins and power forward Ronald Roberts to its roster, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays (via Twitter). Wiggins, a native Canadian, was waived by the Wolves during the preseason, and later by the Idaho Stampede, Utah’s affiliate. Roberts was among the final cuts made by Toronto this year. Both players will still remain free to sign with any interested NBA team.

Here’s more news from out of the D-League:

The Cavaliers assigned Joe Harris to the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the first D-League assignment of the season for both the player and the team. Harris’ assignment was first reported by Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
Rookie combo forward Sam Dekker has been assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets‘ affiliate, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets. This is Dekker’s first D-League assignment of the young season.
The Hawks have assigned Lamar Patterson to the D-League, and he will report to the Austin Spurs as part of the flexible assignment process, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. This will be Patterson’s first jaunt to the D-League this season.
The Raptors have assigned Lucas Nogueira and Bruno Caboclo to the Raptors 905, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford said that the team is open to sending Aaron Harrison to the D-League at some point this season, but added that Harrison was currently needed with the main squad for Charlotte’s practice sessions, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer tweets.
You can keep track off all the D-League assignments and recalls made throughout the season here.

Raptors Pick Up Options On Caboclo, Nogueira

September 29th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors have exercised their team options for 2016/17 on the rookie scale contracts of Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira, the team announced (Twitter link). That means the team locked in their salaries of $1,589,640 and $1,921,320, respectively, for that season. The moves are no surprise, since most clubs pick up rookie scale team options, even though Toronto didn’t give much playing time to either last season. Each of them saw just 23 minutes of action all year at the NBA level, with a couple of D-League assignments sprinkled in.

Neither seems poised to grab a spot in the Raptors rotation this season, but they’ll likely see much more time in the D-League, since the establishment of Raptors 905 gives Toronto a one-to-one affiliate. Nogueira, now 23 years old, was more productive in the D-League last season than Caboclo was, though the three-year age difference between the two likely played into it. The younger Caboclo was a surprise selection at No. 20 overall in the 2014 draft. Nogueira was the 16th pick in the 2013 draft, but he remained overseas for a year with Estudiantes of Spain before the Raptors acquired his rights from the Hawks in the Lou Williams trade.

Toronto’s commitments for 2016/17 rise to almost $60MM against a projected $89MM cap with today’s moves. That includes the extension that Jonas Valanciunas signed this summer, but no money for DeMar DeRozan, who has a $10.05MM player option, or Terrence Ross, who’s also extension eligible. Agent Rich Paul reportedly believes he can get the Raptors to make a max offer next summer to Toronto native Tristan Thompson, who can hit unrestricted free agency in July if he signs his qualifying offer from the Cavs this week. The Raptors would have to pass on Ross and DeRozan would have to opt in or re-sign at a discount for the team to have the flexibility for Thompson’s max starting salary of a projected $20.4MM. Preliminary indications are DeRozan will opt out, a strong bet given his level of performance and the rising salaries around the league.

Which of Caboclo and Nogueira do you believe has the greatest chance to make an impact in the NBA? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

D-League Notes: Powell, Nogueira, Jerrett

March 26th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The D-League continues to be an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”

Here are the latest D-League moves:

The Raptors have recalled center Lucas Nogueira from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced on Twitter. This concludes Nogueira’s second trip of the season to the D-League, where in four contests he averaged 8.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in 20.0 minutes per night.
Kyle Anderson has been assigned by the Spurs to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Anderson’s fifth jaunt to the D-League this season.
The Mavericks have recalled Dwight Powell from the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com reports (Twitter link). Powell has made a dozen trips to the D-League this season.
Grant Jerrett has been assigned by the Jazz to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the forward’s tenth sojourn of the season to the D-League.
The Pistons have recalled Quincy Miller from the Grand Rapids Drive, their D-League affiliate, Keith Langlois of NBA.com reports (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Wallace, Nogueira, Robinson

March 16th, 2015 at 7:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Gerald Wallace plans to play out the last year of his contract during the 2015/16 season, but he will spend this summer deciding whether he will play past then, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “I would love to continue to play, but it’s more about my family and my kids,” he said. “I’m only 32 years old and I’ve been in here 14 years. That’s almost half of my life in this league. My kids are getting older. They’re starting to play high school sports now. It depends on if they’re comfortable with me still playing or they’re ready for me to come home and be part of their lives.” Wallace will make slightly over $10.1MM next season as part of a four-year, $40MM contract he signed with the Nets in 2012. About a year later, the forward was dealt to the Celtics, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors notes in his latest piece.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Raptors have recalled Lucas Nogueira from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, according to the team’s Twitter feed. To date, the Brazilian center has only seen 23 minutes of NBA action this season.
Thomas Robinson, an unrestricted free agent after the season, stopped short of saying he’d like to return to the Sixers, but he said that a team that includes him as well as Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid would be “scary” in a good way, observes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers can’t re-sign him to a starting salary of greater than $4,660,482 since the Blazers declined their fourth-year rookie scale team option on him this past fall.
Mason Plumlee, Joe Johnson and Deron Williams were among the Nets to praise Kevin Garnett as they prepare to face him for an opponent for the first time since Brooklyn traded him for Young at the deadline. Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News and Tim Bontemps of the New York Post have the details. “He meant a lot to this organization and to the team in the short time he was here,” Williams said. “I said it a million times — he’s a guy that you just learn so much from, just watching him every day, his work ethic, his leadership ability and he’s just a great guy to be around.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post

D-League Notes: Stokes, Nogueira, McAdoo

March 12th, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The D-League has become an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”

Here are the latest D-League moves:

The Grizzlies have recalled Jarnell Stokes and Russ Smith from the Iowa Energy, their D-League affiliate, the team announced via Twitter. This was the fifth sojourn to Iowa of the season for Stokes, and Smith’s third.
Center Lucas Nogueira has been assigned by the Raptors to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League, the team has announced. The big man has played a total of 23 minutes in six games with Toronto this season, recording a total of six points and 11 rebounds. This will be his first jaunt of the season to the D-League.
The Warriors have recalled forward James Michael McAdoo from the Santa Cruz Warriors, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. The rookie has appeared in 32 games with Santa Cruz this season, averaging 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 32.9 minutes.
The Mavs have once again assigned Dwight Powell to the Texas Legends, Dallas’ D-League affiliate, the team announced via a press release. This will mark the ninth trek of the season to the D-League for Powell.

Raptors Sign Lucas Nogueira

August 3rd, 2014 at 12:13pm CST by Cray Allred

SUNDAY: The signing is now official, the team announced via press release.

TUESDAY: The Raptors and Lucas Nogueira will buy out his contract with Estudiantes of Spain, as Javier Maestro of Encestando.es reports (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Toronto is expected to pay most of the roughly $800K the NBA release clause requires. The maximum Toronto is allowed to pay is $600K, and Nogueira will cover the rest.

The Raptors acquired the rights to Nogueira, the No. 16 pick from the 2013 draft, in a trade with the Hawks last month. Toronto was known to be planning on bringing the Brazilian big man to the NBA this season. He will still be bound by the rookie scale, so his salary will likely start at over $1.75MM.

Nogueira, a center, is expected to join forward Bruno Caboclo as Brazilian additions to the Raptors this season, but Nogueira likely has a clearer path to playing time than Caboclo, the 20th overall selection from this year’s draft. The 7’0″ Nogueira will join a roster featuring only a single true center in Jonas Valanciunas, and Toronto is also open to dealing away forward/center combo Chuck Hayes.