Luol Deng Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Motiejunas, Deng, Jokic

December 3rd, 2016 at 10:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nets signed Donatas Motiejunas to an offer sheet on Friday and the timing of it was no accident, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Brooklyn hopes that by waiting until after November 23 to sign Motiejunas, the Rockets will further consider not matching, as that was the last day they could have signed him and still been allowed to trade him this season. If Houston matches now, the big man can’t be traded for a full year without his consent.

Stein also notes that Brooklyn hired former longtime Rockets executive Gianluca Pascucci as its director of international scouting during the offseason and there’s likely a correlation between the hiring of Pascucci and the Nets offer to Motiejunas.

Here’s more from around the league:

Luol Deng is struggling in his first season with the Lakers and the chatter about whether he fits in on Los Angeles’ young, promising team is expected to continue, Stein adds in the same piece. Deng signed a four-year, $72MM deal with the team in the offseason.
Nikola Jokic will miss at least a week as he recovers from a sprained wrist, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “Talking to Nikola, he wants to play right when he can catch the ball,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I think we’ll probably be a little more cautious than that on this road trip, maybe get it looked at again just to kind of see where it’s at once the swelling goes down.”
Jake Rauchbach of Basketball Insiders examines how Russell Westbrook and James Harden are producing eye-popping numbers on the Thunder and Rockets, respectively. Both players signed extensions with their respective teams this offseason.

Pacific Notes: Deng, Casspi, Bender

November 14th, 2016 at 5:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers offseason signee Luol Deng has struggled so far this season, but the forward’s shooting and scoring woes don’t worry coach Luke Walton, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register relays. “Everyone is going to get different amounts of shots from different areas each night. It is harder in that sense to know when your shots are coming,” Walton said. “But he’s a professional, in the gym and working every day before practice and staying afterwards getting treatment. I’m not concerned with him starting to knock down his shot again.”

No matter what the stat sheet says regarding Deng, his leadership and professionalism are qualities that Walton is benefiting from on a daily basis, Medina writes. Deng’s former coach, Tom Thibodeau, also raved about the forward’s intangibles, telling the scribe, “The best leadership is really the things that you do. Often times guys will say all the right things and do none of them. Luol is not overly vocal, but when there’s something important to be said, he’ll say it.”

Here’s more from out of the Pacific Division:

Kings forward Omri Casspi, who has been mentioned in recent trade rumors, has a meeting scheduled for today with team executive Vlade Divac, Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 reports (via Twitter). Casspi, 28, has seen his playing time cut dramatically under new coach Dave Joerger, but he believes that he can help the team win, Cunningham adds.
Suns rookie Dragan Bender‘s offensive skills are his calling card, but the young big man understands that it is his defensive development that will determine his playing time, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “I learned the hard way,” Bender said. “I came to a big club [Maccabi Tel Aviv] and thought I didn’t need to play defense because of the shooting ability and everything. But once the coach puts you on the bench and freezes you for a couple games, you realize as a young guy you have to come inside and play defense and bring the energy. Defense is just a will. It’s just a matter if you want to play it or not. You have to follow the coaches’ instructions about how you’re going to defend those teams. It doesn’t matter if you’re weak or have less muscles than those guys, you just have to fight with them for better position and get them out of there.”

Western Notes: Deng, Mozgov, Cauley-Stein, Barnes

November 9th, 2016 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers spent $136MM to bring Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov to Los Angeles, but neither is being used to finish games, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Both offseason signees are in the starting lineup, but coach Luke Walton has been closing out games with younger players. “I think they understand that while we’re trying to win right now … that we’re also trying to develop young players,” Walton said. “I haven’t sat down and talked to them about that but I’m pretty sure, the professionals that they are, they understand that.” Deng signed with the Lakers for $72MM over four years, while Mozgov received $64MM over four seasons.

There’s more tonight from the Western Conference:

Effort is the main thing the Kings are expecting from second-year big man Willie Cauley-Stein, relays Matt Kawahara of The Sacramento Bee. Cauley-Stein has seen his minutes cut from 21.4 per game to 14.9, but new coach Dave Joerger just wants to see him play hard while he’s on the court. “The energy that he brought is the biggest deal,” Joerger said after Cauley-Stein scored nine points in 12 minutes Tuesday. “When he … gets to the rim, [it] seems like it gets all those guys going a little bit. But he’s up there fullcourt, shadowing the other team’s point guard. He’s fronting a guy, comes over and gets a blocked shot. He’s running the floor.”
Harrison Barnes looks like a “big-time upgrade” at small forward for the Mavericks, writes Kevin Sherrington of The Dallas Morning News. The 24-year-old, who signed as a free agent over the summer, is averaging 22.3 points and 5.9 rebounds through Dallas’ first seven games. The player he replaced, Chandler Parsons, has been dealing with knee problems and recently made his season debut in Memphis.
After trying to be a veteran leader with the Bulls, Pau Gasol has entered a much more relaxed atmosphere with the Spurs, according to Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders. Gasol signed a two-year, $30MM deal this summer and came to a franchise filled with veteran leaders. “You don’t need to be too loud in this locker room, because it’s not like a group of young guys that need more leadership or direction,” Gasol said. “There’s not much need for me to be loud and say much.”

Pacific Notes: Clippers, Bogut, Deng, Tolliver

October 12th, 2016 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Four positions are set for the Clippers, but the starting small forward could vary from game to game, writes Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Luc Mbah a Moute, Wesley Johnson, newcomer Alan Anderson and even shooting guard Austin Rivers may get starts at the position, although coach Doc Rivers would like to see someone step up and claim it. “You always want separation. That’s always nice,” Rivers said. “I don’t know who it will be. I’m hoping it will be someone, but I can’t predict the future. It’d be nice, but if not, it’ll be matchup-based.” It’s a familiar problem for the Clippers, who used Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce and Johnson at the position last season before giving the role to Mbah a Moute.

There’s more tonight out of the Pacific Division:

Even as they were making history with 73 wins, the Warriors were dealing with Kevin Durant rumors all season, Andrew Bogut tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Bogut believes the Warriors knew well before summer that they were likely to sign Durant, and he says he isn’t surprised that he was traded away. “Andre Iguodala and I knew it was one of us that was going to go, and it was me,” Bogut said. “That’s part of the business. I have no gripes about it. You get a Hall of Famer — he’s going to be a Hall of Famer — in K.D. If I’m the GM, I do the same deal. That’s just the reality of the business.”
New coach Luke Walton helped lure Luol Deng to the Lakers, according to Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Deng liked the impressive history of the franchise and the idea of living in Los Angeles, and of course the four-year, $72MM offer was a huge factor. But he says the transition to Walton, who took over the team after serving as Steve Kerr‘s lead assistant in Golden State, helped seal the decision. “He’s new to coaching, but he has a positive mindset,” Deng said. “The way he coaches, he really respects players and demands respect back.”
At age 31, newly signed Anthony Tolliver wants to show the Kings he can be more than just a mentor, relays Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento gave the small forward a two-year, $16MM deal over the summer to leave Detroit, but he will have to compete for playing time with Omri Casspi and Matt Barnes. Tolliver doesn’t mind taking on a mentor’s role, but he want to be thought of as a player first. “Maybe in a few years, with a few more miles on my body, maybe I’ll be in that position to be a locker room guy,” Tolliver said. “But right now I feel I can still compete and help teams win games. That’s why I came here to get that chance. Looks good so far.”

Heat’s Riley: ‘Great Regret’ Over Losing Wade

July 16th, 2016 at 12:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

During a news conference today in Miami, Heat president Pat Riley expressed his sorrow over losing free agent Dwyane Wade to the Bulls and said he should have done more to prevent it. “I have great regret I didn’t put myself in the middle of it,” Riley said in a quote relayed by Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel (Twitter link).

Wade officially signed with Chicago on Friday after reportedly being unhappy with the offers he was getting out of Miami. Riley says he wishes he had taken a more active role in the negotiations, adding that he should have “gotten in a canoe and paddled to The Mediterranean” if it meant keeping Wade, tweets Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post.

Riley said he had been trying to get “another guy” to pair with Wade since LeBron James returned to Cleveland in 2014 (Twitter link). He added that he hadn’t spoken to Wade since his decision, but has been putting together a long e-mail for him (Twitter link).

Wade, a 12-time All-Star, had been with the Heat since they drafted him in 2003. He is the franchise’s leader in career points, assists and several other categories.

“It’s not going to be the same without [Wade] but we will forge ahead,” Riley said. “Dwyane is unique. There will always be a key under the mat [for Dwyane], I just hope it doesn’t get too rusty. We will miss him.” (Twitter links).

Riley touched on several other topics during the news conference:

Any decision on Chris Bosh’s future is “on hold” until August or September, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Bosh, who didn’t play after blood clots were discovered in his left calf during the All-Star break, would like to return next season, but the Heat aren’t sure if it’s medically feasible. Riley said the team is considering a restricted travel schedule or limited workload to help Bosh get back on the court (Twitter link). “I know Chris wants to play, and we would be open to that,” Riley said “But this is still fluid. There’s not an answer.” (Twitter link).
Riley believes Justise Winslow is ready to be Miami’s starting small forward after a promising rookie season. “Are we ready for Justise Winslow to start at the 3,” Riley asked. “I am.” (Twitter link). The Heat lost last year’s starter when Luol Deng signed with the Lakers.
The Heat offered a more balanced contract to Tyler Johnson than the deal he signed with the Nets, but Johnson insisted on taking the offer sheet from Brooklyn (Twitter link). That contract, which the Heat matched on Sunday, pays Johnson $5.628MM in the first year and $5,881,260 in the second, followed by $18,858,765 in season three and $19,631,975 in season four.
Kevin Durant, who chose Miami as one of the five teams he met with in free agency, told Riley that he wants to win right away and viewed the Heat as being in a rebuilding phase (Twitter link). “I’ll never not take an offer from a free agent who calls and says we’d like to talk to you,” Riley said. “We had to do it, it didn’t slow us down.” (Twitter links).
Riley is working toward a contract extension with head coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff (Twitter link).
The Heat don’t plan to use their $2.9MM room exception this offseason. (Twitter link).

Lakers Sign Luol Deng

July 7th, 2016 at 7:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images

JULY 7th, 7:20pm: The signing is official, the Lakers announced.

JULY 2nd, 8:10am: The Lakers continue to add veterans to their roster, with the latest addition set to be small forward Luol Deng, who has agreed to a deal with the team, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). It will be a four-year, $72MM pact for the 12-year veteran, Charania relays. Landing an annual salary of $18MM is certainly a significant improvement over the $12MM projection for Deng’s next deal that was bandied about in May.

Deng was reportedly in high-demand around the league, with the Timberwolves, Celtics, Heat, Wizards, Clippers and Jazz all said to have interest in the veteran two-way forward. Utah was expected to be “very aggressive” in its pursuit of Deng, according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, but the Jazz missed out on the veteran, who likely saw the opportunity to start in Los Angeles as the more preferable situation to a reserve role in Utah.

The 31-year-old has been a consistent contributor throughout his tenure in the league. Deng made 74 appearances for Miami this past season and averaged 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 32.4 minutes per outing. His shooting numbers on the year were .455/.344/.755. Deng is a hustle player who plays solid defense and his veteran presence should be a welcome addition to the young Lakers locker room, especially given the reported discord of last season resulting from the D’Angelo Russell/Nick Young video incident.

Free Agent Notes: Timberwolves, Wizards, Randolph

July 7th, 2016 at 1:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Timberwolves offered veteran small forward Luol Deng a three-year contract at $12MM per season, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP Radio (Twitter link). Head coach and president of basketball operations Tim Thobideau refused to fully guarantee the third year, Wolfson adds. In the end, the Timberwolves didn’t come close to signing Deng, as the former Heat starter agreed to a four-year, $72MM contract with the Lakers.

In other news regarding free agency:

The Wizards have interest in re-signing shooting guard Alan Anderson and will meet with him this weekend, league sources told J. Michael of CSNmidlatlantic.com (Twitter links). The meeting is expected to take place in Las Vegas, Michael adds. Anderson, who made $4MM last season, appeared in just 13 games with the Wizards after undergoing a second surgery on his left ankle. The previous season, he played in 74 games with the Nets and averaged 7.4 points in 23.6 minutes.
Shooting guard Brandon Paul is drawing major interest around the league after some strong performances for the Hornets’ summer-league team, Sportando tweets. He’s averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds through four games in the Orlando Summer League. The 6’4” Paul went undrafted in 2013 out of the University of Illinois and has been playing for a Spanish league team, FIATC Joventut.
Forward Anthony Randolph will remain in Europe and sign a one-year deal with Spain’s Real Madrid, a source told Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Randolph received interest from the Mavericks this summer, Spears adds. The contract will be the $1.5MM-$2MM range, international journalist David Pick tweets. The 6’11” Randolph hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2013/14 season, when he appeared in 43 games with the Nuggets.
Power forward Willie Reed has drawn interest from the Warriors, Spurs, Heat, Thunder, Timberwolves and Pacers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Reed, an unrestricted free agent, averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes over 39 games with the Nets last season.
Free agent center Robert Sacre, who played the last four seasons with the Lakers, has drawn interest from the Timberwolves and Rockets, Wolfson reports in a separate tweet.

Free Agent Notes: Rondo, Wolves, Gasol

July 2nd, 2016 at 11:50am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pelicans could still make a push for signing Rajon Rondo even after securing an agreement with E’Twaun Moore, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. Reid acknowledges that there are other teams in the mix for Rondo and New Orleans appears to be a long-shot. There were conflicting reports on Friday as to whether the team was interested in Rondo.

Reid confirms an earlier report that the Pelicans were interested in Jeremy Lin, but the point guard’s price was too steep for the team. Lin signed a three-year, $36MM deal with Brooklyn on Friday.

Here’s more from around the league during this crazy start to free agency:

The Wolves had interest in Luol Deng before he signed with the Lakers and they made calls to both Pau Gasol and Kent Bazemore before the latter signed with Atlanta, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. The team would also like to add depth and has interest in Randy Foye, Willie Reed, Courtney Lee, Kris Humphries, Jamal Crawford, Brandon Bass, and Ian Mahinmi.
The Thunder have also expressed interest in Reed, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
Amar’e Stoudemire would be interested in returning to the Knicks, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. “If they want to bring me back, that would be a nice opportunity,” Stoudemire said.
The Lakers bumped up Deng’s offer to $18MM per season after Bazemore turned down the same offer, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link).
Ish Smith‘s new deal with the Pistons will pay him $5.7MM in year one, $6MM in year two and $6.3MM in the final season, per Rod Beard of the Detroit News (Twitter link).
Former first-round pick Jan Vesely has interest from NBA teams, but it will take a starting salary of $11-12MM to bring him stateside, Net Income of SB Nation tweets.
Rade Zagorac is negotiating a deal to play overseas with Red Star Belgrade, international journalist David Pick tweets. The Grizzlies acquired the No.35 overall pick in a deal with the Celtics on draft night.
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at who the Mavericks can still get in free agency.

Jazz, Wolves, Others Reach Out To Luol Deng

July 1st, 2016 at 12:28am CST by Luke Adams

Several teams have reached out to Luol Deng during the opening hours of free agency, according to multiple reports. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter links) says the Timberwolves, Celtics, Heat, and Wizards all called on Deng tonight, while Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical adds the Jazz and Clippers to that list (Twitter link via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald).

Utah is expected to be “very aggressive” in its pursuit of Deng, per Wojnarowski. Meanwhile, Wolfson notes that Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached Deng in Chicago, is expected to talk to the veteran free agent during the day tomorrow.

We heard back in May that Deng was expected to receive a two-year deal that paid at least $12MM annually, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his price has increased since then, with free-agent estimates around the league having been consistently creeping higher.

Jazz Interested In Solomon Hill, Luol Deng

June 28th, 2016 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

4:14pm: The Jazz are also expected to have interest in Heat forward Luol Deng, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Andy Larsen of KSL.com relays (via Twitter). It remains to be seen if Deng would be willing to accept a reserve role with Utah, given his longtime status as a starter in the league and the fact that the Jazz aren’t expected to be title contenders in 2016/17.

3:58pm: Solomon Hill was a first-round pick in 2013, but rather than heading for restricted free agency a year from now, he’ll reach the open market later as an unrestricted free agent this week, since the Pacers turned down his fourth-year option for 2016/17 last fall. According to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune, the Jazz are one of the teams with interest in Hill, whose market will be “fertile,” per Jones’ source.

Hill, who started 78 games for the Pacers in 2014/15, moved back to a bench role this past season, and saw his minutes slashed significantly. In 59 games (14.7 MPG), Hill averaged 4.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and posted a .447 FG%.

Despite those modest numbers though, Hill is aiming high in free agency. As Jones explains, the 25-year-old is a versatile perimeter defender capable of playing shooting guard, small forward, and power forward, and he played his best ball in the playoffs this spring. In Indiana’s first-round loss to the Raptors, Hill was a crucial bench piece for the Pacers, averaging 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while shooting an impressive 57.9% from three-point range (he made 2.0 threes per game).

Add it all up and the former Arizona standout will be seeking between $9-13MM per year in free agency, according to Jones, who suggests that more than one team will be willing to meet that number. Jones hints that Utah could be one of those clubs, pointing out that the Jazz are well below the projected salary cap floor at the moment. Hill and the Jazz are believed to have mutual interest, Jones writes.

While the Jazz aren’t likely to offer Hill the opportunity to start, the free-agent-to-be is being advised to look for an ideal fit, not necessarily simply a spot in a starting lineup, sources tell Jones.