Marvin Bagley III Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Bagley, Jones, Wright, Dragic, Bulls

April 28th, 2022 at 8:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons are prepared to make a three-year offer to restricted free agent Marvin Bagley III, James Edwards III of The Athletic reports. He fit a need for an athletic big man, which is why they traded for him just before the deadline. However, Bagley may seek a shorter deal and test the open market if his stock rises, so that he can get a bigger payday.

We have more from the Central Division:

It has been reported that the Cavaliers would entertain a reunion with free agent guard Ricky Rubio. However, there are other options on the table to provide backcourt depth, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Cavs are also expected to show interest in several other unrestricted free agents, including Tyus Jones, Delon Wright, Raul Neto and Goran Dragic, says Fedor.
Which players should the Bulls retain and which ones should they shed? Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic takes a closer look at that topic in a player-by-player breakdown. Mayberry’s position on unrestricted free agent Zach LaVine? He’s one of the keepers.
DeMar DeRozan said he’s open to recruiting players to Chicago, but Bulls coach Billy Donovan said no matter what happens in the offseason, expectations need to be tempered, Jon Greenberg of The Athletic writes. “I think you have to be careful, and what I mean by that is, we got off to a really, really good start this year,” he said. “And it was really impressive to me with a new group that hadn’t had a lot of time together that they could jell and mesh the way they did. We’ll actually have to work harder going into this offseason and next year to even get back to this point.”

Central Notes: Caruso, COVID-19, Bridges, Joseph, McGruder

April 18th, 2022 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Alex Caruso played 33 minutes in the Bulls’ Game 1 loss to the Bucks on Sunday. Coach Billy Donovan said Caruso has been dealing with back pain for several weeks and is trying to tough it out, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. He was limited to seven points and missed all but one of his five 3-point attempts.

‘‘He’s felt the best I think he has felt,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Is he 100%? No, but he’s a lot better than he was those games before he sat out. I do think with Alex [that minutes restrictions are] going to be somewhat important. I think if you start pushing him with his back up into the high 30s, I don’t think that would be really, really wise. You want to see how he’s feeling in the game. He kind of throws his body in there and plays incredibly hard and physical, so we’ll have to see how he responds.”

We have more from the Central Division:

The Bucks are wary of how a positive COVID-19 test could affect their playoff run, coach Mike Budenholzer told Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He noted how Paul George missed the Clippers’ second play-in game after testing positive. “There’s been a lot of positive movement. You just don’t want to forget, you’ve just got to know it’s still out there,” Budenholzer said. “When we had the conversation what happened with the Clippers and Paul George had happened and the coaching staff with Chicago. I’m guessing those things pop up in conversations in the locker room or at baskets and things like that. It’s not good, but in the sense of it just being a reminder in conversation, I think it’s helpful. Certainly our guys are aware.”
The Pistons could have the most cap space in the league this summer but a giant offer sheet for Hornets restricted free agent Miles Bridges wouldn’t be a wise move, James Edwards III of The Athletic opines. Bridges’ best position is probably at power forward and putting him in that spot wouldn’t be a long-term upgrade over Saddiq Bey, who can play either forward spot. If Detroit winds up with a top-three pick, the team will likely draft a power forward, which would force Bridges to play small forward with Bey moving out of position to shooting guard. The only way adding Bridges would make sense would be to trade Jerami Grant for a wing or to draft one with their lottery pick, Edwards writes.
Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press predicts that Grant, Cory Joseph and Rodney McGruder won’t return next season but that the Pistons will re-sign restricted free agent Marvin Bagley III.

Potential 2022 RFAs Whose Qualifying Offers Will Be Impacted By Starter Criteria

April 15th, 2022 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s rookie scale, which determines how much first-round picks earn during their first four NBA seasons, also dictates how much the qualifying offers will be worth for those players when they reach restricted free agency after year four. However, the value of those qualifying offers can fluctuate depending on whether or not a player has met the “starter criteria.”

Here’s how the starter criteria works in a typical year:

A player who is eligible for restricted free agency is considered to have met the starter criteria if he plays at least 2,000 minutes or starts 41 games in the season before he reaches free agency.
A player can also meet the criteria if he averages either of those marks in the two seasons prior to his restricted free agency. For instance, if a player started 50 games one year and 32 the next, he’d meet the starter criteria, since his average number of starts over the last two seasons is 41.

The thresholds for the starter criteria this year are a little different due to the truncated nature of the 2020/21 season. We outlined those tweaks at the start of the season.

A player’s ability or inability to meet the starter criteria can affect the value of the qualifying offer he receives as a restricted free agent, as follows:

A top-14 pick who does not meet the starter criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 15th overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
A player picked between 10th and 30th who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the ninth overall pick would receive if he signed for 120% of the rookie scale.
A second-round pick or undrafted player who meets the criteria will receive a qualifying offer equal to the amount the 21st overall pick would receive if he signed for 100% of the rookie scale.
For all other RFAs, the standard criteria determine the amounts of their qualifying offers.

Extending a qualifying offer to a player eligible for restricted free agency officially makes that player an RFA, ensuring that his team has the right of first refusal if he signs an offer sheet with another club. It also gives the player the option of signing that one-year QO.

Generally, the value of a restricted free agent’s qualifying offer isn’t hugely important, since very few RFAs accept those offers outright. There are exceptions though.

Last offseason, for instance, Bruce Brown met the starter criteria heading into restricted free agency, increasing the value of his qualifying offer to $4,736,102. The Nets decided to issue that qualifying offer and he accepted it. Had he fallen short of the starter criteria, Brown only would have been eligible for a qualifying offer worth around $2MM and his free agency could have played out very differently.

Top-14 picks who failed to meet starter criteria:

With all that in mind, let’s check in on how this year’s RFAs-to-be will be impacted by the starter criteria. Listed below are the former top-14 picks on track for restricted free agency who did not meet the starter criteria. These players will be eligible for qualifying offers worth $7,228,448.

Marvin Bagley III (Pistons)
Collin Sexton (Cavaliers)
Kevin Knox (Hawks)

Seven of the 14 players selected with lottery picks in the 2018 draft signed rookie scale extensions in 2021, meaning they won’t have to worry about the value of their qualifying offers this offseason.

Of the other seven, the three players listed above failed to meet the criteria. Bagley is the biggest loser in the trio — his qualifying offer would’ve been worth approximately $14.76MM if he had met the starter criteria. Sexton’s would’ve been about $8.56MM, while Knox’s would’ve been $7.92MM.

Even with the amount of his qualifying offer lowered a little, Knox likely won’t receive a QO at all, making him an unrestricted free agent. Bagley and Sexton are much safer bets for QOs.

Top-14 picks Deandre Ayton (Suns) and Mohamed Bamba (Magic), each met the starter criteria, locking in their QO amounts at $16.42MM and $10.1MM, respectively. Miles Bridges (Hornets) also met the starter criteria, as detailed in the next section.

Jerome Robinson was the only top-14 pick from ’18 who was waived before completing his rookie contract — he’s no longer on an NBA roster and won’t be eligible for a qualifying offer this summer.

First-round picks between 10-30 who met starter criteria:

A player who fell into this category would see the amount of his qualifying offer increase to $7,921,300. Bridges, the No. 12 overall pick, was the only player to qualify.

As a result of meeting the starter criteria, Bridges’ qualifying offer will increase from about $7.46MM to $7.92MM, a modest bump. It shouldn’t change the outlook of his free agency, since he’ll almost certainly receive a lucrative long-term offer.

Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons looked like one of the best candidates to join Bridges in this group. He needed to make 41 starts this season for Portland, but only got to 30 before he was shut down for the season with a left knee injury. His qualifying offer will remain at $5.76MM, but that shouldn’t have a major impact on his free agency, since he’ll likely work out a multiyear deal with the Blazers.

Meanwhile, because Kings wing Donte DiVincenzo was a full-time starter for the Bucks in 2020/21, he only needed to make seven starts this season to meet the starter criteria. However, he ultimately started just once for Milwaukee and Sacramento, even when he was playing heavy minutes down the stretch for the Kings.

DiVincenzo’s qualifying offer will remain at $6.6MM, which actually could have a tangible effect on his free agency — if he doesn’t get a multiyear offer with a starting salary much higher than his qualifying offer, accepting the QO and reaching unrestricted free agency in 2023 may be DiVincenzo’s best option. Presumably, that’s why his camp reportedly wasn’t thrilled that he was still coming off the bench at the end of the season.

Second-round picks and UDFAs who met starter criteria:

The players listed below signed as second-round picks or undrafted free agents, but met the starter criteria and are now eligible for a qualifying offer worth $4,869,012.

Luguentz Dort (Thunder)
Jae’Sean Tate (Rockets)

Of course, it’s very possible neither Dort nor Tate will even become a free agent this summer, since their contracts both include team options for 2022/23.

The Thunder could decide to turn down Dort’s minimum-salary option for next season in order to make him a restricted free agent this year instead of an unrestricted free agent next year, but there’s no guarantee they’ll go that route. If they do, his QO would be worth $4.87MM instead of $2.22MM.

Meanwhile, there’s no incentive for the Rockets to decline Tate’s option, since he’ll still be eligible for restricted free agency in 2023, so the amount of his potential qualifying offer this summer will be rendered moot.

Among other second-round picks and undrafted free agents, Hornets wing Cody Martin (1,866 minutes), Clippers swingman Amir Coffey (30 starts), and Trail Blazers forward CJ Elleby (28 starts) are a few who were in the ballpark of the starter criteria, but none got there. Martin, Coffey, Elleby, and the rest of this year’s restricted free agents won’t have their projected qualifying offers impacted by the starter criteria.

Pistons Notes: Grant, Offseason, Bagley, Cunningham

April 14th, 2022 at 10:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons general manager Troy Weaver isn’t sure what kind of trade offers he might get for Jerami Grant this offseason, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press writes. Grant was a hot name on the rumor mill prior to the trade deadline but the Pistons opted to hold onto their starting power forward. Grant will enter the final year of his three-year, $60MM contract and he’s eligible to sign an extension.

“Jerami demonstrated his efficiency in the way he fit with the group. I’m curious. I’m not sure. The deadline, people had their feelers out but nothing that blew us away,” Weaver said of Grant’s trade market. “Maybe something comes down the pipe. We’ll see. I don’t anticipate it being an avalanche. After the playoffs, some teams will feel like we can add a player or two, and maybe the phone rings a little more. I’m not sure. The landscape of the NBA changes weekly.”

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Armed with cap space and another lottery pick, Weaver plans to be proactive this offseason, Sankofa reports in a separate story. “We’re going to look at everything,” Weaver said. “We’re going to be aggressive, turn over every rock and vet it out and try to come back better as a team, whether it’s one guy, two guys or three guys. We’re going to be aggressive in our approach and make sure that we come out ready to go and hopefully put a better product on the floor.”
In the same story, Weaver hinted he wants to retain restricted free agent Marvin Bagley III, who was acquired Sacramento at the deadline. “Coach (Dwane Casey) and I talked about this, I didn’t give coach enough tools and the Bagley trade was a big tool for us,” Weaver said. “We didn’t have enough athleticism up front. We needed to address that, and we did. I feel better for the team that we were able to acquire that young man and give us a tool we didn’t have.”
Cory Joseph has no doubts that Cade Cunningham will be one of the league’s brightest stars for many years to come, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. “He’s beyond his years,” Joseph said. “He’s already a star but he’s going to be a superstar in this league sooner rather than later. He’s an amazing talent. We all know what he can do with a basketball, but he doesn’t get sped up. Mentally, he’s there every possession, every play, and he wants it. You can tell in those big moments. He wants to be in those moments. He wants to be great.”

Central Notes: Bagley, Mobley, Vildoza, McConnell, Komoroski

April 7th, 2022 at 6:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Marvin Bagley III is headed to free agency this summer but Pistons coach Dwane Casey hopes the front office re-signs the young power forward, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. Detroit can make him a restricted free agent by extending a $7.3MM qualifying offer. Bagley has played well since being traded by Sacramento, averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 27.2 MPG while appearing in 18 games for the Pistons.

We have more Central Division news:

Cavaliers rookie Evan Mobley is questionable to play against Brooklyn on Friday, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic tweets. Mobley hasn’t played since March 28 due to an ankle injury but he was able to do “everything” at practice in Orlando on Thursday, coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. Jarrett Allen is listed as out, although he went through an individual workout.
Guard Luca Vildoza signed a two-year, $1.8MM contract with the Bucks, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. His contract for next season is non-guaranteed and includes a $500K trigger date if he’s not waived before Milwaukee’s first regular season game. Vildoza was signed on Wednesday.
T.J. McConnell surprised a lot of people by returning to action this week, even though the Pacers are out of the playoff picture. McConnell played 15 minutes on Tuesday after missing 55 games due to a hand injury. McConnell told Joel Lorenzi of the Indianapolis Star he just “wanted to feel like a basketball player again.” “They’ve been talking about coming out here and creating that chemistry, and what better way to get that chemistry started than to come back now?” he said. “You know, I just wanted to feel like a basketball player again. It was hard sitting there.”
Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski is stepping down from his post at the end of the season, according to a team press release. Komoroski’s career with the Cavaliers began in 2003 as a team president. He took on the CEO title in 2013. He will remain affiliated with Rock Entertainment Group.

And-Ones: Selden, Brantley, MVP, OTE, Shue

April 5th, 2022 at 4:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran shooting guard Wayne Selden, who began the 2021/22 season with the Knicks, has signed with Ironi Ness Ziona in Israel, the team announced in a press release. Selden has appeared in 127 total NBA games for Memphis, Chicago, New Orleans, and New York since 2016. He spent the 2020/21 campaign with Ironi Ness Ziona, so the move represents a reunion for the two sides.

Former Jazz forward Jarrell Brantley is among the other NBA veterans who has signed with a team outside the NBA. Puerto Rico’s Leones de Ponce announced today in a press release that they’ve signed Brantley to a short-term deal. The former second-round pick played in 37 games for Utah from 2019-21 before he was waived last September.

Here are a few more notes from around the basketball world:

Cole Huff of The Athletic singles out three under-the-radar veterans who are playing well after changing teams at the trade deadline nearly two months ago, highlighting Clippers forward Robert Covington, Spurs wing Josh Richardson, and Pistons big man Marvin Bagley III.
Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the top contenders for this season’s Most Valuable Player award, but it looks like upwards of a dozen candidates could receive top-five votes. A panel of ESPN writers took a closer look at the field.
In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Jonathan Givony outlines the biggest takeaways from year one of the Overtime Elite league and explores what’s next for OTE. It became clear quickly that Overtime Elite is a “serious, ambitious venture with significant financial backing,” Givony writes.
Gene Shue, a five-time NBA All-Star from 1958-62 and a two-time Coach of the Year in 1969 and 1982, passed away at age 90 on Monday, writes Tony Garcia of The Detroit Free Press. Shue enjoyed much of his success as a player in Fort Wayne and Detroit, then coached the Bullets (Baltimore and Washington), Clippers (San Diego and Los Angeles), and Sixers for over two decades.

Injury Notes: Randle, Bucks, Pistons, Jazz, Simmons

April 1st, 2022 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Knicks forward Julius Randle, still dealing with a quad injury, has been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Cleveland, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, who tweets that the team is considering Randle day-to-day. For the time being, there are no plans to shut down Randle for the rest of the season, Katz adds. He missed three games with the same injury last week.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

The Bucks will be without several key players on Friday vs. the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back set. According to the team (via Twitter), Giannis Antetokounmpo (right knee soreness), Jrue Holiday (left ankle sprain), Khris Middleton (left wrist soreness), and Brook Lopez (return to competition reconditioning) are among the players who will be inactive.
Cory Joseph (left lumbar spine strain), Marvin Bagley III (left hip strain), and Kelly Olynyk (rest) won’t play for the Pistons on Friday against Oklahoma City, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic. The two teams are neck-and-neck in the lottery standings, so neither front office will be particularly motivated to win the game.
The Jazz got some reinforcements on Thursday when Bojan Bogdanovic returned from a nine-game absence and Danuel House played after missing eight consecutive games, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Both forwards had positive plus-minus ratings in a win over the Lakers that snapped Utah’s five-game losing streak.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (video link) provided another minor update on Ben Simmons, reporting that the Nets guard has resumed “light” on-court workouts and still hopes to return in time for the playoffs. Charania’s colleague at The Athletic, Joe Vardon, reported earlier today that Simmons is unlikely to be ready for the start of the playoffs.

Pistons Notes: Bagley, Jackson, Grant, Cunningham

March 27th, 2022 at 2:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Pistons reserve power forward Marvin Bagley III, a restricted free agent this summer, is hoping to stick around Detroit on his next contract, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News.

The Pistons, currently the No. 14 seed in the East, are 6-9 in their games with Bagley available. Beard observes that the former No. 2 overall pick has shown his scoring touch in many of those contests, hitting double figures in 13 of his 15 games with his new club. The fourth-year big man, who holds averages of 14.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.0 APG and 0.9 SPG across 27.1 MPG for his new team, has been a good fit in Detroit’s offense thanks to his skills as a post scorer, according to Beard.

“I’m telling you, this team is going to be great. We’ve got a lot of great pieces and I’m excited to be here and a part of it, and just building something with this team,” Bagley said. “We’ve got a great team here and we’re going to be something special if we continue to lock in on that and look at the bigger picture and continue to keep getting better every single day.”

Boasting a roster full of high lottery draft selections, including Bagley and 2021 top pick Cade Cunningham, the 20-54 Pistons appear well-positioned to build for the future. Their low standing this season guarantees that they will be able to add another lottery prospect in the 2022 draft.

There’s more out of Detroit:

This past Friday, Pistons reserve point guard Frank Jackson was available for Detroit for the first time in 11 games following a lingering spine issue. Jackson played without any limits on his availability, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). “No one [including Jackson] has minute restrictions at all,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said ahead of the game, a 100-97 loss to the Wizards. “He went through practice yesterday and shootaround today. We’ll be smart with it and not have him out long stretches just to be prudent. But he should be 100%.” The fourth-year guard is averaging 10.5 PPG, 1.6 RPG and 1.0 APG in 22.2 MPG for Detroit this year. He scored two points in 14:56 minutes of action Friday.
Pistons starting power forward Jerami Grant left Detroit’s most recent contest against the Wizards with a left calf strain and did not return to action, the team announced (Twitter link). He remains sidelined today for Detroit’s afternoon contest against the Knicks, and Bagley is starting in his stead.
Pistons rookie point guard Cade Cunningham has emerged as a late-season contender for Rookie of the Year honors. James Edwards III of The Athletic examines Cunningham’s case for the award. Cavaliers power forward/center Evan Mobley, Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Magic wing Franz Wagner, and Thunder shooting guard Josh Giddey are the other top candidates. Cunningham’s stellar counting stats of 17.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 5.5 APG are cited, though his inefficient scoring is listed as a detriment. To be fair, an ankle injury forced Cunningham to sit during the team’s preseason and training camp, and his early-season shooting struggles could be credited in part to his not getting that crucial prep time with the team before starting his first NBA season.

Pistons Notes: Grant, Bagley, Hayes, Brunson, Robinson, Ayton, Draft

March 24th, 2022 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jerami Grant‘s name was prominently mentioned in trade rumors prior to last month’s deadline. More recently, a report from The Athletic claims that the Trail Blazers will make a strong push for the Pistons forward in trade talks this summer.

On that subject, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and The Athletic’s James Edwards III opined on a HoopsHype podcast that the deal will happen this summer. Grant, who will be entering the final season of his three-year contract, would plug a major hole at power forward for the Blazers. A first-rounder would likely be required in Portland’s package for the Pistons to make such a move, though Scotto isn’t convinced it would necessarily be a high lottery pick this season.

Edwards speculates that where the Pistons land in the lottery will impact their decision on Grant. If they’re able to select Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Keegan Murray, or Chet Holmgren, they’d be more inclined to deal him.

Scotto and Edwards also discussed a number of other Pistons-related issues:

The acquisition of Marvin Bagley III from Sacramento has gone well thus far and Edwards believes both parties are interested in a multi-year deal. Bagley will be a restricted free agent this summer. The Pistons view him as a second-unit standout due to his defensive shortcomings, Edwards adds.
Detroit isn’ ready to give up on point guard Killian Hayes, their 2020 lottery pick, says Edwards. Settling in as a reserve, Hayes has shown progress as a defender and his passing skills are superior.
The Pistons will likely make a push for free agents Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson this summer, according to Scotto. He and Edwards agree that Detroit is less likely to go after top RFAs like Deandre Ayton or Miles Bridges.
Holmgren would probably top the Pistons’ draft wish list with Smith next in line, per Edwards.

Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Future, Grant, Hayes

March 20th, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Cade Cunningham is putting up the kind of numbers the Pistons expected when they made him the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, but it may not be enough to capture Rookie of the Year honors, writes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Cunningham is the top scorer among rookies at 16.9 points per game and ranks second in his class in assists and fourth in rebounds. He has also been Detroit’s main option on offense for most of the season.

However, Cunningham was part of an unusually talented draft, and some of his competitors, such as Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Toronto’s Scottie Barnes, have the advantage of playing for contending teams. Mobley, who is considered the favorite for the award, faced Cunningham Saturday night for the final time this season and both players posted double-doubles.

“I think this class is gonna go down when we look back 10, 15 years from now, as a top-three, top-four draft class of all time,” Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “You look at the group of guys, obviously you guys get to see Cade every night, we get to see Evan every night, but there’s so many guys that can play at such a high level. Their skill set, their size, and their ability to impact winning, which is the most important thing that we should value. Scottie Barnes rolling in Toronto. You see all these young guys, and they play the game more maturely than their age, as they should, and then they have immense talent to go with it.”

There’s more from Detroit:

The Pistons may be in position to rise up the standings next year the same way the Cavs have done this season, suggests Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Detroit is likely to add another high lottery pick to its young core and could have more cap room than anyone heading into free agency. “We’ve got to make smart decisions as an organization,” coach Dwane Casey said. “We’ve got to make the right decisions to add the right pieces that fit this group. (General manager Troy Weaver) has done a great job of putting this core together. Now we’ve got to add the right pieces.”
The Pistons’ decision to keep Jerami Grant at the trade deadline looks like the right move, observes Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Grant delivered one of his best games of the season Saturday with 40 points in the loss at Cleveland. “I definitely was feeling it, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to get the win,” he said. “It really doesn’t mean anything unless we win.”
Killian Hayes continues to excel in a reserve role and has developed some on-court chemistry with newly-acquired big man Marvin Bagley III, Beard adds in a separate story. “Killian is a great lob passer, so that’s you’re seeing some of his lobs to Marvin going to the rim,” Casey said. “Marvin gives us a different element that we didn’t have before — he’s a lob threat, and he has ability to protect the rim.”