Meyers Leonard Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat To Trade Hassan Whiteside To Blazers

July 1st, 2019 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have reached an agreement on a trade to send center Hassan Whiteside to the Trail Blazers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Portland is giving up Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard in the deal.

[UPDATE: Harkless to be re-routed to Clippers in four-team trade]

In acquiring Whiteside, the Blazers will secure a replacement at the five for Enes Kanter, who looks like a good bet to sign elsewhere. Whiteside figures to start at center for the Trail Blazers while Jusuf Nurkic continues to recover from a leg injury that is expected to sideline him well into the 2019/20 regular season.

Whiteside, 30, saw his role in Miami decline over the last couple years, but continued to put up strong numbers on a per-minute basis. In 72 games in 2018/19, the big man averaged 12.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 1.9 BPG in just 23.3 minutes per contest.

While the Blazers will fortify their center position in the deal, their perimeter defense will take another hit. Having already lost Al-Farouq Aminu in free agency to Orlando, Portland will now part with Harkless as well. Newly-acquired forward Kent Bazemore will be leaned on heavily to help replace that duo.

As for the Heat, they’ll move on from Whiteside, who hadn’t been thrilled about having his minutes cut back during the last two seasons, publicly griping about his role on more than one occasion. Miami won’t have to take back any long-term salary in the deal, as all three players are on expiring contracts, and will save about $4.8MM based on the difference in salaries between Whiteside ($27.1MM) and the combo of Leonard ($11.3MM) and Harkless ($11MM).

Those savings could come in handy, since the Heat will face a hard cap of $138.9MM by acquiring Jimmy Butler via sign-and-trade. Speaking of that Butler trade, cap expert Albert Nahmad notes (via Twitter) that moving Whiteside won’t help solve the salary-matching issue Miami faces in that deal, so at least one more move will be required.

With Whiteside out of the picture, Bam Adebayo projects to take an ever larger role in Miami’s frontcourt.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Blazers Notes: Ownership, Nurkic, Hood, Kanter

May 30th, 2019 at 1:26pm CST by Luke Adams

While there’s a perception in NBA circles that the Trail Blazers‘ ownership situation is unsettled in the wake of Paul Allen‘s death last fall, the team’s head of basketball operations, Neil Olshey, doesn’t subscribe to that notion, as Jason Quick of The Athletic relays.

“Nothing is unsettled. Jody is our owner,” Olshey said during the Blazers’ exit interviews, referring to Paul’s sister Jody Allen. “She has been fantastic in terms of engagement. She has addressed the team when we’ve asked her to. She was really emotional after the OKC series, that was the validation, knowing how much Paul believed in the core of this group and to see it come to fruition.

“Jody stepped up and spoke to the team in a way that resonated with everybody and struck a chord with the players and staff and everyone there that she has our back, she has a vision for the franchise, she believes in the group, she cares about the players, and the magnitude of what she has had to take on,” Olshey continued, per Quick. “At a time when we needed ownership to show solidarity with the front office, the coaching staff, the business division, she was there for us.”

Allen has exhibited that commitment to the franchise since Portland’s season ended earlier this month, having locked up Olshey and head coach Terry Stotts to contract extensions.

Here’s more on the Blazers:

According to Olshey (via Quick), injured Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic is making “great progress” from his broken left leg. While the team hasn’t offered a specific recovery timetable for Nurkic, Quick speculates that the big man could be ready to return to action sometime just before next season’s All-Star break. “Guys can’t believe where he is relative to what they saw only four weeks ago,” Olshey said of Nurkic. “He is a core piece to this roster, a foundational piece going forward, and we are going to drive him. But also knowing we are going to do what’s best for Nurk on a long-term basis in terms of his recovery and his timeline.”
The Blazers aren’t expecting to be able to retain Rodney Hood or Enes Kanter using the taxpayer mid-level exception (projected to be worth about $5.7MM), writes Quick. If the club can shed enough salary to gain access to the full mid-level exception – or Hood and Kanter don’t receive as much interest as anticipated – Hood would likely be the priority over Kanter, in Quick’s view.
Quick doesn’t expect the Blazers’ three big expiring contracts for Evan Turner, Meyers Leonard, and Maurice Harkless to garner a ton of interest on the trade market this offseason, contending that they could become more intriguing trade chips during the season.
Former St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds is set to work out for the Trail Blazers on Friday, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. According to Quick, Portland will likely only hold “three or four” pre-draft workouts since the club has just one pick (No. 25) in this year’s draft.

Western Notes: Morris, Fournier, Kanter, Booker

April 24th, 2019 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics forward Marcus Morris believes Thunder coach Billy Donovan made a big mistake by using his brother Markieff Morris sparingly during their playoff series against Portland, Jay King of The Athletic reports.

Markieff Morris chose to play with Oklahoma City after reaching a buyout with New Orleans, which acquired him from the Wizards at the trade deadline. Markieff played just four minutes in Game 5 and between 13 and 15 minutes in the other games of the series won by the Trail Blazers, 4-1.

“I’m not a coach or anything like that, but I feel like they just didn’t utilize their bench enough. I feel like my brother went over there for no reason,” Marcus said. “He never got an opportunity to play. I thought that he would really help them in the playoffs, but from what I seen he should have went somewhere else just to be able to show that veteran leadership and that experience.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Trail Blazers made an offer for Magic swingman Evan Fournier that Orlando passed on prior to the trade deadline, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets. Portland was willing to ship a roster player and a protected first-rounder for Fournier, who will make $17MM next season and holds a player option on his $17MM salary for the 2020/21 season.
Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter played with a separated left shoulder in Game 5, Kevin Pelton of ESPN reports. Kanter suffered the injury during the opening quarter but managed to play 32 minutes. He received a pain-killing injection at halftime. Kanter averaged 13.2 PPG and 10.2 RPG in the series as the primary replacement for injured Jusuf Nurkic. Portland would have to rely more on Zach Collins and Meyers Leonard in the conference semifinals if Kanter is forced to miss any games.
Suns star guard Devin Booker had no input in the firing of coach Igor Kokoskov, GM James Jones told the Arizona Republic’s Katherine Fitzgerald and other media members. “I speak to Devin, I speak to all of our players, about our organization. But in these instances, this isn’t a decision for Devin to make. This is my decision,” Jones said. That’s curious, since Booker indicated after signing his five-year maximum salary extension that he’d have a say in all major moves going forward. I think it’s a collective agreement. Moving forward, throwing in any advice I can, stay in the loop and watch what’s going on and know what’s going on,” Booker said last month.
The Rockets held a predraft workout on Wednesday that included Mississippi guard Quinndary Weatherspoon, Washington guard Jalyen Nowell and Campbell guard Chris Clemons, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Houston does not currently own a pick in this year’s draft. Nowell is the highest-ranked prospect among the trio, as he’s ranked No. 87 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

Northwest Notes: Carmelo, Westbrook, Leonard

November 8th, 2017 at 9:51pm CST by ChrisCrouse

During the offseason, the Thunder added two forces in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to play alongside reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, but the offense has yet to look explosive. The team is scoring just 102.5 points per game, a figure that ranks 23rd in the league.

George, who can become a free agent at the end of the season, believes the team’s struggles are due to playing too much iso-ball.

“We put pressure on individuals,” George said after the team’s loss to the Kings on Tuesday (via Brett Dawson of the Oklahoman). “When we get stagnant, we put pressure on individuals, and we’re too good of a team one through 14 – especially with that starting five – we’re too good of a team to allow ourselves to put pressure on one another.”

According to Dawson, Anthony ranks second in the league in isolation possessions with 6.6 per contest. Westbrook comes in at 3.2 per game (ranked 19th in the league) and George is at 3.0 (21st).

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Westbrook isn’t concerned about the Thunder’s lack of cohesion on the court, Dawson adds in the same piece. “I’m encouraged by the group of guys we have in that (locker) room,” Westbrook said. “I will be better. I take ownership in how we’re playing. I will be better and we will be better, so I’m not worried.”
Meyers Leonard could return to the court next week, which is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a right lateral ankle sprain, Mike Richman of the Oregonian relays. The Trail Blazers center sustained the injury on October 25 and was expected to miss four-to-six weeks.

Meyers Leonard Out 4-6 Weeks With Ankle Injury

October 27th, 2017 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard, who was in a walking boot in the team’s locker room on Thursday, underwent an MRI on his injured right ankle and got some good news and bad news. According to the Blazers (Twitter link via Casey Holdahl), Leonard avoided major structural damage, but a lateral ankle sprain will keep him sidelined for about four to six weeks.

Leonard suffered the injury on Wednesday, before Blazers practice officially got underway. He was participating in some one-on-one work with Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan when he landed awkwardly, per Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.

“I went to block Zach’s shot and landed on his big old size 19’s,” Leonard said.

Leonard, who is in the second season of a lucrative four-year deal with the Blazers, has been struggling to work his way into the team’s regular rotation this season. Through five games, the 25-year-old center has played just 17 total minutes, appearing in two contests. Ed Davis has handled backup duties at center behind starter Jusuf Nurkic.

The Blazers should get a boost to their frontcourt depth soon, with Noah Vonleh aiming to return to the court next week. Outside of Leonard and Vonleh, both of Portland’s two-way players – Wade Baldwin and C.J. Wilcox – are also sidelined due to injuries.

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Durant, Abrines, Leonard

September 21st, 2017 at 11:22am CST by Luke Adams

Having missed out on free agent forward Dante Cunningham, the Timberwolves remain on the lookout for a couple more veterans to fill out their roster, and Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News suggests (via Twitter) that it’s worth keeping an eye on Aaron Brooks. While Minnesota wants to sign a wing player, the team also continue to seek a backup point guard, and Tom Thibodeau has a history with Brooks, a former Bull.

Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune also identifies Brooks as a potential target for the Timberwolves, suggesting that C.J. Watson and Kirk Hinrich – another player with a Thibodeau connection – may be options as well. As for possible fits at the forward spot, Zgoda indicates that Gerald Green and Thomas Robinson are among the veteran free agents who could be in play for Minnesota.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Appearing at a tech conference in San Francisco this week, Kevin Durant expressed remorse for the tweets sent from his Twitter account earlier this week, calling them “idiotic” and “childish,” as Mark Medina of The Bay Area News Group details. The messages, in which Durant was critical of his former Thunder teammates and head coach Billy Donovan, drew a response from Enes Kanter. According to Andrew Joseph of USA Today, Kanter said he wasn’t mad about the tweets, but said it was “really sad” to see Durant express those views about an organization that “gave everything to him.”
After injuring his knee this summer, Alex Abrines is pain-free and feels like he can do “everything” on the court, but he’s still waiting to receive full clearance from the Thunder, as Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman details.
After signing a lucrative new four-year deal with the Trail Blazers last summer, Meyers Leonard had a disappointing 2016/17 season, but there’s reason to believe better things are in store for Leonard going forward, writes Jason Quick of CSNNW.com.

Trade Notes: Carmelo, Blazers, Celtics, Drummond

July 18th, 2017 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks put Carmelo Anthony trade talks on hold last week, but that decision is likely temporary, according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical, who suggests that the team wanted to get new general manager Scott Perry involved in the process. The Knicks reportedly hope that Anthony will be willing to expand his list of preferred destinations beyond Houston and Cleveland, but there has been no indication yet that the star forward is open to going to a team like the Trail Blazers, despite alleged interest from Portland.

According to Mannix, the Trail Blazers have been involved in Anthony talks, but have primarily been acting as a third-team facilitator in discussions so far. Per Mannix’s report, an inability to find a fourth team willing to take on Meyers Leonard‘s contract stalled “at least one version” of the proposed deal.

Anthony’s preferred destination is believed to be Houston, and given his no-trade clause, the fact that Carmelo is willing to accept such a deal is a good start for the Rockets. However, GM Daryl Morey will still have to get the Knicks and potentially one or two other teams on board in order to land Anthony, which is why the situation remains in a holding pattern for now.

Here are a few more trade rumors and notes from around the NBA:

Within the Vertical piece linked above, Chris Mannix notes that it’s “widely believed” the Celtics will make a run at Anthony Davis if the Pelicans‘ season goes south. New Orleans has been vehemently opposed to considering Davis deals, and while it’s possible that will change if the team struggles this season, DeMarcus Cousins would almost certainly land on the trading block first.
According to Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post, many teams around the NBA sensed this offseason that Pistons coach and president Stan Van Gundy was dissatisfied with center Andre Drummond. Detroit took calls on Drummond, but team owner Tom Gores is a big fan of the 23-year-old, and the Pistons didn’t receive any offers strong enough to merit a serious conversation about the big man’s future, per Bontemps.
Appearing on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Jimmy Butler confirmed that he left a June exit meeting with Bulls brass believing that he’d remain in Chicago. “I thought I was going to be there so I’m not going to say word for word what they said, but when I left there I did think I was going to be there,” Butler said, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “But like I said, it’s a business and it is what it is.”

Knicks, Nets Have Inquired On Blazers’ Picks

June 1st, 2017 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers are reportedly open to discussing their three first-round picks in trades that would allow them to move salary, and it appears they’ve received interest from a pair of New York clubs. According to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, the Knicks and Nets have inquired about Portland’s first-round picks.

As Deveney details, talks between the Blazers and Knicks are “ongoing,” with New York having asked about some combination of the 15th, 20th, and 26th overall selections. While it’s possible the Knicks could move down from No. 8, it’s more likely that they’d want to pick up a second first-rounder to add to that lottery selection. We heard earlier this month that the Knicks had discussed the possibility of acquiring a second first-round pick in a trade.

Meanwhile, the Nets have also inquired about Portland’s picks, and could be an intriguing trade partner. Allen Crabbe, who has a $19.33MM cap hit for 2017/18, is one potential trade candidate for the Blazers as they look to clear salary, and it was Brooklyn that signed Crabbe to that pricey four-year offer sheet last summer. If the Nets still have interest in Crabbe and are willing to take on his substantial contract and trade kicker, there could be a match there. In that scenario, the two teams would have to wait until after the one-year anniversary of Crabbe’s 2016 signing, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post noted when he explored the subject.

The Blazers currently have more than $133MM in guaranteed salary on their books for 2017/18, and that number would rise further if they use their draft picks and sign those players, which is why the team is open to moving a pick or two to clear some salary and perhaps get out of tax territory. As I noted on Wednesday, Crabbe, Evan Turner ($17.13MM), and Meyers Leonard ($9.9MM) are among the candidates for a salary dump. Maurice Harkless ($9.66MM) could also be on the block, though he’d have a little more value.

Stein’s Latest: Rockets, Cavaliers, Blazers, Pistons

January 13th, 2017 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

ESPN.com’s Marc Stein takes a swing at picking the All-Star starters from each conference and passes along some trade rumors in his latest column. He lists four teams that could be active with the deadline less than six weeks away:

The Rockets‘ hopes of acquiring Mike Dunleavy Jr. fell through this week when the Hawks committed to keeping him, but Houston is still looking for another shooter. GM Daryl Morey tried to get involved when Atlanta was searching for a third team in its deal with Cleveland, and he had interest in acquiring Dunleavy when it looked like he might not report to the Hawks. Sources tell Stein that K.J. McDaniels has surpassed Corey Brewer as the Rocket most likely to be traded. McDaniels has one season left on his current deal at more than $3.3MM, while Brewer is signed for one more more season at $7.6MM.
The Cavaliers have $4.4MM left from their Anderson Varejao trade exception, which will expire February 20th. That means a trade for a backup point guard may be just as likely as a veteran free agent signing such as Mario Chalmers, Jarrett Jack or Norris Cole.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has moved ahead of Reggie Jackson on the list of untouchable Pistons in possible trades. Caldwell-Pope is now atop that list alongside Andre Drummond. Detroit is well below .500 since Jackson returned from tendinitis in his left knee in early December. Jackson, whose 5.5 assists per game are the lowest during his time in Detroit, still has three seasons and more than $51MM left on his current deal.
Three Trail Blazers who signed huge offseason deals will become eligible to be traded on Sunday. Keep an eye on whether Portland tries to unload some of the salary it committed to Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard.

Blazers Rumors: Stotts, Ezeli, McCollum, Turner

January 4th, 2017 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers are just a single game out of the playoffs in the Western Conference, but with a 15-21 record, it has been an extremely disappointing season so far in Portland. Still, the organization isn’t panicking at this point, as there’s a belief that the team will work its way back into the postseason picture, writes Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. According to Haynes, Terry Stotts‘ job as the team’s head coach isn’t currently in jeopardy.

In a lengthy and interesting piece, Haynes provides several other notable Blazers-related tidbits, so let’s round up some of the highlights…

The Blazers went into free agency aiming to retain their own key free agents, as well as adding another ball-handler and a rim-protecting big man. The club targeted players like Hassan Whiteside, Joakim Noah, and Dwight Howard, but came up short. According to Haynes, Portland was ready to renounce a player – perhaps Meyers Leonard – in order to free up cap room to sign Pau Gasol, but the free agent center opted to sign with San Antonio instead.
Ultimately, the Blazers landed Festus Ezeli on a two-year, $15MM deal, but Ezeli may end up not playing a single game for the team, as he’s expected to undergo season-ending surgery. According to Haynes, Ezeli gave a “stern” locker-room speech after a tough loss last month — when the big man launched into a similar speech a couple games later, he was cut short by C.J. McCollum. As Haynes puts it, “being lectured by someone who wasn’t even playing wasn’t received favorably” by other Blazers players.
Potential trade targets like DeMarcus Cousins and Nerlens Noel aren’t currently on the Blazers’ radar, sources tell Haynes. Cousins likely isn’t available anyway, and Noel is eligible for restricted free agency, so Portland may be turned off by his contract situation.
The Blazers are open to making a trade, but don’t feel obligated to make a move. According to Haynes, the team isn’t looking to trade McCollum or Evan Turner.
Team owner Paul Allen was insistent on retaining Portland’s own assets during the offseason, and as such, the team “never thought twice” about matching Allen Crabbe‘s offer sheet from the Nets, per Haynes.
Be sure to check out Haynes’ full piece for more on the Blazers.