Moses Brown Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Diallo, McGruder, Bagley, LeVert, Brown

March 10th, 2022 at 7:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons won in Boston just before the All-Star break but they’ll be shorthanded when they visit for the second time on Friday. The team has ruled out starting center Isaiah Stewart and key reserves Killian Hayes, Hamidou Diallo, Rodney McGruder and Frank Jackson due to an assortment of injuries, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press tweets. Diallo (finger sprain) and McGruder (hamstring strain) were injured during the loss to the Bulls on Wednesday.

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Marvin Bagley III‘s athleticism has given the Pistons a new dimension, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. Bagley, who will enter either restricted or unrestricted free agency this summer, provides a major lob threat that the team was sorely lacking. “We’re really happy with the way he’s playing, the way he’s fitting in, and he’s creating a lot of options offensively, and defensively, he’s giving us another rebounder,” coach Dwane Casey said.
Caris LeVert won’t play against Miami on Friday but he’s making some progress from the right foot sprain he suffered last month. He went through a portion of the Cavaliers’ practice in Miami on Thursday and took some shots on the court afterward, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.
Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes Moses Brown can help the team with his interior presence, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic tweets. Brown was signed to a 10-day contract on Thursday. “He’s long. He’s rangy. He has good athleticism,” Bickerstaff said. “He knows how to patrol the paint at both ends of the floor. Really good rim roller and lob threat, so he’s a similar build to what we have and what we value.”

Cavaliers Sign Moses Brown To 10-Day Deal

March 10th, 2022 at 11:10am CST by Rory Maher

MARCH 10: Cleveland has officially signed Brown, the team announced in a press release.

MARCH 9: The Cavaliers are signing Moses Brown to a 10-day deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The young center played for the Mavericks this season but was waived as part of the two-for-one trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

Brown, 22, had his $1,701,593 salary guaranteed for 2021/22 ahead of the January 10 deadline despite playing a very limited role for Dallas. He appeared in 26 games for the Mavs, averaging a modest 6.5 MPG. He was productive last season for the Thunder, averaging 8.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG and 1.1 BPG in 43 games (21.4 MPG).

Brown has shown he’s a strong rebounder, but possesses very limited ball skills and is often slow to rotate defensively. He’s definitely a raw, unfinished product at this stage of his career, but he’s flashed some upside and could develop with time.

It’s basically a no-risk flier on an intriguing 7’2″ prospect for the Cavs, who will be without All-Star center Jarrett Allen for an indefinite period after he suffered a fractured finger on Sunday. I’m skeptical that Brown will actually crack Cleveland’s rotation once the signing becomes official, given that the team is trying to make the playoffs for the first time in four seasons

Coach J.B. Bickerstaff has relied on Dean Wade, Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens when the team has dealt with frontcourt injuries this season, with occasional spot minutes to veteran Ed Davis. However, the Cavs have an open roster spot and if Brown impresses during his 10 days, they could sign him for the remainder of the season as injury insurance if Allen is out for an extended period.

Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the Brown will meet the team in Miami and the plan is for him to be available for Friday’s contest against the Heat.

Mavericks Trade Kristaps Porzingis To Wizards

February 10th, 2022 at 9:29pm CST by Luke Adams

9:29pm: The trade is official, according to a Wizards press release. Dallas also confirmed the deal in a press release, announcing that they’ve waived Brown.

The second-rounder going to Washington is a protected 2022 pick, the teams announced. It’ll have to be the Mavs’ own second-rounder, since they hadn’t previously acquired any others.

“Kristaps is an All-Star player whose unique talents will fit well within our system and allow him to impact the game for us in multiple ways,” Wizards president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard said in a statement. “He will get a fresh start with our team and provide us with the opportunity to play multiple lineups that feature size, versatility and shooting ability.”

1:38pm: The Mavericks and Wizards have agreed to a major trade, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Marc Stein (Twitter links).

Big man Kristaps Porzingis is headed to Washington in the deal, per Stein, while Dallas will receive point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, according to Charania. Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that the Mavs are also acquiring sharpshooter Davis Bertans, while Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN says (via Twitter) that the Wizards are getting a second-round pick.

The Mavs will release big man Moses Brown to complete the trade, tweets MacMahon.

According to Stein (via Twitter), the Mavs spent much of the day on Thursday trying to find a home for Porzingis, who was previously linked to the Raptors. Dallas gave up a significant package in 2019 to acquire Porzingis from the Knicks, but he has continued to battle health problems in the years since then and hasn’t developed into the star running mate for Luka Doncic that the Mavs envisioned. He is also owed nearly $70MM for the two years beyond this season.

This season, Porzingis has averaged 19.2 PPG and 7.7 RPG while playing improved defense, but his three-point rate dipped to a career-worst 28.3% and he has only been healthy for 34 of 55 games. Dallas has a 13-8 record in the games he has missed.

The Wizards, who are retooling their roster around Bradley Beal, will roll the dice on Porzingis, hoping he has more success in D.C. than he did in Dallas. They’ll give up Dinwiddie and Bertans, two players who struggled badly this season in the midst of pricey multiyear deals.

Dinwiddie, 28, signed a three-year contract with the Wizards in the offseason, but has shot just 37.6% from the floor in his first season back from ACL surgery. As Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets, Dinwiddie never seemed comfortable in Washington’s offense without the ball in his hands, which happened a lot when he played alongside Beal.

Bertans, meanwhile, is in the second season of a five-year, $80MM contract, but has seen his three-point shooting fall off a cliff in 2021/22. A career 40.7% three-point shooter entering the season, the 29-year-old forward has made just 31.9% of his attempts from beyond the arc this year.

The Mavericks will be hoping that both players, who have had plenty of success in the past can bounce back in Dallas. Dinwiddie will give the team another ball-handler when Doncic and/or Jalen Brunson aren’t on the court, while Bertans will provide another floor-spacer to give Doncic more room to operate.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Dinwiddie will give the Mavs’ some insurance in case they’re unable to re-sign Brunson in unrestricted free agency this summer. However, sources tell MacMahon (Twitter link) that Dallas remains confident about its ability to retain Brunson beyond this season.

Cavs’ Stevens, Mavs’ Brown To Have Salaries Guaranteed

January 7th, 2022 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

Second-year forward Lamar Stevens will have his full-season salary guaranteed by the Cavaliers, sources tell our JD Shaw (Twitter link).

Players without fully guaranteed salaries will have their contracts for 2021/22 become guaranteed on January 10. However, today is decision day for their teams, since they must clear waivers before January 10 in order to avoid having their salaries become guaranteed. So Cleveland has decided not to waive Stevens today, ensuring he’ll receive his full $1,517,981 salary.

A former Penn State forward, Stevens signed with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent during the 2020 offseason. He had his two-way contract turned into a standard multiyear deal in April and is still on that same deal, which runs through 2023/24. It includes a non-guaranteed minimum salary in ’22/23 and a minimum-salary team option in ’23/24.

Stevens’ per-game averages this season – including 3.8 PPG and 2.0 RPG – are relatively modest, but he hasn’t played big minutes (12.8 MPG in 24 games). The 24-year-old a solid defender who is knocking down three-pointers at a higher rate this season (32.3%) than he did as a rookie (4-for-25) and is seeing more action lately with forwards Isaac Okoro and Cedi Osman sidelined.

Meanwhile, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), the Mavericks have decided to hang onto big man Moses Brown, another player whose salary isn’t fully guaranteed. The decision will lock in Brown’s $1,701,593 cap hit for the season.

Brown has played a very limited role in Dallas so far this season, averaging just 6.7 minutes per contest in 22 games. However, he has put up solid numbers on a per-minute basis, and apparently has showed the Mavs enough to warrant keeping his spot on the 15-man roster.

Southwest Notes: M. Brown, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Wall

November 29th, 2021 at 3:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks fans have been clamoring for Moses Brown to get a longer look at center, but head coach Jason Kidd appears in no rush to insert the 22-year-old into the rotation, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.

Dwight Powell and Willie Cauley-Stein remain ahead of Brown on the depth chart, Boban Marjanovic is still in the mix, and Kidd also sounds interested in experimenting more with Maxi Kleber in the starting lineup, shifting Kristaps Porzingis to the five. As a result, the Mavericks’ head coach isn’t making any promises to the fans who want to see more of Brown.

“He could get a chance,” Kidd said, per Townsend. “I think for fans, or for anybody, if they look at our roster we have quite a few centers. So there’s a committee of centers. And at some point, maybe he [Brown] has an opportunity to play.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a look at what’s next for the Grizzlies with Ja Morant sidelined due to a sprained knee. Morant has the league’s third-highest usage rate among point guards, so Memphis will try to replace him using a committee, with Tyus Jones, Desmond Bane, De’Anthony Melton, and Kyle Anderson all taking on added ball-handling responsibilities.
Jaxson Hayes opened the season as the Pelicans‘ primary backup center, but Willy Hernangomez has taken over that role in New Orleans’ last four games. Scott Kushner of NOLA.com writes that Hayes was handed his minutes, while Hernangomez – who re-signed with the team over the summer – has fought to earn his.
John Hollinger of The Athletic is confused about why John Wall and the Rockets are at an impasse over whether or not he starts. Hollinger thinks Houston should be open to putting Wall in the starting lineup, where he could make life easier for Jalen Green, but also believes Wall shouldn’t be too hung up on starting, since potential suitors aren’t going to view him any differently if he’s coming off the bench.

Western Notes: Jones, Lakers, House, M. Brown, Mavs

September 4th, 2021 at 11:26am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers were interested earlier in the summer in big man Damian Jones before the Kings chose to guarantee his salary, according to Marc Stein of Substack. Jones had his $1.98MM salary guaranteed last month despite a glut of centers on Sacramento’s roster. Jones played eight games for the Lakers last season. Los Angeles is expected to sign DeAndre Jordan once he’s bought out by the Pistons and clears waivers.

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Danuel House is likely to be dealt during the upcoming season, Rahat Huq of the Houston Chronicle opines. House has an expiring $3.98MM contract and doesn’t have a future on the rebuilding Rockets. He appeared in just 36 games last season but might bring back a late first-rounder from a contender seeking depth at the wing, Huq adds.
Moses Brown is working closely with longtime NBA center Tyson Chandler to improve his game, Dwain Price of Mavs.com writes. Brown was traded twice this offseason and was forwarded by Boston to the Mavericks in the Josh Richardson deal. “He’s been helping Moses a little bit in the gym just to kind of help him get a feel for things,” Al Whitley, GM of the G League Texas Legends, said of Chandler. “So to have a guy like Tyson Chandler as a mentor – someone who is a championship player, who brings what Tyson brought to the court, his intensity, toughness, all those types of things – that’s now being shared with Moses.”
Free agents Lance Stephenson and Isaiah Thomas left positive impressions during the workouts with the Mavericks, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. Dallas is seeking more backcourt depth and both veterans guards are looking to revive their NBA careers.

Celtics Rumors: Richardson Trade, Fournier, Thompson, Parker

July 31st, 2021 at 1:39pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Celtics may have been quiet on draft night, but they’re making noise now. After agreeing to trade Tristan Thompson for the Hawks’ Kris Dunn and Bruno Fernando and sending Moses Brown to the Mavericks for Josh Richardson, the Celtics have given themselves some extra flexibility from both a financial and roster perspective, writes The Athletic’s Jared Weiss.

Evan Fournier‘s market seems to be in the range of $12-$20MM per year, according to Weiss, who points out that dealing for Richardson affords the Celtics the option of walking away if the bidding war gets too rich for them. It sounds like that’s a very realistic possibility, as Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald hears from a source that Boston is unwilling to meet Fournier’s asking price of $80MM over four years.

“It’s not looking good,” Murphy’s source said of the Celtics’ negotiations with Fournier.

Meanwhile, there’s no guarantee that the Celtics will hang onto Dunn, according to Weiss, who says the former lottery pick could be flipped again. Weiss suggests that two viable options for dealing Dunn could be to the Cavaliers – along with one of the Celtics’ young players – in a deal for Larry Nance Jr., or to the Pelicans – with Marcus Smart – in a Lonzo Ball sign-and-trade.

We have more rumors on the Celtics:

According to Weiss, while Thompson was beloved by teammates, he butted heads with the coaching staff and the organization throughout the year and was widely expected to be moved this offseason.
In the same piece, Weiss cites The Athletic’s Danny Leroux, who explains that the Celtics now project to be about $4.36MM below the tax line if Jabari Parker (who has a non-guaranteed contract) is waived.
The Celtics wanted to send more guaranteed money to the Mavericks in the Josh Richardson deal, but Dallas initially didn’t want to take any money back, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Moses Brown was the compromise found, given the low guarantee on his deal ($500K).
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets that the Celtics’ front office, especially Brad Stevens, has long been a fan of Richardson, who will be looking to get back on track in Boston after a down year in Dallas.

Mavs Trade Josh Richardson To Celtics

July 31st, 2021 at 12:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 31: The Celtics will send Moses Brown – recently acquired from Oklahoma City – to Dallas in the deal for Richardson, tweets Charania. A simple one-for-one swap, the trade is now official, according to an announcement from the Mavs.

JULY 30: The Mavericks are finalizing a trade that would send swingman Josh Richardson to the Celtics, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Richardson will exercise his $11.6MM option in order to make the deal happen, Charania adds.

The Celtics are using a $11.05MM trade exception acquire in the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade last year in order to make the deal, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Richardson made $10.86MM this past season, so Boston will finalize the deal on Saturday before the league calendar flips. The Mavericks will generate a trade exception worth the same amount.

Dallas could have up to $34MM in cap room entering free agency, though creating that much space would require renouncing Tim Hardaway Jr.‘s cap hold, Marks adds.

Richardson averaged 12.1 PPG and 2.6 APG in 59 regular-season games with Dallas this past season, including 56 starts. He’s a career 35.8% 3-point shooter and 83.2% free throw shooter with the reputation of being a quality perimeter defender.

The Celtics also agreed to a three-way deal on Friday in which they shipped big man Tristan Thompson to the Kings and acquired guard Kris Dunn from the Hawks. However, Dunn could be moved as part of another trade, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Celtics Trade Kemba Walker To Thunder

June 18th, 2021 at 11:20am CST by Arthur Hill

11:20am: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Thunder and Celtics.

The second-round pick the Thunder will receive in 2025 will be the most favorable of the Celtics’ and Grizzlies’ picks, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman tweets.

The second-rounder that Boston will get in 2023 will be the least favorable of the following three picks that OKC controls:

The Thunder’s own second-rounder.
The Wizards’ second-rounder.
The most favorable of the Mavericks’ and Heat’s second-rounders.

Boston agreed to give Brown a $500K guarantee for next season as part of the deal, according to Marks (Twitter link). The Celtics also generated a $6.88MM trade exception.

8:20am: The Celtics will send point guard Kemba Walker and a pair of draft picks to the Thunder in exchange for Al Horford, Moses Brown, and a future pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Boston has been looking for a taker for the veteran guard, who has been injured for much of the two years he spent with the team. A recent report said former president of basketball operations Danny Ainge started shopping Walker after the Celtics were knocked out of the playoffs last summer.

The main incentive for Boston was to get rid of Walker’s contract, which pays him close to $74MM over the next two seasons. He was considered an important addition when he signed a free agent deal with the Celtics two years ago, but a lingering knee injury limited his effectiveness. The 31-year-old missed 29 games this season and averaged 19.3 PPG, his worst scoring numbers in six years, while shooting just 42% from the field.

Walker’s contract includes a 15% trade bonus that will be voided, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). He would have received an additional $3.2MM if the trade had occurred after the league’s new calendar year starts on August 6.

The Thunder will receive the Celtics’ first-round pick this year, which is slotted at No. 16, along with a second-rounder in 2025. Boston will get OKC’s second-round selection in 2023. The Thunder now have three first-round picks in this year’s draft and five of the top 36 choices.

Horford returns to the Celtics two years after leaving for the Sixers in free agency. He spent one year in Philadelphia before being traded to Oklahoma City last December in a cost-cutting move. Horford never found a role on the rebuilding Thunder and played just 28 games before being shut down in late March after the trade deadline passed.

The 35-year-old big man was still effective when he played, averaging 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per night, and should be a welcome addition to the Celtics’ frontcourt. He will make $27MM next season and $26.5MM in 2022/23, but only $14.5MM of that year’s salary is guaranteed. Boston will save about $20MM for next season with the trade, Marks adds, and that figure could rise to $32MM for 2022/23 if Horford is waived before the season starts (Twitter link).

Brown, a 21-year-old center, showed a lot of promise in his second NBA season, starting 32 of the 43 games he played and averaging 8.6 PPG and 8.9 RPG per night. He is under contract through 2023/24, but no money is guaranteed beyond this season.

Today’s trade marks the first major deal for former coach Brad Stevens since he became the Celtics’ president of basketball operations two weeks ago. Wojnarowski notes that it involves Thunder general manager Sam Presti, who has been a friend of Stevens dating back to when he coached at Butler (Twitter link). Woj adds that it’s unusual for trades to take place before the pre-draft combine, but both sides were happy with what they got.

Northwest Notes: Porter, Brown, Jerome, Russell

April 4th, 2021 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has become a much different player in his second NBA season, writes Kyle Fredrickson of The Denver Post. A year ago, there were concerns about Porter’s effort, especially on defense, as well as his tendency to rely too much on the three-point shot. But now his game is flourishing and he has won the full trust of the coaching staff. The concerns about his back that made him available with the 14th pick in the 2018 draft appear to be gone as well.

“(Porter) is getting so much more comfortable,” Nuggets guard Will Barton said. “He knows that he’s going to play and he knows that we count on him. You’ve seen him grow on the other side of the ball. It’s a nice thing to see, especially for a guy with his talent. When he’s stepping up and playing defense, it’s only going to open up his game more and open up our team’s game. He’s just becoming a heck of a player. You can just see his IQ growing with each game and each possession. It’s a pleasure to see, man. I’m very excited for him and his future.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Moses Brown has been one of this season’s most pleasant surprises, writes Nick Gallo of OKCThunder.com. After earning First Team and All-Defensive Team honors in the G League, the 21-year-old center has continued that level of play with the Thunder, averaging 11.5 points and 11.8 rebounds since being added to the rotation after the All-Star break. “I’m just a player that plays hard and does everything that is asked of me to do. I’m very into the game,” Brown said. “This is what I love to do. I can’t really see myself doing anything else. Not saying that I can’t, but I just don’t want to.”
Teams are starting to notice how dangerous Thunder guard Ty Jerome is as a three-point shooter, states Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Jerome has been limited to 16 games after suffering a high ankle sprain in the preseason, but he’s shooting 42.5% from beyond the arc.
The Timberwolves haven’t set a timetable for D’Angelo Russell to return from knee surgery, but there are indications it might happen this week, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Russell underwent an arthroscopic procedure in mid-February and was projected to miss four to six weeks. Minnesota may need him to replace Malik Beasley, who strained a hamstring Friday night. “It’s more minor than it is significant,” coach Chris Finch said, “but these things are tricky with hamstrings.”