Myles Turner Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Notes: Turner, Nesmith, Mathurin, Haliburton

July 15th, 2022 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Even though they didn’t get Deandre Ayton, the Pacers‘ decision to submit an offer sheet to the free agent center indicates that Myles Turner is probably on the way out, writes James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star.

Turner, 26, was the subject of trade rumors before this year’s deadline, but Indiana decided to keep him and move Domantas Sabonis instead. Turner wound up missing the final 39 games of the season with a stress reaction in his left foot, which could affect his trade value, but Boyd believes there’s still a market for him.

Turner has a $17.5MM expiring contract for next season, and Boyd expects the Pacers to pursue trades for other players with expiring deals to preserve their 2023 cap space. Indiana opened up additional room by waiving four players on Thursday before submitting the offer sheet to Ayton.

There’s more from Indiana:

Aaron Nesmith didn’t get the playing time he was hoping for in Boston after being selected in the 2020 lottery, but he’s hoping for a fresh start with the Pacers, Boyd states in a separate story. Nesmith, who was part of the return for Malcolm Brogdon, said his time with the Celtics was still a valuable experience. “I learned what it takes to win in this league,” he said. “Being able to be a part of a Finals run, make it to the playoffs both of my years, get some playoff experience. So hopefully I can bring that over here to Indiana and kind of show the other young guys what it takes to win and that nothing’s gonna be given to you.”
The Pacers will shut down first-round pick Bennedict Mathurin for the rest of Summer League, citing “precautionary reasons,” Boyd adds in another piece. Mathurin played well in his first three games, averaging 19.3 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 48.8% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range. Isaiah Jackson and Terry Taylor will also be sidelined for the team’s final two games.
In an interview with NBA TV, coach Rick Carlisle raved about the trade that brought Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana in February, according to Boyd. “Haliburton, yeah, that changed everything for this franchise,” Carlisle said. “Now you got free agents that want to come play for the Pacers because they want to come play with Tyrese Haliburton and that’s a huge deal.”

Lakers Rumors: Irving, Hield, Gordon, Turner, LeBron

July 9th, 2022 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers continue to focus on Kyrie Irving, but it’s unlikely that the Nets will give him up without at least one first-round pick in return, Marc Stein writes in his latest column for Substack. Irving was in L.A. this week to watch the WNBA’s Sparks, which Stein characterizes as making “his current presence in Los Angeles loudly known.”

Although Irving would clearly like to reunite with former teammate LeBron James, Stein says the Lakers aren’t making any promises behind the scenes. General manager Rob Pelinka said in a TV interview Friday that he’s still working to upgrade the roster, but league rules prevent him from speaking specifically about a possible deal for Irving.

The Lakers’ concerns about overspending could be a major obstacle to getting a trade done, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated explained on Ryen Rusillo’s podcast (hat tip to Eric Eulau of SI’s Lakers page). Although they’re among the highest-valued teams in the NBA, Mannix calls the Lakers “a mom-and-pop organization masquerading as a multi-billion dollar franchise” and says they’re reluctant to assume all the costs that would be necessary to convince Brooklyn to make a deal.

“There’s not a huge appetite in L.A. at this point to take on all the money they’re going to have to take on to be a deeper-into-the-luxury-tax team and fork over a first-round pick in return,” Mannix said. “As long as that is the asking price, the Lakers are not going to get their hands on Kyrie Irving.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

Pelinka’s next priority will be to find more shooters, Stein adds in the same piece. The Lakers have been linked to the Pacers‘ Buddy Hield and the Rockets‘ Eric Gordon, who were both clients of Pelinka when he was an agent.
A source tells Stein that L.A. probably doesn’t have enough assets to get both Hield and Myles Turner from Indiana. Reports have described them as “prime targets” if the Lakers can’t put together a deal for Irving.
Pelinka’s willingness to meet Brooklyn’s price for Irving could be influenced by James’ upcoming extension date, Stein adds. Starting August 4, James will be eligible to sign a two-year extension worth about $100MM, and Stein suggests that Pelinka might want to have a major deal in place by then to ensure that his star player is happy.

Lakers Notes: Ham, James, Westbrook, Pippen Jr., Pacers, Davis

July 9th, 2022 at 9:25am CST by Dana Gauruder

New Lakers coach Darvin Ham declared his “love’ for the current roster during halftime of the team’s 104-84 summer league loss to the Suns, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes. Rumors persist that Kyrie Irving‘s most likely destination if he’s traded is Los Angeles.

“We love everyone on our roster,” Ham said. “And until you’re not on our roster, you’re ours and we’re going to try to get better with the group that we have. That’s just the bottom line of it. I don’t know a player that’s come through this league in my 26 years that hasn’t had their name part of a trade rumor a time or two.”

We have more on the Lakers:

Russell Westbrook offered some ball-handling advice to rookie Scotty Pippen Jr., who signed a two-way contract . Pippen had a team-high 19 points but also five turnovers. “He gave me some pointers and I ended up using them,” Pippen said.
Westbrook and LeBron James didn’t exactly act like bosom buddies while watching the game, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register notes. They sat in opposite corners of the Thomas & Mack Center and made no public acknowledgment of one another before Westbrook left the exhibition at halftime.
GM Rob Pelinka foreshadowed at least one big move to come while speaking on the NBA TV broadcast, Goon relays. “We’re not done,” Pelinka said. “We still have more work to do.” The Lakers have an open roster spot.
The Lakers tried in vain to engineer a multi-player trade with the Pacers, McMenamin said on ESPN (video link). McMenamin said “those talks basically went nowhere” because the Lakers’ offer wasn’t strong enough. McMenamin didn’t elaborate on what players were discussed, though it’s fair to speculate they might have either been targeting Myles Turner or Buddy Hield, who nearly got dealt to the Lakers last offseason.
In a wide ranging interview with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, Ham hinted that Anthony Davis is the key to the team’s success. “With AD, I would say he’s the biggest factor,” Ham said. “I’m looking forward to him having a huge year this year. I know the way we’re going to play is going to benefit him. The way I’m going to take care of him, make sure we take care of him, it’s going to benefit him.”

Fischer’s Latest: Ayton, Durant, S. Barnes, Kyrie

July 6th, 2022 at 10:16am CST by Luke Adams

Deandre Ayton appears to have been the free agent most directly affected by the ongoing Kevin Durant sweepstakes, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

As Fischer outlines, Ayton’s restricted free agency has been stalled in part because he could theoretically be an outgoing piece in a Suns deal for Durant and also because teams with interest in both players – including Toronto – won’t want to give up assets in a sign-and-trade for Ayton before seeing what happens with Durant.

According to Fischer, the Pacers and Raptors have been the teams most frequently linked to Ayton, with the Jazz described as a less likely destination for the young center. The Pacers and Spurs are the only teams that have the cap flexibility necessary to realistically extend an offer sheet to Ayton. It’s unclear whether he’d rather try to pursue a deal with one of them or wait for a possible sign-and-trade opportunity to a team closer to contention, Fischer says.

One hypothetical scenario is a multi-team trade that sends Durant to Phoenix; Ayton to Indiana in a sign-and-trade; and Myles Turner, multiple Suns wings, and draft capital to Brooklyn. However, Fischer hears from sources that such a package is unlikely to meet the Nets’ high asking price for Durant.

Here’s more from Fischer:

League personnel have begun to discuss the possibility of the Nets simply hanging onto Durant and Kyrie Irving into the regular season, according to Fischer. “Rudy Gobert getting traded for an arm, a leg and two mountains is helping their cause. There’s no way the Nets will ever trade Kevin Durant for anything less than what Rudy Gobert got Utah,” a Western Conference executive told Fischer. “If nothing comes, I can see them saying (to the players), ‘We just all have to come back.’ If I’m them, I just try to string this out as long as possible.”
As has been previously reported, there’s skepticism that the Suns will be able to build a package that appeals to the Nets without getting at least one more team involved. “Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and five picks still isn’t enough to me for KD,” one GM said to Bleacher Report.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation tell Fischer that the Raptors remain unwilling to part with Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.
Fischer’s league sources “strongly discounted” the idea that either the Mavericks or Sixers is a serious suitor for Irving. The Lakers remain Brooklyn’s most obvious trade partner for Kyrie, but there’s a sense that they may need to involve a third team to meet the Nets‘ asking price — a package of Russell Westbrook and draft assets wouldn’t maximize Brooklyn’s chances of contending in the short term, Fischer explains.

Wolves Notes: Gobert, Towns, Durant, Murray

July 3rd, 2022 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Timberwolves were encouraged by last season’s success, there was an “overwhelming feeling internally” that the team would hit a wall before becoming a legitimate title contender if it didn’t make at least one more major upgrade, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

That line of thought was the motivation behind the team’s blockbuster trade agreement for three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. As Krawczynski explains, the front office had a hard time identifying another player around the NBA who could address so many of the club’s weaknesses and would be available for the package Minnesota was willing to offer.

The Timberwolves anticipate Gobert will make life easier for his new teammates, allowing them to take more gambles on defense and giving D’Angelo Russell a pick-and-roll partner who sets good screens and can be a lob threat.

The Wolves also believe they can make Gobert’s life easier — Minnesota has stronger perimeter defenders (Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Taurean Prince) than Utah did, and Karl-Anthony Towns‘ ability to make outside shots will complement Gobert’s inside game, Krawczynski notes.

Here’s more on the Wolves and their roster shake-up:

Sources tell Krawczynski that Gobert has expressed excitement about playing with the Timberwolves and that Towns was especially supportive of the move.
According to Krawczynski, Wolves sources were pessimistic throughout the process that an agreement would actually be reached, and a deal looked to be “in peril” as of Friday morning. Minnesota was prepared to shift its focus to other targets like Myles Turner or Clint Capela before the Gobert talks gained traction again later on Friday when Utah agreed to do a deal without McDaniels included.
Before striking a deal for Gobert, the Wolves made “several calls” to the Nets about Kevin Durant, sources tell Krawczynski. However, Minnesota was unwilling to give up Edwards or Towns for Durant, so those talks didn’t go far.
The Timberwolves were also in the mix for Dejounte Murray and could have outbid the Hawks for him, but the fact that they didn’t shows that they valued Gobert more, observes Krawczynski.
Chris Hine of The Star Tribune takes a closer look at the impact the acquisition of Gobert will have on the Wolves both offensively and defensively, as well as from a salary cap perspective.

Northwest Rumors: Wolves, Gobert, Murray, Beasley, Brown, Micic

July 1st, 2022 at 12:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thursday’s agreement with Kyle Anderson will give the Timberwolves 15 players under contract, but they’re not done with offseason moves, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Minnesota remains in the market for another big man and has talked to the Jazz about Rudy Gobert, sources tell Krawczynski.

Although the Wolves used a first-round pick on Auburn’s Walker Kessler, they want to add a veteran center so there’s not too much pressure on Kessler to produce right away. They were interested in free agents JaVale McGee and Isaiah Hartenstein, but they both reached deals with other teams Thursday night.

Minnesota’s talks with Utah about Gobert began before the draft, but the Jazz are asking a lot in return for their perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate. If the Wolves can’t work out a trade for Gobert, Krawczynski cites the Pacers‘ Myles Turner and the Hawks‘ Clint Capela as other options, although he adds that Minnesota’s talks with Atlanta haven’t gotten very far.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Timberwolves talked to the Spurs about Dejounte Murray but weren’t willing to meet the asking price, Krawczynski confirms. There was also skepticism that Murray would re-sign with Minnesota once his contract expires in two years.
Teams have been making calls to gather background info on Timberwolves wing Malik Beasley, but no deal is imminent, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Beasley, who will make $15.45MM next season, carries a team option for his $16.52MM salary in 2023/24.
Bruce Brown possibly could have made more than the $13+ million he’ll receive from the Nuggets over the next two years, but he believes he’s entering a good situation in Denver, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). A source tells Reynolds that “fit” was more important to Brown than money.
Vasilije Micic‘s representatives are pressing the Thunder to trade him, but Oklahoma City isn’t willing to give the European star up cheaply, according to Aris Barkas of EuroHoops. The Nuggets, Bucks, Bulls and Spurs have all expressed interest in Micic, Barkas hears.

Eastern Rumors: Gallinari, Celtics, Nets, O’Neale, Wizards, Turner

June 30th, 2022 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks and Danilo Gallinari have agreed to push back the forward’s salary guarantee date to July 8, reports Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Gallinari’s $21.45MM salary for 2022/23, which is currently only partially guaranteed for $5MM, was originally set to become fully guaranteed if he remained under contract through Wednesday.

However, with word breaking that he would be sent to San Antonio in a trade for Dejounte Murray, there was an expectation that Gallinari’s guarantee deadline would be moved, giving the two teams some time to complete the trade and assuring him of some extra money — it appears he’s in line to receive about an extra $6.57MM in order to ensure his guarantee is large enough to legally match Murray’s salary.

While Fischer suggests the new guarantee date opens the door for the Hawks to further expand the Murray trade before it becomes official, it will also simply ensure the Spurs and Hawks have a chance to complete the trade once the transaction moratorium ends on July 6 and that San Antonio can subsequently waive Gallinari before the rest of his salary becomes guaranteed. Assuming he’s released next week, Gallinari will have an opportunity to find a new landing spot without having to wait until later in the offseason to reach the open market.

Here’s more from around the East:

Within their look at possible targets for the Celtics‘ $17MM+ trade exception, Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic say that Boston has been exploring possible deals for Hawks wing Kevin Huerter “for some time now.” John Hollinger of The Athletic thinks a trade sending Huerter to Boston would make sense for both teams if the Celtics can handle the tax hit.
The Nets are among the teams that have interest in trading for Jazz forward Royce O’Neale, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv. A report last week indicated that O’Neale was generating serious trade interest.
The Wizards and free agent point guard Delon Wright have mutual interest, according to Begley. Washington addressed its point guard hole by agreeing to acquire Monte Morris, but could still use another reliable option at the position, and Wright should be attainable using the mid-level exception.
Whether he begins the 2022/23 season with the Pacers or a new team, center Myles Turner should be ready to play from day one. According to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, Turner is now fully healthy, having experienced no setbacks in his recovery from a stress reaction in his left foot.

Latest On Deandre Ayton

June 30th, 2022 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

Reports this week have continued to suggest that the Suns and Deandre Ayton may be headed for a divorce, with a sign-and-trade agreement considered the most likely outcome. However, it remains unclear which teams will be Ayton’s top suitors in restricted free agency.

Prior to last week’s draft, the Pistons were viewed as a strong candidate to make a play for Ayton, but they landed Jalen Duren on draft night and committed to using most of their available cap room to accommodate salary dumps, reducing the likelihood that they’ll make a serious play for the former No. 1 overall pick.

In the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said to “keep an eye on Indiana,” noting that the Pacers spoke to Phoenix about a possible Ayton deal prior to February’s trade deadline (hat tip to Timothy Rapp of Bleacher Report).

Indiana would make sense as a landing spot for Ayton if the team trades incumbent center Myles Turner. The Pacers have some cap flexibility and wouldn’t be as hamstrung by the base year compensation rule impacting Ayton as some of his other suitors might be.

As a result of the base year compensation rule, Ayton’s incoming salary from a new team’s perspective will count in full (on a maximum-salary contract, that’d be approximately $31MM), whereas from the Suns’ perspective, the outgoing salary would only be half that amount (about $15.5MM).

That will make salary-matching very challenging in some cases, but not for the Pacers, who have the cap flexibility necessary to accommodate Ayton’s new contract while sending out less than the $24-25MM+ that would be required to meet matching requirements.

Here are a few more rumors on possible landing spots for Ayton:

The Timberwolves, who are believed to be in the market for a rim-protecting center, are “another team to watch” for Ayton, Windhorst said during the aforementioned episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. The Wolves will be over the cap and would need to make a sign-and-trade deal. It’s unclear if they have the pieces necessary for such a move.
The Nets like Ayton, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who suggests Brooklyn could put together a package centered around Joe Harris. However, that would be extremely difficult, since acquiring a player via sign-and-trade would hard-cap the Nets, who project to be well over the tax. It’s hard to see how they could make such a move without moving off Kyrie Irving or Ben Simmons.
The Raptors have been mentioned as a possible Ayton suitor, but Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) doesn’t believe there have been any talks about Toronto acquiring the big man.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) suggests that the looming possibility of a Rudy Gobert trade could affect Ayton’s market, since some of the teams in the market for an impact center prefer the Jazz star to Ayton.

Pacers’ GM: Team “Not Actively Shopping” Myles Turner

June 28th, 2022 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the Kevin & Query show on 107.5 The Fan in Indianapolis on Tuesday (YouTube link), Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan discussed a pair of veteran Indiana players who have been at the center of trade rumors this offseason: Myles Turner and Malcolm Brogdon.

Asked directly whether the Pacers are “actively shopping” Turner, Buchanan denied that the veteran center is on the trade block.

“We are not actively shopping Myles Turner,” Buchanan said. “At this point in our offseason process, we are listening to other teams that contact us, but we are in no hurry to massively alter this roster. We’re trying to do things in an order that allows us to give us a chance to be better down the road. Teams talk with each other this time of year and there’s conversations that are had, but we’re more of a listening type of organization than we are trying to make drastic changes. I think that’s where you make mistakes.”

Buchanan added that he believes Turner is in position to have a “tremendous season” now that the logjam at center involving Domantas Sabonis has been cleared, and suggested the Pacers are open to the idea of discussing a new contract with Turner, who is extension-eligible.

“Him and Domas playing together was good at times, it was challenging at times for both players. Now that we’ve cleared that up, he’s got a runway here to be our starting center,” Buchanan said. “He’s playing with probably the best pass-first point guard he’s played with in a long time in Tyrese (Haliburton) and he’s got a coach who believes in him. It’s a great opportunity for him to have a big year. We’d love to see him with us long-term. Whether that plays out or not, that’s kind of in his hands a little bit as well.

“… He’s a big part of this organization, who we are and what we stand for. … We could not be happier with what Myles has done for this organization over the last seven years and hopefully this continues for a long time to come.”

While Buchanan’s comments suggest the Pacers aren’t going out of their way to pursue trades involving Turner, he was far less equivocal when asked directly if the team is shopping Brogdon. Buchanan referred to the guard as a “tremendous player,” but hinted that Indiana is keeping its options open.

“When you’ve won 25 games, we have to look at everything we can to help set us up to be better in the long run. There’s opportunities out there that if they present themselves, we have to consider,” the Pacers’ GM said. “I think at the core, Malcolm is a great player. We signed him because he was a great player and he’s done a lot of really good things for us. We’re going to always be opportunistic if the opportunity presents itself moving forward, but at the end of the day, we like him on this team. I think he does some things that really complement the guys that we have, can help some of the young players on our team. We’ll see where it goes between now and the start of the season.”

Brogdon has been linked most frequently this offseason to the Knicks and Wizards. New York appears to be zeroing in on free agent guard Jalen Brunson, while Washington remains in the market for veteran help at the point.

Scotto’s Latest: Wizards, T. Jones, Brunson, Knicks, Ayton, More

June 24th, 2022 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards used their No. 10 overall pick on Thursday night to land one of the top guards in this year’s draft, selecting Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis. However, the Wizards remain in the market for veteran help at the point guard spot, and Grizzlies free agent Tyus Jones is among the players on their radar, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

As Scotto explains, Washington should have the flexibility to use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception and could make a compelling bid for Jones. The club could potentially give him the opportunity to start, which Jones “ideally desires,” writes Scotto.

The Grizzlies hold Jones’ Bird rights, giving them the ability to make a strong offer to retain Jones. Memphis’ decision to trade De’Anthony Melton to Philadelphia perhaps signaled that re-signing Jones will be an offseason priority, though the team did draft a potential backup point guard in Kennedy Chandler on Thursday night.

Here’s more from Scotto:

Rival NBA executives believe the Knicks are “all-in” for Jalen Brunson after making efforts to open up cap space on Thursday. Taj Gibson and his $5MM+ non-guaranteed salary will likely be waived to create more cap flexibility, says Scotto.
The Knicks will have to open up more cap room to make a serious bid for Brunson, and Scotto reiterates that Cam Reddish and Alec Burks are possible trade candidates. Reddish was part of one of the offers New York sent to the Pistons for Jaden Ivey, according to Scotto, who says Burks has been offered to the Cavaliers and Pacers, among other teams.
In considering potential landing spots for Suns RFA center Deandre Ayton, Scotto writes that people around the NBA have speculated about a possible sign-and-trade deal involving Pacers center Myles Turner — both players are represented by the same agent, Bill Duffy. Previous reports have indicated the Pacers spoke to the Suns prior to the trade deadline about Ayton.
The Trail Blazers have been mentioned as a possible suitor for Ayton, but they remain intent on re-signing incumbent center Jusuf Nurkic, league sources tell Scotto.
Although EuroLeague star Vasilije Micic is interested in coming to the NBA for the 2022/23 season, he wants to join a playoff contender and is interested in a salary worth close to the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, says Scotto. The Thunder may have to trade Micic’s draft rights for those goals to come to fruition.