Myles Turner Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Bucks, Jackson, Turner

September 18th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks signed Greg Monroe to a max contract this summer, but he’s probably not the best player on Milwaukee’s roster, Shaun Powell of NBA.com posits as he examines the team’s offseason. Still, bringing him aboard did much to enhance the franchise’s image, and while the Bucks don’t have a realistic shot at Kevin Durant next summer, their standing with top free agents around the league has improved, Powell believes. It worked out well enough for GM John Hammond to receive an extension this week, so while we wait to see if Milwaukee can keep it up, see more from the Central Division:

Reggie Jackson‘s struggles with his outside shot elicited questions about the merits of the trade that brought him to Detroit, but to enhance the five-year, $80MM investment they made in Jackson this summer, the Pistons are working with him to improve that part of his game, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details.
Jackson could prove arguably just as valuable as John Wall if he carries the numbers he put up with the Pistons after the trade last season over to the first half of this season, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders opines in the site’s season preview of the Pistons. Wall seemed to express frustration earlier this summer with the timing of the salary cap jump as he pointed out that he and Jackson wound up on similar contracts.
The Pacers spent plenty of free agent money this summer, especially on their four-year, nearly $44MM deal with Monta Ellis, but their top addition came through the draft, as Myles Turner is talented enough to contribute immediately, Brigham writes in the Basketball Insiders Pacers preview.

And-Ones: Turner, Vandeweghe, Horford

August 18th, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hawks big man Al Horford is entering the final season of his current deal and will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. But Horford’s eye is on the coming season, and he won’t discuss his future until next summer, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution relays. “My focus right now is to get better individually and help our team be the best team that we can be,” Horford said. “I have the same mindset and that is to help our team win and put us in a good position and try to be better. As far as the contract stuff, I’m going to wait until the season is over. I’m not going to let that linger and be a distraction. The focus is to be on the Hawks, on our team and getting better. Once the season ends, we’ll be able to sit down and talk and figure out all of that.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The NBA officially announced today that Kiki Vandeweghe has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations for the league, a move that had seemed likely for months. He moves up from vice president of basketball ops and replaces the retiring Rod Thorn. Vandeweghe’s new position puts him in charge of player discipline, among other duties. “Kiki is one of the sharpest basketball minds in the NBA,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “In addition to his storied UCLA and NBA playing career plus his extensive experience as a general manager, coach, and TV analyst, he has most recently helped drive innovations in analytics that are reshaping the league in areas such as scheduling, game statistics, and player health.”
Myles Turner has transformed from an injured high school junior who was an afterthought to college recruiters into a candidate to start at center for the Pacers this season, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders details. This year’s No. 11 overall pick performed well at summer league, leading to some thought of him as a Rookie of the Year contender, but coach Frank Vogel has reminded the big man not to get carried away, as Turner tells Kennedy.
The Rockets have officially hired Matt Brase as the coach of Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced (via Twitter). Brase replaces former coach Nevada Smith, who spent two seasons with the Vipers and compiled an overall record of 60-46, including a mark of 27-23 last season.

Pacers Sign Myles Turner

July 13th, 2015 at 3:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The Pacers have signed this year’s No. 11 overall pick, Myles Turner, to his rookie scale contract, the team announced. The big man from Texas in line for a salary of nearly $2.358MM this season, with almost $10.802MM coming over the four-year span of the contract, presuming he signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale.

A lack of eye-popping offensive numbers, including a scoring average of 10.1 points per game, and an awkward running style cloud Turner’s future, though his gait is apparently correctable. The 7-footer has shown impressive shooting range and played strong defense in his lone college season, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors wrote when he examined Turner’s prospect profile.

The Pacers traded Roy Hibbert and David West opted out and committed to the Spurs, so Indiana has room for fresh blood inside even as the team transitions to a more perimeter-oriented attack. Turner figures to compete for minutes with soon-to-be signee Jordan Hill, among others. It’s unclear just how much flexibility Indiana has, with the terms of Hill’s deal still unknown, but Turner’s signing, which raises his cap hit by nearly $400K, signals that the Pacers are done with major free agent deals this summer.

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Wood, Smith

June 21st, 2015 at 10:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics face long odds in their quest to deal for a lottery pick, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Boston is expected to continue its effort right through draft night, but trading into the top 14 is much tougher than fans realize. Blakely points out that draft-night trades to enter lottery territory have only happened five times in the last decade. “It takes two to trade,” said Austin Ainge, the Celtics’ director of player personnel. “We can’t force that on anyone else, nor is that always smart. The [New England] Patriots have done very well moving back.” If the Celtics are able to swing a deal, Blakely writes that they would be interested in frontcourt help, possibly Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein or Texas’ Myles Turner.

There’s more news from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics could pull off a surprise and draft a point guard with one of their two first-round picks despite selecting Marcus Smart last June, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald speculates. They could consider Jerian Grant, Delon Wright or Tyus Jones with the No. 16 overall pick, while Terry Rozier might be an option at No. 28, Murphy adds.
The Bucks have made a last-minute decision to work out UNLV’s Christian Wood, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Wood’s workout session will take place Monday. Milwaukee holds the 17th pick in Thursday’s draft.
The Cavaliers‘ J.R. Smith is thankful to be in Cleveland, but that doesn’t guarantee he will opt in this summer, according to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Smith, who has a $6.4MM player option for next season, went from the bottom of the league to the NBA Finals thanks to a January 5th trade that got him out of New York. He was effective during the regular season, but had an up-and-down performance in the playoffs. Smith has stated that he would like to opt out and then re-sign with Cleveland.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Pistons Notes: Kaminsky, Turner, Jaiteh

June 21st, 2015 at 2:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Frank Kaminsky and Myles Turner worked out for the Pistons on Saturday, a sign that the team is open to trading its lottery pick at No. 8 overall, Terry Foster of the Detroit News opines. The Pistons acquired a starting caliber power forward this month in Ersan Ilyasova, making it somewhat curious that they would work out two power forwards at this stage who are expected to be drafted in the 11-16 range, Foster continues. They could also swing a deal for the Knicks’ pick at No. 4, which would allow them to secure either Justise Winslow or Mario Hezonja, who are considered to be the top small forwards in the draft, Foster adds.

In other draft news regarding the Pistons:

Detroit also brought in point guards Travis Trice, T.J. McConnell and Kenneth Smith and center Mouhammadou Jaiteh on Saturday to wrap up its scheduled pre-draft workouts, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. The Pistons worked out 51 players, including likely first-rounders Devin Booker, Sam Dekker, Stanley Johnson, Kevon Looney, Kelly Oubre, Bobby Portis and Winslow, as well as Kaminsky and Turner, while guard Terran Petteway was the only player who worked out twice, Mayo reports.
Jaiteh plans to leave the French league and play in the NBA next season if he’s drafted, Mayo writes in a separate piece. “My goal is to join the team next year,” Jaiteh said to the Detroit media. “I’ve had three years now playing overseas pro. I really earned some experience, some maturity, and I think if I want to keep improving fast, I think the best is to be around the best players in the world, with the best coaches. That’s why I want to join the team this year and fight for it.”
If the Pistons move down in the first round, Boston would appear to be a likely trading partner, Mayo speculates in his weekly mailbag story. The Celtics have two first rounders at No. 16 and No. 28, but in Mayo’s thinking the Pistons would probably be more interested in a package of the No. 16 pick and a second-rounder with a non-guaranteed contract, rather than swapping for both first rounders. The Pistons probably don’t have the assets to move up from No. 8 and in all likelihood will retain the pick, Mayo concludes.

And-Ones: Celtics, Bulls, Rodriguez, Frazier

June 20th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics are reportedly trying to move out of the No. 28th spot in the draft in an effort to gain more cap flexibility, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter Link). Earlier today, it was reported that the team would like to move up in the draft in order to select Myles Turner. Boston also owns the No.16 overall pick, so perhaps it could dangle both picks to a team drafting in the back-end of the lottery, which is where Turner is expected to be selected.

Here’s more from around the league on the last day of spring:

Sergio Rodriguez is not contemplating the possibility of making the jump to the NBA, barring an offer he cannot refuse, according to Marca.com (Translation by HoopsHype.com). It was previously reported that the point guard planned to try and secure an NBA deal this summer.
Tom Thibodeau and his coaching staff reportedly lobbied for Draymond Green to be the No.29 overall selection in the 2012 draft instead of Marquis Teague, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Since taking over for Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg has immersed himself in the Bulls’ draft process, according to Johnson in the same piece. Hoiberg is also working finalize his staff with Pete Myers, Ed Pinckney, Mike Wilhelm and video coordinator Charlie Henry.
Michael Frazier will work out for the Sixers, Hawks and Rockets, according to Antonya English and Bob Putnam of the Tampa Bay Times. The former Gator has previously worked out for 11 other teams.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Winslow, Knicks

June 20th, 2015 at 9:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers own the No. 3 selection in Thursday’s draft and Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor are expected to be off the board by the time Philly picks. Tom Moore of Calkins Media speculates what the team will do should either big man fall to them. If the draft goes as expected, the Sixers will most likely choose between D’Angelo Russell, Kristaps Porzingis and Emmanuel Mudiay, who I opined should be the selection in the franchise’s Offseason Outlook. Moore notes that the team could easily trade down in the draft or make some other unexpected move, citing GM Sam Hinkie‘s unconventional approach in the past.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division

The Sixers have worked out Justise Winslow, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The forward should be an impact defender for a team right away, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors explains in his Prospect Profile of the forward.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post examines the journey that Winslow has taken through high school and college to become a surefire lottery selection. Winslow is reportedly the “leader in the clubhouse” to be taken by the Knicks with their No. 4 overall pick. Scarito has Winslow going to New York in his latest Mock Draft.
The Knicks worked out Frank Kaminsky and Joshua Smith in addition to working out Trey Lyles and Kevon Looney yesterday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

Celtics Attempting To Trade Up For Myles Turner

June 20th, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics are actively attempting to trade up in the draft to select Myles Turner, according to Andrew Perna of RealGM. The 19-year-old is the 10th best prospect in this year’s draft class, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks him as the 11th best.

Boston owns the No. 16 and No. 28 picks in the first round of next Thursday’s draft. The team also owns the No.33 and No. 45 overall picks, as our Draft Order page indicates.

Turner has the potential to be a star, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors explained in his profile of the big man. The Celtics have a roster full of young talent. Yet, no one player has the upside that Turner possesses, so the attempt to move up in the draft makes sense from a team building standpoint. Boston could afford to consolidate multiple draft picks and take a chance on such a player due to the stockpile of assets that President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has accumulated.

And-Ones: Payne, Rodriguez, Johnson

June 19th, 2015 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Potential lottery pick Cameron Payne suffered a non-displaced fracture in the ring finger of his right hand during a pre-draft workout for the Nuggets on Monday, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports. The point guard visited a hand specialist, and it was determined that it was a clean fracture that will not require surgery, and the former Murray State player will sit out the next three weeks as a precautionary measure, Givony notes. “Cam continued to work out even after suffering the injury in Denver, and he could probably play in a meaningful game tomorrow if he needed to,” Payne’s agent Travis King told Givony.

Here’s more from around the league:

Former NBA coach Avery Johnson acknowledged earlier this week that if he had waited until after the NBA season ended, he would have likely landed a head coach position in the league, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. ”I know without a shadow of a doubt, that if I had waited, there would have been a high probability I would have got an NBA job based upon the conversations my agent was having with some people,” Johnson told Reid. ”But the main thing is that there is no turning back. I’m here at the University of Alabama and this is the right situation.” Johnson has coached the Mavericks and the Nets, and he owns a career regular season record of 254-186.
Texas big man Myles Turner is scheduled to work out for the Pistons on Saturday, the Heat on Monday, and the Knicks on Tuesday, Dwain Price of The Star Telegram relays (Twitter link).
Real Madrid’s Sergio Rodriguez, who is considered the top point guard in Europe, plans to try and secure an NBA deal this summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. NBA front-office executives regard Rodriguez as an elite backup playmaker in the NBA, and his representatives at CAA began calling teams today to gauge initial market interest for Rodriguez, Wojnarowski adds. The 28-year-old’s contract with Real Madrid contains an NBA buyout provision that isn’t expected to become an obstacle, the Yahoo! scribe relays. Rodriguez last played in the NBA during the 2009/10 season, appearing in 66 contests split between the Knicks and the Kings.

Eastern Notes: Russell, Porzingis, Raptors

June 18th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell had an under-the-radar workout with the Knicks back on June 11th, shortly before he pulled out of a scheduled workout with the Sixers due to an undisclosed illness, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. There are rumblings that Philadelphia has become enamored with forward Kristaps Porzingis, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has Philly taking the Latvian with the No. 3 overall pick in his latest mock draft. However, a league source insists the Sixers taking Porzingis over Russell is a reach and they are after the best available player regardless of position, Berman notes. “If you’re basing taking him [Porzingis] because of last week’s workout, you should be fired,’’ the league source told Berman.

Here’s the latest from the East:

Porzingis met with representatives from the Magic today in Orlando, but did not work out for the team, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays (Twitter link).
Texas big man Myles Turner has an individual workout scheduled Friday morning with the Hornets, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays (on Twitter). The majority of mock drafts predict that Charlotte will select a wing who can score from deep, and though Turner does have the ability to stretch defenses, selecting him could prove redundant in the wake of the team’s acquisition of Spencer Hawes from the Clippers.
The Raptors held pre-draft workouts today for Terry Rozier (Louisville), R.J. Hunter (Georgia State), J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina), Phil Greene (St. John’s), Tekele Cotton (Wichita State), and Jarekious Bradley (Southeast Missouri State), the team announced.
Michael Qualls (Arizona), Rashad Vaughn (UNLV), Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green), and Josh Smith (Georgetown) all pulled out of their scheduled workouts with the Nets today, The Brooklyn Game relays (Twitter link). The reason for Qualls’ withdrawal is obvious, with the player having suffered a torn ACL, but it is unclear why the other players declined to attend the showcase.