Nate Wolters Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Nash, Vasquez, Bucks

April 1st, 2014 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

John Zitzler of Basketball Insiders looks at the steps the Bucks should take in the offseason to get their rebuilding process heading in the proper direction. He believes the team needs to select the best player available in the draft, regardless of position, and shape the rest of the roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Zitzler also opines that the Bucks need to retain and develop some of their other young players, such as John Henson, Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton, and Nate Wolters.

Central Notes: Delfino, Wolters, Curry

March 22nd, 2014 at 7:42pm CST by Cray Allred

Cavs coach Mike Brown won’t be giving young players extra minutes to develop as the season winds down, telling Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio he will coach with the sole purpose of winning games, even after the Cavs become mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Here’s more from around the Central:

Seth Curry, working on a 10-day contract with the Cavs, is a player that might not benefit from Brown’s philosophy, the coach told Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer. “There’s some little things he can help us with out on the floor, but only time will see how many minutes he gets for us with the bodies we have that are banged up,” said Brown.
Contradicting an earlier report, Bucks officials tell Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journel Sentinel that injured guard Carlos Delfino will return to Milwaukee to rehab his foot. The earlier report indicated that Delfino would stay in his homeland of Argentina for the rest of the season.
In the same piece, Gardner writes that Bucks rookie point guard Nate Wolters will miss the remainder of the season with a fractured hand. The 38th pick from the 2013 draft has played 22.6 minutes per game and started 31 times for Milwaukee this year.

Western Notes: Clippers, Granger, White

February 27th, 2014 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

After years of futility and being seen as a less than desirable location to play, the Clippers have officially become a draw for players, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. With the recent signing of Glen Davis and the team possibly inking Danny Granger, it definitely is a departure from the past. The fact that a veteran player in pursuit of a championship ring would consider signing a minimum deal to join the Clippers over teams like the Spurs and the Heat is yet another example of how far the Clippers have come as both contenders on the court and in the minds of players as a destination franchise, opines Markazi. Doc Rivers, weighing in on the matter, said, “I don’t know if we’re going to make it THE destination, but we want it to be one of them. That’s our goal. Bringing in Big Baby when he could have gone to a lot of other places was a good thing. Darren Collison could have gone to a lot of other places and came here. At the end of the day we just have to keep being a good basketball team and the rest of the stuff will follow. I think the key to this is showing that we have a shot and we’re a good team. Players follow that. They’ll go anywhere for that.”

Contract Details: Jennings, Grizzlies, Henderson

August 3rd, 2013 at 3:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Details are often scarce when free agents agree to sign with NBA teams, leaving reporters to gather many of the contract specifics later. That's what HoopsWorld's Eric Pincus has done throughout the summer, and last night he passed along information on a handful of players, as we detail below. All links go to HoopsWorld team salary pages.

Brandon Jennings will make precisely $24MM in the sign-and-trade deal that sent him to the Pistons, with a starting salary of $7,655,503.
The Grizzlies gave Mike Miller a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum, while their second-round pick, Jamaal Franklin, is making slightly more than the rookie minimum this season on his three-year contract. Pincus also has the figures for Jon Leuer's three-year deal.
Gerald Henderson will make $6MM in each season of his three-year, $18MM deal with the Bobcats.
Timofey Mozgov's starting salary on his new three-year deal is $4.4MM, with raises in subsequent seasons.
Bucks second-round pick Nate Wolters, the 38th overall selection, gets a little more than the minimum salary as part of his three-year deal. The first two seasons are fully guaranteed.
The Jazz gave summer league sensation Ian Clark a two-year, partially guaranteed deal for the minimum salary.

Bucks Sign Nate Wolters

August 1st, 2013 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have officially signed second-round pick Nate Wolters to a contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). Terms of the agreement aren't yet known, but the team has a good chunk of cap space left over after sending Brandon Jennings to Detroit, so Wolters could receive more than the minimum.

Wolters, 22, was part of a confusing series of draft-night trades that ultimately saw him picked 38th overall and dealt to the Bucks. The 6'5" guard spent four seasons at South Dakota State, averaging 22.3 PPG and 5.8 APG in 33 contests during his senior year. The Jared Karnes client will be part of an overhauled Milwaukee backcourt that includes Brandon Knight, O.J. Mayo, Gary Neal, and Luke Ridnour.

Odds & Ends: Irving, Ellis, Wolters

July 20th, 2013 at 11:52pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In his weekly roundup of topics surrounding Cleveland sports teams, Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer offers his thoughts on Andrew Bynum, the Cavaliers' depth at the big man positions, and Kyrie Irving. Regarding some belief that Tyler Zeller might not get much playing time with the addition of Bynum, the return of Anderson Varejao, and the presence of Tristan Thompson and Anthony Bennett, Pluto believes that the second year big man will be needed since he's skeptical of Bynum and Varejao's injury histories. You can find the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links below:

On rumors of Irving possibly leaving Cleveland or wanting out, Pluto explains why it'd be unlikely for the young star to leave the Cavs before he could become an unrestricted free agent in 2016. Pluto also lauds the acquisition of Jarrett Jack as a player who will push Dion Waiters and Irving for playing time, while also serving as an insurance policy in case one of them gets injured.
Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW writes that Monta Ellis significantly upgrades the Mavericks' talent level.
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel takes a more in-depth look at Nate Wolters' experience in summer league play and several positive signs moving forward for the Bucks' rookie.
Kevin Martin is very much looking forward to teaming up with Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, writes John Krawczynski of the Associated Press (via the Star Tribune), who also shares that Martin played a big role in the recruitment of Corey Brewer from free agency.
In a conference call with Twin Cities reporters earlier today, Martin was asked if he had seriously considered a return to the Thunder for little money and a chance to win a championship, considering that their offer was significantly restricted by the luxury tax: "Always. I also feel like I found the same thing with Minnesota being younger. They've had some injuries over the years, but they're a good team, too. I made a decision and I think it's a great one. I learned from Oklahoma CIty, they're a great organization. The way KD and Russ approach the game, I think that's something I'll bring to Minnesota" (Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune).
Bulls rookie Tony Snell loves being compared to Kawhi Leonard, notes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
ESPN's David Thorpe explains why the quality of summer league play has suffered a bit this year and assesses the performance of key second year players in Las Vegas with Kevin Arnowitz and Amin Elhassan (video links).

Ricky Ledo To Mavs, Nate Wolters To Bucks

June 28th, 2013 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

11:27am: The Mavs' press release announcing the trade indicates that Ledo's rights were acquired by Dallas from the Sixers, so perhaps Atlanta wasn't involved as a middle-man after all. In exchange for Ledo, the Mavs sent Philadelphia the Nets' 2014 second-rounder that Dallas had originally acquired from Boston earlier in the evening.

FRIDAY, 10:56am: The Bucks have officially announced the acquisition of Wolters (Twitter link). According to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter), Milwaukee sent a future second-round pick and Ledo to the Sixers in order to snag Wolters. From there, tweets Gardner, Ledo's rights went from Philadelphia to Atlanta to Dallas.

THURSDAY, 11:14pm: We'll have to wait for official confirmation from the various teams involved in these deals to determine where everyone ended up, but by my estimation, it looks like the Bucks landed Wolters, the Mavs acquired Ledo, and the Hawks ended up with Muscala.

10:54pm: As confusion abounds, the Mavs have confirmed they acquired Ledo from the Sixers, tweets Katz.

10:50pm: ESPN.com's Andy Katz breaks it down (via Twitter): The Sixers selected Nate Wolters at No. 38 as part of the Glen Rice Jr. trade, then traded Wolters to the Bucks for Ledo. Philadelphia then sent Ledo to the Hawks, and according to Katz, Ledo could be on the move yet again (Twitter link).

10:46pm: Various reports are now suggesting that Ledo will end up landing in Philadephia or Atlanta, so we may have to wait this one out to get total clarity.

10:32pm: The Mavericks have agreed to acquire the 43rd overall pick from the Bucks and will use it to select Ricky Ledo, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Goodman (via Twitter), the Mavs will send pick No. 44 to Milwaukee, and the Bucks will select Mike Muscala.

It had been previously reported that the 44th overall pick was ticketed for Atlanta in an earlier deal, though that trade was said to be"still evolving," so maybe the Mavs were able to keep the pick out of the swap.

Atlantic Rumors: Pierce, Raptors, Knicks, Draft

June 23rd, 2013 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics have been embroiled in negotiations with the Clippers over Doc Rivers in a stop-and-start drama that was the league's primary storyline this week, outside of the Finals. With the draft and free agency approaching, plenty of other headlines figure to emerge, and we've got the latest on potential moves involving a few Atlantic Division clubs here:

Teams around the league have better than average interest in trading for Paul Pierce, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. Pierce's $15.3MM contract for next season is only guaranteed for $5MM if he's waived on or before next Sunday.
The Raptors are trying to acquire a pick in this year's draft, but they don't have much cash available to use in a trade for one. The Raptors sent $3MM to the Grizzlies as part of the Rudy Gay trade, and that leaves them just $100K under the NBA's annual limit for sending out cash as part of swaps, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links). GM Masai Ujiri and company could get creative and prearrange a deal for a pick involving cash that wouldn't become official until July, when the league calendar flips over and teams have another $3.2MM to spend in trades, Deeks notes.
The Knicks feel they need another scorer on the perimeter, preferably one who can play small forward, and they'll target that need in the draft and go after a big man in free agency, as Marc Berman of the New York Post hears. They're considering swingmen Tim Hardaway Jr., Allen Crabbe, Reggie Bullock and Tony Snell with the 24th overall pick.
If the Knicks take a point guard with the pick, they'll look for a playmaker rather than a scorer, and they have interest in Nate Wolters, according to Berman.

Draft Rumors: Jazz, McCollum, Bennett

June 22nd, 2013 at 8:29pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Jazz have a lot of question marks this summer, but with the 14th, 21st, and 46th picks in what many consider a wild card "down" draft, their chances of landing a quality starter with a high upside leaves a lot to be desired.

Brad Rock of the Desert News writes about how rare it is to land anyone of merit with the 14th pick in the draft. Sure, there are exceptions, Rock mentions Tim Hardaway's selection by the Warriors with the 14th pick in 1989, but usually there's a dearth of talent in that position, with the pick being "unproductive at worst, respectable at best."

Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune reiterates what Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld wrote in his NBA AM piece: the Jazz will select a point guard, but there aren't a lot of options at their current picks. With few options for a point guard selected in their range, it's unlikely the Jazz will find a difference maker at point guard. When Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey was asked if he would be surprised if the draft came and went without the Jazz selecting a point guard, he said "Not at all."

But Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun said there's a lot of talent at point guard in the late first early second rounds, mentioning Dennis Schroeder, Myck Kabongo, Peyton Siva, Pierre Jackson, Isaiah Canaan, Nate Wolters, and Phil Pressey (Twitter). Here are a few more tidbits from the Jazz and the rest of the league with just five days before the 2013 draft.

Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune believes the Jazz should move up if they're looking for a difference maker, largely mirroring what his colleague Oram wrote; the Jazz aren't going to land anything special, unless they luck out, if they stay put.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford has a list of the 10 green room invites for ESPN's Thursday draft coverage: Nerlens Noel, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Alex Len, Anthony Bennett, Ben McLemore, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Cody Zeller & C.J. McCollum.
The selections perfectly align with the top 10 in Ford's latest mock draft, but Ford mentions the NBA is likely to add some more green room attendees as we get closer to the big night, and even offers some guesses as to who else will be invited (Twitter).
About one of those confirmed green room invites, John Rohde of the Oklahoman has a piece on how far McCollum has come since he was a middle school phenom in Oklahoma City.
Another green room invite, Bennett, visited the Bobcats today, but he couldn't work out, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Bennett is recovering from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff on his left shoulder, but he'll be ready to play in August.
Marcus Fuller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press ranks the Timberwolves' 24 years of draft picks–including Kevin Garnett, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love–in the days preceding their 26th pick in this, their 25th draft anniversary.
As the draft approaches, Scott Agyness of Pacers.com writes that University of Kansas 7-footer Jeff Withey (represented by Darren Matsubara) participated in his last predraft workout with the Pacers today.

Draft Updates: Cavs, Len, Knicks, Bucks, Goodwin

June 17th, 2013 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Up to this point, we've heard that the Cavaliers are weighing a number of options for their first overall pick. Assuming they don't trade the pick, it's possible the Cavs could select Nerlens Noel, Otto Porter, Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Alex Len, or Anthony Bennett. Previous reports have suggested Cleveland isn't tipping its hand, but Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune is hearing that Len appears to be the frontrunner for that No. 1 spot (Twitter link)

As we wait to see whether Smith is right, or whether the Cavs' top choice turns out to be someone else 10 days from now, let's round up a few draft items….

Gorgui Dieng and Nate Wolters are among the prospects scheduled to work out with the Knicks tomorrow, according to the team's PR Twitter account.
Wolters is also among the six prospects working out for the Bucks today, per Milwaukee's PR department (Twitter link).
Archie Goodwin has workouts lined up with three Western teams, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter): The Jazz, Kings, and Trail Blazers.
With three second-round picks in hand, the Blazers brought in a handful of potential targets for those picks today, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets.
The Wizards will work out a number of international prospects later this week, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld identifies a few of the players he thinks will be steals in this year's draft.