Nicolas Batum Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Deng, Batum, Jennings, Warriors

June 29th, 2012 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Eight years ago today, the Rockets made one of the biggest trades in team history, sending Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato to the Magic in exchange for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines. GM Daryl Morey and the Rockets may have been looking to make a similarly big splash this June, but draft day came and went without a major trade from Houston. Still, if nothing else, the Rockets accumulated a ton of talent Thursday night, drafting Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones with their three first-round picks.

Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:

Blazers Rumors: Batum, Hickson, Coach

June 29th, 2012 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

In spite of weeks of trade speculation, the Trail Blazers kept both of their lottery picks last night, drafting Damian Lillard sixth overall and Meyers Leonard 11th. If the two newest Blazers sign typical rookie contracts (120% of the scale amount), they'll be on Portland's books for a total of about $5.2MM in 2012/13. Even with those salary commitments, the Blazers figure to have plenty of cap space this offseason to re-sign their own free agents and potentially pursue others. Here's the latest out of Portland on the team's summer plans….

Blazers Extend Qualifying Offer To Nicolas Batum

June 25th, 2012 at 8:37pm CST by Daniel Seco

The Trail Blazers have extended a qualifying offer to forward Nicolas Batum, tweets Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge. Batum will become a restricted free agent on July 1, but because of the qualifying offer, Portland will have the right of first refusal if another team attempts to sign the Frenchman. The qualifying offer comes in at approximately $4.4MM, but merely serves as a placeholder until the team reaches a deal with Batum on an extension or another team extends an offer sheet, at which time Portland would determine whether or not to match the deal.

Warriors Rumors: Draft, Iguodala, Gay, Batum

May 31st, 2012 at 9:17am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors were one of a few teams to benefit from Wednesday night's draft lottery results, hanging onto their lottery pick for another year. According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, GM Bob Myers doesn't intend to use all four picks the Warriors hold, but views them as valuable trade assets. Myers also aims to land a starter with the seventh overall pick, pointing out that "I don't think anyone would accept the thought of drafting a backup" with a top-10 pick. Here are a few more of the morning's Warriors updates:

Odds & Ends: Kings, Batum, Bird, Ewing, Spurs

May 17th, 2012 at 10:02pm CST by Alex Lee

Let's keep track of some Thursday night odds and ends here as Heat-Pacers gets underway. The Clippers will look to rebound from a dissapointing game one loss later tonight in San Antonio.

Aaron Bruski of NBC Sports writes a piece providing great detail about the unfortunate business practices of the Maloofs with regard to the NBA franchise situation in Sacramento. Bruski says the Maloofs actions could lead the NBA to force them into selling.
The agent of Nicolas Batum will have all the leverage in negotiations with the Blazers this summer, writes John Canzano of the Oregonian. Batum will become a restricted free agent in the offseason.
Conrad Brunner from Pacers.com extols Larry Bird in an in depth look at the Pacers' President. In light of Wednesday's announcement that Bird won the 2012 NBA Executive of the Year award, Brunner says that the former Celtic great is as discreetly brilliant as a roster builder as he was as a player and coach. He credits Bird with changing the organizational culture by drafting wisely with middle of the first round picks and carefully managing the salary cap.
As we mentioned yesterday, Patrick Ewing interviewed for the vacant Bobcats' job today. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer says that Ewing, a prototypical NBA big man as a player, would be a coaching rarity should be get the job.
According to the New York Post, Charlotte owner and Ewing friend Michael Jordan did not plan to sit in on the interview. The Post adds that the Bobcats will also interview Memphis assistant Dave Joerger on Friday and have already interviewed Michael Malone, Nate Tibbetts, Mike Dunlap, Stephen Silas and has expressed interest in Brian Shaw.
A group of ESPN.com writers offered their take on the greatness of the San Antonio Spurs. The three popular picks for the biggest reasons for the organization's success are Tim Duncan, Greg Popovich and general manager R.C. Buford, with honorable mention going to Tony Parker and owner Peter Holt. Teams should look no further than San Antonio for a blueprint on how to build a team.

Blazers Notes: GM, Drew, Freeland, Claver, Batum

May 16th, 2012 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

Let's follow up on Tuesday's Trail Blazers items with another round of updates today:

The Blazers have identified two or three more candidates for their general manager opening that they hope to interview soon, writes Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. President Larry Miller says he hopes to have a "couple more" candidates meet with owner Paul Allen within the next two weeks or so, at which point the team may be ready to make a decision.
Eggers hears that Portland is having its GM hopefuls complete a written psychological test to establish leadership qualities. "I’ll just say it’s pretty extensive," Miller says. "We try to do as much due diligence as possible."
Larry Drew of the Hawks is a possibility to be the Blazers' next head coach, according to Eggers. "Word is" Drew may not have his option picked up by the Hawks after he failed to lead Atlanta past the first round, says Eggers.
Acting GM Chad Buchanan expects buyouts for former Blazers draft picks Joel Freeland and Victor Claver to be low enough that there shouldn't be an issue bringing them overseas: "We’ve had talks with both players and their parties, and we’re hopeful we can get something worked out."
Dave Deckard of Blazer's Edge takes an in-depth look at Nicolas Batum's impact on Portland's cap, and how it would affect the team if he signed an offer sheet early.

Blazers Notes: Allen, General Manager, Batum

May 15th, 2012 at 4:53pm CST by Luke Adams

A few Tuesday afternoon updates out of Portland….

Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen has definitively told commissioner David Stern not to send him prospective buyers, Stern tells Jason Quick of the Oregonian (Twitter link). "My guess is that Paul is going to own [the Blazers] for many years to come," Stern said (Twitter link).
The Blazers hope to have at least three candidates for their GM opening meet with Allen before making a decision, team president Larry Miller tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
In a piece for The Oregonian, a number of Blazers scribes debate what the team will do with restricted free agent Nicolas Batum this offseason. The consensus is that Portland will spend what it takes to retain the young forward.
Earlier today, we heard that Batum won't wait around to accomodate other Blazers' roster moves if he and his agent get an offer sheet they like.

Batum Will Sign First Lucrative Offer Sheet

May 15th, 2012 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers will have a good deal of cap space at their disposal this summer, and were hoping to spend most of it on free agents before shifting their focus to restricted free agent Nicolas Batum. However, according to agent Bouna Ndiaye, Batum won't necessarily hold off on deals to accommodate the Blazers.

"The first good offer we get, we're going with that," Batum's agent told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. "We're not waiting for anything."

Depending on which options are exercised and which free agents are renounced, the Blazers could have up to about $20MM in cap space this summer. Because the team holds Batum's Bird rights, Portland would be able to sign free agents using that space, then go over the cap to re-sign Batum. If Batum signs an offer sheet with another team though, the Blazers will only have three days to match the offer.

Batum's cap hold when the offseason begins will be about $5.39MM, 250% of his prior salary, but he's expected to receive offers with an annual salary that exceeds that amount. If a club were to sign Batum to an offer sheet worth $10MM annually, the forward's free agent amount would rise from $5.39MM to $10MM, limiting the Blazers' cap flexibility.

Blazers’ Crawford, Batum, Przybilla Talk Offseason

April 29th, 2012 at 8:31pm CST by Alex Lee

With the disapointing 2012 Blazers season in the books, Jamal Crawford, Nicolas Batum and Joel Przybilla all discussed their uncertain offseason outlooks with The Oregonian, who posted the videos online:

Crawford owns a player option on his contract (which we already heard he may turn down) that he must opt into by June 15, or he will become an unrestricted free agent. Crawford called his year in Portland the "longest-shortest season ever" and said that he still plans to weigh his options before making a decision. Crawford goes on to say, "I don’t think this year was any one person’s fault. I just think it was a bad situation with the short training camp." Crawford still considers Portland's future bright and says that "seeing where the team is going" will be key to his choice.
Batum is a restricted free agent and would be in high demand should Portland balk at matching offers for him. All indications are that Portland will try to keep the young forward. Batum indicated his desire to stay: "Of course I want to come back here. This team drafted me and put me on the court at 19 and gave me my chance in the NBA so we will see what happens." However, Batum went on to add that the basketball situation for him is more important than the city, implying he would have interest if another team had more to offer basketball-wise than the Blazers. Batum said he is "99 percent" sure he will be back, but is excited about the summer's prospects of a new contract and his first Olympic appearance.
Przybilla signed with the Blazers in late February after considering sitting out the lockout shortened season. He now seems intent on playing next year, citing his knees feeling great and a newfound love for the game as the primary reasons. He is an unrestricted free agent and thinks he will draw some interest over the course of the offseason: "With a good summer of working out and a training camp with a team, I think there will definitely be opportunities out there for me." He added that he would definitely consider resigning in Portland.

Blazers Notes: Batum, Hickson, Offseason Plans

April 28th, 2012 at 12:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today we learned that Trail Blazers guard Jamal Crawford will decline his 2012/13 option worth $5.23MM. Here's more on Portland from Jason Quick of The Oregonian..

We learned yesterday that the club is likely to match offers for Nicolas Batum. The Blazers could just sign Batum to a long-term deal but acting GM Chad Buchanan plans to keep the forward in restricted status in order to have more flexibility. Batum's qualifying offer will place a $5.4MM hold onto the Blazers' salary cap, which should be $3-5MM less than what it would take to sign him under a long-term deal.
The club is not yet sure if they'll make a qualifying offer to J.J. Hickson. The forward, picked up off of waivers from the Kings this season, has said that he would like to remain in Portland. The 23-year-old averaged 15.1 PPG and 8.3 RPG in 19 games for the Blazers this season.
Buchanan said that the club's top two priorities this summer are finding a starting point guard and finding a starting center.