Norris Cole Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat, Norris Cole To Pass On Extension

October 31st, 2014 at 8:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat and Norris Cole will forgo an extension before tonight’s 11:00pm Central deadline, setting up the point guard for restricted free agency next summer, reports Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). A report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com overnight indicated that an extension was unlikely, and aside from Stein’s dispatch from two weeks ago indicating that the sides were in talks, the rumor mill has been quiet about any extension for the 28th overall pick from the 2011 draft.

That’s no surprise, since Cole has spent almost his entire time with the Heat as a backup to Mario Chalmers, to whom the Heat committed a new two-year, $8.3MM deal this summer. Chalmers nonetheless came off the bench behind Cole in Miami’s opener, signaling a larger role for the 26-year-old as he embarks on what’s now a walk year.

Cole, a native of Dayton Ohio who went to Cleveland State University, dropped agent Joel Bell over the summer in favor of Rich Paul and Klutch Sports, the same agency that represents former teammate LeBron James. Klutch has reportedly been using the prospect of James’ influence with the Cavs to sell potential clients on the idea that they can receive a favorable deal from Cleveland if they join the agency. Still, there have been no reports linking Cole to the Cavs.

The Heat apparently turned away inquiries about Cole at the trade deadline last year, but a report over the summer indicated the team was dangling him in trade talk. In any case, he’ll be playing this season on an expiring contract with a salary of more than $2.038MM. Miami has nearly $42.2MM in commitments for 2015/16, but that doesn’t include more than $18MM in player options for Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Danny Granger. Perhaps more importantly, the lack of an extension for Cole also preserves Miami’s flexibility for the summer of 2016, when the Heat are set to be major players in the free agent market.

Extension Rumors: Butler, Rubio, Thompson

October 31st, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Chuck Myron

The 11:00pm Central deadline for rookie-scale extensions is only about half a day away, and there’s sure to be action in the hours ahead as decisions loom for the remaining eligible players. Here’s the latest as of this morning:

The Bulls and Butler were apart by $2.5MM in average annual value as they talked Thursday, Johnson reports. Butler’s camp doesn’t see a deal happening before the deadline, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (on Twitter), which isn’t surprising considering the gap.
The Wolves are willing to sign Rubio to a four-year extension worth $52MM, and the team would perhaps be on board with going up to $54MM, according to Wolfson (Twitter link). Agent Dan Fegan has reportedly been seeking the maximum salary for his client, which would likely entail at least $66MM over four years, but Rubio would take $58MM, Wolfson says.
There’s “plenty of pessimism” surrounding the talks between Tristan Thompson and the Cavs as a gap remains in their proposals, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

Ricky Rubio is more likely than not to sign an extension with the Wolves as advanced negotiations have taken place between the sides over the past few weeks, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. That echoes an earlier report from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who heard from people outside the organization who believed Rubio and the team would ultimately settle on a four-year, $52MM deal.
Agent Brian Elfus has been in San Antonio negotiating with the Spurs this week, as Stein writes in the same piece, but Kawhi Leonard is nonetheless unlikely to sign an extension, Stein says, seconding a report from ESPN colleague Chris Broussard. Stein hears the Spurs prefer to take Leonard to restricted free agency next summer to maintain maximum financial flexibility. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote earlier this week that the Spurs were reluctant to give Leonard the maximum salary he’s seeking.
Talks are continuing between the Warriors and Klay Thompson and the Cavs and Tristan Thompson, Stein reports.
Brandon Knight and Norris Cole appear unlikely to receive extensions, according to Stein, though talks are still going on between the Bucks and Knight’s agent, Arn Tellem, a source tells Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Stein seconds earlier reports indicating that Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson and Iman Shumpert also seem unlikely to sign extensions.
The Bulls are going to have to increase their offer to Butler to entice him to sign, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. It’s unclear what the Bulls have on the table, but as of a week ago the sides were “millions apart,” as Johnson wrote then.

Extension Rumors: Leonard, Thompson, Cole

October 17th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The deadline for teams to sign rookie scale extensions with their eligible players is two weeks from today, and while only six players came to deals last time around, that number has the potential to be much larger this year, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein has more on many of those extension hopefuls that adds to the storylines we’ve been following throughout the offseason:

Kawhi Leonard, Tristan Thompson, and Norris Cole are among the players who are in active negotiations with their respective teams about rookie scale extensions, Stein reports. Klay Thompson, Ricky Rubio, Kemba Walker, Jimmy Butler, Reggie Jackson, Brandon Knight, Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Enes Kanter and Alec Burks are also in active extension talks, according to Stein, who advances earlier reports that all of them had engaged in talks.
Iman Shumpert and the Knicks are also discussing an extension, Stein writes, countering a report from a few weeks ago that indicated that the sides hadn’t engaged in talks and that New York was content to let the swingman hit restricted free agency next summer.
Klay Thompson’s camp is considering the idea of going after an offer sheet similar to the one the Mavs gave Chandler Parsons if Thompson and the Warriors don’t come to an extension this month, Stein hears. Parsons’ near-max deal runs three years and includes a player option and a 15% trade kicker. Rival GMs have expressed admiration for its structure and Rockets GM Daryl Morey pointed to the difficulty that trading such a contract would entail shortly after he decided against matching it. The player option would allow Thompson to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2017, which is when Stephen Curry‘s deal is set to end, as Stein points out.
The Lakers have attempted to trade for Thompson in the past, Stein notes, though he doesn’t make any suggestion that they’re planning an aggressive push for the shooting guard if he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.

Eastern Notes: Wiggins, Celtics, Cole

August 3rd, 2014 at 10:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

With all the rumblings that he is going to be traded to the Wolves for Kevin Love as soon as the required 30 days from when he inked his contract pass, Andrew Wiggins’ days in Cleveland appear numbered, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. For his part, Wiggins is remaining upbeat, saying, “I just want to play for a team that wants me, so whichever team wants me I’ll play for.” When asked if he expected to be a teammate of LeBron James this season, Wiggins said, “I don’t really know what to say. When I’m in Cleveland I’m going to play as hard as I can, give it my all and I’ll play for whoever.”

Here’s more from the east:

The Celtics are working to clear roster space over the next few weeks in order to make room for Evan Turner in their rotation, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn notes that Boston isn’t expected to officially announce the signing until those moves are made, although the sides have reached an agreement. The Celtics currently have 18 players on their roster, including the non-guaranteed deals of Keith Bogans, Chris Babb, and Chris Johnson, notes Washburn.
With the loss of Paul George for what is likely the entire 2014/15 season, the Pacers are unlikely to make the playoffs, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Winderman also opines that Indiana could have benefited from Danny Granger‘s presence and production in the wake of George’s loss.
Heat guard Norris Cole has changed agents and is now being represented by Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Cole was previously represented by Joel Bell of Bell Management.

Eastern Notes: Bulls, Bucks, Magic

June 27th, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls trade that sent the No. 16 and 19 picks to the Nuggets for the chance to draft Doug McDermott actually hurt the teams chances of landing Carmelo Anthony, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.The article notes that by adding Anthony Randolph‘s $1.825MM salary to McDermott’s $1.898MM cap hold as the 11th pick and the roster charge of over $500,000, Chicago actually now has about $1 million less to offer Carmelo in free agency than they would have had if they kept both picks.

Raptors Have No Interest In Lowry, Heat Deal

June 27th, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:10pm: Bucher has retracted the story via his Twitter feed, saying the information he obtained from sources was incorrect (All Twitter links).

FRIDAY, 6:02pm: An agreement in principle on the trade is “imminent,” reports Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. Bucher also backs off the assertion that a Bosh return to Toronto was a definite part of the deal, now saying that Bosh and the Raptors intend to meet to “gauge his interest” in returning.

9:55pm: Norris Cole would head to the Raptors in this scenario, too, Bucher hears (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 9:42pm: The Raptors are seeking to send Kyle Lowry to the Heat in a sign-and-trade that would also involve Chris Bosh opting out and heading back to Toronto, Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher tweets. The soon-to-be free agent Lowry and the Heat reportedly have mutual interest, even though Lowry has expressed a strong affection for Toronto.

The notion that Bosh, who would be a free agent should he opt out of his deal, would head back to the team where he began his career, seems an odd one, especially given Bosh’s strong desire to remain in Miami. Still, it’s apparently questionable whether he’d want to remain with the Heat if LeBron James left.

It’s not truly surprising that the Raptors would envision trading Lowry for Bosh, given that Bosh is a perennial All-Star and Lowry has never been selected for the game. Still, the notion that the Raptors are attempting to make the move, even as they’ve professed allegiance to Lowry time and again, indicates that they’re willing to be bold and leave no option unexplored this summer.

Heat Turning Away Calls For Norris Cole

February 18th, 2014 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

Several teams have inquired about Norris Cole, but the Heat are vehemently rejecting offers for their backup point guard, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Most rival teams view him as a starting-caliber player, according to Charania.

Cole is in the third season of his rookie scale contract, making slightly more than $1.1MM. That bargain price could go up soon, as he’ll be eligible for an extension this summer, when starting point guard Mario Chalmers, among many others on the Heat, is set to become a free agent. Cole will make about $2MM next season, the final year before an extension or a new contract would kick in.

Heat Exercise 2014/15 Option On Norris Cole

October 8th, 2013 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have officially exercised their fourth-year option on Norris Cole, the team announced today (Twitter link). Cole had already been under contract for the coming season, but now his deal will be guaranteed for 2014/15 as well. He’ll be in line for a salary of $2.04MM in ’14/15.

Cole, 24, has been the Heat’s backup point guard for the last two years, winning a pair of titles with the team. The former 28th overall pick posted identical PERs of 7.9 in his first two NBA seasons, along with 6.1 PPG and 2.0 APG in 145 career contests (19.7 MPG).

Despite a recent report suggesting that Miami was gauging Cole’s trade value, a Heat source tells Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld that it was little more than “due diligence.” For his part, Cole isn’t letting the rumors bother him, as Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes.

For a complete breakdown on 2014/15 rookie contract options, be sure to check out our tracker. Decisions on those third- and fourth-year options are due by Halloween.

Amico On Heat, Cole, Bulls, Howard, Casspi

October 6th, 2013 at 7:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Sam Amico of FOX Sports has tons of info in today's column, let's dive in and check out some of the highlights..

The Heat certainly aren't desperate to shake up the roster, but word is they’ve explored what backup point guard Norris Cole may bring in a trade. While Cole is rather inconsistent on offense, he's a very strong on-ball defender.
Amico cautions against reading too much into the reported friction between Bulls GM Gar Forman and coach Tom Thibodeau. Phil Jackson and exec Jerry West didn’t get along in L.A. but they co-existed well enough to see the club win three straight titles. Jackson and GM Jerry Krause got along even worse than that in Chicago, so it shouldn't affect the on-court product at all.
Ron Howard, currently in camp with the Pacers, is someone to keep an eye on. He might not be a fit in Indiana, but execs from around the league feel that he'd be a nice locker room addition to a young squad.
It's early, but Amico came away impressed by Omri Casspi in the Rockets-Pelicans preseason opener. Casspi has languished on the Cavs' bench for the last two years but will look to start anew in Houston.

Heat ‘Feverishly’ Pursued Trade For Nikola Vucevic

March 6th, 2013 at 10:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nikola Vucevic gives the Heat fits, having twice gone for at least 20 points and 20 rebounds against the team after tonight's 25-point, 21-board performance. The second-year Magic center could have been putting up those numbers for the Heat instead of against them if Miami had been willing to part with either Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, or both, according to John Denton of Magic.com (Twitter link). Denton tweets that the Heat were "feverishly" trying to trade for Vucevic when he was with the Sixers last season, but apparently they weren't willing to give up their top two point guards to make it happen.

The Sixers dealt Vucevic to the Magic in August as part of the four-team Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum blockbuster. The 22-year-old native of Switzerland has blossomed in Orlando, where he averages 12.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as the starting center. He's seeing twice as many minutes per game as he did last year with Philadelphia, which made him the 16th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Vucevic saw even less time in the playoffs, notching just three minutes during the Sixers' run to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Heat had evidently seen enough to believe he could address their deficiencies in the paint. Miami has grabbed the fewest rebounds of any team in the league, and certainly the addition of Vucevic would have helped remedy that. Money likely wasn't an inhibiting factor for the Heat, since he's on a rookie-scale contract that pays him just $1.7MM this season. Still, Heat president Pat Riley and the rest of the team's front office probably didn't predict Vucevic would develop as well and as quickly as he has. If they had foreseen it, they might have had pause about dealing away both of their top two point guards, though they're apparently confident enough in the ballhandling abilities of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James to go without a third point guard this season.