P.J. Tucker Rumors | Hoops Rumors

P.J. Tucker Drawing Trade Interest

January 19th, 2017 at 10:04am CST by Will Joseph

The market for P.J. Tucker, who is on track for unrestricted free agency this summer, is growing and several teams hold interest in acquiring the veteran small forward, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports. The Clippers, Bulls, Cavaliers, Timberwolves and Hawks all have interest in trading for Tucker, who is known for is defensive prowess, Gambadoro reports.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Knicks had interest in Tucker as well, but Gambadoro did not add New York to his list. Gambadoro cautions that a trade may not get done for a few reasons. The main one seems to be that Phoenix is also interested in re-signing Tucker because it does not have another player like him with his defensive and rebounding abilities, Gambadoro writes. Unless the Suns are confident they can re-sign him, however, it makes to shop him around.

The Suns likely aren’t willing to part with Tucker unless they can get a first-round pick or good prospect in return, Gambadoro reports, and for a team like the Clippers, that may be a deal-breaker, considering Tucker is only a marginal upgrade over someone like Wesley Johnson. This is simply my speculation, but of the teams listed, a larger trade would likely have to take place for it to make sense because those clubs do not have much to offer in terms of draft picks or young talent.

Tucker has made only 17 starts for the Suns this season, but has appeared in 41 games. His minutes are down a bit at 27.4 per game. Never known as a particularly strong shooter, Tucker is averaging 6.3 points per game and is attempting 5.7 field goals per game. His 5.7 rebounds per game is lower than any of his averages in that category in his three previous seasons with the Suns.

Knicks View P.J. Tucker As Potential Trade Target

January 4th, 2017 at 2:31pm CST by Luke Adams

2:31pm: Although the Knicks’ front office has its eye on Tucker, no trade discussions between the two teams have taken place at this point, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link).

8:54am: As they continue attempting to address their defensive issues, the Knicks have identified a Suns wing player as a potential trade target. According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, New York’s front office has been eyeing P.J. Tucker, labeling him as a player the team may pursue before this year’s trade deadline.

Tucker, 31, has played for Phoenix since returning from overseas in 2012, appearing in 356 games for the Suns over the last five seasons. Having averaged 30+ minutes per game in each of the last three seasons, Tucker has seen his playing time reduced a little this year (27.1 MPG) and is coming off the bench more often than he’s starting for the first time since his return to the NBA. In 36 games this season, he has recorded 6.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 1.3 SPG.

As our list of 2017 free agents by team shows, Tucker is the only Suns player currently on track for unrestricted free agency this summer. Unless the club is fairly confident he’ll be re-signed in July, it could make sense for Phoenix to gauge the market for him in the coming weeks and get an asset or two in return.

It’s not clear what the Knicks would give up if they put a formal offer on the table for Tucker. As Begley observes, the club has a few intriguing young players, like Willy Hernangomez, Kyle O’Quinn, and Mindaugas Kuzminskas. Draft picks could also be in play, though Begley notes that Phil Jackson and the Knicks’ front office were unwilling to part with future first-rounders last season.

Tucker is earning a fairly modest $5.3MM salary in 2016/17, so if the Knicks were to make a move for him, they’d only have to send out about $3.5MM to accommodate a deal under cap rules.

Pacific Notes: Tucker, Lawson, D’Antoni

December 23rd, 2016 at 9:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Suns want to become a team with a strong defensive mentality and they feel they have their best unit with P.J. Tucker in the line-up, Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic writes.

“If you go through the NBA and you were to ask every player about P.J. Tucker, I guarantee you everyone would say he’s one of the top defenders in the league,” coach Earl Watson said. “Players have this unwritten and unspoken respect that we have for each other, and you know who can really play and who can’t. P.J.’s been magnificent for us. He plays with his heart.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Ty Lawson is adjusting to his role off the bench for the Kings and coach Dave Joerger believes the point guard can give the team more than a typical reserve can, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. “Generally, backups will play 16 to 18 minutes,” Joerger said. “I think he’s way better than that … I want him to know I have the faith in him to play him longer minutes.” Lawson signed with Sacramento on a one-year deal during the offseason.
Lawson said he was “overthinking” earlier in the season, which led to him struggling, but the 29-year-old is starting to find his game again, Jones adds in the same piece. His teammates admire his aggressiveness in attacking the paint. “He’s the smallest guy on the floor with the biggest heart,” Cousins said. “To get down there and battle with the trees, he does it all.”
Mike D’Antoni speaks highly of the city of Phoenix and of his time with the Suns, as Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle relays. “Yeah, it’s special, there’s no doubt,” D’Antoni said. “It was special to live here, and the people and the fans. It was a good time.”

Western Notes: Russell, Adams, Tucker

October 10th, 2016 at 1:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A breakout performance by D’Angelo Russell during Sunday night’s preseason game against the Nuggets may bode well for the Lakers‘ future as the team still seeks an identity, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes. “It means a lot,” Russell said about scoring a game-high 33 points on 13-of-19 shooting in about 32 minutes. “We don’t want to go through losing seasons. We don’t want to go through rebuilding as an excuse of losing. We’re rebuilding, but we still find a way to win games, and we’re capable. We have the pieces. We don’t have an All-Star guy or anything like that. Hopefully some potential [All-Star] guys, but we’re taking everything serious.”

“Yeah, the thing with us right now is, we don’t have an identity,” Russell continued. “Other teams, they have star players. They’ve got glue guys. They know what they’re capable of. [The] same teams are showing up in the playoffs at the end of the year no matter how the season goes. We don’t have an identity right now, so it’s all about taking everything serious — taking every preseason [game], every practice, everything we do is serious when we’re trying to identify ourselves.”

Here’s more from out West:

There is no timetable yet for when Steven Adams will return to action after spraining his right ankle last week, with the Thunder still saying the center is day-to-day, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes. “I don’t think that they feel like he’s close to playing right now, so I don’t want to rule him out for Dallas [on Tuesday night] because I don’t know,” coach Billy Donovan said “It’s kind of been, see what happens the next day [and] how he’s feeling. But clearly he’s done more today than he has the last couple days, which is good.”
As P.J. Tucker makes his return from back surgery, his focus is not on his impending free agency after the season, but on helping the Suns make it to the postseason, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “This might be the most highly motivated year I’ve had in my career,” Tucker said. “People tend to think you get comfortable because you’ve been on a team so long. I’m pushing myself. I’ve been on the sideline pushing my teammates. I’ve been here a long time and I haven’t made the playoffs yet. It may be a contract year, but more than anything, I want to make playoffs. That’s the only thing I’m thinking about right now.”

P.J. Tucker Out 6-8 Weeks With Back Injury

September 15th, 2016 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Suns forward P.J. Tucker may not be ready for opening night, after having undergone a successful microdiscectomy procedure on his lower back, the Suns announced today in a press release. The team expects Tucker to be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks.

Tucker, the longest-tenured Sun, appeared in all 82 games for Phoenix last year, starting 80 of them and averaging a career-high 31.0 minutes per contest. For the season, he averaged 8.0 PPG and 6.2 RPG, chipping in 2.2 APG and 1.3 SPG as well.

With Tucker sidelined, players like Devin Booker, Jared Dudley, and T.J. Warren could see a few extra minutes early in the season. However, unless the Suns expect the issue to linger well into the season, Tucker’s recovery shouldn’t have a real impact on the team’s 15-man roster decisions.

Earlier today, we heard that the Suns will add Mike Moser, Shaquille Harrison, and Derrick Jones Jr. to their training camp roster. Those three players will vie with John Jenkins and perhaps one or two other players for the 15th and final roster spot in Phoenix, though they’ll likely end up heading to the D-League’s Northern Arizona Suns.

Free Agent Notes: Parsons, Conley, Lin, Smith

July 1st, 2016 at 10:12am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agents Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons have talked several times about teaming up in Memphis, posts Tim MacMahon on ESPN Now. Parsons, who already has a maximum offer on the table from the Blazers, will meet with Grizzlies officials later today in Los Angeles. Conley has a meeting scheduled with the Mavericks, but MacMahon says Conley and Parsons haven’t talked about becoming teammates in Dallas.

There’s more news on the first day of free agency:

The Pelicans could have signed point guard Jeremy Lin, but weren’t willing to give him more than $10MM per season, tweets Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Lin agreed to a deal with the Nets this morning for $36MM over three years.
Ish Smith, who agreed to terms with the Pistons early this morning, felt slighted that the Sixers waited so long to call him, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The team didn’t reach out to Smith until 3:30 a.m., and by that time he had decided to go to Detroit.
With more than $60MM to spend, the Sixers are targeting guards as free agency begins, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. He names the Thunder’s Dion Waiters, the Clippers‘ Jamal Crawford and the Blazers‘ Allen Crabbe as players that Philadelphia has interest in.
The Suns have guaranteed P.J. Tucker‘s salary for next season, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. The 31-year-old small forward will receive $5.3MM in 2016/17. He only had a partial guarantee of $1.5MM before Thursday.
The Wolves have contacted Bulls free agent guard E’Twaun Moore, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Moore averaged 7.5 points and 1.7 assists in 59 games this season.
Several teams are expected to pursue Blazers restricted free agent Maurice Harkless, posts Marc Spears on ESPN Now. A source tells Spears that the Wizards, Pistons, Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz are all interested.

Western Rumors: Anderson, Rockets, Lakers

February 18th, 2016 at 2:02pm CST by Will Joseph

The price New Orleans has set for Ryan Anderson is “exorbitant,” tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The Cavs were one of several teams linked to having interest in acquiring Anderson, who is set to be a free agent this summer. Anderson is expected to attract a salary starting at $16MM-$18MM when he hits the market this summer. It’s interesting to note how much the Pelicans are asking for Anderson because they aren’t even sure if they can keep him beyond this season.

Here is more trade deadline news from the Western Conference:

The Rockets have been gauging the value of point guard Patrick Beverley, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter).
P.J. Tucker is one of the Suns‘ top assets, but he has been told he will not be traded, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
The Lakers have taken calls regarding Roy Hibbert, but they don’t intend to buy him out if he is not dealt, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com tweets. Most teams interested in Brandon Bass and Hibbert would force the Lakers to take back unattractive contracts, Shelburne also tweets.
Mike Conley‘s first choice when he hits free agency this summer is to stay with the Grizzlies, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reports.

Bucks, Suns Talk Teletovic; Markieff Still On Block

February 18th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks and Suns are in talks about a trade that would send Mirza Teletovic to Milwaukee, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). It’s among multiple conversations Phoenix is having, Stein notes. The Suns continue to shop Markieff Morris and receive interest from the Raptors and others in P.J. Tucker, Stein adds (on Twitter). The effort on the Morris front is in spite of Morris having said Wednesday night that he wants to stay in Phoenix, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

“Happy where I am now and we’ll see what happens,” Morris said. “It’s a part of the game. I’ve learned that this past two years. A lot of stuff is going to happen that’s not in my control. All I can do is wait to see if I’m here. If I’m not, I had a couple great years here and I loved it. If I am, keep on moving forward and get better.”

Morris and Teletovic both play power forward. Jon Leuer is the only other natural four on the Phoenix roster. Teletovic’s $5.5MM salary is slightly too large for Milwaukee’s $5.2MM trade exception, as Stein points out, so the Bucks would have to send at least $3.6MM in salary to the Suns to faciliate a deal.

The Raptors had interest in Morris, but they’re apparently out of the mix on him. The Suns as of mid-January had reportedly been delaying talks about Teletovic, who’s on a one-year contract, and Tucker until they had a better idea of whether they could make the playoffs, but Phoenix hit the All-Star break 13 games out of a playoff spot.

Raptors Highly Interested In Ryan Anderson

February 11th, 2016 at 1:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors have high interest in Ryan Anderson as the trade deadline approaches, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Toronto joins a handful of teams apparently eyeing the soon-to-be free agent for a trade, as well as the Pistons, who’ve reportedly been looking at him but only as a potential offseason signee. The Raptors are seeking power forwards, with Thaddeus Young, Kenneth Faried and Markieff Morris among the names on their radar, according to multiple reports. Toronto has engaged in exploratory discussions about those three as well as P.J. Tucker, another object of their interest, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, though it’s not entirely clear whether those are internal or external talks.

Anderson is making $8.5MM this season, and the Raptors, who are over the cap and without a trade exception, would have to match for that salary to trade for him, a complicated task given the construction of Toronto’s roster, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca has pointed out. Toronto has an extra pick in each of the next two drafts to offer, and GM Masai Ujiri has signaled an intent to eventually trade at least one of those, but any deal would have to involve more than just draft assets going to New Orleans.

Conflicting reports have emerged about the likelihood of an Anderson trade this season, though more of them indicate that he’s not the likeliest trade candidate on the New Orleans roster than the other way around. New Orleans reportedly made Anderson available earlier this season, but the team wasn’t anxious to trade him, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported, adding Wednesday that the Wizards have asked about him. The Rockets “kicked the tires” on Anderson earlier this season, Kyler also reported. New Orleans apparently had talks with the Suns that involved Anderson, while differing reports paint an unclear picture of whether the Pelicans turned down an offer from the Kings of Rudy Gay for Anderson.

The subject of the Raptors and power forwards was the topic for our Community Shootaround on Wednesday.

Wizards Ask About Anderson, Tucker, Booker

February 10th, 2016 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards have inquired about Ryan Anderson, P.J. Tucker and Trevor Booker as they search for help at power forward, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who writes in his NBA AM piece. Washington hasn’t gained much traction in talks thus far, Kyler cautions, having heard that the team believes the serious talk will take place during the All-Star break. The Wizards have been disappointing this season, sitting one game in the loss column behind the eighth-place Pistons in the Eastern Conference, but they’re unlikely to break up their core, Kyler writes.

Multiple reports within the last month have indicated that the Pelicans are more willing to trade other players than they are with Anderson, and coach Alvin Gentry has said he’s unlikely to end up in a deal, even though NBA executives reportedly believed, at least as of January, that if the Pelicans were to make a trade this season, Anderson would be in it. Stretch fours appeal to Washington, according to Kyler, and Anderson, a career 38% 3-point shooter, fits that bill. New Orleans reportedly made Anderson available earlier this season, but the team wasn’t anxious to trade him, as Kyler reported, later noting that the Rockets “kicked the tires” on him. New Orleans apparently had talks with the Suns about Markieff Morris that involved Anderson. Reports conflict on whether New Orleans turned down an offer from the Kings of Rudy Gay for Anderson

Tucker has consistently been attracting interest on the trade market, with the Raptors among those eyeing him, multiple reports have said. The Suns were reportedly holding off on trade discussions involving him as of last month, waiting to gauge their postseason hopes, but Phoenix has fallen 12 games behind the eighth-place Rockets. He’d be an undersized option at the four, since he’s 6’6″ and primarily plays small forward, but Washington has used 6’7″ Jared Dudley extensively at power forward this season. Tucker, unlike Anderson and Booker, has one more year left on his contract, but it’s only partially guaranteed for $1.5MM, so it wouldn’t take a significant chunk out of Washington’s cap flexibility for the summer ahead.

Rumors about Booker have been sparse, even though he’s on an expiring contract with the Jazz that gives him $4.775MM this season. Washington’s interest in Booker is somewhat curious, even though he spent his first four NBA seasons there, since the Wizards elected not to tender a qualifying offer to him when he was eligible for restricted free agency in 2014.

What should the Wizards do at the deadline? Leave a comment to share your ideas.