Patrick Beverley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Rumors: McDaniels, Terry, Beverley

May 25th, 2015 at 9:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

K.J. McDaniels hopes to re-sign with the Rockets this summer when he’s expected to enter restricted free agency, as he said to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (All Twitter links). The Rockets can reserve the right to match competing bids for the rookie, who has missed the playoffs with a fractured wrist, if they tender a qualifying offer worth slightly more than $1.045MM.

In other news regarding the Rockets:

Jason Terry will play again next season, he told Marc Stein of ESPN.com. “100%,” the veteran point guard said to Stein before Monday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. Terry, an unrestricted free agent after the season, moved into the starting lineup when Patrick Beverley suffered a season-ending wrist injury. The Rockets will try to re-sign Terry, Stein adds.
Beverley expressed his desire to remain with the Rockets but his value has gone up during his absence in the playoffs, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. The Rockets were able to advance to the conference finals without him but their weakened perimeter defense has been exposed by the Warriors’ Stephen Curry, Feigen continues. “I think I have a gift very few people have,” Beverley said to Feigen. “I know I’m the best on-ball defender in the NBA. I’m the best point guard defender in the NBA. I think the whole league knows that.” Beverley had a bargain-rate contract of $915,243 this season and is seeking a substantial raise and long-term security. “I put myself in position these last couple years to be successful and take care of my family for the rest of my life,” he added to Feigen. “I’ve been here three years on a minimum contract. At the end of the day, I have to understand business is business.”

And-Ones: Tomic, Huertas, Free Agents

April 28th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Ante Tomic is set to sign a three-year extension with FC Barcelona, and will not be making the jump to the NBA next season, Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo.com reports (translation by Jody Genessy of The Deseret News via Twitter). It was Tomic’s wife who vetoed the move to the NBA, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com, though the idea of being stuck behind Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors on Utah’s depth chart could have played a part as well, Genessy adds (Twitter link). Tomic had previously suggested that this offseason was likely going to be his last opportunity to enter the NBA.

Here’s more from around the league and abroad:

Brazilian point guard Marcelo Huertas, also known as Marcelinho Huertas, is planning a move to the NBA next season, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. The 31-year-old is expected to be aggressively pursued as a backup guard this offseason, Wojnarowski notes. In 29 games for FC Barcelona this past season, the 6’3″ Huertas averaged 7.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 21.7 minutes per contest. “This is the right time,” Huertas told Wojnarowski. “[Rockets guard] Pablo Prigioni is the guy most likely to get compared to me, because our career trajectory had been similar in Europe. And like him, I can run a team without worrying about scoring.”
According to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, five free agents whose playoff performance helped improve their stock are Khris Middleton (Bucks), Tristan Thompson (Cavs), Jae Crowder (Celtics), Josh Smith (Rockets), and Austin Rivers (Clippers).
On the flip side, Blakely lists Patrick Beverley (Rockets), Brandon Bass (Celtics), Lou Williams (Raptors), Omer Asik (Pelicans), and Rajon Rondo (Mavs) as players whose stock has taken a hit since the postseason began.

Texas Notes: Morey, McHale, Rondo

April 23rd, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Reports have indicated the Rockets would like to re-sign Patrick Beverley and Josh Smith, and GM Daryl Morey tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com that the same feeling applies to other Rockets.

“We’re pretty focused on now, but obviously pretty much everyone on this team, we’re going to be focused on trying to bring them back,” Morey said. “We got quite a few free agents, Josh Smith is one, we’re going to address in the offseason. We feel if our team can keep executing, we feel like we can keep getting better with the group that we have here.”

Corey Brewer, Jason Terry and K.J. McDaniels are the team’s other soon-to-be free agents. Here’s more from Houston and elsewhere around the Lone Star State:

Morey also lauded Kevin McHale in his interview with Watkins, saying that a team’s coach “has a huge impact” on the decisions free agents make when they sign. The Rockets inked McHale to a three-year extension in December.
Several members of the Mavs organization rolled their eyes after the team announced Wednesday that Rajon Rondo was out indefinitely with a back injury, seemingly dubious that his health has anything to do with his absence from the team, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com examines. Coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that he doesn’t expect Rondo, set for free agency this summer, to return to Dallas.
Sources close to Rondo tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that the Mavs have never been an ideal fit for the point guard and that everyone involved has just been trying to make the best of it, as Kyler writes within in NBA AM piece.
The Spurs and Mavs reportedly believe they’ll have a chance to sign LaMarcus Aldridge this summer, as we passed along earlier.

Lakers ‘Inevitable’ Destination For Rajon Rondo?

April 22nd, 2015 at 4:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:50pm: During a press conference today, Carlisle was asked if he expected Rondo to wear a Mavericks uniform again, to which the coach responded, “No, I don’t,” Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets. The coach was also asked if he believed that he could coexist with Rondo in the future, to which Carlisle responded, “Absolutely. I like Rondo. My relationship with him was professional.”

8:59am: Rajon Rondo hasn’t given up on the Mavericks, but there’s strong momentum toward an “inevitable” departure for the Lakers in free agency this summer, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Rondo won’t return to Dallas as long as Rick Carlisle is the coach, sources told Wojnarowski, who suggests that the Mavs might not want the point guard back, anyway. In any case, no team is planning a maximum-salary offer for Rondo, whose value has been in decline since he suffered a torn ACL in January 2013, according to Wojnarowski.

Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com also uses the word “inevitable” to describe Rondo’s parting from the Mavericks. MacMahon reported earlier this month that the Bill Duffy client was expected to ask for more than the Mavs were willing to pay him, adding that the Mavs’ stance on the matter was subject to change if Rondo played well in the postseason. That hasn’t happened, as the Rockets outscored Dallas by 25 points with Rondo on the floor in Game 1, and Carlisle saw fit to have Rondo on the floor for fewer than 10 minutes in Game 2, as MacMahon points out. The Mavs played 11 men during the fourth quarter, but Rondo wasn’t one of them, notes Ben Golliver of SI.com (Twitter link). Chandler Parsons wasn’t one of them either, as he sat out with a knee injury from which he won’t return during the Rockets series, sources told Wojnarowski.

Reports indicated that the Rockets pushed to trade for Rondo almost until the Celtics sent him to the Mavs instead, but Duffy never wanted Rondo in Houston, since his presence would hinder fellow Duffy client Patrick Beverley‘s value, as Wojnarowski details. Still, the Rockets went after Rondo in an attempt to drive up the price for the Mavs, according to Wojnarowski. Rondo planned to sign a max deal with the Lakers prior to the trade, but afterward he became open to re-signing with Dallas, Wojnarowski writes. However, it now appears as though there’s little chance the point guard will re-sign with the Mavs. Kobe Bryant has made no secret of his desire to recruit Rondo to the Lakers, who’ve reportedly been likely to make a summer pursuit of the point guard since at least the beginning of the season.

Texas Notes: Beverley, Mavs, Spurs

April 11th, 2015 at 8:26pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Patrick Beverley hopes to return to the court if the Rockets make a deep playoff run, Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston writes. “Very strong possibility,” the 26-year-old said about his possible return. “Very strong. Let’s hope everything goes right.” Beverley, who will become a free agent at the end the season, also expressed his interest in returning to the team. “I want to be in Houston. I want to be a part of this whole thing that we’ve built since me and James first got here, but that’s not under my control. That’s up to my agent and [general manager] Daryl Morey of the Rockets. It’s going to be interesting this summer. I’m just happy I put myself in a position where I can play basketball and earn enough money to take care of my family,” the point guard said. “The culture, the city is me. A hard-working blue-collar type of city. I embrace that and they embrace me. I will definitely enjoy being here again.”

Here’s more from Texas:

Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News believes this season won’t be Dirk Nowitzki‘s last. Cowlishaw also adds that he could see Tyson Chandler, who will be a free agent this offseason, leave the Mavs. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Dallas’ frontcourt, I’d speculate the team will have both players back for the 2015/16 season.
San Antonio has assigned Kyle Anderson to its D-League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website. This will be Anderson’s sixth trip to the D-League this season.
The Spurs are ready to pass the torch to Kawhi Leonard, writes Andrew Keh of The New York Times. “It’s going to be Kawhi’s team, anyway,” 32-year-old Tony Parker said. “[Tim Duncan] transitioned to [Manu Ginobili], Manu transitioned to me, and now it’s going to be transitioned to Kawhi.” Leonard will be a restricted free agent during the offseason and it was reported that the team would almost certainly match any offer sheet that he signs.

Rockets Plan Push To Re-Sign Patrick Beverley

March 31st, 2015 at 11:54am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets are “determined” to re-sign Patrick Beverley this summer amid no shortage of interest from other clubs around the league, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes in a report on the latest surrounding the point guard’s season-ending wrist injury. Beverley, whom the Rockets have employed as their starting point guard for just the minimum salary, is set for restricted free agency this summer.

It will take four months for Beverley to recover from the surgery he underwent today, league sources tell Wojnarowski. There was a “fleeting hope” prior to surgery that Beverely could have been back to play in the Western Conference Finals if the Rockets made it to that round, according to Wojnarowski, but that’s not to be. A four-month timetable would mean he wouldn’t be ready until August, a month after free agency begins, but Beverley is expected to be near full recovery by the time he hits the market, Wojnarowski writes.

Houston has reportedly held interest in fellow soon-to-be free agent Goran Dragic since before the season began, though he apparently didn’t make them a preferred trade destination at the deadline because he worried that the Rockets would seek to trade him if he signed a long-term deal with them. The Rockets likely would have given up Beverley in a trade for Dragic, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, and when Houston was close to signing Chris Bosh last summer, the Heat were poised to target Beverley in sign-and-trade talks, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reported.

Still, it appears that absent a desire from Dragic to sign with the Rockets, Houston is prepared to recommit to Beverley, and according to Wojnarowski, the Rockets want a long-term deal. Beverley has expressed contentment in playing for the team. The BDA Management client has a reputation as a strong defender, though he’s down the list of point guards on ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus ratings and of guards as ranked by Basketball-Reference’s Defensive Box Plus/Minus. Still, he averaged a career-high 3.4 assists this season, and he shot 35.6% from three-point territory.

Patrick Beverley Out For Season, Playoffs

March 30th, 2015 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:49pm: The Rockets confirmed the news in an official announcement.

12:40pm: Patrick Beverley will miss the rest of the season and the playoffs after deciding to go ahead and have surgery to repair ligaments in his left wrist, a source told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The news is no surprise, particularly after Rockets coach Kevin McHale said Sunday that the point guard probably wouldn’t return to play in 2014/15. GM Daryl Morey said on ESPN Radio’s NBA Insiders show Sunday night that a final decision on Beverley’s season was expected today, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Surgery was inevitable, but it was just a matter of whether Beverley could play through it, Stein adds (Twitter link).

Beverley’s been out of action for the past week as the wrist has undergone evaluations. It’s a tough blow for the Rockets, and though Morey acknowledged that it would be more difficult without him, he said in his ESPN Radio appearance Sunday that he believes the team could still win the title, notes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. That’s in spite of Houston’s relative lack of depth at the point, where he and Pablo Prigioni are the only true one-guards on the roster. The Rockets have used combo guard Jason Terry as the starting point guard in Beverley’s stead, with Trevor Ariza, Corey Brewer and Nick Johnson also seeing some duties at the position, Feigen points out.

Houston already has 15 players on the roster and the team is limited to handing out the minimum salary, with the deadline to apply for disabled player exceptions long since passed. Beverley, Kostas Papanikolaou and Donatas Motiejunas are all expected to miss extended periods of time, and Terrence Jones is out indefinitely, so there’s a chance the NBA would grant the team a 16th roster spot via hardship. That would only be a temporary fix, however, and Houston would be hard-pressed to replace Beverley’s production.

The third-year veteran is known for his aggressive defense, but he also nailed 35.6% of his three-point shots while averaging 10.1 points per game, his second straight season as a double-figure scorer. The BDA Sports Management client is due for restricted free agency this summer, though several reports have identified the Rockets as having interest in soon-to-be unrestricted free agent point guard Goran Dragic. Still, Beverley figures to be fairly sought-after if not by his incumbent team, then by others around the Association, in spite of his injury.

Western Notes: Beverley, Nuggets, Kanter

March 29th, 2015 at 10:13pm CST by Will Joseph

Rockets coach Kevin McHale told reporters, including Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, that injured point guard Patrick Beverley will “probably” miss the rest of the season. Beverley tore ligaments in his left wrist in a game against the Pacers on Monday. Beverley has been seeking opinions of specialists to determine whether he can play with the injury or would need surgery, Feigen added. Multiple sources close to the situation told Feigen on Sunday that no decision has been made.

Here’s more on the Rockets and the Western Conference:

Rockets rookie Nick Johnson has seen an uptick in minutes because of injuries like Beverley’s and his role in the point guard rotation will likely continue, Feigen writes in a separate story.
Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post believes the Nuggets could make a run at acquiring Nets big man Brook Lopez after the season if Lopez decides to opt out of his $16.7MM player option for the 2015/16 season. The Nets reportedly made attempts to trade Lopez at the deadline. The Nuggets had interest in landing Lopez before the deadline, Dempsey added.
Enes Kanter, who will become a restricted free agent this summer, is back to enjoying basketball because the Thunder have the big man playing to his strengths, Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. Kanter was traded from the Jazz, at his request, in a deadline-day move. Kanter is averaging 17.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in 17 games with the Thunder as opposed to 13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game in 49 games with the Jazz earlier this season. Elhassan writes that the improved production with the Thunder is a result of fewer spot-up opportunities in Oklahoma City, more offensive rebound opportunities and a much higher pick-and-roll efficiency.

And-Ones: Beverley, Woodson, Terry

March 25th, 2015 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Patrick Beverley‘s injured wrist is still being evaluated and the player will miss at least ten days, and potentially the remainder of the Rockets‘ season if he requires surgery, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “He is going to meet more people today and get a final determination as to what is going to happen,” coach Kevin McHale said. “There probably won’t be any major decisions made for a week-10 days, see what happens.” Beverly has been diagnosed with a torn ligament, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

Here’s more from around the league:

Former Knicks coach and current Clippers assistant Mike Woodson says that he absolutely wants to be an NBA head coach again, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter link).
Woodson also said that if he had been retained as Knicks coach he would have pushed for the team to hold onto Tyson Chandler and to keep the veteran core together another season, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets.
With the loss of Beverely, the Rockets will need Jason Terry to step up his game if the team is to stay afloat in the Western Conference, Creech writes in a separate article. “I am looking to turn up my aggression offensively,” Terry said. “It’s something I haven’t been doing all season. You have seen a spark once or twice, like in Atlanta, maybe the Milwaukee game, but at this age it’s hard to do that all the time, but in these last two weeks before the playoffs, I am going to turn up my aggression very high and try to get a rhythm and consistency on the offensive end of the floor.”

And-Ones: Draft, McRoberts, Beverley

March 24th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Josh McRoberts is traveling with the Heat for the first time since tearing the meniscus in his right knee in early December, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes. “He’s progressing very well, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves right now and I wouldn’t look too much into this road trip,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s really to help him with his spirits being around the team, and we’re enjoying that, but the larger picture is he’s going to be able to do more work with our training staff. The last couple road trips we left him back there to work with our trainers, but we’ve had so many injuries that we need our full staff here right now. That means Josh has to come with us. But he will not be working with the basketball coaches, not yet.”

When asked about the possibility of McRoberts returning to action this season, Spoelstra said, “He’s still not working with coaches. Everything is with trainers right now. I check in with him every single day. Most of the work is in the training room and the weight room. I’m not thinking about him playing this year.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Rockets will learn on Wednesday if Patrick Beverley will need season-ending surgery on his injured wrist, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). The guard is waiting for doctors to inform him if continued play will risk further ligament damage before making his final decision, Spears adds.
The Wizards and the Nets are both interested in one-to-one affiliations with D-League teams, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Both franchises currently share the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with the 11 other NBA teams also without one-to-one affiliations.
LSU sophomore forward Jordan Mickey is leaning toward entering the 2015 NBA draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Mickey averaged 15.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the Tigers this season. The 6’8″ big man is currently ranked as the No. 81 prospect by DraftExpress.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News looked at 10 players whose performances in the NCAA Tournament improved their NBA draft stock. Deveney’s list includes Justise Winslow (Duke), Terry Rozier (Louisville), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), and Jakob Poeltl (Utah).