Paul George Rumors | Hoops Rumors

FA Rumors: Grant, Scott, George, McCullough

June 29th, 2018 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls, Pacers, and Magic are among the teams expected to push the Thunder for free agent forward Jerami Grant, a source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Grant emerged as a key bench piece for Oklahoma City in 2017/18, averaging 8.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG with a .535 FG%. However, the Thunder may be hard-pressed to retain him if Paul George returns, since the club would be well over the tax line, making a competitive offer for Grant worth exponentially more expensive due to potential tax penalties.

Here are a few more notes and rumors on free agency, with the new NBA league year just two days away:

The Wizards are hoping to re-sign Mike Scott in free agency, but the veteran forward is expected to draw significant interest on the open market, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Hughes suggests that as many as 10 teams are preparing to reach out to Scott’s representatives.
In an interesting piece for ESPN.com, Royce Young takes an in-depth look at the Thunder‘s year-long recruitment of Paul George, explaining how the club has put itself in position to be a serious suitor for the star forward this offseason.
Wizards forward Chris McCullough, who will become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday, has committed to playing for the Sixers‘ Summer League team, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer details.
Coming off a big EuroLeague season, James Nunnally is re-testing the NBA market, according to international basketball reporter David Pick, who tweets that Nunnally worked out for the Trail Blazers and will also get a look from the Timberwolves.
One player agent who spoke to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype said he’s worried that many agents will be fired this summer as a result of a tight market. “It’s going to be the worst free-agent market in terms of money that I’ve seen since I started working as an agent,” the agent said. “It’s going to be a very, very difficult summer for anyone who isn’t getting a max contract.” ESPN’s Kevin Pelton took a closer look at the team-friendly market and identified a few free agents who might get squeezed.

Lowe’s Latest: James, Thunder, RFAs

June 28th, 2018 at 7:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Lakers may not necessarily need a star in place to lure LeBron James, Zach Lowe of ESPN writes in a massive round-up of free agency notes. If James were to sign in Los Angeles alongside the team’s existing young stars and plethora of cap space they’d immediately become one of the league’s most appealing destinations for the next 12 months.

The comment comes in response to the notion that the Lakers are growing desperate to acquire Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs prior to James’ opt-in deadline tomorrow at 10:59pm CST. As things stand, both the Celtics and Sixers appear poised to offer better packages than what Lowe speculates L.A. might.

The King’s decision will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league, especially the Eastern Conference. If the Raptors, for example, were to watch James head to the West, it would make keeping their current core in place more appealing considering that their path to the Finals would be hypothetically easier.

Here’s a taste of the rest of Lowe’s findings:

If the Thunder can convince Paul George to return to Oklahoma City, it will be a monumental victory for general manager Sam Presti. If he leaves, the club would be forced to at least think about blowing the current squad up and trading Russell Westbrook.
Only six teams have notable amounts of potential cap space and half of those – the Hawks, Bulls and Kings – are telling teams that they’re interested in using that space to absorb bad contracts and pick up assets.
It’s unclear that there will be much of a market for Derrick Favors beyond, potentially the Mavs. It may make more sense for the big man to stay with the Jazz after finally starting to click alongside Rudy Gobert in Quin Snyder‘s offense last season.
The two best candidates to sign a qualifying offer this summer and approach next summer as unrestricted free agents are Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic. Lowe writes that Nurkic turned down a “rich” four-year extension last fall but might have a hard time finding a team willing to offer more than the mid-level exception this summer.
It stands to reason that Aaron Gordon, Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker will yield significant offers from the Magic, Bulls and Bucks respectively but none of those teams have reason to offer a max contract right away.
The Pacers could make life harder for the Magic by putting together an offer in the $20MM range for Gordon. Lowe writes that there has been “mild discontent for years” about Gordon’s role in Orlando’s offense.
The Nuggets tried “feverishly” to trade for a second first-round pick last Thursday in the hopes of nabbing Zhaire Smith. Denver’s 2019 first-rounder was on the table in those talks.

For more free agency notes, including some potential contract extension candidates and the reasoning behind Nikola Jokic not getting a player option in the fifth year of his new deal with the Nuggets, check out the full feature at ESPN.

Paul George Declining Player Option

June 28th, 2018 at 7:23am CST by Luke Adams

Paul George has informed the Thunder that he’ll turn down his player option for 2018/19 and will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The move had long been anticipated. While it might make sense in some cases for veterans to opt into the final year of their contracts, George’s $20,703,384 option salary is far below his projected $30MM+ maximum salary, so picking up the option would have made little financial sense.

Additionally, the Lakers and Thunder are widely considered the frontrunners to land George. Los Angeles will have the cap space to sign George outright, while Oklahoma City has his Bird rights and can go over the cap to sign him. As such, exercising the option to facilitate a trade was always a long shot for the star forward.

While the Lakers and Thunder are the most serious contenders for George, the Rockets and Sixers are interested in pursuing him too, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Cavaliers were also previously said to be interested in George. However, his option decision will make it tricky for over-the-cap teams like Houston and Cleveland to land him, since those teams don’t have easy paths to cap room, and a sign-and-trade deal would only be permitted if they’re willing to remain below the tax apron ($6MM above the tax line) all season.

George is eligible to sign a five-year contract worth a projected $175MM+ with the Thunder this offseason, or a four-year deal worth approximately $130MM with a rival suitor like the Lakers. The five-time All-Star may ultimately sign a one-plus-one contract (a two-year deal with a player option) though, since doing so would allow him to reach free agency again in 2019, when the cap is projected to increase to $108MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Feeling Pressure To Land Kawhi Before LeBron Decision?

June 27th, 2018 at 11:29am CST by Luke Adams

Pressure appears to be mounting on the Lakers to make a deal for Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard before LeBron James makes his free agent decision, according to Adrian Wojnarowski, Brian Windhorst, and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

As ESPN’s report explains, there’s a belief that James would be reluctant to commit to the Lakers in free agency if he’s the only star headed to Los Angeles. With Paul George no longer viewed as a lock to land in L.A., Leonard may represent the Lakers’ best bet to acquire another star to help convince James to head west.

James’ player-option decision due on Friday, so there’s a race to acquire Leonard by then, per Woj, Windhorst, and Shelburne. The Celtics, Cavaliers, Sixers, and Clippers are among the teams that have made offers for Leonard, and multiple teams in that group figure to be in the mix for James too. If the Lakers were to lose out on Leonard to, say, the Sixers or Cavs, it could reduce L.A.’s chances of recruiting LeBron to L.A.

Of course, the Spurs have stated they won’t rush into any trade involving Leonard, since their preference would be to retain him. It’s possible that they receive an offer this week that they simply can’t refuse, but the Spurs likely won’t be eager to improve another team’s chances of landing James.

Here are several other key updates related to the Lakers, Cavaliers, James, Leonard, and more:

Although the Lakers came away from their initial conversation with the Spurs feeling like San Antonio “shut the door” on them, ESPN’s trio reports that the Spurs haven’t ruled out trading Leonard to any destination in the Eastern or Western Conference.
The Lakers have been on the lookout for a future first-round pick on the trade market and are willing to take on 2018/19 salary, per ESPN. The Lakers could keep a max-salary slot open for a free agent even if they take on some salary, and that pick could be used to sweeten a larger trade package.
While the Cavaliers have been actively exploring ways to upgrade their roster via trades or free agency, they haven’t been given the chance to meet with or discuss scenarios with James, league sources tell ESPN. With LeBron unwilling to commit to the Cavs, it will be tricky for the front office to execute a major trade in the interim. For instance, if George were to consider picking up his player option to accommodate a trade to Cleveland, he’d want to know that James was sticking around.
Although the Cavaliers have inquired about Leonard, they probably don’t have the assets to pull off a deal, given their competition for the star forward, per ESPN’s report.
James is hoping to decide on his free agent destination fairly quickly, according to ESPN.
Some league executives who spoke to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News believe that James would be willing to sign with the Lakers even if the team hasn’t made any other impact moves yet. “They’re doing enough research to suggest that he’s going to be willing to take that plunge and let the roster come together,” one GM told Deveney. “It’s what happened in Cleveland four years ago.” When James signed with the Cavaliers in 2014, he did so before the team had finalized a trade for Kevin Love.

Free Agent Rumors: Gordon, Cousins, George, Favors

June 27th, 2018 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

Having stated in the past that he hopes to land a maximum-salary contract as a free agent, Aaron Gordon reiterated that stance this week, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. However, Gordon also said that he’d prefer to simply negotiate a deal with the Magic rather than having to procure an offer sheet from another team.

“Hopefully we just get it wrapped up with Orlando,” Gordon said. “That would be fantastic.”

For what it’s worth, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders hears from league sources that the odds of Gordon landing a max deal this summer seem remote. As Kyler observes, two potential suitors for Gordon – the Suns and Kings – addressed their frontcourt with the top two picks in the draft and may be less inclined to be aggressive in pursuing the Magic power forward.

Here are a few more free agent notes and rumors, with the new NBA league year right around the corner…

Kyler’s latest article also includes some items on DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, and Paul George, along with a couple other top free agents. According to Kyler, there’s a sense that Cousins may get a contract like Joel Embiid did last year — Embiid’s extension included guarantee triggers and exit language in the event that he has recurring injury issues. Meanwhile, Kyler also confirms that the Lakers and Thunder are the strong frontrunners in the George sweepstakes.
In conversations with Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune and Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Derrick Favors said that he’d like to remain with the Jazz, but admitted that he’s looking forward to testing his value on the open market. Per Spears, Favors is also into the idea of visiting teams in free agency. “I don’t think you get a really good feel over the phone,” Favors said. “I’d rather be face-to-face in a meeting, ask questions and kind of figure stuff out.”
Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com explores whether the Sixers might be an ideal on-court fit for LeBron James, while Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer outlines how Philadelphia could plausibly sign James as a free agent and acquire Kawhi Leonard in a trade.
Free agent shooting guard Chris Babb, who spent last season with Russia’s Lokomotiv Kuban, has received a workout invite from the Clippers, per international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link).

Lakers Rumors: Magic Johnson, Free Agency, George

June 26th, 2018 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

No NBA team projects to have more cap room next week than the Lakers, who have long been considered the club most likely to make a splash during the 2018 free agent period. Speaking today to reporters though, Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson dismissed the idea that he’s stressing his ability to deliver star free agents to Los Angeles in the coming days.

“I’m Magic Johnson,” Johnson said, per Bill Oram of The Athletic (Twitter link). “You know how many Finals I’ve been in? So you think I’m worried about this? I played against Larry Bird in the Finals. I played in nine Finals.”

As Johnson explains, he feels “no pressure” to land a marquee free agent or two next week, since he and the Lakers’ front office don’t consider 2018 the team’s only chance to make a major free agent addition. According to Johnson, the Lakers will remain “disciplined” and are prepared to retain their cap room for 2019 if free agency doesn’t play out like they hope this time around.

“We’re excited about free agency,” Johnson said, according to Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet (Twitter link). “We know we had two summers to deal with. We have the cap space and flexibility. We’re looking forward to July but we’re not putting all our marbles into one summer.”

Here’s more on the Lakers:

Johnson may not be putting any pressure on himself during 2018’s free agent period, but he sounds like he fully expects the Lakers to make impact moves in at least one of the next two summers. Speaking to reporters today, the Lakers legend suggested he may even resign if the Lakers strike out in back-to-back summers in 2018 and 2019. “It’s going to be a two-summer thing for the Lakers,” Johnson said, per Oram (Twitter link). “This summer and next summer. That’s it. If I can’t deliver, I’m going to step down myself. [Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss] won’t have to fire me, I’ll step away from it, because I can’t do this job.”
Buss said on Monday that she has “complete faith” in Johnson and GM Rob Pelinka as free agency nears, adding that she’d “really like” to see the Lakers in the playoffs next season. Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com has the story, including more quotes from Buss.
Robin Lundberg of Sports Illustrated obtained a portion of an apparent Lakers recruiting pitch to Paul George. The leak includes a script for a voice-over that will seemingly be used in a video presentation to a free agent from Palmdale, George’s hometown.

Amick’s Latest: CP3, Rockets, Kawhi, Cavs, George

June 23rd, 2018 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a “strong sense in Rockets circles” that Chris Paul isn’t go anywhere this offseason as a free agent, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. While a recent report from Chris Broussard of Fox Sports hinted at possible tension between Paul and the Rockets, Amick spoke to two sources with knowledge of the situation who disputed the idea that there’s any friction there.

Broussard’s report suggested that there might be a disparity between what sort of free agent contract Paul expected when he accommodated a trade to Houston last summer and what the Rockets are willing to offer now. According to Amick, there was indeed a “mutual understanding” in 2017 of what Paul’s next contract would look like, and it’s not clear if a five-year, maximum-salary agreement will be on the table. However, it seems likely that the two sides will reach an agreement, per Amick.

Here are a few more items of interest from Amick:

When it comes to Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs seem determined to either fix the situation or trade him to an Eastern Conference team, according to Amick, who says that Western clubs inquiring on Leonard have “been told, in essence, to get lost.” We heard earlier this week that the Spurs “basically shut the door” on the Lakers when they called about Leonard.
The Cavaliers have contacted the Spurs to ask about Leonard, but there’s no traction toward a potential deal, per Amick. San Antonio has welcomed offers for its All-Star forward, but hasn’t engaged in any trade negotiations.
Amick is the latest reporter to suggest that there’s a real possibility of Paul George remaining with the Thunder, writing that George has strong relationships with Russell Westbrook and Billy Donovan. Interestingly, Amick adds that there’s “pessimism in [LeBron] James‘ camp” that George would leave Oklahoma City — that could work against the Lakers, who are expected to try to land both George and James.

Northwest Rumors: Thunder, Blazers, Wolves, Nuggets

June 22nd, 2018 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

With his free agency just over a week away, the Thunder are keeping the lines of communication open with Paul George, general manager Sam Presti said on Thursday night, per Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman.

“Paul and his representation, we built a relationship built on transparency, trust and collaboration,” Presti said. “I’m happy to say that that’s continued during the period of time that the season ended to now, which I think speaks a great deal about Paul George and just who he is as a guy. It’s just how he operates. Things don’t change.”

Meanwhile, Presti confirmed that the Thunder have also been having conversations with Carmelo Anthony‘s representatives in recent weeks. Although it’s viewed as a virtual lock that Anthony will opt into the final year of his contract, Presti wasn’t willing to make any assumptions on Thursday, as Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes.

“I can’t speak to necessarily what he’s gonna to do with respect to the early termination option, but we have been in touch with him and tried to provide him with as much information as we can so he can make the most informed decision possible,” Presti said. “But it’s pretty well-documented, we have a lot of balls in the air, and it’s still June. It’s not even July. So, we’ll have to see what it is that he chooses to do, and we’ll continue to have conversations from there.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Following Thursday’s draft, Trail Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said the club made an effort to use its No. 24 pick and trade exception to land an “impact rotation guy,” but couldn’t find a suitable deal (Twitter link via Joe Freeman of The Oregonian). “(This draft) wasn’t about existing players,” Olshey said, referring to the fact that no veterans were traded on Thursday. “It was about the draft.”
The Timberwolves were active on the phones throughout the draft considering potential trades, but ultimately decided that keeping the 20th and 48th picks was their best option, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Minnesota had spoken to the Pacers, Trail Blazers, and Hawks about moving down from No. 20, but with a run on wings happening, didn’t want to risk losing out on a player like Okogie, Krawczynski notes.
Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said the club had “countless” conversations about trading up in the draft, but was thrilled that Michael Porter Jr. fell to No. 14. Connelly added that the Nuggets will be cautious with Porter and won’t play him until the team is confident that he’s “perfectly healthy” (Twitter links via Gina Mizell of The Denver Post).

Woj’s Latest: CP3, Rockets, George, Suns, Mavs

June 19th, 2018 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

Having appeared on a pair of draft specials on ESPN on Monday night, Adrian Wojnarowski shared several interesting tidbits related to the draft and free agency during his segments. We’ve already passed along a few of those notes and rumors in a pair of posts this morning, but we’ve got more to round up in the space below, so let’s dive in…

Chris Paul still appears to be a virtual lock to return to the Rockets, and is focused less on his own free agency than on recruiting LeBron James to Houston, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link via Sagar Trika). Meanwhile, the Rockets would also love to re-sign Trevor Ariza, but the veteran forward will be a popular free agent who draws interest from multiple contenders, per Woj (Twitter link via Trika).
Wojnarowski is the latest to report that the Thunder still have a good chance to re-sign Paul George, despite the club’s underwhelming showing in the postseason (Twitter link via Trika).
After Wojnarowski reported that the Suns‘ No. 16 pick could be in play for a trade, GM Ryan McDonough confirmed as much during an appearance on ESPN, suggesting that his team would be willing to package the selection and another asset or two in order to acquire a second lottery pick (Twitter links via Trika).
The Mavericks are high on Luka Doncic, and are weighing whether they’ll have a shot to select the Real Madrid star at No. 5, says Wojnarowski (link via The Dallas Morning News). The Mavs have previously indicated that they have no plans to move up, but it sounds like they’d at least consider the possibility if it means landing Doncic.
According to Wojnarowski, the Sixers aren’t expected to hire a new general manager anytime soon — Woj reports the team will likely interview candidates deep into July (Twitter link via Trika).

Leonard Trade Rumors: Lakers, Kings, Knicks, Celtics, Odds

June 15th, 2018 at 7:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It would be a tight squeeze financially but the Lakers could conceivably acquire Kawhi Leonard in a trade and sign both LeBron James and Paul George as free agents, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com. Leonard’s desire to be traded from the Spurs, with Los Angeles being his preferred destination, was made public on Friday. The trade would have to be completed before any free agent signings and the Spurs would have to be willing to take back Luol Deng‘s bad contract, Pelton continues. A package of either Lonzo Ball or Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma might be enough to entice the Spurs to do that, though a third team might be needed in order to match up salaries. The Lakers could then sign James and George, and fill out the roster using their room mid-level exception along with veterans agreeing to minimum contracts, Pelton adds.

In other notes involving Leonard trade chatter:

The Kings could be a darkhorse to land Leonard, Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports tweets. Sacramento is desperately seeking a star-level talent and is willing to part with the No. 2 pick in the draft to get one, according to Mannix.
The Knicks would have to part with Kristaps Porzingis to have any chance of securing Leonard, Marc Berman of the New York Post speculates. The only other major assets the Knicks possess are their lottery pick (No. 9 overall), their potential lottery pick in 2020 and last year’s lottery selection, point guard Frank Ntilikina. But the Knicks could only trade one of those picks under CBA rules and they’d also have to give up another big salary to make the trade work, Berman notes.
The Celtics are expected to express interest in Leonard in their quest to land superstars, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe reports. However, a league source told Himmelsbach that the timing of the leak might actually be a negotiating ploy to secure a five-year, $219MM maximum extension from the Spurs.
The Lakers are the heavy favorites to land Leonard, according to the Bovada Sportsbook as relayed by Adam Zagoria of the New York Times (Twitter link). The Lakers are less than even money at 5-7 to have Leonard in their opening-night lineup. The Celtics are rated at 15-4, a little less than 4-1, to acquire Leonard. The Sixers and Spurs are next as 5-1 proposition, followed by the Cavaliers and Clippers at 10-1.