Rick Welts Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Kennard, Welts, Mavs, Murray, Spurs

December 18th, 2024 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

Grizzlies sharpshooter Luke Kennard has seen his playing time decline this season to 19.7 minutes per game, the second-lowest mark of his career, and was a DNP-CD last Friday for the first time in 2024/25.

However, Kennard earned praise from head coach Taylor Jenkins for providing Memphis with excellent minutes off the bench against the Lakers on Sunday. Although the Grizzlies lost the game by six points, Kennard was a +18 in 18 minutes of action, knocking down three 3-pointers.

“I give him a lot of credit,” Jenkins said (Twitter video link via Law Murray of The Athletic). “While the group’s been playing well and he was out of the rotation, he’s been putting in all the work. I thought he gave us a spark. It wasn’t even (just) him knocking down some shots. The way he was moving, he was cutting, he was driving, touching the paint, facilitating — just kind of ignited our offense.”

Among the three Grizzlies players who are on expiring contracts this season, Kennard has the highest cap hit at $9.25MM, so if his role doesn’t increase and Memphis looks to make an in-season move on the trade market, he could emerge as a candidate to be dealt by February 6.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

The Mavericks have hired former Warriors president and Hall of Fame executive Rick Welts as their new CEO, reports Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). Welts, who is replacing Cynt Marshall when she retires on December 31, will oversee the Mavs’ business operations, while general manager Nico Harrison continues to oversee the basketball operations, but the two departments will “work closely together whenever possible,” Townsend explains. Both Welts and Harrison will report to Mavs governor Patrick Dumont.
Mavericks stars Luka Doncic (left heel contusion) and Kyrie Irving (right shoulder soreness) didn’t participate in practice on Tuesday, but neither injury appears to be a cause for major concern, says Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Substack link).
A disastrous season in New Orleans that has seen the Pelicans lose 22 of their first 27 games has been made even worse by the struggles of offseason addition Dejounte Murray, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. The Pelicans gave up a significant trade package to acquire Murray from Atlanta in the hopes of solidifying their point guard position, but through his first 10 games, he has shot just 36.4% from the floor and 28.1% on three-pointers, both far below his career rates. Murray has also averaged a career-high 4.2 turnovers per game.
Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan appears to have reclaimed his spot in the team’s starting lineup, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required), which means that rookie Stephon Castle may no longer have a place in the starting five. Castle came off the bench on Sunday for the first time since November 4 and struggled in his new role, scoring just two points on 1-of-8 shooting. San Antonio was outscored by 23 points during his 23 minutes on the court.

2027/28 Season Viewed As Target For NBA Expansion

September 17th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

One reason the NBA isn’t yet prepared to dive head-long into expansion talks is that a potential Celtics sale could reset the market, sources tell ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Kevin Pelton, and Brian Windhorst. If the Celtics set a new record for the highest sale price ever for an NBA team, it would only increase the price tag for incoming expansion franchises, as ESPN’s trio notes.

Commissioner Adam Silver recently stated that the NBA is “not quite ready” to move forward on the expansion process, though he left the door open for those discussions to happen later on in the 2024/25 league year.

With the NBA continuing to drag its heels on expansion, league sources and people connected to potential bidding groups are viewing the 2027/28 season as the target date for when one or more expansion teams could begin playing, with the ’26/27 campaign considered an increasingly unrealistic – albeit not impossible – option, according to Bontemps, Pelton, and Windhorst.

Based on the growing valuations of NBA franchises, it’s not unrealistic to project that a pair of new teams could net the league $10 billion combined – or even more than that – in expansion fees, ESPN’s reporters suggest.

While some current NBA team owners are wary of further diluting their share of the league’s revenue by slicing off two more pieces of a “pie” currently being shared 30 ways, expansion fee payments (which don’t have to be shared with the players’ union) exceeding $300MM apiece could help sway those ownership groups, as Bontemps, Pelton, and Windhorst point out. Additionally, the $76 billion media rights deal negotiated by the NBA earlier this year has assuaged some owners’ concerns about sharing revenues with 31 partners instead of 29, the ESPN trio adds.

Here are a few more items of note from ESPN’s in-depth FAQ on the possibility of expansion:

Although the National Basketball Players Association has no real voice in the expansion process, the union would be “very much in favor” of adding 36 new jobs (30 standard roster spots and six two-way slots) for its members, sources tell ESPN.
Seattle and Las Vegas are widely considered the favorites to land expansion teams, but they likely won’t be the only cities receiving consideration. Sources who spoke to ESPN view Mexico City as the most likely candidate to seriously enter the mix along with Seattle and Vegas, though Bontemps, Pelton, and Windhorst acknowledge there would be a number of “logistical hurdles” to contend with.
If Seattle and Las Vegas land expansion teams, they would both have to be Western Conference clubs, meaning one current Western team would have to move to the Eastern Conference. According to ESPN, that decision would likely come down to the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Timberwolves, with Minnesota considered the most logical choice to move East since the Wolves are geographically closer to five Eastern opponents than they are to their closest Western opponent (Denver). Still, it could be a “protracted fight” to determine which team would change conferences.
The ownership group of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken – led by Samantha Holloway and her father David Bonderman – is considered the most likely bidder for a Seattle franchise, per ESPN. Hall of Fame NBA executive Rick Welts has served as an advisor for the Kraken ownership group, which also includes the sons of former Sonics owner Barry Ackerley. Chris Hansen, who previously attempted to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, isn’t expected to lead a bid to bring the NBA to the city, but would be willing to assist in the process, ESPN’s trio adds.
Active NBA players aren’t permitted to own a stake in an existing franchise, but the rules for an active player becoming a stakeholder in an expansion franchise (before it begins play) aren’t as clear. Those rules may need to be clarified in the coming years, with LeBron James seriously interested in getting involved in a bid for a Las Vegas team. According to ESPN’s report, former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is putting together a group to bid for a Vegas franchise — that group is expected to include longtime WNBA star Candace Parker.

Warriors’ Rick Welts Stepping Down As Team President

April 8th, 2021 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors president and chief operating officer Rick Welts will step away from his role with the franchise at the end of the 2020/21 season, he and the team announced today in a press release. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Welts, who worked for the SuperSonics, the Suns, and the NBA league office before arriving in Golden State, oversaw the organization’s business operations while Bob Myers served as the president of basketball operations. A Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, Welts became the highest-ranking executive in men’s professional team sports to publicly acknowledge he was gay when he did so in 2011.

“Simply put, Rick Welts played a transformational role in creating the modern NBA during his more than 40 years as a pioneering league and team executive,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “His extraordinary vision, leadership and humanity have defined his Hall of Fame career, which has set the standard of excellence in the sports industry. I had the tremendous good fortune to learn about the business of the NBA and its teams directly from Rick in my early years at the league office and have always appreciated his friendship and generosity.”

The plan is for Welts to remain with the Warriors in an advisory role. The club expects to name a new president within the next week or so.

Here’s more out of Golden State:

The Warriors announced today that they’re on track to begin welcoming fans back to Chase Center on April 23. They’ll be able to fill the arena up to 35% of its total capacity for the final nine home games of the season.
Anthony Slater and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic teamed up to break down a handful of draft options for a Warriors squad that could end up with two lottery picks in 2021. Slater and Vecenie wonder if Golden State might prioritize players who can contribute right away, assuming the team doesn’t trade away one or both picks. The Athletic’s duo identifies Davion Mitchell and Corey Kispert as a couple lottery prospects who might fit that bill.
In case you missed it, the Warriors are getting back up to the required minimum of 14 players (not counting two-ways) by signing Gary Payton II to a 10-day contract.

Warriors Agree To Extension With Bob Myers

June 28th, 2019 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have reached an agreement on a contract extension for president of basketball operations Bob Myers, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter).

Myers, who was hired as the Warriors’ assistant general manager back in 2011, was promoted to GM in 2012 and originally signed an extension in 2014 that ran through the 2017/18 season. When he was promoted to the role of president of basketball operations in 2016, Myers received another extension, though specifics on that deal weren’t reported. Details on his new contract also aren’t yet known.

In any case, it’s safe to say that the Warriors are committed to having Myers lead the basketball operations department for the foreseeable future as the franchise makes the move across the bay to San Francisco.

Myers has overseen a roster that has appeared in five consecutive NBA Finals, winning three of them. He was responsible for drafting Draymond Green in the second round in 2012, acquiring Andre Iguodala in a sign-and-trade deal in 2013, and signing Kevin Durant in free agency in 2016, among other key moves.

As Stein notes (via Twitter), Myers received an offer from the Sixers in 2018 to take over their basketball operations department, but opted to stick with the Warriors.

According to Stein (via Twitter), the Warriors have also agreed to terms on a new multiyear deal for team president and COO Rick Welts.

Ray Allen, 12 Others Selected To 2018 Hall Of Fame Class

March 31st, 2018 at 11:53am CST by marksuleymanov

Two-time NBA champion and 10-time All-Star Ray Allen was among 13 names selected by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for enshrinement as part of the 2018 Hall of Fame Class.

In his 18-year career, Allen set the record for most three-point field goals made with 2,973 and is ranked sixth on the all-time free throw percentage list with an .894 mark. Allen, 42, was drafted by the Bucks fifth overall in the 1996 NBA Draft and spent his first six-and-a-half seasons in Milwaukee. After a four-and-a-half year run with the then-Supersonics, Allen joined the Celtics, capturing his first of two NBA titles in 2008.

The University of Connecticut product joined the Heat for his final two seasons, capturing his second championship in 2013. Allen sank several clutch treys in Game 6 and Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, leading the Heat to the title.

As we relayed earlier this week, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Maurice Cheeks, and Rod Thorn were selected to the Hall of Fame. You can read detailed descriptions of their careers from our February report of 13 finalists being selected for the Hall of Fame.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Smith, four-time WNBA Champion Tina Thompson, long-time Maryland coach Charles “Lefty” Driesell, Dino Radja, Charlie Scott, Ora Mae Washington, and Rick Welts were also selected.