Rodions Kurucs Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Rozier, Knicks, Sixers, Kurucs

September 7th, 2018 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Terry Rozier is entering a contract year and is one of several productive point guards on a Celtics roster that also features Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, and EuroLeague star Brad Wanamaker. As such, it makes sense that his name would pop up in trade rumors, as it did last week when a report indicated he may be on the Suns’ wish list. For his part though, Rozier is unfazed by those rumors, as A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston details.

“It’s only going to get crazier every year, I feel,” Rozier said. “You just have to try and control what you can control. Try to focus on getting better every summer. Getting wiser, thinking about the game. I’m ready to get it going, ready to start the season.”

Even if he remains in Boston through the 2018/19 season, the summer of 2019 will be a big one for Rozier. With Smart locked up to a lucrative new long-term contract, and Irving a candidate for a new maximum-salary deal, the Celtics may not be able to retain Rozier if he draws serious interest from other teams in restricted free agency. Again though, the fourth-year guard isn’t focused on his long-term future for now.

“I mean, I’ll see how it goes for myself,” Rozier said, per Blakely. “I’m not really going crazy. I got a season to worry about. I’m not worried about what’s next for me individually; I’m just worrying about how special this team can be.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

During an appearance on SiriusXM Radio, Enes Kanter said he’s “love to see” Kevin Durant on his team again, adding that he’ll “try to recruit” his former Thunder teammate to the Knicks in 2019 (link via Marc Berman of The New York Post). Of course, Kanter’s recruitment of LeBron James this offseason wasn’t particularly effective, and there’s no guarantee the center will even be a Knick a year from now — Kanter hopes to remain in New York for the long term, but will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are the only long-term certainties for the Sixers, so the team’s new general manager should be a creative thinker who isn’t afraid to shake up the rest of the roster if it moves the team closer to title contention, writes David Murphy of Philly.com. The 76ers are considering both external and internal candidates as they seek a new head of basketball operations.
Nets second-round pick Rodions Kurucs said during an interview with LTV Sport Studio in Latvia that he expects to spend some time with the Long Island Nets in the G League during his rookie season, as relayed by NetsDaily. Kurucs, the 40th overall pick in the draft, signed a four-year deal with Brooklyn, so the club figures to be patient with his development.

Atlantic Rumors: Fizdale, Leonard, Dukan, Kurucs

August 23rd, 2018 at 11:01am CST by Dana Gauruder

New Knicks coach David Fizdale has told Kristaps Porzingis to set lofty goals for himself and the franchise player appreciates getting pushed. In a WNBC TV interview that was relayed by Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, Fizdale said that he wants Porzingis, who is rehabbing from a torn ACL, to embrace the status that comes with being the team’s star. “He likes the challenge of me saying ‘I want him to be the MVP’ and ‘I want him to be the Defensive Player of the Year.’ That’s real competitors they want that and I’m going right at it with him. I want him to look at himself that way,” Fizdale said.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics made the right decision by holding onto Jayson Tatum rather than dealing him to the Spurs to Kawhi Leonard, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston opines. Boston would likely have needed to give up Tatum to land Leonard with no assurances that Leonard would stay beyond the upcoming season, Blakely continues. With Leonard’s questionable health and the Celtics already considered the Eastern Conference favorite, it didn’t make sense for Boston to roll the dice, Blakely adds.
New York’s G League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, has acquired former Kings forward Duje Dukan, Ian Begley of ESPN tweets. Dukan was chosen by the Wizards’ new G League team, the Capital City Go-Go, in the expansion draft on Wednesday. Dukan has also played for the G League affiliates of the Kings, Bulls and Pacers.
Buyout issues caused Nets forward Rodions Kurucs to slide in the draft, according to a NetsDaily.com post. Kurucs’ Euro team, FC Barcelona, reportedly priced his buyout at $5MM until late last season and NBA teams can’t pay more than $700K toward an international player’s buyout. Buyout talks also prevented Kurucs from playing in the summer league. Kurucs, the 40th overall pick, signed a four-year, $7MM contract with Brooklyn.

Contract Details: Bolden, Carter, Harrell, Smart

July 29th, 2018 at 10:21am CST by Arthur Hill

Sixers forward Jonah Bolden has received the largest contract of any rookie second-round pick this summer, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The 36th player taken in the 2017 draft, Bolden spent a season with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel before coming to the NBA. Philadelphia gave him a four-year, $7MM deal with a starting salary of $1.69MM, although the third and fourth seasons are non-guaranteed.

The Nets signed Rodions Kurucs to a similar arrangement, Pincus adds (Twitter link). The 40th pick in this year’s draft, Kurucs will make $1.62MM in his first year and has incentives that could bring the value of his four-year contract up to $6.96MM. The first three seasons are fully guaranteed.

Pincus passes on a few more details about deals signed this summer:

Although Jevon Carter was taken 32nd overall, he signed for just the minimum salary over two seasons, less than others in his draft range (Twitter link). However, he received a full guarantee from the Grizzlies on both years. Jalen Brunson, taken at No. 33 by the Mavericks, makes more per season but is locked into a four-year deal (Twitter link). He will receive $1.23MM in his rookie year, with minimum salaries for the next three seasons. The first three years are fully guaranteed. Elie Okobo, the 31st pick, signed a four-year agreement with the Suns that will pay him $1.24MM in his first year, with three seasons at the minimum to follow. Only his first two years are guaranteed, and Phoenix has a team option on the final season (Twitter link).
Among the two-way contracts handed out this summer, only four players signed multi-year deals. Kostas Antetokounmpo of the Mavericks, Billy Preston of the Cavaliers, Yuta Watanabe of the Grizzlies and Thomas Welsh of the Nuggets all have two-year agreements (Twitter link).
The Clippers will pay Montrezl Harrell $6MM in each season of his two-year, $12MM deal (Twitter link).
Celtics guard Marcus Smart has a base salary of $11.16MM in the first year of his new deal, but $500K of likely incentives place the cap hit at $11.66MM. The incentives remain in effect for each season of his four-year contract.

Nets Sign Rodions Kurucs To Multiyear Deal

July 16th, 2018 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 16: The Nets have officially signed Kurucs, the team announced today in a press release. According to reports from Sportando and The New York Post, his deal is expected to be worth about $7MM over four years.

JUNE 22: The Nets and second-round pick Rodions Kurucs have reached an agreement on an NBA contract, according to international basketball journalist David Pick, who reports (via Twitter) that it will be a four-year deal.

Kurucs, who was selected using the 40th overall pick that initially belonged to the Lakers, had one year left on his contract with Barcelona. However, the Nets and Kurucs’ Spanish club were able to negotiate the terms of a buyout, says Pick.

[RELATED: Full 2018 NBA Draft Results]

While Kurucs’ buyout was believed to be worth upwards of $4MM at one point, his camp was reportedly able to get that figure lowered substantially, per ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (as relayed by NetsDaily).

Because Kurucs wasn’t a first-round pick, he won’t be subject to the NBA’s rookie scale, but it sounds like he’ll still sign a four-year contract. The Nets will have the flexibility to offer that many years because they’ll start the 2018/19 league year as an under-the-cap team. It’s not yet clear how much Kurucs’ contract will be worth, or how many years will be guaranteed, but the two sides will be able to finalize the agreement in July.

Kurucs was one of two international prospects the Nets selected in the 2018 draft, along with No. 29 pick Dzanan Musa. General manager Sean Marks indicated last night that club also expects to bring over Musa immediately, per Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link). The Bosnia forward reportedly has a buyout worth about $1MM.

Nets Sign Dzanan Musa To Rookie Contract

July 12th, 2018 at 2:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Nets first-round pick Dzanan Musa has officially signed his first NBA contract, according to tweets from agent Misko Raznatovic and Musa himself. Musa was the last of 2018’s first-rounders who had yet to sign his rookie deal, so all 30 of those players are now under contract.

Musa, a 6’9″ Bosnian wing, declared as an early entrant for this year’s draft after spending the last three seasons with KK Cedevita in Croatia. Musa’s squad won the Croatian League championship in each of those three years, and the youngster was named the EuroCup Rising Star in 2018, an honor previously earned by the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Jonas Valanciunas, and Donatas Motiejunas.

The Nets won’t be counting on Musa, one of the youngest players in this year’s draft class, to make an immediate impact, but his size and scoring ability make him an intriguing prospect.

Musa, the 29th overall pick, figures to earn about $1.63MM in his rookie season, while his four-year deal with Brooklyn will be worth approximately $9.16MM in total. It includes two guaranteed seasons, with team options in years three and four.

With Musa locked up, the Nets figure to shift their focus to making things official with second-rounder Rodions Kurucs. The club reportedly agreed to terms with him on a four-year deal shortly after the draft — Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reported today that Brooklyn also finalized a $750K buyout agreement with Barcelona, Kurucs’ old team.

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Magic, Nets, Pistons

June 24th, 2018 at 10:04pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Pacers should enter July with the flexibility to explore free agency, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard doesn’t sound like someone ready to pursue the top players on the open market. While a foray into free agency is possible, Pritchard could also use Indiana’s cap room to accommodate the acquisition of an impact player in a trade, as J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star writes.

“Where we really get better is July 1,” Pritchard said of the Pacers. “I’m not saying we’re going to sign a guy. I think there could be uneven trades. A lot of things can happen with that. We preserved that (space).”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

After putting together a roster full of athletic players with long wingspans in Milwaukee, Magic GM John Hammond appears to be doing the same thing in Orlando, says Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype.
Although the two international prospects drafted by the Nets on Thursday have plenty of long-term promise, neither Dzanan Musa nor Rodions Kurucs is expected to make an immediate impact in the NBA, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post details.
Dwane Casey continues to fill out his new staff in Detroit, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com, who reports (via Twitter) that DJ Bakker is heading from the Raptors to the Pistons to become Casey’s player development coach.
Speaking of the Raptors, they offered Sarunas Jasikevicius an assistant coaching job on Nick Nurse‘s staff, but he has elected to remain in Lithuania, per Jonas Miklovas (Twitter link). The Zalgiris Kaunas coach interviewed for Toronto’s head coaching vacancy before the club promoted Nurse.

Teams Lining Up For No. 3 Pick If Kings Pass On Doncic

June 21st, 2018 at 12:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks, Magic, Bulls, Knicks, and Clippers have expressed interest in moving into the Hawks’ No. 3 slot to select either EuroLeague guard Luka Doncic or possibly Texas center Mohamed Bamba if the Kings pass on Doncic at No. 2, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Those teams, along with the Nuggets, have also talked to the Grizzlies at the No. 4 spot. The Celtics don’t appear to be a serious contender for either pick, O’Connor adds.

Here’s some other tidbits from O’Connor’s story:

The Hornets’ willingness to deal Kemba Walker has waned since they reached an agreement with the Nets to trade Dwight Howard for Timofey Mozgov. The Cavaliers have shown interest in solving their point guard dilemma by acquiring Walker.
The Clippers could select Miami (Fla.) guard Lonnie Walker with one of their first-rounders and then ship him to the Hawks. The Clippers have the No. 12 and No. 13 picks in the lottery.
The Bucks are trying to package the No. 17 pick with point guard Matthew Dellavedova‘s contract. Dellavedova has two years and $19.2MM remaining on his deal. Milwaukee would trade down in the draft in that scenario and not exit altogether.
The Timberwolves have a strong interest in Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo with the No. 20 pick.
There are rumblings that the Bulls made a promise to draft Boise State shooting guard Chandler Hutchison. That would have to be at No. 22 unless they make a deal.
The Trail Blazers and Lakers are interested in IMG Academy shooting guard Anfernee Simons with their late first-round picks.
Kentucky small forward Jarred Vanderbilt, Latvian forward Rodions Kurucs, and Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham are believed to have received draft promises.

Draft Decisions: Antetokounmpo, Bowen, Kurucs, Bonga

June 11th, 2018 at 10:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kostas Antetokounmpo opted to remain in the draft prior to Monday afternoon’s early-entry deadline, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets. The 6’10” forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s brother, cancelled all of his remaining scheduled private workouts, Givony adds. That suggests that he might have a guarantee from some team to draft him.

The Dayton freshman averaged a mere 5.2 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 15.1 MPG during his lone college season. Givony has the younger Antetokounmpo ranked No. 57 in his latest Top 100 rankings.

We have other early-entrant decisions to pass along:

Swingman Brian Bowen has withdrawn his name from the draft, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com reports. Bowen, who was swept up in the Louisville scandal and then transferred to South Carolina, would have had to sit out next college season. He is now free to pursue opportunities in the NBA G League or overseas and then potentially re-enter the draft next year, Zagoria adds.
Rodions Kurucs will remain in the draft, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The 6’10” Latvian forward, who withdrew from the draft last year, is ranked No. 42 by Givony. Isaac Bonga has also remained in the June draft, Charania adds in another tweet. The 6’9”, 18-year-old German forward is ranked No. 54 by Givony.
Matur Maker, brother of the Bucks’ Thon Maker, has withdrawn from the draft, Zagoria tweets.
Karim Jallow, a small forward from Greece, has decided to pass on this year’s draft, according to Givony (Twitter link). He was ranked No. 67. Georgios Kalaitzakis and Vasilis Charalampopoulos, another pair of Greek prospects, have withdrawn their names, Givony tweets. The same goes for two French prospects, Adam Mokoka and Amine Noua, Givony adds in another tweet.
We relayed several other prospects’ decisions earlier today, including that of Luka Doncic.

Rodions Kurucs To Enter 2018 NBA Draft

April 21st, 2018 at 2:16pm CST by clarkcrum

Latvian forward Rodions Kurucs is declaring for the 2018 NBA draft, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The 6-foot-10 combo forward is now projected as a possible second-round selection after seeing his stock plummet because of a lack of playing time with Barcelona this season.

Kurucs, 20, is currently slated to be picked 39th in the latest ESPN mock draft, as his combination of size, skill, and versatility is coveted in today’s NBA.

Kurucs’ ability to attend private workouts will be a key factor for his chances of being drafted, as few teams have been able to scout him thoroughly because it’s been hard to make a trip out to watch him not knowing whether he’ll see any minutes. Regardless, many scouts consider him to be the third-best international prospect in this year’s draft.

Possible First-Rounder Kurucs Withdraws From Draft

June 12th, 2017 at 4:37pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rodions Kurucs has withdrawn his name from the 2017 NBA draft, FIBA agent Alturs Kalnitis tweets.

This is a surprising development in that Kurucs was considered first-round material. The 19-year-old Latvian forward, who currently plays for Barcelona 2, was ranked No. 18 overall by DraftExpress, while ESPN.com’s Chad Ford ranked Kurucs at No. 33. Ford noted that Kurucs is a long, athletic shooter with good size for his position.

The Nets were reportedly high on Kurucs and perhaps even willing to move up in the first round to snare him.

Kurucs played 24 games for the Barcelona team this season, averaging 9.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 1.4 APG in 21.2 MPG. The 6’8” Kurucs shot 31.9% on 3-point attempts.