Ryan Kelly Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Kelly, O’Bryant, Leonard, Booker, Curry

July 30th, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Lakers and Hawks forward Ryan Kelly has signed a contract to play for SunRockeres Shibuya of Japan next season, according to a Sportando report. Kelly spent last season with Real Betis in Spain and averaged 13.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG.

Kelly, 27, last appeared in the NBA during the 2016/17 season with Atlanta, when he saw action in 16 games. He spent his first three seasons with the Lakers. The 6’11” power forward has averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 19.2 MPG in his 163-game NBA career.

In other basketball news domestically and overseas:

Maccabi Tel Aviv is close to signing power forward Johnny O’Bryant, according to another Sportando report. O’Bryant, 25, played 36 games last season with the Hornets, averaging 4.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 10.5 MPG. O’Bryant, 25, was traded to the Knicks in February and then waived. The 6’9” O’Bryant has also played for the Nuggets and Bucks, who selected him 36th overall in the 2014 draft.
Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Victor Oladipo and Ben Simmons are among the dark-horse candidates to win the Most Valuable Player award, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. A healthy Leonard would quickly become a prime MVP candidate, O’Connor opines, while Booker could have a breakout campaign after showing steady progress in his first three seasons.
DeMarcus Cousins (Warriors) and Isaiah Thomas (Nuggets) are obvious choices as the best bargains in free agency but as Rob Mahoney of Sports Illustrated notes, there are several other players who could fall into that category. Ed Davis (Nets), Seth Curry (Trail Blazers) and Brook Lopez (Bucks) should all provide production that far outweigh the deals that they signed, in Mahoney’s view.

Ryan Kelly To Play In Spain

September 12th, 2017 at 8:15am CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 12, 8:15am: Kelly’s deal is official, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando.

SEPTEMBER 7, 8:53am: Free agent power forward Ryan Kelly is poised to head overseas for the coming season, according to international basketball reporter David Pick, who tweets that Kelly has struck a deal with Spanish team Real Betis.

Kelly, 26, has spent the majority of the last four years with NBA teams, appearing in 147 games for the Lakers in his first three seasons before joining the Hawks for 16 games last season. In total, the Duke alum has averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 163 regular season contests (19.2 MPG) since being drafted 48th overall in 2013.

Kelly, whose salary for 2017/18 was non-guaranteed, was traded from Atlanta to Houston in late June when the Rockets were collecting non-guaranteed contracts. However, his salary would have become fully guaranteed if he’d remained under contract through July 7, so the Rockets waived him on that day.

Real Betis, also known as CB Sevilla, is coming off a season in which it posted a 9-23 record, so Kelly will be tasked with helping turn the club’s fortunes around in 2017/18.

Rockets Waive Ryan Kelly

July 7th, 2017 at 3:54pm CST by Austin Kent

The Rockets have waived forward Ryan Kelly, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Kelly’s contract, acquired in one of Houston’s half dozen pre-Chris Paul trade deals, would have otherwise become guaranteed had he lasted through the day.

As Feigen notes in a separate tweet, Kelly was initially added as a trade chip but was obviously not used. Houston had picked him up from Atlanta in exchange for $75K.

Kelly, a sharp shooting 26-year-old power forward out of Duke, appears to be just on the brink of actually catching on in an NBA rotation. Although he started 59 games between his first and second seasons with a destitute Lakers club, he’s failed to make an impact since. This marks the fourth time in the last nine months that Kelly has been waived.

West Notes: Cash Considerations, Dudley, Zhou

June 30th, 2017 at 9:55pm CST by Austin Kent

As the smoke clears from the chaos of the Chris Paul trade, details have emerged regarding the numerous side deals that went down in order for the Rockets to acquire the superstar point guard from the Clippers.

We broke down the math behind the trades but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has provided insight as to the exact financial details of the deals that brought players on non-guaranteed deals to the Rockets in exchange for cash considerations.

The Rockets will pay the Mavs $175K for DeAndre Liggins.
The Rockets will pay the Hawks $75K for Ryan Kelly.
The Rockets will pay the Trail Blazers $100K for Tim Quarterman.
The Rockets will pay the Pistons $1MM for Darrun Hilliard.

There’s more out of the Western Conference:

Veteran Suns forward Jared Dudley underwent surgery to repair a lingering toe issue and will be sidelined 3-4 months, ESPN relays.
Although he’s justifiably upset about the end of Lob City, Doc Rivers isn’t ready to give up competing for a title. “That part is over. And that bugs me,” Rivers told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “But we’re not done trying to reach our goal. Sometimes you gotta do it a different way. Because the way we tried to do it didn’t work.”
The Nuggets will get a good idea of where they stand in the eyes of free agents this summer, Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports writes. The scribe asks whether Nikola Jokic‘s breakout campaign will be enough of a foundation for the club to recruit off of.
The Rockets could look to sign Zhou Qi to a multiyear deal by using a portion of their mid-level exception, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes, but they wouldn’t be opposed to siging him to a shorter deal if that meant landing another coveted free agent.

Hawks Trade Ryan Kelly To Rockets

June 28th, 2017 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have made yet another trade, acquiring Ryan Kelly from the Hawks for cash considerations, Atlanta announced today in a press release. Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported (via Twitter) that a deal was close.

Kelly, 26, appeared in just 16 games for the Hawks in 2016/17, spending part of the season with the team. The former Laker averaged 1.6 PPG and 1.1 RPG in limited minutes.

The trade looks like another precursor to the Rockets completing their acquisition of Chris Paul. Kelly will likely be included in that deal for salary-matching purposes.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Porter, McClellan

February 25th, 2017 at 12:06pm CST by Austin Kent

Some Hawks fans were underwhelmed with Atlanta’s decision to quickly fill their roster vacancies with players they had cut previously in the year but head coach Mike Budenholzer cites their familiarity with the team’s system as the motivating factor, says Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta currently sits fifth in the Eastern Conference, well within reach of home-court advantage in the first-round if things break right in the second half of the season.

The two wings, Ryan Kelly and Lamar Patterson, have had multiple stints with the franchise, Kelly spending time with the club in training camp prior to being waived, later signed again shortly after opening day and waived once more in January and then Patterson playing last season with the franchise, getting cut over the summer and then coming back on a pair of 10-day contracts last month.

“We’ve continued to follow them closely,” Budenholzer told Vivlamore. “We feel like adding them to the group this year, not just this year because there is potential and hope that these are guys who fit us and understand how we play. Lots of time we talk about fit. We feel like Ryan and Lamar have that potential.”

Though the pair have only played in a combined 87 minutes for Atlanta in 2016/17, they’ll round out a lineup in “win-now” mode. Previously it seemed likely that the franchise would trade pending free agent Paul Millsap and embrace a rebuild but they’ve publicly changed course.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Wizards freed up cap space to make signing forward Otto Porter to an extension this summer possible. General manager Ernie Grunfeld recently spoke with J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic about just that. “We love the way that he’s developed and how he’s come along. I think Otto fits in very well with what we’re trying to do,” Grunfeld said. “I said he’s part of our core and we want to keep him here.”
Over the All-Star Break, Wizards rookie Sheldon McClellan announced that he has legally changed his name to Sheldon Mac, says Chase Hughes of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The guard had thought about it for a while but held off for fear of complicating the scouting and drafting process he went through last year.
If the Heat want to free up a roster spot for the upcoming buyout market or even just for flexibility down the stretch, they’ll have to first deal with the Chris Bosh situation, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
Recently acquired forward Bojan Bogdanovic was looking forward to the trade that officially sent him to the Wizards. The veteran will come off the bench in Washington and tells J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic that he doesn’t think it will be that big of an adjustment.
After getting waived by the Hornets, big man Mike Tobey has returned to the Greensboro Swarm of the D-League writes Chris Reichert of The Step Back.

Hawks Sign Lamar Patterson, Ryan Kelly

February 24th, 2017 at 10:25am CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 24, 10:25am: The Hawks have formally signed both Patterson and Kelly to multiyear contracts, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Consitution (via Twitter). Vivlamore notes that the deals have team options, so they’re likely only guaranteed for this season.

FEBRUARY 23, 7:15pm: The Hawks will fill their two open roster spots by signing Lamar Patterson and Ryan Kelly for the rest of the season, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Patterson played four games with the Hawks this year, but he recently returned to the D-League after his second 10-day contract expired. The 25-year-old shooting guard appeared in 35 games for Atlanta last season, but spent much of the year in the D-League. He was drafted by the Bucks in the second round in 2014 and traded to the Hawks the next day.

Kelly played nine games for Atlanta this season before being waived January 9th. He has been playing for the D-League’s Maine franchise. The 25-year-old power forward spent his first three NBA seasons with the Lakers.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/14/17

January 14th, 2017 at 10:32pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the D-League transactions for the day:

10:32pm:

The Spurs recalled guard Bryn Forbes from their D-League affiliate in Austin before today’s game with the Suns.
The Lakers sent center Ivica Zubac to the D-Fenders following their afternoon game, giving him a chance to play for both teams in the same day, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.

2:56pm:

The Warriors recalled Kevon Looney and Patrick McCaw from their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team has announced in a press release. Both were assigned on Friday. In a victory over Salt Lake City, Looney dropped 18 points and 20 rebounds.
The Rockets have assigned rookie center Chinanu Onuaku to their D-League affiliate, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Onuaku has averaged 11.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in 19 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers so far this season.
The Cavaliers have assigned point guard Kay Felder to the D-League, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The rookie expected to be back with the big league club as soon as Sunday.
After clearing waivers last week, former Hawks forward Ryan Kelly has rejoined the Maine Red Claws, tweets Chris Reichert of The Step Back. Kelly was called up by the Hawks before suiting up for Maine, but they still held his returning rights.

International Notes: Bennett, Greene, Kelly

January 11th, 2017 at 6:38pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Anthony Bennett, who was recently waived by the Nets, may head overseas to pursue his next basketball opportunity, sources tell Sam Amico of Pro Basketball Digest. Amico adds that the former No.1 overall pick is also considering the D-League as an option with an eye on signing a few 10-day contracts with NBA clubs.

Bennett flashed promise at UNLV but struggled mightily during his three stops in the NBA. Amico notes that Bennett’s poor performance during his rookie season played a role in Cleveland’s decision to fire then-GM Chris Grant during the middle of the 2013/14 campaign.

Here are a few more international updates on players with NBA ties:

Former Kings big man Donte Greene, a 2008 first-rounder who last played in 2012, has joined Puerto Rican team Capitanes de Arecibo, according to an announcement from the club (hat tip to Sportando). Greene, who turns 29 next month, said back in August that he continues to hope for one more shot from an NBA team.
Maccabi Kiryat Gat of Israel has released former Nets guard Tyshawn Taylor, according to international journalist David Pick (Twitter links). The team will use the roster spot to bring Josh Selby aboard. Selby, who was the No. 49 pick in the 2011 draft, previously played in Israel for Bnei Herzliya.
Sasha Djordjevic, the coach of Bayern Munich, is recruiting Nicolas Laprovittola to play for his team, Pick reports (Twitter link). Laprovittola was waived by the Spurs last month.
Ryan Kelly has garnered interest from Reggio Emilia, a team in Italy, but it’s unlikely he joins the club as he prefers to pursue NBA opportunities, according to Emilio Carchia of Sportando. The Hawks waived Kelly last week.

Luke Adams contributed to this post

Hawks Waive Ryan Kelly

January 6th, 2017 at 4:10pm CST by Austin Kent

The Hawks have parted ways with Ryan Kelly, per ESPN’s Marc Stein on Twitter. In five games with the club this season, Kelly posted 1.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game, never truly breaking into the team’s rotation.

Though opportunities were limited during his time in Atlanta, Kelly averaged 6.5 points in over 20 minutes per game across three seasons with the Lakers from 2013-16.

Since the summer, the 25-year-old has been in and out of a job. In September the Hawks first signed the forward but ultimately waived him, he then signed on briefly with Boston only to be cut the following day.

Signed again by Atlanta on October 31, Kelly was set to make $1MM this season, with a modest raise in 2017/18.