T.j. Mcconnell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Isaac, Cordinier, Free Agents

February 11th, 2016 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

High school phenom Jonathan Isaac, who is ranked among the top 10 prospects in the nation, intends to explore the idea of declaring for the 2016 NBA draft directly from prep school, Pete Thamel of SI.com writes. Isaac told Thamel that he could look to take advantage of a new rule that allows prospects to enter the NBA draft and return to college if they aren’t satisfied with their projected draft position., Thamel adds. The new rule allows Isaac to participate in the NBA draft combine, hold an NBA workout and pull out of the draft without compromising his amateur standing at Florida State where he’s signed to play next season, the SI scribe notes.

Here’s more from around the league:

French shooting guard prospect Isaia Cordinier appears to be a strong candidate to be a first round pick if he enters this year’s NBA Draft, opines Jonathan Givony of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. The 19-year-old is likely to declare for the draft, though he will retain the right to withdraw his name if he doesn’t feel good about his prospects, Givony adds. The flexibility of his situation will certainly help his stock because an NBA team can opt to pick Cordinier and “stash” him in Europe for another year or two, which could be a major selling point for a franchise that has multiple draft picks and limited roster spots to utilize for 2016/17, the Vertical scribe concludes. Cordinier is currently projected as the No. 25 overall pick this June, according to DraftExpress.
The rookies whose performances have been the most pleasantly surprising this season for their respective teams are the Pacers‘ Myles Turner, Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets and Sixers point guard T.J. McConnell, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton opine in their look at the league’s first-year players (Insider subscription required).
The free agent class for the summer of 2017 will be loaded with superstar point guards, including Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry, Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders notes in his free agent primer.
Florida State freshman shooting guard Malik Beasley has worked his way onto NBA teams’ radars and is currently projected to be a mid to late first-rounder if he enters this year’s NBA Draft, Mike Schmitz of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes in his look at the prospect. Despite his strong play this season, Beasley is still likely a year away from being able to contribute in the NBA as a rotation player, though his potential will probably influence an NBA club to take a gamble on him this June, Schmitz concludes.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Fredette, McConnell

January 28th, 2016 at 7:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks will have to struggle to make it into the playoffs this season, but the league has come to view the franchise as one in the midst of a sturdy rebuild rather than one undergoing a messy collapse, writes Harvey Araton of The New York Times in his look at the current state of the team under executive Phil Jackson. The Times scribe points to the selection of Kristaps Porzingis in the 2015 NBA Draft as a watershed moment for the team, with the fanbase now viewing the rookie as the team’s potential savior rather than the aging Carmelo Anthony. Also counting as successes for Jackson are the offseason additions of Arron Afflalo, Derrick Williams and Robin Lopez, who is a better fit for the team than original target Greg Monroe would have been, Araton adds.

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks‘ reported signing of Thanasis Antetokounmpo to a 10-day deal instead of Jimmer Fredette, who plays for New York’s D-League affiliate, surprised some since the team had been evaluating the shooting guard for a potential roster spot, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. New York wasn’t enamored with Fredette’s defense, something that Antetokounmpo excels at, Berman adds. The Knicks also considered signing Tony Wroten, but preferred Antetokounmpo’s familiarity with the triangle offense instead, the Post scribe notes.
This season’s version of the Raptors are superior to last season’s thanks to the improved bench, tougher team defense and the improved chemistry and roster cohesion, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun writes. “I think it’s guys playing more years with each other, understanding what we want to do and more people buying into their roles,” is how James Johnson described the difference in this season’s team.
Point guard T.J. McConnell has carved out a role for himself on the Sixers thanks to his toughness and unselfish play, Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com writes. “I think he’s been pretty good from the get-go,” coach Brett Brown said of McConnell. “I feel like he’s starting to understand the rhythm of the game, the tempo of the game, who needs the ball, what plays should be called, defensive rotations, on-ball pick-and roll-defense. … He’s constantly in pick-and-rolls. He’s developed in a big way there.“

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Nets, Celtics, McConnell

January 10th, 2016 at 1:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Former Warriors coach Mark Jackson could be a contender for the Nets‘ head coaching job, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. He notes that Jackson has expressed interest in the position in the past. The job opened earlier today with the firing of Lionel Hollins.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Nets GM Billy King and owner Mikhail Prokhorov are to blame for years of moves that led to today’s overhaul, writes Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo Sports. King behaved much the way he did as GM with the Sixers, trading draft picks for veterans and taking on large contracts like Joe Johnson‘s. It culminated with the 2013 deal that sent a package of picks to Boston for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. Whoever steps into King’s GM role will have to have to dig out the franchise of a hole that Dwyer says may be the largest in recent history.
The Celtics could be the biggest beneficiary of the Nets‘ chaos, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Boston owns Brooklyn’s unprotected first-rounder this summer and in 2018, along with the option to exchange first-round picks in 2017. The Nets currently have the league’s third-worst record at 10-27.
T.J. McConnell built on his family’s basketball success by landing a spot with the Sixers, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Undrafted out of Arizona, McConnell made enough of an impression in Philadelphia to have his $525K salary guaranteed for the rest of the season. “You look at my son as an outsider,” said Tim McConnell, T.J.’s father. “You don’t know his drive. You don’t know his tenacity, his grit. When you just look at him, you look at him and say, this kid is not an NBA player, an NBA guy. But the reason why he’s able to do some of the things that he does is because he challenges himself day after day to be the best at whatever he’s doing.”

Atlantic Notes: Valanciunas, McConnell, Porzingis

November 21st, 2015 at 2:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Undrafted rookie point guard T.J. McConnell has been one of the early season’s pleasant surprises for the Sixers, something that even McConnell didn’t anticipate, Andy Jasner of NBA.com writes. “Did I expect to play this much so early in the season?,” McConnell asked. “I would have to say, ‘no.’ Like I’ve said, weird things have gone on. My number has been called and I’m going in to compete and fight for minutes. It’s every day that you have to compete and play hard and learn. To keep this dream going, it’s keeping that work ethic going and continuing to play well. I just want to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.”

McConnell is a realist and understands that his future with the team is unclear once Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten return to action, Jasner adds. “I hope so,” McConnell responded when asked if he had a future in Philly. “I’ve already had such a great experience here. The coaches and my teammates are amazing to be around every day. My teammates are always encouraging me and the coaches are teaching all the time. I’m here to learn and get better. I don’t ever want to look down the road. Sure, I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t think about it. But my job is to stay in the moment and improve as much as possible.”

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic Division:

Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas fractured the fourth metacarpal in his non-shooting hand on Friday night, and will be evaluated to determine just how long he’ll be out of action, the team announced via a press release (h/t to ESPN.com). Valanciunas broke a similar bone in his right hand during his 2012/13 rookie season and missed 18 games as a result.
Kristaps Porzingis has taken New York by storm, as well as surprised many around the league with his solid start, but the Knicks rookie isn’t shocked that he has been able to contribute immediately, Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post writes. “Everybody [was] saying project, few years,” Porzingis said. “I will get better in a few years, but I knew I’d be able to play right now.”
The Celtics have recalled Terry Rozier and James Young from the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.

Atlantic Notes: McConnell, Ellington, Young

November 6th, 2015 at 12:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

T.J. McConnell has delivered the most surprising performance of the season so far, as the undrafted Sixers rookie sits fifth in the league at 8.0 assists per game through four games so far, observes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Still, as Pompey notes, Sixers coach Brett Brown isn’t getting carried away and isn’t promising that the 23-year-old from the University of Arizona will keep his newfound starting spot when Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall return from injury.

“But right now, what you realize is we really tripped on a really good young player,” Brown said. “Now, it’s early days. But to say that we are not excited from what we’ve seen so far would be completely not true.”

See more from around the Atlantic Division:

The proximity of Brooklyn to his native Philadelphia “played a huge role” in Wayne Ellington‘s decision to sign with the Nets this summer, he told Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News Group. The move was also thrust upon the shooting guard to a degree, since Lakers prioritized signing others instead of re-signing him, Medina points out. Ellington and his family suffered through the loss of his father, who was murdered in Philadelphia last year, as Medina recounts.
James Young isn’t discouraged about his latest trip to the D-League, an early-season assignment that’s already the 12th of his career, as the 20-year-old points to his status as the youngest player on the Celtics, notes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Young, the 17th overall draft pick in 2014, still hasn’t won a spot in the NBA rotation. “Ultimately to play on our team, you have to beat out the people in front of you,” coach Brad Stevens said. “And that’s the reality of the situation.”
The Knicks are just 2-3, but with the play of rookies Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant, plus the continued success Langston Galloway is having on his partially guaranteed contract, the Knicks have hope for the future, observes Zach Braziller of the New York Post.

Atlantic Notes: Robinson, McConnell, Sullinger

November 4th, 2015 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Thomas Robinson had offers for longer deals this summer, but he chose to take a two-year deal for the minimum salary with the Nets that allows him to opt out at season’s end because he’s confident he’ll be a more sought-after commodity at that point, as he explains to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Robinson indicates his ideal outcome would involve him turning down his player option.

“It was tough to gamble on myself and turn down a longer contract, but the way I look it, I really have this year to prove myself,” Robinson said to Kennedy. “I have no doubt that once next summer comes, I’ll be back on my way and I’ll have made the right choice.”

See more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers rookie T.J. McConnell‘s 12 assists Monday against the Cavs were more than he had in any college game, notes Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com, who chronicles the surprising impact of the point guard who made the team out of camp on a deal with only a $100K partial guarantee.
Sixers coach Brett Brown is high on McConnell in spite of his desire for another point guard, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays, which has reportedly led the team to strike a deal with Phil Pressey. “We’ve unearthed something in T.J., that’s just a real pusher point guard, a pass-first point guard,” Brown added. “So I feel like what this team needs to protect ourselves as much as anything is another point guard.”
Jared Sullinger made statements indicating that he felt counted out after the Celtics failed to sign him to an extension before Monday’s deadline, but the former 21st overall pick isn’t disappointed, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com clarifies. “It’s part of the business,” Sullinger said. “My main objective is to focus on this basketball team, and try to make us better. That’s just the main focus going into this year. It’s not about extensions.”

Atlantic Notes: Williams, Crowder, McConnell

October 29th, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Knicks 2014 second-rounder Thanasis Antetokounmpo is signing with the Westchester Knicks, New York’s D-League affiliate, for the 2015/16 season, the player’s agent, Nick Lotsos, tweets. This comes as a minor surprise since Antetokounmpo’s camp had previously said that the swingman would not play another season in the D-League. The 23-year-old had reportedly been in contact with European and NBA teams in an effort to strike a deal, but apparently no concrete offer materialized. The Knicks waived Antetokounmpo along with four others last week.

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Derrick Williams‘ play is beginning to justify Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s decision to sign him to a two-year, $8.8MM deal this past offseason, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. “I don’t know what he hasn’t done [in the past], but I think he’s just playing the game, trusting his instincts, even though he’s still learning a lot of new things on how to play,’’ coach Derek Fisher said. “I don’t think he’s overthinking. He’s making plays in front of him, shooting the ball well. It’s early. He had a really good preseason and was really good [Wednesday night]. He’ll have ups and downs, and it’s how he responds when the shots aren’t going in like they were.’’
Sixers coach Brett Brown is a big fan of point guard T.J. McConnell, and compares him to a former player who Brown coached on the Australian national basketball team in the 2012 London Olympics, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.”He reminds me of Matthew Dellavedova a lot, who I had a lot to do with,” Brown said. “Somebody says, ‘He can’t shoot. No way can he make it.’ “
Jae Crowder was concerned after arriving in Boston last season as part of the Rajon Rondo deal that the Celtics would be trying to tank, a worry that was quickly dispelled by the team’s coaching staff and front office, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays. “I don’t like losing, man,” said Crowder. “I play this game to win. I never in my life played to lose. I don’t know what that feels like. I don’t play like that. I play to win. I felt like that the locker room here was kind of sulking right when I got here. It was sad to be in a professional locker room like that. I didn’t like it. I just wanted to come in each and every day and put my work in and hopefully make guys feed off my energy and take it from there. When you want to win, man, when you’re in a winning organization, you take pride in it. And when you lose, you let everybody know you lost. You’re not walking around happy.“

Sixers Releasing Jordan McRae

October 26th, 2015 at 2:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers are waiving Jordan McRae, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made an announcement, but the source indicated to Spears that the move has already taken place. That, plus reports that the team is also waiving Furkan Aldemir, Scottie Wilbekin, Pierre Jackson and J.P. Tokoto, will reduce the team’s roster to the 15-man regular season limit. T.J. McConnell has made the opening night roster on his partially guaranteed contract, Spears adds (on Twitter), while Yahoo Sports colleague Shams Charania reported that Christian Wood will stick, too. Robert Covington, Hollis Thompson and JaKarr Sampson are the other Sixers without full guarantees, but they also appear safe for opening night.

McRae signed the required tender of a one-year, non-guaranteed, minimum-salary deal that Philadelphia had to offer to retain his draft rights. The Spurs picked him 58th overall out of Tennessee in 2014, trading his rights the same night to the Sixers. The 24-year-old shooting guard averaged 7.1 points in 19.9 minutes per game across seven preseason appearances this month.

His release means the Sixers are giving up his NBA rights, though they can still retain his D-League rights. McRae played for Philadelphia’s D-League affiliate late last season after spending the first part of 2014/15 playing in Australia.

Atlantic Notes: Isiah, King, Sixers, Raptors

October 21st, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks owner James Dolan doesn’t hide his affection for Isiah Thomas, but he can’t envision a scenario in which he ever hires him for the Knicks again, telling Bryant Gumbel of HBO’s Real Sports that he doesn’t think fans in New York would give him a fair chance, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News relays (Twitter link). Thomas, to whom Gumbel also spoke, ruled out coaching the Knicks again, but didn’t say he wouldn’t seek a front office position with the team, Bondy notes. See more from around the Atlantic Division:

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov complimented the job performance of GM Billy King in an interview with NetsDaily, but he wouldn’t address the matter of whether he’ll give King an extension. King is in the final year of his deal and conflicting reports emerged in May about whether he and the team were close to an extension.
Brett Brown has said the Sixers plan to keep only three point guards for opening night, but with top options Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall injured and T.J. McConnell closing in on a regular season spot, Brown suggests the team could keep more because of their ability to slide to shooting guard, observes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “You know you look at [Scottie] Wilbekin … and say he’s a two-guard,” Brown said. “He can shoot, and that’s true. I can look at Isaiah [Canaan] and say he’s not always a point guard. Let him go be, pick him, Lou Williams. He’s a barrel-chested scorer.”
The Raptors had mixed results with two point guards on the floor at the same time last season, but with Cory Joseph having replaced Williams and Greivis Vasquez, coach Dwane Casey is more optimistic about such lineups, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca examines. “The problem last year going small wasn’t Kyle [Lowry], it was the other small guys with him,” Casey said. “Now we have speed and quickness with Kyle, we have toughness with Kyle defensively so you don’t get burned as much defensively when you do go small.”

Atlantic Notes: Seraphin, McConnell, Anthony

October 10th, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Seraphin, who signed with the Knicks this offseason after being dissatisfied with his playing time with the Wizards under former coach Randy Wittman, took exception to some comments that Wittman had made regarding Seraphin’s time in Washington, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “Listen, the players dictate who plays and what minutes they get,’’ Wittman said. “I’m not going to get into inconsistent minutes or not. He played. I wish him luck.’’ In response to Wittman, Seraphin said, “He said players dictate playing time? I don’t really agree there. What can I say. I was doing pretty much everything right, working hard. I’m not mad at all. That’s the business. He has the right to play me at the end of the day. … I don’t think he didn’t want to play me.’’ The 25-year-old made 79 appearances for the Wizards during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 15.6 minutes per night, which was actually an uptick from the 10.9 minutes per night Seraphin averaged the previous season.

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks are flush with players who can play the power forward position, which should limit the time that Carmelo Anthony sees at the four spot this season, a position he has excelled at in the past, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes. Anthony, who says he prefers playing small forward, notes that this was part of the team’s offseason plan, Bondy adds. “I think that spot is wide open, just as far as who’s going to play it, when they’re going to play,” Anthony said. “I’m pretty sure you’ll see some times with me at the four throughout the course of the season. To be honest with you, throughout these first 10 days of camp, Seraphin showed some shine at that position, K.P. [Kristaps Porzingis] showed some upside at that position. Guys we brought in at that position are showing why we brought them.“
T.J. McConnell is considered a longshot to make the Sixers‘ regular season roster, but he has been impressing the team’s coaching staff with his solid all-around play, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We want to encourage him to get a set shot going,” coach Brett Brown said regarding the undrafted point guard out of Arizona. “The other stuff is proven. He’s a heady defender. He passes the hell out of it. He plays with amazing pace. I think he will be very popular in the city.” Brown acknowledged that McConnell is still in a “fist fight” to make the team, but added, “But what we’ve seen so far, you say he’s done well.“