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Talen Horton-Tucker

Lakers Sign Talen Horton-Tucker

July 13th, 2019 at 4:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker has signed with the Lakers, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Horton-Tucker was selected 46th overall with a pick that was acquired from the Magic in a draft-night trade.

Because L.A. is over the cap, the team isn’t able to able to sign Horton-Tucker past two years, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The maximum he could earn on his new deal is $898,310 as a rookie and $1,517,981 in 2020/21.

A 6’4″ swingman, Horton-Tucker averaged 11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists during his only season at Iowa State.

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Pacific Notes: Leonard, George, Caruso, Kings

July 7th, 2019 at 9:35am CST by Arthur Hill

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George may have permanently altered the perception of the two teams in Los Angeles, writes Arash Markazi of The Los Angeles Times. At one time, Leonard and George were both considered to be future Lakers. They were two stars who grew up in the L.A. area and wanted to leave their smaller-market teams for the comforts of home. That’s where they wound up, but they’re both Clippers.

Markazi recounts the history of the two franchises and how unbalanced the rivalry has been since the Clippers moved west. The Lakers had the stars, the famous fans and the titles, with 33 playoff appearances, 16 trips to the Finals and 10 championships from 1976 to 2011. Over that same time, the Clippers had just three winning seasons and made the playoffs four times.

The “Lob City” years and the purchase of the team by Steve Ballmer helped changed the balance of power as the Lakers fell onto hard times. Now with George and Leonard together on one side of Staples Center and LeBron James and Anthony Davis roaming the other, there finally appears to be a real rivalry.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Lakers will sign Alex Caruso with part of their $4.8MM room exception, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. A full day of signings on Saturday plus the Davis trade left the team a little more than $1MM below the salary cap, and Marks believes that money may be used to give second-round pick Talen Horton-Tucker a contract longer than two years. Dudley, Daniels and Rajon Rondo will all sign veteran’s minimum deals, Marks adds (Twitter link).
  • The Warriors had “significant interest” in Caruso before he opted to return to the Lakers, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
  • The Lakers risk another “reality show” season with their flurry of signings in the wake of losing out on Leonard, observes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. L.A.’s front office was heavily criticized last summer for not surrounding James with more shooters, and although they improved in that area this year with Danny Green, Jared Dudley, Troy Daniels and Quinn Cook, only Green has proven to be a reliable two-way player. Goodwill is also concerned about the lack of young talent, with Kyle Kuzma left as the only prominent player with a chance to improve.
  • The Kings continue to move toward GM Vlade Divac‘s vision of a faster and deeper team with this year’s free agent signings, notes Jason Jones of The Athletic. Sacramento added veteran help for its young core by re-signing Harrison Barnes and adding Dewayne Dedmon, Trevor Ariza, Cory Joseph and Richaun Holmes.
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Trade Details: Jazz, Warriors, Lakers, Magic, More

June 25th, 2019 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams weren’t allowed to send out more than $5.243MM in trades during the 2018/19 league year, but the Jazz entered last Thursday’s draft will that full allotment still available, and made use of it during the second round.

According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter), the Jazz sent their own unprotected 2021 second-round pick along with $1MM in cash to the Pacers in order to acquire the No. 50 overall pick. Utah used that selection to nab Charleston forward Jarrell Brantley.

The Jazz also traded for one more selection near the very end of the draft, sending $2MM to the Warriors in exchange for the rights to No. 58 pick Miye Oni, tweets Pincus. In total, Utah gave up $3MM and a future second-rounder to acquire the two picks in the 50s.

Here are a few more leftover trade details from draft night, courtesy of Pincus:

  • The Warriors sent an even $1MM and their own 2021 and 2023 unprotected second-round picks to the Pelicans in order to acquire the rights to No. 39 pick Alen Smailagic, Pincus tweets.
  • The exact amount of cash the Lakers sent to the Magic to acquire the rights to No. 46 pick Talen Horton-Tucker was $2,226,778, according to Pincus (Twitter link). That was precisely the amount that Orlando was still eligible to receive. The Lakers’ own 2020 second-round pick was also sent to the Magic in that deal.
  • In the deal that saw them send the draft rights to Bol Bol (No. 44 pick) to the Nuggets, the Heat received $1.2MM in cash and will get either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is lower), Pincus reports (via Twitter).
  • In exchange for Jonathon Simmons and the No. 42 pick, the Sixers acquired $2MM in cash from the Wizards, according to Pincus, who adds (via Twitter) that Washington didn’t require Simmons to pass a physical.
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Lakers Notes: Irving, Russell, Horton-Tucker, Adams

June 22nd, 2019 at 5:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving or D’Angelo Russell? The Lakers may wind up chasing whichever free agent point guard doesn’t sign with the Nets, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Rumors have had Irving headed to Brooklyn for a few weeks, but there were rumblings recently that the Nets’ front office isn’t sold on Irving without Kevin Durant.

If Brooklyn adds Irving, that means Russell, a restricted free agent, will likely be renounced. If Irving goes elsewhere, the Nets are expected to work out a new deal with Russell. Either way, that puts a talented guard on the market for the Lakers, who are looking for someone to pair in a Big Three with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Russell had a checkered history during the two years he spent in L.A., but Nick Young is gone, along with the other former teammates he feuded with.

Irving has championship experience and has played with LeBron before. However, at 27, he’s four year’s older than Russell and probably much more expensive. He won’t take less than a max deal, while Pincus suggests the Lakers may be able to land Russell for about $80MM over four seasons.

There’s also a sense that Irving is more difficult to handle, with a rival executive telling Pincus, “They’re both divas, but Irving takes it to another level. Russell may be high-maintenance, but he’s no Kyrie.”

There’s more from L.A.:
  • The Lakers are trying to convince the Hawks to become part of the Davis trade, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said on Sports Center (video clip tweeted by Lakers Outsider). Lakers GM Rob Pelinka wants to open more cap room by sending Moritz Wagner, Isaac Bonga and Jemerrio Jones to Atlanta in a three-team deal. The Hawks agreed to a trade with New Orleans for the No. 4 pick on draft night, so it’s possible those moves will turn into a single transaction.
  • L.A. sent $2.2MM to the Magic for the rights to the rights to the 46th pick, McMenamin tweets. They used that selection to take Iowa State’s Talen Horton-Tucker.
  • The Lakers received permission from the Warriors today to talk to assistant coach Ron Adams, according to Ohm Youngmisuk and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. There’s no indication that Adams is interested in leaving Golden State, but L.A. could change his mind by making a large offer.
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Lakers Acquire No. 46 Pick From Magic

June 20th, 2019 at 11:07pm CST by clarkcrum

11:07pm: The trade is official, according to the Magic, who announced that the pick they acquired is a 2020 second-rounder.

10:42pm: The Lakers, rumored to be interested in purchasing their way back into this year’s draft, have acquired the No. 46 overall pick from the Magic, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. The Magic will receive a future pick and cash considerations from the Lakers in return.

The Lakers need to get over the cap to finalize the Anthony Davis trade with the Pelicans in order to complete the deal on July 6.

With the No. 46 overall selection, the Magic selected Iowa State swingman Talen Horton-Tucker for the Lakers.

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Draft Notes: Blazers, Hawks, Hunter, Samanic, Kings, Warriors

June 18th, 2019 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers, who hold just one pick – No. 25 overall – in this year’s draft, brought in a total of 24 prospects for workouts, according to Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com.

In addition to the 12 prospects whose names we previously relayed, the Trail Blazers also brought in David Crisp (Washington), Matur Maker (Slovenia), KZ Okpala (Stanford), Samir Sehic (Tulane), Jaylin Walker (Kent State), Cameron Young (Quinnipiac), Vic Law (Northwestern), Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Louis King (Oregon), Admiral Schofield (Tennessee), Rayjon Tucker (Little Rock) over the last week.

Not all of those players are candidates to be selected 25th overall, so the Trail Blazers were also doing their homework on potential undrafted free agent signings — or possibly even second-round picks, if Portland opts to trade back into the draft.

Here are a few more draft-related notes and rumors worth rounding up:

  • The Hawks are “very high” on Virginia forward De’Andre Hunter, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link). Sources tell Givony that Atlanta is the only team Hunter has worked out for, though if the Hawks want to secure him, they may have to trade up from No. 8. The Hawks are also said to like Jarrett Culver.
  • Croatian forward Luka Samanic isn’t interested in becoming a draft-and-stash player, sources tell Givony. That might cause his stock to fall a little, since he’s still “raw and inexperienced,” Givony writes. Some teams may be reluctant to guarantee him a roster spot until he’s a little more NBA-ready.
  • The Kings worked out Kyle Guy (Virginia), Jaylen Hands (UCLA), Rayjon Tucker (Little Rock), Miye Oni (Yale), Daulton Hommes (Point Loma), and Kenny Wooten (Oregon) on Monday, per James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).
  • The Rockets are among the teams that brought in Purdue Fort Wayne’s John Konchar for a pre-draft workout, tweets ESPN’s Jordan Schultz.
  • Jordan Poole (Michigan) and Jarrell Brantley (Charleston) auditioned for the Warriors today, per Gery Woelfel and Adam Zagoria, respectively (Twitter links).
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Southeast Draft Notes: Hornets, Heat, Magic, Hawks

June 12th, 2019 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have looked into the possibility of moving up in the draft from their current spot in the lottery at No. 12, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell acknowledges that it may be difficult for Charlotte to put together the sort of trade capital necessary to make a deal happen, but says GM Mitch Kupchak is active.

Meanwhile, the Hornets will continue to explore their draft options by bringing in six more prospects for workouts tomorrow, according to the team. Marques Bolden (Duke), Tacko Fall (UCF), Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest), Jalen Hudson (Florida), and Luka Asceric (Mega Bemax) are among the players set to participate.

Here are a few more draft-related items from around the Southeast:

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Eastern Draft Notes: Hawks, Barrett, Knicks, Pistons

June 10th, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

With six of the top 44 picks in the 2019 NBA draft, the Hawks have been understandably busy when it comes to bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts. While Atlanta is unlikely to keep all six of its selections, the club is doing its due diligence on players who might be available at each spot — or as undrafted free agents.

On Sunday, the Hawks worked out Darius Bazley (Princeton HS), Robert Franks (Washington State), Matur Maker (Zlatorog Lasko), William McDowell-White (Baunach), Miye Oni (Yale), and Trayvon Reed (Texas Southern), according to the team.

The Hawks conducted another workout on Monday, bringing in Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Brian Bowen (Sydney), Dewan Hernandez (Miami), Jordan Poole (Michigan), Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech), and Dean Wade (Kansas State) in for a look.

On Tuesday, the Hawks will host yet another workout, with Charlie Brown Jr. (St. Joe’s), Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State), Keldon Johnson (Kentucky), Nassir Little (UNC), KZ Okpala (Stanford), and Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) set to participate.

Here are a few more updates on pre-draft workouts from around the Eastern Conference:

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Central Draft Notes: Pacers, Cavs, Bucks, Pistons

June 6th, 2019 at 3:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Holding the 18th and 50th overall picks in the 2019 NBA draft, the Pacers should have a wide variety of options available to them in both the first and second rounds, so they’re doing plenty of homework in the weeks leading up to the draft.

On Wednesday, the Pacers held a pre-draft workout that featured Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple), Ky Bowman (Boston College), Tacko Fall (UCF), Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Juwan Morgan (Indiana), and Elijah Thomas (Clemson), according to the team. Fall’s ability to participate in that session was limited after he rolled an ankle, as we noted yesterday.

Today, the Pacers are working out six more prospects, announcing that Luguentz Dort (Arizona State), Kyle Guy (Virginia), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Cody Martin (Nevada), and Josh Reaves (Penn State) are in town.

The Pacers will audition six more prospects on Friday, per the club’s latest press release. Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), Jon Elmore (Marshall), Aric Holman (Mississippi State), Luke Maye (UNC), Miye Oni (Yale), and Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) will attend that session.

Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts from around the Central:

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Celtics Rumors: Horford, Ainge, Kyrie, Rozier, Herro

June 5th, 2019 at 2:38pm CST by Luke Adams

If Al Horford opts out of his contract this month, he’s probably unlikely to top his $30MM+ player-option salary on the open market, but he should be able to top that total figure on a multiyear deal. That’s a scenario that intrigues the Celtics.

Speaking today to reporters, including Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald, C’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said that restructuring Horford’s contract into a longer, more cap-friendly deal is a “priority” for the club this summer.

NBA rules don’t technically allow teams to restructure contracts to reduce cap hits in the same way that NFL franchises can. But if Horford turns down his player option, he and the Celtics could essentially start from scratch on a new deal — it wouldn’t be a restructuring so much as a brand new contract. If the C’s are able to negotiate a starting salary in the range of, say, $20-25MM, it would create some added cap flexibility for the coming offseason.

Here’s more on the Celtics:

  • Despite suffering a mild heart attack last month, Ainge said he’s feeling good and will continue to lead the Celtics going forward, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “My role is not going to change,” Ainge said.
  • We passed along some of Ainge’s comments on Kyrie Irving in an earlier story, but Boston’s president of basketball operations offered a few more observations on the All-Star point guard. As Himmelsbach relays, Ainge said he had no regrets about the risk the Celtics took when they acquired Irving in 2017, and dismissed the idea that Kyrie was largely to blame for the club’s struggles in 2018/19. “We had a lot of reasons the team did not succeed this year,” Ainge said. “Kyrie deserves his share of the blame, but not any more than anybody else. There’s a lot of guys that didn’t handle things the right way and didn’t make the sacrifices that needed to be done for the benefit of the team. So I think that they’re all going to learn from it, including Kyrie.”
  • Ainge praised restricted-free-agent-to-be Terry Rozier, despite the fact that Rozier has publicly griped about the role he had with the Celtics this season. “I think that if Terry was in the right circumstance and the right role, I think he would love playing in Boston,” Ainge said, per Himmelsbach.
  • Ainge also acknowledged that the Celtics will consider draft-pick trades and told reporters that Brad Stevens continues to meet with candidates to replace assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry, according to Murphy and Himmelsbach.
  • Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston tweets that the Celtics worked out Kevin Porter Jr. (USC), Luguentz Dort (Arizona State), Tyler Herro (Kentucky), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (VA Tech), and Skyler Flatten (South Dakota State) on Tuesday. Herro made a strong impression, per Aaron Torres of FOX Sports (Twitter link).
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