Terence Davis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Bucks, Pistons, Parker, Pacers’ Coaches

July 2nd, 2023 at 10:35am CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks kept their core intact by re-signing Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez, but it will be challenging to fill out the roster while remaining under the second tax apron, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The two new contracts bring Milwaukee’s projected spending for next season to nearly $170MM for eight players, leaving six more to be added without reaching the $182.79MM apron. Nehm points out that they can’t avoid the apron if they use their full $5MM taxpayer mid-level exception and will have to complete the roster mostly through veteran’s minimum contracts and re-signing their own players through Bird rights.

A new one-year deal with Jae Crowder will help, Nehm adds. The Bucks parted with five second-round picks to acquire the veteran forward in February, but he wasn’t a lock to return because he didn’t have the impact on defense that the team was expecting. Thanasis Antetokounmpo will likely be back, according to Nehm, but the Bucks are expected to wait until later this summer to officially sign him to retain their financial flexibility.

Nehm notes that finding a backup point guard will be a priority after losing Jevon Carter to the Bulls. He names Kendrick Nunn as a potential low-cost option, along with Cory Joseph, who is on the market after spending the last two seasons in Detroit.

Nehm suggests that Milwaukee could look for bargains with its other open roster spots. He mentions Kings shooting guard Terence Davis and Raptors point guard Dalano Banton as possibilities, as well the Lakers’ Malik Beasley and Lonnie Walker if they’re willing to accept minimum offers for one year to join a title contender.

There’s more from the Central Division:

Instead of signing free agents, the Pistons used their cap room to trade for two veterans, which sets them up for big moves at the deadline and next summer, observes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. Joe Harris at $19.9MM and Monte Morris at $9.8MM use up virtually all of Detroit’s $30MM in cap space, but they both have expiring contracts that could be valuable at the deadline in February. Sankofa notes that the same is true for Alec Burks‘ $10.5MM deal, while Bojan Bogdanovic is virtually expiring because his 2024/25 contract only carries a $2MM guarantee.
A family matter will prevent Jabari Parker from joining the Bucks for the Las Vegas Summer League, Nehm tweets. The former No. 2 overall pick is hoping for another NBA opportunity after sitting out all of last season.
Pacers assistant Ronald Nored will join Quin Snyder‘s staff with the Hawks, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Indiana will move Jenny Boucek to the front of the bench and make Jim Boylen an assistant after he served as a consultant last season.

Free Agent Rumors: Lopez, Banton, T. Davis, Strus

June 30th, 2023 at 10:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Multiple NBA clubs are awaiting word on the future of unrestricted free agent center Brook Lopez, who has spent his past five seasons with the Bucks, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Fischer reports that “increasing word” on Friday suggests the Rockets may bid in excess of the two-year, $40MM deal that has been floated as a possibility.

Lopez, 35, has enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Milwaukee. The seven-footer has been named to two All-Defensive Teams and won his first championship during his Bucks tenure, while totally transforming his game, from being a fringe All-Star post scorer while with the Nets to the gritty 3-and-D role player he is now.

In 78 regular season games for the 58-24 Bucks last season, the former Stanford big man posted averages of 15.9 PPG on .531/.374/.784 shooting splits, in addition to 6.7 RPG, 2.5 BPG and 1.3 APG. He was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Here are further free agent rumors:

Free agent point guard Dalano Banton met with the Celtics on Friday, according to Rafael Barlowe of NBA Big Board (via Twitter). The 6’9″ vet out of Nebraska had spent both of his NBA seasons to date with the Raptors. In 31 contests, last year, he averaged 4.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG and 1.2 APG.
The Celtics, Suns, Bucks, Mavericks and Raptors are among the teams with some level of interest in free agent former Kings shooting guard Terence Davis, according to Mark Jones of ESPN and Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links).
According to Fischer (Twitter link), the Spurs have emerged as a possible third team in a rumored sign-and-trade deal that would send Heat free agent shooting guard Max Strus to the Cavaliers. Sources tell Fischer that Cleveland has been looking to offload the contract of swingman Cedi Osman, whom Miami presumably has no interest in taking on. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports (via Twitter) that the Heat are aiming to create a trade exception and a future second-round draft selection in any sign-and-trade involving Strus.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Draymond, Kings, Clippers

April 29th, 2023 at 4:03pm CST by Rory Maher

It seemed as though the Warriors had all the momentum after winning three straight games to go ahead 3-2 in their first-round series against Sacramento, which made their Game 6 home loss Friday night all the more stunning, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

Kawakami calls the 19-point defeat Golden State’s “most disappointing” performance since the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green started making the postseason in 2013. The locker room was understandably quiet and reflective afterward.

Still, the team remains confident it will be able to rebound and emerge victorious Sunday afternoon in Sacramento for Game 7.

“It’s up to us to go to Sacramento and do everything we did tonight — but opposite,” Thompson said. “And I know we will respond. I just know this team. I know these guys. I’ve played at the highest level with them and I know what we are capable of, and we will respond like the champions we are come Sunday.”

Here’s more from the Pacific:

It’s time for head coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors to re-insert Draymond Green into the starting lineup in place of the struggling Jordan Poole, argues Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, who points to Green’s experience of winning in high-pressure situations and his defensive acumen as reasons why the change should take place.
The Kings made a “series-altering” adjustment in Game 6, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. They decided to go smaller and faster, with more shooting around De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, who both had terrific games. They went away from Alex Len as backup center and used Trey Lyles at the five, with Terence Davis, Kevin Huerter and Keegan Murray receiving more playing time, while Harrison Barnes and Davion Mitchell played less. “We knew we could run them a little bit and we took advantage of that tonight,” Monk said. “I felt it a little bit more on them. They were a little tired. We’re younger than they are. So we knew we could take advantage of that. We’re going to try to do the same thing Sunday.”
Confirming a recent report from Mark Medina, president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank says the Clippers will “continue to build around” Kawhi Leonard and Paul George despite their injury troubles, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN relays. “Kawhi’s a ceiling raiser,” Frank said. “When you study past NBA champions, they have a top-five guy on their team, and Kawhi has shown that when healthy he can be the best player in the world. Paul is an eight-time All-Star now. So we’re going to continue to build around those guys and look for every which way [to improve around them].”
Both Leonard and George are eligible for pricey contract extensions in the offseason, and the Clippers will discuss the matter with their star players when the time comes, per Youngmisuk. “Those guys are great players and they’re great partners and we want to keep them as Clippers for a long time,” Frank said. “And so we’ll look forward to those conversations. And the No. 1 goal is how can we build a sustainable championship team? And those guys have been great partners, so at the appropriate time, we look forward to sitting down with them.”

Pacific Notes: Davis, Vezenkov, Lamb, Bazley

March 19th, 2023 at 6:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Terence Davis, an unrestricted free agent after the season, has seen his playing time plunge this month. He got a chance to play big minutes on Saturday due to injuries and delivered a 21-point, seven-rebound game for the Kings, Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee writes. Davis acknowledged that he needed an outing like that.

“I haven’t been playing well,” the Kings guard said. “So that’s just point-blank, period. I haven’t been playing well. I haven’t been locked in, honestly. I’m just trying to get that rhythm back. The opportunity opened back up for me and I was able to take advantage of it.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Kings GM Monte McNair and VP of player personnel Phil Jabour traveled to Greece to watch draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Vezenkov play, columnist Shot Vetakis tweets. The Olympiacos Piraeus forward is considered the favorite for the EuroLeague MVP award, according to Javier Gancedo of EuroLeagueBasketball.net. Kings players have endorsed bringing in Vezenkov, who is averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 28 EuroLeague contests this season.
Anthony Lamb‘s new contract with the Warriors only covers the rest of the season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. That will make Lamb a restricted free agent after the season. The swingman was promoted from a two-way deal to a standard contract on Friday.
Forward Darius Bazley said that getting traded from the Thunder to the Suns jolted him, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “It was kind of tough,” Bazley said. “When it first happened, it was one of those moments when you’re like, ‘Dang.’ That’s all I knew. A lot of those guys, I’ve been with them since I first came here. In the NBA, your teammates and staff, you spend more time with them than you do your own families.” A restricted free agent this summer if extended a qualifying offer, Bazley has only made two cameos with the Suns.

Lowe’s Latest: Hart, Hachimura, Crowder, D. Green, T. Davis, More

January 25th, 2023 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers forward Josh Hart “is a name that is very, very hot right now,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe said in the latest episode of his Lowe Post podcast.

In a conversation with ESPN colleague Bobby Marks about Portland’s possible approach to this season’s trade deadline, Lowe stated that there are “a lot” of teams around the NBA who would like Hart, specifically citing Miami as a possible suitor since the 27-year-old is a “Heat kind of guy.”

Hart is playing a crucial role this season for the Blazers. In addition to starting all 45 games he has played, he’s averaging 34.0 minutes per contest and ranks third on the team in total minutes played (1,530). However, his contract situation has made him the subject of trade speculation — he holds a player option on his contract for 2023/24, so he could become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Here’s more from Lowe and Marks:

Both Marks and Lowe have heard rumblings that the Wizards and Rui Hachimura had discussions prior to the season about a rookie scale extension worth in the neighborhood of $12MM annually, but Hachimura opted to play out his contract year. The forward was traded to Los Angeles on Monday, so the Lakers will have to find common ground with him in free agency if they intend to keep him beyond this season.
A source from a team with interest in Jae Crowder told Lowe that the Suns are seeking two of the following three things in exchange for the veteran forward: A first-round pick, a good young player, and a solid rotation player. Both Marks and Lowe are skeptical about Phoenix’s chances to get that sort of return, with Lowe remarking that the asking price is why Crowder is still a Sun.
Lowe keeps hearing that the Grizzlies love Danny Green‘s locker room presence and don’t want to trade him. Green is on track to make his season debut next Wednesday.
In a discussion about possible deadline moves for the Kings, Lowe said that he’s not sure guard Terence Davis is “loving his playing time” this season and suggested that Davis could be a trade chip. The fourth-year guard is averaging a career-low 12.7 minutes per contest.
Echoing a recent report from Marc Stein, Lowe indicated that the Hornets appear motivated to hang onto forward P.J. Washington and re-sign him as a restricted free agent this offseason rather than moving him at the deadline.
Lowe believes the Clippers are a good bet to make a deadline move, but suggests it might be more around the edges than anything major, since the team is reluctant to move Terance Mann and doesn’t have many movable first-round picks left.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Mavericks, Kings Interested In Rui Hachimura

January 23rd, 2023 at 9:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks and Kings are among several teams that have contacted the Wizards about Rui Hachimura, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Hachimura, who has been on a scoring tear lately, addressed trade rumors over the weekend, saying he wants to be with a team that “believes in me.” Washington faces a potential salary crunch this offseason with Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma both holding player options, and Hachimura might be expendable due to luxury tax concerns.

Hachimura is making just $6.26MM this season, so teams would have to send back at least $4.9MM in salary to Washington in any deal. Scotto notes that the Kings can use either Terence Davis or Alex Len to match Hachimura’s salary.

There had been reports that Hachimura was offered to the Suns as part of a deal for Jae Crowder, although a Wizards official denied that rumor earlier this month. Scotto hears that Washington no longer has interest in Crowder because he may not be able to make an immediate impact after such a long layoff.

Cavs’ Mitchell, Kings’ Fox Out For Friday’s Matchup

December 9th, 2022 at 5:47pm CST by Rory Maher

Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell will miss Friday’s contest against Sacramento with lower right leg soreness, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Kings will also be without their leading scorer, point guard De’Aaron Fox, tweets Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

As Fedor writes, Mitchell has been dealing with the soreness for a while. He initially sprained his ankle against the Warriors on November 11, which caused him to miss a game, and then aggravated the injury on November 28 against Toronto, when he scored a season-low eight points.

Mitchell, who is averaging a career-high 29.0 PPG with a career-best .496/.424/.890 shooting slash line, was limited during the Cavs’ shootaround on Friday and the team decided to be cautious with him on the first night of a back-to-back, Fedor notes. Caris LeVert will start in Mitchell’s place.

Fox, who is averaging 22.8 PPG with a .507/.366/.826 shooting line, recently disclosed that he’s been dealing with right foot soreness for over a month, and the pain obviously was bad enough to be ruled out tonight. Head coach Mike Brown said the Kings plan to take his injury “day-by-day” and will “see how he feels,” (Twitter link via Anderson).

Second-year guard Davion Mitchell will start in Fox’s place, Anderson adds in another tweet. Kings guard Terence Davis, who was previously listed as questionable, was also ruled out with lower back soreness.

Injury Notes: Lakers, Conley, R. Williams, MPJ, Wesley, T. Davis

December 9th, 2022 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers should have their two superstars back on Friday night in Philadelphia. LeBron James missed Wednesday’s game in Toronto to rest his sore right ankle, but he’ll be available on Friday, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Anthony Davis, who left Tuesday’s game in Cleveland with a non-COVID illness and remained out on Wednesday, is listed as probable to play on Friday, McMenamin adds.

Meanwhile, in Utah, Jazz guard Mike Conley has been cleared to return, as expected, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Sidelined since November 19 due to a knee injury, Conley said today that he had already been planning to return tonight, but felt more urgency to get back on the court with Collin Sexton now on the shelf (Twitter link via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune).

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Speaking today to reporters, Celtics big man Robert Williams declined to offer specifics when asked about when he might make his season debut, repeatedly stating that he’s “day to day.” However, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe and Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter links) believe Williams may be trending toward a Saturday return, noting that head coach Joe Muzzalla couldn’t hold back a smile when asked about the possibility of the center playing in Golden State.
There’s still no timeline for the return of Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., who has missed eight straight games with a left heel injury, head coach Michael Malone said on Thursday. According to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link), a TNT report suggested Porter could be back within a week, but Malone said no target date has been conveyed to him.
Spurs rookie Blake Wesley, making his way back from an MCL tear, will likely have a stint with the Austin Spurs in the G League before he returns to the NBA team, head coach Gregg Popovich said on Thursday (Twitter link via Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News). Popovich added that Wesley is getting close.
Kings guard Terence Davis had hoped to return on Wednesday after missing just one game due to a lower back issue, but he aggravated the injury in practice on Tuesday and is now at risk of missing additional time, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “It’s frustrating because all I want to do is play basketball,” Davis said.

Pacific Notes: Sabonis, Bridges, Lamb, Thompson

December 3rd, 2022 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings improved to 12-9 with a rout of the Clippers Saturday afternoon and they seem to have added another element to their already dangerous offense, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Domantas Sabonis continued his hot shooting from three-point range, connecting on both of his shots from beyond the arc. After starting the season 1-of-12 on three-pointers, Sabonis has hit 8-of-14 in his last 10 games.

“It’s big,” he said. “The more I can keep shooting them and knocking them down, teams are eventually going to have to respect it, which is going to allow me to be even more of a play-maker. A lot of times, I can’t thread the needle because the big is so far down. Now, he has to be up, to open the room up for everybody.”

Sacramento had everyone available today as Trey Lyles returned after missing two games with an illness, Anderson adds. Coach Mike Brown likes having the extra option among his reserves and cited the performance of Terence Davis and KZ Okpala while Lyles was unavailable.

“That just makes our bench deeper,” Brown said. “Trey was playing well when he was playing. Obviously, TD stepped up and played big minutes for us. KZ played some pretty good minutes in the last game. So, it makes my decision making harder, but (Lyles) has been playing his behind off and it’s great to see.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Suns forward Mikal Bridges, who hasn’t missed a game since entering the league, believes he can continue that streak despite tweaking his right knee Friday night, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix will travel to San Antonio on Sunday, and Bridges is listed as probable. “I think I just hyperextended it a little bit, but I’m all right,” he said.
Anthony Lamb has become an important part of the Warriors‘ second unit, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. When Lamb joined Golden State in October, it marked his fourth two-way contract in less than two years, along with one 10-day deal. “He’s a versatile player,” coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s a quick catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter. The ball doesn’t stop when it hits his hands. When he’s open, he usually gets it off quickly. And he’s shooting it really well. He does a lot of things well that contribute to winning.”
Warriors guard Klay Thompson sat out tonight on the second game of a back-to-back, but Kerr doesn’t expect that to continue all season, Poole tweets.

California Notes: Kings, Robinson, Warriors, Lakers

September 8th, 2022 at 5:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

While Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox is clearly locked in as the team’s starter at that position, the identity of his backcourt cohort is a bit up in the air. James Ham of The Kings Beat takes stock of the team’s options at shooting guard.

Ham identifies 6’7″ sharpshooter Kevin Huerter, acquired in a trade with the Hawks over the summer, as the option that makes the most sense fit-wise, but notes that free agent signing Malik Monk could get significant consideration as well. Inconsistent wing Terence Davis should get some run in the rotation, while Ham also examines the upside of young swingmen Sam Merrill and Keon Ellis.

There’s more out of California:

Shooting guard Jerome Robinson faces an uphill battle when it comes to making the Warriors‘ regular season roster. C.J. Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle details how the 25-year-old will need to prove his mettle in training camp. In his 2021/22 campaign with Golden State’s G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, the former lottery pick recorded averages of 20.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 3.8 APG in 22 games. Holmes writes that the team may be prioritizing a point guard or more size with the final one or two spots on its standard 15-man roster.
The Warriors seem fully capable of mounting a solid title defense this season, HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan opines in a fresh season preview. Gozlan posits that Golden State’s excellent two-way play and deep roster of veterans, mixed with some intriguing youth, should make the team a formidable threat in the Western Conference.,
On a recent episode of his podcast The Hoop Collective, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that the Lakers were never involved in three-team trade talks between the Jazz and Knicks in a potential trade to send Donovan Mitchell to New York. The three-time All-Star was eventually dealt to the Cavaliers instead in a two-team deal. Windhorst adds that the Lakers appear to think that there is no deal for $47MM+ point guard Russell Westbrook, even with their tantalizing 2027 and 2029 first-round picks included, that will significantly upgrade their roster.