Terry Rozier Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Millsap, Lin, D-League

December 20th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Will Joseph

The Magic offered Paul Millsap a max contract on July 1st and the power forward told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that Orlando’s pitch was impressive before he ultimately decided to re-sign with the Hawks.

“I was their first priority, and everything about their team was looking good at the time,” Millsap told Robbins. “It intrigued me. The presentation was great.”

Millsap, per Robbins, chose to stay in Atlanta, however, because he grew a fondness for the area and he got used to calling it home. Millsap added that his teammates and the Hawks’ coaching staff had a lot to do with his decision to re-sign because he believes Atlanta has “built something special thus far.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The non-guaranteed minimum salary of recent Wizards signee Ryan Hollins becomes fully guaranteed if the team doesn’t waive him by the end of December 27th, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders in a roundup of guarantee dates. Pincus also reveals that Bryce Cotton, who signed with the Suns last month, is on a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary that covers just this season and wouldn’t become guaranteed until next month’s leaguewide guarantee date.
Hawks big man Mike Muscala, previously thought to have a $473,638 partial guarantee on his $947,276 minimum salary, has no guarantee at all, Pincus shows in the same post and on Twitter.
Jeremy Lin, who signed a two-year, $4.4MM contract with the Hornets in July, said his new team is a very good fit for his style and strengths, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays.
The Mavs recalled Justin Anderson, Jeremy Evans and Salah Mejri from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in an emailed press release. Evans has appeared in 19 games with the Mavs while Anderson has played in 17 and Mejri has seen action in five.
The Thunder assigned Josh Huestis to the D-League, the team announced. Huestis has appeared in nine games this season for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s D-League affiliate.
The Celtics recalled Terry Rozier and Jordan Mickey from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in an emailed press release.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Martin, D-League

December 19th, 2015 at 10:13pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Carmelo Anthony has been key to Kristaps Porzingis‘ transition to the NBA, as Ian Begley of ESPN.com passes along via Twitter. “From the first moment we met, he’s been like a mentor to me,” Porzingis said of Anthony. Through the first two months of the season, the 19-year-old has cemented himself in the rookie of the year conversation, averaging 17.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per 36 minutes.

Here are some notes from around the Eastern Conference:

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel admits that Kevin Martin would make the Heat better, but he doesn’t believe a trade for shooting guard would be best for the team. Martin is reportedly available in trade discussions.
The Cavs have assigned Joe Harris to the Canton Charge, the team’s D-League affiliate, according to the team’s website. Harris is averaging 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists in nine games with the Charge this season.
The Celtics have assigned Terry Rozier to the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s D-League affiliate, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Rozier has only played a total of 95 minutes for the Celtics this season, scoring a total of 27 points.

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: Joseph, McHale, D-League

November 19th, 2015 at 3:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Cory Joseph has exceeded all expectations that the Raptors had for him when they inked him to a four-year, $30MM deal this offseason, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca writes. “When you do these things, you try to get good players and you try to figure out,” said GM Masai Ujiri of Joseph. “You do your scouting, you do your analytics, and you try to figure out if the team will fit together. But honestly, until they start playing, we [don’t know]. When we looked at it, we tried to look at two-way players who bring us some kind of toughness and that’s what he is. He’s a two-way player that will pick up the ball full court and put pressure on opposing guards. He knows how to fight people and make people better and score a little bit too. So you hope that it translates to the basketball court.”

Coach Dwane Casey is also a fan of Joseph’s, but he also admits the play of the 24-year-old playmaker has exceeded expectation, Lewenberg adds. “He has [been a pleasant surprise],” said Casey. “His energy, his toughness wasn’t a surprise but it’s really been glaring. He’s really filled in. I didn’t know how much we could play the two [point] guards together but he plays bigger than he is. He’s not the typical point guard, he can guard twos, he can get down there and wrestle with some threes. If he gets switched off he gets into the big guys’ knees and boxes them out. So he is better than expected.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would like to bring former teammate and fired Rockets coach Kevin McHale to the Celtics in some capacity, even if it’s just in a consultant’s role, Ainge told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The Mavericks are also interested, league sources said to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The Nets have respect for the coaching of Randy Ayers, whom they recently hired as a scout, though team officials say the organization doesn’t regard him as a coach-in-waiting in case Lionel Hollins is fired, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com.
The Celtics have assigned Jordan Mickey, Terry Rozier and James Young to the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Galloway, Mickey, Rozier, Young

November 15th, 2015 at 4:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Langston Galloway draws motivation from having begun his pro career as an unheralded D-Leaguer, but the comfort of knowing he would play with the Knicks this season on the two-year contract he signed at midseason last year helped him concentrate on improving in the offseason, he told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.

“I think this summer I was more settled because I knew where I was going, where I was going back to,” Galloway said. “And I knew the staff. So it helped out. I could focus on being there. I wouldn’t have to worry about 10 different other things. Like, ‘I might be here, I might be there.’ It definitely helped out, made me more comfortable. [It] made me just work at a more consistent pace.”

Galloway’s salary is only partially guaranteed this season, but he seems in no danger of hitting waivers. He’s set for restricted free agency in the summer ahead. See more on the Knicks and the rest of the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks won a fairly tight game against the Pelicans today, but they’ve otherwise struggled down the stretch, a problem their high roster turnover helps explain, Begley notes in a separate piece. The Knicks and Nets opened the season with eight newcomers apiece, most than any other Eastern Conference team.
The Celtics recalled all three of the players they had on D-League assignment today, bringing Jordan Mickey, Terry Rozier and James Young back to the big club in advance of today’s game against the Thunder, the team announced (Twitter link). Mickey and Young went to the D-League on Thursday, while the C’s had just assigned Rozier on Saturday.
The Sixers are well-positioned with lots of draft assets, but luck will play a prominent role in how well their rebuilding plan works, as Tom Moore of Calkins Media examines. Lottery picks and success aren’t necessarily correlated, as I observed earlier today.

Atlantic Notes: Smith, Crowder, Scola

November 14th, 2015 at 12:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith is still upset with team president Phil Jackson for publicly discussing Smith’s personal life during an interview this past summer, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “It was crazy to me because I try to leave my personal life on the side and when somebody sits there, sits behind a desk and tells you to open up on what’s going on with you, you’re thinking that’s going to be between the two of y’all,” Smith told Begley. “So, for me, it tells me something I already knew. But to come from someone like Phil, it’s just, it’s crazy. It makes you not want to tell anybody anything [that has] anything to do with your business. It was tough, but that’s how he handles stuff, that’s how he does it.”

Despite his negative feelings regarding Jackson’s comments, Smith still thinks back on his time in New York fondly, Begley adds. “There were ups and downs, to be expected, but I had more ups than I had downs when I was here, I think,” Smith said. “I’m just glad I was able to play here. A lot of people can’t play here, under the lights, under the pressure. I’m just glad I was one of those few who was able to.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil takes issue with any assertion that the team’s rebuilding process is moving along at too slow a pace, pointing to the team’s two potential cornerstones in Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, as well as the potential four first round draft picks that the franchise could have in next year’s draft, Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I want to scream, like, ‘Are you guys kidding me?’ ” O’Neil said. “I would scream it. When people say, ‘You’re set back. You’re too slow,’ I’m like, ‘Have you guys lost your [expletive] minds?’ Like, seriously, this is it.“
Jae Crowder‘s intense focus on improving his defense is paying dividends for both the player and the Celtics, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Through the team’s first seven contests, Crowder is leading the league with 3.4 steals per game, Himmelsbach notes. “All I try to do is make an impact on the defensive end every night,” Crowder said. “It’s not going to be perfect. You’re not going to hold someone scoreless in this league, but you can make it tough on them and you can have an impact on the game.” The 25-year-old re-signed with Boston this offseason on a five-year, $35MM arrangement.
Raptors power forward Luis Scola has increased his 3-point shot attempts this season in an effort to adapt to the way big men are being utilized in today’s NBA, writes Eric Koreen of The National Post. “The NBA is moving in that direction,” Scola said. “We all know how effective the three-point shot is in the basketball game today. I’m trying to adapt. That’s the way teams are playing.” Scola has attempted 1.8 deep balls per contest thus far, which is a significant bump from the 0.4 he notched per game in 2014/15, Koreen notes.
The Celtics have assigned Terry Rozier to the Maine Red Claws, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Rozier’s first trip to the D-League of the season.

Atlantic Notes: Joseph, Calderon, Rozier

October 20th, 2015 at 6:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Point guard Cory Joseph, who inked a four-year, $30MM deal with the Raptors this summer, has been impressing the team with his solid two-way game, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun writes. Joseph said he wasn’t feeling any added pressure to perform up to his new deal, Wolstat notes. “I don’t know how to answer that because I don’t really base my game on what people think,” Joseph said. “I just try to get better every day. I try to maybe prove that I can play within the organization, but outside the organization, I don’t really look at that stuff.”

Joseph’s new teammate, Luis Scola, praises the reserve playmaker’s ability, and predicts good things for Joseph this season in Toronto, Wolstat adds. “He’s a good player, he’s trying to explore his game, take his game to the next level,” Scola said. “I think he’s going to have a lot of opportunities here. He’s in great shape right now, he looks very good, very confident, so, hopefully he can keep that momentum going into the season. We’re expecting a great year from him.”

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic Division:

Knicks point guard Jose Calderon noted that there were some teams this offseason that were interested in trading for him, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. New York was reportedly trying to find a taker for the veteran this summer as the team attempted to free up cap space.
2015 first-rounder Terry Rozier‘s place in the Celtics‘ rotation is unclear with a number of players ahead of him on the depth chart currently, but coach Brad Stevens has noted the impact that former third-string point guard Phil Pressey had on Boston teams in recent seasons, a role that Stevens hopes the rookie can fill, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes.
While injuries have kept Arron Afflalo on the shelf for the bulk of the preseason, the Knicks are banking on his skill as a post player to help him thrive in the triangle offense this season, Begley writes in a separate piece. “Post-ups aren’t as popular of a scoring opportunity in terms of efficiency and points per possession. But we still view it as penetration,” New York coach Derek Fisher said. “The ball is still closer to the basket than it is if you’re standing out by the line. And we believe we have some guys who are good enough to force teams to make a decision on how they’re going to defend us. [We] think Arron’s good enough.“

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Valanciunas, Mickey

August 19th, 2015 at 7:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers have officially announced that center Joel Embiid is expected to miss the entire 2015/16 campaign while he recovers from surgery on his right foot, the second such procedure the big man has undergone on that appendage. Embiid’s recovery is expected to take five to eight months, which was the exact same timeframe the center was given following his surgery last season, according to the announcement. Philly GM Sam Hinkie also noted that Embiid did not suffer another broken foot, but instead, there was simply less healing than medical personnel anticipated.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Hinkie also said that the Sixers were still actively looking to make another trade this offseason, but would not disclose what position the team is looking to upgrade at, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The GM also said regarding potential deals, “We’re still active, heavily engaged in trade conversations, [and also] with free agents still. I don’t have anything to announce,” Tom Moore of Calkins Media relays (on Twitter). Philly could stand to add some depth at point guard, with the team’s current rotation at the one consisting of Tony Wroten, Isaiah Canaan, and Scottie Wilbekin.
Even if the Raptors need to offer Jonas Valanciunas an extension above market value in order to entice him to sign, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star thinks locking him up before the salary cap spikes next summer would be a wise move for Toronto. Members of the Raptors front office are adamant that JV will be a key part of the club’s success in 2015/16, according to Smith, who thinks an agreement between the two sides is inevitable.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens is excited by what he’s seen from draftees Jordan Mickey, Terry Rozier, and R.J. Hunter, with Mickey making an especially strong impression courtesy of his length and athleticism, Judy Cohen of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “Those guys are workers,” Stevens said. “They’ll come in, they’ll work, they’ll add to that environment of work that I like the rest of our guys are doing, and so time will tell, but we’re anxious to see.”

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Celtics Sign Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter

July 27th, 2015 at 3:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics have signed No. 16 pick Terry Rozier and No. 28 pick R.J. Hunter, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge announced in a press conference today, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe relays (Twitter link). Boston had put off the moves while it officially remained below the cap, but with the long-anticipated David Lee trade becoming official today, Boston went over the cap and thus no longer had motivation to keep the cap holds for Rozier and Hunter as low as possible. Rozier will see more than $1.824MM this season and nearly $8.77MM over the life of his four-year rookie scale contract, while Hunter’s salary is almost $1.149MM with nearly $5.861MM total on his deal, assuming they both signed for the standard 120% of the rookie scale, as our chart shows. Their cap holds had been equivalent to 100% of the scale.

Rozier was a surprise pick, as he was the 23rd-ranked prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com but just No. 47 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings. Our Eddie Scarito had him going 29th in the final version of the Hoops Rumors 2015 Mock Draft, right after Boston’s second pick of the first round. Still, the point guard from Louisville impressed coach Brad Stevens with his motor during a pair of predraft workouts, and Ainge didn’t want to risk waiting for him to drop to No. 28.

Ainge and company made a more conventional choice with Hunter, whom Ford ranked 24th and Givony had 26th. Our mock draft had the Georgia State shooting guard and NCAA Tournament hero going at No. 22. The two account for 17 fully guaranteed contracts on Boston’s roster, though the team is reportedly going to unload the newly acquired Zoran Dragic. That would still leave Boston one over the regular season limit.

Which of Rozier and Hunter will have the better NBA career? Leave a comment to share your opinion.

Celtics Notes: Randolph, Rozier, Ainge

July 26th, 2015 at 9:01am CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier in the week, the Celtics agreed to a training camp deal with Levi Randolph, who appears willing to play for the team’s D-League affiliate. You can check out all of the moves that were made last week in our Week In Review page.

Here’s more from Boston:

Terry Rozier‘s motor was a major factor in the Celtics selecting him in the first round, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. “We had him in for two workouts. And he came in on his second workout and he had been to 18 different workouts. He still had a burst and a desire and a drive that was not going to be thwarted by fatigue. Here’s a guy that had been all over the country, had every reason to be less than his best, but just was striving to get what he ultimately wanted and that’s to be not only an NBA player, but to be a good NBA player,” coach Brad Stevens said.
Rozier joins Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley to give the Celtics a trio of defensive-minded guards. Despite the overlap in skills, President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge believes they made the right call with the No. 16 overall pick, Ian Thomsen of NBA.com writes. “We were picking the best guy available,” said Ainge of his unpredicted investment in Rozier. “I like tough guys that can defend. In order to win playoff games you’ve got to have guys that can match up with the [Stephen] Currys and Kyrie Irvings and James Hardens – there’s a lot of really good offensive players. Our three guys are really good defenders, and I think their offense is progressing.”
Rozier, R.J. Hunter and Jordan Mickey are all likely to be on Boston’s opening day roster, Thomsen adds in the same piece.