Terry Rozier Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Anthony, Jackson

July 19th, 2015 at 10:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics depart the Las Vegas Summer League feeling much better about a number of their 2015 draftees, Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald relays. Celtics Summer League coach Micah Shrewsberry, discussing guards Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter and Marcus Thornton, and forward Jordan Mickey, said, “They’re all hard workers. They all love the game, and that stood out first. They’re in the gym working. Terry and Jordan Mickey were on the workout buffet, all over the place in the month of June. They get drafted, get a couple of days, and then come right to practice. They played a lot of minutes and got stronger as the week went on. R.J. was the same way. He started out a little shaky, but he eventually showed what he can do. They’re each going to get better and better, not just this season but as their careers go on.” The Celtics and Mickey are still in the process of negotiating his rookie contract.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said on The Chris Mannix Show on NBC Sports Radio that the team’s fear of restricted free agent Reggie Jackson signing a one-year qualifying offer played a big part in Detroit’s willingness to offer Jackson a five-year $80MM deal (Twitter link). Detroit obviously wanted to avoid a situation similar to the one it experienced last season when Greg Monroe opted to sign his qualifying offer and then signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Bucks this offseason.
New York’s slow rebuilding has reportedly left Carmelo Anthony wondering about the Knicks‘ plan, but even though team president Phil Jackson hasn’t been in touch with his star forward, GM Steve Mills has maintained contact with Anthony, who still trusts Jackson’s judgments, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Guillermo Hernangomez, the 35th overall pick last month, will play again for Real Madrid this coming season, the club announced. He spent the past two seasons on loan to fellow Spanish club Baloncesto Sevilla. The Knicks acquired the NBA rights to the center in a trade worked out on draft night, and New York reportedly plans to sign him next summer.
Cory Joseph‘s four-year pact with the Raptors will see the point guard earn $7MM for the coming season, $7.315MM in 2016/17, $7.63MM in 2017/18, and includes a player option for the final season worth $7.945MM, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays.
The Raptors‘ biggest offseason signing, DeMarre Carroll, will earn $13.6MM in 2015/16, $14.2MM during year two, $14.8MM during the 2017/18 campaign, and will cap off his contract with a salary of $15.4MM in 2018/19, Pincus adds.

Atlantic Notes: Rozier, Okafor, Teletovic

July 1st, 2015 at 5:06am CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics executive Danny Ainge has been criticized for taking Louisville point guard Terry Rozier with the No. 16 overall pick, but Ainge didn’t want to run the risk of another team selecting the player, Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald writes. “We liked Terry from the very beginning,” Ainge said. “I was getting a little nervous that he was moving up too high in the draft. If another week had gone by he would have been rated much higher. He was 20 in the last two or three weeks of the process. There was a time we thought maybe we could get him at 28, but it was clear on draft day that wouldn’t happen.”

Trading down to select Rozier wasn’t an option, according to Ainge, Murphy notes. “We knew he wouldn’t be there 12 picks later,” Ainge said. “Our intel was that we should not [trade down], and that he would go very close to where we drafted him. He was going to be picked. We really liked him and wanted him. We got the guy we wanted. He’s a guy we have known about, and we thought he was very underrated based on the media and how they perceived him. Terry improved rapidly because of the quality of player he is the last few weeks of the draft process. He was getting attention around the league, which worried us because we thought we had a diamond in the rough. Nobody was valuing him all that much.”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Nets restricted free agent Mirza Teletovic is receiving significant interest from European teams, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post relays (Twitter links). The 29-year-old forward’s first preference is to remain in the NBA, Bontemps adds.
Sixers coach Brett Brown came away excited about No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor‘s potential after a conversation with Okafor’s coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News writes.”I had a fantastic conversation with Coach K and when we hung up, I knew Jahlil had great potential and is a terrific, young prospect, but I hadn’t realized what type of person we had, as well,” Brown said. “The more I learn about Jahlil, the more you respect his upbringing value and love of the game. I was in the office at 6:30 the other morning, and he’s in the gym working with a trainer. You then go upstairs and get ready for a day’s work and you feel great. I’m really excited to coach him, and the program is going to realize very quickly how special he is.“
While the Sixers will do what they can to improve their roster, the franchise isn’t expected to be major players in the free agent market this summer, Cooney writes in a separate piece.

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Wood, Smith

June 21st, 2015 at 10:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics face long odds in their quest to deal for a lottery pick, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Boston is expected to continue its effort right through draft night, but trading into the top 14 is much tougher than fans realize. Blakely points out that draft-night trades to enter lottery territory have only happened five times in the last decade. “It takes two to trade,” said Austin Ainge, the Celtics’ director of player personnel. “We can’t force that on anyone else, nor is that always smart. The [New England] Patriots have done very well moving back.” If the Celtics are able to swing a deal, Blakely writes that they would be interested in frontcourt help, possibly Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein or Texas’ Myles Turner.

There’s more news from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics could pull off a surprise and draft a point guard with one of their two first-round picks despite selecting Marcus Smart last June, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald speculates. They could consider Jerian Grant, Delon Wright or Tyus Jones with the No. 16 overall pick, while Terry Rozier might be an option at No. 28, Murphy adds.
The Bucks have made a last-minute decision to work out UNLV’s Christian Wood, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Wood’s workout session will take place Monday. Milwaukee holds the 17th pick in Thursday’s draft.
The Cavaliers‘ J.R. Smith is thankful to be in Cleveland, but that doesn’t guarantee he will opt in this summer, according to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Smith, who has a $6.4MM player option for next season, went from the bottom of the league to the NBA Finals thanks to a January 5th trade that got him out of New York. He was effective during the regular season, but had an up-and-down performance in the playoffs. Smith has stated that he would like to opt out and then re-sign with Cleveland.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Stephenson, Kings, Towns

June 19th, 2015 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Clippers‘ newly acquired swingman Lance Stephenson is well aware of his negative locker room reputation around the league, and he intends to change that perception this season, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com writes. “I’m going to work hard this season to get those rumors out,” Stephenson said. “That’s not the issue. I’m very good in the locker room. You can ask all the players that I’ve played with. You can ask the coaches. I’m very good in the locker room. When I’m on the court I got that type of energy where it looks like I’m yelling at somebody. But when I talk to my teammates it amps them and makes them work harder. I want to take that [negative] title off my name because that’s not me. I’m a good locker room guy.” Stephenson also indicated that he would be fine with coming off the bench, something that coach/executive Doc Rivers has suggested would be the case.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings will host workouts on Monday for Askia Booker (Colorado), Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin), T.J. McConnell (Arizona), and Brad Wadlow (St. Mary’s), the team announced. On Tuesday, the team will bring in Mike Caffey (Long Beach State), Sam Dekker (Wisconsin), Duje Dukan (Wisconsin), Rondae-Hollis Jefferson (Arizona), and Juwan Staten (West Virginia). Finally, Wednesday will see Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky) and Cameron Payne (Murray State) displaying their wares for Sacramento.
The Lakers have been unsuccessful thus far in getting Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns in for a workout, and the team is doubtful that will change prior to the draft, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News tweets. This resistance from Towns to meet with the Lakers could be due to a draft promise from the Timberwolves, though that is merely my speculation.
The Lakers brought in Michael Frazier (Florida) as part of a group workout held today, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays (Twitter link). Also part of today’s workout were Terry Rozier (Louisville), Andrew Harrison (Kentucky), Marcus Thornton (Georgia), Larry Nance Jr. (Wyoming), and Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s), Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times notes.

Eastern Notes: Russell, Porzingis, Raptors

June 18th, 2015 at 9:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell had an under-the-radar workout with the Knicks back on June 11th, shortly before he pulled out of a scheduled workout with the Sixers due to an undisclosed illness, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. There are rumblings that Philadelphia has become enamored with forward Kristaps Porzingis, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has Philly taking the Latvian with the No. 3 overall pick in his latest mock draft. However, a league source insists the Sixers taking Porzingis over Russell is a reach and they are after the best available player regardless of position, Berman notes. “If you’re basing taking him [Porzingis] because of last week’s workout, you should be fired,’’ the league source told Berman.

Here’s the latest from the East:

Porzingis met with representatives from the Magic today in Orlando, but did not work out for the team, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays (Twitter link).
Texas big man Myles Turner has an individual workout scheduled Friday morning with the Hornets, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays (on Twitter). The majority of mock drafts predict that Charlotte will select a wing who can score from deep, and though Turner does have the ability to stretch defenses, selecting him could prove redundant in the wake of the team’s acquisition of Spencer Hawes from the Clippers.
The Raptors held pre-draft workouts today for Terry Rozier (Louisville), R.J. Hunter (Georgia State), J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina), Phil Greene (St. John’s), Tekele Cotton (Wichita State), and Jarekious Bradley (Southeast Missouri State), the team announced.
Michael Qualls (Arizona), Rashad Vaughn (UNLV), Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green), and Josh Smith (Georgetown) all pulled out of their scheduled workouts with the Nets today, The Brooklyn Game relays (Twitter link). The reason for Qualls’ withdrawal is obvious, with the player having suffered a torn ACL, but it is unclear why the other players declined to attend the showcase.

Central Notes: Boylen, Bucks, Pistons

June 17th, 2015 at 7:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls have officially named Jim Boylen as associate head coach on Fred Hoiberg’s staff, the team announced. “I am very excited to add Jim to our staff as our associate head coach. His track record speaks for itself with nearly 30 years of coaching experience and three NBA championships on his resume,” said Hoiberg. “His work ethic and attention to detail will help our team every day, and I look forward to working with him as we prepare for next season.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Also being considered for a spot on Hoiberg’s staff with the Bulls is Pete Myers, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune tweets. Myers had previously been an assistant in Chicago, but was let go when Tom Thibodeau was named head coach. Myers last served as an assistant for the Warriors, but he was not retained when Steve Kerr took over for Mark Jackson as coach.
The Bucks held pre-draft workouts today for Ziga Dimec (Slovenia), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), Bobby Portis (Arkansas), Terry Rozier (Louisville), and Brad Waldow (St. Mary’s), the team announced.
The Pistons will work out Cady Lalanne (Massachusetts) and Kendall Gray (Delaware State) today, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays (Twitter link). Detroit will also host Jonathan Holmes (Texas), Levi Randolph (Alabama), Aaron White (Iowa), and Rayvonte Rice (Illinois), Keith Langlois of NBA.com adds (via Twitter).
Cavs coach David Blatt credits his players with continuing to fight even as injuries continued to mount during the playoffs, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. “This is a process,” Blatt said. “You don’t wake up one morning and fall out of bed and expect to win the NBA Championship. You hope that you can, but it doesn’t always work that way, and our guys did more than anyone could expect to put themselves and put our organization in this situation.“
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is breathing easier now that his starting lineup for 2015/16 is beginning to take shape with the acquisition of Ersan Ilyasova, Shawn Windsor of The Detroit Free Press writes. “It was a little scary thinking about going into the summer and saying you might have to go get two starters,” Van Gundy said. “Now we feel like we’ve got four starters that we are really happy with.“

Central Notes: Pistons, Draft, Rozier

June 16th, 2015 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons executive/coach Stan Van Gundy believes that the trade market and NBA Draft are the franchise’s best opportunities to build a contender, Noah Trister of The Associated Press relays. “I think free agency is a little bit of a crapshoot. Guys, they’re out there picking a team. A lot of teams are chasing them,” Van Gundy said. “You never know what’s going to happen, and so, we said coming in that as much as we would go out and try to be players in free agency, [a] great path for us to building a team is through … the draft and trades.” Van Gundy doesn’t anticipate the acquisition of Ersan Ilyasova being the move that makes the team a contender, but rather as another step in a long process, Trister adds. “We’ve got two more years under contract with Ersan – those kinds of things are invaluable to us as we’re building,” Van Gundy continued. “I think as we build and get better, then obviously we become more attractive to free agents. But right now, quite honestly, coming off a tough year, the whole thing, this is a better path for us.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Pistons held workouts on Monday for Stanley Johnson (Arizona), Michael Frazier (Florida), Wayne Blackshear (Louisville), and Terran Petteway (Nebraska), the team announced (via Twitter). This was Petteway’s second workout with Detroit, which could make him a potential second round target of the team, notes Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (on Twitter).
Working out for the Pistons today were Justise Winslow (Duke), Bryce Dejean-Jones (Iowa State), Branden Dawson (Michigan State), and Jabril Trawick (Georgetown), the team announced (Twitter link).
The Bucks held workouts today for Justin Anderson (Virginia), Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona), and R.J. Hunter (Georgia State), Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times tweets. Milwaukee also announced that Derrick Marks (Boise State) and Royce O’Neale (Baylor) would also be participating.
The Bulls have met with Louisville point guard Terry Rozier three times already, and may have him back for a fourth go around prior to the NBA Draft, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders notes. Chicago owns the No. 23 overall selection.