Terry Rozier Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

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.