Tobias Harris Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Rubio, Forman, Harris

February 18th, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls held off on making any major trade deadline moves because no offers significant enough to improve the team materialized, according to GM Gar Forman, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune relays. “We understand the frustrations. Up to this point, it has been a disappointing year,” Forman said. “We all realize — from ownership to the front office to the players to the coaching staff — we haven’t done as well as we thought we would do. We hold ourselves accountable that we haven’t met expectations. With that said, we certainly were not in any type of panic mode. We looked at the big picture. Obviously, the injuries that we’ve had have hurt. But that’s not the only reason. … We explored heavily and were very, very active with talks with a lot of teams. There wasn’t something we felt … significant enough to do something right now.”

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

The Pistons believe that Tobias Harris is still on the rise as a player and that he will be able to help the franchise in a variety of ways, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “The interesting thing is being able to look at what he was doing this season but going back to our free-agent preparation for the summer and the review of last year’s performance,” GM Jeff Bower told Langlois. “We feel that showed us a player with a variety of skills that can help a team in numerous ways. We also think that his play and the projection of his performance over the next five years is on a steady incline based on what we’re seeing and think he has a lot of room to grow as a player. We really like that this is a move that can be looked at as a long-term move as well as one that will fit with our core group of players and we’ll be able to keep them together due to contract certainty. Those are all pieces that were pretty important.”
The protected first round pick the Cavaliers sent to the Trail Blazers as part of the Channing Frye trade will become two second round picks if it is not conveyed in 2018 or 2019, Erik Gunderson of The Columbian relays (on Twitter).
The Bulls never attempted to trade power forward Pau Gasol, though the team did receive numerous inquiries about his availability, Forman insists, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com notes (Twitter links). Forman also indicated that the team still hopes to re-sign center Joakim Noah, who will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Friedell adds.
Cavs GM David Griffin noted that the team had a deal in place with Frye when he was a free agent in 2014, but Cleveland couldn’t make the numbers work because it needed all of its cap space to sign LeBron James, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal tweets.
The Bucks made several attempts to pry point guard Ricky Rubio away from the Wolves but balked when Minnesota requested shooting guard Khris Middleton in return, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (Twitter link).

Pistons Acquire Tobias Harris

February 16th, 2016 at 11:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports Images

2:58pm: The Pistons have acquired Tobias Harris from the Magic for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova, the teams have formally announced. ESPN’s Chris Broussard first reported it was a done deal shortly after Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops reported the sides were in talks (Twitter links), while Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, USA Today’s Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel added detail (All Twitter links).

“We are pleased to welcome Tobias Harris to our organization,” Pistons GM Jeff Bower said in Detroit’s release. “Tobias adds good versatility as a ball-handler and scorer who can play both forward positions. He also has good experience for a young player and will fit well with the young core we have assembled on our roster. We appreciate the contributions made by Brandon and Ersan to our organization and wish them well moving forward.”

The deal represents a nearly even exchange of salaries for this season, with Harris’ $16MM going to the Pistons and $16,244,497 headed to Orlando, but a long-term cost savings for the Magic, since Jennings is on an expiring deal and Ilyasova is guaranteed only $400K for next season. Harris signed a four-year, $64MM deal this past summer.

Detroit appeared to be one of the leading contenders for Harris as free agency got underway in the offseason, but the team hadn’t emerged as a trade suitor this year until today. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week that the Magic were open to trading the 23-year-old Harris, cautioning that they weren’t shopping him. However, a serious discussion took place recently between the Magic and Clippers involving Harris, Blake Griffin and other players, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. The Magic had been on the lookout for veterans, according to Stein, and Jennings, who’s 26, and Ilyasova, 28, ostensibly fit that bill.

“Brandon and Ersan are two veterans that will help balance our roster and provide valuable experience to our team,” Magic GM Rob Hennigan said as part of his team’s statement. “Both players bring scoring, competitiveness and added depth to our roster. We want to thank Tobias for his contributions, both on and off the court.”

Power forward has been the unsettled spot for the Pistons, who were high on Ilyasova but saw him instead as a backup, as ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported as he identified the team’s interest in Ryan Anderson. The acquisition of Harris would presumably take the Pistons out of the running for other power forwards the team has been linked to, including Markieff Morris and Al Horford, though Detroit will still have significant cap flexibility for next summer, when only about $64MM in guaranteed salaries will be on the books against a cap that many around the league reportedly believe will surge to $95MM.

The Magic meanwhile reduce their guaranteed salary commitments to only about $44MM for next season, giving them plenty of spending power. They had an open roster spot before the trade, so they didn’t have to offload anyone to make the two-for-one exchange.

Central Notes: Augustin, Carter-Williams, Harris

February 16th, 2016 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons are a bit thin in their backcourt after today’s trade of Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova to the Magic in exchange for combo forward Tobias Harris, Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com writes. As a result of the trade Detroit is now combing the market for a veteran guard it can add to its rotation, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). Some potential targets for the Pistons include Thunder point guard D.J. Augustin, Kings playmaker Darren Collison and Mo Williams of the Cavaliers, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press notes (Twitter links).

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

Bucks point guard Michael Carter-Williams has been told by the team that he will not be traded prior to Thursday’s deadline, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets. The 24-year-old, who is said to be “undeniably gettable,” was also told the same thing by the Sixers last season prior to being shipped to Milwaukee, Spears notes, so he’s likely to take any assurances with a grain of salt.
Cavs superstar LeBron James believes he and his teammates need to tune out outside distractions and criticism and focus on the task at hand if the team is to make strides during the second half of the season, Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. “There’s so much talk about what we should be, we should do this, we shouldn’t do that. The only thing that matters is what we come together and talk about and how we prepare every single night and our coaching staff putting us in position to win,” James told Ridenour.
The Pistons are excited by the athleticism and versatility that Harris will provide them, David Mayo of MLive relays.
Orlando likely could have netted a better return if it had waited to deal Harris until this summer, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post opines in his examination of the Harris/Jennings/Ilyasova trade. The scribe notes that the trade was a big win for the Pistons, who now possess a solid core of players who are 25 years of age or younger to build around, and though Orlando did receive the veterans it craved, unless this deal was the first in a series of trades, it failed to improve the Magic as a team, Bontemps concludes.

Pistons, Magic Talk Harris, Jennings, Ilyasova Deal

February 15th, 2016 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons and Magic have spoken about a potential trade that would send Tobias Harris to Detroit for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova, sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter links). The sides are progressing, USA Today’s Sam Amick hears, adding that while no deal is done, it seems likely to happen (on Twitter). It would represent a nearly even exchange of salaries for this season, with Harris’ $16MM going to the Pistons and $16,244,497 headed to Orlando, but a long-term cost savings for the Magic, since Jennings is on an expiring deal and Ilyasova is guaranteed only $400K for next season. Harris signed a four-year, $64MM deal this past summer.

Southeast Notes: Griffin, Harris, Teague

February 10th, 2016 at 4:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Magic were one of several teams to reach out to the Clippers about trading for Blake Griffin, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who writes in his NBA AM piece. They didn’t get very far, but a serious discussion nonetheless took place about the idea of sending three Magic players, including Tobias Harris, to L.A., sources told Kyler. The Sixers and Nuggets also reportedly spoke with the Clippers, who nonetheless aren’t interested in trading their star power forward, at least this season.

Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:

Orlando has reportedly expressed some degree of willingness to trade Harris, but the team would have to be blown away to pull the trigger on any deal involving the combo forward, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN relays (on Twitter). Harris re-signed with the Magic for four years and $64MM in July.
The Sixers have contacted the Hawks to gauge the availability of point guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Philadelphia hasn’t made a trade offer yet and appears unlikely to make a serious push for either playmaker, according to Pompey’s sources. The players on the Sixers with the highest trade value are Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, but the team doesn’t want to deal either big man away until the health status of Joel Embiid is clearer, which isn’t likely to be until the offseason, Pompey adds.
The consensus among the teams that have contacted the Hawks regarding Teague and Al Horford is that any deal involving the duo would likely be a deadline day one, Chris Mannix of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports tweets. Atlanta’s asking price for either player is extremely high, which complicates any potential trade, Mannix adds.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Magic, Hawks Talk Victor Oladipo, Jeff Teague Swap

February 10th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic and Hawks have spoken about a potential trade involving Victor Oladipo and Jeff Teague, a league source said to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Orlando is also among the teams interested in Al Horford, though nothing significant exists on that front yet, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Magic are reportedly open to just about any proposal that would add experience to their team, while the Hawks have apparently been talking to several teams about Teague and want an equal exchange of talent that helps them get younger. Oladipo, 23, is four years younger than Teague is.

A trade involving Oladipo and Teague would require the Magic to throw in at least a minimum-salary player to make the salaries match, since Teague’s $8MM pay is more than 150% plus $100K of the nearly $5.193MM that Oladipo is making on his rookie scale contract this year. Oladipo, who’s eligible an extension this summer, returned to the starting lineup for the Magic last month after coach Scott Skiles benched him in late November. Most of the numbers for the former No. 2 overall pick are holding steady, apart from his scoring average, which has dipped to 14.3 points per game from 17.9 last season in large measure because he’s seeing only 12.5 shots per game after taking 15.1 a night last year.

Teague has been playing well of late and is nailing a career-high 40.9% of his 3-point looks, a key number for a Magic squad that has spacing issues. However, his assists are down to 5.4 per game, his fewest since 2011/12, and that doesn’t correspond to any significant increase in ball distribution from backup Dennis Schroder, whose assists per game are up only slightly, to 4.5 from 4.1 last season. It’s unclear how the Magic would reckon with Teague and fellow point guard Elfrid Payton on the same roster.

Plenty of other teams have been linked to Teague. The Pacers have dangled George Hill in talks with Atlanta involving Teague, as Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported Monday. The Knicks have reportedly engaged in preliminary discussions with Atlanta about Teague, though it appears those talks didn’t go anywhere. The Celtics have reportedly contacted the Hawks about Teague and Horford, and while it doesn’t look like the Jazz have reached out, it seems Utah has at least considered the possibility of a run at the Atlanta point guard.

Arnovitz and Windhorst first identified the Magic as a potential suitor for Teague and also hinted that they had interest in Horford, a soon-to-be free agent whom the Hawks aren’t entirely sure is worthy of a five-year max contract, as the ESPN scribes detailed. Orlando reportedly has at least some degree of willingness to trade Tobias Harris, who is six years younger than Horford, but it’s unclear if Horford and Harris have come up in the discussion between Atlanta and Orlando.

Which team would benefit the most from a swap involving Teague and Oladipo? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Pacers Offer George Hill For Jeff Teague

February 9th, 2016 at 2:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers have inquired with the Hawks about trading for Jeff Teague, proposing a swap involving George Hill, while the Magic also loom as a potential suitor for Teague, sources told Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. It’s unclear how receptive Atlanta has been to the Pacers idea, nor what the Magic would be willing to give, though Orlando has reportedly become at least somewhat willing to trade Tobias Harris and is on the lookout for veterans. The Hawks wouldn’t be seeking a sell-off if they decide to make moves before the deadline and instead would look for deals that bring back younger players who provide equal value for the present, sources close to the team tell the ESPN scribes. Hill, 29, is two years older than Teague, though Hill has played off the ball in the past, which would ostensibly make him a better fit next to emerging Hawks point guard Dennis Schröder.

The Hawks are meanwhile thinking “long and hard” about their future with Al Horford, who’s poised for unrestricted free agency this summer. The prospect of a five-year max deal, which would pay a 34-year-old Horford an estimated $32.7MM in the final season, is giving the Hawks pause, sources said to Arnovitz and Windhorst. The Celtics have reportedly gauged Atlanta’s interest in trading both Horford and Teague, while the Pistons have been linked to Horford. Arnovitz and Windhorst write that several teams would “potentially” show interest in Horford if the Hawks put him on the block, and in the next sentence they name the Celtics, Nuggets and Magic as the teams that have been the most aggressive in efforts to land a “veteran difference maker.” It’s thus unclear if Denver and Orlando are indeed mulling runs at Horford.

Complicating the idea of a Horford trade is an injury to center Tiago Splitter. The former Spur is considering surgery on a lingering hip ailment and will be out for an “extended period” even if he doesn’t have a procedure, Arnovitz and Windhorst write. Plus, Hawks coach/executive Mike Budenholzer views Horford and Kyle Korver as locker room mainstays, the ESPN scribes note. The Cavs are fond of Korver, as Windhorst said in a radio appearance earlier today, but he isn’t the likeliest among the Hawks to end up in a trade, Arnovitz and Windhorst write.

Magic Open To Trading Tobias Harris

February 8th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic aren’t shopping Tobias Harris, but they aren’t discouraging teams for making offers for the combo forward either, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Executives from other teams believe the Magic are open to any offers that would help add veterans, Stein adds (on Twitter). That apparently includes entertaining the notion of trading Harris, who’s just months removed from re-signing for four years and $64MM.

Magic GM Rob Hennigan recently cited the youthfulness of the team’s roster for its struggles of late, though Magic players said before the season that it wouldn’t be an excuse. Sunday’s win over the Hawks came at the end of a 2-15 stretch that’s knocked the team to the fringes of the playoff race. Orlando is four games back of the eighth-place Pistons in the Eastern Conference standings.

Harris has seen his role in the offense shrink under new coach Scott Skiles, as he’s attempted three fewer shots per game than he did last year. His scoring is thus down to 13.7 points a night from his career-high mark of 17.1 last season despite a nearly identical field goal percentage. Harris is shooting much worse from 3-point range, however. The former 19th overall pick showed vast improvement in that category last season, when he nailed 36.4% of his attempts from behind the arc, but this season he’s only shooting 31.1% on 3-pointers, close to his career percentage.

Harris spent his first season and a half in the NBA playing under Skiles on the Bucks, but Harris hasn’t raised any sort of fuss about the coach this season, at least not publicly, and Skiles spoke over the summer of a strong relationship with the 23-year-old.

The Kings reportedly had a max offer sheet lined up for Harris before he re-signed with Orlando on a deal that’s worth about $6MM less than the max over the life of the contract. The Magic would apparently have been unwilling to match a max offer. Detroit and Boston were reportedly the leading contenders for him heading into free agency, with his hometown Knicks having apparently planned a run and the Lakers, Sixers and Hawks linked to him, too.

What should the Magic demand in return for Harris? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Southeast Notes: Kidd-Gilchrist, Fournier, Heat

January 8th, 2016 at 3:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hornets decided in the offseason to emphasize offense at the expense of defense as they made their personnel moves, and Charlotte has indeed taken a step back on the defensive end, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines. Part of that has to do with the absence of prime defender Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but his return, which he’s promised to make before season’s end, won’t solve all of the club’s defensive problems, Bonnell writes. Nonetheless, the Observer scribe wouldn’t be surprised if the former No. 2 overall pick is playing within a month’s time. See more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic aren’t entirely sure about keeping Evan Fournier in restricted free agency this summer, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. It’s expected they’ll at least look into other options before recommitting to him, just as with the team’s courtship of Paul Millsap that preceded the Tobias Harris re-signing this past summer, according to Kyler. In any case, the team’s use of Fournier at shooting guard instead of Victor Oladipo doesn’t signal that the franchise has lost faith in the former No. 2 overall pick and instead shows that the team is adjusting the way it’s developing young players as it focuses more on the present, Kyler explains.
Soon-to-be free agent Hassan Whiteside‘s style of play, personality and general way of going about his business is “not congruent” with the way of the Heat, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com opined on a recent edition of “The Lowe Post” podcast with ESPN colleague Zach Lowe (audio link; transcription via RealGM).
Wizards draft-and-stash prospect Tomas Satoransky has a deal on a four-year extension with Barcelona of Spain that includes NBA outs, according to international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). He’s put pen to paper, Pick reports, though Javier Maestro of Encestando counters that he hasn’t officially signed it yet (translation via HoopsHype). In any case, Satoransky is in no hurry to come to the NBA, Maestro writes.

Eastern Notes: Harris, Biyombo, Lamb

November 27th, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former Bucks coach and current Magic coach Scott Skiles said he was never in favor of trading power forward Tobias Harris to Orlando, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Sentinel. Skiles didn’t give Harris a lot of playing time as a rookie and second-year player but liked Harris’ potential and attitude, the story continues. Harris was dealt from the Bucks to the Magic on Feb. 21st, 2013 in a six-player swap. None of the players Milwaukee acquired are still with the team. “At that time, we just felt (Luc) Mbah a Moute was a better defender and (Mike) Dunleavy was a better offensive player, and Tobias didn’t get as many minutes. But we were high on him,” Skiles told Gardner. “Not that anybody would have listened to me, but if I would have still been the coach, I would not have been for moving Tobias.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

Bismack Biyombo‘s stint as Jonas Valanciunas’ injury replacement is off to a strong start, Lori Ewing of The Canadian Press reports. Coach Dwane Casey likes what Biyombo brings to the starting unit as the new Raptors starting center after he had 11 points and 12 rebounds against the Cavs this week, Ewing continues. “He set the tone for us defensively,” Casey told the Toronto media. “Protecting the paint, talking, being physical, being a deterrent at the rim and that was big for us.” Valanciunas is out approximately six weeks with a hand injury.
Jeremy Lamb could be a serious candidate for the league’s Sixth Man and Most Improved Player awards if he continues to produce at his current level, Steve Aschburner of NBA.com write. The Hornets shooting guard is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists and field goal percentage. Lamb, who agreed to a three-year, $21MM extension, has surprised coach Steve Clifford with his passing ability, Aschburner continues. “I knew he could shoot — I mean, he can really shoot — but I had no idea how well he could pass the ball,” Clifford told Aschburner. “He can pass off the dribble. He makes good decisions, so he’s a better pick-and-roll player than I thought. And what he’s done for us, he’s given us a lot of drive-and-kick plays that I didn’t know he was capable of doing.”
The Celtics have assigned rookie power forward Jordan Mickey to the D-League’s Maine Red Claws, the team tweets. Mickey, an early second-round pick out of LSU, has played a total of just five minutes with Boston.