Tony Wroten Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Bennett, Sixers, Celtics

September 23rd, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite his Canadian roots, it would be a bad move for both parties if the Raptors were to sign forward Anthony Bennett, provided that he clears waivers, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star opines. The young forward, who reached a buyout agreement with Minnesota this week, would not be a great fit with a Toronto squad that is expected to contend in the East, and would not have time to be patient with his development, Smith notes. As for the Raptors, Smith adds that Bennett would not be an upgrade over the team’s current rotation players, which would relegate Bennett to the bench and potentially make him a distraction.

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has indicated in the past that the team views it as a priority to add Canadian-born players to its roster, which is a major reason why the Raptors are expected to be in the mix to sign Tristan Thompson next summer if he were to hit free agency, and the franchise is being mentioned as a potential landing spot for Bennett.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers coach Brett Brown indicated that point guards Tony Wroten and Kendall Marshall will not be ready for the start of training camp, and that there is no exact timetable for their return to full basketball activities, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News tweets. With its top two projected point guards on the shelf for the time being, Philly will enter the preseason with Isaiah Canaan, Pierre Jackson, Scottie Wilbekin, and T.J. McConnell competing at the one spot.
Philly experienced quite a roster turnover throughout the course of the 2014/15 campaign, but Brown says this season will be different, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (via Twitter). “You are going to see more of our own,” said the Sixers coach. “You are going to see less turnover of our roster.”
The Celtics, despite not making a major offseason acquisition, are still expected to be an improved squad this coming season, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes. But one issue the coaching staff will have to navigate is what the team’s most effective rotation will be, Himmelsbach notes. “I think that’s going to be a challenge for our coaching staff,” Celtics executive Danny Ainge said. “You’ll probably see a lot of different combinations through training camp scrimmages and in exhibition games and see who plays best together. It’s not always the best players, but the players that play the best together. We have a lot of different options, especially in the frontcourt. I’m anxious to see how that all plays out.”
Himmelsbach recently participated in our interview series, “The Beat.” You can read his thoughts on a number of topics relating to the Celtics here.

Sixers Notes: Wroten, Bogans, Embiid

July 13th, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers didn’t approach this summer with any more urgency to improve than in previous offseasons, as GM Sam Hinkie tells Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News.

“Not a lot,” Hinkie said when asked if he felt an immediacy to win more games this season. “We try to be opportunistic year-round, not just summer-to-summer, but year-round. We try to predict what opportunities might come our way and think ahead of time about what opportunities we might be interested in and what ones we would clearly let pass. The flow of those opportunities is uncertain. We don’t ever know when they’ll come but we try to be out in a lot of those situations to understand what might happen.”

Here’s more from Philadelphia:

Tony Wroten is expected to return from a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee at the start of the upcoming regular season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Wroten had season-ending surgery last February.
Keith Bogans said Philadelphia never called him when he was traded to the Sixers prior to last season, Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com tweets. Two weeks later, Bogans was waived and didn’t receive a call from the franchise about that either.
Tom Moore of the Calkins Media examines the news of Joel Embiid‘s latest setback from an optimistic point of view. Moore argues that Embiid’s missed time will allow the Sixers to see if Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor can co-exist on the floor together.

Tony Wroten Suffers Torn ACL

January 28th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

WEDNESDAY, 4:59pm: Wroten intends to have surgery to repair his torn ACL, Tom Moore of Calkins Media reports (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 1:49pm: Wroten said Monday night that he, doctors and GM Sam Hinkie were still deliberating whether the ACL requires surgery, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Still, it’s unlikely that Wroten plays again this season.

FRIDAY, 4:53pm: Sixers guard Tony Wroten was diagnosed with a partially torn ACL in his right knee, and the injury will require surgery to repair it, the team has announced. Philadelphia said that Wroten will be out indefinitely, and though it did not provide an estimate when he could return to action, this injury likely means that Wroten will be done for the season.

In the team’s official statement, Sixers GM Sam Hinkie said, “During our game against the New Orleans Pelicans on January 16th, Tony Wroten suffered an injury to his right knee. Over the past week, we have worked closely with Tony, our medical and sports performance teams, his representatives, and renowned specialists in order to reach an accurate diagnosis and provide him with the best possible care. After this extensive process, it has been determined that Tony sustained a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and that the best course of action for Tony’s basketball career is to repair his ACL surgically. While the precise timing and details of the procedure are still being finalized, what has been determined is that the ACL will need to be surgically repaired. Until the procedure takes place, we are unable to provide a specific timeline for his return to play.”

The injury to Wroten could impact whether or not the Sixers would still look to deal Michael Carter-Williams, a move that the team was reportedly exploring recently. The only other point guard currently on Philadelphia’s roster is Larry Drew II, whose initial 10-day contract will expire this Sunday. The Sixers can only ink Drew to one more 10-day deal this season, at the completion of which the team would need to sign him for the remainder of the season or let Drew remain a free agent. The Sixers currently have 16 players on their roster, including the suspended Andrei Kirilenko.

Wroten had been also been mentioned as a trade candidate earlier this month. The Clippers were reportedly interested in obtaining him, though with their recent trade for Austin Rivers, and with president of basketball operations Doc Rivers saying recently that the team intends to use its remaining roster spots to add veteran players next month, Los Angeles had likely moved on from its interest in Wroten prior to his injury, though that is just my speculation.

The 21-year-old guard has one season remaining on his current deal, and is set to make $2,179,353 for the 2015/16 campaign. In 30 appearances this season, including 15 as a starter, Wroten was averaging 16.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists. His slash line was .403/.261/.667.

And-Ones: Hummel, Bullock, Celtics, Draft

January 26th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s been a run of tough luck over the past few days, with Kobe Bryant, Brandon Jennings, Tony Wroten and Mirza Teletovic all likely having been knocked out for the season. There’s news on another injury this morning as the NBA hopes inclement weather in the Northeast won’t interfere with a seven-game night:

The Wolves have lost Robbie Hummel to a broken right (shooting) hand, the team announced (on Twitter), and Hummel said he’ll be out four to six weeks, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Hummel has started four of the last five games for Minnesota, which has a full 15-man roster, including Miroslav Raduljica, who’s on a 10-day contract.
Suns coach Jeff Hornacek believes new acquisition Reggie Bullock will fit into Phoenix’s plans for the future, as he told reporters, including Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Bullock engaged in what he calls a “great conversation” with Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers when he found out that Rivers had pulled the trigger on the deal that sent him to Phoenix, Markazi observes.
The original plan was for Andre Dawkins to remain on D-League assignment for the duration of his 10-day contract with the Celtics, but coach Brad Stevens indicated there’s a decent chance that will change, notes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. In any case, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest examines the reasons why NBA teams would sign a player to a 10-day deal and immediately send him to the D-League, as Boston did with Dawkins.
Tyler Harris said the idea that he intends to enter this year’s NBA draft didn’t come from him, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. A report last week indicated that the Providence junior small forward planned to declare for early entry.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Prince, Wroten

January 20th, 2015 at 5:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the Knicks‘ playoff hopes being essentially non-existent at the halfway mark of the season, rookie coach Derek Fisher has no intention of allowing his team to tank for a shot at a higher lottery selection, Peter Botte of The New York Daily News writes. “I’ve only worked for one team in this capacity so I can’t get into what other teams may or may not feel,” Fisher said. “The only way I know how to approach a game is to try to win it every time. So I can’t read other people’s minds and what other organizations are trying to do. That’s not my job. You’re asking the wrong person about that. Maybe if you talk to them you can ask them. But there’s no interest in thinking about which pick we might get based on the way the ping pong [ball] bounces when we play Philadelphia Wednesday night.”

“There’s just no correlation in my mind,” Fisher continued. “Maybe some people see it differently. It’s the NBA. You always will get a chance to have good players. But will you have a foundation, a system, a way of playing that allows for the good players you have or the good players you eventually have in the future to be able to be successful?”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Carmelo Anthony acknowledges that the Knicks‘ recent trades will mean tough times for the remainder of the season, but ‘Melo believes things will turn around for New York in the future, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens called Tayshaun Prince a “good addition” to the team, and he hopes that the veteran will remain on the roster the rest of the season, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. The Celtics are reportedly going to try to trade Prince or, failing that, discuss a buyout of his contract
Tony Wroten will be out indefinitely with a sprained right knee, and the player will fly to California this week to consult a specialist about his injury, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The Sixers had reportedly discussed a potential deal with the Clippers for Wroten earlier this month, but with Los Angeles having recently acquired Austin Rivers, the chances of Wroten becoming a Clipper are likely nil this season. With Wroten having missed the last five contests, his trade value around the league will have taken a hit as well, though that is just my speculation.

Eastern Notes: Wroten, Taylor, Butler

January 10th, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Eddie Scarito

CSNPhilly.com’s John Gonzalez took an in-depth look at the potential trade value of Tony Wroten, who was rumored to be the subject of trade discussions between the Clippers and the Sixers earlier this week. A pair of league executives told Gonzalez that Wroten could possibly net GM Sam Hinkie two second-rounders, and another said that it would be difficult to get fair value for Wroten, so it would be wiser to hang on to the guard. Philadelphia currently owns a whopping 15 second round draft picks between now and 2020.

Here’s more from the East:

The Hornets have recalled Jeffery Taylor from the Austin Spurs of the NBA D-League, the team has announced. In four games with the Spurs he averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 26.2 minutes per contest. This was Taylor’s initial jaunt of the season to the D-League.
Rasual Butler had the remainder of his contract guaranteed for the season when he remained on the Wizards’ roster past Wednesday’s deadline. The veteran swingman’s play has made him an integral part of Washington’s rotation, and Butler also has a fan in Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post writes. Thibodeau, who briefly coached Butler in Chicago, said of his former player, “I think it’s the perfect fit for him and he’s a great pro. He’s a guy who plays year-round and stays in great shape. And I think when you look at what John Wall does and you look at what Andre Miller does, he’s the perfect fit because he creates space and his career says how well he can shoot the three. But to be doing it at this stage of his career is a real credit to him. But we always felt strongly about his professionalism, his attitude, how much he loved he game. And the shooting part, that’s never going to go away.”
Despite all of the Knicks‘ struggles this season, first year coach Derek Fisher‘s confidence hasn’t wavered, and he believes this turbulent campaign will help him become a better coach, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Galloway, Celtics

January 7th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks still have an interest in acquiring Reggie Jackson from the Thunder, but New York likely lacks the assets to entice Oklahoma City into dealing the guard, who will become a restricted free agent at season’s end, Jon Hamm of The Oklahoman writes. The only Knicks players that the Thunder may be interested in, Pablo Prigioni and Jose Calderon, offer significant downsides, Hamm notes. Calderon’s contract is unappealing, and Prigioni’s age (37), make any deal for them with OKC unlikely, adds Hamm.

Here’s the latest out of the Atlantic Division:

Newly-signed Langston Galloway had two things going for him that the Knicks liked: He’s well-versed in the triangle and he completed his college career, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “Langston is mature for a young player, gone to school for four years,’’ coach Derek Fisher said. “Not being afraid of the moment as a young guy was really impressive over the summer. He’s done some good things in Westchester [D-League] so far that tell us he is a guy who can develop into a good pro player. We’re excited to have him here for a short period. He’s going to try to make the most of it.’’
Knicks team president Phil Jackson hasn’t given up on Calderon, in spite of speculation that he’ll be the next player the team trades, so it’s more likely the Knicks would let go of backup Prigioni instead, Berman writes in a separate piece.
One of the Celtics‘ remaining trade assets who could be in demand is veteran forward Jeff Green. Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders runs down a number of possible deals that Boston can make should it decide to trade Green. Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron also looked at Green’s market in our Trade Candidate series.
The $490K that remained from the $2.09MM trade exception that the Celtics had created last January from the Courtney Lee to Memphis trade expired today. Also expiring is the $884,293 trade exception that the Thunder created from the same deal for sending Ryan Gomes to Boston.
Tony Wroten was rumored to be a part of the Sixers’ deal with the Clippers for Jared Cunningham, but for now, Wroten remains in Philadelphia. But Los Angeles is still interested in acquiring the guard, and the teams are having preliminary discussions regarding a possible trade, John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com reports. Wroten said that he’d like to remain in Philly, but he’s flattered that other teams are interested in him, Gonzalez adds. “I’m auditioning for everybody,” Wroten said. “But I was blessed and fortunate enough, with a few guys, who got to stay on this team. It’s like you feel wanted. I continue to play for the lovely fans and the lovely community and see where it takes us.”

Sixers Acquire Jared Cunningham

January 7th, 2015 at 6:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:58pm: The trade is official, the Clippers have announced. Los Angeles sent Cunningham, the draft rights to Akyol and cash considerations to the Sixers in exchange for the draft rights to Lishuk. The deal allows the Clippers to create a trade exception worth $915,243, the equivalent of Cunningham’s salary. Philadelphia has yet to make an announcement, and the Sixers couldn’t have traded for Cunningham without offloading someone, since they were carrying a 15-man roster, so it would seem there’s another part of the equation still to be revealed.

6:25pm: The Clippers will receive the rights to Serhiy Lishuk from the Sixers, and Philadelphia will acquire the rights to Cenk Akyol, Bolch reports (Twitter link). Akyol, 27, was selected in the second round of the 2005 NBA draft, and Lishuk, 32, was the No. 49 overall pick in the 2004 draft.

4:52pm: The Sixers and Clippers will also be swapping rights to draft picks as part of the deal, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.

2:32pm: The Clippers have inquired about Wroten, but those are preliminary talks, according to John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link).

2:01pm: It’ll be cash going Philly’s way from the Clippers, and the Sixers will indeed waive Cunningham once they acquire him, Wojnarowski tweets.

1:59pm: The Clippers aren’t taking any players back in the deal, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). That means the Sixers would have to offload someone before the deal can become official.

1:56pm: Tony Wroten is the Clips’ target in the deal, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (on Twitter). Wroten, who’s averaging 30.5 minutes per game for Philly, is on a guaranteed rookie-scale contract that would further tighten the squeeze under the team’s hard cap.

1:53pm: The Sixers are unlikely to keep Cunningham once they acquire him, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times counters that the Clips are merely exploring a move that will affect whether or not they waive Cunningham (Twitter link).

1:38pm: The Clippers are trading Jared Cunningham to the Sixers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Cunningham has a non-guaranteed deal and the Clippers were set to waive him in advance of today’s deadline to do so before his minimum salary would have become guaranteed for the balance of the season. Philadelphia has 15 players on its roster, so it’ll need to either send someone to L.A. or make a corresponding move. That’s true even if the Sixers don’t intend to keep Cunningham, as is often the case with the veterans the Sixers acquire via trade.

Trading Cunningham instead of releasing him would help the Clippers financially, since it would remove his entire salary from their books, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The Clippers would be stuck with the money they had already paid to Cunningham this year counting against their hard cap if they were to waive him. The team is less than $1MM shy of its hard cap, a collective bargaining agreement feature it triggered when it gave out the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception to Spencer Hawes and the biannual exception to Jordan Farmar.

Cunningham, the 24th overall pick in the 2012 draft, has only played in 40 career NBA regular season games, 19 of which have come this season after he showed enough in the preseason to make the team out of training camp. Still, he’s averaged 1.8 points in just 4.7 minutes per game for the Clippers.

Eastern Notes: Garnett, Butler, Pistons

November 2nd, 2014 at 1:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Retirement talks have surrounded Kevin Garnett over the past few seasons but he is still motivated to remain a key contributor for the Nets, writes Paul Flannery of SB Nation. “I feel good about this year like I did last year,” Garnett said. “But obviously, I have a little bit of edge to me this year, I’ll say that. I didn’t like the way I ended last year or even started last year. I am a very motivated person, very real with myself, watch a lot of film on myself, and I look to be a little different this year.” Based on his skill set, Garnett could easily find employment in a league scarce in big man talent, but based on his personality, it’s hard to see him accept a vagabond journeyman’s life in the NBA, Flannery notes.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Jimmy Butler knows for a fact that he will remain with the Bulls after his free agency this summer, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. “People say I’m chasing money when that’s not it — yeah, get your mic closer — that’s not it, because I’m going to be in Chicago,’’ Butler said. “I’m not worried about it. I say that with a smile on my face because I know that for a fact. We’ll resume [negotiations] in July.’’
Pistons owner Tom Gores is heavily involved in the direction the team is heading, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. “Tom’s involved in every decision we make,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We communicate daily. Tom’s a great leader and really understands people.” Gores’ involvement may be a reason why Van Gundy hasn’t shipped out players from the old regime such as Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith, although that is just my speculation.
Tony Wroten has been inconsistent early in the season for the Sixers but coach Brett Brown still has faith in the guard, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s just a matter of continuing to coach him and put him on the floor, because he has to stay on the floor if he’s going to do better,” Brown said.

Sixers Pick Up Options On Three Players

October 31st, 2014 at 9:57am CST by Eddie Scarito

FRIDAY, 9:57pm: The moves are official, the team announced via press release. Sixers spokesperson Michael Preston confirms the news via Twitter.

THURSDAY, 7:37pm: The Sixers have picked up the third-year team options for Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams, as well as the fourth-year team option for Tony Wroten, as is shown in the RealGM transactions log. These moves give Philadelphia approximately $13,508,212 in guaranteed salary commitments for the 2015/16 season.

None of these moves come as a surprise since all three players factor heavily into the Sixers’ long term rebuilding plans. The 2015/16 salaries for the three players will be $3,457,800 for Noel; $2,399,040 for Carter-Williams; and $2,179,354 for Wroten.

Carter-Williams won the Rookie of the Year award last season after being selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the draft. He averaged 16.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 6.3 APG. His slash line was .405/.264/.703. There were rumors during the offseason that the team was shopping Carter-Williams, but no deal materialized and he remains the team’s starting point guard. For him to take the next step in his development, Carter-Williams desperately needs to cut down on his 3.5 turnovers per game of a season ago.

The 20-year-old Noel begins his rookie campaign after an injury suffered during his lone year at Kentucky kept him out for the entire 2013/14 season. Extremely athletic and a gifted defender, Noel will need to develop his offensive game if he hopes to fulfill his immense potential.

Originally drafted by the Grizzlies, Wroten is being counted on this season to provide a large portion of Philadelphia’s scoring. In 108 career games, including 17 starts, he has averaged 9.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 2.5 APG. His career shooting percentages are .423/.216/.642.