Tristan Thompson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Carter, Pistons Rookies, Thompson, DeRozan

February 24th, 2022 at 12:21pm CST by Rory Maher

Jevon Carter, who was recently released by the Nets in order to sign Goran Dragic, plans to sign with the Bucks after he clears waivers.

It’s the second time the Bucks will have scooped up an ex-Nets player who was cut in the past few weeks, as the same thing happened with DeAndre’ Bembry following the blockbuster James Harden/Ben Simmons trade (Brooklyn received three players but sent out two, necessitating an incumbent player’s release). Eric Nehm of The Athletic explores what Milwaukee will be getting with Carter’s expected addition.

Carter, the 32nd overall pick of the 2018 draft, was the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in his senior season at West Virginia and his defensive ability is the primary reason he’s in the NBA. Carter is a tough defender with strong instincts who can be a pest to opposing point guards, Nehm writes.

Carter doesn’t provide much offensively, but he’s a career 36.9% three-point shooter (33.1% this season) and the majority of his shots come from beyond the arc. According to Nehm, Carter likely won’t be asked to do much beyond catch-and-shoot. Carter is unlikely to play a large role with Milwaukee, but he should provide capable regular season minutes while George Hill and Pat Connaughton recover from injuries, Nehm opines.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Pistons coach Dwane Casey says the team wants to get a good look at rookies Isaiah Livers and Chris Smith in the latter portion of the season (Twitter links via Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press). Livers has been slow to recover from right foot surgery, while Smith had a torn ACL last summer. Livers recently made his debut with Detroit’s G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise. Smith is on a two-way contract, but Livers has a guaranteed standard contract for this season and next, with a club option in 2023/24.
Pistons rookie Cade Cunningham, who was recently named MVP of the Rising Stars event during All-Star weekend, said he was eager to prove himself on the big stage, as he told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “All this talent, I wanted to stand out for sure. It’s the All-Star Game weekend. Everyone is going to go out there and try to have fun. But everybody deep down still wants to be that guy. I knew that. I wanted to compete. I wanted to win. More importantly, I was happy to come out with a trophy, some hardware,” Cunningham said.
New Bulls addition Tristan Thompson believes he’ll fit in well with Chicago, as Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic relays. “I think I’ll mesh pretty well with this group,” Thompson said. He also believes DeMar DeRozan should be the MVP front-runner. “Right now, he’s the league MVP in my eyes, flat-out,” Thompson said, as part of a larger quote.

Bulls Use Bi-Annual Exception To Sign Tristan Thompson

February 21st, 2022 at 5:36pm CST by Rory Maher

The Bulls have used their bi-annual exception in order to sign Tristan Thompson, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). The Bulls will be paying Thompson $1MM by using the BAE — a minimum contract for the remainder of the season would have been worth $774,289, Pincus notes.

The move is significant, because as the name suggests, the bi-annual exception is only available every other season — Chicago won’t have access to it in 2022/23. We project the BAE to be worth $4,017,000 next season. The Mavericks are the only other team to have used their BAE this season — they used it to sign Sterling Brown last summer.

The BAE is a way for a team to sign a player who may command more than the minimum salary, but less than the mid-level exception. Chicago already used its mid-level to sign Alex Caruso and Marko Simonovic last summer, so it wasn’t available for Thompson.

The BAE can be used for contracts up to two years, with a 5% raise after year one. It’s only available to teams that are over the cap and under the tax apron. In this case, it was used by the Bulls to ensure they could sign Thompson for the remainder of the season, as I’m sure other teams would have been interested in his services if he were only making the minimum.

Using the BAE on Thompson shows that Chicago is intent on competing for a championship this season and is willing to sacrifice future flexibility to do so. Thompson provides championship experience, leadership and rebounding for a team that lacked frontcourt depth.

The Bulls are currently 27th in total rebounds and 29th in offensive rebounds — areas Thompson has always excelled in. Among active players, he’s fifth in career offense rebounds and fourth in offensive rebounding percentage. He’s also tied for first all-time (with Dennis Rodman) for the highest career offensive rebounding percentage in the NBA playoffs.

Central Notes: LaVine, Thompson, Haliburton, Allen, Williams, Smith

February 20th, 2022 at 8:04pm CST by JD Shaw

The Bulls officially signed veteran center Tristan Thompson on Saturday, adding a former NBA champion to their rotation. Thompson, who is expected to provide depth behind star center Nikola Vucevic, drew praise from new teammate Zach LaVine this weekend.

“He’s going to bring another championship-level guy where he’s been in these games before,” LaVine said, as relayed by Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. “He can help us in these situations.”

Chicago is tied with Miami for the best record in the East at 38-21. The team won its final five games entering the All-Star break and has added Vucevic, Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso and others over the last calendar year.

“With AK [Arturas Karnisovas] and Marc [Eversley], obviously, they’re going for it,” LaVine said of the Bulls’ front office. “They trust in me, they trust in DeMar, they trust in this group, and it just means a lot going into the last year of my contract that they’re putting a team around us that can compete.’’

There’s more from the Central Division tonight:

Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton finally enjoyed his Rising Stars moment on Friday, Scott Agness of FieldHouse Files examines. The 21-year-old was acquired by Indiana before this season’s trade deadline. In four games, he’s averaged 20.8 points and 11.0 assists per contest.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen has enjoyed every moment of All-Star Weekend, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic writes. Allen is a major reason why Cleveland owns the fourth-best record in the East at 35-23. This is his first All-Star appearance. “It’s still a lot to take in,” Allen said. “I don’t think I’ve fully grasped the moment that I’m in. I’m part of the top 24 players in the NBA at this All-Star Weekend, so I’m just excited, I’m ready to take it all in and just absorb every moment. It’s been a one-of-a-kind weekend that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
Suns head coach Monty Williams is happy to see Jalen Smith get a new opportunity with the Pacers, as relayed by James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Smith was traded from Phoenix to Indiana earlier this month. “I’m happy for him,” Williams said as part of a larger quote. “He’s a guy that worked his tail off every single day with us. He just couldn’t crack the rotation.” Smith has appeared in four games with the Pacers, averaging 12.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in 21 minutes per contest.

Bulls Sign Tristan Thompson

February 19th, 2022 at 10:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent center Tristan Thompson has signed with the Bulls for the rest of the season, the team announced in a press release. Chicago also confirmed that Alfonzo McKinnie has been waived to create room on the roster.

Thompson’s signing has been expected since he reached a buyout agreement with the Pacers on Thursday. He played four games for Indiana after being acquired from the Kings shortly before the trade deadline.

The 30-year-old will provide an experienced back-up for a Bulls team that’s low on big men behind Nikola Vucevic. He has extensive playoff experience, including four trips to the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers.

Thompson has played in 34 combined games this season, averaging 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per night. He has been a reliable shooter around the rim throughout his career and is connecting at 50.3% from the field this year.

Central Notes: DeRozan, Okoro, Thompson, LaVine

February 19th, 2022 at 3:57pm CST by JD Shaw

Bulls star DeMar DeRozan endorsed the team’s signing of veteran center Tristan Thompson, as relayed by K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link). Thompson agreed to a buyout with the Pacers on Thursday and is expected to sign with Chicago in the near future.

“[I’ve] known Tristan for years,” DeRozan said. “Great dude. Championship experience. Good friend of mine. Got the utmost respect for him off the court. Obviously, we all know what he brings on the court. Think it will be great addition for us. Veteran leadership.”

Thompson carries 11 years of NBA experience, which includes an NBA title with the Cavaliers in 2016. He’s expected to provide depth behind star center Nikola Vucevic for the rest of the campaign. In 34 games this season with Sacramento and Indiana, he’s averaged 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, playing 15.3 minutes per contest.

There’s more from the Central Division tonight:

Cavaliers swingman Isaac Okoro believes he’s one of the best rising players in the league, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. Okoro has averaged 9.0 points per game on 46% shooting during his second season with the team. “I’m grateful to be one of the top rising young players right now,” Okoro said. “I felt that last year. Throughout the whole season, felt like I was one of the Rising Stars in this league. I feel like I’ve put in a lot of work for our team and it’s showing. Just taking in the experience. I’m blessed to be here and I’m just soaking everything in.”
Tristan Thompson gave up $774,289 in his buyout with the Pacers, which is roughly what he’ll receive in his new deal with Chicago, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (via Twitter). Thompson only appeared in four games with Indiana before the buyout.
Bulls star Zach LaVine feels “great” after visiting a knee specialist, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. As Schaefer notes in his Twitter thread, LaVine had his knee drained and received PRP and cortisone injections. “It’ll get me through the end of the season, and then in the offseason I’ll be able to take care of it and get myself to 100 percent,” he said.

Pacers Waive Tristan Thompson, Who Plans To Join Bulls

February 17th, 2022 at 4:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 17: The Pacers have officially waived Thompson, according to a team press release.

FEBRUARY 16: The Pacers will waive veteran center Tristan Thompson, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Thompson intends to sign with the Bulls once he clears waivers, Charania adds.

Indiana coach Rick Carlisle confirmed the upcoming move, which will be made on Thursday, in a session with the media after tonight’s game (video link from Alex Golden).

“We thanked him for what he has brought over the last six or seven days,” Carlisle said. “He brought a high level of professionalism and he’s done a really good job.”

The 30-year-old Thompson was acquired last week in a six-player trade with the Kings. He appeared in four games for the Pacers, including tonight when he posted 17 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.

Thompson is making $9.72MM this season and the Pacers will keep that cap hit on their books once he clears waivers — if a buyout is involved, that charge will be lowered slightly.

The Bulls have a full roster, so another move will be necessary before Thompson can be added. Indiana’s roster is also full, so one opening will be available once he is released.

Chicago was among the teams mentioned as a potential landing spot for Thompson amid speculation over a possible buyout during the past week. The Lakers were also rumored to be interested.

Scotto’s Latest: Harris, Thompson, Lakers, Brunson, Nurkic

February 16th, 2022 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Prior to last week’s trade deadline, a source close to Gary Harris said he didn’t think the Magic wing would be bought out in the coming weeks, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Harris in the final year of his contract and probably isn’t part of the long-term plans in Orlando, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the team decided to part ways with him to open up minutes for its younger players. However, one recent report stated that the Magic have appreciated the 27-year-old’s influence on their young guards.

Additionally, as Scotto observes, Harris has been one of the Magic’s most-used players this season and hasn’t seen his role reduced at all lately, logging nearly 37 minutes against his old team in Denver on Monday. Ahead of his upcoming free agency, it may be in Harris’ best interests to remain in Orlando, where he’s an important part of the rotation, Scotto says, rather than taking his chances in a situation where he’d be further down in the pecking order.

Here’s more from Scotto’s latest HoopsHype Podcast with Yossi Gozlan:

The Lakers are a team worth keeping an eye on if Tristan Thompson is bought out by the Pacers, according to Scotto, who notes that the veteran center “certainly has a lot of relationships there.” Like Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Thompson is a Klutch Sports client.
According to Scotto, NBA executives he has spoken to are trying to determine whether the Knicks will make a serious run at Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson in free agency this summer or whether New York’s rumored interest is being used as a leverage play to boost Brunson’s market.
Scotto adds that rival execs always thought the Mavericks would end up choosing between Brunson or Dorian Finney-Smith due to the luxury tax implications of giving both players big long-term deals. However, Mavs owner Mark Cuban has expressed confidence about keeping both players, and has already extended Finney-Smith.
Scotto confirms there’s mutual interest between Jusuf Nurkic and the Trail Blazers in continuing their relationship beyond this season, as has been previously reported. Nurkic would be eligible to sign a contract extension anytime before June 30, though he wouldn’t be able to receive a starting salary higher than $14.4MM unless he reaches free agency.

Bulls Notes: Thompson, Williams, Standing Pat, Luxury Tax

February 10th, 2022 at 4:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tristan Thompson is currently a Pacer, but the Bulls would be interested in his services if he’s bought out by Indiana, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. Thompson was thrown into the Domantas Sabonis–Tyrese Haliburton blockbuster between Indiana and Sacramento for salary-matching purposes. The two parties are reportedly mulling a buyout of his $9.7MM expiring contract. Chicago didn’t add to its frontcourt prior to the trade deadline.

We have more on the Bulls:

According to the team’s top executive, Arturas Karnisovas, Patrick Williams will return from his injury this season, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. Mid-March is the soft target date for Williams’ comeback. Williams has been sidelined since late October after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist. At the time, the Bulls gave a recovery timeline of four-to-six months.
Williams’ expected return, as well the hope that Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso will eventually rejoin the rotation after recovering from their injuries, were factors in the Bulls’ decision to stand pat on deadline day, Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago tweets. “We were taking calls, but the mutual feeling with all of our group was: ‘Let’s get out guys back,” Karnisovas said. “We’re going to have enough time in the regular season to see what this group can do healthy.’”
Karnisovas was somewhat evasive when asked if he had the green light to go beyond the luxury tax threshold in future seasons, Schaefer adds in another tweet. While noting the front office has been “pretty aggressive” in its acquisitions over the last nine months, Karnisovas said, “When the opportunity will present itself, I think we’re going to evaluate that. That’s it.”

Pacers To Keep Hield, Mulling Thompson Buyout

February 9th, 2022 at 8:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Echoing a report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe this afternoon, a source tells James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star that the Pacers plan to keep shooting guard Buddy Hield past the Thursday, 2:00pm CT trade deadline. As our Luke Adams mentioned, Hield’s $23MM cap hit and the $40MM he’s owed for the two seasons after this would make it difficult to get value for him.

Coach Rick Carlisle is known to value shooting, which is Hield’s specialty, although his .368 3PT% is the worst mark of his career.

“You can never have too much shooting in today’s game,” Carlisle said Tuesday after Indiana lost 133-112 at Atlanta. “I think that’s an obvious fact. We’ve had our struggles this year … and so that was a priority for us as the deadline approaches.”

However, Boyd writes that Tristan Thompson‘s future with Indiana is far less certain, as the team is mulling a buyout of his $9.7MM expiring contract. Hield, Thompson, and Tyrese Haliburton were all acquired from the Kings on Tuesday in exchange for Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a 2023 second-round pick.

Thompson, 30, has had the most limited role of his career this season in a crowded Sacramento frontcourt. He appeared in 30 games with the Kings, averaging 6.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per contest.

Thompson should have some suitors on the buyout market if the Pacers decide to go that route. Given their place in the standings, it would make sense to give younger big men like Goga Bitadze and Isaiah Jackson more opportunities.

Sabonis To Kings, Haliburton To Pacers In Six-Player Trade

February 8th, 2022 at 9:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:00pm: The trade is now official, the Pacers announced in a press release.

4:36pm: The second-rounder being sent to Sacramento in the deal is actually a 2023 pick that will be convey if it lands anywhere from 31-55, per Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter links).

12:37pm: The Pacers have agreed to send Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb and Justin Holiday to the Kings in exchange for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sacramento will also receive a 2027 second-round pick in the trade, according to Wojnarowski. That pick will presumably be the Utah selection the Pacers acquired from Cleveland on Monday, since Indiana has traded away its own 2027 second-rounder.

The deal involves two teams that have been trying to shake up their rosters ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. Both are in the middle of disappointing seasons, with the Pacers 13th in the East at 19-36 and the Kings, who were open about their need to make the playoffs heading into the season, stuck at 13th in the West at 20-35, two games out of the final play-in spot.

Sabonis, who was an All-Star in 2020 and 2021, carries a $19.8MM cap hit this season, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. As Marks notes, Sabonis’ cap figure is expected to eventually drop to $18.5MM this season and $19.4MM next year because his All-Star bonus will be considered unlikely going forward.

Sabonis’ production has remained steady at 18.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists through 47 games, but the Pacers have been looking to break up the combination of Sabonis and Myles Turner.

Lamb has an expiring $10.5MM deal, while Holiday is under contract for $6MM and $6.3MM next season. The Kings will create a $4MM trade exception in the deal, Marks adds.

It’s a fascinating deal for the Kings, since reports in recent weeks repeatedly stated they preferred to build around Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox going forward. They relented on Haliburton in order to land a star center and will now move ahead with rookie Davion Mitchell as Fox’s potential long-term backcourt partner. It’s unclear whether more moves are coming for Sacramento, which still has a frontcourt logjam that includes center Richaun Holmes.

The Pacers, meanwhile, acquire a potential future star in Haliburton, who has emerged as a full-time starter this season and is averaging 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 51 games. He will make $4.2MM and $5.8MM over the next two seasons and will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the summer of 2023.

Indiana also lands Hield, who has a $23.1MM salary this year that will drop to $21.2MM next season and $19.3MM in 2023/24, and Thompson, who has a $9.7MM expiring deal. The Pacers will create a $10.5MM trade exception, according to Marks (Twitter link).

The trade leaves Indiana $615K below the luxury tax line, though Hield has nine bonuses in his contract that could affect that, Marks adds (via Twitter). Two of them are considered likely — fewer than two turnovers per game and finishing in the top 10 in made three-pointers — which would add up to $595,962 and push team salary dangerously close to the threshold. If the Pacers make more deals this week, they’ll likely try to trim a little more salary to create additional breathing room below the tax line.

Indiana was said to be seeking a Nikola Vucevic-esque package of several draft picks and/or young prospects in exchange for Sabonis. However, as we noted when we previewed the trade deadline for Central teams last week, the Pacers have historically preferred to acquire packages headlined by promising NBA-ready players rather than draft picks when they’ve traded away stars. The team first acquired Sabonis along with Victor Oladipo for Paul George in a 2017 blockbuster that was widely panned by experts at the time.

Sabonis and Oladipo both eventually developed into All-Stars in Indiana, and now the Pacers will hope for the same from Haliburton, a potential two-way impact player who is still just 21 years old.