Tyler Ennis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Re-Sign Tyler Ennis

July 26th, 2017 at 1:14pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 26, 1:14pm: The Lakers have officially re-signed Ennis, the team announced today in a press release. Barring another cost-cutting move, it appears L.A. is now capped out.

JULY 25, 3:39pm: The Lakers have reached an agreement to bring back free agent guard Tyler Ennis, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link). Shelburne reports that Ennis will get a two-year, minimum salary deal with a team option on the second year.

Ennis, who will turn 23 next month, was selected by the Suns with the 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, but has bounced around the league since then. In addition to spending a little time in Phoenix, Ennis has also had stints with the Bucks, Rockets, and Lakers, appearing in 132 total regular season contests.

While Ennis hasn’t been able to stick with one team for long, the Lakers “really liked” what they saw from him down the stretch in 2016/17 after acquiring him at the deadline, tweets Shelburne. The Canadian point guard averaged 7.7 PPG, 2.4 APG, and 0.9 SPG, with a shooting line of .451/.389/.864 in 22 games as a Laker. All of those averages would have been career highs for a full season.

The Lakers were rumored to be considering Ennis, Derrick Rose, and other guards in recent weeks. The club displayed serious interest in Rose, but the former MVP committed to the Cavaliers on Monday night, prompting L.A. to move quickly to lock up Ennis.

The timing of Ennis’ signing will be interesting to keep an eye on. Currently, the Lakers have $815,615 in cap room remaining, which is exactly enough to sign a rookie, such as Thomas Bryant. The club could still sign Bryant using the minimum salary exception after signing Ennis and going over the cap, but a deal with that exception is limited to two years. If the Lakers wait to officially finalize Ennis’ contract, it’s likely a signal that they hope to use that remaining cap room to sign Bryant or another rookie to a three- or four-year pact.

Pacific Notes: Rondo, Clark, Caldwell-Pope, Perry

July 16th, 2017 at 12:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers will have to find another option at point guard now that Rajon Rondo has signed with the Pelicans, writes Mark Medina of The Orange County Register. L.A. had talked to Rondo about serving as a mentor to a young roster and especially to rookie Lonzo Ball. Attention may now turn to re-signing 22-year-old Tyler Ennis, who was obtained from Houston in a February trade. Ennis averaged 7.7 points and shot 45% from the field in 22 games with the Lakers.

Other options include Rodney Stuckey and Ian Clark, although L.A. has only the $4.3MM room exception to offer apart from veterans minimum deals. The Lakers currently have 12 players under contract for the upcoming season, along with Alex Caruso signed to a two-way deal.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

After struggling to make a roster in the early part of his NBA career, Clark is in position for a big payday, writes Joe Rexrode of The USA Today Network. The Lakers and Bucks are among the teams that have expressed interest in the free agent shooting guard, whose chance to return to the Warriors likely ended when Golden State signed Nick Young. “I can’t worry about this, I just have to let it fall into place,” Clark said. “At some point you stop worrying about surviving in this league and get determined to make your mark in it.”
The one-year, $18MM deal that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed with the Lakers includes a 15% trade kicker and a 50% advance, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.com.
Marcelo Huertas, who spent parts of the past two seasons with the Lakers, has signed with EuroCup champions Unicaja Malaga in Spain, tweets international basketball writer David Pick.
Scott Perry had a strong influence on the Kings during his three months as vice president of basketball operations, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Perry left this week to become GM of the Knicks, with Sacramento receiving a 2019 second-round pick and cash considerations in return. During Perry’s time with the Kings, Voison says he pushed for the free agency additions of veterans Zach Randolph, Vince Carter and George Hill and was a “strong advocate” for drafting De’Aaron Fox with the No. 5 pick. “This is a great opportunity for Scott professionally,” said GM Vlade Divac, “and it gets him back east, closer to his daughter. I was not going to stop him. The only thing I feel bad about is that we had everything in place in our front office. Our front office is strong. Now I have to find someone who can come in and do the things Scott did for us.”
The injury that forced Kings center Georgios Papagiannis to leave Friday’s summer league game has been diagnosed as just a bruise, according to a post on the team’s website.

Western FA Rumors: Lakers, Canaan, Wolves, Kings

July 12th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After committing all of their remaining cap room, the Lakers continue to debate how to address their point guard spot, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The team has explored possible free agent targets who could be veteran mentors for Lonzo Ball, but with just the $4.3MM room exception remaining, L.A. may no longer have the flexibility to sign some of those players.

Per Shelburne (Twitter link), the Lakers still have Rajon Rondo on their radar, but are debating signing a younger player such as Ian Clark, Tyler Ennis, or Isaiah Canaan for that backup point guard job. It’s not clear whether Rondo and/or Clark would be willing to sign a one-year deal worth the room exception — their respective markets were believed to be more robust, but it’s possible that has changed as free agency nears the two-week mark.

Here are a few more free agency notes from around the Western Conference:

Speaking of Isaiah Canaan, his camp has “touched base” with the Timberwolves, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, who tweets that Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson are believed to have put in a good word for their former Chicago teammate.
The Kings reportedly made a maximum salary offer to Otto Porter earlier in free agency, but J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com hears from multiple sources that there was confusion about whether Sacramento put such an offer sheet on the table. “We just talked,” Kings GM Vlade Divac said of Porter. This may just be an issue of semantics — perhaps the Kings expressed a willingness to go up to the max, but didn’t draw up a formal offer sheet. Porter eventually got his max offer sheet from Brooklyn anyway.
The Warriors made quick work of 2017 free agency, retaining virtually all their key players and adding a couple interesting new pieces. However, they’ll face a tricky situation next summer when Patrick McCaw becomes eligible for restricted free agency. Anthony Slater of The Bay Area News Group examines the challenge of McCaw’s looming free agency and speaks to the 21-year-old guard about it.

Free Agent Rumors: Bucks, Clark, Bullock, Lakers

July 10th, 2017 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors have re-signed – or agreed to re-sign – many of the free agents from last year’s roster, including Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, David West, and Zaza Pachulia. However, Ian Clark has not agreed to a new deal with the team and appears likely to head elsewhere.

One potential landing spot for Clark may be Milwaukee, according to Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times, who hears from several sources that the Bucks have expressed interest in the free agent shooting guard. And that interest appears to be mutual, Woelfel adds.

Clark, who shot a career-high 37.4% on three-pointers last season, would provide the Bucks with some much-needed shooting. But it remains to be seen if Milwaukee will make him a competitive offer — once Tony Snell‘s new deal is finalized, the team will be getting very close to luxury tax territory.

Here are a few more free agent updates:

The Timberwolves inquired early in free agency on Reggie Bullock, but the Pistons and two other teams are pushing hardest for the swingman now, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. According to Wolfson, Bullock figures to make a decision this week.
Tyler Ennis, who finished the year with the Lakers, is among the free agent guards the team is considering, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
Former Knicks and Nets guard Shane Larkin, who headed overseas a year ago, had an opportunity this summer to opt out if he gets an NBA offer, but appears poised to play for Barcelona in Spain on a lucrative new deal, as international basketball journalist David Pick details (Twitter links).

Pacific Notes: Ennis, Joerger, Cauley-Stein, Griffin

April 8th, 2017 at 5:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tyler Ennis believes he has found a home with the Lakers and wants to remain there past this season, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Ennis was shipped from Houston to L.A. at the trade deadline and quickly got an opportunity to play that he never received with the Rockets. His minutes more than doubled after the deal, going from 6.3 per game to 15.9, and he is putting up career-high numbers in scoring and shooting percentage.

The Lakers are the fourth NBA stop for Ennis, who was taken by the Suns with the 18th pick in 2014. After eight games in Phoenix, he was traded to the Bucks in 2015, then to the Rockets in September. “Anytime you go through the journey I’ve been through so far in the league and then have an opportunity to play and have people welcome me with open arms, that’s something you want to stay with,” Ennis said of his plans in free agency. “Obviously there’s a lot going on, but if the opportunity to stay is there, they’ll definitely be at the top of the list.”

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

Kings coach Dave Joerger doesn’t like suggestions that the Kings have been tanking since trading DeMarcus Cousins, relays Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Sacramento quickly dropped out of the playoff race after that deal at the All-Star break as the team devoted more playing time to younger players. However, Joerger insists the Kings are building for the future, not maximizing their draft pick. “I think what we’ve already done is establish what we want to be about,” he said. “There’s no tanking going on here. We’re playing hard, guys that are in the rotation are playing hard and they’re getting better.”
One of the beneficiaries of the Cousins trade has been Willie Cauley-Stein, who has become the Kings‘ starting center. In an interview posted on the Sacramento Bee website, Cauley-Stein told reporters after Friday’s game that he plans to do Navy SEAL training over the summer in preparation for next season.
Clippers star Blake Griffin has been putting up huge numbers as the team battles for home court advantage in the first round, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. Griffin’s performance since returning from mid-December knee surgery will remind teams of his value as he heads toward free agency. “We keep forgetting Blake missed a huge part of the season,” said coach Doc Rivers, “and you don’t miss that part of the season and just come back and start playing well. It takes time, I think he’s comfortable now, he’s comfortable with his body. So he’s getting ready. It’s good. I like the timing.”

Lakers Notes: Ball, Magic, Ennis, Russell

February 26th, 2017 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Lonzo Ball’s father has clarified comments that indicated his son wouldn’t play for any team but the Lakers, according to ESPN.com. LaVar Ball said Saturday in a radio interview that he wants Lonzo to be drafted by L.A. and would discourage other teams from taking him. But he toned down those remarks in a later interview. “All I said was that my boy is going to play for the Lakers, and I’m going to speak it into existence,” LaVar Ball told ESPN Saturday night. “I want him to be a Laker, but I wasn’t saying he’s only going to play for the Lakers.” Lonzo Ball is a star guard at UCLA and is projected to be one of the first players drafted. The Lakers are currently third in our Reverse Standings, but their pick will be conveyed to the Sixers if they drop out of the top three.

There’s more today from Los Angeles:

The Lakers needed the fresh start they got by putting Magic Johnson in charge of the organization, contends Bill Heisler of The Orange County Register. He says there is plenty of shared blame for the team’s sorry state, including deceased former owner Jerry Buss, who hired Mike D’Antoni as coach in 2013 instead of Phil Jackson; Jim Buss, who hired Mike Brown as coach; Jeanie Buss, who gave Kobe Bryant a $55MM extension for his final two seasons; and former GM Mitch Kupchak, who handed out huge free agent deals to Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng last summer.
The Lakers are the latest team to give an opportunity to former first-round pick Tyler Ennis, writes Joey Kaufman of The Orange County Register. L.A. acquired the 22-year-old point guard Thursday in a deal with Houston, where he had only seen 6.3 minutes per night in 31 games. It marked the third time Ennis has been traded since being drafted by the Suns in 2014. “It’s too early right now,” coach Luke Walton said when asked about Ennis’ role in L.A. “We definitely want to get him out there and give him some opportunities and some chances.” Playing time may open up for Ennis if the Lakers go through with a rumored buyout with veteran point guard Jose Calderon.
With Johnson taking over the front office and Rob Pelinka hired as the new general manager, there’s a fresh sense of urgency surrounding the organization, according to Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. D’Angelo Russell described the feeling as like coming to a new team.

Rockets Trade Tyler Ennis To Lakers

February 23rd, 2017 at 6:40pm CST by Luke Adams

6:40pm: The Lakers also received the draft rights to Brad Newley in the deal, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Drafted in 2007, the 32-year-old swingman plays for AEK Athens in Greece.

6:28pm: The deal is official, the Lakers announced (Twitter link). Meanwhile, the Rockets have waived Huertas.

1:58pm: The Rockets have agreed to a deal that will send Tyler Ennis to the Lakers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Wojnarowski reports that Houston will receive Marcelo Huertas from Los Angeles, but that the Rockets will waive Huertas after acquiring him.

Ennis is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, while Huertas had a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18, so both players were essentially on expiring contracts. The Rockets were likely planning on waiving Ennis after the deadline, so by acquiring and waiving Huertas instead, they’ll create a tiny bit of extra cap room as they peruse the buyout market. Ennis is earning approximately $233K more than Huertas this season.

From the Lakers’ perspective, Huertas had seen his playing time reduced significantly this season, having averaged 10.3 MPG in just 23 contests. He apparently wasn’t part of the team’s long-term plans, so L.A. decided to take a flier on Ennis, who could be re-signed at a modest price in the offseason if the team likes what it sees down the stretch.

Rockets Seeking Trade For Player Earning $10-12MM

February 22nd, 2017 at 11:31am CST by Luke Adams

11:31am: Iman Shumpert is one player who has drawn interest from the Rockets, league sources tell ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). Shumpert is making a little under $10MM this year, and will earn a little over $10MM in 2017/18.

11:23am: The latest trade rumor involving the Rockets is both oddly specific and non-specific, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter) that the club is looking to acquire a player earning a salary in the $10-12MM range. Houston is offering expiring contracts and cash savings to potential trade partners, according to Wojnarowski.

[RELATED: Rockets to acquire Lou Williams]

The Rockets’ six highest-paid players – all of whom are key rotation pieces – are on multiyear contracts, but players like K.J. McDaniels ($3.33MM), Nene ($2.898MM), and Tyler Ennis ($1.734MM) have no guaranteed money on their deals beyond this season, and could be among the pieces Houston would put on the table. Combining those three salaries would allow the Rockets to take back up to approximately $12MM.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that Houston already has nearly $88MM in guaranteed contracts on its books for the 2017/18 season, per Basketball Insiders. Acquiring a player earning $10-12MM for next season would take the team right up near the projected cap ($102MM), so GM Daryl Morey may be looking to use that room on a deadline acquisition instead of a summer free agent. If they were up against the cap, the Rockets would still have the mid-level exception to use in July to entice a free agent.

Having already struck a deal for Lou Williams, the Rockets will likely be focusing on adding a frontcourt player next. There’s no shortage of potential trade candidates in the $10-12MM range, but one potentially intriguing option would be Wilson Chandler.

Chandler is earning $11.233MM this season and $12MM+ next year, and was linked to the Rockets earlier this week. TNT’s David Aldridge tweeted last night that Denver remains on the lookout for a first-round pick and an expiring contract for Chandler or Danilo Gallinari, so perhaps there’s a fit there, though Houston is sending its 2017 first-rounder to the Lakers in the Williams deal.

Texas Notes: Bogut, Barea, Nene, Ennis

December 26th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks center Andrew Bogut, who has been sidelined since December 5th with a bone bruise on his right knee, could be back on the court this week, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Coach Rick Carlisle announced the news today on Bogut, who started 16 games before the injury. The 32-year-old, who was acquired in a trade from Golden State to sure up the Mavericks’ interior defense, is averaging 3.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per night. He was considered a prime candidate to be traded again when Dallas was at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, but Mavericks may consider keeping him as they inch back toward playoff contention. The way he and the team play between now and the February 23rd trade deadline could determine how long he stays in Dallas.

There’s more basketball news out of Texas:

Carlisle also indicated good news might be coming about J.J. Barea, according to Sneed (Twitter link). The backup guard, who has been out with a muscle strain in his left leg, still has no timetable to return, but his coach says it’s “on the shorter end of things.” Barea has only been available for 11 games this season.
The Rockets‘ plan for veteran center Nene involves more games and fewer minutes, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. With starting center Clint Capela out a month or more with a fracture in his left fibula, Houston needs Nene to play in back-to-back games. The Rockets play the Suns tonight and the Mavericks on Tuesday, and coach Mike D’Antoni plans to limit him to fewer than 20 minutes in the second game. “I think it’s working out,” D’Antoni said. “I talked to him [Monday]. He said he’s feeling great. I would like to avoid some back-to-backs, but we can’t right now. The sooner we get Clint back the better.”
Tyler Ennis hasn’t played much since coming to Houston in a September trade, but he is hoping to be part of the Canadian National Team, Feigen relays in a separate story. Ennis met tonight with Suns assistant Jay Triano, who serves as Canada’s coach, to discuss his future role with the squad. “I’ve always played for the national team,” Ennis said. “With the Canadian guys we have in the NBA now, there’s more interest in playing. Hopefully, one summer, we’ll get everybody to come and play. We’re all pretty young.”

Rockets To Decline Tyler Ennis’ 2017/18 Option

October 31st, 2016 at 10:35am CST by Luke Adams

A week ago, the Rockets appeared to be on the verge of parting ways with Tyler Ennis, despite having just acquired him in a trade last month. Houston ultimately decided to waive Pablo Prigioni instead, keeping Ennis, but the team isn’t ready to make a multiyear commitment to the former Buck. According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), the Rockets won’t exercise Ennis’ 2017/18 team option in advance of today’s deadline.

Ennis, who will earn a guaranteed $1.734MM salary in 2016/17, would have been in line for a pay increase to $2.667MM next year if Houston had exercised his option. Instead, he’ll head into the summer of 2017 as an unrestricted free agent. That doesn’t necessarily mean the 22-year-old will leave the Rockets, who could still re-sign him, but he’ll get a chance to explore the open market in July.

The 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Ennis started his career with the Suns before being sent to the Bucks at the 2015 trade deadline. He was moved again in September in exchange for veteran forward Michael Beasley. In 82 total career NBA games so far, Ennis has averaged just 4.0 PPG and 2.2 APG in 13.4 minutes per game, while posting a shooting line of .405/.294/.732. He scored just a single basket in three games for the Rockets during the first week of this season, though he also picked up nine assists and a pair of steals in that stretch.

As we noted earlier this morning, Ennis was one of six players still on an NBA roster whose rookie-scale option for 2017/18 had yet to be exercised. The full recap of this year’s decisions can be found right here.