Tyler Ennis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Suns, O’Neal, Jazz

July 13th, 2014 at 11:04am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns recent contract agreement with Isaiah Thomas has puzzled some since the team already has point guards Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, and recent draftee Tyler Ennis on the roster. But Phoenix believes they have only strengthened their “dual-playmaker” offense with the acquisition, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. GM Ryan McDonough said, “We feel like the strength of our team is the backcourt. We feel like this move has made us even stronger in the backcourt. We were very good when Dragic and Bledsoe were on the court, and we think Isaiah is that caliber of player where if you can have one or two of those guys on the court at all times, you really don’t have any dropoff scoring-wise. You always have multiple weapons. You have guys who can run pick-and-rolls from either side of the floor and can push the floor in transition.”

Here’s more from the western half:

Jermaine O’Neal is expected to make a decision on his retirement soon, reports Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). O’Neal appeared in 44 games for the Warriors last season, averaging 7.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG while playing 20.1 minutes per contest.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has spoken with Klay Thompson and David Lee about the trade rumors surrounding both players, writes Leung. According to the article Kerr said, “They both get it. I told them, I know you get it. It doesn’t make it any easier. But this is why you really get paid. I mean, you get paid all this money, is it really for coming into a gym for two hours a day and shooting jump shots? We’ve been doing that for free our whole life, you know? You get paid because you can get traded, and you have to uproot your family. You can get hurt, you can get booed, and people on the message board are crushing you. That’s where you actually earn your money in this league, where it actually feels like work.“
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey was noncommittal when asked what Gordon Hayward‘s new contract would mean for Alec Burks and Enes Kanter and any discussions on signing those players to contract extensions, notes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
With the Lakers seemingly striking out on all the big name free agents this summer, the team will have to turn to “Plan B,” writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.

Raptors Seek Trade For Tyler Ennis

June 26th, 2014 at 9:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors are working to trade for former Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis, whom the Suns drafted 18th overall, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.

Raptors, Grizzlies Talking Prince, No. 22 Pick

June 26th, 2014 at 12:25pm CST by Zachary Links

12:25pm: If the deal happens, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (on Twitter) believes that the Raptors will target Clint Capela at No. 22. The Spurs have been hoping that he’d slide to No. 30.

11:18am: Stein now hears (Twitter link) that the deal would more likely send the No. 37 pick to Memphis along with Salmons for Prince and the No. 22.

11:14am: The Raptors are in the hunt to acquire the Grizzlies’ No. 22 pick in tonight’s draft but would have to take back Tayshaun Prince to make something happen, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The potential swap would send John Salmons and the No. 59 pick to Memphis for Prince and the No. 22 pick (link). Stein says that Toronto could be making the deal with guard Tyler Ennis in mind, though they already own the No. 20 selection.

The No. 22 pick wouldn’t guarantee the Raptors that they’ll land Ennis – the Syracuse guard is currently projected to go No. 21 to the Thunder by DraftExpress – but it’d give them a puncher’s chance for sure. Prince, who is a shell of the player he once was, is slated to earn $7.7MM in the final season of his deal. Prince averaged 6.0 PPG with 3.1 RPG last season and posted a career-low PER of 8.2.

Berger’s Draft Notes: Cavs, Saric, Magic

June 21st, 2014 at 9:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs are leaning towards selecting Jabari Parker with the first-overall pick, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. He cites Parker being more NBA ready as the reason behind that pick.

Draft Notes: Embiid, Celtics, Trades

June 21st, 2014 at 12:55pm CST by Cray Allred

Joel Embiid‘s foot injury has shaken up the draft, with split opinions around the league regarding the seven-footer’s prospects for the draft and beyond. One league source tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that Embiid’s health concerns place him in legitimate danger of plummeting out of the lottery, while others are confident he will still be selected in the top 10. More draft rumblings:

Tyler Ennis will have his second audition for the Magic on Monday, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (H/T Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic).
The international teams for Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Jokic, Nemanja Dangubic, and Vasilije Micic will not put any barriers in place to keep the players from joining the NBA if drafted, per tweets from Yugobasket and Misko Raznatovic (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Marcus Smart, Noah Vonleh, and Aaron Gordon are the Celtics preferred group of draftees at No. 6, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
Boston’s “most likely” scenario for the draft is to keep both of their picks, GM Danny Ainge tells Washburn (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

The Cavs are making efforts to trade down from the top spot to the No. 3-5 range in the draft, where they think Embiid would still be available, tweets Brett Poirier of Sheridan Hoops. The Magic, sitting at No. 4, have not been contacted by Cleveland, a source tells Poirier (Twitter link). The Sixers and Jazz own the third and fifth pick, respectively.
The Lakers would consider taking Embiid at No. 7 if he fell that far, a source familiar with their thinking tells Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News. Unsurprisingly, LA’s choice would hinge on their confidence in the big man’s recovery.
The Lakers are more likely to hang on to that seventh pick than deal it, despite their ongoing efforts to explore what they could net for it, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The pick was linked to Klay Thompson as part of the Kevin Love discussions earlier today.
The Suns are willing to trade away the 27th pick for a future first-rounder, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Jakarr Sampson, Niels Giffey, Glenn Robinson III, and Chane Behanan will work out for the Celtics today, tweets Holmes.
As previously reported, the Warriors, Blazers, Pelicans, and Knicks are all looking to acquire first round draft picks, but the price tag is extremely high due to the deep draft pool, reports Alex Kennedy (via Twitter). Kennedy says that teams are asking for future picks that are unprotected or barely protected in return for first-rounders this year.
The NBA has invited 21 prospects to the green room for the draft broadcast, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reveals in two tweets. The invite is a sign of consensus around these players as first round selections. The players invited were Andrew Wiggins Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Dante Exum, Noah Vonleh, Aaron Gordon, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, Doug McDermott, Dario Saric, Gary Harris, Elfrid Payton, Nik Stauskas, James Young, Zach LaVine, Jusuf Nurkic, Adreian Payne, T.J. Warren, Tyler Ennis, Rodney Hood, and Shabazz Napier.

Draft Notes: Lakers, Gordon, Smart, Ennis

June 20th, 2014 at 3:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers will audition Zach LaVine for a second time on Saturday, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com, and they’d like to be able to do the same with Doug McDermott, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who writes in an Insider-only piece. The Lakers are also the only team for which Aaron Gordon has worked out twice, as he told reporters, including Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Here’s more from around the draft scene:

The Sixers would like to meet with Gordon, too, and they have an audition scheduled Saturday for Marcus Smart, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding tweets.
Tyler Ennis, Cleanthony Early, Roscoe Smith, Eric Moreland, Ojars Silins and Viktor Gaddefors are performing for the Suns today, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter links). It’s Smith’s second workout for the team, Coro notes.
It appears as though Jarnell Stokes hasn’t had a chance to make up workouts he had to cancel with the Sixers, Celtics and Hawks when he suffered injuries in a car accident, as Andy Katz of ESPN.com details. He has auditioned for the Rockets and Spurs, among previously reported teams, since his recovery, according to Katz.
Tarik Black, Sean Kilpatrick, Nick Russell and Philipp Neumann are among those showing off for the Bucks today, the team announced (Twitter link).
The Lakers added South Carolina power forward Matthew Hezekiah to today’s workout group, Pincus notes (on Twitter).

Ford’s Latest: Love, Celtics, Kings, Nuggets, Bulls

June 17th, 2014 at 9:39am CST by Chuck Myron

We just passed along the latest on the willingness of the Sixers to trade up to draft Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid‘s meeting with the Cavs, but there are a few more highlights of note from the latest update to the Insider-only mock draft from Chad Ford of ESPN.com. They involve the draft as well as more wide-ranging NBA topics, so let’s dive in:

The Celtics are dangling the sixth and 17th picks, future first-rounders and young players in their attempt to trade for Kevin Love, according to Ford. A source suggests to Ford that Boston’s package for the power forward is likely to be the strongest the Wolves will find, though Minnesota reportedly isn’t high on what Boston has to offer. There’s also been speculation that Wolves executive/coach Flip Saunders prefers experience over youth in any trade involving Love.
The Kings are actively attempting to trade the No. 8 pick, Ford writes, adding that multiple sources tell him that Sacramento is more likely to trade the pick than to hold on to it. That’s something of a switch from Ford’s earlier report that the Kings were merely listening to offers for the selection. The Hawks have reportedly been involved in talks for the eighth pick.
The Nuggets and Bulls are still discussing the 11th pick, according to Ford, whose earlier report indicated that Chicago’s picks at No. 16 and No. 19 were also a part of the conversation. The Bulls would draft either Gary Harris or Nik Stauskas at No. 11, and they’re leaning toward Stauskas, Ford writes. If the Bulls can’t move up, they have a slight preference for Shabazz Napier over Tyler Ennis, Ford hears.

And-Ones: Cavs, Draft, Pelicans, Wolves

June 13th, 2014 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs coaching search may be down to just three candidates, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal. While some names are still being mentioned, Finnan (hat tip to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) believes the finalists are Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.

Here’s more from around the association:

The Nuggets are planning to bring in Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, Clint Capela, Casey Prather and Tarik Black for workouts on Saturday, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
The Timberwolves tweeted that Adreian Payne, Justin Cobbs, Kyle Anderson, Cory Jefferson, Markel Starks and Jamil Wilson all have workouts scheduled with the team.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link) Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, and Jordan Morgan worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday.
Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft needs of the Pelicans. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but they are reportedly trying to acquire one. According to the article, the team’s biggest needs are at small forward, center, and point guard.
In a separate article, Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Timberwolves. According to Joseph, the team’s priorities should be at point guard, and both forward spots.
The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) analyze the 2014 free agent class and where each player may end up.
In a separate article, the latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders has them split over who will be the first-overall pick–Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid.

Draft Notes: Jazz, Gordon, Ennis, Napier

June 3rd, 2014 at 8:41am CST by Chuck Myron

The Jazz aren’t looking at potential replacements for Gordon Hayward in the draft because the team is confident the soon-to-be restricted free agent will be back with Utah next season. That’s what Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin told reporters, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. It jibes with longstanding mutual interest between Hayward and the team, with a nod to the inherent control that clubs have over restricted free agents, but it also demonstrates the link between the draft and free agency. Both are on the horizon, so here’s the latest on the draft as prospects demonstrate what they can do for teams:

Monday’s Kings audition for Aaron Gordon didn’t really amount to a workout in the team’s eyes, notes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links). The power forward simply took a few shots and met with owner Vivek Ranadive and GM Pete D’Alessandro, according to Jones.
Tyler Ennis will work out for the Hawks, Hornets and Nuggets, notes Jonathan Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom.
Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds Shabazz Napier to the list of those working out for the Suns (Twitter link).
P.J. Hairston will perform for the Sixers next week, agent Juan Murrow tells Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
Russ Smith, Nick Johnson, Jahii Carson and Sam Dower are among the players showing off for the Raptors today, the team announced (on Twitter).
Artem Klimenko is working out for the Mavs, Heat and Clippers, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com.

And-Ones: Jackson, Hayward, Fisher

June 2nd, 2014 at 10:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Thunder guard Reggie Jackson made it clear that he wants to start and seems to want to do so at point guard, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Coach Scott Brooks was non-committal when asked about the possibility of adding Jackson, under contract through next season, to the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Thabo Sefolosha spoke of his time with the Thunder in the past tense and it seems likely that he’ll wind up elsewhere next season. More from around the league..

Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that the Jazz front office fully expects Gordon Hayward to be with the team going forward. Hayward is a restricted free agent this summer and there is mutual interest in a return.
The Lakers haven’t reached out to the Thunder about getting permission to talk to Derek Fisher just yet, but that could be subject to change, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Former Nuggets coach George Karl had an informal phone conversation with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak but has yet to have a formal interview, Medina tweets.
Marist announced the resignation of Jeff Bower, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press. That should be the first step towards him taking over as Pistons GM.
UCLA guard Jordan Adams was in Houston working out for the Rockets today, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
The Nuggets will host Rodney Hood for a private workout tomorrow, a source told Goodman of ESPN (on Twitter).
The Raptors will host Jordan Clarkson and Canadian Khem Birch for workouts tomorrow, sources tell Goodman (on Twitter).
A source told Goodman (on Twitter) that Elfrid Payton held his own in front of the Kings in a workout today against Marcus Smart. Aaron Gordon worked out for Sacramento but did not go head-to-head with Noah Vonleh. He instead matched up with Eric Moreland (link).
The Lakers will be very busy on Wednesday as they audition many of this year’s top prospects, as Goodman tweets. Among the names not previously reported are Payton, Gordon, Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, and Rodney Hood.