Tyus Jones Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Malone, Leonard, Jones

December 22nd, 2015 at 8:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry declined to discuss how much contact he had with the Nuggets over the summer regarding Denver’s then open coaching position, which ultimately went to Michael Malone, but firmly believes the franchise made a good choice in its hire, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “They got themselves a really, really good coach, a guy that works his butt off,” Gentry said. “I don’t think there’s anybody out there that works any harder [than Malone] or understands the game. He’s been around it his whole life. So, I think they did great.“

Malone noted that Emmanuel Mudiay‘s recent ankle injury is related to the injury the rookie sustained while playing in China last season, Dempsey adds. When asked when Mudiay might return to game action, Malone said, “We trust our athletic training staff to tell us when he can get back on the floor to start practicing. And then obviously he’ll have to get through a practice before he can play in a game. To be honest, I think he’s probably a little ways away from that. So we’ll be cautious. It’s an injury he sustained while in China, and it’s kind of come back a little bit.“

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The reports that Blazers big man Meyers Leonard was offered and turned down a four-year, $60MM extension from the team are “grossly inaccurate,” according to Jason Quick of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). Leonard is eligible to become a restricted free agent next summer provided Portland extends him a qualifying offer worth $4,210,880.
The Timberwolves have recalled point guard Tyus Jones from the Idaho Stampede, the team announced. The rookie had been with the Jazz’s D-League affiliate since December 5th as part of the league’s flexible assignment program.
The Grizzlies have assigned James Ennis, Jarell Martin and Russ Smith to their D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced. This will be Ennis’ fifth stint with the Energy and the second for both Martin and Smith.

Western Notes: Howard, Harkless, Jones

December 17th, 2015 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the reports that he is unhappy playing second-fiddle to James Harden, Rockets center Dwight Howard insists that he’s committed to the team and disputes any notion that he’s projecting negativity that is affecting his teammates, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays. “The one thing that I don’t want to happen is people to assume that because things are not going quite well for us that I’ve quit on the team and take away from all the positive things we have done, despite the loss, making the city feel like they’re unwanted,” Howard told Feigen. “There’s a lot of negativity going around. I haven’t caused it. I haven’t said anything negative to anybody about this team or this situation. I’ve just been trying to find ways to make this situation better, trying to grow as a man, as a basketball player. You just try to laugh at it. I don’t want to go out and persecute the people that persecute me. That’s the hardest part. The first reaction is to go back at them. You just have to respond with love.”

Here’s more from out West:

Wolves rookie point guard Tyus Jones has been assigned to the D-League since December 5th, and he is expected to return to the team after the Idaho Stampede’s game on Saturday, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune relays (Twitter links). The reason that Jones will be recalled this weekend is due to Idaho not having another scheduled contest until after Christmas, Zgoda adds.
Maurice Harkless has been struggling thus far this season, his first with the Blazers, but coach Terry Stotts thinks it would be unfair to make any judgments on the young swingman with so much of the 2015/16 campaign left to play, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes. “It takes time,” Stotts said. “That’s why this season is a season of growth for everybody. I think it’s difficult to assess [his play] a third of the way in as far as road blocks and things like that. I think it’ll come and I think too many times players are evaluated by their box score. I think he’s doing his best to fit in the best he can.“
The Kings have assigned power forward Duje Dukan to the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Dukan’s fourth jaunt to Reno on the season.

And-Ones: Jones, All-Stars, Draft Picks, Inglis

December 5th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves have assigned rookie point guard Tyus Jones to the D-League, the team tweeted tonight. The former Duke star was drafted 24th overall by the Cavaliers in June and then shipped to Minnesota in a draft-night trade. He has played just 14 minutes in two games with the Wolves, with 1 point, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Minnesota officials had previously announced their intention to have Jones spend part of the year in the D-League to get more playing time. Jones will be sent to the Idaho Stampede, the affiliate of the Jazz. Wolves GM Milt Newton will address the situation Sunday, according to a tweet from the team.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Pistons center Andre Drummond heads a list of most likely first-time all stars compiled by Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. With Drummond averaging more than 18 points per game and leading the league in rebounds, Brigham considers the fourth-year center a shoo-in for the February 14th contest in Toronto. Potentially joining him from the Eastern Conference are Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, the Hornets‘ Kemba Walker, the Celtics‘ Isaiah Thomas and the Heat’s Hassan Whiteside. Brigham’s five picks for the Western squad are the Warriors‘ Draymond Green, the Spurs‘ Kawhi Leonard, the Suns‘ Eric Bledsoe and/or Brandon Knight and the Jazz’s Derrick Favors.
LSU’s Ben Simmons looks like the clear No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, Brigham writes in a separate story analyzing the top six contenders for that honor. Brigham cites the Australia freshman’s versatility on offense, where he possesses the skills of a point guard but the 6’10” frame of a power forward. Also on Brigham’s list are Kentucky freshman Skal Labissiere, California freshman Jaylen Brown, Duke freshman Brandon Ingram, Providence junior Kris Dunn and Utah sophomore Jakob Poeltl.
The Bucks recalled Damien Inglis from the Canton Charge of the D-League, tweets Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He was sent to Canton on November 22nd.
The Raptors recalled Bruno Caboclo and Delon Wright from Raptors 905, the team tweeted today. Neither was active for today’s game with the Warriors.

Northwest Notes: Jones, Gallinari, Donovan

September 30th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Timberwolves will consider sending Tyus Jones to the NBA D-League this season in order to get the rookie more playing time, Marcus R. Fuller of The Pioneer Press writes. The decision will come down to whether or not the team believes it can get Jones enough playing time to properly develop, Fuller adds. “We haven’t really used [the D-League] in the past, and that’s something we’re trying to rectify,” GM Milt Newton said. “If there’s an opportunity for us to use the D-League, we will do that, with Tyus especially. But it can be a position where you send him to the D-League and he plays only 14, 15, 20 minutes a game, which was the situation last year. For us, we wanted to utilize the D-League. But the team we were associated with, they couldn’t guarantee that our guys would get the minutes that we felt they needed to develop, and so we felt it was better to keep our players here and let [them] practice and get developed from our coaching staff. If we can fix that situation, while we’re in the situation without a D-League team, that’s a decision we’ll have to make.” Jones was the No. 24 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Danilo Gallinari, who agreed to a renegotiation and extension of his contract this offseason, wants to remain with the Nuggets for his entire NBA career, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. “I was just glad to stay in Denver,” Gallinari said. “That was my goal. If you see my history with contracts, it’s never been about money because if it was about money I would have made other choices. But I love Denver and I want to stay here as long as I can. I would like to finish my career here. I was glad we were able to sign this contract.”
New Thunder head coach Billy Donovan says he has been humbled by the reception he has received from the community and fans of the team since being hired back in April, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. “The community has been really remarkable in terms of helping myself, helping my kids, my wife adjust. Very very grateful for all the help that so many lended, reached out, to make this a smooth transition,” said Donovan.
This season will likely be the final one for Jazz point guard Trey Burke to establish himself as a starter in the league, writes Brad Rock of The Deseret News. With projected starter Dante Exum undergoing surgery on the ACL in his left knee that may cause him to miss the entire season, Utah will need Burke to step up his game if the team is to have a shot at the playoffs this season.
The Trail Blazers elected to exercise their team option for Chris Kaman for the 2015/16 season, a move that pleased the veteran big man despite the franchise entering a rebuilding phase, Casey Holdahl of NBA.com writes. “First of all, I was happy to have the opportunity to come back here again because obviously that was something in question,” said Kaman. “I’m grateful to be back here. Even if it’s a rebuilding season and we’re able to make the playoffs or skirt at the edge there and be somewhere at the end of the season where we’re having a great opportunity, I’m happy to be here.”

Northwest Notes: Kanter, Arthur, Miller, Pekovic

September 29th, 2015 at 12:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Enes Kanter hoped to stay with the Thunder even as he signed an max offer sheet with the Trail Blazers this summer, creating a tense three days before the Thunder matched, notes Erik Horne of The Oklahoman.

“The three days was definitely tough, because I really wanted to be here,” Kanter said. “That three days was really tough, really difficult. I never experienced anything like that before. In the end, it worked out. [I’m] really happy to be here. It’s really nice [to have] your team’s trust in you. It means a lot.”

See more from the Northwest Division:

Darrell Arthur nearly left for the Clippers this summer before ultimately deciding to re-sign with the Nuggets, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter links). “I was pretty close. It was a tough decision to make,” Arthur said. “But with this [Nuggets] team I felt that I could possibly make a difference in trying to help this team make it to the playoffs.” The money couldn’t have hurt, either, as Arthur received a two-year deal worth almost $5.755MM from Denver, about $3.08MM more than the two-year minimum salary offer that the Clippers were limited to.
Andre Miller visited the Bulls in free agency before signing with the Timberwolves this summer, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).
Nikola Pekovic said he’ll miss roughly the first month of the season, but the Timberwolves expect Ricky Rubio will be healthy enough to play on opening night, even though he’s not quite 100% yet, observes Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press.
Timberwolves GM Milt Newton expressed a desire to use the D-League more often this season, pointing to No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, but the GM said he’d want the point guard to go to a D-League team that would give him some playing time, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune relays (on Twitter). The Timberwolves, who don’t have a D-League affiliate and would have to send Jones on assignment with another team’s D-League club, haven’t made progress toward their own D-League partner, Zgoda notes.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey expressed optimism about his point guards on Monday, jibing with earlier reports that the team is content for now even without the injured Dante Exum, but he wouldn’t rule out spending to acquire another point guard if the performance at that position is lacking, notes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links).

Wolves Sign Tyus Jones

July 7th, 2015 at 9:04am CST by Will Joseph

TUESDAY, 9:04am: The deal is official, the team announced (on Twitter).

SUNDAY, 11:17pm: The Wolves signed No. 24 pick Tyus Jones, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link). The team hasn’t made any formal announcement, but Jones put pen to paper days ago, according to Wolfson.

Judging from the standard 120% of the rookie scale, Jones can expect to earn $1,282,080 the first year, $1,339,680 in year two, $1,397,400 the third year, and $2,444,053 during the final season.

The Wolves acquired Jones, a Minnesota native, from the Cavaliers. Jones, who has solid floor vision and leadership skills, was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four this year at Duke. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors profiled Jones and described him as “quite possibly the best pure point guard in this year’s draft.”

Wolves Notes: Hummel, Garnett, Jones

June 28th, 2015 at 1:03pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wolves have extended a qualifying offer to Robbie Hummel worth slightly less than $1.15MM, according to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press (Twitter link). President of basketball operations Flip Saunders previously indicated he would like to bring back the forward. Hummel scored 4.4 points in 16.5 minutes per game while shooting 45.9% from the field this season.

Here’s more from Minnesota:

It has yet to be announced, but Kevin Garnett will “definitely” re-sign with the Wolves, Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press reports. Walters also adds that Saunders will “definitely” return as the coach, which confirms a previous report. Garnett only played five games for Minnesota after being traded for Thaddeus Young. The 39-year-old will get a chance to mentor the team’s young talent, including Karl-Anthony Towns, which is something the No. 1 overall pick is looking forward to.
If the Wolves weren’t able to strike a deal with the Cavs for Tyus Jones, the team would have looked to add a point guard after July 1st, Walters writes in the same piece. “Then we would have had to go and sign somebody in free agency,” Saunders said.
Had the draft day trade not occurred, the Grizzlies would have chosen the Duke product with the No. 25 pick, sources tell Walters.

Wolves Acquire Rights To Tyus Jones From Cavs

June 26th, 2015 at 12:27am CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:26pm: The deal is official, both teams have announced. It’s Minnesota’s own 2019 second-round pick going to Cleveland, the Timberwolves note.

THURSDAY, 9:26pm: The Timberwolves will acquire the rights to Tyus Jones from the Cavaliers, who are drafting him at No. 24, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Cavs are getting picks Nos. 31 and 36, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter). Cleveland will also receive a 2019 second-rounder, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).

It’s a homecoming for Jones, a Burnsville, Minnesota native who was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four this year at Duke. His floor vision and leadership make him an intriguing prospect, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors examined in his Prospect Profile.

Jones represents a cap hold of $1,068,400, and he’ll likely receive 20% more on his rookie scale contract. Clearing him for a pair of second-round picks that don’t count against the cap until they’re signed helps Cleveland keep its costs low as the team reportedly contemplates a payroll of $100-110MM, plus another $75MM or so in luxury taxes.

Western Rumors: Lakers, Russell, Warriors

June 25th, 2015 at 1:13pm CST by Zachary Links

League sources tell Jake Fischer of SI (on Twitter) that the Lakers were always going to select whoever was available between Karl Towns and Jahlil Okafor at No. 2. The guards they worked out, like D’Angelo Russell, were only brought in as a smokescreen, according to those sources. However, with so much talk about Russell being the pick at No. 2 today, it’s hard to say what their intentions are. Here’s more from the West on one of the NBA calendar’s craziest days..

Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter) heard that one team’s asking price to take David Lee‘s contract off the Warriors‘ hands was Harrison Barnes and the No. 30 pick. As Thompson writes, Warriors management probably laughed that offer off.
At this stage, the Warriors are not working to move Lee’s contract, Jake Fischer of SI tweets. At this point, their looking to move up in the first round, though it’s not clear who their target is. The Warriors own the No. 30 pick in the draft.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will have the final say on what the team does with the pick, assuming they keep it, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who spoke with a person familiar with the situation. The GM will receive input from team executive Jim Buss, Lakers scouting director Jesse Buss, and other scouts, but the last call will be his.
The Timberwolves are looking to acquire an additional first-round pick, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
The Rockets have had trade discussions with the Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. Houston likes Ricky Rubio, but Wolfson says that it’s hard to see a match there. However, if the Wolves do move to No. 18, Tyus Jones is probably atop their target list (link). Meanwhile, there have been no talks yet between the Wolves and Mavs, who own the No. 21 pick (link).
The Blazers have internally discussed options to grab Kristaps Porzingis since his ASM pro day, Jake Fischer of SI tweets.

Nuggets Rumors: Draft Deals, Winslow, Nori

June 22nd, 2015 at 7:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets might add another first-round pick via a trade, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post reports. The Nuggets have some movable pieces that could land them another pick later in the lottery after they select at No. 7, Dempsey continues. There’s a good chance the Nuggets will make at least one move this week, since GM Tim Connelly told Dempsey that he will be proactive during draft night. “We want to be aggressive,” Connelly said. “We’re looking at any and all scenarios, and we’ve already proactively made a lot of those calls. We’ll see what we can do to make it interesting and hopefully give Coach [Michael Malone] the best team possible.”

In other Nuggets news:

The club would have to create a space, probably through a trade, to fit in Justise Winslow if they draft him, Dempsey adds in a separate piece. The Duke swingman could play shooting guard at times but he’s a natural small forward, Dempsey continues. The team already has Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler at that spot. Winslow’s ability to run the floor and defend his position would make him a good fit with a defensive-minded coach like Malone, Dempsey concludes.
Tyus Jones’ workout with the Nuggets today will be his last before the draft, as he tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities as part of a larger Q&A session with the Minnesota native.
Malone will hire away assistant coach Micah Nori from the Kings, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets. Malone was fired as Sacramento’s head coach in December. Nori was previously an assistant with the Raptors, Aldridge adds.