Will Barton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Russell, Fultz, Chriss

June 16th, 2017 at 9:03pm CST by Austin Kent

Eleven-time NBA champion Bill Russell will be honored with the NBA’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award, an Associated Press report states. The Hall of Fame center will be presented with the award during the NBA’s award show on June 26.

With five NBA MVPs to his name, the Celtics Hall of Famer is a living legend with an endless resume of historic achievements. Not only has Russell remained a visible representative of the Boston franchise and league in general’s sustained success, he lays claim to the title of being the first player to win an NBA title, an NCAA crown and an Olympic gold medal.

Per the Associated Press, Russell was also the first African American to coach a team in one of the major professional sports leagues.

Across 13 NBA seasons as a player, Russell averaged 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.

There’s more from around the NBA:

Quickly swept up in the excitement of a possible trade between the Sixers and Celtics is the fact that Markelle Fultz signed a multiyear shoe deal with Nike. Fultz announced the deal over Twitter.
Both Suns forward Marquese Chriss and Nuggets guard Will Barton will sign with Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets.
Although he had a meeting with Maccabi Tel Aviv, former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt will remain with his current Turkish League team Darussafka Dogus next season, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia writes.
Former Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni will be the new head coach of Liga ACB club Saski Baskonia, Dario Destri of Sportando relays. Prigioni had recently been linked to an assistant coaching position with New York.
The Clippers have hosted 2012 second-round pick Tornike Shengelia for a three-day workout, international basketball reporter David Pick tweets. Shengelia last saw action with the Nets and Bulls as a 23-year-old during the 2013/14 campaign. He currently plays for Saski Baskonia in Spain.

Nuggets’ Will Barton To Refuse Extension

April 30th, 2017 at 12:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

Nuggets swingman Will Barton will turn down a contract extension and become an unrestricted free agent in 2018, reports Chris Haynes of ESPN.com.

At age 26, Barton has blossomed into one of the league’s top sixth men, averaging 13.7 points per night and shooting 37% from 3-point range in 60 games this year. He will make a little more than $3.53MM in 2017/18 in the final season of a three-year contract.

The Nuggets expected Barton to test free agency and try to land a big contract in the prime of his career, Haynes adds.

The new collective bargaining agreement allows players on three-year deals to receive extensions starting on the second anniversary of the signing. Barton could have gotten a new deal starting at either 120% of his salary for 2017/18 or the average salary for next season, which is projected at about $9MM. Given 8% annual increases, Barton’s extension would have been valued at about $39MM over four years.

Haynes notes that Barton could be looking at much more, considering the contracts that were handed out to similar players last summer. The Trail Blazers matched a four-year, $75MM offer for Allen Crabbe and gave Evan Turner $70MM over four seasons. The Hawks re-signed Kent Bazemore for four years at $70MM. Barton has outscored each of them over the past two seasons.

Nuggets Notes: Barton, Trade Assets, Jokic

February 10th, 2017 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

Will Barton‘s per-minute production this season has dipped significantly when he hasn’t received regular and significant minutes, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post details. Barton has always said he’s the kind of player who gets better the more time he spends on the court, and his numbers have backed that up, so the Nuggets will have to find a way to take advantage of that while finding sufficient minutes for their other rotation players, writes Dempsey.

“It’s a balance of trying to find ways to get him more minutes,” head coach Mike Malone said of Barton. “And it’s not an easy one because Jameer [Nelson] has played well, Gary [Harris] has played well, [Danilo Gallinari] has played well, Jamal Murray – a guy that we believe is a big part of our future – I have to play him. I have to find ways so that when he comes back next year, his rookie season has not been a waste. So, therein lies the challenge of getting Will Barton more minutes when we are fully healthy. But that is something that we constantly talk about and are trying to figure out.”

Malone didn’t even mention Wilson Chandler, who would reportedly like to have a more defined role in the Nuggets’ rotation. The team’s problem of having too many solid players and not enough minutes to go around extends to the frontcourt, where the club has struggled to find consistent minutes for someone like Jusuf Nurkic.

A trade could help the Nuggets narrow down their rotation, and one of our additional items out of Denver relates to that subject. Let’s dive in…

Rival executives believe the Nuggets’ front office wants to be active at the trade deadline, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. As Kennedy outlines, few NBA teams have the combination of veterans, young players, future draft picks, and cap room that Denver possesses, which makes the Nuggets an interesting team to keep an eye on as the deadline approaches.
We have a full breakdown of the Nuggets’ cap situation for 2016/17 right here, including salary details on the team’s latest 10-day signings.
In a fascinating piece for Sports Illustrated, Lee Jenkins takes a closer look at the unusual path Nikola Jokic has taken over the last several years, from a second-round pick to a core piece for Denver’s long-term future.

Northwest Notes: Barton, Nurkic, Lillard, Rubio

January 24th, 2017 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets had been viewed as a potential seller at this season’s trade deadline, but with the race for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference wide open, the team’s approach to the trade market is a little less clear, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. It’s the first time in several years that Denver hasn’t headed into the trade deadline with a singular mindset, as Dempsey details.

Still, there are players on the Nuggets’ roster that could appeal to other teams as the deadline nears. Will Barton is one of those players, and Dempsey suggests Denver would have “no problem” landing a first-round pick for Barton. However, he has expressed interest in remaining with the Nuggets, and the team seems committed to keeping him.

The Nuggets are more amenable to a trade involving Jusuf Nurkic, since he hasn’t been thrilled with his role – or lack thereof – this season. According to Dempsey, Denver is “most certainly” seeking a first-round pick in a deal involving Nurkic, though realistically it would have to be a late first-rounder.

As Denver continues to weigh its options, here’s more from around the Northwest:

In a Q&A with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, Damian Lillard reaffirms his love for Portland, suggesting that he’d like to stick with the Trail Blazers for his entire career, if possible. “Obviously, with this being a business, people’s feelings change about players. And players’ feelings change about organizations,” Lillard said. “I don’t think mine will, though, because I really like where I am and where I live and stuff like that. But you just never know.”
Michael Rand of The Star Tribune proposes five realistic Ricky Rubio trade scenarios for the Timberwolves, including one involving Nurkic and the Nuggets.
Raul Neto, who has received several DNP-CDs this season, has been more involved the Jazz rotation lately, playing ahead of Shelvin Mack and sometimes Dante Exum, writes Mike Sorensen of The Deseret News. Neto has a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18, so his play this year may determine whether he sticks with the team for another year.

Will Barton Wants To Stay With Nuggets

December 22nd, 2016 at 6:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Will Barton is well aware of the trade rumors swirling around him and hopes the Nuggets retain him, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post reports.

Several teams have reportedly expressed interest in Barton, including the Wizards and Pelicans. The Nuggets were offered a first-round pick for him last year, but they declined, according to Dempsey.

Barton would prefer to stay put.

“They know I want to be here. It’s no secret,” he told Dempsey. “I want to be a part of this core that gets it right. I feel like we’re making huge strides. We’re right there, kind of fighting for that eighth seed. I feel like we’ve just gotten our team completely healthy, and I want to be part of that and they know that.”

Part of Barton’s appeal to other teams is his modest contract. He is making approximately $3.5MM this season and the same amount next season. He has been productive since returning from an ankle injury, averaging 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Barton’s name probably won’t come off the rumor mill any time soon. Denver has a logjam at shooting guard with Gary Harris and Jamal Murray also competing for minutes.

Barton does see a silver lining, according to Dempsey.

“Teams calling trying to check my availability means that I’m doing something right,” Barton said. “My body is still getting better. I feel like my game is getting better.”

Several Teams Interested In Will Barton

December 20th, 2016 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Wizards and Pelicans are among the teams to reach out to the Nuggets regarding the availability of Will Barton, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Haynes adds that the talks are simply exploratory at this point.

Barton is having a solid season, averaging 13.8 points and nearly a steal per game while making 36.8% of attempts from behind the arc. He missed 12 games earlier in the season because of an ankle injury, but he appears to be healthy at the moment.

The shooting guard started for the team in his first 13 games, but he was pushed back to the bench last week with Gary Harris returning to the lineup. In the three games since Harris returned, Barton has seen only 26.3 minutes per game, down from 31.6, which was his average while starting in Harris’ place. With Harris back and No. 7 overall pick Jamal Murray looming as the long-term option in Denver, Barton could see his further reduced as the season progresses.

Multiple teams reportedly offered the Nuggets a first-rounder in exchange for Barton over the summer, but Denver opted to keep the shooting guard. The 25-year-old is on a team-friendly deal, which pays him slightly over $3.53MM this season and the same figure during the 2017/18 campaign.

Western Notes: Walton, Barton, Jones

November 25th, 2016 at 8:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Durant shared his thoughts on the state of Lakers franchise, noting that Los Angeles’ collection of young talent reminds him of his early seasons with the Thunder, Mark Medina of The Orange County Register relays. “You can tell they enjoy playing with each other. You can tell [Lakers coach] Luke Walton has come over there and changed the culture a bit,” Durant said. “I’ve been on a team like that. You’re young and just want to go out there and have fun with the game with no expectations. You’re just playing. It did wonders for me at that age, being around a bunch of guys that were just as hungry as me and wanting to win. But when we lost games, we weren’t upset with ourselves. There weren’t any feuds. We knew it was a process.”

Durant continued to praise Walton, telling Medina, “They got great management, ownership and that seeps through the organization. It falls down to Luke Walton. Being here now, you can tell the atmosphere they have and how it’s the same. A lot of stuff we run, they run. A lot of things we do, they do over there with the Lakers. It starts with being in an environment where it’s about the players and it’s about wanting them to get better.”

Here’s more from out West:

Nuggets guard Will Barton is still experiencing discomfort in his ankle and is expected to miss an unspecified amount of time, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). The 25-year-old is considered day-to-day moving forward, the scribe adds. In six appearances for Denver this season, Barton is averaging 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 28.0 minutes per night to accompany a slash line of .367/.438/.808.
Warriors rookie Damian Jones is expected to make his debut for Golden State’s D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz this evening, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets. The late first-round pick has been out of action since undergoing surgery back in June for a torn right pectoral muscle, which he suffered during a weight-lifting session.
The Pelicans have been much improved since the return of Jrue Holiday, but much of the credit still goes to Anthony Davis, who has elevated his game to another level this season, writes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com.

Players With Incentive Bonuses For 2016/17

November 7th, 2016 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

According to Bobby Marks of The Vertical, there are 33 players around the NBA who can potentially earn incentive bonuses this season based on their own durability or performance, or based on how their team performs. Although Marks doesn’t identify all 33 players who have incentives included in their 2016/17 contracts, he discusses over half of them, passing along a number of interesting tidbits about those potential bonuses. Here are some of the highlights:

Minutes/games played bonuses:

NBA bonuses are deemed either “likely” or “unlikely,” using the previous season’s statistics as a benchmark, so if a player didn’t appear in many games during the previous year, a team can include a games-played benchmark and call it an unlikely incentive. For instance, John Henson‘s contract with the Bucks features incentives if he plays 60 games or 75 games this season. He appeared in just 57 contests in 2015/16, so neither of those marks is viewed as likely.

Miles Plumlee (Bucks), Luis Scola (Nets), Greivis Vasquez (Nets), and Deron Williams (Mavericks) are among the other players who have incentives in their deals for games played or started.

Individual statistic bonuses:

The Trail Blazers got creative with Maurice Harkless‘ new contract this summer, including an incentive bonus in the deal that can be triggered based if he keeps his three-point percentage above a certain level. Jeremy Lin, meanwhile, not only has a three-point percentage incentive, but also has bonuses linked to assists, turnovers, and threes and free throws attempted per 36 minutes.

Individual achievement bonuses:

Players like Bismack Biyombo (Magic), Evan Fournier (Magic), and Will Barton (Nuggets) have incentives related to their individual performances as well, but they’re related to awards and honors, rather than raw statistics. Biyombo gets a bonus if he makes the NBA’s All-Defensive team, Fournier gets some extra money for an All-Star appearance, and Barton would get $250K if he wins the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Of course, some of these incentives are more realistic than others. For instance, Thaddeus Young (Pacers) probably shouldn’t be counting on the $500K incentive bonus that he’d earn if he wins the league’s MVP award.

Team performance bonuses:

Several players, including Fournier, Jon Leuer (Pistons), and Joe Ingles (Jazz) have bonuses related to their teams making the playoffs. Many of those postseason incentives are tied to another condition. For example, for Taj Gibson to earn his bonus from the Bulls, he must appear in at least 60 games, play in at least 75% of Chicago’s playoff games, and average 25 or more minutes per game during the regular season.

Some players also have incentives linked to their teams’ win total, and once again, some are more attainable than others. For example, Nikola Mirotic could earn an extra $800K, but he’d need the Bulls to win 65+ games, so there’s a good chance his shot at that bonus will disappear about halfway through the season.

Be sure to check out the full breakdown from Marks for many more details on players who could earn incentive bonuses in 2016/17.

Nuggets Were Offered First-Round Picks For Barton

September 28th, 2016 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets have stockpiled an intriguing collection of young talent, with team president Josh Kroenke suggesting this week that he’s pleased with the direction of the franchise. According to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post, the club could’ve gotten even younger earlier this year, with teams offering the Nuggets their first-round picks for Will Barton. However, Denver opted to keep the 25-year-old.

It comes as no real surprise that Barton drew significant trade interest. The former second-round pick enjoyed a breakout season off the bench for Denver in 2015/16, averaging 14.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG, and his contract represents one of the biggest bargains among non-rookie deals in the NBA. He’ll make just $3.533MM annually in each of the next two seasons, which must have looked incredibly appealing to teams diving into the free agent market to find a wing player in July.

On the other hand, it makes sense that the Nuggets would want to hold on to Barton. Denver already held three first-round picks in this year’s draft, and ended up using all three top-20 selections to add players to its current roster. Adding yet another rookie to the mix wasn’t necessary for a team that’s already very young.

As for which teams might have been interested in Barton, Dempsey doesn’t identify specific clubs, but I suspect no teams with top-eight picks were offering up those selections. Based on Dempsey’s report, it’s also not entirely clear whether those trade inquiries came at the 2016 deadline or during the offseason — it’s possible the Nuggets received calls at both times of the year.

Will Barton Changes Agents

May 26th, 2016 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Less than a year after signing a three-year contract with the Nuggets, Will Barton has made a change to his representation. Agent Travis King of Relatively Sports tells HoopsHype (Twitter link) that he now represents Barton, who had been repped by Brian Elfus of Impact Sports Basketball, per our agency database.

Barton remains under contract for two more seasons after enjoying a career year in 2015/16. The 25-year-old played a career-high 28.7 minutes per game in his first full season in Denver, and was a key piece off the bench for the Nuggets, averaging 14.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.9 steals while appearing in all 82 games.

If he had inked a shorter-term deal last July, Barton would potentially be in position to cash in this summer, but his three-year pact ensures that he’s under team control through 2017/18, at a modest rate of about $3.53MM per season. I’m speculating, but it’s possible Barton isn’t thrilled with his contract situation, motivating his decision to make an agent change.

There’s little that King can do about Barton’s contract for now, but if Relativity’s new client continues to play at this level for the next two seasons, he’ll be in a good position to land a much larger deal in the summer of 2018. Unless Barton makes another change to his representation before then, King figures to negotiate that next contract.