Will Bynum Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics, Pistons Swap Joel Anthony, Will Bynum

October 17th, 2014 at 12:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics have officially sent Joel Anthony to the Pistons for Will Bynum, the teams announced in separate press releases. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com originally reported the deal (Twitter link). It’s a money-saving arrangement for Boston, as Forsberg points out (on Twitter), since Bynum’s salary of slightly more than $2.9MM is less than Anthony’s $3.8MM take. Both are in the final seasons of their respective contracts. Detroit and Boston have 16 fully guaranteed contracts apiece, so they make odd trade partners as the October 27th deadline for teams to pare down to 15 players looms, and the salaries for Anthony and Bynum are both fully guaranteed.

The swap helps the Celtics forge some breathing room beneath the $76.829MM tax threshold, as Forsberg alludes to in his full story, since the guaranteed money they have on the books leaves them only about $1.2MM shy of that line. Substituting Bynum for Anthony gives Boston about $2MM in flexibility beneath that threshold. The Pistons are under the cap and are in no danger of paying the tax, but their motivation is less clear. It’s conceivable that the acquisition of Anthony is related to other moves the team is seeking, since Detroit is reportedly interested in trading for Wolves small forward Chase Budinger. Sending Bynum away leaves the Pistons with just two point guards in Brandon Jennings and D.J. Augustin unless they intend to keep Lorenzo Brown‘s non-guaranteed deal.

The 31-year-old Bynum averaged 18.8 minutes per game across 56 appearances last season, but he didn’t figure to receive that much playing time again this season after the Pistons added Augustin in the offseason. Still, the veteran who’s spent the past six seasons in Detroit expressed pleasure with Stan Van Gundy last month, so it doesn’t appear that he’s pushed his way out of the Motor City. Bynum doesn’t figure to find many minutes to go around in Boston, either, with Rajon Rondo, Marcus Smart and Phil Pressey at his position, though he’d probably be in line for significant playing time if the Celtics trade Rondo without bringing in another point guard in return.

Anthony unsurprisingly exercised his player option this past summer to stay under contract after a season in which he played fewer than 200 total minutes. Anthony was an important defender off the bench for the Heat when Miami signed him to his five-year, $18.25MM deal in 2010, and he started the majority of the regular season for the Heat’s 2011/12 championship team, but his role shrank as Miami moved to a small-ball attack. The Heat sought to rid themselves of his salary when they sent him to Boston in a January trade, and Celtics coach Brad Stevens largely kept Anthony planted to the bench. The 32-year-old will be no better than third on the center depth chart behind Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe in Detroit, but he will at least provide some insurance with Aaron Gray out indefinitely with heart trouble.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Bynum, Alexander, Gibson

September 18th, 2014 at 7:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Will Bynum, who is now the longest-tenured member of the Pistons, couldn’t be happier with the arrival of Stan Van Gundy, writes Keith Langlois of NBA.com. “Stan is straightforward with me and in return I’m the same way,” he said. “I’m all business, all work when we’re here. I’m trying to be the first one in everything that we do, every single day, I’m the one challenging, talking, keeping the guys motivated and I’m trying to take on the leadership role. I’ve been here the longest. My character fits a leader because I’m always going to be the one that works the hardest. That’s what Stan is. Stan’s a worker. He’s a basketball guy, he’s on the court, and I’ve learned a lot just in the short amount of time being here.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

E’Twaun Moore is expected to provide the Bulls with backcourt depth, Adam Fluck of NBA.com writes. “E’Twaun is a young guard who we really like and he’s got a lot of potential,” said Chicago GM Gar Forman. “He’s shown that he’s got some versatility given he can play at both the one and two. He can also shoot the ball. We feel he’s absolutely our kind of guy—he’s a worker and we are confident he’ll be a good fit with our roster.” Moore also considered the Cavs and the Grizzlies before choosing the Bulls, Fluck notes.
With the signings of Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic the power forward position is getting crowded in Chicago. Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders believes the Bulls should consider dealing Taj Gibson since he might be more valuable as a trade asset since his minutes and production are likely to decline this season.
Former Bucks lottery pick Joe Alexander has auditioned for a number of NBA teams, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter link). Alexander has been out of the NBA since the 2009/10 season when he appeared in eight games for the Bulls.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Karasev, Barnes, Ilyasova, Pistons

February 19th, 2014 at 11:21pm CST by Alex Lee

Here is the latest coming out of the Eastern Conference’s Central Division on Wednesday night:

The Cavaliers have recalled rookie Sergey Karasev from the D-League, the team tweeted earlier tonight. Karasev returned to the Canton Charge for last night’s contest after being recalled to the NBA a week ago.
Despite a recent uptick in Harrison Barnes rumors, Zach Lowe of Grantland tweets that any buzz about the UNC product likely ending up in Cleveland is inaccurate for now.
Acting Cavaliers general manager David Griffin is a “breath of fresh air” in trade talks according to one opposing GM, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Griffin took over general manager duties after Chris Grant was fired earlier this month.
The asking price for Ersan Ilyasova is very high, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who adds that Bucks owner Herb Kohl believes the 6’10” Turk could eventually be a star. Ilyasova requested a trade from Milwaukee last week.
While the Pistons are hardly without their problems, things are pretty quiet on the trade front in Detroit, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Players like Charlie Villanueva, Will Bynum, Rodney Stuckey and Jonas Jerebko were thought to be on the block, but there has been next to no movement since the surprise firing of head coach Maurice Cheeks.

Eastern Notes: Bynum, Bobcats, Woodson

February 6th, 2014 at 10:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bobcats are going to be buyers at the trade deadline, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com. With the Bobcats having exceeded expectations this season, and with the overall weakness of the Eastern Conference, the team will try and bolster their roster for a playoff push. The team has been actively shopping Ben Gordon‘s expiring $13.2MM contract, and would be willing to part with a first-round pick for the right player. Charlotte will surrender their pick to the Bulls if it falls out of the top ten, but might still have two first-rounders in this year’s draft. They are owed the Pistons first-round pick (top-eight protected), as well as the Trail Blazers pick (top-12 protected). According to Kennedy, the Bobcats have already inquired about the Sixers Evan Turner, and the Bulls Taj Gibson.

Pistons Re-Sign Will Bynum

July 15th, 2013 at 10:48am CST by Zachary Links

JULY 15TH: The Pistons have made the Bynum signing official, the club announced today on Twitter.

JULY 8TH: The Pistons are set to re-sign Will Bynum, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal is worth $5.75MM in total over two seasons, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter).

Earlier today, we learned that Detroit put an offer out to the point guard and it would appear that both sides decided to move quickly towards an agreement. The 30-year-old has spent the last five years of his career with the Pistons and is coming off of a season in which he averaged 9.8 PPG and 3.6 APG in 18.8 minutes per contest.

Detroit has been targeting a number of free agent point guards, including Bynum, Jose Calderon (who has signed with the Mavs), and Chauncey Billups. The Knicks were also eyeing Bynum, but they'll have to look elsewhere for a one guard.

Renounced Players: Wednesday

July 10th, 2013 at 9:58pm CST by Luke Adams

As teams clear cap space to finalize signings and trades, it may mean renouncing Early Bird or Bird rights to their own free agents, in order to remove cap holds from the books. Once a player is renounced, his previous team has no more claim to him that any other team — he could still be re-signed, but it would have to be done using cap space or an exception. Some of those decisions are more notable than others, but for completion's sake, we'll track the latest of these cap-clearing moves right here:

Mo Williams is the most prominent name among the several whose rights the Jazz renounced today, according to the RealGM transaction log. Al Jefferson, DeMarre Carroll and Earl Watson, who already have deals to join other teams, are also on the list, as are the long-retired Brevin Knight and Greg Ostertag.
Bobcats are set to re-sign Josh McRoberts, but they won't be using their Early Bird rights to do so, as they've renounced his rights, RealGM shows. The team also renounced their rights to Reggie Williams, who's heading to the Rockets, and it cut ties with DeSagana Diop, Byron Mullens and Jannero Pargo, too.
Golden State will sign Jermaine O'Neal, so the Suns have renounced his rights, as well as their rights to Wesley Johnson and Diante Garrett, as RealGM notes.

Earlier updates:

The Hawks have cleared out unwanted cap holds from their books, renouncing their rights to Hilton Armstrong, Erick Dampier, Devin Harris, Dahntay Jones, Randolph Morris, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro, Josh Smith, and Etan Thomas, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.
RealGM.com also has the Trail Blazers renouncing multiple players, including Luke Babbitt, J.J. Hickson, Eric Maynor, and Nolan Smith.
Most interestingly, according to RealGM.com, the Bucks have renounced their rights to Monta Ellis. That doesn't necessarily preclude a sign-and-trade, but it would mean the team would have to use cap space rather than Ellis' Bird rights to accommodate a deal.
The Pelicans have renounced their rights to Louis Amundson, Xavier Henry, and Roger Mason Jr., the team announced today in a press release.
In order to clear cap room for their signings, the Pistons renounced Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, Vernon Macklin, Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiell, and Ben Wallace, according to RealGM's transactions log. The Pistons plan to re-sign Bynum, but removing his $6MM+ cap hold and signing him to a smaller figure using cap space makes the most sense.
After renouncing their rights to Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, the Clippers have also renounced Bobby Simmons, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.

Pistons Make Offer To Will Bynum

July 8th, 2013 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

Last week, we heard that the Pistons were considering a number of free agent point guards, including Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, and Chauncey Billups. Calderon has since agreed to sign with the Mavs and Billups continues to receive interest from a handful of teams, but according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter), the Pistons have an offer on the table for Bynum.

Despite committing a good chunk of their available cap space to a deal for Josh Smith, the Pistons still have room left over to hang on to Bynum's cap hold and make him a competitive offer. As Zwerling notes in his tweet, unless the veteran guard is willing to take a discount, an offer from the Pistons likely rules out the possibility of him joining the Knicks. Zwerling had written earlier today that Bynum was one of New York's targets, but the team could only offer a starting salary of up to $1.7MM, or the veteran's minimum.

Bynum, 30, has spent his last five seasons in Detroit, averaging 8.4 PPG and 3.3 APG in 282 total contests.

Atlantic Notes: Copeland, Knicks, Raps, Stevens

July 5th, 2013 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up the latest news, notes, and rumors out of the Atlantic Division….

Chris Copeland's agent John Spencer isn't ruling out his client returning to the Knicks, but he expects to receive offers starting at higher than $1.75MM. As Marc Berman of the New York Post writes, after committing a portion of their mid-level to Pablo Prigioni, the Knicks only have about $1.75MM left on their MLE. Using that remaining money on a power forward like Elton Brand is more likely than a Copeland reunion, according to Berman.
Assuming Copeland doesn't take less to remain in New York, the Pacers, Lakers, Jazz, and Nuggets are in play for him, according to Spencer.
Agent Andy Miller tells Berman that his client, Sebastian Telfair, would "consider the Knicks very strongly." New York is eyeing another point guard and has also been in touch with reps for Earl Watson, Will Bynum, Aaron Brooks, and Devin Harris.
The second year of the Raptors' agreement with Julyan Stone won't be fully guaranteed, says Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Smith notes within the same piece that it remains extremely unlikely Toronto uses its amnesty clause next week.
Celtics GM Danny Ainge had long targeted Brad Stevens as a potential replacement for Doc Rivers, as Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe writes (subscription required). Ainge himself confirmed at this morning's press conference that Stevens was his first phone call after the Rivers transaction, tweets Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.

Pistons Considering Will Bynum, Calderon, Billups

July 4th, 2013 at 10:11pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News writes that the Pistons will explore their free agent options next week with Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, and former NBA champion Chauncey Billups. While the notion of bringing back both Bynum and Calderon to Detroit may seem far-fetched, Goodwill reports that the team will explore both options and that it isn't necessarily an either/or proposition.

Billups, who at once had a strained relationship with Joe Dumars following his trade to Denver in 2008, had reportedly buried the hatchet with Dumars recently and could serve as a veteran leader on a fairly young Pistons squad if signed. Not to mention that Rasheed Wallace had been in talks to join Detroit's coaching staff last week, which could only entice the soon to be 37-year-old point guard to reunite with his former teammate. Though Billups had some setbacks with injuries in recent years, we heard earlier today that he still plans to play for at least two more seasons.

We've covered Calderon quite a bit today, though as it relates to this scenario, the fact that he shares the same agent as Bynum could be a factor should the Pistons decide to try keeping them both. While Bynum has drawn interest from the Knicks and Bulls, the Pistons should still have the ability to make the most competitive financial offer with their ample cap room.

FA Updates: Brown, Oden, Iguodala, Pistons

July 2nd, 2013 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

We passed along a few free agent updates this morning, but while that may have been our first round-up of free agency notes for the day, it certainly won't be the last. Here's another set:

Euroleague standout Bobby Brown is drawing plenty of interest from teams on both sides of the Atlantic, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Stein names the Knicks, Clippers, and Trail Blazers as potential NBA suitors for Brown, while noting that he also has "multiple big offers" to continue playing overseas.
One source tells Stein (Twitter link) that the Spurs and Heat are likely in the lead ahead of the Cavs and other teams for Greg Oden, though that list could continue to evolve, given the complexities of his comeback.
The Warriors, who had previously been named as a potential suitor for Andre Iguodala despite a lack of cap flexibility, met with the free agent swingman yesterday, says Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Pistons are talking to agent Mark Bartelstein about bringing back free agent point guard Will Bynum, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The team has also talked to Bartelstein about Jose Calderon, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
Although talks aren't serious at this point, the Timberwolves have exchanged text messages with Andrei Kirilenko's camp, a source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).