Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers Sign Al-Farouq Aminu

July 9th, 2015 at 9:20am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 9TH, 9:20am: The deal is official, the Blazers announced.

11:48pm: Aminu confirmed the agreement with the Blazers on Twitter (h/t David Aldridge of NBA.com on Twitter).

JUNE 30TH, 11:29pm: Al-Farouq Aminu will sign a four-year, $30MM deal with the Blazers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The figure means that Portland will be using cap space unless it can engineer a sign-and-trade, and it also represents a significant raise on the minimum salary the forward made this past season.

The Mavs had been concerned that Aminu would land a lucrative offer, and so they were reportedly poised to try to convince him to sign a one-year deal that might have allowed him to further up his value. Blazers GM Neil Olshey drafted Aminu when he was with the Clippers, so he is quite familiar with the fifth-year player.

Aminu proved a valuable part of the Mavs rotation even as he recorded his fewest minutes (18.5) and points (5.6) per game since his rookie season. His 14.4 PER set a new career high, and ESPN ranks him sixth among small forwards this season in its Defensive Real Plus/Minus metric. He saw equal time at small forward and power forward, according to Basketball-Reference, and he’d rank seventh in Defensive Real Plus/Minus among players at the four. Even though he was mostly used in a reserve role in the regular season, he was featured more prominently during the playoffs. He started two of five postseason games against the Rockets, averaging 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 64% from 3-point range.

Aminu had visits scheduled with the Knicks, Celtics, Raptors, and Pelicans, but apparently the nationwide tour has been called off just minutes into free agency.

Western Notes: Cuban, Stoudemire, Aldridge

July 7th, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has fined Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban $25k for publicly confirming the team’s pending free-agent deals with DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Under league rules teams and players are allowed to strike verbal agreements on new contracts during July’s moratorium period, but team officials are not allowed to openly discuss those deals until July 9th, when the moratorium concludes, Stein adds. Cuban has accumulated over $2MM in league fines since becoming the Mavs’ owner back in 2000.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire is talking with the Clippers regarding a deal, but Los Angeles’ difficult salary cap situation is complicating matters, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays (on Twitter). The Clippers are also floating the idea of signing free agent center Cole Aldrich, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
Ed Pinckney will serve as the lead assistant on coach Michael Malone‘s staff with the Nuggets, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets.
LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t officially inform the Trail Blazers that he was leaving Portland until last Friday, though the team likely knew the forward wouldn’t be returning, Jason Quick of The Oregonian notes (via Twitter). The big man agreed to a four-year, and approximately $80MM deal with the Spurs.
Veteran Kevin Garnett may end up transitioning into a front office position during the second season of his new deal with the Wolves if he isn’t healthy enough to play in 2016/17, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes (on Twitter). KG agreed to a two-year pact with the team earlier today.
Despite all of the roster additions the Mavericks have made this offseason, the team still may have lost ground to the other teams in the West who have also improved, especially the Spurs, who landed Aldridge, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. But even if the team does regress in 2015/16, the additions of DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews give the franchise two important building blocks for the future, Sefko adds.

Northwest Notes: Butler, Lillard, Durant, Exum

July 5th, 2015 at 7:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:05pm: Butler told Jabari Young of CSNNW.com (Twitter link) that he would “love to be in Portland with the Blazers.”

1:21pm: Butler is no longer in the mix for Portland, a source tells Quick (Twitter link). The Blazers are prioritizing young players or guys with favorable contracts who have upside, Quick writes in the same tweet.

12:59pm: With their new-found cap space, the Blazers are interested in veteran forward Rasual Butler, reports Jason Quick of The Oregonian. The 36-year-old has been offered a contract, according to an unidentified source, but is not rushing to sign. He reportedly has interest from other teams, including the Spurs and Warriors. Butler, a 13-year NBA veteran, averaged 7.7 points and 2.6 rebounds with the Wizards last season. Portland, which is $26MM under the cap, has not reached out to free agent Gerald Green, Quick adds.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

The Blazers‘ Damian Lillard made several unsuccessful attempts to set up a meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge last week, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. Lillard tried to schedule something before leaving on a promotional trip to Paris, but Aldridge’s schedule was already filled with team meetings. They exchanged text messages, but Lillard knew by Friday night that Aldridge was leaving Portland.
The Thunder’s Kevin Durant will be the focus of next year’s free agent frenzy, but he tells Andy Vasquez of The Record that he has more immediate concerns. Multiple foot surgeries limited Durant to 27 games last year, and his goal is to be ready for next season. “I hear it all the time,” Durant said of free agency, “but I’m really just focusing on rehab and I can’t get there unless I take care of today.”
Durant is entering “Phase 3” of rehab and expects to be fully cleared for game action by August, writes Royce Young of ESPN.com. “We’re doing X-rays every two weeks, and it’s looking good,” he said. “So I’m excited to get back, man. There’s no pain, and looking forward to getting back.”
Jazz coach Quin Snyder has turned down several suggested trades involving Dante Exum, according to Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. “I believe in him,” Snyder told Utah GM Dennis Lindsey. “I believe in his makeup.” Exum struggled through his rookie season, especially with his shot, but team officials are seeing improvements in his game since he returned from his native Australia.

Spurs Rumors: Aldridge, Ginobili, Free Agents

July 5th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

It’s understandable that LaMarcus Aldridge would leave the chaos in Portland for a well-run organization like the Spurs, writes John Canzano of The Oregonian. The writer blames repeated turnover in the Blazers’ front office and a commitment to Damian Lillard over Aldridge for pushing the free agent forward out of town. Aldridge announced Saturday that he had accepted a four-year deal from San Antonio worth approximately $80MM, and Canzano writes that Aldridge’s refusal to meet with Lillard before making the decision was a sign of their fractured relationship.

There’s more news out of San Antonio:

The addition of Aldridge will cause the Spurs to intensify their push to get another year out of Manu Ginobili, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein writes that San Antonio needs him to return to solidify its depth. Ginobili will announce his decision through La Nacion, an Argentinian newspaper.
With plenty of roster work remaining, the Spurs had little time to celebrate the Aldridge decision, writes Mike Monroe of The Express-News. The salary cap may limit San Antonio to minimum contracts as it fills out its roster, although the team has a $2.814MM room exception available. The team dealt Tiago Splitter to Atlanta and lost free agents Marco Belinelli and Aron Baynes, but hasn’t yet renounced any of its free agents — Matt Bonner, Jeff Ayres, Cory Joseph and Reggie Williams. Monroe believes Bonner and Ayres may return next season, but Joseph, a restricted free agent, could get more money elsewhere. Free agent David West has been rumored to have interest in the Spurs, and Monroe sees Carlos Delfino, Luis Scola and Ray Allen as other possibilities.
It was an out-of-character gamble that brought Aldridge to San Antonio, contends Jeff McDonald of The Express-News. GM R.C. Buford had been preparing for this off-season for years, McDonald writes, timing contracts so that two-thirds of the roster would expire at the same time. That gave him the flexibility to offer a maximum deal to a big name like Aldridge.
Aldridge penned a letter to Blazers fans Saturday thanking them for their support, Canzano relays in a separate story. “As I’m sure you can respect, my decision was a very personal one but not one I took lightly,” Aldridge wrote. “Although I will be wearing a different uniform the next time I come back to Portland, please know that I will always hold my time in a Blazers uniform near and dear to my heart.”

Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Hughes, Kanter, Durant

July 4th, 2015 at 4:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Blazers will miss LaMarcus Aldridge‘s production but not his ego, writes Jason Quick of The Oregonian. Quick contends there was a “general exhaustion” with Aldridge in Portland, citing frequent attempts to sit out games with minor aliments and a failure to get over long-ago incidents. The columnist notes a growing rift between Aldridge and Damian Lillard caused by Aldridge’s insecurity. He also believes the Blazers are in good hands with Lillard as the new team leader.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Kim Hughes, the assistant coach who said Aldridge would leave Portland, was fired today, Quick writes in a separate story. “We can confirm Mr. Hughes is no longer with the team,” said Neil Olshey, Portland’s president of basketball operations. Team officials were reportedly “enraged” by the comments from Hughes, who has served as the Blazers’ big man coach for the past three seasons.
Aldridge admired the Spurs for years before today’s decision to join the organization, according to Ben Golliver of SI.com. Aldridge accumulated a slew of individual honors during his nine years in Portland, but only advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs once. That one trip to the second round ended with a sweep by San Antonio. “They never stop playing,” Aldridge said at the time. “If you guard their first option, they’ve got a second option. If you guard their second option, they’ve got a third option. They’re persistent. They’re not going to change. They’re going to run their stuff over and over and over. Once you mess up, they’re going to make you pay.”
The Aldridge decision could have far-reaching draft implications for the Blazers, according to Mike Tokito of The Oregonian (Twitter link). Portland owes a first-round pick to the Nuggets, but the Blazers will keep that over the next two seasons if they miss the playoffs. After that, the obligation will become two second-rounders.
Thunder free agent center Enes Kanter could become a target for the Blazers, tweets Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. He notes that Portland needs a center and has the cap space to throw a big offer at Kanter.
The Thunder’s Kevin Durant is reporting progress on the foot injury that cost him most of last season, according to Andy Vasquez of The Record (Twitter link). “Going well,” Durant said of his rehab. “I’m jumping when I’m shooting. Not quite running and cutting yet but I’m almost there … I’m excited.”
The Jazz are delaying the signing of first-round pick Trey Lyles to give themselves more cap room for possible transactions, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. There are also some minor details the sides are working out (Twitter link).

Western Notes: West, Matthews, Stoudemire

July 4th, 2015 at 10:12am CST by Eddie Scarito

Serbian big man Miroslav Raduljica is garnering interest from NBA teams, with the Kings being one potential suitor, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando notes (via Twitter). The 27-year-old made a cameo appearance for the Wolves last season on a 10-day deal, averaging 1.6 points and 1.0 rebound in 4.6 minutes per contest over five games. Raduljica is also mulling overseas offers as well, Carchia notes.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Trail Blazers never made a contract offer to free agent Wesley Matthews, who agreed to a four-year pact with the Mavericks on Thursday, Jason Quick of The Oregonian tweets.
The Clippers attempted to sign center Kendrick Perkins after he was waived by the Jazz last season, but the big man joined the Cavaliers instead, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). Los Angeles still has interest in the big man, which has likely increased in the wake of losing DeAndre Jordan to Dallas, Markazi adds.
There is mutual interest between unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire and the Clippers, Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs and Suns, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report tweets.
With a void in their frontcourt with the loss of Jordan, the Clippers are showing interest in unrestricted free agent David West, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays (Twitter link).

LaMarcus Aldridge Rumors: Friday

July 3rd, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

LaMarcus Aldridge checked in third when we did our last Free Agent Power Rankings in June, but he seems to have the league on a string now with LeBron James almost assuredly going back to Cleveland and Kawhi Leonard already reportedly committed to the Spurs. Aldridge reportedly met with the Lakers for a second time and the Heat for the first time Thursday, when he apparently canceled a meeting with the Knicks. We’ll use this post to track the client of Arn Tellem and Thaddeus Foucher today, with any new information added to the top:

The Spurs and the Suns have solidified themselves as the favorites to land Aldridge, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

11:45am update:

Spurs president/coach Gregg Popovich would like to have another meeting with Aldridge, and the team is confident that the power forward will choose San Antonio, as John Canzano of The Oregonian hears (Twitter links).

11:00am update:

Rival executives believe that Riley told Aldridge that he should sign a short-term deal if he goes elsewhere with the idea that the Heat would come calling again next summer, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

9:51am update:

The Spurs are in the lead for Aldridge, with the Suns second and the Mavs a “darkhorse of sorts” in third, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. The Lakers, Rockets and Raptors don’t seem to have moved any closer, Amick adds, having heard that the Heat‘s meeting with Aldridge was “much ado about nothing” other than a nice dinner.

8:45am update:

Aldridge is genuinely torn and will need some more time to decide, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The Spurs and Suns are the front-runners, the Blazers are trying for a Hail Mary, the Mavericks are still in pursuit, the Lakers are flailing and the Knicks are in the green room, as Shelburne succinctly puts it (on Twitter).
The meeting between Aldridge and Heat president Pat Riley went longer than expected Thursday, but the Texas teams (presumably meaning the Spurs and Mavs, though he’s met with the Rockets) remain out front for him, reports Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
The Lakers apologized to Aldridge for not giving him more of a basketball focus in their initial meeting, which was more than an hour old before GM Mitch Kupchak and coach Byron Scott spoke, according to Shelburne (Twitter link).
The presentation the Lakers made was a good one, but the team doesn’t believe Aldridge was wooed by it, sources tell Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

Latest On Wesley Matthews

July 2nd, 2015 at 11:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Mavericks, Raptors, and the Kings are all involved in discussions with unrestricted free agent Wesley Matthews regarding a long-term contract, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Matthews has made it clear that he is seeking a multiyear deal with average salaries of $15MM despite the fact that he’s only four months into his recovery from a torn left Achilles tendon, Stein notes. Dallas is extremely reluctant to meet Matthews’ asking price considering the frightening history of players who came back from torn Achilles tendons. The Mavs would want to sign Matthews to a deal with salaries in the $10-12MM range annually, the ESPN scribe adds.

Here’s more regarding the pursuit of Matthews:

Matthews’ camp has notified the Kings that he’s unlikely to accept their offer, making the Mavericks his probable destination, Stein relays (on Twitter).

9:42pm update

In an update to his report from earlier, Stein tweets that the Kings‘ offer to Matthews is for four years, and $64MM. This would amount to $16MM annually for the swingman, should he choose to accept the deal.

8:31pm update

The Kings‘ offer is said to be in the $45MM range over three years, Stein reports (Twitter links). The Mavs are the swingman’s preferred destination, Stein adds.

7:32pm update

Matthews met with the Kings earlier today, Sam Amick of USA Today relays (on Twitter).
Sacramento intends to make Matthews an offer that will be difficult for him to refuse, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (Twitter link).
The Mavericks are leery of the Kings landing Matthews, but hope that the swingman will hold off on his decision until he sees if free agent center DeAndre Jordan chooses to sign a pact with Dallas, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com notes (via Twitter).

Latest On LaMarcus Aldridge

July 2nd, 2015 at 9:48am CST by Chuck Myron

9:48am: Hughes, the Blazers assistant who said the team expected Aldridge to depart, has no knowledge of Portland’s free agent dealings, as The Oregonian’s Jason Quick hears (Twitter link).

8:29am: The Raptors did well in their meeting with Aldridge, but it’s unlikely he picks them, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.

THURSDAY, 8:22am: Blazers assistant coach Kim Hughes told WTHI-TV of Terre Haute, Indiana, on Tuesday that the team expected Aldridge to leave, as Mike Tokito of The Oregonian transcribes (video link; scroll ahead to 2:05 mark).

“Well, people don’t realize we just went young,” Hughes said. “We didn’t publicize it, but we lost LaMarcus Aldridge. It hasn’t been declared yet, but I’m sure he won’t come back. We will go young.”

5:22pm: The Suns have emerged as contenders along with the Spurs to land Aldridge, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.

3:53pm: The Blazers aren’t to be counted out for Aldridge yet, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who indicated in his last tweet that Aldridge was staying in touch with his incumbent team.

3:44pm: San Antonio impressed Aldridge the most, with the Rockets a close second, Wojnarowski hears (Twitter link).

3:36pm: The Lakers are out of the running for Aldridge, who disliked the basketball portion of the team’s presentation, Bresnahan reports (Twitter link). Aldridge was “floored in a good way” by Houston’s analytics and their on-court projections as he met with them, Bresnahan adds in a second tweet. Aldridge didn’t hear the answers he wanted to hear from Bryant during the Lakers meeting, Bresnahan also hears (Twitter link). Moreover, Aldridge wanted more of a basketball focus to the meeting, Wojnarowski tweets.

3:01pm: The Suns’ deal with Tyson Chandler piqued Aldridge’s interest, as USA Today’s Sam Amick hears. Phoenix wouldn’t have the cap space for both, so it would have to clear salary. Marc Stein of ESPN.com suggests that Portland might have interest in a sign-and-trade of Aldridge involving Eric Bledsoe, given that GM Neil Olshey drafted Bledsoe (Twitter links), though the latest report on Bledsoe indicates that the Suns will not deal him.

2:44pm: Aldridge won’t be re-signing with the Blazers, a source close to his situation tells Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling, identifying the Spurs, Lakers, Mavs and Rockets as front-runners (Twitter link). Still, the Spurs made a “powerful” presentation to Aldridge today and their status as the favorites remains unchanged, according to what Wojnarowski is hearing (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 12:11pm: The Spurs are the front-runners for LaMarcus Aldridge as they meet today, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, and some executives around the league are starting to think that the All-Star will sign with San Antonio, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). The Lakers didn’t make a strong impression on Aldridge in their meeting overnight, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), though Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com heard that it went “really well,” as we passed along earlier. Kobe Bryant told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that he also believed the meeting went well, but the Lakers star came away without a firm belief of what the notoriously fickle power forward would do (Twitter link). Aldridge was “engaged” but “noncommittal” in the meeting, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times hears (Twitter link).

San Antonio is meeting today with the client of Arn Tellem and Thaddeus Foucher, and the general feeling around the league is that the team’s deal with Danny Green and trade agreement that sends out Tiago Splitter and his salary are positives for the team’s pursuit of Aldridge, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (on Twitter). The Blazers are apparently unlikely to sign-and-trade Aldridge, so clearing cap room is key.

The Rockets, Suns, Mavericks, Raptors and Knicks are also on Aldridge’s list of meetings, as TNT’s David Aldridge reported. Aldridge’s meeting with Houston has apparently already happened, with the Rockets still seemingly unlikely to reel him in, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Wright, Asik, Crowder, Lin

July 1st, 2015 at 9:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In the wake of losing free agent big man Tyson Chandler to the Suns, the Mavericks reached out to center Brandan Wright, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com tweets. Wright, whom the team dealt as part of the package to acquire Rajon Rondo from the Celtics last season, agreed to a three year, $18MM deal with the Grizzlies earlier this evening. Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Pelicans are in discussions with free agent Omer Asik about the center re-signing with the team, John Reid of The Times Picayune tweets. Blazers‘ free agent big man Robin Lopez doesn’t appear to be an option for New Orleans at this point, Reid adds.
The Mavericks are intent on adding depth at point guard this offseason, and were one of the first teams to reach out to free agent Jeremy Lin, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter). Dallas has also touched base with Patrick Beverley, J.J. Barea, and Nick Calathes, Tim MacMahon tweets.
The Clippers and Mavericks are among the teams that have expressed interest in free agent point guard C.J. Watson, Kennedy relays (Twitter link).
The Mavericks and the Celtics are the frontrunners to sign free agent swingman Jae Crowder, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (via Twitter).
The Pelicans and Mavs have both been in contact with free agent forward Richard Jefferson, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays (on Twitter).
The Rockets are intent on re-signing Corey Brewer, and Houston was the first team to contact the swingman when the free agent signing period commenced, Kennedy tweets.
The Pelicans, Rockets, and Knicks have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent center Kendrick Perkins, Royce Young of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link).
Denver’s top priorities in free agency are to re-sign Jameer Nelson and Will Barton, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. The Nuggets are strong contenders for Nelson, and the general expectation is that they’ll keep Barton, as Dempsey details. The team would also like to re-sign Darrell Arthur but expects the Pistons, among others, to make a run at him, Dempsey writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.