Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Maxey, Oubre, Mann

October 27th, 2023 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

After earning Most Valuable Player honors in 2022/23, what sort of individual goals does Joel Embiid have for the ’23/24 season? According to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required), the Sixers‘ star center wants to make a case for Defensive Player of the Year and would like to become more of a play-maker in Nick Nurse‘s offense.

“Make those passes and making it easy for everyone else,” Embiid said. “I think, this whole year, that’s going to be my big focus — to just try to get as many assists and trying to get my teammates involved as much as possible. … I never liked just being an [isolation] player. I don’t think that’s the right way to play, and I don’t feel that’s the right way to win. I like this system.”

Embiid’s season got off to a slow start on Thursday in Milwaukee, recording more turnovers (seven) than assists (six) in a game the Sixers lost by a single point, prompting Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer to suggest that the big man looked like the player most affected by James Harden‘s absence.

However, there were some encouraging signs in the road loss, Pompey notes. Tyrese Maxey looked excellent as Philadelphia’s new starting point guard in Harden’s stead, racking up 31 points and eight assists, while minimum-salary free agent addition Kelly Oubre scored 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting (5-of-6 three-pointers).

Here’s more on the 76ers:

Following up on The Philadelphia Inquirer’s recent report about the Knicks‘ interest in Embiid, Ian Begley of SNY.tv hears from sources that the MVP’s desire to remain in Philadelphia hasn’t changed. As for the reported package that New York is willing to part with for Embiid, one source tells Begley that the Sixers and people close to Embiid “didn’t take it seriously.”
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Sixers officials learned that the Clippers made Terance Mann available during their efforts to acquire Jrue Holiday from the Trail Blazers, which is one key reason why Philadelphia has insisted on having Mann be part of any package for Harden.
In another article for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mizell takes a look at the work Maxey put in ahead of the season to prepare himself to take over the 76ers’ lead guard role, with Harden’s status up in the air. “My confidence is really high,” Maxey said. “I feel like, mentally, I prepared for whatever it is.”
Kyle Neubeck of All PHLY makes 10 Sixers-related predictions for the coming season, forecasting another 50-win year, a P.J. Tucker trade, and a 25+ point-per-game season for Maxey. Neubeck also predicts that Harden will end up playing no more than 10 more games for Philadelphia.

Northwest Notes: McDaniels, Simons, Henderson, Jazz

October 25th, 2023 at 7:45pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels‘ five-year, $131MM+ extension features an ascending structure, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). McDaniels will make $22,586,207 in 2024/25, when the extension begins, and his salary will rise to $29,813,790 by ’27/28, the final season of the deal.

McDaniels’ extension also features a total of $5MM in bonuses that are currently considered unlikely. Those incentives are tied to making one of the two All-Defensive teams or winning Defensive Player of the Year, according to Marks.

As Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes, McDaniels celebrated his new contract by eating a “whole basket” of breadsticks at Olive Garden.

“I was just super excited and just happy that it was able to get done,” McDaniels said. “I just thank (president of basketball operations) Tim (Connelly) and all the owners for the opportunity and believing in me. It’s a life-changing thing. It’s hit me, but it hasn’t hit me all the way yet. I’m just excited to be able to stay here longer and continue to play as a Timberwolf.”

Unfortunately, McDaniels will miss Minnesota’s season opener on Wednesday in Toronto due to a left calf strain suffered in preseason, the Wolves announced in a press release. The 23-year-old is considered day-to-day with the injury.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Anfernee Simons now has an esteemed spot in the Trail Blazers‘ locker room and it’s a position he doesn’t take for granted, he tells Jason Quick of The Athletic, who profiles the young guard’s journey to reach this point. “I don’t want to think too much about it, but at the same time, I have a sense for what it means,” Simons said. “Now I’m up in that pecking order, so there is a sense of confidence that comes with that.” Simons has taken on the challenge of becoming a better and more consistent defender in 2023/24, Quick writes.
Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick in June’s draft, has made an immediate impact on the Trail Blazers, and he has lofty goals for the future, according to Quick of The Athletic. “I’m on a different mission than anybody else,” Henderson said. “My mission is to create something huge here. Create something really special with the talent here, and the talent that hopefully stays, especially with the young group we have with Anfernee. I’m trying to build something special here.”
Oddsmakers have only given the Jazz a projected win total of 35.5 games this season, though 55.5% of our readers took the over on that figure. What will it take for them to reach the postseason? Tony Jones of The Athletic explores that topic, listing four things to watch for Utah to achieve that goal, including the emergence of a reliable point guard.
In a pair of similar articles for The Deseret News, Sarah Todd writes that 2023/24 should be viewed as a failure if the Jazz don’t at least make the play-in tournament. All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen has made it clear that he wants to reach the playoffs for the first time in his career, and CEO Danny Ainge is on board with that goal, according to Todd. “We want to be in the playoffs,” Ainge said on Tuesday. “Let’s get there. I want to be in the playoffs too, Lauri. Let’s go.”

Three Players On Exhibit 9 Contracts Make Opening Night Rosters

October 24th, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Luke Adams

As we explain in a glossary entry, Exhibit 9 contracts are generally handed out by NBA teams to players who will only be with the team during training camp and/or the preseason.

The Exhibit 9 clause protects the team in case the player suffers an injury before the season begins. In that scenario, the club wouldn’t have to pay him his full salary until he gets healthy enough to play — it would only have to pay a maximum lump sum of $15K when it waives the player.

While most Exhibit 9 signees were released in advance of the regular season, three NBA veterans who signed Exhibit 9 contracts survived the cut and made their respective teams’ regular season rosters. Here are those three players:

Ryan Arcidiacono (Knicks)
Harry Giles (Nets)
Lamar Stevens (Celtics)

Note: Hornets guard Edmond Sumner was initially included in this list, but Charlotte waived him on Tuesday ahead of its season opener.

These three players will now be on one-year, minimum-salary contracts that will remain non-guaranteed until January 10. In order to secure their full-season salaries, they’ll have to stay under contract beyond January 7 (a player cut on Jan. 8 or 9 wouldn’t clear waivers prior to the league-wide salary guarantee date of Jan. 10).

As our list of non-guaranteed contracts by team shows, Arcidiacono, Giles, and Stevens are three of the 31 players on standard deals whose salaries for the 2023/24 season aren’t fully guaranteed.

Several of these players will receive partial guarantees by remaining on rosters through the start of the regular season, and a few more have November or December trigger dates that will increase their guarantees. However, none of those 31 players will lock in their full salary until Jan. 10.

Here are a few more items of interest about the NBA’s opening night rosters for ’23/24, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link):

The Spurs have the NBA’s youngest roster, while the Clippers have the oldest.
Players are earning a combined total salary of $4.8 billion for the 2023/24 season. The Celtics, Nuggets, Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Bucks, Pelicans, Sixers, and Suns are the biggest contributors to that pool, as they’re all currently over the luxury tax line.
As our roster counts page shows, there are 12 open spots on standard 15-man rosters around the NBA. Those openings belong to the Celtics, Bulls, Cavaliers, Pistons, Warriors (two), Lakers, Heat, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, and Kings.
The Nets and the Suns are the only two teams that haven’t filled all three of their two-way slots, as our tracker shows. They’re each carrying a pair of two-way players, meaning 88 of the 90 spots around the league are occupied.

Blazers Re-Sign Duop Reath To Two-Way Contract

October 23rd, 2023 at 5:14pm CST by Luke Adams

5:14pm: The Blazers have officially signed Reath and waived Badji, according to the opening night rosters announced by the NBA (Twitter link).

4:36pm: After being waived by the Trail Blazers on Saturday, center Duop Reath is returning to the team on a two-way contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Reath, 27, has played overseas since going undrafted out of LSU in 2018, spending time with teams in Serbia, Australia, China, and Lebanon over the last five years. Reath averaged 13.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in five games for Portland’s Summer League team in July, then represented Australia in the 2023 World Cup, starting at center for the Boomers.

Although Reath was on a training camp contract with the Blazers this month, his deal only included Exhibit 9 language, not an Exhibit 10 clause, so he was ineligible to be converted directly to a two-way deal. Portland had to put him through waivers in order to re-sign him to a two-way contract.

According to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link), another big man, Ibou Badji, will be waived to open up a two-way slot for Reath.

Badji, 21, spent much of last season on a two-way contract with Portland, though he didn’t appear in an NBA regular season game.

A 7’1″ Senegalese center with a 7’9″ wingspan, Badji played in Spain from 2019-22 and joined the Wisconsin Herd (the Bucks’ G League affiliate) to begin the 2022/23 campaign after going undrafted last year. He joined the Blazers last November and signed a second two-way contract with the team this July.

Blazers Claim Ish Wainright Off Waivers, Cut Two Players

October 21st, 2023 at 4:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers have claimed forward Ish Wainright off waivers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Portland is waiving another forward, Kevin Knox. The Blazers are also releasing big man Duop Reath, per Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link).

The Suns cut Wainright on Thursday due to their roster crunch — they had 17 players on standard contracts and could only carry 15 on their regular season roster. Wainright’s 2023/24 salary was non-guaranteed, making him a logical odd man out.

Phoenix reportedly had interest in bringing back Wainright, perhaps on a two-way deal, but the club won’t get the chance to do so, as the Trail Blazers will take on his non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract. The 29-year-old’s salary won’t become fully guaranteed unless he remains under contract through January 7, so Portland has some time to assess his fit before making a final decision on whether to keep him for the season.

Wainright appeared in 60 games for the Suns last season, averaging 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per night. His shooting line was .370/.329/.839.

The ninth overall pick in the 2018 draft, Knox finished the season with Portland in 2022/23, averaging 8.5 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 21 games (17.1 MPG). However, when he re-signed with the club over the summer, he only received a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, so he was never assured of a regular season roster spot.

Reath was part of Portland’s Summer League team, averaging 13.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in five games, and represented Australia in the 2023 World Cup. He has played overseas since going undrafted out of LSU in 2018, spending time in Serbia, Australia and China.

According to Highkin, both Knox and Reath are candidates to remain in the organization, perhaps with the Rip City Remix, the Blazers’ G League affiliate. However, Reath’s contract didn’t include an Exhibit 10 clause, so of the two, Knox seems more likely to end up with the Remix.

The Blazers now have 14 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals. They could add one more player before Monday’s regular season roster deadline or enter opening night with an open spot on their standard 15-man roster.

Northwest Notes: NAW, Reid, Brogdon, Agbaji, Nuggets

October 21st, 2023 at 2:17pm CST by Rory Maher

In his first foray in free agency, former first-round pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker decided to re-sign with the Timberwolves on a two-year, $9MM deal. Alexander-Walker had bounced around the league in his first four seasons, playing for New Orleans and Utah before being traded to Minnesota in February (he was technically on Portland for one day in ’21/22 as well).

The 25-year-old wing had a strong summer, helping Canada win a bronze medal at the World Cup, and he’s ready to show he’s more than just a defensive specialist, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (subscriber link).

“My mentality, now more than ever, has been right,” Alexander-Walker said. “… I’m doing the right things, and I know that these guys are behind me and I’m in a position that I have support and trust and opportunity.”

As Hine writes, Alexander-Walker has been a fill-in starter during preseason with Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels missing time due to injuries. That’s an indication that he’ll be a rotation regular once the 2023/24 season begins, and a “less is more” approach on offense could be the key to staying on the court.

“When he first came into the league … he wanted to always play with the dribble, go somewhere and try to do things, and he got himself in trouble doing that at times,” head coach Chris Finch said. “But now he uses his shooting. He’s a high-level shooter. Has a great high release so he can always get it off on people. Now, he’s using that to set up the rest of his game, which is really smart.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

The Timberwolves need to find the best way to optimize big man Naz Reid after signing him to a three-year, $42MM extension before he hit free agency. As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details, Minnesota plans to use Reid primarily at power forward in ’23/24, which is a change — he has mostly played center to this point in his career. However, the early returns have been promising, per Krawczynski. “Right before Naz got hurt (he broke his left wrist at the end of the ’22/23 regular season), I thought he found his groove at the 4, really found out what that looked like,” Finch said. “Now, defensively, he’s got to get better and better there, and we’re going to have to help him with some schemes and stuff like that. I think this is all about trying to get your best players on the floor, and he’s clearly in our top eight players.”
Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was dealt to Portland from Boston in the Jrue Holiday trade, says he has no issues coming off the bench again in ’23/24, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. “I think it’s honestly important for Scoot (Henderson) to get this experience, starting,” Brogdon said. “He’s going to be the franchise player going forward, so he has to be invested in and given that opportunity.” Brogdon won Sixth Man of the Year last season with the Celtics.
Jazz head coach Will Hardy wants Ochai Agbaji to focus on improving defensively in ’23/24, particularly on the ball, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I would like to see him take another step forward in terms of his isolation defense,” Hardy said of the second-year wing. “Guarding the ball in a pick-and-roll and navigating those screens is a skill and it takes a certain type of athleticism.” The Jazz have until October 31 to exercise their third-year option on Agbaji’s rookie scale contract.
Bennett Durando of The Denver Post lists five reasons why the Nuggets will repeat as NBA champions this season — and five reasons why they won’t.

Trail Blazers Convert Justin Minaya To Two-Way Deal; Waive Two Others

October 20th, 2023 at 6:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:35pm: Minaya has officially been converted to a two-way deal, according to NBA.com’s transactions log, while Conditt and Butler have been waived.

3:57pm: Small forward Justin Minaya has agreed to a two-way contract with the Trail Blazers, agent Jared Mucha tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The 24-year-old finished last season with Portland on a hardship 10-day contract and appeared in four games. He re-signed with the Blazers in early October.

Sources tell Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report that John Butler will be waived to open a two-way slot for Minaya (Twitter link). The 20-year-old center re-signed with Portland in July after spending last season on a two-way deal. He appeared in 19 games, averaging 2.4 PPG and 0.9 RPG in limited minutes.

The team’s other two-way spots belong to Ibou Badji and Skylar Mays.

Highkin also reports that George Conditt, who has an Exhibit 10 contract, will be waived today and is expected to wind up with the Rip City Remix, the organization’s new G League affiliate (Twitter link).

Highkin hears that Moses Brown is likely to make the team, so the battle for the final roster spot appears to be between Duop Reath and Kevin Knox (Twitter link).

Trail Blazers Notes: Henderson, Ayton, Camara, Simons

October 18th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers have put together a support staff designed to help Scoot Henderson get the most out of his unique talents, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

Head coach Chauncey Billups was an NBA point guard for 17 seasons and succeeded at the highest level, earning five All-Star appearances and being named NBA Finals MVP in 2004. His coaching staff includes Scott Brooks, who played point guard for 10 years and helped to develop Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, and Pooh Jeter, Henderson’s former G League Ignite teammate. Portland also traded for Malcolm Brogdon, who quickly became a mentor to the 19-year-old rookie.

“Support is everything, especially from the coaching staff,” Henderson said. “That is huge, knowing they have your back. Everyone in the Portland organization, the coaching staff, everybody behind the scenes, they are pitching a lot into the players. The doctors and medical staff are pitching in a certain way you may not think they would. But I’m watching, observing. … I’m going to take the pressure all on me. But knowing that I have the confidence from the coaching staff, I’m going to respect them a lot more.”

Spears notes that Billups can empathize with Henderson because that level of support wasn’t in place for him when he entered the NBA as the No. 3 overall pick in 1997. He was traded midway through his first season and was on his fifth team by the time he developed into a star in Detroit.

“One of the main things I told (Henderson) was, ‘I’m going to be for you what I needed at this age,’” Billups said. “I needed somebody that knew what I should be doing. I needed somebody that could help me learn the game. I didn’t have that. Somebody that was going to be patient with me, knowing that there’s going to be some nasty, ugly games. Someone that was going to be patient, that understood it. I didn’t have that.”

There’s more from Portland:

Deandre Ayton is hoping for a larger role in the offense after being acquired from Phoenix, and Billups seems willing to grant him the opportunity, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I’m going to give him the responsibility to do more,” Billups said, “but it’s all going to be based on his commitment level and what he wants to do.”
Toumani Camara, who was also part of the Suns trade, has been among the surprises of camp, according to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The rookie power forward, who got a chance to start Monday, is averaging 6.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in four preseason games. “He’s been such a pleasant surprise for all of us,” Billups said. “He’s just my type of guy, man. He just competes on every play, he’s tough, he’s aggressive. … He has confidence out there. I just love everything about Toumani, man.”
Anfernee Simons told Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report that his goals for this season include making the All-Star team and getting rid of his “bad defender” label (Twitter link).

And-Ones: All-Star Game, Porter, Breakout Candidates, More

October 18th, 2023 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league is weighing the idea of reverting to the East vs. West format for its All-Star Game, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Since the 2017/18 season, 12 players from each conference have been named All-Stars, but in order to set the two rosters, the top vote-getters in each conference have drafted teams from pools of eight starters and 14 reserves.

“We’re looking at some potential changes in format in Indianapolis this year,” Silver said, referring to the 2024 All-Star Game. “Maybe a return to something more traditional in terms of how the teams are presented. We went to sort of this captain and draft notion, but clearly historically it was East vs. West. So that’s maybe something we are looking at.”

Back in June, Silver didn’t close the door on the possibility of introducing an All-Star format that would pit U.S. players vs. international players. However, he downplayed the likelihood of that change on Wednesday, noting that the international player pool isn’t currently as deep as the U.S. one, which could result in skewed rosters.

According to Bontemps, Silver also reiterated during his First Take appearance, following up on the league’s recent statements on load management, that he views the idea of shortening the regular season as non-starter.

“None of us believe that,” Silver said. “None of the data supports that. As I was saying, back to this issue about load management, we don’t see more injuries later on in the season. Guys aren’t more likely to be injured after they’ve played 40 games as opposed to the first week of the season. I mean, unfortunately, injuries happen.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick has disputed Manhattan prosecutors’ characterization of Kevin Porter Jr.‘s alleged assault, telling Priscilla DeGregory and Emily Crane of The New York Post that Porter “never balled his fists up and hit me” and “definitely didn’t punch me in the face numerous times.” A second-degree assault charge against Porter was dropped this week after it was determined that Gondrezick’s vertebra fracture was a congenital defect and not caused by the former Rocket, who still faces third-degree assault and second-degree strangulation charges after being traded and waived on Tuesday. “It happened very fast, not to the degree of what was reported,” Gondrezick said of the incident. “And it was an argument that occurred in the room for not even 10 seconds.”
The Athletic’s NBA writers named a breakout candidate for all 30 NBA teams, with their picks ranging from popular choices such as Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton to less obvious selections like Celtics wing Sam Hauser.
Jonathan Givony and Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Insider link) identify the top international freshman in the NCAA this season, starting with center Aday Mara and forward Berke Buyuktuncel of UCLA.
In an entertaining article for FOX Sports, Melissa Rohlin reveals that a Clippers employee – who happens to be a Lakers fan – was the original source of the erroneous offseason rumors linking Lakers guard Austin Reaves to Taylor Swift.

Rockets Eye Alec Burks, Talen Horton-Tucker

October 17th, 2023 at 5:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets cut ties with Kevin Porter Jr. by agreeing to trade the troubled guard and two future second-round picks to the Thunder for injured guard Victor Oladipo and big man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

However, the Rockets may not be through making deals before next week’s regular season opener, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reports. They may look to move Oladipo, combined with other second-round picks, to upgrade their roster.

Houston has held trade discussions with the Pistons regarding veteran guard Alec Burks, who has an expiring $10,489,600 contract. Fischer notes that his contract nearly matches Oladipo’s $9.5MM expiring salary.

It’s not clear if the Pistons would be interested a trade for Oladipo, who is recovering from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, and some type of sweetener.

The Pistons have other options at guard beyond franchise player Cade Cunningham. New head coach Monty Williams is mulling whether to start lottery pick Ausar Thompson and bring Jaden Ivey off the bench. Detroit also traded for Monte Morris and Joe Harris this offseason, with rookie Marcus Sasser and Killian Hayes also battling for playing time.

Houston has also contacted the Jazz regarding Talen Horton-Tucker. Tucker has an $11.02MM expiring contract and his role with Utah is uncertain, due to the strong play of Kris Dunn and rookie Keyonte George.

The Rockets have some interest in Malcolm Brogdon as well, although the Trail Blazers and Rockets have not held significant discussions. Portland has indicated that it wants to hold onto Brogdon, who was acquired from Boston in the Jrue Holiday deal. Houston also wouldn’t be able to aggregate Oladipo’s salary with another player for two months after finalizing its trade with Oklahoma City. Brogdon is earning $22.5MM.

Fischer also delivered some other interesting tidbits in his story:

Prior to the Thunder’s trade with the Rockets, veteran forward Davis Bertāns‘ name was passing through the rumor mill. The Thunder had a roster logjam prior to the deal and still needs to clear another spot, but Bertans is safe. Not only could his perimeter shooting help the Thunder, his $16MM salary for 2024/25 is only guaranteed for $5MM. That could make him a valuable trade piece approaching February’s trade deadline.
The Rockets held conversations with several other teams regarding Porter that would have required them to throw in more second-rounders to get him off their roster. Oklahoma City had planned to waive Oladipo if it couldn’t find a trade for him.
Few rival executives anticipate that the Pacers’ Buddy Hield will be traded prior to the season. The Pacers had looked at potential deals involving Hield after contract extension talks stalled, but it sounds like there’s no traction toward a move.