Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Henderson, Wallace, George, Juzang

July 9th, 2023 at 9:05am CST by Arthur Hill

After suffering a shoulder injury in his Summer League debut, Trail Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson will sit out Sunday’s game, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT. Although he will miss a marquee matchup with Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, Henderson is listed as day-to-day and still may return before the end of Summer League.

The dynamic guard told Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian that he strained his shoulder on a dunk attempt in Friday’s game against the Rockets. Overall, he was satisfied with his first performance against NBA players, which included 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in 21 minutes.

“I think I played pretty smooth,” Henderson said. “I know there are areas I definitely need to improve on. Just little things in my game where I think I can really perfect and master.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Thunder got to see their two draft picks in action for the first time on Saturday, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Cason Wallace wasn’t able to play in the Salt Lake City Summer League because his draft-night trade from the Mavericks hadn’t been processed, and Keyontae Johnson was sidelined with a strained hamstring. Both played well in a win over Dallas, and Wallace particularly impressed his teammates with a 20-point outing. “Great defender, great all-around player,” Chet Holmgren said. “I think he’s gonna fit in well with the other guys we have on this team. Great character, great kid, too. I’m glad we drafted him. It’s a good spot for him.”
Jazz guard Keyonte George is one of the early stars in Las Vegas with 33 points and 10 assists in his debut, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. The rookie out of Baylor has a lock screen on his phone with a graphic listing the concerns that scouts had about him as an NBA prospect. “I wake up every morning with this on my phone,” he said. “Each time I’m going into a game or I’m going into workout, that’s my main focus, each and every day, each and every game. Let’s take care of all this — take good shots, even if they’re not falling, just make sure we take great shots, play with the basketball … and that’s what I feel like I did tonight.”
The Jazz have withdrawn their qualifying offer to Johnny Juzang, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to RealGM’s transactions log.

NBA Reveals Dates, Groups For In-Season Tournament

July 8th, 2023 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA has announced the five-team groups that will used for the league’s first-ever in-season tournament, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. The unveiling took place Saturday during a special episode of ESPN’s “NBA Today” held at “NBA Con” in Las Vegas.

The groups were determined in a draw similar to what is used in soccer’s World Cup. There are six groups — three each from the Eastern Conference and Western Conference — and each conference was split into five pots based on last season’s standings. One team was randomly selected from each of the pots to determine the opening-round matchups.

The results are:

Group 1: Sixers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pacers and Pistons.
Group 2: Bucks, Knicks, Heat, Wizards and Hornets.
Group 3: Celtics, Nets, Raptors, Bulls and Magic.
Group 4: Grizzlies, Suns, Lakers, Jazz and Trail Blazers.
Group 5: Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans, Mavericks and Rockets.
Group 6: Kings, Warriors, Timberwolves, Thunder and Spurs.

The tournament will start with group play, which will match each team with the other four in its grouping. Those games will take place on Nov. 3, 10, 14, 17, 21, 24 and 28.

The winner of each group will advance to a knockout round, joined by the team with the best record in each conference among those who didn’t win a group. Quarterfinal games will be played Dec. 4 and 5, hosted by the higher-seeded teams. The four winners in that round will move on to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for the Dec. 7 semifinals and the Dec. 9 championship game.

Bontemps points out that all teams will play within their conference until the last game, which guarantees an East vs. West matchup, just like the NBA Finals.

“Everybody’s not going to buy in right away,” admitted Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations. “So that can’t be the goal that everybody’s going to buy in from day one. These things take time. And I think, as time goes on, I think you can build this up and people can really get into it.”

The championship trophy will be called the NBA Cup, and players will receive $500K each for winning it. Other prize money includes $200K for second place, $100K for losing in the semifinals and $50K for losing in the quarterfinals. The league opted not to provide other incentives, such as a guaranteed playoff spot, for the tournament winner.

We passed along more details on the in-season tournament right here.

Mavs Notes: G. Williams, Kyrie, Holmes, Thybulle

July 8th, 2023 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks entered this offseason aiming to get younger, more athletic, and stronger defensively, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic, who notes that swapping out Reggie Bullock for Grant Williams could help achieve a couple of those goals. Dallas pivoted to Williams in free agency after missing out on Bruce Brown and will land the restricted free agent in a sign-and-trade deal with Boston.

As Cato outlines, Williams will essentially be playing the role that players like Dorian Finney-Smith and Bullock had in Dallas last season, guarding opposing perimeter threats on defense and stretching the floor on offense.

However, Cato believes that Williams has more to offer on offense than the players he’s replacing, writing that the Mavs’ newest forward isn’t as “static” and could get an opportunity to be a secondary creator when Luka Doncic and/or Kyrie Irving are double-teamed.

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Irving’s new three-year contract, originally reported to be worth $126MM, actually has a guaranteed base value of $120MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The remaining $6MM is made up incentives that are tied to games played and team success — Kyrie can earn $1MM per year by playing at least 65 games and $1MM each year the Mavs get to 50 wins (and Irving plays at least 58 games), reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link).
Richaun Holmes waived his $1.8MM trade kicker as part of the deal that sent him from Sacramento to Dallas, per MacMahon (Twitter link). That gave the Mavericks a little extra flexibility under their hard cap for their offer sheet to Matisse Thybulle, which was matched by Portland. The Mavs’ team salary remains $10.9MM below that hard cap, according to MacMahon and Marks.
Thybulle will be returning to the Trail Blazers after they matched his offer sheet, but it doesn’t sound like that was his preferred outcome. On the #thisleague UNCUT podcast, Marc Stein said that ending up in Dallas was something Thybulle had “been wanting even before this summer,” and Chris Haynes agreed. “Matisse desperately wanted to be a member of the Dallas Mavericks,” Haynes said (hat tip to Ashish Mathur of Heavy.com).

Trail Blazers Notes: Henderson, Injury, K. Johnson, Lillard

July 8th, 2023 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Before leaving Friday’s game with a right shoulder injury, Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson showed why he’s considered one of the elite talents in this year’s draft class, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic.

In a matchup with Rockets rookie Amen Thompson, Henderson turned in a breathtaking performance with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in 21 minutes before being pulled from the game midway through the third quarter. Quick notes that Henderson showed off his feel for the game and the highly touted physical skills that made him the No. 3 overall pick.

“He has so much fire,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “He never hangs his head, even when things go bad. And he has an ability to bring guys with him, if that makes sense. At a young age, that’s not easy. And I’ll be honest with you: the fact he played in the G League for the last two years? At 17, he has led men already. He’s been doing this for a while and most people don’t put enough credit on that.”

Henderson wasn’t made available to reporters after the game, and the team didn’t offer an update on his condition. It wasn’t clear when or how the injury occurred, but he was scheduled for an evaluation Friday night, with more news likely to come today.

There’s more on the Trail Blazers:

Regardless of what the medical tests show, there’s a good chance Henderson won’t play any more in Las Vegas, Quick adds. He points out that the team had a similar situation last year with Shaedon Sharpe, who suffered a small labral tear in his left shoulder during his first game and was held out for the rest of Summer League. Henderson wasn’t in obvious pain after the game and didn’t have a sling or wrap on his shoulder, Quick tweets.
Keon Johnson will miss the rest of Summer League after dislocating his right index finger Friday night, according to Quick (Twitter link). Johnson battled through injuries last season, including a fractured finger.
Damian Lillard has put the Blazers in a difficult position with his insistence to be traded to the Heat, and it’s in the best interest of both sides to avoid a nasty separation, states Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Portland officials reportedly aren’t impressed by Miami’s initial offer, and there’s a chance that trade negotiations will drag on throughout the summer.

Blazers Match Mavericks’ Offer For Matisse Thybulle

July 8th, 2023 at 5:35am CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 8: NBA teams were notified on Friday night that the Blazers officially matched the Mavs’ offer sheet for Thybulle, reports Marc Stein (via Twitter).

JULY 6: The Trail Blazers have elected to match the three-year, $33MM offer sheet that Matisse Thybulle received from the Mavericks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The offer sheet was signed and submitted to Portland Thursday morning, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The new Collective Bargaining Agreement gives teams just one day to decide whether to match offer sheets if they’re received before noon.

Thybulle’s new deal contains an $11.5MM player option for the third season, per Wojnarowski. It also features a 15% trade kicker, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

The Blazers will keep the 26-year-old swingman, who was acquired in a February trade with the Sixers. Thybulle was a restricted free agent after not working out a contract extension with Philadelphia last summer.

Thybulle is a defensive standout, with two appearances on the All-Defensive team in his first four seasons. He struggled to score with the Sixers, although his numbers improved after coming to Portland, where he became a full-time starter and averaged 7.4 PPG in 22 games while shooting 43.8% from the field and 38.8% from three-point range.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks details (via Twitter), Thybulle will have the right to veto any trade for the next year and cannot be dealt to the Mavs during that time. He will become trade-eligible on January 15.

According to Marks, the Blazers are $3.4MM below the luxury tax line with 13 players under standard contract, while the Mavs are $9MM below the tax and still have access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which starts at $12.4MM in 2023/24.

The move is a setback for Dallas, which is hoping to remake its supporting cast around Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The Mavericks are acquiring Grant Williams from the Celtics in a sign-and-trade deal and may search for another defensive-minded wing on the free agent market now that Thybulle is unavailable.

Blazers’ Scoot Henderson To Undergo MRI On Right Shoulder

July 7th, 2023 at 8:40pm CST by Rory Maher

8:40pm: Henderson will undergo an MRI, sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Haynes hears there’s optimism the shoulder isn’t dislocated.

8:01pm: Guard Scoot Henderson, the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft, exited his Summer League debut with the Trail Blazers due to a right shoulder injury, the team announced (via Twitter).

Henderson had a great start, accumulating 13 points in the first quarter against Houston. He finished with 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes of action, shooting 5-of-13 from the floor (1-of-3 from three, 4-of-4 from the line).

It’s unclear at this time how severe the injury is. It’s not unusual for top prospects to be limited to a game or two during Summer League action, so the Trail Blazers might just be exercising caution. Still, it’s obviously unfortunate that the 19-year-old was injured in his debut with Portland, and hopefully it’s nothing serious.

And-Ones: Howard, Team USA, F. Jackson, Zikarsky

July 7th, 2023 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA center Dwight Howard was out of the league during the 2022/23 season, which he spent in Taiwan. However, he still believes he can be a productive player in an NBA rotation, he said during a wide-ranging interview with Zion Olojede of Complex.com.

“I know that there’s at least 15 to 20 teams that I could play for,” Howard said. “And I know there’s teams that got great starting centers, but I know I could be a great backup center. I know I can provide a team with 25 minutes of dominant basketball. And that’s not even scoring, that’s just playing defense, locking people up, protecting the paint, rebounding, and finishing around the basket. I’ve had my fun in the game. I just want to go out like a champ like I’m supposed to.”

Referencing a June interview in which Howard said he’d love to join the Kings, Olojede asked the three-time Defensive Player of the Year which five teams he believes would be good matches for him.

“Okay, you got Miami Heat. You got obviously, the Lakers. The Warriors,” Howard said. “The Kings. But the Kings, I would say the Kings got a couple centers so they probably wouldn’t. But the Kings. The Hawks. I’m from Atlanta, go back home with the Hawks.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Discussing his roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup for the first time on Friday, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr said he plans to lean heavily on Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Nets forward Mikal Bridges. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic writes, Kerr envisions Brunson having “a pretty big role” and intends to rely on Bridges defensively to match up against opponents’ high-scoring wings.
Veteran NBA guard Frank Jackson, who had a brief stint with the Jazz this past season, will continue his career overseas, having signed a deal with French team ASVEL, per a press release. Jackson had appeared in 214 career regular season NBA games since being drafted in 2017.
Rocco Zikarsky, a 7’3″ Australian big man, has decided to forgo a move to the NCAA in favor of joining the Brisbane Bullets as part of the National Basketball League’s Next Stars program, he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Zikarsky, who will turn 17 next week, won’t be draft-eligible until at least 2025, but is considered one of the world’s best basketball prospects, per Givony.
John Hollinger of The Athletic doesn’t want to go so far as to call them the “losers” of free agency, but has questions about the offseason moves made so far by the Raptors, Pelicans, Kings, Trail Blazers, and Nuggets.

Trade/FA Rumors: Lillard, LaVine, Sixers, Reed, Reaves, Spurs

July 7th, 2023 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers are believed to be seeking a package in the neighborhood of four first-round picks and two quality players in exchange for Damian Lillard, according to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, who spoke to Lillard’s agent Aaron Goodwin about the negotiations. Goodwin reiterated that he’s telling other teams that his client only wants to play for the Heat.

“It’s not fair to a team to allow them to engage in a negotiation that could be futile in the end,” Goodwin told Fentress.

While Lillard may be focused on the Heat, it would require the involvement of at least one more team for the Blazers to get a package anywhere near the level they’re looking for. Having traded its 2025 first-round pick to Oklahoma City, Miami can only currently offer two first-rounders.

As we wait to see if negotiations between Portland and Miami gather any momentum with teams convening at the Las Vegas Summer League, here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:

League sources tell K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago that Zach LaVine‘s name has come up in preliminary trade discussions with both the Sixers and Trail Blazers. Neither of those conversations gained traction, according to Johnson, who hears that the Bulls‘ asking price for LaVine has been “extremely high.” Still, Johnson says the team has “fluctuated in its belief in LaVine’s consistency as a lead option.”
Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com hears from sources familiar with the situation that the conversations between the Sixers and Bulls were really just “check-in” talks prior to the draft and didn’t evolve beyond that. So there’s no indication at this point that any multi-team deal involving LaVine and James Harden is on the way, Neubeck writes.
The Sixers‘ deals with centers Mohamed Bamba and Montrezl Harrell haven’t diminished their desire to retain restricted free agent Paul Reed, a team source tells Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Spurs legitimately considered the possibility of an offer sheet for restricted free agent guard Austin Reaves, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his Lowe Post podcast. The Lakers ultimately re-signed Reaves on a four-year, $54MM deal, which was the most that they could give him directly — another team could’ve tested Los Angeles’ resolve by making a four-year offer worth up to $102MM. “I know San Antonio was going back and forth on it and for whatever reason didn’t do it,” Lowe said.

Latest On Damian Lillard

July 6th, 2023 at 6:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Damian Lillard‘s agent, Aaron Goodwin, confirms that his client only wants to be traded to the Heat, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported that Goodwin was attempting to steer his client to Miami while discouraging other teams from pursuing a trade for the perennial All-Star guard. In comments to Jackson, Lillard’s agent responded to that ESPN report.

“I do what I should for my client. Some teams I did call. Other teams have called me,” Goodwin said. “It’s a respectful relationship with most teams. Truthfully, he wants to play in Miami. Period.”

Despite Lillard’s focus on Miami, Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin plans to speak with other GMs and team presidents during the Las Vegas Summer League. Still, Goodwin believes Cronin will eventually grant Lillard’s wish, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets.

“I had a positive conversation with Joe and I made it clear that Damian would want them to sit down and have a meaningful negotiation with Miami.” Goodwin said. “And I think that’s something that Joe and the Blazers will do.”

We have more on Lillard:

So what if Lillard gets traded to another team besides the Heat? A source familiar with his thinking claims that the star guard would hold out, according to Mark Medina of Sportsnaut.com. “He just wouldn’t go,” the source said. “He just wouldn’t report. … I don’t think the other team would trade for him knowing that he doesn’t want to be there.” While it’s possible that source is right about how Lillard would respond to being traded to a non-Heat team, it’s hard not to interpret it as a leverage play, given that Lillard has four years remaining on his contract.
The Jazz made a call to to the Blazers regarding Lillard but didn’t make any type of formal offer, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Although Utah could dangle draft picks and developing young players for Lillard, he doesn’t fit the timeline for its young core, Wojnarowski points out.
A couple of league sources close to the situation told the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang that it wouldn’t be surprising if Lillard remains in limbo for weeks while Portland waits for better trade offers. Lillard’s desire to go to Miami could depresses the market. With the start of training camp still three months away. the Heat don’t have to push the panic button and increase whatever offer they have on the table.
The Sixers haven’t entirely ruled out the possibility of trading for Lillard, but they’ve “consistently underplayed” the odds of it happening, sources tell Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.

Celtics Rumors: Brown, Lillard, G. Williams, Tatum, Johnson

July 6th, 2023 at 1:49pm CST by Rory Maher

Just because the Celtics and Jaylen Brown didn’t immediately agree to a super-max extension once he became eligible on July 1 doesn’t mean anything is amiss, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (subscriber link). Sources tell Himmselsbach that the Celtics aren’t shopping Brown and don’t plan to low-ball him once they begin negotiating.

Himmselsbach reiterates a point that other reporters have made, that Boston might push for some incentives in the deal, but there’s still an expectation that Brown will eventually receive and sign his super-max at some point. The two sides are expected to discuss the massive extension on Friday during Las Vegas Summer League, Himmselsbach adds.

Here’s more on the Celtics:

Boston has accumulated several draft picks via trade this offseason, leading to speculation the Celtics could be looking for a major deal. However, although the team eventually plans to cash in on its draft equity for a “seismic strike,” such a move appears unlikely this offseason, sources tell Himmelsbach.
According to Himmselsbach, the Celtics aren’t pursuing Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard and don’t intend to get involved in that situation unless they find something favorable as part of a multi-team deal. ESPN recently reported that Boston “expressed some interest” in the All-NBA guard.
While the Celtics valued Grant Williams, they recognized that his role was in flux after acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, whose acquisition came as a surprise to the organization, sources tell Himmselsbach. Williams wanted an opportunity for consistent playing time which Boston couldn’t guarantee, and that factored into Brad Stevens‘ decision to agree to sign-and-trade Williams to Dallas.
The Celtics are willing to exceed the second tax apron in the future and still project to be a taxpayer, but retaining Williams on the contract he received would have added $40MM to the tax bill. Boston didn’t think that made sense financially, given his uncertain role, says Himmelbach.
Losing Marcus Smart (as part of the Porzingis trade) and Williams will leave a leadership and toughness void, according to Himmselsbach. However, the Celtics expect stars Brown and Jayson Tatum to fill that void. The team felt the two wings deferred to Smart at times in key moments, but obviously that will change.
Tatum was close to Williams, but he understood the team’s decision to move the restricted free agent and is focused on improving the team’s roster, sources tell Himmelsbach.
Free agent forward Alize Johnson will workout for the Celtics this week, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The five-year NBA veteran played four games for the Spurs in 2022/23.