Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Malachi Smith, Antoine Davis Joining Trail Blazers On Exhibit 10 Deals

June 23rd, 2023 at 11:32am CST by Arthur Hill

Gonzaga’s Malachi Smith will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Trail Blazers, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The 23-year-old shooting guard was named WCC Sixth Man of the Year this season after averaging 8.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 37 games with the Zags. The fifth-year senior played one season for Gonzaga after transferring from Chattanooga.

Detroit-Mercy’s Antoine Davis will also get an Exhibit 10 deal with Portland, according to Charania (Twitter link). The 24-year-old guard was a huge scorer in all five seasons he spent with the Titans, and he capped off his college career by averaging 28.2 PPG this year.

Exhibit 10 contracts give players the opportunity to earn a $75K bonus by spending 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate if they’re waived before the start of the season. The Blazers announced the formation of their new G League team in April.

Lillard Won’t Rush Into Decision About Future With Trail Blazers

June 23rd, 2023 at 2:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Trail Blazers held onto their draft picks instead of trading them for veteran help like Damian Lillard preferred, but Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link) said the star guard doesn’t plan to make any snap judgments about his future with the team (hat tip to Real GM).

“I’m told the timeline for when the future will land with Damian Lillard likely extends now between tonight and the start of free agency and into free agency,” Charania said on Stadium’s draft show.

Portland used the No. 3 selection to take G League Ignite star Scoot Henderson, who was considered a definitive top-three pick. The Blazers received trade overtures from several teams, including the Pelicans, Charania states. However, he didn’t specify if New Orleans was willing to include Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram in its offer.

Lillard stated after the end of the regular season that he wasn’t interested in playing another year with a young, rebuilding franchise. He hasn’t asked for a trade, but teams throughout the league are reportedly monitoring the situation and preparing offers in case he does ask to leave.

There’s more on Lillard and the Blazers:

Lillard appears to be in control of his future in Portland, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who said on the network’s draft coverage that the Blazers will only consider moving Lillard if he asks for a trade (hat tip to Real GM). “Damian Lillard has a decision to make,” Wojnarowski said. “… If he decides he wants a trade, I think the organization will accommodate him. But they don’t want to trade him.” Woj adds that the Blazers front office believes Henderson is more valuable than any return they could have gotten through a trade.
General manager Joe Cronin said he had a “long talk” with Lillard on Tuesday about ways to improve the team, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Cronin said Henderson “has a chance to be a transcendent player” and stated that he doesn’t believe Lillard is closer to leaving because of the team’s draft decisions. “He’s probably being more vocal than ever, but I don’t look at that as a negative,” Cronin said (Twitter link).
Sources tell Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report that Lillard hasn’t been in touch with Blazers officials recently regarding the draft, free agency or his future with the team (Twitter link).

Trail Blazers Draft Scoot Henderson Third Overall

June 22nd, 2023 at 7:25pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Trail Blazers have selected G League Ignite star point guard Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft.

The Blazers were long rumored to be exploring a trade involving the No. 3 pick as they sought impact veterans to complement Damian Lillard, but it appears they ultimately didn’t find a deal they liked and opted to hang onto the selection.

It will be interesting to see now whether the Henderson pick signifies the beginning of the end of Lillard’s Portland tenure.

Henderson is considered by draft experts to have All-NBA upside, and it’s unclear whether or not Lillard will be content playing alongside a rookie point guard in a now-crowded backcourt that also features undersized shooting guard Anfernee Simons. It’s possible the selection of Henderson will be the first in a series of moves involving the Blazers’ backcourt this summer.

An athletic 6’4″ lead guard, Henderson averaged 16.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 5.4 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 0.5 BPG across 19 regular season contests for the Ignite in 2022/23. He represents the rare high-level prospect who spends two seasons with the Ignite, having graduated high school a year early for the opportunity to get extra pro seasoning.

An explosive athlete with a quick first step, Henderson is a dangerous threat to score both in transition and the half-court. His long-range shooting continues to need work, as he has not converted more than 30% of his triple tries during either of his two G League seasons. He is a good rebounder for his size and is considered an instinctive passer.

Western Notes: Pelicans, Henderson, Clippers, Grizzlies, Warriors

June 22nd, 2023 at 6:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans were granted a meeting with star prospect Scoot Henderson this week, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). New Orleans’ interest in trading into the top three of the draft in order to land Henderson has been well documented this month, but according to Charania, the Hornets (No. 2) and Trail Blazers (No. 3) have expressed little interest in moving their lottery picks. We’ll see if that changes when they’re on the clock in a matter of minutes.

Here’s more from around the West as we wait for the draft to get underway:

Law Murray of The Athletic identifies some possible free agent targets for the Clippers, noting that the team’s cap situation will make it difficult to tangibly upgrade the roster in free agency and suggesting L.A. may have to rely on the trade market instead.
Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal takes a look at the three-team Marcus Smart/Kristaps Porzingis/Tyus Jones deal from the Grizzlies‘ perspective, exploring why the front office decided to pull the trigger and what the club is getting in Smart.
Mike Dunleavy Jr.‘s first move as the Warriors‘ new general manager is a deal that makes it clear the franchise is prioritizing the present over the future, writes Tim Kawakami of The Athletic in his analysis of Golden State’s Chris Paul/Jordan Poole swap with Washington. Anthony Slater of The Athletic also analyzes the deal, observing that there are major risks, given Paul’s injury history and age, as well as Poole’s long-term upside.

Northwest Notes: Lillard, Blazers, Wolves, Gee, Jazz

June 22nd, 2023 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard avoided dropping any bombshells during a Q&A with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, offering fairly cagey responses when Scotto asked about his thoughts on this year’s top prospects and where he sees himself in five years.

However, Lillard did give an interesting answer when asked about the importance of winning a championship. According to the Blazers star, while winning a title is at “the top of the list” in terms of his goals, it wouldn’t necessarily significantly change the way he views his own legacy.

“A championship would mean a lot to me, but in my personal opinion, if I don’t win it, it’s not the end-all, be-all to me,” Lillard said. “I wouldn’t be happy with it, but I think when you talk about other people’s perception, I think it’s extremely important to my legacy. It’s extremely important to me, but my opinion of me not winning wouldn’t be the same as others.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Hannah Grauert, who worked from the Trail Blazers from 2007-17 and most recently spent time with Nike and Microsoft, will be the president of the club’s new G League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. Grauert will be overseeing the NBAGL franchise as a whole, not focusing specifically on basketball operations.
While Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly isn’t ruling out the possibility of making a deal or two on draft night, he doesn’t anticipate a move that will shake up the roster in a major way, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.“We have a core and we’re excited to run it back,” Connelly said. “… We’re pretty excited about our core. [Chris Finch] is an elite coach. Having the year under his belt and hopefully a healthy year, we think we can be pretty good.”
Former NBA wing Alonzo Gee is now part of the Timberwolves‘ front office, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Gee appeared in 417 NBA regular season games from 2009-17 and continued to play internationally until 2022.
As Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune relays, Jazz vice president of player personnel Bart Taylor shared his wide-ranging thoughts on the team’s draft preparation in general and the 2023 draft in particular. While Taylor made some interesting comments, he was tight-lipped when asked how many players are realistically in play for Utah at No. 9. “I mean, we have nine right now,” Taylor said. “One of them will be there. One of them I know will not be there, for sure.

Draft/Trade Rumors: Am. Thompson, Blazers, Beal, Brogdon, More

June 22nd, 2023 at 1:52pm CST by Rory Maher

Many view the 2023 NBA draft as having a “big three” of Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller, but league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that Amen Thompson, who is ranked No. 4 on ESPN’s big board, is expected to receive consideration from the Trail Blazers at No. 3 if Henderson goes No. 2 to Charlotte.

Still, O’Connor has Portland selecting Miller in his latest mock draft, with Thompson heading to Houston at No. 4. As O’Connor writes, Thompson could make sense for the Blazers if they decide to trade Damian Lillard, but there’s been no indication that’s in the plans as of yet.

Here are a few more draft and trade-related rumors:

Multiple sources tell O’Connor that the Raptors registered interest in Bradley Beal while he was still with the Wizards, but the three-time All-Star preferred to go to the Suns. O’Connor doesn’t specify what Toronto may have offered for Beal or if the talks advanced at all.
According to Adam Himmselsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link), the Clippers decided to pull out of their three-team trade talks with the Celtics and Wizards because they didn’t have time to complete a physical on Malcolm Brogdon. The three sides were facing time constraints, as Kristaps Porzingis had a midnight ET deadline to pick up his $36MM player option as part of the trade (he wound up being sent to Boston anyway in a separate deal). Brogdon reportedly suffered a torn tendon in his right elbow during the Eastern Conference Finals and recently said he hoped to avoid surgery. Sources tell Himmelsbach that even if the 30-year-old does need surgery, there’s a belief that he’d be ready to go by the start of 2023/24.
In addition to the Raptors and Mavericks, the Hawks have also discussed trades with the Celtics, reports O’Connor. It’s unclear which players or draft picks may have been discussed. For what it’s worth, there’s a “strong belief” around the league that the Celtics aren’t done making moves, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com.
O’Connor hears that Chris Livingston, who opted out of his remaining pre-draft workouts a couple weeks ago, impressed teams with his shooting ability prior to making that decision. O’Connor has the Kentucky wing going No. 43 to Portland.
Jordan Hawkins is a name worth monitoring for Lakers fans, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link), who reports that Hawkins met with the team. The UConn wing is considered one of the best shooters in the draft and is currently No. 16 on ESPN’s board, while the Lakers control the Nos. 17 and 40 picks.

Knicks Rumors: Fournier, George, Toppin, DiVincenzo, McBride

June 22nd, 2023 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Evan Fournier‘s representatives are working to find a trade involving their client, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link). As Bondy notes, the news is hardly surprising, given that Fournier spoke after the Knicks‘ season ended about his expectation that he wouldn’t be back with the team in 2023/24, despite being owed a guaranteed salary of $18.9MM.

Finding a taker for Fournier won’t be easy for his reps, given that the veteran wing doesn’t have positive trade value even though he’s on a pseudo-expiring contract (his deal includes a 2024/25 team option). The Knicks will almost certainly have to package him with more valuable assets to get anything worthwhile in return.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

The Knicks and Clippers have been in touch about a possible Paul George trade, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). However, the star forward is unlikely to be moved, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who says the Trail Blazers also expressed interest in building a deal around the No. 3 pick and George, and failed to gain any traction. The Clippers remain focused on building their roster around George and Kawhi Leonard, Fischer says.
Begley believes that the Knicks and Obi Toppin‘s camp may work together to find him a new home this offseason, unless the team makes other moves that open up more regular minutes for the former lottery pick (Twitter video link).
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, Toppin and Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau had an “intense verbal altercation” following Game 4 of the club’s playoff series vs. Miami after the forward was held out of action for the entire second half. However, Katz clarifies that there doesn’t seem to be any lingering resentment related to that incident, and says the team didn’t show any interest in moving Toppin at the 2023 trade deadline. Katz also polled 15 executives about Toppin’s potential value on a rookie scale extension — 10 of those respondents suggested an annual salary between $10-15MM.
Several “influential” people within the Knicks organization are fans of swingman Donte DiVincenzo, who is expected to reach unrestricted free agency this offseason, per Begley.
Knicks guard Miles McBride has generated some interest from rival teams, according to Begley, who adds that McBride’s minimum-salary team option for 2023/24 looks like a lock to be exercised with or without a trade.

Draft Rumors: Miller, Hornets, Blazers, Pacers, Magic, More

June 21st, 2023 at 8:44pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hornets appear to be leaning toward selecting Alabama’s Brandon Miller with the second overall pick in tomorrow night’s draft, according to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link via ClutchPoints), Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link), Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Wojnarowski, Givony, and Woo have all heard from sources who say Miller performed much better in his second workout on Monday in front of Hornets brass, including owner Michael Jordan. Wojnarowski goes so far as to say Miller “further solidified his standing as Charlotte’s choice at No. 2.”

For his part, Miller said in a SiriusXM NBA Radio interview (Twitter video link) that he didn’t feel intimidated by working out in front of Jordan, noting that he didn’t grow up watching the Hall of Famer. He also said he had a “fun time” exchanging verbal jabs with Jordan.

Here are more rumors on the draft, which is less than 24 hours away:

It would take a “significant return” for the Trail Blazers to part with the No. 3 pick in a draft that many view as having a consensus top-three prospects, but they’ll continue to listen to offers up until it’s time to make a selection, Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s NBA Today (YouTube link). “Certainly, they want to build around Damian Lillard, Wojnarowski said, per RealGM. “That’s been their focus. Damian Lillard says he wants to continue to be in Portland. So I think they’ll go right up to the clock on Thursday night. Offers and outreach from teams tend to get more serious the closer you get to the deadline…Portland may not have gotten the best offers that will come to them, but they will here in the next 24 hours or so. This is a significant decision for this organization, for Damian Lillard’s future in Portland.” If Miller gets picked No. 2, the Blazers would almost certainly select Scoot Henderson, Woj added.
Fischer confirms a recent report that the Spurs are inquiring about adding a second lottery pick and have been linked to French wing Bilal Coulibaly, who played with projected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama on Metropolitans 92. Interestingly, sources tell Woo that Coulibaly hasn’t unilaterally granted access to his medical details, indicating he may have a preferred destination in mind.
Cam Whitmore‘s stock may be falling due to medical concerns, sources tell Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, who has Whitmore going No. 9 to the Jazz in his latest mock draft. Whitmore had been viewed as an option for the Rockets (No. 4) or Pistons (No. 5).
Although Ausar Thompson canceled a workout with the Pacers (No. 7) last week, he still had a meeting with team officials, he told Fischer. Indiana sent a “select group” of personnel to Atlanta to meet with Thompson over the weekend, Fischer writes.
Anthony Black‘s camp “initially showed resistance” to the idea of working out for Orlando due to the Magic‘s guard depth, sources tell Fischer. However, he wound up leaving a strong impression on the team and now thinks he could be picked No. 6 overall, he told Fischer. If the Magic do pick a guard, they’ve given rivals the impression they’d consider trading Cole Anthony, who has a “great relationship” with the front office, or Jalen Suggs. “They didn’t tell me that,” Black said, “but that’s what I figured they’d do if they picked me.”
The Lakers have been exploring all kinds of options with their first-round pick (No. 17), including possibly moving up a few slots, Fischer writes. Keyonte George could be a target — the guard has also been linked to the Raptors at No. 13, per Fischer.
According to Fischer, Jarace Walker believes he could go as high as No. 5 (Pistons), with a floor possibly being Indiana (No. 7); Taylor Hendricks believes he could go anywhere from No. 5 to No. 12 (Thunder); and Dereck Lively II has been told he could be picked anywhere from No. 10 (Dallas) to No. 20 (Houston).

Clippers Reportedly Gauging Paul George’s Trade Value

June 20th, 2023 at 10:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have given off the impression during draft week discussions that they’re attempting to gauge Paul George‘s trade value, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack post.

According to Stein, some rival teams believe the organization is giving serious consideration to breaking up the star duo of George and Kawhi Leonard, both of whom have struggled to stay on the court due to injury.

When George was on the court this past season, he posted his usually gaudy numbers — 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. However, George only appeared in 56 regular-season games. He has only played in 141 regular-season games over the past three seasons.

George has two years left on his contract. He’s locked into $45.64MM next season and holds a $48.8MM option for the 2024/25 season, when he’ll be 34 years old.

Stein identifies the Trail Blazers (as had previously been reported) and Rockets as potential suitors for George, who was acquired by the Clippers in the summer of 2019.

George would give Damian Lillard another All-Star level talent to work with in Portland. The Blazers could package the No. 3 pick with Anfernee Simons, among others, to match salaries in such a trade scenario.

The Rockets, who seem intent on bringing in some veteran impact players to help their young core, own the No. 4 pick and have the cap space to absorb a huge contract.

Blazers Rumors: No. 3 Pick, Lillard, Adebayo, George, Zion

June 20th, 2023 at 11:08am CST by Luke Adams

Like his ESPN colleague Jonathan Givony, Brian Windhorst has been hearing that the Trail Blazers haven’t been enamored with the trade offers they’ve been getting for the No. 3 pick in this Thursday’s draft. Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up on Tuesday (YouTube link), Windhorst discussed the situation in Portland and how it could affect star guard Damian Lillard.

“In discussions with teams in the last couple of days, the Blazers have started to maybe indicate that they won’t trade the No. 3 pick and that they may end up deciding to draft a player there, whether it be Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller, because they aren’t necessarily in love with the options they’re getting offer for No. 3,” Windhorst said.

As Windhorst notes, Lillard has repeatedly expressed his loyalty to the Trail Blazers, but he has also spoken in recent months about not wanting to be part of a rebuild in Portland and his hope that the team can add impact veterans.

“I checked in on the Lillard side of things about whether or not there’d been a change of heart there and I was told unequivocally, ‘No,'” Windhorst said. “Dame does not want a youth movement. He wants to play with veterans. He wants the team to upgrade fast and immediately with veteran players that can help him now.”

There are other ways besides trading the No. 3 pick for the Blazers to add veteran talent this summer, Windhorst acknowledges, so if Portland keeps and uses its lottery pick on Thursday, that doesn’t necessarily mean Lillard will immediately make a trade request.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports makes this point too, writing in his latest story that the Blazers “view this entire offseason as their canvas” to upgrade their roster around Lillard and don’t necessarily feel it has to happen entirely during the draft. For now, it still appears that Dame’s preference is to remain in Portland and that the club hasn’t shown any willingness to discuss trading Lillard, says Fischer.

Here’s more on the Blazers:

Portland is preparing what the front office considers a “compelling” offer for Heat big man Bam Adebayo, a source tells Fischer. While that may be true, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Miami would accept such a deal, given that the Heat view Adebayo as a long-term cornerstone and want to acquire Lillard themselves rather than help the Blazers keep him. For what it’s worth, Fischer suggests that any Portland offer for Adebayo would almost certainly have to include Shaedon Sharpe in addition to the No. 3 pick and Anfernee Simons to even get Miami to think about it.
While Adebayo may not be attainable, he’s the sort of “premium” player the Trail Blazers are targeting in talks involving their lottery pick, Fischer writes, naming Clippers forward Paul George as another example of a player the team would like to land.
League sources tell Fischer that the Blazers don’t “truly covet” either of the Raptors forwards they’ve been linked to (Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby) in a deal for the No. 3 selection. Bulls guard Zach LaVine and Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns also aren’t considered legitimate targets, Fischer adds.
The Blazers and Pelicans have discussed Zion Williamson, per Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, but New Orleans hasn’t made a formal offer involving Williamson and may want more than just the No. 3 pick for him, per Fischer.