Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Fischer’s Latest: Markkanen, Isaac, DeRozan, Lakers, D-Lo, Nets

July 1st, 2024 at 6:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz are “welcoming” inquiries on Lauri Markkanen, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who wonders if Utah’s offseason could play out like Brooklyn’s has. The Nets agreed to trade Mikal Bridges after efforts to pair him with an impact player came up short. Utah has also explored the trade market for a possible second star to complement Markkanen, talking to Brooklyn about Bridges (as previously reported) and to the Hawks about both Dejounte Murray and Trae Young, sources tell Fischer.

While it’s possible the Jazz will follow the Nets’ lead, selling off their lone star after failing to land another one, they don’t appear eager to part with Markkanen. According to Fischer, the Jazz have conveyed that they remain interested in renegotiating and extending Markkanen’s contract later this offseason and that listening to every offer for the star forward is just about due diligence.

As reported earlier today, both the Warriors and Spurs have interest in Markkanen, Fischer confirms, naming the Kings and Timberwolves as a couple more teams to watch. However, Sacramento’s reluctance to put Keegan Murray on the table in trade scenarios – which NBA personnel believe would be necessary to land Markkanen – may result in the Kings shifting their trade focus to Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Fischer writes. As for the Wolves, they’re operating over the second apron and barely have any future draft capital available, so it’s hard to envision a way for them to make a serious play for Markkanen.

Here’s more from Fischer:

The Magic may not end up using all of their cap room on free agents or trades — according to Fischer (Twitter link), they’re working on possibly renegotiating and extending forward Jonathan Isaac‘s contract. A team with cap space can use it to give a player a raise on his current-year salary, then reduce his salary by up to 40% in the first year of an extension, so Orlando may be looking at essentially giving Isaac a bonus this season to get him a team-friendly deal beginning in 2025/26.
Although LeBron James has expressed a willingness to take a pay cut if it allows the Lakers to bring in an impact player, Fischer writes that the team seems to be running out of potential targets – and time – to make that happen. The Lakers “hold an affinity” for DeMar DeRozan, but they’d likely have to incorporate a third team to move off some salary, including perhaps D’Angelo Russell or Gabe Vincent, to have a shot at DeRozan, according to Fischer.
The Nets could be a trade destination for Russell. Sources tell Fischer that Brooklyn has been open to the idea of a reunion with Russell since February’s trade deadline.
If Klay Thompson had re-signed with the Warriors, the plan was to bring him off the bench next season behind second-year guard Brandin Podziemski, according to Fischer. Thompson appears likely to be a starter in Dallas.

Jazz Waive Omer Yurtseven

July 1st, 2024 at 3:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 1: The Jazz have officially waived Yurtseven, the team announced today in a press release. He’ll become a free agent on Wednesday if he goes unclaimed.

JUNE 30: The Jazz are planning to waive center Omer Yurtseven, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Yurtseven, who spent one season with Utah after two years with the Heat, had a non-guaranteed $2.66MM contract. Yurtseven appeared in 48 games this past season, including 12 starts, and averaged 4.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game.

With the Jazz drafting Kyle Filipowski in the second round, Yurtseven became more expendable, though it’s certainly not out of the question they could re-sign Yurtseven on a more cap-friendly deal. A new minimum-salary pact would have a lower cap hit than his previous contract.

Yurtseven became an unrestricted free agent last summer when the Heat opted not to give him a qualifying offer. He had a promising rookie year, but was limited to nine games in 20222/23 after undergoing ankle surgery.

With a glut of centers on the free agent market, it wouldn’t be surprising if he looked at overseas options. He received interest from two Turkish teams before deciding to sign with the Jazz last year.

Trade/FA Rumors: Markkanen, Westbrook, DeRozan, Achiuwa, Trent

July 1st, 2024 at 3:44pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on SportsCenter, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed a report from his ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst stating that the Warriors are among the teams with interest in trading for Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (YouTube link).

“Utah is not sure it wants to trade (Markkanen), but they have to listen; they’ve been listening,” Wojnarowski said. “And a lot of the teams that missed out on Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn have transferred over to try and see if they can land Lauri Markkanen from Utah. Golden State is one of those teams.”

Here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:

According to Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link), three-time MVP Nikola Jokic has “pushed behind the scenes” for the Nuggets to trade for Clippers guard Russell Westbrook, himself a former NBA MVP. Wind hears Jokic has wanted to play with Westbrook for multiple seasons. Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated confirms (via Twitter) Wind’s reporting, adding that DeAndre Jordan has been supportive of the idea of adding Westbrook as well. According to Linn, the Clips are exploring “several” trade possibilities for Westbrook, and even if he isn’t traded to Denver directly, it’s possible he might eventually land with the Nuggets.
The Bulls and DeMar DeRozan appear destined to part ways, with a source telling Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that the six-time All-Star will be landing elsewhere. According to Cowley, DeRozan made up his mind to leave once Chicago traded Alex Caruso to Oklahoma City for Josh Giddey. The Bulls have been targeting younger players in free agency, re-signing restricted free agent Patrick Williams and agreeing to a three-year deal with big man Jalen Smith.
While the Knicks chose not to tender a qualifying offer to forward/center Precious Achiuwa, they are still open to a potential reunion with the 24-year-old, a source tells Fred Katz of The Athletic. Ian Begley of SNY.tv hears (via Twitter) interest in a reunion is mutual, but the young big man is also drawing interest from “several” contenders, so he could have multiple options to choose from.
There hasn’t been much news related to Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr., a 25-year-old unrestricted free agent who earned $18.6MM last season. As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes, GM Bobby Webster said before free agency opened that a return to Toronto was still possible, assuming the terms were agreeable for both sides. “You want to be strategic about what’s tradable, what’s not tradable,” Webster said of Trent. “We have some big contracts coming up in the future, so it’ll just have to be something that makes sense for everyone.”

FA/Trade Rumors: Lakers, Klay, Mavs, DeRozan, Markkanen, Bey, Bullock

July 1st, 2024 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James and agent Rich Paul talked to the Lakers last week and conveyed that the star forward would be willing to accept a pay cut in 2024/25 in the event that the team was able to land one of the players on a “short list” of free agent targets, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst confirmed on Monday’s Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link).

Previous reporting identified three of those possible Lakers targets as James Harden, Klay Thompson, and Jonas Valanciunas. Of the three, only Thompson is still on the board after Harden reached a deal to re-sign with the Clippers and Valanciunas agreed to terms with the Wizards, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on SportsCenter on Sunday night (YouTube link) that James called Thompson right when free agency opened.

The Mavericks continue to be considered a strong contender for Thompson, but would have to negotiate a sign-and-trade agreement with the Warriors in order to acquire him into the $16MM+ trade exception they’re creating in the Tim Hardaway Jr. deal. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link), a third team may be needed in that scenario to take on an outgoing player from Dallas. While Begley doesn’t mention any specific names, that outgoing Mavs player would almost certainly be either Josh Green or Maxi Kleber.

Even if Thompson ends up in Dallas, the Lakers may still have other names on that “short list” of targets that the team discussed with James, per Windhorst.

“I think there’s more than three,” Windhorst said on the Hoop Collective podcast. “I think DeMar DeRozan is on that list as well, and there may be another one or so.”

Here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:

During that same episode of the Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), Windhorst suggested that teams who have talked to the Jazz believe Lauri Markkanen could be had for the right price. According to Windhorst, the Warriors are “definitely investigating” Markkanen and the Spurs may also be among the teams with interest. “The teams who are negotiating with the Jazz do think there’s a good chance they’re going to move him,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “Sometimes, (Jazz CEO) Danny Ainge will act like he’s going to do a trade and then there’s no trade. Maybe that will happen again here. But the teams negotiating think (he’s available).”
Despite not tendering him a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent, the Hawks remain in discussions with forward Saddiq Bey, according to Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks and Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter links). Bey will likely miss most or all of next season due to a torn ACL, so if Atlanta wants to keep him, it makes more sense to discuss a longer-term deal without the risk that the 25-year-old will accept his one-year, $8.5MM QO.
Free agent wing Reggie Bullock has met with the Suns, Nuggets, Clippers, and Sixers so far in free agency, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), who says the veteran swingman is expected to talk to more teams in the coming days. Bullock’s market figures to be for the vet minimum.

FA/Trade Rumors: Hartenstein, Ingram, Harris, A. Holiday

June 30th, 2024 at 6:45pm CST by Rory Maher

With free agency officially underway, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium that the Thunder are meeting with UFA center Isaiah Hartenstein in his hometown of Eugene, Oregon (Twitter link).

According to Charania, the Magic — who just agreed to a three-year, $66MM deal with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — are prioritizing wings with their cap room, while the Knicks are trying to figure out how to avoid being hard-capped at the first apron as part of the Mikal Bridges trade, possibly opening the door for Oklahoma City. Charania also lists the Jazz as a team with interest in Hartenstein, but Utah is “focused on current roster decisions.”

Hartenstein, 26, is the top center on the open market after Nic Claxton agreed to a four-year, $100MM deal to return to Brooklyn.

Here are a few more trade and free agency rumors from around the NBA:

Sean Cunningham of Fox40 KTXL confirms the Kings have interest in trading for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (Twitter link). As Cunningham observes, Ingram previously played under Alvin Gentry, who is now in a front office role with Sacramento. A one-time All-Star, Ingram will earn $36MM in 2024/25, which is the final year of his contract. New Orleans is reportedly unwilling to give the 26-year-old a maximum-salary extension, making Ingram a prime trade candidate.
The Pistons, Jazz, Spurs and Mavericks are among the teams interested in free agent forward Tobias Harris, who is meeting with potential suitors in California, a source tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. All four clubs have previously been linked to Harris, who has spent the past five-plus seasons with the 76ers. With no cap room available, Dallas would only be able to acquire Harris in a sign-and-trade, Pompey notes.
While the Rockets have interest in a reunion with veteran guard Aaron Holiday, they also recognize that he might find an opportunity for more minutes elsewhere, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic. The 27-year-old has multiple suitors in free agency, Iko adds. It’s worth noting that Houston drafted Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard with the No. 3 overall pick last week.

FA Rumors: KCP, Harden, Kennard, Hartenstein, Jones, Highsmith, More

June 30th, 2024 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

After Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported earlier today that the Nuggets are preparing to lose Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms there’s a growing belief around the league the veteran wing won’t remain in Denver.

The Magic have “significant” interest in Caldwell-Pope and there has been growing buzz about the possibility of Orlando aggressively pursuing him, Scotto says, adding that the Magic’s interest in Klay Thompson has cooled by comparison. Multiple executives who spoke to HoopsHype believe Caldwell-Pope will sign for $20-25MM per year.

The Sixers, who have also frequently been cited as a Caldwell-Pope suitor, have been exploring the feasibility of landing both KCP and Paul George using their cap room, tweets Marc Stein.

Here are several more rumors with the official start of free agency just a couple hours away:

While James Harden has been mentioned as a possible mid-level ($12.9MM) target for the Lakers, the expectation is that the Clippers will be willing to pay him approximately double that amount, Scotto writes, echoing a comment made by Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN (YouTube link).
Rival executives aren’t expecting Luke Kennard to be truly available as an unrestricted free agent, according to Fischer, who says Kennard and the Grizzlies seem to be interested in continuing their relationship after the team turned down its option the sharpshooter on Saturday.
New Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon is known to be a fan of center Isaiah Hartenstein, so Detroit is considered a candidate to make a play for the Knicks big man, Fischer reports. A return to the Knicks still hasn’t been entirely ruled out for Hartenstein, though the Thunder continue to be viewed as a probable suitor as well, Fischer notes.
With point guard Tyus Jones seeking starter-level money as a free agent this offseason and the Wizards still in the early stages of their rebuilding project, there’s a growing sense that Washington will be open to moving Jones via sign-and-trade, per Scotto.
Free agent wing Haywood Highsmith is expected to draw interest from a mix of cap-room teams such as the Pistons, Hornets, Jazz, Spurs, and Sixers, as well as over-the-cap clubs like the Pacers, Kings, and Warriors, league sources tell Scotto, who suggests the 27-year-old could end up with a deal in the range of the full mid-level.
The Lakers are expected to have interest in re-signing both Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie, with Dinwiddie also likely to draw interest from the Mavericks, Scotto writes. NBA executives who spoke to HoopsHype projected Prince to potentially land a contract in the range of $5MM+ annually over two years.

Fischer’s Latest: Clippers, George, Warriors, Mavs, KCP, Klay, Nuggets, More

June 30th, 2024 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

As they navigate the challenges of the second tax apron for 2024/25 and beyond, the Clippers have been adamant to this point that they don’t want to complete a contract longer than three years for any players, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Barring a change of heart, that means Los Angeles will be unwilling to go higher than three years for its own star free agents, Paul George and James Harden.

While Harden seems likely to end up on a new three-year agreement with the Clippers, per Fischer, that three-year limit has been a point of contention in negotiations with George. Both the Sixers and Magic – who are set to meet with George late on Sunday night – are willing to offer the star forward a four-year, maximum-salary contract, Fischer confirms.

Outside of the Clippers, Sixers, and Magic, there’s another team “lingering on the periphery” of the George situation, according to Fischer, who says the Jazz‘s “dreamiest plot” for the offseason would be to use their trade assets to acquire an impact player on the trade market (they pursued Mikal Bridges before Brooklyn agreed to send him to New York) and to use their cap room to land George. However, as Fischer acknowledges, it’s extremely unlikely that George will decide to sign in Utah.

Here’s more from Fischer’s latest rumor round-up, with the official start of free agency just hours away:

The trade options the Warriors have considered – using Chris Paul and/or Andrew Wiggins as outgoing pieces – range from giving up draft picks in a deal for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram to acquiring a pick along with Bulls guard Zach LaVine, sources tell Fischer. If they don’t find a trade they like and lose Klay Thompson via free agency, the Warriors will have the full mid-level exception available. They’re considering possible targets using that MLE, says Fischer.
The Mavericks likely would have attempted to make a trade with the Nuggets to acquire Kentavious Caldwell-Pope if he had picked up his $15.4MM player option, Fischer reports. Now that Caldwell-Pope has opted for free agency, Thompson appears to be the free agent wing most likely to end up in Dallas, according to Fischer, who says Thompson also continues to be one of the Sixers‘ secondary targets if they miss out on George.
As for Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets are preparing to lose him, with the Sixers and Magic both holding “strong” interest in the veteran swingman, per Fischer. A deal with one of those cap-room teams in the range of $50MM over two years could be a possibility for KCP, Fischer adds.
Having traded away Reggie Jackson, the Nuggets are in the market for a backup point guard. Sources tell Fischer that Russell Westbrook would have been a target using the taxpayer mid-level exception if he had opted out of his contract with the Clippers. Fischer also mentioned Hornets guard Vasilije Micic as a Denver target, noting that Zeke Nnaji – who is on the trade block – could be sent out in a deal for Micic.
The Nuggets have also long had interest in big man Dario Saric, who could be a target in free agency, Fischer says.
While it won’t be one of their top short-term priorities as free agency begins, the Clippers are expected to eventually work out an extension with center Ivica Zubac, sources tell Yahoo Sports.

Jazz Believe Cody Williams Will Learn From His Brother

June 29th, 2024 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz don’t expect first-round pick Cody Williams to make an immediate impact like his older brother Jalen Williams did in Oklahoma City, but they recognize there are benefits to having a sibling who’s already in the NBA, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “I think it is a great example for him,” general manager Justin Zanik said. “They’re going to be different. They’re not the exact same player at all. But just being able to be around that can continue to inspire and grow Cody’s passion for the game.”

Hawks, Bruno Fernando Agree To Push Back Guarantee Date

June 29th, 2024 at 9:36pm CST by Luke Adams

For a second straight year, the Hawks and Bruno Fernando have reached an agreement to push back his salary guarantee date, reports Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).

In 2023, Atlanta moved Fernando’s salary guarantee deadline from June 29 to July 10, then ultimately kept him on the roster, guaranteeing his full $2.58MM salary for ’23/24. The guarantee date for his $2.72MM salary for ’24/25 has been pushed from June 29 into next month, Williams says, though there are no specific details yet on the new date.

Fernando is one of several players around the league who had a June 28 or June 29 salary guarantee date on his contract for 2024/25. Here are updates on a few of the others:

T.J. McConnell‘s $9.3MM salary for 2024/25, which had been partially guaranteed for $5MM, became fully guaranteed when the Pacers guard remained under contract through Friday, as Tony East of SI.com tweets. Given McConnell’s on-court value to Indiana, he was obviously never in danger of being waived.
That’s also true of Lauri Markkanen, whose contract with the Jazz featured a salary guarantee deadline on Friday. We can safely assume the team didn’t make any effort to push that date back, so the star forward’s $18MM salary for next season is now guaranteed.
Dante Exum remains in the Mavericks‘ plans going forward, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN, who notes (via Twitter) that the guard’s $3.15MM salary for 2024/25 became guaranteed when he wasn’t waived on Friday. Exum had a very successful return to the NBA last season after two years in Europe, averaging 7.8 PPG, 2.9 APG, and 2.7 RPG with a .533/.491/.779 shooting line in 55 games (19.8 MPG) for Dallas.
Josh Minott‘s $2.02MM salary with the Timberwolves for 2024/25 is now guaranteed, tweets Dane Moore of Blue Wire Podcasts. Minott’s cap hit is a little less than that of a two-year veteran’s minimum, so in addition to having the opportunity to continue developing the 2022 second-round pick, Minnesota will save a little money by carrying him in place of a minimum-salary signing.
Reporting last week suggested that the Rockets planned to keep center Jock Landale through his guarantee date on Saturday, and there have been no indications since then that the plan has changed or that his deadline has been pushed back, so we’re assuming his $8MM salary for 2024/25 is now fully guaranteed. Landale, who had an inconsistent role last season, could be used as a salary-matching piece in a Houston trade at some point during the coming league year.
Our early salary guarantee date tracker has been updated to reflect all of these updates.

QO Decisions: Jazz, Okeke, Pacers, Krejci, Celtics, More

June 29th, 2024 at 8:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz declined to issue qualifying offers to guard Kira Lewis or center Micah Potter ahead of Saturday’s deadline, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links). As a result, both players will be unrestricted free agents this summer rather than restricted.

Lewis, the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, didn’t establish himself as a rotation player during three-and-a-half seasons in New Orleans. He was traded from the Pelicans to the Pacers to the Raptors to the Jazz during the 2023/24 season, and played a limited role in Utah after arriving from Toronto as a salary-matching piece in the deal involving Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji. His qualifying offer would have been worth $7.74MM, so it comes as no surprise that it wasn’t tendered.

Potter also played sparingly for the Jazz last season while on a two-way contract, though he has shown some promise in the G League and is part of the U.S. Select Team that will scrimmage with Team USA ahead of the Olympics. His qualifying offer would’ve been for a partially guaranteed minimum-salary deal. According to Jones, a return to Utah is possible, though Potter may receive interest from other teams.

The only Jazz player eligible for restricted free agency who received a qualifying offer is guard Johnny Juzang, Jones reports (Twitter link). Since he has finished each of the past two seasons on a two-way contract with Utah, Juzang wasn’t eligible for another two-way qualifying offer, so his QO is for a partially guaranteed one-year minimum deal.

Here are more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:

Former Magic first-round pick Chuma Okeke didn’t receive a qualifying offer that would’ve been worth about $7.4MM and will become an unrestricted free agent, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Okeke, 25, has played good defense since entering the league in 2020, but hasn’t contributed much offensively, averaging 6.3 points per game on .383/.318/.789 shooting in 189 career contests (20.3 MPG).
The Pacers have tendered qualifying offers to Obi Toppin ($7.74MM), Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way), and Quenton Jackson (two-way), according to a pair of stories from Tony East of SI.com. All three players will now be restricted free agents.
The Hawks have issued a two-way qualifying offer to guard Vit Krejci, making him a restricted free agent, a league source tells Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Krejci is a candidate to negotiate a standard contract with Atlanta after finishing the 2023/24 season as a rotation player. He could also sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Hawks would have the right to match it.
After declining Neemias Queta‘s team option for 2023/24, the Celtics tendered him a qualifying offer, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Two-way player Drew Peterson also got a qualifying offer from Boston, but JD Davison didn’t, Smith adds. Queta’s QO will be worth approximately $2.37MM, while Peterson’s will be for another two-way contract.
The following players also received two-way qualifying offers, according to Smith: Lakers big man Colin Castleton (Twitter link), Bulls forward Adama Sanogo (Twitter link), Spurs wing David Duke (Twitter link), and former Warriors guard Nico Mannion (Twitter link), whose RFA rights continue to held by Golden State as he continues his career overseas. San Antonio issued a $2.7MM qualifying offer to big man Sandro Mamukelashvili too, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith.
The Clippers opted not to extend qualifying offers to two-way players Xavier Moon and Moussa Diabate, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links). The door isn’t closed on a new deal for either player, but it sounds like they’ll explore their options as unrestricted free agents, per Murray. The qualifying offers for Moon and Diabate would have been partially guaranteed minimum-salary offers, since they were ineligible for another two-way QO.
Neither Nate Hinton nor Jermaine Samuels received a two-way qualifying offer from the Rockets, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Both players will be unrestricted free agents.