League Trade Rumors

This is for all the scuttlebutt that don't directly involve the Celtics.


Bob


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Chris Paul has been waived!


https://www.si.com/nba/suns/news/report-phoenix-suns-waive-chris-paul

Ktron wrote:Chris Paul has been waived!


https://www.si.com/nba/suns/news/report-phoenix-suns-waive-chris-paul

The Royal PITA to Phoenix?

There'll be an open spot on the roster for him if Brad trades Pritchard for a draft pick.


Bob

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Pricetag for CP? Playing part-time he could be helpful, but we need a big more.

gyso wrote:

Ktron wrote:Chris Paul has been waived!


https://www.si.com/nba/suns/news/report-phoenix-suns-waive-chris-paul

The Royal PITA to Phoenix?  

The same thing crossed my mind. Brooklyn West

What do we have to do to get Christian Braun?! Possibly the one guy in the league who knows how to bust a zone wide open. Our current team wouldn't even have to reinvent the wheel or anything. Just get that guy or someone like him who knows to to make sharp cuts into a zone, draw defenders and pass off for a dang dunk or just go aggressively at the zone instead of our continual confused, stand around the perimeter, turn the ball over, brick up a 3, give up leads EVERY SINGLE TIME offense vs. zone attack. The zone should be extinct. It is not rocket science on how to beat it. Offensive teams should be drooling whenever they see a zone, literally begging for it. Instead, we fold up like a cheap suit. Pathetic.

db

dbrown4 wrote:What do we have to do to get Christian Braun?!  Possibly the one guy in the league who knows how to bust a zone wide open.  Our current team wouldn't even have to reinvent the wheel or anything.  Just get that guy or someone like him who knows to to make sharp cuts into a zone, draw defenders and pass off for a dang dunk or just go aggressively at the zone instead of our continual confused, stand around the perimeter, turn the ball over, brick up a 3, give up leads EVERY SINGLE TIME offense vs. zone attack.  The zone should be extinct.  It is not rocket science on how to beat it.  Offensive teams should be drooling whenever they see a zone, literally begging for it.  Instead, we fold up like a cheap suit.  Pathetic.  

db      

I understand your point and share your need to pop a few Tums every time we fail to deal with a zone.

The time honored strategy has always been you beat a zone by shooting over it. Of course that assumes you have a big down on the block to go get rebounds, hit those put-backs or kick it back out. So we try and shoot over it and the law of averages beats us. No physically capable bigs.

Until we have one, maybe you could just pass me the Tums.

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/expected-kyle-kuzma-declines-13-011150237.html


As expected, Kyle Kuzma declines $13 million player option, here are three potential landing spots


Kurt Helin
Tue, June 20, 2023 at 6:11 PM PDT


One thing was always clear: Kyle Kuzma always was going to opt out of the $13 million he was owed next season because a bigger payday and the security of more years were waiting this July.

Tuesday Kuzma did as expected and told the Wizards he would opt out. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the news.


Kuzma averaged 21.2 points, shooting 33.3% from 3, plus grabbing 7.2 rebounds and dishing out 3.7 assists a game last season.

While Kuzma’s intentions were always clear, how much money was out there in the marketplace who might pay him that dollars are a little more cloudy. Here are three teams that are potential landing spots.

1. Washington Wizards. This is the most likely outcome. The Wizards clearly are heading toward a rebuilding phase after agreeing to trade Bradley Beal, but with that they would prefer to re-sign Kuzma to a fair contract — $20 million a season, give or take — and then trade him later when they can get picks or a young player to help that rebuilding process. If Beal wants to sign with a contender or just a quality playoff team and not a rebuilding team with cap space, this is his best path (most of the teams with money to spend this summer are in various stages of rebuilding themselves).

2. Houston Rockets. The Rockets want to start winning and have money to spend (nearly $60 million in cap space). Kuzma could be the kind of free agent they chase to help round out their roster (especially if the latest reports of James Harden re-signing in Philadelphia turn out to be true). Houston is expected to at least have conversations with a number of top free agents this summer, and Kuzma is going to be on this list.

3. Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are in the market for a floor-spacing forward, something Marc Stein wrote about in a recent newsletter at Substack. Stein notes that Harrison Barnes, most recently of Sacramento, is at the top of their list. However, Kuzma makes sense as a fallback, and the Pacers have the cap space to pay him in the low $20 million a season range. It is a contract that could work for both teams.

There will be other suitors for Kuzma as well, he will have options. Whatever he chooses, he made the right move by opting out of this contract, the main is about to get paid. Which should cover the cost of a few more interesting pregame fits to wear to the arena.


Bob
MY NOTE:  One of the rumored destinations for Grant was Indy.  There was speculation they'd outbid the Celtics for him.  Not if they go for Kuzma.

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Sixer Montrezl Harrell is declining his $2.7M Player Option and will become a free agent.


Bob


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https://us.yahoo.com/sports/evan-fournier-rips-knicks-tom-140724732.html


Evan Fournier rips Knicks, Tom Thibodeau: 'You want to spit on everyone'


John Healy
Wed, July 19, 2023 at 7:15 AM PDT


Evan Fournier’s days with the Knicks are likely numbered, and he is not too pleased with how it reached this point.

The veteran guard, who appeared in just 27 games last season, vented his frustrations in an interview with French media outlet, L’Equipe, in which he blasted the organization and head coach Tom Thibodeau for his diminished role.

“You want to spit on everyone. You have hatred,” Fournier said. “Derrick Rose and I looked at each and said to each other: ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ During the five-on-five practice, we were on the side like some prospects. Uncool times. And when I realized that wouldn’t change, I took things more slowly. I focused on myself and didn’t let the rest get to me anymore.”

Fournier likened his situation to a character from the Japanese anime show "Dragon Ball Z."

“Do you know Dragon Ball Z? When the hero Goku finds himself on planet Namek, injured, in a regeneration capsule?” he asked the interviewer. “I had this image in my head all year, every practice.

“I practiced like it was the off-season. I ran a lot. I tried to progress. I’ve never been so strong. But that doesn’t necessarily transfer to your feelings and your game. I need to find my rhythm playing one-on-one [then against the] opposition. When I realized that I was no longer going to play, I radically changed my way of working.”

The 30-year-old appeared in the first 13 games of the season for the Knicks, averaging 20 minutes per game, but was relegated to the bench as Thibodeau searched for answers for a struggling team.

Fournier did not appreciate how Thibodeau reached his decision so quickly and has no relationship with the head coach.

“I have nothing to say [to Thibodeau] because I have none,” Fournier said. “When he took me out of the [starting] five, he just told me he was going to try something else. Then at the first match of a road trip, he announced to me that I was leaving the rotation, ciao.”

Fournier is still under contract with the Knicks for next season and owed $18 million but the veteran guard does not expect to be back with the team.

“I would be very surprised to be a Knick next year,” he said. “They pay me $18 million, they have no interest in keeping me. If you want to trade me with a good return, why didn’t you use me?

“I was coming out of a season where I was the fourth-best 3-point shooter in the league. Why not take advantage of it? Now they won’t get anything interesting and that’s normal because I couldn’t show anything.”

The Knicks do have a team option they can use with Fournier following the 2023-24 season, but Fournier believes if he is not traded it would be disastrous for his career.

“I’m going to be traded, it’s not possible otherwise,” he said. “Or I’d be stuck, and so would they. They have several players with big contracts coming in. Unless they want to pay a crazy luxury tax… If I stayed, it would be a disaster basketball-wise for my career. I can manage a year without playing. Two… that would be terrible.”


Bob
MY NOTE:  You shouldn't keep your feelings in so much, Evan.  Wow, what a scree!  He has $18.86M left on his contract.  Next year he has a Club Option which, of course, the Knicks will not pick up unless it's so they can trade him for comparable salary.  Remember when James Dolan was so pleased with himself for signing Fournier away from us?  He thought he was soooo clever.

He had a really bad year last year, but that doesn't mean he's done, he's only going on 31.  My beef with him is that he's a mediocre defender and that's being nice.  Therefore, he has no place starting on any team of mine.  Would he be willing to come off the bench?  Perhaps, but if we're looking for a shooter with mediocre defense we have Sam, and his defense isn't as bad as Fournier's.  So my answer is 'no' to a redux with Evan Fournier.

HOWEVER, Brad has a $6+M TPE from the Grant Williams trade.  He could be a facilitator if a team wants Fournier but needs help with the $.


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No way Blazers are going to get multiple picks and a star player for Damien Lillard, not with his age 33, contract guaranteed a huge 60 mill himself in a few years and he’s played like 50 games the last 2 seasons.

The Heat will need a 3rd team to get involved.

I agree with Cowens. A star player is not coming back. The timing of Lillard's trade request puts the Blazers in a difficult situation. At the same time, how did they expect him to react when they drafted his replacement?

This could drag out for a while unless the Blazers can move him to a team not named the Heat. I cannot imagine Lillard refusing to play at a destination that was not his top choice.

Rumors are Atlanta is putting Clint Capela on the trading block. $20M this year, $22+M next year.


Bob


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bobheckler wrote:https://us.yahoo.com/sports/evan-fournier-rips-knicks-tom-140724732.html


Evan Fournier rips Knicks, Tom Thibodeau: 'You want to spit on everyone'


John Healy
Wed, July 19, 2023 at 7:15 AM PDT


Evan Fournier’s days with the Knicks are likely numbered, and he is not too pleased with how it reached this point.

The veteran guard, who appeared in just 27 games last season, vented his frustrations in an interview with French media outlet, L’Equipe, in which he blasted the organization and head coach Tom Thibodeau for his diminished role.

“You want to spit on everyone. You have hatred,” Fournier said. “Derrick Rose and I looked at each and said to each other: ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ During the five-on-five practice, we were on the side like some prospects. Uncool times. And when I realized that wouldn’t change, I took things more slowly. I focused on myself and didn’t let the rest get to me anymore.”

Fournier likened his situation to a character from the Japanese anime show "Dragon Ball Z."

“Do you know Dragon Ball Z? When the hero Goku finds himself on planet Namek, injured, in a regeneration capsule?” he asked the interviewer. “I had this image in my head all year, every practice.

“I practiced like it was the off-season. I ran a lot. I tried to progress. I’ve never been so strong. But that doesn’t necessarily transfer to your feelings and your game. I need to find my rhythm playing one-on-one [then against the] opposition. When I realized that I was no longer going to play, I radically changed my way of working.”

The 30-year-old appeared in the first 13 games of the season for the Knicks, averaging 20 minutes per game, but was relegated to the bench as Thibodeau searched for answers for a struggling team.

Fournier did not appreciate how Thibodeau reached his decision so quickly and has no relationship with the head coach.

“I have nothing to say [to Thibodeau] because I have none,” Fournier said. “When he took me out of the [starting] five, he just told me he was going to try something else. Then at the first match of a road trip, he announced to me that I was leaving the rotation, ciao.”

Fournier is still under contract with the Knicks for next season and owed $18 million but the veteran guard does not expect to be back with the team.

“I would be very surprised to be a Knick next year,” he said. “They pay me $18 million, they have no interest in keeping me. If you want to trade me with a good return, why didn’t you use me?

“I was coming out of a season where I was the fourth-best 3-point shooter in the league. Why not take advantage of it? Now they won’t get anything interesting and that’s normal because I couldn’t show anything.”

The Knicks do have a team option they can use with Fournier following the 2023-24 season, but Fournier believes if he is not traded it would be disastrous for his career.

“I’m going to be traded, it’s not possible otherwise,” he said. “Or I’d be stuck, and so would they. They have several players with big contracts coming in. Unless they want to pay a crazy luxury tax… If I stayed, it would be a disaster basketball-wise for my career. I can manage a year without playing. Two… that would be terrible.”


Bob
MY NOTE:  You shouldn't keep your feelings in so much, Evan.  Wow, what a scree!  He has $18.86M left on his contract.  Next year he has a Club Option which, of course, the Knicks will not pick up unless it's so they can trade him for comparable salary.  Remember when James Dolan was so pleased with himself for signing Fournier away from us?  He thought he was soooo clever.

He had a really bad year last year, but that doesn't mean he's done, he's only going on 31.  My beef with him is that he's a mediocre defender and that's being nice.  Therefore, he has no place starting on any team of mine.  Would he be willing to come off the bench?  Perhaps, but if we're looking for a shooter with mediocre defense we have Sam, and his defense isn't as bad as Fournier's.  So my answer is 'no' to a redux with Evan Fournier.

HOWEVER, Brad has a $6+M TPE from the Grant Williams trade.  He could be a facilitator if a team wants Fournier but needs help with the $.


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Dude his defense sucks bg time, if it was only mediocre he probably could get some minutes somewhere.

I knew that the Knicks made a mistake when they signed Fournier and Walker. If you cannot play defense you cannot play for Thibs.

dboss - you just stated what was obvious to everyone in the world except perhaps for Leon Rose and James Dolan. If you can't play D you won't play for Thibs.

Duh!

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/joel-embiid-removes-processing-philadelphia-location-from-twitter-bio-as-76ers-offseason-gets-messier/



Joel Embiid removes 'Processing,' Philadelphia location from Twitter bio as 76ers' offseason gets messier


   
By Chris Bengel
19 hrs ago
•
2 min read



The Philadelphia 76ers have had a tumultuous offseason as a result of their current situation involving star guard James Harden. On Tuesday, star center Joel Embiid added more fuel to the fire when he removed Philadelphia as his official location on his Twitter account.


In addition, Embiid's teammate, PJ Tucker, also appears to be siding with Harden in this situation. Tucker shared a photo of Harden and himself on his Instagram story and wrote "I'm not acrobatic, I'm not flippin' on my bros."

This comes after Harden called Sixers president Daryl Morey a "liar" on Monday, and stated that he "will never be a part of an organization that [Morey is] a part of" during a media event in China.

On Saturday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the 76ers had decided to end trade talks involving and would move forward with bringing Harden to training camp this fall. According to The Athletic, Harden has no intention of reporting to training camp, and no longer wishes to play for the Sixers.

Earlier this offseason, Harden decided to opt into the final year of a two-year, $68.8 million contract that he signed last summer with Philadelphia. Harden opted in for the sole purpose of the Sixers finding a trading partner for his services.

Throughout the process, Harden has maintained that he prefers to be traded to the Clippers, but those trade talks "never got close," according to Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

When it comes to Embiid, it's unclear where exactly the Sixers star stands with the organization at the moment. In an interview with Maverick Carter last month, Embiid stated that he didn't know if he'd be chasing an NBA title in "Philly or elsewhere."

"I just want to win a championship, whatever it takes," Embiid said. "I don't know where that's going to be, whether it's Philly or elsewhere, I just want to have a chance. I want to see what it feels like to win that first one. It's not easy, but every single day I work towards it."

The Sixers haven't made it past the first round of the playoffs since Allen Iverson led the franchise to the NBA Finals in 2001, including six-straight early exits with Embiid leading the way. Philadelphia was eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2023 playoffs, despite Embiid averaging 25.5 points and nine rebounds in the series.

Embiid won the first league MVP award this past season after putting together averages of 27.2 points and 11.2 rebounds. In doing so, Embiid became the first Sixers player to win the award since Iverson took home the honor in 2000-01.


Bob
MY NOTE:  So, The Process is tired of processing.  All those years of unabashed and unrequited tanking, all for naught. You can keep the trashy novels and reality TV shows, schadenfreude is one of my guilty pleasures.

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Harden was being a bit opportunistic by dissing Morey while in China, since Morey is #1 on the CCP's scata list. Harden got a big paycheck from Adidas and was probably just sucking up to his paymasters.

https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/nba-criticized-for-caving-to-china-after-houston-gms-controversial-tweet

Where Are Adidas Shoes Made? [1100+ Factories, 65 Countries]
Last Updated On October 7, 2022 by Mahmudul Kabir
Everyone knows how famous Adidas is. But the country of production may not be apparent to everyone. Being the second-largest athletic clothing manufacturer in the world, how do they distribute their products? And where are Adidas shoes made?

Adidas shoes are produced all over the world. They don’t make their shoes in one country and then distribute them all over the world. For instance, they have 337 factories in China alone!

dboss wrote:I knew that the Knicks made a mistake when they signed Fournier and Walker.  If you cannot play defense you cannot play for Thibs.

DBoss,

James Dolan had "Danny envy".  If Danny liked Fournier and Kemba then Dolan just had to get them.

James Dolan is like our kid brother. He gets our hand-me-downs.


Bob


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There's a rumor that Indy is making Buddy Hield available for trade.

Almost 31 years old.  Career 40% from 3, 42.5% last season.  85.8% ft%.

Not a good passer, nor a particularly willing one.  He's the last guy you pass to because he's the last guy to pass the ball after it reaches him.  When he gets it, he's shooting it.  It's, really, all he knows.

A "less than enthusiastic" defender is putting it nicely.  He's a poor defender and has gotten worse over the past few years.

His contract is for $19.3M and this is his last year.  He's an expiring contract.

He's not what we need, certainly not at that price.  We'd have to give up Brogdon to make those numbers work.  Not only would it be ridiculous for Indy to take the player they traded to us back I'd rather have the well-rounded Brogdon.  

HOWEVER, we have TPEs.  We have a $6.2M TPE from the Grant sign-and-trade.  Brad could facilitate a trade for Indy with a team that does want Hield by providing the TPE, to make the numbers work, and receive draft pick(s) as payment.  Danny was the Grandmaster at this.  And draft picks from Indy, given they finished 35-47 last season and got the #7 pick, might be quite valuable.  They are in full-blown rebuild mode. So a first round pick two years, or even three years, from now would be fine with me (I doubt anybody would give up a first round pick in this coming draft for Hield, Indy certainly wouldn't, but maybe future drafts?).


Bob


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Rick "The Genius" Kamla suggested on NBA radio today that the Celtics should trade Malcolm plus first round picks for Buddy. No further comment.

I'd rather see what we have and stay under the 2nd apron, for now.

Maybe him, or someone similar will be bought out and we add them at a prorated vet minimum contract later in the season.