NBA rumors

The Toronto Raptors are signing Henry Hellenson to a ten-day contract.

Toronto is signing forward Henry Ellenson to a 10-day contract, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 10, 2021

Free agent veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova will sign a veteran minimum deal with the Utah Jazz tomorrow, as reported by ESPN’s Jordan Schultz and Adrian Wojnarowski.

Ilyasova last played for the Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 6.6 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 2019-20.

Kyle Lowry expects to be traded by the Toronto Raptors before the March’s deadline.

Per The Ringer, Bill Simmons: Should Toronto trade Kyle Lowry? Ryen Russillo: The word on that one is that Lowry has been telling everybody for over a month that he is getting traded, which is interesting that he’s already like ‘yeah, I’m out of here’. So I don’t know if that’s him saying it, I don’t know if that’s some understanding that he has with the front office, I don’t know that part of it, but whenever you ask about Lowry, they’re like ‘he thinks he’s leaving.’

The Chicago Bulls want to keep Thaddeus Young, Kevin O’Connor reports.

The reporter reveals that Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas is telling teams that the veteran forward isn’t available on the market.

The former Georgia Tech is averaging 12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assist (career-high) and 1.4 steals per game, shooting 61% from the field and 64% from the foul line.

Young is under contract until 2022, with about 14.1 million (6 guaranteed) for the 2021/22 season.

According to Kevin O’Connor, Heat, Spurs, Celtics, and Hornets have expressed significant interest for Orlando Magic big man Nikola Vucevic.

The two-time All Star is averaging over 24 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assist per game, shooting 48% from the field, 41% from beyond the arc and 85% from the foul line.

According to NBA.com Vucevic leads the league in points scored in catch and shoot, 11.6 per game.

The Pelicans seem unlikely to trade Lonzo Ball before the deadline.

Per Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer the trade talks involving Ball have “fizzled for now”.

Ball has played better of late and is their best playmaker in the backcourt.
Ball will be a restricted free agent in the offseason and it is not yet clear how he fits in the Pelicans’ long-term plans.
The Pelicans could be buyers or sellers at the deadline.

The Golden State Warriors have interest in acquiring Rockets guard Victor Oladipo, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.

The trade deadline is on March 25.

Blake Griffin expected to sign with the Brooklyn Nets.

Interested teams have expected Griffin to pursue a championship in Brooklyn alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.

Interested teams have expected Griffin to pursue a championship in Brooklyn alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. https://t.co/5uMTu0Nfgv

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 7, 2021

According to Chris Fedor, the Cleveland Cavaliers have received several calls from teams interested in Larry Nance Jr.

The reporter explains that a team would be willing to give up ‘multiple late first round picks’

Interested teams would include Minnesota, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Miami and Dallas.

However, the Cavs would be willing not to trade Nance Jr, because they consider him a core player.

In the first part of the regular season, Nance Jr averaged 9.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals (No.2 NBA) per game.

The Sacramento Kings could trade Cory Joseph by the March 25th deadline, sources tell The Athletic.

Veteran Canadian guard has just $2.4M of his salary for the 21-22 season guaranteed. Joseph signed a three-year, $37M deal with the Kings during the 2019 offseason.

The job of Luke Walton as head coach of the Sacramento Kings is “not in any imminent trouble,” sources tell The Athletic. Walton is also expected to remain in the job at least through this season unless the Kings go into “a complete nose-dive in the second half.”

Walton is owed a combined $11.5 million in the next two seasons of his four-year contract. The Kings turned over their front office since Walton was hired, bringing in Monte McNair to replace Vlade Divac.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the Miami Heat have been active in recent days in trade discussions, and could target for one between John Wall and Kyle Lowry.

While Raptors star is on an expiring contract, Rockets guard is signed through 2022-23.

The Brooklyn Nets are widely considered the leaders to sign Blake Griffin when he clears waivers, sources tell Shams Charania and James Edwards III of The Athletic.

“Rival teams with interest are expecting Griffin to choose Nets as a title favorite for chance to win a championship,” writes Charania. Other teams said to be interested in Griffin are Lakers, Clippers, Heat and Warriors.

Blake Griffin will be free agent soon.
The former 1st pick of the NBA draft and the Detroit Pistons have reached an agreement on a buyout.

Per ESPN,Six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin has agreed to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons and will become an unrestricted free agent, sources tell ESPN.

The Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers are expected to be among the teams Griffin will be considering for his next stop, sources tell ESPN.

Griffin, 31, is expected to make a decision on his next team after conversations with prospective teams, sources said.

Finding a trade for Griffin — who was owed a remaining $36.6 million this season, and $39 million in 2021-2022 prior to the buyout — was an insurmountable challenge for the Pistons.

Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica will receive interest from several teams before the deadline of March 25th, Shams Charania reports.

Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics are among the teams that have already expressed interest in the Serbian player.

Bjelica is averaging 8.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assist per game.

The Milwaukee Bucks are planning to sign guard Myles Powell on a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania.

Powell, a former college basketball star at Seton Hall, has been playing in the G League bubble with the Westchester Knicks, averaging 17.8 points on 44.6 percent from 3-point range.

According to the Los Angeles Times, former Pistons center Andre Drummond would be “high” on Los Angeles Lakers’ wishlist in case of a buyout from the Cleveland Cavaliers before the March 25 trade deadline.

Other names reportedly considered by the defending NBA champions to strengthen their front court are Kings’ Hassan Whiteside and Cavs’ JaVale McGee, other two players that could be bought out from their respective teams.