NBA rumors

Houston Rockets governor Tilman Fertitta “fully intends” to retain Daryl Morey as general manager of the team, high-ranking sources within the team tell ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

Morey signed a five-year extension with the Rockets in 2019 and is believed to be making approximately $8 million per season. His job status has been a topic of discussion in league circles since his Tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters before the start of the 19-20 season.

Houston forward Jeff Green is ready to continue his career next season, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The 34-year-old averaged 12.2 points after signing with the Rockets midway through the season.

Rockets center Tyson Chandler also told Spears that he was open to continuing his career, but it will be determined by the opportunity and the state of the world. The 37-year-old Chandler averaged 1.3 points in 26 games this season.

Mike D’Antoni has become an unrestricted free agent now that the Houston Rockets have been eliminated from the playoffs. According to ESPN, D’Antoni intends to consider his options even if the Rockets signal real interest in re-signing him. Two-time coach of the year is considered a leading candidate for the Indiana Pacers’ head coaching vacancy and he could have other options.

D’Antoni and the Rockets were unable to agree to an extension during the 2019 offseason, with former Suns and Knicks coach hopeful to continue his career for at least another four seasons.

Giannis Antetokounmpo met with Marc Lasry on Saturday to discuss the future of the Milwaukee Bucks franchise, league sources told Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.

The 25-year-old also unfollowed hundreds of accounts on Twitter and Instagram, including the Bucks’ account and teammates’ accounts.

Miami Heat assistant GM Adam Simon has decided not to pursue Kings‘ head of basketball operations position, sources tell The Athletic’s Shams Charania. 

Simon and Pelicans‘ Trajan Langdon have pulled out in recent days, out of the original list of six candidates for whom Sacramento has requested permission for a meeting.

The NBA prefers in-market games with reduced travel and some level of fans for the 20-21 season rather than the single-campus environment they created in Orlando to finish the current season, reports The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The league is aiming for a full 82-game regular season, which won’t start before December 25th. NBA will provide an announcement on next season’s structure with eight weeks notice of the final chosen start date.

The Nets are pursuing multiple assistant candidates for head coach Steve Nash’s staff, including Lakers assistant Phil Handy, sources tell The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Former interim coach Jacque Vaughn will serve as the lead assistant on Nash’s staff.

The NBA has informed the Board of Governors that the 20-21 season won’t begin until Christmas Day at the earliest, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic.

November 18 Draft date, 20-21 start date remain fluid, writes Charania. When the NBA locked out the players in 2011, the season began on Christmas Day.

The Milwaukee Bucks will offer Giannis Antetokounmpo a five-year supermax at the start of free agency this offseason, reports The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

For a salary cap of $109 million like this current season, the supermax would be for $221.27 million over five seasons.

The Milwaukee Bucks will not part ways with Mike Budenholzer this offseason, source tell The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Budenholzer will coach Milwaukee for a third season despite a disappointing elimination suffered against the Miami Heat during the 2020 Playoffs.

Billy Donovan turned down a contract extension offer before the NBA resumed in July.
Donovan and the Thunder have agreed to part ways when OKC season ended against Rockets.

The news was reported by the Athletic.

The Milwaukee Bucks may try to trade Eric Bledsoe this offseason.
Bledsoe has three-years remaining on his contract with the Bucks at $16.8MM, $18.1MM and $19.3MM.

Per The Athletic, Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe is under contract for multiple seasons and had another standout season by earning All-Defensive team honors, but he is expected to become a potential trade candidate, sources told The Athletic.

Chauncey Billups is one of the hottest candidates for Indiana Pacers head coaching job.

Per ESPN, As the Pacers begin preliminary interviews with a number of candidates, Billups and team officials have recently engaged and are planning to talk further about the job, sources said Wednesday.
Billups, 43, fits the historical profile of past Pacers coaches Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas: NBA Finals MVPs considered generational team leaders of men — who were hired without coaching experience.
Clippers assistant Ty Lue has discussed with Billups the possibility of him joining Lue as his top assistant coach should he land a head-coaching job this offseason, sources said.

Also Philadelphia 76ers targets Chris Paul for the next offseason.

The Knicks, in desperate need of a player to lure prospective free agents, could also make a run at him after his former agent, Leon Rose, took over as team president

Denver Nuggets promotes Tomas Balcetis as Assistant General Manager.

Balcetis, 34, joined the Nuggets in 2013.

The Denver Nuggets have promoted Tomas Balcetis to Assistant General Manager, sources confirmed. Balcetis, 34, joined the Nuggets in 2013.

— Donatas Urbonas (@Urbodo) September 9, 2020

Utah Jazz VP Dennis Lindsey: «Anyone with defensive integrity who is an active and athletic defender will be someone who is of interest to us».

Utah Jazz VP Dennis Lindsey on the upcoming offseason: Anyone with defensive integrity who is an active and athletic defender will be someone who is of interest to us

— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) September 9, 2020

Trajan Langdon will remain in New Orleans next season.

As reported by The Athletic Pelicans GM: «has informed the Sacramento Kings he will not be involved in their search for a new head of basketball operations».

Sources tell @TheAthletic that Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon has informed the Sacramento Kings he will not be involved in their search for a new head of basketball operations.

Langdon, one of the hottest names on the market, is heading into his second season with New Orleans.

— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) September 9, 2020

Indiana Pacers beginning with a wide-ranging list in coaching search, including Becky Hammon and Dave Joerger as reported by ESPN.

The Pacers are embarking on a wide-ranging search that has included seeking permission to speak to several assistant coaches in the league, including the Spurs’ Hammon and Will Hardy, Miami’s Dan Craig and Chris Quinn, Dallas’ Jamahl Mosley and Stephen Silas, Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham and Charles Lee, Orlando’s Pat Delany, Minnesota’s David Vanterpool, Philadelphia’s Ime Udoka, Brooklyn’s Jacque Vaughn and Portland’s Nate Tibbetts.

The Milwaukee Bucks have no intention of trading Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason should he pass on signing a super-max contract that could be worth $220 million over five seasons. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes that “multiple sources are adamant that the Bucks won’t trade him” under that scenario.

Reigning NBA MVP has made it clear this his priority is winning and there has been an expectation he won’t sign the extension regardless of where the 20-21 cap comes in.

The expectation among several league executives is for the NBA and NBPA to eventually set the 20-21 salary cap around this year’s figure of $109.1 million, reports ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

Sources maintain there has yet to be concrete discussions, however, that there have not been concrete discussions on how to handle the NBA’s finances next season and beyond, but the concept of maintaining the cap at a similar level is reportedly viewed as a realistic compromise.

Teams would be allowed to plan with more stability as the league likely returns to some level of normalcy coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. It would also allow free agents or extension eligible players to sign long-term contracts on par with what was initially expected.

The Milwaukee Bucks are expected to explore a trade for Chris Paul, according to rival teams that spoke with Marc Stein of the New York Times.

Paul, who’s coming off a strong All Star season, is expected to be traded as Oklahoma City seems likely to pivot to a rebuild after parting ways with coach Billy Donovan.

Billy Donovan could be a candidate for the Chicago Bulls and Philadelphia 76ers head coaching jobs, according to ESPN and The Athletic.

Donovan and OKC have agreed to part ways after five seasons.

Giannis Antetokounmpo told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that he will not request trade from the Milwaukee Bucks following the elimination in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Antetokounmpo is eligible to sign a five-year, $254 million contract extension this offseason. The Greek can also play the final year of his contract and become unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Per Yahoo Sports, “It’s not happening. That’s not happening,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports after the Bucks were eliminated in five games in the second round by the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
“Some see a wall and go in [another direction]. I plow through it. We just have to get better as a team, individually and get right back at it next season.”
“If winning a championship was easy, everyone would have one,” Antetokounmpo told Yahoo Sports. “We lost. Everyone saw that we lost. It’s disappointing, but what are we going to do? We’re going to keep working. I’ve got confidence in my teammates.”

Kyle Korver may retire this offseason.
The shooter has been in the NBA 17 seasons.

Per ESPN, Bucks guard Kyle Korver also told The Undefeated he will talk to his family before deciding on his NBA future. The 39-year-old has played in 17 seasons, has made one NBA All-Star appearance and has made 2,450 3-pointers. Korver is now an unrestricted free agent.