NBA rumors

Doc Rivers hopes to convince Ben Simmons to remains in Philadelphia.
The Australian has requested a trade and doesn’t want to report to training camp forcing Phila to move him.

Per ESPN, “Well, I hope we can change that thought,” Rivers said on ESPN. “That’s part of our job.”

Both the 76ers and Simmons have sought a trade this offseason but nothing has materialized.

“The greatest thing in sports is, you know it’s fair, you fail at times and then you get back on the horse and try,” Rivers said. “You would be amazed if I told you how many times through a summer when you don’t win, which is 29 teams, how often you have to go through something similar to this. Because losing’s hard. People internalize it, and you have to deal with it. So we’re going to deal with this.”

Rivers was credited with saying that he wasn’t sure if the Sixers could win a title with Simmons at point guard.

“That’s not what I said, actually,” Rivers interjected Wednesday when asked about the comment. “This is when narratives … and this is what makes our jobs hard. I actually said when the guy asked, guys, I’m not answering that stuff right now. I don’t even know how to answer that. So what I was talking about was not answering the question. It had nothing to do with Ben.”

Rivers was asked if Simmons can play for him and win a championship.

“Yeah, all day. All day. He just does so many things, man,” Rivers said, going on to explain how scoring isn’t everything.

“The Ben Wallaces of the world. It was great to see him go into the Hall of Fame. And the Dennis Rodmans of the world … help teams win titles and have Hall of Fame careers without being great scorers,” Rivers said. “I do think Ben can score way more than he has scored, but that’s not what makes him great. What makes him great is all the other things he does.”

Free agent G Theo Pinson will go to training camp with the Boston Celtics, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski

Pinson spent parts of his first three NBA seasons with the Nets and Knicks, tallying in total 68 NBA games averaging 2.9 ppg

Free agent G Chasson Randle is signing a training camp deal with the Phoenix Suns, source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski

Randle last played for Orlando, averaging 6.4 ppg in 41 games in 2020-21

The Brooklyn Nets hope to sign James Harden and Kyrie Irving to extensions in the coming weeks. The Nets have already signed Kevin Durant to a 4-year, $198M extension this offseason. Both Harden and Irving would become unrestricted free agents in 2022 should they not extend.

“We’ve had very positive conversations with both those guys and I think it always helps to do these things in person”, Sean Marks said, “With this being summer, we’re very cognizant of letting people have their own time away before we all get back into the swing of things here. We’re looking forward to sitting down with them over the course of the next week, two weeks, and furthering those discussions.”

Per ESPN, Simmons has four years and $147 million left on his max contract — including $33 million for 2021-22 — and clearly understands the potential financial implications of sitting out. The Sixers could test Simmons’ willingness to stay away by fining him considerable salary.

Beyond the league’s collective bargaining agreement, which provides the ability for the Sixers to withhold salary for a player’s failure to provide services, the Sixers have their own set of rules that include fines for missing media day and each missed practice. The final resort for the Sixers could be to suspend Simmons for “failing to render services” once preseason games begin — which could cost Simmons $227,613 for each missed game.

Simmons’ contract is structured for him to receive 50% of his salary before Oct. 1.

Quinn Cook will sign a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The free agent guard spent last season between Lakers and Cavaliers.

Free agent guard Quinn Cook is signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 21, 2021

Ben Simmons has decided not to report to the 76ers training camp that will start next week.
Simmons doesn’t want to platy again for the 76ers and doesn’t want to join them even in practices.
Simmons is aware that 76ers can suspend him or withhold his salary but he has decided to force the trade.
The 76ers have not found yet a trade partner for the Australian point guard.

Simmons is clearly aware of sanctions available to organization to fine and suspend him, including withholding of salary. But so far, Simmons appears willing to carry out a plan of forcing his way to a new team. Sixers have yet to find a a trade they’re willing to make for him. https://t.co/vxSrBUWjXw

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 21, 2021

Ben Simmons doesn’t want to report to 76ers training camp after requesting trade from the team.
Philadelphia hopes to convince the player to be at the training camp while they are looking for a profitable trade for the team.

The expectation remains, one week out from 76ers media day, that Ben Simmons will choose not to report to the team’s training camp, league sources say. But the Sixers, sources say, remain intent on trying to convince Simmons to report.

More NBA from me at https://t.co/A6ycVmnrjq

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) September 20, 2021

Quinn Cook will workout for the Warriors over several days.
Cook played two seasons with Golden State and was part of their 2018 championship team.
Last season Cook has appeared in 23 games between Lakers and Cavaliers averaging 3.3ppg.

Quinn Cook will have a multi-day workout with the Golden State Warriors this week, a source tells me.

Cook played two seasons with Golden State and was part of their 2018 championship team. He fits the mold of that ball-handling backup guard they are looking for.

— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) September 19, 2021

According to a report from Forbes, NBA projections indicate that a $171 million salary cap is possible, assuming no cap smoothing, by 2025 if the league will reach its new TV deal goal of over $75B, that would compensate the league with $8.3B annually: a figure that is the triple of the current deal.

Should the NBPA instead agree to cap smoothing, it’s likely the league will still see annual increases to the extent of $15 million, according to source. Cap smoothing could become a significant topic during the next round of CBA negotiations, which are expected to start next summer.

Eric Gordon is open to being traded from Houston who is in rebuilding.

Per The Athletic, Eric Gordon has not approached the Houston Rockets to ask for a trade, but he’s open to moving to a more favorable situation as the franchise continues their rebuild.

The Rockets have communicated to Gordon and his camp that they would love for him to stay.

“They always know, and it’s definitely not easy for my position,” Gordon tells Kelly Iko of The Athletic about Houston understanding how he feels. “But my ultimate goal is to just go out there and play, help, show that I’m healthy and gravitate to these guys to get better.”

Gordon was part of the group that took a pre-camp trip down to the Bahamas.

Gordon has two years and approximately $37 million remaining on his contract. Gordon signed a four-year, $76 million extension with the Rockets during the 2019 offseason.

Despite previous reports – earlier this summer – indicating a possible interest from the Los Angeles Clippers into Russell Westbrook, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reports that this was never the case

Additionally, Lowe indicated as highly unlikely a Clippers tentative trade for John Wall

While the Houston Rockets and John Wall have mutually agreed to seek a trade and that he will not play in any team games, ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Tim MacMahon have reported that the chances of seeing an actual trade are unlikely.

The Atlanta Hawks have reached an agreement with Jahlil Okafor.
The big man will pen a non guaranteed deal.

Free agent center Jahlil Okafor is signing a non-guaranteed deal with the Atlanta Hawks, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 16, 2021

Kyrie Irving doesn’t want to be traded by the Nets.
If Brooklyn trades him, he will retire, according to his agent.

There have been speculations over the last few days about a trade between Nets and 76ers for a Irving for Simmons swap.

Some NBA news:

There are a handful of Kyrie trades that potentially make sense for the Nets, Kyrie’s agents have made it known that Kyrie would simply *retire from the NBA* if Brooklyn were to trade him.

— nick wright (@getnickwright) September 15, 2021

Cleveland Cavaliers re-signed Brodric Thomas with a Two-Way contract as reported by Real GM.