Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Notes: Brogdon, Gallinari, Trade Exception, Hauser

July 1st, 2022 at 6:03pm CST by Rory Maher

Guard Malcolm Brogdon, whom the Celtics are set to acquire in a trade from Indiana, said there were some indications that he might be headed to Boston.

“I had heard that Boston was interested over the past few days, but as a player, you don’t know everything that’s going on,” Brogdon told Jared Weiss of The Athletic on Friday. “You just have to sit tight, let your agent work, let your team work and then let the team that wants you, work as well. The Pacers were really good at facilitating a deal and sending me somewhere I could win. I am very much appreciative of how the Pacers have handled everything.”

The 29-year-old led the Pacers in scoring last season with 19.1 points per game, but he says he’s ready to sacrifice his individual numbers to help the team get over the hump and win a ring.

“I’m looking to win a championship, that’s actually it,” Brogdon said. “In the past, I’ve worried about stats and numbers and all that. I’m going to Boston and not worrying about that.”

A source tells Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter link) that the Celtics view Brogdon as a sixth man, and intend to keep the starting lineup they used last season featuring Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams.

Here’s more on the Celtics:

Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe hears from a source close to Danilo Gallinari that the forward had better financial offers than the Celtics could provide via the taxpayer mid-level exception, but the opportunity to join a championship contender was too enticing to pass up. Jay King of The Athletic reports similarly, with sources saying Gallinari had at least one rival team offering more money.
Over the past couple of weeks the Celtics explored possibilities with using their $17.1MM traded player exception, per Himmelsbach, but nothing came to fruition and the team currently doesn’t plan to use it after acquiring Brogdon, who will make $67.6MM over the next three seasons, including $22.6MM in 2022/23.
Boston plans to agree to terms with Sam Hauser on a multiyear deal in the coming days, Himmelsbach adds in a tweet. That outcome was expected after the Celtics made Hauser a restricted free agent a couple of days ago.
According to Murphy (Twitter link), the Celtics are scouring the free agent market for a backup big man. They can only offer a veteran’s minimum deal, but I’m sure they’ll find a taker considering Boston was two wins away from a title this past season.

Celtics To Re-Sign Luke Kornet

July 1st, 2022 at 4:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are re-signing big man Luke Kornet, having agreed to terms with him on a new two-year contract, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Kornet, who will turn 27 later this month, has bounced around the NBA since making his debut in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt. The forward/center has averaged 5.5 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 148 total games (14.3 MPG) for the Knicks, Bulls, Celtics, Cavaliers, and Bucks.

Kornet finished the 2020/21 season with the Celtics following a deadline trade and then spent much of the ’21/22 campaign with the team’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, before being promoted to Boston’s 15-man roster in February.

While Kornet hasn’t seen much action at the NBA level for the Celtics, he put up solid numbers for Maine, averaging 14.9 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 1.9 BPG in 11 regular season NBAGL appearances this past season.

Terms of the deal aren’t known, but I’d be surprised if it’s worth more than the minimum, and it may not be fully guaranteed for both years. The Celtics opened up a series of roster spots for the coming season when they agreed to send five players to Indiana in exchange for Malcolm Brogdon.

Pacers To Trade Malcolm Brogdon To Celtics

July 1st, 2022 at 4:33pm CST by Luke Adams

4:33pm: The 2023 first-round pick the Pacers are acquiring in the trade will be top-12 protected, tweets Brian Robb of MassLive. If it doesn’t convey, Indiana will instead receive a second-rounder.

12:39pm: The Pacers have agreed to trade veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Celtics, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal will send center Daniel Theis, wing Aaron Nesmith, and a 2023 first-round pick to Indiana, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter). Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts, and Juwan Morgan are also headed to the Pacers in the swap, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

The Celtics wanted to acquire a “true play-making guard,” Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), and were able to do so without including any of their core players in the package. Brogdon has battled injuries frequently over the course of his six-year career, but has been effective on both ends of the court when healthy.

In 2021/22, the 29-year-old averaged 19.1 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 5.1 RPG in 36 games (33.5 MPG) for the Pacers. Brogdon’s three-point percentage dipped to 31.2% last season, but he’s still a 37.6% career shooter from beyond the arc.

Although Brogdon’s name has come up frequently in trade rumors this offseason, he was primarily linked to the Wizards and Knicks in the weeks leading up to the draft. Washington addressed its point guard hole by agreeing to acquire Monte Morris and sign Delon Wright, while New York landed Jalen Brunson in free agency. That opened the door for another Eastern Conference club to make a deal with the Pacers.

Brogdon will earn $67.6MM over the next three seasons, including $22.6MM in 2022/23. In order to match his salary and make the trade legal, the Celtics will have to include five players in their package — the priciest of those players, Theis, is making $8.69MM next season, while Nesmith will earn $3.8MM. Stauskas, Fitts, and Morgan were on non-guaranteed minimum-salary contracts, which will become guaranteed for matching purposes, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

The Celtics, who also reportedly agreed to sign Danilo Gallinari, now have about $167.5MM committed to 11 players, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link), so team ownership doesn’t appear worried about paying a tax bill in 2022/23. Depending on how deep into the tax Boston is willing to go, the club could also make use of its $17MM trade exception, which won’t be utilized in this deal.

The Pacers, meanwhile, had interest in Grant Williams, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), but were ultimately willing to accept for a Celtics’ 2023 first-round pick that could land pretty late in the 20s.

Indiana may also see value in Theis and Nesmith, but the deal is more about the first-rounder and the cap flexibility moving off Brogdon will create. In addition to clearing some long-term money, the Pacers now have about $31MM in projected cap room this summer, tweets Marks.

The two teams will have to wait until July 9 to officially complete the trade, Marks notes (via Twitter), since Morgan can’t be dealt until then.

Danilo Gallinari Headed To Celtics

July 1st, 2022 at 10:43am CST by Arthur Hill

Danilo Gallinari plans to sign with the Celtics after the Spurs officially release him, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported (via Twitter) that signing with Boston was Gallinari’s preference, after Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report suggested on Thursday that he was leaning that way.

Gallinari is expected to receive a two-year contract worth $13MM with a player option on the second season, sources tell Italian basketball writer Davide Chinellato (Twitter link). Boston will presumably use its taxpayer mid-level exception to complete the signing.

The 33-year-old forward, who spent the past two seasons with Atlanta, was sent to San Antonio this week in the Dejounte Murray trade. He agreed to push back the guarantee date on his $21.45MM contract for next season to help accommodate the deal and will likely receive a partial guarantee of about $10-11MM from the Spurs before being let go.

Gallinari will provide Boston with a veteran shooter who can play several positions. He has connected at 38.1% from three-point range during his career and averaged 11.7 points and 4.7 rebounds with the Hawks last season.

Injuries plagued Gallinari early in his career, but he has been relatively healthy over the past four seasons, playing 68, 62, 51 and 66 games.

The Bulls were also reportedly in the running for Gallinari.

Eastern Notes: LaVine, Bryant, G. Harris, T. Young, Hawks

July 1st, 2022 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Although Zach LaVine wasn’t one of the 38 free agents who reportedly reached a contract agreement during the first day of free agency on Thursday, the Bulls remain confident that the two-time All-Star will eventually agree to a new five-year, $215MM deal to stay in Chicago, sources tell Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. According to Cowley, the Bulls met with LaVine during day one of free agency, but the 27-year-old wants to hear all the offers that may be available to him.

Here’s more from around the East:

Wizards free agent center Thomas Bryant still appears unlikely to return to Washington, as was reported on Thursday. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Bryant is receiving “significant” interest from contending teams and will likely make a decision today. The Celtics and Lakers are among the clubs in the mix, Haynes adds.
The two-year contract extensions signed by Magic wing Gary Harris and Raptors forward Thaddeus Young on Thursday aren’t fully guaranteed in 2023/24, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. According to Marks, Harris has no protection in the second year of his new contract, while Young has a partial guarantee.
The Hawks have officially confirmed a front office move that was reported in June, announcing in a press release that Landry Fields has been elevated from assistant GM to general manager. The club also announced a series of other basketball operations hires and promotions.

Free Agent Rumors: LaVine, Harden, Gallinari, Haslem

June 30th, 2022 at 8:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Just before free agency officially began on Thursday evening, Shams Charania said on Stadium’s free agency show (video link) that he expects Zach LaVine to take a little time to finalize his decision as an unrestricted free agent.

“He’s going to speak with the Bulls tonight and they’re going to make an offer,” Charania said. “Both sides will talk in the lead-up to free agency, later tonight, tomorrow. I do not expect Zach LaVine’s decision to be a night-one decision. He’s going to take some time to deliberate. He’s going to have max offers potentially in the marketplace as well.”

A report earlier today indicated that LaVine is expected to return to the Bulls on a five-year contract expected to be worth the maximum. However, it seems the 27-year-old wants to at least gauge his options before officially committing to Chicago.

Here are a few more free agency rumors:

James Harden and the Sixers intend to meet this weekend to negotiate his new deal, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Harden declined his $47MM+ player option for 2022/23 this week and reportedly intends to sign a new contract at a lower starting salary to help accommodate the team’s reported deals with P.J. Tucker and Danuel House.
Danilo Gallinari‘s free agent decision could come down to the Bulls and Celtics as he considers his next team, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Fischer suggests Chicago is willing to offer most of its non-taxpayer mid-level exception (about $8MM) while Boston will likely be limited to the taxpayer MLE ($6.5MM), but Gallinari still may prefer the C’s. The veteran forward is reportedly being waived by San Antonio.
The Heat sent a delegation of employees to Udonis Haslem‘s vacation home in Orlando to pitch him on returning to the team for a 20th season, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press and Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Obviously, the Heat don’t expect to face significant competition for Haslem, but they want to show his “continued importance and value” to the organization, says Reynolds. Haslem is reportedly still mulling whether or not to continue his playing career.

Eastern Rumors: Gallinari, Celtics, Nets, O’Neale, Wizards, Turner

June 30th, 2022 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks and Danilo Gallinari have agreed to push back the forward’s salary guarantee date to July 8, reports Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Gallinari’s $21.45MM salary for 2022/23, which is currently only partially guaranteed for $5MM, was originally set to become fully guaranteed if he remained under contract through Wednesday.

However, with word breaking that he would be sent to San Antonio in a trade for Dejounte Murray, there was an expectation that Gallinari’s guarantee deadline would be moved, giving the two teams some time to complete the trade and assuring him of some extra money — it appears he’s in line to receive about an extra $6.57MM in order to ensure his guarantee is large enough to legally match Murray’s salary.

While Fischer suggests the new guarantee date opens the door for the Hawks to further expand the Murray trade before it becomes official, it will also simply ensure the Spurs and Hawks have a chance to complete the trade once the transaction moratorium ends on July 6 and that San Antonio can subsequently waive Gallinari before the rest of his salary becomes guaranteed. Assuming he’s released next week, Gallinari will have an opportunity to find a new landing spot without having to wait until later in the offseason to reach the open market.

Here’s more from around the East:

Within their look at possible targets for the Celtics‘ $17MM+ trade exception, Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic say that Boston has been exploring possible deals for Hawks wing Kevin Huerter “for some time now.” John Hollinger of The Athletic thinks a trade sending Huerter to Boston would make sense for both teams if the Celtics can handle the tax hit.
The Nets are among the teams that have interest in trading for Jazz forward Royce O’Neale, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv. A report last week indicated that O’Neale was generating serious trade interest.
The Wizards and free agent point guard Delon Wright have mutual interest, according to Begley. Washington addressed its point guard hole by agreeing to acquire Monte Morris, but could still use another reliable option at the position, and Wright should be attainable using the mid-level exception.
Whether he begins the 2022/23 season with the Pacers or a new team, center Myles Turner should be ready to play from day one. According to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, Turner is now fully healthy, having experienced no setbacks in his recovery from a stress reaction in his left foot.

Lonnie Walker, Anfernee Simons Get QOs; Kevin Knox Doesn’t

June 29th, 2022 at 5:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have issued a qualifying offer to guard Lonnie Walker, making him a restricted free agent, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The qualifying offer will be worth $6,311,564.

Unlike some of this summer’s top restricted free agents, Walker wasn’t a lock to receive that qualifying offer, given the up-and-down season the 23-year-old had in 2021/22. He averaged a career-high 12.1 PPG and 2.2 APG, but saw his shooting percentages dip to 40.7% from the floor and 31.4% on threes, well below his career rates. Furthermore, a report earlier today stated that Walker was unlikely to remain in San Antonio.

By issuing the qualifying offer, the Spurs are at least opening up a path for Walker to return, either by accepting the one-year QO or by negotiating a new deal with the team. However, McDonald says there’s an expectation that Walker will “fully” test the market.

Spurs swingman Joe Wieskamp also received a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, tweets McDonald. Because Wieskamp was promoted from his two-way deal to a standard contract last season, his qualifying offer will be worth approximately $1.8MM ($200K more than his minimum salary).

Here are a few more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:

The Trail Blazers have formally issued a qualifying offer to guard Anfernee Simons, making him a restricted free agent, the team announced in a press release. Simons’ QO is worth $5,758,552, but the 23-year-old is expected to negotiate a far more lucrative long-term deal. Multiple reports have suggested a four-year contract worth in the neighborhood of $80MM is possible.
Hawks forward Kevin Knox isn’t getting a qualifying offer and will become an unrestricted free agent, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Knox didn’t get regular minutes last season and his qualifying offer would have been worth $7,228,448, so it comes as no surprise that Atlanta is passing.
The Warriors aren’t giving qualifying offers to either Juan Toscano-Anderson ($2,126,991) or Chris Chiozza ($1,968,175), according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Both players will be unrestricted free agents and are unlikely to remain in Golden State, Slater adds.
The Celtics have tendered a two-way qualifying offer to guard Brodric Thomas, making him a restricted free agent, a source tells our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Boston hasn’t reached a deal to fill either of its two-way slots for next season yet, so Thomas could end up taking one of them.
Two-way players Jay Scrubb (Clippers) and Trevelin Queen (Rockets) won’t receive qualifying offers and will become unrestricted free agents, according to reports from Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times and Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Queen, the 2021/22 NBA G League MVP, is expected to receive interest on the open market, per Haynes.

Celtics’ Sam Hauser To Become Restricted Free Agent

June 29th, 2022 at 5:31pm CST by Rory Maher

The Celtics are declining their $1,563,518 club option on Sam Hauser and instead will make him a restricted free agent, a source tells Keith Smith of Spotrac and CelticsBlog (Twitter link).

While Smith doesn’t outright state that Hauser has been given a qualifying offer, that’s the likely outcome given that he says Hauser will become a RFA. According to Smith, Boston plans to work out a longer contract with Hauser in free agency.

Hauser, 24, signed a two-way contract with the Celtics last August after going undrafted out of Virginia. He was promoted to the 15-man roster in February after trades created multiple roster openings.

The 6’8″ forward played limited minutes in 26 NBA games with Boston, but did convert an impressive amount of his three-point attempts (19-44, 43.2%). Hauser was a G League standout for the team’s affiliate in Maine, putting up 20.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.9 APG and 1.1 SPG on .460/.408/.800 shooting in 13 regular season contest (35 MPG).

Hauser will reportedly be among the young players on Boston’s Summer League roster next month.

Celtics Exercise 2022/23 Option On Juwan Morgan

June 29th, 2022 at 3:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics have picked up their option on Juwan Morgan for next season, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Morgan’s contract remains non-guaranteed, Smith adds, and he doesn’t have a guarantee date before early January, when all contracts through the league become guaranteed. The option is worth $1,815,677.

The 25-year-old power forward signed a 10-day deal with Boston in late March and then a standard contract on April 9, one day before the end of the regular season. He got into just one game and played a single game for the Raptors as well on a 10-day contract.

Morgan spent his first two NBA seasons with the Jazz, averaging 1.4 PPG while seeing minimal playing time in 50 total games.

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