Here is a roundup of NBA rumors and news this weekend and today.
NBA Rumors: Alondes Williams, Delon Wright, Jacque Vaughn, and LeBron James
Alondes Williams May Get Time With Heat
Miami Heat guard Alondes Williams, on a two-way contract, may see some time after the all-star break, according to Miami Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman.
Williams has only seen six minutes in one game for Miami this year as he has spent a lot of time with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Williams has played well for the Skyforce, averaging 20.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.2 steals while posting a shooting slash line of .503/.378/.737. He has two 40-point games and six double-doubles in 34 games.
The 24-year-old guard scored 11 points in his lone Rising Star game during All-Star weekend. It wasn’t just Williams scoring that caught the attention of the Heat’s brass during the Rising Star Challenge, but his overall game and motor, Winderman said.
Winderman also speculated that Williams could have his contract converted to a standard deal if they waived Dru Smith.
Smith is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. The 26-year-old guard averaged 4.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists while shooting .455/.412/1.000. Smith’s, who has 24 games of NBA experience, $2.12 million salary for next season is non-guaranteed.
It really doesn’t make sense for the Heat to conver Williams’ contract, unless they are sold that Smith is not part of their future. The Heat have 15 players under contract with the signing of Delon Wright, and Wright fills the void for the Heat of a true backup point guard.
Delon Wright Officially Joins Heat
Wright had agreed to join the Heat after working out a buyout from the Washington Wizards on Friday, but the deal wasn’t finalized until last night. According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, the 31-year-old point guard will receive a prorated minimum salary from the Heat.
Heat announces signing of guard Delon Wright, using pro-rated minimum to add him https://t.co/xIGzAczolw Heat's roster is now full with 15 players on standard contracts and three players on two-way contracts
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) February 18, 2024
Wright was expected to garner a lot of attention after getting bought out. However, he spurned other teams by announcing that his attention was to sign with the Heat following his release from the Wizards.
Wright is one of the preeminant backup point guards in the league. He averaged 4.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting .393/.368/.828.
It is believed that Wright chose to sign with the Heat because he was promised minutes. He could start at point guard until Terry Rozier can return from his knee injury. Rozier is considered week-to-week. Although, that duty could remain Tylewith r Herro with Duncan Robinson remaining in the starting lineup.
Wright’s true role isn’t expected to be known until Rozier and Josh Richardson (shoulder), who is likely to be out until at least the end of the month.
Jacque Vaughn Fired
In a semisurprising development, the Brooklyn Nets relieved head coach Jacque Vaughn of his duties earlier this morning, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Brooklyn Nets dismissed coach Jacque Vaughn on Monday morning, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/WjGyf1jONY
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 19, 2024
“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the team’s best interest going forward,” general manager Sean Marks stated. “Jacque has represented this organization with exemplary character and class for the past eight years. The consistent positivity and passion he poured into our team daily will remain with the players and staff he interacted with throughout his tenure. We thank Jacque for all he has done for the Nets and the borough of Brooklyn and wish him, Laura, and their family nothing but the best in the future.”
Brooklyn is 21-33 on the season, but is coming off a 50-point loss to Boston on Wednesday, a day after falling to the Celtics by eight. The Nets have lost 18 of 24 overall and sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, two-and-one half games behind the 10th-place Atlanta Hawks.
More important to Marks and the Nets’ brass, according to SNY’s Ian Begley, is that the players lost confidence in Vaughn as the the losses mounted.
Nets say they have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn. Several players had lost confidence in Vaughn amid Nets’ struggles, per SNY sources. Some within Nets had concerns that Vaughn could hinder their chances at landing a top player, SNY sources say.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 19, 2024
Vaughn went 71-68 in his one-plus seasons with the Nets, which included helping them secure a playoff berth last season. He was interim coach for ten games with the Nets during the 2019-20 camapign.
While Brooklyn will announce who will take over for Vaughn on an interim basis later, Brian Lewis of the New York Post suggested that assistant Kevin Ollie may be the choice.
No word on who the #Nets interim will be, but Kevin Ollie – who won an #NCAA championship with #UConn – could be a logical choice.
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) February 19, 2024
Ollie doesn’t have any NBA head coaching experience. But he led the UConn Huskies for six seasons, including the 2014 national title, and was the head coach of Overtime Elite from 2021-23.
Improvement Of Scoot Henderson
Portland Trail Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson has played better over the last two-plus months after a slow start to the season and has earned an another opportunity to start. The 20-year-old tallied 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting, including 0 of 4 from the 3-point line, and four assists while committing three turnovers in his first start since Jan. 14 in the Blazers loss to Minnesota on Thursday.
He’s made so many advancements, he’s just doing so good,” coach Chauncey Billups told Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “And also, I just felt like, as a young player, I want him to learn everything he gets. And he’s played so well on both sides of the floor.”
Since Dec. 1, Henderson has averaged 14.8 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.8 turnovers while shooting .384/.341/.835.
LeBron James Wants To Remain With Lakers
Despite rumors circulating that LeBron James may opt-out of the $51.4 million player option this summer and sign with the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks or Sacramento Kings. The 39-year-old recently told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he plans on finishing his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, though he doesn’t know how much longer he will play.
“I am a Laker and I’m happy and been very happy being Laker the last six years and hopefully it stays that way. But I don’t have the answer to how long it is or which uniform I’ll be in. Hopefully it is with the Lakers. It’s a great organization, so many greats. But we’ll see.”
James also said he is unsure whether he wants to have a farewell tour in his final year or go quietly.
“I was asked this question a couple days ago. “Will you kind of take the farewell tour, or will you kind of just Tim Duncan it? I’m 50-50, I’m going to be honest, because there’s times when I feel like I guess I owe it to my fans that have been along this journey with me for two decades plus, to be able to give them that moment where it’s every city and whatever the case may be and they give you your flowers or whatever the case may be. That seems cool. But the other side of that, I’ve never been that great with accepting like praise. It’s a weird feeling for me.”
As for the remainder of this season, James is trying to recover from an ankle injury that caused him to miss Wednesday’s game. He is scheduled to receive more treatment before L.A.’s next game on Thursday against Golden State.
“Trying to get my ankle as strong and as back to where I feel confident that I can finish off this last third of the season,” James said. “I won’t be playing the entire game (Sunday), for sure. I can get out there and run around with the young guys for a little bit and then shut it down at some point to give my body, and my ankle more importantly, another opportunity to rest.”
Other News:
Portland Trail Blazers promoted Duop Reath from his two-way contract on Friday. His new deal is a three-year contract. He will earn $1.95 million this season, which is five times more than the veteran minimum with a player having 0 years of service, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Portland used $1.95M of their non-tax mid level exception to sign Duop Reath.
They are now $1.3M below the luxury tax.
The Reath first year salary was 5 times more than the veteran minimum with a player having 0 years of service.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 17, 2024
Reath averages 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 40 appearances, including 11 starts this season. The 6-11 center has scored in double-figures in half his appearances, including a career-high 26 points against Sacramento on Dec. 26, and produced one double-double. He is shooting .475/.385/.741.
The Trail Blazers had an open roster spot with Ashton Haggans‘ 10-day contract expiring on Saturday night. Hagans averaged 2.8 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 rebounds in 15 minutes over four appearances for the Blazers. He will likely return to the Trail Blazers G-League affiliate, Rip City Remix.
With Reath’s promotion, Portland now has an open two-way spot.
