Tag: Ben McLemore

Report: Warriors working out multiple veteran free agents before training camp

The Warriors are reportedly working out multiple veteran free agents before training camp.

With the offseason winding down and training camp quickly approaching, the Golden State Warriors are still keeping an eye on different free-agent options to fill their roster. 

According to Anthony Slater and Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Warriors are bringing in four different veterans for a workout before training camp. Golden State is bringing in four notable players with NBA experience, Ben McLemore, Elfrid Payton, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kenneth Faried. 

Via @TheAthletic on Twitter: 

McLemore is coming off a season with the Portland Trailblazers, averaging 10.2 points on 40.1% shooting from the floor and 36.2% shooting from long distance in 20.1 minutes per contest. McLemore had stops in Sacramento, Memphis, Houston and Los Angeles before playing with the Trail Blazers in 2021-22.

Payton spent the 2021-22 season with the Phoenix Suns, averaging three points on 38.3% shooting from the floor with two assists and 1.8 rebounds in 11 minutes per contest. Along with the Suns, Payton has also played for the Orlando Magic, New Orleans Pelicans and New York Knicks. 

Since being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in 2015, Hollis-Jefferson has made appearances for the Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers. In his last NBA appearance in 2020-21, the 26-year-old played 11 games with the Trail Blazers, averaging 2.5 points on 50% shooting from the field with 2.4 rebounds per contest. 

Before playing overseas, Faried last played in the NBA with the Houston Rockets in 2018-19. During his eight-year NBA career, Faried averaged 11.4 points on 54.6% shooting from the floor with 8.1 rebounds. Faried had a stint in the G League in 2021-22 with the Grand Rapids Gold. 

Along with McLemore, Payton, Hollis-Jefferson and Faried, the Warriors are also working out players Miye Oni, Ty-Shon Alexander, Wesley Saunders and Icelandic product Jon Axel Gudmundsson, per Charania and Slater. The Athletic also reported that veterans Shabazz Muhammad, Solomon Hill, Tyler Cook and Kelan Martin have also had workouts with Golden State. 

The Warriors are set to open training camp on Sep. 24 in the Bay Area. The Warriors will then play a five-game preseason slate before ring night in San Francisco to start the season on Oct. 18 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

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3 free agent wing players still available who make sense Sixers

Here are 3 wing players in free agency who are still available and make sense for the Philadelphia 76ers to acquire.

The Philadelphia 76ers are just about done with their offseason moves after agreeing to a 2-year deal with James Harden to keep him in the City of Brotherly Love, but there are still some free agents available that would help their bench unit.

At the moment the Sixers have a full roster. So in order to make another addition, they would have to make a corresponding move to free up a roster spot for that player, but there are some options for them out there.

The Sixers can still look for a minimum bargain this late in the game in order to add another bench player and there are three players who stick out at the wing spots that make sense.

New B/R article highlights a trio of potential Celtics trade targets, Boston players who should be on other team’s radar

Bleacher Report’s Dan Swartz projects a potentially active field for the Celtics ahead of the deadline.

The 2022 NBA trade deadline is less than a month away, and the Boston Celtics are projected to be among the more active teams in trades ahead of it. But what sort of players ought they be looking to bring onto the roster, and just how plausible are any of them to actually end up with Boston once Feb. 10 comes and goes?

Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz asked himself this question for all 30 teams, trying to determine what they would need from a deal at the deadline and came up with three such targets for each team, the Celtics of course being among them.

With a deal for a “dream” target, a “realistic” target, and a “sneaky” target each, let’s take a look at the targets Swartz has in mind for Boston. We’ll also take a look at the players from Boston’s roster other teams might be after in this article’s estimation.

Bleacher Report lists three players the Lakers should trade for

The Los Angeles Lakers should trade for these three players in a new list done by Bleacher Report.

The Los Angeles Lakers have started 10-10, which is far from what the team envisioned over the summer.

Los Angeles has championship aspirations, but it has not resembled a championship-caliber team with the on-court chemistry demonstrated so far on both ends of the floor.

Though injuries and setbacks have certainly affected how strong L.A. could be right now, browsing the trade market could be an option if the Lakers think the roster needs more changing.

In a new Bleacher Report article that lists trade targets for each team, three players were tied to the Lakers, starting with Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant:

The Lakers probably blocked themselves from making major moves when they dumped their remaining resources into the Russell Westbrook trade, but the one exception would be dealing Talen Horton-Tucker once he is trade eligible in mid-January.

His youth, defensive versatility and flashes of shot-creation could entice a future-focused shopper, and while he couldn’t anchor a deal for an elite, combining him with a sweetener or two might be enough for Jerami Grant. The Pistons must decide sooner than later if they want to cover the cost of Grant’s 2023 free agency, and if they don’t, the Lakers could grab him to up their athleticism, defense and scoring on the wing.

The other two players were Sacramento Kings guard Terence Davis and Portland Trail Blazers guard Ben McLemore:

It’s far more likely L.A. can only pursue deeply discounted players, so fliers on Terence Davis and Ben McLemore might be the best it can do. Neither is doing much at the moment, but Davis has shown three-and-D chops before, and McLemore has historically shot the three at a decent clip.

Among these three options. Grant is by far the best player. He’s a top scoring option for Detroit, and though he hasn’t been as efficient this year as last year, he would provide a tremendous presence at both ends for the Lakers with his size and versatility.

However, he’s making $20 million a year, which would require the Lakers to part ways with Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn to match the salaries.

Davis is a name Bleacher Report mentioned before, but he’s not a rotation player with the Kings. He’s a 6-foot-4 guard that has struggled on both ends of the floor this year, so the Lakers would be better off passing on that.

Then, there’s McLemore, who the Lakers let walk in free agency this summer. He signed a one-year deal for the minimum to go to Portland but also isn’t a member of the rotation. The Lakers already experimented with him, so bringing him back wouldn’t make sense.

Grant is the top choice here, but the Lakers still have time to determine if moves will be made as the trade deadline approaches in a few months.

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Out-of-rotation players who could become trade candidates

Here are some NBA players getting healthy DNP-CDs who could have a potential role in a different team’s rotation.

We are more than three weeks into the NBA regular season and most teams have settled on their rotations. Some aren’t fully healthy and will have tinkering to do when key players return, but some others have some rotation players that are not playing.

Here are some players consistently getting DNP-CDs despite being healthy who could become candidates for a trade.

Out-of-rotation players who could become trade candidates

We are more than three weeks into the NBA regular season and most teams have settled on their rotations. Some aren’t fully healthy and will have tinkering to do when key players return, but some others have some rotation players that are not playing.

Here are some players consistently getting DNP-CDs despite being healthy who could become candidates for a trade.

2021-22 key dates: When the Lakers play members of last season’s roster

Here’s when the Los Angeles Lakers will have reunions with players from last season’s team.

The Los Angeles Lakers completely overhauled the roster this offseason after acquiring Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards.

Los Angeles also had over 10 free agents entering the market in the summer, and retaining everyone wasn’t a plausible outcome given the conclusion to the season.

The Lakers were also in a tough financial position after absorbing Westbrook’s $40 million salary. Signing players in free agency wouldn’t be easy since L.A. basically had only the $5.9 taxpayer MLE to play with; L.A. allocated the entire MLE to Kendrick Nunn.

With all the incoming veterans L.A. inked to minimum deals, they also let many notable free agents, like Alex Caruso, walk to a new franchise.

Let’s look at when the Lakers will have reunions with former players in the new season:

How recent Rockets are faring in the 2021 NBA playoffs

Big names such as James Harden, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Clint Capela, and PJ Tucker have all had their moments in the spotlight.

The Houston Rockets had the league’s worst record in the 2020-21 season, but they still have plenty of ties to the 2021 NBA playoffs.

A crippling wave of injuries, coupled with the forced departure of superstar guard James Harden, led to an abrupt decline for a franchise that entered 2020-21 with the league’s longest streak (eight years) of consecutive playoff berths. Many players who have recently moved on are well-known and disproportionately veterans, since Houston had a clear “win now” emphasis in trying to build a title contender around Harden.

As a result, while the Rockets aren’t in the 2021 playoffs, there has been no shortage of references to the franchise. Star players such as James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul have all held key roles, as have former coaches and executives like Mike D’Antoni and Daryl Morey.

With the 16-team playoff field now down to four in the conference finals for the East and West, here’s a look at how names from the last four Houston rosters (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21) have fared.

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Ben McLemore reacts to release, thanks Houston for his tenure

McLemore averaged 9.3 points in 20.9 minutes per game over two seasons with the Rockets, including 38.2% on 3-pointers.

When 6-foot-3 guard Ben McLemore signed with the Houston Rockets before the 2019-20 season, he was simply trying to hang on in the NBA. Despite being the No. 7 overall pick in the 2013 draft, McLemore was only able to snag $50,000 in guaranteed money at the time.

Over the ensuing season, though, McLemore proved to be an ideal fit with James Harden and Mike D’Antoni. He shot 40.0% on 3-pointers at a lofty rate of 6.4 attempts per game, making him one of the league’s top shooters. That season re-established much of McLemore’s value around the NBA, and since he’s set to become a free agent in the 2021 offseason, he’s understandably appreciative for the career revival.

Hours after Houston released McLemore on Saturday — a move designed to allow McLemore to sign with a contender — the 28-year-old took to Instagram to express his appreciation. He wrote:

Houston!!! Thank you. I appreciate everyone of you… the fans, the front office, the coaches, trainers, and my brothers that I was fortunate enough to share the court with. I’m forever grateful for the memories made and the impact my time with the Rockets had on me as a player, and as a person.

The Rockets weren’t likely to re-sign McLemore as a free agent. Given his skillset as a 3-point specialist with defensive deficiencies, he would seem to be a better fit for a contending team, where it’s easier for him to be limited to a specific role that plays to his strengths. Thus, with the trade deadline having already elapsed, Houston is effectively doing McLemore a favor by allowing him to join a contender earlier than expected.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNOv0_BLpaU/

While McLemore didn’t shoot as well in 2020-21, it’s important to consider the context. For starters, he played with Harden and Russell Westbrook last season, which got him plenty of open shots. For a rebuilding group like this season’s Rockets without a clear superstar, those opportunities have been harder to come by. McLemore also contracted COVID-19 at the start of the 2020-21 season, which put him behind schedule with Stephen Silas and an entirely new coaching staff.

With a contender, however, McLemore might be able to find a situation more analogous to the one in which he thrived a season ago.

Overall, in two seasons with the Rockets, McLemore averaged 9.3 points (38.2% on 3-pointers) in 20.9 minutes per game.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eaKiW9z3iU

Rockets to release Ben McLemore, who is likely to sign with contender

McLemore shot 40.0% on 3-pointers a season ago with James Harden and Mike D’Antoni, but he never found the same form under Stephen Silas.

The Rockets will release reserve guard Ben McLemore, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Several title contenders are expected to show interest in the Houston sharpshooter, Charania reported Saturday.

Now 28 years old, McLemore averaged 7.4 points (33.1% on 3-pointers) in 16.8 minutes per game this season. The 6-foot-3 guard never found the consistent form or rotation role under head coach Stephen Silas that he did with Mike D’Antoni a season ago, when he averaged 10.1 points per game and shot 40.0% on 3-pointers. McLemore was a clear defensive liability as an undersized shooting guard, but his shooting was so elite that he was still a very productive player, overall.

McLemore also had the clear benefit in the 2019-20 season of playing alongside James Harden and Russell Westbrook, which got him plenty of open shots. For a rebuilding group like the 2020-21 Rockets without a clear superstar, those opportunities have been harder to come by. McLemore also contracted COVID-19 at the start of the regular season, which put him behind schedule with the new coaching staff.

With a contender, however, McLemore might be able to find a situation more analogous to the one in which he thrived a season ago.

The Rockets reportedly shopped McLemore before the March 25 trade deadline, but the combination of McLemore’s expiring contract and his subpar shooting numbers this season made it tough for a contender to justify giving up an asset to Houston to acquire him. Now, the Rockets are allowing him to move on and choose his next NBA stop.

McLemore is set to become a free agent after this season, so he wasn’t believed to be a long-term fit in Houston, regardless. General manager Rafael Stone indicated in recent days that the Rockets plan to spend more of their 2020-21 mid-level exception (MLE) on a signing (or signings) later this season, and the open roster spot from McLemore’s release means that could happen sooner rather than later.

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