NBA Rumors Round-Up
NBA Rumors: Granger Buyout Coming?
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
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The Philadelphia 76ers will agree to a buyout with Danny Granger, according to a source.
Pavorsky’s report was followed up by 76ers head coach Brett Brown stating that we’ll know what’s going to happen with Granger sometime in the next 24 hours.
By accepting a buyout, Granger really limits himself in the free agent market because he’s giving up his Bird rights. It basically locks him into accepting the mid-level exception at best, barring a team with cap space isn’t willing to give him more. With a limited role on a contender, odds are Granger may not even get the full MLE. At least by staying with the 76ers his Bird rights would have stayed intact, but Granger is literally paying the price to contend.
Only contending teams have been mentioned in association with Granger. The two teams that keep coming up the most are the San Antonio Spurs and Miami HEAT, but the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder are also said to be potential suitors. It will take him 24-48 hours to clear waivers.
Granger is averaging 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds.
For Philadelphia this means they only netted a second-round pick in exchange for Evan Turner. It’s better that nothing, but just barely. They didn’t come close to receiving full value for him, which is what happens when you make it abundantly clear that a player is not a part of your future plans.
New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton was arrested early Tuesday morning on three counts of criminal possession of a weapon, according to a New York Police Department spokesman.
Felton was charged with second- and third-degree criminal possession of a firearm, which are felonies, and fourth-degree possession of a firearm, which is a misdemeanor, the spokesman said. Further details on the weapons charges are not known at this point.
This is bad news for everybody involved. Felton has to be fearful of spending time in prison due to how strict New York gun laws are. Celebrities and star athletes are no exception to them either, just look at the case of New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Given, he actually discharged his gun in a nightclub (Burress accidently shot himself in the thigh), but that still cost him two years of prison time.
The point guard spot has been an area of concern for the Knicks all season. They tried hard to upgrade at the deadline, specifically trying to trade Felton – who one anonymous general manager called the worst starting point guard in basketball – but they found no takers.
The Knicks recently bought out Beno Udrih; if Felton is forced to miss anytime Pablo Prigioni is going to be the only true, active point guard on their roster.
As an MVP-caliber season nears an end with Xinjiang in China, Lester Hudson has received inquiries from the Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers, looking into the guard’s availability, league sources told RealGM.
In helping take Xinjiang to the Chinese Basketball Association playoffs and leading the club to the second-best record in the league, Hudson is averaging 26 points, 7.6 rebounds and five assists. The CBA regular season concluded on Feb. 16, bringing a flurry of American players back to the free agency pool, but Hudson remained with his team in postseason play and will become available soon.
Hudson is a true scorer who has always had a gift for filling it up. In college at Tennessee-Martin he was one of the most prolific scorers in the country. Since then he’s had to harness his point guard skills a bit due to necessity since he’s on the short end for a point guard at 6’3, but scoring will always be his strength.
Because he’ll be a free agent yet to sign with an NBA team this season, his deadline to be signed in order to be playoff eligible is later than the other guys clearing waivers. However, he has to receive his FIBA letter of clearance before the end of the season. If not, he’ll have to wait until summer league or training camp to see the floor.
