Sports
NBA Rumors: Buzz on Buddy Hield, Jaylen Brown Contracts; Domantas Sabonis Trade
Elise Amendola/Associated PressMonday, October 21st is the deadline for all 2016 first-round draft picks to sign their rookie extensions, and as usual, news is pouring in from numerous teams and players engaged in such negotiations.A prominent bit of recent NBA news concerns the Sacramento Kings and their shooting guard Buddy Hield. Last week after a preseason…
Elise Amendola/Associated Press
Monday, October 21st is the deadline for all 2016 first-round draft picks to sign their rookie extensions, and as usual, news is pouring in from numerous teams and players engaged in such negotiations.
A prominent bit of recent NBA news concerns the Sacramento Kings and their shooting guard Buddy Hield. Last week after a preseason game, Hield put his team on blast for refusing to meet the terms of his requested contract. Per The Athletic,
“Hield isn’t demanding a max deal, but he wants the Kings to show him some respect. ‘It’s not just about less than the max, it’s something that is reasonable, where it’s not an insult,’ Hield said. ‘Where we respect each on a level and come to an agreement, that’s the biggest thing between me and my team, to come to an agreement.'”
There hasn’t been movement on either side in several days, as the Kings likely want to wait until next summer to sign the 26-year old Hield, who just led Sacramento in scoring last year and shot nearly 43% from three. But we’ll know for sure by Monday.
One team who is not waiting to a make a decision on a young star is the Indiana Pacers.
As they appear to be “far apart” with big man Domantas Sabonis on an extension, per The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Indiana “has engaged in active trade talks with several teams this week” to try and recoup value for the Gonzaga alum. As of yet, the Pacers’ asking price is still too high to make a deal work, per Amick.
Sabonis would be an excellent fit on plenty of teams in need of a young, athletic big. He’s a ferocious rebounder and improving passer who’s also highly efficient around the basket.
Amick did not note which teams Indiana has spoken to about a potential deal, but rest assured that they will likely not deal him to an Eastern Conference foe such as the Boston Celtics or Toronto Raptors, likely preferring to move him either to a rebuilding team like the Washington Wizards or a Western Conference destination like the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves.
Speaking of the Celtics, they are potentially dealing with a problematic youngster of their own right now.
On Wednesday, Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported that wing Jaylen Brown has rejected a 4-year, $80 million extension from Boston, citing that he “is pursuing a bigger offer.”
Now, GM Danny Ainge quickly rebuffed Haynes’ report and claimed that negotiations are going well, but that isn’t stopping other teams from monitoring the proceedings. Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania,
“As far as Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown and his extension talks are going, there’s one thing to keep in mind: several teams are monitoring how those discussions go, and whether they can make Boston and GM Danny Ainge pay with an offer sheet next summer, according to sources.”
Of course, Boston is able to match any offer a rival team makes, given that Brown is a restricted free agent, but the weak unrestricted free agent class combined with Brown’s untapped potential could summon an offer that Ainge is unable to counter.
If the two sides don’t reach an agreement by Monday- which is unlikely, given Ainge’s history with rookie extensions- then Brown’s standing in Boston will be a situation to monitor throughout the 2019-20 campaign.
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