Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 9/10/26
powered byJotCast
This chat is available to members only. Please log in to participate.
ARTHUR HILL
11:00
Welcome to this week's chat. We'll start with a question on the Knicks.
Brunson is God
11:00
Are the Knicks really going to drag out some Karl-Anthony Towns situation? For what?
ARTHUR HILL
11:08
The Knicks are in a precarious financial situation with Towns, Josh Hart and Miles McBride all currently eligible for extensions and Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby ready to join them next summer. We know that owner James Dolan doesn't want to cross the second apron, so it's going to take some cap wizardry to keep the core of the title team together. Towns is obviously the immediate priority because he'll be deciding on a $61MM player option next summer and he's not really replaceable if he decides to leave. Towns is happy playing in New York, so he'll probably be willing to take less than the max to stay there. I expect his new deal to get done first, maybe before the season starts.
-a
11:08
am i the only crazy one who thinks the Clippers aren't decimated by the loss of draft picks? With owners treating the double tax line like the plague, what's to stop them from putting offer sheets on those teams in the upcoming years? it's not like they need to take only on only bad contracts?
ARTHUR HILL
11:15
Steve Ballmer is by far the NBA's richest owner, and that combination of wealth and his likely desire to prove to the league that they can't break him and his team will work to the Clippers' advantage. Every year, we see plenty of teams that decide to part with players to avoid the second apron, and after his one-year suspension expires, Ballmer will be in position to start purging them. If Ballmer is willing to spend whatever it takes to win, the Clippers could have a team full of stars by the end of the decade.
Cale
11:15
Will the penalties for the Clippers make Tyronn Lue less likely to stay there long term? I feel like he wouldn't want to stick around if they have to go into rebuilding mode
ARTHUR HILL
11:21
Lue could be a barometer of what approach the Clippers are planning to take. If they're going to accept the league sanctions as the start of a long, slow rebuilding process, then it doesn't make sense to keep such an accomplished coach on the sidelines. They're better off letting him go to a contender and replacing him with a younger and cheaper option. However, if Ballmer is planning a spending spree next summer, then this could be a "gap year" for the Clippers with the understanding that Lue will much more talent at his disposal soon. If Lue and the team don't "part ways" at some point in the next nine months, I expect the organization to become very aggressive in its spending.
Guest
11:21
Even if Jalen Duren re-signs with the Pistons, do you think his days in Detroit are numbered based on how the negotiations have gone?
ARTHUR HILL
11:30
It seems like every week there's a new report about Duren being unhappy with the way the Pistons are handling his negotiations. The latest one came from Brett Siegel of Clutch Points, who is skeptical that Duren will stay in Detroit for the entirety of his next contract if the sides reach a compromise on a long-term deal. Duren may be an All-Star, but the Pistons don't believe he's worth the $40MM that he's demanding. A contract that pays him close to that amount is eventually going to be tough to keep on the books, particularly after Ausar Thompson gets his extension. Three of the four RFAs who had long contract standoffs last summer are already gone from their teams, which is a bad omen for Duren staying in Detroit. Even after a settlement is reached, it feels like a rift has developed that will send him somewhere else after a year or two.
Ben Simmons
11:31
Will I have a bounce back year in Sacrament out of the spotlight?
ARTHUR HILL
11:39
Assuming Simmons is fully healed from the back issues that helped derail his career, Sacramento could be the perfect low-stress environment for his comeback. He won't be in high-pressure surroundings like his previous stops in Philadelphia, Brooklyn or Los Angeles, where fans can be quick to turn on expected stars who aren't producing. Not only are expectations low for the Kings, but he has a path toward regular playing time. Rookie Darius Acuff is his only competition, and with no real playoff hopes, the organization can afford to be patient with Simmons as he attempts to readjust to the NBA. There's no guarantee he'll ever be close to the player he once was, but the Kings seem to provide the best scenario for him to try.
Hornetsfan
11:39
Do you see the Hornets' Brandon Miller getting an extension that is close to what Amen Thompson received? Or do you see the Hornets waiting until the summer of 2027 to sign him to an extension at a lower value?
ARTHUR HILL
11:47
Now that LaMelo Ball is gone, the Hornets don't have any gigantic contracts left on their payroll, so they can afford to spend big on Miller and eventually Kon Knueppel. Miller had a nice bounceback season after missing most of 2024/25 with injuries, and he's definitely part of the foundation for Charlotte's future. Restricted free agents have limited bargaining power, and as we've seen with Jalen Duren and others, those negotiations can produce lingering bitterness, so it's in the interest of both sides to get an extension in place before the season starts. I think something in the range of Thompson's five-year, $208MM new deal is reasonable.
Cale
11:47
Thoughts on the Demar Derozan signing for Denver? Obviously he's not Peyton Watson but can he at least make up for losing guys like THJ and Brown?
ARTHUR HILL
11:55
DeRozan will provide a needed offensive boost for a team without much firepower beyond its starting five. It's been a rough offseason in Denver, with Watson, Hardaway and Brown not returning and the Kroenkes seemingly unwilling to commit to spending enough to keep the team in title contention. DeRozan is coming off another productive year and he remains remarkably durable for a player who just turned 37, appearing in 77 games last season. He won't help much with three-point shooting, but his mid-range game is as good as ever and he'll be a consistent source of points while the starters are resting. It's a great pickup for the Nuggets, especially on a veteran's minimum deal.
Esteban
11:55
The NBA has confiscated the Clippers picks, now the penalty of luxury tax spending resulting in frozen picks is gone. What's to prevent Steve from spending to oblivion?
ARTHUR HILL
12:06
Steve Ballmer's estimated net worth is more than $154 billion, which is far more than any other NBA owner. If he wants to use that money to create a super team and doesn't care about the second apron consequences, there's not much that can be done to stop him. Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis and a few other stars could be free agents next summer, and the Clippers could have max offers waiting for several of them. The Clippers turning into NBA villains headed by a multi-billionaire with a grudge against the league would be a fascinating outcome of the Aspiration scandal.
12:07
Thanks for all the great questions. We'll talk again next week.
Connecting…