NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz Around the League Heading into Preseason
Get ready, basketball fans, the NBA preseason is just a matter of days away. That means you'll not only be able to see your favorite players and some of your team's youngsters, but rumors surrounding extensions for young players are starting to ratchet up as well.
On Monday, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported brothers Markieff and Marcus Morris inked extensions to their rookie deals with the Phoenix Suns long before the October 31 deadline:
The Morris brothers are just the tip of the iceberg, though.
Negotiations with players heading into their fourth seasons in the league are starting to surface and have been taking over the rumor mill in the last few days.
Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
Another young player looking for a new contract this offseason is Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler.
According to Bulls beat reporter Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com and K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, Chicago general manager Gar Forman has expressed interest in keeping the Marquette product in the Windy City:
At just 25 years old, Butler is already a very good defender on the wing for the Bulls—his defensive win shares came in at 4.6 in 2013-14.
His numbers at the offensive end of the court declined last year, but that can be chalked up to growing pains in a season that saw his minutes per game increase from 26 to nearly 39.
His 7 percent decrease in field-goal percentage can also be partially attributed to his increased tendency to chuck up threes—he attempted 3.3 long balls per 36 minutes last season compared to just 1.8 in 2012-13.
To his credit, he did hit some big ones down the stretch. This one, in particular, comes to mind:
Still, Butler is the team's best option on the wing—a position it's fairly weak at—and Chicago would be wise to lock him up for the foreseeable future before he hits restricted free agency next offseason.
Another season with an elevated number of minutes and experience should help make him more durable and efficient.
Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris, Orlando Magic
Another team looking to keep young players around this offseason is the Orlando Magic.
With a major rebuild still in progress, extending both Vucevic and the 22-year-old Harris—they average 30 minutes a game in the team's frontcourt—for the years during which the team expects to compete is an obvious desire for general manager Rob Hennigan, according to Steve Kyler of NBA Insiders:
While Hennigan did state that the team expects to see growth and progress from two of its more promising young players, per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, he still has to be happy with the pair's performance after they each posted a player efficiency rating of at least 16.5 a year ago.
Vucevic is also one of the organization's most important young talents and rebounders. Keeping him under team control for the next number of years is imperative for the Magic.
Luckily for Hennigan, Robbins suggests both young big men would like to remain in Orlando.
Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves
After dealing Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a package centered around a pair of former first overall picks this offseason, it's surely rebuilding time for Minnesota.
Keeping a talented young point guard like Ricky Rubio around for more than just the 2014-15 season would be a good start.
With players like Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett joining the fold, a Timberwolves team that also includes a playmaking wizard like Rubio could do some real damage in a few years' time.
I mean, we've already had a taste of what a Rubio-Wiggins tandem is capable of:
Another player who has just wrapped up the third season of a four-year rookie contract, Rubio still has another month to tack on a few more years with the Timberwolves.
According to Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, both the team and Rubio are interested in signing a new deal.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, meanwhile, reports that the club is willing to fork over about $42 million over four years to keep the Spaniard in Minnesota:
"Re: Rubio, @Adam_Kuhn @2_Shoe - #Twolves would do a 4-yr deal in $42M range. That hasn't changed. Agents see NYK/LAL w/ cap space next year.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) September 23, 2014"
With a new young, dynamic scoring threat to pass to in Wiggins—and already being the league leader in steals—if Rubio could improve his shot, he could really become one of the premier point guards in the league.
All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
Jon Reid is a correspondent for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @JonReidCSM.
