Portland is not currently pursuing free agent swingman DeMar DeRozan, league sources say, despite reports to the contrary.

I’m likewise told that recent speculation about a Jrue Holiday buyout from the Trail Blazers is erroneous. It has become a popular online pastime to suggest that such an arrangement is percolating that helps route Holiday back to the team that drafted him — which obviously fancies itself as a Superteam now after the Sixers acquired Brown and James — but league sources say Portland is not about to just usher Holiday onto the open market. The Blazers have been messaging for some time that they would like to keep Holiday … even after trading for Ja Morant and with Damian Lillard poised to make a comeback after losing a full season to an Achilles tear.

The same no-go applies for the notion of a Zach LaVine buyout in Sacramento. One source close to the process told The Stein Line that the Kings are operating under the premise that LaVine will start the season as a King and added that “no buyout” is being discussed.

https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/late-night-nba-intel-for-the-first?r=1m9zg&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=solid

1850ChoochGator | Trail Blazers

218 | 16 hours ago

Why would the cheapest owner in the league pay Jrue $30m+ for two more seasons to not play basketball???

tightcorners

48 | 16 hours ago

Lol exactly. Let me give an example of how cheap Dundon is in terms of buyouts. He also owns the Carolina Hurricanes and has refused to buyout someone who would be paid like 1.5 million a a year..

SquimJim | Celtics

9 | 7 hours ago

Not to defend El Cheapo, but why would anyone buy-out Jrue?

He was great last year and only desperate teams buy-out players on multi-year deals (see Beal and Dame)

1850ChoochGator | Trail Blazers

4 | 6 hours ago

I completely agree and the numbers don’t lie either. Played right in line with his prime per36, he only played 85% of his prime mpg, but at 80% of his prime cap hit.

santana722 | Heat

1 | 13 minutes ago

The real question is how much would Jrue have to give back in a buyout for the cheapest owner to bite on the saved money.

SoKrat3s | NBA

-7 | 16 hours ago

He’s going to pay him regardless. A buyout pays him less.

I’m not saying it will happen, but if it did that’s why.

Gandolfthewhite182 | 76ers

6 | 14 hours ago

Why would holiday do that ?? He’s not getting another big deal, why would he give away his last big pay day ?? It makes no sense.

kobmug_v2 | NBA

2 | 13 hours ago

He doesn’t give away anything. Do you know how buyouts work?

ih-unh-unh | Lakers

8 | 12 hours ago

I think players do give some money back (eg Bradley Beal gave back $13M to the Suns to sign with the Clippers)

1850ChoochGator | Trail Blazers

3 | 8 hours ago

They typically accept a buyout that equals their potential new contract, so they end up net even.

dearth_karmic | Warriors

0 | 6 hours ago

But in this case I assume they only buy out for this year. Not the next one.

1850ChoochGator | Trail Blazers

2 | 6 hours ago

How the fuck would that work? He’s guaranteed $37.2m next year on a player option that I’d be stunned if he chose to walk away from.

dearth_karmic | Warriors

0 | 5 hours ago

You’re right. The Blazers would probably stretch the buyout over the years with Jrue taking less per year to match what he gets from the next team.

dearth_karmic | Warriors

0 | 5 hours ago

You’re right. The Blazers would probably stretch the buyout over the years with Jrue taking less per year to match what he gets from the next team.

Krillin113 | 76ers

1 | 11 hours ago

Yes, it pays him roughly his new contract less; which for a ring chasing vet would be 2 years at the minimum, so 6 mil total.

Having Jrue play for you for 2 years is easily worth 6 million

CelavaStrukla

182 | 16 hours ago

Why would they buy out jrue. He’s great.

ewest | POR

72 | 16 hours ago

Here, as is the case everywhere he’s gone, Jrue is beloved.

GeminiAccountantLLC

9 | 10 hours ago

He’s my favorite player

Stupid_Flexy_Sanders | Trail Blazers

37 | 16 hours ago

Because other fan bases already thought they could get him.

sgt_potatopants | Warriors

11 | 7 hours ago

It’s not fair that you guys get to keep him and rob Stephen A of so many talking points about the Sixers! If we just speak the buyout into existence, maybe it’ll happen

TB_016 | Trail Blazers

13 | 12 hours ago

It is more a response to fake Shams posts saying they were buying him out. They are all over the place on Twitter/Facebook and people keep falling for it. Saw a TikTok citing one of the tweets as well. Just a bunch of fake slop for content.

Neuroxex | Bucks

5 | 11 hours ago

It was purely Sixers fans dream casting, it made no sense on any front.

UpvoteIfYouAgreee | BOS

4 | 15 hours ago

its just lebron fans wishcasting

dearth_karmic | Warriors

1 | 6 hours ago

This happens when an older player still wants to play meaningful basketball and the team isn’t going anywhere. It’s a favor.

TonyHawktuah69

1 | 2 hours ago

Only makes sense if he makes it known he wants out and they decide to do him a solid. They have zero incentive to let him go for free

likpoper | Trail Blazers

98 | 16 hours ago

Wtf buy out?! Hahaha he is a core member

henryofclay | Lakers

33 | 16 hours ago

A core member with multiple years left as well lol.

LarBrd33

6 | 13 hours ago

He’s got a 37 mil player option for next season that he may or may not pick up. But buy out makes no sense. They could trade him for something.

henryofclay | Lakers

13 | 6 hours ago

Jrue ain’t turning down a $37 mil option at his age

jboarei | POR

53 | 16 hours ago

Someday people will stop believing dumb Facebook pages that just spread lies about things.

Carcrusher3 | Trail Blazers

20 | 16 hours ago

The fact that facebook shitters got real reporters to talk about a player who had 0 chance of being bought out is really testing my faith in social media impact.

jboarei | POR

2 | 16 hours ago

Then you realize why the world is the way it is, just idiots being fed bullshit.

drewm916 | Kings

1 | 2 hours ago

Thos bother me so much. When I was young, you could confidentkly believe that MOST of what you saw in the paper or heard on the news was true. And now, here we are.

Nice_Cash_7000 | NBA

1 | 12 hours ago

facebook is nothing, but AI posts and bot comment sections these days

iirc its the only social media that still doesnt disclose if the posts are AI or not

CurrentCostanza | Trail Blazers

23 | 16 hours ago

I’m on this sub every fucking day and I’ve never heard this rumor

akade19961

11 | 16 hours ago

Wait, who thought the blazers were going to buy out jrue holiday? Even by the standards of our dipshit sociopath owner that is far too stupid to ever be possible

Limp_Screen7405

10 | 16 hours ago

Why would they buyout their best player

binkyping | Trail Blazers

1 | 14 hours ago

Alonzomourning.gif

Alternative_Anybody | Heat

9 | 16 hours ago

El Cheapo would never buy a player out

TheScrote1 | Trail Blazers

7 | 16 hours ago

Breaking News: the Sixers will not buy out LeBron James

cl353 | Heat

6 | 16 hours ago

would u believe the rumor that jrue holiday being bought out was just a couple posts by no names going “BREAKING NEWS”? and then suddenly it was fact?

that shit never made sense

angel2timez | CHI

6 | 16 hours ago

Fire any GM that has to buyout jrue holiday and can’t get any value for him if really needs to be off the team for some reason

Oopthealley

1 | 3 hours ago

He has a 37mil player option next year. Fire any GM that adds 37mil in payroll to next year’s team for this version of Jrue.

StefonDiggsHS | Mavericks

4 | 16 hours ago

El cheapo

ihatedougford | Toronto Huskies

4 | 16 hours ago

R/heat can finally shut the fuck up for once

DwyaneWade305 | Heat

7 | 16 hours ago

I’ve been telling fans it makes zero sense to buyout someone with positive value lol.

Now Zach LaVine is another story. I expected him to get bought out.

FartsbinRonshireIII | Trail Blazers

-1 | 15 hours ago

Did any of those dipshits actually believe he would get bought out? Thats crazy

gimpisgawd | Trail Blazers

2 | 15 hours ago

A few Sixers fans have too.

[deleted]

2 | 16 hours ago

[deleted]

russbestbrook | Thunder

1 | 16 hours ago

Same as a small town with only one realtor

HappyGuardian5

2 | 14 hours ago

Every team in the league would love JRue. No reason to let him go for nothing let alone trade him.

petarisawesomeo | Nuggets

1 | 16 hours ago

Jrue still has solid value league-wide, so makes sense to keep him and sell high at the deadline. Also gotta figure there is a good chance they will need him to play a lot given Ja and Dame’s injury history.

Lavine situation makes no sense, but Kangz gotta Kang. If they are hoping to trade him, nobody has space to take on the contract. Just buy him out, be a top 3 pick in the draft and let Zach rehab his value on a better team.

1psithur3 | Kings

1 | 14 hours ago

Well you don’t know what could happen between now and the trade deadline. If someone comes at the deadline with a really good dump offer for Lavines expiring then you kind of wish you had that option.

There’s obviously reasons why buying him out makes sense but honestly I don’t really care if Lavine is on the team or not cause we are still paying him either way.

Or1ginal_Silly | Kings

1 | 13 hours ago

It feels like people expected Lavine to get bought out purely because the Kings wheel and deal with the grace of a bull in a China shop but the realistic and boring answer is that nothing happens and he plays the next year overpaid until we get off him.

pendletonskyforce | Kings

1 | 8 hours ago

Worst case is LaVine takes minutes from the young guys anf his contracts expires. Worst case is he plays well and another team will want to trade for his expiring contract.

BeloAve | Lakers

1 | 6 hours ago

It’s always “no plans to buyout” right before they are bought out.

goknicks23

1 | 4 hours ago

Zach has a little value as an expiring for a team looking to dump bad contracts. But not much. Maybe they’ll trade him for Embiid and a pick.

heat_fan_ | Raptors

0 | 16 hours ago

So what gotta wait till trade deadline?

Forsaken-Income-3632

0 | 13 hours ago

Free the guys

ctorresc

-3 | 14 hours ago

I think we see a 3-way trade between POR, SAC, and PHX

SAC gets Jalen Green and Scoot Henderson

PHX gets J’rue Holiday

POR gets Zach LaVine

Scoodsie | Trail Blazers

11 | 12 hours ago

The Blazers wouldn’t trade Jrue for LaVine 1 for 1, let alone for Jrue and Scoot.

[Stein] The Portland Trail Blazers have no plans to buyout Jrue Holiday. The same no-go applies to the notion of a Zach LaVine buyout in Sacramento.