Rockets, Mavs Interested In James Harden
As the October 31st extension deadline approaches and we wait to see whether the Thunder and James Harden can work out a long-term deal, it seems rival suitors are already surfacing in the event that Harden reaches restricted free agency. According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Rockets and Mavericks are "huge Harden fans" and are candidates to sign him to a loaded offer sheet next summer.
Thunder GM Sam Presti talked about a potential extension for Harden earlier this week, and his comments suggested that it won't be easy to complete a deal, with compromises required on both sides. As Stein tweets, Harden is a "virtual lock" to receive a max offer sheet in restricted free agency, so he'd likely be accepting a discount if he signed an extension for anything less than that.
Unlike Oklahoma City, the Rockets and Mavericks are both in position to clear a good deal of cap space for next summer's free agent period. Houston has Kevin Martin's $12.44MM contract, among others, coming off its books, while many of the Mavs' summer acquisitions are on expiring deals. Both teams, along with the Suns and others, could be in competition for Harden's services if he becomes a free agent, though the Thunder would still have the right to match any offers.
If Oklahoma City becomes convinced that keeping Harden is impossible, the team could also entertain trade offers prior to this year's deadline, but I'd be shocked if Presti broke up the defending Western Conference champs. Stein confirms that a trade isn't in the cards at this point, tweeting that the Thunder "so far, won't entertain such thoughts."
Wolves To Sign Will Conroy
Guard Will Conroy hinted at a deal with the Timberwolves earlier tonight on Twitter, and it appears that's exactly what's happening, as Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News reports that he'll receive a partially guaranteed contract from the team (Twitter link). It will likely be a minimum-salary deal for the former University of Washington teammate and close friend of Brandon Roy.
The 6'2" Conroy has had stints with the Grizzlies, Clippers and Rockets, the last of which came in 2009/10. He's totaled just six points and 16 assists in 12 NBA games, but has played extensively in the D-League since going undrafted in 2005. He averaged 12.6 points and 9.0 assists with a 14.7 PER in 23 games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers last year.
The Wolves have been focusing their attention on big men of late, so the move may be largely a favor to Roy, much as the Knicks' signing of Chris Smith was seen as a favor to his brother, J.R. Smith. Roy used Conroy's Twitter account back in June to announce his intention to come back from retirement.
Odds & Ends: Anderson, Mbenga, Heat, Harden
It's been a busier day than we've had for a while around the NBA, and with training camps opening as soon as September 29th, expect the faster pace of news to continue. Let's dive right into some of the latest from around the league:
- James Anderson's deal with the Hawks is a one-year, non-guaranteed pact, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
- D.J. Mbenga, who agreed to terms with the Mavericks earlier today, has already agreed to join the team's D-League affiliate if he doesn't make the NBA club out of training camp, reports Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- An agent tells Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that the Heat are only offering contracts without a guarantee, which makes sense, since they already have agreements with 18 players. Winderman also speculates that Raja Bell could be a fit for the Heat whenever he finalizes the buyout he continues to negotiate with the Jazz (Sulia link).
- Ken Berger of CBSSports.com delves deep into Thunder GM Sam Presti's comments about a possible extension for James Harden, and says that while Isiah Thomas is unlikely to return in a formal capacity to the Knicks soon, he looms as a potential candidate to join an NBA team as a coach or executive down the road.
- Zach Lowe of SI.com runs down several players for whom 2012/13 will be an especially important season.
- After looking at 10 overpaid players earlier today, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News also shares his list of the 10 most underpaid players in the league.
Northwest Rumors: Williams, Stotts, Roy, Conroy
The Blazers caught a tough break today, as guard Elliot Williams tore his left ACL during a voluntary workout, The Oregonian's Joe Freeman reports. He'll have surgery, but there's no date set for that and no timetable for his recovery (Twitter links). Williams missed his entire rookie year because of surgery on both knees, and this past season ended prematurely for him because of a dislocated left shoulder. He's played in only 24 games since the team drafted him 22nd overall in 2010, and though the $1.443MM he'll receive on his rookie scale contract this year is guaranteed, the Blazers have until October 31st to decide whether to pick up their option on his $2.374MM for 2013/14. There's more out of Portland tonight, along with news on other Northwest Division clubs:
- Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge speculates that the Blazers could choose to waive Williams now and pay his guarantee anyway, as they did with Jeff Pendergraph in 2010 (Sulia link).
- New Blazers coach Terry Stotts spoke with the team's broadcasters and had plenty to say about LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and the transition into his new job, and Golliver has a transcript of the video that's on TrailBlazers.TV.
- Mark Remme of Timberwolves.com checks in on Brandon Roy, who's begun workouts with Wolves coaches.
- Will Conroy, Roy's close friend and former college teammate, tweeted about his excitement to join Roy in Minnesota, perhaps indicating that a training camp invite from the Wolves is in the offing (hat tip to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News). Conroy briefly spent time with the Grizzlies, Clippers and Rockets, but only has 12 career NBA games and hasn't appeared in the league since 2009/10.
- The Idaho Stampede, the Blazers' D-League affiliate, has hired Michael Peck, a high school coach at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada, as its new coach, Golliver reports (Twitter link). He beat out former Blazers assistant coach Dan Dickau, who was also reportedly a candidate for the post.
- Thunder GM Sam Presti shared his thoughts on an extension for James Harden, as we noted earlier today.
Leandro Barbosa Talking To Suns, Nets, Lakers
8:17pm: Howard Beck of the New York Times hears that the Nets are unlikely to sign Barbosa, given their depth at both guard spots (Twitter links).
6:19pm: Leandro Barbosa is one of the most prominent free agents still on the market, and the Brazilian guard recently told Fábio Balassiano of UOL Esporte that he's in talks with the Suns, Nets and Lakers (Portuguese link; translation via HoopsHype). Barbosa added that former Suns teammate Steve Nash has been sending text messages his way to try to recruit him to L.A.
The Lakers were close to signing him during the Olympics, but the team's deal with Jodie Meeks caused them to back off, Barbosa said. It's hard to put too much weight on comments he made in another language, but Barbosa appeared to indicate he's willing to take the minimum salary from the Lakers or another contending club. The Lakers still have $1.59MM of their taxpayer's mid-level exception remaining after using $1.5MM of it on Meeks, which is a little more than the $1.229MM that Barbosa, as a nine-year veteran, would receive at the minimum-salary level.
The Nets probably fit the profile of a contending club as well. They could offer the biannual exception of $1.957MM, but that would cause them to be hard-capped this season, something they've sought to avoid. The Suns still have more than $8MM in cap space, so they could simply overwhelm the other clubs with the amount of money in their offer if they chose to do so.
Barbosa said in the report that he would go back to Brazil if he can't find a deal in the NBA, but that seems unlikely. Hoops Rumors readers tabbed Barbosa as the best remaining free agent by a wide margin a few days ago.
New York Rumors: Brewer, Shumpert, Blatche
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork provides updates on a pair of Knicks recovering from left knee surgery who attended a Wall Street fundraiser today in remembrance of the September 11th attacks. Ronnie Brewer says he'll be back by opening night from surgery to correct a medial meniscus tear, while Iman Shumpert, who tore his ACL in the playoffs, won't be back until December at the earliest. The Knicks, finalized four signings today, appear to have plenty of options in the meantime, and we've got more on them and their crosstown rivals here:
- The four players the Knicks signed, along with Chris Smith, are all likely to wind up with the team's D-League affiliate, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com says (Twitter link). The team is still combing the free agent market for someone to fill their 15th roster spot in the regular season, and it's likely to be a big man, according to Zwerling. A report last week said the Knicks were considering Sean Williams, though Zwerling says there's nothing new on that front.
- Andray Blatche and Josh Childress are on non-guaranteed deals, but they're both expected to make the Nets, reports Howard Beck of The New York Times. That would bring Brooklyn's roster to the 15-player limit, but they'll likely sign more players for training camp, Beck adds, since teams can carry up to 20 in the preseason.
- Former Nets small forward Damion James and the Hawks agreed to terms today, but was gracious in his exit from Brooklyn, thanking the Nets and their fans via Twitter (hat tip to Ben Couch).
Van Gundy On Howard, Magic, Press Conference
On a Grantland.com podcast with Dan LeBatard and Jon Sciambi, Stan Van Gundy opened up about his tumultuous final season as coach of the Magic, and in particular addressed the awkward April 5th press conference in which an unwitting Dwight Howard put his arm Van Gundy moments after the coach told reporters Howard wanted him fired. In the podcast, Van Gundy praised Howard's effort to play despite his injured back before he was finally shut down last season. He said the press conference put Howard in a tough spot, but said he hoped getting everything out in the open would bring speculation to an end and allow the story to run its course, a strategy that fell apart when the injury ended Howard's season. Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com provides a transcript of some of Van Gundy's notable comments from the podcast, and we'll hit a few highlights here:
On his thoughts as the press conference took place:
"It was already a big deal before he put his arm around me. You knew the question was coming, so I had time to prepare for it. It's not like it came out of the blue [and] I just [answered] off the top of my head … I gave some thought to whether I was going to answer this honestly, or no comment or just lie. I thought it through, but I knew it would be a big deal. I didn't really know what happened with Dwight and I would become a bigger deal."
On his response to the question, "Does Dwight want you fired?"
"That in particular was calculated. What you're calculating is not what the media response is going to be or anything else. You're making your decision on what my team needs. I didn't break a story there. That story had been out all year. All I did, basically, was confirm it, get it done hopefully, and try in our locker room to get rid of the BS. Saying, look, 'I know what's going on. I'm not afraid of what's going on. We're going to go play basketball now and get it done.' That's what the calculation came down to."
On the Magic front office's reaction to Howard wanting him out:
"I knew the best approach was our management needed to resolve the situation one way or another. Fire me, extend me, or make some sort of statement. Our management chose not to do that. My choice then became, are we going to just let this go on? … Or are we at least going to bring some closure to it?"
On Howard:
"I don't have a problem with Dwight in the situation. He was given a forum by management to express his opinions. They decided to do that and he did it. I just had to deal with it as a coach, that's all. He's entitled to his opinion and management asked him what he thought at some point. Dwight always played hard."
On the rest of the team's reaction following the press conference:
"You could poll everybody. I think it actually played out the way I would have wanted it, with everyone. Dwight was obviously pissed off about it. The rest of them, I thought it played out the way everybody wanted it to… I think they got a respect. I think they had respect for me, anyway, but I think they got a respect of, basically, he doesn't give a damn. Dwight wants him out of here. He knows it, number one. He's not in the dark wondering what's going on. He's not naive, he knows what's going on. He wants to just stay focused."
Latest On Raja Bell, Jazz Buyout
Since a report July 9th that Raja Bell had agreed to a buyout with the Jazz, negotiations hit a snag and the two sides still haven't finalized any parting of ways. Buyout discussions are continuing, Bell's agent Herb Rudoy recently told Shams Charania of RealGM.com, saying that reports that his client had rejected a proposal from the team are untrue.
Bell is set to make $3.48MM in the last year of a three-year contract this season, but he has clashed with Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin, whom he referred to as "unprofessional." Bell requested a trade back in May. Though he started 33 of the 34 contests in which he appeared, the veteran shooting guard saw just 23.4 minutes per game this past season, his fewest since 2002/03. He put up 6.4 points and 1.1 assists per game, also his lowest numbers since 2002/03.
We heard in July that six other teams were interested in Bell, who turns 36 next week, but most of those clubs have probably moved on since then. It's unlikely he'd make nearly as much as he would in the final season of his contract with the Jazz, so it behooves Bell to get as much out of the buyout as he can. He expressed his admiration for former GM Kevin O'Connor earlier this summer, but O'Connor has since been promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations, with Dennis Lindsey taking his place as GM. Rudoy's comments to Charania indicate that Lindsey is now the person negotiating the buyout for the Jazz.
Odds & Ends: Harris, Aguilar, 2014 Draft, Bynum
Let's round up a few Tuesday afternoon odds and ends from around the Association….
- Before he re-signed with the Heat, Terrel Harris turned down contract offers from the Cavaliers and teams in Spain and Russia, says Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link).
- Former Philippine Basketball Association first overall pick Japeth Aguilar is trying to earn an invite to an NBA training camp, writes Joseph Pimentel of ABS-CBN News. According to his agent, Aguilar has a workout scheduled with the Spurs and is trying to line one up with the Magic as well.
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News lists his choices for the top ten most toxic contracts in the NBA.
- For the draft buffs who are already looking ahead to 2013 and beyond, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com has published his mock draft for 2014.
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic wonders if any of the Suns' new acquisitions will fill the leadership void left by Steve Nash's and Grant Hill's departures.
- Will Bynum should have a clearer path to playing time this season with Ben Gordon out of the picture for the Pistons, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside makes the case for why Marvin Phillips deserves an opportunity to earn an NBA roster spot.
Hawks, Damion James Agree To Terms
4:28pm: James' deal will be non-guaranteed, tweets Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
1:43pm: The Hawks have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Damion James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). We had heard in late August that James was close to making a decision on where to sign, and it appears he has chosen Atlanta.
The 24th overall pick in 2010, James only appeared in 32 games for the Nets in his first two seasons due to foot injuries. Based on his performance and health history to date, it seems likely he'd command no more than a non-guaranteed, minimum-salary deal.
When James and the Hawks finalize their agreement, the 6'7" wing will become the 15th player under contract for the club. If Atlanta eventually agrees to terms with restricted free agent Ivan Johnson, James could find himself battling for the team's final roster spot with training camp invitee James Anderson.