Bucks Have Redick Sign & Trade Opportunities
Sign-and-trade opportunities are emerging for the Bucks and J.J. Redick, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Meanwhile, there haven't been any talks on a return to Milwaukee.
We heard earlier today from Wojnarowski that it was appearing less and less likely that the shooting guard would be back in a Bucks uniform next season. Redick came to Milwaukee at the deadline in a six-player deal with the Magic. Between the two teams, Redick averaged a career-high 14.1 PPG in 30.5 minutes per contest.
Bobcats Pursuing Al Jefferson
As free agency opens, the Bobcats are going after Jazz forward Al Jefferson, a league source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The unrestricted free agent is one of several key contributors in Utah that could be on the move this summer.
We heard last week that there's a rising sense around the league that the Jazz will simply let Jefferson walk. While that may seem crazy on the surface, there's actually little incentive for Jefferson to work a sign-and-trade deal unless he goes to a team that's over the cap. In the case of Charlotte, they have plenty of cap room to spare. They won't lure any max-caliber players in their direction, but they can definitely outbid the others for Jefferson and come out on top.
Free Agency Notes: Smith, Evans, Blazers, Kaman
It's officially the start of free agency! Here's the latest as we enter July..
- A source tells Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News (Twitter link) that the Pistons will absolutely not offer Josh Smith a max deal. We learned earlier today that Detroit is among the teams targeting the Hawks free agent.
- The Pelicans will have a sizable offer sheet ready for Tyreke Evans when they meet with him tonight, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. We learned earlier tonight that New Orleans was set to be the first team to meet with the Kings guard. Meanwhile, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (Twitter link) that while the Pelicans got the first meeting with the 23-year-old, he will still do his due diligence on teams and the Kings are still in the mix.
- The Blazers and the reps for center Chris Kaman are expected to meet face-to-face now that free agency is underway, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Both the unrestricted free agent and the club feel that it would be a "great fit" (link).
- The Jazz and Lakers were the first two teams to inquire on Knicks free agent Chris Copeland tonight, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
2013 NBA Free Agency Primer
NBA free agency officially begins at 11:01pm CST tonight, at which point teams are permitted to talk to and negotiate with other clubs' free agents. However, most free agent contracts can't officially be signed until July 10th, due to the July moratorium. Our explanation of the July moratorium is one link you'll want to check out as you prepare for the 2013 free agent period. Here are a few more:
- Hoops Rumors has a complete list of this summer's free agents, sorted by position. Our list also include players on non-guaranteed contracts, who may or may not be waived in the coming weeks. For a timeline on when those decisions are due, check out our schedule of contract guarantee dates.
- You can follow free agent agreements using our 2013 Free Agent Tracker, which allows you to sort by a number of variables, including position, team, years, dollars, and more.
- A number of players got the Free Agent Stock Watch treatment, as Hoops Rumors writers examined potential suitors and salary expectations for many of this year's key free agents.
- We also took a more in-depth look at the free agent market, by position: Center, Power Forward, Small Forward, Shooting Guard, and Point Guard.
- Over the last couple months, we previewed the upcoming offseason for all 30 NBA teams right here.
- Our glossary has explanations for a number of terms and concepts that will come up over the next few weeks. Among them: Bird Rights, Early Bird Rights, Mid-Level Exception, Cap Holds, Sign-And-Trades, and Traded Player Exception.
- I rounded up all the decisions on 2013/14 team and player options in one place.
- Teams who have yet to use their amnesty provision will have a week in July to do so, once the moratorium is lifted. Here's a refresher on how the process works, which clubs can still amnesty a player, and which players are eligible.
- My lists of Western and Eastern teams with potential cap space for a maximum-salary player were written in March, so some teams have made roster moves since then to change their cap outlook. But most of the clubs mentioned should still have plenty of space available.
- I also explored max-contract scenarios for a few of this summer's top free agents.
Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Evans, Iguodala
Here's a quick look at the Southwest Division as the Mavs get their presentation ready for the summer's biggest free agent..
- The Pelicans will have a face-to-face meeting with Tyreke Evans tonight after free agency commences at 11:01 central, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. We heard recently that the Kings won't simply let Evans go – they'll look to match his offer sheet or get something for him in a sign-and-trade.
- Meanwhile, sources close to Evans tell Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (on Twitter) that he's not meeting with New Orleans tonight.
- The Pelicans are expected to be one of several teams that make a push for Andre Iguodala, tweets John Reid of the Times-Picayune.
- The Mavericks are preparing alternatives in the event that Dwight Howard turns them down, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
Odds & Ends: Delfino, Knicks, Redick, West
The Knicks have an interest in Carlos Delfino and Aaron Brooks, who were waived by the Rockets earlier today, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Brooks also has interest (Twitter links) in signing with New York and it helps that he is represented by CAA, the same company that represents J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony. Here’s more from around the Association..
- It’s appearing less and less likely that J.J. Redick will return to the Bucks in free agency, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
- The Pacers‘ top priority in free agency remains re-signing David West, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Sources say that a meeting is expected soon, if not tonight, then tomorrow.
- Andrei Kirilenko is a free agent again, but Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter) cautions that AK is not a fit for the Jazz right now based on the dollars and years it would take to sign him.
- The frontrunners for Gigi Datome are the Celtics and Grizzlies, according to an Italian report passed along by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The small forward was named Serie A Regular Season MVP and ended the year averaging 16.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 48 games.
Week In Review: 6/24/13 – 6/30/13
How do you upstage the NBA Draft? It's pretty easy. All you have to do is acquire Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in a blockbuster trade with the Celtics. The deal won't be finalized until July 10th, but the trade will send Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, and three future first round picks for KG, Pierce, and Jason Terry. The trade made it clear that the Celtics are serious about a full rebuild and that the Nets are completely wiling to mortgage the future to win right now. Here's more from the week that was..
- No one knew who the Cavs were going to select with the No. 1 pick and they shocked everyone by taking UNLV forward Anthony Bennett. The surprises didn't stop there as the Bobcats took Indiana's Cody Zeller at No. 4 and Nerlens Noel fell all the way to No. 6. You can get caught up on the full results of the draft right here.
- The Celtics and Clippers finalized their deal to send Doc Rivers to Los Angeles. Rivers will have final say over all personnel decisions. Meanwhile, the league has barred the Clippers and Celtics from making any trades through the 2013/14 season.
- Noel wasn't sporting a Pelicans cap for long as he was quickly shipped to the Sixers, along with a 2014 first-round pick, for Jrue Holiday. A center recovering from injury in Philadelphia – what could go wrong? For what it's worth, one exec says that the Kentucky product is actually healthier than Bennett and Alex Len, so injury concerns aren't behind his slip.
- The Knicks reached agreement on a deal with Toronto for Andrea Bargnani, but it has hit a snag.
- The Rockets are shopping Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin. They're also increasingly confident that they'll sign Dwight Howard,
- The Blazers acquired Thomas Robinson from the Rockets.
- The Mavs declined to make a QO to Darren Collison.
- The Hawks won't give Ivan Johnson a qualifying offer.
- The Nuggets made Brian Shaw their next head coach.
- The Grizzlies promoted Dave Joerger to head coach.
- It's wrapped up: Chris Paul is staying.
- LaMarcus Aldridge would prefer to be traded to a contender but he's not opposed to returning to Portland. If he does get moved, the big man is said to like the Bulls.
- The Jazz acquired the No. 9 overall pick Trey Burke from the T'Wolves for the No. 14 and 21 selections which turned out to be Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng.
- A draft night swap landed Ricky Ledo with the Mavs.
- The T'Wolves appeared close to trading for Brooks but he wound up going to Boston.
- Minnesota is unlikely to trade Derrick Williams.
- The Jazz bought the rights to French big man Rudy Gobert from the Nuggets.
- Want Eric Gordon? Word is, he's very available.
- The Pacers, Bucks, and Knicks all like Tony Allen.
- The C's waived Terrence Williams.
- The Pelicans have strong interest in Andre Iguodala.
- The Raptors are going after Eric Bledsoe.
- The Nets put an experienced staff around Jason Kidd, headlined by Lawrence Frank.
- The Wolves extended a qualifying offer to Nikola Pekovic.
- Andre Iguodala offically opted out.
- Carl Landry decided to opt out of his deal and find something better than the $4MM he would have made.
- Larry Bird is staying on as president in Indiana.
- The Bulls, who dangled Luol Deng to the Wizards for the No. 3 pick, may or may not have discussed an extension with him.
- Trevor Ariza is going to opt in with the Wizards seeing as how he won't get $7MM+ anywhere else.
- The Celtics will target lower-profile coaches to replace Rivers.
- The Raptors declined their option on John Lucas III.
- Bryan Colangelo's new job in Toronto didn't last long and he has decided to leave that position.
- The Lakers aren't expected to retain Chris Duhon or Devin Ebanks.
- Bobcats GM Rich Cho says he's not shopping Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
- The Clippers and Blazers discussed DeAndre Jordan.
- The Magic were close to trading the No. 2 pick twice and could re-visit the Eric Bledsoe talks with the Clippers. The Thunder were one of the clubs making a run for that second overall pick.
- Orlando has competition for Bledsoe: the Pelicans, Raptors, Pistons, and Mavericks also have interest in the Clippers guard.
- Suns GM Ryan McDonough says he won't trade Marcin Gortat.
- Nate Robinson and the Bulls are likely to part ways.
- The Nets like Kyle Korver but their interest in Jason Collins is either overstated or nonexistent.
- Jared Cunningham went to the Hawks on draft night, clearing up some extra space for the Mavs.
- The Bucks were dangling Brandon Jennings on draft night and have reportedly discussed a swap of Ekpe Udoh and Luke Ridnour with Minnesota.
- Ray Allen picked up his option with the Heat.
- The Wizards moved up in the draft to take Glen Rice Jr.
- The Bucks extended a QO to Jennings.
- The Wolves had a no-brainer QO situation as well, offering one to Nikola Pekovic.
- Boris Diaw opted in for his final year with the Spurs.
- The Wolves exercised their club option on Dante Cunningham.
- Jerryd Bayless will exercise his player option.
- Kwame Brown picked up his player option.
- Chris Copeland could get attention from overseas as well as other clubs this summer.
- Several teams are eyeing Copeland and teammate J.R. Smith.
- No surprise here, Ben Gordon triggered his player option.
- Bogans will make out like a bandit in the Nets-C's swap.
- The Trail Blazers got the rights to Allen Crabbe (No. 31 overall) from the Cavs for a pair of future second-round picks.
- The Warriors inquired on Kevin Garnett but they were beaten out by the Nets.
Odds & Ends: Mayo, Martin, Noel, Bulls
Here's the latest from around the Association as we gear up for the start of free agency..
- The Jazz, Bucks, Timberwolves, Clippers, Blazers, Bobcats, and Bulls are all likely suitors for Mavs guard O.J. Mayo, USA Today's Sam Amick tweets. Mayo is expected to turn down his $4.2MM option this summer and it makes a lot of sense considering the number of teams with major cap space to burn.
- Kevin Martin is expected to draw interest from the Bucks, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Mavericks, and Pistons, as well as the Thunder, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Before Nerlens Noel fell to pick No. 6, the Pelicans were entertaining the idea of trading that selection to the Bobcats for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe notes amid his weekly roundup.
- Drastic change isn't likely to blow through the Windy City for the Bulls this summer, writes Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. There's still a lot of moving pieces for the club, but the major shifting probably won't come until the summer of 2014 for the Bulls.
- The Wizards face some tough decisions with free agency approaching, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Washington obviously won't be in play for any of the elite free agents this summer and they have their sights set on less-thrilling goals, like retaining small forward Martell Webster.
- We hear similar news out of Portland, where Joe Freeman of The Oregonian cautions fans not to expect anything too crazy out of the Blazers. Of course, there have been rumblings over LaMarcus Aldridge's discontent.
Rockets Shopping Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin
The Rockets have called several teams about Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin and made it known that they are available in trades, league sources told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Rockets are extremely confident in their pursuit of Dwight Howard and therefore they feel that Asik is expendable.
Rival executives feel that Philadelphia is a potential destination for both players as former Rockets executive Sam Hinkie is the Sixers’ new GM. Hinkie was part of the Houston front office that signed both Asik and Lin with backloaded offer sheets last summer.
Lin is available as well, though they’d have to get a starting point guard in return. Teams believe the Rockets will move both Asik and Lin if they seal the deal with Howard this week. In a move that may or may not be noteworthy, Lin was not invited to Houston’s pitch meeting with Howard, sources told Berger.
Lakers Notes: Howard, Kobe, Nash
Here's the latest out of Los Angeles as the Lakers prepare their pitch to Dwight Howard..
- Howard's camp is unsure if Kobe Bryant will be there for the Lakers' pitch meeting as they've heard both yes and no, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Howard will meet with the Hawks, Rockets, Mavericks, and Warriors, but the Lakers will get last licks per their request.
- Meanwhile, Steve Nash is expected to be a part of the meeting, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- After reaching the Finals four years ago, Howard desperately wants to get back to championship contention. Being able to play for a title is at the top of the big man's priority list, a source tells Shelburne and Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- League sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that the Rockets are the frontrunners for Howard. Howard doesn't want this process to extend long beyond his final meetings on Tuesday and could have a decision before the end of the week, sources said.
- A source close to Howard says that the big man isn't going to ask the club to do anything on his behalf in terms of additions or changes, tweets Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News.
- Earlier tonight, the Rockets shipped Thomas Robinson to the Blazers, freeing up enough room to allow them to offer Howard a max deal.