Magic Resisting ‘Tempting’ Offers’?
8:32pm: The Magic continue to explore their options with the No. 2 pick, tweets HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy.
8:04pm: The Magic have no trades in the works and expect to use the No. 2 overall pick for themselves Thursday, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweeted earlier this evening that though little is certain surrounding the team, it will not trade up to get the No. 1 pick.
3:10pm: Few, if any, trade rumors have surfaced more frequently over the last several days than one connecting Eric Bledsoe to the Magic and Arron Afflalo to the Clippers. However, according to Magic GM Rob Hennigan, he'd be "stunned" if his team made a deal with L.A. on or before draft night, since he hasn't talked trade with the Clips in about three weeks (Twitter links via Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel).
Although Hennigan downplayed the possibility of a trade with the Clippers, that doesn't mean the Magic won't be active this week. According to the GM, there are some tempting offers on the table for his team, with the Orlando front office seriously considering "three or four" different possibilities (Twitter links via John Denton of Magic.com).
Hennigan didn't go into specifics about the proposals on the table for the Magic, but it's a good bet that most or all of them include the No. 2 overall pick — reports earlier today indicated that the Magic were weighing the possibility of trading down in the draft. The Timberwolves are among the teams believed to be interested in trading up, reportedly dangling the ninth and 26th overall picks along with Derrick Williams.
In other roster-building news for the Magic, Hennigan suggested that Orlando is unlikely to use its mid-level exception in free agency this summer, according to Robbins (via Twitter).
Carl Landry Opts Out, Will Become Free Agent
7:22pm: The Warriors confirmed via press release that Landry has declined his player option.
2:20pm: Carl Landry has decided to turn down his 2013/14 player option and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. Landry tells Thompson that he would like to stay with Golden State, which made the decision, which was due by today, a tough one.
By opting out of the final year of his contract, Landry will forgo a guaranteed $4MM in search of a larger deal. The decision doesn't necessarily preclude a return to the Warriors, but given the team's proximity to the tax line and its desire to re-sign free agent point guard Jarrett Jack as well, Golden State may not have the cap flexibility to bring back the veteran forward.
An in-season report suggested that the Raptors would have interest in pursuing Landry this summer, though Toronto will likely have plenty of competition. I would guess that Landry will be seeking a slight upgrade in his annual salary, and will prioritize multiyear offers.
Agent Mark Bartelstein had confirmed last week that Landry was leaning toward opting out.
Clippers Rumors: Aldridge, Rivers, Lue
The Clippers pulled off the first offseason swap this year, though it didn't involve any players. New coach Doc Rivers, acquired for a future first-round pick, spoke with L.A. media as well as Boston reporters today, and we've got more on that along with other Clippers-related news:
- The Clippers fielded a call about LaMarcus Aldridge, but a source who spoke to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com downplayed any trade talks, saying, "Where's the fit?" (Twitter link).
- Clippers president Andy Roeser said the team's been after Rivers for quite some time, calling him "the apple of our eye before we even made a decision to change coaches," as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweets.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com rounds up Rivers' remarks about his reasons for leaving the Celtics for the Clippers. The coach emphasized that the move had nothing to do with an alleged rift with Rajon Rondo.
- Rivers elaborated some more on his decision on The Doug Gottlieb Show, and Royce Young of CBSSports.com shares some of what the coach said, including Rivers' suggestion that Celtics president Danny Ainge was the one who initiated the idea of Rivers leaving the C's.
- Rivers says he told Ainge on Sunday that he had decided to come back to coach the Celtics, only to learn hours later that Boston's deal with the Clippers was done, as Forsberg notes.
- Celtics assistant coach Tyronn Lue will be following Rivers to join his staff with the Clippers, a source tells TNT's David Aldridge (Twitter link). Lue was a candidate to join the Raptors staff earlier in the offseason.
Trevor Ariza To Opt In
Trevor Ariza told the Wizards last night that he will exercise his $7,727,280 player option for next season to remain with the team, a source tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Lee reported back in April that Ariza and Emeka Okafor both intended to exercise their options for the coming season, so today's news comes as no surprise.
Ariza came to the Wizards in a trade from the Pelicans that became official almost exactly a year ago. The veteran small forward averaged 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last season, and would have been hard-pressed to find an annual salary equal to the value of his option on the open market.
The move, when official, will give the Wizards about $42.5MM in commitments for next season. Okafor's option, worth $14,487,500, would eat up most of the rest of the team's cap room.
Bryan Colangelo Steps Down From Raptors Job
5:40pm: A source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that Colangelo was at odds with Tim Leiweke, the new CEO of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment.
5:09pm: When the Raptors hired Masai Ujiri to run their basketball operations earlier in the offseason, former GM Bryan Colangelo wasn't let go, but was named the team's president of team and business operations. Considering Colangelo was no longer involved in basketball decision-making, the role seemed unusual, and perhaps Colangelo realized as much. According to a team release, he has stepped down from the position.
"Having had a better chance to reflect on things for the past several weeks, I have concluded that stepping away from my position is the best course of action for the organization and everyone involved," Colangelo said in a statement.
Colangelo will act as a consultant for the Raptors and for Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment moving forward, according to the release. It also wouldn't be surprising to see him land in another team's front office at some point within the next few months.
Knicks Extend Qualifying Offer To Pablo Prigioni
The Knicks have formally extended a qualifying offer to Pablo Prigioni, ensuring that he'll be a restricted free agent next month, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday. The offer, which comes a day after the team extended a QO to Chris Copeland, is worth the same as Copeland's one-year offer: $988,872.
By making the qualifying offer, the Knicks will have the opportunity to match any rival offers for Prigioni up to $3.18MM, the taxpayer's mid-level exception. The Knicks reportedly would like to bring both Prigioni and Copeland back, but will only have that $3.18MM available for both players. Using that MLE on one or both of them would also rule out the possibility of using it on an outside free agent, so the Knicks will have some decisions ahead of them in the coming weeks.
In his first year in the NBA, the 36-year-old Prigioni averaged 3.5 PPG and 3.0 APG in 78 contests for the Knicks (16.2 MPG)
Lakers Not Expected To Retain Duhon, Ebanks
The Lakers exercised their team option on Jodie Meeks and extended a qualifying offer to Robert Sacre yesterday, but it doesn't appear that they'll do the same for Chris Duhon or Devin Ebanks. Kevin Ding of the Orange Country Register reports (via Twitter) that the Lakers have decided not to retain Duhon and Ebanks for next season.
Duhon, 30, remains under contract for $3.75MM for next season, but only $1.5MM of that amount is guaranteed. The Lakers will have to release him on or before this Sunday in order to avoid paying the rest of Duhon's guarantee. As for Ebanks, the Lakers have the option of extending him a qualifying offer to make him restricted, like Sacre, but it appears the team won't make that offer.
Neither Duhon nor Ebanks played much for the Lakers last season, and neither player was particularly productive when he did play — Duhon finished with an 8.0 PER in 46 contests, while Ebanks posted a 6.3 PER in 19 games. Assuming the Lakers officially release Duhon and don't extend a QO to Ebanks, both players will become unrestricted free agents next week.
Nets, Cavs Discussed Swap Of Miles, No. 22 Pick
5:21pm: Bondy splashes some cold water on his own report, tweeting that a "well-connected source" refuted the Miles talks. It doesn't look like anything will happen on this front, according to Bondy.
3:34pm: Despite the fact that the Cavaliers have reportedly shopped all four of their 2013 draft picks in various trade scenarios, it appears that Cleveland may not be averse to adding another pick. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), the Nets have spoken to the Cavaliers about the possibility of acquiring C.J. Miles for the 22nd overall pick.
For the Nets, Miles would represent a veteran outside shooting threat that could assume a spot in the rotation right away. For the Cavs, the No. 22 pick would probably represent another trade asset for the club to use in a larger deal, though that's just my speculation.
If the two sides were to make a deal this week, the Nets would need to include at least one player in the deal in order to make the salaries work, since Brooklyn has neither cap space nor a trade exception.
Of course, the Nets and Timberwolves have also discussed a deal involving MarShon Brooks and the No. 26 pick, so maybe there's a chance the two negotiations could be combined into a single move. That could allow the Nets to send out Brooks and, for instance, Kris Joseph's non-guaranteed contract in order to take on Miles' salary.
Eric Gordon ‘Very Available’ Via Trade?
One year after Eric Gordon earned a maximum-salary contract in free agency, there's a chance he'll be on the move this summer. An unnamed general manager suggested to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio earlier today that Gordon is one of the likeliest candidates to be dealt this offseason (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Andrew Perna of RealGM.com hears from a source that the Pelicans are making Gordon "very available" in trade talks.
Assuming Gordon is indeed available, it shouldn't come as a huge surprise. When he addressed the media at the end of the regular season, GM Dell Demps didn't rule out the possibility of a trade involving Gordon, and was reluctant to commit to the young guard being back in New Orleans next season. Reports at last season's deadline also suggested that the Pelicans were exploring potential deals, and were likely to revisit talks in the offseason.
Gordon signed a four-year, max offer sheet with the Suns last July, and released a public statement suggesting that his heart was in Phoenix, essentially asking New Orleans not to match the offer. The Pelicans did match the offer, but they may have been just as interested in hanging on to an asset as they were in keeping Gordon long-term.
A player is ineligible to be traded to the team with whom he signed an offer sheet for one year after inking the deal, so Gordon will become eligible to be traded to the Suns next month.
Draft Updates: Wednesday Afternoon
We rounded up the morning updates on the draft earlier today, and passed along a few of the day's more notable draft-related rumors in their own separate posts. Now, a few more afternoon updates, with just over 24 hours to go until the 2013 draft:
- If the Thunder are able to trade up and acquire a top-five pick, their primary target figures to be Alex Len, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter), Oklahoma City is likely dangling its two first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 29), along with Kendrick Perkins and perhaps its second-rounder (No. 32).
- The Hawks are working out Jeff Withey, Kelly Olynyk, and Grant Jerrett in Atlanta today, tweets Wojnarowski.
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News writes in his latest rumor roundup that it's appearing more and more likely that the Cavaliers will keep the first overall pick.
- Some sources believe that the Thunder won't let Deshaun Thomas get past them at No. 32 tomorrow night, according to Amico. However, many executives believe Thomas could go as high as No. 19 or as low as the mid-second-round.
- Archie Goodwin's stock appears to be slipping as tomorrow night approaches, says Amico, adding that there's an outside chance he may not even get drafted.
- The Clippers are said to be high on Allen Crabbe and it's possible he'll still be on the board at No. 25 for L.A., says Amico.