Warriors Notes: Speights, O’Neal, Bynum
The Warriors made another free agent pickup this evening when they agreed to sign Marreese Speights to a three-year deal. While Speights wasn't a fit in Cleveland and turned down a player option of ~$4.52MM to go elsewhere, he played some of his best basketball there in the second half of last season. Here's more out of Golden State..
- The Warriors have begun reaching out to reserve point guards to find a replacement for Jarrett Jack, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). They've offered minimum contracts to a few one-guards already in the last week.
- One source close to the process tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the Speights deal does not impact their pursuit of free agent center Jermaine O'Neal. The veteran is expected to make his decision soon.
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter) is surprised that the Warriors haven't been linked to Andrew Bynum this summer. It's a signing that would make sense for them (though the Speights signing may change that) and they've been linked to every other free agent up to now.
Lakers To Amnesty Metta World Peace
The Lakers are set to use the amnesty clause on the contract of Metta World Peace barring some late change, according to Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register (on Twitter). The forward's contract calls for him to make about $7.73MM in 2013/14.
Even without Dwight Howard in the picture, the Lakers are well into luxury tax territory and cutting MWP loose with the amnesty provision will save them about $21.5MM in total. Peace, of course, has a reputation as a tenacious defender but his performance has been in decline as of late and he's certainly not worth the cost for a club that doesn't figure to contend in 2013/14.
Using the clause on MWP means that the Lakers will eliminate his cap hit from the books while still paying him his full salary. For a refresher on the amnesty clause, check out the full explanation in the Hoops Rumors glossary.
Lowe On Howard, Wizards, Teague, Pelicans
The surprise of the summer might not have been Dwight Howard's departure from the Lakers, but the quickness with which he decided to join up with the Rockets. We're just a week into the free agency period, but executives are already taking the time to survey the entire landscape outside of their own milieu. Zach Lowe of Grantland checked in with basketball people to get their take on things and unearthed some very interesting tidbits..
- Lowe wonders why more clubs didn't put their toe in the water for Dwight Howard. His educated guess after poking around is that the Wizards gave it a go while the Bulls, who were once a rumored trade destination, did not. The Bulls have a stern culture, very good talent already on hand, and a tax complication, so Howard would have been a longshot and maybe not the best idea anyway.
- The Jazz could have used their cap space this summer to sign Jeff Teague, who sources say is nearly unwanted in the Hawks organization. We've heard previously that the point guard was upset with the lack of communication he's had with Atlanta this summer.
- Pelicans owner Tom Benson has told the front office that the team needs to take a significant step forward this season, according to several sources around the league. That would help to explain their sizable commitment to Tyreke Evans this summer.
- Other execs have pointed out that the Rockets tend to be sort of annoying, especially around draft day. Daryl Morey & Co. make many, many phone calls, poking the market and chasing tiny deals that move them two spots up in the draft or add an extra second-round pick. People knocked Morey for burning up the phone lines to chase the No. 9 seed a year ago and didn't seem long for Houston, but he has turned a roster with zero top-50 talent into a roster with two top-15 players.
- As much as Houston says they want to hang on to center Omer Asik, Lowe would be surprised to see him finish the year with the Rockets.
Wizards Sign Otto Porter, Glen Rice Jr.
The Wizards have locked up their 2013 draft picks, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, who reports (via Twitter) that Otto Porter and Glen Rice Jr. have signed their respective deals.
Porter, the third overall pick, will be on a standard rookie-scale contract, which figures to pay him about $4.28MM in his first NBA season, as our chart of rookie salaries shows. Rice, on the other hand, was a second-round pick (35th overall), meaning he isn't subject to the same scale.
The terms of Rice's deal aren't known, but the Wizards are believed to have committed their mid-level exception to Martell Webster and their bi-annual exception to Eric Maynor. If that's the case, it would leave room for just a minimum-salary contract for Rice.
Andrew Bynum Meeting With Cavs, Hawks, Mavs
1:58pm: Bynum has also lined up face-to-face meetings with the Hawks and Mavericks this week, tweets Stein. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, the big man would like to have a contract agreement in place within the next few days.
MONDAY, 11:30am: Bynum is scheduled to be in Cleveland today for a face-to-face meeting with the Cavs, according to Stein (via Twitter).
SUNDAY, 10:48pm: The Cavaliers have joined the Mavericks as a team to watch in the race to sign free-agent center Andrew Bynum. Sources close to the process told Marc Stein of ESPN.com that the Cavs are legitimate contenders to sign Bynum, who now finds himself as the top available center on the market despite not playing a minute in 2012/13.
Indications are that Cleveland won't offer more than a one-year deal to Bynum so that they can make a free agent splash in the summer of 2014, a class that includes LeBron James. But the Cavs have ~$15MM in available right now and sources say they have legitimate interest in the former All-Star.
The Mavs have serious interest in Bynum as well but they have begun an "exhaustive" evaluation process regarding his problematic knees and want to know that everything checks out before they think about a multi-year pact. The Hawks also like Bynum, but Monta Ellis is a bigger priority for them right now.
Eastern Notes: Bulls, Garcia, Cavs, Knicks
As a pair of Bynums continue to draw interest from Eastern Conference teams, let's check out a few more noteworthy items from around the East….
- Bulls GM Gar Forman has received plenty of calls this offseason from teams interested in discussing trades, but seems content to stand pat for one more year, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Francisco Garcia's agent, Aaron Goodwin, tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link) that his client turned down an offer from the Knicks in part due to avoid losing his Bird rights.
- The Cavaliers had interest in Nikola Pekovic, but the big man "wants to stay in Minnesota," a source tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link). For now, Cleveland appears to have shifted its attention to Andrew Bynum.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com passes along a few updates on the Knicks' potential free agent targets.
- Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg Sports reports (via Twitter) that the 76ers have hired former MSG Sports president Scott O'Neil as their new CEO, with the team confirming the move in a press release. Former CEO Adam Aron will remain a Sixers co-owner and board member. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News first reported in June that O'Neil was close to joining the club in an executive role.
Monta Ellis, Kings Discussing Deal
12:39pm: The Kings' pursuit of Ellis has been described as "aggressive," a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
10:01am: Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive, GM Pete D'Alessandro, and head coach Michael Malone all have roots in Golden State, and that influence may result in the Kings adding an ex-Warrior to their roster. According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, the team is currently discussing a free agent deal for veteran guard Monta Ellis.
Berger's report reiterates many of the same points we heard from ESPN.com's Marc Stein earlier today, noting that other likely suitors for Ellis appear to be exploring alternative options. The Nuggets are discussing acquiring Randy Foye via sign-and-trade, while the Hawks are considering a sign-and-trade for Brandon Jennings.
Stein also noted in his piece that the Kings were investigating trade options involving Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes, dangling them in talks with the Cavaliers. Berger confirms that the Kings are exploring potential deals for those players in order to create the cap space necessary to accommodate a $12MM starting salary for Ellis.
While multiple reports prior to July indicated the Kings would have interest in Ellis, this is the first time we've heard the team linked strongly to the 27-year-old since free agency officially got underway.
Clippers Talking With Antawn Jamison
MONDAY, 12:15pm: The Clippers and Jamison are making progress in talks on a one-year contract, but have yet to reach an agreement, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
SUNDAY, 5:20pm: The Clippers and veteran free agent Antawn Jamison are in contract talks, NBA executives told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. The Clippers are over the cap so the most they could offer is the veteran minimum of $1.4MM as Jamison has more than ten years of NBA experience.
Jamison, 37, played for the Lakers last season and averaged 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game, mostly off the bench. The two-time All-Star has career averages of 18.8 points and 7.6 rebounds over 16 seasons in the league. The Wizards are also said to have interest in Jamison.
Brandon Jennings Seeking $12MM Per Year?
With many of the top-tier unrestricted free agents off the board already, the focus this week may shift to the big restricted free agents still available, such as Nikola Pekovic and Brandon Jennings. Although we didn't hear a ton of news or rumors on Jennings during the first week of free agency, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times passes along an update today, tweeting that Jennings is seeking an annual salary of $12MM. According to Woelfel, the Bucks are "starting to cave," offering Jennings just over $11MM per year.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported last Tuesday that Jennings' representatives at Excel Sports had presented the Bucks with an undisclosed figure that the 23-year-old would be willing to accept to re-sign with the team. If we connect the dots and assume that the undisclosed amount was $12MM annually, and that Jennings is looking for a long-term deal, that would work out to $48MM over four years, or $60MM for five.
While re-signing Jennings is one option for the Bucks, it sounds as if it's not the only scenario the team is exploring. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported overnight that Milwaukee and Atlanta are discussing a sign-and-trade deal that would send Jennings to the Hawks and Jeff Teague to the Bucks. If the two sides were able to reach an agreement, there'd be a new-look backcourt of Teague and O.J. Mayo in Milwaukee, with Jennings, Monta Ellis, and J.J. Redick all seemingly headed elsewhere.
Pistons Make Offer To Will Bynum
Last week, we heard that the Pistons were considering a number of free agent point guards, including Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, and Chauncey Billups. Calderon has since agreed to sign with the Mavs and Billups continues to receive interest from a handful of teams, but according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter), the Pistons have an offer on the table for Bynum.
Despite committing a good chunk of their available cap space to a deal for Josh Smith, the Pistons still have room left over to hang on to Bynum's cap hold and make him a competitive offer. As Zwerling notes in his tweet, unless the veteran guard is willing to take a discount, an offer from the Pistons likely rules out the possibility of him joining the Knicks. Zwerling had written earlier today that Bynum was one of New York's targets, but the team could only offer a starting salary of up to $1.7MM, or the veteran's minimum.
Bynum, 30, has spent his last five seasons in Detroit, averaging 8.4 PPG and 3.3 APG in 282 total contests.