Free Agency Rumors: Pierce, Green, Dragic
The Wizards have a phone conversation scheduled with free agent forward Paul Pierce at 12:01 a.m. ET, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). Here’s more from a busy night around the league:
- One GM told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News (on Twitter) that the three-year, $46MM deal that Chandler Parsons signed in 2014 will set the market for wings this year. That will apparently have an impact on guys like Danny Green, Khris Middleton, and DeMarre Carroll.
- The Heat placed a call to Goran Dragic shortly after midnight on the East Coast, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). However, the guard is in Slovenia where it’s early in the morning and Shelburne seems to be implying that he was not awake to receive the call.
- The Cavs have reached out to the reps for forward Tayshaun Prince, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. The Cavs feel that Prince could help shore up their wing depth. Prince, 35, played for the Grizzlies, Celtics, and Pistons last season and averaged 7.5 PPG and 3.6 RPG.
- The Mavericks and Rockets were the first two teams to reach out to Patrick Beverley, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
Cavs, Wizards Pursue Mike Dunleavy
11:39pm: The Cavs are indeed in pursuit, as well as the Wizards, but the Bulls are still the favorites, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter).
9:26am: LeBron James would like the Cavs to sign Mike Dunleavy, but the small forward is highly likely to re-sign with the Bulls, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). James, though he’s opting out of his deal, has been very much engaged with Cavs management about the roster and is expected to re-sign. Dunleavy is also reportedly drawing interest from the Clippers.
Chicago apparently wants Dunleavy back, though there’s a limit to how much the Bulls would pay the client of outgoing Wasserman agent Arn Tellem. The Bulls are also highly likely to retain Jimmy Butler, whom they’ve made a maximum qualifying offer. Should Butler end up signing for the max, it’s likely the Bulls will have already exceeded the projected $81.6MM tax line even without a contract for Dunleavy.
The Cavs will probably end up paying an even heavier tax burden, and they’ll almost certainly be limited to offering Dunleavy the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception. The Bulls have Early Bird rights to Dunleavy, so they’ll likely be able to pay him as much as about $6MM next season if they want to.
Free Agency Rumors: LeBron, Cavs, Leonard
A league source told Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group that the Cavs “do not value” pending free agent J.R. Smith. LeBron James reportedly wants the Cavs to re-sign the guard, so one has to wonder if that could outweigh the team’s reservations about him. Vardon adds that it is not known if the Cavs will immediately submit offers to James, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson when the clock moves past midnight. Here’s more as we get set for the start of free agency..
- There’s a growing belief that Thompson’s postseason performance coupled with his ties to LeBron could earn him a max contract or something close to it, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal writes. Lloyd also writes that the Cavs were aware that Iman Shumpert would be seeking a ~$10MM per year deal this summer when the acquired him.
- Spurs star Kawhi Leonard is on track for five-year, ~$90MM max deal after San Antonio takes care of other free agency business, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News tweets. It was previously believed that Leonard was in line for a lucrative four-year deal rather than five.
- Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki will join the team’s recruiting contingent in Wednesday’s meetings with DeAndre Jordan and LaMarcus Aldridge, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets.
- James Harden will join coach Kevin McHale, GM Daryl Morey and executive VP Gersson Rosas in the Rockets‘ meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge Tuesday night in Los Angeles, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Knicks‘ selection of Kristaps Porzingis may scare free agents away, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “They took a Latvian guy who may or may not be good,’’ an individual connected to a free agent said. “It’s very strange. They should’ve taken more of a tried-and-true guy, even a Justise Winslow. Top free agents are looking at winning now. It’s fun to go the playoffs and have a chance to compete for the Finals. They’re not going to win this year.’’
Western Rumors: Clippers, Chandler, Davis
If DeAndre Jordan leaves for the Mavs, the Clippers will try to sign and trade for Tyson Chandler, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). However, the Clippers are still “hopeful” that they’ll retain Jordan. Here’s more from the West..
- The Pelicans want to get a new deal done with Anthony Davis quickly, according to John Reid of The Times-Picayune. Negotiations can continue until Halloween, but New Orleans apparently wants to get everything sewn up this summer.
- The Mavs are concerned that Al-Farouq Aminu will get a relatively big offer, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (on Twitter). If that happens, they’ll try to talk him into deal he could opt out of next summer.
- The Lakers would be a winning taker of Brendan Haywood‘s non-guaranteed contract with the Cavs, but it’s not clear if L.A. has anything Cleveland would want in return, Sam Amico of FOX Sports tweets. There are conflicting reports on the matter, but the Cavs may have recently discussed the center with the Spurs.
- Despite the uncertainty in Portland, Gerald Henderson says he’s excited to be with the Blazers, Mike Tokito of The Oregonian writes. Days ago, the Blazers sent forward Nicolas Batum to the Hornets for Henderson and forward Noah Vonleh.
Mutual Interest Between Cavs, Mo Williams
JUNE 30TH, 2:50pm: Williams anticipates that he’ll meet with the Cavs, and Cleveland is “very interested” in signing him, a source tells Haynes (on Twitter).
JUNE 19TH, 2:56pm: Soon-to-be free agent Mo Williams has strong interest in playing with the Cavs again, and he’d also like to re-sign with the Hornets, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. The point guard and Cleveland are expected to talk if Williams, who’s seeking a multiyear deal, is willing to take the limited amount the Cavs have to spend, and LeBron James would welcome the return of his former teammate “with open arms,” Haynes also hears.
The Cavs are almost certain to have no more than the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level to spend this summer. The full amount of that would represent a slight pay cut for the 12-year veteran who made more than $3.965MM on the one-year deal he signed this past summer with the Timberwolves. The contract originally called for him to make $3.5MM, but a trade kicker lifted that amount when Minnesota sent him to the Hornets in a February swap.
Cleveland is seeking a facilitating guard who can either back up or play alongside Kyrie Irving, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported this morning. Williams, 32, would presumably fit that mold, having played alongside Chris Paul with the Clippers a few years ago in spite of spending most of his career as a point guard and having averaged 5.0 assists per game for his career. He was the starting point guard for the Cavs for two and a half seasons beginning in 2008, sharing the floor with James during the first two years. The Mark Bartelstein client averaged 14.2 points, 6.2 assists and 29.1 minutes per game this past season, split between Minnesota and Charlotte.
The Hornets have non-Bird rights with Williams, so they could give him a 20% raise without dipping into another exception. Charlotte is also likely to have the $5.434MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level at its disposal.
LeBron James Opts Out
TUESDAY, 1:17pm: James has officially opted out, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
SUNDAY, 2:53pm: LeBron James will opt out of his contract with the Cavaliers and become a free agent for the second straight summer, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that James will not visit other teams and will re-sign with Cleveland later this summer (Twitter link). A report earlier this week said James will take his time and see what moves Cleveland makes before becoming “the last domino to fall.”
James, who turned down more than $21.5MM for next year, is expected to sign another one-year contract with a player option and then command a longer deal once the cap rises with the new TV contract in 2016, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Kennedy reassures Cavs fans that they shouldn’t worry, saying James’ plan from the start has been to maximize his earnings potential and power within the franchise (Twitter link). A source close to James said, “I expect him to sign back,” according to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. The deadline for James to agree to the option on his current contract was Monday, and the earliest he can sign a new deal is July 9th.
Cleveland GM David Griffin said recently that the team had been in contact with James about roster decisions since the NBA Finals ended, Windhorst writes. However, he cited sources who said James will remove himself from the free agency process while the Cavaliers make decisions on Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and others. James’ new deal will be worth around $22MM, but the exact amount won’t be determined until the July moratorium ends.
The potential value of a long-term contract should escalate dramatically in 2016, tweets Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders. If James had accepted a full max deal when he left Miami for Cleveland last summer, it would have been four years at about $89MM. By waiting until next summer, those figures will be five years and $170MM (Twitter link), although the amount is just an estimate.
Mike Miller Opts In With Cavs
TUESDAY, 11:04am: The move is official, the Cavs announced.
MONDAY, 11:18pm: Mike Miller has opted into his $2.8MM contract with the Cavaliers for next season, a league source told RealGM’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Miller indicated as far back as February that he intended to exercise his player option despite diminished playing time.
The 15-year veteran Miller averaged 2.1 points and 13.5 minutes while playing 52 games last season. He appeared in nine postseason games during the Cavs’ run to the NBA Finals, averaging 1.0 points and 7.2 minutes. Miller averaged 7.1 points with the Grizzlies in 2013-14.
It’s doubtful Miller’s playing time will spike upward next season but he obviously is in no hurry to retire. For his career, Miller is an 11.3 points per game scorer, having played for six organizations.
Qualifying Offers: Monday
The Warriors formally made a qualifying offer of $2.725MM to Draymond Green, ensuring the versatile forward will be a restricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Golden State is expected to match any offer sheet to Green, one of the key players en route to its first championship in 40 seasons. The Pistons, Hawks and Rockets are among the teams expected to pursue Green. The Warriors also extended a qualifying offer of $1.147MM to Ognjen Kuzmic but declined the same amount on Justin Holiday, allowing the shooting guard to become an unrestricted free agent, according to a tweet from Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In other news regarding qualifying offers around the league:
- The Cavaliers made qualifying offers to three of their rotation players, allowing Cleveland to match any offer sheet, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Tristan Thompson ($6.778MM), Matthew Dellavedova ($1.147MM) and Iman Shumpert ($4.334MM) were the players who received them.
- The Thunder made a qualifying offer of approximately $7.47MM to Enes Kanter, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
- The Jazz gave a qualifying offer of $1.045MM to Joe Ingles and the Timberwolves did the same for about $1.147MM to make Robbie Hummel a restricted free agent, according to Pincus (Twitter links). However, Minnesota declined the same price tag on Justin Hamilton‘s qualifying offer, Darren Wolfson of KSTP.com tweets, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
- The Suns made the qualifying offer of $4.79MM to Brandon Knight while his former backcourt partner, the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, got a qualifying offer of $2.275MM, according to Pincus (Twitter links).
- The Raptors extended a qualifying offer of $1.829MM to a player who was overseas last season, Nando De Colo, Pincus tweets. De Colo played for CSKA Moscow last season.
Eastern Rumors: Cavs, DeRozan, Celtics, Monroe
Some sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that they think LeBron James will ask the Cavs to change coaches (Twitter link), though he has no intention of pushing the team to fire David Blatt, as ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported last week. Blatt has made it clear on multiple occasions that he expects he’ll be back. Still, we’ll see what happens this summer in Cleveland. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Chatter continues to indicate that DeMar DeRozan will opt out and seek a maximum-salary deal next summer, and “there is no way” that the Raptors would be willing to pay him that much, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. For this summer, the Raptors will probably have particular interest in Marc Gasol and Paul Millsap, Wolstat also writes.
- Celtics don’t find their chances to land a star encouraging, as Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe hears. Himmelsbach confirms earlier reports of interest in Greg Monroe and Millsap, though he hears from several team sources who say the team didn’t offer Marcus Smart in trade proposals to other teams on draft day.
- Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com believes the new regime in Atlanta isn’t as enamored with Monroe’s game as the team’s last set of higher-ups was (Twitter link). The Hawks, who have a new principal owner in Tony Ressler and have formally cut ties with GM Danny Ferry, aren’t among the teams reportedly meeting with the soon-to-be free agent big man.
- Jimmy Butler would like to sign a one-year offer sheet with the Lakers, a league source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, but that would be impossible since offer sheets must be for at least two years and at least three if, as the Bulls have long planned, Chicago makes a five-year max offer. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported a couple of weeks ago that Butler’s interest in the Lakers had increased, but the Bulls have the right to match any offer and are expected to do so, Medina notes.
- Reggie Jackson turned down an offer worth more than $12MM a year in extension talks with the Thunder last year because he wanted out of Oklahoma City and onto a team where he could start, a source told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Jackson will probably demand the max if the Pistons want him to sign for five years, the same source said to Ellis.
- Mario Hezonja and Barcelona, his Spanish team, have reached a deal on a buyout that will allow him to part ways with the club and sign with the Magic, who drafted him fifth overall Thursday, reports Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo (translation via Sporando’s Enea Trapani). The buyout is worth 1.6 million euros, the equivalent of about $1.79MM at today’s exchange rate. Orlando will presumably cover the maximum $625K of that amount.
Central Notes: Blatt, Cavaliers, Haywood, Pistons
Back home in Israel, David Blatt told The Jerusalem Post he fully intends to return as the Cavaliers‘ coach next season. “Of course I will continue in Cleveland, there is no question,” he told an interviewer. There have been rumors of a rift between Blatt and LeBron James, espcially after ESPN’s Marc Stein wrote that James disrespected his coach during the NBA Finals. Blatt insists his relationship with James is nothing out of the ordinary for a new coach and a star player. “I have a good relationship with him,” Blatt said. “We went through a process. It took us time to get to know each other. We learned how to work together the best way possible. When you work with a star of that magnitude the relationship is slightly different. It isn’t like with any other player. I learned from this process. We both want the same thing, but don’t always agree about everything.” Blatt, who was hired last offseason, has two years remaining on his $10MM contract, along with a team option for a third.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- In addition to re-signing their own guys, the Cavs‘ priority will be landing a veteran point guard, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets. Amico adds that the team is on the lookout for a wing player.
- Cleveland hopes to execute a Brendan Haywood trade quickly after July 1st, Amico relays (Twitter link). Haywood has an unusually valuable contract that contains a non-guaranteed salary worth more than $10.5MM next season.
- President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy will be targeting two small forwards who are unrestricted free agents this offseason, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Langlois adds that if the Pistons can’t land either of those players, Van Gundy has two restricted free agent small forwards in mind that he would like to add.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.