2014 June | Hoops Rumors

Magic Looking To Unload Jason Maxiell

June 30th, 2014 at 1:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic are expected to waive big man Jason Maxiell if a few days if they can’t find a trade partner for him, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). His non-guaranteed salary for 2014/15 becomes fully guaranteed for $2.5MM if he’s not waived by the end of July 10th, as our Schedule of Contract Guarantee Dates shows.

Maxiell played in just 34 games for Orlando last season after signing a two-year, $5MM contract to leave Detroit last summer. He averaged 3.2 points and 14.4 minutes per contest, numbers he’d eclipsed in every previous season since 2006/07. The Magic’s drafting of power forward Aaron Gordon at No. 4 overall Thursday seemed to further push the 31-year-old Maxiell out of the picture in Orlando.

It seems unlikely that the Magic would use the cap flexibility they would free up by waiving Maxiell to add a marquee free agent, given the team’s slow approach to rebuilding. Still, there appears to be little reason for Orlando to keep a scarcely used veteran around at more than the minimum salary.

Lowe’s Latest: Kidd, Blatche, Hammond, Profits

June 30th, 2014 at 1:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

Departing Nets coach Jason Kidd planned to eventually fire most if not all of the team’s front office as he sought control of the club’s basketball operations, several league sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe. The Grantland scribe has plenty more revelations on Kidd’s shocking change of address as well as insight on revenue and profitability for several NBA franchises. We’ll hit the highlights here:

Kidd suggested to Nets ownership at midseason that they replace GM Billy King, though he didn’t pitch himself for the job at that point, Lowe writes. The Bucks sought permission to talk to Kidd earlier this month, and when the Nets hesitated to respond, Kidd made his push to assume control of Nets front office.
The Nets publicly termed Andray Blatche‘s midseason absence a product of “personal reasons,” but it was instead because Kidd had essentially suspended him out of concerns over the big man’s conditioning and preparation, according to Lowe. Kidd’s move impressed Nets brass, Lowe adds.
The jobs of Bucks GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway are safe for the time being, Lowe hears, adding that those two nonetheless had no knowledge of ownership’s negotiations with Kidd.
The Nets are projected to have lost a league-high $144MM this year, Lowe reports. The Wizards are next on that list, projected to have lost just $13MM.
The Bucks are set to make about $18MM from the league’s revenue sharing program and $3MM from luxury tax payouts, making up for the $6.5MM the team is projected to have lost this year.
The Hornets are projected to have lost almost $34MM while taking in only about $22MM in revenue sharing income. The Pistons are set to tally $26MM in losses and recoup only $10.6MM.
The Lakers lead the league with a $100.1MM projected profit, followed by the Bulls at $61MM, Rockets at $40.7MM, Celtics at $33.1MM and Thunder at nearly $29MM. The Spurs, Jazz and Nuggets also are in line to profit.
The high-revenue Knicks are expected to have lost $3.5MM.

Free Agent Rumors: Lowry, Gasol, Parsons, Ariza

June 30th, 2014 at 12:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is likely to make a strong push to re-sign Kyle Lowry just as free agency begins tonight to prevent the Heat and Rockets from having a chance to jump in, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Here’s more free agency chatter with 11 hours left to go until negotiations can begin:

Pau Gasol will meet with the Thunder, Bulls and Warriors, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who suggests the big man hasn’t ruled out a meeting with Lakers brass, either.
Chandler Parsons would be on board with a sign-and-trade to the Wolves if the money is on the mark, a source close to Parsons tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Minnesota reportedly has interest in Parsons as a fallback trade target in a Kevin Love swap.
The Rockets, Mavs, Lakers, Clippers, Cavs, Raptors, Suns and Pistons are all suitors for Trevor Ariza, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders hears (Twitter link).
The Rockets and Mavs are gearing up to sign Jordan Hill, as are the Lakers, Hill’s incumbent team, Wojnarowski tweets.
The Magic are likely to make a play for Rodney Stuckey, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes.
Kent Bazemore is anticipating interest from the Suns, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).
Matt Bonner is interested in a return to the Spurs, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News observes (Twitter link). “I’d love to be back, especially if everybody is coming back.”
Damian Lillard would like to see the Blazers go after Channing Frye, Vince Carter, Spencer Hawes and Ariza after re-signing Mo Williams, the point guard tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Carter would be open to signing with Portland, Haynes hears.

Hoops Rumors 2014 Free Agent Tracker

June 30th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

With free agency set to officially get underway in a matter of hours, and news and rumors already swirling, Hoops Rumors is here to help you keep track of which players are heading to which teams this July. We’ve got a new version of a feature we introduced last season: our Free Agent Tracker. Using our tracker, you can quickly sort through contract agreements, sorting by team, position, free agent type, and a handful of other variables.

A few notes on the tracker:

During the July moratorium (July 1st-9th), most of the information you’ll find in the tracker will reflect contract agreements, rather than finalized deals. As signings become official, we’ll continue to update and modify the data as needed.
Similarly, contract years and dollars will be based on what’s been reported to date, so in some cases those amounts will be approximations rather than official figures. Salaries aren’t necessarily fully guaranteed either.
A restricted free agent who signs an offer sheet will be listed under the team that extended the offer sheet, but note that those signings won’t be official unless the player’s original team declines to match within the three-day period to do so. If the original team matches, we’ll update the tracker to show that the player is back with that team.

Our 2014 Free Agent Tracker can be found anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” and it’s also under the “Tools” menu atop the site. It will be updated throughout the offseason, so be sure to check back for the latest info. If you have any corrections, please let us know right here.

Magic Waive Doron Lamb

June 30th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have waived Doron Lamb, the team announced, confirming a report from Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. His minimum-salary contract was set to go from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed if the team hadn’t waived him by the end of Tuesday.

The 22-year-old shooting guard hits unrestricted free agency after his second season in the league, having averaged 3.6 points in 13.1 minutes per game for Orlando this past year. He came to the Magic as part of the J.J. Redick trade with the Bucks at the deadline in 2013.

Milwaukee made the Arn Tellem client the 42nd overall pick in 2012, but last season’s production to similar to his output as a rookie. He’ll likely be in the market for another minimum-salary deal, perhaps with a partial guarantee.

Latest On Carmelo Anthony

June 30th, 2014 at 9:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony is confident that the Knicks will offer him a maximum-salary contract to entice him to stay, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. The team is reportedly willing to do so in spite of Phil Jackson‘s repeated public attempts to persuade the star forward to re-sign for less. Anthony is eligible for a deal worth more than $129.1MM over five years, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors explained.

The sought-after free agent is set to meet with the Bulls on Tuesday, Mavs and Rockets on Wednesday, and the Lakers at some point this week, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The visit with Lakers brass is likely to happen Thursday, Isola writes. The Knicks are nonetheless apparently upbeat about their chances to keep the 2012/13 scoring champ.

The Bulls appear to be in the lead to snatch him away from New York. Derrick Rose reiterated his stance that he doesn’t feel that it’s his place to recruit stars to the team while nonetheless praising Anthony’s game in an interview with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. A source close to Rose told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that Anthony understands that Rose would like to have him in Chicago and denied that Rose would prefer that the Bulls acquire Kevin Love instead of Anthony.

Tony Parker Buys Majority Stake In French Club

June 30th, 2014 at 8:48am CST by Chuck Myron

JUNE 30TH: Parker has become president of Asvel Villeurbanne, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Carchia confirms that this means he’s now the majority owner of the team (Twitter link). Former NBA players Michael Finley and Corey Maggette will become minority owners, Parker said as part of the team’s release.

MARCH 21ST: Tony Parker will purchase a controlling interest in Asvel Villeurbanne, the French team that he’s owned in part since 2009, as Le Progres reports on its website (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando; translation via Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs). Parker said he plans to play five or six more seasons in the NBA and round out his playing career by suiting up for his own team.

Parker’s contract with San Antonio runs through next season, though only $3.5MM of his $12.5MM salary in 2014/15 is guaranteed. The Spurs will almost certainly retain him and pay out his full salary next season, making him a part of a marquee free agent class in the summer of 2015, when he’ll be 33 years old. Parker’s timeline would have him leaving the NBA when he’s 37 or 38.

Parker is a native of Belgium, but he identifies as a French national, having played in France prior to his arrival in San Antonio for the 2001/02 season. The Spurs also have French native Boris Diaw on their roster, and they employed Nando De Colo, another French native, until they traded him to Toronto at the deadline. The Spurs have a greater number of players from overseas than any other NBA team, and they’ve long been innovators in mining the international market for talent.

The Spurs took Asvel Villeurbanne’s Livio Jean-Charles with the 28th pick in the draft last summer, although San Antonio has yet to sign him. I wouldn’t be surprised if San Antonio envisions using its partnership with Parker to funnel more prospects through Asvel Villeurbanne and utilize the team as though it were an international farm club of sorts, though that’s just my speculation. Parker’s plan to buy the French team could also draw scrutiny from the NBA, which may see it as a conflict of interest or an arrangement that could give the Spurs an unfair competitive advantage.

Rockets Decline Option On Troy Daniels

June 30th, 2014 at 8:35am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets have turned down their team option on postseason revelation Troy Daniels, the team announced. The team intends to extend a qualifying offer to the swingman today, just as it will with Chandler Parsons, to make both of them restricted free agents in hopes of retaining them for next season, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Rockets brass will pitch marquee free agents on the idea of having both Daniels and Parsons back, Feigen adds (Twitter links).

Daniels was set to make the one-year veteran’s minimum of $816,482 on the option next season. His qualifying offer will be worth $200K more than that. There’s a decent chance he’ll command more than the minimum after emerging as a key rotation player in the playoffs, averaging 7.8 points on sizzling 53.3% three-point shooting in the final four games of Houston’s first-round loss to the Blazers. Even if that sample size proves too small to merit a raise, the qualifying offer means he’ll represent a slightly larger cap hit on Houston’s books as the team chases LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and other stars in free agency.

The Rockets signed Daniels shortly after the trade deadline, cutting Ronnie Brewer to make room. He only appeared in five regular season games, but dazzled in the D-League, putting up 21.9 PPG and shooting 40.1% from behind the arc.

Rockets Decline Chandler Parsons’ Option

June 30th, 2014 at 8:19am CST by Cray Allred

MONDAY, 8:19am: Houston has officially declined the option, the team announced.

SATURDAY, 12:58pm: The Rockets have informed Chandler Parsons that they’ve declined his team option for the 2014/15 season, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The news doesn’t come as much of a shock since we heard earlier this month that the team had planned on making such a move and letting Parsons hit restricted free agency.

It’s very likely that Parsons will be back in Houston next season. If the team had picked up their 2014/15 option worth roughly $960K, Parsons would hit unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2015, and Houston would risk losing the sharpshooting wing to a rival suitor. Electing to decline the team option will make Parsons a restricted free agent this summer, meaning the Rockets can match any offer sheet presented to him.

In three years with Houston, Parsons has averaged 14.1 points per night and shot 47.3% from the floor. He’s proven himself to be one of the most valuable players selected in the 2011 draft, despite slipping out of the first round. Parsons played more minutes than any member of the Rockets last season.

By declining the team option, Houston will likely have to pay Parsons significantly more next season than they would have otherwise, but it appears they’re willing to sacrifice a bit of flexibility in order to keep Parsons on the squad long-term.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Francisco Garcia Opts Out

June 30th, 2014 at 8:17am CST by Zachary Links

JUNE 30TH: Garcia has informed the team that he has turned down his option and will hit free agency, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

JUNE 22ND: Francisco Garcia intends to opt out of his contract for 2014/15 with the Rockets, agent Aaron Goodwin tells Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter). Garcia would have earned $1.3MM with Houston next season but he’ll take a look elsewhere in hopes of a better deal.

Garcia, 32, averaged 5.7 points in 19.7 minutes per game over 55 regular season appearances for the Rockets, but his minutes dried up in the playoffs. He saw 18 minutes in Game 1 against the Blazers, four minutes in Game 2, and was squeezed out of the picture for the rest of the series in favor of Troy Daniels.

The Rockets have full Bird Rights on the swingman and they’ll have extra flexibility now that he is opting out. Garcia is a nice bench piece, but Houston is thinking much bigger with their sights set on Carmelo Anthony.

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