Pau Gasol Signs With Bulls
JULY 18TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
“We are really excited to add such a versatile player to our roster who has been both an All-Star and an NBA Champion,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said in the team’s statement. “Pau is a skilled player with a high basketball IQ and is a true pro and a proven winner.”
JULY 13TH, 10:46pm: It’ll be a three-year, $22MM+ deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
JULY 12TH, 4:35pm: Pau Gasol will be leaving Los Angeles to play for the Bulls next season, the big man announced on Twitter (hat tip to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News). Terms of the contract haven’t been released, but the Spaniard won’t be heading to Chicago via sign-and-trade, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN had noted earlier.
A hot name in the free agent market, the Arn Tellem client reportedly drew interest from the Spurs, Knicks, Thunder, and Heat, among others. The Lakers surely would have liked to work out a sign-and-trade for Gasol, but apparently the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement, and Gasol walks away from LA with the Lakers having nothing to show for it.
An earlier report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports indicated the Bulls would give Gasol a starting salary in the neighborhood of $6MM if they couldn’t come to terms with Lakers on a sign-and-trade. Given that Chicago is over the cap, they’d actually only be able to offer Gasol a maximum salary of $5.305MM using the non-taxpayers mid-level exception.
If the team uses the amnesty provision to shed Carlos Boozer‘s contract before signing Gasol, they’ll be able to give him a higher payday, and it would give them greater flexibility to sign Nikola Mirotic. There have been conflicting reports on whether or not the club intends to use their amnesty, but owner Jerry Reinsdorf has a reputation as being cost-conscious, and he might not be willing to pay a player who’s not going to be playing on his team.
At 34 years old, Gasol is beyond his prime playing days, but he’s still able to put up more than respectable numbers. He was able to average 17.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game last season over 60 games.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Hornets Sign Lance Stephenson
FRIDAY, 12:09pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release:
“We are extremely excited to add Lance to our team,” Hornets GM Rich Cho said. “He is a great up-and-coming player with an incredibly high ceiling. He is an exceptional athlete who has the versatility and skill to play multiple positions on both offense and defense. We believe he will be an outstanding addition to our roster.”
WEDNESDAY, 8:07am: The Hornets will sign Lance Stephenson to a three-year deal, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. It’s worth $27.5MM, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. The value of the deal is $9MM in the first two seasons and $9.5MM in the final year. Both Bonnell and Charania refer to that third season as a team option, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a non-guaranteed year instead, since few veteran free agent deals include team options.
The agreement is for fewer years and less money than the five year, $44MM offer the Pacers made, but the average annual value is slightly greater. There were conflicting reports about Charlotte’s interest in Stephenson immediately after talks between thee Pacers and the Alberto Ebanks client hit a snag. In any case, the Hornets made a push late Tuesday, as owner Michael Jordan, GM Rich Cho, coach Steve Clifford and other Hornets officials met with Stephenson in Las Vegas, and the sides quickly came to a deal, as Charania details.
Stephenson came close to signing with the Mavs, and he was finalizing a deal with them before the Rockets decided against matching the Dallas offer sheet for Chandler Parsons, Charania reports. The Pistons, Bucks, Lakers and Bulls all made contact with Stephenson, too, according to Charania.
The news is a blow to the Pacers, and president of basketball operations Larry Bird in particular, who had reportedly been fond of the temperamental 23-year-old shooting guard. Bird hinted during the season that re-signing Stephenson was a priority for the club, and Stephenson made plenty of indications that he intended to come back. Still, the Pacers set a price ceiling that they steadfastly wouldn’t exceed, and once talks with Stephenson came to an impasse, they made a series of agreements that largely eliminated their space beneath the luxury tax threshold, a line the team has refused to cross in recent years.
The Hornets are using cap room to come to the agreement. They had reportedly been likely to make an amnesty waiver claim on Carlos Boozer using their cap space. The Stephenson deal probably takes them out of the running for Boozer, though that’s just my speculation.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
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The biggest story of the NBA offseason, or of any of the past four NBA offseasons, was the homecoming of LeBron James to the Cavaliers, a move the four-time MVP announced a week ago. It was a triumphant moment for Cleveland fans, including Hoops Rumors reader The Crippler:
- If you’re not passionate as a sports fan … then maybe you shouldn’t watch sports. At the end of the day, we are all human and we make mistakes. The bigger picture is can you forgive that person and mend that relationship? LeBron and [Cavs owner Dan] Gilbert did it and the TRUE CAVS fans did it. Everything else is irrelevant!!!! #CavsNation #AllForOne #WelcomeHomeBron.
Trock broke down the on-court implications of the move, and presaged Cleveland’s deal with Mike Miller:
- I dont think we will see an issue with floor space. Run the ball through [Kyrie] Irving like a team should (through the PG) with LeBron being on the floor; it will open up space for Irving. Once they realize that they need to guard him better and they can’t double up on LeBron anymore, it will definitely open it up for him. [Andrew] Wiggins should translate well to the NBA. But I think you are right — if [Kevin] Love comes to Cleveland … Boy that would be a nasty line up. I also see Ray Allen and Mike Miller coming over as great role players for this team (although I am not sure of Cleveland’s cap space and if they can make all that happen).
Free agents aren’t the only ones changing teams this year. Carlos Boozer wound up with the Lakers after the Bulls waived him using the amnesty clause, and the end of his tenure in Chicago couldn’t have come soon enough for Justin Allen:
- I’m happy to see Boozer gone. I’ve never been as hard on him as other people, but it just seemed at times that he could only score from one spot on the floor. Plus his defense is next to nothing, and you can’t rely on him late in games. Ya, [last season he averaged] 13 points per game, but he’s not a player you can rely on when you’re trying to win a championship.
Check out what more readers had to say in previous editions of Hoops Rumors Featured Feedback. We appreciate everyone who adds to the dialogue at Hoops Rumors, and we look forward to seeing more responses like these from you!
Bulls Sign Nikola Mirotic
JULY 18TH: Mirotic’s contract is official, the team announced in a press release.
“We feel Nikola will be a great addition to our frontcourt where he he’ll be able to space the floor with his outstanding shooting ability,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said. “We’ve known Nikola for several years and we are confident he will be a great fit for our team both on and off the court. He’s a player with great potential.”
JULY 13TH: 5:48pm: Mirotic’s deal will be for $17MM+ over three years, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
5:33pm: The Bulls and Nikola Mirotic have reached agreement on a multi-year deal, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The terms of the deal are not yet known. Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com reported last week that the two sides were nearing agreement.
The 6’10” forward has to make good on his buyout of Real Madrid, but that’ll be easier than once thought since the $3MM+ can be paid out over the course of multiple years. Mirotic is the most intriguing of the NBA’s draft-and-stash prospects, with interest only growing since he became the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft. He put up modest numbers of 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 23.4 minutes per game for Real Madrid this past season, but he shot 40.9% from behind the three-point line.
The Bulls aren’t bound by the rookie scale, since it’s been three years since Mirotic was drafted, but they can only pay $600K of his buyout this season, meaning the rest would have to come out of Mirotic’s salary. Still, since Real Madrid is willing to spread the buyout payments, it might not require a salary larger than the $5.305MM mid-level exception to bring him stateside. Estimates have varied from well above that amount to only $3MM.
Central Rumors: Bulls, Udoh, Oden, Jones
Pau Gasol said he has no worries about the health of Derrick Rose and added that the Knicks had only long shot to sign him as part of an interview with Jesus Sanchez of Marca.com, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune translates (Twitter links). The Bulls are scheduled to introduce Gasol and Nikola Mirotic to fans in a press conference today after agreeing to deals with both this past weekend, and there’s more from Chicago amid the latest Central Division rumors:
- There appears to be mutual interest between the Bulls and point guard Aaron Brooks, as Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com details. Sam’s story reveals that Brooks is considering the team, while the headline and Sam’s tweet indicate that Chicago is eyeing the 29-year-old point guard.
- The Lakers’ winning bid for Carlos Boozer was $3.251MM, not just $3.25MM as previously reported, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, giving the Bulls slightly more savings than previously thought. The Bulls will be on the hook for $13.549MM of the $16.8MM remaining on Boozer’s contract, which expires next summer, but it won’t count against the salary cap for Chicago.
- Ekpe Udoh has his sights set on joining a contender, and was close to a deal with the Clippers before they struck a deal with Glen Davis, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports (on Twitter). That wouldn’t appear to bode well for any chance the Bucks have of re-signing the big man, who became an unrestricted free agent when Milwaukee declined to make him a qualifying offer.
- The Cavs have interest in Greg Oden, but it’s not clear if they’ve spoken with him or have any plans to do so, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Still, it appears that either the Cavs, LeBron James, or both have been in touch with the free agent center this summer, Amico writes.
- A lack of playing time with the Heat was one reason why James Jones decided to bolt for the Cavs, as Jones said in a radio appearance on The Ticket Morning Show in Miami, tweets Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald.
Cavs Willing To Trade Andrew Wiggins For Love?
11:53pm: The Warriors are now willing to include Thompson in an offer for Love, reports Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders. With reports swirling that the Cavs will part with Wiggins, Golden State has given in on their refusal to include Thompson partly because they believe Love is willing to exercise his 2015/16 and in turn extend his stay in the Bay Area for at least two seasons. While no trade is imminent, Koutroupis still expects Harrison Barnes and David Lee to be part of the deal.
7:07pm: LeBron has reached out to Love to tell his former USA Basketball teammate that he’d like them to play together in Cleveland, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
5:52pm: Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio disputes the report that the Cavs have changed their stance on dealing Wiggins, writing that the sides are still not close to a deal for Love. Amico adds that the Cavs are still determined to keep the Kansas product for the foreseeable future and are weighing the caveats of having three max players against the benefits of having young, cheap talent like Wiggins, Bennett and Dion Waiters.
5:06pm: Warriors GM Bob Myers is the one among the team’s brass who’s most open to moving Thompson, while ownership, coach Steve Kerr and consultant Jerry West are resisting, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
4:59pm: There are no indications that the Warriors will up their bid for Love, a source tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Ostensibly, that means that they’re still unwilling to include Klay Thompson in such a deal.
3:28pm: The Wolves and Cavs haven’t engaged in conversations of any substance about Wiggins just yet, but things appear to be picking up on multiple fronts, Krawczynski tweets.
2:31pm: The Cavs are OK with giving up Andrew Wiggins in a trade for Kevin Love, having changed their stance against dealing this year’s No. 1 overall pick away, a league source tells Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. The Wolves have reportedly insisted that Wiggins be a part of any deal for the All-Star power forward. The Cavs apparently told Wiggins he wouldn’t be moved, but it seems any such promise might not hold water.
The latest proposal appears to involve Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a first-round pick, and perhaps Brendan Haywood, too, Finnan writes. Minnesota reportedly quickly rebuffed an earlier package of Waiters, Bennett and a first-rounder.
LeBron James wants the Cavs to acquire Love, a source tells Finnan. The idea of playing with the four-time MVP continues to intrigue Love, who said before James signed with the Cavs that he’d be “100%” on board with staying long-term in Cleveland if James were there, too. Love can opt out of his contract and become a free agent next summer.
The Wolves maintain that they ultimately don’t have to trade Love, even as rival GMs perceive that stance as a bluff, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Some within the Wolves would prefer to see Love walk next summer, giving Minnesota cap flexibility, over a trade in which they would end up with mid-tier contracts in return, according to Steve Aschburner of NBA.com.
Renounced Players: Thursday
We may be no longer in the early stages of free agency, but teams continue to clear cap space by renouncing their Non-Bird, Early Bird or full Bird rights to their own free agents to remove their cap holds from the books. Teams that renounce those rights no longer have the ability to exceed the cap to re-sign those players unless they use an exception like the mid-level or the biannual. Some of those decisions are more notable than others, but for completion’s sake, we’ll track the latest of these cap-clearing moves right here:
- The Bulls have renounced their rights to Daequan Cook, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nazr Mohammed, Brian Scalabrine and Jimmer Fredette, reports Mark Deeks of Sham Sports (via Twitter).
- The Mavericks have expunged the cap hold of Petteri Koponen and renounced their rights to Bernard James, reports Deeks (via Twitter).
- The Lakers have renounced their rights to MarShon Brooks and Andrew Goudelock, according to Deeks (via Twitter).
- The Lakers have also renounced the rights to John Salley, Karl Malone, Brian Shaw and other players not on the team last season, according to ESPN salary cap guru Larry Coon (via Twitter).
- As Coon explains, the old CBA allowed Bird rights of players not on a team the previous year to be used in sign-and-trades. With that no longer the case under the current CBA, the rights to players like Salley, Malone and Shaw are no longer useful. The teams must still go through the formality of renouncing the rights, but tend not to do so until they actually need the cap space which, like in this case, could be years later (Twitter links are here).
- With Salley’s rights renounced, Coon believes the oldest Bird rights still on the books might be Roshown McLeod with the Celtics (Twitter link).
Lakers Claim Carlos Boozer Off Waivers
10:52pm: The Lakers have officially announced the addition of Boozer via a team release.
“Carlos is an established veteran and a proven all-star, who will be a welcome addition to our team,” said GM Mitch Kupchak. “We’re very pleased to have won the bidding process and to have gained his rights, and look forward to his contributions next season.”
5:29pm: The Lakers secured Boozer with a winning bid of $3.25MM, reports Stein (via Twitter). Consequently, the Bulls will owe Boozer the difference of $13.55MM.
4:08pm: The Lakers submitted the winning bid to secure Carlos Boozer off amnesty waivers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s not immediately clear how much the Lakers bid, but it is a partial claim of his $16.8MM salary, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Lakers will be on the hook for the amount of their bid and the Bulls will have to pay the rest, though L.A.’s amount will count against the cap and Chicago’s won’t.
The Bulls had tried to fold Boozer into what would have been a sign-and-trade for Pau Gasol, but the Lakers turned Chicago away, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes (on Twitter), only to secure Boozer at a lower cost. Chicago wound up amnestying Boozer to clear the cap space necessary to sign Gasol and Nikola Mirotic.
The Hornets and Hawks appeared to be the early favorites to submit partial waiver claims for Boozer, but Charlotte took itself out of the running after agreeing to a deal with Lance Stephenson. Teams with cap room were the only ones eligible to submit a bid, encompassing about a third of the league. The Lakers could have opened up as much roughly $3MM for Boozer while still retaining Kendall Marshall‘s non-guaranteed contract and the rights to restricted free agent Ryan Kelly.
The specter of a Boozer amnesty hung over the Bulls all season, particularly once Carmelo Anthony reportedly identified the team among his top choices in free agency. Amnestying Boozer appeared to be the easiest path toward clearing the necessary cap room for a splashy upgrade. Chicago made a pitch to Anthony and also reportedly met with Rich Paul, the agent for LeBron James. The Bulls apparently gauged Chicago native Dwyane Wade‘s interest in a homecoming, too, but all the while, they seemed to prefer trading Boozer rather than amnestying him.
Chicago wound up with neither a superstar free agent nor a willing trade partner for Boozer, so notoriously thrifty owner Jerry Reinsdorf will be stuck paying him even though he’ll be playing elsewhere. Still, the robust market that developed for the 32-year-old power forward as soon as he hit waivers meant he wasn’t likely to hit free agency, and the Lakers end up relieving some of Reinsdorf’s obligation with their bid.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Arnovitz On Lockout, Rockets, Suns, LeBron
While members of June’s coveted draft class have yet to wow executives in the NBA summer leagues, it hasn’t curbed the chatter among the league’s decision-makers in Las Vegas, writes ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz. Arnovitz provides a plethora of big-picture issues being regularly discussed in the desert. Let’s round them up here:
- Between the hefty prices that NBA franchises have fetched this offseason and a new television deal for the league on the horizon, insiders have been “downright giddy” in Vegas this week. Soaring revenues have resulted in teams investing in technology and analytics, though there is a growing fear that the NBA could be headed for another lockout in 2017.
- Speaking of lockouts, the CBA negotiated during the last one has successfully limited the lengths of contracts in the NBA while simultaneously making it more difficult to plan for the long term, according to some executives. By limiting risk, shorter contracts have flooded the marketplace with bidders, in turn driving up the prices on free agents.
- The reactions to the Rockets‘ offseason have been mixed, according to Arnovitz. On one hand, GM Daryl Morey has essentially traded Chandler Parsons, Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin and first and second round draft picks for Trevor Ariza, a first round pick and a trade exception. On the other hand, Morey has landed two max players in two years while maintaining the cap space to add another. However, there is sentiment that Morey’s analytics-based approach might eventually discourage future targets from coming to Houston.
- The Spurs are still undoubtedly the model franchise of the NBA, though there is a buzz about what the Suns are building in Phoenix. Citing several insiders, Arnovitz writes that the Suns are adding assets while simultaneously producing an exciting product for their fans.
- LeBron James‘ return to Cleveland hasn’t evoked nearly as much gossip among league insiders as his departure did, but one general manager expressed appreciation for the Cavaliers‘ star “carrying” the NBA right now from a business standpoint.
- The analytics movement continues to devalue the mid-range game, resulting in widespread approval of Channing Frye‘s four-year, $32MM deal with the Magic and even some support for the three-year, $19.5MM deal that Jodie Meeks signed with the Pistons.
Suns Guarantee Shavlik Randolph’s Contract
9:08pm: Randolph’s deal for 2014/15 is for $1.23MM, the minimum for a seven-year veteran, reports Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic.
7:02pm: The Suns will fully guarantee the 2014/15 contract of Shavlik Randolph, writes Shams Charania of RealGM, citing Randolph’s agent Joel Bell in the report. The terms of the now-guaranteed contract are not yet known, though Randolph is likely on a minimum-salary deal as our schedule of contract guarantee dates indicates. Charania adds that today was the final day the Suns could guarantee Randolph’s deal before releasing him.
The Suns signed the 30-year-old power forward last March after the former Dukie put up some impressive numbers in China. The deal covered the remainder of last season and included a non-guaranteed year in 2014/15, which the team has now guaranteed. Randolph averaged 6.8 minutes in 14 contests in Phoenix, contributing 1.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
The Suns are the fifth team Randolph has played for in seven seasons in the NBA. He spent a few years overseas before latching on with the Celtics in 2012/13, where he averaged 4.2 points and 4.4 rebounds in 16 games. He will likely provide depth inside in Phoenix behind fellow Duke product Miles Plumlee and Markieff Morris.