Eastern Notes: Boozer, Garnett, Bradley
With the reported agreement to sign Pau Gasol and the potential stateside arrival of their 2011 draft pick Nikola Mirotic, the Bulls will likely amnesty Carlos Boozer, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Chicago has until the July 16th amnesty deadline to decide on Boozer’s fate. Johnson also notes that the team is still in talks to re-sign veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich.
More from the east:
- Paul Pierce‘s agreement to sign with the Wizards won’t affect Kevin Garnett‘s decision on whether or not to return for his 20th season, and the Nets are expecting Garnett to play for them next year, tweets Tim Bontemps of The New York Post.
- With the Nets trying to cut back on payroll, it would be surprising to see the franchise release Marquis Teague, tweets Bontemps. Teague’s salary of $1,120,920 for next season is fully guaranteed, and the Nets have a team option of $2,023,261 for the 2015/16 season.
- Avery Bradley‘s four-year, $32MM deal with the Celtics is expected to be finalized shortly, reports Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
Heat Frontrunners For Luol Deng?
8:40am: The Heat and Deng are still significantly apart on salary, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Deng has been turning down $10MM per season offers for months, notes Windhorst.
8:11am: In the wake of losing the talents of LeBron James to the Cavaliers, the Heat are scrambling to fill their void at small forward. Their primary target looks to be free agent Luol Deng, who James technically replaced in Cleveland. According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Miami has emerged as the frontrunner to land the veteran’s services.
Heat president Pat Riley and Deng’s agent Ron Shade spent significant time negotiating on Saturday and plan to reconnect this morning to continue working towards an agreement, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The two sides are reportedly discussing a a two-year, $20MM contract, per the article. Miami is competing with several teams, including the Hawks, Suns and Mavericks, to sign Deng.
Deng’s career numbers are 16.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.5 APG over ten NBA seasons. His career slash lines are .457/.329/.773.
And-Ones: LeBron, Pierce, Jazz, Kidd
The first domino that was LeBron James‘ free agency decision certainly set off the chain we anticipated, with a flurry of activity taking place over the last two days. Here’s a rundown of the league’s action this evening:
- James hopes that his player option for the second year of his Cavs contract can be worked out quietly in the offseason, sources tell Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Of course, a stress-free contract renewal for James would be the first of his career.
- Paul Pierce‘s first choice wasn’t to sign with the Wizards, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. Pierce was more interested in joining the Clippers or returning to the Nets, but became more intrigued by the Washington roster as time went by this offseason.
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey told reporters including Jody Genessy of Deseret News that Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors will both have a voice regarding Utah’s decision making (Twitter link).
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders if the Sixers might end up leveraging their abundant cap space to take back one of the Knicks burdensome contracts in exchange for draft compensation.
- Jason Kidd tells Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he has been working closely with Bucks GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway despite reports he was looking for front office power in the process that brought him from Brooklyn to Milwaukee. “We’re a family,” said Kidd. “Being able to talk to them every day about things, they have ideas, I share some of the things I think about. We’re still learning each other, how we want to play. A lot of things get misinterpreted with me, I guess. I’ll leave it at that.”
Free Agency Notes: Deng, Augustin, Mavs
The Pacers organization is presenting a united in front in their attempts to convince Lance Stephenson to re-sign with Indiana, reports Michael Marot of The Associated Press. Indy brass, coaches, and players are hopeful they can challenge again in the East with Stephenson back aboard now that LeBron James has fled Miami. Here are more of the night’s free agency rumblings:
- The Suns are now trying to break into the Luol Deng sweepstakes, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Both the Hornets and Mavs are interested in free agent point guard D.J. Augustin, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- The Mavs have also shown interest in Mo Williams and Mike Miller in their ongoing attempts to recover three-point shooting now that Jose Calderon and Vince Carter are gone, reports Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
- The Mavs are likely to re-sign backup center Bernard James, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- MacMahon tweets that Dallas’ acquisition of Greg Smith indicates the team has moved on from DeJuan Blair, who is presumably after a more lucrative deal than the minimum contract the Mavs were willing to offer.
Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Miller, Deng, Ariza
With Carmelo Anthony set to re-sign with the Knicks, New York can now focus on setting up a supporting cast to play alongside him. One name they’re interested in re-signing is Toure’ Murry, tweets Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Here’s more from around the East:
- Phil Jackson is said to be willing to include Iman Shumpert as part of a deal to dump the contracts of Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani, or J.R. Smith, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- There is a gap between what the Cavs can offer and what Mike Miller is seeking, but not enough to end their talks, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- In contrast to an earlier report of the Hornets interest in Lance Stephenson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that Charlotte has shown no such signs.
- The Heat are now open to bringing free agent Mario Chalmers back at the right price, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinal. Miami drafted point guard Shabazz Napier, and was reportedly looking to sign-and-trade Chalmers before LeBron James elected to take his talents away from South Beach.
- The Hawks have re-engaged talks with Luol Deng, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. We heard earlier that the two sides had reached an impasse on salary for the veteran small forward.
- Kent Bazemore was in contract discussions with the Lakers when he agreed to join the Hawks, but Atlanta’s urgency precluded Los Angeles from re-signing the guard on their time table, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Trevor Ariza received the same offer from the Wizards as he agreed to with the Rockets, but the difference in taxes between Washington and Houston will save him approximately $3MM, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
- Ariza asked for an annual salary of $10MM to stay with the Wizards, sources tell J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael says that Washington declined to meet Ariza’s demands in order to maintain cap space in 2016, when Kevin Durant will become a free agent.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Clippers Sign C.J. Wilcox
9:21pm: The Clippers officially announced the signing in a team release (H/T Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times).
12:07am: The Clippers have signed No. 28 overall pick C.J. Wilcox to his rookie scale contract, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. He’ll receive more than $1.1MM next season if he signs for the standard 120% of the scale amount, as our table of salaries for 2014 first-round picks shows, though 120% of scale isn’t a given for players picked near the end of the first round.
The 6’5″ shooting guard was No. 35 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings and No. 38 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, so it was a mild surprise to see him sneak into the first round. He improved steadily in four seasons at the University of Washington, averaging 18.3 points with 39.1% three-point shooting in 34.9 minutes per game as a senior this year.
Wilcox is set to compete for minutes with Reggie Bullock, who was last year’s first-round pick for the Clippers, in a crowded situation on the wing, where the team also has J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes and Jared Dudley all under contract for 2014/15.
Western Rumors: Love, Deng, Stephenson, Suns
There has been no movement on a Kevin Love deal between the Wolves and Warriors, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. A source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Love’s willingness to re-sign with the Cavs is unlikely to be squelched by news that LeBron James‘ contract only runs two years (Twitter link). Here’s a rundown of tonight’s Western notes:
- While Luol Deng is advancing in talks toward a roughly two-year, $20MM with the Heat, Sam Amick of USA Today hears (Twitter links) that the free agent is waiting to see what happens with the Mavs offer sheet to Chandler Parsons before making a final decision. If Dallas missed out on Parsons, Deng would likely be their next target.
- However, the Mavs are considering pursuing Lance Stephenson on a short term deal at a higher salary before chasing Deng, should Houston match their offer sheet for Parsons, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Mark Cuban acknowledged to reporters including Candace Buckner of The Indy Star that Stephenson was “on the list” if the Mavs are unable to land Parsons.
- The Suns addition of Isaiah Thomas does not mean that the team is looking to move on from Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Tyler Ennis, or Archie Goodwin, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. While each guard can play the point, the Phoenix system allows for shooting guards to facilitate as well, leaving the opportunity for each to continue to contribute or develop.
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that the team could add another ball handler to the roster, but not necessarily a point guard (Twitter links). D’Alessandro said the Kings are also seeking ways of reducing salary as they approach the luxury tax line.
- Gordon Hayward‘s agent believes his performance last year was impacted by feeling the pressure of his looming restricted free agency, and expects the forward to be better now that he has secured a long-term deal with the Jazz, tweets Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.
LeBron James Signs With Cavs
8:07pm: The Cavaliers have made the signing official in a team release. “We could not be happier to welcome LeBron James home,” Cleveland GM David Griffin said in the accompanying statement. “Yesterday, LeBron, through his essay, told us he wasn’t going anywhere except Cleveland and that ‘Cleveland is where he always believed he would finish his career.’ These words and commitment put all of us, including LeBron, in the best position to build our franchise the right way and achieve the kind of goals we all know are possible. Expectations will be at the highest levels but no one should expect immediate and automatic success.”
SATURDAY, 5:12pm: James’ contract with the Cavs has been finalized, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. It’s a two-year, $42.1MM deal with a player option for the second season. While the deal doesn’t lock James in for the long term run he vowed to fulfill in his announcement, it is designed with an eye toward expected jumps in league revenue and increased earning potential for the game’s best player. Renewed TV deals and an opportunity for the player’s union to renegotiate the CBA in the coming years could lead to significantly higher max contract values. James, who had never been the highest paid player on his own team before signing this time with Cleveland, will look to cash in if those opportunities materialize.
FRIDAY, 11:20am: LeBron James has made his decision, and he’ll sign with the Cavaliers, as he tells Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins.
“Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio,” the Akron native writes in the first paragraph of his as-told-to cover story in Sports Illustrated. “It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart. People there have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I’m their son. Their passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me. I want to give them hope when I can. I want to inspire them when I can. My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now.”
James said his primary reason for leaving the Heat after four years, four NBA Finals appearances, and two championships isn’t because he didn’t have faith that the front office could put the right team together, but that he wants to bring a title to Cleveland. He always believed he’d return to finish his career in Cleveland, but he just didn’t know when he would come back, he writes. The reaction of owner Dan Gilbert and fans in Cleveland to his 2010 departure for Miami weighed on him, but he said he’s talked the matter out with Gilbert “face-to-face, man-to-man.”
Presumably, it’ll be a max contract worth $20.6444MM in the first season for the four-time MVP, who won his first two such trophies with the Cavs, for whom he played from 2003-10. The Cavs aggressively sought the cap flexibility necessary to create max room, completing a three-team trade with the Nets and Celtics on Thursday that gave them the ability to open cap space for James.
Agent Rich Paul took meetings with the Cavs, Mavs, Suns and Lakers last week while the Heat were the only team with whom James met personally. Paul, who was also in that Heat meeting, was reportedly determined to get his client to return to Cleveland. Heat owner Micky Arison took to Twitter to express that he’s “shocked and disappointed” by the news but thanked James for the memories and wrote that he’d never forget what James brought to the Heat the past four seasons. It’s a far cry from Gilbert’s sharply worded response in 2010, which reportedly had been on James’ mind in the hours leading up to this year’s choice.
The move opens the gates to a number of other decisions around the league, with the free agency of Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, the fate of trade candidate Kevin Love, and a slew of other important matters still unresolved. The Cavs have reportedly been set to pursue Love contingent on their acquisition of James, though they appear unwilling to give up No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins to facilitate such a deal.
Central Rumors: Wiggins, Pacers, Mirotic
The Central Division has been reshaping the past few days, with LeBron James and Pau Gasol arriving to the Cavs and Bulls, respectively. Here’s a rundown of the division:
- If Andrew Wiggins is set to be traded in a deal for Kevin Love, David Blatt doesn’t know anything about it, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter). “He’s not going anywhere, as far as I’ve heard,” said the Cavs‘ soon-to-be first-year coach.
- LeBron’s two-year contract with the Cavs is purely a business decision and doesn’t indicate any hesitancy from James to finish his career in Cleveland, a source tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt explains how James could maximize his earnings with a series of short-term deals in the coming years.
- The Cavs renounced their rights to Luol Deng, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. The move clears Deng’s cap hold with Cleveland and forfeits their right to exceed the cap to sign him, but it clears the cap room necessary for Cleveland to sign LeBron. Deng has long been expected to sign elsewhere this summer, and is in serious talks with the Heat.
- The Pacers are interested in obtaining Suns point guard Goran Dragic, potentially in a sign-and-trade agreement involving Lance Stephenson, writes Mitch Lawrence of New York Daily News.
- The Pacers would also be interested in Carlos Boozer, should he get amnestied by the Bulls, writes Lawrence.
- The Bulls were offered a late top-10 2014 draft pick for Nikola Mirotic and declined, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Kings Sign Darren Collison
JULY 12TH, 7:21pm: The Kings have made the signing official in a team release.
1:26pm: The deal is worth $15MM, rather than $16MM, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times hears (Twitter link). Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports also has it as $15MM. That would make it for slightly less than the value of the $5.305MM mid-level exception.
11:17am: Sacramento intends to waive a player and use the stretch provision to accommodate Collison’s deal, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Kings wouldn’t have to do that to fit underneath the tax line as it stands, so perhaps Sacramento is thinking about adding salary via trade or saving room to re-sign Thomas to a significant deal, though that’s just my speculation (Twitter link). In any case, Collison agreed to the deal under the impression that he will start, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (on Twitter).
JULY 3RD, 10:45am: The Kings will sign Darren Collison to a three-year, $16MM deal, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). It’s a fully guaranteed deal, Turner adds (on Twitter). Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype first reported that the sides were engaging in talks (Twitter link).
“The Kings were the most aggressive team by far in the free agency, and I respected that on all levels,” Collison said, according to Turner (Twitter link).
Sacramento made its desire to add a pass-first point guard clear, even as it seeks to re-sign restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas. Collison rehabilitated his career during his one-year stint with the Clippers, proving an effective backup to Chris Paul and a capable replacement for the superstar when he went down with injury.
It was difficult for the BDA Sports Management client to leave the Clippers, Turner tweets, and Doc Rivers said he would make re-signing Collison his top offseason priority. Collison told Turner that he didn’t feel that was the case, however (Twitter links).
Collison was reportedly leaning toward returning when he opted out of his deal late last month. Still, the capped-out Clippers were in a tough spot, since they had only the Non-Bird exception to give Collison a 20% raise on his $1.9MM salary without dipping into the mid-level exception.
Instead it’s the Kings using their mid-level to convince Collison to move north. The amount for which Collison signed is what the Kings had wanted to pay Thomas, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, and while the Collison agreement doesn’t necessarily forestall the return of Thomas, it casts further doubt on the future of Thomas in Sacramento.