Hornets Sign Gordon Hayward To Offer Sheet
THURSDAY, 7:58am: Hayward has officially signed the offer sheet, the Hornets announced via press release, starting the three-day matching period. The Jazz will likely wait all three days to match, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 7:05am: It’ll be an offer sheet for the max that runs four years with a player option for the final season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’ll also include a 15% trade kicker, Wojnarowski adds. The option and the trade kicker appear to be designed to dissuade the Jazz from matching, but the Jazz have been adamant that they will match, according to Wojnarowski.
Indeed, Utah has been so intent on matching any such deal that the Jazz consider the offer sheet a “non-issue,” a source tells Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). Several teams called the Jazz about a sign-and-trade for Hayward to see if there was some way of preventing them from matching, but the Hornets never did, Wojnarowski writes, and there’s no chance Charlotte and Utah will arrange a sign-and-trade at this point, Genessy tweets.
TUESDAY, 11:36pm: Gordon Hayward has agreed to a major offer sheet with the Hornets, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Terms of the agreement haven’t been disclosed, although it’s highly likely that Charlotte is offering more than the four-year, $48MM deal that Hayward turned down from the Jazz last fall. As we noted earlier, the Hornets were content with their meeting with Hayward; however, Utah is expected to match any offer for the 6’8 forward.
Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter) notes that Hayward can’t officially sign anything until July 10th; at that point, the Jazz would have three days to match the offer, and Falk maintains that all indications so far is that they will.
Jusuf Nurkic To Join Nuggets This Season?
THURSDAY, 7:49am: KK Cedevita has announced Nurkic’s depature from the club (on Twitter; hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Cedevita agreed to allow his buyout to be spread over two seasons, so the Nuggets will pick up $650K and Nurkic will pick up the remaining $135K of this season’s tab, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links). The most Denver could pay without the money coming out of Nurkic’s NBA rookie scale contract would be $600K, so it would seem Nurkic may actually wind up paying $285K this season, assuming Pick’s figures are correct.
WEDNESDAY, 9:23am: Nurkic has decided to leave KK Cedevita in Croatia, and he’s working on a way to pay his buyout, which is the equivalent of $1.77MM, Pick tweets.
SATURDAY, 1:14pm: Contradicting previous reports, Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post hears that Nurkic’s buyout will not be an issue, and the first-round selection will join the Nuggets this season (Twitter link). Denver continues work on getting Nurkic over for summer league, but they’ve had little luck thus far, Demspey reveals in another tweet.
THURSDAY, 8:42am: Pick’s latest tweet indicates the buyout is worth 1.3 million euros, the equivalent of more than $1.774MM, seemingly making it even tougher for Nurkic and the Nuggets to reach a deal. He could only make less than $1.763MM on a rookie-scale contract with Denver next season, as our table of salaries for first-round picks shows.
7:37am: Nurkic is unlikely to sign with the Nuggets for next season, but the main hangup involves his buyout from KK Cedevita, his club in Croatia, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. The buyout would cost the equivalent of more than $1.36MM, according to Pick, which exceeds the $600K Excluded International Player Payment Amount. That means the difference would come out of Nurkic’s paycheck from the Nuggets were he to sign with the team this year.
JULY 2ND, 5:00pm: The Nuggets are insisting that No. 16 overall pick Jusuf Nurkic play in the NBA summer league if they’re to sign him this summer, but the center wants to spend the summer playing for his native Bosnia instead, Dejan Maksimovic of Nezavisne.com reports (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
Nurkic rocketed up draft boards in the weeks leading up to the June draft and even had some buzz of being a late lottery pick. While he’s not fully polished, many believe that Nurkic could blossom into one of the top big men to come out of this draft. The Nuggets liked Nurkic enough to trade the No. 11 pick (Doug McDermott) to Chicago for Nurkic (No. 16) and Gary Harris (No. 19).
And-Ones: Dragic, Tolliver, Bogdanovic, Aldridge
Dahntay Jones has met with the Clippers, and has received interest from the Knicks, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Here’s more from around the league:
- Zoran Dragic has signed a two-year contract extension with his Spanish League team, the Euroleague announced (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). NBA teams including the Rockets had shown interest in the brother of Goran Dragic. The original deal had a $500K NBA buyout clause for the upcoming season, although it is unclear if the extra years will feature the same flexibility.
- Free agent Anthony Tolliver has been in serious discussions with six teams, including the Clippers, Cavs, Pistons, Spurs, Wizards, and Hornets, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic and the Suns signed a declaration that the 2014 draft pick will not play in the NBA this season, a formality that clears his rookie scale cap hold from the team’s books, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Bogdanovic is signed overseas and can’t opt out until at least 2016.
- LaMarcus Aldridge‘s choice to seek a new deal with the Blazers as a free agent next summer was one of two options presented him by Portland owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey last month, reports Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. The Blazers brass suggested the All-Star consider a three-year, $55MM extension he could sign immediately, or wait to become eligible for a five-year, $108MM max deal as an unrestricted free agent. “I don’t want it to be perceived that I’m not happy or I’m not staying on because I’m not signing a three-year deal,” Aldridge said. “It’s just financially smarter to wait … and I’m looking forward to signing the five-year deal when the chance comes.”
- Considering the recent max offers extended to Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons, it seems certain that Klay Thompson will also merit a max deal when he becomes a free agent. Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group hears that the Warriors have budgeted measures to find room for the shooting guard, should he not be traded away in a deal for Kevin Love.
Clippers Sign Jordan Farmar
WEDNESDAY, 11:28pm: Farmar has signed the deal, per a team release.
SUNDAY, 5:40pm: The Clippers and free agent Jordan Farmar have agreed to a two-year, $4.2MM deal, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). The Clippers will likely be using their biannual exception in the deal, according to Turner. The biannual only provides for a maximum of $4.154MM over two seasons, so presumably Turner is rounding up.
The former Lakers guard will be changing hallways in the Staples Center to help replace the departed Darren Collison. The Clippers have been cited as the frontrunners for Farmar’s services and long viewed as a viable Plan B in the event that Collison took his services elsewhere.
At the conclusion of the Lakers’ season, Farmer made it known that he wanted to stay in purple and gold, despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the club.
“I want to be a Laker,” Farmar said. “I like playing for Mike. Whether it’s Phil Jackson, Mike D’Antoni or whoever else coaches this team, that won’t deter me from wanting to be a Laker.”
Things didn’t work out with Farmar and the Lakers, but with today’s agreement, he at least knows he won’t have to go house hunting. And, unless the Lakers make major upgrades this summer, he’ll have a better chance at winning a championship.
Hawes Signs With Clippers
JULY 9th, 11:26pm: The team announced that Hawes has officially signed the contract. No mention of a sign-and-trade was mentioned in the release.
7:27pm: Doc Rivers is trying to arrange a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers for Hawes, which would preserve the Clippers midlevel exception which the team would then use to target Paul Pierce, tweets Wojnarowski.
JULY 4th, 6:26pm: Free agent Spencer Hawes has reached agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers, league 
sources have told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal is for four-years, $23MM, according to Wojnarowski’s tweet. Hawes was one of the more desirable big men on the market after a season that saw him average 13.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.2 BPG while splitting time between the Cavaliers and the Sixers.
According to Wojnarowski’s article, Hawes was determined to sign with a contender, and he had visited seriously with the Suns and Trail Blazers before settling on the Clippers offer.
The Clippers had recruited Hawes hard for the full midlevel exception and worked with his agent, Greg Lawrence of Wasserman Media Group, on a deal that includes a player option for the fourth year and a 15 percent trade kicker, sources told Wojnarowski.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
LeBron James Rumors: Wednesday
Today’s meeting between LeBron James and the Heat in Las Vegas has come and gone, and seemingly the entire league waits to see what will come of it. There are plenty of LeBron-related rumors. We’ll round them up here, with the latest on top as updates continue to come in:
- The Cavs remain confident about their chances with LeBron based on their meetings with his agent, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- A person briefed on the Miami meeting tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that LeBron offered no counter to the Heat’s pitch, such as a shorter max contract. James could still make such a counter after deliberating further, of course.
Earlier updates:
- James will not meet with any other teams, a source tells Broussard (Twitter link). The four-time MVP is comfortable with his knowledge of each of his suitors, and will spend the next day or more making his decision with his family, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com.
- The Heat feel the meeting with James went well, and remain optimistic they can re-sign the superstar, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
- James plans to talk over his decision with his family now, tweets Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald.
- The decision will not be made or announced this evening, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
- At this time, James does not have a meeting scheduled with the Cavs, per Windhorst (on Twitter).
- LeBron’s meeting with the Heat ended without a decision from James on where he will sign, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Bleacher Report’s Ethan J. Skolnick tweets that no announcement is imminent.
- Rival executives across are rooting for LeBron to return to Cleveland, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- Kevin Love would only be interested in getting traded to Cleveland if James was acquired by the Cavs, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com which lines up with previous reports (Twitter link).
- The Heat doesn’t see the sitdown as an “armageddon” of sorts, but rather a planning session to show James the financial outlook for the roster, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Agent Rich Paul, and not James or Heat president Pat Riley, was the one who called the meeting, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears (Twitter link).
- A player close to James who spoke with Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick laughed at the idea that the moves the Heat have made this summer would impress the four-time MVP, presumably referring to the team’s agreements with Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger. That unidentified player believes the Heat would have been better off preserving as much cap flexibility as possible to sell LeBron on a more significant acquisition (Twitter links).
- The latest reports indicate James, Riley, Paul and Heat assistant GM Andy Elisburg will be present for the meeting.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Eastern Rumors: Ariza, Celtics, Sixers
The Wizards have spoken with Luol Deng, but remain committed to re-signing Trevor Ariza, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Here’s more from the East:
- Washington is prepared to offer Ariza a raise from last year’s $7.7MM salary, but not upwards of $9MM, which is what the small forward is reportedly seeking, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post. Both Ariza and the Wizards have anticipated waiting until LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony make their decisions before any progress for Ariza can be made.
- J. Michael of CSNWashington.com tweets that Ariza is assured of receiving more more money from another team, but that the Wizards hope he will want to remain in Washington for less.
- The Bulls are now being linked as suitors for Ariza by Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Rockets are weighing whether to match Chandler Parsons‘ offer sheet with the Mavs, or pursue Ariza at a lower price, tweets Broussard.
- The Celtics like the newly acquired Tyler Zeller, but don’t have long term plans for Marcus Thornton, whom they acquired in the same three-team trade, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn says it’s likely Boston will deal away Thornton’s contract or let it expire.
- Before the Celtics agreed to take part in today’s swap, the Cavs reached out to the Magic and just about every other team in the league as they sought a third team to take Thornton in a three-team deal with the Nets, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe.
- Sixers GM Sam Hinkie acknowledged that his team is in position to help other clubs with its ample cap flexibility, pointing to that as a way to faciliate trades, as he told Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News as part of a Q&A.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Thunder Decline Grant Jerrett’s Option, Make QO
JULY 9th: Oklahoma City is indeed interested in locking up Jerrett with a multiyear deal, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman.
JUNE 30th: The Thunder have made the unusual decision to decline Grant Jerrett‘s option while also extending him the qualifying offer, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com. The team option would have been worth $816K while the QO is worth ~$1.16MM and is guaranteed.
Oklahoma City could be seeking to lock up Jerrett to a long-term deal while his value is fairly low. The same thing probably could have been accomplished for less money without the qualifying offer, but going with the QO gives OKC the maximum amount of control over him this summer. If the Thunder pitch Jerrett on a new deal, it would probably be largely non-guaranteed.
Our own Chuck Myron predicts that Jerrett will re-sign on a multiyear deal for the amount of his qualifying offer that includes at least a partial guarantee in year two to entice him to take a multiyear deal rather than just signing the QO. Or, Jerrett could wind up back with the Thunder on a deal similar to the one Robert Sacre signed with the Lakers last summer, when he was in virtually the same position. Sacre took a deal for the minimum salary from the Lakers instead of the value of his qualifying offer, but the first two years of his contract are guaranteed, assuring him of more money in the end than his QO would have given him.
Raptors Waive Julyan Stone
8:22pm: In addition to the new teams mentioned, the Raptors remain a possibility to sign Stone, per Charania.
WEDNESDAY, 5:53pm: Stone has cleared waivers and is now discussing a possible deal with the Sixers, Bucks, and Kings, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Presumably, any deal would slot Stone on a team’s training camp roster and be partially or non-guaranteed, although that’s just my speculation at this point.
MONDAY, 2:49pm: The Raptors have waived point guard Julyan Stone, the team announced (on Twitter). Stone’s non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract was to have become fully guaranteed if he remained on the roster through today, so Toronto saves some cash and some room under the tax line with the move.
Stone’s relationship with Raptors GM Masai Ujiri dates to their time together with the Nuggets, with whom the 25-year-old spent the first two seasons of his career. Still, even news that fellow reserve guard Nando De Colo had turned down Toronto’s offer to accept a deal to play in Russia wasn’t enough to keep Stone on the roster as the Raptors seek to re-sign Greivis Vasquez and stay below the tax threshold.
Western Notes: Mavs, Dirk, Calathes, Woodson
The Mavs‘ top three free agent targets for next summer are LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, and Kevin Love, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. Here’s more from out West:
- Dirk Nowitzki has already agreed to re-sign with the Mavs at a discounted rate, but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Rockets have a standing max offer with the future Hall-of-Famer.
- Nick Calathes says he hasn’t asked the Grizzlies to release him, even though it would be to his financial benefit if they did, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal details. He’s on a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary this season, and the team seemingly intends to keep him, Two European teams loom with three-year, $6.5MM offers, but Calathes is undecided about whether he prefers to remain with the Grizzlies or sign overseas, as he tells Tillery. “Once you see a big offer on the table you’re going to think about it,” Calathes said. “You think about it always. That kind of money obviously can change your life. I’m playing the game I love so I’m real blessed. Whichever way it goes, I’m going to be happy.”
- Mike Woodson will return to the bench next season as a member of Doc Rivers‘ assistant coaching staff with the Clippers, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Since being fired by the Knicks at the close of this past season, Woodson has maintained his interest in returning to the bench, but hadn’t been linked with any teams seeking a head coach this offseason.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com suggests that patience on the part of the Wolves could pay off regarding Love, as additional suitors with better assets could surface once the biggest free agent movements are done (via Twitter).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.