Heat Rumors: LeBron, Riley, Williams, Temple
The latest out of South Beach..
- A summit between Heat president Pat Riley and LeBron James will probably go down in the next 24 hours but likely won’t be in Miami, tweets Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
- No guarantees were made, but Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts committed to the Heat with a strong belief that LeBron James will be their teammate, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (on Twitter).
- People who have had phone conversations with Riley have come away with the impression that he is confident the Big Three will return, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.
- The Heat are no longer in pursuit of Marvin Williams after using the mid-level exception on Josh McRoberts, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
- Garrett Temple is leaning towards signing with the Heat, tweets Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. The Wizards also want to bring Temple back and the Magic and Bulls were said to have interest.
- There’s still mutual interest between Greg Oden and the Heat, but no decision has been made one way or another, Reynolds tweets.
Central Notes: Smith, Wright, Mirotic, Cavs
The Pistons value Josh Smith and aren’t eager to part ways with him, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter). Rumors circulated that Detroit was discussing a possible deal that would have sent Smith packing to Sacramento, but talks fizzled out and the 28-year-old forward was never moved. More on the Pistons and the Central Division..
- Detroit has hired Brian Wright as an assistant GM, reveals a report from The Associated Press. Wright had been working in Orlando’s front office for the past eight seasons, meaning he has previous experience with new Pistons head coach/president Stan Van Gundy.
- Nick Fridell of ESPNChicago.com passes along former college coach Fran Fraschilla’s views on Bulls prospect Nikola Mirotic. Fraschilla thinks that Mirotic would have been a top 4 pick in this summer’s draft and compares his NBA-readiness to that of Bucks selection Jabari Parker.
- Rumors that the Cavs pulled down Dan Gilbert‘s infamously sour farewell letter to LeBron James today are false, says Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (on Twitter), who adds that the letter hasn’t been easily accessible to the public for three years.
Amico On Heat, Cavs, LeBron James
The Heat might be in line to add another free agent before the end of the day, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Miami made headlines this afternoon when they agreed to deals with a pair of veterans in Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger. Here’s more from Amico on the Heat, Cavs, and LeBron James:
- McRoberts’ decision to ink a deal with the Heat is appealing to LeBron, a source tells Amico, since the former Charlotte big man could take over the role of defending opposing teams’ power forwards from James.
- Amico also hears that bigger name free agents like Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, and Luol Deng aren’t interested in the reduced salaries that the Heat are offering.
- One Western Conference GM told Amico that plenty of front offices around the league are actually hoping the Heat’s Big Three remains intact. “One thing [Miami has] proven the past four years is they can’t add any real talent around those guys,” the GM said. “Their run will be over in two years, and it may already be. I’d be considerably more scared of LeBron in Cleveland or Phoenix.“
- The same GM suggested that Pat Riley will have a hard time explaining to James the club’s lack of a proven starting point guard.
- One Cavs source told Amico that Cleveland would be making moves soon and that the front office has been busy trying to improve the team, independent of the club’s pursuit of James. Sources also told Amico they expect LeBron to make his decision on where to sign by Wednesday.
- Kyrie Irving has reached out to James in an effort to recruit the All-Star forward to Cleveland, hears Amico. Of course, Irving agreed to a long-term extension with the Cavs earlier this month.
Southwest Notes: Deng, Ariza, Mavs, Stokes
The Mavs have no intention of giving Luol Deng a deal in the $12-$14MM range, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. They have significant concerns about the 29-year-old’s durability after years of him being a workhorse for Chicago and dealing with back and Achilles tendon issues recently. They value him as a versatile, tenacious defender with a career scoring average of 16 points per game, but his subpar 3-point shooting isn’t ideal for a Dallas team that is short on long-distance threats. Here’s more out of the Southwest:
- Should Dallas fail to land Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza is arguably the best fit for the Mavs out of any of their Plan B targets, contends MacMahon in a separate piece.
- Bulls exec Brian Hagen is now on the shortlist in the Grizzlies‘ search for a new front office addition, reveals Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Hagen joins Brooklyn’s Bobby Marks, New York’s Mark Warkentien, and Indiana’s Peter Dinwiddie as candidates for the job.
- Grizzlies second-round pick Jarnell Stokes will probably wait to sign his deal so that Memphis can figure things out in free agency first, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal. The former Tennessee standout spoke with Hoops Rumors earlier this offseason about his skillset and career goals.
- Despite hitting a few snags during negotiations, the Spurs announced that they’ve signed Bryce Cotton to a minimum-salary deal, and the Grizzlies confirmed that Zach Randolph has inked an extension to remain in Memphis.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Zach Randolph Signs Extension With Grizzlies
JULY 7th: Memphis has officially confirmed Randolph’s signing via press release.
JUNE 30TH: It’s official – Randolph delivered his $16.5MM player option to Memphis today and inked his two-year, $20MM extension, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
JUNE 27TH: The Grizzlies and Zach Randolph have struck a deal on a two-year, $20MM extension, agent Raymond Brothers confirms to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal was the first to report that the two sides had reached an agreement (Twitter link). Randolph is opting in to his contract as a part of the arrangement, Wojnarowski writes. He’ll collect more than $16.9MM in salary for next season as a part of his existing deal, and the extension will kick in for 2015/16.
Negotiations had reportedly hit a snag over money earlier this week, but the talks otherwise seemed to indicate momentum toward a deal. The extension will keep Randolph from free agency, where it appeared as though the 32-year-old would have been able to command a three-year, $30-35MM deal from Memphis or other suitors. He was 10th in the most recent edition of the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
Randolph spoke on multiple occasions within the past year of his affection for Memphis, and it seemed like GM Chris Wallace‘s reinstatement as the head of the team’s basketball department made those feelings mutual between the team and the power forward. Former CEO Jason Levien had been a fan of backup Ed Davis and reportedly made at least two attempts to trade Randolph. Randolph’s new deal casts the future of Davis in limbo as he’s set to enter restricted free agency.
The Grizzlies will likely be over the cap entering free agency next week, as they’ll have more than $65.9MM in guaranteed salary for 2014/15 with Randolph opting in. The Grizzlies will have about $35MM in salary on the books entering July 2015, when Marc Gasol is set to hit free agency.
Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, Ariza, Stephenson
The Lakers aggressively pitched to Carmelo Anthony the idea that he can be the star of the team once Kobe Bryant‘s contract expires in 2016, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears (Twitter link). ‘Melo was to have taken the weekend to make his free agent choice, but it appears he still hasn’t made up his mind. Here’s more from a wild Monday of free agency:
- The Cavs, Lakers, Heat and Mavs are all pursuing Trevor Ariza, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Wizards are presumably still in the hunt, as well. The swingman is seeking salaries of $9-11MM, Berger adds.
- The Mavs have indeed shown interest in Lance Stephenson, reversing their previous stance against signing him, reports Chris Broussard of ESPNDallas.com, but it’s still very unlikely the shooting guard will end up in Dallas, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The Pacers‘ recent five-year, $45MM offer disappointed the Alberto Ebanks client, who’s begun shopping for other teams, Broussard writes.
- The Celtics are also interested in Stephenson, Broussard adds (via Twitter).
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) continues to hear that the Thunder are ahead of the Heat in the Anthony Morrow chase. Along with Pau Gasol, Morrow has been a prime OKC target in free agency.
- A Chinese team offered Sebastian Telfair a two-year, $7MM deal as word of an impending deal with the Thunder leaked, agent Joel Bell tells Shams Charania of RealGM. Telfair passed that up to strike a one-year, minimum-salary agreement with the Thunder.
- Paul Pierce‘s representatives are telling teams that he’s looking for a two-year deal worth $9-10MM per season, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (on Twitter). The Jeff Schwartz client is waiting to see if teams are willing to offer more money once the first-tier free agents come off the board, Mannix adds (Twitter link).
- The Nets, Trail Blazers and Spurs have worked out free agent Ivan Johnson, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- The Hornets are among the teams set to meet with unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
- Free agent Matt Bonner has remained in contact with the Spurs on a possible reunion and is waiting for the roster to unfold, sources tell RealGM’s Shams Charania (on Twitter). No other clubs are in the mix for him yet.
Several Teams Interested In Isaiah Thomas
JULY 7TH, 4:36pm: The Pistons are no longer among the teams involved with Thomas, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter).
JULY 2ND, 7:14am: Mavs owner Mark Cuban called Thomas on Tuesday, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
11:45pm: Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter) adds the Lakers to the list of interested clubs.
8:35am: Kyle Lowry’s decision will likely precede the one that Thomas makes, Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling tweets. The Kings and Thomas have strong mutual respect, Zwerling says.
7:48am: The Pistons are also interested, tweets Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com. They’re talking about a deal in the ballpark of three years and $24MM total. Other talks are in the $6-7MM range, Bruski adds (Twitter link).
7:32am: The Lakers made contact with Thomas, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, as did the teams that Jones mentioned (Twitter link).
12:37am: The Celtics, Mavericks, Warriors, Heat, Pistons, and Suns have expressed interest in Kings free agent guard Isaiah Thomas, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings want to keep the diminutive point guard but they’ll have their work cut out for them this summer.
The Celtics were the first team on the horn with Thomas when free agency started after midnight ET and Danny Ainge personally made the call. This is purely speculative, but one has to imagine that the C’s are giving serious thought to trading Rajon Rondo given their pursuit of Thomas and selection of Marcus Smart in last week’s draft.
Grizzlies Sign Jordan Adams
The Grizzlies have signed 22nd overall pick Jordan Adams, the team announced via press release. He’ll likely receive a salary worth more than $1.344MM next season on his rookie scale contract, as our table of salaries for first-round picks shows.
The UCLA shooting guard averaged 17.4 points and 5.3 rebounds with 35.6% three-point shooting for the Bruins this past season, his sophomore campaign. He was the 27th-ranked prospect heading into the draft on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings, and No. 28 on the board with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Heat, Hornets Vying For Josh McRoberts
Free agent power forward Josh McRoberts has fielded “aggressive” offers from the Hornets and Heat and is deciding between them, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). McRoberts is indeed becoming a serious candidate for Miami, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, and Charlotte has upped its offer within the last day to the mid-level exception, Wojnarowski adds in a second tweet. Presumably Wojnarowski is referring to the full value of the $5.305MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level, as more and more executives around the league believe the power forward will end up with that sort of deal, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter links).
The Blazers and McRoberts reportedly had mutual interest in a deal last week, but Portland is probably out of the picture after agreeing to terms with Chris Kaman for most of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level. Agent Mike Conley Sr. pointed to mutual interest in a deal with the Hornets, too. The Mavs, Cavs, Clippers, Knicks, Spurs, Suns and Lakers are the other teams who’ve reportedly registered interest in the 27-year-old.
The Heat have been linked to a number of free agents this month, but they’ve yet to come to any agreements as the futures of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade remain unsettled. McRoberts drew a $20K fine for a forearm to the neck of James during this year’s playoffs, as Stein points out (on Twitter). Still, the Hornets can exceed the non-taxpayer’s mid-level slightly to outbid the Heat, should Miami remain over the cap, since they have McRoberts’ Early Bird rights and can pay him a starting salary of likely around $6MM a year.
Rockets Intensify Pursuit Of Chris Bosh
MONDAY, 11:54am: Conversations between Bosh’s camp and the Rockets continue today even as Bosh’s preference remains to continue playing with James on the Heat, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Part of the pitch the Rockets want to make to Bosh is that he wouldn’t have to play center with Dwight Howard next to him, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News.
SUNDAY, 10:28pm: Bosh still hasn’t spoken directly with the Rockets, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
10:26pm: The Rockets have ramped up their pursuit of Chris Bosh and are “heavily engaged” in trying to convince the All-Star power forward to leave the Heat in free agency, sources tell Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
The Rockets haven’t been formally told that they’re out of the running for Carmelo Anthony but they have gotten more serious about Bosh in the hope that LeBron James will leave the Heat. It’s widely assumed throughout the league that Bosh will only be willing to leave Miami if James goes first. However, the ESPN duo says that the Heat remain the favorites at this time to sign Bosh.
Sources say Bosh remains willing to take slightly less than his value on the open market to return with the Heat if James and Dwyane Wade are also coming back and if Heat president Pat Riley can upgrade the current roster. But nearly a week into free agency, sources say Bosh has felt compelled to consider other options himself. He won’t come cheap, though. Bosh would expect a four-year maximum offer of $96MM to leave Miami for Houston or any other suitor.