Eastern Rumors: Wade, Bosh, ‘Melo, Gasol
Happy Fourth of July to our American readers! It remains to be seen if there will be any free agency fireworks today, but with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh hesitant to take discounts, prompting a disconnect between them and LeBron James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the fuse has been lit. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference as the market waits to see what James and Carmelo Anthony will do:
- The Bulls remain confident that they’re still in the running to end up as Anthony’s choice, but they sense they’ve lost momentum with the Knicks prepared to offer the max, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Pau Gasol learned when he met with the Bulls on Thursday that he would be a starter if he signed with the team, as Cowley, writing in the same piece, also hears.
- The Raptors have had preliminary talks with Patrick Patterson as they concentrate on securing depth behind Amir Johnson, reports Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. They’re willing to wait before shopping for a physical, defensive-minded wing this summer, Smith adds. Concerns about Johnson’s ability to stay healthy also likely played a role in the team’s decision to fully guarantee Tyler Hansbrough‘s contract, Smith believes.
- The Hornets have expressed interest in signing Ramon Sessions, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). A report late Thursday indicated the opposite, so perhaps Charlotte reached out within the last several hours.
Magic Waive Jason Maxiell
9:30pm: Orlando has officially waived Maxiell, the team announced via press release.
8:53am: The Magic are waiving Jason Maxiell, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). There doesn’t appear to be an official announcement of yet, but presumably one is on the way. Orlando was reportedly trying to find a trade partner to take him before his non-guaranteed contract was to have become fully guaranteed for $2.5MM on July 10th, and apparently the Magic have yet to find a team willing to take on the power forward.
Maxiell’s 3.2 points per game last season were his fewest since he was a rookie as his minutes were cut from 24.8 his final season with the Pistons to 14.4 in his first year with Orlando after he signed with the club last summer. The arrival of Aaron Gordon, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft, figured to further impinge upon the playing time of the 31-year-old Maxiell, who doesn’t quite fit the mold of the franchise’s youth-focused rebuilding approach.
Still, it seems somewhat odd that the Magic apparently have no use for Maxiell at $2.5MM after agreeing earlier this week to sign Ben Gordon to a two-year, $9MM contract. The Andy Miller client is just a year removed from having started 71 games for the Pistons, and he seems in line to recoup most, if not all, of the salary he would have made with Orlando. The timing of the move, nearly a week before his contract guarantee date, gives Maxiell more of a chance to find a new deal on the market.
Latest On Luol Deng
The Hawks were reportedly mulling a run at Luol Deng as of last week, and it looks like they’ve indeed moved forward with a pursuit, as coach Mike Budenholzer was set to meet Thursday with the 29-year-old forward, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports. Amick also adds the Rockets to the list of suitors for the client of Herb Rudoy and Ronald Shade.
Deng is seeking $12MM salaries, roughly the same amount of space Atlanta has beneath the cap, Amick writes. Atlanta’s deal with Thabo Sefolosha has apparently boosted the team’s stock with Deng, who has a close relationship with his former Bulls teammate, and Deng is also friends with Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver, another former sidekick in Chicago, Amick notes.
Reports on Thursday indicated that the Clippers and Deng had mutual interest and that the 10-year veteran would speak Thursday with Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, who’s searching for sign-and-trade scenarios to upgrade his capped-out roster. Still, it looks like Rivers is demanding too much for Cleveland’s liking for the Cavs to go along with a sign-and-trade involving Deng, Amick says.
Deng is unlikely to make his decision before Carmelo Anthony does, according to Amick, and the Rockets in particular would be inclined to wait as they hold out hope of signing ‘Melo. The Heat, Wizards, Mavs, Suns, Bulls have all been reported to have interest in Deng since the start of free agency, but while Shade has said his client would welcome a chance to re-sign with Chicago, Amick deems the idea of Deng reuniting with the Bulls as a long shot. Washington would only remain in the market for Deng if they can’t come to terms with Trevor Ariza, Amick also says.
Rockets Interested In Chris Bosh
The Rockets still hope to land Carmelo Anthony this summer, but they have a plan B in mind in the event that they don’t. The Rockets have already let Chris Bosh know that they’re still huge fans of his, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Many league observers still think Miami will find a way to keep the Big Three together, but the sudden uncertainty surrounding the Heat gives Houston fresh hope in their pursuit of Bosh (link). While a big three of Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, and Dwight Howard would be exceptional, one that substitutes Anthony for Bosh sounds nearly as fearsome.
The Rockets have been tremendously active since the official start of free agency and while it’s too early to say whether they’ll be successful, no one could accuse GM Daryl Morey & Co. of not being creative or ambitious.
And-Ones: Thomas, Deng, Granger, Carmelo
Some items from around the league as we get ready for tomorrow’s fireworks and plenty of free agency fireworks to come..
- The top three teams, in order, for Kings restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas are the Lakers, Heat, and Pistons, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Wizards have reached out to Anthony Morrow, Marvin Williams, P.J. Tucker, Luol Deng, and Danny Granger, among others, league sources tell Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
- The Lakers came away very impressed with Carmelo Anthony after their meeting with him and they really believe that they got a sense for him as a person, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Of course, the bigger question is how Melo feels about the Lakers.
- John Canzano of The Oregonian isn’t exactly doing cartwheels over the Blazers‘ signing of Chris Kaman.
Latest On LeBron James
With the LeBron James sweepstakes officially underway, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com is reporting (Twitter link) that officials from the Cavs, Mavs, Rockets, and Suns have already met with LeBron’s agent Rich Paul this week in Cleveland.
More on the four-time MVP:
- Rich Paul invited three teams – the Cavs, Mavs, and Suns – to the offices of his Klutch Sports headquarters to listen to pitches. In those meetings, Paul suggested that if Pat Riley cannot quickly put a strong supporting cast together in Miami, LeBron could meet face-to-face with other suitors, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Meanwhile, Rockets officials were not granted a meeting with Paul and therefore have decided to focus on Carmelo Anthony.
- ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is flying to Cleveland to meet with James’ agent, Rich Paul (link via Chris Broussard of ESPN on Twitter).
- One team official who met with James’ agent in Cleveland tells Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that he believes LeBron’s reported exploration of other teams is a “smoke screen.” Presumably, that team official sees this as something of a power play for James to get the players that he wants around him in Miami.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link) confirms “without question” that the Cavaliers were one of the teams that had a sit down with Paul.
- The three finalists for James’ services could return to Cleveland early next week to make presentations with Paul and LeBron present, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Wojnarowski also tweets that an official who was part of meetings says “There’s clearly a breakdown in communication between LeBron and (Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh).“
- In another tweet, Wojnarowski also reports that unless Pat Riley lines up talent appealing to James within the Heat’s cap structure soon, “LeBron seems ready to explore [the] market.”
- Suns owner Robert Sarver was in Cleveland yesterday to meet with Paul, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The possibility of teaming up James with either Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh was discussed, notes Broussard.
Bulls, Thunder In Lead For Pau Gasol
THURSDAY, 10:45pm: The Bulls and Thunder are the most intriguing destinations to Gasol at this time, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
10:37am: Stein counters that the Thunder do believe they have a legitimate chance of landing Gasol, though whether he’d take a sizable discount to sign with Oklahoma City remains a question (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 9:00pm: The Thunder view a run for Gasol as a “long shot” since they can only offer the mid-level but they also believe it’s “worth a try,” a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (via Twitter).
8:24pm: Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook made a come-to-OKC pitch directly to Gasol today in Los Angeles, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
7:15pm: Sources say the Bulls’ rising interest in Gasol is a reflection of concern that they can’t convince Carmelo Anthony to leave the Knicks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein adds (link) that Gasol is giving legit consideration to joining the Spurs if he looks at places where money is scarce. Gasol likes the Spurs in part because of Gregg Popovich‘s ability to manage minutes as well as the international flavor of the roster, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
6:05pm: The Thunder have come on strong with Gasol and have been described as the “frontrunner” for him, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
5:30pm: The Bulls are zeroed in on wooing Carmelo Anthony, but they’re also eager to add Pau Gasol if things don’t work out on that front. The Spaniard is their top target after the Knicks star and Chicago officials will be traveling to L.A. on Thursday to sit down with him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The Bulls and Thunder have emerged as two new top-flight teams in the hunt for Gasol, Stein tweets. Gasol has been drawing considerable interest from multiple suitors since free agency kicked off earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the Spurs are among the teams that made contact with Gasol on Wednesday, according to Joe Goodman of the Miami Herald. LeBron James and Anthony might be stealing the big headlines right now, but it won’t be long before Gasol is among the hottest free agents available.
Carmelo Anthony Rumors: Thursday
Carmelo Anthony is doubling up on meetings again after visiting the Rockets and Mavs on Wednesday. He’s seeing both the Lakers and the Knicks today in Los Angeles. We’ll round up the latest ‘Melo updates here:
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) gets the sense that the Rockets are fully focused on Carmelo and are merely on the outskirts of the LeBron James chase, as much as they’d like to be a factor there.
- The Knicks have concluded their free agent meeting with Anthony, and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link) is reporting that as expected, the team offered Anthony the maximum five-year, $129MM deal that he was eligible to receive.
- Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link) confirms the Knicks offer as well as the earlier report that the Lakers offered Anthony a four-year, $96MM deal.
- Broussard also tweets that Anthony did not give the Knicks an answer or a timetable tonight. He will take the holiday weekend to think things through.
Earlier updates:
- Anthony has been pursuing a conversation with Pau Gasol about playing together on the Knicks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- The time of today’s meeting with the Lakers was changed, and it might conclude before Kobe Bryant can arrive back in town to be in attendance, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). He’s going to try to meet with Anthony later, Shelburne adds.
- People around Anthony believe he plans on making up his mind this weekend as he spends time at his home in Los Angeles, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Knicks owner James Dolan won’t be present for today’s meeting, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Team president Phil Jackson, coach Derek Fisher and GM Steve Mills are instead all flying in.
- Rival suitors appear to be increasingly pessimistic about their chances of prying ‘Melo from the Knicks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. But the Lakers, for their part, weren’t short on confidence going into today’s meeting, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes.
- Though the Bulls reportedly floated the idea of a $16MM annual salary for ‘Melo, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune says they didn’t discuss financials much, if at all, with the Bulls instead generally communicating that they’d secure the necessary cap flexibility (Twitter link).
- The Bulls see the Knicks as their only real competition for Anthony, and they’re selling Gasol on the idea that they could sign both him and Anthony, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- The meeting that ‘Melo had Wednesday with the Mavs was all business and lacked the elaborate flair that accompanied his visits with Chicago and Houston, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details.
And-Ones: Gasol, Knicks, Lakers, Marion
There won’t be a decision from Pau Gasol anytime soon as to where he will be signing, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com. This is despite the pleas and pitches he has received from Carmelo Anthony and numerous teams, notes Aldridge.
More from around the league:
- Gasol will meet with Heat president Pat Riley and coach Eric Spoelstra in Los Angeles, a source tells ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne.
- The Lakers have interest in re-signing Xavier Henry, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Medina also notes that signing Anthony is the team’s top priority.
- Caron Butler is drawing strong interest from multiple teams but is likely to choose between Heat, Lakers or Spurs, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
- The Hornets have not approached point guard Ramon Sessions about a possible return to Charlotte, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
- The Heat, Bulls, Mavericks, and Rockets have all expressed interest in signing Shawn Marion, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- MacMahon also writes that the Mavericks best chance of landing restricted free agent Chandler Parsons is if Anthony signs with the Rockets.
- Now that the Raptors have re-signed Kyle Lowry, they will turn their focus to retaining the services of Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, writes Eric Koreen of The National Post.
- The Knicks have inquired about Pelicans free agent center Jason Smith, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post.
- According to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link), the Celtics, Clippers, Mavericks, Timberwolves and Heat have reached out to free agent Kris Humphries.
Western Notes: Williams, Warriors, Blake
Mo Williams met with the Mavericks today, and the meeting had “positive momentum,” writes Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The team is waiting on ‘Melo’s decision before proceeding with any other signings, and Williams’ desired destination is Dallas, tweets Zwerling.
More from out west:
- It appears that the Warriors are only offering the minimum salary to Kent Bazemore, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link) . The only way that would be enough to lure Bazemore is if his other options fall apart, opines Thompson.
- With the loss of free agent Darren Collison to the Kings, the Clippers are turning their attention towards signing Jordan Farmar, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- McMenamin also tweets that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has also reached out to representatives for the team’s former point guard, Steve Blake.
- Jarron Collins, twin brother of Nets center Jason Collins, is on the verge of being added to Steve Kerr‘s coaching staff with the Warriors, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Free agent center Spencer Hawes is visiting with the Suns today, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
- During their meeting today, the Lakers told Carmelo Anthony that they would offer the maximum they could, a 4-year, $97MM contract, if he chose them, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The Jazz aren’t concerned about Gordon Hayward‘s ability to take the leap forward and become an elite player, which is why they aren’t worried about signing him to a possible max contract, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake City Tribune (Twitter link).
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman tweets that Thabo Sefolosha had also drawn interest from the Wizards and the Pelicans.
- In a separate article, Mayberry looks at the three reasons the Thunder agreed to sign Sebastian Telfair as a free agent.