Kyle Lowry Will Take Few Days To Make Decision
WEDNESDAY, 7:59am: Lowry wants nothing less than a deal worth $40MM over four years, sources tell Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, who hears the Raptors would be comfortable at four years, $44MM. That’s less than the $12MM a year that Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier that the Raptors would offer, but the key may be whether Toronto extends its offer to a fifth year, as Grange suggests and as Stein reported that the team is considering
TUESDAY, 10:00pm: Lowry’s bidders include the Raptors, Rockets, and Lakers. The Heat have not progressed their talks with him, however, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
9:08pm: Guard Kyle Lowry told the Raptors today that he’ll take a few days to make up his mind, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. The Raptors, meanwhile, are still confident that they’ll retain the point guard. “He knows us, and we know him,” a source said.
Lowry has been an extremely popular guy over the last ~22 hours. A number of clubs have reached out to the 28-year-old, including the Heat. Miami is reportedly telling clubs that they have about $12MM to spend, which is in line with the reported offer that the Raptors are making to Lowry.
Toronto, meanwhile, was said to be thinking about making a five-year offer to the veteran. It’s not known for certain if the Raptors went through with that pitch in their meeting with Lowry in Philadelphia earlier today.
Free Agent Rumors: LeBron, Deng, Jamison
Suns managing partner Robert Sarver expressed confidence in his club’s chances of luring LeBron James to Phoenix, writes Bob Young of the Arizona Republic. “We are in a good position,” he said. “We have a lot to offer, too, with the depth of our roster compared to some of the other teams. We think we have a favorable opportunity, but obviously he’ll make his decision when he wants to make it. He’ll look at the facts and make a decision.”
- Luol Deng would welcome the chance to return to the Bulls, agent Ron Shade told Sam Amick of USA Today. “There’s always going to be a part of him that belongs to Chicago, and part of Chicago that belongs to him,” Shade said. “There were no hard feelings (about the trade). Moving forward, he’d look to have an amicable relationship (if he played with the Bulls).“
- Free agent forward Antawn Jamison, 38, is in good shape and is not contemplating retirement, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- Kent Bazemore has meetings lined up with the Spurs next Tuesday followed by the Celtics next Wednesday, sources tell Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter).
- Anthony Morrow, one of the league’s best shooters, has received interest from 12 teams around the league since free agency began, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- With Shaun Livingston out of the picture for the Nets, one option for the mini mid-level exception is Bojan Bogdanovic, league sources tell Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (on Twitter).
- In addition to the previously reported Hornets and Blazers, Josh McRoberts has drawn interest from the Mavs, Cavs, Heat, Clippers, Knicks, Spurs, Suns and Lakers, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Southeast Rumors: Gasol, Heat, Gortat, Ariza
We rounded up news from the Southeast Division earlier tonight and we’ve got even more for you here..
- You can add Pau Gasol to the Heat‘s wish list. Team president Pat Riley had a phone conversation with the big man today, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- The Heat reached out to Marcin Gortat but talks didn’t get very far, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The big man was focused on a new deal with the Wizards which was accomplished tonight.
- J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter) hears that Trevor Ariza may have been “inspired” by Gortat signing so quickly with the Wizards and his own deal might get fast tracked as a result.
Mills Needs Surgery, Spurs Re-Signing Likely
Spurs guard Patty Mills could be out of action for up to seven months thanks to a shoulder injury, according to Chris Dutton of The Canberra Times. There’s a strong likelihood that Mills, a free agent this summer, will re-sign with the Spurs and return to action with San Antonio in the New Year, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
While seven months of down time is the initial estimate, Stein says that a firmer diagnosis will come post-surgery. The Spurs and Mills have already started discussions on a new deal, but the injury is bound to shrink Mills’ market (link).
In a career-high 81 games this past season, Mills averaged 10.2 PPG and 2.1 RPG with a PER of 18.7.
LeBron James Not Currently Engaged With Teams
The growing belief around the league has been that LeBron James will ultimately wind up back in Miami. All signs continue to point in that direction. Teams hoping to engage James have been mostly unable to and while no doors have been closed, teams are moving on, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
It’s been known for a while that the free agency market would be in a holding pattern as teams are prioritizing runs at James and Carmelo Anthony. While Anthony’s free agency could continue to gum up the works for other free agents, it doesn’t appear at this time that will be the case with LeBron.
It seems that the most likely scenario will be James re-signing with the Heat while teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade take discounts to help the team improve in other areas.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Nets, Hollins, Nelson
Celtics 2013 second round pick Colton Iverson is back from Turkey and confident that he’ll make the C’s roster, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. “I knew when I got drafted last year that there was a pretty good chance I would have to go overseas,” said Iverson. “I was here working, trying to impress, and do everything possible to help the team. I knew there was a slim chance just with the roster. I think this year there is a little bit better chance and I know the opportunity is all mine for the taking. I think if I just come out and show what I can do in summer league and the next couple days here, I will really help myself. So I’m coming along with a different mindset that it’s mine for the taking and it’s all up to me.” Here’s more from around the NBA..
- Everything is quiet on the Nets/Lionel Hollins front at the moment, but signs are pointing toward an agreement, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Brooklyn has no immediate plans to interview anyone else for the position.
- Nets GM Billy King told WFAN that Jameer Nelson is “on the list” of potential free agents that Brooklyn could target, tweets Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record.
- Mark Jackson was rumored to be a possible coaching candidate for the Nets, but he’s not under serious consideration now, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- New Warriors guard Shaun Livingston told David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter) that his departure from the Nets was a “long time coming” and admitted that the team’s limitations in how much money they could offer was a factor. He went on to say that Jason Kidd‘s bizarre exit from Brooklyn wasn’t a major factor from him but also “didn’t help matters” (link).
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com runs down five potential free agent targets for the Knicks, including Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill, and Andrew Bynum.
Pacific Rumors: Hawes, Gasol, Frye, Warriors
Free agent Spencer Hawes met with Warriors GM Bob Myers in Los Angeles, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Warriors have a trade exception that they could use in a sign-and-trade scenario for the big man. Next up for Hawes will be a meeting with Clippers‘ coach/president Doc Rivers. More from the Pacific..
- A source tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) that Hawes will meet with the Lakers while he’s in Los Angeles.
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak met with free agent forward Pau Gasol in person on Tuesday, a league source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). The meeting took place at an L.A. office building and lasted “a few hours” (link).
- The Warriors contacted the agent for free agent big man Channing Frye, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. The W’s have also gotten calls on young assets Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, and Festus Ezeli, but haven’t jumped on any of the proposed deals.
- Despite early interest in Hawes and Frye, the Warriors are turning their concentration towards signing a backup point guard, a source tells David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter).
Central Rumors: Melo, Bulls, Irving, Sessions
Carmelo Anthony says that he values winning over money and if he’s a man of his word, then the Bulls make perfect sense for him, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Here’s more on Melo and Chicago, plus other notes out of the Central Division..
- Melo met with the Bulls earlier today and a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) that he followed that up with a dinner alongside Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, and others. Rose had to leave the dinner early, but coach Tom Thibodeau also stopped by (link). The dinner pitch is going “great,” according to the source who is in attendance (link). Prior to dinner, Rose took to the floor at Chicago’s practice facility and went through a private workout to show Anthony that he’s healthy, Kennedy writes.
- The Cavs sealed the deal with Kyrie Irving on a five-year, $90MM extension with an overnight meeting, but there was much more that went into wooing the guard. Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer runs it all down.
- A bunch of teams are showing interest in Ramon Sessions, including the Bulls, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times.
- A league source tells Candace Buckner of The Star (on Twitter) that the Pacers plan to dine with C.J. Miles tonight.
Bucks Shopping O.J. Mayo
The Bucks are shopping O.J. Mayo, according to league sources that spoke with Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
It was reported back in May that the Bucks would be willing to trade Mayo, but it was unclear at the time if they were actively shopping him. Now, we know that the Bucks would prefer to exchange the 26-year-old for something else.
Mayo, the former No. 3 overall pick, saw just 52 games of action (23 starts) in his first season with the Bucks, averaging 11.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, and 2.2 APG. While the injuries certainly weren’t Mayo’s fault, Milwaukee was obviously hoping for more out of the guard after inking him to a three-year, $24MM deal last summer.
Nuggets Have Mulled Trading McGee, Chandler
The Nuggets have considered trading JaVale McGee and/or Wilson Chandler, league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).
McGee, everyone’s favorite freakishly talented but sometimes absent-minded center, saw just five games of action this season. McGee fractured his left tibia in November and while Denver hoped to have him back on the floor at some point, a February surgery brought an end to his 2013/14 campaign. The big man averaged 9.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 2012/13 for Denver.
Chandler found himself mentioned on Hoops Rumors when things appeared to be getting hot and heavy on the Kevin Love front, but nothing came from those June talks. Today’s report from Kennedy would infer that Chandler can be had in deals that don’t involve the Wolves’ top talent.