Pacific Notes: Williams, Lakers, Looney
The Kings have expressed interest in bringing forward Derrick Williams back next season, though the organization’s first priority is to upgrade the point guard position, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. Sacramento is reportedly interested in the Suns‘ Eric Bledsoe, and free agent Rodney Stuckey, as well has been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Rajon Rondo. Williams can become a restricted free agent this summer if the Kings tender him a qualifying offer worth $4,045,894. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Despite the reports that Kings coach George Karl wants center DeMarcus Cousins traded, Karl is excited to see what a pairing of Cousins and rookie Willie Cauley-Stein can do, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter links). Karl believes the duo will mesh well together because each has a different skillset on defense, Jones adds.
- The Lakers are expected to try and add a rim-protecting big man, a 3-and-D capable small forward, frontcourt depth, as well as a veteran point guard this summer, Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders writes. Davis lists LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe, Robin Lopez, Jimmy Butler, and Wayne Ellington as potential free agent targets for the Lakers.
- Steve Kerr doesn’t believe that the Warriors winning a championship his first season as coach will increase the pressure on him, but instead, it will allow him to continue to just be himself, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. “It’s funny you say that because as an observer and an analyst for TNT and even as a player, I always felt that when a coach won a championship, it freed him up to be himself,” Kerr responded when asked if his approach would change next season. “Coaching in the NBA is such a fleeting thing; guys get fired left and right, and so a lot of guys coach out of fear. And they try to hang onto their jobs. I always felt like the ones who won titles were freed up to just do it their way and to not worry about anything.”
- Todd Ramasar, the agent for Warriors draftee Kevon Looney, denied the reports that his client underwent surgery on his hip last year, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group writes. Looney believes that he can continue to play without surgery but will undergo a medical evaluation to determine if a procedure is necessary, Leung adds. “I had suffered a hip injury when I first got to UCLA, and I played the whole season with it,” Looney said. “I went through the [draft] workouts with it. I still can play now. I can play just fine. I can walk good. I’m not hurting right now. I’m looking to the doctors to tell me what they really want to do, but this is an injury that I had, and I can actually play with, and I can actually do well with it.“
- Though the Warriors declined to extend Justin Holiday a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent this offseason, the team may look to re-sign him for less than the $1.147MM tender it would have required to make Holiday a restricted free agent, Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle tweets.
Aldridge To Meet With Lakers, Six Others
10:33pm: Aldridge is leaning toward signing with the Lakers, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
9:33pm: The Lakers will indeed be the first team to meet with Aldridge, followed by the Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Mavericks, Raptors and Knicks in that order, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets. He does not need to meet with the Trail Blazers since he already knows their offer, Aldridge adds.
9:10pm: Coach Gregg Popovich and veteran stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will attend the Spurs’ meeting with Aldridge, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.
8:35pm: The Lakers’ meeting with Aldridge will occur immediately after the free agency period begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Wednesday, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
2:57pm: Aldridge will meet with the Raptors, too, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, and he’ll think about a visit with the Rockets, Charania adds. Toronto has max-level cap room following its trade of Greivis Vasquez to Milwaukee, but Houston would have to clear salary.
1:54pm: LaMarcus Aldridge is almost certain to leave the Blazers and will meet with the Knicks, Spurs, Mavs and Lakers, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. ESPN colleague Tim MacMahon first reported that Dallas would sit down with the big man. The Knicks are a long shot for him, just as is the case with DeAndre Jordan, according to Broussard.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported Friday that the Spurs and Lakers were in the lead for Aldridge, a client of Arn Tellem and Thad Foucher, shortly after Blazers GM Neil Olshey denied a report that Aldridge has already told the Blazers he’s leaving. Portland can offer Aldridge a five-year deal with 7.5% raises, somewhat better than the four years and 4.5% raises he can end up with elsewhere, though apparently that advantage may not be enough.
The Knicks, Lakers and Mavs should have plenty of cap room to chase Aldridge with a max offer that will likely start around $19MM a year. The Spurs are apparently confident they can find the same amount of room even if they re-sign Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
New York will also meet with Aldridge teammate and close friend Wesley Matthews, Broussard reports. Carmelo Anthony has reached out to Aldridge and Jordan as well as Greg Monroe and fellow Blazer free agent Arron Afflalo, sources tell Broussard.
Southwest Rumors: Mavs, Gasol, Cole
The Mavericks are looking to fortify their backcourt and are interested in unrestricted free agents Danny Green and Wesley Matthews, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports. Their ability to sign either of those players could hinge on whether they are able to reel in one of their two primary frontcourt targets, DeAndre Jordan or LaMarcus Aldridge, Sefko continues, since they might not be able to afford two high-salaried free agents. The Mavs have a better shot at landing Jordan instead of Aldridge, which would ensure the departure of unrestricted free agent center Tyson Chandler. Another possible target is point guard Mo Williams, who lives in the Dallas area, Sefko adds.
In other news around the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies officials are optimistic that they will re-sign Marc Gasol and expect him to make a quick decision in free agency, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The Grizzlies began their recruitment of the unrestricted All-Star center on Monday by posting a video about him on their website, Tillery continues. He opted to become a free agent mainly for financial reasons, Tillery adds.
- The Pelicans made qualifying offers of $3.037MM to Norris Cole and $1.147MM to Jeff Withey, ensuring they will be restricted free agents, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- Rockets draft-and-stash prospect Alessandro Gentile is not coming to the NBA any time soon, according to a Sportando.com story, via a La Gazzetta dello Sport report. Gentile signed a contract extension with Italy’s EA7 Milano that will not expire until June 2018. Even though there are some opt outs in the contract, Gentile plans to stay in Italy for at least three more seasons, the story adds.
Qualifying Offers: Monday
The Warriors formally made a qualifying offer of $2.725MM to Draymond Green, ensuring the versatile forward will be a restricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Golden State is expected to match any offer sheet to Green, one of the key players en route to its first championship in 40 seasons. The Pistons, Hawks and Rockets are among the teams expected to pursue Green. The Warriors also extended a qualifying offer of $1.147MM to Ognjen Kuzmic but declined the same amount on Justin Holiday, allowing the shooting guard to become an unrestricted free agent, according to a tweet from Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In other news regarding qualifying offers around the league:
- The Cavaliers made qualifying offers to three of their rotation players, allowing Cleveland to match any offer sheet, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Tristan Thompson ($6.778MM), Matthew Dellavedova ($1.147MM) and Iman Shumpert ($4.334MM) were the players who received them.
- The Thunder made a qualifying offer of approximately $7.47MM to Enes Kanter, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
- The Jazz gave a qualifying offer of $1.045MM to Joe Ingles and the Timberwolves did the same for about $1.147MM to make Robbie Hummel a restricted free agent, according to Pincus (Twitter links). However, Minnesota declined the same price tag on Justin Hamilton‘s qualifying offer, Darren Wolfson of KSTP.com tweets, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
- The Suns made the qualifying offer of $4.79MM to Brandon Knight while his former backcourt partner, the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, got a qualifying offer of $2.275MM, according to Pincus (Twitter links).
- The Raptors extended a qualifying offer of $1.829MM to a player who was overseas last season, Nando De Colo, Pincus tweets. De Colo played for CSKA Moscow last season.
Free Agent Rumors: Wright, Belinelli, Barea
Dorell Wright is unlikely to return to the Trail Blazers, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com reports. Wright, who was born in Los Angeles, would like to return home and play for either the Clippers or Lakers, Young continues. The Lakers are the more likely suitor for the unrestricted free agent, who made $3.135MM last season, unless the Clippers fail to secure the services of Paul Pierce, Young adds. The Raptors could also make a run at Wright but Young believes the Heat, who were previously thought to be interested in Wright, probably won’t pursue him since Luol Deng exercised his player option.
In other free agent news around the league:
- Spurs swingman Marco Belinelli could be targeted by the Bulls if they fail to re-sign Mike Dunleavy, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The Bulls have made retaining Dunleavy a priority and he’s comfortable playing in Chicago, Johnson adds. Both players are unrestricted free agents.
- The Clippers are interested in C.J. Watson, Lavoy Allen, Darrell Arthur and Gerald Green, among others, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter links). They’d like to find a true point guard to serve as a backup, a league source tells Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
- The Raptors could be a landing spot for Bismack Biyombo, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Biyombo will be an unrestricted free agent because the Hornets decided not to make him a qualifying offer.
- The Heat, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks are among teams interested in signing J.J. Barea, a source told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). Barea is seeking a multi-year contract in the $3MM per year range, MacMahon adds.
- The only incumbent free agents the Pelicans don’t appear to have at least some interest in re-signing are Jimmer Fredette and Toney Douglas, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune details.
Nets, Grizzlies Spoke About Joe Johnson
5:46pm: The talks were exploratory in nature, a “brief discussion” that never became a negotiation, a league source told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
9:14am: The Nets and Grizzlies had recent talks about a trade involving Joe Johnson, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The sides were unable to come away with the framework of a deal, but the exchange nonetheless left Brooklyn encouraged that it will find a taker for Johnson’s nearly $24.895MM salary for next season, Stein adds (on Twitter).
Johnson’s deal presents obvious challenges even though it runs out after this coming season, as few teams have the flexibility to simply absorb it into cap space, and coming up with matching salaries would be a chore. Still, Memphis is the latest team to at least show interest in acquiring the swingman who turns 34 today, joining the Pistons and Hornets, who reportedly spoke with Brooklyn about him this past season. Both teams have since made other acquisitions that likely knock them out of the running for Johnson, as Stein points out, but there nonetheless appears to be a market, and that’s key for the Nets, who would have to pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they’re again over the tax line come the end of the 2015/16 regular season.
The Grizzlies have also been going after Danilo Gallinari, showing a clear desire for an upgrade on the wing, as Stein points out. Memphis will likely have to make any major addition via trade, since Jeff Green‘s decision to opt in cut off any realistic possibility the team has of creating significant cap space if Marc Gasol re-signs.
Spurs Rumors: Aldridge, Splitter, Leonard, Duncan
Sources who spoke with Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News didn’t produce a consensus on the chances the Spurs have of landing LaMarcus Aldridge, with some deeming San Antonio the front-runner while others weren’t so sure. The Spurs and Lakers were the co-favorites, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported Friday, though the notoriously fickle power forward is tough to read. McDonald has a ton more on the weeks ahead for San Antonio, and while his entire piece is worth a read, especially for Spurs fans, we’ll round up the most relevant highlights here:
- The Spurs are making Tiago Splitter available for a trade, multiple league sources tell McDonald, but while McDonald posits that the most direct path to landing Aldridge would be via sign-and-trade in a deal that sends Splitter to Portland, the Blazers are uninterested, McDonald writes. The Spurs turned away teams with interest in trading for Splitter before the draft, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote last week, but perhaps San Antonio’s position has changed.
- Kawhi Leonard‘s preferred deal is four years at the max, according to McDonald, not five. Either way, the Spurs are still expected to re-sign him, McDonald notes.
- Tim Duncan still hasn’t made up his mind about returning, a source familiar with his thinking told McDonald. The Spurs have reportedly been operating on the premise that he and Manu Ginobili will re-sign with them rather than retire.
Biyombo To Become Unrestricted Free Agent
The Hornets won’t make a qualifying offer to Bismack Biyombo, so the former seventh overall pick will become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The value of the offer declined from $5,194,227 to $4,045,894 when he failed to meet the starter criteria this season, but even that apparently wasn’t enough of an enticement for Charlotte to retain its right to match competing bids for him.
Biyombo’s qualifying offer was a borderline case, and with Noah Vonleh off to Portland in the Nicolas Batum trade, there seemed a greater chance the Hornets would do what they could to keep him around. Charlotte and Biyombo can still sign a new deal, and the Hornets retain his Bird rights, so they can exceed the cap to re-sign him if they wish.
Nets Waive Darius Morris
The Nets have waived Darius Morris, the team announced. His minimum salary for next season was to become partially guaranteed for $25K if he had remained under contract through Wednesday. That remains a possibility if he is claimed off waivers in the next two days.
Morris signed with Brooklyn in December, not long after the Blazers let him go at the end of training camp. The Nets gave him a two-year deal for the minimum that was initially non-guaranteed for last season. The former University of Michigan point guard made it past the January date when last season’s salary became guaranteed, but he didn’t stay with Brooklyn long enough to trigger any more guaranteed money.
Thunder Expected To Re-Sign Kyle Singler
The Thunder are expected to re-sign Kyle Singler, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Oklahoma City has made a qualifying offer worth slightly more than $2.725MM to retain the right to match competing bids for the soon-to-be restricted free agent, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reported (Twitter link). Spears suggests the deal will be as long as three years, though the sides can’t discuss contract terms or length prior to Wednesday.
The sides have reportedly held mutual interest, and Singler, a client of Greg Lawrence and outgoing Wasserman agent Arn Tellem, quickly took a liking to new coach Billy Donovan. Singler played under former coach Scott Brooks for the final two months of the season after the midseason trade that brought him in from the Pistons.