Eastern Rumors: Williams, Knicks, Dragic
Lionel Hollins denies that his sometimes stormy relationship with Deron Williams led to the Nets waiving the veteran guard in a buyout deal, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Though sources confirmed to Bontemps that the head coach and Williams had a heated meeting in Memphis earlier this year, Hollins said the Nets didn’t part ways with Williams because of their disagreements. “Everything is not peaches and cream, but there’s not one shred of evidence that our relationship is the reason that he had to go,” Hollins told the team’s beat writers. “I would have coached Deron this upcoming year just like I coached him last year, and we would have went forward just like everybody else on the team.” The Nets saved more than $50MM this season in payroll and luxury-tax payments by agreeing to give Williams $27.5MM of the $43.5MM he was owed over the next two years, Bontemps adds. The Nets used the stretch provision on the buyout.
- Carmelo Anthony‘s decision to take slightly less than the max last summer helped the Knicks to re-sign Lou Amundson and Lance Thomas to more than the league minimum this month, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Anthony’s deal opened up $1.4MM in cap space this summer and that, combined with the NBA’s cap increase to $70MM, allowed the Knicks to secure Amundson for $1.65MM and Thomas for $1.63MM instead of the roughly $1MM minimum, Berman continues. If Anthony didn’t take less, the Knicks could have re-signed only one of them above the league minimum, Berman adds.
- Goran Dragic‘s deal with the Heat is only worth a total of $85MM and has a starting salary of $14.783MM, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter). Earlier reports estimated the deal at $90MM.
- Paul George is pleased with the backcourt moves the Pacers have made this offseason, he told Scott Agness of the VigilantSports.com in a Q&A session. The pending addition of Monta Ellis and re-signing of Rodney Stuckey gives the team numerous playmakers, George told Agness. “One of the biggest things we needed to get better at was pushing the tempo and playing a little faster,” George said. “I didn’t know it was going to be a drastic roster change but I knew that was the direction this team needed to go to give ourselves a better chance of winning.”
Wolves Deal Chase Budinger To Pacers
SUNDAY, 10:40am: The trade is official, both the Wolves and Pacers have announced.
“We’re very glad to have Chase,” Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said. “He’s a guy we think will fit in our rotation. He can shoot and drive to the basket, which works with how we want to play. Damjan was a special guy. He was great to have as part of our team. He will be missed by all.”
SATURDAY, 3:24pm: The Wolves will send Chase Budinger to the Pacers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Minnesota will receive 6’10” foward Damjan Rudez in exchange.
Budinger, 27, has been with the Wolves since being acquired from the Rockets in a 2012 trade. He averaged 6.8 points and 3 rebounds per game this year while playing about 19 minutes off Minnesota’s bench. In April, Budinger exercised a $5MM option for next season.
The 29-year-old Rudez, a member of the Croatian national team, averaged 4.8 points in 68 games with the Pacers last season. He signed a three-year contract with Indiana last summer and is due to make more than $1.149MM next season, with a team option for 2016/17 at $1.199MM.
The salaries aren’t a match, but each team can accommodate the deal via trade exceptions, as former Nets exec Bobby Marks points out (on Twitter). The Pacers can either use the giant, but temporary, $15.5MM-plus trade exception they reaped from the Roy Hibbert deal, or they can renounce their cap holds and use cap space, a move they’ll eventually have to make to sign Monta Ellis. The Timberwolves can use one of three trade exceptions large enough for Rudez.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, Hummel, Garnett
Damian Lillard said there was no way to prevent LaMarcus Aldridge from bolting the Trail Blazers for the Spurs, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reports. Lillard told Spears that Aldridge wanted a change and was seeking a franchise that was closer to winning a championship. Lillard added that Aldridge had no issues with him. “We basically exchanged texts about how much admiration we have for each other,” Lillard told Spears. “That change wasn’t about me. I did express that I wanted him to be back. I told him I respected his decision. I respected that he told me before the news broke and I saw it on TV.”
In other news around the Northwest Division:
- The Trail Blazers and Nuggets are among the teams interested in signing Robbie Hummel, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. The Kings and Cavaliers are also in the mix, Wolfson adds, but the two Northwest teams are the ones with the greater interest. Hummel became an unrestricted free agent when the Timberwolves pulled their $1.147MM qualifying offer.
- Kevin Garnett has a full no-trade clause in his new contract, thanks to his service time during his first stint with the Timberwolves, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Players can only get full no-trades in a new contract, not extensions, and must have at least eight years service time and four with the same team, Stein adds in a separate tweet. Garnett agreed to a two-year, $16.5MM deal.
- The Timberwolves should receive a trade exception for all of Chase Budinger‘s $5MM salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Minnesota agreed to deal Budinger to the Pacers on Saturday.
- The Nuggets didn’t waive Randy Foye by the end of Saturday, so his non-guaranteed salary of $3.135MM is now fully guaranteed (hat tip to former Nets executive Bobby Marks; Twitter link).
Central Rumors: Drummond, Butler, Pacers
The Pistons will begin extension talks with center Andre Drummond this summer with the aim of signing him to a long-term deal, most likely for the max, Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports. The Pistons want to lock up their franchise player even though they could have more flexibility to sign free agents and make trades next summer by waiting to re-sign him when he’s a restricted free agent, Foster continues. The incentive for Drummond is to get the guaranteed money now in case he suffers a significant injury, Foster adds. Money is apparently no object to get an agreement. “We have until the end of October so we will get into those talks in the next couple of weeks,” Pistons president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy said during a press conference. “What you are talking about there is more timing than anything. It is not like you will be haggling over dollars, so it is a different situation.”
In other news around the Central Division:
- Van Gundy admitted he took “a little bit of a gamble” with his commitment to point guard Reggie Jackson, who has never started a full season, John Niyo of the Detroit News writes. Jackson, a restricted free agent, agreed to a five-year, $80MM deal without any options to be the team’s floor leader going forward. Van Gundy wanted to have Jackson for the long haul. “You’ve got to weigh in future years,” Van Gundy told the Detroit media. “Most of the guys who signed free-agent contracts [this July], they’ve got an out after year three or four. We were willing to pay more money to not have the out.”
- Jimmy Butler received a $4.6MM signing bonus when he re-signed with the Bulls, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Butler stayed put with a five-year deal worth approximately $95MM. A 5% trade kicker is another element to the contract, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Pacers will use cap room to re-sign guard Rodney Stuckey since they renounced his non-Bird rights, Pincus reports. They also renounced their rights to Andrew Bynum, David West and Luis Scola, among others, Pincus adds (Twitter links). Stuckey agreed to a three-year, $21MM deal to remain with Indiana.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Johnson, Williams, Knicks
Despite today’s dire news about Joel Embiid, the Sixers will probably pick up his third-year option, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. Philadelphia has to make the decision by the end of October, and Mannix believes the team has too much invested to bail out now. The fourth year option isn’t as certain, Mannix cautions. Embiid will have bone-graft surgery on his foot and is expected to miss the 2015/16 season.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Amir Johnson didn’t expect a call from the Celtics when free agency began, but when it came he couldn’t refuse the offer, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. GM Danny Ainge made an early overture to Johnson, who agreed to a two-year, $24MM contract with the second year non-guaranteed. “They knew the kind of player I am and they had a lot of respect for my game,” the 28-year-old said. “For me, it was a no-brainer. I was going to become a Boston Celtic.”
- Nets GM Billy King and coach Lionel Hollins deny that a lingering rift led to the decision to waive Deron Williams, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. “You do not coach in the NBA and have confrontation,” Hollins said. “… And so ‘clash’ is a wrong word, and if people think Deron Williams was let go because something happened between us, then I should have let Zach Randolph go, I should have let Tony Allen go, I should have let Marc Gasol go, I should have let Rudy Gay go.”
- Knicks president Phil Jackson believes the team will improve enough this season to get the attention of top-tier free agents next summer, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Next year’s free agent class will include be headlined by Kevin Durant and Mike Conley. “I think he had to build a competitive roster that could draw players the next time free agency comes around,’’ said an unidentified general manager. “And he has pieces to make a trade in midseason.’’
Southwest Notes: Gasol, Simmons, Ginobili, Wright
The Spurs tried to lure Marc Gasol away from Memphis, but he was committed to the Grizzlies, tweets Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News. Once GM R.C. Buford realized that, he turned his full attention to LaMarcus Aldridge.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Jonathon Simmons‘ deal with the Spurs is fully guaranteed for next season, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). On Friday, Simmons signed a two-year contract for the minimum with a team option for the second season. Simmons was on Brooklyn’s bus headed to a summer league game when his agent told him of the Spurs’ offer (Twitter link).
- In a procedural move, the Spurs renounced their rights to free agent Manu Ginobili, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times. San Antonio will re-sign Ginobili with its $2.814MM room exception, rather than Bird Rights.
- “Love at first sight” is how Brandan Wright described his reaction to being pursued by the Grizzlies, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. The free agent signed a three-year deal with the team worth about $17.1MM. “Even though we’ve had a strong frontcourt, we haven’t had a great deal of athleticism and length,” said GM Chris Wallace. “He’s a shot blocker and can score on lob passes. He provides defense, athleticism and experience.”
- The Mavericks are hoping to sign another center, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. “It’d be nice to have someone that can play above the rim,” said owner Mark Cuban.
Wilson Chandler Signs Extension With Nuggets
The Nuggets have signed a multi-year extension with Wilson Chandler, the team announced. The extension will pay him $46MM over four years, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Before the extension, Chandler was set to make close to $7.172MM next season.
Because the Nuggets were under the cap, they were able to renegotiate Chandler’s contract, according to former NBA executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link). They were able to deal with him like a free agent although he was already under contract with the team. Marks says Chandler and Danilo Gallinari are the only players eligible for renegotiation (Twitter link). He adds that today’s deals with Chandler and Will Barton means there is a “strong chance” that Denver will have to renounce some of its free agents, possibly Darrell Arthur (Twitter link).
Chandler averaged 13.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 78 games with the Nuggets this season. He came to Denver in a 2011 trade after being drafted by the Knicks with the 23rd pick in 2007. He also briefly played for the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.
Nets Rumors: Williams, Luxury Tax, Robinson
The Nets and Deron Williams had run out of reasons to try to save their relationship, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. Brooklyn waived the former All-Star today after years of declining performance blamed on injuries, the pressure of playing in a major market, emotional fragility and numerous other causes. Williams lost confidence in his abilities, Bondy writes, and grew increasingly sullen at the idea of playing out his contract with the Nets. He also had an altercation with Lionel Hollins this past season in which he had to be physically restrained from going after the coach, sources tell Bondy. Even if Williams rediscovers his talents in Dallas, where he is expected to land after clearing waivers, Bondy argues it will reinforce the image that he wasn’t mentally strong enough for New York.
There’s more from Brooklyn:
- Williams will leave Brooklyn as one of the biggest disappointments in Nets’ history, contends Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. He notes that the Nets tried to accommodate Williams by surrounding him with talent, which led them to trade a lottery pick for Gerald Wallace and to give up multiple assets for Joe Johnson. They also went through four coaches and sent three draft picks to Boston to bring in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, but no one was able to fully get through to Williams.
- The Williams move puts the team under the luxury tax, which is where it plans to stay, tweets NetsDaily.com. That should become much easier with the expected rise in the salary cap next season.
- Thomas Robinson, the fifth pick in the 2012 draft, is already on his fifth team and may be looking at his last NBA chance, writes William C. Rhoden of The New York Times. The Nets signed the 24-year-old as a free agent this week for the league minimum, and he hopes to put past failures behind him. “A lot of guys are not prepared for the what-ifs,” Robinson said. “I wasn’t prepared for, ‘What if I got traded?’ ‘What if I got hurt?’ ‘What if I don’t play this year?’ I didn’t handle it the correct way; I admit it.”
Celtics Rumors: Pressey, Faverani, Iverson, Allen
Phil Pressey‘s plan to impress Celtics’ brass during summer league didn’t work out the way he hoped, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Pressey left Las Vegas before the team’s first game, and Murphy speculates that his time with the Celtics may be ending soon. Boston assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry said the organization never intended to use Pressey in summer league games. “With Marcus [Smart] playing, and just being able to get Terry [Rozier] a lot of reps in his first couple of games, try him out with a lot of reps at the one, we were able to see what we had, too,” Shrewsberry said. “Phil was there in case anything happened, to give us an extra body. Fortunately nothing happened.” The Celtics have a wealth of guards under contract, and Pressey may be the odd man out. His contract becomes guaranteed for $947,276 on Wednesday.
There’s more news from Boston this evening:
- Vitor Faverani, who was waived by the Celtics in December, has reached a two-year agreement to play for Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The 6’11” center will reportedly receive more than $669K per season. Faverani started eight games for the Celtics as a rookie in 2013/14, but a torn meniscus in his left knee cut his season short after 37 games. He was still on the roster early last season, but didn’t see any game action.
- Colton Iverson, whose rights are owned by the Celtics, has signed with Pinar Karsiyaka of the Turkish Basketball League, Blakely writes in a separate story. The Pacers made Iverson the 53rd choice in the 2013 draft and immediately traded him to Boston for cash. He was expected to play for the Celtics’ summer league team, but left to pursue opportunities outside the United States. The Celtics are encouraging him to keep playing overseas to improve his game, according to Blakely.
- Former Penn coach Jerome Allen will become an associate head coach with the Celtics, according to Garrett Miley of Cityofbasketballlove.com.
Cavaliers Rumors: Love, Thompson, Smith, Haywood
A pool-side meeting with LeBron James and a 12:01 a.m. phone call on July 1st helped convince Kevin Love to stay in Cleveland, according to Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. “We talked everything out,” Love said of the session with James. “A lot of stuff was very honest. We came to a very good place and agreed on a lot of things.” Love added that the early phone call from the organization let him know he was a priority. He agreed to a new five-year, $113MM deal with Cleveland.
There’s more news regarding the Cavs:
- The newly signed James reminded the Cavaliers that they still have offseason work left to do, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. While filming a movie Friday, James talked about moves the team has made this summer and some that are still left to finish. “We still got to re-sign Tristan Thompson,” he said. “Hopefully we can bring back J.R. Smith as well and see if there’s some other free agents out there that’d love to come here and play if we’re able to do that.”
- Thompson and the Cavs were reportedly close to reaching a five-year, $80MM deal, but talks stalled when he asked for the $85MM that the Warriors’ Draymond Green received, according to Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. He also notes that Smith, who turned down a $6.4MM option for next season, has found few suitors in free agency. Cleveland is reluctant to give him a large raise or a long-term deal, two things Smith is seeking.
- Turning Brendan Haywood‘s non-guaranteed $10.5MM contract into a trade exception might be the best option for the Cavs, writes Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Today’s release of Deron Williams by the Nets eases Brooklyn’s financial strain and removes another potential suitor for Haywood, Lloyd writes. One possible alternative is to send Haywood to the Clippers for Jamal Crawford, but L.A. officials have denied they are dealing Crawford, and Cleveland won’t need him if Smith re-signs. Haywood is expected to be dealt before his contract becomes fully guaranteed August 1st.