Western Notes: Cousins, Suns, Jazz, Wolves
The Kings are refusing to listen to trade offers for DeMarcus Cousins, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Sacramento is aware of the Celtics’ interest in the All-Star center and has received an offer from the Cavaliers. However, it looks as if the Kings are determined to keep Cousins, who has two seasons remaining on his contract. Since the season ended, Cousins has embarked on a hot yoga program and has dropped about 25 pounds.
There’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Suns don’t plan a major move even though they still have more than $13MM in cap space available and a roster spot to fill, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix is more than $3MM below the minimum team payroll of $84.73MM, which could help facilitate trades during the season. “I’d be surprised if we spent a lot of that cap space now or over the summertime,” said GM Ryan McDonough. “More likely, we’ll preserve most, if not all of it, and go into the season and look at either in-season signings or probably more likely in-season trades that are lopsided where we take back more money than we send out. There are a decent amount of advantages to operating as an under-the-cap team in terms of player aggregation and trades and things like that.”
- The Jazz appear to have accelerated their development with a series of offseason moves, writes Brian Mahoney of SI.com. Armed with the 12th pick in the first round, Utah swung a three-team deal to acquire George Hill from the Pacers. The Jazz also signed veteran free agents Joe Johnson and traded for Boris Diaw. “There were a couple of things that kind of universally rang true,” said GM Dennis Lindsey. “Experience, physicality, shooting, improved passing, a little more depth at the guard position, a little more depth at the wing position, a little more depth—and not just depth, but experienced depth—at the big man position as well. I think as much as anything, it was just a natural step.”
- The Timberwolves hope to add another wing player and a point guard before the season starts, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Minnesota’s front office held a meeting today to discuss personnel.
- Pistons executive Brian Wright will become the new assistant GM for the Spurs, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Eastern Notes: Anthony, Wade, Meeks, Reed
Carmelo Anthony believes bad timing is all that prevented Dwyane Wade from joining him on the Knicks, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. Wade sent shock waves throughout the NBA earlier this month when he agreed to leave the Heat and sign with the Bulls. Anthony says if Wade’s situation had become apparent earlier, the Knicks could have freed up the cap room to fit him on the roster. “There was a chance, definitely a chance,’’ Anthony said. “We would’ve had to pull a rabbit out of a hat in the 25th hour though. There was a chance. If it was two days earlier, we probably would’ve had Dwyane Wade.”
After signing free agent center Joakim Noah for $72MM over four years, New York had just enough cap room left to offer Wade the contract he wanted. However, it would have meant not signing Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings and renouncing the rights to Lance Thomas. Looking ahead, Anthony thinks the Knicks have the pieces in place to be major players in the 2017 free agent market.
There’s more tonight from the Eastern Conference:
- Newly acquired Magic shooting guard Jodie Meeks is out indefinitely after undergoing foot surgery Tuesday, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Meeks needed the procedure to stabilize the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, which he fractured early last season. Doctors offered little clue as to when Meeks might be able to play again. Orlando acquired him in a June 29th trade, sending a second-round pick to the Pistons in return.
- Former Magic guard Devyn Marble is getting interest from teams in Europe and China, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. Marble, who spent two years in Orlando, was traded to the Clippers last week and subsequently waived in a cost-cutting move.
- After passing up better offers and signing with the Heat, Willie Reed believes he’s in a perfect situation, writes Shandel Richardson of The Sun-Sentinel. After going undrafted and playing in Spain and the D-League, Reed’s future now appears secure after joining Miami on a two-year veteran’s minimum deal. He is expected to back up newly re-signed center Hassan Whiteside. After two seasons on the Heat’s summer league team, Reed knew he wanted to play for Miami. “I wanted to be able to come to the Heat [this offseason],” Reed said. “I told my agent that if I was able to get a minimum deal with the Heat, I’d take it just because what they did for me.”
Community Shootaround: Restricted Free Agents
While unrestricted free agents have been scoring record contracts this summer, many of their restricted counterparts have been waiting for the phone to ring.
Once the free agent frenzy was unleashed shortly after midnight on July 1st, most teams were reluctant to tie up cap room for three days while waiting to see if an offer sheet would be matched.
The Nets were an exception. Their offers brought huge paydays for Tyler Johnson and Allen Crabbe, but neither wound up in Brooklyn. The Heat matched Johnson’s offer and the Trail Blazers did the same with Crabbe’s as the Nets saw both players slip away in one day.
Johnson and Crabbe may have cashed in, along with Miles Plumlee, who signed a four-year deal this week worth more than $50MM, and Boban Marjanovic, who got $21MM over three years from the Pistons, but the market hasn’t been kind to many others. Nobody wanted Jared Sullinger until the Celtics rescinded his qualifying offer, and he would up taking $6MM for one season in Toronto. Dion Waiters was in the same situation in Oklahoma City before his qualifying offer was pulled on Monday.
Three weeks into free agency, three restricted free agents remain on the market. The Rockets’ Donatas Motiejunas would like to stay in Houston, but says he’s talking to “a couple of teams.” The Blazers’ Maurice Harkless also wants to stay with his team, but has seen little progress on a new deal. The Celtics’ Tyler Zeller is in limbo as he waits to see if Boston can put together a blockbuster trade.
As Kevin O’Connor of CSNNE notes, there are only seven teams remaining with enough cap space to make a significant offer, and none has an obvious need for help on the front line. The market for restricted free agent big men started out slow and may already have dried up.
That brings us to tonight’s question: What do you foresee for Motiejunas, Harkless and Zeller? Will any of their teams come through with a Plumlee-like deal? Will another team give them the offer sheet they’ve been hoping for? Or will they accept their qualifying offers and try free agency next summer whey they’re unrestricted?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Rockets Won’t Re-Sign Jason Terry
Jason Terry won’t return to the Rockets next season, the veteran point guard said this evening in an interview on Sirius XM NBA Radio (Twitter link). Terry, who will turn 39 in September, said Houston officials told him several days ago that he’s not in their plans for the future.
Terry has spent the past two seasons with the Rockets, primarily as a backup to Patrick Beverley. He appeared in 72 games this season, starting seven, and averaged 5.9 points and 1.4 assists per night. He was a key contributor to the Rockets team that reached the Western Conference finals in 2014/15.
Terry, who made a little less than $1.5MM this season, has been with six teams during his 17-year NBA career. All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas recently campaigned for the Celtics to sign Terry.
Central Notes: Lawson, Bird, McDermott
Ty Lawson feels “overlooked” in free agency and tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated the team that signs him is going to get a significant bargain. Lawson says he never really felt comfortable with the Rockets or Pacers last season after being traded away from Denver during the summer. Lawson quickly lost his starting spot in Houston and averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 assists over 53 games. The Pacers picked him up after the Rockets waived him, and he saw just 18.1 minutes per night in 13 games with Indiana. Lawson, whose reputation has suffered after four DUI arrests and a stint in rehab, says he managed to stay clean last season and is ready to prove that he is still an elite player. “It would be big to be back to my old self again,” he said. “Also, it’s not for just me, it’s for my parents. They have had a hard time seeing what I’ve been going through. I know they hear the little comments at NBA games. To make them proud again would mean the world to me.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird has done almost a complete roster rebuild in three seasons, writes Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star. Paul George is the only player left from the team that reached the Eastern Conference finals in back-to-back seasons. Bird’s latest move came when he signed ex-Bull Aaron Brooks to serve as a backup to recently acquired point guard Jeff Teague. In addition to the roster turnover, Bird made a coaching chance this summer, firing Frank Vogel and replacing him with Nate McMillan.
- Doug McDermott thinks Dwyane Wade is just what the Bulls needed to become a contender in the East again, relays Sam Smith of Bulls.com. McDermott, who is coming off a breakthrough second season in the NBA, is part of the select squad that is practicing this week with the U.S. Olympic team. He bristles at the suggestion that Chicago doesn’t have enough outside shooting with Wade expected to start next to Rajon Rondo and Jimmy Butler. “People have been questioning bringing in D. Wade and Rondo, saying they don’t fit [coach Fred Hoiberg‘s] style,” McDermott said. “But we have four or five guys coming off the bench who really do fit Fred’s style and we can gel with those other guys, the superstars. You know Fred will make it work; he’s a brilliant offensive mind and we’re figuring it out defensively as we go along.”
Atlantic Notes: Waiters, Zeller, Lin, Marks
The off-court incidents the Sixers suffered through with Jahlil Okafor last season may make them less likely to pursue Dion Waiters, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Waiters became an unrestricted free agent Monday when the Thunder rescinded their qualifying offer. While it make might make sense for the South Philadelphia native to join a team like the Sixers that needs backcourt help, some in the organization reportedly see Waiters as a potential behavioral problem and don’t want his outspoken personality to affect the team’s younger players. However, a league source tells Pompey that the Sixers have talked to Waiters and negotiations could resume. The Nets and Lakers are also seen as options because of the amount of cap space they have remaining.
There’s more news from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics are leaving themselves the maximum amount of flexibility as they work to pull off a major deal, writes Kevin O’Connor of CSNNE. None of the draft picks has been signed, O’Connor notes, and nothing has been done with Tyler Zeller, who is a restricted free agent after receiving a qualifying offer last month. The Celtics can withdraw that $3.7MM offer any time before Saturday if they need more cap space. If a team submits an offer sheet to Zeller before then, Boston can match, but O’Connor writes that there are only seven teams left with enough cap room to make an enticing offer, and most of them are already set at center. A sign-and-trade deal involving Zeller is possible if the Celtics find the right trade.
- Jeremy Lin compares joining the Nets with investing in a “startup company,” tweets Andy Vasquez of The Record. “I’m betting on certain people,” Lin said. “I’m betting on [coach] Kenny [Atkinson]. I’m betting on [GM] Sean [Marks]. I’m betting on myself. I’m betting on Brook [Lopez]. I’m betting on the way I feel. If I didn’t feel like this has the chance to go where I want it to go, then I wouldn’t have signed up for it.”
- The Nets have a little more than $20MM in remaining cap room, but Marks calls reaching the spending floor “the least of my concerns,” Vasquez relays (Twitter link). The new GM prefers to enter the season with cap flexibility.
Contract Details: DeRozan, Barbosa, Spurs
DeMar DeRozan‘s new five-year contract with the Raptors has a maximum salary in the first year, but it’s not a true max deal, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details. In years two through five, DeRozan will earn a salary of $27,739,975 annually, a figure which will fall increasingly below the max over the length of the contract. In total, Pincus pegs the five-year value of DeRozan’s deal at $137.5MM, which is slightly lower than the figure initially reported ($139MM), so it’s possible the pact features unlikely incentives. Still, it looks like Toronto got a bit of a hometown discount, since DeRozan surely could’ve commanded a full max from other suitors.
Here are a few more contract and salary updates from Pincus:
- Leandro Barbosa‘s two-year contract with the Suns was reported to have a team option on its second year. Pincus clarifies that Barbosa’s 2017/18 salary, worth $4MM in total, is partially guaranteed for just $500K.
- Davis Bertans, joining the Spurs as a draft-and-stash prospect, received a fully-guaranteed two-year contract worth the minimum from San Antonio.
- Ryan Arcidiacono and Bryn Forbes also got two-year minimum-salary deals from the Spurs. However, their salaries are only partially guaranteed in year one. Arcidiacono got a $75K guarantee, while Forbes received a $125K guarantee.
- Undrafted rookie Fred VanVleet inked a two-year minimum-salary deal with the Raptors, receiving a $50K guarantee in year one from the team. He’ll face an uphill battle in his attempt to earn his roster spot, with three point guards ahead of him on the depth chart.
Bulls Sign Isaiah Canaan
JULY 20: The Bulls have formally announced their deal with Canaan. “We are excited to add Isaiah to our group,” GM Gar Forman said in a statement. “We feel his ability to knock down perimeter shots will be an asset to our team.”
JULY 12: The Bulls have reached a contract agreement with free agent Isaiah Canaan, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter). It will be a two-year pact worth $2.2MM, Scotto notes, though it is unclear how much, if any, guaranteed money will be included.
Canaan become an unrestricted free agent this offseason after the Sixers declined to tender him a qualifying offer worth $1,215,696. Canaan was just two starts and 34 minutes away from triggering the starter criteria this past season, but as a result of a torn left labrum he failed to log the necessary numbers. The qualifying offer needed to make him a restricted free agent this offseason would have jumped to $2,725,003, had he met the criteria.
The 25-year-old appeared in 77 games this past season, including 39 as a starter, averaging 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 25.5 minutes per outing while shooting .360/.363/.833 from the field.
Pelicans, Alonzo Gee Finalizing One-Year Deal
Less than a month after opting out of his previous contract with the Pelicans, Alonzo Gee is on the verge of signing a new deal with the team. Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter) that Gee and the Pelicans are finalizing a one-year contract, aiming to complete it within the next day or so.
Gee, 29, appeared in 73 games for New Orleans last season, starting 38 of those contests. His numbers were modest, as he averaged just 4.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG. However, he continued to provide value on defense and was efficient when given an opportunity on the offensive end (.518 FG%). Gee’s season ended a little early due to a ruptured right quadriceps muscle.
Last month, Gee was one of several players around the NBA to decline his player option in order to test the open market. The Alabama product would have earned about $1.379MM in 2016/17 if he had exercised his option, which was just a little more than his minimum salary. So unless his new deal is for the minimum, or it’s not fully guaranteed, it was probably the right call for him to opt out.
[RELATED: Pelicans’ free agent agreements, via our Free Agent Tracker]
The Pelicans have yet to finalize the free agent contracts they’ve agreed to so far this month, so it remains to be seen how exactly they’ll manage their cap situation. Even after factoring in the reported terms on deals for Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore, and other free agents, the team does appear to have a modest chunk of cap room left over, so we’ll see how much – if any – of that space is used for Gee.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agency Rumors: Nets, Waiters, Motiejunas
When the Thunder rescinded their qualifying offer to Dion Waiters earlier this week, making him an unrestricted free agent, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical identified the Nets as a potential suitor for Waiters. However, NetsDaily later expressed skepticism that Brooklyn would pursue the free agent guard.
Today, ESPN’s Marc Stein (all Twitter links) weighs in on the subject, reporting that the Nets had a face-to-face meeting with Waiters earlier this month in Las Vegas, but moved on without working out a deal with him. Although that meeting happened when Waiters was still a restricted free agent, Stein suggests there’s no indication yet that Brooklyn has altered its stance on pursuing the 24-year-old now that he’s a UFA.
Let’s check in on a few other free agency notes from around the NBA…
- Donatas Motiejunas is one of just three restricted free agents still on the market, and he spoke to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston about his status. According to Motiejunas, his agent remains in touch with the Rockets, but he’s also talking to other possible suitors. “There are a couple of teams that still have a lot of interest in me,” Motiejunas said. “I’m not necessarily back (with the Rockets). There are teams that also have a chance to offer (a contract). You never know what’s going to happen, but if it ends up I’m coming back, I’m really happy.”
- Rodrigue Beaubois will decline a partially-guaranteed minimum-salary contract offer from the Mavericks, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Dallas was willing to give Beaubois a chance to compete for a roster spot this fall, but it sounds like the free agent guard is close to agreeing to a deal with Spanish team Saski Baskonia instead. Beaubois, a former first-round pick, has played overseas for the last several seasons and had a much larger role than he ever did in the NBA.
- While Tyler Johnson would have been happy to join the Nets after signing an offer sheet with Brooklyn, he was hoping the Heat would match it, as he tells Couper Moorhead of Heat.com. “This is where I’m most comfortable. This is where I’ve found my way in the league. This is where my friends are at. These are the people that I’ve gone through battles with,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day I was still hoping I could figure out a way to come back and be in a HEAT uniform.”
- The Cavaliers are playing it smart by being patient and cautious with J.R. Smith in free agency, opines Bud Shaw of Cleveland.com.