Free Agent Rumors: Wade, Heat, Lakers, Horford
A source involved in the Dwyane Wade situation tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the Heat have been unable to tell Wade exactly what they’re willing to pay him because their plans will largely depend on whether or not they land Hassan Whiteside and/or Kevin Durant. That has left Wade feeling frustrated, since he wants to be a priority for the team. Still, Jackson says it would be a surprise if the veteran guard ultimately ended up anywhere except Miami.
Here are several more rumors and updates left over from what has been a busy first few hours of free agency:
- The Lakers didn’t reach out to Al Horford when free agency began, but they do have interest in him, says Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. It’s not clear whether that interest has dwindled at all now that the team has agreed to terms with Timofey Mozgov.
- The Magic have expressed interest in Jeff Green, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- Dwight Howard has sit-downs lined up with four teams, with his Friday meetings happening in Atlanta and his Saturday meetings happening in Las Vegas, tweets ESPN’s Chris Broussard. We know Howard is meeting with Atlanta and Boston, but it’s not clear who his other two suitors are.
- Don’t be surprised if – and when – the Pistons go after Thomas Robinson, per David Mayo of MLive.com (Twitter link).
- Lance Thomas and Langston Galloway each received interest from a handful of teams as free agency got underway, with the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nets, and Hawks calling Thomas, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com. The Knicks would like to re-sign both players.
- E’Twaun Moore will start hearing pitches on Friday and his free agency may move quickly, sources tell ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). The Bulls are viewed as the favorites to retain Moore.
- When he called free agent guard Jamal Crawford on Thursday night, Clippers coach Doc Rivers swore Crawford wouldn’t be going anywhere, per Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).
Latest On Hassan Whiteside
3:36am: Whiteside is expected to make his decision in the morning, tweets Tim Reynolds.
2:53am: The Heat and Mavericks both had the opportunity to make pitches to Hassan Whiteside in the early hours of free agency, and the free agent big man left both meetings without an agreement in place, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical and Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Still, after a Thursday report indicated that the Mavericks appeared to be the frontrunners for Whiteside, the Heat picked up some momentum with their meeting today, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who suggests (via Twitter) that Miami regained equal footing with Dallas. Reading between the lines, I wonder if that means the Heat expressed a willingness to offer Whiteside a maximum-salary contract.
Heading into Friday morning’s meetings, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) had reported that members of Whiteside’s inner circle didn’t believe the Heat were on the outside looking in, giving them a real chance of signing the young center. Meanwhile, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweeted that Whiteside told at least one of his Miami teammates earlier in the week that he’d be returning to the Heat.
A meeting with the Trail Blazers is also reportedly on Whiteside’s schedule for Friday, though for now it looks like the Heat and Mavericks are the strong frontrunners for his services.
RFA Rumors: Dellavedova, Waiters, T. Johnson
Earlier tonight, we heard that the Warriors plan to retain restricted free agent Harrison Barnes if they’re unable to land Kevin Durant. Here are several more updates on RFAs around the league:
- The Kings, Hawks, Mavericks, and Bucks have all reached out to Matthew Dellavedova‘s camp early in free agency, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Dellavedova is in Australia preparing for the 2016 Olympics, so he’s unlikely to have face-to-face meetings with any suitors anytime soon, but it sounds like he’s interested in exploring his options. A return to the Cavaliers remains in play for the RFA guard, but it’s possible the price will get too high for Cleveland’s liking, Haynes writes.
- Dion Waiters‘ representatives fielded interest from the Kings, Nets, Sixers, Bulls, Heat, and Thunder tonight, a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Oklahoma City extended a qualifying offer to Waiters earlier this week, making him a restricted free agent and giving the Thunder the right of first refusal.
- On The Vertical’s free agency broadcast earlier tonight, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Tyler Johnson has received interest from a handful of teams, including the Nets and Pelicans, and is expected to begin taking meetings on Friday (Twitter links via Scott Kushner of The Advocate and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The restricted free agent guard, who got a qualifying offer from the Heat, could earn up to $10MM annually, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of the New York Post).
Blazers Offer Max Deal To Chandler Parsons
FRIDAY, 2:06am: Parsons was “really impressed” with the Blazers’ presentation, which focused on the team’s long-term vision for him, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Parsons will continue his free agent tour, meeting with the Grizzlies on Friday, but he’s “intrigued” by the idea of joining Portland, a playoff team with a young core, MacMahon writes.
THURSDAY, 11:55pm: The Trail Blazers got a meeting with Chandler Parsons during the first hour of free agency, and the team didn’t waste any time in putting a four-year, maximum-salary contract offer on the table, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
Parsons had been seeking a max deal, making a reunion with the Mavericks unlikely. It remains to be seen whether Parsons’ other suitors, such as the Lakers and Grizzlies, will be willing to make a similar offer, but the veteran forward has a meeting lined up with Memphis, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter).
While a max salary for Parsons will obviously be expensive, the fact that he only has five years of NBA experience means it won’t be as pricey as it would be for some other free agents. Parsons’ maximum salary for the coming season will fall in the $22MM range.
Rockets Meet With Kent Bazemore
FRIDAY, 2:02am: Bazemore’s meeting with the Rockets ended without an agreement in place, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers expressed interest tonight in Bazemore, who will continue the free agent process.
THURSDAY, 11:08pm: Although Kent Bazemore initially didn’t plan on meeting with teams until next week, he’ll have a “surprise” meeting with one suitor tonight, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the Rockets are sitting down with Bazemore. James Harden is in attendance at the meeting, per Charania.
According to Charania, Bazemore still intends to take more meetings with potential suitors, but the Rockets will push hard for him at tonight’s sit-down. As Charania points out, it was new Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni who gave Bazemore his first extended run as an NBA starter back in 2013/14, when the young wing was with the Lakers.
The Bucks, Grizzlies, Magic, Nets, and Pelicans are also expected to be in the mix for Bazemore, with the Hawks making an effort to re-sign him.
Warriors Expected To Retain Barnes If Durant Signs Elsewhere
Kevin Durant is the Warriors’ Plan A in free agency this offseason, and the team will get an opportunity to make its pitch to him on Friday in The Hamptons. However, if Durant ultimately heads back to the Thunder or signs with another rival suitor, the Warriors are expected to focus on bringing back restricted free agent Harrison Barnes.
Adrian Wojnarowski reported as much during The Vertical’s free agency show late on Thursday night (link via RealGM.com), suggesting that the Warriors will likely match any offer sheet Barnes signs with another club. Even if the young forward doesn’t ultimately end up in the team’s long-term plans, Golden State recognizes that his contract would be tradeable, and the club would be able to go over the cap to lock him up.
The 76ers are said to have serious interest in Barnes, and could emerge as the Warriors’ most significant competitor for the 24-year-old, who ranked 12th on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.
There has been speculation that Barnes will receive a maximum-salary offer sheet, or something very close to it, which would be an awfully steep price to pay for a player who has never averaged more than 11.7 points per game in a season and has struggled in some critical postseason moments. Still, Philadelphia has a huge amount of cap room and could easily afford such a deal, so if the Sixers do pursue Barnes, I’d expect them to make a max offer to put the pressure on Golden State.
FA Rumors: DeRozan, Crawford, Clippers, Dudley
Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News has updates on a pair of free agent shooting guards, reporting (via Twitter) that the Sixers and Lakers have inquired tonight on DeMar DeRozan, who is meeting with the Raptors in Los Angeles. Toronto remains the strong favorite to re-sign DeRozan. Wolfson also tweets that Jamal Crawford has received calls tonight from the Sixers, Knicks, Clippers, Magic, and Heat.
Here’s more from across the NBA:
- In addition to reaching out to Crawford tonight, the Clippers also met with Austin Rivers in Orlando and Jeff Green in Miami, doing due diligence on their pending free agents, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. After meeting with the Clips, Rivers is expected to talk to the Knicks and possibly the Trail Blazers on Friday, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
- The Nets, Jazz, and Suns are among the teams in pursuit of Jared Dudley, with the Wizards also in the hunt to bring back the veteran sharpshooter, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. Utah had a meeting with Dudley tonight, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
- League sources continue to tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that the Kings may be preparing a “significant” offer for restricted free agent Dion Waiters. The Thunder would have the opportunity to match an offer sheet, but may not be aggressive in trying to retain Waiters now that they have Victor Oladipo.
- The Thunder were indeed among the teams to reach out to Al Horford tonight, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. A Thursday report indicated that Oklahoma City has its eye on Horford as part of its pitch to keep Kevin Durant.
- Speaking of Durant, during The Vertical’s free agency show tonight, Wojnarowski said that Jay-Z and Roc Nation tried to push Durant to take a free agent meeting with the Nets, but KD dismissed that idea (Twitter link via Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily).
Jazz, Wolves, Others Reach Out To Luol Deng
Several teams have reached out to Luol Deng during the opening hours of free agency, according to multiple reports. Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter links) says the Timberwolves, Celtics, Heat, and Wizards all called on Deng tonight, while Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical adds the Jazz and Clippers to that list (Twitter link via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald).
Utah is expected to be “very aggressive” in its pursuit of Deng, per Wojnarowski. Meanwhile, Wolfson notes that Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau, who coached Deng in Chicago, is expected to talk to the veteran free agent during the day tomorrow.
We heard back in May that Deng was expected to receive a two-year deal that paid at least $12MM annually, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his price has increased since then, with free-agent estimates around the league having been consistently creeping higher.
FA Rumors: Turner, Batum, Gasol, Lin, Kings
The Knicks, Bulls, Pelicans, Mavericks, Lakers, and Grizzlies are in the mix for Evan Turner, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. No meetings have been finalized yet for Turner, but it sounds like he’ll meet with at least a few of those suitors. According to Deveney, there’s also still a possibility that the Celtics will re-enter the picture for Turner.
Here are more free agent updates from around the NBA:
- Unsurprisingly, Nicolas Batum, who has generated interest from Dallas, New York, Charlotte, and a few other teams, is seeking a max contract, tweets Deveney.
- According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, Trail Blazers and the Timberwolves are expected to be among the suitors for Pau Gasol, who has also been linked to Golden State, New York, and San Antonio.
- Jeremy Lin‘s price tag is expected to be in the neighborhood of $12-14MM per year, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter).
- The Kings have expressed interest in Dion Waiters and Allen Crabbe, per Wojnarowski (link via RealGM.com). Sacramento has also reached out to Courtney Lee, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
- Jazz free agent Trevor Booker is drawing interest from multiple teams and is expected to have a starting salary around $10MM, sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).