Free Agent Rumors: Wolves, Knicks, Waiters, Jazz
The Timberwolves were linked to free agent swingman C.J. Miles earlier today, but weren’t necessarily considered a probable landing spot for Miles due to the team’s lack of cap flexibility. However, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), who passed along the initial report on Miles, the Pacers are open to the idea of a sign-and-trade which would net them Cole Aldrich‘s contract and OKC’s 2018 first-round pick from Minnesota.
Both teams would have to agree on that sign-and-trade scenario, and of course Miles would also have to be on board, so there may be some snags along the way. But as Wolfson points out, there are ways for the Wolves to get creative if they really want to land Miles or another free agent.
Wolfson has more on the Wolves, tweeting that he has heard the team made an offer to Nick Young. That offer would likely be worth the $4.3MM room exception, and Young turned down a $5.67MM player option with the Lakers last month, so I’d be surprised if Minnesota’s offer is enough to land him, but the club clearly remains on the lookout for shooting help.
Here’s more on free agency:
- The Knicks continue to stay in touch with free agent guard Dion Waiters, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Waiters and Rajon Rondo remain on the Lakers‘ radar.
- With Gordon Hayward and Otto Porter off the board, the Jazz have expressed interest in Rudy Gay, says Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). As Royce Young of ESPN tweets, Patrick Patterson essentially took the deal that Gay was unwilling to with the Thunder, so OKC may be out, leaving the Heat and Jazz as the top contenders for Gay.
- Having already brought back nearly all of their key free agents, the Warriors are also considered likely to re-sign Zaza Pachulia, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
- After a strong showing for the Pistons in Summer League play, Eric Moreland is believed to have received a multiyear contract offer from Detroit, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
Nets, Otto Porter Agree To Max Deal; Wizards Plan To Match
9:05pm: The Wizards had hoped to work out a more cap-friendly deal with Porter, but they still intend to match the Nets’ offer, reports Chris Mannix of The Vertical (via Twitter).
8:42pm: The Nets and Otto Porter have reached an agreement on a four-year, maximum salary deal, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Because Porter is a restricted free agent, Brooklyn will have to sign Porter to an offer sheet, and the Wizards will have the opportunity to match it.
Porter, who can receive up to $106,524,975 on a four-year deal, reportedly received such an offer from the Kings over the weekend as well. However, Porter didn’t accept that offer right away, opting to meet with other teams instead, and Sacramento used its cap room to reach deals with George Hill and Zach Randolph. In the wake of Gordon Hayward‘s departure from Utah, Porter had reportedly lined up a meeting with the Jazz, but Brooklyn swooped in with a max offer and struck a deal with the RFA forward.
Based on the wording of Charania’s report, it sounds like Porter hasn’t formally signed an offer sheet from Brooklyn quite yet. However, he is eligible to do so during the moratorium. If he makes it official with the Nets, the clock for the Wizards to make their decision would begin on July 6 when the moratorium ends. Washington would have until the end of the day on July 8 to match the offer.
Long considered a probable suitor for Porter, the Nets had an excess of cap room and showed in 2016 that they’re willing to dive into the RFA market in search of long-term assets. Last year, Brooklyn had offer sheets for Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, and Donatas Motiejunas matched by the Trail Blazers, Heat, and Rockets, respectively. The club will be hoping for better luck this time around, though the RFA market has been slow to develop, so if the Wizards match on Porter, the Nets could go shopping for another target or two.
As for the Wizards, they’ve been widely expected to match any offer for Porter, but the Nets will put them to the test with this offer. Washington entered the free agent period with approximately $94MM in guaranteed money on the cap for 2017/18 and has since struck deals with Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott that figure to add nearly $5MM more to the books. As such, Porter’s deal, with its first-year cap hit of $24.77MM, will take the Wizards over the tax line if they match.
Washington reportedly intended to use the bi-annual exception to complete Meeks’ deal, but may instead choose to use a portion of the taxpayer mid-level exception to avoid becoming hard-capped at $125.266MM for the ’17/18 league year.
Porter, who has steadily improved his production in each of his four NBA seasons, had his best year as a pro in 2016/17, averaging career bests in PPG (13.4), RPG (6.4), and SPG (1.5), while posting an incredibly efficient .516/.434/.832 shooting line. I ranked him eighth overall in Hoops Rumors’ list of this year’s top 50 free agents.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Clippers To Meet With Derrick Rose
The Clippers have lined up a meeting with free agent point guard Derrick Rose, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Rose will sit down with the Clips on Wednesday.
It has been a busy week for the Clippers, who appeared to be heading for a rebuild when they sent Chris Paul to the Rockets last week. However, the team added multiple solid veterans – Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams – in that trade, agreed to re-sign Blake Griffin to a maximum salary contract, and have also agreed upon a sign-and-trade deal for Danilo Gallinari. So it looks like the team is merely retooling its roster in the wake of CP3’s exit, rather than embarking on a full-scale rebuild.
[RELATED: Nuggets, Hawks, Clippers agree to three-way sign-and-trade]
Although the Clippers acquired a point guard in Beverley, he’s not the kind of player who needs to have the ball in his hands a lot, so it makes sense for the club to be on the lookout for another player who can share the ball-handling load. The Clips still have the full mid-level exception ($8.4MM) available, but would be back in the tax if they use the full amount, and would be getting close to their hard cap of $125.266MM.
Rose, 28, is coming off a season in which he averaged 18.0 PPG and 4.4 APG in 64 games for the Knicks. There was reportedly some interest within the Knicks’ front office in bringing back the former No. 1 overall pick, though a source told Frank Isola of The New York Daily News that GM Steve Mills is opposed to the idea, and Mills currently has the final say on basketball decisions.
The former MVP also met with the Bucks this week.
Celtics Rescind Kelly Olynyk’s Qualifying Offer
In the wake of their agreement with Gordon Hayward, the Celtics have started making moves to create cap room for Hayward’s maximum salary contract. That means that Boston has pulled Kelly Olynyk‘s qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Olynyk initially received a qualifying offer worth about $4.19MM from the Celtics in June. That offer didn’t lock the two sides into anything, but it made the 26-year-old center a restricted free agent, and created a $7.74MM cap hold on Boston’s cap. The Celtics need to clear that $7.74MM cap hold to help make space for Hayward, opening the door for Olynyk to sign outright with another team.
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), there will be a “strong” market for Olynyk, who averaged 9.0 PPG and 4.8 RPG in a part-time role for the Celtics last season. The seven-footer’s ability to make an outside shot (.368 career 3PT%) should appeal to several teams.
The Hawks and Pacers will be on the list of potential suitors for Olynyk, per Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).
C.J. Miles Drawing Interest From Heat, Hawks, Others
Veteran swingman C.J. Miles is receiving interest from a handful of teams, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, who reports (via Twitter) that the Heat, Hawks, and Kings are among the teams in the mix. The Timberwolves also maintain interest in Miles, but don’t currently have the cap flexibility to make a competitive offer, Wolfson notes.
Miles, 30, hits the free agent market this summer after one of the strongest seasons of his career. In 76 games (29 starts) for the Pacers, the 6’6″ sharpshooter averaged 10.7 PPG and 3.0 RPG, converting a career-best 41.3% of his three-point attempts.
The Heat, Hawks, and Kings all have cap room left over, though Miami has a number of balls up in the air as the club waits for Gordon Hayward‘s decision. As for the Wolves, their commitments to Jeff Teague and Taj Gibson have eaten up virtually all of their cap space, so the most they could offer Miles – without moving salary or working out a sign-and-trade – would likely be the $4.3MM room exception.
Miles is expected to take free agent visits soon, according to Wolfson.
Where The Gordon Hayward Situation Stands
We still don’t have official word from Gordon Hayward‘s camp on where he’ll sign, but it has been an eventful day on the Hayward front.
After a report from Chris Haynes of ESPN – which was confirmed by several other reputable journalists – indicated that Hayward planned to sign with the Celtics, subsequent reports from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and others suggested it wasn’t a done deal after all.
Mark Bartelstein, Hayward’s agent, issued a statement confirming that his client hadn’t finalized his decision. While Bartelstein said they’d expect to announce a decision today, he added that, in the wake of this afternoon’s drama, “We’ve got to kind of regroup here a bit.” Meanwhile, Jazz president Steve Sparks issued a statement that read, in part, “We trust Gordon and his agent that no decision has been made.”
Although Hayward is not ready to confirm reports on his free agent destination yet, it sounds like the Heat may be out of the mix. Wojnarowski reported this afternoon on ESPN that Hayward eliminated the Heat from consideration on Monday night (Twitter links via Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald).
Bartelstein has not addressed that report, and a source tells Anthony Chiang of The Palm Beach Post (Twitter link) that the Heat haven’t been formally informed that they’re out of the running. However, Jackson tweets that a Hayward associate told him this morning that Miami was a long shot.
If the Heat are out, that would narrow the group of finalists for Hayward to the Celtics and the Jazz, with Boston seemingly holding the major edge based on today’s initial reports. It’s possible that details are still being sorted out in regard to Hayward’s contract and the Celtics’ cap situation, since Boston currently doesn’t have room to accommodate their reported maximum salary offer for the star forward.
Still, while the Celtics look like the heavy favorite, the Jazz appear to be holding on to hope. Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (Twitter link) acknowledges that Hayward was leaning toward the Celtics, but has been told by multiple sources that the 27-year-old “never fully made up his mind.”
Meanwhile, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune, who heard earlier from a source that Hayward has “changed his mind four times in the last four days,” confirmed this afternoon (via Twitter) that neither the Celtics nor the Jazz were informed of Hayward’s decision in an official capacity today.
As we continue to wait for resolution, here’s our chronological roundup of today’s earlier Hayward updates.
Jamal Crawford Prefers To Land With Lakers If Bought Out
Due to a $14MM+ salary for 2017/18, Jamal Crawford is viewed as a crucial piece of a proposed sign-and-trade acquisition of Danilo Gallinari for the Clippers. However, if Crawford joins the Hawks as part of that deal, he’d likely seek a trade or buyout, and according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the guard’s preferred landing spot is back in Los Angeles — with the Lakers.
As Spears explains, Crawford’s family is based in Los Angeles, and the 37-year-old has a “solid relationship already in place” with No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball, making the Lakers a logical landing spot. And Crawford’s interest in the Lakers is reciprocated by the team, per Spears. Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers are “a real option” for Crawford.
Still, there are several roadblocks that could stand in the way of a union between the Lakers and Crawford. For one, the three-way deal that would send Gallinari to the Clippers and Crawford to the Hawks hasn’t been finalized yet, though it does seem likely to happen.
If that deal is completed, the Hawks would initially intend to hang onto Crawford, league sources tell Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. While the club might consider buying out or trading Crawford, his contract wouldn’t be an easy trade chip to move without attaching an asset to him, and the Hawks would be reluctant to do a buyout unless the veteran guard is willing to give up a substantial portion of the $17MM+ in guaranteed money left on his deal, per an earlier report.
Even if Crawford were to be sent to the Hawks and then bought out, the Lakers would face competition from contending teams like the Cavaliers and Warriors for his services.
Magic Waive Stephen Zimmerman
The Magic have parted ways with the 41st overall pick from last year’s draft, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel, who tweets that the team has waived second-year center Stephen Zimmerman.
Zimmerman, 20, saw limited action during his rookie season in Orlando, averaging 1.2 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 19 games (5.7 MPG) for the club. The former UNLV big man had a more extensive role in 21 games for the Erie BayHawks, averaging 13.4 PPG and 8.9 RPG in the G League.
While teams are often inclined to stick with second-round projects for longer than just one year, the Magic are under new management this offseason, having hired Jeff Weltman and John Hammond to replace Rob Hennigan in the front office, so the new group didn’t have any particular attachment to Zimmerman.
Zimmerman’s contract also forced the team to make a decision on him this week — his minimum salary for 2017/18 was set to become fully guaranteed if he wasn’t cut by the end of the July moratorium. The Magic won’t be on the hook for any of that money now that they’ve waived him.
Heat Officially Waive Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh‘s salary will officially no longer count against the Heat’s salary cap going forward, with the team announcing today in a press release that Bosh has been waived. The move formally brings an end to Bosh’s seven-year stint with the franchise.
“Chris changed his life and basketball career when he came to Miami,” team president Pat Riley said in a statement. “And he changed our lives for the better, in a way we never would have imagined, when he joined the Miami Heat. We will forever be indebted to CB for how he changed this team and led us to four trips to the NBA Finals and two NBA Championships. He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest players in the history of the franchise.
“The number ‘1’ will never be worn by another player and we can’t wait to someday hang his jersey in the rafters,” Riley continued. “Today, we are both moving on but we wish Chris, Adrienne and their family nothing but the best. They will forever be part of the Miami Heat family.”
As we detailed last month when an independent doctor ruled Bosh’s blood-clot issues to be career-ending, he will no longer count against the Heat’s salary cap due to his medical retirement designation. That clears more than $52MM in total salary from the team’s books for the next two years, including $25.3MM+ in 2017/18. Miami will still have to pay Bosh his remaining salary, though the team figures to recoup a significant chunk of that money through insurance.
It’s possible Bosh will attempt a comeback at some point, though NBA executives are skeptical about the odds of that. If his NBA career is officially over, the 33-year-old will finish with averages of 19.2 PPG and 8.5 RPG over 893 total games with the Raptors and Heat (14 total seasons, including 2016/17). Bosh was named to 11 All-Star teams and won two championships over the course of his career.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Southeast Notes: Porter, Bogdanovic, Isaac, Bosh
The Kings’ decision to use a major part of their cap space on George Hill and Zach Randolph leaves the Nets as the most significant threat for Wizards RFA Otto Porter, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. Porter met with the Kings on Sunday and reportedly received a max offer, but didn’t sign it, wanting to talk to other teams first. Sacramento’s moves today means it no longer has room for a max deal unless it unloads some other salary. The Wizards can match any offer sheet that Porter brings to them, and have stated that they plan to do so.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Wizards plan to explore sign-and-trade options for Bojan Bogdanovic, according to J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic. Bogdanovic appears to be on the way out after this week’s deals with Jodie Meeks and Mike Scott, but Washington won’t revoke his $4.7MM qualifying offer, hoping to deal him and create a traded player exception. Bogdanovic is reportedly seeking about $16MM per year, which seems unrealistic. Michael notes that the Wizards have made use of TPEs in the recent years, picking up Jared Dudley, Kris Humphries and Tim Frazier.
- The Magic will hold first-round pick Jonathan Isaac out of the final two games of the Orlando Pro Summer League after he suffered a hip strain Monday, relays John Denton of NBA.com. Tests didn’t reveal any structural damage and the injury isn’t considered serious, but the Magic are keeping him sidelined as a precaution.
- In a move to free up cap space, the Magic have reached an agreement with 2005 first-rounder Fran Vazquez that he won’t play in the NBA this season, tweets Keith Smith of Real GM. Orlando still owns the rights for the 34-year-old, and the move takes away his cap hold for the upcoming season.
- The Heat are expected to end their seven-year relationship with Chris Bosh this week, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami will erase Bosh’s $52.1MM from its cap under a medical retirement in the wake of recurring blood clots. Bosh must be given 48 hours to clear waivers before the move becomes official, and it will push the Heat’s cap space from $9MM to more than $34MM this year.