Nuggets Still Eyeing George Hill?
The Nuggets made their first big splash of the offseason on Sunday night, reaching an agreement on a $90MM deal with Paul Millsap. However, the team may not be done going after top free agents quite yet. According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (via Twitter), a source says to expect the Nuggets to continue their pursuit of George Hill if they can move some salary.
As O’Connor suggests, the Nuggets don’t currently have the cap flexibility to make a competitive offer for Hill, with nearly $30MM of their 2017/18 cap now earmarked for Millsap. However, Denver has trade options. With Millsap, Nikola Jokic, Juan Hernangomez, and RFA Mason Plumlee looking like the team’s core pieces at the four and five, that leaves several of the other team’s highest-paid players in flux.
O’Connor identifies both Kenneth Faried ($12.92MM) and Darrell Arthur ($7.46MM) as potential trade chips if Denver looks to dump salary. I’d imagine Wilson Chandler ($12.02MM) could also be had in the right deal, though the Nuggets would likely prefer to keep him around, since he has the ability to play the three as well as the four. Trey Lyles ($2.44MM) is also in the frontcourt picture for the club, though moving him wouldn’t create much additional cap room.
The Nuggets were linked to multiple veteran point guards earlier in free agency, with Hill named among their potential targets. Denver reportedly reached out to the Jazz point guard during the first hour of free agency on Saturday morning, and a report later on Saturday suggested the Nuggets and Pacers were among the teams that had gone a little down the road with Hill.
If the Nuggets are able to move salary and get something done for Hill, it all but eliminates a reunion with Danilo Gallinari as a possibility for the club. Given Denver’s frontcourt depth after landing Millsap, I imagine the team isn’t pushing too hard at this point to get a new deal done with Gallinari anyway.
NBA Free Agency: July 2 Recap
After big names like Stephen Curry and Blake Griffin came off the board quickly on Saturday, multiple players from the second and third tiers of free agency reached agreements on Sunday.
Those agreements aren’t yet official, but unless something unexpected happens within the next several days, they’ll be finalized sometime after the July moratorium ends on Thursday.
Here’s our breakdown of July 2’s most notable contract agreements:
- Kyle Lowry, Raptors agree to three-year, $100MM contract.
- Paul Millsap, Nuggets agree to three-year, $90MM contract.
- Serge Ibaka, Raptors agree to three-year, $65MM contract.
- Taj Gibson, Timberwolves agree to two-year, $28MM contract.
- Kyle Korver, Cavaliers agree to three-year, $22MM contract.
- Nene, Rockets agree to three-year, $10.954MM contract.
- Ben McLemore, Grizzlies agree to two-year, $10.64MM contract.
- Justin Holiday, Bulls agree to two-year, $9MM contract.
- Jodie Meeks, Wizards agree to two-year, $7MM contract.
Here are a few more of the day’s notable headlines:
- Carmelo Anthony reportedly open to waiving no-trade clause for Cavaliers, Rockets.
- Raptors, Pacers discuss Cory Joseph trade.
- Talks between Rockets, Cavaliers on Iman Shumpert trade have stalled.
- Kings offer maximum salary contract to Otto Porter.
- Suns make four-year contract offer to Alan Williams.
- Timberwolves pull Shabazz Muhammad‘s qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Carmelo Anthony Open To Waiving No-Trade Clause For Cavs, Rockets
Carmelo Anthony is open to the idea of waiving his no-trade clause in order to facilitate a trade to the Cavaliers or Rockets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Wojnarowski, there’s no traction yet on a deal.
The presence of Chris Paul and LeBron James in Houston and Cleveland, respectively, appeals to Anthony, as does with the Rockets’ and Cavs’ ability to contend. While Anthony controls the process due to his no-trade clause, his apparent willingness to accept a deal to the Rockets or Cavaliers is a good first step for the Knicks, who reportedly remain hopeful that a trade can be completed.
Still, there are several roadblocks to overcome for the Knicks, since Anthony’s trade value is diminished due to his exorbitant salary, a 15% trade kicker, and a belief that New York may eventually become receptive to a buyout. The fact that the franchise doesn’t currently have a permanent president of basketball operations in place is also somewhat problematic.
Per Wojnarowski, the Rockets have been “proactive” in pursuing a possible deal for Anthony since acquiring Paul from the Clippers last week. However, the Knicks have little interest in taking back Ryan Anderson, whose $19.5MM+ salary would likely be needed for salary-matching purposes. Anderson’s contract runs through the 2019/20 season.
As for the Cavaliers, they have been frequently mentioned as a possible destination for Anthony, but have shown no willingness to part with Kevin Love in a trade with New York. Cleveland would likely be more inclined to offer pieces like Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye, and perhaps J.R. Smith in a package for Carmelo, which wouldn’t do much for the Knicks.
With the Knicks reportedly trying to avoid long-term salary commitments for older players, working out an Anthony deal with either the Rockets or Cavs could be challenging unless a third team gets involved.
Clippers Meet With Danilo Gallinari, Rudy Gay
The Clippers met with two of their top free agent targets at forward on Sunday, according to various reports. The team’s presentation for Danilo Gallinari, which had been previously reported, made a “strong impression” on the veteran forward, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Meanwhile, the Clips also had a meeting with Rudy Gay tonight, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
Gallinari has long been a target for the Clippers, according to Wojnarowski, and it sounds like there’s mutual interest between the two sides. David Aldridge of TNT tweets that the club’s brass “painted a picture” for Gallinari that showed how he could be a key piece of one of the league’s best frontcourts, along with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Even after trading Chris Paul last week, the Clippers project to be an over-the-cap team this year, in large part due to Griffin’s lucrative new deal. As such, the team can’t sign a free agent outright for a starting salary higher than the $8.4MM mid-level exception. However, a sign-and-trade could allow for a higher starting salary for either Gallinari or Gay — the Clips were said to be exploring possible sign-and-trade scenarios involving Gallinari earlier on Sunday.
Gallinari is also viewed as a potential target for the Celtics if they miss out on Gordon Hayward, but the Italian forward may no longer be in play for the Nuggets. Denver committed to Paul Millsap on Sunday night, significantly reducing the team’s ability to make a competitive offer to Gallinari. As for Gay, he has received interest from the Thunder, among other teams.
Grizzlies Sign Ben McLemore To Two-Year Deal
JULY 6: The Grizzlies have officially signed McLemore, according to the NBA’s transactions log.
JULY 2: The Grizzlies are finalizing a deal with Ben McLemore, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The pact, Chris Haynes of ESPN adds, is said to be for two years at $10.7MM.
The 24-year-old shooting guard has strung together four underwhelming seasons with the Kings after getting picked seventh-overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. In 2016/17, however, he posted 8.1 points per game in just 19.3 minutes of action.
There isn’t much standing between McLemore and a larger role in Memphis, USA Today’s Jeff Zilgitt suggests, noting that he’ll likely see significant minutes with his new ball club. The swingman does, after all, boast the physical tools to be a decent perimeter defender and is a capable three-point shooter.
McLemore was eligible to be a restricted free agent this summer, but didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Kings, allowing him to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.
Based on the terms of the agreement, it appears the Grizzlies will use the full taxpayer mid-level exception on McLemore — a deal with that MLE would top out at $10,643,600 over two years, and would allow the Grizzlies to avoid being hard-capped.
I doubt Memphis will go too far into the tax, if they even exceed that tax line at all. But if the team wants to try to bring back JaMychal Green, Zach Randolph, and Tony Allen, it will get expensive. The Grizzlies are projected to have more than $98MM in guaranteed salary on their 2017/18 cap after taking McLemore’s deal into account. That doesn’t include Green, Randolph, Allen, or the team’s other free agents.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Latest On Dion Waiters
The Lakers will meet with Heat free agent Dion Waiters tonight, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders reports. L.A. is just the latest in a long line of suitors for the shooting guard after his breakthrough year with the Heat.
While Waiters played a vital role in Miami’s dramatic turnaround last season, the franchise can’t offer him a lucrative deal so long as their iron remains in the fire for Jazz free agent Gordon Hayward.
During this time, Waiters could stake a new claim with an organization impressed by his 2016/17 resurgence. As Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times notes, Waiters is a former client of sports agent-turned-Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.
That this meeting with the Lakers will come after his meeting with the Heat could suggest that Waiters doesn’t imagine the Heat will be in a position to offer a deal that suits him, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel posits.
In 46 games for the Heat last season, Waiters averaged 15.8 points and 4.3 assists per game. While it’s unclear exactly what Waiters will net on the open market, it will inevitably be far more than the $3MM he played for in 2016/17.
We wrote last month that Waiters was open to the idea of giving the Heat a “hometown discount” considering how much he’s benefited from the organization’s culture. Just what that might entail, however, remains to be seen.
Lakers Give Rajon Rondo ‘Strong Consideration’
8:22pm: After reaffirming that Rondo and the Lakers had a mutual interest, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets that L.A. has let it be known that they are only offering one-year deals. Per Turner, Rondo is gauging interest from other teams.
6:31pm: The Lakers have been relatively quiet to start the free agency period but Ramona Shelburne of ESPN notes that the club has given recently waived point guard Rajon Rondo “strong consideration.”
Just yesterday we wrote about how the Lakers had already been in touch with the 31-year-old but it’s worth noting that they’re not the only ones to whom Rondo has been linked, the Clippers and Timberwolves have also been said to be intrigued by the veteran.
In an up and down season for the Bulls, one in which he went from being a prominent free agent signing to out of the club’s rotation altogether, then ultimately re-emerging as a playoff hero, Rondo posted 7.8 points and 6.7 assists per game. It was his mid-season defense of the young players on his roster, however, that may stand out as his most memorable.
With second-overall pick Lonzo Ball now a member of the Lakers, the franchise would be wise to bring aboard a veteran from whom the rookie could learn. Rondo isn’t without his faults but could be a valuable addition to a young locker room eager to improve in 2017/18.
Wolves Pull Muhammad’s Qualifying Offer
As had been anticipated, the Timberwolves officially pulled the qualifying offer they sent to Shabazz Muhammad, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets. Now the swingman will hit the market as an unrestricted free agent.
Earlier today we wrote about how the Taj Gibson signing has impacted the situation in Minnesota. As a result, Muhammad’s representation didn’t waste any time informing other teams of his client’s anticipated status change.
Muhammad has seen his role decrease slightly over the course of the last two seasons and that would have inevitably continued in 2017/18 with Jimmy Butler now on board.
Still just 24-year-old, Muhammad should have no trouble finding suitors after nearly posting a third-consecutive season with double-digit points per game. Per 36 minutes, he averaged 18.3 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Malik Monk Signs Rookie Contract With Hornets
The Hornets have signed 11th-overall pick Malik Monk, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. The 19-year-old will make $2.9MM in 2017/18.
After averaging 19.8 points per game in his one and only season with Kentucky, Monk will set out to provide Kemba Walker with much needed backcourt support, although he may need to scale his way up the depth chart before he does.
For details of Monk’s rookie deal, worth $15.7MM in all, check out our chart breaking down the pay scale for all first-round picks.
Western FA Notes: Muhammad, Holiday, Young
A theme is developing in Minnesota as head coach Tom Thibodeau slowly molds the young Timberwolves into a modern day version of his old team. Consider Justin Holiday the latest former Bulls rotation piece that the T-Wolves have expressed an interest in, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders writes.
Holiday would join Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson with the Wolves, should the organization seek to sign the 28-year-old 3-and-D specialist.
The Bulls and Knicks, the team with whom Holiday averaged 7.7 points per game for in 2016/17, are both said to be interested in retaining the swingman’s services.
There’s more today as free agency rolls along:
- The Timberwolves will likely have to renounce Shabazz Muhammad in the wake of today’s two-year, $28MM agreement with Taj Gibson, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. He adds that Muhammad’s representatives have been notifying teams that he is now an unrestricted free agent (Twitter link).
- Nick Young has emerged as a candidate for the Warriors‘ $5.2MM exception, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Pelicans can offer more playing time and a larger role in the offense, notes David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link), but Young may opt for the chance for a ring.
- Gordon Hayward will meet with Jazz officials in San Diego, not Utah, on Monday, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. Coach Quin Snyder, GM Dennis Lindsey and team president Steve Starks will be among Utah’s delegation.
- The Rockets‘ interest in Cleveland’s Iman Shumpert is “basically dead,” according to Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The teams had trade discussions regarding Shumpert on Saturday before Houston signed Tucker.