Suns To Meet With Paul Millsap
JUNE 30th, 10:43pm: Phoenix has a meeting set with Millsap for this Sunday, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. With Blake Griffin agreeing to re-sign with the Clippers, this may intensify the Suns’ pursuit of the forward, TNT’s David Aldridge relays (via Twitter).
JUNE 29th, 4:45pm: In addition to their scheduled meeting with Blake Griffin, the Suns will meet with Paul Millsap, John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports reports.
The 31-year-old forward is expected to have numerous suitors although most tend to be more established contenders. As Gambadoro notes in his article, Millsap would join a small group of players considerably older than the Phoenix’s young core.
As we discussed yesterday, new Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk is not expected to offer Millsap a full max contract, that puts the ball in the court of teams looking to lure the 12-year veteran away.
Just last week, Millsap was briefly linked to the Suns by Brian Windhorst of ESPN and Gambadoro then offered up Tyson Chandler as a possible player who could be involved in a sign-and-trade between the two franchises.
In a fourth consecutive All-Star season last year, Millsap averaged a career high 18.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Magic May Offer Ingles 4-Year Deal
10:31pm: Ingles is also receiving significant interest from the Grizzlies, plus, he has a meeting scheduled with the Clippers on Saturday, Adam Joseph of 16WinsARing.com tweets.
7:59pm: It may not be long before Jazz forward Joe Ingles has a $60MM contract in front of him, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post writes. The scribe tweets that he’s heard the Australian free agent could have a four-year deal in the $60MM range coming from the Magic.
If that’s the case, Bontemps adds, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the Jazz would match the restricted free agent’s new price tag.
Per Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, new Magic general manager John Hammond has long been a fan of the sharpshooting forward and this could be a significant early move for the new regime.
As Tim MacMahon of ESPN notes, there are two significant Jazz-specific takeaways from the rumored Magic offer, one being that Ingles is said to be close friends with fellow free agent Gordon Hayward, the other being that they’re represented by the same agent.
Those factors, coupled with Utah’s move earlier today to land Ricky Rubio at the likely expense of free agent George Hill (another Hayward favorite) lend credence to the notion that Hayward’s time with the Jazz may be coming to an end.
Hayward aside, Ingles is a widely respected small forward that offers a suite of intangible contributions in addition to his 7.2 points per game and 44.1% three-point shot. That said, given that the Magic were expected to lay low during free agency, such a move is somewhat surprising.
Latest On Gordon Hayward, Celtics
The Celtics and unrestricted free agent Gordon Hayward will meet face-to-face this Sunday, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (via Twitter). Hayward is reportedly one of Boston’s primary free agent targets this offseason. The forward is said to only be considering three teams in free agency: the Jazz, the Heat, and the Celtics.
It certainly remains to be seen just how much Utah’s reported acquisition of Ricky Rubio from the Wolves will hamper the franchise’s efforts to retain its star player. By adding Rubio, it is unclear if that signals the end of George Hill‘s tenure with the Jazz. Hayward is reported to be fond of playing alongside Hill, and the addition of Rubio may be a sign that Hill is no longer an option for the team going forward.
Hayward, 27, appeared in 73 games for the Jazz in 2016/17, notching averages of 21.9 points (a career-high), 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He shot .471/.398/.844 from the field.
Latest on Jrue Holiday
10:03pm: If Holiday leaves his meeting with the Pelicans without agreeing to a deal, the player will have a sit-down with the Knicks, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays (on Twitter).
9:26pm: Despite reports that the Pelicans are considered the front-runners to re-sign unrestricted free agent Jrue Holiday, the point guard intends to meet with the Pacers this weekend, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune reports (via Twitter). Holiday is expected to decide one way or another on New Orleans’ offer on Saturday, with an earlier report from TNT’s David Aldridge relaying that there are three other teams in serious pursuit of the 27-year-old. The scribe didn’t name the prospective suitors, so it is unclear if the Pacers were among those franchises he referred to.
It is also unclear if the reported bombshell trade of Paul George to the Thunder will make Indiana a less attractive destination now that the franchise appears to be in full rebuild mode. One would have to think that New Orleans is set up for more immediate success with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins on the roster, though, getting out of the brutal Western Conference may hold some appeal for Holiday.
If the Pelicans are unable to retain Holiday, it may be difficult to find an adequate replacement, since the club already has more than $85MM in guaranteed salaries on its books, reducing its cap flexibility. Holiday’s bond with the Pelicans is said to be strong after the way the organization supported him during a family crisis last fall.
Holiday appeared in 67 contests for the Pelicans this past season, averaging 15.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 32.7 minutes per outing. His slash line was .454/.356/.708.
Market Heating Up For Amir Johnson
Unrestricted free agent Amir Johnson isn’t likely to be re-signed by the Celtics, but the forward isn’t lacking for suitors. Per a report by Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, Johnson already has three meetings scheduled for tomorrow in Los Angeles. On Saturday’s agenda for Johnson will be sit-downs with the Bulls, Raptors and Rockets, per the scribe.
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds a fourth team, the Sixers, to the mix. Johnson, a 12-year veteran, would provide a huge locker room presence and the veteran leadership Philly lost after waiving Gerald Henderson earlier today, Pompey notes.
The big man previously was a member of the Raptors from 2009/10 through 2014/15, and could be viewed as a cheaper alternative to Toronto re-signing Patrick Patterson. An earlier report by Deveney noted that their was “mutual interest” in a reunion between the two parties.
Johnson, 30, appeared in 80 games (77 starts) for the Celtics in 2016/17, averaging 6.5 PPG and 4.6 RPG with a .576/.409/.670 shooting line. The forward earned $12MM for his efforts last season in Beantown.
West Notes: Cash Considerations, Dudley, Zhou
As the smoke clears from the chaos of the Chris Paul trade, details have emerged regarding the numerous side deals that went down in order for the Rockets to acquire the superstar point guard from the Clippers.
We broke down the math behind the trades but Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has provided insight as to the exact financial details of the deals that brought players on non-guaranteed deals to the Rockets in exchange for cash considerations.
- The Rockets will pay the Mavs $175K for DeAndre Liggins.
- The Rockets will pay the Hawks $75K for Ryan Kelly.
- The Rockets will pay the Trail Blazers $100K for Tim Quarterman.
- The Rockets will pay the Pistons $1MM for Darrun Hilliard.
There’s more out of the Western Conference:
- Veteran Suns forward Jared Dudley underwent surgery to repair a lingering toe issue and will be sidelined 3-4 months, ESPN relays.
- Although he’s justifiably upset about the end of Lob City, Doc Rivers isn’t ready to give up competing for a title. “That part is over. And that bugs me,” Rivers told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. “But we’re not done trying to reach our goal. Sometimes you gotta do it a different way. Because the way we tried to do it didn’t work.”
- The Nuggets will get a good idea of where they stand in the eyes of free agents this summer, Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports writes. The scribe asks whether Nikola Jokic‘s breakout campaign will be enough of a foundation for the club to recruit off of.
- The Rockets could look to sign Zhou Qi to a multiyear deal by using a portion of their mid-level exception, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes, but they wouldn’t be opposed to siging him to a shorter deal if that meant landing another coveted free agent.
Multiple Teams Show Interest In Randolph
9:46pm: Also interested in Randolph are the Cavaliers, Aldridge tweets. They’ll speak over the phone on Saturday.
8:14pm: Veteran big man Zach Randolph will meet with a host of teams in Los Angeles tonight, David Aldridge of TNT tweets. The Kings, Thunder and Clippers are all said to have an interest in the forward.
After a 2016/17 campaign in which he starred off the bench, Randolph’s role with Memphis appears to be dwindling. At the beginning of last season, his eighth with the Grizzlies, the club opted to start JaMychal Green ahead of him.
Still, despite the move to the bench, the soon-to-be 36-year-old remained productive, posting Per 36 numbers of 20.7 points and 12.1 rebounds.
The veteran forward will have a number of options available, depending on how he plans to play out the twilight of his career. While the Grizzlies would almost certainly welcome him back in a small role at a reasonable price, he could also be coveted as a mentor for teams with young big men or as a valuable reserve piece for a contender.
2017 Qualifying Offers Recap
Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become restricted free agents simply by default. In order for a team to make a player a restricted free agent, a qualifying offer must be extended to him. The qualifying offer, which is essentially just a one-year contract offer, varies in amount depending on a player’s service time and previous contract status. A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s current team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then receives the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club. You can read more about qualifying offers here.
If a player is not tendered a qualifying offer, he becomes an unrestricted free agent and is free to sign with any team that were to come calling with his previous squad unable to prevent such a transaction. Listed below is the complete list of players who were eligible to receive qualifying offers this season and whether or not one was tendered. Players are listed in alphabetical order by category:
Players Receiving Qualifying Offers
- Ron Baker [Knicks]
- Bojan Bogdanovic [Wizards]
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope [Pistons]
- Nando De Colo [Raptors]
- Cristiano Felicio [Bulls]
- JaMychal Green [Grizzlies]
- Tim Hardaway Jr. [Hawks]
- Joe Ingles [Jazz]
- Joffrey Lauvergne [Bulls]
- Alex Len [Suns]
- Nikola Mirotic [Bulls]
- Shabazz Muhammad [Timberwolves]
- Nerlens Noel [Mavericks]
- Kelly Olynyk [Celtics]
- Mason Plumlee [Nuggets]
- Otto Porter [Wizards]
- Andre Roberson [Thunder]
- Jonathon Simmons [Spurs]
- Tony Snell [Bucks]
- Alan Williams [Suns]
Players Not Receiving Qualifying Offers
- Bobby Brown [Rockets]
- Reggie Bullock [Pistons]
- Michael Carter-Williams [Bulls]
- Ben McLemore [Kings]
- James Michael McAdoo [Warriors]
- Alex Poythress [Sixers]
- Damjan Rudez [Magic]
- Troy Williams [Rockets]
Bucks Notes: Horst, Ownership, Zanik, Ferry
The Bucks’ general manager search, conducted after John Hammond‘s departure for Orlando, appeared to take some unexpected twists and turns throughout the process — the club reportedly narrowed its options to three candidates, then opted to promote Jon Horst, who hadn’t been one of those three finalists.
In an interesting piece for ESPN.com, Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe detail the machinations behind Horst’s promotion, which caught even Horst himself off guard. Sources tell Windhorst and Lowe that the GM job was already earmarked for him when he was called to New York to meet with team ownership, even before he knew he was viewed as a candidate. The Bucks then began planning Horst’s introductory news conference before he signed his deal.
Here are more of the highlights from ESPN’s report on the Bucks’ unique search:
- Bucks assistant GM Justin Zanik, who has since left the organization, was considered Hammond’s successor when he joined the franchise and had built a good relationship with head coach Jason Kidd. Although his contract didn’t explicitly state he’d replace Hammond, his annual salary reflected an anticipated increase in his decision-making power, per ESPN. However, only two of Milwaukee’s three co-owners were on board with a promotion for Zanik — Wes Edens was the holdout, and wanted to conduct a full-fledged search, according to Windhorst and Lowe.
- After going through their search process, Edens still wasn’t sold on Zanik. He was outnumbered 2-1 by co-owners Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan, but Edens is technically the Bucks’ designated governor, which gives him unilateral power on all basketball-related decisions if he chooses to wield it, per ESPN.
- The three co-owners had previously agreed to settle all decisions with a vote, but this situation revealed that Edens ultimately could have the final say, even if he was outnumbered. In two years, that will change, however — the Bucks’ ownership agreement calls for the governorship role to alternate between Edens and Lasry every five years, per ESPN.
- With the search for a new GM having stalled, commissioner Adam Silver suggested the Bucks ought to consider Danny Ferry for the opening, according to ESPN. Milwaukee reached out to Ferry, but the two sides never had a formal meeting, with the Bucks’ co-owners opting instead to reach a compromise — they all liked and respected Horst, and brokered an agreement to promote him for the role.
- Horst will be inexpensive compared to other general managers around the NBA. According to Windhorst and Lowe, his three-year deal starts at just $500K.
- The Bucks continue to seek a veteran executive to complement Horst in the front office, though the three co-owners will likely all have to agree to move forward with a hire.
Griffin Cancels Meetings With Suns, Nuggets
Not long after it was announced that Blake Griffin would meet with the Suns when free agency began, he canceled the meeting, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.
The All-Star forward also cancelled a meeting with the Nuggets suggesting that, barring a mysterious unnamed club swooping in and luring the forward away, a return to the Clippers may be imminent.
That Griffin did in fact cancel meetings with both Phoenix and Denver has since been corroborated by Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times.