Hawks Waive John Salmons
FRIDAY, 7:53am: The Hawks have indeed waived Salmons, the team announced via press release. The release states that the team officially made the move Thursday, so the guaranteed portion of Salmons’ salary remains only $1MM.
THURSDAY, 1:49pm: Atlanta continues to explore its options regarding Salmons, Vivlamore writes in an updated version of his story, noting on Twitter that the possibility of trading Salmons still exists.
1:36pm: The Hawks will waive John Salmons by the end of today, a source tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Today’s the last day the Hawks can waive him before his $1MM partially guaranteed salary becomes fully guaranteed for $7MM, as our schedule of contract guarantee dates shows.
The Joel Bell client agreed to delay that date from July 1st before the trade that sent him from the Raptors to the Hawks became official, and while that seemingly gave Atlanta a window to see if it could flip the 34-year-old swingman, it appears no such swap is in the works. Salmons will almost assuredly clear waivers and become a free agent in two days, and while he no longer boasts a double-digit scoring average, as he did for four straight seasons earlier in his career, he remained a part of the rotations in Sacramento and Toronto this past season, splitting the year between both the Kings and Raptors. He averaged 5.2 points and shot 38.7% from three-point range in 22.1 minutes per game overall in 2013/14.
The move will free up cap flexibility for the Hawks, who’ve pursued Luol Deng, among others, so far this month. It’s flexibility that Atlanta’s likely been planning for all along, since they weren’t expected to keep Salmons from the moment they acquired him.
And-Ones: Early, Bazemore, Lin, Nets
The Knicks may have gotten the steal of the draft when they selected Cleanthony Early with the 34th pick, opines Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The article also notes that Early plans on using his draft night slide as motivation, saying, “At the end of the day, they made their decision, they made their choices, and they’re going to have to live with that, they’re going to have to stick with that. I’m going to have to live with that, I’m going to have to stick with that. But the only difference is, the way my heart is set up and the way I am, I’m going to use it as motivation. It fires me up. If I ever feel like I am being overlooked or I feel like I got something to prove, I’m willing to accept that challenge. The only thing I have to do is get in the gym and continue doing what I’ve been doing.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Trevor Mbakwe‘s contract with Germany’s Bamberg has opt out clauses for both the NBA and the Euroleague, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- It’s been a strange ride for the Nets that got even stranger when Jason Kidd left town, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- Reports of a deal between the Hawks and Kent Bazemore are premature but Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that he has a face-to-face meeting with Atlanta tomorrow.
- The Sixers are willing to trade with the Rockets for Jeremy Lin, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, but Philly wants a first rounder included in any deal.
- The Cavs are trying to create a maximum salary slot for LeBron James, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Cleveland is searching for a third team to take Marcus Thornton from the Nets, so the Cavs could then unload Jarrett Jack, Wojnarowski reports.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Deng, Mavs, Ariza
Luol Deng is apparently sticking to his desire for $12MM per season, notes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link). Deng has spoken with the Heat who are unsure about how much cap space they will have until LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade make their decisions, and the Hawks who are currently unwilling to pay that amount, according to the tweet. Deng’s best chance might be with the Mavericks who he is scheduled to meet with soon, opines Amico.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders runs through the best and worst performances from the first day of Summer League action, including some lottery picks making their debuts.
- The Rockets and the Cavaliers are getting closer to creating max contract slots, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Rockets are discussing deals for Jeremy Lin, and the Cavs have been shopping Jarrett Jack packaged with a draft pick, notes Wojnarowski.
- Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders looks at the Mavericks cap situation after the reported signing of Devin Harris.
- Trevor Ariza met with the Heat on Thursday, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
And-Ones: Clippers, Williams, LeBron
Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link) wonders what the Clippers recent signing of Spencer Hawes will mean for the extension chances of DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford with the team.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Unless the Clippers are willing to trade J.J. Redick or first-round picks to the Nets for Paul Pierce, a sign-and-trade is unlikely, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- Free agent forward Marvin Williams has been in discussions with the Spurs, Heat, Wizards, Hornets, Clippers, Magic, and Suns, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link).
- Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman breaks down the Thunder‘s Summer League roster.
- The Lakers indeed met today with Rich Paul, the agent for LeBron James, as expected, Aldridge tweets.
- Talks are advancing between Luol Deng and the Hawks, though no agreement is pending, notes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
Latest On Luol Deng
The Hawks were reportedly mulling a run at Luol Deng as of last week, and it looks like they’ve indeed moved forward with a pursuit, as coach Mike Budenholzer was set to meet Thursday with the 29-year-old forward, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports. Amick also adds the Rockets to the list of suitors for the client of Herb Rudoy and Ronald Shade.
Deng is seeking $12MM salaries, roughly the same amount of space Atlanta has beneath the cap, Amick writes. Atlanta’s deal with Thabo Sefolosha has apparently boosted the team’s stock with Deng, who has a close relationship with his former Bulls teammate, and Deng is also friends with Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver, another former sidekick in Chicago, Amick notes.
Reports on Thursday indicated that the Clippers and Deng had mutual interest and that the 10-year veteran would speak Thursday with Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, who’s searching for sign-and-trade scenarios to upgrade his capped-out roster. Still, it looks like Rivers is demanding too much for Cleveland’s liking for the Cavs to go along with a sign-and-trade involving Deng, Amick says.
Deng is unlikely to make his decision before Carmelo Anthony does, according to Amick, and the Rockets in particular would be inclined to wait as they hold out hope of signing ‘Melo. The Heat, Wizards, Mavs, Suns, Bulls have all been reported to have interest in Deng since the start of free agency, but while Shade has said his client would welcome a chance to re-sign with Chicago, Amick deems the idea of Deng reuniting with the Bulls as a long shot. Washington would only remain in the market for Deng if they can’t come to terms with Trevor Ariza, Amick also says.
Lakers Rumors: ‘Melo, Gasol, Rambis, Brooks
It’s the Lakers’ turn to try to impress Carmelo Anthony today as the free agency tour for the Knicks star continues. Kobe Bryant has cut short his European vacation to be in attendance for the pitch, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Still, there’s plenty of other business for the Lakers to address, since they have just four players under contract and no head coach. We’ll round up the latest here:
- The Lakers would like to pair Anthony with Pau Gasol, and if the team were to convince Anthony to sign, Gasol would be far more likely to follow suit, as Shelburne reports in the same piece.
- The Knicks have offered Kurt Rambis a four-year contract worth about $1.2MM a year to become the team’s lead assistant coach, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Lakers assistant appeared early last month to be among the front-runners to become the Lakers head coach, but a more recent report indicates that he’s fallen behind other candidates.
- MarShon Brooks is the only Lakers free agent whom the team has yet to reach out to, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The Hawks are among the teams that have spoken with Nick Young, as agent Mark Bartelstein tells MeMenamin for the same piece.
- Xavier Henry, who’s recovering from wrist and knee surgeries, will work out for the Lakers when healthy before exploring options with other teams, McMenamin also writes.
Southeast Rumors: Monroe, Sefolosha, Wizards
Restricted free agent Greg Monroe and unrestricted free agent Thabo Sefolosha are at the Wizards‘ Verizon Center, tweets Gene Wang of the Washington Post. No offer was made to Sefolosha during the visit and there isn’t much for the Wizards to offer, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter). More out of the Southeast..
- The Heat inquired on Sefolosha today, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter), but they’re predictably far from concrete offers.
- The Wizards and Gortat were haggling over the number of years in his deal, and Washington’s willingness to include the fifth season convinced the big man to agree to re-sign, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post explains.
- Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter) hears that the Hawks are in hot pursuit of Kent Bazemore.
Southeast Rumors: Lowry, McRoberts, Livingston
The Heat‘s infatuation with free agent guard Kyle Lowry has been well documented, but the Big Three haven’t been actively recruiting him, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. More from the Southeast Division..
- Josh McRoberts‘ agent tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that there’s mutual interest between his client and the Hornets. “Quite a few teams have expressed” interest, Mike Conley Sr. said in a phone interview. “We haven’t gone into any in-depth discussions yet, but we know how the Hornets want him.”
- The Hornets approached Shaun Livingston about a possible return to Charlotte, a knowledgeable source tells Bonnell. Livingston played for Charlotte in the 2010-11 season when they were under their maiden Bobcats moniker.
- Kent Bazemore has heard from the Hawks, Celtics, Mavs, Lakers, Suns, and Bulls, tweets Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link) adds the Spurs to that list.
Southeast Rumors: Wizards, Heat, McRoberts
Plenty of teams are hoping for a chance to pitch to LeBron James, but the Wizards aren’t one of them, as owner Ted Leonsis explained in an appearance on 106.7 The Fan today. Scott Allen of The Washington Post has the transcription.
“You’d have to have cap space and you’d have to renounce all your free agents,” Leonsis said. “Then you’d have to be able to call their agent and say, ‘Would you think he would consider coming here?’ So, I never understood the grandstanding. Some of the bloggers have said, just get in the mix and throw your name out there. OK, so you generate positive pixels and it creates these faux expectations, and LeBron is in total control of his future. LeBron will do what LeBron wants to do. We have to be able to control what we want to control, and right now our main targets are retaining our players.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:
- The Heat‘s top two targets for outside improvement appear to be Kyle Lowry and Luol Deng, but neither seem likely to end up with the team, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Deng is unwilling to take a discount to go to Miami, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, probably putting him out of reach (Twitter link).
- Hornets free agent power forward Josh McRoberts and the Blazers have mutual interest in a deal, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears.
- The Wizards would like to bring back free agent point guard Garrett Temple, but they face competition from the Heat, Magic and Bulls, who have also expressed interest, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- The Hawks are interested in re-signing Elton Brand, but the Knicks are eyeing him, too, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Waiters, Pierce, Blatche
As Carmelo Anthony is set to visit with the Bulls today, two sources tell Marc Berman of the New York Post that Anthony’s wife is quite satisfied with living in New York and doesn’t want him to leave the Knicks. ‘Melo and Tom Thibodeau are in agreement that the Bulls shouldn’t trade Taj Gibson in any scenario, even as the Bulls attempt to clear salary to sign the Knicks star, Berman also writes. Many around the league reportedly see the Knicks as having the inside track to retain Anthony, though the Bulls appear to have the lead among teams looking to take him away from New York. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- The Celtics have made contact with about 30 players in the hours since free agency began, with Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons among them, tweets Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
- Cavs GM David Griffin said Friday that he sees No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins as “a big two-guard,” leading some executives to believe that the Cavs will look to trade Dion Waiters this summer, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). This also explains Cleveland’s push to sign Trevor Ariza, Kennedy surmises (on Twitter).
- The Clippers loom as the largest threat to sign Paul Pierce away from the Nets, but the Nets still seem optimistic about their chances of keeping him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Nets GM Billy King reached out to all of the team’s free agents except Andray Blatche, as King told reporters today, including Stefan Bondy of the New York Post (Twitter link). That signals Blatche’s imminent departure from Brooklyn, Bondy concludes.
- Suitors believe they can pry restricted free agent Mike Scott from the Hawks with an offer sheet at the right amount, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- The Pistons are expected to meet with Anthony Morrow soon, according to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
- Head coach David Blatt and lead assistant Tyronn Lue helped sell Kyrie Irving on signing the $90MM extension with the Cavs in their overnight meeting, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Zach Links contributed to this post.