Latest On Greg Monroe
10:27am: The Cavs, too, are considering a run at Monroe, according to Stein (Twitter link).
9:52am: There’s a “high possibility” the Pistons will swing a sign-and-trade if Monroe gets a max offer from another team, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 12:58am: The Hawks also contacted Monroe tonight, a source close to the situation tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball insiders (on Twitter).
9:48pm: The Blazers also have serious interest in a sign-and-trade for Monroe, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
8:53pm: The Pistons have made it known that they want to keep Greg Monroe but won’t rule out a sign-and-trade if his price tag gets to be too high, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein adds (link) that the Hawks are one team that keeps coming up as a potential suitor for Monroe when he officially becomes a restricted free agent.
You can add the Magic to the list of teams that are said to have interest in the big man, Stein tweets. Monroe, who is ranked fifth in Chuck Myron’s Free Agent Power Rankings for this summer, figures to have many suitors in the coming weeks. However, the big man doesn’t sound all that eager to take a free agency tour.
“Most people would rather, if possible, not to have to go through it and just re-sign with the team they are with so you can have some stability and be secure,” Monroe said earlier this month. “Right now it’s like the draft process all over again. You don’t know if you will have to change cities or where you will end up. It’s a good thing that there are teams out there that want me. But at the end of the day, if I didn’t have to do it, I wouldn’t have a problem with that either.”
And-Ones: Sterling, Parker, Crawford
Attorneys for Donald Sterling will argue that wife Shelly Sterling exerted undue influence on one of the two doctors who examined Donald and declared him mentally incompetent, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com details. Donald’s mental competency is no longer on trial. Instead, the probate trial between the Sterlings will center on whether Shelly followed the rules of the Sterling family trust, according to Shelburne. Those rules required that two mental health experts submit letters to the effect that Donald was mentally incompetent before allowing Shelly to take full control of the trust, Shelburne writes. Shelly agreed to sell the Clippers in May to Steve Ballmer, claiming that she fully controlled the trust, but Donald is fighting the sale. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Spurs kept Tony Parker through Monday, unsurprisingly, but doing so means his $3.5MM partial guarantee is now a fully guaranteed $12.5MM salary for 2014/15.
- Jamal Crawford of the Clippers had his $1.5MM partial guarantee bumped to a full guarantee of $5.45MM when he remained on the roster through Monday.
- Kosta Koufos remains on the Grizzlies, so his $500K partial guarantee is now a $3MM full guarantee.
- Parker’s teammate Austin Daye is also still with the Spurs, so his $250K partial guarantee is a fully guaranteed minimum salary.
- The Hornets kept Jeffery Taylor around, so his minimum salary went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed.
- It appears as though the Magic are officially under the cap, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That means Orlando loses access to a $6,077,280 trade exception it could have reaped from last week’s Arron Afflalo deal.
- The Hawks didn’t give big man Gustavo Ayon a qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). There weren’t reports of qualifying offers to James Southerland of the Pelicans, Adonis Thomas of the Sixers and Bernard James of the Mavs, so presumably they’re all unrestricted free agents as well.
- The Wolves hired Ryan Saunders as an assistant coach, the team announced (on Twitter). Saunders, the son of Wolves head coach/executive Flip Saunders, had served the last five seasons as a Wizards assistant.
Raptors, Hawks Exchange Salmons, Williams
TUESDAY, 7:13am: The Raptors and Hawks officially announced the trade overnight before the July moratorium began. Williams and the rights to Nogueira go to Toronto while Salmons and a 2015 second-rounder go to Atlanta.
MONDAY, 10:00pm: The snag in the trade has been resolved. The Raptors will also send a 2015 second-round choice to Atlanta in the deal, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
The Raptors should end up with a $2.133MM trade exception for Salmons, Pincus tweets.
8:06pm: The Hawks still aren’t expected to keep Salmons past the new deadline, a league source tells Charania (on Twitter).
8:04pm: The Hawks won’t release Salmons today, and both sides have agreed to extend the waiver deadline to July 10th, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 8:25pm: The Hawks will indeed waive Salmons tomorrow, Wojnarowski reveals in his full story.
7:37pm: The Raptors have agreed to send John Salmons to the Hawks in exchange for Lou Williams and the rights to Lucas Nogueira, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Marc Stein of ESPN first revealed that the two sides were in advanced discussions of such a deal (Twitter link).
Salmons’ $7MM contract is only partially guaranteed for $1MM if he’s waived by the end of tomorrow, as Chuck Myron explained in our recap of upcoming guarantee dates. Given Atlanta’s reported interest in a run at a Carmelo Anthony/LeBron James pairing, it’s probably only a matter of time until Salmons finds himself a free agent. In 78 games for the Kings and Raptors last season, Salmons averaged just 5.0 points per game while shooting 36.8% from the floor.
Williams is a few years removed from his prime, but it’s unlikely the Hawks are giving up the former stud point guard and rights to Nogueira, a 2013 first-round selection, just to get $7MM off of their books. It’s possible, and maybe even likely, that this move is a precursor to a bigger deal, suggests Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). The trade should be finalized sometime tomorrow, tweets David Aldridge of TNT, giving Atlanta the window required to shed Salmons’ contract before it becomes guaranteed.
Heat Interested In Luol Deng
12:25am: In addition to the previously reported Heat, Mavs, and Hawks, the Clippers, Lakers and Bulls have all registered interest with Deng, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
12:06am: Miami’s Pat Riley has called Luol Deng‘s reps and registered his significant interest, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Mavericks were the first team on the horn with Deng early this morning but, apparently, Miami wasn’t far behind.
Earlier this week it was reported that the Hawks are thinking about making a run at Luol Deng this summer. The Hawks have $15MM+ to spend on free agents this offseason after their trade with the Raptors and Deng appears to be one of their prime targets. However, it may be another team out of the Southeast Division that comes away with the Man from Sudan.
In 63 games for the Bulls and Cavs this year, Deng averaged 16.0 PPG and 5.7 RPG. He finished with a combined 15.2 PER and, unsurprisingly, the numbers show that he performed better in Chicago.
Southeast Rumors: Ariza, Gortat, Ferry, Lewis
The latest out of the Southeast Division..
- Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears that Trevor Ariza is after a deal in the $8-11MM per year range and likes the idea of playing in a warm-weather city. Still, staying with the Wizards is an intriguing option for him.
- The Wizards spent the evening reaching out to their own free agents, Marcin Gortat, Ariza, and Drew Gooden, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
- Ariza has significant interest from clubs, including the Cavs, and Wizards coach Randy Wittman will be in Los Angeles tomorrow morning to meet with him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. A league source close to Ariza tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) that his potential destinations include the Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Mavs, Jazz, Cavs, and Wizards.
- Hawks‘ GM Danny Ferry plans to be “very aggressive” in free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
- Heat free agent forward Rashard Lewis is expecting interest from the Heat, Pacers, Thunder, Raptors, and Spurs, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- So far the Hornets have not expressed interest in Luol Deng, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).
- The Hawks were the first team to call unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore after midnight, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Hawks are really high on the Lakers free agent.
- Unrestricted free agent Trevor Booker has attracted interest from several teams, including the Heat, Wolves, Jazz, Nets, Knicks, Magic, and Wizards, sources tell Michael Lee of the Washington Post (on Twitter).
Celtics Rumors: Thomas, Bradley, Bazemore
The term “fireworks” has been a popular one to describe the offseason ahead for the Celtics, and with July 4th approaching, it seems like the appropriate time to set some off. Here’s the latest on Boston’s initial forays into free agency:
- The Celtics were the first team on the horn with restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas when free agency started, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). President of basketball operations Danny Ainge made the call.
- Restricted free agent guard Avery Bradley has received calls from the Celtics and 76ers since free agency started, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter).
- Unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore received a personal call from Celtics coach Brad Stevens after midnight, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter). The Mavs and Hawks are also showing interest.
Qualifying Offers: Monday
Teams must decide today whether to tender qualifying offers to their players eligible for restricted free agency or lose the right to match offers from other teams. We’ll round up all of today’s qualifying offer decisions here:
- The Pacers declined to tender a qualifying offer to Lavoy Allen, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Still, there’s mutual interest in a new deal, Buckner adds (on Twitter).
- The Hawks extended a qualifying offer to Mike Scott, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports (on Twitter).
- No surprise here: Chandler Parsons got his QO from the Rockets, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.
- The Pacers won’t extend a QO to Evan Turner, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- Kevin Seraphin officially got his qualifying offer from the Wizards, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.
- As expected, the Warriors won’t extend a QO to Jordan Crawford, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
- The Hawks have extended a qualifying offer to Shelvin Mack, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Bucks have told forward-center Ekpe Udoh he will not be tendered an offer thus making him an unrestricted free agent, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter).
- The Grizzlies have passed on making a qualifying offer to Ed Davis, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Davis was reportedly a favorite of former CEO Jason Levien, but with Zach Randolph having agreed to an extension, it appears that Davis isn’t quite as highly valued in Memphis as he once was. His qualifying offer would have been worth $4,268,609, a slightly smaller amount than he was originally in line for, as I explained.
- No shock here, but the Pistons extended a qualifying offer to Greg Monroe, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, preserving their right to match offers for the fifth-rated player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings. The qualifying offer is worth nearly $5.5MM, but he’ll command much more than that.
- The Pelicans will not give Darius Miller a qualifying offer, reports John Reid of The Times Picayune. The offer would have been worth more than $1.115MM.
- The Spurs have tendered a qualifying offer to Aron Baynes, notes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (on Twitter). It’s worth more than $1.115MM, the same amount as Miller’s would have been.
- The Knicks have elected not to make a qualifying offer to Toure’ Murry, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). They’d like to re-sign him nonetheless, Stein adds in a second tweet, but other teams have interest, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt says (on Twitter). The offer would have been worth more than $1.016MM.
- Othyus Jeffers and Robbie Hummel won’t receive qualifying offers from the Wolves, the team announced (on Twitter). The offers would have been for amounts slightly greater than $1.148MM and $1.016MM, respectively.
Free Agent Rumors: Lakers, Gasol, Davis, Ariza
Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) says the Suns and Hawks will be interested in Pau Gasol. The Lakers, Knicks, Bulls, Mavs, and Rockets are also expected to pursue the Spaniard. There should be plenty of options out there for Gasol but Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) hears that the Thunder are unlikely to be in the running. Here’s more from around the league..
- Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter) hears that MarShon Brooks is the only definitive Lakers free agent not returning. Everyone else has a chance to return depending on who else is available.
- The feeling from NBA sources is that this free agency period could be “uneventful” for the Jazz outside of Gordon Hayward and Marvin Williams, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
- The Clippers remain interested in re-signing Glen Davis and his reps have talked with the club, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
- Wizards coach Randy Wittman and VP Ed Tapscott are slated to visit their free agent forward Trevor Ariza in his hometown of Los Angeles tomorrow, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
- Meanwhile, Drew Gooden expects to re-sign with the Wizards on a minimum salary deal, a source tells Spears (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Al Harrington is one of the Wizards’ summer league coaches and still wants to play.
- After extending a qualifying offer to Avery Bradley, Danny Ainge made it clear that the the guard “is a big part” of the Celtics‘ future, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com.
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle looks at the pitch that the Rockets plan on making to Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paul.
- Euroleague point guard Bo McCalebb is officially free agent, his agent Eric Fleisher told Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). There is no buyout of any kind that needs to be addressed, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets.
Hawks Eyeing Luol Deng
The Hawks are thinking about making a run at Luol Deng this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Atlanta pulled the trigger on a trade earlier tonight for John Salmons‘ non-guaranteed contract, a move that will eventually help further their financial flexibility by giving the club over $15MM in cap room to spend on free agents this offseason.
Deng was shipped to Cleveland at the deadline and is reportedly less-than-thrilled at the idea of re-signing with the Cavs. The Lakers and Suns are reportedly considering going after Deng, and the Mavs, Celtics, Magic and Bobcats are all said to have interest in the veteran forward as well. If he were to join Atlanta, Deng could help address the team’s lack of depth at the small forward position.
Reports have claimed the Hawks are interested in trying to convince Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James to sign together in Atlanta, but the team is still probably lacking the cap space required for such a scenario to come to fruition. Deng represents a more reasonably priced, albeit less talented, option than a superstar pairing. His agent has suggested a contract similar to Andre Iguodala‘s four-year, $48MM pact would be a reasonable price for the 10-year vet, and Wojnarowski (on Twitter) pegs his market value somewhere between $10MM and $12MM a year.
Draft Grades: Southeast Division
With the 2014 NBA Draft officially in the books, it’s time to take a look back and see how each team used the draft to make improvements and fill needs. I’ve already run down the picks for the Atlantic, Central, Northwest, and Pacific Divisions. We’ll continue on with a look at the Southeast Division:
Atlanta Hawks
Team Needs: Small Forward, Center, Point Guard
Draft Picks:
- No. 15 Adreian Payne (Power Forward)
- No. 43 Walter Tavares (Center)
- No. 48 Lamar Patterson (Shooting Guard)*
*Acquired from Bucks for a future second-round pick.
The Hawks were a team that was hoping to use their first round pick as part of a trade package that would net them a more established player. Unable to do that, the team picked up a nice player in Payne, a stretch four who can help the team out in a number of areas. He’s a bit of a luxury pick for next season considering Paul Millsap is still around, but he’s unlikely to sign as team friendly a deal on his next contract, so in Payne they nab a competent replacement. The only real knock on Payne is that he’s 23 years old, which doesn’t give him as high a ceiling as some of the other prospects in the draft.
If you look up project in the dictionary you very well might see a picture of Tavares. He’s got tremendous size but has only been playing the game a few years. He has an enormous wingspan, huge hands, and a solid frame–all building blocks of successful big men. Whether he can develop into more than a project is definitely up for debate. Tavares will continue to play overseas for the next few seasons and the Hawks hope to benefit from the selection sometime down the line. Tavares is already 23, which means his window for NBA production will be a small one at best.
Patterson is a hard working swingman who does a little of everything, but doesn’t translate to more than a reserve at best. He’ll get some minutes this season, but might not be in the league by 2015/16.
Overall Draft Grade: B- — The Hawks went the safe route with Payne, but he’s NBA ready and should become an immediate contributor. Tavares probably won’t bear fruit, and Patterson might contribute something off the bench, but won’t be much of a factor in the franchise’s future.
Charlotte Hornets
Team Needs: Shooting, Point Guard, Power Forward
Draft Picks:
- No. 9 Noah Vonleh (Power Forward)
- No. 26 P.J. Hairston (Shooting Guard)
*Came via trade from Heat with the No. 55 overall pick, a 2019 second-round pick and cash for the No. 24 pick. Charlotte later sent the 55th pick to the Thunder for cash.
**Traded the 45th pick and Brendan Haywood to the Cavaliers for Alonzo Gee and cash.
One of the biggest surprise teams from last season, albeit in a weak Eastern Conference, managed to improve themselves for next season and long term on draft night. The Hornets most likely cursed aloud when the Kings made Nik Stauskas their pick at No. 8. I have to think that was the player that Charlotte was targeting all along, especially since they passed on drafting Doug McDermott at No. 9.
But things might have worked out for the men from Charlotte after all. Grabbing Vonleh ninth, when he was projected by most to be a top-5 selection, was a good value. The knock on Vonleh has nothing to do with his talent or athleticism, which he has more than enough of. The problem is with Vonleh’s motor and work ethic. Quite a few promising careers were derailed because of players not willing to put in the proper amount of sweat. Vonleh is still young so he gets the benefit of the doubt. The bigger issue is his redundant skill set alongside Cody Zeller.
The pick of Vonleh looks better when you consider the team nabbing Hairston, who was a steal at No. 26. Hairston might not be the shooter that Stauskas is, but he’s a more complete player who will contribute just as much next season. The biggest second guessing the Hornets will have is for passing on McDermott. The team desperately needs scoring, and if McDermott lights it up in Chicago, then Hornets fans will have something to gripe about.
Overall Draft Grade: A- — The team might not have addressed its biggest need, but they did grab two players who were both steals where they were selected.
Miami Heat
Team Needs: Point Guard, Depth, Center
Draft Picks:
- No. 24 Shabazz Napier (Point Guard)*
* Came via trade with Hornets for the 26th and 55th overall picks in Thursday’s draft plus a 2019 second-rounder and cash.
The Heat get their man. Who will he be playing with next season? That’s very much up in the air right now. Assuming that Miami will put a similar amount of talent on the floor next year, then Napier is a solid pick. After getting next to nothing in the Finals from Norris Cole and Mario Chalmers, it was painfully obvious the team needed an upgrade at the point.
While the team probably could benefit more from a veteran upgrade, like say, Jose Calderon, Napier has all the makings of a winner. It’s doubtful he’ll ever be an all-star, but he is the type of player that winning teams need. He’s a solid leader, plays harder than anyone, and is absolutely fearless when games are on the line. If LeBron James returns, one of the selling points will be Napier’s presence.
Overall Draft Grade: B — The team gets a solid player at a “need” position.
Orlando Magic
Team Needs: Point Guard, Power Forward, Depth, Shooting Guard
Draft Picks:
- No. 4 Aaron Gordon (Power Forward)
- No. 10 Elfrid Payton (Point Guard)*
- No. 56 Devyn Marble (Shooting Guard)
*Came via trade with Sixers. Orlando received Payton, and Philadelphia got Dario Saric, a 2015 second-round pick, and a 2017 first-round pick.
The Magic will be exciting running the fast break next season–that’s the good news. The bad news–the team trying to score when playing halfcourt basketball. Remember, Arron Afflalo was traded away, and he was the team’s best outside threat.
The selection of Gordon is the curious one. There’s no debating his upside, and experts project Gordon’s ceiling as being somewhere between Shawn Marion and Blake Griffin. But for a team in need of scoring, passing on Exum might be something the franchise will regret.
On the positive side, Gordon does bring an enormous amount of potential and physical gifts to the table. But he can’t shoot very well, and is an abysmal free throw shooter. His offensive arsenal right now consists primarily of scoring in transition, off pick-and-rolls, and from lobs. It will take time, but Gordon will improve in those areas. It might take two or three seasons to happen, but Gordon should turn out to be a star.
I really like the selection of Payton, the best pure point guard in the draft. He’s not a good shooter, and some scouts have predicted his mechanics are too broken to be fixed. But as a facilitator and defender, he’s top-notch. His presence will also allow Victor Oladipo to go back to shooting guard, a position he is better suited for.
Overall Draft Grade: A — I considered giving a lower grade since the team didn’t address its glaring need for a shooter, but the Magic nabbed two long-term starters, and at least one potential star. Hard to find too much fault in that.
Washington Wizards
Team Needs: Center, Point Guard, Power Forward, Small Forward
Draft Picks:
- No picks
*Traded No. 46 pick to the Lakers for cash.
The Wizards traded their first-round pick to the Suns for Marcin Gortat. Given Gortat’s play for the Wizards last season, it’s not too bad a return for the pick. If the team re-signs him then it was a good trade. If they let him leave for nothing in return, then not so much. Without Gortat they would have most likely been picking higher in the draft, and could have nabbed a valuable building block.
Overall Draft Grade: B- — That grade is if Gortat re-signs. If he leaves then one playoff appearance wasn’t worth the sacrifice, and this grade gets bumped down to a D-.