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.
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.
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.
Knicks, Rockets Discuss Anthony
The Rockets and Knicks have connected with regard to Carmelo Anthony, Ian Begley of ESPN writes, but the two parties haven’t gained traction on a possible deal. Per Begley, the Knicks aren’t exactly enamored with the idea of landing Ryan Anderson in exchange for the All-Star forward.
Commenting on the Begley tweet, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News posits that Houston could be banking on a buyout. The Rockets have, after all, made themselves considerably more appealing to Anthony now with the addition of his close friend Chris Paul.
Anthony has been the subject of trade rumors for over a year now but the recent shakeup in New York’s front office could potentially keep him within the organization. While Anthony’s no-trade clause puts him in the power position, a miserable relationship with former Knicks president Phil Jackson could have contributed to the forward being receptive to a move out of town.
The Cavaliers are another possible destination for Anthony, should the team ultimately decide to buy him out, something that at this point remains far from guaranteed.
Knicks Believe Teague Has Committed To Wolves
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, at least one front office believes Jeff Teague is so committed to the Timberwolves that it’s not worth pursuing a meeting. It’s been said that the Knicks have abandoned the idea of sitting down with the Pacers free agent altogether.
We wrote earlier about how Sam Amick of USA Today called Teague Minnesota’s “heavy, heavy favorite” target. Since that time, Chad Hartman of WCCO in Minneapolis has already gone so far as to say that the team and the point guard have a three-year deal in mind (via Dan Cook of WCCO).
While teams and players can’t officially negotiate until midnight EST, there has already been much speculation about who the Wolves will target now that they’ve sent Ricky Rubio to the Jazz.
Central Notes: Sumner, Jefferson, Grand Rapids
The Pacers drafted a pair of injured prospects earlier this month but it wasn’t an oversight, Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star writes. By taking a chance on the heralded but sidelined NCAA stars, president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard was able to get his hands on two quality projects at a bargain rate.
“They don’t want me to rush back,” Edmond Sumner, the point guard out of Xavier said of his new club. “They just want me to get healthy. That’s the main priority right now, just getting healthy. I’m not going to rush.”
Considering that the franchise is at the beginning of a rebuild, they stand to benefit from any young talent they can amass. Ike Anigbogu is the second of Indiana’s intriguing second-rounders.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- A former business manager of Richard Jefferson has been indicted of fraud, Billy Heyen of Cleveland.com writes. The manager stole $7MM from the Cavaliers veteran after forging Jefferson’s signature and illegally establishing power of attorney over his finances.
- A Detroit city council proposal that would earmark the income tax of NBA players for a neighborhood fund has hit a speed bump, Ben Solis of MLive writes. The proposed fund is estimated to collect $1.3MM annually from Pistons players, their opponents and team personnel.
- The Pistons and their G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, have agreed on a two-year extension, the team has announced in a press release. They’ve also named Rob Werdann their new head coach.
Knicks Unlikely To Bring Back Rose
The Knicks are unlikely to bring point guard Derrick Rose back for another season in New York, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes, citing a pair of sources close to the team.
While a reunion seemed a distinct possibility when Phil Jackson was president of the organization, that’s not the case now. Although Rose fared reasonably well in his first year with the Knicks, his suspect defense, chronic injury concerns and that infamous disappearing act last January have all limited his stock.
Bondy adds that the Knicks are high on backup point guard Ron Baker, although he won’t likely suffice as a starter until first-round pick Frank Ntilikina adjusts to the NBA and takes the reins.
Of course there are plenty of big name point guards available through free agency this summer, including Kyle Lowry, Jeff Teague and George Hill. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets that the franchise has considered moving Courtney Lee in order to free up cap room to make a pitch.
Spurs Prep $9MM Offer For RFA Simmons
The Spurs are said to be preparing an offer for restricted free agent Jonathon Simmons worth $9MM per year, Marc Stein of ESPN tweets.
Earlier today, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN said that it initially looked as though the Spurs would likely lose Simmons to free agency. Now, possibly because of the package Stein made reference to, there’s a decent chance he stays in San Antonio.
It’s not clear what exactly Simmons would attract on the open market. While his value has inevitably increased after playing a role in Gregg Popovich‘s rotation, he presents as little more than a solid perimeter defender that averaged 12.5 points per 36 minutes. That hasn’t stopped NBA teams from reaching deep into the piggybank in the past, however.
Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News has added his voice to the conversation, suggesting that Simmons is very unlikely to jump at just any Spurs offer, preferring instead to seek out a deal and give San Antonio the opportunity to match.
Wolves Target Teague Among Other PG Options
Immediately after trading Ricky Rubio to the Jazz for a first-round pick, the Timberwolves have made Jeff Teague their favorite target available, Sam Amick of USA Today writes.
Of course that doesn’t necessarily mean the interest is mutual but there’s reason to believe that Minnesota has a pretty good idea of who their starting point guard will be in 2017/18.
Per Josh Lewenberg of TSN, the Timberwolves wouldn’t make the Rubio trade without knowing who their replacement would be. He speculates that it could be Kyle Lowry but notes that it would make more sense for the club to pursue Teague or George Hill.
If the decision did come between Teague and Lowry, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News suggests that the 29-year-old Teague could have the upper hand over his 31-year-old counterpart with the flexibility to offer a shorter deal so that the Wolves could save money.
Another option that has been floated by Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports is Rajon Rondo. Mannix notes that T-Wolves head coach Tom Thibodeau saw the best of Rondo during his stint with the Celtics.
As of now, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman notes, the only point guard on Minnesota’s roster is Tyus Jones