Knicks Acquire O’Quinn In Sign-And-Trade
JULY 9TH, 1:28pm: The deal is official, both teams announced. It’s O’Quinn to the Knicks, with cash and the option to switch second-rounders in 2019 to the Magic.
JULY 4TH, 6:04pm: The Knicks have agreed to acquire Kyle O’Quinn via sign-and-trade with the Magic, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link). The deal will be for $16MM over four years, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The contract contains an opt out after the third season, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Orlando will receive cash considerations as well as the rights to swap a second-round draft pick in 2019, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Magic had the right to match any offer sheet that O’Quinn signed since they extended a qualifying offer to the 25-year-old.
The big man averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game with Orlando last season. Although he started his NBA career as a center, O’Quinn played over two-thirds of his minutes at the four spot last season, per Basketball Reference.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Stoudemire, Hollins, Rivers
The agreement to trade for Roy Hibbert caps another dismal free agent season for the Lakers, according to Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. L.A. passed on Jahlil Okafor in the draft because team officials were confident they could land a big man through free agency, he writes. But LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and Greg Monroe all chose to go elsewhere. Bresnahan notes that the pattern of free agents turning down the Lakers began with Dwight Howard two years ago and has included Carmelo Anthony and Pau Gasol.
There’s more news from the Pacific Division:
- Outside of money, the Lakers don’t have much to offer free agents, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com. That was evidenced by the team’s disastrous first presentation to Aldridge, which reportedly focused more on the off-court advantages of Los Angeles than on basketball matters, Adande claims. Teams need to have good players to attract great players, he states, and the Lakers are struggling to reach the first step.
- Amar’e Stoudemire was expected to speak with Clippers President of Basketball Operations Doc Rivers Saturday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The forward has interest in several teams, including the Clippers, Mavericks and Pacers, Wojnarowski adds. The Clippers have roughly $2.2MM in exception space left to sign a player beyond the league minimum.
- The Clippers have had conversations about bringing Ryan Hollins back, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Hollins played for Doc Rivers when he coached in Boston as well as in his first season as the coach of the Clippers.
- Austin Rivers will probably be a late signing for the Clippers, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Los Angeles has limited Bird Rights on the free agent guard and can offer up to $3,110,796MM per season, which Washburn speculates will be the best he receives in a shrinking market.
- Justin Holiday is unlikely to return to the Warriors, Washburn writes in the same story. The free agent guard will probably leave the defending champs to seek more playing time.
- In addition to the Kings‘ max offer, Tobias Harris also received interest from the Celtics, Pistons, Pelicans and Grizzlies, among others, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Lakers and Knicks were not among the teams to reach out to Harris, Kennedy adds (Twitter link).
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Seraphin, Watson, Winslow
Free agent Kevin Seraphin is getting interest from the Wizards, Lakers and Suns, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. Spears adds that the Spurs would also be interested in the forward’s services if they fail to land David West. Seraphin signed the qualifying offer from Washington last offseason, which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- C.J. Watson will make $5MM in each of the next three seasons after reaching an agreement to sign with the Magic, but in the final season of the deal, only $1MM of his salary is guaranteed, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Watson is expected to lead the bench unit and be the primary backup to Elfrid Payton.
- The Wizards had shown interest in Watson before he agreed to his deal with Orlando, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post tweets.
- The Knicks are getting a bargain in their agreement with Kyle O’Quinn, opines Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com. O’Quinn’s new contract is worth $16MM over the next four years. The statistician projected that the 25-year-old would get a contract of $27MM over three years.
- The Heat reportedly turned down the Celtics’ proposal of four first-round picks and two second-rounders for the rights to Justise Winslow and Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ponders whether the team made the right call by keeping the Duke product on its roster. The Celtics have a bounty of future first-rounders, as our Draft Pick Tracker page indicates. The exact draft picks that Boston was offering has not been disclosed, but with the Heat owing three of their future first round picks to the the Sixers and Suns, the team could have certainly used the extra assets. Given the situation, Winderman argues the rejection of the offer further proves how valuable Miami views Winslow.
Western Notes: McDaniels, Boozer, Suns
The Rockets‘ plan is to match any offer sheet that K.J. McDaniels signs and potentially look at trade opportunities, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The shooting guard previously expressed his desire to remain in Houston.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- In addition to making a push to sign David West, the Spurs have expressed interest in Carlos Boozer as they look to fill out their bench, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com tweets.
- The Suns missed out on signing LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines the team’s remaining options to add talent this offseason. Coro believes West could be a fit, but he doubts West will see the team as the contender he is reportedly seeking.
- It is unlikely that the Suns pursue forward Josh Smith, Coro adds in the same piece. Coro names Andrea Bargnani, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jordan Hill among possible frontcourt players that Phoenix could target.
Latest On Kevin Love
WEDNESDAY, 12:56pm: The Cavs remain confident of retaining Love and are willing to offer the max, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
TUESDAY, 10:13pm: Love’s representatives and the Lakers have spoken, and a meeting is planned for this week, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 9:51am: Kevin Love has indicated to the Cavs recently that he plans to return, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets. Love officially opted out of his contract on Thursday.
Cleveland is prioritizing signing Love in free agency, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). “We’re very much intending to pursue him the instant that we’re able to,” GM David Griffin said. Griffin said last week that he was expecting Love to opt out but re-sign with the club in July.
LeBron James expressed his desire for the team to re-sign Love as well as Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, but he won’t actively recruit any of them. Love will have no shortage of suitors this offseason as the Rockets, Blazers, Lakers, Suns and Celtics have all expressed interest in the power forward.
Heat Decline Michael Beasley’s Team Option
TUESDAY, 1:22pm: The move indeed took place, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 12:16pm: The Heat have informed Michael Beasley that they will not pick up his option for the 2015/16 season, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Beasley would have made slightly less than $1.3MM had the team opted to pick up his option.
Miami indicated the the decision to draft Justise Winslow was a major factor in the decision to part ways with Beasley, Jackson adds in a full-length article. There was no discussion of Beasley returning to the Heat down the road, according to Jared Karnes, who represents Beasley and spoke to Jackson.
Starting small forward Luol Deng has a player option worth more than $10.15MM for the upcoming season and the team hopes he sticks around for at least one more season. Assuming Deng is on the roster next season, along with Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts and Winslow, the team shouldn’t have a major need at either forward position. Beasley played minutes at both the three and the four spot while averaging 8.8 points, 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 43.4% from the field during his third stint in Miami.
Central Notes: Blatt, Cavaliers, Haywood, Pistons
Back home in Israel, David Blatt told The Jerusalem Post he fully intends to return as the Cavaliers‘ coach next season. “Of course I will continue in Cleveland, there is no question,” he told an interviewer. There have been rumors of a rift between Blatt and LeBron James, espcially after ESPN’s Marc Stein wrote that James disrespected his coach during the NBA Finals. Blatt insists his relationship with James is nothing out of the ordinary for a new coach and a star player. “I have a good relationship with him,” Blatt said. “We went through a process. It took us time to get to know each other. We learned how to work together the best way possible. When you work with a star of that magnitude the relationship is slightly different. It isn’t like with any other player. I learned from this process. We both want the same thing, but don’t always agree about everything.” Blatt, who was hired last offseason, has two years remaining on his $10MM contract, along with a team option for a third.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- In addition to re-signing their own guys, the Cavs‘ priority will be landing a veteran point guard, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets. Amico adds that the team is on the lookout for a wing player.
- Cleveland hopes to execute a Brendan Haywood trade quickly after July 1st, Amico relays (Twitter link). Haywood has an unusually valuable contract that contains a non-guaranteed salary worth more than $10.5MM next season.
- President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy will be targeting two small forwards who are unrestricted free agents this offseason, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Langlois adds that if the Pistons can’t land either of those players, Van Gundy has two restricted free agent small forwards in mind that he would like to add.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Wolves Notes: Hummel, Garnett, Jones
The Wolves have extended a qualifying offer to Robbie Hummel worth slightly less than $1.15MM, according to Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press (Twitter link). President of basketball operations Flip Saunders previously indicated he would like to bring back the forward. Hummel scored 4.4 points in 16.5 minutes per game while shooting 45.9% from the field this season.
Here’s more from Minnesota:
- It has yet to be announced, but Kevin Garnett will “definitely” re-sign with the Wolves, Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press reports. Walters also adds that Saunders will “definitely” return as the coach, which confirms a previous report. Garnett only played five games for Minnesota after being traded for Thaddeus Young. The 39-year-old will get a chance to mentor the team’s young talent, including Karl-Anthony Towns, which is something the No. 1 overall pick is looking forward to.
- If the Wolves weren’t able to strike a deal with the Cavs for Tyus Jones, the team would have looked to add a point guard after July 1st, Walters writes in the same piece. “Then we would have had to go and sign somebody in free agency,” Saunders said.
- Had the draft day trade not occurred, the Grizzlies would have chosen the Duke product with the No. 25 pick, sources tell Walters.
Western Rumors: Gasol, Cousins, Aldridge
Marc Gasol has no interest in signing with the Lakers this offseason, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reports. The 30-year-old’s lack of interest is primarily because of the uneasy last few years his older brother, Pau, spent with the team, according to numerous people familiar with the situation. The Mavs, Spurs, Knicks and Lakers are reportedly putting together proposals to lure the big man away from the Grizzlies. He made his affection known for the city of Memphis, but has not ruled out any other destination.
Here’s more from around Los Angeles:
- The Lakers would trade No. 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell to the Kings if that is what it takes to get DeMarcus Cousins, a league source tells Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Daily News. However, Heisler adds that a trade isn’t likely. Kings Owner Vivek Ranadive reportedly gave agent Dan Fegan permission to try to engineer trade proposals that would send Cousins to the Lakers, but Kings front office chief Vlade Divac is instead trying to see if the team can mend the relationship with the 24-year-old center.
- Bresnahan notes in the same piece that LaMarcus Aldridge, who owns a home in Orange County, is a more realistic prize for the Lakers in free agency. The power forward is reportedly growing fond of the team. A maximum salary contract for the big man will cost an estimated $18.96MM and Los Angeles will have some $23MM in cap space once it declines Jordan Hill‘s team option as expected.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis entered the league with great expectations for himself. As a senior in high school, Ellis had college coaches as well as NBA scouts regularly attending his games. In 2005, former Mississippi State assistant coach Phil Cunningham heavily recruited Ellis to play for the university. Cunningham laid out the facts for the guard. He told Ellis the expected salaries of each first-round pick and explained the difference between what Chris Paul, a projected top pick in the NBA draft, would make compared to someone drafted toward the end of the first round.
“If you come to Mississippi State for one year, you’re going to be the best player in the SEC. You’ll be MVP of the SEC.” Cunningham told Ellis, according to Jonathan Abrams of Grantland in a full-length article that’s worth a reread. “You’ll probably be first-team All-American. You think if you come here for one year, you can’t be as good as Chris Paul and be a top pick in the draft next year and make this type of money as opposed to going in right now and [then] you’re locked into this lower spot?”
Ellis then looked back at Cunningham, and firmly told the coach that he was already better than Paul.
Since he was drafted 40th overall by the Warriors in the 2006 draft, the 6’3″ guard has played with that level of confidence. In 2010, he called himself the second best player in the league, deferring only to Kobe Bryant. Yet when his six year, $66MM contract expired after the 2012/13 season, Ellis’ stock was at a low point.
The Mavs signed Ellis to a three year, $25MM contract and during his initial season in Dallas, he was arguably the team’s most valuable player. The Mavs made the playoffs and pushed the Spurs to the brink before falling in the first round. At the time, it appeared that Dallas had found a bargain in its contract with Ellis, and it seemed like Ellis had found a long-term home.
A year later, his future isn’t as clear. Ellis has always been a liability on defense and the Mavs felt the need to upgrade the defense in their backcourt, which led to their ill-advised midseason trade for Rajon Rondo. Rondo’s presence on the team left Ellis to play off the ball more often, which is a role that he isn’t best suited for. Ellis had a dreadful second half of the season. He only made 16.9% of his three-point attempts after the All-Star break, but his numbers improved during the postseason when Rondo was putatively sidelined because of a back injury, one that was reportedly a ruse to cover a mutual parting of ways. Ellis isn’t the best spot-up shooter, but he shot a competent 36.8% on left corner threes and 35.0% from the right, according to NBA.com, better marks than players like Goran Dragic and Joe Johnson, to name a few. This advocates that Ellis can fit onto a team that doesn’t plan on making him a primary ball handler, something that could broaden his list of potential suitors.
Ellis only made 26.7% of his three-point shots from above the key. This, coupled with his playmaking ability, suggests that allowing him to be the primary ball handler is the best strategy for the team that employs him. Ellis chose not to exercise his player option worth $8.72MM with the Mavs in search of a more lucrative deal. Dallas reportedly has no intention of giving Ellis the raise he seeks and the team was apparently poised to try to trade the 29-year-old if he had opted in. It appears likely that he will be calling another city home during the 2015/16 season.
Ellis’ body of work probably warrants an eight-figure salary, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors wrote in the Mavs’ offseason outlook. The shooting guard is reportedly eyeing the Hawks, while the Heat and Pacers are interested in the Mississippi native. The Hawks have slightly less than $39.3MM in commitments against a projected $67.1MM cap, but the team is expected to try to retain its free agents, which would most likely bring them over the cap. The Heat have roughly $43MM in commitments for next season. The team has a lucrative offer earmarked for Dragic and also has interest in retaining Luol Deng, who has a player option worth $10.152MM. Miami also has to think about fitting in a potential raise for Dwyane Wade. The Heat presumably views signing Ellis as a backup plan if Wade decides to leave South Beach. Even if Wade departs, with the Heat’s current cap situation, the team would be hard-pressed to shoehorn in a potential $10MM annual salary for Ellis.
Indiana seems like a more logical destination for the shooting guard. The Pacers had slightly more than $36MM in guaranteed salary for 2015/16 as the offseason dawned, but player options for David West and Roy Hibbert loomed as potential complications. Hibbert apparently is opting into the last year of his deal, worth over $15.5MM. West is reportedly opting out of his contract and is reportedly favoring the Knicks as his next team. If the power forward departs, the team could have some $10MM in cap space to play with.
From a basketball standpoint, Indiana offers a good situation for the Relativity Sports client. The Pacers are one of more stable franchises in the NBA and they employ one of the better coaches in the league. George Hill would seemingly be a perfect fit next to Ellis in the backcourt. Hill is a plus defender and he has shown he can be effective without dominating the ball. Ellis could solidify the team’s guard rotation and give the franchise the additional playmaker it’s lacked since Lance Stephenson left town last offseason.
Ellis has connections to a few other franchises. Magic coach Scott Skiles coached Ellis in Milwaukee and Magic assistant coach Mario Elie coached him when he played in Golden State. Ellis played under Nuggets coach Michael Malone while he a Warrior and he has a great deal of respect for his former assistant coach. Both teams have the cap flexibility to accommodate a contract for Ellis. Still, Denver is rebuilding, so an Ellis signing wouldn’t fit in with its projected blueprint. The Magic have a young core and GM Rob Hennigan has hit the veteran market in the past to supplement the roster. However, Ellis’ outside shooting and defensive deficiencies would make him an awkward fit in Orlando.
Ellis hasn’t quite lived up to the superstar status that he projected for himself when he entered the league. Yet, he has the ability to be a major contributor on a real contender. It’s just a matter of finding the correct role and the right supporting cast that will allow him to flourish.
What do you think Ellis will make on his next deal, and where do you think he’ll end up? Let us know in the comments.