Rockets Considered Favorites To Land Carmelo Anthony?
Many NBA executives consider the Rockets the favorite to land Carmelo Anthony, according to Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer (Twitter link).
O’Connor also predicts that Melo will sign with Houston but names the Lakers, Heat, and Sixers as other possibilities. It was previously reported that Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami were expected to have interest in the future Hall-of-Famer.
Anthony’s business manager, Bay Frazier, spent a good portion of the Warriors-Rockets summer league game alongside the Rockets’ brass. Frazier was seen with Chris Paul, owner Tilman Fertitta, player development coach John Lucas II, and head coach Mike D’Antoni, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).
The Rockets were linked to Anthony last summer, having pursued him when the Knicks were looking to make a move. New York wasn’t interested in taking back Ryan Anderson as part of the deal and talks stalled, leading the organization to send Anthony to the Thunder. While Anthony’s latest breakup isn’t yet finalized, a buyout arrangement appears forthcoming, as OKC is unlikely to find a taker on the trade market for his nearly $28MM salary.
The Thunder are facing luxury tax concerns and will be looking to trim as much salary as possible off their books in negotiations. The Rockets have the $5,337MM taxpayer mid-level exception at their disposal and if Anthony can line up an offer with Houston or another club, it may expedite the process of him leaving the Thunder.
Rockets, Clint Capela Far Apart On Contract Negotiations
Restricted free agent Clint Capela remains without a deal and there’s a major difference between the Rockets‘ financial valuation of Capela and what the center believes he is worth, as sources tell Kelly Iko of RocketsWire.
Shortly after free agency began, the Rockets met with Capela in Los Angeles and their initial offer was similar to the four-year, $53MM deal that Jusuf Nurkic received from the Blazers, according to Iko’s two sources. Capela may be seeking a contract in the realm of four years and $80MM, close to the deal that Zach LaVine just inked.
Houston wants to keep Capela, though the franchise prefers not to overpay. Capela’s camp may be hard pressed to find a lucrative deal on the open market, with several thought-to-be suitors going in different directions. The Mavs opted to sign DeAndre Jordan; The Suns have their center of the future in Deandre Ayton; and the Lakers, a team that also met with Capela last week, exhausted most of their cap space on LeBron James and a cast of veterans.
The Hawks are roughly $20MM under the salary cap, putting them in position to make a sizable offer. However, Atlanta is reportedly focused on using its cap space to acquire player-friendly contracts in exchange for assets. The Kings have slightly less cap room than the Hawks, but pairing Capela with No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III in the frontcourt would be an awkward fit, and Sacramento has other bigs it likes, such as Harry Giles.
Capela is the top remaining free agent left on the market, according to our 2018 rankings. The big man was ranked No. 6 overall, coming in behind LBJ, Durant, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, and teammate Chris Paul.
Bucks Notes: Ilyasova, Parker, Lopez, Zeller
The Bucks are thrilled to have Ersan Ilyasova back on the squad after three seasons without the former second-round pick.
“Ersan is a high IQ player, he can shoot the ball so he gives Giannis and the rest of the team space,” GM Jon Horst said (via the Behind the Buck Pass’ Twitter feed). “He’s competitive, he’s tough, and he knows our system, he knows our community, he knows our players. He was a guy we focused on in free agency, and we’ll be excited to add him.”
Milwaukee agreed to terms on a three-year, $21MM deal as free agency began last weekend. Here’s more from Milwaukee:
- Horst discussed the Jabari Parker‘s pending restricted free agency during an appearance on NBATV (h/t Adam McGee of Behind the Buck Pass). “We’ve had great conversations [with Parker and his agent], we’re in contact every day. I think the market will dictate some of it, but we’ll continue to work on it and we’ll see how it turns out,” Horst said.
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com examines why Brook Lopez didn’t fetch a more lucrative deal than the one-year, $3.4MM contract he agreed to with the Bucks. While Lopez will provide Milwaukee with a proven scorer in the paint, his lack of foot speed will make it difficult for him to have a defensive impact. Pelton notes that the big man’s ability to shoot from behind the arc will help the team space the floor on offense.
- The arrival of Lopez likely means Tyler Zeller‘s time in Milwaukee will come to an end, Pelton speculates in the same piece. Zeller’s $1.9MM salary is non-guaranteed and the Bucks will have to be careful in the margins if they plan on making an offer to Parker without going into the luxury tax. If the Bucks waive both Zeller and Brandon Jennings, whose $2.2MM salary does not become guaranteed until August 1, they’d have approximately $11.5MM of financial wiggle room below the luxury tax line.
Spurs Decline To Match Grizzlies’ Offer Sheet For Kyle Anderson
The Spurs are declining to match the offer sheet Kyle Anderson signed with the Grizzlies, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It was previously reported that San Antonio was leaning against matching the four-year, $37.2MM offer.
[RELATED: Grizzlies sign Kyle Anderson to offer sheet]
Anderson will likely become Memphis’ starting small forward, Wojnarowski notes. The 24-year-old has been excellent on the defensive end and the organization views the deal as an investment toward its goal of “recapturing” the Grit and Grind era, Woj writes in a full-length piece on ESPN.com.
Anderson, a UCLA product, enjoyed a more prominent role than expected in 2017/18, with Kawhi Leonard sitting out nearly the entire season. The wing appeared in 74 games, averaging 7.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per contest with an efficient .527 FG%.
The Spurs are already over the cap, committing $105.6MM for the upcoming season with only 10 players under contract. Matching Anderson’s offer sheet would have left the team without much financial flexibility as it aimed to fill out the remainder of the roster. San Antonio still has to consider new deals for its other restricted free agents, Davis Bertans and Bryn Forbes.
Anderson’s departure represents the latest in a string of lost restricted free agents for the Spurs. The club opted to withdraw qualifying offers for Cory Joseph and Jonathon Simmons in 2015 and 2017, respectively, allowing them to sign elsewhere. In 2016, San Antonio opted not to match Boban Marjanovic‘s offer sheet with the Pistons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Community Shootaround: Best Deal Of The Day
The first day of free agency is almost complete and several big names are already off the market.
Paul George will stay in Oklahoma City for the next four years, bringing approximately $137MM. DeAndre Jordan will make roughly the same ($24MM) in Dallas this season as he would have had he opted in with the Clippers. Chris Paul remains in Houston on a four-year, $160MM deal and Kevin Durant will stay in Golden State for at least one more year, as he signed a two-year, $61.5MM deal that will allow him to hit the open market again next summer.
Outside of the top players, many rotational players got paid on mid-sized deals. Ed Davis landed a one-year, $4.4MM deal with the Nets. The Spurs retain Rudy Gay on a one-year, $10MM pact and bring back old friend Marco Belinelli on a two-year, $12MM deal. Trevor Ariza cashes in with the Suns on a one-year, $15MM deal and Joe Harris will stay with the Nets, earning $16MM over the next two seasons.
Tonight’s community shootaround is all about which team made the best deal. The Warriors re-signing Durant is arguably the most important deal of the group and the Thunder retaining George has to be seen as one of the greatest accomplishments during GM Sam Presti’s reign. Aside from those two deals, which contract has the most value?
The Raptors re-signing Fred VanVleet stands out as another coup in a long list of positives during GM Masai Ujiri’s tenure. At $9MM per season, he’ll provide excellent value off the bench and he’s more than capable of starting for Toronto should the club deal Kyle Lowry (no one on the roster is untouchable in trades, per reports).
Which team do you think negotiated the best deal? Do you agree that VanVleet’s contract holds the most value outside of Durant’s and George’s or do you believe another deal is more team-friendly? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Timberwolves Eyeing Nick Young, Other Free Agents
4:06pm: Wolfson adds Jeff Green, Malcolm Delaney, and Treveon Graham to the list of free agents that the Timberwolves have inquired on so far (Twitter link).
12:15pm: The Timberwolves have interest in Nick Young among several other free agents, according to ESPN’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link).
Young is coming off a down year in Golden State where he sported just a 10.0 player efficiency rating and scored just 7.3 points per game. It’s hard to envision the shooting guard surpassing the $5.19MM salary he received with the Warriors last season after floundering alongside the best supporting cast he’s ever played with.
Minnesota has the non-tax mid-level ($8.6MM) and the bi-annual ($3.4MM) at its disposal. However, with approximately $115MM already on the books, the team must be careful when handing out deals if it intends to stay below the luxury tax line. If a team uses its bi-annual exception or more than the taxpayer portion of its MLE, it becomes hard-capped for the season.
Dante Cunningham and James Ennis are among other free agents the Wolves are keeping an eye on, Wolfson adds. Lance Stephenson remains a possibility for one of the team’s five open roster spots. Minnesota is among the teams expected to have interest in the mercurial shooting guard once the first wave of free agents sign.
Other candidates for the team’s openings include Trevor Booker, Amir Johnson, Jabari Bird and Anthony Tolliver. Coach/executive Tom Thibodeau reportedly has spoken with Tolliver and team values the power forward’s lockerroom presence.
Free Agency Notes: George, MCW, Booker, Parker
The Thunder and Paul George agreed to a four-year deal worth $137MM at the start of free agency and according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link), the team will have the option to offer George an even bigger raise in two years.
Under the new CBA, the team can offer George an extension after the second anniversary of the deal, meaning PG13 can sign a four-year max deal in 2020 that locks him in for seven seasons. The total value of the potential seven-year pact would come in at an estimated $290MM based off of future salary cap projections.
The team’s ability to re-sign George was shocking to some, as many expected the 5-time All-Star to leave OKC for Los Angeles, a city he’s been linked to for quite some time. It’s possible that the team’s ability to offer the max extension at the halfway point of the four-year contract was part of George’s motivation to stick around, though that’s merely my speculation.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Rockets will meet with Michael Carter-Williams, league sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). While Houston appears to be looking into ancillary parts for its team, the franchise hasn’t given up hope on pursuing LeBron James.
- The Jazz and Pelicans have both expressed interest in Trevor Booker, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype reports (Twitter link). The Wolves, Rockets, Knicks, and Spurs also have an eye on the big man.
- The Bulls have interest in Jabari Parker, Kennedy tweets. Chicago is one of several teams expected to pursue the former No. 2 overall pick.
- The Wolves are looking to sign Dante Cunningham, sources tell Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Minnesota has eyes for a bevy of veteran free agents to fill it’s five open roster spots.
Sixers, Jerryd Bayless Considering Buyout Agreement
The Sixers and Jerryd Bayless are “strongly” considering a buyout agreement, according to Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The point guard is owed nearly $9MM this upcoming season.
Schultz adds that Bayless will garner interest from several teams if he hits the open market this summer. The 29-year-old played in 39 games this past season, scoring 7.9 points per game while shooting 37.0 from downtown.
Philadelphia is meeting with LeBron James‘ representatives today, though it doesn’t quite have the available salary cap space to offer him a full max, estimated at $35.6MM. Agreeing to a buyout with Bayless will help them to get closer to that figure. The stretch provision is an option for the team even if Bayless agrees to a lesser salary figure in a parting agreement, as the same rules apply for a player’s buyout salary it does for a traditional contract.
Kings Sign Marvin Bagley III To Rookie Deal
The Kings have signed Marvin Bagley III to a rookie scale contract, according to a team press release. At 120% of the scale, his first-year salary will come in at approximately $7.31MM.
Sacramento selected Bagley with the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft. During his lone season at Duke, the big man was just one of four freshmen in the nation to average a double-double with points and rebounds. He averaged 21.0 points, 11.1 boards, and 1.5 assists in 33.9 minutes per night at the collegiate level.
Bagley will help lead an inexperienced Kings’ roster this upcoming season. Including his deal, Sacramento has nine players under contract who are on their rookie contracts, a figure that leads the league. That total does not include Bogdan Bogdanovic, who’s on his first contract in the league, but not bound to a rookie scale.
Lakers To Meet With Clint Capela
The Lakers will meet with Clint Capela today, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports (Twitter link). Aldridge adds that the team is working on multiple scenarios in regard to its free agency planning.
The Rockets are also meeting with the big man today in Los Angeles. The center is widely expected to return to Houston, as the team has the ability to match an offer sheet he receives.
The five spot appears to be a position of priority for the Lakers, as they reached out to DeMarcus Cousins just hours after free agency began. While no date has been set, a formal meeting is expected to be held between the two parties.
President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson promised to bring top talent to the Lakers and he’s leaving no stone unturned in his quest to do so. However, the team has yet to reach an agreement with any of the top free agents. Los Angeles saw Paul George shun the franchise and though the Lakers are considered the favorites to land LeBron James, it’s no lock that he comes to town, as the Sixers are courting him and using the potential Kawhi Leonard pairing as a selling point.
Capela had his most efficient season to date during the 2017/18 campaign, making 65.2% of his attempts while sporting a player efficiency rating of 24.5. Only five players rank ahead of the 24-year-old in our 2018 Free Agency rankings.