Grizzlies Close To Deal With Mo Williams
The Grizzlies are close to a deal with Mo Williams, reports Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The would-be deal would run three or four years, Zwerling adds. The Cavs and Hornets have seemingly been in pursuit, and Williams reportedly had mutual interest in Cleveland, where LeBron James has been high on the return of his former Cavalier teammate, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported.
Interest from Memphis would seemingly be a forboding sign for Beno Udrih, whose salary is only guaranteed for for $923K until Sunday, when the guarantee would jump to more than $2.17MM, especially since the team already has Russ Smith around on a cheaper guaranteed contract and tendered a qualifying offer to Nick Calathes. In any case, the Grizzlies will likely be able to spend the $5.464MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception, which would almost certainly give them to power to outbid the Cavs for Williams.
Paul Millsap Deciding Between Magic, Hawks
1:18pm: Millsap is leaning toward re-signing with the Hawks, according to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links).
11:11am: The Hawks are confident they can retain Millsap, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
8:48am: Paul Millsap met with the Magic overnight, reports Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter), and at this point he’s deciding between those two teams, as Jones and TNT’s David Aldridge report (Twitter links), even though the Pacers and Mavericks also have interest, according to Jones (Twitter link). Orlando offered the power forward a four-year, $80MM deal, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN (on Twitter). The Knicks are interested, too, but Millsap won’t meet with them, nor will he do so with Indiana or Dallas, Broussard adds (Twitter link).
Atlanta has made the same offer the Magic have, Broussard writes in a full story. Their offers appear to be for the max, as the estimated starting salary for a player with Millsap’s experience is roughly $19MM, though that figure doesn’t factor in any rise in the cap projection that would lift the max by about $600K. If the cap winds up as much as $2MM over the previously projected $67.1MM figure, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported was a distinct possibility, it would ostensibly help the Hawks retain both Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, though Orlando’s aggressive entry into the Millsap sweepstakes keeps the pressure on. Atlanta, armed with only Early Bird rights on the two of them, had been losing faith in the idea of re-signing them both.
The Jazz reportedly planned an active pursuit, but as free agency drew near, and especially after the selection of Trey Lyles at pick No. 12 last week, Utah increasingly appeared to be a long shot, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Orlando’s play for Millsap is a significant development for the club that’s been in a rebuilding phase since trading Dwight Howard nearly three years ago, and if the Magic land Millsap and turn away from fellow forward Tobias Harris as a result, it could well have implications for the restricted free agency market, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Magic have long coveted Millsap, having attempted to trade for him before the 2012/13 season, notes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
Latest On Tyson Chandler
WEDNESDAY, 1:14pm: The Bucks look like a decreasingly likely destination for Chandler, reports Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com (Twitter link), as do the Mavs, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter), leaving the Clippers and Lakers in better position, Stein says.
TUESDAY, 10:37pm: The Lakers are the latest team with interest in Tyson Chandler, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck heard chatter earlier today about Chandler and Kevin Love joining the Lakers in tandem. Love is meeting with the Lakers this week, as Broussard also reports.
The other Los Angeles team has interest in a sign-and-trade for Chandler if DeAndre Jordan bolts, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com wrote this evening, advancing an earlier report from Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that the Mavs were pondering such a move. The Mavs would like to re-sign Chandler if they miss out on Jordan, as MacMahon has detailed, but Milwaukee and Chandler have mutual interest, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
Chandler is finishing up a contract that paid him nearly $14.847MM with Dallas this past season. He’s a client of Jeff Schwartz, who’s represented Bucks coach Jason Kidd. The Lakers are dreaming of signing both LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan, so Chandler would presumably be down their list of priorities.
Mavs, Raptors Meet With Wesley Matthews
12:46pm: The Raptors have a meeting set with Matthews, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). Toronto would likely have to offload a significant amount of salary to afford him, given the Carroll deal. DeMar DeRozan has been heavily involved in the recruitment of both, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (on Twitter), so presumably he won’t be on the move if the Raptors trade anyone. Meanwhile, Stein indicates that Toronto’s meeting with Matthews has already happened (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 11:41am: Dallas is considered the front-runner for Matthews, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. Toronto has a deal with DeMarre Carroll, so presumably that’ll take the Raptors out of the running.
TUESDAY, 11:44pm: The Mavs and Matthews are meeting this evening, at the same time a different Mavs contingent is with DeAndre Jordan, according to Stein (on Twitter).
12:30pm: New York is among the teams on Matthews’ radar, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, who nonetheless expresses pessimism that the money would work for both sides.
8:58am: The Raptors and Mavs have interest in signing Wesley Matthews, who’s ahead of schedule as he rehabs his torn left Achilles tendon, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News first reported the interest from Dallas. The Jeff Austin client is seeking about $15MM on his next deal, as Sam Amick of USA Today reported earlier.
The Celtics and Knicks are also reportedly interested. All four teams, as well as the incumbent Blazers, have the cap flexibility necessary to pay the swingman what he’s seeking, though it would seem they all have higher priorities, including LaMarcus Aldridge, a teammate and close friend of Matthews. It would be a tight squeeze for the Mavs and Knicks to sign both to the sorts of deals that Aldridge, who can command the max, and Matthews are looking for, and it would be virtually impossible for the Raptors and Celtics to do so unless they clear salary via trade. The Blazers, who have Bird rights on both, have the greatest capacity to sign the pair, but Aldridge is reportedly almost certain to leave Portland.
Matthews, a career 39.3% three-point shooter and fifth in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus among shooting guards, would fit the three-and-D type the Mavs reportedly plan to seek if they sign Aldridge. Matthews would be a more difficult fit in Toronto, where DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross are under contract on the wings.
Heat, Dwyane Wade Make Progress Toward Deal
The Heat and Dwyane Wade are progressing in talks toward what will likely be a multiyear deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Wade is seeking the max, as Wojnarowski wrote earlier. The Lakers, with whom Wade has reportedly held mutual interest, have been planning to have him in for a meeting, though none has been scheduled, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (on Twitter).
The max for Wade would be roughly equivalent to 35% of the salary cap, likely at least $22MM. Still, it’s been tough to peg just what Wade has wanted. Wade was to have welcomed $20MM salaries on a three-year deal, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald wrote weeks ago, while more recently Chris Mannix of SI.com wrote that Wade was seeking at least $16MM. In any case, Miami seems determined to figure out a solution with Wade before he talks with other teams, Mannix tweets. The Clippers also apparently have mutual interest, but the Heat have been optimistic the last few days, according to Jackson (on Twitter).
Jimmy Butler Ponders Max Offer From Bulls
10:46am: The Bulls are open to a player option, Johnson reports (Twitter link).
9:17am: The Happy Walters client is strongly leaning toward Chicago’s five-year offer instead of a shorter deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
12:48am: Butler wants a player option in any deal that he signs, and while he may shop himself to other teams if the Bulls don’t grant that request, Chicago would still match any offer, according to K.C. Johnson the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links).
WEDNESDAY, 12:12am: The swingman is thinking about doing a five-year max deal that includes a player option on the last season with the Bulls, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
TUESDAY, 11:09am: Butler put off meetings with the Lakers, Celtics, Sixers and Mavs when the Bulls made their max qualifying offer and is now deciding how many years to sign for on a deal with Chicago, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
MONDAY, 3:43pm: The Bulls have given Jimmy Butler a maximum qualifying offer, meaning other teams can’t sign him to an offer sheet that runs fewer than three years, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). Those three years can’t include an option. Opposing teams would otherwise be limited to offer sheets of at least two years had Chicago merely extended a standard qualifying offer. The Bulls have also made the standard QO, worth nearly $4.434MM, that Butler can accept if he is intent on reaching unrestricted free agency as quickly as possible, though that would entail great financial sacrifice this season.
The max qualifying offer, by rule, is a fully guaranteed five years with a starting salary at the max and 7.5% raises. It can’t include any option years. The Bulls and Butler are free to negotiate different terms, but it nonetheless raises the stakes, with Butler reportedly wanting to sign a short-term deal with the Lakers.
David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune reported back in January that the Bulls planned a max offer for Butler, so today’s news is no surprise. Still, paying an estimated max salary of around $19MM to Butler next season will likely send the Bulls, who already have about $63MM in guaranteed salary for 2015/16, into tax territory, with the tax line projected to come in at $81.6MM.
Free Agent Rumors: Gasol, Carroll, Green, Lin
The Grizzlies and Marc Gasol are likely to reach a deal, as long expected, today or Thursday, as TNT’s David Aldridge hears (Twitter link). Gasol and Grizzlies owner Robert Pera are both in Spain today, working out the details on a new deal, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). While we wait for what appears to be an inevitable conclusion for the Arn Tellem client, here’s more from the first day of free agency:
- The Pistons are believed to have spoken to DeMarre Carroll overnight, according to Terry Foster of the Detroit News.
- New York would reportedly like to meet with Danny Green, and that interest appears mutual, as “anybody turning down a meeting with them would be crazy,” Green said to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I don’t think people are scared of the Knicks,’’ Green said. “They’re rebuilding. … Some guys want to go where they’re already winning. They get a couple of good pieces this summer, I’m sure it’ll attact more guys.’’
- Jeremy Lin heard from the Lakers overnight, and the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Pacers, Bulls and Clippers, a league source told Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Still, Lin appears unlikely to re-sign with the Lakers, Media opines on Twitter.
- The Lakers reached out to Wayne Ellington overnight, and the Cavaliers, Warriors, Wizards, Spurs and Hawks also showed interest, Medina reports in a separate piece.
- Willie Green and the Knicks have engaged in preliminary discussions, speaking twice since free agency began overnight, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Mike Dunleavy had no shortage of interest from others, but he’s quite pleased about his new deal with the Bulls, as he expressed to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). “I’m thrilled to be back,” Dunleavy said. “It’s a really fair deal. I’m looking forward to playing for [coach Fred Hoiberg] and love our team.”
- The Magic‘s apparent four-year, $80MM offer to Paul Millsap has executives more optimistic that Orlando won’t match offers for restricted free agent Tobias Harris, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com had speculated as much earlier.
Wolves Close To Deal With Nemanja Bjelica
WEDNESDAY, 4:34am: Bjelica has officially opted out of his deal with Fenerbahce Ulker, Pick reports (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 7:44pm: Saunders said the Wolves will bring Bjelica over in time for next season, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweets.
SATURDAY, 10:05am: Bjelica is in serious discussions with the Timberwolves on a three-year, $12MM-plus deal, but the two sides have been exploring all options, Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports. There is active trade interest around the NBA for the Serbian forward as well, Charania adds.
FRIDAY, 11:53am: The Timberwolves are close to an agreement with draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Minnesota couldn’t formally sign the Euroleague MVP until after the July Moratorium, as long as he’s signing for more than the minimum, which will presumably be the case.
Bjelica has sought a “serious offer” of between $5MM and $7MM per season, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com reported this spring. The Timberwolves are unlikely to have the capacity to give him more than the $5.434MM mid-level exception, though speculation has suggested that Minnesota wouldn’t be willing to go that high. Still, the sides have seemingly held mutual interest in a deal.
The Wolves acquired the power forward’s NBA rights from the Wizards in 2010 one year after Washington drafted him 35th overall. Bjelica, already 27, averaged 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per game this season for Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker. He has one more season left on his contract for that team, as Mark Porcaro shows on our Draft Rights Held Players database. He can escape with a buyout reportedly of 1.2 million euros, the equivalent of about $1.339MM, though the Timberwolves could foot up to $625K of that amount.
Monta Ellis In Talks With Pacers
4:00am: Indiana is believed to be offering Ellis a deal in the three-year, $32MM range, Wojnarowski reports.
1:25am: Ellis and his family are traveling to Indiana to meet with Pacers officials on Wednesday, Wojnarowski relays (via Twitter).
1:06am: The Hawks, Nuggets and Kings are calling on Ellis tonight, too, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
JULY 1ST, 12:31am: Ellis is “gathering traction” in talks with the Pacers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Bird is determined to reach a deal and the Pacers are pushing hard, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter).
JUNE 30TH, 11:22am: The Kings have interest in Ellis, too, Broussard hears (Twitter link).
12:11pm: Interest is mutual between Ellis and the Heat, and the shooting guard also plans to talk to the Hawks, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, who suggests that Ellis would generally prefer to sign with an East Coast team.
JUNE 24TH, 10:15am: The Pacers and Heat are interested in signing Monta Ellis, who’s opting out of his contract with the Mavs to become a free agent, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Interest from both would presumably hinge on other option decisions. The Heat would be unlikely to have the cap space necessary to chase Ellis if Dwyane Wade opts in to his $16.125MM salary for next season or if the sides work out a new deal. The same is the case with the Pacers and both Roy Hibbert and David West, who also hold player options.
Ellis, a Relativity Sports client is surely seeking more than the $8.72MM he would have seen on his player option with the Mavs. The shooting guard has until midnight tonight to change his mind and opt in, but that would be unforeseen. The Heat have only about $43MM committed for next season against a projected $67.1MM cap, but they have a lucrative offer earmarked for Goran Dragic and also seemingly have interest in retaining Luol Deng, who has a player option worth $10.152MM. A continued partnership with Wade, who’s reportedly open to leaving the team amid tense negotiations, would presumably push the team well into tax territory, though Miami is reportedly shopping Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen in an effort to clear salary. Ellis would ostensibly be a replacement for Wade at the shooting guard position in Miami.
Indiana, unlike Miami, doesn’t have a star entrenched at two-guard, though with $36MM in guaranteed salaries on the books, Hibbert’s option of more than $15.514MM and West’s, worth $12.6MM, would largely close the door on any chance the Pacers have at opening cap room without making a trade. The deadlines both face to decide on their respective options aren’t until next week, GM Kevin Pritchard said, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link), and it’s unclear what they’ll choose to do. Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird earlier this spring seemed to encourage Hibbert to opt out as Indiana seeks a faster style of play.
Lakers To Keep Robert Sacre
JULY 1ST, 2:30am: The Lakers have indeed decided to retain Sacre for the 2015/16 campaign, Charania reports (on Twitter).
JUNE 10TH, 12:27pm: The Lakers are likely to retain Robert Sacre past June 30th, when his non-guaranteed salary becomes fully guaranteed, as league sources informed Shams Charania of RealGM. The guarantee date represents a de facto team option for the Lakers, given its proximity to the June 29th date on which most options must be either exercised or declined.
The move wouldn’t impinge much upon the team’s flexibility for the July free agency rush, as Sacre is slated to make only the three-year veteran’s minimum of slightly more than $981K next season. That would leave the Lakers with still only about $36MM in commitments for 2015/16.
Charania suggests there’s a chance the Lakers could look into reworking Sacre’s contract, but renegotiations and extensions aren’t allowed for contracts that aren’t at least four seasons. Sacre’s deal is a three-year pact.
The 26-year-old center has been a part of the rotation each of the past two seasons for the Lakers, averaging 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game over that span. He played a lesser role as a rookie after the team made him the final pick of the 2012 draft, but he nonetheless wound up signing the deal he has now. The Lakers are in line to draft either Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 overall pick this month, a move that poses a threat to Sacre’s playing time, particularly with the expected return of injured power forward Julius Randle. It’s possible that the team’s apparent willingness to guarantee Sacre’s salary is a sign it won’t draft a big man, but that’s not necessarily the case, given Sacre’s strong production relative to his cost.