Aldridge To Meet With Lakers, Six Others
10:33pm: Aldridge is leaning toward signing with the Lakers, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
9:33pm: The Lakers will indeed be the first team to meet with Aldridge, followed by the Rockets, Spurs, Suns, Mavericks, Raptors and Knicks in that order, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets. He does not need to meet with the Trail Blazers since he already knows their offer, Aldridge adds.
9:10pm: Coach Gregg Popovich and veteran stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will attend the Spurs’ meeting with Aldridge, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.
8:35pm: The Lakers’ meeting with Aldridge will occur immediately after the free agency period begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Wednesday, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
2:57pm: Aldridge will meet with the Raptors, too, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, and he’ll think about a visit with the Rockets, Charania adds. Toronto has max-level cap room following its trade of Greivis Vasquez to Milwaukee, but Houston would have to clear salary.
1:54pm: LaMarcus Aldridge is almost certain to leave the Blazers and will meet with the Knicks, Spurs, Mavs and Lakers, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. ESPN colleague Tim MacMahon first reported that Dallas would sit down with the big man. The Knicks are a long shot for him, just as is the case with DeAndre Jordan, according to Broussard.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported Friday that the Spurs and Lakers were in the lead for Aldridge, a client of Arn Tellem and Thad Foucher, shortly after Blazers GM Neil Olshey denied a report that Aldridge has already told the Blazers he’s leaving. Portland can offer Aldridge a five-year deal with 7.5% raises, somewhat better than the four years and 4.5% raises he can end up with elsewhere, though apparently that advantage may not be enough.
The Knicks, Lakers and Mavs should have plenty of cap room to chase Aldridge with a max offer that will likely start around $19MM a year. The Spurs are apparently confident they can find the same amount of room even if they re-sign Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
New York will also meet with Aldridge teammate and close friend Wesley Matthews, Broussard reports. Carmelo Anthony has reached out to Aldridge and Jordan as well as Greg Monroe and fellow Blazer free agent Arron Afflalo, sources tell Broussard.
Free Agent Rumors: Wright, Belinelli, Barea
Dorell Wright is unlikely to return to the Trail Blazers, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com reports. Wright, who was born in Los Angeles, would like to return home and play for either the Clippers or Lakers, Young continues. The Lakers are the more likely suitor for the unrestricted free agent, who made $3.135MM last season, unless the Clippers fail to secure the services of Paul Pierce, Young adds. The Raptors could also make a run at Wright but Young believes the Heat, who were previously thought to be interested in Wright, probably won’t pursue him since Luol Deng exercised his player option.
In other free agent news around the league:
- Spurs swingman Marco Belinelli could be targeted by the Bulls if they fail to re-sign Mike Dunleavy, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. The Bulls have made retaining Dunleavy a priority and he’s comfortable playing in Chicago, Johnson adds. Both players are unrestricted free agents.
- The Clippers are interested in C.J. Watson, Lavoy Allen, Darrell Arthur and Gerald Green, among others, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter links). They’d like to find a true point guard to serve as a backup, a league source tells Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
- The Raptors could be a landing spot for Bismack Biyombo, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Biyombo will be an unrestricted free agent because the Hornets decided not to make him a qualifying offer.
- The Heat, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks are among teams interested in signing J.J. Barea, a source told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). Barea is seeking a multi-year contract in the $3MM per year range, MacMahon adds.
- The only incumbent free agents the Pelicans don’t appear to have at least some interest in re-signing are Jimmer Fredette and Toney Douglas, as John Reid of The Times-Picayune details.
Nets, Grizzlies Spoke About Joe Johnson
5:46pm: The talks were exploratory in nature, a “brief discussion” that never became a negotiation, a league source told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
9:14am: The Nets and Grizzlies had recent talks about a trade involving Joe Johnson, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The sides were unable to come away with the framework of a deal, but the exchange nonetheless left Brooklyn encouraged that it will find a taker for Johnson’s nearly $24.895MM salary for next season, Stein adds (on Twitter).
Johnson’s deal presents obvious challenges even though it runs out after this coming season, as few teams have the flexibility to simply absorb it into cap space, and coming up with matching salaries would be a chore. Still, Memphis is the latest team to at least show interest in acquiring the swingman who turns 34 today, joining the Pistons and Hornets, who reportedly spoke with Brooklyn about him this past season. Both teams have since made other acquisitions that likely knock them out of the running for Johnson, as Stein points out, but there nonetheless appears to be a market, and that’s key for the Nets, who would have to pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they’re again over the tax line come the end of the 2015/16 regular season.
The Grizzlies have also been going after Danilo Gallinari, showing a clear desire for an upgrade on the wing, as Stein points out. Memphis will likely have to make any major addition via trade, since Jeff Green‘s decision to opt in cut off any realistic possibility the team has of creating significant cap space if Marc Gasol re-signs.
Spurs Rumors: Aldridge, Splitter, Leonard, Duncan
Sources who spoke with Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News didn’t produce a consensus on the chances the Spurs have of landing LaMarcus Aldridge, with some deeming San Antonio the front-runner while others weren’t so sure. The Spurs and Lakers were the co-favorites, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported Friday, though the notoriously fickle power forward is tough to read. McDonald has a ton more on the weeks ahead for San Antonio, and while his entire piece is worth a read, especially for Spurs fans, we’ll round up the most relevant highlights here:
- The Spurs are making Tiago Splitter available for a trade, multiple league sources tell McDonald, but while McDonald posits that the most direct path to landing Aldridge would be via sign-and-trade in a deal that sends Splitter to Portland, the Blazers are uninterested, McDonald writes. The Spurs turned away teams with interest in trading for Splitter before the draft, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote last week, but perhaps San Antonio’s position has changed.
- Kawhi Leonard‘s preferred deal is four years at the max, according to McDonald, not five. Either way, the Spurs are still expected to re-sign him, McDonald notes.
- Tim Duncan still hasn’t made up his mind about returning, a source familiar with his thinking told McDonald. The Spurs have reportedly been operating on the premise that he and Manu Ginobili will re-sign with them rather than retire.
Biyombo To Become Unrestricted Free Agent
The Hornets won’t make a qualifying offer to Bismack Biyombo, so the former seventh overall pick will become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The value of the offer declined from $5,194,227 to $4,045,894 when he failed to meet the starter criteria this season, but even that apparently wasn’t enough of an enticement for Charlotte to retain its right to match competing bids for him.
Biyombo’s qualifying offer was a borderline case, and with Noah Vonleh off to Portland in the Nicolas Batum trade, there seemed a greater chance the Hornets would do what they could to keep him around. Charlotte and Biyombo can still sign a new deal, and the Hornets retain his Bird rights, so they can exceed the cap to re-sign him if they wish.
Nets Waive Darius Morris
The Nets have waived Darius Morris, the team announced. His minimum salary for next season was to become partially guaranteed for $25K if he had remained under contract through Wednesday. That remains a possibility if he is claimed off waivers in the next two days.
Morris signed with Brooklyn in December, not long after the Blazers let him go at the end of training camp. The Nets gave him a two-year deal for the minimum that was initially non-guaranteed for last season. The former University of Michigan point guard made it past the January date when last season’s salary became guaranteed, but he didn’t stay with Brooklyn long enough to trigger any more guaranteed money.
Thunder Expected To Re-Sign Kyle Singler
The Thunder are expected to re-sign Kyle Singler, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Oklahoma City has made a qualifying offer worth slightly more than $2.725MM to retain the right to match competing bids for the soon-to-be restricted free agent, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reported (Twitter link). Spears suggests the deal will be as long as three years, though the sides can’t discuss contract terms or length prior to Wednesday.
The sides have reportedly held mutual interest, and Singler, a client of Greg Lawrence and outgoing Wasserman agent Arn Tellem, quickly took a liking to new coach Billy Donovan. Singler played under former coach Scott Brooks for the final two months of the season after the midseason trade that brought him in from the Pistons.
Dwyane Wade Opts Out
3:58pm: A Heat spokesperson confirmed to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that Wade is indeed opting out (Twitter link).
2:35pm: Dwyane Wade will turn down his $16.125MM player option to instead hit free agency, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The news isn’t altogether surprising, as Wade had been hinting as much since Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported last month that he was open to leaving the only NBA team he’s ever played for. Marc Stein of ESPN.com earlier today suggested that the Heat expected Wade to opt out, though they were expected Luol Deng to opt out before he surprisingly opted in. Goran Dragic is “basically a lock” to return to Miami, Stein reported, though Jackson wrote last month that the chances of Dragic leaving increase if Wade signs with another team.
The Heat have preferred that Wade opt in and sign for $10MM salaries next summer, though Wade, Henry Thomas client, would welcome $20MM a year for three years, as Jackson reported. Wade and the Lakers apparently have mutual interest and the same is reportedly true of the Clippers. LeBron James seems interested in recruiting him to the Cavs, but Wade and Heat have nonetheless appeared eager to find a solution that keeps them together. Still, a friend of Wade’s told Jackson recently that the 33-year-old shooting guard has become angry with Miami and doesn’t feel the team regards him as a priority. Team president Pat Riley spoke highly of Wade a few days ago, saying in part that, “We love Dwyane. Dwyane is a pillar.”
At issue is Miami’s salary crunch, as the team has about $53MM in guaranteed salaries already on the books with Deng having opted in. A deal approaching the max, which is likely to come in around $19MM, for Dragic, plus a $20MM salary for Wade would send the team far above the projected $81.6MM tax line. Riley denied a recent report that the team is looking to trade Chris Andersen and Mario Chalmers in a deal that could clear about $10MM in salary.
Kings Eye Eric Bledsoe
3:24pm: Suns coach Jeff Hornacek didn’t address the Kings rumor, but he denied any talks with the Knicks regarding Bledsoe, as the coach spoke today on SiriusXM NBA Radio, and as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic transcribes (on Twitter). “Eric is a big part of our future and there was no entertainment of that,” Hornacek said.
11:00am: The Kings are expected to express interest in trading for Eric Bledsoe, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. That wording doesn’t necessarily indicate that Sacramento will indeed pursue him, but the Kings are far more focused on making an upgrade at point guard than potential DeMarcus Cousins trades, a league executive said to Deveney.
Deveney reported a week ago that the Suns had discussed Bledsoe trade scenarios with teams including the Knicks, and while multiple other reports painted a different picture, the Suns would seriously consider trading Bledsoe if they re-sign Brandon Knight, as they’re reportedly set to do. Bledsoe is set to make $13.5MM next season in the second year of a five-year, $70MM deal.
One GM expressed concern over Bledsoe’s long-term health and coachability, and league sources indicate to Deveney that finding a taker for him wouldn’t be easy for Phoenix. The Kings also reportedly have interest in Rajon Rondo, who apparently finds the idea of a one-year deal with Sacramento intriguing, but he, too, carries some negative baggage coming off a disastrous half-season stint in Dallas.
The same league executive who said Sacramento is looking at point guards more fervently than Cousins trades told Deveney that he expects the Suns would be willing to wait to trade Bledsoe until after the market for star free agents dries up around the league, so it doesn’t appear that Phoenix is necessarily in a rush.
Roy Hibbert Opts In With Pacers
MONDAY, 3:06pm: The Pacers have received the opt-in paperwork from Hibbert, according to Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star (on Twitter), though the team has yet to make an official announcement.
THURSDAY, 10:06pm: Roy Hibbert is opting in for next season with the Pacers, a source tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). He has filed the paperwork, adds Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter), though the Pacers have yet to make an official announcement. The Pacers have been aggressively shopping the center with the thought that he would indeed pick up the more than $15.514MM coming his way on the option, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier.
The Pacers are likely to continue to try and deal the 28-year-old, though there isn’t likely to be a strong market for an offensively limited center with mediocre rebounding numbers who carries such a large cap hit. One NBA assistant coach told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Hibbert might be a worthy gamble for another team if the big man could be motivated to stay in shape. “The last two years, he has dropped off in the second half of the season,” the assistant said. “With big guys like that, the first thing you think of is conditioning. If you can make sure he is in shape for all 82 games, maybe give him time off here and there, he would be worth the risk.”
Hibbert appeared in 76 contests last season, averaging 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 25.3 minutes per games. His lifetime numbers through 533 contests are 11.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 1.9 BPG, with a slash line of .464/.273/.748.