Lakers, Byron Scott Negotiating Deal
7:44pm: The Lakers have yet to make a formal offer, but Scott is their top candidate and they’ve begun negotiations with the hope of striking a deal with him soon, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Scott is believed to have been vacationing in the Bahamas, Bresnahan also writes, which suggests that he hasn’t been directly involved in the talks.
1:58pm: The Lakers are unlikely to give Scott a deal comparable to the five-year, $25MM packages that Steve Kerr and Derek Fisher received this summer from the Warriors and Knicks, respectively, Shelburne tweets.
1:09pm: The Lakers have offered their long-vacant head coaching position to Byron Scott, and the two sides are negotiating toward a deal, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Scott has seemingly been the front-runner in the team’s search for the past month.
Former coach Mike D’Antoni resigned April 30th, but the Lakers were never in a hurry to replace him, content to find out their position in the draft order and later see how their forays into the free agent market would turn out before making their choice. Scott, who interviewed at least three times for the job, has reportedly been out in front of a pack of other serious candidates that included Lionel Hollins, Mike Dunleavy and Alvin Gentry, all of whom also received interviews. Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis also appeared to a strong contender, though it isn’t clear whether his talks with the team had amounted to a formal interview. The Lakers also gave George Karl more consideration than previously reported, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Scott and the Lakers are still in the early stages of negotiations, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter). Still, the offer is the closest the Lakers have come to resolving their coaching situation since D’Antoni stepped down. The 53-year-old Scott, who was out of coaching last season after the Cavs fired him at the end of 2012/13, has been speaking with former teammate Kobe Bryant in coach/player terms of late, as Broussard reported last month. Bryant said recently that he’d welcome Scott, with whom he crossed paths on the 1996/97 Lakers, were the team to hire him. Scott is 416-521 in parts of 13 seasons as an NBA head coach.
Lakers Re-Sign Xavier Henry
JULY 25TH: The Lakers have announced the signing as official in a team release.
“Xavier earned a spot on our team last season after being a training camp invitee, and we hope he continues the dedication to improving he has displayed for us thus far,” said GM Mitch Kupchak. “When healthy, Xavier provided our team with an offensive punch, and we expect he’ll strive to add to his skillset and become a well-rounded player.”
JULY 18TH: The Lakers will re-sign swingman Xavier Henry to a minimum-salary deal, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). It appears to be a one-year arrangement, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported as the sides neared agreement (Twitter link).
The Arn Tellem client was one of a handful of successful reclamation projects for the Lakers this past season, making the opening-night roster as a camp invitee and displaying a strong ability to score, averaging 10.0 points in 21.1 minutes per contest. Both numbers were career highs, as Henry had struggled to live up to having been the 12th overall pick in 2010.
The Pacers and Heat reached out to Henry this month, according to McMenamin (Twitter link), but he planned to work out for the Lakers after exploring options around the league, and the purple-and-gold maintained interest in re-signing him. Henry had wrist and knee surgeries in April but has been expected to be ready for training camp.
And-Ones: ‘Melo, Irving, Rockets, Mavs
Carmelo Anthony spent his free agency largely debating between signing with either the Knicks or the Bulls, though the Lakers were briefly his top choice, as he told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. New York gave him much more lucrative contract than the Bulls could have, but the star forward insisted money wasn’t his primary motivation and said he believes the Knicks are closer to contention than widely assumed, as Goodman writes. Anthony also hinted that he wants to remain with the Knicks for the rest of his career. Here’s more from around the league:
- Kyrie Irving‘s extension with the Cavs will only provide for a starting salary equal to approximately 27.5% of the cap, rather than the maximum 30%, if he triggers the Derrick Rose Rule this coming season, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter link). It’s similar to the concession Paul George made when he, too, signed an otherwise maximum-salary extension with the Pacers last year.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey called the protected 2015 first-round pick he acquired from the Pelicans in the Omer Asik deal “the best draft pick in the league for someone to trade for,” as the GM said to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. It’s protected for the top three and the bottom 11 picks each year through 2018 and the top three and the bottom six picks in 2019 and 2020, as RealGM details.
- The Mavs were among the NBA teams that invited undrafted Syracuse combo forward C.J. Fair to training camp, but none of them offered any guaranteed money, which is apparently behind Fair’s decision to change agents, writes Mike Waters of The Post-Standard. Fair dropped Torrel Harris in favor of Joel Bell for his representation, as Guido Guida of La Gazzetta Dello Sport was first to report (Twitter link).
- The Knicks invited summer league power forward Cameron Moore to training camp, but he agreed to terms earlier this month with Venezia of Italy, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter).
- Andres Nocioni has signed with Real Madrid of Spain, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The eight-year NBA veteran had reportedly been receiving interest from teams interested in bringing him back to the Association, but he’s decided to remain overseas.
Omri Casspi Clears Waivers
Forward Omri Casspi has cleared waivers and hit free agency, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The news is a surprise, since the Kings had reportedly planned to submit a claim. The Pelicans released Casspi on Wednesday, as they had seemed likely to do after acquiring him from the Rockets in the Omer Asik trade.
Agent Dan Fegan had spoken with the Kings, among several other teams, about Casspi with New Orleans poised to let him go, as Casspi told Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee earlier this week. Casspi also expressed interest in returning to Sacramento, where he played his first two NBA seasons, which doubled as his most productive. The Kings and any other team are free to sign Casspi now that he’s hit the open market, but Sacramento might wind up paying a greater premium than the minimum salary he would have made if the Kings had claimed him off waivers.
The Kings have their $2.077MM biannual exception available if necessary to sign Casspi, who was a regular part of Houston’s rotation this past season. There are already 11 teams limited to doling out just the minimum salary to free agents, so that could work to Sacramento’s advantage if the team indeed still envisions a reunion with the 26-year-old native of Israel.
Sacramento is nonetheless about $1MM beneath the tax threshold, and if Casspi consents to sign a one-year deal for the minimum salary, the Kings will only be on the hook for the two-year veteran’s portion of it, with the league picking up the tab for the rest. That would allow the team to stay beneath the tax line and retain Quincy Acy‘s non-guaranteed contract, as Stein points out (on Twitter). The Kings would have been on the hook for his full five-year veteran’s minimum had they claimed his contract off waivers, since that deal had covered two years instead of one.
Magic Sign Luke Ridnour
JULY 25TH: The deal is official, the team announced.
JULY 16TH: 7:16pm: Ridnour’s deal will amount to $5.5MM over the two years, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com.
6:28pm: The agreement is for a two-year contract, with the second year being non-guaranteed, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Haynes adds that minor details are still being worked out, and it is still unknown what Ridnour’s annual salary will be.
1:13pm: The Magic will sign guard Luke Ridnour, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter). It’ll be the latest deal with a veteran for Orlando, which already has agreements with Channing Frye and Ben Gordon so far this month. The terms are unclear, but given the team’s willingness to overpay for Frye and Gordon, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s an above-market arrangement for the 33-year-old Jim Tanner client.
Ridnour split last season between the Bucks and Bobcats, averaging a career-low 5.0 points per game. The Wizards and Kings were among the teams that reportedly called the Bucks in the lead-up to the trade deadline, but Charlotte wound up nabbing him instead. He played 15.1 minutes per game down the stretch for the then-Bobcats, a rate that dropped to 9.0 in the team’s four-game loss to the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. Charlotte renounced his Bird rights to clear cap space last week.
Orlando largely emphasized young players during the first two seasons of its post-Dwight Howard rebuilding project, but this summer appears to be a departure from that. The team still has ample cap space, so it appears that Ridnour will be receiving a chunk of that.
Hawks Sign Adreian Payne
The Hawks have signed No. 15 overall pick Adreian Payne, the team announced via Twitter. He’ll likely receive more than $1.855MM this season, as our table of salaries for 2014 first-round draft picks shows.
Payne, a 6’10” power forward, showed steady improvement over his four years at Michigan State, gradually expanding his shooting range and averaging 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds with 42.3% accuracy from behind the three-point line as a senior. The 23-year-old’s age appeared to be a concern for some teams, but the Hawks drafted him more highly than it seemed he’d go, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress listed him as the 19th-best prospect and Chad Ford of ESPN.com pegged him 22nd.
Atlanta struggled with injuries in its frontcourt this past season, and the presence of Payne will help the team add to its depth. Two Hawks big men who played key roles last season, Pero Antic and Mike Scott, remain unsigned.
Kings Arena Clears Final Legal Hurdle
A judge today denied a request to issue an injunction that would forestall construction of a new arena for the Kings in Sacramento, allowing the city and the team to proceed toward meeting a league-imposed deadline for its completion, reports Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee. A group opposing the project on environmental grounds was the last standing among a wide range of foes who took legal maneuvers to prevent the arena from being built. One such group drew the financial backing of investor Chris Hansen, who fronted a group last year that came close to buying the team and moving it to Seattle.
The NBA negotiated the right to buy the team and sell it to another bidder into the purchase agreement between owner Vivek Ranadive and the Maloof family, the team’s previous owners. That clause would be triggered if the arena weren’t complete by 2017 or if the Kings didn’t show satisfactory progress toward that deadline. Still, commissioner Adam Silver has expressed full confidence that the project will meet its targets. The arena is scheduled to open in 2016.
The primary challenges have been to the city’s $255MM contribution to the $455MM building, and Hansen admitted that he funded a petition drive that sought to put civic funding up to a public referendum. Hansen also said he would seek to withdraw his financial support of the petition campaign, although it’s not clear whether the group returned his reported $100K contribution.
Hornets Sign Noah Vonleh
The Hornets have signed Noah Vonleh, the No. 9 overall pick in last month’s draft, the team announced via press release. He’ll likely receive a salary of more than $2.5MM this year, as our table of salaries for 2014 first-round draft picks shows.
Vonleh quickly showed an acumen for rebounding in his lone season at Indiana University, grabbing 9.0 boards in just 26.5 minutes per game. He also averaged 11.3 points and 1.4 blocks per contest, and while he ventured outside the three-point arc for only 1.1 shots per game, he nailed 48.5% of them. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him as the fifth best prospect, though Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had the raw 18-year-old down at No. 10.
It’ll probably take a while for Vonleh to show his full potential in the NBA, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors wrote when he examined the power forward’s prospect profile, but his upside appears high. The departure of Josh McRoberts in free agency this summer could open up some more playing time for Vonleh this year, though he’s still expected to be a reserve.
Charlotte has yet to sign No. 26 overall pick P.J. Hairston, whose rights the Hornets obtained in a draft night trade with Miami, though that might have to do with Hairston having hired an agent who wasn’t certified.
Hornets Re-Sign Jannero Pargo
JULY 25TH: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
JULY 18TH: The Hornets and point guard Jannero Pargo have struck a deal, according to Pargo’s agents at Priority Sports & Entertainment (Twitter link; hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com). The Mark Bartelstein client returns to Charlotte presumably to reprise his role as the team’s third point guard after the Hornets agreed to a deal with Brian Roberts to replace Luke Ridnour, who’s off to Orlando, as the primary backup to Kemba Walker. It’s a fully guaranteed one-year deal for $1.5MM, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). That figure is closely aligned with his minimum salary, which would be $1,448,490, so presumably it’s a deal for that minimum.
Charlotte had renounced its rights to the 34-year-old earlier this month as it cleared cap room, but while that move meant the team gave up its Early Bird rights to him, it didn’t necessarily preclude a new deal. He saw just 8.3 minutes per game in 29 appearances this past season, but apparently the Hornets like having the 10-year veteran around. This year’s deal is a slight upgrade on the one-year contract that Pargo signed last year with the team, since that arrangement was only partially guaranteed.
Pargo made the most of his meager playing time last season, averaging 4.7 points per game and draining a career-high 40% of his three-pointers on 2.1 attempts per contest. His 18.9 PER was also a career-best.
Bulls Told Nikola Mirotic They Wouldn’t Trade Him
Nikola Mirotic freed himself from his Spanish league contract last month only after the Bulls made a commitment not to trade him, a source tells David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune. Fellow Tribune scribe K.C. Johnson had reported that the 6’10” forward had sought such assurances, but it hadn’t been clear whether the Bulls had responded. Chicago reportedly offered Mirotic to the Timberwolves this week as part of a package for Kevin Love, but Mirotic and his representatives at Xpheres Basketball Management are under the impression that Chicago has made him a part of no such offer.
Agent Igor Crespo secured a 15% trade kicker for Mirotic that the Bulls would have to pay were they to deal him anywhere. The highly touted European prospect came away with a three-year deal worth more than $16.6MM after staying out of the NBA for three years after becoming the No. 23 overall pick in the 2011 draft. Remaining out of the league for so long meant he’d no longer be confined to the rookie scale once he did come to the NBA. A scale contract would have afforded him a salary of no more than $1.3MM for this season.
Mirotic became a star in Europe over the past few years while he waited to join the Bulls, and he’d no doubt have been a sought-after commodity if he’d been available on the free agent market. The offer the Bulls reportedly made involved Taj Gibson and 2014 No. 11 overall pick Doug McDermott in addition to Mirotic. Still, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times couldn’t confirm the presence of Mirotic’s name in the offer when he wrote that Gibson and McDermott were indeed on the table.