Greg Oden Keeping Cavs On His Wish List
Former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden has been linked to several teams in the past few months since making it known he's interested in a comeback, but one of the most prominent has been the Cavaliers. Oden was close to signing with Cleveland last month, and though a deal never happened, Oden tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal he's still interested in joining the Cavs.
Wherever he signs, it likely won't happen until this summer, as agent Mike Conley Sr. reiterated to Lloyd, in keeping with what Conley has previously indicated. Lloyd reported in February that the Cavs were preparing a three-year deal for Oden that included a team option for 2014/15. It's unclear how much the contract would have been worth, but the Cavs have plenty of cap space now and for this summer, so they could outbid many other teams. Their advantage is somewhat reduced, however, if Oden waits to sign until the offseason, when other clubs will free up more space and have cap exceptions to use on the big man.
Oden, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, and attended Ohio State, is at tonight's Cavaliers-Grizzlies game as a guest of Memphis point guard Mike Conley Jr., the agent's son. The Cavs invited Oden to move down into one of owner Dan Gilbert's front-row seats adjacent to the team's bench, Lloyd notes, and Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio noticed Oden talking with Cavs reserve Luke Walton (Twitter link).
Oden, as his agent has in the past, said the Cavs' partnership with the Cleveland Clinic will be a factor in his decision.
"With my process, one of the top two things I have to think about is the medical staff and how is it going to help me," he said. "I want to play and I want to play for some time. Not just come in and see what happens. I want to be able to have a career."
Jennings Thinking About Signing Qualifying Offer
Brandon Jennings is considering a move that would make him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2014, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. He's set to become a restricted free agent this summer, but if the Bucks make him a one-year qualifying offer to retain the right to match offers from other teams in the offseason, as they'll almost assuredly do, Jennings is free to take it. If he does so, next season will be his last in Milwaukee, as he tells Spears.
"If I take the qualifying offer and become an [unrestricted] free agent there is no way I am coming back," Jennings said. "There is no way."
Doing so would be a bold move for Jennings and new agent Jeff Schwartz, who could command much more than the $4.33MM Jennings would make on the qualifying offer. Still, it would allow him to ensure an early exit from the Bucks, who Jennings insists must upgrade their roster and turn their organization into a championship-caliber operation in order to retain him long-term, according to Spears.
"I just want to win," the point guard said. "The way I am playing now, I just want to go to a winning team and play like that. I don't care about being a superstar or being the main guy. I did that [the] first four years. I just want to win and be somewhere where it's all about winning. I'm not saying the Bucks aren't about winning. But I think [a title caliber situation] will help me, motivate my game and then you have to perform."
Bucks GM John Hammond said he'd be surprised if Jennings takes the QO, but added that he's "not taken aback" by his point guard's pronouncement, believing it to be "a natural discussion to have." Jennings, who turned down a four-year, $40MM extension before the season, indicated he could be dissuaded from taking the qualifying offer if the Bucks grant him a lucrative deal this summer.
Jennings last month confirmed his interest in signing with the Mavs in the offseason. Dallas will have plenty of cap room to make him an offer up to the maximum, but Milwaukee would have the ability to match any deal he signs with another team. If, for instance, Jennings signed a four-year deal with the Mavs, the Bucks could match it, and Jennings would be tethered to Milwaukee until 2017.
The Bucks possess an advantage over other teams this summer, since they alone could offer Jennings five years instead of four in his next contract. They could also offer him raises for 7.5% instead of 4.5% if they were to give him a max deal, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors examined when he looked at players likely to receive max deals this summer. Jennings is the last player on that list, but it's unclear if the Bucks or any other team considers the 23-year-old a max player.
Southeast Rumors: Harrington, Bobcats, Pargo
We've had a couple interesting items come out of the Southeast Division already today, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported the Hawks nearly engaged in a three-way deal at the deadline that would have sent Josh Smith to the Celtics, while the Heat are expected to give 40-year-old Juwan Howard a second 10-day contract. There are other notable stories involving Southeast teams this evening, and we'll round up them up here:
- Magic power forward Al Harrington isn't wistful for his days with the Nuggets, as Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida notes via Twitter. "It was cool being there, but I’m not going to look back wishing I was somewhere that they don’t want me there," Harrington said.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer thinks the Bobcats, without much depth at point guard, should look in the D-League for someone to bolster that position on a 10-day contract (Twitter link). Backup Ramon Sessions is out for two to four weeks with a sprained left knee.
- If Charlotte were to sign a veteran point guard, perhaps one option could be Jannero Pargo, who spent time with the Wizards and Hawks this season. Pargo's agent insists several teams have interest in the 33-year-old, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel believes Nikola Vucevic could command $10MM on the open market right now. Though the Swiss center isn't scheduled to hit restricted free agency until 2015, Schmitz argues the Magic should start planning by saving enough room on the payroll to retain him.
- In the same report, Schmitz notes that newly acquired Magic guard Beno Udrih has no interest in playing for the Slovenian national team in the Euro championships this summer.
- The Hawks, Bobcats and Magic could all have enough cap room to sign a maximum-salary player in the offseason, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors detailed today.
Atlantic Rumors: Sixers, Josh Smith, Knicks, White
Rob Mahoney of SI.com took a look at 18 players on troublesome contracts, and all five Atlantic Division teams have a representative. The last-place Raptors appear to have the most problems, with Rudy Gay, Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan and Landry Fields all on the list, though the Nets, with Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace, have multiple entries as well. Here's more from the Atlantic:
- The Sixers were one of several teams reportedly pursuing Josh Smith at the trade deadline, and John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Sixers were "close" to a deal with the Hawks. Philly's interest in the soon-to-be free agent dates back to last season, Mitchell also notes.
- Jerome Jordan, who spent last season with the Knicks, has been on the team's radar as he plays in the D-League this season, reports Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). Zwerling says New York can't sign him this season, though the Knicks could bring him aboard if they go against their plan to re-sign Kenyon Martin when his 10-day contract expires. New York could also waive a player on a guaranteed contract, but that seems unlikely.
- Andrew Perna of RealGM.com checks in with D.J. White, who finally made his debut for the Celtics tonight after signing a 10-day contract on February 28th. White revealed that he had opportunities to play for NBA teams before heading to China in September.
Heat ‘Feverishly’ Pursued Trade For Nikola Vucevic
Nikola Vucevic gives the Heat fits, having twice gone for at least 20 points and 20 rebounds against the team after tonight's 25-point, 21-board performance. The second-year Magic center could have been putting up those numbers for the Heat instead of against them if Miami had been willing to part with either Mario Chalmers, Norris Cole, or both, according to John Denton of Magic.com (Twitter link). Denton tweets that the Heat were "feverishly" trying to trade for Vucevic when he was with the Sixers last season, but apparently they weren't willing to give up their top two point guards to make it happen.
The Sixers dealt Vucevic to the Magic in August as part of the four-team Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum blockbuster. The 22-year-old native of Switzerland has blossomed in Orlando, where he averages 12.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as the starting center. He's seeing twice as many minutes per game as he did last year with Philadelphia, which made him the 16th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Vucevic saw even less time in the playoffs, notching just three minutes during the Sixers' run to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Heat had evidently seen enough to believe he could address their deficiencies in the paint. Miami has grabbed the fewest rebounds of any team in the league, and certainly the addition of Vucevic would have helped remedy that. Money likely wasn't an inhibiting factor for the Heat, since he's on a rookie-scale contract that pays him just $1.7MM this season. Still, Heat president Pat Riley and the rest of the team's front office probably didn't predict Vucevic would develop as well and as quickly as he has. If they had foreseen it, they might have had pause about dealing away both of their top two point guards, though they're apparently confident enough in the ballhandling abilities of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James to go without a third point guard this season.
Pacific Links: Warriors, Hunter, Dwight
The Lakers moved with a game and a half of the final playoff spot tonight with a stunning 25-point comeback on the road against the Hornets, putting pressure on the Warriors, Rockets and Jazz. The Rockets added Aaron Brooks in the past few days to help their postseason cause, and Golden State may be the next team to bolster its roster, as we note here:
- It seemed as recently as two days ago the Warriors were in no rush to add to their 13-man roster, but co-owner Joe Lacob tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that the team will probably make a signing soon. Lacob confirms the team has enough room under the luxury tax threshold to add someone for the minimum, and Kawakami believes the W's would find a fit in Dominic McGuire, who spent time with the team last season and would likely welcome a return.
- Suns coach Lindsey Hunter still has the "interim" tag attached to his title, but the team's front office saw him as the long-term solution when they promoted him, writes HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy, who would be surprised if Phoenix doesn't retain Hunter this summer.
- Dwight Howard's characterization of his former Magic teammates as "people nobody wanted" drew a pithy response from Jameer Nelson earlier today, and Rashard Lewis followed suit, as Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel details.
- The soon-to-be free agent's reputation is also taking a beating from front office types, as a Western Conference said he "wouldn't touch Howard with a 10-foot pole," Kennedy tweets.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Nikola Pekovic
This morning, we heard from Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that there's no chance the Wolves let center Nikola Pekovic sign with another team as a restricted free agent this summer. Of course, since the 27-year-old Pekovic can sign an offer sheet with any team, and since centers of his caliber and relatively young age have long been a commodity in the NBA, it's far from a certainty that he'll be back in Minnesota next season.
There appears to be a division within the Wolves front office about Pekovic's value, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities has reported on multiple occasions. Wolfson would be "shocked" if the Wolves agreed to pay him $12MM a year. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors pointed to the contracts of JaVale McGee and DeAndre Jordan, both of whom are making close to $11MM annually, as evidence that Pekovic could draw offers for as much if not more this summer.
Pekovic is a few years older than both McGee and Jordan were when they signed their contracts, so he probably won't be viewed as having as much upside. He makes up for it with significantly greater production, particularly on the offensive end, where he's averaging 15.9 points per game on 50.9% shooting. Pekovic, like McGee, carries a high PER. Minnesota's center is posting a 19.5 PER this season, and is at 18.2 for his three-year career. Much of that efficiency comes from his work on the offensive boards. This season, he's 10th in offensive rebounding percentage after leading the NBA in 2011/12. One of his primary shortcomings appears to be basket protection, as Pekovic has never averaged a block a game despite standing 6'11". He's out with a strained abdominal muscle right now, but he's avoided major injury, and this is likely to be the first season he'll have missed as many as games for the Wolves.
It figures to be crowded at the top of the free agent center market this summer, as Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum and Al Jefferson could all change teams. Pekovic, Tiago Splitter and J.J. Hickson provide clubs with a few Plan B's. Perhaps the Suns will attempt to trade Marcin Gortat. Still, it seems there are always fewer quality centers than there are teams looking for one, so I don't think Pekovic will have trouble finding an offer in the $12MM-a-year range. He probably won't get the maximum salary, which would probably be around $15MM a year, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's more likely to re-sign with Minnesota. The advantages a player's incumbent team has aren't nearly as pronounced when the free agent isn't a max guy. The Wolves are able to offer him five years instead of four, but they won't be able to offer him more money unless they overpay him.
Pekovic has spoken highly of the Wolves, citing his teammates and the coaching staff last month when he said, "I like everything about Minnesota." Kevin Love is optimistic his frontcourt mate will return, and the team will have plenty of cap flexibility to accomodate him. The Wolves only have $37.67MM committed for 2013/14, though Andrei Kirilenko could add about $10.2MM to that figure if he opts in for next season. Either way, Minnesota will have enough space for Pekovic even if he signs a maximum-salary offer sheet, which seems doubtful.
Much will hinge on whether the Wolves are confident that a core of Love, Pekovic and Ricky Rubio is capable of taking them where they want to go. They might be able to do better, but re-signing Pekovic probably gives them the quickest route to becoming a contender, or at least a top-four team in the West, by the time Love can opt out of his deal and become a free agent in the summer of 2015. Given Love's comments expressing doubt about his future with the team — remarks he tried to backtrack from — there's probably a sense of urgency within Minnesota's braintrust to start winning now. My guess is that'll be enough to convince the Wolves to go into the $12MM-a-year range it will likely take to keep Pekovic this summer, even as the team might try to depress his value by indicating they won't.
Northwest Rumors: Babbitt, Webster, Wolves
The only two teams idle on a 14-game night in the NBA reside in the Northwest Division, as the Thunder and Nuggets get the night off to enjoy their victories on Tuesday. The rest of the division is on the court, and making noise off the court as well, as we detail here:
- As Victor Claver has inherited Luke Babbitt's role with the Blazers, The Oregonian's Joe Freeman writes that it seems clear the team doesn't plan to re-sign Babbitt when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer.
- The Blazers and Wolves have hashed out an agreement over compensation related to Minnesota's complaints that Portland didn't fully disclose the extent of Martell Webster's ailments before trading him to the Wolves in 2010. A Wolves spokesperson didn't disclose specifics, and simply said the teams have "have resolved this matter amicably," as Michael Lee of The Washington Post writes. Since there likely would have been an announcement if a draft pick had changed hands, as the Wolves were reportedly seeking, it seems likely Minnesota received financial considerations, if anything, in the settlement, though that's just my speculation.
- The Wolves are looking into applying for an injury exception that would allow them to sign a 16th player, but they might not need it. According to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, who noted that Kevin Love may be nearing a return, Chase Budinger could be back in a few weeks as well.
- Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors earlier today asked readers which Western Conference team is most likely to miss the playoffs, and though Utah holds a two and a half game on the Lakers in the standings, the eighth-place Jazz are neck and neck with L.A. atop the poll results.
Wolves May Seek Clearance To Add 16th Player
The Wolves have been decimated by injury this season, losing everyone from superstar Kevin Love to minimum-salaried Malcolm Lee for significant stretches. The league granted the team an injury exception that allowed Minnesota to temporarily carry 16 players in January, and GM David Kahn is once more looking into that possibility, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Such an exception would allow the Wolves to exceed the 15-man roster limit for a short time while some of the injured players recover. A team is only eligible for the exception if it's had four sick or injured players who've been out for three games and will continue to miss time. Minnesota certainly meets that criteria, as Lee, Chase Budinger and Brandon Roy have all been out for a while and don't appear poised to return, while Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko will miss at least another week. Love will visit his surgeon next Wednesday, and hopes to be ready to return a week after that, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link).
If the league grants the exception, the Wolves would use it to sign a big man to a 10-day contract, according to Wolfson. That Minnesota would only go with a 10-day deal makes sense, since the exception is temporary, and if they signed someone for the rest of the season, they'd have to waive a player with a guaranteed salary whenever the exception runs out. However, that's exactly what the Timberwolves did earlier this season. The first injury exception they received lasted 20 days, but when it was up the team chose to keep Chris Johnson and Mickael Gelabale, who had been on 10-day contracts, and waive Louis Amundson and his guaranteed contract.
The injury exception is not to be confused with a disabled player exception, which grants teams room to sign or trade for a player to replace someone who's out for the season.
Raptors Likely To Offer Extension To Rudy Gay
Five weeks into Rudy Gay's tenure with the Raptors, GM Bryan Colangelo already sees him as the face of the franchise, and he's likely to offer Gay an extension when he becomes eligible for one in July, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The team will also pursue a "proven scoring post player" in return for Andrea Bargnani, Spears writes.
While Raptors management has been quick to embrace him, Gay believes he wasn't given a fair shake by new members of the front office in Memphis who arrived after Robert Pera bought the team at the start of the season. Gay had an inkling he'd be traded, since he felt the new management team, headed by CEO Jason Levien, didn't give him an opportunity to show he was worth his contract, which pays him $82.3MM over five years.
"With [new management], I don't think anybody's comfortable," the ex-Grizzlies forward said. "They're rookie owners. They come in there and they want it their own way, and you can't blame them for that. But it's a player's league."
Come July, Gay will have played three seasons of his five-year deal, making him extension-eligible. The Raptors would only be able to add two seasons to his contract, since veteran extensions are limited to four years including the remaining years on the existing deal. Still, an extension would likely remove the possibility, however remote, of Gay invoking his player option to decline the $19.3MM he's set to receive in 2014/15.
Veterans have been largely unwilling to sign extensions since they can usually sign for more money and more years in free agency, but Gay may be willing to make an exception, considering how highly the Raptors view his skills and how few teams may be willing to pay him more. Gay isn't thinking long-term, Spears writes, but that could change between now and July, and he seems to have a positive view of his new surroundings.
"Last time I left it up to my agent and it worked for me," he said. "I love the city. I think the team has a lot of potential. The organization is great. [Colangelo] is here and he is watching every step trying to make this team better."
As for a Bargnani trade, I'm not sure whether Toronto will be able to find a top-shelf post option in return for a player whose numbers have declined precipitously this year. The Raptors will also be hard-pressed to avoid the tax next season, so finding an upgrade who costs less or the same amount as Bargnani's $10.75MM salary figure for next season will be a challenge.