Atlantic Notes: Williams, Ridnour, Sixers
- While Joseph will be the second Canadian, along with retired Jamaal Magloire, to play for the Raptors during the regular season, that wasn’t the reason why they were so enamored with him, Doug Smith of the Toronto Sun writes. Joseph, who agreed on a four-year, $30MM contract to leave the Spurs, has impressed the Raptors’ brass for years with his toughness and defensive prowess, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise the club targeted him, Smith adds.
- Luke Ridnour said that he expects the Raptors to waive him before his $2.75MM salary becomes guaranteed Friday and confirmed that he’s still contemplating retirement as he spoke with TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The 34-year-old point guard also dished to Aldridge about what it was like to have his contract traded four times in one week.
- The Sixers fleeced the Kings in the unofficial but agreed upon trade that sent Nik Stauskas, Jason Thompson and Carl Landry to Philadelphia, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. Stauskas fills a backcourt need and the team can eventually decline a team option on his contract if the second-year shooting guard doesn’t pan out, Pompey continues. Landry and Thompson can become role models and mentors for their young frontcourt lottery picks — Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, Pompey adds. With that trade, the Sixers will likely have less roster movement than the past two seasons when 48 players saw action, Pompey concludes.
Mike Miller Opts In With Cavs
TUESDAY, 11:04am: The move is official, the Cavs announced.
MONDAY, 11:18pm: Mike Miller has opted into his $2.8MM contract with the Cavaliers for next season, a league source told RealGM’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Miller indicated as far back as February that he intended to exercise his player option despite diminished playing time.
The 15-year veteran Miller averaged 2.1 points and 13.5 minutes while playing 52 games last season. He appeared in nine postseason games during the Cavs’ run to the NBA Finals, averaging 1.0 points and 7.2 minutes. Miller averaged 7.1 points with the Grizzlies in 2013-14.
It’s doubtful Miller’s playing time will spike upward next season but he obviously is in no hurry to retire. For his career, Miller is an 11.3 points per game scorer, having played for six organizations.
Eastern Notes: Nets, Acy, Pistons
The Nets will be looking to add depth through free agency and trades and Thomas Robinson, Wesley Johnson and Sasha Kaun are players they will target, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports. Robinson could provide some rebounding and energy off the bench and Johnson would give them an athletic wing who can shoot 3-pointers, Bontemps continues. Both are unrestricted free agents. Kaun, a Russian center whose rights are owned by the Cavaliers, would be an ideal backup if they can re-sign Brook Lopez and work out a deal with Cleveland, Bontemps adds.
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- The Knicks have declined to extend the qualifying offer of $1.181MM to Quincy Acy, making the forward an unrestricted free agent, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The Kings, Nuggets, Magic and Pelicans have expressed interest in Acy, a source told Spears (Twitter links).
- DeMarre Carroll, Arron Afflalo, Tobias Harris and Kosta Koufos are the free agents the Pistons will most likely court, Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports. The Pistons believe Carroll might be easier to sign than some other unrestricted free agents, Foster continues. Danny Green and Wesley Matthews are longshot possibilities to come to Detroit, Foster adds. The Knicks also want to be “in the mix” for Green, league sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Green has any interest in the Knicks, Begley adds.
- Harris’ pricetag will be at least $10MM annually in the eyes of several league executives, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. One of those executives believes Harris’ value is in the $12-14MM range, Mannix adds. The Magic forward is a restricted free agent.
Gasol Has No Plans To Meet With Suitors
Marc Gasol has not scheduled any meetings with teams other than the Grizzlies, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. That’s a strong indication that Gasol, an unrestricted free agent, intends to re-sign with Memphis.
Gasol will host a contingent of Grizzlies officials in his native Spain on Wednesday morning when free agency begins, sources told Stein. That raises the possibility a verbal agreement on a new contract will be reached quickly, Stein continues. Contracts cannot be signed until July 9.
This backs up a report by Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal regarding the Grizzlies’ optimism they will re-sign Gasol and that the All-Star center will make a quick decision. Gasol opted to become a free agent mainly for financial reasons, Tillery added.
Gasol’s representatives are open to fielding calls from other teams, Stein adds.
Southwest Rumors: Mavs, Gasol, Cole
The Mavericks are looking to fortify their backcourt and are interested in unrestricted free agents Danny Green and Wesley Matthews, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports. Their ability to sign either of those players could hinge on whether they are able to reel in one of their two primary frontcourt targets, DeAndre Jordan or LaMarcus Aldridge, Sefko continues, since they might not be able to afford two high-salaried free agents. The Mavs have a better shot at landing Jordan instead of Aldridge, which would ensure the departure of unrestricted free agent center Tyson Chandler. Another possible target is point guard Mo Williams, who lives in the Dallas area, Sefko adds.
In other news around the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies officials are optimistic that they will re-sign Marc Gasol and expect him to make a quick decision in free agency, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The Grizzlies began their recruitment of the unrestricted All-Star center on Monday by posting a video about him on their website, Tillery continues. He opted to become a free agent mainly for financial reasons, Tillery adds.
- The Pelicans made qualifying offers of $3.037MM to Norris Cole and $1.147MM to Jeff Withey, ensuring they will be restricted free agents, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- Rockets draft-and-stash prospect Alessandro Gentile is not coming to the NBA any time soon, according to a Sportando.com story, via a La Gazzetta dello Sport report. Gentile signed a contract extension with Italy’s EA7 Milano that will not expire until June 2018. Even though there are some opt outs in the contract, Gentile plans to stay in Italy for at least three more seasons, the story adds.
Qualifying Offers: Monday
The Warriors formally made a qualifying offer of $2.725MM to Draymond Green, ensuring the versatile forward will be a restricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Golden State is expected to match any offer sheet to Green, one of the key players en route to its first championship in 40 seasons. The Pistons, Hawks and Rockets are among the teams expected to pursue Green. The Warriors also extended a qualifying offer of $1.147MM to Ognjen Kuzmic but declined the same amount on Justin Holiday, allowing the shooting guard to become an unrestricted free agent, according to a tweet from Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In other news regarding qualifying offers around the league:
- The Cavaliers made qualifying offers to three of their rotation players, allowing Cleveland to match any offer sheet, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Tristan Thompson ($6.778MM), Matthew Dellavedova ($1.147MM) and Iman Shumpert ($4.334MM) were the players who received them.
- The Thunder made a qualifying offer of approximately $7.47MM to Enes Kanter, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
- The Jazz gave a qualifying offer of $1.045MM to Joe Ingles and the Timberwolves did the same for about $1.147MM to make Robbie Hummel a restricted free agent, according to Pincus (Twitter links). However, Minnesota declined the same price tag on Justin Hamilton‘s qualifying offer, Darren Wolfson of KSTP.com tweets, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
- The Suns made the qualifying offer of $4.79MM to Brandon Knight while his former backcourt partner, the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, got a qualifying offer of $2.275MM, according to Pincus (Twitter links).
- The Raptors extended a qualifying offer of $1.829MM to a player who was overseas last season, Nando De Colo, Pincus tweets. De Colo played for CSKA Moscow last season.
Eastern Notes: Crowder, Sixers, Dunleavy
The Celtics have completed the paperwork to make Jae Crowder a $1.1MM qualifying offer, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reports. The deadline is Sunday. Crowder has expressed a desire to return to the Celtics but is expected to test the free-agent market, Murphy adds.
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- Mario Hezonja’s buyout with his Barcelona team will be finalized as early as Monday, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Barcelona had reduced the NBA escape clause for Hezonja, whom the Magic drafted with the No. 5 pick, to 1.5 million euros, or roughly $1.675MM, in order to retain his Euro rights, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com. (Twitter link). Agent Arn Tellem had been negotiating for a lower amount, as Pick reported previously. The most the Magic, who drafted him fifth overall, can pay toward a buyout is $625K, with the rest having to come from Hezonja. Orlando wound up drafting Hezonja despite a report that teams felt his camp might be steering him toward the Pistons. Tellem is leaving the Wasserman Media Group to take an executive position with the Pistons organization later this year.
- The Sixers received second-round picks in 2020 and 2021 from the Knicks in the draft-night trade for Spanish big man Guillermo Hernangomez, according to Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com. The Knicks had already traded away their own second-round picks through 2019, with the picks in 2018 and 2019 potentially headed to the Sixers. Bodner continues. Philadelphia will get a second-rounder from either the Knicks or Clippers in 2018, whichever is higher, Bodner adds.
- The Bulls are hopeful of re-signing Mike Dunleavy, according to a tweet from Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. There’s interest from both sides but it depends on how much money the unrestricted free agent is seeking, Friedell adds.
Pacific Rumors: Cousins, Lakers, Booker
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive gave agent Dan Fegan permission to try to engineer trade proposals that would send DeMarcus Cousins to the Lakers once Fegan made it clear that Cousins, his client, wanted out, but Kings front office chief Vlade Divac is instead trying to see if the Kings can carry on with both Cousins and coach George Karl, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. “I’ll be honest with you, how I think right now, I think [Cousins and Karl] got the message yesterday,” Divac said on KHTK 1140 Friday (audio link), as Amick relays. “So here I am, and if you’re on board, [you’re] more than welcome. If you’re not, I’ve got to go. I can’t wait. We do have everything except time. We have to go forward and try to make it a healthy environment and try to have a good team for next year. Look, we’re going to have ups and downs in the next couple months. And you’re going to hate me, you’re going to love me, but believe me I’m going to do the best I can to make this thing work. With me, with DeMarcus, with George, or without me, without DeMarcus, without George, I don’t know. But we’ll make it work.”
In other news around the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers made the right move by selecting D’Angelo Russell over Jahlil Okafor, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com opines. Russell’s ability to score and distribute made more sense than a pairing of Okafor with last year’s lottery pick, Julius Randle, which would have clogged up the middle with two low-post isolation players, Howard-Cooper continues. There are also questions about Okafor’s conditioning, which isn’t an issue with Russell, Howard-Cooper adds.
- Suns coach Jeff Hornacek has added Jason Fraser to his staff as a player development coach focusing on the team’s big men, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. The Suns have also added Earl Watson and Nate Bjorkgren as player development coaches since the end of the season, Coro adds.
- The Suns were pleasantly surprised that Devin Booker dropped to their pick at No. 13 overall, Coro writes in a Q&A with Hornacek. Phoenix expected the Hornets to draft him at No. 9 and tried to trade up but Charlotte instead chose Frank Kaminsky and Booker fell into its lap. “We really thought Devin Booker was going to go nine at Charlotte. That was the big talk,” Hornacek said. “You’re always looking to get up to get a guy you want. Nothing like that happened and, as it went on, we said, ‘We might get him anyway.’ So it worked out well.”
Northwest Notes: Favors, Ingles, Lyles, Nuggets
Derrick Favors is not being shopped around the league by the Jazz despite the team’s reported interest in free agent Paul Millsap, a source told Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. A source had told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News earlier this week that Favors might be traded to make room for Millsap. While the Jazz are likely to gauge Millsap’s interested in returning to Utah, they like the defensive pairing of Favors and Rudy Gobert along the interior, Falk continues. That duo had a defensive rating of 92.5 points allowed per 100 possessions, fourth best in the NBA, over the last 29 games when the Jazz went 19-10, Falk notes. Favors also has a team-friendly contract averaging $11.6MM over the next three seasons, Falk adds.
In other news around the Northwest Division:
- Utah will make a $1,045,059 qualifying offer to Joe Ingles, giving the Jazz the right to match all offers for the one-year veteran in free agency this summer, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links). That’s no surprise, since Tribune scribe Gordon Monson had identified mutual interest this spring between the Jazz and the Australian swingman. Utah is still planning to re-sign him, Jones adds.
- The Jazz selected Trey Lyles with their first-round pick over his Kentucky teammate Devin Booker because of his playmaking ability and defensive versatility, according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. Lyles can not only back up Favors, he can slide over to small forward and even center on occasion, Jones continues. Booker would have come onto the team as the third shooting guard with no apparent path to playing time, Jones adds.
- The Nuggets let two trade exceptions expire unused Friday — one worth $1.75MM for Anthony Randolph, who went out in the trade that brought in Jusuf Nurkic and Gary Harris, and the other worth $1,422,720 that was a vestige of last summer’s Evan Fournier/Arron Afflalo trade.
- Former NBA point guard Sergio Rodriguez confirmed to The Oregonian’s Jason Quick that he is thinking about returning to the NBA and will gauge the market after free agency begins Wednesday. He called the buyout in his contract with Real Madrid of Spain, worth a reported 2 million euros that comes to almost $2.234MM at today’s exchange rate, a reasonable one, Quick adds. Conflicting reports of late had painted different pictures about whether Rodriguez was considering the NBA, and another report identified the Nuggets as one of three NBA teams with interest.
Eastern Notes: Anthony, Pistons, Knicks, Sixers
Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference, with the start of free agency four days away:
- Carmelo Anthony is more upset about losing Tim Hardaway Jr. via trade than the Knicks‘ decision to draft Kristaps Porzingis, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News had reported that Anthony was ired over team president Phil Jackson‘s selection of Porzingis with the No. 4 pick in the draft, though Isola also noted Anthony wasn’t pleased with the Hardaway Jr. trade. Via his Instagram account, Anthony said he was “far from upset”, and that Porzingis is “a steal.” However, a source told Berman that Anthony wonders how long it will take Porzingis to make an impact.
- Pistons president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said that two unrestricted free agent small forwards top his wish list, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. Van Gundy didn’t elaborate but it’s expected that the Pistons will pursue DeMarre Carroll of the Hawks and San Antonio’s Danny Green. If the Pistons don’t get one of those two targets, they will pursue two restricted free agents at that position, Langlois’ tweet adds.
- The picks that the Sixers are getting from the Knicks in the Guillermo Hernangomez trade are New York’s 2020 and 2021 second-rounders, reports Derek Bodner, writing for Philadelphia magazine.