Rashard Lewis To Have Knee Surgery
10:21pm: Lewis’ injury was discovered during a team physical, and It’s uncertain if the Mavs will look to void his contract at this point, writes Spears.
7:09pm: Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweeted that it was unclear how long Lewis would be sidelined. Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram added that it’s not known yet when Lewis will have the surgery or if he’ll be recovered enough to participate in training camp this fall (Twitter links).
5:43pm: Mavericks forward Rashard Lewis will have knee surgery soon, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Though it isn’t clear how serious the procedure will be, Lewis’ agent, Colin Bryant may have implied that the 6’10 forward could still be able to return at some point this season. “Rashard discovered he needs a medical procedure on his right knee to ensure he functions at a high level this season…We look forward to (Lewis) getting this behind him as soon as possible so he can continue his stellar NBA career” (All Twitter links).
The 34-year-old forward was a key rotation player for the Heat in this past year’s NBA playoffs, logging eight starts and 17.7 MPG in 18 total games en route to a Finals appearance. Lewis signed a one-year deal reportedly worth the veteran’s minimum with Dallas last week.
And-Ones: Mavericks, Williams, Bzdelik
Last season, D.J. Augustin, Glen Davis, Danny Granger, and Caron Butler were just a handful of rotation-worthy players who were able to land on playoff-bound teams after being waived during the regular season. Keeping this in mind, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on the “Fitzsimmons and Friedo Show” on 103.3 ESPN in Dallas that his team could hold off on using its $2.732MM exception this summer, waiting to see who could become available if notable players are released from their respective teams during the regular season (hat tip to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com).
Here are more miscellaneous news and notes to pass along tonight:
- While there has been mutual interest between Dallas and free agent guard Mo Williams, the 31-year-old guard has fielded offers that are more lucrative than the Mavs’ $2.732MM exception, says MacMahon. A source also tells MacMahon that Williams hasn’t even been Dallas’ top target with that exception.
- Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger is in advanced talks to hire former Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik to be an assistant on his coaching staff, hears Marc Stein of ESPN (Twitter link). Bzdelik is expected to sign a contract tomorrow, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
- Free agent swingman Dahntay Jones will audition for 15-20 teams in Las Vegas next week, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
- Hornets big man Al Jefferson told Kennedy that he’s thrilled with his team’s offseason moves. “I told (management) how I felt when the season went over well. They did everything they said they were going to do [this summer]. I think (we’ve gotten) better.”
- The Pistons are not currently considering the possibility of moving from the Palace of Auburn Hills, reports Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Mark Barnhill, senior partner at Platinum Equity, made a statement reflecting the views of Pistons owner Tom Gores in light of the Ilitch family’s plans to build a $650MM entertainment district in downtown, which will in part house the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings. “We have a beautiful arena, and we have invested tens of millions of dollars over the past three years to modernize and improve that facility…At the same time, we would never close the door on alternatives if they made good sense for our fans, for our team, for our business and for Michigan.”
Cavs Acquire Three In Swap With Jazz
7:21pm: The Cavaliers have officially announced the deal, per a team press release.
7:16pm: Out of the three players heading to Cleveland, Minnesota actually had some interest in Murphy after he was waived by the Bulls last season, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
7:03pm: The pick that Utah will receive in the deal will be a 2015 second rounder from Cleveland, tweets Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune.
6:21pm: According to one Cavs source, Cleveland likes Lucas, Thomas, and Murphy and doesn’t necessarily view them as stepping stones to a bigger deal, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
6:00pm: The Jazz are expected to trade the non-guaranteed contracts of John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas, and Erik Murphy to the Cavaliers for Carrick Felix, a future second rounder, and $1MM, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Felix’s contract is guaranteed for $816K in 2014/15, whereas Lucas III, Thomas, and Murphy combined for roughly $3.3MM in non-guaranteed deals for the upcoming season. Wojnarowski adds that Cleveland had been looking to make this type of deal recently in order to help facilitate a trade for Timberwolves star Kevin Love (Twitter links).
Minnesota has been determined to unload Kevin Martin and J.J. Barea in a deal involving Love, says Wojnarowski, who also notes that the Cavs would have to find a third team in order to make it work. Nonetheless, whether Lucas, Thomas, and Murphy’s contracts are used to bring the former UCLA big man to Ohio or are included in a separate trade, this deal at the very least has given Cleveland some “buying power” (Twitter links).
Mavericks Sign Rashard Lewis
SATURDAY, 3:35pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
TUESDAY, 9:50pm: Rashard Lewis has agreed to a one-year deal with the Mavericks, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Colin Bryant, Lewis’ agent, confirmed the news. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas, the deal will be worth the veteran’s minimum (Twitter link).
In 60 games last season, Lewis averaged 4.5 PPG in 16.2 MPG while shooting 41.5% from the field and 34.3% from long distance. In 18 playoff games, the 34-year-old forward scored 5.3 PPG and raised his three point accuracy to 37.3%.
With Lewis on board, the Mavericks have found a capable veteran backup for Dirk Nowitzki who can spread the floor with his ability to knock down shots from the perimeter. Although his overall shooting percentages from the field over the last two seasons seem far from ideal, Lewis displayed noticeable proficiency as a catch-and-shoot player in this year’s playoffs, as he knocked down 40.0% of his 3.1 three-point attempts on those type of shots.
Knicks Sign Jason Smith
FRIDAY, 7:28pm: The deal has been officially announced by Knicks PR.
7:37pm: Smith’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com that the deal will actually be worth the team’s taxpayer mid-level exception of $3.27MM (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 6:53pm: Jason Smith has signed a one-year contract with the Knicks worth $3.3MM, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Smith’s representation – Priority Sports – acknowledged the deal on Twitter. New York inquired about the free agent big man earlier this month; the Pelicans renounced their rights to Smith last week.
In 31 games played and 27 starts last season, Smith averaged 9.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and nearly one block per game in 26.8 MPG for New Orleans. After hurting his knee in mid-January, Smith underwent knee surgery in February and did not play for the rest of the season.
Bucks, Jerryd Bayless Near Deal
3:34pm: There won’t be any option clauses involved, Gardner writes.
WEDNESDAY, 1:45pm: The sides are discussing what would be two-year pact worth $6-7MM, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter).
TUESDAY, 11:41pm: The Bucks and free agent guard Jerryd Bayless are closing in on a deal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN (Twitter link). Although he’s headed to Milwaukee, Bayless made it known a few times last season that he envisioned staying with the Celtics for the long-term, and head coach Brad Stevens even went on record saying that he wanted the 6’3 guard to be part of the team’s future; back in April, Celtics president Danny Ainge didn’t offer comment when asked about the possibility of retaining Bayless beyond 2013/14.
Following a trade from Memphis to Boston last season, the 6’3 guard played in 41 games for the Celtics, averaging 10.1 PPG, 3.1 APG, and 1.0 SPG in 25.3 MPG. He also shot 41.8% from the field overall and 39.5% from three-point range. The Bucks will be his sixth stop since being drafted 11th overall by the Pacers in 2008.
Southwest Notes: Parsons, Mavericks, Baynes
Here’s what we’ve gathered out of the Southwest Division:
- It’s widely suspected around the league that Dan Fegan insisted that the Rockets turn down their team option on Chandler Parsons before he would allow fellow client Dwight Howard to sign in Houston last summer, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Parsons strongly denied knowing of such a deal, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- On Monday, Parsons told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that he wasn’t thrilled with how the Rockets handled his restricted free agency. “…I was offended by the whole process…(Houston) publicly said that they were going out looking for a third star when I thought they had one right in front of them. I guess that’s just how they viewed me as a player. I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface of where I can be as a player and I think I’m ready for that role.”
- Today, Parsons said he was surprised about the backlash he received by making those comments. While he didn’t back off from what he said, Parsons also cited that he praised Rockets GM Daryl Morey (Twitter link from Feigen).
- On Monday, Mavericks president Donnie Nelson told Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the team may not be done tweaking their roster. “We’re not done…But we feel pretty good about where things are right now.” Following the team’s addition of Rashard Lewis today, Price reminds that Nelson plans to keep one of the team’s final two roster spots open for flexibility down the line (Twitter link).
- In the former piece, Price mentions also Al-Farouq Aminu, Bernard James, Shawn Marion, and Ivan Johnson as other names that Dallas could attempt to add before the start of next season.
- Nelson sat down for an interview with KESN-FM 103.3 to offer some insight on how the Mavs plan to approach the rest of the season (transcription via SportsDayDFW) and mentioned that the team is always keeping its eye out for a shooter. It’s worth noting that he said this before they added Lewis, however.
- While they won’t close the door on re-signing Marion, Nelson acknowledges that the veteran forward’s value in the marketplace is much higher than what the Mavs can afford.
- The Spurs still hope to retain restricted free agent center Aron Baynes, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Young adds that San Antonio is willing to match any reasonable offer.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Rondo, Warriors, Drew
Here are a few miscellaneous links to pass along from tonight:
- The Celtics would rather risk keeping Rajon Rondo until he becomes a free agent next summer than take a deal without a “major player” that chiefly provides salary cap relief, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald hears. There’s been no talk between the Rockets and Celtics involving Rondo, as Bulpett also writes.
- The Warriors could possibly carve out a maximum salary slot for Kevin Durant in 2016 without breaking up their current core, explains Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group.
- Former Bucks head coach Larry Drew is in discussions to join David Blatt’s coaching staff on the Cavaliers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- There’s a strong sentiment within the Bucks organization to keep Ersan Ilyasova rather than trade him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
- Even though Jason Terry wants a buyout, the Kings currently have no plans to acquiesce, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Garrett Temple is expected to receive a deal soon to stay with the Wizards; however, Al Harrington – who still plans to play in the NBA for the 2014/15 season – is yet to receive an offer from Washington (Twitter links from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com).
- The Grizzlies didn’t consider waiving Nick Calathes before his contract became guaranteed today, a source tells Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Bulls Offer Contract To Cameron Bairstow
The Bulls have offered a three-year contract to Cameron Bairstow, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link). The 6’9 big man is currently playing for Chicago’s summer league team in Las Vegas, and is averaging 8.3 PPG, 6.3 PPG, and 58.8% shooting in 27.7 MPG through three games.
The Australian native played for four years at the University of New Mexico and had a breakout year in 2013/14, posting 20.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 1.5 BPG while shooting 55.6% from the field; this marked a considerable improvement from his 9.7/5.9/0.6/45.6 line in 2012/13. Chicago selected Bairstow with the 49th overall pick in this year’s draft,
Grizz Eye Grunwald, Dinwiddie For GM-In-Waiting
The Grizzlies have narrowed down their list of candidates for a front office job that could eventually lead to becoming the team’s future general manager, according to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski. At this point, former Knicks executive Glen Grunwald and current Pacers VP of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are considered to be the leading candidates. Both were interviewed for the position last month, and league sources tell Wojnarowski that they are expected to individually meet with team owner Robert Pera soon. Chris Makris – who currently serves as GM of the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy – is highly regarded within the organization and is also expected to meet with Pera at some point.
Whoever earns the position will be expected to work initially under current GM Chris Wallace, according to sources; however, Wojnarowski adds that the hiring could also ultimately involve a higher-profile decision-making role within the organization.