Week In Review: 7/1/13 – 7/7/13
It has been a crazy start to free agency this summer, but one story stood above all the rest. Dwight Howard, who many say has been dissatisfied with the Lakers organization, decided to take his talents to the Lone Star State and sign with the Rockets. Howard left an extra contract year on the table and a decent chunk of money to leave Los Angeles, but he felt that Houston gave him the best chance to win. Here's the rest of the top stories from this past week..
- The Pistons got one of this summer's top free agents when they agreed to a four-year, $54MM deal with Josh Smith. The high-flyer can earn an additional $2MM through incentives.
- The Warriors will ink Andre Iguodala to a four-year, $48MM deal.
- The Jazz took on Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins, Brandon Rush, and more from the Warriors and acquired Golden State's 2014 and 2017 first-round picks.
- Carl Landry will get a four-year, $26MM deal from the Kings.
- The Hawks quietly made a great signing when they agreed to a two-year, $19MM deal with Paul Millsap.
- A three-way trade sent Eric Bledsoe to the Suns and J.J. Redick to the Clippers.
- The Clippers will re-sign Matt Barnes to a three-year contract.
- The Nuggets reached agreement on a deal with J.J. Hickson.
- The Bobcats landed Al Jefferson on a three-year, $41MM deal. The final year will be a player option.
- J.R. Smith is staying in New York.
- The Wolves will keep Chase Budinger.
- David West will stay put in Indiana thanks to a three-year deal.
- Tiago Splitter and the Spurs agreed to a lucrative four-year deal.
- The Bulls will cut Richard Hamilton loose.
- The Grizzlies and Tony Allen came to terms on a fresh contract.
- The Hawks re-signed Kyle Korver for a whole lot of money.
- The Celtics replaced Doc Rivers with former Butler coach Brad Stevens.
- Meanwhile, Rajon Rondo wants to stay with the C's.
- The Mavs missed out on D12 and are spending the money elsewhere. They'll ink Jose Calderon in a few days.
- Martell Webster got a four-year deal from the Wizards.
- There's lots of turnover in Milwaukee and the Bucks will sign O.J. Mayo to their new look team with a three-year, $24MM deal.
- The Spurs agreed to a new deal with Manu Ginobili.
- The Rockets traded troubled forward Royce White to the Sixers for an international prospect and cash.
- The Pelicans will re-sign Al-Farouq Aminu to a one-year, $3.7MM deal.
- Omri Casspi agreed to a two-year pact with the Rockets.
- Former Knicks guard Chris Copeland is Indiana-bound.
- The Wolves will sign Kevin Martin to a four-year, $28MM deal.
- Omer Asik doesn't want to back up Howard and wants out. The Rockets say he's staying. Meanwhile, they're aggressively shopping guard Jeremy Lin.
- The Knicks will welcome back Pablo Prigioni.
- The Pelicans, Kings, and Blazers did a three-way deal involving a sign-and-trade of Tyreke Evans to New Orleans.
- The Mavs will welcome back guard Devin Harris.
- Dwight can opt out of his deal in 2016.
- The Rockets will bring back Francisco Garcia.
- Donald Sloan and the Pacers agreed to a deal.
- Andray Blatche is going back to Brooklyn.
- Howard's departure means that Pau Gasol won't be traded or amnestied.
- The Grizzlies re-signed Jon Leuer.
- The Spurs are set to sign sharpshooter Marco Belinelli to a two-year deal.
- The Nets will ink Shaun Livingston to back up Deron Williams.
- The Blazers agreed to a two-year deal with Dorell Wright.
- The Wolves waived Greg Stiemsma and Mickael Gelabale.
- The Cavs agreed to a deal with Earl Clark.
- The Cavs agreed to sign Jarrett Jack.
- The Bobcats will amnesty Tyrus Thomas.
- Quentin Richardson will be a part of the Andrea Bargnani deal.
- The Blazers said deuces to Sasha Pavlovic.
- Marcus Camby wants a trade or buyout.
- Nazr Mohammed is going back to Chicago.
- The Raptors will sign Julyan Stone.
- The Bulls got Mike Dunleavy.
- DeMarre Carroll will sign with the Hawks when he is allowed to.
- Eric Maynor and the Wizards agreed to a multi-year deal.
- The Clippers will re-sign Ryan Hollins.
- The Bucks will ink Zaza Pachulia.
- The Spurs agreed to sign former Pacer Jeff Pendergraph.
- The Bobcats will re-up Josh McRoberts.
- The Clippers agreed to sign Darren Collison for $1.9MM.
- The Blazers got Earl Watson.
Mutual Interest Between Lakers, Chris Kaman
In the wake of losing the league’s best center in free agency, the Lakers have growing interest in free agent center Chris Kaman and the feeling is mutual, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. As the Hoops Rumors Agency Database shows, the big man is a client of Landmark Sports Agency, the same agency that represents Kobe Bryant.
Several other teams have expressed interest in Kaman, including the Warriors, Hawks, Kings, and Knicks, according to sources. Discussions are still in the formative stages between the former No. 6 overall pick and the Lakers, but Kaman has a reputation as a hard-working, dependable player who can fill a needed role.
Kaman, who played his first eight seasons for the Clippers, likes the idea of returning to L.A., a league source said. The 31-year-old averaged 10.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20 minutes a game for the Mavericks last year.
Omer Asik Requests Trade, Rockets Say No
Omer Asik has been vocal about his displeasure about the idea of backing up Dwight Howard and he has now taken the step of formally requesting a trade out of Houston, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. However, the Rockets have no plans to grant the center's wish.
Asik started all 82 games for the Rockets last season and wasn't ready to take a backseat to the league's No. 1 center. The former Bull averaged 10.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in his first season with the Rockets. Asik makes a very reasonable $5.225MM next season but his salary balloons to $14.9MM in 2014/15.
Wolves Waive Stiemsma, Gelabale
The Wolves announced that they have waived center Greg Stiemsma and forward Mickael Gelabale. Both moves have been expected for some time.
Both players had contracts for the 2013/14 season that were said to become guaranteed if they were still on the Wolves’ roster at the end of the month. Stiemsma was set to earn $2.69MM next season while Gelabale would have made $916K. According to the Hoops Rumors schedule of guarantee dates, Stiemsma would have had his contract locked in on July 17th while Gelabale would have been guaranteed on the 22nd.
Stiemsma, a former Celtic, averaged 4.0 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 15.9 minutes per game last year. Gelabale, who spent several years overseas, scored 5.0 PPG in 17.9 minutes per contest.
Hoops Rumors Originals
The Warriors missed out on Dwight Howard but landed a big fish when they inked Andre Iguodala. While the deal was initially reported as an outright signing, Luke Adams crunched the numbers and found that the Warriors might prefer to do a sign-and-trade, if the Nuggets are cooperative. Here’s more of this week’s original analysis and reporting from the Hoops Rumors team on a very busy week in basketball..
- Chuck Myron explained the stretch provision.
- Before Howard decided to sign with the Rockets, Luke broke down the cost of a sign-and-trade deal for the Lakers. For several reasons, it would have been ill-advised for Los Angeles.
- There’s a misconception about the poison pill and Luke set us all straight.
- The majority of Hoops Rumors readers said that Howard would sign with Houston. Well done.
- Michael Pina asked who the top free agent available was after the top two were off the board and Josh Smith won pretty easily.
- If you missed out on Luke’s July 1st chat, you can get caught up here.
Warriors Nearing Deal With Marreese Speights
The Warriors are closing in on a deal with big man Marreese Speights, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Details aren't totally clear just yet, but it's expected to be a one-year pact.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old spent last season with the Grizzlies and Cavs, averaging 8.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG. The Grizzlies dealt him, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby, and a future first-round pick to the Cavs for Jon Leuer in January, a deal that helped Memphis ease some of their payroll burden and get beneath the tax line.
Speights had a $4.52MM player option for next season with the Cavs but opted out and Cleveland reportedly didn't pursue re-signing him. The Cavs didn't see him as a tremendous fit anyway, but with a frontcourt group that includes Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, and Tyler Zeller, there wasn't much room for him.
Dwight Howard Could Opt Out In 2016
Dwight Howard's new four-year, $88MM deal with the Rockets includes an early termination option after the 2015/16 season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The contract also includes a 15% trade kicker, but that doesn't mean an awful lot for the big man.
Our own Luke Adams crunched the number's on Howard's potential max contract scenarios earlier this year and found that the ~$88MM mark is the absolute most D12 can receive in a contract with a new club. Because a trade kicker can't elevate a player over the player's max salary, it probably won't make much of a different in Howard's bank account if he is moved.
However, the option is certainly noteworthy. The CBA doesn't allow early termination options on contracts shorter than five years, so the fourth year should technically be a player option, but it ultimately has the same effect: Howard could potentially hit the reset button on the free agency Dwightmare in three short years.
Howard Notes: Mavs, Magic, Lakers
Our long, national Dwightmare is over, but the ripple effects from his move to Houston will be felt for some time. Here's the latest news and fallout concerning the summer's biggest free agent move..
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders aloud if Mark Cuban's grand plan is officially a failure. When MacMahon posed that question directly to Cuban in an email, the owner responded, “We haven't played a game yet. Look back at the big deal that won last summer and ask how it’s working for everyone now.” Still, it's hard to overlook the fact that Cuban struck out on Deron Williams last summer and was unable to land Dwight Howard or Chris Paul this summer.
- The Magic have officially won the Howard trade, opines Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. While the Lakers lost Howard, the Nuggets lost Andre Iguodala, and free agent Andrew Bynum didn't play a minute for the 76ers last season, the Magic ended up with a couple of nice, young building blocks in big man Nikola Vucevic and Maurice Harkless, a consummate pro in Arron Afflalo, and five future draft picks.
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter links) hears that Howard already made up his mind before boarding a plane for Aspen, Colorado, but wanted a little bit more time to think about things before shutting the door on the Lakers.
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Howard, Jackson
I guess the billboards just weren’t enough. Last night, Dwight Howard spoke with Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld after making his decision to bolt for Houston and spoke candidly about his time in Los Angeles. When asked if Phil Jackson coming back as coach or being involved in some capacity would have changed his mind about the Lakers, Howard said, “Well, I asked to have him as my coach earlier in the year,” before taking a noticeable pause. You can check out more of the highlights here and the latest D12 reaction out of L.A. below..
- The Lakers’ next move will be to try and make a run in the 2013/14 season and then try to lure LeBron James, sources tell Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (on Twitter).
- Mitch Kupchak & Co. won’t amnesty Pau Gasol, but they still have that option for Kobe Bryant, Steve Blake, or Metta World Peace. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears that the club is weighing their options with MWP. The forward makes roughly $7.73MM next season.
- The Lakers have little choice but to forget about this upcoming season and focus on the blockbuster summer of 2014, writes Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d). Next summer is when James along with Carmelo Anthony, John Wall (if he doesn’t sign an extension), Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Dirk Nowitzki can all become free agents. The draft class also figures to be stacked with Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, and Andrew Harrison.
- In an interview with Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Howard downplayed his frustrations with the Lakers organization.
- Howard’s final plan was always to meet with Kupchak one final time and inform him of his decision, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, but that didn’t wind up happening, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).
- Earlier today, we learned that the Lakers won’t use the amnesty clause on Pau Gasol.
Rockets Open To Keeping Asik, Lin
Even though they won’t rule out trades after landing Dwight Howard, the Rockets are now open to keeping both Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). As it stands, the Rockets have no deals in place and no plans in place, one source tells Berger (Twitter link).
Asik and Lin, who earn a combined $16.7MM next season, have popped up in trade talk as the Rockets were reportedly looking into revamping the roster around their prized acquisition. Last night, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com heard that the two sides were discussing a sign and trade for Hawks forward Josh Smith involving the duo. While that was later disputed by a second report, the Rockets’ past interest in Smith is well-documented and those two would undoubtedly need to be involved in such a deal.
Just last year, the former Bulls big man and Knicks’ guard were the talk of Houston as the Rockets landed both players with heavily backloaded deals. They’re in the team’s plans, for now, but that could change if GM Daryl Morey sees an opportunity to pair Howard and James Harden with a third superstar.