Lakers To Keep Pau Gasol
The Lakers got some difficult news last night as they learned that Dwight Howard will be taking his talents to Texas. However, there might be a silver lining in it for Lakers veteran Pau Gasol. With D12 out of the equation, there will be no talk or discussion about using the amnesty provision on the Spaniard anymore, a source with knowledge of the team's thinking told Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
If Howard re-signed with the Lakers, Gasol, who will make $19.3MM in the final year of his deal, was an amnesty candidate as the Lakers want to ease their luxury tax burden. However, no firm decision had been made, according to the source, as the team's preference was to look for ways to keep Gasol.
Gasol will likely move back over from power forward to center and be featured in that role, as he was on the 2009 Lakers team that defeated Howard and the Magic in the Finals. Metta World Peace, Jordan Hill, and rookie Ryan Kelly are all candidates to man the four in that scenario.
Bucks Nearing Deal With Carlos Delfino
The Bucks are nearing agreement on a three-year deal with free agent Carlos Delfino, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Houston was forced to cut Delfino loose this summer in order to create enough cap space to sign Dwight Howard outright.
We recently heard that the Knicks were showing interest in Delfino as they seek out a solid wing defender who can also shoot it from beyond the arc. He also received interest from a club in China, but the interest wasn't mutual.
Delfino and teammate Aaron Brooks were informed in mid-June that they wouldn't be brought back as the club had to make way for D12. Had his non-guaranteed deal been honored, Delfino would have made $3MM in 2013/14. The soon-to-be 31-year-old averaged 10.6 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 25.2 minutes per game last season.
Delfino is a client of ASM Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Nets No Longer Pursuing Marco Belinelli?
WEDNESDAY, 2:00pm: Davide Chinellato of Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport (Twitter link) hears from a source that the Nets are no longer pursuing Belinelli, who is now talking to the Pacers.
MONDAY, 4:28pm: The Nets have reached out to free agent guard Marco Belinelli and discussed a multi-year deal for the taxpayer mid-level exception of $3.2MM, sources tell Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. Sources say that the Nets are debating whether to go with a guard like Belinelli or another big man to bolster the the frontcourt.
While it has been reported that the Nets and Kyle Korver have more-or-less agreed to a deal for the taxpayer MLE, Pincus reports that he could fall outside of the Nets' price range. The sharpshooter has lots of suitors this offseason and could land a deal with a higher average annual value. It's possible that Korver is high enough on Brooklyn to give them a discount and the 32-year-old has done quite well for himself over the years, earning more than $38MM over the course of his career according to Basketball Reference.
The Nets would also like to re-sign Andray Blatche, but the most they can offer is ~$1.4MM without using a portion of their MLE. If he does return at that figure, that would enable Brooklyn to sign Belinelli.
Belinelli spent last season with Chicago and averaged 13.4 PPG, but his 35.7% percentage from downtown was the lowest of his career. The Italian is represented by Excel Sports Management, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Pistons Made Trade Offer For Rudy Gay
WEDNESDAY, 8:45am: The Raptors turned away the Pistons' proposal for Gay and don't intend to move him for nothing, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
TUESDAY, 11:03pm: The Pistons have offered the Raptors the expiring contracts of Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva in a package for Rudy Gay, league sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
Stuckey and Villanueva will both earn $8.5MM in 2013/14 and while Gay has two years and $37MM left on his deal. Detroit is hoping that GM Masai Ujiri is planning even more drastic change in Toronto days after agreeing to ship Andrea Bargnani to the Knicks.
Gay averaged 19.5 PPG while shooting 43% from the floor in his 33 games for the Raptors. Detroit was among the bidders for him when the Grizzlies made him available last season and they are making another play for him this summer.
Odds & Ends: Dalembert, Copeland, Barea, Nets
It's been another busy night in the Association, let's get caught up with the latest bits of news from around the league..
- Samuel Dalembert is getting interest from ten teams and surprisingly, the Bucks aren't among them, tweets Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports that the Blazers are among the interested teams.
- The Pacers continue to pursue Knicks guard Chris Copeland and Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that they have an offer on the table for the restricted free agent.
- In an interview with El Nuevo Dia (translated by HoopsHype), Wolves guard J.J. Barea said that he won't ask for a trade, but would love to play for Nets coach Jason Kidd.
- All indications are that fan favorite Brian Scalabrine is likely to join the Warriors coaching staff as an assistant, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link).
- Carlos Delfino received interest from a team in China last week, one source told HoopsHype (link), but the interest wasn't mutual. Delfino was recently cut loose by the Rockets.
- The Grizzlies informed assistant coaches Henry Bibby and Mitchell Anderson that they won’t be retained, according to Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (on Twitter).
Kings Offer Iguodala Four-Year, $56MM Deal
10:08pm: The Kings offered Iguodala a four-year, $56MM deal, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). That comes out to an average annual value of $14MM.
8:42pm: The Kings have made signing free agent Andre Iguodala their top priority, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Meanwhile, Tyreke Evans is being pushed closer to the Pelicans, as the Kings are leaning strongly against matching his four-year, $44MM offer sheet.
It remains to be seen whether the Kings and their new ownership group can assemble an offer big enough to steal Iguodala away from the Nuggets, who are determined to hang onto him. Making matters even more difficult, Iguodala is also drawing interest from other suitors including the Pistons and Warriors.
The Kings' current stance, according to sources, is that matching the Pelicans' offer sheet for Evans would be too pricey, especially after Sacramento drafted Ben McLemore with the No. 7 pick.
Rockets Want Both Josh Smith & Dwight Howard
The Rockets' Monday meeting with free agent Josh Smith in Los Angeles included a discussion about a possible partnership between him and childhood friend Dwight Howard, two sources with knowledge of the situation told Sam Amick of USA Today. Smith has been known on the Rockets' radar, for some time, but he's not just being looked at as a Plan B if Howard goes elsewhere.
Combining Howard and Smith with James Harden would give the Rockets a formidable Big Three. In fact, Howard and his reps asked the Rockets in their meeting this week if they could find a way to sign another player to a max deal, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
The Rockets would have to clear some serious hurdles to get a deal done but they could conceivably try and work a sign-and-trade with the Hawks to help make things easier. Center Omer Asik and point guard Jeremy Lin will each earn $8.3MM in each of the next two seasons and could be moved to help free up space. Both players are reportedly being shopped around the league.
Clippers Notes: Trade, Bledsoe, Redick
The Clippers wanted to land a shooter this offseason and they managed to pull it off in their three-way trade earlier tonight when they got J.J. Redick in a sign-and-trade with the Bucks and Suns. Here’s the latest fallout from Clipperland..
- Surprisingly, the deal was conceived and completed inside of 24 hours, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). While there has been speculation around the NBA that Eric Bledsoe would be moved this summer, he wasn’t available until Chris Paul agreed to a contract extension.
- Redick was close to signing with the Timberwolves before the Clippers deal came together, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The Clippers still want to re-sign Matt Barnes after acquiring Redick and Jared Dudley, but it “may be tough” to bring back Chauncey Billups, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- Los Angeles won’t move Jamal Crawford and they’re focused on finding another big, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Clippers, as well as the Suns, improved with the three-way swap, writes Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld. The Clippers were looking for another shooter and depth at the shooting guard position, both of which Redick provides.
Latest On Dwight Howard
The Lakers just wrapped up their meeting with Dwight Howard, wrapping up the last of the pitches that the big man will hear. We've heard a lot of confidence coming out of the Rockets' camp, but they'll have to vie with the incumbent Lakers, Mavericks, Warriors, and Hawks. Here's the latest on D12..
- Howard is leaving California for a few days to mull over his decision, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
- Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Dirk Nowitzki, coach Rick Carlisle, and GM Donnie Nelson were all at the Mavs' pitch meeting, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). The pow-wow lasted almost three hours.
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak released a brief statement after the club's meeting with Howard. “Jim Buss, Mike D’Antoni, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Tim Harris and I, along with representatives from our partners at Time Warner Cable SportsNet and AEG, met this afternoon for approximately two hours with Dwight Howard and his representatives Dan Fegan and Happy Walters. At the meeting, we told him how important he is to the Lakers team, franchise, fans and community, and why we feel this is the best place for him to continue his career. We are hopeful that Dwight decides to remain a Laker,” said Kupchak.
Rajon Rondo Wants To Stay With Celtics
In the aftermath of the Celtics' blockbuster trade with the Nets, many have wondered if point guard Rajon Rondo would want to stick around for a rebuilding phase in Boston. However, a source tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that Rondo hasn't demanded a trade or even issued a trade inquiry. It may be surprising to some, but Rondo actually welcomes the challenge of leading the C's significantly depleted roster.
It appears that the feeling is mutual as General Manager Danny Ainge sounds serious about keeping Rondo in the fold. “I don’t think Danny has made a single call about Rondo. He has gotten calls. But it would be wrong to say he has considered shopping him," one GM told Deveney.
Publicly, Ainge has insisted that he isn't looking to tank for a top pick in the loaded 2014 draft. Keeping Rondo at the one-guard despite repeated inquiries on him would be proof that he is serious about staying as competitive as possible.