Eastern Notes: Ariza, Stephenson, Humphries
Marcin Gortat badly wants to see Trevor Ariza return to the Wizards, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. “Trevor is a big part of our success, and we’d like to have him back,” Gortat said. “I understand at the end of the day, it’s a business and he has to make the right decision for him and for his family. But we love him, we want him back and I believe that [GM] Ernie [Grunfeld] and [senior VP of basketball operations] Tommy Sheppard is going to do the right thing.” More from the East..
- Some Pacers fans are nervous about the impasse in discussions between Lance Stephenson and Indiana, but Candace Buckner of the Indy Star implores fans to be patient and not panic.
- In addition to the previously reported Heat and Celtics, the Wizards and Hornets are also interested in big man Kris Humphries, tweets Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report.
- There’s no denying that he’s talented, but there’s a lot to consider when weighing Stephenson. David Nurse of HoopsHype looks at the pros and cons of the frustrating Pacers talent.
- Re-signing Kyle Lowry was one of the final pieces of the puzzle for the Raptors, opines Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM. With Lowry under contract for the next four years, Toronto has every member of their starting five locked up for the forseeable future.
Week In Review: 6/30/14 – 7/6/14
In their meeting earlier this week, Knicks president Phil Jackson told Carmelo Anthony he can have the team’s maximum 5-year, $129MM contract if he wishes. However, there’s a distinct possibility Anthony will still decide to take a little less than the max. By all accounts, the Knicks appear to be in the lead for Melo. More from the week that was..
- The Raptors kept Kyle Lowry with a hefty four-year deal.
- Chris Bosh‘s reps are calling around the league to see if a max deal is out there. It sounds like Bosh can have a max deal if he wants one. The Rockets are fans.
- The Cavs and Kyrie Irving agreed to an extension.
- The Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki agreed to a new deal.
- Spencer Hawes is headed to the Clippers.
- The Nets hired Lionel Hollins after shipping Jason Kidd to the Bucks.
- Talks between the Pacers and Lance Stephenson are at a standstill.
- The Mavs will re-sign Devin Harris.
- LeBron James‘ agent is telling teams that his client will start seriously considering other teams if Pat Riley doesn’t build a strong supporting cast quickly. His return is no longer a certainty. Also, he wants a max deal.
- In addition to considering a possible trade for Jeremy Lin, the Bucks are pursuing restricted free agents Eric Bledsoe and Greivis Vasquez.
- The Nets and Cavs are talking Marcus Thornton-for-Jarrett Jack again.
- A report indicated that Eric Gordon, among others, has been made available by the Pelicans but the club is downplaying it.
- The Bulls, Thunder, Heat, and Spurs are among the teams in the mix for Pau Gasol. The Lakers believe he’ll re-sign quickly if they can land LeBron or Carmelo.
- The Jazz got Steve Novak from the Raptors.
- It sounds like Jusuf Nurkic will join the Nuggets this season.
- Jamal Crawford wants a contract extension.
- The Grizzlies are getting outbid for Mike Miller.
- The Bulls may or may not be planning to amnesty Carlos Boozer.
- Gordon Hayward will visit the Hornets next week. The Cavs were high on him but appear to be wavering.
- The Wizards re-signed Marcin Gortat.
- The Pistons and Pelicans have discussed a sign-and-trade that would send Greg Monroe to his hometown of New Orleans in exchange for Ryan Anderson.
- The Spurs re-signed Patrick Mills.
- Luol Deng wants $12MM per season. The Heat like him but they’re unsure about how much cap space they will have. The Hawks, meanwhile, are unwilling to pay that amount, so a team like the Mavs might be his best chance at that type of deal.
- Speaking of which, Pat Riley was reportedly telling teams that he could spend ~$12MM.
- The Pacers will sign C.J. Miles.
- The Raptors and Patrick Patterson have reached agreement on a three-year, $18MM deal.
- The Raptors are likely to ink their Brazilian prospects this year.
- The Magic waived Ronnie Price.
- The Thunder will sign Sebastian Telfair.
- The Pistons and Cartier Martin agreed to a deal.
- The Wolves and representatives for Ricky Rubio have begun discussions about a rookie scale extension for the point guard.
- The Pacers are quietly shopping Roy Hibbert.
- The Warriors signed Shaun Livingston.
- The Magic and Ben Gordon agreed to a deal.
- The Bulls, Mavs, and Wolves like Chandler Parsons.
- The Pacers like Goran Dragic but the Suns don’t seem interested.
- The Hornets hired Chad Buchanan as assistant GM.
- The Spurs might sign Bryce Cotton.
- The Nuggets have mulled trading JaVale McGee and Wilson Chandler.
- The Pacers inked Shayne Whittington.
- One report indicates that the Knicks are unwilling to take Carlos Boozer in a potential sign-and-trade with the Bulls and Anthony.
- The Celtics and Avery Bradley agreed to a new deal.
- The Raptors and Hawks made a deal involving John Salmons.
- The union is getting crafty.
- The Bucks are shopping O.J. Mayo.
- The Magic signed their first-round picks.
- The Hawks will sign Thabo Sefolosha.
- The Kings got Darren Collison.
- The Pacers signed Damjan Rudez.
- The Pistons have a deal with Jodie Meeks.
- The Blazers are set to sign Chris Kaman.
- The Raptors are coming close to a deal with restricted free agent Greivis Vasquez.
- Nikola Mirotic seems likely to join the Bulls.
- The Rockets turned down their team option on postseason revelation Troy Daniels.
- Interest in Isaiah Thomas is heating up.
- The Magic waived Jason Maxiell.
- The Heat like Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, and Steve Blake.
- The Thunder have made the unusual decision to decline Grant Jerrett‘s option while also extending him a qualifying offer.
- The Pistons declined their option on Chauncey Billups.
- The Thunder signed first round pick Mitch McGary.
- The Magic claimed Willie Green.
- The Magic waived Jameer Nelson.
- The Magic waived Doron Lamb.
- The Pacers will re-sign Lavoy Allen.
- The 76ers waived James Anderson.
Pacers Shopping Roy Hibbert
The Pacers are shopping big man Roy Hibbert, sources tell Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. “I would say they’ve been doing that, but quietly,” one front-office source said.
Of course, with two years and $30MM left on Hibbert’s contract, he’s not a great match for every team out there. The center was erratic in March and April as well as the postseason too, so it’s unclear what kind of return Indiana could expect from a Hibbert deal. Meanwhile, there’s still uncertainty around Lance Stephenson after the club saw their five-year, $44MM offer rejected. Dumping Hibbert’s contract could help facilitate a return for their unrestricted free agent.
“They’re open to making major changes, if they’re there,” one general manager told Sporting News. “I think they’d be disappointed to see that same core group back intact, so it is a matter of, how drastic can the changes they make be? Moving Hibbert for multiple pieces would be a pretty drastic change, but they’re asking.”
One source added that star small forward Paul George is untouchable in any deal with the Pacers while power forward David West is all but off the table. Also, in a Hibbert deal, the source says that they would prefer to send him to the Western Conference. The Blazers have been linked to Hibbert in the past but a source labeled a Portland deal as “unlikely.”
Lakers Using Pau Gasol As Selling Point
Pau Gasol is being courted by a number of teams, including top contenders, but the Lakers aren’t counting themselves out of it by any stretch. In fact, the Lakers are using Gasol as a selling point with other free agents as sources believe he would re-sign rather quickly if they’re able to sign LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
If the Lakers don’t land Anthony or James, Gasol will consider those contending clubs that have called, Shelburne tweets. Still, she wouldn’t count the Lakers out as they can offer more money than anyone else.
The Mavs, Heat, Bulls, Thunder, and Spurs are among the many teams with interest in the Spaniard.
And-Ones: Deng, Novak, Rockets, Bazemore
Erik Spoelstra joined Pat Riley to meet with Luol Deng in Chicago today, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Heat are said to have interest in Deng, but they might not be willing to take on the reported $12MM annual price tag for the forward. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has indicated that second round pick DeAndre Daniels will be stashed in Europe for a year to get some much-needed playing time, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
- The Thunder are bringing aboard Darko Rajakovic as an assistant coach, the team announced via press release. Rajakovic has spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Tulsa 66ers, OKC’s D-League affiliate.
- Steve Novak will bring some much needed shooting to the Jazz, writes Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune. Novak is a career 43.9% shooter from 3-point range over eight seasons, almost exactly the same figure as Kyle Korver. The money owed to him over the next two years (about $7.5MM) was enough to make the Raptors want to dump his salary, but it wasn’t prohibitive for Utah.
- Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow extended a two-year, €3MM offer to free agent guard Nando De Colo, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. That figure translates into roughly $4.08MM.
- Put the Rockets on the growing list of teams interested in Kent Bazemore, says Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
- Ike Diogu has signed with Dongguan in China on a deal that allows him to jump ship to the NBA anytime between now and August 15th, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- A rumored agreement between Andres Nocioni and Real Madrid is not a done deal, according to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (on Twitter). The forward is still receiving interest from NBA teams (link).
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Bucks, Sixers Interested In Jeremy Lin
12:56pm: The Bucks like Lin as a player, but have no interest in his $15MM salary next season, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter).
12:32pm: The Sixers and Bucks have expressed interest in trading for guard Jeremy Lin, sources tell ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. Of course, both clubs want to see what kind of sweetner Houston is willing to throw in.
The 76ers, who have tons of room to absorb Lin’s deal and won’t have to send salary back, have emerged as a leading contender for the guard. If the Rockets can dump Lin’s salary without having to absorb any other contracts, they can give themselves enough room necessary to possibly land Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh.
It’s believed that the Rockets would have to send Philly at least one future first-round pick to convince the Sixers to go through with the deal, given that Lin is owed $15MM next season. Only $8.4MM will count against the salary cap, but that’s still a hefty amount to take on. Sources say that the Sixers, though, are happy to take on Lin, despite having Michael Carter-Williams slated as their starting point guard, provided that the extra asset or two they get from Houston is sufficiently attractive.
Of course, it helps that Sixers GM Sam Hinkie is close with Rockets GM Daryl Morey from their days in Houston together.
Latest On Heat, Chris Bosh, LeBron James
Chris Bosh‘s representatives have made recent calls around the league to reconfirm that max slots would be available to him, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The answer his camp has received is yes.
The biggest issue for Miami right now could be that they might not be able to meet Bosh’s salary desires and still maintain space for free agents, Wojnarowski tweets. Getting Bosh to take a discount might not be as easy as once thought. If LeBron James wants a short-term deal in Miami, it doesn’t seem likely that Bosh would want to commit long-term at a steep discount only to possibly get left behind later (link). Meanwhile, Pat Riley has been unable to give the reps for free agents concrete offers because he doesn’t have the precise figures on Bosh and Dwyane Wade yet (link).
That doesn’t mean the Heat are waiting on any member of the Big Three to talk shop, however. Team execs will be meeting in Chicago with representatives for Luol Deng today, reports Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), and Riley will be in attendance according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter) adds that they’ll be meeting with Anthony Morrow‘s reps as well.
Carmelo May Take Less Than Max From Knicks
In their meeting earlier this week, Knicks president Phil Jackson told Carmelo Anthony he can have the team’s maximum 5-year, $129MM contract if he wishes. However, Marc Berman of the New York Post has learned there’s a distinct possibility Anthony will still decide to take a little less than the max.
One scenario would be Anthony starting at the max $22.4MM, but taking a 7.5% pay reduction in Year 2, as allowed by the collective bargaining agreement. That reduced salary for 2015/16 would give the Knicks a little more cap space next summer.
A source close to Anthony said he has confidence Jackson and General Manager Steve Mills will make the Knicks top-flight contenders in the future, but was unsure about their ability to upgrade the team for this season. Anthony understandably does not want to go through another 37-45 campaign.
“I don’t think the money ever was the most important part,’’ the source said. “I think his concern was, could they make the team better this season? He is comfortable in the outer years, but needed to be convinced about the upcoming year.’’
It was reported yesterday that Anthony left the meeting with the Zen Master feeling like the two men had a shared vision for the future of the club.
Thunder Sign Mitch McGary
The Thunder have signed first-round pick Mitch McGary, according to a press release from the club.
Taken by the Thunder with the No. 21 selection, McGary appeared in 47 games during his two years at Michigan where he averaged 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game. During his freshman season, McGary was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team after helping lead the Wolverines to the National Title game. During tournament play, McGary averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks while shooting .678 percent from the field.
Several teams had their eye on the energetic big man, but OKC reportedly promised to take him at No. 21. He’s likely in line for a salary slightly more than $1.4MM, as our table of salaries for first-round draft picks shows. I took a closer look at McGary in a prospect profile.
Knicks Will Not Take Boozer In Sign-And-Trade?
JULY 5th: While some have been skeptical that the Knicks would go for Boozer in a sign-and-trade, new team president Phil Jackson would have to consider it, and a person with knowledge of the situation said it’s expected that he would, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.
JULY 1st: The Bulls might want to work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks for Carmelo Anthony, but they won’t be able to do it with Carlos Boozer, writes Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Chicago would probably want to include Boozer, who has been mentioned as an amnesty candidate, in such a deal, but the Knicks aren’t interested in the veteran forward.
Of course, this is all somewhat premature since the Bulls have yet to reach out to New York about an S&T scenario. Still, it stands to reason that the Knicks would want to get something in return for Melo if he skips town.
Boozer is set to earn $16.8MM this season and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf is probably less than thrilled about the prospect of paying him for nothing. However, if he’s willing to go through with the amnesty clause, Broussard lays out some possibilities for the Bulls if they get Anthony to agree to sign. If the Bulls dump Boozer and trade away Mike Dunleavy for nothing, could start a four-year deal for Anthony at $15MM in the first year. If they moved Jimmy Butler as well, they could start Melo off at $17MM. Of course, that’s still less than the $22.4 million the Knicks can offer him next season.