Rockets Interested In Chris Bosh
The Rockets still hope to land Carmelo Anthony this summer, but they have a plan B in mind in the event that they don’t. The Rockets have already let Chris Bosh know that they’re still huge fans of his, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Many league observers still think Miami will find a way to keep the Big Three together, but the sudden uncertainty surrounding the Heat gives Houston fresh hope in their pursuit of Bosh (link). While a big three of Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, and Dwight Howard would be exceptional, one that substitutes Anthony for Bosh sounds nearly as fearsome.
The Rockets have been tremendously active since the official start of free agency and while it’s too early to say whether they’ll be successful, no one could accuse GM Daryl Morey & Co. of not being creative or ambitious.
And-Ones: Thomas, Deng, Granger, Carmelo
Some items from around the league as we get ready for tomorrow’s fireworks and plenty of free agency fireworks to come..
- The top three teams, in order, for Kings restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas are the Lakers, Heat, and Pistons, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Wizards have reached out to Anthony Morrow, Marvin Williams, P.J. Tucker, Luol Deng, and Danny Granger, among others, league sources tell Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
- The Lakers came away very impressed with Carmelo Anthony after their meeting with him and they really believe that they got a sense for him as a person, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Of course, the bigger question is how Melo feels about the Lakers.
- John Canzano of The Oregonian isn’t exactly doing cartwheels over the Blazers‘ signing of Chris Kaman.
Bulls, Thunder In Lead For Pau Gasol
THURSDAY, 10:45pm: The Bulls and Thunder are the most intriguing destinations to Gasol at this time, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
10:37am: Stein counters that the Thunder do believe they have a legitimate chance of landing Gasol, though whether he’d take a sizable discount to sign with Oklahoma City remains a question (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 9:00pm: The Thunder view a run for Gasol as a “long shot” since they can only offer the mid-level but they also believe it’s “worth a try,” a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (via Twitter).
8:24pm: Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook made a come-to-OKC pitch directly to Gasol today in Los Angeles, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
7:15pm: Sources say the Bulls’ rising interest in Gasol is a reflection of concern that they can’t convince Carmelo Anthony to leave the Knicks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein adds (link) that Gasol is giving legit consideration to joining the Spurs if he looks at places where money is scarce. Gasol likes the Spurs in part because of Gregg Popovich‘s ability to manage minutes as well as the international flavor of the roster, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
6:05pm: The Thunder have come on strong with Gasol and have been described as the “frontrunner” for him, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
5:30pm: The Bulls are zeroed in on wooing Carmelo Anthony, but they’re also eager to add Pau Gasol if things don’t work out on that front. The Spaniard is their top target after the Knicks star and Chicago officials will be traveling to L.A. on Thursday to sit down with him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The Bulls and Thunder have emerged as two new top-flight teams in the hunt for Gasol, Stein tweets. Gasol has been drawing considerable interest from multiple suitors since free agency kicked off earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the Spurs are among the teams that made contact with Gasol on Wednesday, according to Joe Goodman of the Miami Herald. LeBron James and Anthony might be stealing the big headlines right now, but it won’t be long before Gasol is among the hottest free agents available.
Pelicans Make Eric Gordon Available
THURSDAY, 9:22am: The Pelicans deny that they’re quite so active, as fellow Basketball Insiders scribe Steve Kyler reports in his NBA AM piece. The team is having trade talks with other clubs and there’s a leaguewide feeling as though the team is open to moving Gordon and perhaps Austin Rivers, but the Pelicans don’t have much interest in moving Evans, Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday and especially Davis, Kyler writes.
TUESDAY, 7:58am: The Pelicans are making most of their roster available in trade talks, including Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. It’s not clear exactly who is on the block and who isn’t, but I would surmise that the untouchables list includes 2012’s No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis. From the sound of it, there may not be many more that are safe.
Both guards have value from a talent perspective but their contracts could hinder the returns for New Orleans. Evans signed a four-year, $44MM pact with the Pelicans (via a sign-and-trade) roughly one year ago to this date. Gordon, meanwhile, is in the midst of a max deal with two years to go.
Western Notes: Randle, Lin, Ariza, Stuckey, Davis
Specialists have determined that Lakers first-round pick Julius Randle does not need surgery on his right foot and has been cleared to play, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. More from around the NBA..
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey brushed off criticism over the club’s decision to photoshop Carmelo Anthony wearing the No. 7 that is sported by Jeremy Lin, writes Mark Berman of FOX 26. Of course, if Houston manages to sign Melo, that could mean the end of Lin in Houston. “Bottom line, if Carmelo comes Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin have to be traded. It’s just math. It’s not personal,” said the GM.
- The Jazz are among the suitors for Trevor Ariza, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter) hears that there is definite interest in free agent guard Rodney Stuckey, particularly from high-level clubs. Goodwill suggests that a return to the Pacific Northwest could also be in the cards for the guard. In recent days, we’ve heard that the Magic and Pacers have interest.
- The Clippers have been talking to free agent Ed Davis and they’re optimistic, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Grizzlies opted against tendering the 25-year-old an offer earlier this offseason.
Eastern Notes: Billups, Livingston, Carmelo
While Chauncey Billups has a number of coaching, front office, and media opportunities available to him, he hasn’t decided if he wants to retire and walk away from the game just yet, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. “As far as me playing, I feel really good right now for the first time in a long time – in two or three years,” Billups said. “I know that in the right situation, I can really help a team win. But it would take the right situation. I’m not going to play just to play. I have nothing left to prove and I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish playing basketball, so it would take the right situation for me to play.” The guard spent last season with the Pistons and saw just 19 games of action.
- It sounds like Shaun Livingston had strong interest from several other clubs, including the Heat, before he agreed to sign with the Warriors, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looks at where the Nets stand after losing Livingston to the Warriors.
- If the Bulls are worried about their chances of landing Carmelo Anthony, that should give an indication of the long odds that the Rockets, Mavs, and Lakers are up against, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. He posits that the Knicks‘ confidence through the process might be justified.
- The Sixers have expressed interest in Kent Bazemore, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. As previously reported, the Jazz, Hawks, Celtics, Mavs, Lakers, Suns, and Bulls also have interest in the guard.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter) gets the sense that the Hornets are unlikely to land a big fish free agent this summer.
Bulls Plan To Amnesty Carlos Boozer?
10:33pm: The Bulls told Boozer it’s a possibility he will be amnestied or used in a sign-and-trade but have made no final decisions, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
10:00pm: Carlos Boozer may have played his last game in a Bulls uniform. A source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times that Boozer’s departure is a “done deal” and says that the forward’s camp has been informed of the decision.
Under the amnesty provision, Boozer still will be paid the $16.8MM he’s due next season, but it won’t count against the salary cap. The Bulls, of course, would have preferred to use Boozer’s expiring contract in a sign-and-trade scenario but they haven’t found any suitable offers. The Bulls obviously don’t want to pay Boozer for nothing, but they want to reallocate that space for something better, even if it’s not Carmelo Anthony.
As we learned last night, even if they’re able to convince Melo to come to Chicago, the Knicks have zero interest in taking on Boozer in an S&T deal. Even though others in the Knicks’ front office were warmer to the idea since Boozer’s contract could be used in a mid-season deal for someone like Kevin Love, Phil Jackson didn’t want to entertain the idea.
Of course, nothing has officially happened with Boozer just yet. The amnesty window runs from July 10th through the 16th.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Raptors Re-Sign Kyle Lowry
JULY 10TH: Lowry has officially re-signed, the team announced via press release.
“We made it known that our top priority heading into the offseason was to re-sign Kyle,” GM Masai Ujiri said in the team’s statement. “He was a key to our success last season and we are delighted that he wants to be here in Toronto to help us continue to build a championship program.”
JULY 2ND: Kyle Lowry has agreed to a four-year, $48MM deal to stay with the Raptors, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Lowry has been heavily courted by the Heat, Rockets, and others, but it appears that he’ll be staying put with the club that helped resurrect his career. The deal includes a player option for the fourth year (link).
It was expected that the Raptors would pitch Lowry on a deal with an average annual value of $12MM a year but the club was reportedly considering making it a five-year offer to help keep him away from other suitors. For one reason or another, a fifth year wasn’t necessary and the Raptors got to keep their standout guard on a deal that is probably much more comfortable for them. This is strictly speculative on my part, but the opt out clause after year three could have been the compromise that kept Lowry satisfied with four years rather than five.
The Andy Miller client had significant interest from an impressive group of teams including the Heat, Rockets, Lakers, and Mavericks but he’s slated to stay north of the border for at least the next three seasons. It’s easy to see why. After averaging 10.6 PPG and 5.0 APG for the first seven years of his career, Lowry blossomed into a star last year for Toronto, putting up 17.9 PPG and 7.4 APG. The 28-year-old led Toronto to the Atlantic Division crown and although they were bounced by the sixth-seeded Nets in the first round, the Raptors organization reinvigorated Toronto’s basketball fans.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jamal Crawford Seeks Contract Extension
As the Clippers explore possible trades with Jamal Crawford, the guard’s agent says that his client wants a contract extension next summer, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
“Our intention is to get an extension with the Clippers or anywhere else that he may be traded based on the fact that he’s undervalued for the production he’s providing,” agent Andy Miller said.
Crawford has become a subject of sign-and-trade discussions for the Clippers, who explored deals for Cleveland’s Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes. The 34-year-old has two years and $11MM left on his deal, including a team option for the 2015/16 season. Crawford is eligible for an extension next summer, and believes he’s out-performed his deal.
Crawford had a strong year for Los Angeles, averaging 18.6 PPG in 30 minutes per game on his way to his second career Sixth Man of the Year award.
Grizzlies Getting Outbid For Mike Miller
Unrestricted free agent Mike Miller is likely to settle on a contract in the next 24 to 48 hours but probably won’t re-sign with Memphis unless the Grizzlies’ offer is enhanced soon, a source tells Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com. At this time, Memphis’ offer doesn’t compare to what other franchises have suggested they’ll offer in terms of years and money, according to the source.
“He really wants to stay in Memphis, if everything is equal,” the source said. “But, right now, everything isn’t equal. It’s not really close. So we’ll see.”
Miller, 34, appeared in all 82 games for the Grizz last season and averaged 7.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists during the regular season. He also helped spread the offense as he shot 45.9% from downtown. The Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, and Thunder are among the other clubs known to have interest in the veteran.