Spurs, Wolves, Kings, Calling On Livingston
The Spurs, Wolves, Kings, Hornets, and Magic are among the teams that called on Shaun Livingston after the official start of free agency, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. At this point, it appears that it will be a challenge for the Nets to keep the point guard.
The Nets are already extremely limited in the contract they can offer Livingston thanks to their luxury tax situation. Now, with a wide range of suitors, the odds get even slimmer for Brooklyn. The departure of coach Jason Kidd reportedly doesn’t bode well for the Nets’ chances to retain Livingston either.
Raptors Considering Offering Fifth Year To Lowry
1:27am: Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey will meet with Lowry in Philadelphia later today, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (on Twitter).
1:03am: The line of teams chasing Kyle Lowry is so long that the Raptors are now said to be weighing whether to offer a fifth year to clinch his re-signing, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. As Stein reported earlier tonight, the Raptors are pitching a deal with an average annual value of $12MM/year, so a five-year deal would be quite a get for the 28-year-old.
The Heat have been known to be fans of Lowry and really appeared to ramp up their pursuit early Tuesday morning. A source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) that Miami reached out to his agent, Andy Miller, and the sides are planning to talk in the morning.
In addition to the Heat, the Raptors will have to contend with the Lakers, Rockets, and Mavericks, who all reached out to Lowry tonight, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Free Agent Rumors: Melo, Love, Henry, Sessions,
The Knicks are still viewed in league circles as the favorites in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The team is confident that it will get the final sales pitch with Anthony, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The latest free agent rumors from around the league..
- The Rockets, Suns, Bulls, and Warriors are all expected to make plays for Kevin Love if they miss out on LeBron James and/or Anthony, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press.
- The Pacers are targeting Xavier Henry in free agency to replace Evan Turner, tweets Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth.
- Bucks free agent guard Ramon Sessions‘ camp received calls from three teams in the first hour of free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
- The Grizzlies, Nets, Spurs, and Thunder have expressed in free agent point guard Sebastian Telfair, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Telfair played in China last season. For the Nets, Telfair could be a potential replacement for Shaun Livingston if he goes elsewhere.
- The Nets reached out as soon as the negotiating window opened to their own free agents Paul Pierce, Livingston, and Alan Anderson, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- The Blazers have strong interest in signing a stretch four, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Spencer Hawes, Boris Diaw, and Josh McRoberts are among their targets.
- Blazers GM Neil Olshey met with Hawes and his agent, Greg Lawrence, tonight in Los Angeles, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- Channing Frye would be open to returning to the Blazers, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “Of course coming back would be an option,” Frye wrote in an e-mail. “I love the city, the fans, and the players they have are top notch.”
- Nick Young was contacted by the Lakers and a number of other teams, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter).
Cavs Sign Kyrie Irving To Max Extension
JULY 10TH: The extension is official, the team announced.
“We couldn’t be happier to have Kyrie firmly at the core of our Cavaliers team and family for years to come,” Cavs GM David Griffin said in the team’s release. “He’s already proven he’s among the best in the NBA and we’re excited to watch his continued growth and success. To know that he is all in and shares our high expectations and championship goals is something we’re extremely proud of. It is a clear reflection of how we all view our future together, with Kyrie fully vested in this franchise and the city of Cleveland.”
JULY 1ST: The Cavs and Kyrie Irving have agreed to an extension, according to a tweet from owner Dan Gilbert. Irving intends to sign a five-year, $90MM maximum-salary extension with the team, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The commitment came in a meeting which took place early Tuesday morning.
The deal makes Irving the Designated Player for the Cavs, and he can earn a higher maximum salary via the Derrick Rose rule, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe confirms (Twitter link).
There has been some doubt as to whether the Cavs could keep Irving for the long haul or whether the star guard was even wanted in Cleveland after a tumultuous season. However, this bombshell in the early hours of free agency puts an end to that sort of talk. According to Gilbert’s tweet, the deal will be officially signed on July 10th once the moratorium ends.
Irving has had a tumultuous first three years in the NBA after being selected No. 1 overall by Cleveland in the 2011 draft. While he has exhibited the offensive talent that made him worth that selection, the team has failed to make the playoffs or even finish with a .500 winning percentage. Last year’s disappointing 33-win Cavs team was actually the best of the Irving era, and the fallout from a disastrous Andrew Bynum signing, a historically bad rookie year for 2013′s No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, and continued losing resulted in the mid-season firing of former GM Chris Grant and ex-coach Mike Brown’s dismissal after the season.
Despite the ugly season, Irving is reportedly pleased with the decision to make GM David Griffin the permanent executive after Griffin’s strong run as interim GM during the season. Irving has publicly refuted persistent rumors that he wanted out of Cleveland, but he has stopped short of guaranteeing he will re-sign for the years ahead. Griffin is a believer in the backcourt pairing of Irving and Dion Waiters, and the team experienced a relative turnaround once Griffin took the reigns to foster a positive culture around the two ball-dominant guards.
Cray Allred contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Heat Big Three Will Give Riley Time To Upgrade
12:48am: In an update to his story, Wojnarowski writes that Bosh, Wade, and Udonis Haslem have the framework of deals in place to remain with Miami, arming Riley with his limitations within the salary cap to sign talent, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
“Everybody has their [contract] number and has left a little bit of room to let [Riley] maneuver,” one source briefed on the contract discussions said.
With that bit of space, Riley plans to look into free agents including Marcin Gortat and Marvin Williams.
8:16pm: As free agency starts, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade plan to give Pat Riley a window to enact his plan for upgrading the team’s supporting cast, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Of course, much of what Riley can do will depend on how much breathing room he has to operate with. There was some hope that James would take less than the max deal to help the Heat reload, but earlier today we learned that’s not in the cards. LeBron met with Wade and Bosh to discuss salaries over the weekend, so it will be up to Wade and Bosh to take discounts if the Heat are going to add a free agent of note this summer. Both Bosh and Wade, along with LeBron, took less than the max to sign with Miami in 2010, so it remains to be seen if they’ll take another pay cut.
Teams will be blowing up all three of their phones when the clock strikes midnight tonight, but LeBron, Wade, and Bosh will give Miami an opportunity to prepare a battle plan before they consider going elsewhere.
Los Angeles Rumors: LeBron, Melo, Meeks, Hawes
The Clippers continue to have interest in LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). The Clips also placed calls to Luol Deng, Darren Collison, and Trevor Ariza tonight. The Clippers don’t have meetings scheduled with James or Anthony but remain interested and will continue to pursue both of them, Shelburne tweets. More out of L.A..
- Mark Medina of the Daily News (on Twitter) hears that Jodie Meeks received calls from a “number of teams” including the Lakers. It’s unclear who those other teams are, however.
- Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) hears that Spencer Hawes might be too expensive for the Clippers. The big man is seeking $8MM per season, a raise over the $6.5MM he made in 2013/14.
- The Clippers are interested in free agent Ed Davis, sources Turner (via Twitter).
Clippers Confident They Can Sign Paul Pierce
The Clippers believe they have a real chance of stealing Paul Pierce away from the Nets now that Jason Kidd is no longer coaching in Brooklyn, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Of course, it has been long speculated that Pierce could be tempted by a reunion with former coach Doc Rivers.
Besides the Clippers, the Blazers, Grizzlies, Bulls, Mavericks, and Rockets all reached out to Pierce tonight, Stein tweets.
Kidd was dealt to the Bucks this week in exchange for a pair of second round draft picks. The guard-turned-coach reportedly made a power play for personnel control and possibly a more lucrative contract and was denied. At that stage, the Nets granted Kidd permission to talk with the Bucks about their opening. It wasn’t long before Bucks co-owner and former Nets minority owner Marc Lasry had a framework in place for Kidd to replace coach Larry Drew.
Pierce has made nearly $185MM in his career, per Basketball-Reference, so he could certainly afford to take less money to head west and join the Clippers.
Heat Interested In Luol Deng
12:25am: In addition to the previously reported Heat, Mavs, and Hawks, the Clippers, Lakers and Bulls have all registered interest with Deng, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
12:06am: Miami’s Pat Riley has called Luol Deng‘s reps and registered his significant interest, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Mavericks were the first team on the horn with Deng early this morning but, apparently, Miami wasn’t far behind.
Earlier this week it was reported that the Hawks are thinking about making a run at Luol Deng this summer. The Hawks have $15MM+ to spend on free agents this offseason after their trade with the Raptors and Deng appears to be one of their prime targets. However, it may be another team out of the Southeast Division that comes away with the Man from Sudan.
In 63 games for the Bulls and Cavs this year, Deng averaged 16.0 PPG and 5.7 RPG. He finished with a combined 15.2 PER and, unsurprisingly, the numbers show that he performed better in Chicago.
Southeast Rumors: Ariza, Gortat, Ferry, Lewis
The latest out of the Southeast Division..
- Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears that Trevor Ariza is after a deal in the $8-11MM per year range and likes the idea of playing in a warm-weather city. Still, staying with the Wizards is an intriguing option for him.
- The Wizards spent the evening reaching out to their own free agents, Marcin Gortat, Ariza, and Drew Gooden, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
- Ariza has significant interest from clubs, including the Cavs, and Wizards coach Randy Wittman will be in Los Angeles tomorrow morning to meet with him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. A league source close to Ariza tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) that his potential destinations include the Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Mavs, Jazz, Cavs, and Wizards.
- Hawks‘ GM Danny Ferry plans to be “very aggressive” in free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
- Heat free agent forward Rashard Lewis is expecting interest from the Heat, Pacers, Thunder, Raptors, and Spurs, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- So far the Hornets have not expressed interest in Luol Deng, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).
- The Hawks were the first team to call unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore after midnight, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Hawks are really high on the Lakers free agent.
- Unrestricted free agent Trevor Booker has attracted interest from several teams, including the Heat, Wolves, Jazz, Nets, Knicks, Magic, and Wizards, sources tell Michael Lee of the Washington Post (on Twitter).
Lakers Call LeBron James’ Agent
The Lakers called LeBron James‘ agent Rich Paul early this morning, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). James, of course, will not be taking face-to-face meetings with teams at this time and is allowing Paul to handle talks with teams.
While there is a growing belief in league circles that James will wind up returning to the Heat, that’s not going to stop teams from building ambitious plans to make a run at the top player in the NBA. James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh will field pitches from other clubs this week, but they’ll reportedly wait to hear what Pat Riley has in mind before getting in advanced talks with anyone else.
Bosh and Wade might take pay cuts to make things work in Miami, but James reportedly is only interested in a max deal.