Pistons Decline Option On Chauncey Billups
The Pistons announced that they have declined Chauncey Billups‘ $2.5MM team option for next season. The move has long been expected.
Billups, 38 in September, saw just 19 games of action for the Pistons last season. His averages of 3.8 PPG and 2.2 APG in that limited run show that he is nowhere near the player that he once was. The veteran is reportedly leaning heavily toward retirement.
If this is indeed the end of the line for Billups, the guard has a long, productive career to look back on. Over the course of 17 seasons, Billups averaged 15.2 PPG and 5.4 APG while capturing a championship and earning upward of $100MM in salary.
The club also confirmed that they extended a qualifying offer to Greg Monroe.
Magic Claim Willie Green
The Magic have claimed guard Willie Green off waivers, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (on Twitter). Green, of course, was recently waived by the Clippers.
The Clippers cut Green loose in advance of the date where his contract would have become guaranteed for the 2014/15 season. In 55 games last season (nine starts), Green averaged 5.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 15.8 minutes per contest.
Francisco Garcia Opts Out
JUNE 30TH: Garcia has informed the team that he has turned down his option and will hit free agency, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
JUNE 22ND: Francisco Garcia intends to opt out of his contract for 2014/15 with the Rockets, agent Aaron Goodwin tells Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter). Garcia would have earned $1.3MM with Houston next season but he’ll take a look elsewhere in hopes of a better deal.
Garcia, 32, averaged 5.7 points in 19.7 minutes per game over 55 regular season appearances for the Rockets, but his minutes dried up in the playoffs. He saw 18 minutes in Game 1 against the Blazers, four minutes in Game 2, and was squeezed out of the picture for the rest of the series in favor of Troy Daniels.
The Rockets have full Bird Rights on the swingman and they’ll have extra flexibility now that he is opting out. Garcia is a nice bench piece, but Houston is thinking much bigger with their sights set on Carmelo Anthony.
Hoops Links: Melo, Austin, LeBron
On this date in 2006, the NBA announced that a new official game ball would be used in the 2006/07 season. In response to numerous complaints and a Players Association suit, the new ball would cease to be used as of January 1, 2007.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…
- House Of Houston addresses the myths regarding Carmelo Anthony and the Rockets.
- Secret Rival updates us on the latest player movement around the globe.
- Sports Injury Alert says the NBA won the draft with their selection of Isaiah Austin.
- FanDuel has ten ways for the Cavs to talk LeBron James into coming home.
- Legion Report has fie takeaways from draft weekend.
- The Daily Dribble has a whole lot of predictions and projections.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Nuggets Acquire Arron Afflalo
FRIDAY, 12:18am: The deal is official, the Magic have announced via press release.
THURSDAY, 12:18pm: The Magic have agreed to send Arron Afflalo to the Nuggets for Evan Fournier and the No. 56 pick, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Nuggets appear to be absorbing Afflalo into a trade exception, Zach Lowe of Grantland tweets. A quick glance at this summer’s outstanding trade exceptions would indicate that Denver is using the $9.868MM exception from the Andre Iguodala deal to take on Afflalo.
Afflalo is set to earn $7.56MM this season and has a player option for 2015/16 at $7.75MM, but it seems likely that he’ll opt out, effectively making his deal an expiring contract. The haul for the guard may seem light, but that fact could have weighed down his trade value. Afflalo put up a career-high 18.2 PPG this season in 35 minutes per contest. His ~46% field goal percentage was right in line with his career average and his 16.0 PER was a full three points higher than his mark last season.
The deal is something of a homecoming for Afflalo, who played for Denver from 2009/10 through 2011/12. The reunion won’t be short lived, as a source tells Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post (on Twitter) that the 28-year-old will not be flipped to another team in a trade. Afflalo has been mentioned as someone the Nuggets were interested in acquiring for the purposes of flipping him to the Wolves in a Kevin Love deal.
Fournier averaged 8.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 19.5 minutes per night in 76 games last season. The shooting guard showed flashes of brilliance in his rookie campaign but didn’t take significant strides forward in 2013/14. Even though he shot well shot well from downtown, his field-goal percentage dropped to 41.9%, down 7.4 percent from the previous season.
Orlando surely likes Fournier but the real motivation for the deal comes in additional flexibility. Following the trade, the Magic have roughly $27.5MM in guaranteed salary on the books for 2014/15.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Cavs, No. 1 Pick
6:21pm: The Cavs turned down Philly’s offer of picks Nos. 3, 10 and 32, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
5:43pm: All signs point to the Cavs taking Wiggins with the top pick, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
4:54pm: The Cavs are set to keep the pick and choose between Parker and Wiggins, unless a last-minute offer comes around, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
3:58pm: Nothing is expected to happen with the Kings outside of a multiple team deal, Amico tweets. Meanwhile, the Celtics want the top pick, but they lack the parts to get a deal done.
3:53pm: The Cavs are talking with the Kings, Celtics, and Sixers about the No. 1 pick but not the Wolves or Magic at this stage, tweets Amico.
2:56pm: Nothing is close in terms of a deal for the No. 1 pick, but the Cavs expect it all to come down to the wire, tweets Amico.
2:06pm: The asking price for the No. 1 pick is as high as picks Nos. 3, 10, and 32 from the Sixers, Tom Moore of the Courier Times tweets. If Philly stays at No. 3, meanwhile, Dante Exum will likely be their choice.
Technically speaking, we are past the 1pm CT deadline where teams can officially trade picks, but the Cavs can draft someone for the Sixers or another club to complete a trade.
1:15pm: The Cavs know who they’re selecting with the first pick in the draft and there’s no great internal debate going on today, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. The club still has multiple trade opportunities in front of them, however.
12:44pm: A league source tells Bob Cooney of the Daily News (on Twitter) that the Sixers are in full court press mode with Cleveland to get the No. 1 pick. “They really, really, really want Wiggins,” the source said.
10:47am: There’s a lot of skepticism that the Cavs are at all serious about trading the No. 1 pick, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
9:44am: The two sides have exchanged proposals on the No. 1 pick, but there’s nothing that has gained traction, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
9:35am: The Cavs and Magic aren’t anywhere close to a deal for the No. 1 pick, team sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
8:15am: Buckle up, this is going to be one crazy day leading up to the draft. As we learned yesterday, the Cavs are still split on whether to take Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins with the No. 1 overall pick. General Manager David Griffin and other execs are pushing for Parker while outspoken owner Dan Gilbert wants to take Wiggins. Of course, they might not keep the pick at all.
Sources tell Chad Ford of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that the Cavs have been calling teams and offering up the Magic’s picks at No. 4 and No. 12 for different players. The Magic would take Parker with the No. 1 overall pick but the Cavs were just gauging the value of those picks and a deal is not yet completed, Ford tweets. The Sixers are also upping their offer for the top pick.
Meanwhile, sources out of Orlando tell Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter) that the Cavs have inquired about Magic guard Victor Oladipo during their exploratory trade talks.
Hornets Shopping Gerald Henderson
6:02pm: Sources deny to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops that the Hornets offered Henderson for Afflalo (Twitter link).
3:43pm: As the draft draws near, the Hornets are shopping Gerald Henderson, sources tell Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d). Sources say Charlotte offered the No. 24 pick and Henderson to the Magic for Arron Afflalo before the guard was shipped to Denver.
That’s not the only rumored trade proposal involving Henderson that we’ve heard today. This morning, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that Charlotte was discussing a deal that would have sent Henderson to the Clippers for Jared Dudley, another player, and the No. 28 pick.
Last season, Henderson played in a career-high 77 games and averaged 14.0 PPG with 4.0 RPG in 32 minutes per contest.
Jazz Considering Marcus Smart At No. 5
Marcus Smart is emerging as a serious consideration for Utah with the fifth pick, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). This comes as a surprise since Smart never worked out for Utah.
The Oklahoma State point guard would have been one of the very top picks in the 2013 Draft had he gone pro, but he stayed in school and had a disappointing follow-up campaign. Still, Smart could find his way into the top five after averaging 17.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 2.8 SPG in 32.5 minutes per contest last season.
The Jazz have been trying to move up to the No. 1 pick in order to land top target Jabari Parker. However, they’re not alone in trying to land the selection as the Sixers are making a strong push for it themselves. Of course, the Cavs might spurn all of the offers in front of them and use the selection themselves for Andrew Wiggins or Parker.
Draft Rumors: Jazz, Clippers, Rockets
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (on Twitter) hears the Jazz are “frantically” trying to move up from the No. 5 spot. Everything Utah has remains available for trade consideration. The Jazz reportedly have their eye on forward Jabari Parker and they know there’s no chance of him falling to No. 5. Here’s the latest draft news..
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears the Clippers are “50-50” on keeping their first round choice.
- One name to watch for the Rockets at either No. 25 or No. 42 is Russian big man Artem Klimenko, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Houston has been doing some serious research on him in recent months.
- The Lakers aren’t sensing a lot of momentum for a pre-draft trade and, as of right now, expect to keep the No. 7 pick, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Knicks, Blazers, and Nets are among the teams trying to land a first-round choice, league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Hornets have explored moving up from No. 24, league sources tell Kennedy (on Twitter).
- The Kings want to acquire a second-round pick, sources tell Kennedy (Twitter link).
- There are several picks in the late 20s “to be had,” one exec tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). With nine teams lacking a first-round pick, there’s a strong market for them.
- Meanwhile, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that we could be in for high number of international picks in the 20-to-30 range. That’s because teams are placing a high value on cap space and want to stay away from the luxury tax so clubs might not be lining up to trade for picks in that range as expected (link). The clubs left holding those selections might prefer to go with draft-and-stash candidates in cases where they don’t have obvious, pressing needs.
Eastern Notes: Embiid, Afflalo, Rondo
Joel Embiid is seriously in play for three spots in the top part of the lottery, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The 76ers at No. 3, Celtics at No. 6, and the Lakers at No. 7 are all giving serious thought to taking the KU center. Here’s more out of the East..
- The Sixers aren’t pursuing deals with the Bucks for their No. 2 pick, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. That could be an indication that they believe the Cavs are planning to take Andrew Wiggins No. 1 overall.
- The week before the Pistons fired Maurice Cheeks, they were looking to acquire Arron Afflalo, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Free Press. Of course, the Magic agreed to trade Afflalo to the Nuggets this morning.
- The Magic‘s continuous losing deeply bothered Afflalo, but Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (on Twitter) hears that he and his agent did not request a trade.
- Rajon Rondo‘s name has once again popped up in trade rumors, but a source close to the situation tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that the guard has not been informed of any change of plans when it comes to the Celtics‘ future.
- Even though the Afflalo trade freed up a lot of money for the Magic, Robbins (on Twitter) still doesn’t expect them to make a major splash in free agency.
- Jameer Nelson should draw interest from teams looking to shed salary for free agency, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
- In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if it’s LeBron James or Pat Riley making the personnel decisions for the Heat.
- The Knicks could flip the newly-acquired Shane Larkin for a first-round choice, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.