Lakers Rumors: Westbrook, Harden, Kobe
Earlier today, we learned that Greg Monroe is slated to meet with four teams this summer, including the Lakers. Monroe, who is looking for a two-year deal with an option, says he wants to play for a playoff-caliber team. The Lakers will try and convince Monroe that they are ready to win in 2015/16 as they duke it out with the Knicks, Bucks, and Trail Blazers. Here’s the latest out of L.A…
- The Lakers are working to unload contracts to create significantly more salary cap space, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- An executive, presumably from another NBA team, who spoke with Baxter Holmes and Larry Coon of ESPN.com expects that former Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook and James Harden will join the Lakers when they both become free to do so. That won’t be for a while, since Westbrook has two more years left on his deal and Harden has three remaining on his.
- Kobe Bryant is expected to take part in the Lakers’ pitch meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge tonight, according to Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (on Twitter). Kobe’s inclusion is not definite, he adds, but it is part of the plan at this time. In a full article, Amick says the meeting is also expected to include team president and governor Jeanie Buss, GM Mitch Kupchak, assistant general manager Glenn Carraro, coach Byron Scott, senior vice president of finance Tim Harris, as well as representatives from Time Warner Cable and AEG.
- Magic Johnson, meanwhile, won’t be around for the Lakers’ initial free agent pitches, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News writes. Magic is currently on vacation in Europe and it’s unclear when he’ll return.
Northwest Rumors: Thunder, Mudiay, Jazz
The Thunder want a first-round pick to part with Perry Jones, according to two execs who spoke with Chris Mannix of SI. Unfortunately for OKC, however, that doesn’t seem to be a realistic demand. Here’s more from the Northwest Division..
- Nuggets head coach Michael Malone spoke with Mannix about the chaos of draft night and the events leading up the selection of Emmanuel Mudiay. Mudiay did not work out for Denver, but the Nuggets did watch a great deal of film on him. Despite the uncertainty, Malone said that he trusted his front office and wasn’t hesitant about the pick.
- The Jazz will have a conversation with Raul Neto, the Brazilian point guard they drafted two years ago, to gauge his interest in playing in the NBA next season, according to Aaron Falk, Tony Jones, and Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune. The sense is that the Jazz want the 2013 second round pick to join them sooner rather than later. However, it’s not clear where he’d fit in given the team’s current logjam at point guard.
- The Raptors never considered Tomislav Zubčić, a late second-round pick in the 2012 draft whose rights Toronto sent to the Thunder today, to be an NBA prospect, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). Apparently, the Raptors drafted him mostly as a favor to help speed up the team’s buyout for Jonas Valanciunas, Wolstat writes.
- Blazers GM Neil Olshey is prepared for what’s ahead, regardless of whether LaMarcus Aldridge stays or goes, Ian Thomsen of NBA.com writes.
- The Thunder announced that they have named Monty Williams, Maurice Cheeks, and Anthony Grant as assistant coaches.
Bucks Waive Caron Butler, Shawne Williams
As expected, the Bucks have waived both Caron Butler and Shawne Williams, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Earlier this month, Butler told Racine Sports Zone that he was expecting to get waived by Milwaukee.
Butler, 35, is coming off career lows in points (5.9) and minutes (20.8) per game. He nonetheless shot 37.9% on 2.8 three-point attempts per game last season, so he at least still appears to have value as a spot-up shooter. The Thunder, Bulls, Clippers, Spurs, Lakers, and Knicks reportedly have interest in the veteran.
Milwaukee acquired Butler and Williams in the Ersan Ilyasova trade earlier this month. Butler played for the Bucks during the first half of the 2013/14 season. Williams, 29, played 63 regular season games for the Heat and Pistons last season. He averaged 5.4 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 17.3 minutes per contest between the two teams. For his career, Williams has averaged 5.6 PPG and 3.0 RPG in stops with the Pacers, Mavs, Knicks, Nets, Lakers, Heat, and Pistons.
Blazers To Keep Chris Kaman
The Blazers have decided to retain Chris Kaman for the 2015/16 season, according to Jabari Young of CSNNW.com (on Twitter). Portland had until 4 CT to waive the big man before his salary became fully guaranteed for the upcoming campaign. Portland declined to do so, meaning that Kaman will return for a second season.
During his exit interview in April, Kaman said he wanted to return to the Blazers for the 2015/16 season. However, with just $1MM of his $5,016,000 salary guaranteed for next season, that wasn’t quite a given. In 74 games (13 starts) last season, Kaman averaged 8.6 PPG and 6.5 RPG in less than 19 minutes per game. The 7-footer has averaged 11.4 PPG and 7.7 RPG over the course of his 12-year career.
Atlantic Notes: D. Williams, Celtics, Carmelo
Nets execs believe there’s a trade market for Deron Williams, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. While Williams is obviously nowhere near what he once was, those execs feel that another team will find that he is just in need of a change of scenery. Of course, a skeptic would point to his surgically repaired knees as a larger problem than personalities clashing in Brooklyn. Here’s more from the Atlantic..
- The Celtics don’t have a history of landing difference makers in free agency, but they have every reason to believe this summer will be different, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. Blakely points to Boston’s major market appeal and their available cash as major reasons for hope. Conversely, however, players and agents have indicated to him that they won’t be landing one of the top three or four players via free agency.
- The Celtics will be prioritizing high-character guys in free agency and they showed a commitment to that philosophy in the draft, as Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. The C’s, for example, had interest in Robert Upshaw, but were turned off by his substance-abuse issues. “With a young team, I don’t think we really needed to deal with that,” a C’s source said of Upshaw.
- After reports indicated that Carmelo Anthony was unhappy with the selection of Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks star reached out to the rookie, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “Carmelo reached out to Kris after all of that. It was beautiful that a player of that profile can do something like that. It’s great,” Porzingis’ older brother, Janis, confirmed on Monday during an appearance on ESPN 98.7 FM’s “The Hahn and Humpty Show.”
- New Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. says he will use Knicks president Phil Jackson’s critical remarks about him Friday as motivation, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Jackson said he believed Jerian Grant has more of the attributes the Knicks want from a guard. “Once I heard him say that, all hands on deck now,” said Hardaway, who was sent to Atlanta in exchange for the pick that was used to take the Notre Dame standout. “Obviously as a basketball player, you take that to heart. So, it’s time to move on, get better, and when the time comes, the time comes. Right now, it’s all about Atlanta basketball.”
- Jackson’s recruiting strategy is to sell prospective free agents on winning with the Knicks rather than New York business opportunities, an NBA exec tells Berman.
- Celtics GM Danny Ainge says draft-and-stash prospect Marcus Thornton will most likely be in the D-League or in Europe next season, Adam Himmeslbach of The Boston Globe tweets. Thornton, a product of William & Mary, is not to be confused with the veteran guard of the same name.
- Raptors GM Masai Ujiri says his team will be “open-minded and open for business” while still keeping its core intact, Eric Koreen of the National Post writes. The core he is likely referring to is the trio of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jonas Valanciunas.
- The Raptors are finalizing an agreement to hire former Thunder assistant Rex Kalamian as part of Dwane Casey‘s staff, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Southeast Rumors: Heat, Winslow, Harris, Brand
Dan Le Batard of the Miami Herald (via Barry Jackson on Twitter) hears that the Celtics offered the Heat four first-round picks and two second-rounders for their No. 10 pick so that they could grab Justise Winslow. Instead, Miami stood pat and grabbed the Duke star, who many feel could wind up being the sleeper of the draft. Here’s more from the Southeast Division..
- Magic forward Tobias Harris is looking for a max or near-max offer sheet since the salary cap is set to rise, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). If he gets a large enough offer, Kennedy adds, the Magic might not match. Harris, as expected, received a QO from Orlando earlier today.
- The Hawks likely won’t re-sign Elton Brand, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Vivlamore anticipates that Mike Muscala, entering his third season, will have an increased role with Brand out of the picture.
- More from Vivlamore, who tweets that the Hawks have announced that Kyle Korver will undergo surgery. The sharpshooter’s procedure will be done in New York by Dr. David Altchek.
- Magic GM Rob Hennigan said it’s possible he will be “very active” in free agency, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Still, Robbins points out that Orlando is unlikely to jump into the mix for Marc Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, or Kevin Love.
- Janis Timma, whose NBA rights were traded to the Magic last week, has joined up with B.C. Zenit Saint Petersburg, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (on Twitter).
- Mario Hezonja‘s buyout agreement calls for him to give $1.4MM to his former club, not ~$1.8MM as previously reported, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.net (on Twitter). In a chat with Robbins, agent Arn Tellem confirmed that the buyout for the Magic‘s top draft pick has been finalized.
Lakers, Pelicans, Bucks Interested In Robin Lopez
10:22pm: The Lakers are also interested, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN (on Twitter).
4:04pm: The Pelicans and Bucks are among the interested suitors for free agent Robin Lopez, league sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. Other previously reported suitors include the Knicks and Celtics.
In seven years with the Suns, Pelicans, and Blazers, Lopez has averaged 8.2 PPG and 5.1 RPG for his career. In his lone season with New Orleans, he put up 11.3 PPG and 5.6 RPG. Clearly, that 2012/13 campaign is still fresh in their minds. That year also saw Lopez put up a career high PER of 18.9, well ahead of his career average of 16.7.
Lopez has said he’d prefer to re-sign with the Blazers, though Portland is obviously in flux at this time.
“Nothing’s 100% certain,” Lopez said. “Obviously I’ve loved my time here in Portland. I would love to come back. I’d be very open to coming back, but it’s hard to say 100%. You just never know what’s going to happen.“
The Pelicans also are likely to have an interest in Warriors free agent Leandro Barbosa, sources tell Charania. Alvin Gentry has previously coached the guard, just as he has previously coached Lopez.
Hoops Links: Rockets, Cousins, Lakers
On this date in 2005, Larry Brown became the NBA’s highest paid coach when he signed a five-year deal with the Knicks. The deal, worth a reported $50-$60MM, was terminated less than one year later when he was fired.
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 ran down the players the Rockets must keep and drop.
- Lakers Outsiders weighed the pros and cons of the Lakers dealing for DeMarcus Cousins.
- Fantasy Pros wonders if international players are worth high draft picks.
- Keep It Cavalier recapped Cleveland’s draft.
- Six Championship Drive analyzed the Pistons’ draft.
- Hoop Trends isn’t so sure about the 76ers’ big man strategy.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Kings Have Considered Firing George Karl?
FRIDAY, 1:23am: Vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac said the issues are between himself and Karl, not Ranadive and Karl, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter links). Divac didn’t elaborate, but Jones hears that he didn’t like Karl going behind his back to negotiate possible trades. Divac nonetheless added that he has no shortage of respect for Karl and wants to believe that Karl and Cousins can work with each other, Jones also tweets.
“I respect my coach and I think he’s great but he has to trust me to do my job. That’s all,” Divac said, according to Jones (Twitter link).
5:17pm: Credible sources inside the Kings issued strong denials that the team has made Karl’s job status a matter of discussion, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee.
4:56pm: Karl is no longer in the loop on draft discussions, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times tweets.
THURSDAY, 4:01pm: Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has considered firing George Karl, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Ranadive is upset with Karl’s desire to trade center DeMarcus Cousins, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
No potential replacement for Karl has been mentioned or considered yet, according to Broussard. Meanwhile, firing Karl will not be a panacea for the tensions between Cousins and the franchise.
“If you fire Karl, now you can’t control Cousins because he’ll know he’s running the place,” the source told Broussard. “Now he’ll feel like he’s telling you what to do.”
No firing is imminent, which perhaps explains Broussard’s usage of the past tense in saying Ranadive has “considered” the move, but the owner has broached the subject with team execs over the last few days, per the source. When Ranadive was considering hiring Karl in February, some members of the organization told him it was a bad idea. Recently, the owner told at least one of those people that he was right.
The Kings hired Karl In February, giving him a four-year deal worth $14.5MM. Karl is guaranteed $11MM in total.
LaMarcus Aldridge Tells Blazers He’s Leaving?
FRIDAY, 12:09am: Blazers GM Neil Olshey denies having heard from Aldridge that he’ll sign elsewhere, as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman relays. “I hung up with LaMarcus a half-hour ago … he was as bemused by the report as I was,” Olshey said.
THURSDAY, 3:48pm: Rumors have been piling up in recent days indicating that LaMarcus Aldridge will be leaving the Blazers this summer in free agency. Apparently, the Blazers now understand this to be fact. The multiple time All-Star has informed the Blazers that he will not return to them, a Western Conference executive with knowledge of the situation told Erik Gundersen of The Columbian.
Aldridge, 30 in July, has made four consecutive All-Star game appearances over the last four years. Despite his stellar play, he has yet to reach the Western Conference Finals with Portland. The Spurs, Lakers, Knicks, and Mavs have all been heavily connected to the big man and the Hawks and Cavs were mentioned as possibilities by Marc Stein and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com earlier today. Teams, meanwhile, are reportedly grumbling that the allure of the Spurs will be hard to beat for anyone chasing Aldridge. The always ambitious Rockets are also going to try to get in the mix for Aldridge, as well as Cleveland forward Kevin Love.
One league executive told Gundersen that the trade of forward Nicolas Batum looked like “a rebuilding move,” and league sources say that the Blazers are “not done” dealing. On Wednesday, Batum was shipped to the Hornets in exchange for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson. Batum had a weak season, appearing in 71 contests and averaging 9.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. However, his work prior to last season was more impressive.