Odds & Ends: Delfino, Knicks, Redick, West
The Knicks have an interest in Carlos Delfino and Aaron Brooks, who were waived by the Rockets earlier today, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Brooks also has interest (Twitter links) in signing with New York and it helps that he is represented by CAA, the same company that represents J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony. Here’s more from around the Association..
- It’s appearing less and less likely that J.J. Redick will return to the Bucks in free agency, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
- The Pacers‘ top priority in free agency remains re-signing David West, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Sources say that a meeting is expected soon, if not tonight, then tomorrow.
- Andrei Kirilenko is a free agent again, but Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter) cautions that AK is not a fit for the Jazz right now based on the dollars and years it would take to sign him.
- The frontrunners for Gigi Datome are the Celtics and Grizzlies, according to an Italian report passed along by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The small forward was named Serie A Regular Season MVP and ended the year averaging 16.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 48 games.
Nets To Acquire Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce
SUNDAY, 12:52pm: The trade can't be made official until July 12th because of a hang-up related to Kris Joseph, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Players typically can't be traded within three months of signing a free agent contract, and Joseph signed with the Nets on April 12th, so presumably that's the reasoning.
FRIDAY, 9:11am: Chris Broussard of ESPN.com has the full breakdown of the trade, via Twitter:
The Nets will receive Garnett, Pierce, and Terry. The Celtics will receive Humphries, Wallace, Brooks, Joseph, Bogans, and 2014, 2016, and 2018 first-round picks. The '14 pick will be the Hawks or Nets selection, whichever is worse. The '16 and '18 picks will be unprotected. The Celtics also have the ability to swap first-rounders with Brooklyn in 2017.
Based on these pieces, Bogans figures to get a 2013/14 salary of more than $2MM in the sign-and-trade part of the deal, by my math, which works out nicely for him.
7:41am: According to Josh Newman of SNYNets.com, Evans has been informed he won't be included in the deal, but MarShon Brooks will be sent to the Celtics instead. Because Brooks' salary is smaller than Evans, that would mean a larger starting salary for Bogans in the sign-and-trade portion of the deal, unless Shengelia is involved in the final agreement.
Meanwhile, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Nets GM Billy King, head coach Jason Kidd, and point guard Deron Williams all reached out during the draft to pitch him on the trade.
FRIDAY, 12:53am: Because Bogans needs to be signed-and-traded, no deal between Brooklyn and Boston can be made official until July 10th, but the agreement appears on track to be approved by all involved parties.
By my math, if Shengelia is not in the trade, Bogans will need to be signed to a starting salary of $1,731,294 in order for the Nets to send out as much outgoing money as the CBA requires for Garnett, Pierce, and Terry.
THURSDAY, 10:20pm: Kris Joseph will be included in the deal, heading to Boston, and the Celtics will also have the option to swap 2017 first-round picks with Brooklyn, tweets Wojnarowski. Joseph's contract is non-guaranteed, so the C's could waive him after acquiring him if they so choose.
10:10pm: Shengelia is not part of the latest version of this deal, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). I'll have to double-check the math, but I believe the Nets would need to include at least one more player to make the salaries work if they're taking on Terry as well.
9:58pm: Kevin Garnett will agree to waive his no-trade clause to accommodate a deal that will send him and Paul Pierce to the Nets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). As part of the agreement, Brooklyn will guarantee KG's full salary for 2014/15, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Garnett's $12MM salary for that season had only be guaranteed for $6MM up until this point.
It's not entirely clear which players will be involved in the deal, but it looks like Jason Terry will be headed to the Nets along with Garnett and Pierce. Boston is expected to acquire Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Keith Bogans (via sign-and-trade), Reggie Evans, and Tornike Shengelia. The Celtics will also receive 2014, 2016, and 2018 first-round picks, with no protection on the '16 or '18 selections, according to today's earlier reports.
Due to all the moving pieces involved, the two sides won't be able to formally complete the deal until July 10th, when the July moratorium lifts. When it becomes official, it will mark the next step in a full-scale rebuilding process for the Celtics, who also allowed Doc Rivers to join the Clippers in exchange for a 2015 first-round pick.
Celtics Waive Terrence Williams
The Celtics have waived Terrence Williams, the team announced. Williams' salary was non-guaranteed, but would have become partially guaranteed for $200K if the Celtics had not waived him by the end of today. If he had spent all of 2013/14 on Boston's roster, he would have made $947,907, the minimum salary for a four-year veteran.
Williams spent the first part of last season in China, and earned a 10-day contract with the Celtics upon returning stateside. That turned into a deal for the rest of the season and beyond, but Williams finds himself back on the unrestricted free agent market. The team also signed D.J. White and Shavlik Randolph after their stints in China last season, though it appeared the Celtics were highest on Williams, who received his rest-of-the-season deal after only one 10-day contract instead of the pair of 10-day trials that White and Randolph had to pass. White and Randolph's contracts for 2013/14 are non-guaranteed until August 1st.
Williams, an Aaron Goodwin client and former 11th overall pick, notched 4.6 points in 13.3 minutes per game over 24 regular season contests for the Celtics this past year. Boston has made a host of changes since they were bumped in the first-round of the playoffs, allowing Doc Rivers to head to the Clippers while agreeing to a deal that will send Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to the Nets.
Odds & Ends: Howard, Haslem, Mavericks
Dwight Howard's upcoming courtship with a host of teams, both longshots and more realistic destinations, is the talk of the league tonight and probably will be moving forward as we come up on the start of the NBA's free agency period, starting with the July moratorium from the 1st to the 9th.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports put a column up earlier tonight stipulating that Howard's first discussion will be with a large, and star-studded coterie of the Rockets' former Hall-of-Famers, current stars, coaches and executives, but next up will be with the Warriors and Hawks on Monday and Mavericks and Lakers on Tuesday.
ESPNLosAngeles.com's Arash Markazi believes it'll be former coach, Phil Jackson, and his fiancee Jeanie Buss, who could be the final piece as to whether or not Howard stays with the Lakers or leaves for one of the other teams with the cap room to absorb a max deal (Twitter). Phil recently met with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, but both remained tight-lipped about what they discussed in that meeting (Twitter).
Let's look at more from Howard and others from around the league in yet another helter-skelter night in the NBA:
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News writes that the Warriors are long shots in their bid to acquire Howard, and they'd likely have to dismantle some of the nucleus that reached the Western Conference Semifinals this past postseason. Kawakami also notes that despite their long odds at landing the big man, Warriors owner Joe Lacob has won a mini-victory just earning a spot on Dwight's free agency list this summer (Twitter).
- Another possible Howard destination is with the Mavericks, and Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes that any possible trade for the Celtics' Rajon Rondo would have to wait until after the Mavericks secure Howard because of salary cap stipulations.
- If Howard doesn't sign with the Mavs, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News has plans for other free agent signings for the team this offseason.
- Udonis Haslem revealed to the Associated Press today that he spent the second half of last season with the Heat suffering from a torn meniscus in his knee, which will require surgery soon. He's expected to be ready for training camp in the fall.
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel notes that the Magic will guarantee guard E'Twaun Moore's contract for next season, after opting not to extend a qualifying offer to DeQuan Jones.
- Al Iannazzone of Newsday says the Knicks GM Glen Grunwald will have to get creative this offseason if he's going to improve the Knicks' roster.
- Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports the Wizards have promoted Pat Sullivan to assistant coach.
- The newly-named Pelicans will look at small forwards in free agency this offseason, writes John Reid of the Times-Picayune.
Atlantic Notes: Copeland, Pierce, Nets, Raptors
Chris Copeland is a restricted free agent this summer after the Knicks offered him a qualifying offer for one year at $988,872 on June 26th. Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports that the 6'8" Copeland would like to remain in a Knicks uniform despite interest from other NBA teams and overseas clubs, like FC Barcelona. Copeland's agent, John Spencer, told Charania:
"Returning is very much an option […] He turned down several options to play, turned down enormous money to get an NBA opportunity last year. He wants to play and wants to contribute. The Knicks are a good organization, with Mike Woodson and the list goes on.
“There’s a chance another team will potentially pick him up, obviously, but the Knicks gave Chris the opportunity to play and he’s loyal because of that.”
The Knicks would only be able to offer Copeland the mini midlevel exception if he returned next season. There's more from Knicks-land, including their escalating rivalry with the team across the East River, who made a splash with a certain blockbuster trade on draft night.
- Marc Berman at the New York Post says the Knicks aren't ready to relinquish supremacy of New York quite yet, despite the Nets' splashy moves to acquire Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. But they'll have to make some counter moves if they want to compete with the refurbished Brooklyn squad.
- Roderick Boone at Newsday writes that with the addition of Pierce and Garnett after the NBA's moratorium ends on July 9th, the Nets will be well over the NBA's salary cap, which limits any more moves by GM Billy King.
- Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe says goodbye to Celtics all-timer Paul Pierce.
- Amar'e Stoudemire made a bid on the Israeli basketball team Hapoel Jerusalem, reports ESPNNewYork's Jared Zwerling.
- About the possible Raptors–Clippers trade for Eric Bledsoe, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com says (Twitter) that a Bledsoe and Caron Butler swap for Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan works, via ESPN's trade machine, but RealGM tweeted back that the salaries wouldn't be within 125% and $100,000 by July 1st, so the Clippers would need to send more.
Mavericks Interested In Trading For Rajon Rondo
4:09pm: Two sources tell Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald that the Mavs and Celtics haven't engaged in any trade talk about Rondo, with one of the sources calling the notion "ridiculous."
2:11pm: The Celtics want Dirk Nowitzki in return for Rondo, and that's gummed up trade talks between the teams, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Celtics are interested in Mavs draft acquisition Shane Larkin, too, notes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
2:05pm: The Mavericks are interested in acquiring Rajon Rondo from the Celtics, a source confirms to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com originally reported the Mavs' engagement in talks with Boston. The Mavs would love to acquire Rondo as part of a recruiting effort to land Dwight Howard, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, but Wojnarowski cautions that the Celtics would require the Mavs to absorb multiple contracts as part of a trade. Taking back salary along with Rondo could make it difficult, if not impossible, for the Mavs to sign Howard.
Rondo has $24,863,636 left over the final two seasons of a team-friendly contract that ends in 2015. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters Thursday that his team will not trade Rondo, but that won't stop the Mavs from asking, Washburn writes. Once the 2013/14 season officially starts in July, Dallas will have the cap space necessary to absorb Rondo's contract without taking on any other players. Still, Washburn figures the Mavs will want to send Shawn Marion's contract to the C's along with a younger player and a draft pick to entice Ainge into making a deal. Given Wojnarowski's report, I'm not so sure the Celtics would want Marion, but that's just my speculation.
The Mavs figure to have about $36MM in guaranteed salaries for next season, leaving just about enough room to sign Howard. Taking on Rondo without giving up an equal amount of salary in return wouldn't leave enough space for Howard or any other maximum-salary free agent, so I don't think a Rondo-Howard collaboration is likely in Dallas, unless the Mavs can engineer a series of other moves.
Celtics Notes: Rondo, Garnett, Pierce
In theory, Danny Ainge is wise to get something for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter) wonders how much a trio picks in the 20s will help the Celtics going forward. Here's more out of the Atlantic..
- The Celtics might not be all that bad next season, opines Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. The main factor, several league sources said, is All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo. If Rondo, who is returning from a major injury, is determined enough, then some believe that he can will the weakened C's into the postseason.
- The end of the Big Three era in Boston isn't about loyalty, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com. Time had run its course in Boston and there wasn't much of an alternative for Ainge & Co.
- Earlier today, we learned that Keith Bogans will see a substantial raise when he joins Boston in mid-July.
Keith Bogans To Get $5MM In 2013/14
There's still a lot of debate over who the winner is in the Nets/Celtics swap, but one player in the deal has undoubtedly come out on top. Keith Bogans, who earned just $854K with the Nets last season, will see a substantial raise next season thanks to being included in the deal in a sign-and-trade.
In order to make the numbers work, the veteran will earn $5MM next season with the Celtics under his new contract, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. The guard/forward will get a three-year deal, so it will be roughly $15MM over three seasons , with the final two unlikely to be guaranteed (link).
By Pincus' math (link), the Celtics will also receive a $7.37MM trade exception in the swap for part of Kevin Garnett's salary. None of these numbers are set in stone, however, as they are only approximations until the deal can be consummated on July 10th.
The early thinking on Bogans' contract is that he is allowed to receive up to the average league salary as a player with bird rights, which comes out to roughly $5.2MM (link). However, a raise of 20% or more in his salary triggers the Base Year Compensation rule of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which is designed to prevent teams from using players in a sign-and-trade for the express purpose of salary matching.
Under BYC, the player's outgoing salary is either his previous salary or 50% of his new salary, whichever is greater. Bogans will see ~$5MM in 2013/14 under the new deal, but his salary for the purposes of the trade will be calculated as ~$2.5MM. Regardless, the 33-year-old will see a raise of about $4.2MM next season thanks to the blockbuster deal.
Odds & Ends: Brown, Granger, Brooks, Cavs
It's been a relatively quiet post-draft night around the NBA, but such inactivity won't last long. Teams can negotiate with free agents from other clubs starting Monday, and we'll likely find out the destinations for most of the top available talent in the week ahead. Here's what we know now:
- Spurs assistant Brett Brown is a candidate for both of the league's remaining head coaching vacancies, but while the Sixers have strong interest in hiring him, Brown is "extremely" interested in the Celtics job, a source tells Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.
- Before Larry Bird returned this week as Pacers president of basketball ops, the team appeared to favor keeping Danny Granger rather than trading him this summer. Bird is on board with that plan, notes Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.
- The Nets tried to trade MarShon Brooks during the draft for a second-round pick, but when they found no one willing to do such a deal, they substituted him for Reggie Evans in the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster, reports Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- The Cavaliers are looking for a center, small forward and backup point guard, and they're willing to swing a trade to fill those needs, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- The Rockets timed renovations to their home arena to coincide with free agency, so potential players could see the franchise's upgrades in action, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details.
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News speculates on potential trade targets for the Pistons, who've had Wilson Chandler of the Nuggets "on their radar" for a while, Goodwill writes.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside identifies five players left undrafted Thursday whose chances of making the NBA could benefit from a D-League stint.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer figures the kind of deal Brandon Jennings gets in restricted free agency this year could set the bar for Kemba Walker, whose rookie-scale contract with the Bobcats is up in 2015 (Twitter link).
Minor Moves: Nuggets, Leslie, Pressey, Daniels
With the 2013 draft in the books, there are still plenty of intriguing prospects that were not among the 60 players who heard their names called on Thursday night. Many of those guys will be snapped up quickly for Summer League rosters, while others could sign outright with an NBA team.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported a handful of signings late last night, and it's my understanding that these are actual free-agent contracts rather than just Summer League invites, though that's not entirely clear. Either way, the agreements will provide these undrafted free agents a chance to audition for a possible NBA roster spot. Here's a recap:
- Kennedy has corrected his earlier report (linked below), tweeting that Harris is simply playing for the Nuggets in Summer League action, and not signing with the team yet. I imagine that may be the case for Howell and some of the other players listed below as well, though it seems as if Covington, at least, will ink an actual contract with the Rockets. We'll likely have to wait until July for official word.
Earlier updates:
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports (via Twitter) that undrafted free agents Richard Howell and C.J. Harris will sign with the Nuggets. Again, players don't necessarily have to be under contract with a team to play for a Summer League squad, so Kennedy's wording suggests that Howell and Harris will ink deals to earn a pair of Denver's 20 summer roster spots, though that's not 100% certain.
- Former N.C. State forward C.J. Leslie has reached an agreement on a deal with the Knicks, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Leslie had been ranked the 40th-best prospect available by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com and 41st by ESPN.com's Chad Ford.
- Phil Pressey, a 5'11" point guard out of Missouri, has reached an agreement on a deal with the Celtics, tweets Wojnarowski. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reported last night that Boston figured to "immediately go after" Pressey once he went undrafted.
- Former VCU guard Troy Daniels has agreed to a free agent deal with the Bobcats, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Daniels averaged 12.3 PPG and shot 40.3% on three-pointers in his final season with the Rams.
- Rodney Williams, Ford's 80th overall prospect in this year's class, has agreed to a deal with the 76ers, tweets Wojnarowski. The 21-year-old forward is coming off four years at the University of Minnesota.
- Robert Covington will sign a two-year, partially-guaranteed contract with the Rockets, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (via Twitter). According to Givony's sources, the guarantee for the former Tennessee State forward will be "substantial" — likely around $150K.