Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg is excited to have Rajon Rondo as the point guard on his new-look team, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Rondo is part of a new era in Chicago, along with Dwyane Wade and Robin Lopez. Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, two longtime pillars of the organization, are both with the Knicks now, and Pau Gasol has signed with the Spurs. With all the turnover, Hoiberg thinks it will be helpful to have an intelligent player like Rondo leading the team. “What I’m excited about is how smart and cerebral a player he is,” Hoiberg said, “how he can survey the floor and make the right read coming down. The more playmakers you have and the more guys who can get into the paint, the better off you are.”
- The Lakers will receive the Nuggets’ 2018 second round pick and the Bulls’ 2019 second-rounder as part of the trade to acquire Jose Calderon, Pincus tweets. Neither selection comes with any protections attached, Pincus adds.
JULY 7th, 8:07pm: The trade is official, the Bulls announced via press release.
JULY 6th, 9:22pm: The Lakers and Bulls have agreed to a trade that will send Jose Calderon to Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It’s unknown what Chicago is receiving in return, though with the team looking to clear cap room, it’s not likely to be a player.
Chicago had acquired Calderon as part of the Derrick Rose trade with New York and needed to clear his cap hit in order to ink Dwyane Wade, who has reportedly agreed to a deal with the team. Also being shipped out of Chicago tonight is Mike Dunleavy. The Nets were close to acquiring Calderon before Los Angeles swooped in, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
Calderon appeared in 72 games for the Knicks this past season and averaged 7.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 28.1 minutes per outing. His slash line was .459/.414/.875.
JULY 7th, 8:04pm: The trade is official, the Cavaliers announced.
JULY 6th, 9:06pm: The Bulls will send Mike Dunleavy to the Cavs, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Cleveland will use a trade exception to bring Dunleavy to the team, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). LeBron James personally recruited Dunleavy as a free agent last summer, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune mentions on Twitter.
The Bucks were also in pursuit of the veteran small forward, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Chicago needed to shed salary after agreeing to a deal with Dwyane Wade.
The defending champs were reportedly looking for a wing player this summer and Dunleavy should be a nice addition. He shot 39.4% from downtown in 31 games for the Bulls last season.
The Bulls have parted ways with guard Spencer Dinwiddie, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). Dinwiddie’s salary of $980,431 for 2016/17 was non-guaranteed, so Chicago won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of the move. Provided he clears waivers, Dinwiddie will become an unrestricted free agent.
Dinwiddie completed his second NBA season with averages of 4.8 points, 1.8 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes over 12 contests. He was drafted by the Pistons with the No. 38 overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft. Dinwiddie owns career averages of 4.4 points, 2.7 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 13.3 minutes in NBA 46 games.
Chicago had acquired the 23-year-old from Detroit in exchange for power forward Cameron Bairstow in June.
Knicks big man Kyle O’Quinn says the team’s offseason moves should translate into a playoff berth in 2016/17, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays. “I’m excited about every year, but this year it looks so clear,’’ O’Quinn told Berman. “A lot of people will put us in there. It’ll be a different element in training camp instead of being a startup trying to shock the world. We made a lot of changes and it looks like the playoffs, but you got to put the work in.”
Here’s the latest from around the NBA:
- The Bulls and Sixers had discussions about Philly acquiring Jose Calderon, but the two sides were unable to reach a deal and the point guard was traded to the Lakers instead, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets.
- Several teams are looking to clear cap room to make a run at Bucks restricted free agent Miles Plumlee, Aldridge tweets.
- Unrestricted free agent Glen Davis, who sat out last season after undergoing surgery to repair torn ligaments, a cyst, and bone spurs in his left ankle, has resumed basketball activities and is looking to catch on with an NBA club, Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets.
- The Celtics face a tough decision regarding restricted free agent Jared Sullinger, with the team in need of his rebounding, but not in the position to match a large offer sheet by another team, were the big man to sign one this offseason, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com.
- The Hawks are still actively trying to improve the team and are looking to add another frontcourt player and a point guard, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution notes. One big man option for Atlanta could be Kris Humphries, who expressed a desire to return during his exit interview with the team, Vivlamore adds.
- Clippers guard C.J. Wilcox will have surgery to repair a broken right hand on Friday, the team announced. Wilcox was given a timeline of four-to-six weeks before he will be able to return to basketball-related activities, according to the team.
- The Lakers are pleased with what they have seen in summer league play from 2016 lottery pick Brandon Ingram, Joey Ramirez of NBA.com writes. “I’m very excited about what he can do,” coach Luke Walton said. “Obviously he’s young and there’ s a lot of work to do. This is a grown man’s league. But as far as knowing how to play the game and the skill set of being able to handle the ball, bring it up, post up, his defense — he’s been all over the place defensively, getting deflections for us — I’m very excited about the way he’s played so far.”
A handful of updates on Dwyane Wade‘s situation were reported on Tuesday, including the fact that he has canceled his meeting with the Bucks, scheduled a meeting with the Nuggets, and received a contract offer in the two-years, $50MM range from Denver. Wade is said to be seeking a deal in that neighborhood, or something with a guaranteed third year.
Here are Wednesday’s latest updates and rumors on Wade, one of the top free agents left on the market:
7:52pm:
Wade is pushing for a resolution on his future tonight and it’s likely between Miami, Chicago or Denver, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets. The scribe adds via Twitter that Pat Riley would like an answer tonight and if Wade isn’t returning, Riley would move fast on other options.
7:31pm:
- Wade is very much open to leaving the Heat after hearing pitches from other teams today, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
6:35pm:
- The Bulls feel Wade is serious about joining their team and they have been in contact with other teams in an attempt to unload contracts, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links). Jose Calderon and Mike Dunleavy are the two players that Chicago would like to move. Wojnarowski (Twitter link) adds that the team’s canceled meeting has bearing on his status.
- The Bucks‘ meeting with Wade went for over an hour and Wade spoke highly of the team’s young roster, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel passes along (Twitter links). Gardner adds that the Bucks still do not have the cap space to accommodate a Wade deal, so he doesn’t expect the 33-year-old to sign with the franchise. However, David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link) hears that the team believes Wade is “very serious” about joining Milwaukee.
- Wade’s meeting with the Heat ended without a deal, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com tweets and according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), his status remains up in the air.
- Wade will co-host ABC’s Live with Kelly on Thursday morning and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) wonders if the shooting guard will make his announcement then.
1:52pm:
- Wade’s meetings with the Nuggets and Bucks are now complete, with the Heat set to finish out the day. The Bulls had been scheduled to meet with Wade today as well, but the team has cancelled the sit-down after its flight kept getting delayed, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowski adds that if Wade has serious interest in Chicago, the club could travel to meet with him on Thursday.
12:46pm:
- The Nuggets were “very happy” with how their Wade meeting went, league sources tell Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Denver is now waiting for the guard to meet with his other suitors and make a decision.
- After meeting with the Nuggets, Wade is sitting down with Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, says Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links), who also confirms that Heat owner Micky Arison will get a sit-down with Wade later in the day.
11:30am:
- Wade’s meetings in New York are underway – with the Nuggets going first (Twitter link) – and a decision on his future could happen as soon as Wednesday night, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowski adds that the exact amount of Denver’s offer to Wade is $52MM for two years.
Although they weren’t able to make a trade on draft night, the Celtics are still open to dealing if teams are willing to meet their asking price, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. According to Bulpett, there are indications that the C’s may still be able to do business with teams like the Sixers and Bulls, for trade candidates like Jahlil Okafor and Jimmy Butler. But it will be much trickier for Boston to make a deal now than it was on draft night, since Philadelphia and Chicago likely would’ve wanted to get the No. 3 overall selection to nab Kris Dunn, rather than Jaylen Brown.
10:03pm: Wade has a meeting scheduled on Wednesday with Nuggets officials that will take place in New York, Wojnarowski tweets.
7:34pm: The Nuggets have offered Wade a contract worth more than $50MM over two years, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Denver is holding out hope that the veteran shooting guard will accept its bid, the scribe adds.
12:37pm: Wade’s representatives have told teams that their client is seeking a two-year, $50MM contract, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, adding that the Nuggets and Bulls continue to stay in touch with Wade, who is also talking to the Heat. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, meanwhile, reports that the veteran star is prioritizing a guaranteed third year in contract talks. Either way, it sounds like a two-year, $40MM offer won’t get it done.
The Bucks currently aren’t involved in the bidding for Wade, and while there have been rumors about the Cavs, there’s no traction between Wade and Cleveland at this point, according to Windhorst. Per Wojnarowski, the Bulls and Wade have talked about setting up a face-to-face meeting but nothing has been scheduled.
As for the Heat, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets that they seem to want to hold firm on two years for Wade, even though they may be willing to include a player option and do another two-year deal next summer.
10:58am: Dwyane Wade has canceled a previously-scheduled Wednesday meeting with the Bucks, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). Lowe’s report follows up on a tweet from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, which suggests that Wade has canceled more than one free agent meeting. However, it’s not clear what other team(s) had been set to meet with the veteran guard.
Despite the fact that Wade played his college ball at Marquette, it always seemed like a long shot that he’d seriously consider signing with the Bucks this offseason after spending his entire career in Miami. After Kevin Durant opted not to sign with the Heat, Miami reportedly increased its offer to Wade to two years and $40MM, getting a little more serious about negotiations with the former Finals MVP. Although he didn’t accept that offer, Wade’s decision to cancel his meeting with the Bucks may hint that he and the Heat are moving closer to finding common ground.
Outside of Milwaukee and Miami, several teams have been linked to Wade since free agency began, including the Nuggets, Knicks, Bulls, and Mavericks. Of those teams, only Denver still had the cap space to pursue Wade. There has also been speculation that the Cavaliers could have interest in LeBron James‘ former teammate, though those whispers have been unsubstantiated. Even if Cleveland did explore that possibility, the team would have to trade multiple contracts in order to be able to offer Wade a decent salary.
Ed Szczepanski / USA TODAY Sports Images
JULY 7, 1:44pm: The Bulls have issued a press release announcing their signing of Rondo.
JULY 3, 7:03pm: Rondo and the Bulls have a “mutual option” on year two of the deal, says Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago (Twitter link). That means either side can opt out next offseason, which presumably suggests a player option on a non-guaranteed salary.
6:17pm: The second year of Rondo’s deal is only partially guaranteed, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
5:57pm: Point guard Rajon Rondo has agreed to a two-year, $28MM contract with the Bulls, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The entire contract is guaranteed and neither side has an option, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today, who reports the deal at $30MM over two seasons.
Either way, it’s a significant raise for Rondo, who signed a one-year $9.5MM contract with the Kings last summer. He led the league in assists with 11.7 per game during his single season in Sacramento, while scoring 11.9 points a night.
“I’m excited,” Rondo said. “Great organization with pieces around me that I’m excited about.” (Twitter link).
The move brings the Bulls up to the salary floor, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, who says the team offered one- and two-year deals of all of its targets. It also raises the possibility that Jose Calderon, who was acquired in a trade with the Knicks last week, may be waived.