Central Notes: Smith, Antetokounmpo, Granger
J.R. Smith will probably regret turning down his $6.4MM option for next season, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer, although the free agent guard could still rejoin the Cavaliers at a lesser rate. The team was unhappy with Smith’s decision and started looking for a replacement, Pluto reports. Although Smith is still trying to find a better deal, most free agents have been signed and the list of teams with cap space is dwindling. Pluto notes that Cleveland would like to bring Smith back, but only on a “modest” one-year contract.
There’s more tonight from the Central Division:
- The Cavs‘ “immediate need” for “championship caliber” players may keep Rakeem Christmas and Sir’Dominic Pointer from making the roster, according to Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group. The second-round picks were acquired from the Wolves in a draft-day deal that sent Tyus Jones to Minnesota, and although the Cavaliers like both players there may not be room on the roster for them to sit and learn the NBA game. “We’re in a really unique situation roster-spot wise, where both of them could be affected by that,” said Cavs GM David Griffin. “What we need are guys that can compete in championship caliber games. We ended up in a situation where we ran out of bodies in the Finals and guys that were ready to play significant minutes.”
- Giannis Antetokounmpo would like to spend his entire career with the Bucks, the 20-year-old Greek star wrote on his blog. Antetokounmpo expressed gratitude to the Milwaukee front office for drafting him and making him a team leader at such a young age, though he did include a qualifier that could make Bucks fans nervous: “Okay, if LeBron [James] said to me ‘Come to my team and play with me,’ I’d think about it! [laughs] He’s the best player in the world and a member of that exclusive group of the best that have ever played the game. Still, though, the Milwaukee Bucks would come first. They will always be the team that gave me my chance and opened up the doors to paradise.”
- Veteran Danny Granger will be among five players battling for the last two roster spots with the Pistons, according to Vince Ellis of USA Today. The others in contention, according to Ellis, are second-round pick Darrun Hilliard, Reggie Bullock, Cartier Martin and Adonis Thomas.
Central Notes: Kaun, Dunleavy, Brooks
The Cavaliers invited draft-and-stash center Sasha Kaun to join GM David Griffin and other team personnel in Las Vegas this weekend to discuss the possibility of Kaun signing with the franchise and joining the NBA this coming season, Joe Vardon of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. While Cleveland is interested in having the big Russian join its roster, the Cavs’ salary cap situation limits how much they can offer Kaun, a sum which certainly wouldn’t equal the $2.9MM annual salary he earns playing for CSKA Moscow, Vardon adds. For Kaun, the money disparity isn’t a dealbreaker, with Kaun telling Vardon, “That’s probably something that shouldn’t be a problem. Hopefully coming to this team, it will give us an opportunity to win, and winning is more important to me than money. I don’t think I want to do it [play basketball] because of the money. Just play basketball and enjoy it and play with some really great players. That’s the more important thing.”
Griffin confirmed the Cavs’ interest in the 30-year-old big man, saying, “We would love to have him if something could be worked out.” The GM also acknowledged the challenge in signing Kaun due to budgetary constraints, Vardon notes. “It’s difficult because he’s coming off making an incredibly large amount of money and he is literally a first-team, all-Euroleague-caliber center, and it’s a difficult proposition to come to a team like ours for the type of money we have to offer,” Griffin continued.
Here’s more out of the Central Division:
- Mike Dunleavy‘s three-year deal with the Bulls will pay him $4.5MM for the 2015/16 campaign, $4,837,500 in 2016/17, both seasons being fully-guaranteed, and $5.175MM the final season, which is partially guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The Bulls‘ one year pact with Aaron Brooks will see him earn $2.25MM this coming season, and it gives him the power to veto trades, Pincus notes (on Twitter).
- Aron Baynes will earn $6.5MM in each of the three seasons covered in his deal with the Pistons, with the final year being a player option, Pincus tweets.
- Brazilian big man Cristiano Felicio‘s contract with the Bulls is for two years, and he will earn $525,093 in 2015/16 and $874,636 the following season, according to Pincus.
Eastern Notes: Porzingis, Dellavedova, Ellis
Scout Clarence Gaines believed the Knicks should have taken Kristaps Porzingis first overall if they had won the draft lottery, Knicks GM Steve Mills said Monday on MSG Network, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. Mills and team president Phil Jackson weren’t quite ready to do that, Berman notes, but the Knicks dropped to fourth in the lottery and took Porzingis with that selection. Mills said he noticed Guillermo Hernangomez, the 35th overall pick whose rights New York acquired in a deal put together on draft night, on a scouting trip to see Porzingis, as Berman details, adding that the Knicks plan to sign Hernangomez in time for the 2016/17 season.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- There hasn’t been much progress made between restricted free agent Matthew Dellavedova and the Cavaliers, Chris Mannix of SI.com notes. The point guard is seeking a multiyear deal at around $4MM per season, Mannix relays, and Cleveland is reluctant to commit to that amount due to the luxury tax implications. Former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter links) notes that even a $4MM annual commitment for Dellavedova would equate to that of a max salary player due to the approximate $14MM tax hit inking the guard would generate.
- Celtics executive Danny Ainge views offseason additions David Lee and Amir Johnson as veterans who can help the team’s younger players grow, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “Veteran players teach young players how to play, how to live, how to make it through the rough times of a season,” Ainge said. “And they make young players better by their presence on the court. So it’s not always just about getting minutes for young players, although minutes are important in the process of development. But it’s also important for veterans to show the young players the way to play. Brandon Bass was a good guy to have on the team. You ask any good player in the NBA about the people who’ve had a positive impact on their careers and most every one of them will say some veteran that they played with as a youngster.”
- Monta Ellis was sold on joining the Pacers when team executive Larry Bird told him he was the missing piece in the team’s championship puzzle, Michael Marot of The Associated Press writes. “He said all the right things,” Ellis said after signing his four-year, $44MM deal. “It was an easy choice. It made me feel great because they wanted me.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Labor, Moratorium, Max Salaries
Commissioner Adam Silver struck an optimistic tone about labor negotiations with a December 15th, 2016 deadline looming for owners and players to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.
“You know, I’m not sure if the players association is going to opt out,” Silver said as he addressed media Tuesday. “[Union executive director] Michele [Roberts] made some early remarks suggesting maybe they were leaning that direction, but she hasn’t told me that she plans to opt out. And I know that in discussions that she and I have had and I’ve had with players association representatives, it’s clear the goal on both sides is to avoid any sort of work stoppage whatsoever and maybe even to avoid the opt out.”
Still, Silver claims a “significant number of teams” are losing money, Amick notes. The commissioner said the league projects that it’ll need to issue a $500MM check to the players after the 2016/17 season because total salaries aren’t expected to add up to the required 50-51% of basketball related income, even as the salary cap surges, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com observes. Berger sees a strong chance that the owners opt out, in spite of Silver’s seeming confidence that such can be avoided. Here’s more from around the league:
- Owners discussed the idea of changing the July Moratorium to avoid sagas like the one that surrounded DeAndre Jordan as he decommitted to the Mavs to return to the Clippers, but none of the owners could come up with an appealing solution, Silver said, according to Berger.
- The projected maximum salaries for next season are $20.4MM for players with fewer than seven years of experience, $24.9MM for those with seven to nine years in the league, and $29.3MM for veterans of 10 or more years, tweets former Nets executive Bobby Marks. See this year’s max salaries right here.
- The union continues to consider a get-tough stance on agencies that represent both players and coaches, but the most likely outcome is a continuance of the same policies, despite the conflict of interest, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. Agencies are allowed to represent both as long as they create separate divisions, with separate agents, to handle player and management clients, as Lowe explains. Still, not all are pleased with arrangement, and when the Bucks, who have close ties to Excel, drafted Excel client Rashad Vaughn last month, some people around the league found it untoward, Lowe writes.
- The Nets once more led luxury taxpayers for this past season, though it wasn’t the record amount of some $90MM from a year ago. This time, they paid $19.98MM, followed by the Cavs with $6.96MM, the Clippers at $4.8MM, and the Thunder at $2.79MM, salary cap expert Larry Coon tweets. Teams that didn’t pay the tax saw $830K each as a result.
- The second-round pick that the Celtics are sending to the Thunder as part of the Perry Jones III trade is Boston’s own 2018 second-rounder, but if it falls within the top 55 picks that year, the Celtics’ debt to Oklahoma City is extinguished, according to RealGM.
Central Notes: Monroe, Blake, Thompson
Greg Monroe said former Pistons teammate Khris Middleton was a key recruiter in Milwaukee’s pursuit and made it clear that the Bucks roster seemed appealing as a strong fit, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel chronicles. “While a lot of people will say, ‘Is this a statement about big cities?’ No. It’s just about a statement that this is a good fit for Greg Monroe,” agent David Falk said in part.
Here’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Pistons view newly acquired Steve Blake as an inexpensive option off the bench at point guard, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “Just insurance,” coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told Ellis when asked how Blake fit with the team. “We’re very hopeful that Brandon Jennings will play at a high level. And can develop Spencer Dinwiddie, but not have pressure on him.“
- The Cavaliers and Tristan Thompson are reportedly making progress toward a new deal, and with the two sides now roughly $5MM apart on total value, GM David Griffin is confident the situation will be resolved amicably, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com tweets. “I feel good about the situation where it’s at overall,” Griffin said about the negotiations during an appearance on NBA TV.
- Van Gundy indicated that the Pistons would have passed on chasing free agent small forwards if the trade for Marcus Morris had materialized prior to the NBA Draft, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “So we were chasing the small forwards on the free-agent market, but there were only a couple of guys that we really liked,” Van Gundy said. “When those guys, we didn’t get, and the trade came available, we jumped at it. We thought it was something that would have been at the top of our list if it had been available at the very beginning.“
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Bulls Re-Sign Mike Dunleavy
JULY 14TH, 5:21pm: The deal is official, the Bulls announced via a press release.
9:08am: The sides have reached agreement, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). It’ll be $14.4MM over the course of the three years with a partial guarantee on the final season, Wojnarowski also tweets.
JULY 1ST, 8:16am: The Bulls and Mike Dunleavy are close to a three-year, $15MM deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Chicago has remained the favorite even as other teams were poised to give chase. LeBron James apparently prompted the Cavaliers to pursue the client of outgoing Wasserman agent Arn Tellem, while the Wizards and Clippers also reportedly had interest.
Chicago has Early Bird rights on Dunleavy, and it would seem they’re putting them to use here. The Cavs were likely limited to no more than the taxpayer’s mid-level of $3.376MM, and while the Wizards could have spent their $5.464MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level, the Bulls appear to have come up with a comparable figure. That’s even though Chicago is poised to pay the tax, too.
Pacific Notes: Jordan, Love, Pierce, Cousins
DeAndre Jordan often returns the purchases he makes, friends tell Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, who note that he’s on his third agent in seven years. Thus, perhaps the Mavs might have known that Jordan wasn’t quite in the bag until he put pen to paper. They triumphantly celebrated when it seemed Jordan was on his way to Dallas, as Shelburne and MacMahon detail.
“I hear this scream in the backyard and it’s [Mavs owner Mark] Cuban, walking inside with his hands up like, ‘We got him!'” Chandler Parsons said. “It was unbelievable. I was so hyped, because he really is a franchise-changing type player. They don’t come around very often. It was awesome. His mom was crying. I think Cuban might have even cried.”
Parsons called Jordan’s decision soon thereafter to instead return to the Clippers “very unethical and disrespectful,” as the Mavs small forward said to the ESPN scribes. Still, the Jordan saga isn’t the only storyline that’s changed during NBA free agency. A few more are amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers reportedly had a meeting planned with Kevin Love before he recommitted to the Cavs, but the purple-and-gold were never under the impression they would get that visit, a Lakers source told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).
- Paul Pierce doesn’t have a team option on the final season of his three-year deal with the Clippers, as originally reported, but he does have a partial guarantee of $1,096,080 on the final season, which is worth a total of $3,679,840, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The deal is the most the Clips could have given him using their taxpayer’s mid-level exception.
- Wesley Johnson‘s contract with the Clippers covers two years, instead of just one as originally reported, Pincus reports (Twitter link). Both seasons are at the minimum salary, and the second season is a player option, according to Pincus.
- DeMarcus Cousins expressed his enthusiasm this weekend for playing alongside Rajon Rondo, notes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Cousins reportedly wants a trade to the Lakers, but Rondo has committed to sign with the Kings.
- The Suns had been eyeing Sonny Weems for more than a year, but Phoenix’s two-year, $5.8MM offer shocked him, and when he jumped on it, he turned down a fully guaranteed two-year, $6MM offer from Barcelona, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. The Phoenix deal reportedly includes a team option on year two, but the Suns think he can become the first guard off their bench, Coro writes. The Spurs also had a level of interest in the 29-year-old swingman, according to Coro.
Central Notes: Shumpert, LeBron, Monroe
Six teams offered a first-round pick to the Cavaliers for Iman Shumpert at the trade deadline this past February, and three of them had max-level cap flexibility this summer, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. That made Cleveland’s front office “incredibly nervous” as it sought to re-sign the swingman in restricted free agency, despite its ability to match competing offers for him. The Kings were one of the teams that thought about an offer before Shumpert, who’d made it a priority to remain with the Cavs, did just that and signed a new deal.
“We were thinking about it,” Kings Vice President of Basketball Operations Vlade Divac told Haynes, “but we had some other options that came up better for us.”
Haynes wonders just what those better options could have been, but the upshot is that Shumpert is staying put. Here’s more from around the Central Division:
- The Cavaliers certainly aren’t trading LeBron James, but if they did, they’d have to pay a 15% trade kicker as part of his new contract, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The bonus would only take effect if he were to opt in for next season.
- The precise value of Mo Williams‘ two-year deal with the Cavs is $4,294,500, with $2.1MM coming this season and the rest set aside for the player option year in 2016/17, as Pincus shows on Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Bucks had been trying to trade Zaza Pachulia in the days after they struck a deal with Greg Monroe, sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Milwaukee swapped Pachulia to the Mavs last week.
- Monroe told Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com that if the Pistons had put on the same sort of hard push that the Clippers made to convince DeAndre Jordan to renege on his deal with the Mavs, he might have stuck with Detroit. “I can’t lie, it probably would have made me think, maybe affected my decision a bit,” said Monroe, whose deal with the Bucks is official, so there’s no going back now. “I mean, I was there for five years, my whole NBA career to this point. I knew the people in the organization, I loved my teammates, so I mean, I can’t lie. I’m not saying if that had happened, I would have changed my mind, but I know that would have affected me, and I probably would have had to ponder a little bit more.”
And-Ones: Cavs, Raptors, Pistons
Cavs GM David Griffin told reporters, including Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group, that he is interested in re-signing unrestricted free agent J.R. Smith and restricted free agent Matthew Dellavedova. “In Delly’s case, the restricted free agency is a totally different process,” Griffin said. “With J.R., I wouldn’t want to characterize the discussion or anything, but he’s a player I’d like to have back. We just have to find a way to make it work.”
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- The Raptors have hired Andy Greer as an assistant coach, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Greer, who previously was an assistant with the Bulls under former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau, will run the Raptors’ defense.
- The Raptors let a leftover sliver of the Steve Novak trade exception expire Friday. It was initially a $3,445,947 exception created when Toronto sent Novak to Utah on July 10th, 2014. The lion’s share of it went toward the acquisition of Luke Ridnour last month, a move that failed to be of much efficacy for the Raptors, who simply waived Ridnour this past Thursday.
- The Pistons plan to proceed with finalizing Reggie Jackson‘s five-year, $80 million contract later this week or early next week, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters including David Mayo of MLive.com. At around the same time, Gundy plans to address the topic of Andre Drummond‘s contract extension, Mayo adds. The Pistons expect to lock Drummond into a long-term extension, Mayo writes, though they would have about another $15MM in cap flexibility in 2016/17 if the 21-year-old center agrees to wait until 2016 to sign rather than inking an extension this summer.
- Free agent guard A.J. Price, who was formerly with the Suns, is mulling a move overseas and might land with Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade, a source told David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter).
- Anthony Randolph has decided to return to Russia and the former NBA forward re-signed with Kuban, Pick also tweets.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Free Agent Roundup: Thompson, Sloan, Datome
Cavaliers GM David Griffin remains optimistic the team will retain restricted free agent Tristan Thompson, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio reports. “I think we’ll wind up getting something done,” Griffin told the Cleveland media. Amico opines that Thompson should take the reported five-year, $80MM contract that Cleveland has offered him, given that the club already has three max-level players in LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. It may come down to the Cavs having to match an offer sheet for the power forward, Amico adds.
In other free agent news:
- Donald Sloan is discussing a contract with the Spurs, Bulls and Mavericks, league sources told RealGM’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Sloan spent the past two seasons with the Pacers and averaged 7.4 points, 3.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 53 games last season, including 21 starts.
- The Pistons are looking to re-sign point guard John Lucas III, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. The Magic, Spurs, Mavericks and Clippers are also interested, Stein adds. Lucas would give the Pistons four point guards along with Reggie Jackson, Brandon Jennings and Spencer Dinwiddie.
- Luigi Datome‘s Eurobasket profile has the free agent forward signing with Khimki Moscow but Eurobasket.com’s David Pick is skeptical, adding that Datome might wind up with CSKA Moscow if he plays overseas (Twitter links). Datome played for the Pistons and Celtics last season.
- Fuquan Edwin drew interest from three NBA teams after he scored 16 points and made two steals for the Pelicans’ summer league team, Adam Zagoria of SNY.TV tweets. The former Seton Hall shooting guard played for Guaros de Lara in the Venezuelan league last season.