And-Ones: Rondo, Warriors, Drew
Here are a few miscellaneous links to pass along from tonight:
- The Celtics would rather risk keeping Rajon Rondo until he becomes a free agent next summer than take a deal without a “major player” that chiefly provides salary cap relief, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald hears. There’s been no talk between the Rockets and Celtics involving Rondo, as Bulpett also writes.
- The Warriors could possibly carve out a maximum salary slot for Kevin Durant in 2016 without breaking up their current core, explains Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group.
- Former Bucks head coach Larry Drew is in discussions to join David Blatt’s coaching staff on the Cavaliers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- There’s a strong sentiment within the Bucks organization to keep Ersan Ilyasova rather than trade him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
- Even though Jason Terry wants a buyout, the Kings currently have no plans to acquiesce, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Garrett Temple is expected to receive a deal soon to stay with the Wizards; however, Al Harrington – who still plans to play in the NBA for the 2014/15 season – is yet to receive an offer from Washington (Twitter links from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com).
- The Grizzlies didn’t consider waiving Nick Calathes before his contract became guaranteed today, a source tells Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Terry, Love, Williams
Jason Terry may still be under contract with the Kings for one more season, but he isn’t ruling out an eventual return to the Mavericks, as both Tim MacMahon (via Twitter) and Bryan Gutierrez of ESPN Dallas note. The former Dallas guard was a guest on 103.3 FM’s Fitzimmons and Friedo Show and expressed his desire for a reunion.
“I won’t rule out returning back to Dallas. It’s my home and my heart…I bleed blue. I’m a Maverick.” Terry added that championships are his driving force as he finishes out his career. “I want to get back on a team that has a realistic shot to win a championship, and I think Dallas is doing those types of things.
Here’s more out of out of the Western Conference this evening:
- Terry also commented on the current state of the Kings and his plans for the near future. “(They’re) in transition right now. For me, at this point in my career, I want championships…I wouldn’t say it’s rebuilding, but a building process…DeMarcus Cousins (is) a huge talent. (His attitude is) a little shaky. Rudy Gay (is) not a proven winner in this league but a tremendous talent and a guy you can build around…I think there will be some more conversations with my agent and the Sacramento Kings to get a better picture of where they are headed and what they’re trying to accomplish.”
- An increasing number of executives around the league expect the Timberwolves will trade Kevin Love before the start of the season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Warriors and Wolves have resumed their trade talks involving Love after having hit a stalemate earlier, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Minnesota believes Golden State will eventually relent and be willing to trade Klay Thompson in a deal for Love, and that the Cavaliers will come around to including Andrew Wiggins in their offers, sources tell Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
- The Mavericks are still looking for another point guard and have spoken with free agent Mo Williams, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports; team president Donnie Nelson doesn’t seem too optimistic about their chances of landing him, notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram (Twitter link).
- Nelson later acknowledged that the team won’t have any money to make a play for Carlos Boozer (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Heat Notes: LeBron, Bosh, Chalmers, Wade
The Bulls were among the teams with which agent Rich Paul took meetings to discuss LeBron James during the first week of free agency, as Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reveal in a behind-the-scenes look at LeBron’s choice. Regardless, James was no longer willing to accept being underpaid, as Windhorst examines in a separate piece. James decided before free agency began that he’d take a max contract, and no matter where he would end up, he would demand a deal with a player option after year one, Windhorst writes. James wants to continue to sign short-term deals for the foreseeable future to maintain flexibility in case the maximum salary jumps or is eliminated in the next collective bargaining agreement, as Windhorst explains. He also wants to keep the pressure on Cavs brass to improve the team around him, the ESPN scribe adds. Here’s more on the Heat as they pick up the pieces after LeBron’s departure:
- It wasn’t merely a two-team race between the Rockets and Heat for Chris Bosh, as the Nuggets, Suns and Lakers all made offers to the No. 3 player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, reports Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com.
- The Heat’s contract with Mario Chalmers calls for him to make $4MM for this coming season and $4.3MM in 2015/16, Windhorst tweets. The ESPN scribe pegs the likely salary for Dwyane Wade at $15MM based on the Heat’s other moves this summer and the cap space the team still has available (Twitter link).
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Miami renounced its rights to Ray Allen, Udonis Haslem Michael Beasley, Toney Douglas, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Greg Oden and the retired Shane Battier and Juwan Howard, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. That’ll make it difficult to re-sign Allen, but the team continues moving toward a new deal with Haslem, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The Heat would likely use either cap space or the $2.732MM room exception on Haslem.
And-Ones: Davis, Pacers, Thunder, Miller
Baron Davis is preparing himself for a return to the NBA this fall, reports Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). When asked what offensive system he likes, Davis said the Clippers’ and the Warriors’. Davis feels like he can play 15-20 minutes per game next year, notes Zwerling.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Mike Miller is leaning towards signing with the Cavaliers, but the Nuggets are still in play for the free agent’s services, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
- With LeBron James headed back to Cleveland, and Pau Gasol on his way to Chicago, the Central Division has gotten much tougher for the Pacers, writes Michael Marot of The Star Tribune. This makes re-signing Lance Stephenson even more of a priority, opines Marot.
- Thunder assistant coach Brian Keefe will join Derek Fisher‘s coaching staff in New York, reports Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
- The Thunder have to keep building their roster through the draft because the franchise is continuing to have difficulty luring free agents to Oklahoma City, writes Jon Hamm of ESPN.com.
- With many of the biggest names in free agency now spoken for, Fred Kerber of The New York Post runs down the winners and losers in free agency thus far.
- The Mavericks aren’t done upgrading their roster, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, “We’re always looking for help in the backcourt, with an eye on 3-point shooting, and then kind of a rangy defender would be nice as well. We’re still in search of those, but those spots don’t necessarily need to be filled through free agency. Obviously there are trades and all kinds of other ways you can do that.”
- The Warriors may be interested in free agent Brandon Rush, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Rush averaged 9.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 67 games with Golden State before getting injured last season. GM Bob Myers said of Rush, “Rush was great. Everybody that’s been a fan saw how good he was for us, so if he’s healthy, and he can play, which we hear he can — we’ll go watch him and see — it’s a good addition if we could get him. You don’t know what the price would be, but we like Brandon.” The article also notes that Rush is scheduled to hold a workout for interested teams soon.
Western Notes: Miller, Bosh, Tucker, Mavs
The Rockets and the Mavericks are interested in Mike Miller, reports Mark Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Nuggets have the best financial offer on the table for Miller, but Dallas, Houston, and the Cavaliers offer him a better chance to play for a winner, tweets Stein.
More from out west:
- The Pelicans extended a two-year contract offer to undrafted free agent center Patric Young, reports David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link).
- In addition to the Rockets and Heat, Chris Bosh was also being pursued by the Nuggets, Suns, and Lakers, notes Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com. On why he chose to re-sign with Miami, Bosh said, “There were very enticing offers. There was some surprising advances made in everything, but I ultimately decided to stay in Miami. I think it was the right choice. I benefit from it, the team will benefit from it, from here. My heart was in Miami. I wanted to be there and keep my family there and build relationships and really keep building on something special.“
- It was a long road for P.J. Tucker, but the hard work paid off with his new contract with the Suns, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic.
- Mavericks‘ president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson would like to re-sign free agent center Bernard James, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Nelson said, “We love to be able to have Sarge [James] back because of his shot blocking.” James averaged 0.3 BPG in 30 games last season for Dallas.
- Mavs owner Mark Cuban suggested that Chandler Parsons was the team’s top free agent target all along, writes Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com. Cuban said, “I looked at all the main guys that were young that we thought would be available and we loved his game. We liked him the best of all the free agents and that was point one.” In the article Cuban also said that if he was in the Rockets position, he would have matched their offer sheet on Parsons.
Cavs Nearing Deal With Mike Miller
SUNDAY, 3:12pm: Miller is a possibility for the Mavs or Rockets, depending on which club doesn’t get Chandler Parsons, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
SATURDAY, 6:40pm: The Cavs and Miller are now making progress on a contract, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
9:56am: Sam Amick of USA Today tweets that the Cavs are not yet close to a deal with Miller, and have only had cursory conversations at this point.
12:33am: The Cavs are closing in on a deal with Miller, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Miller on Friday cut off talks with the Nuggets, with whom he was reportedly close to a deal earlier this week, and had the Grizzlies tell him they were ending their pursuit.
WEDNESDAY, 3:27pm: Miller’s price is shooting up, with the Grizzlies, Thunder and Nuggets all in the race along with the Cavs, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). He’s in line for salaries of $4-4.5MM, Wojnarowski adds.
11:22am: James reached out to a pair of free agents about joining him on a team if he were to leave the Heat, and Miller was one of them, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Miller can’t sign with the Heat, since his amnestied contract would have run through next season, and teams are barred from re-signing the players they amnesty while their old contracts would still have been in effect.
10:52am: The Cavs are in pursuit of free agent Mike Miller, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link). It seems like the latest move in the team’s efforts to land LeBron James, after this morning’s trade to clear max cap flexibility and news of the team’s attempts to sign Ray Allen. Cleveland is also making a run at James Jones, a longtime member of the Heat and a favorite of LeBron’s, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.
Cleveland reportedly considered claiming Miller off amnesty waivers last summer, but he wound up clearing those waivers and signing with the Grizzlies as a free agent, as Miller apparently gave signals he wouldn’t want to play in Cleveland. It’s not clear whether the chance to reunite with LeBron James, should the four-time MVP sign with Cleveland, would persuade Miller to reconsider a move to the Cavs. The Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Thunder and Grizzlies are all reportedly in the mix for Miller, and while a report last week indicating that Memphis believed it was losing a bidding war for the Arn Tellem client also said that Miller would make his decision soon, he remains on the market.
Jones, 33, was little-used the past three seasons, though he did emerge as a rotation player for a time during the postseason for the Heat this past spring. The Miami native is likely in line for a minimum-salary deal wherever he ends up.
Heat Frontrunners For Luol Deng?
8:40am: The Heat and Deng are still significantly apart on salary, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Deng has been turning down $10MM per season offers for months, notes Windhorst.
8:11am: In the wake of losing the talents of LeBron James to the Cavaliers, the Heat are scrambling to fill their void at small forward. Their primary target looks to be free agent Luol Deng, who James technically replaced in Cleveland. According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Miami has emerged as the frontrunner to land the veteran’s services.
Heat president Pat Riley and Deng’s agent Ron Shade spent significant time negotiating on Saturday and plan to reconnect this morning to continue working towards an agreement, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The two sides are reportedly discussing a a two-year, $20MM contract, per the article. Miami is competing with several teams, including the Hawks, Suns and Mavericks, to sign Deng.
Deng’s career numbers are 16.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.5 APG over ten NBA seasons. His career slash lines are .457/.329/.773.
And-Ones: LeBron, Pierce, Jazz, Kidd
The first domino that was LeBron James‘ free agency decision certainly set off the chain we anticipated, with a flurry of activity taking place over the last two days. Here’s a rundown of the league’s action this evening:
- James hopes that his player option for the second year of his Cavs contract can be worked out quietly in the offseason, sources tell Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Of course, a stress-free contract renewal for James would be the first of his career.
- Paul Pierce‘s first choice wasn’t to sign with the Wizards, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. Pierce was more interested in joining the Clippers or returning to the Nets, but became more intrigued by the Washington roster as time went by this offseason.
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey told reporters including Jody Genessy of Deseret News that Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors will both have a voice regarding Utah’s decision making (Twitter link).
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders if the Sixers might end up leveraging their abundant cap space to take back one of the Knicks burdensome contracts in exchange for draft compensation.
- Jason Kidd tells Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he has been working closely with Bucks GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway despite reports he was looking for front office power in the process that brought him from Brooklyn to Milwaukee. “We’re a family,” said Kidd. “Being able to talk to them every day about things, they have ideas, I share some of the things I think about. We’re still learning each other, how we want to play. A lot of things get misinterpreted with me, I guess. I’ll leave it at that.”
Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Miller, Deng, Ariza
With Carmelo Anthony set to re-sign with the Knicks, New York can now focus on setting up a supporting cast to play alongside him. One name they’re interested in re-signing is Toure’ Murry, tweets Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Here’s more from around the East:
- Phil Jackson is said to be willing to include Iman Shumpert as part of a deal to dump the contracts of Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani, or J.R. Smith, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- There is a gap between what the Cavs can offer and what Mike Miller is seeking, but not enough to end their talks, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- In contrast to an earlier report of the Hornets interest in Lance Stephenson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that Charlotte has shown no such signs.
- The Heat are now open to bringing free agent Mario Chalmers back at the right price, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinal. Miami drafted point guard Shabazz Napier, and was reportedly looking to sign-and-trade Chalmers before LeBron James elected to take his talents away from South Beach.
- The Hawks have re-engaged talks with Luol Deng, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. We heard earlier that the two sides had reached an impasse on salary for the veteran small forward.
- Kent Bazemore was in contract discussions with the Lakers when he agreed to join the Hawks, but Atlanta’s urgency precluded Los Angeles from re-signing the guard on their time table, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Trevor Ariza received the same offer from the Wizards as he agreed to with the Rockets, but the difference in taxes between Washington and Houston will save him approximately $3MM, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
- Ariza asked for an annual salary of $10MM to stay with the Wizards, sources tell J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael says that Washington declined to meet Ariza’s demands in order to maintain cap space in 2016, when Kevin Durant will become a free agent.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Western Rumors: Love, Deng, Stephenson, Suns
There has been no movement on a Kevin Love deal between the Wolves and Warriors, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. A source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Love’s willingness to re-sign with the Cavs is unlikely to be squelched by news that LeBron James‘ contract only runs two years (Twitter link). Here’s a rundown of tonight’s Western notes:
- While Luol Deng is advancing in talks toward a roughly two-year, $20MM with the Heat, Sam Amick of USA Today hears (Twitter links) that the free agent is waiting to see what happens with the Mavs offer sheet to Chandler Parsons before making a final decision. If Dallas missed out on Parsons, Deng would likely be their next target.
- However, the Mavs are considering pursuing Lance Stephenson on a short term deal at a higher salary before chasing Deng, should Houston match their offer sheet for Parsons, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Mark Cuban acknowledged to reporters including Candace Buckner of The Indy Star that Stephenson was “on the list” if the Mavs are unable to land Parsons.
- The Suns addition of Isaiah Thomas does not mean that the team is looking to move on from Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Tyler Ennis, or Archie Goodwin, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. While each guard can play the point, the Phoenix system allows for shooting guards to facilitate as well, leaving the opportunity for each to continue to contribute or develop.
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that the team could add another ball handler to the roster, but not necessarily a point guard (Twitter links). D’Alessandro said the Kings are also seeking ways of reducing salary as they approach the luxury tax line.
- Gordon Hayward‘s agent believes his performance last year was impacted by feeling the pressure of his looming restricted free agency, and expects the forward to be better now that he has secured a long-term deal with the Jazz, tweets Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune.