Fallout From Andrew Bynum’s Deal With Cavs
Plenty of deals have become official today, the first day after the July Moratorium, but the biggest story involves an agreement struck this evening, with Andrew Bynum and his balky knees heading to the Cavs. The deal is only guaranteed for $6MM, and according to USA Today's Sam Amick, "enormous protections" are in place that would make it difficult for Bynum to get his full $12MM salary this year unless he's healthy (Twitter link). The Cavs are realisitc about Bynum's injury troubles, and are simply hopeful he'll be ready for training camp, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com tweets. Here's more reaction to Cleveland's gamble:
- Some teams were turned off on Bynum this summer because of questions surrounding his willingness to aggressively rehab, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He still isn't healthy enough to take part in full-court drills, TNT's David Aldridge hears.
- Neither the Hawks nor the Mavs made a formal offer to Bynum after he met with the teams this week, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Several executives told Chris Mannix of SI.com that they wouldn't give Bynum any more than a one-year deal for the mid-level exception (Twitter link). As Mannix points out, the Cavs gave him a deal that's only guaranteed for about the same amount of money as the non-taxpayer's mid-level.
- On Monday, well before the Bynum signing, a source told Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that he wouldn't be surprised to see the Cavs re-sign Luke Walton if Bynum wound up in Cleveland (Twitter link).
- A Cavs executive told Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer that the team understands the risk involved with Bynum's knees. Still, the club is willing to take him on because of his upside, the exec says (on Twitter).
- Similarly, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal hears there's skepticism within the Cavs organization that Bynum will ever be the player he once was (Twitter link). The contract is well worth the risk anyway, Lloyd says.
- With Bynum joining a crowded frontcourt in Cleveland, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel figures it puts the Cavs out of the running for Greg Oden, who's also reportedly a target of the Heat (Twitter link).
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com looks at how Bynum could fit in with the Cavs, assuming he's healthy all season.
Cavs May Make Run At Andrei Kirilenko
The Cavs struck a deal with Andrew Bynum earlier this evening, but they might not be done with significant additions yet, as a source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio the team may turn its sights to Andrei Kirilenko (Twitter link). The veteran turned down a $10,219,420 player option to return to the Wolves next season, and he'd fill a hole at small forward for the team.
Bob Finnan tweets that the Bynum deal exhausted the Cavs' cap room, though I believe they'll still have about $3MM left once Bynum signs his contract. If the Cavs are out of cap space, they could use their $2.652MM room exception, so either way, they don't have much room to give Kirilenko a salary that comes close to what he turned down from Minnesota. The Wolves don't appear interested in a sign-and-trade, Finnan also notes, via Twitter.
The Spurs made a run at a sign-and-trade deal for Kirilenko and came up short, and the Wolves appear to be in the mix to re-sign the veteran as well. With a dwindling number of teams that have cap space and Minnesota seemingly unwilling to accomodate a sign-and-trade, re-signing with the Wolves may be Kirilenko's most lucrative option left.
Andrew Bynum Rumors: Wednesday
We heard yesterday that Andrew Bynum may make a decision on his next team by the end of the night, but that turned out not be the case. As I suggested on Tuesday, it didn't make a ton of sense for Bynum to announce a decision before his meeting with the Mavericks, which is scheduled for today. For now, agent David Lee says there's no timetable for his client's decision, adding that it "might" happen this week, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Here are the rest of today's Bynum updates:
- Lee wants to engage the Cavs in another dialogue tonight or tomorrow, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Still, the team isn't going to wait on Bynum, and while it hasn't pulled its offer, Cleveland will keep looking at other options (Twitter links).
Earlier updates:
- Of the $24MM the Cavs offered Bynum over two years, only $6MM is guaranteed, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). However, that still makes it the highest offer Bynum currently has on the table.
- The Mavericks' interest in Bynum remains serious enough after today's meeting that they're having "a medical discussion" and weighing an offer, GM Donnie Nelson indicated (link via Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News).
- Asked if Bynum would make a decision today, agent David Lee told the Plain Dealer (Twitter link) that "it takes two to make an agreement." That suggests to me that negotiations are ongoing and that there's not necessarily an offer on the table that Bynum likes.
- Earlier today, we heard that the Sixers haven't entirely ruled out the possibility of bringing back Bynum. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio also heard that the Cavs believed Bynum may prefer to play in Dallas.
- Many league executives feel like it will be difficult for the Hawks or Mavericks to top the Cavaliers' offer to Bynum, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- According to Amico, the Cavs and Hawks have been provided with Bynum's most recent medical results, and one source says they're "not bad."
- Amico hears from multiple league sources that Bynum's problems with the Sixers may not have been entirely health-related, with several of those sources hinting at a friction between Bynum and the organization.
- Whether or not they land Bynum, the Cavs may be open to moving a power forward, says Amico, noting that Anderson Varejao, Tristan Thompson, Earl Clark, Anthony Bennett, and Kevin Jones are all capable of playing the position.
- While the Cavs' offer to Bynum has been reported as a two-year deal, only one year is guaranteed, and the second year is a team option. According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, Bynum's camp is hoping to land a deal with a little more security than that.
- Although Bynum may be seeking more security, his market could be opened up a little if he'd agree to a clause that protects teams in the event of recurring knee injuries, says Kyler. Brandon Roy signed such a deal with Minnesota a year ago, making the second year of his deal non-guaranteed when his knee problems flared up again. If Bynum would consider such a deal, several teams would consider signing him, writes Kyler.
Andrew Bynum Decision Coming Today?
9:28am: In spite of rumors that Bynum could make his decision today, the Mavs still expect him to visit tomorrow, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (via Twitter). Meanwhile, the Cavs are hammering out the specific terms of their offer to Bynum, according to the Plain Dealer (via Twitter).
9:05am: After sitting down with the Cavaliers on Monday, Andrew Bynum will meet with Hawks officials today, and could have a contract agreement in place within the next 24 hours, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Berger hears from a source that there "should be a deal today."
When the Cavs met with Bynum yesterday, they reportedly made him a two-year offer worth $24MM, with a team option on the second year. Despite Cleveland's serious interest, the free agent big man planned to proceed as scheduled to meetings with the Hawks and Mavericks, as ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweeted late last night.
Presumably, Bynum's meeting with Dallas isn't also scheduled for today, so if he makes a decision tonight, that may rule out the Mavericks. Berger's report seems to be somewhat at odds with Stein's, as the ESPN.com scribe also tweeted that he thought the Cavs viewed Dallas as a much more serious threat than Atlanta.
In any case, it seems Bynum will end up committing to either the Cavs, Hawks, or the Mavs at some point this week, perhaps as soon as today. All three clubs figure to be interested in the 25-year-old on a short-term, incentive-laden contract. As Stein tweeted last night, the Cavs' interest in Bynum stems from the fact that he's a potential All-Star center whose lost 2012/13 season makes him very attainable, and I'd imagine the Hawks and Mavs are thinking along the same lines.
Cavs Offered Bynum Two-Year, $24MM Deal
The Cavs are pushing for free agent center Andrew Bynum to accept a two-year, $24MM+, incentive-based contract offer, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Cavs execs met with Bynum in Cleveland on Monday, but could lose patience with waiting on him to make up his mind.
Cleveland's offer includes a team option in the second year of the deal, sources told Wojnarowski. The 25-year-old met with Hawks officials after his Ohio pow-wow and Cleveland has begun to engage free agents Andrei Kirilenko and Elton Brand on possible one-year deals that would preclude the Cavaliers from the ability to sign Bynum, according to league sources.
The incentives of a possible Bynum contract have incentives tied to completing training camp and reaching minutes and games-played plateaus in the regular season. The team option on year two could be giving the center pause as his camp has been looking for one-year, high-money deals that would allow him to hit the market again next summer.
The Cavaliers see the possibility of a Bynum reclamation project coupled with All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving making for a strong recruiting pitch to LeBron James next summer. They'll have competition for his services though. In addition to the Hawks, Bynum is also set to sit down with the Mavericks this week.
Andrew Bynum Meeting With Cavs, Hawks, Mavs
1:58pm: Bynum has also lined up face-to-face meetings with the Hawks and Mavericks this week, tweets Stein. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, the big man would like to have a contract agreement in place within the next few days.
MONDAY, 11:30am: Bynum is scheduled to be in Cleveland today for a face-to-face meeting with the Cavs, according to Stein (via Twitter).
SUNDAY, 10:48pm: The Cavaliers have joined the Mavericks as a team to watch in the race to sign free-agent center Andrew Bynum. Sources close to the process told Marc Stein of ESPN.com that the Cavs are legitimate contenders to sign Bynum, who now finds himself as the top available center on the market despite not playing a minute in 2012/13.
Indications are that Cleveland won't offer more than a one-year deal to Bynum so that they can make a free agent splash in the summer of 2014, a class that includes LeBron James. But the Cavs have ~$15MM in available right now and sources say they have legitimate interest in the former All-Star.
The Mavs have serious interest in Bynum as well but they have begun an "exhaustive" evaluation process regarding his problematic knees and want to know that everything checks out before they think about a multi-year pact. The Hawks also like Bynum, but Monta Ellis is a bigger priority for them right now.
Eastern Notes: Bulls, Garcia, Cavs, Knicks
As a pair of Bynums continue to draw interest from Eastern Conference teams, let's check out a few more noteworthy items from around the East….
- Bulls GM Gar Forman has received plenty of calls this offseason from teams interested in discussing trades, but seems content to stand pat for one more year, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Francisco Garcia's agent, Aaron Goodwin, tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link) that his client turned down an offer from the Knicks in part due to avoid losing his Bird rights.
- The Cavaliers had interest in Nikola Pekovic, but the big man "wants to stay in Minnesota," a source tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link). For now, Cleveland appears to have shifted its attention to Andrew Bynum.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com passes along a few updates on the Knicks' potential free agent targets.
- Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg Sports reports (via Twitter) that the 76ers have hired former MSG Sports president Scott O'Neil as their new CEO, with the team confirming the move in a press release. Former CEO Adam Aron will remain a Sixers co-owner and board member. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News first reported in June that O'Neil was close to joining the club in an executive role.
Stein’s Latest: Ellis, Jennings, Teague, Fredette
As we noted already this morning, ESPN.com's Marc Stein was the first to pass along word that the Nuggets and Randy Foye were nearing a verbal agreement. Stein also includes a number of somewhat related tidbits in his latest entry on ESPN's TrueHoop blog, so let's dive in and round them up….
- An agreement between Denver and Foye would likely take the Nuggets out of the running for Monta Ellis, which would seem to open up the Hawks' lead for the free agent guard. Stein reported over the weekend that Ellis was Atlanta's top target.
- However, an alternative scenario appears to be in play for the Hawks. According to Stein, Atlanta and Milwaukee have discussed a deal that would send Jeff Teague to the Bucks and Brandon Jennings to the Hawks, both via sign-and-trade. If those talks get serious, Stein says Atlanta would likely rescind its interest in Ellis, considering an Ellis/Jennings backcourt didn't take the Bucks far last season. Milwaukee's interest in Teague was reported at the very start of free agency last week.
- The Kings also remain in the hunt for Ellis, according to Stein, who says Sacramento has been shopping Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes to the Cavaliers in an effort to clear the necessary cap room.
- As Stein notes, Hayes may not appeal to the Cavs, who are attempting to retain as much 2014 cap space as possible. The veteran forward is owed close to $6MM in 2014/15, while Fredette has a team option worth about $3.11MM.
Cavs Notes: Clark, FA Targets, Korver, Dunleavy
The Cavaliers made a couple of moves this week, agreeing to terms with Earl Clark and Jarrett Jack, as our Free Agent Tracker Shows. They still figure to have close to $15MM in cap space remaining, so they're not done yet. Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer, amid his look across the spectrum of Cleveland sports, passes along news on the Cavs' summer so far and what might be next, as we detail here:
- Pluto has the value of Clark's deal at $8.5MM, slightly smaller than the $9MM total that Sean Deveney of The Sporting News originally reported.
- The Cavs are in the hunt for a swingman who can shoot and a true center, according to Pluto. They were considering Kyle Korver before he agreed to re-sign with the Hawks, Pluto adds.
- Pluto also confirms Marc Stein's ESPN report that Marco Belinelli passed up more money from the Cavs to go to the Spurs, and says that Mike Dunleavy did the same when he agreed to head to the Bulls.
- Fellow Plain Dealer scribe Mary Schmitt Boyer answers reader questions in her mailbag column, and she touches on the notion of LeBron James returning to the Cavs.
Odds & Ends: Clippers, Pistons, Cavs, Ellington
The Clippers seem to be done with all their moves this summer and will probably just sign minimum level contracts from here on out, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). But Pincus also tweeted an update on the Clippers' salary info after the Darren Collison signing that used part of their available MLE earlier tonight.
The deal means Matt Barnes will get less as part of his announced re-signing with the Clippers yesterday. It was reported he'd worked out a three-year deal worth between $11-$12MM, but after Pincus' math that's likely to drop as they split the MLE with Barnes dropping to $10MM over three years.
Here's some more around the league, including teams pursuing free agent Wayne Ellington and the Cavs' future after signing Jarrett Jack.
- League sources tell RealGM's Shams Charania that the Kings are eyeing free agent Sam Young of the Pacers.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio says free agent guard Wayne Ellington is drawing interest from the Bulls, Bucks and Pistons (Twitter).
- About the Pistons, USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt says (via Twitter) that even though they landed free agent Josh Smith, they still want a point guard and shooting wing, the latter role one Ellington could fulfill.
- Keith Langlois of Pistons.com says (via Twitter) that there are 34 players making over $13.5MM next season. He goes on to say that number helps put "youknowwhat" into perspective. We're guessing it's the four-year $54MM (or $56MM, with performance incentives) Josh Smith just agreed to signed for with the Pistons.
- A source has told 1500ESPN.com's Darren Wolfson the Timberwolves are maintaining a regular dialogue with unrestricted free agent Alan Anderson's camp (Twitter).
- Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal takes a look at how the Cavs roster is beginning to take shape in the wake of their agreement with Jarrett Jack.
- Lloyd adds (via Twitter) that the Jack signing probably ends their flirtation with Ellington, whom they didn't tender a qualifying offer because they wanted an upgrade of the kind Jack gives them.