Odds & Ends: Celtics, Alonzo Gee, Randy Foye
The Celtics and Heat will kickoff the upcoming season as the NBA released the schedule for 2012/13 on Thursday. In another notable matchup, the Nets will host the Knicks on opening night in the inaugural basketball game at the Barclays Center. Among the highlights of the five Christmas Day contests include the Thunder taking on the Heat in Miami and the Knicks heading to the Staples Center to battle the Lakers. Here's the latest news and happenings from around the league…
- The Celtics may appear to have a complete roster as the calendar turns to August, but general manager Danny Ainge is always looking for another piece that may make his team better, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. "I'm always looking for ways to improve the team," Ainge said. "I like our team; I like our guys. But I'm always looking. You're never going to hear me say, 'I'm done.' Because you never know what may open up down the road or in the near future."
- Talks are slow but steady between the Cavaliers and Alonzo Gee, says Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Sulia link). Gee's agent, Andre Buck, won't rule out accepting the Cavs' qualifying offer if that's the best contract his client receives from Cleveland.
- The Jazz wanted Randy Foye more than any other team and that made the former Villanova star's decision easier when it came time to sign a contract, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. "I felt," Foye said, "I could come in and contribute and help these guys."
- The Wizards have invited former Gonzaga guard Steven Gray to attend the team's training camp, reports HoopsHype (via Twitter). Gray spent the 2011/12 season in Europe playing for Latvian club BK Ventspils where he averaged 11.5 PPG and 2.9 RPG.
- The Lakers continue to have interest in Jodie Meeks as the two sides are in talks about a potential contract, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
Odds & Ends: Gee, Cavs, Suns, Batum, Bobcats
A report yesterday suggested that Alonzo Gee and the Cavaliers are still far apart in negotiations on a new contract, but Gee continues to say he wants to re-sign with the club.
"I want to be in Cleveland," he told Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "This is where I want to be. I love the coaches and my teammtes. This is where I want to be.''
It was expected that the Cavs would match an offer sheet for Gee, but so far he hasn't found a deal with another club, — perhaps any team interested in the 25-year-old knows it could be a waste of time to seriously pursue him, with Cleveland poised to match any offer. While Gee waits to sign his next contract, here are a few more Thursday odds and ends from around the NBA:
- In previewing the Cavaliers' 2012/13 roster, Bob Finnan of the News-Herald assumes that either Gee or unrestricted free agent C.J. Miles will be starting at small forward for Cleveland.
- Shannon Brown's new deal with the Suns will provide some continuity for both the player and the team, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Rick Adelman was surprised by the lengthy back-and-forth between the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers over Nicolas Batum, as he told Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. "All that stuff surprised me," said the T-Wolves' coach. "We were just trying to get a player who fit in our system. Unfortunately, it went on and on and on, and I have no control over that."
- Bobcats GM Rich Cho spoke to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld about Charlotte's offseason moves and the process of improving a team that won a record-low seven games in 2011/12.
Teams That Lost Traded Player Exceptions
To hang onto a traded player exception, a team is required to keep its salary commitments above the $58.044MM cap line. The moment a club uses room under the cap to sign a player, any trade exceptions it previously owned are lost, along with the the team's full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions for that season.
As free agents signed new deals this month, a number of clubs that owned traded player exceptions fell below the cap, renouncing those exceptions. Most notably, the Mavericks lost four trade exceptions, including the $8.9MM TPE they obtained when they sent Lamar Odom to the Clippers last month.
Here's a complete list of the traded player exceptions that were lost without expiring or being used this month. The traded player that initially created the exception appears in parentheses:
- 76ers: $1,536,505 (Marreese Speights)
- Cavaliers: $1,097,520 (Christian Eyenga)
- Hornets: $2,329,805 (Chris Paul)
- Mavericks: $8,900,000 (Lamar Odom), $4,207,837 (Tyson Chandler), $3,059,000 (Corey Brewer), $2,180,443 (Rudy Fernandez)
- Raptors: $7,600,000 (Leandro Barbosa)
- Rockets: $2,500,000 (Samuel Dalembert), $854,389 (Chase Budinger)
You can find our full list of still-existing traded player exceptions right here, or read more on how exactly they work in our glossary entry.
Sham Sports was used in the creation of this post.
Latest On Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum
9:43pm: SI.com's Chris Mannix suggests the Magic, who league executives believe are determined not to cave into Howard's demands, may prefer to wait to make a move until after January 15th, when trading for Brook Lopez once again becomes a possibility. That would give the Magic a chance to see how Lopez has healed from his broken foot, Mannix says.
8:59pm: The Magic didn't really try to convince Howard to stay in today's meeting, as Hennigan simply saw it as an opportunity to build trust, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Hennigan and the other Magic officials didn't talk to Howard about their head coaching search, Robbins adds. (Twitter links). The Magic expected Howard to reiterate his trade demands, however, and the team isn't deterred from its plan, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reports via Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).
8:41pm: Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com has details on the meeting between Howard and Hennigan, reporting that Hennigan, just hired this summer to replace Otis Smith, expressed a desire to get to know D12, while Howard wanted to see his plan for improving the team and was disappointed not to find out about it during the hour-long meeting. Hennigan told Howard he didn't have any trade in the works and wasn't sure how to respond to what Howard was telling him. Other teams are getting frustrated with the Magic's half-hearted attempts to trade Howard, and Wojnarowski reports the Magic are looking for strong package in return, similar to what the Nuggets got for Carmelo Anthony (Twitter link).
8:29pm: The Mavs are the "overwhelming favorite" to sign Howard if he winds up in free agency next summer, Wojnarowski hears, adding that Howard's camp has consistently warned the Rockets not to trade for him, with the threat of moving to their in-state rivals (Twitter links).
8:26pm: Chris Mannix of SI.com hears Howard would be open to re-signing with the Lakers after the season (Twitter link). Howard expressed his curiousity to Hennigan about why the Magic didn't make a trade while other stars, like Joe Johnson and Steve Nash, were on the move, Wojnarowski tweets.
8:19pm: Dwight Howard, in his meeting with Magic GM Rob Hennigan and Magic officials, gave the team three options: an immediate trade to the Lakers, a midseason trade to the Nets, or a clean break next summer, Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM tweets.
Meanwhile, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has left the door open to trading for Dwight Howard, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne hears the Lakers' stance hasn't changed, as they still believe a year with the Lakers would convince Howard to re-sign with the team next summer even if he's unwilling to make a long-term commitment to the team now. Still, the Lakers are unwilling to take on other lucrative deals the Magic want to include in a Howard trade. Shelburne also reports that Andrew Bynum's agent, David Lee, says he has not spoken with Kupchak about an extension for his client, refuting Kupchak's comments to the contrary.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports hears that the fact the Magic have waited so long to pull the trigger on a deal has hurt their offers (Twitter link).
7:55pm: Howard reiterated to Hennigan tonight that he doesn't want to stay in Orlando, and said he'll leave as a free agent next summer if the Magic refuse to trade him, Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com reports. Still, Hennigan is in no rush to move Howard without "acceptable compensation" in return (All four Twitter links).
Grizzlies Trade Jeremy Pargo To Cavs
The Grizzlies have sent Jeremy Pargo, a 2014 second-round pick and cash to the Cavs for D.J. Kennedy, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter link). Pargo is entering the final season of a two-year, $2MM contract, and his $1MM is guaranteed for 2012/13. Kennedy has two more seasons on his deal at the minimum salary, both of which are non-guaranteed. The Cavs put out a press release on their website confirming the move.
"Our approach remains consistent as we try to bring in young talent, create future opportunity with draft picks as potential assets and maintain flexibility," Cavs GM Chris Grant said in the release. "Jeremy adds depth to our backcourt. He is a young, aggressive, athletic guard who we feel fits well with our style of play, both defensively and offensively. We look forward to welcoming him to Cleveland."
Pargo, the younger brother of Jannero Pargo, made his NBA debut for the Grizzlies last season after going undrafted out of Gonzaga in 2009. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.3 assists in 9.6 minutes a game as a backup to point guard Mike Conley. The 6'6" Kennedy wasn't drafted last year out of St. John's, but caught on with the Cavs in the final week of the season and played in two games, scoring 12 points and pulling down seven rebounds in a total of 59 minutes. Kennedy spent most of the season in the D-League, putting up 15.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 4.4 APG in 37.4 MPG.
The Grizzlies are close to the luxury tax threshold of $70.31MM, so the deal might be a way for them to save money, since they could waive Kennedy without owing him anything. The Cavs have plenty of cap room to absorb the $1MM owed Pargo, and helps them at point guard, where the team is thin behind starter Kyrie Irving.
Alonzo Gee, Cavs Far Apart In Negotiations
Restricted free agent Alonzo Gee and the Cavaliers are "said to be far apart in negotiations," reports Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. The Cavs extended a qualifying offer to Gee last month, making him restricted, but the 25-year-old wing has received very little interest from other clubs, according to Amico.
With no clear rival suitors in play, the Cavs are under no pressure to up their offer to Gee. The team's standing QO is worth close to $2.7MM, and Gee has the option of accepting that offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. However, he would presumably prefer to land a multiyear deal. Gee finds himself in a situation similar to Warriors swingman Brandon Rush, who has also been unable to find an offer sheet, with rival teams assuming Golden State will match any reasonable offer.
I'd expect the Cavs and Gee to reach a resolution eventually, given Cleveland's cap room and Gee's apparent lack of alternatives. However, the Cavs seem prepared to explore other options. As we heard last night, the team has set up a meeting with unrestricted free agent C.J. Miles. According to Amico, the scheduled visit will be a two-day affair.
Free Agent Rumors: Landry, Thomas, Mason
A few more free agents have come off the board today, as A.J. Price and Pablo Prigioni finalized deals with the Wizards and Knicks respectively, while Ronnie Brewer was among the players to agree to a new contract, reaching a deal with the Knicks. With a number of available players still on the market though, here's a round-up of a few of the day's assorted free agent rumors:
- The Hornets have renounced Carl Landry's Bird Rights, making a sign-and-trade difficult to work out, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The Bobcats were interested in a sign-and-trade deal for Landry, but New Orleans would need to get back under the cap to have room to make it work.
- Malcolm Thomas, who was named to the All-Summer League team, is drawing interest from a number of teams, including the Clippers, Bulls, Hawks, and Bobcats, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Former Lakers second-rounder Patrick Beverley is seeking an NBA job, having worked out for the Bulls, Cavs, and Rockets this offseason. Agent Kevin Bradbury tells Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com that he thinks his client would be a good fit in Chicago: "He plays defense and does what’s asked of him. He fits the Bulls’ system. I think that’s intriguing for the Bulls. He really respects [Tom Thibodeau]."
- The Wizards have interest in bringing back Roger Mason, but Mason isn't looking to sign a one-year, minimum-salary deal, says Michael Lee of the Washington Post. The veteran guard has also received interest from the Thunder, Hornets, Bulls, and Lakers.
Odds & Ends: Lin, Bulls, Cavs, Nuggets
The craze of Linsanity dominated the pages of Hoops Rumors for several months and extended into the offseason, where the Rockets unexpectedly managed to pry Jeremy Lin away from the Knicks. Lin admitted to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group that in some ways, the hoopla went to his head. However, Lin believes that he is now well-equipped to deal with the hype and isn't concerned about living up to it in Houston. Here's a look at tonight's news from around the Association..
- The Bulls bench has gotten a complete overhaul this summer, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Chicago appears set to sign Nazr Mohammed to replace Omer Asik and reached agreement with Marco Belinelli on a one-year deal earlier this evening.
- The trade rumors surrounding a blockbuster three-way trade involving the Cavs, Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum have quieted down, and Bob Finnan of the News-Herald doesn't expect the deal to go down this summer. Meanwhile, the Magic have told rival execs that they might not trade Howard at all.
- While some clubs seem to be putting all of their eggs in the basket of landing one or two mega-stars, the Nuggets are busy building a franchise their own way, writes Zach Lowe of Sports Illustrated. GM Masai Ujiri would love to land a top-ten talent, but the team is in position to be competitive regardless. I would argue that the new-look Nets are also following a similar gameplan.
Odds & Ends: Howard, Celtics, Turiaf, Warriors
While it's always a little dangerous to read too much into Summer League results, it's still worth looking back at the month's top performers in Orlando and Las Vegas. A pair of SBNation.com scribes have done just that, with Mike Prada ranking the drafted rookies, from Damian Lillard to Fab Melo, while Scott Schroeder lists a few of the top "veterans," including Josh Selby, Tobias Harris, and Markieff Morris.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the Association:
- We haven't heard many updates about the Dwight Howard talks involving the Magic, Lakers, and Cavaliers in the last couple days, but Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio hears they're not entirely dead — they're just in a holding pattern for now, with teams (particularly the Magic) weighing other options.
- An opposing executive tells Amico that it's too early to evaluate Chris Grant's job performance as Cavs GM.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com takes an in-depth look at the Celtics' roster and payroll situation
- Spain's Real Madrid is eyeing big men, and Ronny Turiaf is on their radar, according to Javier Maestro of Encestando.es (English link via HoopsWorld).
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com names a few forwards the Warriors could still potentially target in free agency.
Odds & Ends: Beal, Williams, Cavs, Morrison
Bradley Beal specifically asked that the Wizards’ take him with the third-overall pick and so far he is justifying the club's decision to oblige, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. While summer league results aren't a perfect barometer for future success, the shooting guard impressed as he averaged 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per contest. Here's more from around the Association..
- One scout told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter) that Derrick Williams, who went No. 2 in the 2011 draft, would not have have gone in the top eight in 2012. It's an interesting take as some observers seemed to be down on what the 2012 class had to offer beyond the top few selections.
- Cavaliers coach Byron Scott believes that the club's future looks bright even if they don't make a significant trade, writes Joel Brigham of USA Today. "I'm looking at a nice young core of guys," Scott said. "If we add some guys to that core, more power to us, and if we don't, we'll go with what we got because I think right now the future of our team is pretty bright."
- Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter) opines that Adam Morrison has played his way onto an NBA roster this season. The forward is averaging about 20 points and five boards per game for the Clippers' summer league team.