Free Agent Rumors: Iguodala, Noel, Roberson, Ingles
The Heat are one of three teams scheduled to meet with free agent Gordon Hayward, which could put several free agency plans on hold. For Miami free agent James Johnson, being patient is not a problem, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes.
“I’m a patient guy,” Johnson said to Jackson at a recent golf tournament. “They can take as long as they want. My mindset is winning. I think Hayward can help us win and I’m all for it. They brought me here for a reason and I know they’re going after Hayward for a reason and I think his statistics and his numbers that he [produces], he fits in the best here.”
Johnson, 30, developed into a solid two-way player last season, averaging 12.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and shot nearly 48% from the floor. However, if Miami does lure Hayward to South Beach, retaining both Johnson and Dion Waiters would be problematic from a financial standpoint. Stretching Josh McRoberts‘ salary and several other moves would have to be made to re-sign both players. However, Johnson has reiterated he does not mind waiting to see how the Heat’s plan develop.
Here are some other free agency rumors circulating around the NBA:
- The Rockets‘ meeting with two-time NBA champion and free agent Andre Iguodala is scheduled for this morning, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN (via Twitter).
- In a separate tweet, Haynes reports that the Knicks and Bucks have inquired on free agent swingman Ben McLemore.
- Restricted free agent Nerlens Noel can speak to other teams, but appears very likely to remain in Dallas. It’s likely a matter of “how much and when” the Mavericks get a deal done with the swingman, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (via Twitter).
- With Paul George headed to Oklahoma City, the Thunder are more likely to retain restricted free agent Andre Roberson, according to ESPN’s Royce Young (via Twitter).
- The Nets have secured a meeting with free agent Joe Ingles, sources tell Adam Joseph of 16WingsARing (via Twitter).
- We heard on Friday night that the Cavaliers have interest in Zach Randolph. That interest is mutual, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Free Agent Rumors: Redick, Ingles, Hayward, Gay
The first meeting for Clippers guard J.J. Redick was with the Sixers, posts Adrian Wojnarowski on ESPN Now. On ESPN’s television coverage, Wojnarowski said Philadelphia would like to convince Redick to accept a short-term contract, “a one-year deal at a very big number, $20 million-plus, potentially.” The Timberwolves and Nets are also expected to be contenders for Redick, and he has expressed interest in joining former Clippers teammate Chris Paul with the Rockets. Wojnarowski adds that there is no chance of Redick returning to L.A.
There’s more from the early hours of free agency:
- Jazz forward Joe Ingles has received “serious interest” from the Magic and has three meetings scheduled for Saturday, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Ingles will meet with the Utah delegation this weekend, according to Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
- Heat center Hassan Whiteside has been actively recruiting Gordon Hayward to Miami, tweets Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. Whiteside will attend Hayward’s meeting with Heat officials on Saturday.
- Kings forward Rudy Gay has four meetings set up over the next few days, Kennedy adds (Twitter link).
- The Nuggets reached out to Utah’s George Hill during the first hour of free agency, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. Denver could create cap room to sign Hill by letting Danilo Gallinari leave, Begley notes.
- The Mavericks had a “great call” with Nerlens Noel, tweets Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Noel expressed a desire to re-sign with the team, but nothing has been finalized.
- The Lakers made calls tonight to Andre Iguodala, Rajon Rondo and Ben McLemore., tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. The Knicks and Bucks have also inquired about McLemore, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Mavs Receive $175K For Liggins
- The Rockets will pay the Mavs $175K for DeAndre Liggins.
Free Agent Rumors: Warriors, Noel, Hill, Tucker
With free agency less than nine hours away, there’s no meeting scheduled between the Warriors and Andre Iguodala, tweets ESPN’s Zach Lowe. However, as Lowe points out, that could change any minute and the two sides are still optimistic about Iguodala’s return.
Meanwhile, Dewayne Dedmon is on the Warriors’ radar once again this summer, according to Sam Amico of USA Today (Twitter link), who reports the Dedmon/Golden State connection is worth watching particularly if Iguodala leaves. Dedmon would be a candidate to receive some or all of Golden State’s mid-level exception, though it’s not clear yet which MLE the Warriors will have. The club could end up with the full MLE ($8.4MM), the taxpayer mid-level ($5.2MM), or the room exception ($4.3MM).
Let’s round up more notes and rumors on free agency from around the league…
- The general sense around the NBA this year heading into free agency is that teams won’t be as aggressive and free-spending out of the gate as they were a year ago, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. As Shelburne observes (via Twitter), that’s creating some frustration for agents, since this year’s free agents want to be paid like last year’s were.
- Nerlens Noel is receiving interest from several teams and won’t limit his discussions to the Mavericks, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, who hears from a source that Dallas is willing to pay “market value” for Noel (Twitter link). The big man is a restricted free agent, giving the Mavs the right of first refusal.
- George Hill‘s preference is to remain with the Jazz, but the Spurs would be his second choice and the Timberwolves are “lurking,” says Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- The Raptors, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Kings, Sixers, and Clippers are among the teams expected to have interest in P.J. Tucker, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Toronto is schedule to meet with Tucker on Saturday, per Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- There’s still some mutual interest between the Kings and veteran point guard Ty Lawson, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). If Lawson returns to Sacramento, his role may look a little different, with De’Aaron Fox now in the picture and Darren Collison potentially signing elsewhere.
Mavs Focus On Noel, Nowitzki
The Mavs won’t be travelling far when the free agency period officially opens tomorrow night at midnight, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. Instead, he says, the franchise will zero in on its two own free agents: Nerlens Noel and Dirk Nowitzki.
While a Nowitzki deal is a foregone conclusion, the interesting part will be whether the Mavs can come to terms with Noel before the the restricted free agent lands a lofty offer sheet from a team willing to pay top dollar.
Currently, Sefko notes, the cap-hit the Mavs take for Noel is $11MM, a mark that figures to be considerably lower than what the 23-year-old would be able to land on the open market.
The decision to focus on Nowitzki after declining his team option this week and bringing Noel back is representative of the change in direction the Mavs have undergone this season.
Having landed Harrison Barnes in free agency last year and traded for Noel at the trade deadline in February, the Mavs have promptly patched together an intriguing young core.
Mavericks Trade Jarrod Uthoff To Rockets
After completing six trades on Wednesday, the Rockets are back at it today. Houston has acquired forward Jarrod Uthoff from Dallas in exchange for cash considerations, the Mavericks announced in a press release.
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Offseason Trades]
Uthoff, 24, signed a 10-day contract with the Mavs in March, then stuck around for another 10-day contract and a rest-of-season deal. The Iowa alum appeared in just nine games for the team, averaging 4.4 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 12.8 minutes per contest.
On Wednesday, the Rockets appeared to be taking on players with non-guaranteed 2017/18 salaries in order to use them to match salaries in their acquisition of Chris Paul. DeAndre Liggins and Darrun Hilliard were eventually included in that deal with the Clippers, but Shawn Long, Tim Quarterman, and Ryan Kelly weren’t.
Like those players, Uthoff has a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2017/18. However, because he wasn’t acquired using available cap room, he can’t be aggregated with other players in a trade for two months. We’ll have to wait to see whether he and the other newly-acquired Rockets are actually in the team’s plans for next season, or if they’ll ultimately become salary fodder for another deal at some point.
Uthoff’s ’17/18 salary will become fully guaranteed if he remains under contract through July 30.
Rockets Acquire DeAndre Liggins From Mavericks
Having already agreed to a blockbuster trade today, the Rockets have officially made a much smaller deal, acquiring DeAndre Liggins from the Mavericks in exchange for cash considerations. The Mavs confirmed the move in a press release.
[RELATED: Rockets to acquire Chris Paul from Clippers]
Liggins, 29, spent the majority of the 2016/17 season with the Cavaliers, appearing in 61 games (19 starts) for the team. However, Cleveland waived him during the last week of the regular season, and Liggins was claimed off waivers by the Mavs.
A report earlier this week indicated that the Mavs intended to decline their team option on Liggins, but it appears that option was exercised after all in order to complete this deal. Liggins’ salary for the 2017/18 season remains mostly non-guaranteed, making him a useful trade chip.
The Rockets will acquire Liggins using their excess cap room, which means the team could turn around and trade him again right away. It looks like Liggins may be used as a piece to help make the salaries work in Houston’s Chris Paul acquisition, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the former Kentucky guard flipped and included in that deal.
Nerlens Noel, Joe Ingles Receive Qualifying Offers
Two more free agents have become restricted as a result of receiving qualifying offers from their respective clubs. According to RealGM’s transactions log, the Mavericks have tendered a qualifying offer to Nerlens Noel, while the Jazz have given a QO to Joe Ingles.
Noel, 23, was sent to the Mavericks at this year’s trade deadline after spending his first three and a half seasons in Philadelphia. In 51 games (19 starts) in 2016/17, Noel averaged 8.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG, and 1.0 BPG in 20.5 minutes per contest. The Mavs view the former sixth overall pick as their center of the future and are expected to either re-sign him or match an offer sheet on him.
As for Ingles, the Australian forward had a breakout year in 2016/17, earning a regular spot in Utah’s rotation (24.0 MPG in 82 games) and averaging 7.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.7 APG to go along with a .441 3PT%. While Utah would like to bring him back, Ingles will be in line for a raise, and the Jazz figure to prioritize other free agents like Gordon Hayward and George Hill.
Both Noel and Ingles fell just short of meeting the starter criteria, so their qualifying offers are fairly modest. Noel’s is worth $4,187,598 and Ingles’ is worth $2,687,500. Those QOs are technically one-year contract offers that could be accepted, but both players are expected to find much larger offers on the open market – if not from their own teams – once free agency begins.
Noel and Ingles join a growing group of RFAs-to-be who have formally received qualifying offers, including Jonathon Simmons (Spurs), Mason Plumlee (Nuggets), JaMychal Green (Grizzlies), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Pistons), Andre Roberson (Thunder), Tim Hardaway Jr. (Hawks), Otto Porter (Wizards), and Bojan Bogdanovic (Wizards).
Sefko On Mavs' FA Targets; Curry Discusses New-Look Backcourt
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News takes a closer look at some of the potential free agent targets who figure to be in the Mavericks‘ price range this offseason.
- Mavericks guard Seth Curry still hopes to spend some time at the point, even after the team drafted Dennis Smith Jr., but also believes he and Smith are capable of playing alongside one another. “We’re very different type players,” Curry said, per The Dallas Morning News. “I definitely don’t have his athleticism but hopefully we can do some dynamic things on the court together.”
Brogdon, Saric Headline 2016/17 NBA All-Rookie Teams
The NBA has announced its All-Rookie teams for the 2016/17 season, with Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon and Sixers forward Dario Saric headlining the First Team. Brogdon and Saric were the only two players who were unanimously named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team.
Here’s the full breakdown of this year’s All-Rookie squads:
First Team:
- Malcolm Brogdon (Bucks)
- Dario Saric (Sixers)
- Joel Embiid (Sixers)
- Buddy Hield (Kings)
- Willy Hernangomez (Knicks)
Second Team:
- Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
- Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
- Marquese Chriss (Suns)
- Brandon Ingram (Lakers)
- Yogi Ferrell (Mavericks)
Brogdon, Saric, and Embiid are the finalists for the 2016/17 NBA Rookie of the Year award, which will be announced later tonight during the league’s TV broadcast on TNT.