Kings, Mavs Interested In Josh Smith
The Kings have a “very strong” interest in Josh Smith, league sources tell Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter links), and the Mavs are in play for him, too, as Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops hears (Twitter link). Still, while six teams have shown interest, “nothing of substance” is in the works for Smith, a source tells Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link), whose report came after the Mavs news but before the report on the Kings. Fischer last week reported that the Kings would soon begin talks with the client of Brian Dyke and Wallace Prather.
Smith has reportedly held mutual interest in re-signing with the Rockets, and he enjoys playing for Kevin McHale, notes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Still, the Rockets have only Non-Bird rights on the forward who signed at midseason, meaning they can only give him $2,492,400, a 20% raise on the $2.077MM he saw in 2014/15, without clearing cap space or raiding the mid-level exception.
The Clippers and Smith also reportedly had mutual interest, though that surfaced before DeAndre Jordan flipped from his decision to sign with the Mavs to recommit to the Clippers instead. Thus, the Clippers only have the minimum salary to offer. The Mavs have loads of cap room that they were to spend on Jordan, while the Kings have roughly $7MM in cap space.
Magic Sign C.J. Watson
JULY 9TH, 11:18am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
8:20pm: The final season is partially guaranteed for $1MM, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports.
8:57am: The Magic and Watson have reached an agreement on a three-year, $15MM deal, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (on Twitter).
JULY 4TH, 12:09am: The Magic are nearing an agreement with unrestricted free agent C.J. Watson, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear as to the length and amount of the arrangement the two sides are discussing, though the guard is intent on securing a deal for the mid-level exception, as J. Michael of CSNWashington.com relayed earlier this week. Watson would provide backcourt depth behind Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton.
Watson, 31, appeared in 57 contests for the Pacers during the 2014/15 season, averaging 10.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 24.9 minutes per night, and owned a slash line of .434/.400/.826. His career numbers are 7.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, and 2.5 APG, while shooting .425/.383/.806.
The Wizards, Clippers, and Mavericks were all reported to have interest in Watson. The point guard had expressed a desire to return to the Pacers back in April, saying, ”Hopefully I’ll be back here. I like it in Indy. I love the team and the atmosphere of the city. We’ll see what happens. It’s not really in my hands. So we’ll see.”
Hornets Sign Jeremy Lin
THURSDAY, 10:39am: The deal is official, the Hornets announced.
WEDNESDAY, 8:32am: The Hornets and unrestricted free agent Jeremy Lin have reached an agreement on a contract, Lin announced via his Instagram account. Lin’s deal will be for two-years, and in excess of $4MM, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
The Mavericks were reportedly discussing sign-and-trade options with the Lakers, and were the presumed favorites to acquire the point guard or sign him outright. It’s unclear what led Lin to the Hornets, be it a more lucrative offer, or Dallas’ attention being focused on the ongoing free agent drama involving center DeAndre Jordan. Wojnarowski had previously relayed that Lin looked at Dallas as a means to reignite his career, especially with a chance to become the starting point guard. But he’ll now be relegated to being a backup to Kemba Walker in Charlotte.
The point guard took to Facebook to explain his decision (h/t to USA Today), writing, “Going into my first true free agency as an NBA player this off-season, the one thing that mattered to me the most was finding a team that would be a good fit for me. I wanted to be on a team where I would be able to play freely and truly play the game I love with joy again. That has always been the most important thing to me. After a LOT of prayer and long discussions with family and friends, I wanted to personally let you guys know I’ll be joining the Charlotte Hornets.
My journey has never looked the way I [or anyone else] thought it would, but God has always worked things out for my good and I am confident that he will continue to do so. I want to thank Coach [Steve] Clifford and the Hornets organization for this opportunity – for taking the time to talk to me, understanding my game, and most importantly, making it clear they believe in me. For those of you who have been patiently waiting for news, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining me on this journey. To the Lakers organization and the city of Los Angeles, thank you for your support this past season. I have no idea what is coming next, but I promise I will do everything in my power to contribute to this team and to improve as a player and as a person. Here’s to the next chapter!”
Lin made 74 appearances for the Lakers last season, including 30 starts, averaging 11.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 25.8 minutes per game, with a slash line of .424/.369/.795. His career numbers through five NBA seasons since going undrafted out of Harvard are 11.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG, and 4.8 APG, with a shooting line of .437/.349/.799.
Blazers Sign Al-Farouq Aminu
JULY 9TH, 9:20am: The deal is official, the Blazers announced.
11:48pm: Aminu confirmed the agreement with the Blazers on Twitter (h/t David Aldridge of NBA.com on Twitter).
JUNE 30TH, 11:29pm: Al-Farouq Aminu will sign a four-year, $30MM deal with the Blazers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The figure means that Portland will be using cap space unless it can engineer a sign-and-trade, and it also represents a significant raise on the minimum salary the forward made this past season.
The Mavs had been concerned that Aminu would land a lucrative offer, and so they were reportedly poised to try to convince him to sign a one-year deal that might have allowed him to further up his value. Blazers GM Neil Olshey drafted Aminu when he was with the Clippers, so he is quite familiar with the fifth-year player.
Aminu proved a valuable part of the Mavs rotation even as he recorded his fewest minutes (18.5) and points (5.6) per game since his rookie season. His 14.4 PER set a new career high, and ESPN ranks him sixth among small forwards this season in its Defensive Real Plus/Minus metric. He saw equal time at small forward and power forward, according to Basketball-Reference, and he’d rank seventh in Defensive Real Plus/Minus among players at the four. Even though he was mostly used in a reserve role in the regular season, he was featured more prominently during the playoffs. He started two of five postseason games against the Rockets, averaging 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 64% from 3-point range.
Aminu had visits scheduled with the Knicks, Celtics, Raptors, and Pelicans, but apparently the nationwide tour has been called off just minutes into free agency.
And-Ones: Matthews, Stoudemire, Kanter
As the drama regarding DeAndre Jordan‘s free agency decision seemingly concludes, the Mavericks can breathe easier knowing that Wesley Matthews still intends to sign with the team regardless of Jordan’s choice, Jason Quick of The Oregonian writes. Matthews reached a verbal agreement with Dallas on a sign a four-year deal worth approximately $13MM per season, and he is expected to officially sign the agreement and be introduced to the Dallas media on Thursday, the first day the NBA moratorium ends, Quick adds.
Here’s more from around the league:
- With Jordan deciding to remain with the Clippers, signing unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire will be an option for the Mavericks, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report relays (Twitter links). Stoudemire is also strongly considering the Heat, Zwerling adds.
- There is growing speculation around the league that the Pacers will approach the Mavs about a trade for Roy Hibbert now that Dallas has missed out on Jordan, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers tweets. That’s apparently even though Indiana has committed to trade Hibbert to the Lakers.
- With the free agent moratorium set to end on Thursday, league sources believe that restricted free agent Enes Kanter will either re-sign with the Thunder or sign an offer sheet that the team would then match, Royce Young of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link).
- Forward Livio Jean-Charles, the No. 28 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, won’t be joining the Spurs for the 2015/16 campaign, according to Tony Parker, Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News relays. Parker is not only a potential future teammate of Jean-Charles’, but he is also the president and owner of ASVEL Basket, the French team Jean-Charles currently plays for.
- The Thunder sent the Raptors $250k as part of the trade that landed Luke Ridnour in Toronto, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The Celtics have a vested interest in where Jordan ends up, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets. Boston owns the rights to the Dallas 2016 first-rounder from the Rajon Rondo trade, which is top seven protected. With the Mavs whiffing on signing Jordan, a blow to the team’s chances of winning this coming season, the pick becomes more valuable, as long as the Mavs don’t sink too far and end up keeping it.
Clippers Likely To Re-Sign DeAndre Jordan
9:19pm: Cuban has begun to notify people within the Mavericks organization that Jordan is remaining in Los Angeles, Stein tweets.
7:33pm: Jordan has indicated to the Clippers that he intends to remain with the team, and team representatives intend to remain with the center until he can put pen to paper on a new deal at midnight, Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com report (Twitter link).
7:13pm: At least three league sources have disputed the claim that Fegan steered Jordan to agree to sign with Dallas, Stein tweets.
5:30pm: The Mavericks are not optimistic about Jordan signing with the team, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
2:55pm: Jordan won’t decide until he meets face-to-face with the Mavs, as Stein hears (Twitter link).
2:26pm: The idea of Fegan demanding the Clippers trade Paul “is very much not true and ridiculous,” a source told Turner (on Twitter).
2:23pm: The Clippers expect Jordan will pick them, Eaves tweets. On the Dallas side, recruiter extraordinaire Chandler Parsons will indeed be at the Mavs’ meeting with Jordan, as Amick and Zillgitt write, and as Parsons had indicated on Twitter.
1:59pm: Eaves adds that Jordan decided the Clippers were the better option once he sat back and compared their roster against that of the Mavs, according to a source (Twitter link). Ballmer is indeed in the meeting, too, Wojnarowski tweets.
1:54pm: Jordan told Rivers on Monday that he’d made a mistake, and the feeling within Jordan’s family, who want him to stay with the Clippers, is that Fegan pushed him to sign in Dallas, according to SportsCenter’s Michael Eaves. Fegan made an ultimatim to Rivers prior to Jordan’s agreement to sign with the Mavs that the Clippers would have to trade Paul to keep Jordan, a source also told Eaves (All five Twitter links here).
1:42pm: Jordan is increasingly leaning toward the Clippers, Stein and Shelburne write. Paul has been among those pushing hardest to convince the center to stay with the Clips. The Clippers believe they’ll bring Jordan back to L.A. with them tonight, Stein tweets.
12:58pm: The renewed push from the Clippers began when Jordan started having second thoughts on Monday and called Rivers, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
12:50pm: Mavs owner Mark Cuban has traveled to Houston to try to fend off the Clippers’ efforts, sources tell Stein (Twitter link).
12:48pm: Paul Pierce and J.J. Redick will be in the meeting, too, Woike tweets.
12:40pm: Jordan appears to be 50/50 on either forging ahead with his Mavs deal or re-signing with the Clippers instead, Markazi reports (on Twitter).
12:21pm: Some people within the Mavs organization are indeed concerned, as the Clippers pose a legitimate threat, according to Amick (Twitter link).
12:16pm: The Clippers felt Jordan’s representatives were pushing him to sign with Dallas, Markazi tweets. Fegan and the Mavs have long had a close working relationship.
12:07pm: It sounds like Paul will be part of the Clippers’ party traveling to Houston to meet with Jordan, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. Stein follows with a similar tweet, and it seems like the Clippers contingent will indeed get that meeting with Jordan. The Clippers expect the meeting to happen, according to Amick (Twitter link).
12:00pm: Clippers officials weren’t pleased with the way the Mavs recruited Jordan, part of the reason they’re breaking protocol and continuing to go after him, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The Clippers weren’t pleased that Jordan had only one meeting with them while Dallas both dined and met with him, as Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times hears (on Twitter).
11:57pm: The Clippers have gone directly to Jordan, rather than Fegan or other representatives at Relativity Sports, as Stein wrote, and one source close to Jordan called it an underhanded maneuver, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The relationship between Paul and Jordan isn’t perfect, but they have spoken with each other throughout Jordan’s free agency and have a mutual respect, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
11:51am: Jordan and Griffin have already spoken, and it’s possible that Paul joins the recruitment, too, sources tell Stein. Paul and Jordan reportedly haven’t seen eye to eye, though conflicting reports make it tough to get a read on just how much of a factor that’s been in Jordan’s thinking.
11:45am: Jordan started having second thoughts early this week, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports indicates (on Twitter). The Clippers have been pushing to meet with Jordan today in Houston that would involve Rivers and perhaps owner Steve Ballmer, and some Clippers players have been in contact with Jordan as well, sources tell Stein for a full piece. Broussard hears that Jordan has told people close to him that since choosing Dallas, he’s still feeling “torn” and “unsure,” as Stein passes along in the same piece.
11:29am: The Clippers continue to try to convince DeAndre Jordan to sign with them, even though he’s already agreed to sign with the Mavericks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal between Dallas and the Dan Fegan client can’t become official until the July Moratorium ends at 11pm Central tonight, but it would be highly unusual if Jordan were to reverse course.
The loss of Jordan would be devastating to the Clippers, who are without the cap space necessary to sign a comparable replacement for the defensive stalwart and league’s leading rebounder. Still, an about-face from Jordan would be perhaps equally damaging to the Mavs, who’ve since committed to sign four other players with the thinking that Jordan would be theirs.
Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers has told Jordan that he didn’t know he wanted a larger role, and the Clippers are offering to hire a big man coach and increase Jordan’s number of touches, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reported June 30th that Jordan was tired of being a third wheel behind Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and wanted a larger role on offense, so Rivers should have been aware when free agency began.
Jordan has financial motivations to choose the Clippers, since they can give him 7.5% raises on the max salary he’s set to receive in his deal with Dallas, as opposed to the 4.5% raises the Mavs are limited to doling out. The Clippers can also tack a fifth year onto the deal, as opposed to the four he’s getting from the Mavs, but Jordan didn’t appear to be seeking a five-year contract.
Fegan also represents Dwight Howard, who’s indecision was a near-daily story before he signed with the Rockets two years ago. He’s also the agent for Austin Rivers, Doc’s son, who’s a free agent this summer, as Arash Markazi of ESPN.com points out (on Twitter).
Southwest Rumors: Villanueva, Gasol, Conley
The Southwest Division free agent bounty might take a hit if DeAndre Jordan indeed reverses course on his decision to sign with the Mavericks, as the Clippers are trying to convince him to do, but he’s not the only free agent the Mavs and Clippers have fought over. There’s more on that amid the latest from around the Southwest:
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers put in a recruiting call to Charlie Villanueva, who also spoke with Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld, as Villanueva reveals on his own website (hat tip to TNT’s David Aldridge). The forward also indicates that the Kings were in the mix, too, but Villanueva made it clear that he’s pleased to have agreed to a deal with the Mavs.
- Marc Gasol hinted that Mike Conley assured him he’ll be just as committed to re-signing with the Grizzlies next summer, when he’s a free agent, as Gasol was this year, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. Gasol said it never got to a point where he could envision himself playing outside of Memphis. “I was just sitting on it. I wanted to talk to Mike Conley,” Gasol said to Tillery. “Once I knew Mike Conley was on board, that sealed the deal. We both talked about the future. Once I knew he was on board it was a done deal.”
- Some people within the Spurs wondered in retrospect if the team would have been better off giving some of Manu Ginobili‘s minutes to Marco Belinelli, but Ginobili remains valuable to the team and around the league, as Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News chronicles. Someone from another NBA team told Harvey that if he thought Ginobili would ever sign with a franchise other than the Spurs, his team would have pursued him. The veteran swingman has reportedly agreed to re-sign with the Spurs for what appears to be the $2.814MM room exception. Belinelli committed to the Kings.
Western Rumors: Durant, Cauley-Stein, Lee, Suns
The Mavericks believe they’re legitimate contenders for Kevin Durant next summer, buoyed as they are by their agreements to sign DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com. Of course, they’ll have plenty of competition, as many teams will no doubt line up for a chance at the player atop the 2016 free agent class. The Wizards have reportedly loomed as the top threat to the Thunder for the former MVP. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- One lottery team took Willie Cauley-Stein off its board completely over concerns about his surgically repaired left ankle, while another two teams cleared him, but “just barely,” according to Mannix, who writes in the same piece. The Kings drafted Cauley-Stein sixth overall.
- The Warriors didn’t have any option of moving David Lee for no salary in return when they agreed to take on Gerald Wallace from the Celtics, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. The trade agreement nonetheless shrinks Golden State’s projected outlay from nearly $150MM in combined payroll and tax payments to about $128MM, Kawakami writes.
- Suns coach Jeff Hornacek knows and likes Derrick Favors from his time as a Jazz assistant coach, but Utah is firm in its position to keep the power forward, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, suggesting that Phoenix is more likely to make a major addition via trade than free agency at this point. Speculation linking the Suns to Ryan Anderson doesn’t seem likely to bear fruit, Coro adds.
- The Thunder met with free agent Keith Appling on Tuesday, a visit that could lead to a training camp invitation, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The former Michigan State point guard was with the Lakers for preseason this past fall.
And-Ones: Lee, Randle, Bulls, Clippers
Clippers guard J.J. Redick vented his frustrations with his team’s offseason during an interview with Bleacher Report Radio, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays. When asked to grade Los Angeles’ free agent moves, Redick said, “Is there an F-minus?” The veteran continued expressing his disappointment, saying, “Listen, we had one priority this summer and that was to re-sign D.J. [DeAndre Jordan] and we missed out on that, so barring some miracle, [the] makeup of our team is completely different now.” The center agreed to a four-year, $80MM deal with Dallas last week.
Redick noted the myriad of ways in which the Clippers will miss Jordan, referring to the big man as, “such an integral part of what we did, not just defensively but offensively with his screening, his rolling, his offensive rebounds. His presence down low essentially made teams either commit to the three-point line when Blake [Griffin] or Chris [Paul] penetrated or commit to him, and that either opened up lobs for him or threes for guys like me and Jamal [Crawford] and Matt [Barnes].”
Here’s what else is happening around the league:
- Free agent Kevin Seraphin is receiving interest from the Mavericks, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (Twitter link). The 25-year-old center has also had inquiries from the Lakers, Wizards, Suns and Spurs, Scotto adds.
- The Lakers‘ first round draft pick of a year ago, Julius Randle, participated in his first organized practice with the team since he suffering a broken leg in his NBA debut last season, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. Randle, who is on track to be recovered by the start of the 2015/16 season, has lost weight while getting stronger, which should improve his quickness and production, Holmes adds. “The credit goes to my coaches for staying on me and not letting this downtime being injured be a step in the wrong direction,” Randle said. “I’m taking advantage of it the most that I could. It’s also me with my drive and will and people supporting me. The credit goes to all of them.“
- The proposed trade that would send David Lee to the Celtics can save the Warriors roughly $5MM in salary and an additional $18MM in luxury tax, which makes the deal worth doing for Golden State, even if Lee’s presence will be missed, Daniel Leroux of The Sporting News writes.
- The Bulls missed a major opportunity to take advantage of a still developing Cavaliers roster and reach the NBA Finals, a feat that has grown even more difficult with the improvements that Cleveland, not to mention the Bucks and Raptors, made this offseason, Scoop Jackson of ESPN.com writes.
Western Notes: Cuban, Stoudemire, Aldridge
The NBA has fined Mavericks team owner Mark Cuban $25k for publicly confirming the team’s pending free-agent deals with DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Under league rules teams and players are allowed to strike verbal agreements on new contracts during July’s moratorium period, but team officials are not allowed to openly discuss those deals until July 9th, when the moratorium concludes, Stein adds. Cuban has accumulated over $2MM in league fines since becoming the Mavs’ owner back in 2000.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire is talking with the Clippers regarding a deal, but Los Angeles’ difficult salary cap situation is complicating matters, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays (on Twitter). The Clippers are also floating the idea of signing free agent center Cole Aldrich, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
- Ed Pinckney will serve as the lead assistant on coach Michael Malone‘s staff with the Nuggets, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets.
- LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t officially inform the Trail Blazers that he was leaving Portland until last Friday, though the team likely knew the forward wouldn’t be returning, Jason Quick of The Oregonian notes (via Twitter). The big man agreed to a four-year, and approximately $80MM deal with the Spurs.
- Veteran Kevin Garnett may end up transitioning into a front office position during the second season of his new deal with the Wolves if he isn’t healthy enough to play in 2016/17, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes (on Twitter). KG agreed to a two-year pact with the team earlier today.
- Despite all of the roster additions the Mavericks have made this offseason, the team still may have lost ground to the other teams in the West who have also improved, especially the Spurs, who landed Aldridge, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. But even if the team does regress in 2015/16, the additions of DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews give the franchise two important building blocks for the future, Sefko adds.