Southwest Notes: Parsons, Villanueva, Fredette
Chandler Parsons underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on Friday to address a cartilage injury to his right knee, the Mavericks announced. While no timetable for the 26-year-old was relayed, Parsons had previously stated that he might not be recovered in time for the start of NBA training camp next season. The forward just completed the first season of the three-year, $46.08MM deal he signed last summer. Parsons appeared in 66 games for the Mavs this season, averaging 15.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 33.1 minutes per contest.
Here’s more out of the NBA’s Southwest Division:
- Mavs big man Charlie Villanueva, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, wants to return to Dallas and play for coach Rick Carlisle, Tim Cato of SBNation tweets. “I’ve been in the league 10 years and been coached by nine coaches. I’d love to have the same coach,” Villanueva said.
- Jimmer Fredette is also an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the 26-year-old’s career is at a crossroads, Jay Yeomans of The Deseret News writes. If the guard is to remain in the NBA he will need to find a team that runs a system he can be productive in, as well as one that will use him as a shooter rather than a point guard, Yeomans opines. In 50 games for the Pelicans this past season, Fredette averaged 3.6 PPG and 1.2 APG in 10.2 minutes per contest.
- While Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was aware of Rajon Rondo‘s volatile nature, the executive was caught off guard by how quickly things soured for the point guard after being dealt to the Mavericks, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News relays. “I am very surprised, yeah,” said Ainge. “I really don’t know what happened, other than media reports. So I probably shouldn’t comment any further on that. I like both individuals [Rondo and coach Rick Carlisle] and I’m very surprised it didn’t work out better.“
Latest On LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Aldridge is indeed thinking of signing with the Spurs or Mavericks, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears, advancing his report from last week that those two teams believe they have a shot to lure him back to his native Texas. San Antonio is “near or at” the top of the Arn Tellem client‘s list, Stein writes, though he suggests the Cavaliers would come into the picture if Kevin Love were to somehow depart and the Cavs found a way to sign-and-trade for Aldridge. Stein reiterates that the Knicks and Lakers plan to go after Aldridge as well. A. Sherrod Blakely of CSSNE.com named the Blazers power forward as one of many marquee free agents the Celtics are expected to pursue this summer.
Aldridge spoke of an “amazing” nine years in Portland and said he’s “not trying to have that end” in a season-ending media session Thursday. It nonetheless seems as if more executives around the league believe that the former No. 2 overall pick will leave Portland in free agency this summer than think he’ll re-sign as he pledged to do last summer, according to Stein. Aldridge, who turns 30 this summer, said “we’ll see” when ESPN’s Chris Broussard asked him recently if the Blazers remained the front-runners for him, Stein notes. Aldridge first seemed to hint at dissatisfaction when he reflected to Michael Lee of The Washington Post on a time when he felt the Blazers didn’t support him, and he told Lee that he wondered how easily the team could move on without him.
Some Blazers observers think Damian Lillard‘s growing stature on the team bothers Aldridge, according to Stein. Still, Lillard, who’s reportedly insisting on a max extension this summer, has said he believes Aldridge will be back. Some Blazers are worried that Aldridge will leave, as The Oregonian’s Jason Quick reported, and one of them told Quick a few weeks ago that he thought it was a 50-50 proposition whether the All-Star power forward would re-sign.
Celtics Eye Aminu, Want New Deal With Jerebko
The Celtics are among the teams with interest in soon-to-be free agent Al-Farouq Aminu, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. He isn’t a top priority for the Celtics, who are intent on re-signing Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko, Blakely writes, adding that he would nonetheless be unsurprised if the team looks more closely at Aminu if it can’t sign those two. Aminu confirmed Wednesday that he’ll turn down his minimum-salary player option for next season with the Mavs and hit free agency, though there’s mutual interest in a new deal between the forward and Dallas. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge made it clear last week that he’d like to re-sign Crowder, who’ll be a restricted free agent, and hinted today at a desire to bring back Jerebko.
Aminu, the eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft, was a premier defender in a bench role for the Mavericks this season, ranking sixth among small forwards in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus metric. He played just as much power forward, as Basketball-Reference shows, and while his offensive contributions weren’t impressive, he capably filled the role that Shawn Marion had vacated when he left the Mavs for Cleveland last summer.
Jerebko is an improved three-point shooter over the past two seasons, having shot 39.7% on a healthy sample size of 214 attempts during that period. He’s not an especially strong rebounder for his 6’10” height, though he averaged more per 36 minutes during his 29-game stint with the Celtics than in any of his four and a half seasons with the Pistons. The 28-year-old would like to re-sign with the Celtics, and Ainge suggested today that there was some mutual interest before cautioning that “it all depends.”
Ainge made it clear today that he wants to land stars, though MassLive’s Jay King reported that the C’s are willing to chase a second-tier free agent with a lucrative offer and the idea that the player they target can eventually prove the contract worthwhile as the salary cap shoots skyward. It’s unclear if Aminu fits that bill, though the 24-year-old’s lottery pick pedigree suggests there might be untapped potential. The Celtics have only about $40MM in guaranteed salary committed against a projected $67.1MM cap.
Western Notes: Williams, Iske, Lawson
Monty Williams largely avoided talk about his future as Pelicans coach in his end-of-season press conference Tuesday, saying that his job status is not something he thinks too much about, as Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune relays (on Twitter). GM Dell Demps recently refuted a report that indicated the Pelicans made a playoffs-or-else mandate to Williams and Demps before the season. Owner Tom Benson sent a letter of congratulations Tuesday to Williams, Demps and their staffs for their work toward the team’s postseason berth this season, Smith observes in a full piece.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Kings are finalizing an agreement with Sixers assistant Chad Iske for him to become associate head coach under George Karl, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Iske had spent five years on Karl’s staff when Karl was coach of the Nuggets.
- In a back-and-forth with fans on his Instagram account, Nuggets guard Ty Lawson said he was a superior player to Rajon Rondo, and indicated that he wished he played in coach Rick Carlisle‘s system with the Mavs, Marcel Mutoni of SlamOnline.com relays. Though Dallas will likely be in the market for a starting point guard this offseason, Lawson still has two seasons remaining on his deal with Denver.
- Unrestricted free agent Charlie Villanueva says he wants to return to the Mavs next season, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets. In 64 appearances with Dallas this season the 30-year-old averaged 6.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per game.
- Chandler Parsons says that he will act as a free agent recruiter for the Mavs this offseason, Michael Florek of the Dallas Morning News writes. “I’m officially shifting into GM mode,” Parsons said. “I have great relationships with a lot of guys that are out there. I have a great relationship with a lot of guys that are currently on our team, so as a guy that will be here for a while and as one of the key guys going forward I will definitely be talking to management. Anything I can do to help I’ll obviously do.“
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Mavs Notes: Rondo, Chandler, Ellis
The Mavericks are now four seasons removed from winning an NBA title, and this offseason will be one of the most important of owner Mark Cuban’s tenure with the team, Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News writes. The franchise could have as many as 11 free agents this offseason, and Chandler Parsons may not be recovered from his upcoming knee surgery in time for the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign, Townsend adds. With the reports of mutual interest between the team and DeAndre Jordan, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, center Tyson Chandler‘s future with the team is in doubt. When asked if he would return to Dallas next season, Chandler responded, “I don’t know. That’s up to management,” Townsend relays.
Here’s more out of Dallas:
- The Mavs players voted to deny disgruntled point guard Rajon Rondo his playoff share, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes. Rondo and the Mavs mutually decided to part ways after the second game of the Rockets series, and the team agreed to cite a back injury for his absence to help the point guard avoid embarrassment.
- Despite the trade for Rondo backfiring, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said of the deal, “If we had to do it all over again, we definitely would,” Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com notes (Twitter link).
- Monta Ellis needs to make a decision regarding his $8,720,000 player option for 2015/16, but the veteran guard isn’t necessarily looking to leave Dallas, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Ellis may elect to opt out of his deal in order to ink a long-term deal with the Mavs, but it still remains to be seen if the team wishes to retain the 29-year-old, Stein adds.
- Veteran forward Dirk Nowitzki said he would be willing to come off the bench for the team next season if it would aid the team, Townsend writes in a separate article. “Yeah, I mean, the problem is there would some stiffness coming off the bench,” Nowitzki said. “I’m usually not the most mobile, agile player, but there are bikes and stuff in the back that you can ride and get loose. Yeah, I mean, whatever it takes; I’ve always said that. My last two years I want to enjoy. I want to be a good team. I want to be on a winning team. Playoffs. Hopefully deep runs. So, yeah, anything I’ve got to do to help is obviously no question.”
DeAndre Jordan Extremely Interested In Mavs
1:27pm: The Mavs indeed intend to pursue Jordan, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Still, there seems a better chance the Clippers will retain Jordan than the Blazers will keep fellow Mavs target LaMarcus Aldridge, given the numerous signals of late indicating that Aldridge is eyeing an exit from Portland, Stein writes.
WEDNESDAY, 9:09am: Jordan has expressed via back channels that he’ll be “extremely interested” in joining the Mavs this summer, multiple sources tell MacMahon, who writes in a full piece.
TUESDAY, 11:50pm: Soon-to-be free agent DeAndre Jordan has made it known that he has interest in signing with the Mavs this summer, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). Jordan has spoken of his affection for Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, but even as he gave thanks for Rivers and his teammates in an interview with Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today in March, the Relativity Sports client indicated that the Clippers aren’t necessarily the front-runners for him.
Jordan has said he’s seeking a long-term commitment rather than a one-year deal that would allow him to hit free agency again next year and take advantage of the projected surge in the salary cap. The Clips will be able to offer a five-year contract with 7.5% raises instead of the four-year deal with 4.5% raises that every other team, including the Mavs, will be limited to. Still, the Clippers already have Chris Paul and Blake Griffin on maximum-salary deals, and another one for Jordan would pile yet more on top of a soaring payroll. The Clippers already have about $58MM committed against a projected $67.1MM cap for next season, and that doesn’t include most of Jamal Crawford‘s and Matt Barnes‘ partially guaranteed salaries. Still, the Clippers have Jordan’s Bird rights and thus can exceed the cap to re-sign him, and owner Steve Ballmer has no shortage of wealth to lay out if he so chooses.
The Mavs only have about $28MM on the books for next season, not counting close to $14MM in player options for Monta Ellis, Raymond Felton and Al-Farouq Aminu. Even if all three opt in, which seems unlikely, the Mavs would probably still have the cap flexibility needed to give Jordan a max deal with a starting salary that will likely fall in the neighborhood of $19MM. Much of that flexibility comes as Rajon Rondo and Tyson Chandler head into free agency. Coach Rick Carlisle let it slip that he can’t envision Rondo back with the team, and while Dallas owner Mark Cuban has affection for Chandler, the Mavs probably wouldn’t hesitate to replace him with Jordan, a younger, more athletic version of the defensive-minded Chandler.
Jordan finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting this month, and he led the league in rebounding for a second straight season with 15.0 per game. The 26-year-old, who turns 27 in July, also topped the NBA in field goal percentage for the third year in a row as he seldom dared to stray outside his severely limited offensive range. In spite of that shortcoming, most acute at the free-throw line where he shot an atrocious 39.7% this year, he scored a career-high 11.5 points per game this season, though some of that is surely tied to the extra free throws he gets when teams intentionally foul him to send him to the line.
In any case, the Houston native is eighth in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings. Will Joseph of Hoops Rumors examined Jordan’s free agent stock last month.
Mavs Notes: Rondo, Chandler, Aldridge
The Mavericks and Rajon Rondo mutually decided to part ways, and the team agreed to cite a back injury for his absence to help the point guard avoid embarrassment, sources told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Dallas was going to bench the former All-Star if they hadn’t worked out the arrangement, MacMahon adds. Several members of the Mavs organization appeared dubious that Rondo’s back was truly the reason he was out, as MacMahon detailed last week shortly after coach Rick Carlisle acknowledged that he doesn’t expect the Mavs to re-sign the soon-to-be free agent. There’s more from MacMahon’s piece, which looks at an uneasy summer ahead for the Mavs, amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- Tyson Chandler expressed a desire to return to the Mavs, MacMahon notes. The center is set for free agency this summer, though extreme interest from fellow free agent center DeAndre Jordan and the Mavs’ belief that they can lure LaMarcus Aldridge, a native of nearby Seagoville, complicate Chandler’s would-be return.
- Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t regret the trade the Mavs made to acquire Rondo or any other moves the team engineered to try to win this season, observes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “We had to do it,” Nowitzki said. “I thought Cubes [owner Mark Cuban] and [GM] Donnie [Nelson] did everything to put us in a position to win. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll see what happens this summer. If you can get a player like Rondo, I think you go for it every time. I don’t think anybody is looking at that now. It was a deal that was there and that we went for. It just didn’t pan out for both sides and both sides moved on. Mark and Donnie always try to make this team better. Sometimes it works, sometimes it’s a gamble, and sometimes it doesn’t.”
- Nowitzki isn’t the same as he once was, and that makes signing Aldridge an imperative for the Mavs this summer, opines Morning News columnist Kevin Sherrington. The Mavs can’t count on Aldridge’s local ties helping them, since Dallas-area natives Deron Williams and Chris Bosh have passed on homecomings, Sherrington notes.
And-Ones: Tomic, Huertas, Free Agents
Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Ante Tomic is set to sign a three-year extension with FC Barcelona, and will not be making the jump to the NBA next season, Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo.com reports (translation by Jody Genessy of The Deseret News via Twitter). It was Tomic’s wife who vetoed the move to the NBA, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com, though the idea of being stuck behind Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors on Utah’s depth chart could have played a part as well, Genessy adds (Twitter link). Tomic had previously suggested that this offseason was likely going to be his last opportunity to enter the NBA.
Here’s more from around the league and abroad:
- Brazilian point guard Marcelo Huertas, also known as Marcelinho Huertas, is planning a move to the NBA next season, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. The 31-year-old is expected to be aggressively pursued as a backup guard this offseason, Wojnarowski notes. In 29 games for FC Barcelona this past season, the 6’3″ Huertas averaged 7.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 21.7 minutes per contest. “This is the right time,” Huertas told Wojnarowski. “[Rockets guard] Pablo Prigioni is the guy most likely to get compared to me, because our career trajectory had been similar in Europe. And like him, I can run a team without worrying about scoring.”
- According to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, five free agents whose playoff performance helped improve their stock are Khris Middleton (Bucks), Tristan Thompson (Cavs), Jae Crowder (Celtics), Josh Smith (Rockets), and Austin Rivers (Clippers).
- On the flip side, Blakely lists Patrick Beverley (Rockets), Brandon Bass (Celtics), Lou Williams (Raptors), Omer Asik (Pelicans), and Rajon Rondo (Mavs) as players whose stock has taken a hit since the postseason began.
Western Notes: Brooks, Love, Parsons
Scott Brooks would still be the Thunder coach if Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook had strongly objected to the decision to fire him, David Aldridge of NBA.com opines. While Durant and Westbrook were protective of Brooks, they accepted the decision by Oklahoma City’s management, Aldridge continues. The Thunder could not afford the risk of waiting to bring in a new coach after next season when Durant hits the free agent market, Aldridge concludes.
In other news around the Western Conference:
- Kevin Love‘s shoulder injury, which will keep him out of the Eastern Conference playoff semifinals, could have a major impact on his potential free agency and the Lakers’ offseason blueprint, Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report tweets. Love, who holds an approximate $16.7MM player option on his contract for next season, is at the forefront of the Lakers’ rebuilding plans, Ding adds.
- Chandler Parsons might need microfracture surgery on his right knee, which could keep him out of action at the start of next season, sources told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. That could play a role in the Mavericks’ offseason strategy, considering they signed Parsons last summer to be their starting small forward. Parsons will make approximately $15.36MM next season and holds an option of just over $16MM on the final year of his deal in 2016/17. It’s still possible Parsons would only require arthroscopic surgery on the knee, which has a shorter recovery period, MacMahon adds.
- The Warriors added more depth to their postseason roster by recalling center Ognjen Kuzmic and forward James Michael McAdoo from their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to the team’s website. Kuzmic and McAdoo helped Santa Cruz win the D-League championship over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, as the duo combined for 31 points and 17 rebounds in the clinching 109-96 victory on Sunday night.
Celtics Notes: Wallace, Crowder, Free Agency
The Celtics are willing enough to trade Gerald Wallace that to do so, they would part with one of the seven extra first-round picks in line to come their way, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who writes in his NBA AM piece. Wallace’s contract is poised to turn into an expiring deal next season, when it calls for a salary of nearly $10.106MM, and while that would ostensibly make it less costly to move, it appears Boston is ready to give up an asset of value to facilitate a swap. Here’s more from Boston one day after a playoff exit:
- Kyler has heard suggestions that the Mavs will make a run at Jae Crowder, as the Basketball Insiders scribe writes in the same piece. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge made it clear that he’d like Crowder back, and the soon-to-be restricted free agent received an auspicious diagnosis of a left ACL sprain after his injury Sunday, the team announced. That isn’t the serious injury that it appeared Crowder might have suffered, observes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link).
- Blakely, in a full piece, examines the relative interest the C’s have in re-signing Crowder, Jonas Jerebko, Gigi Datome and Brandon Bass for next season
- A first-round playoff exit was just the sort of outcome Ainge feared for the Celtics, leaving them without a lottery pick or having had much of a playoff run, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Still, people in the organization are warming to the idea that the postseason berth can help, and they’re hopeful that having been on the playoff stage raises the team’s profile for free agents. Already, Kevin Love had reportedly held Boston in high regard as a free agent destination before a tie-up with Kelly Olynyk left the injured All-Star with a “legitimate loathing” of the C’s, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier.