Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Blazers Dream Of Aldridge, Greg Monroe Pairing

July 1st, 2015 at 4:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Blazers’ top goal is to sign both LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Monroe, The Oregonian’s Jason Quick reports (Twitter link). Conflicting reports paint a confused picture of whether Portland still has a realistic shot to land Aldridge, but Monroe has the Blazers on a list of four teams with which he plans to meet.

Portland has about $24.9MM in guaranteed salaries on its books, not counting whatever Al-Farouq Aminu would make on his new four-year $30MM deal. A max deal for Aldridge would start at an estimated $18.96MM and a max for Monroe would begin at an estimated $15.8MM, though those figures stand to rise with a new, higher salary cap projection. Assuming those maxes don’t grow too much higher, it would leave just about enough to squeeze in Aminu’s deal, though the Blazers only have seven players on their roster at present, so they would be hit with about $2MM in roster charges plus Aminu’s salary for next season. So, it’s likely the Blazers would either have to clear some salary via trade, buyout, or release via the stretch provision.

In any case, it seems like a long shot, but it does appear to indicate that Monroe is the team’s primary target aside from Aldridge.

Free Agent Rumors: Gasol, Carroll, Green, Lin

July 1st, 2015 at 10:21am CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies and Marc Gasol are likely to reach a deal, as long expected, today or Thursday, as TNT’s David Aldridge hears (Twitter link). Gasol and Grizzlies owner Robert Pera are both in Spain today, working out the details on a new deal, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). While we wait for what appears to be an inevitable conclusion for the Arn Tellem client, here’s more from the first day of free agency:

The Pistons are believed to have spoken to DeMarre Carroll overnight, according to Terry Foster of the Detroit News.
New York would reportedly like to meet with Danny Green, and that interest appears mutual, as “anybody turning down a meeting with them would be crazy,” Green said to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I don’t think people are scared of the Knicks,’’ Green said. “They’re rebuilding. … Some guys want to go where they’re already winning. They get a couple of good pieces this summer, I’m sure it’ll attact more guys.’’
Jeremy Lin heard from the Lakers overnight, and the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Pacers, Bulls and Clippers, a league source told Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Still, Lin appears unlikely to re-sign with the Lakers, Media opines on Twitter.
The Lakers reached out to Wayne Ellington overnight, and the Cavaliers, Warriors, Wizards, Spurs and Hawks also showed interest, Medina reports in a separate piece.
Willie Green and the Knicks have engaged in preliminary discussions, speaking twice since free agency began overnight, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
Mike Dunleavy had no shortage of interest from others, but he’s quite pleased about his new deal with the Bulls, as he expressed to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). “I’m thrilled to be back,” Dunleavy said. “It’s a really fair deal. I’m looking forward to playing for [coach Fred Hoiberg] and love our team.”
The Magic‘s apparent four-year, $80MM offer to Paul Millsap has executives more optimistic that Orlando won’t match offers for restricted free agent Tobias Harris, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com had speculated as much earlier.

And-Ones: Harris, Brewer, Anderson

July 1st, 2015 at 7:37am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks could be a potential suitor for Magic forward Tobias Harris, who became a restricted free agent after Orlando extended him a qualifying offer on Tuesday, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter). Atlanta’s level of interest in Harris is dependent on how the team’s pursuit of its own free agents, DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap, goes, Kennedy adds. Here’s more from around the league:

The Clippers, Knicks, and Lakers all put in calls on free agent center DeAndre Jordan during his dinner with the Mavericks, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Unrestricted free agent Corey Brewer has had phone conversations with the Rockets, Celtics and Knicks since the start of free agency, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Brewer and his representatives sat down for a meeting with the Lakers on Tuesday night, Wojnarowski adds.
Alan Anderson, who bypassed his player option for 2015/16 worth $1,333,484 with the Nets, is seeking an annual salary of $3MM-$4MM from a contending team, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com relays.
The Wizards‘ front office was encouraged at the team’s chances to re-sign Paul Pierce after conversing with the veteran, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays (on Twitter). Pierce and his family have grown fond of the Washington D.C. area, and the veteran’s role with the team as well, Mannix adds.
If the Pistons land free agent Danny Green this offseason, it would be the biggest free agent coup in team history, writes Terry Foster of The Detroit News. The forward is in high demand, with the Spurs, Mavericks, Knicks, Kings, and Trail Blazers all expressing interest in signing the 28 year old, Foster adds.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Cartier Martin Opts In With Pistons

June 30th, 2015 at 9:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

JUNE 30th: Martin has officially opted in, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

JUNE 1st: Cartier Martin is picking up his minimum-salary option for next season, letting the Pistons know of his decision last week, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The small forward who turns 31 in November will draw a guaranteed salary of nearly $1.271MM for next season.

The decision is no surprise after Martin saw little playing time in his sixth NBA season this year. Coach Stan Van Gundy only called on him to appear in 23 games for an average of 8.6 minutes per night after signing him to a two-year deal last summer. It was somewhat surprising to see Van Gundy commit guaranteed money for as many as two seasons to the journeyman, though Martin had a career mark of 38.3% from behind the arc as of last summer, and that surely played into the ASM Sports client‘s deal. Martin didn’t show off that sort of accuracy in limited chances this season, making only six of 33 three-point attempts.

Martin’s option pickup, once official, will leave the Pistons with still only about $29MM against a projected $67.1MM cap. That doesn’t include a new deal for Reggie Jackson, whom the Pistons seem intent on re-signing, or one for Greg Monroe, should he surprise and choose to remain in Detroit.

Eastern Rumors: Pierce, Bass, Chandler

June 30th, 2015 at 7:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wizards‘ wish list in free agency will hinge heavily on what happens with Paul Pierce, Jorge Castillo off The Washington Post writes. Pierce can re-sign with Washington for 120% of what he earned during last season, about $6.6MM. It’s not clear how long the Wizards will wait for Pierce to make a call, however. It’s conceivable that Pierce could be drawn to a Celtics return or a reunion with Doc Rivers in Los Angeles. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference..

The agent for Celtics forward Brandon Bass’s agent tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe there have been indications that numerous teams will have interest in his client. However, Tony Dutt also says there’s mutual interest in a return. “I think Brad [Stevens] and Danny [Ainge] understand the value of what Brandon brings,” Dutt said. “He loves Boston, and if it works out for him to stay there, we’d be more than happy.” Bass averaged 10.6 PPG and 4.9 RPG per game last season.
Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) notes that Tyson Chandler and coach Jason Kidd are both represented by Excel Sports. In addition to Kidd, many Bucks players are also represented by Excel, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database. Earlier today it was reported that there is mutual interest between Chandler and the Bucks.
Hawks free agent shooting guard John Jenkins has left BDA Sports Management, according to Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. Jenkins appeared in just 37 games the past two seasons after playing in 61 contests as a rookie in 2012/13. The former first-round pick has posted averages of 5.6 PPG and 1.6 RPG while connecting on 38 percent of his shots from three-point range.
The Hawks announced that guard Kyle Korver is expected to be ready for training camp after having right elbow surgery to remove loose bodies today, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Rumors about Rodney Stuckey‘s perceived bad attitude hurt his stock during last summer’s free agency, league sources tell Candace Buckner of the Indy Star. “Moody, can’t be coached, bad guy, can’t win with him,” said an Eastern Conference insider, repeating the circulated gossip. “Anybody that really knows him, would know … he’s one of the most misunderstood guys in the league.” Buckner hears that at least five teams have expressed interest in speaking with Stuckey, who flourished this past season with the Pacers.
With Greg Monroe headed elsewhere, the Pistons will need to add two backup centers this summer, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes. The Pistons won’t be spending big on backup fives, but they could be looking at guys like Brandan Wright, Kosta Koufos, or maybe even Omer Asik, Ellis writes. GM Jeff Bower confirmed that he wants to have six bigs and not five next season.
The Raptors didn’t send back any salary to the Thunder in the trade that brought in Luke Ridnour, so they had to use one of their trade exceptions. Their $2.358MM exception for John Salmons, which expires tonight, wasn’t quite large enough for Ridnour’s $2.75MM salary, so they either used part of their $3,445,947 Steve Novak trade exception, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders surmises (on Twitter), or, in a less likely scenario, part of the $6.4MM trade exception they created just last week in the Greivis Vasquez deal.
Travis Wear will play on the Knicks‘ summer league team and probably will be invited to training camp unless he gets a guaranteed offer elsewhere, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pistons, Celtics To Chase Tobias Harris

June 30th, 2015 at 9:44am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 9:43am: Harris would prefer not to re-sign with the Magic and play under Skiles, sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link), contradicting earlier reports (below). An executive who spoke with Chris Mannix of SI.com said Harris will end up with around $14MM this summer, close to what he’s reportedly seeking.

FRIDAY, 11:41pm: The Pistons and Celtics are leading contenders to sign Tobias Harris, as several teams are open to a deal with salaries approaching $15MM as the combo forward seeks a deal near the max, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). A max offer for the soon-to-be restricted free agent would entail a starting salary of an estimated $15.8MM. The Magic seem unlikely to match an offer sheet that comes close to $15MM, given that the team wouldn’t go for the $10-11MM salaries Harris sought in an extension this past fall, Charania writes.

The Knicks are reportedly planning a run at the Long Island native, while the Lakers, Sixers and Hawks have been linked to him, too. Still, Harris would like to continue with Orlando, and new coach Scott Skiles has dismissed the idea of a rift between them. Harris and Skiles, who largely kept the former first-round pick tied to the bench when they worked together on the Bucks, have exchanged messages with each other throughout the year, Charania writes, so presumably they were talking even before the Magic had a coaching vacancy.

Detroit and Boston both have the cap flexibility necessary to float an offer of $15MM salaries to Harris, though the Celtics have made it clear they’re prioritizing marquee free agents this summer, so it’s uncertain how swiftly they would go after Harris come Wednesday’s opening of free agency. The Pistons are already envisioning how Harris would fit in their system, seeing him as a hybrid forward, as Charania details.

Eastern Notes: Nets, Acy, Pistons

June 29th, 2015 at 11:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nets will be looking to add depth through free agency and trades and Thomas Robinson, Wesley Johnson and Sasha Kaun are players they will target, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post reports. Robinson could provide some rebounding and energy off the bench and Johnson would give them an athletic wing who can shoot 3-pointers, Bontemps continues. Both are unrestricted free agents. Kaun, a Russian center whose rights are owned by the Cavaliers, would be an ideal backup if they can re-sign Brook Lopez and work out a deal with Cleveland, Bontemps adds.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

The Knicks have declined to extend the qualifying offer of $1.181MM to Quincy Acy, making the forward an unrestricted free agent, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The Kings, Nuggets, Magic and Pelicans have expressed interest in Acy, a source told Spears (Twitter links).
DeMarre Carroll, Arron Afflalo, Tobias Harris and Kosta Koufos are the free agents the Pistons will most likely court, Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports. The Pistons believe Carroll might be easier to sign than some other unrestricted free agents, Foster continues. Danny Green and Wesley Matthews are longshot possibilities to come to Detroit, Foster adds. The Knicks also want to be “in the mix” for Green, league sources told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Green has any interest in the Knicks, Begley adds.
Harris’ pricetag will be at least $10MM annually in the eyes of several league executives, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. One of those executives believes Harris’ value is in the $12-14MM range, Mannix adds. The Magic forward is a restricted free agent.

Andre Drummond Seeks Extension With Pistons

June 29th, 2015 at 1:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

Andre Drummond wants to sign a rookie scale extension with the Pistons this summer, reports Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter). Drummond is eligible to sign one between the end of the July Moratorium next week and October 31st, and if he doesn’t, he’ll be set for restricted free agency next year.

The news isn’t altogether surprising, though it indicates that the Jeff Schwartz client likes the direction the Pistons are headed and wants to firm up a commitment as soon as possible. There were persistent whispers about the center’s level of contentment in Detroit, as TNT’s David Aldridge wrote in January, but presumably Drummond has become more comfortable since then.

Pistons owner Tom Gores called Drummond a “max player” in April, likely setting the table for negotiations this summer. The max is expected to surge right along with the salary cap next year, so an estimated starting salary would be nearly $21MM, or about $25MM if Drummond unexpectedly wins MVP to trigger the Derrick Rose rule this coming season. The Pistons can give Drummond a deal for up to five years with 7.5% raises.

Detroit would be able to keep a smaller cap hold, worth only $8.18MM, on the books if it waited until restricted free agency to do a deal with Drummond, though he could sign his qualifying offer or take a short-term offer sheet from another team in that scenario.

Eastern Rumors: Cavs, DeRozan, Celtics, Monroe

June 29th, 2015 at 11:53am CST by Chuck Myron

Some sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that they think LeBron James will ask the Cavs to change coaches (Twitter link), though he has no intention of pushing the team to fire David Blatt, as ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported last week. Blatt has made it clear on multiple occasions that he expects he’ll be back. Still, we’ll see what happens this summer in Cleveland. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Chatter continues to indicate that DeMar DeRozan will opt out and seek a maximum-salary deal next summer, and “there is no way” that the Raptors would be willing to pay him that much, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. For this summer, the Raptors will probably have particular interest in Marc Gasol and Paul Millsap, Wolstat also writes.
Celtics don’t find their chances to land a star encouraging, as Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe hears. Himmelsbach confirms earlier reports of interest in Greg Monroe and Millsap, though he hears from several team sources who say the team didn’t offer Marcus Smart in trade proposals to other teams on draft day.
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com believes the new regime in Atlanta isn’t as enamored with Monroe’s game as the team’s last set of higher-ups was (Twitter link). The Hawks, who have a new principal owner in Tony Ressler and have formally cut ties with GM Danny Ferry, aren’t among the teams reportedly meeting with the soon-to-be free agent big man.
Jimmy Butler would like to sign a one-year offer sheet with the Lakers, a league source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, but that would be impossible since offer sheets must be for at least two years and at least three if, as the Bulls have long planned, Chicago makes a five-year max offer. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported a couple of weeks ago that Butler’s interest in the Lakers had increased, but the Bulls have the right to match any offer and are expected to do so, Medina notes.
Reggie Jackson turned down an offer worth more than $12MM a year in extension talks with the Thunder last year because he wanted out of Oklahoma City and onto a team where he could start, a source told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Jackson will probably demand the max if the Pistons want him to sign for five years, the same source said to Ellis.
Mario Hezonja and Barcelona, his Spanish team, have reached a deal on a buyout that will allow him to part ways with the club and sign with the Magic, who drafted him fifth overall Thursday, reports Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo (translation via Sporando’s Enea Trapani). The buyout is worth 1.6 million euros, the equivalent of about $1.79MM at today’s exchange rate. Orlando will presumably cover the maximum $625K of that amount.

Central Notes: Blatt, Cavaliers, Haywood, Pistons

June 28th, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Back home in Israel, David Blatt told The Jerusalem Post he fully intends to return as the Cavaliers‘ coach next season. “Of course I will continue in Cleveland, there is no question,” he told an interviewer. There have been rumors of a rift between Blatt and LeBron James, espcially after ESPN’s Marc Stein wrote that James disrespected his coach during the NBA Finals. Blatt insists his relationship with James is nothing out of the ordinary for a new coach and a star player. “I have a good relationship with him,” Blatt said. “We went through a process. It took us time to get to know each other. We learned how to work together the best way possible. When you work with a star of that magnitude the relationship is slightly different. It isn’t like with any other player. I learned from this process. We both want the same thing, but don’t always agree about everything.” Blatt, who was hired last offseason, has two years remaining on his $10MM contract, along with a team option for a third.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

In addition to re-signing their own guys, the Cavs‘ priority will be landing a veteran point guard, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets. Amico adds that the team is on the lookout for a wing player.
Cleveland hopes to execute a Brendan Haywood trade quickly after July 1st, Amico relays (Twitter link). Haywood has an unusually valuable contract that contains a non-guaranteed salary worth more than $10.5MM next season.
President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy will be targeting two small forwards who are unrestricted free agents this offseason, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Langlois adds that if the Pistons can’t land either of those players, Van Gundy has two restricted free agent small forwards in mind that he would like to add.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.