Detroit Pistons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Monroe, Celtics, Siva, Anthony

July 13th, 2014 at 12:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There is a possibility that restricted free agent Greg Monroe is avoiding signing any offer sheets in order to force a sign-and-trade deal out of Detroit, writes David Mayo of MLive. If Monroe never signs an offer sheet, the Pistons have nothing to match, and his agent David Falk could attempt to force a sign-and-trade to a preferred destination or advise Monroe to sign a qualifying offer which would then make Monroe an unrestricted free agent in 2015, notes Mayo.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Celtics best bet is to hold off on making any big moves until the summer of 2015, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. In the piece, Forsberg breaks down Boston’s salary cap for the next two summers and weighs in on what moves the team could make.
If the Rockets match the offer sheet that Chandler Parsons signed with the Mavericks, this won’t leave Dallas with many options at small forward, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. If the Mavs miss out on Parsons, look for them to make a run at Lance Stephenson, notes MacMahon.
The Mavericks have a history of losing out on restricted free agents, MacMahon writes in a separate article.
Carmelo Anthony‘s impending return to the Knicks was about business for both sides, not sentiment, writes Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post.
Anthony’s return to the Knicks signifies he’s more concerned about being paid than he is about winning, though that shouldn’t necessarily make him an object of scorn, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com
Peyton Siva’s non-guaranteed minimum salary contract became fully guaranteed for the coming season when he remained on the Pistons roster through Saturday.
The Hornets and the Mavericks are showing interest in free agent guard D.J. Augustin, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Dragic, Tolliver, Bogdanovic, Aldridge

July 9th, 2014 at 11:30pm CST by Cray Allred

Dahntay Jones has met with the Clippers, and has received interest from the Knicks, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Here’s more from around the league:

Zoran Dragic has signed a two-year contract extension with his Spanish League team, the Euroleague announced (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). NBA teams including the Rockets had shown interest in the brother of Goran Dragic. The original deal had a $500K NBA buyout clause for the upcoming season, although it is unclear if the extra years will feature the same flexibility.
Free agent Anthony Tolliver has been in serious discussions with six teams, including the Clippers, Cavs, Pistons, Spurs, Wizards, and Hornets, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and the Suns signed a declaration that the 2014 draft pick will not play in the NBA this season, a formality that clears his rookie scale cap hold from the team’s books, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Bogdanovic is signed overseas and can’t opt out until at least 2016.
LaMarcus Aldridge‘s choice to seek a new deal with the Blazers as a free agent next summer was one of two options presented him by Portland owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey last month, reports Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. The Blazers brass suggested the All-Star consider a three-year, $55MM extension he could sign immediately, or wait to become eligible for a five-year, $108MM max deal as an unrestricted free agent. “I don’t want it to be perceived that I’m not happy or I’m not staying on because I’m not signing a three-year deal,” Aldridge said. “It’s just financially smarter to wait … and I’m looking forward to signing the five-year deal when the chance comes.”
Considering the recent max offers extended to Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons, it seems certain that Klay Thompson will also merit a max deal when he becomes a free agent. Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group hears that the Warriors have budgeted measures to find room for the shooting guard, should he not be traded away in a deal for Kevin Love.

Eastern Notes: LeBron, Monroe, Magic, Bulls

July 8th, 2014 at 9:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

LeBron James is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Heat president Pat Riley in Las Vegas, league sources told ESPN’s Chris Broussard. A few days ago, we passed along that the free agent superstar was planning to have a sitdown with Riley at some point this week. Here’s what else has been buzzing in the Eastern Conference this evening:

Pistons president/head coach Stan Van Gundy reiterated that restricted free agent Greg Monroe is still part of the team’s future plans, reports David Mayo of MLive. Mayo also explains how Detroit could potentially create an additional $4.5MM in cap space this summer by making other moves in free agency first before signing Monroe to a new contract.
In their final move of this summer’s free agency, the Magic aim to land a third point guard to back up Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
The Bulls’ pursuit of Pau Gasol is dependent on what Carmelo Anthony decides to do in free agency, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, who hears that the wait has become “frustrating” for Chicago’s front office.
When Knicks head coach Derek Fisher spoke with Carmelo last week, he guaranteed that the team would be better next season with the new system, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Fisher, who hasn’t spoken with Anthony since Thursday’s meeting, wouldn’t say whether he felt good or not about New York’s chances of retaining the star forward.
In another piece, Berman writes that Anthony has held out faint hope that Knicks president Phil Jackson can clear the necessary cap space this summer to bring LeBron James to New York. Doing so would at the least require New York to find takers for Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani in salary dump deals.
Having completed his workout for the Raptors, former NBA swingman Yakhouba Diawara will be auditioning for the Bucks next, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link).
Celtics guard Rajon Rondo recently spoke with Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe and brushed off speculation that the arrival of rookie point guard Marcus Smart could affect his future in Boston. “I don’t think (anything) of it… I can be here today, gone tomorrow. You never know. For me to get bent out of shape, or to feel threatened by the Celtics drafting a point guard, it means nothing.”

Eastern Notes: Love, Rondo, Stephenson

July 8th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics and Timberwolves haven’t spoken in more than a week about a Kevin Love trade, two sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Three GMs tell Bulpett that if the Celtics changed gears and attempted to trade Rajon Rondo, they would have a hard time finding full value for him on the trade market at present, though it’s unclear precisely why. There’s more on the C’s from Bulpett’s piece amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics have yet to contact Lance Stephenson or agent Alberto Ebanks, according to Bulpett, despite Monday’s report that the C’s had interest.
The Hornets and Wizards are the front-runners for Kris Humphries while the Celtics seem like they’re removing themselves from the pursuit, a source tells Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
A source tells Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com that Garrett Temple isn’t weighing any offer from the Heat. A Monday report indicated that the point guard was leaning toward signing with Miami.
The Pistons have jumped into the running for Brian Roberts, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, who reiterates his earlier report that the Grizzlies are interested, too.
The Heat‘s path to signing Carmelo Anthony would be complex and hard to configure financially, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com details, while Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for Hoop365, outlines a much more palatable scenario that lands ‘Melo with the Bulls.
The Knicks have officially named Kurt Rambis as the team’s lead assistant coach, the team announced. Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com first reported the deal, and Marc Berman of the New York Post reported that the Knicks offered four years at an annual salary of $1.2MM to lure him from his job as a Lakers assistant coach.

Central Notes: Smith, Wright, Mirotic, Cavs

July 7th, 2014 at 9:42pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Pistons value Josh Smith and aren’t eager to part ways with him, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter). Rumors circulated that Detroit was discussing a possible deal that would have sent Smith packing to Sacramento, but talks fizzled out and the 28-year-old forward was never moved. More on the Pistons and the Central Division..

Detroit has hired Brian Wright as an assistant GM, reveals a report from The Associated Press. Wright had been working in Orlando’s front office for the past eight seasons, meaning he has previous experience with new Pistons head coach/president Stan Van Gundy.
Nick Fridell of ESPNChicago.com passes along former college coach Fran Fraschilla’s views on Bulls prospect Nikola Mirotic. Fraschilla thinks that Mirotic would have been a top 4 pick in this summer’s draft and compares his NBA-readiness to that of Bucks selection Jabari Parker.
Rumors that the Cavs pulled down Dan Gilbert‘s infamously sour farewell letter to LeBron James today are false, says Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (on Twitter), who adds that the letter hasn’t been easily accessible to the public for three years.

Several Teams Interested In Isaiah Thomas

July 7th, 2014 at 4:36pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 7TH, 4:36pm: The Pistons are no longer among the teams involved with Thomas, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter).

JULY 2ND, 7:14am: Mavs owner Mark Cuban called Thomas on Tuesday, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

11:45pm: Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter) adds the Lakers to the list of interested clubs.

8:35am: Kyle Lowry’s decision will likely precede the one that Thomas makes, Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling tweets. The Kings and Thomas have strong mutual respect, Zwerling says.

7:48am: The Pistons are also interested, tweets Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com. They’re talking about a deal in the ballpark of three years and $24MM total. Other talks are in the $6-7MM range, Bruski adds (Twitter link).

7:32am: The Lakers made contact with Thomas, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, as did the teams that Jones mentioned (Twitter link).

12:37am: The Celtics, Mavericks, Warriors, Heat, Pistons, and Suns have expressed interest in Kings free agent guard Isaiah Thomas, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings want to keep the diminutive point guard but they’ll have their work cut out for them this summer.

The Celtics were the first team on the horn with Thomas when free agency started after midnight ET and Danny Ainge personally made the call. This is purely speculative, but one has to imagine that the C’s are giving serious thought to trading Rajon Rondo given their pursuit of Thomas and selection of Marcus Smart in last week’s draft.

Eastern Notes: Anthony, Bucks, Meeks

July 6th, 2014 at 12:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers interest in Carmelo Anthony could possibly help the Bulls acquire the free agent forward, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Johnson opines that the presence of a third serious contender could make the Knicks more amenable to a sign-and-trade deal for Anthony if they are unable to re-sign him.

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Raptors, Rose

July 4th, 2014 at 8:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Andre Drummond said he’ll do whatever’s necessary to convince restricted free agent Greg Monroe to remain with the Pistons and feels confident Monroe will return given his affection for Detroit, as Drummond told MLive’s David Mayo. Drummond expressed doubt that the team would trade Josh Smith, in spite of rumors.

Here’s more from the east:

The dispute over just how large a role Derrick Rose played in Chicago’s pitch to Carmelo Anthony seems to indicate a disconnect somewhere, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com believes it signals a deeper misunderstanding between the Bulls and Rose’s camp (Twitter links).
Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira appear likely to join the Raptors this year, but GM Masai Ujiri has indicated that the team probably won’t ink second-round pick DeAndre Daniels for this coming season, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
The Raptors are enamored with P.J. Tucker, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, who wonders if the team will throw an offer sheet his way now they know Steve Novak‘s contract is coming off the books (Twitter links).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Thomas, Deng, Granger, Carmelo

July 3rd, 2014 at 11:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Some items from around the league as we get ready for tomorrow’s fireworks and plenty of free agency fireworks to come..

The top three teams, in order, for Kings restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas are the Lakers, Heat, and Pistons, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press.
The Wizards have reached out to Anthony Morrow, Marvin Williams, P.J. Tucker, Luol Deng, and Danny Granger, among others, league sources tell Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
The Lakers came away very impressed with Carmelo Anthony after their meeting with him and they really believe that they got a sense for him as a person, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Of course, the bigger question is how Melo feels about the Lakers.
John Canzano of The Oregonian isn’t exactly doing cartwheels over the Blazers‘ signing of Chris Kaman.

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Clippers, Bazemore

July 3rd, 2014 at 6:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

News of Sacramento’s signing of Darren Collison was no shock to Isaiah Thomas, who fully expected the Kings to sign another point guard, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Collison is under the impression he’ll start, and the Kings like Thomas as a sixth man, Jones says (on Twitter). Jones nonetheless suggests Thomas is unlikely to re-sign (Twitter link).