And-Ones: Crawford, Hayward, 76ers
With a logjam at the guard spots and limited payroll flexibility, the Warriors are willing to help Jordan Crawford find his next team with a sign-and-trade deal, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. The source added that the former Xavier guard has drawn interest from the Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets (Twitter links).
You can find more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes below:
- The Hornets were pleased with their meeting with Gordon Hayward today, but the Jazz maintain that they’ll match any offer sheet for the 24-year-old forward, tweets NBA.com’s David Aldridge.
- 76ers GM Sam Hinkie said that he’s involved in plenty of conversations, but not as many as the media has been reporting, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Hinkie doesn’t think the addition of a high-profile guard will hurt Michael Carter-Williams‘ confidence, adding that the 2013/14 Rookie of the Year is the team’s point guard of the future.
- Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will not be in attendance during LeBron James‘ meeting with Pat Riley tomorrow, a source tells Zac Jackson of FOX Sports Ohio.
- ESPN’s Marc Stein says he’s been strongly advised to dismiss rumblings that Nike has purchased billboards in Cleveland in anticipation for LeBron’s eventual free agency decision; however, It doesn’t mean that LeBron has ruled out a return to the Cavaliers either (Twitter links).
- Former Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin will join the Kings as an assistant coach, a source tells Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. A week ago, we relayed that Corbin was set to interview for a spot on Michael Malone’s coaching staff.
- Nik Stauskas is slated to sign his rookie deal with Sacramento today, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Timberwolves president/head coach Flip Saunders admits that he should have sent Chase Budinger to the D-League last season for a rehab assignment last season, noting that the swingman’s return from knee surgery has been a tough transition (Twitter link via Nate Sandell of 1500 ESPN).
- The Knicks added Joshua Longstaff and Rasheed Hazzard to Derek Fisher‘s coaching staff, notes Jonah Ballow of NYKnicks.com. Longstaff was previously a Thunder assistant, while Hazzard formerly worked for the Lakers.
- Former Oakland star Travis Bader signed a deal with ASVEL in France but would be allowed to opt out of his contract if he can make an NBA roster, writes Brian Calloway of the Detroit Free Press.
And-Ones: Bosh, Rockets, ‘Melo, Thunder
Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski told FOX Sports 1 that Chris Bosh told the Rockets something that they don’t want to hear: “I want to be in Miami, I want to play with LeBron [James],” (link via Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders). More from around the league..
- Carmelo Anthony is “torn” over where to spend the prime years of his career, a friend of the Knicks All Star forward tells Frank Isola of the Daily News. Anthony, 30, is still debating his next move with the Knicks, Lakers, and Bulls as his top three choices, the source claims.
- The Knicks are feeling uneasy about the Melo situation, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. Meanwhile, the Bulls are encouraged by his indecisiveness, writes Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times.
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks met today with Pau Gasol, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- In his introductory press conference, new Nets coach Lionel Hollins presented himself as a very different man than Jason Kidd, writes Mitch Abramson of the Daily News.
- A bunch of teams, including the Warriors, concluded early after July 1st that Channing Frye would get more than the mid-level exception, tweets Zach Lowe of Grantland. However, teams didn’t expect him to land with the Magic. Frye is set to ink a four-year, $32MM pact with Orlando.
- Kobe Bryant is recruiting Steve Blake and Caron Butler to the Lakers, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
- Blazers point guard Mo Williams is scheduled to meet with the Mavericks tomorrow, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
Several Teams Interested In Isaiah Thomas
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.
Western Notes: LeBron, Warriors, Mavs
The Warriors could have dealt Harrison Barnes to the Magic for Arron Afflalo and a future first-round pick, a source tells Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Twitter). The Warriors passed, but such a deal would have eased losing Klay Thompson in a Kevin Love trade.
More from the west:
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders if Paul Pierce is the best realistic fit for the Mavs at small forward. MacMahon concludes that Pierce makes sense for the Mavs if signing him instead of a Plan B target would allow Dallas to have more depth next season and if they value future financial flexibility and fear overpaying for a Luol Deng or Trevor Ariza.
- Kent Bazemore will meet with the Spurs on Tuesday and the Celtics on Wednesday, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- Some may be laughing it off, but LeBron James joining forces with the Suns makes perfect sense to Jesse Biancarte of Basketball Insiders. Phoenix already has Eric Bledsoe (assuming he re-signs), Goran Dragic, Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Miles Plumlee, Alex Len, and more. It’s a deep cast of young talent and one that LeBron can help elevate to contender status.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Western Notes: ‘Melo, Mavs, Bledsoe, Kaman
The offer the Mavs are making to Carmelo Anthony involves a starting salary of slightly more than $18MM, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). That would mean a max of $77MM over four years, though McMahon pegs the likely value of the offer at $75MM. In any case, that’s significantly less than the nearly $96MM over four years the Lakers are reportedly offering in a max deal, and about $50MM less than the five-year max that the Knicks have apparently put on the table. There’s more from MacMahon on the Mavs amid the latest from the Western Conference:
- The Mavs have confidence they’ll strike a deal to re-sign Devin Harris, presuming they don’t land Anthony or LeBron James, even if some of the inflated agreements around the league this week have pushed his market value higher, MacMahon writes. The team sees Isaiah Thomas as its primary fallback option should Harris sign elsewhere, and Dallas has also been in contact with the agent for Wasserman client D.J. Augustin, MacMahon adds.
- There are some who believe that agent Rich Paul’s talks with teams about LeBron are instead intended to pitch clubs on Suns restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe, whom Paul also represents, tweets USA Today’s Sam Amick.
- The Blazers came to terms with Chris Kaman believing they wouldn’t be able to sign Spencer Hawes or Channing Frye, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
- The Warriors have officially hired Alvin Gentry, Ron Adams and Luke Walton as assistant coaches, the team announced. Gentry, who spent last season as a Clippers assistant, was a candidate for multiple head coaching vacancies this summer. Adams was an assistant with the Celtics last season while Walton was an assistant for the Lakers D-League affiliate.
- Marcus Camby, 40, still harbors aspirations of returning to the NBA after missing last year as he recovered from left foot surgery, an injury that prompted the Rockets to waive him just before the start of the regular season.
Western Notes: Williams, Warriors, Blake
Mo Williams met with the Mavericks today, and the meeting had “positive momentum,” writes Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The team is waiting on ‘Melo’s decision before proceeding with any other signings, and Williams’ desired destination is Dallas, tweets Zwerling.
More from out west:
- It appears that the Warriors are only offering the minimum salary to Kent Bazemore, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link) . The only way that would be enough to lure Bazemore is if his other options fall apart, opines Thompson.
- With the loss of free agent Darren Collison to the Kings, the Clippers are turning their attention towards signing Jordan Farmar, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- McMenamin also tweets that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has also reached out to representatives for the team’s former point guard, Steve Blake.
- Jarron Collins, twin brother of Nets center Jason Collins, is on the verge of being added to Steve Kerr‘s coaching staff with the Warriors, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Free agent center Spencer Hawes is visiting with the Suns today, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
- During their meeting today, the Lakers told Carmelo Anthony that they would offer the maximum they could, a 4-year, $97MM contract, if he chose them, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The Jazz aren’t concerned about Gordon Hayward‘s ability to take the leap forward and become an elite player, which is why they aren’t worried about signing him to a possible max contract, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake City Tribune (Twitter link).
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman tweets that Thabo Sefolosha had also drawn interest from the Wizards and the Pelicans.
- In a separate article, Mayberry looks at the three reasons the Thunder agreed to sign Sebastian Telfair as a free agent.
Pacific Notes: Thomas, Clippers, Bazemore
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).
More from the Pacific Division:
- Thomas’ preferred teams are the Lakers, the Heat, and the Pistons, reports Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
- The Clippers want to use their mid-level exception on a big man, tweets Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, and the team has considered Kris Humphries and Jason Smith, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
- The Clippers have become the front-runner to land the Lakers free agent Jordan Farmar, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- Spears also tweets that the Warriors reached out to Lakers free agent guard Kent Bazemore today.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Billups, Livingston, Carmelo
While Chauncey Billups has a number of coaching, front office, and media opportunities available to him, he hasn’t decided if he wants to retire and walk away from the game just yet, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. “As far as me playing, I feel really good right now for the first time in a long time – in two or three years,” Billups said. “I know that in the right situation, I can really help a team win. But it would take the right situation. I’m not going to play just to play. I have nothing left to prove and I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish playing basketball, so it would take the right situation for me to play.” The guard spent last season with the Pistons and saw just 19 games of action.
- It sounds like Shaun Livingston had strong interest from several other clubs, including the Heat, before he agreed to sign with the Warriors, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looks at where the Nets stand after losing Livingston to the Warriors.
- If the Bulls are worried about their chances of landing Carmelo Anthony, that should give an indication of the long odds that the Rockets, Mavs, and Lakers are up against, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. He posits that the Knicks‘ confidence through the process might be justified.
- The Sixers have expressed interest in Kent Bazemore, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. As previously reported, the Jazz, Hawks, Celtics, Mavs, Lakers, Suns, and Bulls also have interest in the guard.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter) gets the sense that the Hornets are unlikely to land a big fish free agent this summer.
Western Rumors: Suns, Love, Miller, Miles
The Suns have spoken with Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes, Danny Granger, Ed Davis, Marvin Williams, Josh McRoberts, Gordon Hayward, Chandler Parsons, Isaiah Thomas and Patrick Patterson, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Still, Coro cautions that they aren’t necessarily interested in all of them. Phoenix also made contact with Eric Bledsoe, P.J. Tucker and Channing Frye on the first day of free agency, Coro adds. Here’s more from the West, including a Kevin Love update:
- The Wolves are indeed insisting that the Warriors take back Kevin Martin in any trade involving Love, a source tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Minnesota is also holding firm on its insistence that Klay Thompson be a part of the Warriors’ package, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
- The Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Thunder and the incumbent Grizzlies are among the teams pursuing Mike Miller, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. He’ll allow the Grizzlies to make a final push before he makes his decision, and while he said on Sports56 radio in Memphis that he’s received at least five offers, he added that his heart is in Memphis, as Tillery notes (Twitter link).
- The Thunder and C.J. Miles had mutual interest before he agreed to sign with the Pacers, but Oklahoma City wasn’t willing to have the contract go quite as long as the four years that Indiana gave him, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry tweets. The Thunder are believed to be limiting their new contracts this summer to two years with Kevin Durant‘s potential free agency looming in 2016, Mayberry adds (on Twitter).
- The Clippers have reached out to unrestricted free agent Ed Davis, reports Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
- The Jazz are among several teams interested in Kent Bazemore, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
And-Ones: Raptors, Mayo, Prince, Lin, Rivers
I appeared Tuesday on WWL radio’s Sports Talk With Bobby Hebert and Deke Bellavia in New Orleans to discuss NBA free agency, and already the tenor of the market is taking shape. Lucrative deals for shooting guards Jodie Meeks, Avery Bradley and Ben Gordon have dominated headlines so far, and Gordon’s deal in particular has many free agents optimistic about their own market values, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Raptors were already worried they were being priced out of retaining restricted free agents Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson before news of the Gordon deal hit, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Here’s more from around the league.
- Executives from multiple teams have been offered O.J. Mayo of the Bucks, Tayshaun Prince of the Grizzlies, Jeremy Lin of the Rockets, and Austin Rivers of the Pelicans in trade scenarios, league sources tell tell Kennedy.
- The Pacers have reached out to Rodney Stuckey, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. He’s presumably a backup plan in case the team can’t reach a deal with Lance Stephenson.
- The Warriors could have signed Stuckey, who was willing to sign with the club for the mid-level exception, but they gave that money to Shaun Livingston instead, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).
- Spencer Hawes “likes everything about the Blazers” and is “very interested” in signing with them, a source tells The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman. Portland has made Hawes their top target among sharpshooting big men, but he’s still in no rush to come to deal, Freeman writes.
- Vince Carter is receiving a steady stream of pitches from the Heat and others, but the Mavs maintain strong interest in re-signing the swingman, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
- The Magic claimed Willie Green off waivers Monday, and while they still had the chance to put him back on waivers before his non-guaranteed minimum salary became fully guaranteed, they didn’t do so before Tuesday’s deadline, so his money will stay on the books.
Zach Links contributed to this post.