Western Notes: Wolves, Gomes, Mavs, Clark
Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote earlier today that there's about a "99.9999%" chance that the Timberwolves work out a deal to bring back Nikola Pekovic. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune also suggests that it's just a matter of time, tweeting that he thinks a deal will be completed next week. Whether or not the Wolves re-sign Pekovic, and it seems like a lock that they will, don't expect the team to have any interest in Greg Oden, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). According to Wolfson, David Kahn had interest in Oden, but Flip Saunders is passing on the former first overall pick.
Here are a few more items from out of the Western Conference:
- Ryan Gomes, who says he hopes to be a coach one day, has worked out for the Thunder and Spurs as he weighs his options for the upcoming season, he tells Nick Greene of the Hartford Courant.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appeared on KESN-FM in Dallas to follow up on his comments about the team potentially being better off without Dwight Howard, and the Dallas Morning News has the details.
- Undrafted free agent guard Ian Clark put up 33 points in the Warriors' championship win at the Las Vegas Summer League, and is drawing interest from NBA teams, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. Zillgitt names the Warriors, Trail Blazers, and Jazz as clubs eyeing Clark.
- A strong Summer League performance also has NBA teams eyeing Dionte Christmas, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The Suns are among the clubs with interest.
Pacific Notes: Thompson, Cousins, Marshall
Even though the Lakers said repeatedly that they wouldn't entertain a sign-and-trade for Dwight Howard this summer, many believed that the Warriors would have been able to change their minds with a package involving Klay Thompson if D12 chose Golden State. Thompson has obvious ties to L.A., but he stayed even-keeled as the speculation was going on, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “If it happened, it happened,” Thompson said. “That’s nothing you can control. I’m happy where I’m at.” Here's more out of the Pacific Division..
- Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins says that he's not worried about a potential contract extension and he's only focused on Team USA at the moment, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Cousins added (link) that new GM Pete D'Alessandro has asked for his input on free agents, which hasn't happened before under previous management.
- When asked if he wants to stay with the Kings, Cousins answered in the affirmative without hesitation, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Despite a disappointing rookie year, Suns guard Kendall Marshall is working to play a key role in the club's rotation this season, writes RealGM's Shams Charania. He'll have his work cut out for him as he'll jockey for time with Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Shannon Brown, and Malcolm Lee.
Contract Details: Landry, Wolves, Turiaf
We've kept up with precise data on many of the new player contracts handed out around the league with four posts already this week. There's still more info trickling in, and here's the latest:
- Carl Landry will receive $6.5MM in each of the four seasons of his contract with the Kings, making the total value $26MM, HoopsWorld's Eric Pincus tweets.
- The Timberwolves used part of their $2.016MM bi-annual exception to sign Ronny Turiaf, who'll make $1.5MM in both seasons of his two-year deal, according to Pincus (Twitter link). Minnesota can use the remaining amount of the bi-annual at any time this season, but the team won't be allowed to carry it into 2014/15, when the Wolves won't have any portion of the bi-annual available.
- Pincus updated the HoopsWorld contract data for the Kings, Magic, Bucks, Timberwolves, Rockets, Warriors, Pistons, Cavaliers and Hawks.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports updated salary information for the Lakers and Hawks.
Contract Details: Rice, Billups, Speights, Splitter
We've already passed along plenty of new details and information this week on the summer's free agent contracts, with round-ups on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We've got a few more updates worth noting today, so let's dive in….
- Eric Pincus updated salary details for several teams at HoopsWorld, including the Wizards, Jazz, Raptors, Spurs, Kings, and Trail Blazers.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports also provides new contract information for the Wizards, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Pistons, and Pacers.
- According to Deeks, Glen Rice Jr.'s deal with the Wizards is a two-year minimum-salary pact, with a guaranteed first year and a partially guaranteed ($400K) second year.
- Deeks also notes that Chauncey Billups and Marreese Speights are the only players known so far to receive actual team options on their contracts. Most other free agents reported to have signed deals with team options actually have a partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed season on their contracts (Twitter links).
- According to Pincus, Tiago Splitter's contract with the Spurs starts at $10MM, and eventually decreases to $8.25MM in year four. The deal also includes a 15% trade kicker (Twitter links).
Thunder In Lead To Sign Mike Miller
8:31pm: Thunder GM Sam Presti is set to meet with Miller in Miami this week, The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry reports. Mayberry believes the team may waive DeAndre Liggins or Daniel Orton to accomodate a minimum-salary deal for Miller beneath the tax threshold.
5:16pm: The Thunder have interest in Miller, too, Berger tweets. Berger says the Thunder can only afford to sign him for the minimum, but I believe they have the bi-annual and mid-level exceptions available. Still, using them would likely push the team into tax territory, so the Thunder might not want to go any higher than the minimum salary.
5:00pm: Miller is telling friends he'll likely sign with the Thunder, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).
4:55pm: Now that Mike Miller has cleared amnesty waivers, he's free to sign with any team besides the Heat, and the Thunder have emerged as a frontrunner for his services, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). David Aldridge of TNT reports (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies are also a "strong suitor" for the veteran forward.
In addition to the Thunder and Grizzlies, the Rockets, Spurs, and Warriors have been identified as potential destinations for Miller. Since he's in position to earn $12.8MM over the next two years from the Heat, money may not be Miller's number one concern. Still, with so many teams potentially in play, it may take an offer worth more than the minimum – or for more than one season – to lock up the 33-year-old.
Any team that makes Miller an offer will likely have to take a close look at his medical reports, since the sharpshooter is reportedly considering undergoing a procedure on his back to repair bulging disks.
Mike Miller, Linas Kleiza Clear Waivers
Mike Miller has gone unclaimed on amnesty waivers and will now become an unrestricted free agent, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The same is true for Linas Kleiza, who also cleared waivers, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). Miller and Kleiza were amnestied on Tuesday by the Heat and Raptors, respectively.
It's no surprise that Kleiza didn't draw any interest on amnesty waivers, given his health problems and poor production last season. As Stein notes, he's a good bet to return overseas for the coming season. On the other hand, the Cavaliers were reportedly considering a bid on Miller, but it appears the team decided against it.
Shortly after we heard that the Cavs were mulling a bid for Miller, another report indicated that the veteran sharpshooter is considering surgery to repair bulging disks in his back. Miller has hardly been a picture of good health over the last several seasons, so that's likely true, but it could also have been leaked to scare off non-contenders like the Cavs from making a claim. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal notes (via Twitter) that Miller "made it clear to people around him" that he wasn't interested in landing in Cleveland.
Even with potential surgery looming, Miller figures to draw interest from contending teams. Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com both list the Spurs, Thunder, and Rockets as potential suitors, while Woj also mentions the Warriors and Windhorst names the Grizzlies (Twitter links).
Warriors Sign Toney Douglas
JULY 18TH, 2:53pm: The Warriors have officially signed Douglas, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 9TH, 2:05pm: Douglas' deal with Golden State will be for one year and $1.6MM, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter). Barring a sign-and-trade, that means Douglas will receive either a portion of the team's mid-level or bi-annual exception.
12:40pm: The Warriors and Toney Douglas have reached an agreement on a contract, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Terms of the deal aren't yet known, but I'd be surprised if a significant financial commitment was made to the David Falk client.
Douglas, 27, has played for three NBA teams over the course of his four-year career. After starting with the Knicks, he was sent to Houston in last summer's sign-and-trade deal involving Marcus Camby, then was sent to Sacramento in the six-player swap that saw the Rockets land Thomas Robinson.
Although he averaged 9.8 PPG and recorded a 15.1 PER in his first two seasons in the league, Douglas has fallen off slightly over the last couple years, with those averages slipping to 7.1 and 11.3 respectively. Douglas won't assume the sort of role Jarrett Jack had with the Warriors, but he'll provide an extra body in the backcourt, and should see some playing time at the point.
Contract Details: Bulls, Cavs, Mavs, Nuggets
In addition to new contracts being finalized and signed, there are a few more cap details worth keeping an eye on throughout July. We won't be updating our traded player exceptions list to reflect all the latest deals until the dust has settled a little and each move has been officially completed, but as our list shows, the Bulls had their $5MM Kyle Korver TPE expire overnight.
There are also a number of 2013/14 salaries becoming guaranteed this month, including Kyle Lowry and Lance Stephenson earlier this week. Mavericks second-year big man Bernard James also appears to be guaranteed for the coming year, since he wasn't waived by July 15th, per Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.
Here are a few more of the latest contract and cap details worth noting, courtesy of Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld:
- Mike Dunleavy's two-year deal with the Bulls is worth the team's full mini mid-level exception, for a total of about $6.51MM. Meanwhile, Chicago second-round pick Erik Murphy gets a two-year, minimum-salary that's not fully guaranteed for either season.
- The Bulls also used the stretch provision on Richard Hamilton, allowing the team to spread his guaranteed $1MM over the next three seasons (Twitter link).
- The Cavaliers signed Jarrett Jack for a flat $6.3MM per season, while Earl Clark received a flat $4.25MM per year (Twitter links).
- Jose Calderon's starting salary with the Mavericks is $6,791,570 (Twitter link). With annual 4.5% raises, that works out to exactly $29MM over four years. Additionally, Gal Mekel's three-year contract with the team is for the minimum and is fully guaranteed.
- J.J. Hickson gets the full mid-level for three years from the Nuggets, which works out to about $16.15MM overall.
- Two players who were involved in the same sign-and-trade transaction have had their numbers confirmed. Randy Foye receives $3MM from the Nuggets in each of his first two seasons before a $3.135MM 2015/16 salary, which isn't fully guaranteed. Andre Iguodala, meanwhile, signed with the Warriors for exactly $48MM over four years, but his salaries will decrease from $12.87MM this season to $11.13MM in the fourth season (Twitter link).
- For the record, that gap between Iguodala's and Foye's first-year salaries should represent the value of the trade exception created by Denver: $9,868,632. I wonder if Iguodala's salary starts so high in part to help the Nuggets create a larger TPE.
Odds & Ends: Howard, Bogut, Jennings, Jazz
Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- With a difficult free agent process behind him, Dwight Howard is ready to begin his new chapter with the Rockets, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- Andrew Bogut was on the trading block this summer, and while reports indicated he was upset with his inclusion in rumors, the big man expressed no hard feelings when he spoke with Warriors GM Bob Myers, as Myers tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
- Steve Aschburner of NBA.com argues that both the Bucks and Brandon Jennings would be better off if he accepted his qualifying offer. Doing so would give Jennings unrestricted free agency in 2014, and the motivation of a walk year could spur improvement that benefits the Bucks.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNew York.com (on Twitter) hears from league insiders that play in the Las Vegas summer league is more intense than usual as roster spots and financial flexibility are tighter in this free agent market. Teams seem to be waiting longer to fill out their rosters.
- Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush are heading to the Jazz because they made a transaction work, not because Utah believes they have the potential to get the team further than Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Mo Williams, and Randy Foye could, writes Jody Genessy of The Deseret News.
Pacific Notes: World Peace, Odom, Kings
Metta World Peace was officially amnestied by the Lakers on Thursday, and remains on amnesty waivers, rather than regular waivers–instead of claiming his entire salary, teams can now place partial bids for his services, with the highest bid winning out. Here's the full explanation of the amnesty provision, and this year's amnesty primer.
Doug Davis, one of a pair of agents for the former Ron Artest, suggested that his client's assertion that he may leave the NBA should be taken with a grain of salt, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. World Peace doesn't want to uproot his family, so the Clippers appear to be his first choice among NBA teams, but Knicks coach Mike Woodson said the team is "on alert" in case World Peace clears amnesty waivers.
"There’s a number of definitely positive things about New York," Davis said. "Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to assess them [Sunday] after he clears waivers. It’s a very tense time, this 48-hour period. We want him to be in control of his own destiny."
Here's what else is happening around the Pacific Division on this Saturday in the midst of amnesty week:
- The Clippers continue to eye free agent big men Lamar Odom and Antawn Jamison, but sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the team is taking it slow as it determines the best fit (Twitter link).
- Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times examines whether the Lakers should attempt to avoid paying the luxury tax this season.
- The Kings have renounced their rights to Toney Douglas, who already has an agreement in place with the Warriors, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Kings also renounced their rights to Cole Aldrich.
- And the Kings officially announced in a press release that rookie Ben McLemore had been signed: "The Sacramento Kings today signed first-round draft pick Ben McLemore to a contract, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. Sacramento selected McLemore with the seventh-overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed."
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.