Rockets Rumors: Gibson, Brewer, Asik
The Rockets have been the toast of the NBA's free agency period after agreeing on a deal for free agent Dwight Howard last night, but since the move they haven't rested on their laurels. General manager Daryl Morey has signed Omri Casspi from the Cavs, and re-signed Francisco Garcia.
But Morey and the Rockets aren't done as they're testing the waters to shore up their backcourt and figure out what to do with Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, who have been offered in trade packages as the Rockets look to team James Harden and Howard with a third superstar.
The offering of Lin and Asik comes despite reports from Ken Berger at CBSSports.com earlier today that the Rockets may keep Asik and Lin next year. Asik has already voiced his displeasure at staying in Houston to back-up Dwight at center.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that a rumored Pelicans sign-and-trade for Asik, which sources originally revealed to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnawrowski, hasn't even been discussed, and if it had the Pelicans would not be interested in the former Bulls center who took on a larger role with the Rockets this year. Let's look at a couple more rumored moves involving the Rockets this afternoon:
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle says the Rockets are interested in the Nuggets' unrestricted free agent Corey Brewer (Twitter).
- The Rockets are also looking at Houston native and Cavs free agent, Daniel Gibson, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, but cautions they're holding off on signing him for now.
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that with the Mavs and Warriors both currently looking to sign Suns unrestricted free agent Jermaine O'Neal, the Rockets might also be in the running.
- Because the Rockets signed Casspi and Garcia to two-year deals, they're not reimbursed for parts of contract over $884,293 tweets Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.
The Warriors And The Salary Cap
Even though Dwight Howard didn't end up choosing Golden State, the Warriors still managed to steal many of Friday's headlines by making a pair of splashy moves, agreeing to send more than $24MM in salaries to the Jazz and reaching a long-term contract agreement with Andre Iguodala. With so many moving pieces involved in the Warriors' series of transactions, let's break down how the moves will affect the team's salary cap outlook.
Heading into July, the Warriors had $69,905,195 in guaranteed salary on their books for 2013/14, according to Storyteller's Contracts. Throw in a cap hold for first-round pick Nemanja Nedovic and non-guaranteed salaries for Dwayne Jones, Kent Bazemore, and Scott Machado, and that figure rises to a total of $73,445,481. We don't know for certain that all these figures are 100% accurate, but they're at least in the ballpark, and for our purposes, we'll assume they're bang-on.
Now, a good chunk of the team's salary will be offloaded in the deal with the Jazz. With Richard Jefferson ($11,046,000), Andris Biedrins ($9,000,000), and Brandon Rush ($4,000,000) heading to Utah, the Warriors will eliminate $24,046,000 in guaranteed salary from their books, with only Kevin Murphy's non-guaranteed salary of $788,872 coming back. The result? $45,859,195 in guaranteed contracts, with non-guaranteed salaries and Nedovic's cap hold bringing the total to $50,188,353.
The way the pair of deals with the Jazz and with Iguodala were inititally reported suggested that the Warriors had cleared the necessary room under the cap to sign Iguodala outright. That's not quite true yet, if we assume a '13/14 cap line of $58.5MM — some or all of those non-guaranteed contracts would need to be waived if Iggy is going to receive a four-year deal in the neighborhood of $48MM. But that would be simple enough to do.
However, what if the Warriors don't intend to go under the cap at all? Using cap space to sign Iguodala would eliminate a ton of flexibility for Golden State. The team would have to renounce its rights to free agents Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, making it extremely difficult to bring either player back. The Warriors would also lose access to their full $5.15MM mid-level exception, gaining instead the much more modest $2.65MM room exception assigned to under-the-cap teams.
On top of that, Golden State would have to renounce three significant traded player exceptions acquired in the deal with the Jazz, worth the equivalent of Jefferson's, Biedrins', and Rush's salaries. The Warriors also have a handful of smaller TPEs that would need to be renounced as well, but none of those are as potentially useful as the ones for Jefferson ($11.046MM) and Biedrins ($9MM) would be.
There's another way for the Warriors to add Iguodala without sacrificing all those exceptions and all that flexibility, but it would require the cooperation of the his old team, the Nuggets. Here's how it could work:
Once the July moratorium is lifted, Golden State would first finalize its trade with the Jazz. At that point, despite only having about $50MM in salaries on their books, the Warriors would still be considered an over-the-cap team because all of the their exceptions and cap holds would keep them over the presumed $58.5MM cap line.
After that, the next step would be bringing Iguodala into the fold. If the Warriors and Nuggets could work out a sign-and-trade agreement for the free agent swingman, it could potentially be beneficial for both teams. Denver likely wouldn't want to take back any salary for Iggy, but Golden State would have access to a newly-created $11,046,000 trade exception (for Jefferson).
Using that exception, the Warriors could acquire Iguodala via a sign-and-trade, giving him a starting salary of $11,146,000 (the amount of the TPE + $100K). Annual 4.5% raises on that amount would give Iguodala a four-year total of $47,593,420, which is in the ballpark of his reported $48MM agreement. This sort of transaction is how the Lakers were able to acquire Steve Nash last summer, using their Lamar Odom TPE rather than cap room.
From the Nuggets' perspective, accommodating a sign-and-trade with a conference rival that significantly helps that team become more flexible isn't necessarily good business. But if the Warriors were willing to include an asset or two (perhaps future draft considerations, cash, and/or the rights to Nedovic), Denver could add a couple pieces and create a trade exception of their own, worth Iguodala's new salary. That's better than getting nothing for a player the Warriors could sign outright anyway.
If the two teams were to work out such an agreement, the Warriors would still have trade exceptions worth $9MM (for Biedrins) and $4MM (for Rush). They also wouldn't necessarily have to renounce the rights to Jack and Landry, and they'd still have access to the full mid-level exception. The club would be hard-capped for the season, having acquired a player via sign-and-trade, meaning team salary couldn't surpass the tax apron (approximately $75.6MM) at any point, but there'd be plenty of wiggle room to add talent before reaching that threshold.
Needless to say, such a scenario would make a lot more sense for the Warriors, which is probably why beat reporters like Marcus Thompson and Tim Kawakami are hearing that the team anticipates ending up with one or more trade exceptions. Using cap room to sign Iguodala would mean losing those TPEs, so a sign-and-trade with the Nuggets looks like the preferred scenario for Golden State, assuming Denver is willing to negotiate.
Odds & Ends: Barea, Kenyon, Sampson, Copeland
Here's more from the NBA on an landmark night in free agency:
- A Dallas source tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that the Mavs' agreement with Jose Calderon likely knocks them out of discussions for J.J. Barea. Still, the Wolves remain upbeat about their chances of a Barea deal with the Mavs, in what would be a salary dump enabling Minnesota to clear money for a defensive-minded wing player (All Twitter links).
- The Spurs have been one of many teams reportedly interested in Kenyon Martin, and now they're "in hot pursuit" of the veteran big man, though the Knicks and others remain in play, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game heard that Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson wouldn't return to the team, but Sampson tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that he'll be back in Houston. (Twitter links). "That's just a bad rumor," Sampson said. "I'm looking forward to a great year with the Rockets."
- The Pacers and Chris Copeland discussed a third year that would have been a team option, but settled instead on their two-year, $6.12MM agreement, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group briefly looks at what the Warriors could do with the trade exceptions they'll acquire as part of their deal with the Jazz. He also hears that the W's see Andre Iguodala as capable of handling backup point guard duties, so the team will prioritize finding a backup center over a backup point guard (Sulia link).
- In a separate piece, Thompson recounts the steps Iguodala took on the way to his agreement with the Warriors, noting that Iggy has long considered Golden State a desirable destination.
- Lately, agent Dan Fegan has been preoccupied with other free agent clients, such as Dwight Howard, so he and the Wizards have yet to begin discussing an extension for John Wall, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Wall is extension-eligible this season, and will hit restricted free agency next summer if he and the Wizards don't strike a deal by Halloween.
- In an interview with DraftExpress.com, Dario Saric suggests that the Mavericks were interested in making him a promise at No. 13 had he not withdrawn from last week's draft.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Dwight Howard To Sign With Rockets
10:01pm: Howard, as promised, took to Twitter (or Twitlonger, to be precise) to reveal his choice of the Rockets.
"I've decided to become a member of the Houston Rockets. I feel its the best place for me and I am excited about joining the Rockets and I'm looking forward to a great season. I want to thank the fans in Los Angeles and wish them the best."
9:36pm: It appears Howard has picked the Rockets once and for all. The Lakers have released a statement from GM Mitch Kupchak:
"We have been informed of Dwight's decision to not return to the Lakers. Naturally we're disappointed. However, we will now move forward in a different direction with the future of the franchise and, as always, will do our best to build the best team possible, one our great lakers fans will be proud to support. To Dwight, we thank him for his time and consideration, and for his efforts with us last season. We wish him the best of luck on the remainder of his NBA career."
Of course, nothing's official until July 10th, when the league's July Moratorium is up, but presumably, Howard will be headed to Houston.
9:33pm: HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy hears from a source close to Howard that he's decided to join the Rockets after all (Twitter link).
8:46pm: On ESPN's SportsCenter, Chris Broussard is reporting that Howard has told the Lakers he's changed his mind, and both the Lakers and Rockets have 50-50 chances, according to multiple reports (All Twitter links).
6:32pm: Howard is flying from Colorado to L.A. to speak with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak tonight, Bresnahan tweets.
5:47pm: Asik has no interest in backing up Howard if D12 does indeed come to Houston, and that could force a trade, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The Hawks would listen to a sign-and-trade proposal involving Smith, Windhorst adds (Twitter links).
5:41pm: If Howard does sign with the Rockets, Mannix expects the team to try to flip Omer Asik, possibly as part of a deal for Josh Smith (Twitter link). Pincus believes the Rockets may still need to create a little more cap room to sign Howard outright to a max deal, though that won't be official until the salary cap is set next week, when the July Moratorium ends (Twitter link).
5:36pm: Houston GM Daryl Morey tweets that while he is "excited & cautiously optimistic" that Howard might choose Houston, he and the team have not been informed of his decision (hat tip to HoopsWorld's Eric Pincus).
5:31pm: As it stands at the moment, Fegan appears to be the one putting the brakes on the story, telling Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times that, "Based on my most recent conversation wirh Dwight, it’s inaccurate" that he has chosen Houston (Twitter link). Howard had been leaning toward Houston, but with his back issues, he's wondering if leaving $30MM is the right idea, Bresnahan tweets.
5:21pm: Multiple sources tell Wojnarowski that Howard has chosen the Rockets, but that he is still finalizing details of the agreement (Twitter link). Chris Mannix of SI.com says that he's been told Howard is wrestling with the idea of passing up the extra $30MM or so that the Lakers could offer, but if all things were equal, he'd go to Houston (Twitter link). Kennedy echoes that sentiment via Twitter. The Lakers and Rockets are the only two teams that haven't been notified they're out of the running, Wojnarowski notes (on Twitter).
5:15pm: A decision is coming tonight or tomorrow, tweets Kennedy.
5:12pm: A source close to Howard tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that no decision has been made, although it's unclear whether that source spoke to Kennedy before or after news broke that he would sign with the Rockets (Twitter link). While Berger and TNT's David Aldridge both confirm Howard will sign with the Rockets (Twitter links), agent Dan Fegan tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that "Dwight has not finalized his decision" (Twitter link).
4:55pm: The most-discussed free agent of the summer has finally made his decision. After spending the week meeting with five different teams and weighing his options at a Colorado resort, Dwight Howard has opted to sign with the Rockets, reports Sam Amick of USA Today.
Howard has begun personally calling teams to tell them of his decision, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Warriors have already received one of those calls from Howard, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). The Hawks and Lakers appeared to be the other teams in the running at the very end, with the Mavericks having been officially eliminated earlier.
Chuck Myron contributed to this story.
Omer Asik Wants Out Of Houston; Pelicans In Mix?
8:01pm: There's no question Anderson would intrigue the Rockets, but the Pelicans are wary of giving him up without getting more than Asik in return, Wojnarowski tweets.
7:29pm: The Pelicans have shown strong interest in Asik, and are likely centering their offer on Ryan Anderson, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
5:53pm: A source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that Omer Asik wants out of Houston, and other teams are already making pitches (Twitter link). Once a deal between the Rockets and Dwight Howard is finalized, Asik could be sent to the Hawks for Josh Smith, though the Mavs are also making a push, Berger adds via Twitter. I presume he means the Mavs are making a push for Asik and not Smith, but that's just my speculation. Chris Mannix of SI.com and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported earlier details on the story, with Windhorst noting that the Hawks would sign to a sign-and-trade offer for Smith.
A destination that would appeal to Asik is the Bulls, where he began his career, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That would reunite him with coach Tom Thibodeau, who'd also be interested in such a deal. That might be more difficult for the over-the-cap Bulls to pull off than it is for the Hawks or Mavs, however. Asik has $16,749,292 left on his deal over the next two seasons. The Hawks won't rush in to any deal, according to TNT's David Aldridge, who says the team won't be making moves just to be "active," and any move would have to fit with the team's culture (Twitter link).
Even if the Hawks aren't interested in Asik, several other teams, including the Warriors, are, tweets Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game. Late last month a report surfaced indicating the Rockets were looking to unload Asik and Jeremy Lin, though Houston GM Daryl Morey backtracked from that story. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors wondered if Morey's comments were simply to try to make sure Asik and Lin would still be on board if Howard passed on signing with the team, but it appears at least that Asik has been turned off. Lin would be tougher to move than Asik, Bucher points out, noting that many front offices view the point guard as a backup.
Windhorst raises the possibility of Asik heading to the Lakers in a Howard sign-and-trade, and notes that Asik doesn't want to play in any twin-tower Rockets lineups alongside Howard, either. While Asik's cap hit for the next two seasons will be around $8MM, he's actually owed more than $20MM total because of the way his deal with Houston was structured, per the Gilbert Arenas Provision.
Rockets, Warriors In Lead For Dwight Howard
4:40pm: Following the Warriors' agreement with Iguodala, Golden State and Houston are now Howard's top two preferred destinations, according to TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter). Aldridge cautions that the Lakers aren't out of the running yet, but says they seem to be trailing behind the other two teams.
4:27pm: Prior to the Warriors' trade agreement with the Jazz and contract agreement with Andre Iguodala, Howard had narrowed his options down to the Lakers and Rockets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. However, with Iguodala now on board in Golden State, it's unclear if that changes Howard's outlook. The Warriors have not been informed that they're out of the running (Twitter links).
4:10pm: One suitor for Dwight Howard is officially off the board, and the All-Star center won't be pairing with Dirk Nowitzki in the Big D. The Mavericks have been notified they're no longer in the running for Howard, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
As we noted in our earlier round-up of the day's D12 rumors, Sam Amick of USA Today reported that the Mavericks and Hawks had both been receiving "strong signals" that Howard wouldn't sign with them. At that point, however, no teams had been formally informed that they were out of the mix.
With Dallas no longer in play for Howard and Atlanta looking like an extremely unlikely destination, the Rockets, Warriors, and Lakers remain in the hunt. Golden State has been receiving plenty of buzz today, having agreed to a deal with Andre Iguodala while managing to hang on to chips to dangle in sign-and-trade negotiations. However, Houston has been frequently cited as the frontrunner.
Bird Rights For Millsap, Jack To Be Renounced
The Warriors and the Jazz have been at the center of a pair of major deals this afternoon, including agreeing to a trade that will send a handful of draft picks and about $24MM in salaries to Utah. However, as a result of that trade and Golden State's subsequent agreement with Andre Iguodala, two major free agents will almost certainly no longer re-sign with their respective teams.
According to TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter), the Jazz will need to renounce their Bird rights to Paul Millsap in order to clear the necessary cap room to absorb all the incoming salary. That means that the Jazz could no longer offer Millsap more than the $2.65MM room exception to re-sign in Utah.
Meanwhile, the Warriors find themselves in a similar boat with Jarrett Jack. To create space for Iguodala's salary, Golden State will renounce its Bird rights to Jack, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Like Millsap, Jack now won't be eligible for more than the $2.65MM room exception if he hopes to re-sign with his former team.
Although it's still technically possible for both players to re-sign with their respective clubs, the odds are strongly in favor of both free agents finding new homes within the next few days or weeks.
Warriors Not Out Of Dwight Howard Sweepstakes
3:40pm: If Howard chooses the Warriors and the Lakers are willing to negotiate, Golden State remains "ready and able" to work out a sign-and-trade, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. If Howard elects to sign elsewhere, the Warriors are comfortable with having added Iguodala, according to Berger.
3:20pm: Woj has now backtracked on his earlier report, calling it "premature" to rule out the Warriors on Howard (Twitter link). Golden State certainly has less leverage now, since the team would likely require the Lakers' cooperation on a sign-and-trade, and Houston still looks like the frontrunner for Howard, but the Warriors aren't officially out of the mix.
3:07pm: The Warriors have dropped out of the race for Dwight Howard, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). While no teams have been informed of Howard's decision yet, Golden State dropping out could clear the way for the All-Star big man to end up in Houston, tweets Wojnarowski.
Even after agreeing to sign Andre Iguodala to a four-year deal, the Warriors still could theoretically acquire Howard via sign-and-trade. However, Howard would need to choose Golden State, and then a deal would require the Lakers' cooperation. With D12 rumored to be leaning toward the Rockets, perhaps the Warriors decided to cut their losses and move forward with Plan B.
Warriors Eyeing Iggy; Talking To Sixers, Cavs, Jazz
As Dwight Howard remains undecided on where he'll sign, the Warriors continue to explore potential salary-dumps, having engaged in talks on complicated deals with the Sixers, Cavaliers, and Jazz, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com named the Cavs and Jazz, along with the Hawks, as potential trade partners for Golden State earlier today, while a subsequent report suggested the Warriors were talking to Utah about Andrew Bogut. Various outlets have since downplayed any talks involving Bogut, though multiple Bay Area scribes believe the Warriors may just be trying to save face with their incumbent center (Twitter links).
As Berger reported earlier, the Warriors' attempts to dump Richard Jefferson's and Andris Biedrins' contracts aren't necessarily related to the team's pursuit of Howard. Berger noted that Andre Iguodala was another possible target for Golden State, and Wojnarowski backs that up in a tweet of his own.
According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), Iguodala would like to join the Warriors and has already had "deep talks" about going to Golden State. However, Amick points out that the Nuggets have "strongly rebuffed" the idea of signing-and-trading Iguodala to the Warriors, so clearing the necessary cap space would be Golden State's only way to sign him. Simply moving Jefferson and Biedrins likely wouldn't create enough room for Iguodala, since the Warriors would still have about $50MM in guaranteed salary on their books even without those two contracts.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Friday
Today is Friday, which means decision day for Dwight Howard may finally be here. Or it may not be. Various reports this week have indicated Howard would like to announce his decision today, but at least as many reports have suggested an announcement may not come until later in the weekend. Considering how indecisive Howard has been in the past, resolution today is far from a sure thing, but we at least seem to be nearing the final stages of a saga that's been playing out for the last couple years.
The big Howard story yesterday had the Warriors exploring the possibility of clearing cap space to sign D12 outright. It certainly wouldn't be easy, and there's no guarantee the big man will choose the Warriors anyway, but here's the latest on Golden State's efforts, and the rest of today's Howard rumors:
- The Warriors, Lakers, and Rockets appear to be the three teams left standing for Howard, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who says the events of the last 24 hours have sent "strong signs" to the Mavericks and Hawks that they're out of the running. Meanwhile, a source tells Amick that the Warriors have been given indications that the Rockets are the "strong favorite" to land Howard.
- Multiple teams involved in the race for Howard fear that the Rockets will be the winners, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Earlier updates: