- The Warriors gave Andrew Bogut the choice of being traded to the Mavs and the Rockets, with the big man ultimately deciding to go to Dallas, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link) relays. The Sixers also expressed interest, but Golden State wanted to deal Bogut to a team with more realistic playoff hopes than Philly, the scribe adds.
New Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon missed 189 out of a possible 410 games during his time with the Pelicans and never played more than 64 games in a season, but Gordon doesn’t believe he is injury prone, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. “Most of them been fluke injuries,” Gordon said. ”From the first one where I just banged knees and this past year I was on my way to playing 82 games and then end up having a freakish breaking the finger [injury]. They were little fluke injuries that I can easily overcome, but my plan every year 82 games plus more.’‘
- Retaining James Harden, who agreed to a four-year, $118MM renegotiation and extension with the Rockets, was a big step for the franchise, given the difficulty the organization has had in landing and keeping star players, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes.
Immediately after he was fired as coach of the Rockets in November, Kevin McHale received a job offer from the Celtics, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. He hasn’t joined the organization yet, but McHale appreciates the gesture from president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, his former teammate. “Danny and I are very good friends,” McHale said, “and once he heard about it, he basically called up and said what a bunch of BS it was, first of all. He said, ‘I feel bad for you.’ Then he said, ‘Any job you want up here, you just let me know.’” One exception, of course, was head coach Brad Stevens‘ job.
“Danny said, ‘You want to help the big guys? You just want to come in and see where it fits? You just tell me,” McHale continued. “Whatever you want to do, you let me know and we’ll make it work.’” McHale, who still had two years left on his Rockets contract, did some television work this season, but is not in a hurry to get back into coaching or front office position.
There’s more news out of Boston:
- Point guard Isaiah Thomas was unhappy that Boston missed out on Kevin Durant, but he believes the Celitcs made their best effort to attract him, relays A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE. Boston was among five teams that met with Durant last weekend in the Hamptons, and Thomas was part of the Celtics’ contingent. “I walked out thinking we had a chance at him,” he said. “But I didn’t think he was going to go to the Warriors; I definitely didn’t think that. But leaving that meeting, I had a sense he was leaving OKC.”
- Thomas can finally reveal the name of the player who asked him during this season’s All-Star break what it was like to play in Boston, writes Mark D’Amico of Celtics.com. It was Al Horford, who signed a four-year, $113MM contract with the Celtics. “I wrapped that one up, I just didn’t want to say anything,” Thomas said. “I knew he was coming to Boston for sure.”
- Thomas has offered to be a recruiter to help Ainge add some more talent, relays Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com. Thomas said he knows a few players who would like to join the Celtics and named one veteran who he believes would help the club. “I know there is an old guy out there named Jason Terry — he can still hit some shots,” Thomas said. “That’s my old head. I know there’s some shooters out there that can put the ball in the basket and hopefully we can get our hands on them.” Terry, 38, is a free agent after spending the past two seasons in Houston. He played for the Celtics during the 2012/13 season.
Trevor Ruszkowski / USA TODAY Sports Images
If there was any doubt that the Rockets are James Harden‘s team, there should be no question who the alpha is in Houston moving forward. The shooting guard and the team have agreed to a four-year, $118MM renegotiation and extension that could keep him under contract through 2020, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. The arrangement was announced during a press conference by team owner Leslie Alexander moments ago. “We are building a new core and we are excited about locking James Harden in for a long time,” GM Daryl Morey said (Twitter link).
The arrangement provides Harden with a raise on his 2016/17 and 2017/18 salaries using cap space, plus adds two additional years at the maximum salary, Wojnarowski notes. Harden had two years and approximately $34.6MM left on his existing deal, and the renegotiation gives him nearly $10MM (2016/17) and $11MM (2017/18) raises and two extra years at $30.4MM and $32.7MM, respectively, the scribe relays. In total, the Rockets are going to fork over an additional $83.5MM over the next four years to Harden. The pact also includes a player option for the 2019/20 season, Wojnarowski tweets.
Harden, 26, is a four-time All-Star and two-time first-team All-NBA selection. He appeared in all 82 regular season games for the Rockets this past season, averaging 29.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists in 38.1 minutes per outing. His shooting line on the campaign was .439/.359/.860.
The Rockets are parting ways with point guard Andrew Goudelock, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). Houston won’t be on the hook for any salary as a result of the move and Goudelock will become an unrestricted free agent, provided he clears waivers. Combo forward Michael Beasley was also reportedly on the bubble with the team, but waiving Goudelock likely means that Houston intends to keep him.
Houston is cutting ties with Goudelock well in advance of August 1st, which is when his salary of $1,015,696 for 2016/17 would become fully guaranteed. The team normally doesn’t make decisions this far in advance of deadlines, but the organization wanted to give the guard as much time to find a new team as possible, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter links).
Goudelock appeared in just eight games after signing with the Rockets in March when he completed his season in China. He averaged 2.8 points and 0.5 assists in 6.3 minutes per outing, shooting .450/.111/.750 from the field.
In an interesting piece on the Hawks, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com explains that Atlanta’s original offseason plan was to re-sign Al Horford to pair him with Dwight Howard, and to move Paul Millsap in exchange for young players and/or draft assets. That plan ultimately fell apart, but before it did, the Hawks spoke to the Nuggets, Suns, Raptors, and Rockets about a Millsap deal, according to Lowe, who adds that Denver had been ready to move a “players-and-picks package” led by Kenneth Faried.
JULY 7: The Hawks have sent out a formal press release announcing their new deal with Bazemore.
JULY 1: The Hawks have secured one of their own free agents, according to Michael Scotto of The Associated Press, who reports (via Twitter) that Atlanta and Kent Bazemore have agreed to terms on a four-year, $70MM contract, which will feature a player option on the final year.
It’s the second big-money deal the team has struck today — the Hawks also reached an agreement with Dwight Howard on a three-year contract worth $70.5MM. The two deals for Bazemore and Howard will almost certainly take Atlanta out of the running for Al Horford, meaning he’ll likely find a new home within the next few days.
Bazemore, who went undrafted out of Old Dominion, emerged as a reliable three-and-D player for the Hawks last season, averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc.
We heard early in free agency that it might take an offer in the $19-20MM-per-year range to land Bazemore, and the Hawks will ultimately pay a little less than that — his reported deal averages $17.5MM annually. According to David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter), Bazemore turned down four-year, $72MM offers from the Lakers and Rockets to return to Atlanta.
In addition to Los Angeles and Houston, the Bucks, Grizzlies, Nets, and Pelicans were among the rival suitors for Bazemore, and were in touch with him before he made his decision, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. There had been speculation that Bazemore would take a few days before deciding on his team — instead, he agreed to a contract with the Hawks on the day of his 27th birthday. Not a bad gift.
The value of Bazemore’s new deal is right in line with the four-year, $70MM deal agreed to by Evan Turner and the Trail Blazers earlier today.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Timberwolves offered veteran small forward Luol Deng a three-year contract at $12MM per season, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP Radio (Twitter link). Head coach and president of basketball operations Tim Thobideau refused to fully guarantee the third year, Wolfson adds. In the end, the Timberwolves didn’t come close to signing Deng, as the former Heat starter agreed to a four-year, $72MM contract with the Lakers.
In other news regarding free agency:
- The Wizards have interest in re-signing shooting guard Alan Anderson and will meet with him this weekend, league sources told J. Michael of CSNmidlatlantic.com (Twitter links). The meeting is expected to take place in Las Vegas, Michael adds. Anderson, who made $4MM last season, appeared in just 13 games with the Wizards after undergoing a second surgery on his left ankle. The previous season, he played in 74 games with the Nets and averaged 7.4 points in 23.6 minutes.
- Shooting guard Brandon Paul is drawing major interest around the league after some strong performances for the Hornets’ summer-league team, Sportando tweets. He’s averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds through four games in the Orlando Summer League. The 6’4” Paul went undrafted in 2013 out of the University of Illinois and has been playing for a Spanish league team, FIATC Joventut.
- Forward Anthony Randolph will remain in Europe and sign a one-year deal with Spain’s Real Madrid, a source told Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Randolph received interest from the Mavericks this summer, Spears adds. The contract will be the $1.5MM-$2MM range, international journalist David Pick tweets. The 6’11” Randolph hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2013/14 season, when he appeared in 43 games with the Nuggets.
- Power forward Willie Reed has drawn interest from the Warriors, Spurs, Heat, Thunder, Timberwolves and Pacers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Reed, an unrestricted free agent, averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes over 39 games with the Nets last season.
- Free agent center Robert Sacre, who played the last four seasons with the Lakers, has drawn interest from the Timberwolves and Rockets, Wolfson reports in a separate tweet.
Unlike a year ago, the Mavericks don’t anticipate any snags before the moratorium is lifted on Thursday, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Last summer, Dallas looked like a huge winner in free agency before DeAndre Jordan changed his mind and re-signed with the Clippers. This year should feature a lot less drama, as Dallas is expected to finalize a trade sending Jeremy Evans to Indiana before moving on to its committed free agents. The Mavericks will complete deals with Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut and re-sign Deron Williams and Dwight Powell. The team may decide to shed some more salary, with Sefko mentioning backup center JaVale McGee as a possibility.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Former Maverick Rodrigue Beaubois will be given a chance to make the roster next season, posts Tim McMahon on ESPN Now. The 28-year-old point guard spent four years in Dallas at the start of the decade, but hasn’t played in the NBA since 2013. He spent this season with Strasbourg in France.
- Tim Duncan hasn’t made an official announcement about his future, but Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News notes that his career could end with him being waived by the Spurs. Waiving Duncan and stretching his $6.4MM salary over the next three seasons would not only help San Antonio’s cap situation, it would make sure Duncan gets all the money owed to him. All signs point toward Duncan retiring, but McDonald says if he comes back the Spurs will be able to fit him and new free agent signee Pau Gasol under their cap.
- Today’s deal with Nene makes the Rockets‘ battle for roster spots more interesting, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston now has 13 players under contract for 2016/17, and must decide by August 1st whether to pick up a $1,015,696 option on reserve point guard Andrew Goudelock. The 27-year-old appeared in just eight games after signing with the Rockets in March when he completed his season in China. Combo forward Michael Beasley is in the same position, but a source told Feigen that Houston intends to keep him. The 13 roster spots don’t include restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas or second-round draft pick Chinanu Onuaku (Twitter link).
- There is “growing skepticism” that Alessandro Gentile will join the Rockets next season, tweets international journalist David Pick. It was reported last month that the Italian wing player, whose rights belong to Houston, was interested in playing for new coach Mike D’Antoni.