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Eastern Notes: Billups, Livingston, Carmelo

July 2nd, 2014 at 10:56pm CST by Zachary Links

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.
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Western Rumors: Suns, Love, Miller, Miles

July 2nd, 2014 at 3:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

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).
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And-Ones: Raptors, Mayo, Prince, Lin, Rivers

July 2nd, 2014 at 1:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

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.

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Kyle Lowry Will Take Few Days To Make Decision

July 2nd, 2014 at 7:59am CST by Zachary Links

WEDNESDAY, 7:59am: Lowry wants nothing less than a deal worth $40MM over four years, sources tell Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, who hears the Raptors would be comfortable at four years, $44MM. That’s less than the $12MM a year that Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier that the Raptors would offer, but the key may be whether Toronto extends its offer to a fifth year, as Grange suggests and as Stein reported that the team is considering

TUESDAY, 10:00pm: Lowry’s bidders include the Raptors, Rockets, and Lakers.  The Heat have not progressed their talks with him, however, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

9:08pm: Guard Kyle Lowry told the Raptors today that he’ll take a few days to make up his mind, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com.  The Raptors, meanwhile, are still confident that they’ll retain the point guard.  “He knows us, and we know him,” a source said.

Lowry has been an extremely popular guy over the last ~22 hours.  A number of clubs have reached out to the 28-year-old, including the Heat.  Miami is reportedly telling clubs that they have about $12MM to spend, which is in line with the reported offer that the Raptors are making to Lowry.

Toronto, meanwhile, was said to be thinking about making a five-year offer to the veteran.  It’s not known for certain if the Raptors went through with that pitch in their meeting with Lowry in Philadelphia earlier today.

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Southwest Rumors: Daniels, LeBron, Parsons

July 1st, 2014 at 7:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The Rockets would like to re-sign Troy Daniels, but he’s also receiving interest from the Mavericks, Spurs, Grizzlies, and Pelicans, according to sources that spoke with RealGM’s Shams Charania.  Daniels became a playoff hero for Houston after he was called up from the D-League but they could be seeing plenty of him on the opposing side this season with the entire Southwest Division in pursuit.  Here’s the latest out of the Southwest..

  • The Mavericks, Rockets, and Suns are among the teams that are set to meet with LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paul, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
  • Several teams are thinking of signing Chandler Parsons to a high-dollar offer sheet if only to burden the Rockets with an unwieldy cap hold while they decided whether to match, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes.
  • The Grizzlies are split on what to do with free agent forward James Johnson, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal.  The coaching staff sees Johnson as a mistake-prone player and is frustrated by him.  Meanwhile, some of the team’s execs see him as a wild card worth keeping.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Raptors Stymie Rockets’ Interest In Kyle Lowry?

July 1st, 2014 at 3:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:34pm: Lowry is thinking over an offer from the Rockets, Wojnarowski tweets. That’s presumably a scenario that would see him sign outright with Houston rather than via sign-and-trade.

3:17pm: Lowry is also considering a meeting with the Lakers, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who have interest, as we noted below. Lowry already met with the Rockets.

2:41pm: The Rockets were trying to work out a way to acquire Kyle Lowry via sign-and-trade with the Raptors, but Toronto isn’t playing along, and that appears to have put Houston out of the running for the free agent point guard, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. The Rockets had reportedly viewed Lowry as a fallback option if bigger names proved out of their reach.

Lowry met with the Raptors today and is mulling an offer from them, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Raptors have apparently been preparing to pitch a four-year, $48MM deal to the Andy Miller client, though another dispatch indicated that they were thinking about tacking a fifth year onto that.

The Heat are reportedly attempting to set up a meeting with the point guard, too. The Lakers and Mavs also apparently reached out to Lowry, who this spring made his affection for Toronto clear while stopping short of promising a return.

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Western Rumors: Nowitzki, Frye, Sefolosha, Love

July 1st, 2014 at 1:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs have had advanced discussions with Dirk Nowitzki but both sides have agreed to put off sealing a deal until after Wednesday’s meeting with Carmelo Anthony, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears. That’s to let the team keep maximum flexibility, the same desire that also prompted the sides to decide against an extension. The Mavs and Nowitzki engaged in extension talks before he became a free agent, so Dallas has a strong idea of what the perennial All-Star wants, Stein writes. There’s more on the Mavs amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, Gasol, Hayward, Jazz

July 1st, 2014 at 8:24am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks made a call to Carmelo Anthony shortly after free agency began overnight to remind him of their desire to keep him in New York, as Al Iannazzone details. That’s not surprising, of course, and while the Knicks feel confident in their ability to reel Anthony back to the Big Apple, his first face-to-face is today with the Bulls. Here’s more from the first day of free agency:

  • The Lakers, Bulls, Mavs and Warriors made the first calls to Pau Gasol, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).
  • The Jazz spoke with restricted free agent Gordon Hayward tonight, a league source tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter).  Both sides are expected to continue talks later today. Utah also has high interest in retaining Marvin Williams, Jones says (Twitter links).
  • A league source tells Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (on Twitter) that the meeting between the Blazers and Spencer Hawes “went very well.”
  • The Lakers, Heat, Bulls and Thunder all reached out to Caron Butler, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
  • K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune adds Kirk Hinrich to the list of free agents with whom the Bulls have had contact since last night (Twitter link).
  • After the Hawks called Kent Bazemore and the Celtics followed suit, the Mavs, Lakers and Suns also made contact with him, in that order, Kennedy tweets.
  • The Celtics contacted Jordan Hill directly and also spoke to his reps at BDA Sports Management, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (on Twitter).
  • The Rockets will meet with James Johnson, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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Raptors Considering Offering Fifth Year To Lowry

July 1st, 2014 at 1:27am CST by Zachary Links

1:27am: Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and coach Dwane Casey will meet with Lowry in Philadelphia later today, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo (on Twitter).

1:03am: The line of teams chasing Kyle Lowry is so long that the Raptors are now said to be weighing whether to offer a fifth year to clinch his re-signing, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.  As Stein reported earlier tonight, the Raptors are pitching a deal with an average annual value of $12MM/year, so a five-year deal would be quite a get for the 28-year-old.

The Heat have been known to be fans of Lowry and really appeared to ramp up their pursuit early Tuesday morning.  A source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) that Miami reached out to his agent, Andy Miller, and the sides are planning to talk in the morning.

In addition to the Heat, the Raptors will have to contend with the Lakers, Rockets, and Mavericks, who all reached out to Lowry tonight, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

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Free Agent Rumors: Melo, Love, Henry, Sessions,

July 1st, 2014 at 1:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks are still viewed in league circles as the favorites in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The team is confident that it will get the final sales pitch with Anthony, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The latest free agent rumors from around the league..

  • The Rockets, Suns, Bulls, and Warriors are all expected to make plays for Kevin Love if they miss out on LeBron James and/or Anthony, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press.
  • The Pacers are targeting Xavier Henry in free agency to replace Evan Turner, tweets Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth.
  • Bucks free agent guard Ramon Sessions‘ camp received calls from three teams in the first hour of free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
  • The Grizzlies, Nets, Spurs, and Thunder have expressed in free agent point guard Sebastian Telfair, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Telfair played in China last season. For the Nets, Telfair could be a potential replacement for Shaun Livingston if he goes elsewhere.
  • The Nets reached out as soon as the negotiating window opened to their own free agents Paul Pierce, Livingston, and Alan Anderson, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
  • The Blazers have strong interest in signing a stretch four, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Spencer Hawes, Boris Diaw, and Josh McRoberts are among their targets.
  • Blazers GM Neil Olshey met with Hawes and his agent, Greg Lawrence, tonight in Los Angeles, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
  • Channing Frye would be open to returning to the Blazers, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “Of course coming back would be an option,” Frye wrote in an e-mail. “I love the city, the fans, and the players they have are top notch.”
  • Nick Young was contacted by the Lakers and a number of other teams, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter).
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