Rockets, Pelicans, Wizards Swap Ariza, Asik, Ely
2:19pm: The deal is official, the Pelicans have announced. New Orleans is folding Scotty Hopson into the trade after acquiring him over the weekend, marking the third trade for Hopson’s non-guaranteed contract in less than a week. So, It’s Asik, Casspi and $1.5MM to the Pelicans, Ariza, Gee, Hopson and a protected 2015 first-round pick to the Rockets, and Ely to the Wizards.
TUESDAY, 10:23am: The NBA has given its approval for the trade, and a formal announcement is forthcoming, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 7:55pm: Ely will not be retained by the Wizards, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
5:59pm: Ariza will go to Houston on a three-way deal, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter). The Pelicans will get Omer Asik, Omri Casspi, and $1.5MM from the Rockets. Houston will get Ariza from Washington, Alonzo Gee, and a protected 2015 first-round choice from New Orleans. The Wizards will take on the non-guaranteed contract of Melvin Ely from New Orleans while receiving a $8.5MM trade exception (link).
Of course, Asik was already headed to the Pelicans in exchange for the 2015 first-rounder. Now, the deal has been expanded to help facilitate the Ariza sign-and-trade. Gee, meanwhile, has now been traded twice inside of a week.
5:08pm: The Rockets will acquire Trevor Ariza in a sign-and-trade deal with the Wizards, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Wizards will get a $8.5MM trade exception by making the deal, but it’s not clear what they’ll be sending to Houston in the trade.
The Rockets and Ariza agreed on a four-year, $32MM deal yesterday. A number of teams were rumored to be interested in the sharpshooter’s services, but the Rockets came out on top. Ariza will try and help fill the void at small forward for Houston now that Chandler Parsons is Dallas-bound.
Ariza’s contract is structured on a declining scale, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. He will earn $8.6MM this season, and $8.2MM, $7.8MM, $7.4MM, in the following years. Ariza could have served as a stretch four alongside Dwight Howard if Parsons was retained, but he’ll now line up at his natural position.
In 77 games with the Wizards last season, the Rob Pelinka client averaged 14.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per night. He shot 40.7% from beyond the arc, well above his career mark of 34.7%. Ariza, 29, played in Houston during the 2009/10 season.
While Ariza is a nice addition, it goes without saying that this wasn’t the summer the Rockets had in mind.
Western Notes: Miller, Bosh, Tucker, Mavs
The Rockets and the Mavericks are interested in Mike Miller, reports Mark Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Nuggets have the best financial offer on the table for Miller, but Dallas, Houston, and the Cavaliers offer him a better chance to play for a winner, tweets Stein.
More from out west:
- The Pelicans extended a two-year contract offer to undrafted free agent center Patric Young, reports David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link).
- In addition to the Rockets and Heat, Chris Bosh was also being pursued by the Nuggets, Suns, and Lakers, notes Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com. On why he chose to re-sign with Miami, Bosh said, “There were very enticing offers. There was some surprising advances made in everything, but I ultimately decided to stay in Miami. I think it was the right choice. I benefit from it, the team will benefit from it, from here. My heart was in Miami. I wanted to be there and keep my family there and build relationships and really keep building on something special.“
- It was a long road for P.J. Tucker, but the hard work paid off with his new contract with the Suns, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic.
- Mavericks‘ president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson would like to re-sign free agent center Bernard James, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Nelson said, “We love to be able to have Sarge [James] back because of his shot blocking.” James averaged 0.3 BPG in 30 games last season for Dallas.
- Mavs owner Mark Cuban suggested that Chandler Parsons was the team’s top free agent target all along, writes Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com. Cuban said, “I looked at all the main guys that were young that we thought would be available and we loved his game. We liked him the best of all the free agents and that was point one.” In the article Cuban also said that if he was in the Rockets position, he would have matched their offer sheet on Parsons.
Rockets Close To Re-Signing Troy Daniels
5:24pm: The deal is expected to be for two years, tweets Feigen.
MONDAY, 5:14pm: The Rockets are finalizing the deal to sign Daniels today, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 3:47pm: The Rockets are in serious discussions with restricted free agent Troy Daniels about a deal that would bring the guard back to Houston, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. Daniels lacks much NBA experience, but he’s proven in his limited minutes and D-League stints that he’s a capable three-point specialist that fits the profile of a beyond the arc sniper that GM Daryl Morey covets.
Daniels stepped into the spotlight when he hit a go-ahead three pointer late in Game Three of the opening round in the 2014/15 playoffs. He’s played only 75 minutes of regular season NBA basketball, but he’s hit 40.1% of his three-pointers in the D-League, proving he can shoot with incredible accuracy.
Charania hears the two sides are working on a deal that should be completed soon (Twitter link). Bringing back the John Spencer client would certainly stand to help the shooting of Houston, which had the fifth highest team field goal percentage in the NBA last season.
Daryl Morey On Lin, Parsons, Bosh
Rockets GM Daryl Morey gambled and lost with Chandler Parsons, electing not to match a near-maximum three-year offer sheet from the Mavs when he could have simply brought him back for $964,750 had he exercised Houston’s team option on the small forward. He also missed out on Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh last week, settling for a much less glamorous agreement with Trevor Ariza. Morey took to the radio airwaves Monday in Houston to try to explain just what went wrong, and he called the structure of the Parsons offer sheet “one of the most untradeable structures that I’ve ever seen,” as we passed along earlier. Adam Wexler of CSNHouston.com and the Houston Chronicle roundup more of Morey’s remarks on SportsTalk 790 and SportsRadio 610, and we’ll hit the highlights here:
On why the team completed the Jeremy Lin trade an opened cap room:
“We had the offer to Chris, while it looked extremely likely, our deal for Jeremy [Lin] was going to go away. We had to move before we had the 100% [from Bosh], because the Lakers were ready to move on with other things.”
On the decision against matching the deal for Parsons:
“It takes three, at least, three elite players with very little exception, throughout history, it takes three elite players and a good set of players that fit around them. Once Bosh said ‘no’ it put us into another very difficult decision of, is matching Chandler Parsons, do we have a better chance of winning a title by matching it or not matching it. That comes down to a very simple question, is [James] Harden, [Dwight] Howard, Parsons a three that can be a championship three? I actually think it can be. I think Chandler is a great player, getting better. Really, really good player, no doubt. But the question is actually: is Harden, Howard, Parsons, is that three a better championship odds than Harden, Howard and the team we can put together with a guaranteed lottery pick, trade exceptions, mid-level young team improving and continuing to be flexible? That was the very tough decision before us. But I can tell you this, in our opinion it was not close. We are in a better [place] to win a championship by not matching it, once Bosh goes away than by not matching it.”
On the opportunity the team lost and what it can still accomplish:
“We felt like we were on the, right there, on having potentially having the best team in the NBA if we got Bosh and matched Parsons. We feel great about where we’re at, as well. With the youngest playoff team last year and a team that is continuing to improve with Patrick Beverley and a young core behind it and a lot of ways to continue to improve this season … We were right at the precipice of, what I would argue maybe is the best team in the NBA.”
On his expectations for the year ahead:
“We feel we were almost there with the Bosh-Parsons moves. When that didn’t happen we felt like the best thing to do was step back. We’ve now got a pick, a guaranteed lottery pick basically that is now is exactly structured like the pick that got us James Harden last time. We now have trade exceptions, we now have cap room and we also have pretty good team that’s a top four seed team in the west even with the decision not to match Chandler.”
Pelicans Likely To Waive Omri Casspi
The Pelicans will likely waive Omri Casspi once their trade agreement to acquire the forward from the Rockets is complete, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who indicates that the swap is expected to become official on Tuesday (Twitter link). The camp for the Dan Fegan client would love to see him wind up with the Knicks, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com.
Casspi’s minimum salary is non-guaranteed, and it wouldn’t become fully guaranteed unless the Pelicans waited until after the August 5th to waive him, and that doesn’t appear to be an option they’re considering. It’s somewhat surprising that the Pelicans are eager to let Casspi go, since he revived a flagging career last year in Houston, averaging 6.9 points in 18.1 minutes per game. He posted a PER of just 12.9, but he was a part of the rotation for a Houston team that won 54 games. He’ll likely merit consideration for at least a fully guaranteed minimum-salary deal.
The Pelicans have been involved in a series of moves in the past few days, acquiring Alonzo Gee from the Pelicans and moving him to Houston in the trade agreement that will net the team Casspi and Omer Asik. They’re also shipping Melvin Ely to the Wizards as part of the Asik trade.
Western Notes: Blazers, Parsons, Cunningham
Agent Mark Bartelstein told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com last week that there remained a chance that Mo Williams would re-sign with the Blazers, but the door is largely closed to that possibility, leaving a disappointed Damian Lillard, as Haynes writes.
“He’s someone who I can say will be a friend forever,” Lillard said. “We got that close in a year. He’s was the one guy I wanted back the most but that’s not in my power and I understand that. We still talk and plan to link up down the road but it’s tough to know he’s not coming back.”
Still, Lillard added that he likes Portland’s additions of Chris Kaman and Steve Blake. Here’s more from around the West:
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey called the structure of the offer sheet Chandler Parsons signed with the Mavs “one of the most untradeable structures that I’ve ever seen” in an appearance on SportsTalk 790 AM in Houston, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com transcribes.
- The Rockets have reached out to Dante Cunningham, who’s still a long shot to re-sign with the Wolves, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
- The Warriors remain in touch with Jermaine O’Neal as he ponders retirement, observes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
- Anthony Morrow is set to join the Thunder and Brian Roberts has a deal with the Hornets, and the Pelicans went ahead Sunday and renounced their rights to both, as the RealGM transactions log shows.
And-Ones: Rockets, Gay, Livingston, Miles
The Rockets promised Chris Bosh that they would match the Mavs’ offer sheet for Chandler Parsons if he jumped from Miami to Houston, but when Bosh agreed to re-sign with the Heat, the Rockets changed course, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com details (All Twitter links). Houston declined to match the deal for Parsons during the three-day window that expired Sunday night, and now the Rockets are poised to turn their attention back to longtime target Rajon Rondo and find a way back into the Kevin Love sweepstakes, Stein says. Here’s more from around the league after a busy weekend:
- Rudy Gay, who chose in June to opt into the final season of his contract with the Kings, said Sunday that he’s open to signing an extension but will wait to see how the team develops, as he told reporters, including Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “If I was going to opt out, I was definitely going to look at my options on different teams,” Gay said. “But with me opting in, I’m not saying no extension is going to happen. I’m just trying to see where we’re going as a team and how we plan on getting better.”
- The final season of Shaun Livingston‘s three-year contract with the Warriors is worth $5,782,450 but only guaranteed for $3MM, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. That guarantee could increase if Livingston triggers incentives, Pincus adds.
- Mutual options don’t exist in the NBA, but it appears that the last year of C.J. Miles‘ new four-year deal with the Pacers will function much like a mutual option, as Pincus details (Twitter link). Pincus indicates that his salary for that season is non-guaranteed but becomes guaranteed if he’s not waived after a certain date. Presuming he’s retained, Miles has a player option for that season, according to Pincus.
- Mark Deeks of ShamSports lists the contract guarantee date for Peyton Siva as having been July 12, so it appeared that his minimum salary contract would be fully guaranteed for the coming season when he remained on the Pistons roster through Saturday. However, Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter) and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com both list the date as the 20th, so it appears that Siva’s contract remains non-guaranteed unless he’s not waived on or before this coming Sunday.
- The Jazz didn’t attempt to re-sign Richard Jefferson before he moved on to the Mavs, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Chandler Parsons To Join Mavericks
8:00pm: Sign-and-trade talks between the two sides have ended without a deal, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
6:25pm: The Rockets and Mavericks have expressed a willingness to try and hammer out a sign-and-trade deal, but it’s not clear if the league will allow them to do so, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
4:59pm: The Rockets have decided not to match the offer sheet Chandler Parsons signed with the Mavericks, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Parsons will now earn more than $46,084,500 over the next three seasons with Dallas, a figure slightly less than the maximum he could have received in an offer sheet over that timeframe.
The Rockets were hoping to land free agent Chris Bosh and also match the Mavs’ offer sheet for Parsons. However, when Bosh surprised Houston by returning to Miami, the Rockets decided to spend their money elsewhere.
Parsons will earn $14.7MM next season, $15.36MM in 2015/16 and $16.02MM in 2016/17 for a total of $46.08MM over three years. The third and final year of the deal includes a player option.
Houston chose to decline the extremely reasonable $960K team option for Parsons this season in a move that preserved their right to match offers for the third-year forward in restricted free agency rather than see him become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Cavs Nearing Deal With Mike Miller
SUNDAY, 3:12pm: Miller is a possibility for the Mavs or Rockets, depending on which club doesn’t get Chandler Parsons, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
SATURDAY, 6:40pm: The Cavs and Miller are now making progress on a contract, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
9:56am: Sam Amick of USA Today tweets that the Cavs are not yet close to a deal with Miller, and have only had cursory conversations at this point.
12:33am: The Cavs are closing in on a deal with Miller, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Miller on Friday cut off talks with the Nuggets, with whom he was reportedly close to a deal earlier this week, and had the Grizzlies tell him they were ending their pursuit.
WEDNESDAY, 3:27pm: Miller’s price is shooting up, with the Grizzlies, Thunder and Nuggets all in the race along with the Cavs, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). He’s in line for salaries of $4-4.5MM, Wojnarowski adds.
11:22am: James reached out to a pair of free agents about joining him on a team if he were to leave the Heat, and Miller was one of them, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Miller can’t sign with the Heat, since his amnestied contract would have run through next season, and teams are barred from re-signing the players they amnesty while their old contracts would still have been in effect.
10:52am: The Cavs are in pursuit of free agent Mike Miller, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link). It seems like the latest move in the team’s efforts to land LeBron James, after this morning’s trade to clear max cap flexibility and news of the team’s attempts to sign Ray Allen. Cleveland is also making a run at James Jones, a longtime member of the Heat and a favorite of LeBron’s, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.
Cleveland reportedly considered claiming Miller off amnesty waivers last summer, but he wound up clearing those waivers and signing with the Grizzlies as a free agent, as Miller apparently gave signals he wouldn’t want to play in Cleveland. It’s not clear whether the chance to reunite with LeBron James, should the four-time MVP sign with Cleveland, would persuade Miller to reconsider a move to the Cavs. The Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Thunder and Grizzlies are all reportedly in the mix for Miller, and while a report last week indicating that Memphis believed it was losing a bidding war for the Arn Tellem client also said that Miller would make his decision soon, he remains on the market.
Jones, 33, was little-used the past three seasons, though he did emerge as a rotation player for a time during the postseason for the Heat this past spring. The Miami native is likely in line for a minimum-salary deal wherever he ends up.
And-Ones: Monroe, Celtics, Siva, Anthony
There is a possibility that restricted free agent Greg Monroe is avoiding signing any offer sheets in order to force a sign-and-trade deal out of Detroit, writes David Mayo of MLive. If Monroe never signs an offer sheet, the Pistons have nothing to match, and his agent David Falk could attempt to force a sign-and-trade to a preferred destination or advise Monroe to sign a qualifying offer which would then make Monroe an unrestricted free agent in 2015, notes Mayo.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Celtics best bet is to hold off on making any big moves until the summer of 2015, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. In the piece, Forsberg breaks down Boston’s salary cap for the next two summers and weighs in on what moves the team could make.
- If the Rockets match the offer sheet that Chandler Parsons signed with the Mavericks, this won’t leave Dallas with many options at small forward, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. If the Mavs miss out on Parsons, look for them to make a run at Lance Stephenson, notes MacMahon.
- The Mavericks have a history of losing out on restricted free agents, MacMahon writes in a separate article.
- Carmelo Anthony‘s impending return to the Knicks was about business for both sides, not sentiment, writes Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post.
- Anthony’s return to the Knicks signifies he’s more concerned about being paid than he is about winning, though that shouldn’t necessarily make him an object of scorn, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com
- Peyton Siva’s non-guaranteed minimum salary contract became fully guaranteed for the coming season when he remained on the Pistons roster through Saturday.
- The Hornets and the Mavericks are showing interest in free agent guard D.J. Augustin, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).