Rockets Sign Isaiah Canaan
The Rockets and second round pick Isaiah Canaan have agreed to a three-year contract with the third year being a team option, according to agent Reggie Brown (Twitter link and story via Fox Houston's Mark Berman). Canaan was said to be drawing first round interest in June's draft, but dropped to No. 34 where the Rockets jumped on him.
Canaan averaged 21.8 points and 4.3 assists per game as a senior at Murray State. He figures to be ready to score at the NBA level, and should be an offensive asset off the bench for the new-look Rockets sooner rather than later. If the rumors that the team is shopping Jeremy Lin prove true, Canaan could be thrust into a significant role on a team with title aspirations.
Pistons Sign Josh Smith To Four-Year Deal
JULY 10TH, 12:11pm: The Pistons have officially signed Smith, the team announced today (Twitter link).
JULY 6TH, 3:47pm: Smith's deal includes $54MM in base salary, but the value could rise to $56MM if he reaches performance incentives, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
2:54pm: No sign-and-trade is planned at the moment between the Pistons and Hawks, so the Smith acquisition figures to be an outright signing, notes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Windhorst also says the Rockets never engaged in sign-and-trade discussions about Smith with the Hawks.
2:34pm: Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press hears the deal totals just $54MM (Twitter links).
2:01pm: Josh Smith and the Pistons have agreed to terms on a four-year, $56MM deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Detroit lands perhaps the most enticing name on the free agent market now that Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are locked up, using its cap space to reel in the athletic forward. The Rockets appeared to be pursuing a sign-and-trade for Smith as recently as last night, but couldn't get any traction on a move that would have reunited Howard with his AAU teammate.
The deal falls short of the maximum contract Smith was looking for, and gives him just a slight bump from the $13.2MM he made last season with the Hawks. The Warriors and Hawks also had interest, and the Celtics reportedly were set to target Smith in the wake of having traded Paul Pierce, but no team pursued him with as much vigor as Detroit, as Wojnarowski writes. The Pistons met with the client of Wallace Prather and Brian Dyke in the first hours of free agency, and though an offer didn't come out of that encounter, it was clear the team regarded him as more than the "Plan B" he appeared to be for other suitors who were waiting to hear from Howard.
The Pistons also had their sights on Andre Iguodala, and would like to have re-signed Jose Calderon, but with both of them agreeing on deals with other teams, it looks like president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and company circled back to their No. 1 option. The team should still have close to $10MM in cap room to complement an impressive front line of Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.
The 27-year-old Smith saw his numbers dip a bit from his career year in 2011/12, averaging 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists this past season. Though Smith is multitalented, the hole in his game is three-point shooting. He took more shots from behind the arc than ever in 2012/13, but he connected on just 30.3% of his 2.6 long-range attempts per game.
Blazers Acquire Thomas Robinson
JULY 10TH: The Blazers have formally finalized their acquisition of Robinson from the Rockets, according to team owner Paul Allen (via Twitter). The picks being sent to Houston will be a 2015 second-rounder from the Wolves or Nuggets (whichever pick is higher) and a 2017 second-rounder from the Blazers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
JUNE 30TH: The Trail Blazers have agreed to acquire forward Thomas Robinson from the Rockets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The deal allows Houston to clear enough cap space in order to offer a maximum contract to Dwight Howard.
Portland will send the Rockets the draft rights to Kostas Papanikolau and Marko Todorovic and two future second-round picks, league sources said. With the forward's salary now off of the books, the Rockets can offer Howard a four-year deal worth roughly $88MM in their meeting later tonight.
Robinson earns $3.5MM next season — not an unreasonable amount for a player with his potential, but too much for the Rockets as they need to squeeze in a max contract for this summer's top available big man. Houston also cut Aaron Brooks and Carlos Delfino loose last week in order to carve out space for D12.
The fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft averaged 4.8 PPG and 4.5 RPG in limited playing time last season. This is his second trade with the first coming at the deadline earlier this year, sending him from Sacramento to Houston.
The NBA’s New Maximum Salaries
After jumping by 5.77% a year ago, the maximum salary for NBA players increased by a much more modest amount this year — about 1%. Here's a breakdown of how this season's maximum salaries compare to last season's, via cap expert Larry Coon (Twitter link):
These changes to the maximum salary won't have an impact on players like Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, whose salaries had already exceeded the max and been previously established. However, they'll have an effect on James Harden and Blake Griffin, who signed max-salary extensions last offseason with the Rockets and Clippers respectively. Those new deals will take effect this coming season, and will use the new max figures.
Because Griffin was voted to two All-Star teams during his rookie-scale contract, he's eligible for the "Derrick Rose Rule" extension, which means he'll earn the max for a player with seven to nine years of experience. Harden will earn the standard max for a player with one to six years of experience. Here's how the two deals will break down:
The new maximum salaries would also impact free agents like Brandon Jennings and Nikola Pekovic, but it appears unlikely that either of those guys will receive max deals.
FA Updates: Brewer, Teague, Hawks, Knicks, Lucas
With the July moratorium scheduled to be lifted tomorrow, free agent contracts can finally become official, and tomorrow should be a busy day, as teams and players formally finalize their agreements from the last nine days. However, there are still plenty of players on the market in search of a new team, or a deal with their old team. Here's the latest on a few of them:
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that the Timberwolves have spoken to Corey Brewer's reps, and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune hears from a source close to Brewer that the Wolves "would love him" (Twitter link).
- The Bucks' interest in Jeff Teague is "undeniable," but it's not clear if the Hawks are ready to take back Brandon Jennings or Monta Ellis in a sign-and-trade, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
- After passing along a handful of Knicks updates this morning, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com provides a couple more. According to Zwerling, there's still mutual interest between the Knicks and Aaron Brooks, and the team also has some interest in Shawne Williams, though there's "nothing firm" there (Twitter links).
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports that John Lucas III met with the Jazz in Orlando yesterday, and hears from agent Bernie Lee that Lucas will meet with another team today in his hometown of Houston. According to Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter), four teams, including the Jazz, are interested in the free agent point guard.
- Before he agreed to sign with the Pistons, Italian forward Gigi Datome drew interest from the Celtics, Bucks, Rockets, Suns, Spurs, and Grizzlies, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Lowe On Howard, Wizards, Teague, Pelicans
The surprise of the summer might not have been Dwight Howard's departure from the Lakers, but the quickness with which he decided to join up with the Rockets. We're just a week into the free agency period, but executives are already taking the time to survey the entire landscape outside of their own milieu. Zach Lowe of Grantland checked in with basketball people to get their take on things and unearthed some very interesting tidbits..
- Lowe wonders why more clubs didn't put their toe in the water for Dwight Howard. His educated guess after poking around is that the Wizards gave it a go while the Bulls, who were once a rumored trade destination, did not. The Bulls have a stern culture, very good talent already on hand, and a tax complication, so Howard would have been a longshot and maybe not the best idea anyway.
- The Jazz could have used their cap space this summer to sign Jeff Teague, who sources say is nearly unwanted in the Hawks organization. We've heard previously that the point guard was upset with the lack of communication he's had with Atlanta this summer.
- Pelicans owner Tom Benson has told the front office that the team needs to take a significant step forward this season, according to several sources around the league. That would help to explain their sizable commitment to Tyreke Evans this summer.
- Other execs have pointed out that the Rockets tend to be sort of annoying, especially around draft day. Daryl Morey & Co. make many, many phone calls, poking the market and chasing tiny deals that move them two spots up in the draft or add an extra second-round pick. People knocked Morey for burning up the phone lines to chase the No. 9 seed a year ago and didn't seem long for Houston, but he has turned a roster with zero top-50 talent into a roster with two top-15 players.
- As much as Houston says they want to hang on to center Omer Asik, Lowe would be surprised to see him finish the year with the Rockets.
Odds & Ends: Morrow, Ellis, Rivers, Collison
Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- The Grizzlies, Warriors, and Bobcats are the latest teams to show interest in Anthony Morrow, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. The Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Rockets, and Knicks have all reached out as well.
- Nothing is imminent at this point between the Hawks and Monta Ellis, but the two sides are engaged in talks, Kennedy tweets.
- Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck took a shot at former coach Doc Rivers, telling Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that "Doc left us, period." Still, Grousbeck is confident his team can rebuild, as Bulpett observes in a separate piece.
- Many around the league are surprised that the Clippers were able to snag Darren Collison for a starting salary of just $1.9MM, Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets.
- The Spurs called 6'8" sharpshooter James Southerland to see if he would consider playing overseas next season if they took him with the 58th pick in last month's draft. Southerland turned down the offer and went undrafted, and is trying to prove himself with the Sixers and Warriors in summer league, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
- Josh Smith's agreement with the Pistons shatters the notion that marquee free agents won't come to Detroit, observes MLive's David Mayo, who examines how Smith fits on the team and what moves might be next for Joe Dumars and company.
Omer Asik Requests Trade, Rockets Say No
Omer Asik has been vocal about his displeasure about the idea of backing up Dwight Howard and he has now taken the step of formally requesting a trade out of Houston, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. However, the Rockets have no plans to grant the center's wish.
Asik started all 82 games for the Rockets last season and wasn't ready to take a backseat to the league's No. 1 center. The former Bull averaged 10.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in his first season with the Rockets. Asik makes a very reasonable $5.225MM next season but his salary balloons to $14.9MM in 2014/15.
Rockets Aggressively Shopping Jeremy Lin
A source tells HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram that the Rockets are working hard to move Jeremy Lin, but Houston is finding little interest in the point guard (Twitter link). The Rockets' pursuit of a deal comes in spite of GM Daryl Morey's insistence this week that he's not looking to move Lin and Omer Asik, and a more recent report from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com indicating the team was open to keeping them both.
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors surmised that Morey's comments might simply have been an attempt to boost the value of Lin and Asik while easing possible tensions should the two remain on the roster into next season. Asik doesn't seem placated, as Berger heard Friday that the center wants out of Houston and isn't interested in playing on the same team as Dwight Howard. It appeared Lin and Asik might have been at the center of a trade proposal to the Hawks for Josh Smith, but there were conflicting reports, and Smith ultimately wound up agreeing to sign with the Pistons.
The cap hit for Lin will be $8,374,646 in 2013/14, and an identical amount in 2014/15. Asik has the same deal, as both came to the Rockets via offer sheets last summer. Since Houston wrangled the pair from their former teams using the Gilbert Arenas Provision, their payment schedule doesn't align with their cap hits. Both will be paid slightly more than $5MM this coming season, with balloon payments of more than $10MM set for 2014/15. That could be one reason why teams are reluctant to take on Lin.
Lin and Asik likely represent the most attractive package the Rockets could offer in pursuit of a third star to go with Howard and James Harden, unless they want to throw in Chandler Parsons.
Post Dwightmare Reactions: Shaq, Lakers, Howard
Dwight Howard's decision to spurn the extra $30MM the Lakers could offer in order to join the Rockets has led to some revelations around the rest of the league. With Dwight as the big free agency coup of the summer, he's turned into the first domino as other teams have made moves in the wake of his announcment.
But the fall-out from Dwight's decision is just starting to expand in scope, and there have been reactions all over. Perhaps most notably, are the words from another former Lakers and Magic star, Shaquille O'Neal.
O'Neal has been critical of Dwight Howard in the past, but he was a bit more condescending when he called Dwight's decision the "safe move," while speaking to assembled media Saturday. But O'Neal's reaction to Dwight's decision wasn't the only fall-out from D-12's move to Texas. Here are more Dwight Howard links now that he's finally made up his mind on where he's going next year:
- A year ago, Howard's camp warned the Rockets that he wouldn't re-sign with Houston if he were traded there. This summer, other Howard suitors tried to convince the big man that James Harden is a selfish teammate. Still, the Rockets persevered, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy thinks Orlando got the better end of the deal when they dealt Howard in the blockbuster trade involving the Sixers, Nuggets and Lakers this past fall. Van Gundy spoke with Fox Sports Florida's Chris Tomasson about how the Magic ended up on top after the initial response had them losing the deal badly.
- There's video of Shaq talking about Howard and the decision, via NBA.com
- ESPN.com columnist J.A. Adande writes about the flummoxing decision by Dwight to leave the Lakers and the extra money, especially when considering his stated motivation to win now.
- The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen sat down with the best Rockets center since Hakeem Olajuwon to get Howard's side of the story about what brought him to Houston.
- Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News offers a sobering insight for Lakers fans after Howard's decision: Kobe Bryant might have lost his last chance at title number six.
- Finally, we have Mike Bresnahan at the Los Angeles Times on the sketchy Lakers future after Dwight's decision to leave. Their first decision appears to have been not to amnesty Pau Gasol before the last season of his contract.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.