Pelicans Have Strong Interest In Andre Iguodala
The Pelicans have strong interest in free agent swingman Andre Iguodala, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Nuggets, Hawks, Pistons, Kings, Mavs, Warriors and Rockets are all in the mix as well, according to USA Today's Sam Amick (Twitter link). When Iguodala opted out of his contract with Denver this month, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports identified many of those teams, along with the Cavs, as likely to have interest in the Rob Pelinka client.
The Pelicans appear to be one of the most aggressive teams this offseason, already having pulled off a trade at the draft for Jrue Holiday, Iguodala's former teammate in Philadelphia. New Orleans is also said to be making Eric Gordon "very available" in trade talks. The Pelicans will have plenty of cap space available if they wish to make Iguodala a maximum-salary offer, but I'm not sure they'd need to go that far. The max for the nine-year veteran would entail a starting salary worth 30% of the salary cap, or around $19.5MM. He would have made $16.155MM had he opted in with Denver.
Among the other teams pursuing Iguodala, the Rockets and Mavs will focus first on higher priorities like Dwight Howard, as Amick tweets, also noting that the Warriors interest in Iguodala is likely only cursory, given their lack of cap space and proximity to the luxury tax line. The Warriors are pursuing Howard, too, but that, too, appears a longshot.
Warriors Meeting With Howard Next Week
7:14pm: USA Today's Sam Amick tweets that Howard will meet with the large Rockets contingent (see below) at 9 p.m. PST Sunday when free agency officially begins.
6:59pm: Sam Amick of USA Today tweets that Howard's schedule next week in LA includes Warriors and Hawks on Monday and Mavericks and Lakers on Tuesday.
This comes after Dwight meets with the Rockets late Sunday night when the free agency period officially starts at midnight.
- ESPN.com's Ric Bucher earlier said Howard would not be meeting with the Warriors (Sulia link), but they have been granted the option to visit him, and will take that opportunity league sources tell him. This despite the unlikelihood the Warriors could afford Howard without a sign-and-trade (Sulia link).
6:14pm: Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Warriors owner Joe Lacob, GM Bob Myers and coach Mark Jackson will meet with Howard next week (Twitter).
5:51pm: The Dwight Howard drama continues as we come up on the month of July when teams, other than the Lakers, can pitch the big man on joining forces this summer. Dwight's the biggest question mark among the star free agents this summer, after the Lakers had initially appeared to be the frontrunners to retain the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Chris Paul is likely to re-sign with the Clippers after they traded a 2015 first round pick to hire Doc Rivers away from the Celtics, but now the Clippers might be making a move to challenge the Rockets, Mavericks and Lakers for D-12's services, reports Sports on Earth's Shaun Powell (Twitter links).
The Clippers have the OK from owner Donald Sterling to do whatever it takes, but the acqusition of Howard would depend on a salary and sign-and-trade options, since signing Paul and Howard to max contracts would be untenable under the current CBA with their cap space.
According to Powell, Howard wants to play with Paul because he feels the point guard would get him the ball. Despite both Doc and Paul wanting Howard, they won't pursue him at the expense of Blake Griffin (Twitter links). Here's some more surrounding Howard's upcoming week talking with various team's jockeying for his services.
- The Rockets are meeting with Howard first on Sunday night, with owner Leslie Alexander, CEO Tad Brown, general manager Daryl Morey, former stars Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler (the latter of whom comes via MyFoxHouston's Mark Berman), and current stars James Harden and Chandler Parsons, expected to be in attendance.
- But the Mavericks are also putting together a group to meet with Howard on Tuesday in Los Angeles, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter). Dirk Nowitzki and owner Mark Cuban are expected to be a part of the Mavs' formal pitch.
- ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramond Shelburne tweets that Dwight is expected to meet with at least four teams. Emphasis hers.
- Marc Berman of the New York Daily News believes Dwight will head to the Rockets if he leaves the Lakers.
- Kobe Bryant sat down with Mike Trudell at Lakers.com to share his thoughts on Howard's free agency and the importance of Howard arriving at his decision on his own.
Rockets To Meet With Dwight Howard First
The Rockets will meet with Dwight Howard late Sunday night in Los Angeles, soon after teams other than the Lakers become eligible to negotiate with the free agent center, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The same can't be said for Golden State, as a source close to Howard tells Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game that the sought-after free agent center won't visit the Warriors to hear a pitch from the team (Sulia link). An earlier report indicated that the Warriors were hoping to sit down with Howard, and that he was likely to indulge them on their request.
Houston's contingent will include GM Daryl Morey, coach Kevin McHale, owner Les Alexander, Hall-of-Fame Rocket Hakeem Olajuwon and current Rockets James Harden and Chandler Parsons, Goodman writes. The Rockets have emerged as the front-runner in the last few weeks for the famously indecisive Howard, whose most serious suitors appear to be Houston, the Mavs and the Lakers, according to Bucher. Parsons has said he's been in contact with Howard every day this spring.
The Warriors don't have cap space for 2013/14, so the only way they could acquire Howard would be via sign-and-trade as Bucher points out. Even if the Lakers agree to such a maneuver, the Warriors would have to send back close to $20MM in salary to make the deal work with a max contract for Howard, which could gut a roster that made it to the Western Conference semifinals last season.
The Hawks don't make much sense for Howard, Bucher writes, adding that Howard may listen to a pitch from Atlanta simply so he's not seen rejecting the notion of coming to his hometown team out of hand.
Odds & Ends: Brown, Granger, Brooks, Cavs
It's been a relatively quiet post-draft night around the NBA, but such inactivity won't last long. Teams can negotiate with free agents from other clubs starting Monday, and we'll likely find out the destinations for most of the top available talent in the week ahead. Here's what we know now:
- Spurs assistant Brett Brown is a candidate for both of the league's remaining head coaching vacancies, but while the Sixers have strong interest in hiring him, Brown is "extremely" interested in the Celtics job, a source tells Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.
- Before Larry Bird returned this week as Pacers president of basketball ops, the team appeared to favor keeping Danny Granger rather than trading him this summer. Bird is on board with that plan, notes Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star.
- The Nets tried to trade MarShon Brooks during the draft for a second-round pick, but when they found no one willing to do such a deal, they substituted him for Reggie Evans in the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster, reports Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- The Cavaliers are looking for a center, small forward and backup point guard, and they're willing to swing a trade to fill those needs, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- The Rockets timed renovations to their home arena to coincide with free agency, so potential players could see the franchise's upgrades in action, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details.
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News speculates on potential trade targets for the Pistons, who've had Wilson Chandler of the Nuggets "on their radar" for a while, Goodwill writes.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside identifies five players left undrafted Thursday whose chances of making the NBA could benefit from a D-League stint.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer figures the kind of deal Brandon Jennings gets in restricted free agency this year could set the bar for Kemba Walker, whose rookie-scale contract with the Bobcats is up in 2015 (Twitter link).
Minor Moves: Nuggets, Leslie, Pressey, Daniels
With the 2013 draft in the books, there are still plenty of intriguing prospects that were not among the 60 players who heard their names called on Thursday night. Many of those guys will be snapped up quickly for Summer League rosters, while others could sign outright with an NBA team.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported a handful of signings late last night, and it's my understanding that these are actual free-agent contracts rather than just Summer League invites, though that's not entirely clear. Either way, the agreements will provide these undrafted free agents a chance to audition for a possible NBA roster spot. Here's a recap:
- Kennedy has corrected his earlier report (linked below), tweeting that Harris is simply playing for the Nuggets in Summer League action, and not signing with the team yet. I imagine that may be the case for Howell and some of the other players listed below as well, though it seems as if Covington, at least, will ink an actual contract with the Rockets. We'll likely have to wait until July for official word.
Earlier updates:
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports (via Twitter) that undrafted free agents Richard Howell and C.J. Harris will sign with the Nuggets. Again, players don't necessarily have to be under contract with a team to play for a Summer League squad, so Kennedy's wording suggests that Howell and Harris will ink deals to earn a pair of Denver's 20 summer roster spots, though that's not 100% certain.
- Former N.C. State forward C.J. Leslie has reached an agreement on a deal with the Knicks, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Leslie had been ranked the 40th-best prospect available by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com and 41st by ESPN.com's Chad Ford.
- Phil Pressey, a 5'11" point guard out of Missouri, has reached an agreement on a deal with the Celtics, tweets Wojnarowski. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe reported last night that Boston figured to "immediately go after" Pressey once he went undrafted.
- Former VCU guard Troy Daniels has agreed to a free agent deal with the Bobcats, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Daniels averaged 12.3 PPG and shot 40.3% on three-pointers in his final season with the Rams.
- Rodney Williams, Ford's 80th overall prospect in this year's class, has agreed to a deal with the 76ers, tweets Wojnarowski. The 21-year-old forward is coming off four years at the University of Minnesota.
- Robert Covington will sign a two-year, partially-guaranteed contract with the Rockets, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (via Twitter). According to Givony's sources, the guarantee for the former Tennessee State forward will be "substantial" — likely around $150K.
Andre Iguodala Opts Out, Will Be Free Agent
JUNE 28TH: Iguodala has formally filed his paperwork to opt out, making his decision official, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.
JUNE 14TH: Andre Iguodala has decided to opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, agent Rob Pelinka informed Nuggets CEO Josh Kroenke of the decision on Thursday.
"We are fully aware of Andre's intentions and he's well aware of how much we want him back," Kroenke said. "Andre us a huge priority for our organization."
While there appears to be mutual interest between Nuggets and Iguodala in a new deal, Denver is currently without a GM or coach, which makes the situation a little murkier. There will also be plenty of clubs vying for the 29-year-old's services. Wojnarowski names the Hawks, Cavaliers, Mavericks, Rockets, Pistons, and Pelicans as likely suitors.
An official decision from Iguodala is due by June 25th, but assuming he opts out, he'll be eligible for a new five-year contract from the Nuggets or a four-year deal from another team. He'll pass up a 2013/14 salary that Wojnarowski cites as $15.9MM, though various salary databases have it at $16.15MM — that salary included $250K in likely incentives, so perhaps those incentives are now listed as unlikely.
In any case, although I'm skeptical that Iguodala will land an annual salary that exceeds the approximate $16MM he would have earned on his current contract, he'll certainly be able to secure a significantly larger guarantee in a new long-term deal.
Rockets Looking To Move Jeremy Lin?
The Rockets would like to move Jeremy Lin's contract, and are prioritizing cap relief or acquiring young basketball assets, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (via Twitter). Deeks adds (via Twitter) that in addition to gaining cap relief, dealing Lin would allow the team to play Patrick Beverley more.
With the Rockets considered a potential destination for Dwight Howard, the team continues to try to clear the space necessary to make a maximum-salary offer to the big man. Thomas Robinson's name has come up more frequently in trade rumors, but Lin's cap hit is more than twice what Robinson's is, so it wouldn't be a surprise if the Rockets were gauging Lin's value as well.
Kennedy On Magic, Noel, Len, McLemore, Cavs
Here's the latest draft buzz from Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (all links go to Twitter)..
- It sounds like the Magic are really high on Nerlens Noel, Kennedy tweets. If the Cavaliers select Alex Len at No. 1, Orlando may go with Noel.
- If Noel is gone, the Magic will likely select Ben McLemore or Victor Oladipo. Many people are assuming Oladipo will be the pick in that case, but Kennedy is not so sure.
- Some sources tell Kennedy that Shabazz Muhammad will slip out of the lottery, which lines up with him not being invited to green room.
- There are still questions about Oladipo and teams are intrigued by McLemore's upside. Kennedy has been told that the Indiana product could slip all the way to the Suns at No. 5.
- The Mavs continue to shop the No. 13 pick. The Wolves and Thunder want to move up while the Grizzlies, Rockies, Warriors, and 76ers want to add a first-rounder.
Dwight Howard Unlikely To Re-Sign With Lakers
Dwight Howard is unlikely to re-sign with the Lakers, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Mavericks and Rockets are now D12’s favorites as he looks ahead to the July 1st kickoff to free agency.
The big man’s main issue with the Lakers is said to be with Mike D’Antoni‘s system. There have been rumblings all year that Howard felt out of sync with the coach’s unorthodox offensive gameplan. While the Lakers are said to have little chance of re-signing Howard, Broussard (link) cautions that they can’t be completely written off thanks to Howard’s notorious indecisiveness.
The Rockets’ summer pursuit of Howard has been the worst kept secret in the NBA for quite some time now. Houston enters this offseason with the cap room necessary to give Howard a four-year, max contract while also offering a team that could be one elite center away from being a top force in the Western Conference. On top of that, Howard has a strong relationship with Rockets star James Harden and coach Kevin McHale is being pitched as the guy who can help round out Howard’s offensive game.
While Houston can be a contender right off the bat with Howard in the middle, the same can’t be said for the Mavericks. The Mavs, who missed the playoffs last year with a 41-41 record, have an aging roster headlined by Dirk Nowitzki. The biggest factor going for the Mavericks could be owner Mark Cuban who can sell Howard on a two-year plan to get back to prominence.
Cavs, Bulls, Spurs Talking Thomas Robinson
10:43pm: The Bulls and Spurs have improved their offers, and the Cavs may be left behind, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
1:36pm: According to Stein (via Twitter), if the Bulls were to acquire Robinson, they would flip him in a subsequent trade.
12:31pm: Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio tweets that the Spurs remain in the running for Robinson as well, though it's not clear what a San Antonio offer would look like.
WEDNESDAY, 12:26pm: ESPN.com's Marc Stein is hearing that the Cavaliers No. 19 pick and the Bulls' No. 20 pick are both on the table for Robinson (Twitter link). Stein adds (via Twitter) that more and more league executives view Houston as the frontrunner for Howard, making a Robinson trade more likely.
TUESDAY, 11:38am: The Rockets are engaged in "advanced talks" on a deal that would see them trade Thomas Robinson, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. According to Feigen, the Cavaliers and Spurs are among the teams with interest in Robinson. Feigen's source adds that the Rockets have also talked to the Bulls about a potential deal, though it's not clear if those talks related to Robinson or a larger trade.
The Rockets would like to move Robinson without taking any salary back in return, since the team hopes to clear enough space to make a run at unrestricted free agent Dwight Howard. The Bulls would be able to accommodate such a deal, since Chicago has a $5MM trade exception that could absorb Robinson's salary.
It's not clear whether the Cavs have quite enough room to take on Robinson's salary this week, since 2012/13 salaries still apply up until June 30th, but they'll have plenty of cap space available in July, so they could reach an agreement with Houston this week and make it official next month. As for the Spurs, their path to a deal with the Rockets is a little hazy, unless they renounced their rights to some of their free agents next month to create cap room for Robinson. A three-team deal could also be a possibility, as Feigen speculates.
According to Feigen, the Rockets may prefer to wait until July to move Robinson anyway, since trading him wouldn't be absolutely necessarily unless the team felt it had a strong chance to land Howard and needed that extra cap room to make a max offer. If Howard elects to sign elsewhere, Houston may be better off hanging on to last year's fifth overall pick.