Central Notes: Harris, Gasol, Mirotic, Pacers
Cavs second-rounder Joe Harris has been impressing Cleveland team officials during summer league play, writes Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. The team can envision signing Harris and using him as a sharpshooter off the bench in a similar role that Mike Miller and James Jones will likely possess, says Pluto. More from the Central..
- Pau Gasol‘s contract the Bulls will pay him $22,346,280 over three years, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. His first year salary is set at $7,128,000, but it’ll increase to $7,448,760 and $7,769,520 in his second and third seasons, respectively.
- Both Gasol’s new deal and Nikola Mirotic‘s recent pact for the Bulls will carry a 15% trade kicker, relays Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
- In addition to their escalating talks with free agent Aaron Brooks, the Bulls are also eyeing John Lucas III, reports Stein (on Twitter). Lucas has previously spent time in Chicago, having appeared in 51 games over parts of two seasons.
- Pacers VP of Basketball Operations Peter Dinwiddle was considered a top candidate to land the Grizzlies’ GM job, but he’s opted to retain his current position in Indiana rather than move forward with Memphis, reveals Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
Western Rumors: Marshall, Bledsoe, Love
Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times tweets that he doesn’t expect Kendall Marshall, whom the Lakers released yesterday, to clear waivers. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers were pleasantly surprised to have won their amnesty claim on Carlos Boozer, tweets Bill Oram of The Orange County Register.
- Dan Bickley of USA Today thinks that Eric Bledsoe should relent on his demands for a five-year, $80MM contract with the Suns, and risks earning a poor public image if he doesn’t.
- The Warriors commitment to defense is manifesting itself in the team’s unwillingness to give up Klay Thompson in a Kevin Love trade, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick notes that new coach Steve Kerr has prioritized the defensive end in choosing his assistants, and that Love’s inability to reach the players is a black eye among some league executives.
- New Hornets addition Lance Stephenson tells Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star that he’s surprised he didn’t remain with the Pacers. “I’m definitely surprised,” said Stephenson. “But I’m happy here. I can definitely help this program. It’s a family here. I’m definitely going to miss Larry Bird. But it’s a business, and I feel like here is more of a family. Let’s go get wins.”
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Wizards, Stuckey
GM Steve Mills insisted the Knicks never feared they would lose Carmelo Anthony, adding that he thinks the roughly $5MM discount Anthony took over the life of his deal will indeed make a difference for the team, as Mills said during an interview on the MSG network. John DeMarzo of the New York Post rounds up his comments, including remarks in which Mills confirmed earlier reports that the team believes it has too many guards. Mills identified shooting guard as a specific position of overload and pointed to depth at power forward and center as a priority. Here’s more from out East:
- When Phil Jackson, Knicks owner James Dolan and Dolan’s business partner Irving Azoff were having initial conversations about Jackson joining the Knicks, it was Azoff, the longtime music mogul, who first suggested that Jackson take on the role as team president. Jackson, along with co-author Hugh Delehanty, shared more about his return to the Knicks in an excerpt of his latest book in the New York Daily News.
- Kevin Seraphin‘s acceptance of the Wizards qualifying offer doesn’t rule out other potential moves for Washington, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (via Twitter). Michael mentions a scoring guard as a remaining priority for the Wizards that could result in another signing.
- Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News writes that Rodney Stuckey‘s frustrating tenure with the Pistons was emblematic of the franchise’s instability following the team’s run as a contender up through 2008. If Stuckey can deliver on the promise from early in his career, Goodwill believes the Pacers will have a bargain on their hands.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Love, Allen, Stuckey, Bucks
The reports are pouring in fast and furious on the negotiations between the Cavaliers and Timberwolves for Kevin Love. While conflicting rumors persist, Ken Berger of CBS Sports simplifies it for us in his latest piece. Quite basically, LeBron James wants Love in Cleveland and Minnesota wants Andrew Wiggins for Love. And LeBron usually gets what he wants. Beyond that, Berger points out that these negotiations are a sign of things to come with regard to the leverage James holds within the Cleveland organization.
Grantland’s Zach Lowe weighs in on the talks as well (via Twitter), suggesting that the Wolves should immediately pull the trigger if Wiggins is on the table. However, as Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets, the “general feeling” at summer league was that Minnesota would require more than just Wiggins in a deal for their coveted superstar.
Here are some additional notes from the Central division on Thursday night:
- Mike Miller said in an ESPN Radio appearance that he’s selling Ray Allen on becoming the latest former Heat player to join the Cavaliers, but Allen is still considering retirement and has spoken with multiple teams this month, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
- The Pacers stayed in touch with Rodney Stuckey all month, the guard told Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star today, seemingly countering a report that made it seem as though the team shied away from him after contacting him early in free agency. Stuckey agreed Wednesday to a one-year deal with Indiana for the minimum.
- Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens revealed the franchise’s minority share owners on Thursday, a list that did not include Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Edens didn’t rule out potential for Rodgers’ involvement in the franchise, however. The list contains six local names, corresponding with a May report that the ownership duo of Edens and Marc Lasry hoped to add five to ten investors.
- Jesse Biancarte of Basketball Insiders examines what the loss of Lance Stephenson will mean for the Pacers next season, opining that Indiana has the pieces to maintain their dominance on defense but will struggle to replace the Cincinnati product on the other end of the floor.
Pacers Eye Rodney Stuckey
The Pacers have “serious interest” in Rodney Stuckey as they seek to replace Lance Stephenson, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Pacers reportedly reached out to Rodney Stuckey in the first two days of free agency, but they were nonetheless without plans to pursue him. It appears that Indiana is now ready to go after him, if the team isn’t already making a push for the Leon Rose client.
Stuckey’s days with the Pistons appear to be over after the team renounced its Bird rights to the 28-year-old combo guard and struck deals with Jodie Meeks and D.J. Augustin. The Magic had been poised to make a play for Stuckey, who was reportedly willing to sign with the Warriors for the mid-level exception before Golden State committed most of that exception to Shaun Livingston instead.
The Pacers have reportedly already used most their mid-level on Damjan Rudez and C.J. Miles, and they’re without the biannual exception after using it last year to sign C.J. Watson. That means that Indiana would probably have to work a sign-and-trade with the Pistons to give Stuckey any more than the minimum salary.
Eastern Notes: Stephenson, Miller, Knicks
Some Pacers players attempted to persuade the team to sweeten its offers to Lance Stephenson, but the front office resisted, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Stephenson agreed early this morning to bolt for the Hornets, and as his new three-year, $27.5MM deal quickly came together, the Pacers never received the opportunity to match Charlotte’s offer, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star writes. There’s more on his deal amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- The Mavs made a three-year $20MM offer to Stephenson, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). The new Hornets two-guard would have joined the Mavs instead if the Rockets hadn’t passed on matching the Mavs’ offer sheet to Chandler Parsons, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
- The Pacers made two different five-year offers to Stephenson, but he rejected them both, favoring a shorter arrangement, agent Alberto Ebanks tells Buckner (Twitter link). Indiana wasn’t willing to go shorter than five years, Broussard writes in his piece.
- The Nuggets had a three-year, $12MM offer on the table for Mike Miller, but he passed it up for two years and $5.5MM with the Cavs thanks to persistent entreaties from LeBron James, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com details.
- Knicks president Phil Jackson thinks the team has too many guards, and he may end up waiving Wayne Ellington, whom New York acquired in the Tyson Chandler trade, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- The Jazz almost doubled the average annual value of the deal that the Wizards were willing to give Trevor Booker, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
- The Hawks held on to Pero Antic through Tuesday, meaning his non-guaranteed salary for 2014/15 has become fully guaranteed for $1.25MM. The same is true for Kyle O’Quinn, whose minimum salary with the Magic went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed when Orlando kept him Tuesday.
Hornets Interested In Lance Stephenson
9:29pm: Stephenson will meet with Hornets brass in Las Vegas tomorrow, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
9:13pm: The Hornets are looking into possibly signing Lance Stephenson, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. As Bonnell mentions, the team hadn’t shown much interest in Stephenson once free agency began; however, having lost out on Gordon Hayward after Utah decided to match the Hornets’ offer sheet for the young forward, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that they’d target another prominent free agent swingman.
Earlier this month, talks between Stephenson and Indiana reached an impasse, as the 6’5 guard chose not to accept a five-year, $44MM deal. Yesterday, we heard that the Pacers couldn’t increase their offer for more than what they’ve already presented to Stephenson. Today, Pacers owner Herb Simon gave Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star a brief description about where the franchise currently stands with respect to negotiations. “We made him a wonderful offer and they didn’t think it was enough so it’s a simple situation” (Twitter link).
And-Ones: Davis, Pacers, Thunder, Miller
Baron Davis is preparing himself for a return to the NBA this fall, reports Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). When asked what offensive system he likes, Davis said the Clippers’ and the Warriors’. Davis feels like he can play 15-20 minutes per game next year, notes Zwerling.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Mike Miller is leaning towards signing with the Cavaliers, but the Nuggets are still in play for the free agent’s services, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
- With LeBron James headed back to Cleveland, and Pau Gasol on his way to Chicago, the Central Division has gotten much tougher for the Pacers, writes Michael Marot of The Star Tribune. This makes re-signing Lance Stephenson even more of a priority, opines Marot.
- Thunder assistant coach Brian Keefe will join Derek Fisher‘s coaching staff in New York, reports Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
- The Thunder have to keep building their roster through the draft because the franchise is continuing to have difficulty luring free agents to Oklahoma City, writes Jon Hamm of ESPN.com.
- With many of the biggest names in free agency now spoken for, Fred Kerber of The New York Post runs down the winners and losers in free agency thus far.
- The Mavericks aren’t done upgrading their roster, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, “We’re always looking for help in the backcourt, with an eye on 3-point shooting, and then kind of a rangy defender would be nice as well. We’re still in search of those, but those spots don’t necessarily need to be filled through free agency. Obviously there are trades and all kinds of other ways you can do that.”
- The Warriors may be interested in free agent Brandon Rush, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Rush averaged 9.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 67 games with Golden State before getting injured last season. GM Bob Myers said of Rush, “Rush was great. Everybody that’s been a fan saw how good he was for us, so if he’s healthy, and he can play, which we hear he can — we’ll go watch him and see — it’s a good addition if we could get him. You don’t know what the price would be, but we like Brandon.” The article also notes that Rush is scheduled to hold a workout for interested teams soon.
Eastern Notes: Humphries, Meeks, Patterson
Free agent Kris Humphries is still open to returning to the Celtics, writes Ben Rohrbach of WEEI 93.7 FM. Humphries said, “I could definitely see it. My agent handles most of the stuff with free agency. We’ll see what happens. I definitely could see it. I played out last year and didn’t look to jump to a playoff team before the end of the year, so I definitely enjoyed my time there, and we’ll see what happens.”
Here’s the latest from the east:
- Jodie Meeks wants to reward the Pistons on the court this season for making his signing a priority, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Meeks said, “I was their No. 1 priority. He [Stan Van Gundy] liked the way I competed on offense and defense. That’s my motto: Not worry about the bad shooting nights. Just play hard and let the chips fall where they may.”
- Patrick Patterson never had any desire to leave Toronto, which made his decision to re-sign with the Raptors easy, writes Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun. On remaining in Toronto, Patterson said, “Toronto was always one of my top choices as far as coming back. The fans and organization and the team and the friendships I have with these guys — I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to give those up, so there was no real uncertainty or doubt. It was all about coming to the right terms and getting everything situated.”
- The Bucks may announce their new partial owners soon, possibly as soon as tomorrow, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
- Van Gundy admits that Greg Monroe‘s contract situation with the Pistons has him a “little nervous,” writes David Mayo of MLive. Van Gundy said, “The nervousness is just the unknown. It’s not knowing, beyond this year, especially, where you’re going. But again, we have plenty of time, if something happened, to adjust for next year and everything else.”
- The Lance Stephenson free agency situation could drag out for awhile, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. A league executive told Mannix that the Pacers couldn’t increase their offer much more above what they have already presented Stephenson.
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.