Clippers To Meet With Derrick Rose
The Clippers have lined up a meeting with free agent point guard Derrick Rose, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Rose will sit down with the Clips on Wednesday.
It has been a busy week for the Clippers, who appeared to be heading for a rebuild when they sent Chris Paul to the Rockets last week. However, the team added multiple solid veterans – Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams – in that trade, agreed to re-sign Blake Griffin to a maximum salary contract, and have also agreed upon a sign-and-trade deal for Danilo Gallinari. So it looks like the team is merely retooling its roster in the wake of CP3’s exit, rather than embarking on a full-scale rebuild.
[RELATED: Nuggets, Hawks, Clippers agree to three-way sign-and-trade]
Although the Clippers acquired a point guard in Beverley, he’s not the kind of player who needs to have the ball in his hands a lot, so it makes sense for the club to be on the lookout for another player who can share the ball-handling load. The Clips still have the full mid-level exception ($8.4MM) available, but would be back in the tax if they use the full amount, and would be getting close to their hard cap of $125.266MM.
Rose, 28, is coming off a season in which he averaged 18.0 PPG and 4.4 APG in 64 games for the Knicks. There was reportedly some interest within the Knicks’ front office in bringing back the former No. 1 overall pick, though a source told Frank Isola of The New York Daily News that GM Steve Mills is opposed to the idea, and Mills currently has the final say on basketball decisions.
The former MVP also met with the Bucks this week.
Jamal Crawford Prefers To Land With Lakers If Bought Out
Due to a $14MM+ salary for 2017/18, Jamal Crawford is viewed as a crucial piece of a proposed sign-and-trade acquisition of Danilo Gallinari for the Clippers. However, if Crawford joins the Hawks as part of that deal, he’d likely seek a trade or buyout, and according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, the guard’s preferred landing spot is back in Los Angeles — with the Lakers.
As Spears explains, Crawford’s family is based in Los Angeles, and the 37-year-old has a “solid relationship already in place” with No. 2 overall pick Lonzo Ball, making the Lakers a logical landing spot. And Crawford’s interest in the Lakers is reciprocated by the team, per Spears. Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers are “a real option” for Crawford.
Still, there are several roadblocks that could stand in the way of a union between the Lakers and Crawford. For one, the three-way deal that would send Gallinari to the Clippers and Crawford to the Hawks hasn’t been finalized yet, though it does seem likely to happen.
If that deal is completed, the Hawks would initially intend to hang onto Crawford, league sources tell Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. While the club might consider buying out or trading Crawford, his contract wouldn’t be an easy trade chip to move without attaching an asset to him, and the Hawks would be reluctant to do a buyout unless the veteran guard is willing to give up a substantial portion of the $17MM+ in guaranteed money left on his deal, per an earlier report.
Even if Crawford were to be sent to the Hawks and then bought out, the Lakers would face competition from contending teams like the Cavaliers and Warriors for his services.
Trade Would Move Clippers Close To Luxury Tax
- The Clippers, Knicks and Magic all contacted Darren Collison before he agreed to a two-year deal with the Pacers Monday night, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 in Sacramento. The Kings made no effort to keep Collison, he adds.
- A proposed three-team trade that would bring Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers would push the team closer to the repeater tax, posts Bobby Marks on ESPN Now. Adding Gallinari would give L.A. 10 players under contract with $110.4MM in guaranteed salary. The Clippers would hit the repeater tax if their salary tops $119M, so they will have to be careful in assembling the rest of their roster.
- Gary Sacks has resigned as Clippers assistant GM, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Sacks’ contract expired Friday.
Warriors Considered Front-Runners For Jamal Crawford
11:15am: The Cavaliers and Spurs are also interested in Crawford if the buyout goes through, Haynes tweets, although Atlanta would prefer to trade him. Crawford has more than $17.2MM in guaranteed money over the next two seasons, and the Hawks would want him to give up a significant portion of that before agreeing to a buyout, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).
9:24am: Once Jamal Crawford gets bought out by the Hawks, there’s a good chance he will sign with the Warriors, according to Chris Haynes and Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com.
Crawford is part of a proposed three-team trade that would send Paul Millsap to the Nuggets and Danilo Gallinari to the Clippers. Crawford would be shipped to the Hawks, along with Diamond Stone, and will petition Atlanta for a buyout, sources told ESPN.
Once he hits the market, Golden State would be favored to sign him with its $5.2MM taxpayer mid-level exception.
Crawford, 37, played for the Warriors during the 2008/09 season and often talks about how much he enjoys the Bay Area, according to Haynes and Spears. The three-time Sixth Man of the Year appeared in all 82 games for the Clippers this season, averaging 12.3 points per night. He has said he will only consider playing for contenders once the buyout is complete.
The Warriors are also pursuing Nick Young, the authors add, with Draymond Green and Kevin Durant playing a part in the recruiting. The 10-year veteran is also in talks with the Pelicans, who can offer more playing time, but Golden State could give Young his first chance to win a title.
The Warriors probably don’t have the resources to add both Crawford and Young, but the ESPN story says there is a “strong possibility” they will land one of them.
Clippers, Nuggets, Hawks Discuss Gallinari Sign-And-Trade
JULY 4, 12:25am: The Nuggets are expected to receive some form of draft compensation in the proposed deal – assuming it gets done – for their willingness to facilitate a sign-and-trade of Gallinari, Wojnarowski says in his full ESPN report. It would likely come in the form of a second-round pick from the Hawks, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who tweets that Atlanta would receive cash in the deal.
JUNE 3, 11:40pm: Crawford has “no plans” to play in Atlanta if this three-way trade gets finalized, so a buyout or another trade of Crawford is considered necessary for the Hawks if they acquire him, tweets Amick.
11:27pm: The proposed sign-and-trade would send Gallinari to the Clippers and Millsap to the Nuggets, with Jamal Crawford, Diamond Stone, and a first-round pick heading to the Hawks, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The first-rounder would likely be the pick L.A. acquired from Houston in last week’s Paul trade, tweets Wojnarowski.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggests (via Twitter) that Crawford may want a buyout if he ends up in Atlanta, though with $14MM+ on his cap hit for 2017/18 and a partial guarantee on his deal for the following year, that could be tricky.
11:16pm: Free agent forward Danilo Gallinari is leaning “strongly” toward committing to sign with the Clippers, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). If Gallinari reaches a deal with L.A., it’s expected to be a three-year pact worth $65MM, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), the Nuggets and Hawks would both be involved in the agreement if Gallinari and the Clippers strike a deal, with the former No. 6 overall pick heading to Los Angeles in a sign-and-trade scenario. The involved parties are still working through the details, but Atlanta would land a first-round pick in the proposed deal, tweets Amick.
The Clippers don’t currently have the cap flexibility to accommodate a market-value Gallinari signing without a sign-and-trade, but the Nuggets won’t be eager to take much – if any – salary back in a sign-and-trade, since they’ve earmarked most of their cap space for Paul Millsap. As such, it makes sense for a team with cap room like the Hawks to enter the mix — they could absorb some outgoing salary from the Clippers, getting a draft pick in the process as a sweetener. And, with Denver involved, they could also include Millsap in the deal.
We’ll wait to see whether the three teams – and Gallinari’s camp – can all come to an agreement, but if the Clippers finalize a deal, they’d be hard-capped for the 2017/18 season at $125.266MM, and would still have their mid-level exception available. Los Angeles shook up its roster last week by trading Chris Paul to the Rockets, but picked up a few interesting pieces in that trade, such as Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, and Sam Dekker. The Clips also agreed to re-sign Blake Griffin over the weekend, so there’s still a decent amount of talent on the roster.
Gallinari, who turns 29 next month, has had some trouble staying on the court in recent years, appearing in just 175 total games over the last four seasons. However, he has been a versatile and effective scorer when he plays, averaging 18.2 PPG with a shooting line of .447/.389/.902 in 2016/17.
The Clippers reportedly met with both Gallinari and Rudy Gay over the weekend as the team aggressively sought out a small forward.
Free Agent Rumors: Wolves, Young, Knicks, Gay
Although the Warriors remain an option for Nick Young, several other teams are in the mix, per Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). Oklahoma City and New Orleans have been mentioned as possible landing spots, and Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link) says the Timberwolves have also inquired.
As Wolfson notes in a separate tweet, Minnesota has reached out to Gerald Green as well. The Timberwolves are “casting a wide net” for wing options, in the hopes that a bigger name falls into their lap for the $4.3MM room exception, says Wolfson.
Here are more free agency updates from around the NBA:
- According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the Knicks have told multiple agents that they believe they’re closing in on a deal with a guard. Kyler suggests that mystery guard may be Derrick Rose or Shelvin Mack. Of those two, Mack seems like the more probable candidate, as a Sunday report suggested that Knicks GM Steve Mills isn’t bullish on bringing back Rose.
- Rudy Gay was “impressed” by the Clippers‘ presentation to him on Sunday, but no deal is in place between the two sides, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The team met with Danilo Gallinari on the weekend as well.
- Appearing on Zach Lowe’s ESPN podcast for the first time, cap guru Bobby Marks expressed skepticism that the Nets will go after Pistons restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as aggressively as they pursued RFAs a year ago. Brooklyn has frequently been linked to KCP and Otto Porter, but there has been no word yet about a Nets offer for either player. Brooklyn was scheduled to meet with Porter today, according to Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.
Clippers Meet With Danilo Gallinari, Rudy Gay
The Clippers met with two of their top free agent targets at forward on Sunday, according to various reports. The team’s presentation for Danilo Gallinari, which had been previously reported, made a “strong impression” on the veteran forward, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Meanwhile, the Clips also had a meeting with Rudy Gay tonight, per Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
Gallinari has long been a target for the Clippers, according to Wojnarowski, and it sounds like there’s mutual interest between the two sides. David Aldridge of TNT tweets that the club’s brass “painted a picture” for Gallinari that showed how he could be a key piece of one of the league’s best frontcourts, along with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
Even after trading Chris Paul last week, the Clippers project to be an over-the-cap team this year, in large part due to Griffin’s lucrative new deal. As such, the team can’t sign a free agent outright for a starting salary higher than the $8.4MM mid-level exception. However, a sign-and-trade could allow for a higher starting salary for either Gallinari or Gay — the Clips were said to be exploring possible sign-and-trade scenarios involving Gallinari earlier on Sunday.
Gallinari is also viewed as a potential target for the Celtics if they miss out on Gordon Hayward, but the Italian forward may no longer be in play for the Nuggets. Denver committed to Paul Millsap on Sunday night, significantly reducing the team’s ability to make a competitive offer to Gallinari. As for Gay, he has received interest from the Thunder, among other teams.
Clippers Considering Sign-And-Trade Offer For Gallinari
The Clippers are looking for a team with cap space that would be willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade with the Nuggets involving Danilo Gallinari, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Gallinari met with L.A.’s contingent Saturday night and hasn’t announced a decision yet on where he plans to sign. However, Amick states that the Clippers want to be ready with a trade offer for Denver in case he does opt to come to Los Angeles.
Nine teams expressed interest in meeting with Gallinari when free agency began, but it’s not certain how many face-to-face sessions he intends to have before making a final decision.
The Kings, who were among those teams, have apparently elected not to pursue Gallinari any more, Amick adds (Twitter link). A return to Denver remains in play for the 28-year-old forward.
The Celtics haven’t held a formal meeting with Gallinari, but they have made contact and consider him a backup plan in case Gordon Hayward signs elsewhere, according to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter link).
Gallinari appeared in 63 games this year, the most since missing the entire 2013/14 season after surgery on his left ACL. He averaged 18.2 points per night and shot .389 from 3-point range, his best performance in that category since coming to Denver in 2011.
Free Agent Notes: Waiters, Gallinari, Holiday
With the Knicks, Bulls, and Kings all reportedly expressing interest in unrestricted free agent Dion Waiters, Heat president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra are headed out west to Los Angeles to meet with the guard, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald relays. The duo want to convey to Waiters that the team is still very interested in retaining his services, even though it is in no position to make a large lucrative offer until Gordon Hayward decides among offers from Miami, the Celtics, and the Jazz, Jackson notes.
On the second day of free agency, here’s the latest news and notes from around the league:
- Last summer’s free agent spending frenzy has taken its toll on this year’s crop of players on the open market, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (on Twitter). There are still approximately 100 players who are unsigned and cap space is quickly drying up around the league, the scribe adds.
- The Clippers are set to meet with unrestricted free agent Danilo Gallinari this evening in Los Angeles, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (via Twitter). The Nuggets also remain a potential landing spot for the forward, though, Denver is currently “all in” on signing Paul Millsap, Aldridge adds.
- The Knicks are among several teams that have contacted unrestricted free agent Justin Holiday and New York has strong interest in re-signing the guard, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays (ESPN Now link). It was reported earlier today that the Bulls have a contract offer on the table for Holiday, so the Knicks will certainly have some competition for his services.
- There is mutual interest between unrestricted free agent point guard Shelvin Mack and the Knicks, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake City Tribune relays (via Twitter). In 55 appearances for the Jazz last season, Mack averaged 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 21.9 minutes per outing. His slash line on the campaign was .446/.308/.688.
- The Thunder appear to be committed to re-signing Andre Roberson, per a tweet from ESPN’s Royce Young. The scribe notes that it’s a “virtual lock” that Roberson will return to OKC in 2017/18.
Latest On Rudy Gay
Rudy Gay‘s meeting with the Thunder has concluded, and Gay is leaving Oklahoma City this morning, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides are still looking for a “financial path” to a potential deal. OKC doesn’t have cap room available, and Wojnarowski suggests that a sign-and-trade with the Kings will be “difficult.”
While it sounds like there’s certainly mutual interest between the Thunder and Gay, the veteran forward is poised to continue exploring his options. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Gay remains on the Clippers’ radar, and Los Angeles plans to meet with Gay – as well as Danilo Gallinari – within the next couple days.
When free agency first opened, a report indicated that Gay had meetings lined up with four teams, so the Thunder and Clippers aren’t his only suitors. One of those meetings was with the Kings, but it’s not clear if the other one has already happened, or if it remains on his schedule. The Spurs were reportedly in touch with Gay, and the Heat are believed to have some interest, but Miami’s interest will likely hinge on whether or not the team gets a commitment from Gordon Hayward.
Gay, who turns 31 next month, is coming off a torn Achilles, but is said to be making good progress in his recovery, and remains one of the most reliable scorers on the market. Over the last 10 years, he has never averaged fewer than 17.2 PPG in a season.