And-Ones: Wizards, Trade Exceptions, Booker
The NBA issued a memo this week establishing that teams that trade coaches or other non-playing personnel are not allowed to make any other trades for one calendar year or until the coach or executive’s contract would have expired, whichever is earlier, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports. The memo also issues guidelines that make it more difficult for teams to dump salary in trades, as Deeks explains.
More from around the league:
- Trade exceptions for four teams expired at the end of Thursday, the largest of which was one the Warriors held that was worth more than $9.8MM, as we noted earlier. The Clippers watched one worth more than $2.6MM expire, the Nuggets lost one worth nearly $2.4MM, and the Raptors saw one worth more than $1.2MM extinguished.
- The Wizards are waiting on Houston’s move in regards to Chandler Parsons offer sheet which will impact the Rockets‘ pursuit of free agent Trevor Ariza, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- The Wizards continue to push for a deal with Trevor Ariza, but he wants to hear from the Mavs before moving forward with Washington, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.
- The Knicks have continued to show interest in Wizards free agent power forward Trevor Booker, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- The Cavaliers are in talks with free agent center Chris Andersen, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Clippers, Billups, Blazers
The judge in the trial to determine whether Shelly Sterling has the right to sell the Clippers to Steve Ballmer put the proceedings on hold until later this month at the request of Donald Sterling’s lawyers, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Still, it’s likely that Ballmer will move back a July 15th deadline to finalize the sale, Markazi adds. Shelly Sterling said in testimony Thursday that her husband asked her to sell the team when it became apparent the league would seize control of it otherwise. Donald Sterling has said he has no intention of selling the team and has vowed a lifelong legal fight against the NBA.
More from the west:
- Chauncey Billups engaged in a “wide-ranging” discussion with Nuggets president Josh Kroenke and GM Tim Connelly recently in Denver, though it’s not clear whether they talked about a playing role or a front office job, as Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post reports.
- Blazers GM Neil Olshey said Thursday that he doesn’t anticipate making another offseason move, as The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman observes. Freeman doesn’t mention the fate of Mo Williams, who remains unsigned, though agent Mark Bartelstein told Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com this week that there was still a chance that Williams would re-sign with Portland.
- Pau Gasol‘s interest in returning to the Lakers was contingent upon Carmelo Anthony coming to Los Angeles, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News . Now that the Lakers have used up their available cap space, it’s likely that Gasol’s days with the team are at an end.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: LeBron, Novak, Hibbert, Butler
The Heat and Cavs expect LeBron James to make his decision on where to sign before he gets on his flight to Brazil this weekend, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s likely that any decision James makes will impact where Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, and Chandler Parsons find themselves next season as well. While much is seemingly tied to the four-time MVP’s choice, odds are low anything is decided tonight. Let’s catch up on the rest of the league while we wait on LeBron and the 2014 edition of “The Decision”:
- The Raptors are finalizing a buyout with Lucas Nogueira‘s team in Spain, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (on Twitter). We had heard earlier this week that Toronto was likely to bring over Nogueira and Bruno Caboclo prior to the start of 2014/15.
- The $9.8MM trade exception that the Warriors had created from the Richard Jefferson deal with the Jazz expired tonight, as David Aldridge of NBA.com observes (via Twitter).
- The Steve Novak trade, which became official today, allows the Raptors to create a $3,445,947 trade exception equivalent to Novak’s salary. The three-teamer between the Nets, Cavs and Celtics that was also formalized today allows the Nets to create a diminutive $741,160 trade exception equal to the difference between Marcus Thornton’s salary and the sum of the salaries for Jarrett Jack and Sergey Karasev. The Cavs could end up with trade exceptions out of the deal, too, but they’re poised to open cap room, so those exceptions would disappear when they officially dip below the cap.
- The Bucks and Pacers have had discussions for a trade including Roy Hibbert, writes Gery Woefel of the Racine Journal Times. Milwaukee is interested in acquiring Hibbert, says Woelfel, but it isn’t clear if Indiana is interested in any packages the Bucks could put together.
- Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris‘ rookie deals expire after 2014/15, and as a result, the duo became extension eligible this summer. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel hears discussions about new contracts between the Magic and the young big men will pick up some time around Labor Day.
- Caron Butler is being pursued by the Clippers and Thunder, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Butler, of course, has spent time with both organizations.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, LeBron, Morrow, Blake
Phil Jackson might be expecting Carmelo Anthony to rejoin the Knicks, but ‘Melo hasn’t ruled out the Bulls just quite yet, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Meanwhile, the Heat expected to have had an answer from LeBron James by this point, according to Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick. James was frustrated with some of coach Erik Spoelstra‘s strategy during the Finals this year and wasn’t impressed with team president Pat Riley‘s end-of-season press conference last month, Skolnick adds.
While the NBA world waits on the decisions of superstars like Anthony and James, let’s round up the latest from free agents all around the league..
- Anthony Morrow has received interest from several teams, but it appears he’s deciding between joining the Clippers, Heat, Wizards, Raptors and Suns, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com, who adds that each of the teams Morrow is considering would be willing to use some or all of their mid-level exception to sign him (Twitter links). Given that the Clippers and Heat have both used up the full amount of their mid-level exceptions, signing Morrow would likely require a sign-and-trade to complete.
- The Warriors took “another” look at DJ White today, notes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter), thereby implying it’s at least the second time Golden State has looked at the big man. White had his rights renounced by Charlotte earlier today.
- Other teams submitted much stronger bids for Steve Blake but he “desperately” wanted to play for the Blazers, as he agreed to do today, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). The Lakers weren’t among the teams making an aggressive play for the point guard, as they offered only the minimum salary, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times hears.
- The Jazz, Pelicans, Rockets, and Nets are interested in Francisco Garcia, a source tells Haynes (Twitter link).
- The Wolves are making an effort to sign Evan Turner to one-year deal, a source tells tells Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com. Turner played poorly last season after being shipped to Indiana at the trade deadline.
- The matter of whether Mike Miller will re-sign with the Grizzlies will likely come down to contract length rather than salary, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who writes in subscription-only piece. Memphis wants him back on a two-year deal, but Miller is pushing for three or four seasons.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been in contact with Paul Pierce‘s representatives at Excel Sports Management, but it’s unlikely the veteran forward ends up in Houston, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Alex Lee and Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Suns, Tucker, Sterling, Lakers
The Suns are more likely to spend wisely this summer now that their chances of landing Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James are all but over, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Phoenix wasn’t expected to offer the max to Gordon Hayward if the team had the chance to meet with him, as was the plan before Hayward inked his offer sheet with the Hornets. Here’s more on the Suns and the rest of the Pacific Division:
- Restricted free agent P.J. Tucker met Wednesday with Suns owner Robert Sarver and Jeff Hornacek, as Coro notes in the same piece, and Tucker’s reps at the Arete Sports Agency plan to continue the dialogue with the Suns today, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
- The Suns originally planned to let 50th overall pick Alec Brown sign overseas for this coming season, but that was before fellow stretch power forward Channing Frye agreed to a deal with the Magic, Phoenix GM Ryan McDonough said, as Coro observes. Brown is drawing interest from a team in Spain in case he doesn’t end up on the Suns this year, according to Coro.
- Donald Sterling vowed never to sell the Clippers and threatened to maintain lawsuits against the NBA for the rest of his life, making those remarks during testimony Wednesday in probate court, as Linda Deutsch of The Associated Press details. The trial continues today to determine whether Sterling’s wife, Shelly, has the right to sell the team to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
- Kobe Bryant said he would welcome former teammate Byron Scott as coach of the Lakers, citing their “tremendously close relationship” over the years, notes Sean Lewis of The Associated Press. Bryant also said that he was “extremely proud” of the team’s efforts to rebuild its roster, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding observes.
- The Lakers remain in contact with free agent Kent Bazemore, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
And-Ones: Dragic, Tolliver, Bogdanovic, Aldridge
Dahntay Jones has met with the Clippers, and has received interest from the Knicks, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Here’s more from around the league:
- Zoran Dragic has signed a two-year contract extension with his Spanish League team, the Euroleague announced (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). NBA teams including the Rockets had shown interest in the brother of Goran Dragic. The original deal had a $500K NBA buyout clause for the upcoming season, although it is unclear if the extra years will feature the same flexibility.
- Free agent Anthony Tolliver has been in serious discussions with six teams, including the Clippers, Cavs, Pistons, Spurs, Wizards, and Hornets, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic and the Suns signed a declaration that the 2014 draft pick will not play in the NBA this season, a formality that clears his rookie scale cap hold from the team’s books, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Bogdanovic is signed overseas and can’t opt out until at least 2016.
- LaMarcus Aldridge‘s choice to seek a new deal with the Blazers as a free agent next summer was one of two options presented him by Portland owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey last month, reports Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. The Blazers brass suggested the All-Star consider a three-year, $55MM extension he could sign immediately, or wait to become eligible for a five-year, $108MM max deal as an unrestricted free agent. “I don’t want it to be perceived that I’m not happy or I’m not staying on because I’m not signing a three-year deal,” Aldridge said. “It’s just financially smarter to wait … and I’m looking forward to signing the five-year deal when the chance comes.”
- Considering the recent max offers extended to Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons, it seems certain that Klay Thompson will also merit a max deal when he becomes a free agent. Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group hears that the Warriors have budgeted measures to find room for the shooting guard, should he not be traded away in a deal for Kevin Love.
Clippers Sign Jordan Farmar
WEDNESDAY, 11:28pm: Farmar has signed the deal, per a team release.
SUNDAY, 5:40pm: The Clippers and free agent Jordan Farmar have agreed to a two-year, $4.2MM deal, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). The Clippers will likely be using their biannual exception in the deal, according to Turner. The biannual only provides for a maximum of $4.154MM over two seasons, so presumably Turner is rounding up.
The former Lakers guard will be changing hallways in the Staples Center to help replace the departed Darren Collison. The Clippers have been cited as the frontrunners for Farmar’s services and long viewed as a viable Plan B in the event that Collison took his services elsewhere.
At the conclusion of the Lakers’ season, Farmer made it known that he wanted to stay in purple and gold, despite all of the uncertainty surrounding the club.
“I want to be a Laker,” Farmar said. “I like playing for Mike. Whether it’s Phil Jackson, Mike D’Antoni or whoever else coaches this team, that won’t deter me from wanting to be a Laker.”
Things didn’t work out with Farmar and the Lakers, but with today’s agreement, he at least knows he won’t have to go house hunting. And, unless the Lakers make major upgrades this summer, he’ll have a better chance at winning a championship.
Hawes Signs With Clippers
JULY 9th, 11:26pm: The team announced that Hawes has officially signed the contract. No mention of a sign-and-trade was mentioned in the release.
7:27pm: Doc Rivers is trying to arrange a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers for Hawes, which would preserve the Clippers midlevel exception which the team would then use to target Paul Pierce, tweets Wojnarowski.
JULY 4th, 6:26pm: Free agent Spencer Hawes has reached agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers, league 
sources have told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal is for four-years, $23MM, according to Wojnarowski’s tweet. Hawes was one of the more desirable big men on the market after a season that saw him average 13.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.2 BPG while splitting time between the Cavaliers and the Sixers.
According to Wojnarowski’s article, Hawes was determined to sign with a contender, and he had visited seriously with the Suns and Trail Blazers before settling on the Clippers offer.
The Clippers had recruited Hawes hard for the full midlevel exception and worked with his agent, Greg Lawrence of Wasserman Media Group, on a deal that includes a player option for the fourth year and a 15 percent trade kicker, sources told Wojnarowski.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Western Notes: Mavs, Dirk, Calathes, Woodson
The Mavs‘ top three free agent targets for next summer are LaMarcus Aldridge, Marc Gasol, and Kevin Love, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. Here’s more from out West:
- Dirk Nowitzki has already agreed to re-sign with the Mavs at a discounted rate, but Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Rockets have a standing max offer with the future Hall-of-Famer.
- Nick Calathes says he hasn’t asked the Grizzlies to release him, even though it would be to his financial benefit if they did, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal details. He’s on a non-guaranteed contract for the minimum salary this season, and the team seemingly intends to keep him, Two European teams loom with three-year, $6.5MM offers, but Calathes is undecided about whether he prefers to remain with the Grizzlies or sign overseas, as he tells Tillery. “Once you see a big offer on the table you’re going to think about it,” Calathes said. “You think about it always. That kind of money obviously can change your life. I’m playing the game I love so I’m real blessed. Whichever way it goes, I’m going to be happy.”
- Mike Woodson will return to the bench next season as a member of Doc Rivers‘ assistant coaching staff with the Clippers, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Since being fired by the Knicks at the close of this past season, Woodson has maintained his interest in returning to the bench, but hadn’t been linked with any teams seeking a head coach this offseason.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com suggests that patience on the part of the Wolves could pay off regarding Love, as additional suitors with better assets could surface once the biggest free agent movements are done (via Twitter).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Latest On Donald Sterling
After no-showing at a probate trial hearing involving the pending sale of the Clippers yesterday, Donald Sterling arrived in court this afternoon to testify. There are a handful of noteworthy items to pass along from some who are covering the trial today, and you can find them below:
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter) says that this case is scheduled through Thursday afternoon, and although there’s no guarantee that a ruling would be made by then, the judge clearly understands the time frame of the sale. As Linda Deutsch of the Associated Press notes, the NBA owners are expected to vote to approve Shelly Sterling’s agreement with Steve Ballmer on July 15th, which is also the day that Ballmer’s offer to buy the team is set to expire.
- Donald claims that he can get between $2.5 to $5 billion if he sold the Clippers, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
Earlier updates:
- Donald had initially agreed to the sale of the team because he thought that the league would then waive the fine and lifetime ban levied against him, according to Shelburne and Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links).
- Donald’s wife Shelly had been authorized to negotiate the sale because Donald thought that she would ultimately keep her portion of the team, tweets Shelburne.
- The NBA has no plans of rescinding Donald’s lifetime ban, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- Another reason why Donald is fighting the sale is that he believes he can get the same deal that the Lakers got with Time Warner and radio stations, per Shelburne (via Twitter).
- Donald said that he was in the process of negotiating a TV deal with FOX at the time he was banned, says Shelburne (Twitter link).