Western Notes: Randolph, Sterling, Jazz
Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com explains the odd circumstance concerning Zach Randolph‘s player option with the Grizzlies next season. According to the current CBA, a player cannot earn less money in a player option year relative to how much he made in the previous season. As it currently stands, Randolph will make $16.5MM if he decided to opt in for 2014/15, which is considerably lower than the $17.8MM he made in 2013/14.
Tim Duncan had a similar issue in his contract with the Spurs, as his player option for the upcoming year was initially less than what he made this past season. While Duncan’s contract was ultimately modified to address the error, Randolph’s remains unchanged simply because the contract had been signed too long ago, Deeks hears. Randolph and Memphis reportedly are moving toward a multi-year deal, but if he opts in and the deal winds up coming in the form of an extension, Randolph’s missing money will come into play.
Here are more noteworthy links to pass along tonight:
- A Los Angeles Superior Court judge said that the terms of the Sterling family trust may give Donald Sterling little room to challenge the finding that he is mentally incapable of continuing as co-owner of the Clippers, writes James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times. This would appear to give Shelly Sterling the advantage in her case to affirm both her control of the trust and sale of the team.
- The Jazz announced the additions of Brad Jones, Antonio Lang, Alex Jensen, Mike Wells, and Johnnie Bryant to Quin Snyder’s coaching staff. Jones will be Snyder’s lead assistant, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).
- Maccabi Tel Aviv has opted out of its contract with Joe Ingles, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Back in March, we passed along that Ingles was considering a move to the NBA this summer. The Grizzlies and Jazz were among the Western Conference teams reported to have interest in the Australian-born forward.
Clippers Arise As LeBron’s Top Non-Heat Option
The Heat remain the “primary consideration” for LeBron James, but the alternative that intrigues him the most is signing with the Clippers, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Still, the Heat are privately insisting that they won’t cooperate with any sign-and-trade that would send their star elsewhere, Wojnarowski hears, and the capped-out Clippers would have to make several deals to clear the room to sign James outright. The only way the Heat would send away James in a sign-and-trade is if they fear they would lose him to a team that can sign him on its own, Wojnarowski writes.
Other teams are preparing to clear room for both James and Carmelo Anthony, both of whom are set to hit free agency next month after opting out of their deals. James can make a maximum of at least $20,020,875 next season, which is 105% of his salary from this past season, and he could make more if the NBA’s maximum salary rises above that figure. Still, he seems to be prioritizing the chance to win over making the most money.
The Clippers have seemingly been on the radar for James since February, when Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com wrote that they were “perhaps the most serious competitor” that the Heat have for the four-time MVP. Chris Paul is a friend of James, and playing for coach/executive Doc Rivers also looms as an attractive scenario, as Wojnarowski points out.
And-Ones: Frye, Thomas, Love, Lue
There’s mutual respect between Channing Frye and Warriors coach Steve Kerr, as TNT’s David Aldridge notes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The Warriors are reportedly eyeing the sharpshooting big man who’ll almost certainly opt out of his deal with the Suns.
- It would “mean a lot” to Kings restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas to receive an offer sheet from the Lakers, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The guard grew up as a diehard Lakers fan and has idolized Kobe Bryant since he was a child, but he still spoke highly of the Kings and would like to return.
- There have been mixed reports on this aspect of the Kevin Love talks, but Sam Amick of USA Today hears that the Warriors are very wary about taking on Kevin Martin‘s contract as a part of a deal. Meanwhile, despite the hangups in talks and the buzz that a deal with the Warriors is dead, Amick believes that things could pick up again between Golden State and the Wolves.
- Sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue has agreed to become the associate head coach of the Cavaliers. Lue was considered a head coaching candidate for Cleveland but the Cavs opted to hire David Blatt instead.
- Marquette forward Jamil Wilson worked out for the Mavericks today, according to Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times (on Twitter). Wilson has auditioned for about a dozen teams in total.
- The Cavs will bring in Oregon’s Mike Moser and Iowa State’s Melvin Ejim for a workout on Tuesday, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- The Suns worked out center Walter Tavares earlier today, Scotto tweets. The 7’3″ center is rising up draft boards around the league. DraftExpress currently has Tavares going to the Bucks with the No. 31 pick in their mock draft.
- The Pistons will bring in DeAndre Daniels and Mike Moser for a workout on Wednesday, tweets Scotto.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pacific Rumors: Suns, Love, MCW, Henry
The Suns have brought in a multitude of point guards to their pre-draft workouts, and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press suggests (on Twitter) that such a strategy might be indicative of the team’s willingness to ship off Eric Bledsoe or Goran Dragic in a trade for Kevin Love. Phoenix has been identified as a potential suitor for Love, but the club hasn’t been labeled as serious candidate to land the big man. Here’s more from out west:
- The Warriors have been attempting to find a third team to include in a potential deal for Love, but a source close to the situation said it’s been “difficult,” passes along Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).
- Meanwhile, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes (on Twitter) that the Warriors could land Love without involving a third team if they included both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in an offer.
- Michael Carter-Williams has not been included in any of the rumored trade discussions between the Lakers and the Sixers, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
- There’s mutual interest in a reunion between Xavier Henry and the Lakers, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that LA hopes to hang on to all of their role players with one-year, minimum salary deals.
- Alvin Gentry‘s departure to Golden State opens up the Clippers’ top assistant spot to Tyronn Lue, and LA’s fondness for Lue is a major reason the team was open to letting Gentry walk, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News.
Western Notes: LeBron, Gentry, Honeycutt
If LeBron James opts out of his contract with the Heat, the Rockets will have as an enticing a situation to offer him as any team in the league, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Beck lays out what options Houston has to fit James’ salary in, plus notes the team views Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh as secondary options if they fail to land James, provided Bosh and Anthony also exercise their ETO’s.
More from the wild west:
- Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman hands out the grades for Andre Roberson’s 2013/14 season with the Thunder.
- Alvin Gentry will make more than $800K as a Warriors assistant this season, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). That’s a raise on his salary from the Clippers this season but not nearly as much as he would have made if he’d become head coach for the Cavs or Lakers, two jobs for which he was a leading candidate.
- Free agent small forward Tyler Honeycutt will be auditioning for the Rockets and Warriors, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Honeycutt last saw NBA action with the Kings during the 2012/13 season when he averaged 0.9 PPG and 1.1 RPG in nine appearances.
- The Lakers will bring in Shabazz Napier on Sunday for a workout, reports Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link).
- The Grizzlies have a workout scheduled on Saturday for Walter Tavares, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Glen Davis, Danny Granger To Hit Free Agency
Glen Davis and Danny Granger are set to opt out of their contracts with the Clippers and become free agents next month, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Granger has interest in returning, Turner tweets, though it’s not immediately clear if Davis feels the same way. Davis and Granger signed minimum-salary pacts in the middle of the season shortly after they secured their releases from the Magic and Sixers, respectively.
Both helped deepen coach Doc Rivers‘ bench late in the season, but neither played an outsized role. Davis averaged 12.2 minutes per game in the playoffs and Granger just 10.3. It was a particular comedown for Granger, just two seasons removed from having been the leading scorer for the Pacers. Indiana shipped him to Philadelphia at the trade deadline as he failed to return to form after missing all but five games with injury in 2012/13. Davis started in 43 of his 45 appearances for the Magic this year, but rebuilding Orlando agreed to let the 28-year-old out of his deal, which was to have cost the Magic $6.4MM this year and $6.6MM next season. It’s unclear how much Davis and Granger had to give back to get out of their respective contracts at midseason.
The opt-outs do little to help the Clippers’ books, as they have enough in guaranteed salary to put them over the cap to begin next month. Davis, a client of John Hamilton, and Granger, a client of Aaron Mintz, will probably be able to find deals for more than the minimum on the market. The Clippers would likely have to dip into their mid-level exception to keep one or both of them, since they only have Non-Bird rights on the pair.
Cavs Offer Head Coaching Job To Blatt
10:56pm: The Cavs want to add Tyronn Lue as an assistant to Blatt’s coaching staff, but there’s a slim chance of Lue leaving Doc Rivers’ staff in Los Angeles at this point, tweets Wojnarowski.
10:19pm: According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard and the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, the Cavaliers will virtually eliminate any chance of bringing LeBron James back to Cleveland if they finalize a deal with Blatt (Twitter links).
10:11pm: A source tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that an announcement of a deal could come as early as tomorrow morning.
8:39pm: The two sides have “a long way to go” in these contract talks, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).
8:06pm: An NBA source tells Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer that the Cavs and Blatt are currently in negotiations.
6:52pm: A Cavs source insists that the team has not yet offered the job to Blatt, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
6:38pm: Per league sources, the Cavaliers have offered Blatt their head coaching job, reports Wojnarowski. The two sides are reportedly in the process of negotiating terms of a deal, but no agreement has been reached.
6:10pm: Eurobasket.com’s David Pick hears from Blatt himself that “a decision is coming soon” (Twitter link).
3:54pm: The Cavs have not made a formal offer to Blatt, but resolution could come as early as tonight, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
3:35pm: The Cavs have identified Blatt as their choice and are expected to begin discussions about a deal soon, Wojnarowski reports. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that approval from owner Dan Gilbert is the final remaining obstacle (Twitter link).
2:59pm: Blatt is the strong favorite for the Cavs job, and an offer is imminent, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).
1:37pm: The Cavs are believed to be deciding between Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt for their head coaching vacancy, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That means that fellow Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry, who like Lue received a second interview, is apparently out of the running.
Blatt received his first face-to-face interview with the Cavs this week after having earlier spoken with GM David Griffin via telephone about the job. He’s also a candidate for an assistant coaching gig in Golden State, and people close to him have advised him to take the Warriors gig rather than go straight into head coaching for his first-ever NBA job, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Cleveland is still trying to gather information about the Massachusetts native who played under Pete Carril at Princeton, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
The Cavs apparently are high on Lue because of his ability to connect with young players, Windhorst notes in his full story, and that would be a commodity on an already youthful roster that’s poised to add the No. 1 overall pick in this month’s draft. A report earlier this week indicated the team was quietly continuing to pursue marquee college coaches, and Nate McMillan‘s name surfaced last week as a latecomer to the race, but it sounds at this point like the team’s focus is narrowing.
Warriors, Gentry Reach Agreement In Principle
10:47pm: Agent Warren LeGarie tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that Gentry has agreed in principle to join the Warriors’ coaching staff. The deal will run for three seasons (Twitter links).
9:36pm: Gentry’s choice will ultimately come down to money and security, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who adds that Gentry had a deal in place with the Lakers last summer before the Clippers offered him more money.
8:25pm: The Warriors are expected to make a lucrative offer to convince Alvin Gentry to leave the Clippers and become a highly-paid associate head coach in Golden State, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Gentry served the same role under Doc Rivers in Los Angeles last season.
Earlier tonight, David Pick of Eurobasket.com (via Twitter) heard that Gentry would be heading to Golden State as an assistant. The 59-year-old coach has been a target for a few head coaching vacancies around the league recently, garnering consideration from the Lakers, Cavaliers, and Jazz. Earlier this month, we relayed the Warriors’ interest in hiring Gentry as an associate head coach.
It’s worth noting that the Warriors had previously targeted David Blatt for an assistant role on Steve Kerr’s staff; though now with Golden State reportedly zooming in on Gentry, it seems clearer that Blatt is currently deep in the process of becoming the next head coach in Cleveland while the Warriors have moved on to plan B.
Western Notes: Thompson, Sterling, Gay
With Andrew Bogut, Stephen Curry, and Andre Iguodala slated to make $10.6MM or more each next season and through 2016/17, a lucrative contract could be hard to come by for Klay Thompson in Golden State, writes Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Keeping that in mind, one source tells Wojnarowski that Thompson would be open to being traded to the Timberwolves because it would increase his chances of receiving a max contract.
Klay’s father – former NBA champion Mychal Thompson – offered his thoughts on ESPN 710 radio today, suggesting that Klay would actually be unhappy in Minnesota. “If this (Kevin Love trade) happens, I will have to talk (Klay) down from the ledge” (Twitter link via Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press).
As Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune further transcribes from Mychal’s radio appearance, Klay’s disappointment would stem from missing out on the opportunity to play alongside Love on the Warriors.
Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight:
- Later in his piece, Zgoda says that Bill Duffy – Klay’s Thompson’s agent – will surely push for a max deal on his client’s next contract.
- According to Donald Sterling’s lawyer, Donald’s mental competency has now been examined by other doctors and “the results are different,” tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- DeMarcus Cousins told Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he reached out to Rudy Gay about staying on board with the Kings (Twitter link). Gay has a player option for 2014/15 worth just above $19.3MM.
- Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that Nick Calathes will be back with the team next season, according to a tweet from Rob Fischer of FOX Sports (hat tip to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal). Calathes’ contract is non-guaranteed for the 2014/15 season.
- Knicks director of player personnel Mark Warkentien and Pacers vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie are drawing interest from Memphis as potential add-ons to the Grizzlies front office, hears Chris Vernon of 92.9 ESPN (Twitter link).
Draft Notes: Embiid, Exum, McDermott, Stauskas
Joel Embiid has suffered a right foot injury, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, and there’s fear that it’s broken, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs discovered the injury during his physical exam with the team, it’s prompted Cleveland to want to work out Dante Exum, Wojnarowski says (Twitter link). Agent Arn Tellem tells fellow ESPN scribe Chad Ford that Embiid probably won’t be doing any more workouts before the draft (Twitter link). He was to have auditioned for the Bucks later this week, Goodman notes on Twitter, though the Bucks haven’t heard from Embiid’s camp about whether the workout is canceled or not, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter). Tellem told Andy Katz of ESPN.com that he’ll know more about the injury on Friday, as Goodman notes in his piece, so while the top of the draft hinges on tomorrow’s news on Embiid’s foot, here’s more on the wider field of prospects:
- Representatives from the Kings, Nuggets, Wolves and Warriors observed Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas work out Wednesday in Chicago, Ford tweets.
- C.J. Fair will audition Monday for the Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- The Magic are bringing Kendrick Perry in for a second workout, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Perry will also audition Saturday for the Wolves, along with Roscoe Smith, Joe Jackson and Taylor Braun, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
- Isaiah Austin, Aaron Craft, T.J. Bray, Eric Moreland and Daniel Miller are the previously unreported prospects who are showing off for the Raptors today, the team announced via press release. Austin is fresh off an audition on Wednesday for the Clippers, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
- Jabari Brown, Markel Brown, Devin Oliver, Khyle Marshall and Xavier Munford are among those working out for the Celtics today, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Oliver reportedly auditioned for the Celtics last week, too.
- The Kings will audition Michael Dixon on Monday, Scotto tweets.