FA Rumors: DeRozan, Crawford, Clippers, Dudley
Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News has updates on a pair of free agent shooting guards, reporting (via Twitter) that the Sixers and Lakers have inquired tonight on DeMar DeRozan, who is meeting with the Raptors in Los Angeles. Toronto remains the strong favorite to re-sign DeRozan. Wolfson also tweets that Jamal Crawford has received calls tonight from the Sixers, Knicks, Clippers, Magic, and Heat.
Here’s more from across the NBA:
- In addition to reaching out to Crawford tonight, the Clippers also met with Austin Rivers in Orlando and Jeff Green in Miami, doing due diligence on their pending free agents, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. After meeting with the Clips, Rivers is expected to talk to the Knicks and possibly the Trail Blazers on Friday, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
- The Nets, Jazz, and Suns are among the teams in pursuit of Jared Dudley, with the Wizards also in the hunt to bring back the veteran sharpshooter, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. Utah had a meeting with Dudley tonight, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
- League sources continue to tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that the Kings may be preparing a “significant” offer for restricted free agent Dion Waiters. The Thunder would have the opportunity to match an offer sheet, but may not be aggressive in trying to retain Waiters now that they have Victor Oladipo.
- The Thunder were indeed among the teams to reach out to Al Horford tonight, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. A Thursday report indicated that Oklahoma City has its eye on Horford as part of its pitch to keep Kevin Durant.
- Speaking of Durant, during The Vertical’s free agency show tonight, Wojnarowski said that Jay-Z and Roc Nation tried to push Durant to take a free agent meeting with the Nets, but KD dismissed that idea (Twitter link via Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily).
FA Rumors: Turner, Batum, Gasol, Lin, Kings
The Knicks, Bulls, Pelicans, Mavericks, Lakers, and Grizzlies are in the mix for Evan Turner, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. No meetings have been finalized yet for Turner, but it sounds like he’ll meet with at least a few of those suitors. According to Deveney, there’s also still a possibility that the Celtics will re-enter the picture for Turner.
Here are more free agent updates from around the NBA:
- Unsurprisingly, Nicolas Batum, who has generated interest from Dallas, New York, Charlotte, and a few other teams, is seeking a max contract, tweets Deveney.
- According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, Trail Blazers and the Timberwolves are expected to be among the suitors for Pau Gasol, who has also been linked to Golden State, New York, and San Antonio.
- Jeremy Lin‘s price tag is expected to be in the neighborhood of $12-14MM per year, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter).
- The Kings have expressed interest in Dion Waiters and Allen Crabbe, per Wojnarowski (link via RealGM.com). Sacramento has also reached out to Courtney Lee, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com.
- Jazz free agent Trevor Booker is drawing interest from multiple teams and is expected to have a starting salary around $10MM, sources tell Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
Lakers, Timofey Mozgov Closing In On Deal
11:41pm: Mozgov and the Lakers are closing in on a four-year deal worth about $16MM annually, Brad Turner of The L.A. Times confirms (via Twitter).
11:38pm: The Lakers and free agent center Timofey Mozgov are in “serious negotiations” on a four-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Wojnarowski adds that a four-year deal for Mozgov is expected to land in the $65MM range (Twitter link).
Although the Lakers have been linked to a number of free agent centers, including top-tier players like Al Horford and Hassan Whiteside, it appears the team is focused on Mozgov now, with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak reaching out to him as soon as free agency opened, per Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The team hasn’t reached out to Horford, per Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
While the Lakers pursue Mozgov, the team is also keeping a close eye on Nicolas Batum. Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times tweets that the veteran forward is at or near the top of L.A.’s wish list.
Lakers Interested In Maurice Harkless
- The Pistons, Wizards, Bulls, Lakers and Mavericks are among the teams interested in Trail Blazers restricted free agent Maurice Harkless, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (via Twitter).The 23-year-old appeared in 78 games this season and averaged 6.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 18.7 minutes per contest.
Lakers Tender Qualifying Offers To Clarkson, Black, Huertas
- The Lakers have submitted qualifying offers to Jordan Clarkson ($2,725,003), Tarik Black ($1,180,431) and Marcelo Huertas ($1,074,636) making all three restricted free agents, but declined to tender one to Ryan Kelly ($2,155,313), making him an unrestricted free agent, Pincus tweets.
Latest Free Agency News
With Chandler Parsons reportedly seeking a max contract and the Mavs unwilling to pony up that amount, there is virtually “no chance” that the forward will return to Dallas next season, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays. Parsons has added meetings with the Lakers and the Grizzlies to his agenda, the scribe writes. A max contract for Parsons with the Mavs, who own his early Bird rights, would be worth $98.8MM over four years. Other teams can offer him a maximum of $94.8MM over the same span, MacMahon notes.
- Unrestricted free agent swingman Nicolas Batum has scheduled face-to-face meetings with the Hornets and Mavericks in Dallas and will talk to the Knicks, Lakers and Wizards via phone, MacMahon tweets.
- Unrestricted free agent power forward Jon Leuer has received interest from the Knicks, Lakers and Suns, Wolfson tweets. The 27-year-old made 67 appearances for Phoenix this past season and averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per outing.
Latest On Mike Conley
Mike Conley will have up to five outside suitors willing to offer him a maximum-salary contract when free agency opens late tonight, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who identifies the Mavericks, Rockets, Pelicans, Nets, and Lakers as the key challengers for the Grizzlies.
However, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), even though the veteran point guard is scheduled to meet with the Mavs on Friday, the Grizzlies remain in “very good position” in the Conley sweepstakes. Amick reports (via Twitter) that Dallas appears to pose the most significant threat to Memphis for Conley, but even that threat may prove to be “a nominal one.” The Rockets, meanwhile, aren’t expected to get a meeting with Conley at all, a source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.
If the Grizzlies do indeed remain comfortably in the driver’s seat, despite the fact that the Mavericks and other teams are willing to put max offers on the table for Conley, it may be an indication that Memphis is willing to add a fifth year to its offer. Since the Grizzlies hold Conley’s Bird Rights, they’re the only club with the ability to offer a five-year deal, and that fifth year would be worth well over $30MM in the point guard’s age-33 season.
There have also been reports suggesting that Conley wanted assurances from the Grizzlies that they would be aggressive in fortifying the roster around him, in order to remain a contender for the foreseeable future. If he ends up agreeing to re-sign with the team, he likely will have received such assurances.
Assuming Conley and the Grizzlies can work out a deal, the two sides likely won’t finalize anything right away. The team can make better use of its cap room by keeping Conley’s $14MM cap hold on the books, using all its cap space, then going over the cap to lock up Conley.
Lakers May Have Interest In Timofey Mozgov
- The Rockets, Heat, Warriors, and Spurs are among the teams with interest in Timofey Mozgov, joining the Cavaliers and Knicks, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers also could be in play for Mozgov, depending on how free agency plays out.
- According to Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com, Evan Turner has expressed interest in about six NBA teams, including the Lakers and Celtics. It’s not clear whether Turner’s interest is reciprocated in each of those instances.
Latest On DeMar DeRozan
A report last weekend indicated that DeMar DeRozan doesn’t plan to take any meetings with teams besides the Raptors, and while that still may the case, there are other potential suitors looming. According to Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com (via Twitter), Toronto will get DeRozan’s first meeting on July 1st in Los Angeles, and it’s possible that sit-downs with the Heat, Mavericks, Sixers, and Lakers could follow.
The wording of Haynes’ report, which suggests that there’s no guarantee those rival suitors actually get meetings, doesn’t contradict what we heard over the weekend. That initial report, from Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, indicated that DeRozan doesn’t intend to take meetings with other teams, and would only do so if talks don’t go smoothly with the Raptors.
In other words, it still looks like the Raptors will have the opportunity to wrap things up with DeRozan shortly after free agency gets underway. If the two sides don’t find common ground, the Heat, Mavs, Sixers, and Lakers could enter the picture.
DeRozan, who was due to make $10.35MM in the final year of his deal, opted out of his contract earlier this month and will be in line for a significant raise. The 26-year-old made his second All-Star game this season while averaging a career-high 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest. DeRozan even improved his long-distance shooting to a respectable 33.8% from beyond the arc, then averaged 20.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in the postseason as Toronto reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Cavaliers.
Lakers Have Interest In Chandler Parsons
Add the Lakers to the list of teams interested in Chandler Parsons, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to MacMahon, Parsons is on Los Angeles’ list of free agent targets.
Parsons, 27, opted out of his contract with the Mavericks earlier this month, and while Dallas has interest in bringing him back, the team doesn’t intend to offer Parsons the maximum-salary deal he’s seeking. It remains to be seen whether the Lakers or Parsons’ other suitors will be willing to do a max contract.
One of those other teams in the mix will be the Grizzlies, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, who reported earlier today that Memphis might explore signing Parsons. Stein has since scratched the “might,” tweeting that Memphis is a “confirmed suitor” for the veteran forward. The Magic, meanwhile, haven’t formally set up a meeting with Parsons yet, but are expected to call him late tonight, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Parsons will reportedly be “all ears” when potential suitors come calling in free agency, and looks forward to exploring his options, as MacMahon recently reported. Despite undergoing multiple surgical procedures on his knee, Parsons has received clearance to resume basketball activities and multiple orthopedic specialists have expressed optimism that his knee trouble won’t derail or jeopardize his career.