LeBron’s Return To Miami Not Certain
This week, several reports have indicated that LeBron James was leaning heavily towards re-signing with the Heat and clubs around the league seem to have shifted their focus away from the game’s top talent. In fact, while Carmelo Anthony continues his nationwide tour, teams have been having trouble getting in touch with James’ camp. However, a report from Chris Broussard of ESPN.com paints a different picture of where the Heat stand with James.
After a lunch meeting last Wednesday, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were committed to returning to the Heat, but James was unsure of what he would do, sources said. James also did not ask or suggest that Wade and Bosh opt out of their deals or take lesser salaries to allow the Heat to add other top players. Bosh and Wade are intent on returning, but neither of them knows what James will do.
Bosh and Wade were so uncertain about James’s future after the meeting that one of them spoke about what the Heat might look like without him, according to one source. Where LeBron winds up, as far as Bosh and Wade are concerned, is still up in the air. The only certainty is that James wants a max deal.
Heat Telling Free Agents They Can Spend $12MM+
WEDNESDAY, 2:50pm: Bosh is seeking a deal worth $16-18MM, a source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 4:00pm: Agent Henry Thomas, who reps both Wade and Bosh, told TNT’s David Aldridge that the salary figures reported for his client are inaccurate (Twitter link).
3:28pm: Ken Berger of CBSSports.com and Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report put the brakes on the idea of such deep discounts, having heard that Bosh and Wade aren’t expected to accept figures quite so low (Twitter link).
2:44pm: The Heat are telling free agents that they have more than $12MM to spend, indicating that Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh or both are willing to take major discounts, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The Oregonian’s John Canzano hears Bosh is set to sign a five-year deal worth $11MM in the first year, while Wade will get a four-year deal starting at $12MM. Grantland’s Zach Lowe hears those figures are $12MM for Bosh and $10MM for Wade (Twitter links).
Those numbers, together with the maximum deal that LeBron James is insisting upon, would appear to give the Heat even more flexibility, since LeBron’s max is projected to be around $22MM. That would leave the Heat with $44-45MM or so in commitments, not counting roster charges and the cap hold for first-round pick Shabazz Napier. The salary cap is projected to come in at $62.3MM, so it seems Heat president Pat Riley is leaving room for a player or two at above the minimum salary in addition to a $12MM acquisition. That might come in the form of a signing at the value of the $2.732MM room exception.
The Heat are trying to arrange a meeting with Kyle Lowry today, according to Windhorst, who also suggests the team could go after Marcin Gortat (Twitter link). The Heat reportedly see Luol Deng and Lowry as their top free agent targets from outside the team, and while Deng is unwilling to take a discount to sign in Miami, $12MM appears to be close to market value.
And-Ones: Raptors, Mayo, Prince, Lin, Rivers
I appeared Tuesday on WWL radio’s Sports Talk With Bobby Hebert and Deke Bellavia in New Orleans to discuss NBA free agency, and already the tenor of the market is taking shape. Lucrative deals for shooting guards Jodie Meeks, Avery Bradley and Ben Gordon have dominated headlines so far, and Gordon’s deal in particular has many free agents optimistic about their own market values, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Raptors were already worried they were being priced out of retaining restricted free agents Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson before news of the Gordon deal hit, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Here’s more from around the league.
- Executives from multiple teams have been offered O.J. Mayo of the Bucks, Tayshaun Prince of the Grizzlies, Jeremy Lin of the Rockets, and Austin Rivers of the Pelicans in trade scenarios, league sources tell tell Kennedy.
- The Pacers have reached out to Rodney Stuckey, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. He’s presumably a backup plan in case the team can’t reach a deal with Lance Stephenson.
- The Warriors could have signed Stuckey, who was willing to sign with the club for the mid-level exception, but they gave that money to Shaun Livingston instead, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).
- Spencer Hawes “likes everything about the Blazers” and is “very interested” in signing with them, a source tells The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman. Portland has made Hawes their top target among sharpshooting big men, but he’s still in no rush to come to deal, Freeman writes.
- Vince Carter is receiving a steady stream of pitches from the Heat and others, but the Mavs maintain strong interest in re-signing the swingman, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
- The Magic claimed Willie Green off waivers Monday, and while they still had the chance to put him back on waivers before his non-guaranteed minimum salary became fully guaranteed, they didn’t do so before Tuesday’s deadline, so his money will stay on the books.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Kyle Lowry Will Take Few Days To Make Decision
WEDNESDAY, 7:59am: Lowry wants nothing less than a deal worth $40MM over four years, sources tell Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, who hears the Raptors would be comfortable at four years, $44MM. That’s less than the $12MM a year that Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier that the Raptors would offer, but the key may be whether Toronto extends its offer to a fifth year, as Grange suggests and as Stein reported that the team is considering
TUESDAY, 10:00pm: Lowry’s bidders include the Raptors, Rockets, and Lakers. The Heat have not progressed their talks with him, however, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
9:08pm: Guard Kyle Lowry told the Raptors today that he’ll take a few days to make up his mind, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. The Raptors, meanwhile, are still confident that they’ll retain the point guard. “He knows us, and we know him,” a source said.
Lowry has been an extremely popular guy over the last ~22 hours. A number of clubs have reached out to the 28-year-old, including the Heat. Miami is reportedly telling clubs that they have about $12MM to spend, which is in line with the reported offer that the Raptors are making to Lowry.
Toronto, meanwhile, was said to be thinking about making a five-year offer to the veteran. It’s not known for certain if the Raptors went through with that pitch in their meeting with Lowry in Philadelphia earlier today.
Free Agent Rumors: LeBron, Deng, Jamison
Suns managing partner Robert Sarver expressed confidence in his club’s chances of luring LeBron James to Phoenix, writes Bob Young of the Arizona Republic. “We are in a good position,” he said. “We have a lot to offer, too, with the depth of our roster compared to some of the other teams. We think we have a favorable opportunity, but obviously he’ll make his decision when he wants to make it. He’ll look at the facts and make a decision.”
- Luol Deng would welcome the chance to return to the Bulls, agent Ron Shade told Sam Amick of USA Today. “There’s always going to be a part of him that belongs to Chicago, and part of Chicago that belongs to him,” Shade said. “There were no hard feelings (about the trade). Moving forward, he’d look to have an amicable relationship (if he played with the Bulls).“
- Free agent forward Antawn Jamison, 38, is in good shape and is not contemplating retirement, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- Kent Bazemore has meetings lined up with the Spurs next Tuesday followed by the Celtics next Wednesday, sources tell Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter).
- Anthony Morrow, one of the league’s best shooters, has received interest from 12 teams around the league since free agency began, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- With Shaun Livingston out of the picture for the Nets, one option for the mini mid-level exception is Bojan Bogdanovic, league sources tell Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (on Twitter).
- In addition to the previously reported Hornets and Blazers, Josh McRoberts has drawn interest from the Mavs, Cavs, Heat, Clippers, Knicks, Spurs, Suns and Lakers, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
Southeast Rumors: Gasol, Heat, Gortat, Ariza
We rounded up news from the Southeast Division earlier tonight and we’ve got even more for you here..
- You can add Pau Gasol to the Heat‘s wish list. Team president Pat Riley had a phone conversation with the big man today, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- The Heat reached out to Marcin Gortat but talks didn’t get very far, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The big man was focused on a new deal with the Wizards which was accomplished tonight.
- J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter) hears that Trevor Ariza may have been “inspired” by Gortat signing so quickly with the Wizards and his own deal might get fast tracked as a result.
LeBron James Not Currently Engaged With Teams
The growing belief around the league has been that LeBron James will ultimately wind up back in Miami. All signs continue to point in that direction. Teams hoping to engage James have been mostly unable to and while no doors have been closed, teams are moving on, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
It’s been known for a while that the free agency market would be in a holding pattern as teams are prioritizing runs at James and Carmelo Anthony. While Anthony’s free agency could continue to gum up the works for other free agents, it doesn’t appear at this time that will be the case with LeBron.
It seems that the most likely scenario will be James re-signing with the Heat while teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade take discounts to help the team improve in other areas.
Southeast Rumors: Lowry, McRoberts, Livingston
The Heat‘s infatuation with free agent guard Kyle Lowry has been well documented, but the Big Three haven’t been actively recruiting him, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. More from the Southeast Division..
- Josh McRoberts‘ agent tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that there’s mutual interest between his client and the Hornets. “Quite a few teams have expressed” interest, Mike Conley Sr. said in a phone interview. “We haven’t gone into any in-depth discussions yet, but we know how the Hornets want him.”
- The Hornets approached Shaun Livingston about a possible return to Charlotte, a knowledgeable source tells Bonnell. Livingston played for Charlotte in the 2010-11 season when they were under their maiden Bobcats moniker.
- Kent Bazemore has heard from the Hawks, Celtics, Mavs, Lakers, Suns, and Bulls, tweets Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link) adds the Spurs to that list.
LeBron James To Demand Max Salary
TUESDAY, 3:12pm: James is indeed seeking a maximum salary deal for just one or two seasons, according to John Canzano of The Oregonian. Canzano reiterates the details of the discounted figures to which Wade and Bosh have consented to assist the team in its attempt at a significant upgrade.
MONDAY, 12:26pm: LeBron James will insist on the maximum salary in a new deal this summer, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, though it’s not clear whether he’d demand the maximum number of years. James isn’t planning to meet with any teams, allowing agent Rich Paul to do all of the negotiating, and that plus his salary demand has led teams around the league to believe more strongly that James will stay with the Heat, according to Windhorst.
The ESPN scribe suggests that the NBA’s maximum salary for a veteran of 10 or more seasons will rise to $22.2MM for 2014/15. That would be the max for James, but even if the NBA’s max doesn’t surge that high, James’ max will be no less than $20,020,875, which is 105% of his salary from this past season.
James met with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to discuss salaries this weekend, so it appears it will be up to Wade and Bosh to take discounts if the Heat are going to add a free agent of note from another team this summer. All three took less than the max to sign with Miami in 2010.
Windhorst’s assertion that James appears increasingly likely to re-sign counters a dispatch from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who hears that James had begun to distance himself from Heat management during the season. Still, a source tells Amico that James would like to sign a deal that would give him the ability to opt out after one season, and with James apparently undecided on the length of his deal, according to Windhorst, perhaps James is indeed eyeing another shot at free agency in 2015.
Southeast Rumors: Wizards, Heat, McRoberts
Plenty of teams are hoping for a chance to pitch to LeBron James, but the Wizards aren’t one of them, as owner Ted Leonsis explained in an appearance on 106.7 The Fan today. Scott Allen of The Washington Post has the transcription.
“You’d have to have cap space and you’d have to renounce all your free agents,” Leonsis said. “Then you’d have to be able to call their agent and say, ‘Would you think he would consider coming here?’ So, I never understood the grandstanding. Some of the bloggers have said, just get in the mix and throw your name out there. OK, so you generate positive pixels and it creates these faux expectations, and LeBron is in total control of his future. LeBron will do what LeBron wants to do. We have to be able to control what we want to control, and right now our main targets are retaining our players.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:
- The Heat‘s top two targets for outside improvement appear to be Kyle Lowry and Luol Deng, but neither seem likely to end up with the team, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Deng is unwilling to take a discount to go to Miami, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, probably putting him out of reach (Twitter link).
- Hornets free agent power forward Josh McRoberts and the Blazers have mutual interest in a deal, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears.
- The Wizards would like to bring back free agent point guard Garrett Temple, but they face competition from the Heat, Magic and Bulls, who have also expressed interest, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- The Hawks are interested in re-signing Elton Brand, but the Knicks are eyeing him, too, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.