Brandon Jennings Wants Contract Extension
Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings has been vocal about his desire to explore free agency in the past, but has recently shown that he is open to signing a new deal in Milwaukee. Today, Jennings made his strongest comments yet as he says that he hopes to have a contract extension worked out before the start of the season, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel.
"It would be something I’d love to get done with and over with so I don’t have to worry about it," Jennings said. "But the main thing is just to come into training camp a better player, a better leader … just lead the team to the playoffs."
The two sides have until October 31st to reach agreement on an extension. Jennings, 23 in September, turned in a career-high 19.1 PPG last season with 5.5 APG while shooting 41.8% from the floor. Jennings may be hesitant to try his hand on the open market as a restricted free agent as he is in line to be in the same class as fellow one-guards Ty Lawson, Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, and Jeff Teague.
Bucks’ Interest In Mickael Pietrus Has Waned
Earlier in August, we heard that the Bucks were hoping to add an athletic wing to their roster, and were eyeing a couple free agent options in Mickael Pietrus and C.J. Miles. The Bucks have yet to make a move, and Miles has been snapped up by the Cavaliers, leaving Pietrus as an obvious fit. But while Milwaukee is still in the market for a big wing, the club's interest in Pietrus has "waned," according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter).
Pietrus' agent, Bill McCandless made some strong statements last month about his client's salary expectations, saying there was "no chance" Pietrus would sign for the veteran's minimum. The Bucks have $4.35MM of their mid-level exception remaining, so they could easily offer the 30-year-old more than a minimum salary, if they so choose. But based on Woelfel's tweet, it appears they're exploring other options.
As our list of unrestricted free agents shows, Josh Howard, Matt Barnes, Michael Redd, Josh Childress, Terrence Williams, and Tracy McGrady are among the wings still looking for an NBA contract. If none of those names interest the Bucks, the team could also explore the trade market or sign a lesser free agent to a non-guaranteed deal.
Central Rumors: Bucks, Villanueva, Pacers
Carlos Delfino agreed to sign with the Rockets tonight, and it's no surprise he's leaving the Bucks, who never made a push to retain their incumbent starting small forward. His departure opens up minutes at the three for Luc Mbah a Moute and Mike Dunleavy and gives 2011 19th overall pick Tobias Harris a chance to crack the rotation, tweets Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We've got more on the Bucks and their Central Division rivals here:
- John Hollinger of ESPN.com wonders if the Bucks will try to turn Delfino's deal with the Rockets into a sign-and-trade, which would create a trade exception for Milwaukee (Twitter link). The Bucks, who hold Houston's 2014 second-round pick, could entice the rebuilding Rockets by offering it back to them, while the Bucks could take back one of the 21 players Houston is slated to bring to training camp. There would have to be a third season tacked on to Delfino's two-year deal per sign-and-trade rules, but that wouldn't be hard for the Rockets to do if they made it a non-guaranteed year, Hollinger tweets.
- The Pistons may look to move Charlie Villanueva or Austin Daye to free up roster space for Ben Wallace to return to the team, Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News writes. The team could also use Villanueva as a trade chip next summer, when he'll be entering the final season of his five-year, $37.7MM deal, but the 6'11" power forward is determined to prove he's worth keeping around.
- The Indianapolis Capitol Improvement Board and the Pacers are in the early stages of negotiations on a new deal to provide money for the day-to-day operations of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but the board's approval of a new budget that doesn't specify any payment to the Pacers complicates the issue, as Jon Murray of the Indianapolis Star writes.
- Former Pacers guard Leandro Barbosa is still looking for a job, but Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld argues that he'll be a valuable addition where ever he winds up.
- The Bulls aren't bringing back Brian Scalabrine next year, but the 11-year veteran refuses to end his unlikely NBA career, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com chronicles. He has an offer from a team in Europe, and the Celtics want him to do some TV work, but Scalabrine is holding out for one more chance to play in the NBA.
Lakers Sign Jodie Meeks
4:37pm: Meeks' agent David Bauman tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com that his client could earn up to $2MM in the second year of his deal, via incentives. In order for that to be possible under cap rules, I believe there'd have to be incentives in year one that Meeks would have to achieve first.
MONDAY, 3:31pm: The Lakers have officially announced the signing of Meeks, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
FRIDAY, 3:24pm: The Lakers and Jodie Meeks have agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth about $3MM, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The second year of the contract is a team option, according to Bresnahan.
Meeks was reportedly uninterested in signing for the veteran's minimum, while the Lakers were reluctant to use their full $3.09MM mid-level exception, so it seems the two sides reached a compromise. Meeks' deal will pay him more than the minimum, but only a portion of Los Angeles' mid-level.
The acquisition of Meeks is far from the Lakers' biggest move of the day, but it's a solid signing that helps solidify an ever-improving bench and provides some wing depth behind Kobe Bryant. When I examined some of the Lakers' free agent options last week, I suggested Meeks could be the best fit for the team, given his skill-set and likely price tag. The 24-year-old is a career 37.1% three-point shooter in three seasons with the Bucks and Sixers.
According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, Meeks received larger offers from the Bucks and Wizards, but wanted to compete for a title with the Lakers (Twitter link).
Free Agent Spending By Division: Central
Our look at 2012 free agent spending by division continues with the Central, after we used Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker to examine the Southeast last week.
Once again, these figures only take into account free agent signings, so salary absorbed in trades or money used to sign draft picks isn't included in this list. Additionally, not all of this salary is necessarily guaranteed, which we'll try to note as we go along. Here are this summer's Central Division free agent costs, sorted by player salary:
Indiana Pacers: $128.366MM (D.J. Augustin, Gerald Green, Roy Hibbert, George Hill, Ian Mahinmi)
For a team that values cap flexibility and small, safe deals, the Pacers committed a huge amount of money to free agency this offseason. Of course, a significant chunk of that money went to Hibbert (four years, $58MM+) and Hill (five years, $40MM), but the team's other signings weren't insignificant. Green and Mahinmi both received eight-figure guarantees, while Augustin will earn $3.5MM for one year. With no minimum salaries or partial guarantees in the bunch, the Pacers easily rank among this summer's top spenders in any division.
Milwaukee Bucks: $41.352MM (Ersan Ilyasova, Joel Przybilla)
The Bucks haven't exactly been active on the free agent market, but Ilyasova's deal alone counts for $40MM, one of nine contracts this summer worth $40MM or more. Przybilla, meanwhile, will earn $1,352,181, but since it's a minimum-salary deal, the Bucks will only be on the hook for $854,389 of it.
Chicago Bulls: $13.808MM (Marco Belinelli, Kirk Hinrich, Nazr Mohammed, Vladimir Radmanovic, Nate Robinson)
Having lost Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Watson, Kyle Korver, and John Lucas III, the Bulls were tasked with rebuilding their bench, and did so on the cheap. Mohammed, Radmanovic, and Robinson are all on one-year, minimum-salary contracts, while Hinrich will earn a portion of the mid-level and Belinelli will make the bi-annual exception. The big expenditure here is Hinrich, whose $8MM over two years appears to be fully guaranteed.
Cleveland Cavaliers: $7.682MM (C.J. Miles, Luke Harangody, Michael Eric)
Despite having a huge portion of cap space available, the Cavs have been fairly quiet in free agency. Miles' two-year, $4MM deal is believed to include a team option for year two, while Eric's deal includes only a partial guarantee on year one, along with two non-guaranteed seasons. While the three players could earn up to a combined $7.682MM if they're retained for the duration of their contracts, the Cavs are currently only on the hook for something in the neighborhood of $3.5MM.
Detroit Pistons: $4.875MM (Vyacheslav Kravtsov)
Most of the Pistons' summer spending has come by way of contracts for draft picks (Andre Drummond, Kyle Singler, and Kim English), but they did make one free agent signing, inking Kravtsov to a three-year deal. The contract will pay the Ukranian big man $1.5MM in each of the next two seasons, with a $1.875MM player option for 2014/15.
Bucks Sign Joel Przybilla To One-Year Deal
AUGUST 9TH, 12:40pm: The Bucks have officially signed Przybilla, the team announced today (Twitter link).
AUGUST 6TH, 10:15pm: The contract is a one-year, $1.35 million deal, tweets CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes.
9:03pm: Joel Przybilla has reached a verbal agreement to sign with the Bucks, tweets JournalTimes.com's Gery Woelfel.
AUGUST 3RD, 6:14pm: Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com says the Mavericks, with 15 players already on the roster, seem like "a distant third" behind the Bucks and Trail Blazers in the competition for Przybilla. He adds that the Mavs have expressed interest in Przybilla ever since the free agent period began July 1st, and that the team was among those interested in signing him at midseason in 2011/12.
1:32pm: Unrestricted free agent Joel Przybilla is expected to make a decision at some point this afternoon or evening on where he'll play in 2012/13, a source tells SI.com's Sam Amick. As Amick notes, Przybilla's options appear to be the Trail Blazers, Mavericks, and the Bucks — we heard earlier today that Milwaukee was considered the frontrunner.
While all three clubs have some form of mid-level or room exception available, I would imagine Przybilla won't land more than a minimum-salary contract. When he eventually signed for the 2011/12 season, the 32-year-old earned a prorated portion of the veteran's minimum from the Blazers. In 27 contests for Portland, the big man played 16.6 minutes per game, averaging 2.0 points and 5.1 rebounds.
If Przybilla signs with the Bucks, he and Samuel Dalembert will be the only true centers on the roster. However, the team has a few other guys that could play in the middle, including Ekpe Udoh and Drew Gooden.
Kennedy On McGrady, Martin, O’Neal, Arenas
It wasn't long ago that we heard the Bulls had some interest in signing Tracy McGrady, but that possibility no longer appears realistic. After signing first-round pick Marquis Teague, the Bulls are only about $758K under their hard cap line, meaning a veteran's minimum contract for McGrady wouldn't fit unless the team traded another player. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld confirms that the two sides are no longer talking, and says McGrady will continue weighing his options in hopes of joining a contender. Here are a few more updates from Kennedy on some unsigned veterans:
- Kenyon Martin is talking with several teams, and while he doesn't want to sign for the veteran's minimum, he may end up having no choice, says Kennedy.
- Jermaine O'Neal says "winning a championship is the only goal," and would like to join a contending team on a minimum-salary deal. The Lakers, Bucks, and Suns have watched him work out.
- Sources close to Gilbert Arenas say that he's slimmed down and is fully healthy as he searches for an NBA contract.
- Ben Wallace still hasn't made up his mind about whether to retire or return to the Pistons for one more year. A decision is expected within the next few weeks.
- There's no timetable on Josh Howard's free agent decision, but it sounds like he's close to picking a destination. We heard last week that Howard had narrowed his options to five teams.
Poll: Who Will Win The Central Division?
Earlier today, HoopsWorld's Mark Nugent wondered in a column whether the Bulls are still title contenders with the likely absence of Derrick Rose for most of the season and several changes to their roster.
With this in mind, which team do you think will win the Central Division in 2012/13? Will it be the Bulls, or will the Cavs, Bucks, Pacers, or Pistons overtake them?
Which Team Will Win The Central Division In 2012/13?
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Indiana Pacers 43% (750)
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Chicago Bulls 32% (558)
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Milwaukee Bucks 13% (221)
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Cleveland Cavaliers 9% (151)
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Detroit Pistons 3% (49)
Total votes: 1,729
Bucks Eyeing Mickael Pietrus, C.J. Miles
The Bucks are currently looking to add an athletic wing to their roster, and according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, the team is mulling either a trade or a free agent signing. While trading one of their many power forwards for a wing is one possibility, the Bucks are eyeing a couple options on the free agent market. Mickael Pietrus and C.J. Miles are both potential targets for Milwaukee, says Woelfel.
According to Bill McCandless, Pietrus' agent, his client would "absolutely" be interested in playing for the Bucks. McCandless confirmed that he and GM John Hammond had exploratory talks in July, and given comments made by the agent last week, I'd assume he's looking for a portion of Milwaukee's mid-level exception for Pietrus.
Miles, meanwhile, is said to be drawing interest from the Cavaliers and Lakers in addition to the Bucks. Like Pietrus, he figures to be seeking more than a minimum-salary contract. For their part, the Bucks still have their full $1.957MM bi-annual exception and $4.35MM of their mid-level exception to use on free agents, if they so choose.
Woelfel adds that the Bucks are viewed as the frontrunners to land Joel Przybilla, whose meeting with the team earlier this week reportedly went well.
Southeast Notes: Bobcats, Wizards, Meeks, Jardine
Earlier today we learned that the Bobcats missed out on free agent forward Carl Landry, whom they've been eyeing for quite some time. Ultimately, the player regarded as the best remaining free agent decided to ink a two-year, $8MM deal with the Warriors. A sign-and-trade with the Hornets was a rumored possibility but that proved to be difficult after the club renounced his rights. More from the Southeast division..
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter) says there is no telling if the Bobcats will bring in another power forward after missing out on Landry. It's possible that Charlotte will stand pat and instead go with the bigs that they already have. That strategy would mean that the club is betting heavily on Tyrus Thomas bouncing back after he averaged 5.6 PPG last season.
- The Wizards, along with the Lakers and Bucks, are among the frontrunners for free agent Jodie Meeks, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. “There are five or six teams, but those three are at the forefront right now because I’ve been talking to them the most," said the soon-to-be 25-year-old. Kennedy adds that Meeks seems likely to sign this week.
- Scoop Jardine, who broke his right foot three days before the draft, will likely receive an invitation to training camp with the Bobcats, a source told John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The guard was hardly a lock to be drafted before the injury but was said to have impressed the Sixers.