New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

RFA Rumors: Dellavedova, Waiters, T. Johnson

July 1st, 2016 at 2:21am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier tonight, we heard that the Warriors plan to retain restricted free agent Harrison Barnes if they’re unable to land Kevin Durant. Here are several more updates on RFAs around the league:

The Kings, Hawks, Mavericks, and Bucks have all reached out to Matthew Dellavedova‘s camp early in free agency, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Dellavedova is in Australia preparing for the 2016 Olympics, so he’s unlikely to have face-to-face meetings with any suitors anytime soon, but it sounds like he’s interested in exploring his options. A return to the Cavaliers remains in play for the RFA guard, but it’s possible the price will get too high for Cleveland’s liking, Haynes writes.
Dion Waiters‘ representatives fielded interest from the Kings, Nets, Sixers, Bulls, Heat, and Thunder tonight, a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Oklahoma City extended a qualifying offer to Waiters earlier this week, making him a restricted free agent and giving the Thunder the right of first refusal.
On The Vertical’s free agency broadcast earlier tonight, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Tyler Johnson has received interest from a handful of teams, including the Nets and Pelicans, and is expected to begin taking meetings on Friday (Twitter links via Scott Kushner of The Advocate and Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The restricted free agent guard, who got a qualifying offer from the Heat, could earn up to $10MM annually, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of the New York Post).

FA Rumors: Turner, Batum, Gasol, Lin, Kings

July 1st, 2016 at 12:08am CST by Luke Adams

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).

Latest Free Agency News

June 30th, 2016 at 6:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks are one of the teams scheduled to meet with Evan Turner once free agency kicks off, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays (Twitter links). The scribe also notes that the Pelicans have strong interest in signing Turner, but Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets that no meeting between the swingman and New Orleans has been set at this time.

Latest On Mike Conley

June 30th, 2016 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

Pelicans Eyeing Kent Bazemore, Eric Gordon

June 30th, 2016 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

In a Wednesday piece, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com identified the Bucks, Grizzlies, and Nets as probable suitors for Kent Bazemore. Michael Scotto of The Associated Press adds a few more teams to that list of suitors, tweeting that the Pelicans, Rockets, and Magic will also be eyeing Bazemore. The Hawks also want to re-sign the free agent wing, and we heard on Wednesday that the Knicks will also have strong interest in him too.
The Rockets, Grizzlies, Knicks, and Pelicans are interested in free agent guard Eric Gordon, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A report earlier in the year suggested that New Orleans likely won’t go to great lengths to bring back Gordon, after he spent five injury-plagued seasons with the team.

Mavs Meeting With Conley, Whiteside On July 1

June 30th, 2016 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have July 1st meetings lined up with their top two free agent targets, Mike Conley and Hassan Whiteside, according to reports. ESPN’s Chris Broussard writes that the Mavs will get a Friday meeting with Conley, while ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said in a radio interview that Dallas will be getting the first meeting with Whiteside (hat tip to HeatNation.com).

Within that same interview, MacMahon suggests that the Mavericks will “absolutely” put a maximum-salary offer on the table for Whiteside. The Heat have the space to make such an offer as well, but reports have indicated that not all members of Miami’s front office are sold on the idea of a max deal for Whiteside.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies believe they will hold off all challengers for Conley and re-sign their starting point guard, according to Marc Stein of ESPN (Twitter link). However, Broussard writes that it’s not a foregone conclusion that Conley will return to Memphis. If the Grizzlies are reluctant to go beyond four years in their offer, it could open the door for rival suitors, per Broussard.

In addition to the Mavericks, the teams expected to pursue Conley include the Rockets, Pelicans, Nets, and Lakers, but those teams have yet to formally set up meetings, sources tell Broussard. Assuming Conley does meet with some or all of those clubs, he will likely meet with the Grizzlies last, giving them the opportunity to make the final pitch before he makes his decision.

As the Mavericks pursue Memphis’ starting point guard, the Grizzlies have their eye on a pending free agent from Dallas, according to Stein, who tweets that Memphis may try to sign Chandler Parsons. Parsons is reportedly seeking a max contract as well, so the Grizzlies would have to accommodate huge deals for both Conley and Parsons if they intend to sign both players, but it seems to be an option they’re considering.

Alonzo Gee Declines Player Option

June 29th, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pelicans small forward Alonzo Gee has elected to decline his player option for 2016/17 and will become an unrestricted free agent as a result, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reports (Twitter link). Gee was set to earn $1,379,400 next season.

The swingman appeared in 73 games this past season for the Pelicans and averaged 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 22.4 minutes per outing. His slash line on the campaign was .518/.283/.667.

Gee, who finished the season in street clothes courtesy of a ruptured right quadriceps muscle, enters the open market at a good time given the surge in the salary cap to approximately $94MM. It remains to be seen what teams will be interested in his services given his struggles from beyond the three-point arc. However, the 29-year-old remains a strong defender and could slot in nicely on a contending team’s bench.

Pelicans Decline Qualifying Offer For Ennis

June 29th, 2016 at 9:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pelicans won’t tender a qualifying to James Ennis ($1,180,431), but remain interested in re-signing him if the price were reasonable, Scott Kushner of The Advocate tweets.

Pelicans Have Interest In Kent Bazemore

June 29th, 2016 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

One possible free agent target at shooting guard for the Knicks is Kent Bazemore — New York has “heavy interest” in the Atlanta wing, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. However, Berman cautions that the Knicks may not have the resources to aggressively pursue Bazemore, since he figures to be seeking $16MM+ per year, and New York will have to address multiple positions in free agency. Per Berman’s source, Bazemore isn’t ruling out suitors like the Knicks and Pelicans, but his preference is to re-sign with the Hawks, if possible.

Fournier, Plumlee, Frazier Receive Qualifying Offers

June 29th, 2016 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

If an NBA team intends to turn a player eligible for restricted free agency into a restricted free agent, that team must issue a qualifying offer before the new league year begins on July 1st. Clubs are gradually making those qualifying-offer decisions official, with Evan Fournier among the latest group of players to receive a QO from his team.

The Magic announced today in a press release that they’ve extended a qualifying offer to Fournier. That one-year offer figures to be worth about $4.434MM, a salary the 23-year-old will easily exceed on the open market, either on a new deal with Orlando on an offer sheet from another team. The Magic also confirmed within their press release that they’ve given Dewayne Dedmon a QO, as reported yesterday. The team won’t issue a QO to Andrew Nicholson, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Other players receiving qualifying offers from their respective teams include Miles Plumlee, who got a QO from the Bucks, per Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter link), and Tim Frazier, who received a QO from the Pelicans, according to RealGM’s transactions log. Plumlee’s offer will be worth about $3.113MM, while Frazier’s will be worth a modest $1.18MM.

A restricted free agent who receives a qualifying offer is welcome to sign that QO and return to his current team on a one-year deal. However, many RFAs will sign offer sheets with another suitor or work out a multiyear agreement with their current team. The club issuing the QO has the right of first refusal, meaning that team can match any offer sheet the RFA signs.