Western Notes: Williams, Warriors, Blake
Mo Williams met with the Mavericks today, and the meeting had “positive momentum,” writes Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The team is waiting on ‘Melo’s decision before proceeding with any other signings, and Williams’ desired destination is Dallas, tweets Zwerling.
More from out west:
- It appears that the Warriors are only offering the minimum salary to Kent Bazemore, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link) . The only way that would be enough to lure Bazemore is if his other options fall apart, opines Thompson.
- With the loss of free agent Darren Collison to the Kings, the Clippers are turning their attention towards signing Jordan Farmar, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- McMenamin also tweets that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has also reached out to representatives for the team’s former point guard, Steve Blake.
- Jarron Collins, twin brother of Nets center Jason Collins, is on the verge of being added to Steve Kerr‘s coaching staff with the Warriors, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Free agent center Spencer Hawes is visiting with the Suns today, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
- During their meeting today, the Lakers told Carmelo Anthony that they would offer the maximum they could, a 4-year, $97MM contract, if he chose them, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The Jazz aren’t concerned about Gordon Hayward‘s ability to take the leap forward and become an elite player, which is why they aren’t worried about signing him to a possible max contract, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake City Tribune (Twitter link).
- Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman tweets that Thabo Sefolosha had also drawn interest from the Wizards and the Pelicans.
- In a separate article, Mayberry looks at the three reasons the Thunder agreed to sign Sebastian Telfair as a free agent.
Pelicans Make Eric Gordon Available
THURSDAY, 9:22am: The Pelicans deny that they’re quite so active, as fellow Basketball Insiders scribe Steve Kyler reports in his NBA AM piece. The team is having trade talks with other clubs and there’s a leaguewide feeling as though the team is open to moving Gordon and perhaps Austin Rivers, but the Pelicans don’t have much interest in moving Evans, Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday and especially Davis, Kyler writes.
TUESDAY, 7:58am: The Pelicans are making most of their roster available in trade talks, including Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. It’s not clear exactly who is on the block and who isn’t, but I would surmise that the untouchables list includes 2012’s No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis. From the sound of it, there may not be many more that are safe.
Both guards have value from a talent perspective but their contracts could hinder the returns for New Orleans. Evans signed a four-year, $44MM pact with the Pelicans (via a sign-and-trade) roughly one year ago to this date. Gordon, meanwhile, is in the midst of a max deal with two years to go.
Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Nelson, Butler
Earlier today, I joined Zach Burke, Craig Smoak, and Q on 1660 ESPN Radio in Central Texas to talk LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, the latest on the Mavericks and Rockets, and much more. If you missed out, you can listen to the interview here. Here’s more from around the league..
- The Pelicans are among the many teams that have inquired about Jameer Nelson since his release, but he’s in a holding pattern like everyone else at this stage, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com.
- USA Today’s Sam Amick adds the Spurs to the list of teams pursuing Caron Butler, while Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times says the Wizards are after him, too (Twitter link).
- The Grizzlies have expressed interest in free agent point guard Brian Roberts, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- When the Mavs traded for Tyson Chandler, it removed them as the suitor for Marcin Gortat that the Wizards feared the most,Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes.
Central Notes: Waiters, Monroe, Morrow, Bucks
The Central Division has been a hub of activity again today, with the Pacers striking a trio of deals a day after the Pistons reached agreements with Jodie Meeks and Cartier Martin. Here’s the latest from the NBA’s busiest division in free agency so far:
- The Cavs aren’t actively shopping Dion Waiters in spite of apparent interest from around the league, but a source close to the shooting guard tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Waiters believes there’s a strong chance he’ll be dealt.
- Multiple sources told Grantland’s Zach Lowe that Greg Monroe would sign his qualifying offer if Josh Smith remained on the roster, but Monroe’s camp denies it, and Lowe calls it an “empty threat” that represents the exercise of the restricted free agent’s only true leverage.
- The Pistons are no longer interested in Anthony Morrow after coming to terms with Meeks and Martin on Tuesday, reports John Reid of The Times Picayune. The Pelicans have been in contact to see if they can reach a deal to re-sign him, according to Reid, who suggests the Thunder and Bulls are suitors, too.
- Bucks owner Marc Lasry admitted it was a mistake to keep GM John Hammond in the dark about the team’s negotiations with Jason Kidd, observes Andrew Wagner of The Associated Press. He also apologized to former coach Larry Drew for the way the club handled his ouster, as USA Today’s Sam Amick noted earlier.
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.
Southwest Rumors: Daniels, LeBron, Parsons
The Rockets would like to re-sign Troy Daniels, but he’s also receiving interest from the Mavericks, Spurs, Grizzlies, and Pelicans, according to sources that spoke with RealGM’s Shams Charania. Daniels became a playoff hero for Houston after he was called up from the D-League but they could be seeing plenty of him on the opposing side this season with the entire Southwest Division in pursuit. Here’s the latest out of the Southwest..
- The Mavericks, Rockets, and Suns are among the teams that are set to meet with LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paul, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- Several teams are thinking of signing Chandler Parsons to a high-dollar offer sheet if only to burden the Rockets with an unwieldy cap hold while they decided whether to match, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes.
- The Grizzlies are split on what to do with free agent forward James Johnson, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal. The coaching staff sees Johnson as a mistake-prone player and is frustrated by him. Meanwhile, some of the team’s execs see him as a wild card worth keeping.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pistons, Pelicans Talk Monroe, Anderson Swap
The Pistons and Pelicans have discussed a sign-and-trade that would send Greg Monroe to his hometown of New Orleans in exchange for Ryan Anderson, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link). An earlier report indicated that the Pelicans had inquired about the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal involving Monroe, but it wasn’t clear if the Pistons were receptive.
There’s reportedly a “high possibility” the Pistons will swing a sign-and-trade involving Monroe, a restricted free agent, if he receives a max offer sheet from another team, and the Hawks, Magic and Blazers have all shown interest since free agency began overnight. The Lakers are also expected to have interest and the Cavs are apparently mulling a run as well at the fifth-ranked player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said recently that he’s spent the majority of his time since joining the team this spring on Monroe’s impending free agency and has been in consistent contact with Monroe’s agent, David Falk. Anderson played just 22 games this past season and underwent neck surgery after a frightening on-court injury, but he’s been one the league’s quintessential stretch power forwards in recent seasons and would seemingly be a better fit with the shooting-deficient Pistons than Monroe is. Still, Monroe, 24, is one of the league’s best up-and-coming big men.
Anderson is set to make slightly less than $8.5MM next season, so taking back Monroe by himself would represent an uneven swap for New Orleans. The Pelicans have limited cap flexibility that’s in line to be swallowed up by their acquisition of Omer Asik, and they’ll have to clear more room just to make the Asik deal work. I’d expect other players to be heading the Pistons’ way should an Anderson-Monroe trade happen.
And-Ones: Sterling, Parker, Crawford
Attorneys for Donald Sterling will argue that wife Shelly Sterling exerted undue influence on one of the two doctors who examined Donald and declared him mentally incompetent, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com details. Donald’s mental competency is no longer on trial. Instead, the probate trial between the Sterlings will center on whether Shelly followed the rules of the Sterling family trust, according to Shelburne. Those rules required that two mental health experts submit letters to the effect that Donald was mentally incompetent before allowing Shelly to take full control of the trust, Shelburne writes. Shelly agreed to sell the Clippers in May to Steve Ballmer, claiming that she fully controlled the trust, but Donald is fighting the sale. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Spurs kept Tony Parker through Monday, unsurprisingly, but doing so means his $3.5MM partial guarantee is now a fully guaranteed $12.5MM salary for 2014/15.
- Jamal Crawford of the Clippers had his $1.5MM partial guarantee bumped to a full guarantee of $5.45MM when he remained on the roster through Monday.
- Kosta Koufos remains on the Grizzlies, so his $500K partial guarantee is now a $3MM full guarantee.
- Parker’s teammate Austin Daye is also still with the Spurs, so his $250K partial guarantee is a fully guaranteed minimum salary.
- The Hornets kept Jeffery Taylor around, so his minimum salary went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed.
- It appears as though the Magic are officially under the cap, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That means Orlando loses access to a $6,077,280 trade exception it could have reaped from last week’s Arron Afflalo deal.
- The Hawks didn’t give big man Gustavo Ayon a qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). There weren’t reports of qualifying offers to James Southerland of the Pelicans, Adonis Thomas of the Sixers and Bernard James of the Mavs, so presumably they’re all unrestricted free agents as well.
- The Wolves hired Ryan Saunders as an assistant coach, the team announced (on Twitter). Saunders, the son of Wolves head coach/executive Flip Saunders, had served the last five seasons as a Wizards assistant.
Southwest Rumors: ‘Melo, Deng, Harris, Lowry
The Mavs are prioritizing a meeting with Carmelo Anthony before locking in a date with LeBron James, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. That speaks to the belief around the league that LeBron is staying in Miami, Berger adds. There’s more on the Mavs within the latest from the Southwest Division:
- The Mavericks were the first team on the phone with Luol Deng‘s representatives tonight, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
- The Mavs‘ first face-to-face meeting tonight is between owner Mark Cuban and point guard Devin Harris, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey has traveled to Philadelphia to meet with free agent guard Kyle Lowry tonight, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Coach Kevin McHale is also there for the pitch, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
- Andray Blatche has been telling people around the league that he may end up with the Pelicans, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard the Nets big man linked to New Orleans.
Qualifying Offers: Monday
Teams must decide today whether to tender qualifying offers to their players eligible for restricted free agency or lose the right to match offers from other teams. We’ll round up all of today’s qualifying offer decisions here:
- The Pacers declined to tender a qualifying offer to Lavoy Allen, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Still, there’s mutual interest in a new deal, Buckner adds (on Twitter).
- The Hawks extended a qualifying offer to Mike Scott, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports (on Twitter).
- No surprise here: Chandler Parsons got his QO from the Rockets, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.
- The Pacers won’t extend a QO to Evan Turner, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- Kevin Seraphin officially got his qualifying offer from the Wizards, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.
- As expected, the Warriors won’t extend a QO to Jordan Crawford, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
- The Hawks have extended a qualifying offer to Shelvin Mack, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- The Bucks have told forward-center Ekpe Udoh he will not be tendered an offer thus making him an unrestricted free agent, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter).
- The Grizzlies have passed on making a qualifying offer to Ed Davis, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Davis was reportedly a favorite of former CEO Jason Levien, but with Zach Randolph having agreed to an extension, it appears that Davis isn’t quite as highly valued in Memphis as he once was. His qualifying offer would have been worth $4,268,609, a slightly smaller amount than he was originally in line for, as I explained.
- No shock here, but the Pistons extended a qualifying offer to Greg Monroe, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, preserving their right to match offers for the fifth-rated player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings. The qualifying offer is worth nearly $5.5MM, but he’ll command much more than that.
- The Pelicans will not give Darius Miller a qualifying offer, reports John Reid of The Times Picayune. The offer would have been worth more than $1.115MM.
- The Spurs have tendered a qualifying offer to Aron Baynes, notes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (on Twitter). It’s worth more than $1.115MM, the same amount as Miller’s would have been.
- The Knicks have elected not to make a qualifying offer to Toure’ Murry, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). They’d like to re-sign him nonetheless, Stein adds in a second tweet, but other teams have interest, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt says (on Twitter). The offer would have been worth more than $1.016MM.
- Othyus Jeffers and Robbie Hummel won’t receive qualifying offers from the Wolves, the team announced (on Twitter). The offers would have been for amounts slightly greater than $1.148MM and $1.016MM, respectively.