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And-Ones: LeBron, Pierce, Jazz, Kidd

July 12th, 2014 at 11:57pm CST by Cray Allred

The first domino that was LeBron James‘ free agency decision certainly set off the chain we anticipated, with a flurry of activity taking place over the last two days. Here’s a rundown of the league’s action this evening:

  • James hopes that his player option for the second year of his Cavs contract can be worked out quietly in the offseason, sources tell Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Of course, a stress-free contract renewal for James would be the first of his career.
  • Paul Pierce‘s first choice wasn’t to sign with the Wizards, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. Pierce was more interested in joining the Clippers or returning to the Nets, but became more intrigued by the Washington roster as time went by this offseason.
  • Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey told reporters including Jody Genessy of Deseret News that Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors will both have a voice regarding Utah’s decision making (Twitter link).
  • Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders if the Sixers might end up leveraging their abundant cap space to take back one of the Knicks burdensome contracts in exchange for draft compensation.
  • Jason Kidd tells Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he has been working closely with Bucks GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway despite reports he was looking for front office power in the process that brought him from Brooklyn to Milwaukee. “We’re a family,” said Kidd. “Being able to talk to them every day about things, they have ideas, I share some of the things I think about. We’re still learning each other, how we want to play. A lot of things get misinterpreted with me, I guess. I’ll leave it at that.”
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Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Miller, Deng, Ariza

July 12th, 2014 at 9:32pm CST by Cray Allred

With Carmelo Anthony set to re-sign with the Knicks, New York can now focus on setting up a supporting cast to play alongside him. One name they’re interested in re-signing is Toure’ Murry, tweets Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Here’s more from around the East:

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

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Carmelo Anthony Deciding Between Knicks, Bulls

July 12th, 2014 at 11:33am CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 11:33pm: Anthony is still torn between Chicago and New York, and a decision is expected by Monday, tweets Zwerling.

2:40pm: The Lakers get the sense that Anthony is indeed down to just the Knicks and Bulls, but since they haven’t heard from him, they’re holding out hope, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

2:06pm: The Lakers haven’t been told they’re out of the running for Anthony, a source tells Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 12:15pm: Carmelo Anthony has narrowed his choices to the Knicks and Bulls, a source close to the star forward tells Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter link). Presumably that means the Lakers are out of the hunt, though it seems Anthony, who was reportedly expected to re-sign with the Knicks as of two days ago, is a ways off from a decision. He isn’t going to make his call today, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

The Rockets and Mavs also met with Anthony last week, but they were already reportedly out of the running. The primary focus of free agency shifts to Anthony, No. 2 on the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, now that LeBron James, No. 1 on that list, is headed to the Cavs.

The Bulls would have to make a series of moves to clear the necessary cap space to sign Anthony, and if the Lakers are truly out of the picture, that would seem to make it more difficult for the Bulls to coerce the Knicks into a sign-and-trade. He’s eligible for a starting salary of nearly $22.5MM, and while the Knicks have offered that salary, plus the maximum 7.5% raises over the length of a five-year deal, Anthony has indicated that he’d be willing to take less. He’d have to take significantly less to sign with the Bulls, particularly if the Knicks don’t agree to a sign-and-trade.

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Latest On Pau Gasol

July 12th, 2014 at 12:13am CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 12:13am: The Lakers made a pair of offers to Gasol prior to today that were even higher than the two-year, $10MM figure Wojnarowski cited, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). They were worth $23MM over two years and $29MM over three years, and Gasol rejected them both.

FRIDAY, 11:05pm: According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link), the top two contenders for Gasol are the Bulls and the Spurs. If the Bulls can’t work out a sign and trade with Lakers, it’s likely he goes to Spurs, notes Shelburne.

10:00pm: If Gasol ends up in Chicago, it’s unlikely to be as part of a sign-and-trade with Los Angeles for Boozer, tweets Wojnarowski.

7:40pm: The Hawks are making an aggressive pitch for Gasol, tweets Wojnarowski. Atlanta is reportedly offering $11MM per year, but Gasol will likely pass on the offer, adds Wojnarowski.

FRIDAY, 5:47pm: Gasol has turned down a two-year, $10MM per year deal with the Lakers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

10:33am: Gasol met Wednesday night with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

THURSDAY, 8:15am: The Spurs are moving closer to the front of the pack for Gasol, Wojnarowski tweets. The Bulls remain a favorite, as Wojnarowski suggests, and sources indicated to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that the Bulls hope to pursue a sign-and-trade with the Lakers involving Gasol and Carlos Boozer. It’s unlikely that the Bulls would give Gasol a deal longer than three years, Johnson adds.

TUESDAY, 2:16pm: The Knicks aren’t entirely out of the running for Gasol, but they’re way behind the Bulls, Thunder and Lakers, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The Spurs are on the “periphery,” Berger adds.

1:55pm: The Bulls and Thunder remain the front-runners for Pau Gasol, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter), but Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com conflicts that report as far as the Thunder go, hearing that Oklahoma City believes it merely has a long shot hope for the free agent big man (Twitter link). The Lakers are “lurking” as a possibility for Gasol while the Spurs continue to forge ahead with their pursuit, Wojnarowski adds.

The Yahoo! scribe identified the Bulls and Thunder as Gasol’s most favored destinations late last week, and the 34-year-old met Monday with Thunder coach Scott Brooks. Confusion over Oklahoma City’s standing in the race for Gasol isn’t new, as multiple reports painted different pictures last week. In any case, it seems that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have also been recruiting the Arn Tellem client, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week.

The Bulls have pitched Gasol on the idea that he would start for them, while the Lakers have used the notion that he’ll be back with them next season as part of their recruiting efforts with other free agents, confident he’d return if they can sign Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James. The Spurs envision signing him for the $5.305MM mid-level exception, and Gasol would reportedly consider San Antonio if he decides to sign for less than he could receive elsewhere. The Thunder also appear to be in the mix at the mid-level unless they can work a sign-and-trade, but the Bulls might be able to offer more if they amnesty Carlos Boozer, and the Lakers hold his Bird rights.

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And-Ones: Wizards, Trade Exceptions, Booker

July 11th, 2014 at 11:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA issued a memo this week establishing that teams that trade coaches or other non-playing personnel are not allowed to make any other trades for one calendar year or until the coach or executive’s contract would have expired, whichever is earlier, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports. The memo also issues guidelines that make it more difficult for teams to dump salary in trades, as Deeks explains.

More from around the league:

  • Trade exceptions for four teams expired at the end of Thursday, the largest of which was one the Warriors held that was worth more than $9.8MM, as we noted earlier. The Clippers watched one worth more than $2.6MM expire, the Nuggets lost one worth nearly $2.4MM, and the Raptors saw one worth more than $1.2MM extinguished.
  • The Wizards are waiting on Houston’s move in regards to Chandler Parsons offer sheet which will impact the Rockets‘ pursuit of free agent Trevor Ariza, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
  • The Wizards continue to push for a deal with Trevor Ariza, but he wants to hear from the Mavs before moving forward with Washington, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.
  • The Knicks have continued to show interest in Wizards free agent power forward Trevor Booker, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post.
  • The Cavaliers are in talks with free agent center Chris Andersen, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Knicks Re-Sign Cole Aldrich, Waive Odom

July 11th, 2014 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

7:30pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

7:19pm: The Knicks have re-signed center Cole Aldrich reports Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link). The length and terms of the contract have not been announced yet.

In 46 games last season for New York, Aldrich averaged 2.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 0.3 APG in 7.2 minutes per contest. His slash line was .541/.000/.867.

The team has also announced that they have waived Lamar Odom. In regards to Odom, the press release stated, “Unfortunately, Lamar was unable to uphold the standards to return as an NBA player.We found it necessary to free up the roster spot.” This move could mark the end of Odom’s NBA career.

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Knicks Notes: ‘Melo, Stoudemire, Bargnani

July 10th, 2014 at 10:41pm CST by Charlie Adams

After Carmelo Anthony had meetings with New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, a source tells Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report that Anthony was most impressed with the Bulls’ pitch (Twitter link). Despite the reported strong impression, ‘Melo is still deciding between the aforementioned three teams, says Zwerling, who adds the superstar forward remains intrigued at the notion of teaming up with Kobe Bryant as well the prospect of playing under the bright lights in New York again. More out of the Big Apple..

  • The Mavericks and Rockets are out of the running for Anthony, a source tells Sam Amick of USA Today. ‘Melo hasn’t given the pair of Texas teams any formal notice saying as much, but the source suggests the Knicks, Lakers, and Bulls are the only teams the superstar is considering.
  • The rumored conversations between the Knicks and Sixers about a deal that would send Amar’e Stoudemire to New York haven’t been able to gain any traction, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
  • Shedding Andrea Bargnani‘s bloated contract would likely cost the Knicks two first-round picks, multiple league executives tell Berger. Given that the Knicks don’t own their 2016 pick, Phil Jackson would likely have to part with Tim Hardaway Jr. to obtain another one.
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Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, LeBron, Morrow, Blake

July 10th, 2014 at 8:53pm CST by Charlie Adams

Phil Jackson might be expecting Carmelo Anthony to rejoin the Knicks, but ‘Melo hasn’t ruled out the Bulls just quite yet, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Meanwhile, the Heat expected to have had an answer from LeBron James by this point, according to Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick. James was frustrated with some of coach Erik Spoelstra‘s strategy during the Finals this year and wasn’t impressed with team president Pat Riley‘s end-of-season press conference last month, Skolnick adds.

While the NBA world waits on the decisions of superstars like Anthony and James, let’s round up the latest from free agents all around the league..

  • Anthony Morrow has received interest from several teams, but it appears he’s deciding between joining the Clippers, Heat, Wizards, Raptors and Suns, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com, who adds that each of the teams Morrow is considering would be willing to use some or all of their mid-level exception to sign him (Twitter links). Given that the Clippers and Heat have both used up the full amount of their mid-level exceptions, signing Morrow would likely require a sign-and-trade to complete.
  • The Warriors took “another” look at DJ White today, notes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter), thereby implying it’s at least the second time Golden State has looked at the big man. White had his rights renounced by Charlotte earlier today.
  • Other teams submitted much stronger bids for Steve Blake but he “desperately” wanted to play for the Blazers, as he agreed to do today, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). The Lakers weren’t among the teams making an aggressive play for the point guard, as they offered only the minimum salary, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times hears.
  • The Jazz, Pelicans, Rockets, and Nets are interested in Francisco Garcia, a source tells Haynes (Twitter link).
  • The Wolves are making an effort to sign Evan Turner to one-year deal, a source tells tells Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com. Turner played poorly last season after being shipped to Indiana at the trade deadline.
  • The matter of whether Mike Miller will re-sign with the Grizzlies will likely come down to contract length rather than salary, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who writes in subscription-only piece. Memphis wants him back on a two-year deal, but Miller is pushing for three or four seasons.
  • Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been in contact with Paul Pierce‘s representatives at Excel Sports Management, but it’s unlikely the veteran forward ends up in Houston, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Alex Lee and Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Carmelo Anthony Rumors: Thursday

July 10th, 2014 at 7:52pm CST by Alex Lee

Knicks president Phil Jackson spoke with New York media and indicated that he expects Carmelo Anthony to re-sign with the team today, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Jackson met with his star player last week in Los Angeles, where the two apparently “struck a chord” about their vision for the future of the franchise. This news agrees with a report we heard yesterday that Anthony was ready to announce his commitment to stay in New York, though there were additional reports suggesting he was still considering other destinations.

Here are more Carmelo-related rumors from Thursday:

  • While it’s been widely reported that the Knicks offered Anthony a five year, $129MM pact, Jackson said on Thursday that there are five different ways the deal could be structured, Iannazzone adds. Jackson also indicated that none of the five versions of the deal figure to have a huge impact on the team’s future cap flexibility.
  • Jackson said that he’s texted Anthony since their meeting last week but has yet to hear back, tweets Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Referring to Jackson’s indication that he expects a decision on Thursday, Herring implies (via Twitter) that Jackson has expected this to be resolved for days now.
  • According to James Worthy, the Lakers pitch to ‘Melo centered on selling Anthony’s wife on Los Angeles, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Worthy was part of the group that met with Anthony and still believes he is considering L.A.
  • Anthony has regained interest in the Bulls after leaning elsewhere, according to Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald, who indicated head coach Tom Thibodeau has played a major role in reigniting that flame. McGraw adds that, internally, the Bulls have been trying to figure out how to close Anthony, which in turn could lead to them starting sign-and-trade talks (all Twitter links here).
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And-Ones: Dragic, Tolliver, Bogdanovic, Aldridge

July 9th, 2014 at 11:30pm CST by Cray Allred

Dahntay Jones has met with the Clippers, and has received interest from the Knicks, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Here’s more from around the league:

  • Zoran Dragic has signed a two-year contract extension with his Spanish League team, the Euroleague announced (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). NBA teams including the Rockets had shown interest in the brother of Goran Dragic. The original deal had a $500K NBA buyout clause for the upcoming season, although it is unclear if the extra years will feature the same flexibility.
  • Free agent Anthony Tolliver has been in serious discussions with six teams, including the Clippers, Cavs, Pistons, Spurs, Wizards, and Hornets, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic and the Suns signed a declaration that the 2014 draft pick will not play in the NBA this season, a formality that clears his rookie scale cap hold from the team’s books, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Bogdanovic is signed overseas and can’t opt out until at least 2016.
  • LaMarcus Aldridge‘s choice to seek a new deal with the Blazers as a free agent next summer was one of two options presented him by Portland owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey last month, reports Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. The Blazers brass suggested the All-Star consider a three-year, $55MM extension he could sign immediately, or wait to become eligible for a five-year, $108MM max deal as an unrestricted free agent. “I don’t want it to be perceived that I’m not happy or I’m not staying on because I’m not signing a three-year deal,” Aldridge said. “It’s just financially smarter to wait … and I’m looking forward to signing the five-year deal when the chance comes.”
  • Considering the recent max offers extended to Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons, it seems certain that Klay Thompson will also merit a max deal when he becomes a free agent. Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group hears that the Warriors have budgeted measures to find room for the shooting guard, should he not be traded away in a deal for Kevin Love.
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