- We can add the Magic to the list of teams that will express interest in Eric Gordon, per Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who clarifies that Orlando still remains very invested in re-signing Evan Fournier (Twitter links). Earlier today, a report indicated that Houston, Memphis, New York, and New Orleans are eyeing Gordon.
Add the Lakers to the list of teams interested in Chandler Parsons, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to MacMahon, Parsons is on Los Angeles’ list of free agent targets.
Parsons, 27, opted out of his contract with the Mavericks earlier this month, and while Dallas has interest in bringing him back, the team doesn’t intend to offer Parsons the maximum-salary deal he’s seeking. It remains to be seen whether the Lakers or Parsons’ other suitors will be willing to do a max contract.
One of those other teams in the mix will be the Grizzlies, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, who reported earlier today that Memphis might explore signing Parsons. Stein has since scratched the “might,” tweeting that Memphis is a “confirmed suitor” for the veteran forward. The Magic, meanwhile, haven’t formally set up a meeting with Parsons yet, but are expected to call him late tonight, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Parsons will reportedly be “all ears” when potential suitors come calling in free agency, and looks forward to exploring his options, as MacMahon recently reported. Despite undergoing multiple surgical procedures on his knee, Parsons has received clearance to resume basketball activities and multiple orthopedic specialists have expressed optimism that his knee trouble won’t derail or jeopardize his career.
- 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.
- Jamal Crawford has a July 1st meeting lined up with the Magic, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. We heard on Wednesday that Crawford has scheduled meetings with five teams in total, including Orlando and his current team, the Clippers.
The Hawks are reluctant to offer unrestricted free agent Al Horford a fifth year this summer, and if the team maintains that rigid stance it could risk losing him to another suitor, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com in his free agency primer. The scribe names the Pistons as a team to watch regarding the center and notes that Detroit is working to set up a meeting with Horford during the first 48 hours of free agency. With veteran point guard Jeff Teague having already been traded, if the Hawks were to lose Horford and swingman Kent Bazemore this summer, it could prompt a full rebuild in Atlanta, Lowe writes. The scribe also notes that coach Mike Budenholzer‘s status as a team executive gives him more security to undertake a re-tooling effort.
Here’s more from Lowe:
- Hornets unrestricted free agent forward Marvin Williams may be in line for a deal this summer in the range of two years and $38MM, according to Lowe’s estimations.
- Teams are balking at the notion of paying Dwight Howard a max salary, even if it’s on a short-term deal, Lowe notes. The scribe adds that the center has a free agent meeting set up with the Celtics.
- The Nets and Sixers have enough cap room to create early havoc in the free agent market and drive up prices around the league if they are aggressive in going after restricted free agents, Lowe writes. Brooklyn has strong interest in adding some high-character veterans, including Jared Dudley, Lowe relays. There are a number of teams that are worried Brooklyn will jump the market on unrestricted free agents with ties to new coach Kenny Atkinson (Jeremy Lin, Bazemore), and some under-the-radar young players, the scribe adds.
- The Raptors will need to move at least one large contract in order to have a shot at re-signing both DeMar DeRozan and Bismack Biyombo, Lowe notes. To that end, Toronto has approached the Sixers about a trade involving a rotation player and other assets in exchange for Nerlens Noel, who could potentially replace Biyombo as backup center. These talks have not gained much traction, according to Lowe.
- The Magic‘s acquisition of Jodie Meeks from the Pistons will have no bearing on their plans for restricted free agent Evan Fournier, Lowe notes, with Orlando being unsure of Meeks’ health heading into next season.
- Lowe also speculates that the cap boom may lead to an increase in contract extensions, noting that Paul George (Pacers), DeMarcus Cousins (Kings), John Wall (Wizards) and Derrick Favors (Jazz) are all potential extension candidates this year.
- The Pacers may look to trade shooting guard Monta Ellis this summer in an effort to free up more cap space, Lowe notes. Ellis, who is set to earn $10,763,500 in 2016/17, still has three years remaining on his current pact.
- The NBPA is encouraging players to sign contracts that decline over time so they can get as much guaranteed money up front as possible, Lowe relays. This push is likely related to a potential lockout next summer when the league and union have the ability to opt out of the current CBA.
- Unrestricted free agent Jamal Crawford has meetings set with the Clippers, Knicks, Magic, Mavericks and Heat for when the free agent signing period kicks off, Brad Turner of The Los Angels Times reports (via Twitter).
- The Clippers are interested in re-signing unrestricted free agent center Cole Aldrich, but will face competition from the Suns and Magic for the big man’s services, Turner tweets.
Raj Mehta/USA TODAY Sports Images
4:18pm: The Pistons have announced via press release that the trade is official.
2:25pm: The second-rounder headed to Detroit in the proposed deal will be a 2019 pick, according to Charania.
1:00pm: Within his full report on the proposed deal, Charania writes that the Magic would simply absorb Meeks into their cap room without sending out another player in return. The Pistons would receive a conditional second-round pick, and would also gain a trade exception worth Meeks’ salary — the exact amount of that exception would depend on whether the deal is finalized in June or July.
Of course, if Detroit’s total team salary – including cap holds and exceptions – slips below the salary-cap threshold in the new league year, the club would lose that trade exception.
12:50pm: The Pistons are nearing an agreement on a trade that would send veteran guard Jodie Meeks to the Magic, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). It’s not clear yet what Detroit will receive in return for Meeks.
We heard around the time of the draft that the Pistons were shopping Meeks in the hopes of finding him a new home. Given how available he was, the return for Meeks likely won’t be significant, but we’ll have to wait to see whether Orlando is sending back salary in return, or whether the Pistons will simply shed some salary while picking up a draft pick or the rights to an overseas player.
Signing Meeks was one of Stan Van Gundy’s first moves as the Pistons’ president of basketball operations during the 2014 offseason, but the move hasn’t worked out, due in large part to Meeks’ health issues. The Kentucky product has missed 101 regular season games due to various injuries since arriving in Detroit.
In 63 total games over the last two years, including just three in 2015/16, Meeks averaged 10.9 points and 0.9 steals per game while shooting 35.3% from three-point range. The 28-year-old has one season and $6.54MM left on his contract — if he’s healthy in 2016/17, that’s a decent price for a veteran shooter, considering the sort of big-money deals we expect to see handed out in free agency this summer.
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.
- The Magic announced today in a press release that they’ve finalized Frank Vogel‘s coaching staff, with Chad Forcier, Corliss Williamson, and David Adelman coming aboard as assistants.
- Now that Serge Ibaka is in the mix, the Magic‘s next roster moves will be designed with ensuring that Ibaka wants to re-sign in Orlando when he reaches free agency a year from now, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel.
The prevailing wisdom heading into free agency has suggested that Kevin Durant is likely to sign a two-year contract with a second-year player option this summer. After all, opting out a year from now and signing a long-term deal at that point figures to be the best way for the star forward to maximize his earnings.
Still, we’ve heard whispers that Durant may prefer to simply sign a long-term pact now to avoid having free agency looming over him for another year, and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders cites sources close to the former MVP who echo that sentiment. According to Kyler, Oklahoma City remains the frontrunner for Durant, but the free-agent-to-be will hear out and consider all his suitors, and could make a long-term commitment to the team he signs with, whether that’s the Thunder or another club.
Here’s more from Kyler on a few of this summer’s top free agents:
- Mike Conley is expected to listen to some free agent pitches, but will likely give the Grizzlies the last word, writes Kyler. Conley would like to see Memphis be aggressive about adding talent to fortify the roster if he’s going to return. If the veteran point guard decides to go elsewhere, the Mavericks, Rockets, Spurs, and even the Nets are among his potential landing spots, per Kyler.
- The Lakers, Mavericks, Celtics, and Hornets are some of the teams expected to make a push for Hassan Whiteside if the Heat waver on offering him a max contract, says Kyler.
- Kyler identifies the Heat as a potential dark horse in the Al Horford sweepstakes, if Whiteside does leave Miami. Horford is believed to be the next target on the team’s wish list, and that interest may be mutual, Kyler writes.
- There’s mutual interest between Rajon Rondo and the Nets, who could be the favorites to land the point guard. However, according to Kyler, Rondo wouldn’t want to be Brooklyn’s only high-profile addition this summer, so the Nets might have to make a commitment to another notable free agent if they hope to lure Rondo.
- Dwight Howard could end up being a primary target this offseason for teams like the Bucks, Trail Blazers, and Hornets, who aren’t necessarily expected to get involved with many top-tier free agents, per Kyler. Sources close to Howard and the Magic indicate to Kyler that the odds of D12 returning to Orlando are slim, despite the fact that the team expects to be active on the open market.
- Kyler adds the Lakers and Grizzlies to the list of teams with interest in Ryan Anderson, and notes that there’s mutual interest between Anderson and the Wizards. Sources also tell Kyler that Anderson would prefer to land with a playoff team.
- After dealing Victor Oladipo to the Thunder, the Magic are extremely interested in unrestricted free agent guard Jamal Crawford, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.
- New Magic coach Frank Vogel is bringing over Spurs assistant Chad Forcier to join his coaching staff in Orlando, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.