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Suns Shop Markieff Morris

July 7th, 2015 at 10:09am CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have been attempting to trade Markieff Morris, as Jordan Schultz of the Huffington Post hears (Twitter link). Schultz points to a poor relationship between Morris and coach Jeff Hornacek, and Phoenix’s agreement to trade twin Marcus Morris to the Pistons. Schultz is also hearing the suggestion that the Suns are targeting Ryan Anderson, among other power forwards (Twitter link), though it’s unclear if Anderson is indeed in their sights.

The Suns would have traded Markieff Morris if LaMarcus Aldridge had committed to come to Phoenix, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes, though Schultz’s report would suggest that offloading the remaining Morris brother is still a focus for the Suns even though Aldridge has agreed to a deal with the Spurs instead. The Morris twins are facing felony aggravated assault charges stemming from a January incident. The Suns had allowed them to divvy up $52MM in extension money this past fall, and the brothers prioritized sticking together, but Phoenix split the two even before their extensions kicked in. Markieff Morris is slated to make $8MM this coming season in the first year of his four-year, $32MM extension.

It’s unclear if Phoenix is looking to clear cap space with a Morris trade, as it surely would have if Aldridge were still a possibility, or if the Suns would prefer to trade Morris for a player who can contribute. Anderson would certainly fit the mold of a productive player, and his salary $8.5MM salary for this coming season is a match, but New Orleans would have to be motivated to give him up.

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And-Ones: Drummond, Farmar, Mekel

July 6th, 2015 at 11:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons could reap greater cap flexibility for next summer if they wait until then to sign Andre Drummond as a restricted free agent instead of giving him an extension this summer, but the team will leave that choice to the Jeff Schwartz client, writes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Drummond reportedly wants an extension, so it would seem it’s a strong bet he’ll end up with one before the October 31st rookie scale extension deadline. Here’s more from around the NBA and related circles:

  • Jordan Farmar has signed with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team announced (hat tip to David Pick of Eurobasket.com). Agent Tony Dutt searched for NBA deals for the point guard who spent part of last season with the Clippers, but found nothing, as Pick hears (Twitter link).
  • Maccabi Tel Aviv management pushed for the deal with Farmar, while the coaches were higher on former Mavs and Pelicans point guard Gal Mekel, according to Pick, who earlier reported that Mekel and the team had a verbal agreement on a three-year deal with NBA out clauses (Twitter links). However, fellow Israeli club Hapoel Jerusalem is still pursuing Mekel, who remains in talks with teams from the NBA and Europe, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss clarified in a radio appearance on KPCC-FM last week that this past year was the first on brother Jim Buss‘ three-year window to guide the team to at least the Western Conference Finals, as Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com details. Jim Buss would resign his job as executive VP of basketball operations if the Lakers aren’t back to that point by the end of the 2016/17 season, his sister said.
  • The Lakers, Heat, Knicks, Suns and Pelicans have expressed interest in Justin Hamilton, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The Timberwolves elected not to retain the right to match offers for him when they decided against making a qualifying offer.
  • Serge Ibaka failed to meet an incentive worth $100K this past season, so his cap hit for the Thunder for this coming season shrinks by that amount, to $12.25MM, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). That’s unlikely to matter for the Thunder, who are expected to be well above the cap and exceed the tax line. Ibaka’s salary for tax purposes will be determined based on the bonuses that he either triggers or doesn’t trigger this coming season, whereas last season’s figures only affect his cap number.
  • The Nuggets are hiring German national team coach Chris Fleming, former Magic assistant Wes Unseld Jr., and Kings assistants Ryan Bowen and Micah Nori as assistants to new head coach Michael Malone, reports Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. They’ll join Bulls assistant Ed Pinckney, who’s also reportedly joining the Denver coaching staff.
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Northwest Notes: Butler, Lillard, Durant, Exum

July 5th, 2015 at 7:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:05pm: Butler told Jabari Young of CSNNW.com (Twitter link) that he would “love to be in Portland with the Blazers.”

1:21pm: Butler is no longer in the mix for Portland, a source tells Quick (Twitter link). The Blazers are prioritizing young players or guys with favorable contracts who have upside, Quick writes in the same tweet.

12:59pm: With their new-found cap space, the Blazers are interested in veteran forward Rasual Butler, reports Jason Quick of The Oregonian. The 36-year-old has been offered a contract, according to an unidentified source, but is not rushing to sign. He reportedly has interest from other teams, including the Spurs and Warriors. Butler, a 13-year NBA veteran, averaged 7.7 points and 2.6 rebounds with the Wizards last season. Portland, which is $26MM under the cap, has not reached out to free agent Gerald Green, Quick adds.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

  • The Blazers‘ Damian Lillard made several unsuccessful attempts to set up a meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge last week, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. Lillard tried to schedule something before leaving on a promotional trip to Paris, but Aldridge’s schedule was already filled with team meetings. They exchanged text messages, but Lillard knew by Friday night that Aldridge was leaving Portland.
  • The Thunder’s Kevin Durant will be the focus of next year’s free agent frenzy, but he tells Andy Vasquez of The Record that he has more immediate concerns. Multiple foot surgeries limited Durant to 27 games last year, and his goal is to be ready for next season. “I hear it all the time,” Durant said of free agency, “but I’m really just focusing on rehab and I can’t get there unless I take care of today.”
  • Durant is entering “Phase 3” of rehab and expects to be fully cleared for game action by August, writes Royce Young of ESPN.com. “We’re doing X-rays every two weeks, and it’s looking good,” he said. “So I’m excited to get back, man. There’s no pain, and looking forward to getting back.”
  • Jazz coach Quin Snyder has turned down several suggested trades involving Dante Exum, according to Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. “I believe in him,” Snyder told Utah GM Dennis Lindsey. “I believe in his makeup.” Exum struggled through his rookie season, especially with his shot, but team officials are seeing improvements in his game since he returned from his native Australia.
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Western Notes: Lyles, Cole, Suns

July 5th, 2015 at 4:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Trey Lyles has yet to sign his rookie contract with the Jazz and Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (on Twitter) hears that he expected to hit some road bumps on that front after being drafted No. 12 overall.  Lyles is still on target to get 120% of the rookie scale, but Genessy (Twitter links) believes that the minor details/complications to be hammered out are probably bonus-related.  GM Dennis Lindsey previously indicated that there some details would have to be ironed out in relation to cap holds.

  • Guard Norris Cole is the top remaining free agent the Pelicans are making a push to re-sign, sources tell John Reid of The Times-Picayune.  New Orleans can match any offer the restricted free agent receives, but Reid also hears that they’re only willing to go so far.
  • Now that LaMarcus Aldridge has chosen the Spurs over the Suns (and his other suitors), Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic looked at what might be next for Phoenix.  The Suns, he writes, are looking to add shooting, experience, frontline help, and a third point guard in free agency.  Coro surmises that targets could include a free agent power forward like Brandon Bass, Jordan Hill, Darrell Arthur or Andrea Bargnani and even sentimental free agency options, like a return for Amar’e Stoudemire.
  • Nuggets coach Michael Malone has hired well-regarded Ed Pinckney as his top assistant, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).  Pinckney was previously with the Bulls.
  • Heat D-League head coach Phil Weber is finalizing a deal to join Alvin Gentry‘s staff with the Pelicans, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets.  The two worked together with the Suns.
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Eastern Notes: Seraphin, Watson, Winslow

July 4th, 2015 at 11:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Free agent Kevin Seraphin is getting interest from the Wizards, Lakers and Suns, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. Spears adds that the Spurs would also be interested in the forward’s services if they fail to land David West. Seraphin signed the qualifying offer from Washington last offseason, which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • C.J. Watson will make $5MM in each of the next three seasons after reaching an agreement to sign with the Magic, but in the final season of the deal, only $1MM of his salary is guaranteed, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Watson is expected to lead the bench unit and be the primary backup to Elfrid Payton.
  • The Wizards had shown interest in Watson before he agreed to his deal with Orlando, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post tweets.
  • The Knicks are getting a bargain in their agreement with Kyle O’Quinn, opines Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com. O’Quinn’s new contract is worth $16MM over the next four years. The statistician projected that the 25-year-old would get a contract of $27MM over three years.
  • The Heat reportedly turned down the Celtics’ proposal of four first-round picks and two second-rounders for the rights to Justise Winslow and Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ponders whether the team made the right call by keeping the Duke product on its roster.  The Celtics have a bounty of future first-rounders, as our Draft Pick Tracker page indicates.  The exact draft picks that Boston was offering has not been disclosed, but with the Heat owing three of their future first round picks to the the Sixers and Suns, the team could have certainly used the extra assets. Given the situation, Winderman argues the rejection of the offer further proves how valuable Miami views Winslow.
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Western Notes: McDaniels, Boozer, Suns

July 4th, 2015 at 7:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets‘ plan is to match any offer sheet that K.J. McDaniels signs and potentially look at trade opportunities, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The shooting guard previously expressed his desire to remain in Houston.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

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Western Notes: West, Matthews, Stoudemire

July 4th, 2015 at 10:12am CST by Eddie Scarito

Serbian big man Miroslav Raduljica is garnering interest from NBA teams, with the Kings being one potential suitor, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando notes (via Twitter). The 27-year-old made a cameo appearance for the Wolves last season on a 10-day deal, averaging 1.6 points and 1.0 rebound in 4.6 minutes per contest over five games. Raduljica is also mulling overseas offers as well, Carchia notes.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • The Trail Blazers never made a contract offer to free agent Wesley Matthews, who agreed to a four-year pact with the Mavericks on Thursday, Jason Quick of The Oregonian tweets.
  • The Clippers attempted to sign center Kendrick Perkins after he was waived by the Jazz last season, but the big man joined the Cavaliers instead, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). Los Angeles still has interest in the big man, which has likely increased in the wake of losing DeAndre Jordan to Dallas, Markazi adds.
  • There is mutual interest between unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire and the Clippers, Lakers, Mavericks, Spurs and Suns, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report tweets.
  • With a void in their frontcourt with the loss of Jordan, the Clippers are showing interest in unrestricted free agent David West, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays (Twitter link).
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Atlantic Notes: Carroll, Crowder, Stauskas

July 3rd, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

DeMarre Carroll said the Raptors “blew me away” when the team came to meet him to make the pitch that ultimately yielded their four-year, $60MM deal, and he canceled meetings with the Pistons, Suns and Knicks, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. The Pistons were willing to give the forward $14MM a year, but Toronto countered with its offer to outbid them, a source said to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

Here’s the latest out of the Atlantic Division:

  • The Knicks were one of the teams in pursuit of Jae Crowder before he re-signed with the Celtics, league sources told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
  • The Sixers planned to select Nik Stauskas with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, but were beaten to the punch by the Kings, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Philly ended up selecting Elfrid Payton before dealing him to the Magic for the draft rights to Dario Saric, Pompey adds. The Sixers are poised to acquire the shooting guard from Sacramento.
  • Philly GM Sam Hinkie‘s waiting game may end up working to the Sixers‘ advantage, Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. With the NBA salary cap set to increase over the coming seasons, there will be far more teams with cap space than without, and Philadelphia’s stockpiling of draft picks and young assets could give the franchise an advantage, Sielski notes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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LaMarcus Aldridge Rumors: Friday

July 3rd, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

LaMarcus Aldridge checked in third when we did our last Free Agent Power Rankings in June, but he seems to have the league on a string now with LeBron James almost assuredly going back to Cleveland and Kawhi Leonard already reportedly committed to the Spurs. Aldridge reportedly met with the Lakers for a second time and the Heat for the first time Thursday, when he apparently canceled a meeting with the Knicks. We’ll use this post to track the client of Arn Tellem and Thaddeus Foucher today, with any new information added to the top:

  • The Spurs and the Suns have solidified themselves as the favorites to land Aldridge, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

11:45am update:

  • Spurs president/coach Gregg Popovich would like to have another meeting with Aldridge, and the team is confident that the power forward will choose San Antonio, as John Canzano of The Oregonian hears (Twitter links).

11:00am update:

  • Rival executives believe that Riley told Aldridge that he should sign a short-term deal if he goes elsewhere with the idea that the Heat would come calling again next summer, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

9:51am update:

  • The Spurs are in the lead for Aldridge, with the Suns second and the Mavs a “darkhorse of sorts” in third, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. The Lakers, Rockets and Raptors don’t seem to have moved any closer, Amick adds, having heard that the Heat‘s meeting with Aldridge was “much ado about nothing” other than a nice dinner.

8:45am update:

  • Aldridge is genuinely torn and will need some more time to decide, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The Spurs and Suns are the front-runners, the Blazers are trying for a Hail Mary, the Mavericks are still in pursuit, the Lakers are flailing and the Knicks are in the green room, as Shelburne succinctly puts it (on Twitter).
  • The meeting between Aldridge and Heat president Pat Riley went longer than expected Thursday, but the Texas teams (presumably meaning the Spurs and Mavs, though he’s met with the Rockets) remain out front for him, reports Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
  • The Lakers apologized to Aldridge for not giving him more of a basketball focus in their initial meeting, which was more than an hour old before GM Mitch Kupchak and coach Byron Scott spoke, according to Shelburne (Twitter link).
  • The presentation the Lakers made was a good one, but the team doesn’t believe Aldridge was wooed by it, sources tell Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
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Free Agent Rumors: Stoudemire, Hill, Butler

July 2nd, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The free agent signing period is now in its second day, and here are the latest rumblings from around the league:

  • The Clippers, Rockets, Mavericks, Lakers, and Suns all have expressed interest in signing Amar’e Stoudemire as a backup big man, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Stoudemire is only interested in signing with the Clippers if DeAndre Jordan departs and he could become the starter, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
  • The Mavs will shift focus to pursuing unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill if the team misses out on signing Jordan, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Having missed out on Greg Monroe, one of their prime free agent targets, the Knicks have been in contact with Hill’s representatives, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes.
  • Caron Butler, who was waived by the Bucks shortly after they had acquired him from the Pistons, is on the Knicks‘ radar thanks to his shooting ability and potential fit in the triangle offense, Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets. The Cavaliers have also been in constant contact with Butler, though no signing appears imminent, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • Unrestricted free agent Quincy Acy is garnering interest from the Magic, Kings, Pelicans, Hawks, and Spurs, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
  • Free agent Gigi Datome is split on whether to return to the NBA next season or to play in Europe, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. The forward’s primary concern is playing time, not money, adds Himmelsbach.
  • The Mavs are back in play for J.J. Barea after he was leaning toward signing with the Heat Wednesday, TNT’s David Aldridge relays in a series of tweets. The point guard is seeking a three-year deal, Aldridge adds. Dallas is optimistic it can land Barea but is waiting for other free agents to make their decisions first, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (on Twitter).
  • Unrestricted free agent Joel Freeland said that he will sign with a European team if he doesn’t agree to an NBA contract by July 10th, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (via Twitter).
  • Center Kosta Koufos has received interest from the Mavs, Lakers and Kings, Kennedy tweets. The Bucks had shown interest as well, prior to signing Greg Monroe, Kennedy adds.
  • Free agent forward Derrick Williams is scheduled to meet with the Knicks and Mavericks today in Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
  • The Pistons and Suns both made hard pushes to sign DeMarre Carroll, who instead inked a deal with the Raptors, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Carroll was blown away by Toronto’s offer, its environment, and is a big fan of coach Dwane Casey, Arnovitz adds.
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