Point Guard Rumors: Tinsley, Jazz, Mo Williams
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld has passed along a few tidbits of free agent information related to the point guard market this morning, so let's round up the highlights….
- The Mavericks, Rockets, Bobcats, and Suns have all expressed interest in signing Jamaal Tinsley, tweets Kennedy.
- Tinsley spent last season in Utah, but after reaching an agreement with John Lucas III, the Jazz are no longer interested in bringing back Tinsley, according to Kennedy (Twitter link).
- Mo Williams is considering taking a discount to join a contending team like the Heat or Spurs, says Kennedy (via Twitter). No deal is imminent, but it's one potential option Williams is weighing.
- Earlier today, we heard that the Suns may have put Kendall Marshall on the trade block.
Kendall Marshall On Trade Block?
Since drafting Kendall Marshall 13th overall in the 2012 NBA draft, the Suns have signed Goran Dragic to a long-term contract and acquired Eric Bledsoe via trade. That's not exactly a resounding vote of confidence for Marshall as the point guard of the future in Phoenix, and NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper is hearing that the UNC product could be had in a trade.
"They're trying to attach him to pretty much any deal that comes up," said a rival executive. "If you want to talk about any of their players, they include him. He's basically the price of admission to any trade right now."
While it appears that Marshall is on the trade block, new general manager Ryan McDonough downplayed his availability. McDonough suggested that just because Marshall appears to be third on the point guard depth chart doesn't mean he'll receive third-string minutes, since the team expects Dragic and Bledsoe to share the court frequently.
"I wouldn’t say he's available," McDonough said. "Everybody has a price, right? It depends on what that price is…. We view Bledsoe and Dragic as guards who can play together some. It's not going to be Bledsoe or Dragic. Most of the time, it's going to be Bledsoe and Dragic together. You need more than two, obviously. Those guys aren't going to play 48 minutes, and I think Kendall's shown he'd be pretty good in the backup role."
Although Marshall struggled in limited playing time during his rookie season, he doesn't turn 22 until next month, so it's far too early to label him a bust. If there's a team willing to give up an asset or two for him, I have to think the Suns would have interest, given the club's depth at the point.
Lakers Sign Wesley Johnson
MONDAY, 3:30pm: The Lakers have officially signed Johnson, the team announced today in a press release.
SUNDAY, 12:09am: The Lakers agreed to a one-year deal with shooting guard Wesley Johnson, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. The fourth pick in the 2010 draft signed for the veteran's minimum, which is about $916K for a player with Johnson's experience.
The 6'7" Johnson played for the Suns last season and averaged 8.0 PPG in 19.1 MPG. Johnson was drafted by the Timberwolves and played limited minutes with the Wolves through his first two seasons.
According to our Agency Database, Johnson is represented by Landmark Sports Agency, Inc. Bresnahan mentions, via Twitter, that Johnson's length allows him to play a little small forward as well as his more natural shooting guard position.
Suns Sign Archie Goodwin
The Suns announced they've signed No. 29 overall pick Archie Goodwin. He's in line for slightly more than $1MM, as our chart of likely first-round salaries shows. Phoenix acquired the rights to the No. 29 pick from the Thunder, via the Warriors, as part of a complex draft-night trade.
Goodwin was a highly ranked recruit entering his freshman year at Kentucky in 2012, though his lone season there was something of a disappointment. The shooting guard put up 14.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, but he shot just 26.6% from three-point range. He was widely seen as a second-round prospect as the draft approached, but he sneaked into the first-round, ensuring a guaranteed contract when he signed.
Last year's 29th overall pick, Marquis Teague, was the only first-rounder to receive less than 120% of his scale amount, so it's possible Goodwin is getting less than expected, but given that he was fairly quick to sign, I don't think that's the case.
Renounced Players: Wednesday
As teams clear cap space to finalize signings and trades, it may mean renouncing Early Bird or Bird rights to their own free agents, in order to remove cap holds from the books. Once a player is renounced, his previous team has no more claim to him that any other team — he could still be re-signed, but it would have to be done using cap space or an exception. Some of those decisions are more notable than others, but for completion's sake, we'll track the latest of these cap-clearing moves right here:
- Mo Williams is the most prominent name among the several whose rights the Jazz renounced today, according to the RealGM transaction log. Al Jefferson, DeMarre Carroll and Earl Watson, who already have deals to join other teams, are also on the list, as are the long-retired Brevin Knight and Greg Ostertag.
- Bobcats are set to re-sign Josh McRoberts, but they won't be using their Early Bird rights to do so, as they've renounced his rights, RealGM shows. The team also renounced their rights to Reggie Williams, who's heading to the Rockets, and it cut ties with DeSagana Diop, Byron Mullens and Jannero Pargo, too.
- Golden State will sign Jermaine O'Neal, so the Suns have renounced his rights, as well as their rights to Wesley Johnson and Diante Garrett, as RealGM notes.
Earlier updates:
- The Hawks have cleared out unwanted cap holds from their books, renouncing their rights to Hilton Armstrong, Erick Dampier, Devin Harris, Dahntay Jones, Randolph Morris, Zaza Pachulia, Johan Petro, Josh Smith, and Etan Thomas, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.
- RealGM.com also has the Trail Blazers renouncing multiple players, including Luke Babbitt, J.J. Hickson, Eric Maynor, and Nolan Smith.
- Most interestingly, according to RealGM.com, the Bucks have renounced their rights to Monta Ellis. That doesn't necessarily preclude a sign-and-trade, but it would mean the team would have to use cap space rather than Ellis' Bird rights to accommodate a deal.
- The Pelicans have renounced their rights to Louis Amundson, Xavier Henry, and Roger Mason Jr., the team announced today in a press release.
- In order to clear cap room for their signings, the Pistons renounced Will Bynum, Jose Calderon, Vernon Macklin, Corey Maggette, Jason Maxiell, and Ben Wallace, according to RealGM's transactions log. The Pistons plan to re-sign Bynum, but removing his $6MM+ cap hold and signing him to a smaller figure using cap space makes the most sense.
- After renouncing their rights to Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom, the Clippers have also renounced Bobby Simmons, according to RealGM.com's transactions log.
Eric Bledsoe To Suns, Redick To Clippers
JULY 10TH: The Bucks have officially announced that the three-way deal has been finalized (Twitter link). Milwaukee will receive Toronto's 2014 second-round pick (via the Suns), and the Clippers' 2015 second-rounder, which is protected in '15 and '16, but unprotected in '17 (Twitter link). That Raptors pick also has some unusual protection, the details of which can be found at RealGM.com.
JULY 2ND: The Clippers, Bucks, and Suns have reached agreement on a three-team deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links). Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler will go to the Suns, Jared Dudley and J.J. Redick (sign-and-trade) will head to the Clippers and two second-round picks will be sent to the Bucks, according to sources. The Clippers and Suns will each kick in a second-rounder, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
Redick's brand new deal will pay him $27MM over the next four years, Wojnarowski (link) hears from sources. The shooting guard will also get a trade kicker in his contract, Wojnarowski tweets.
The Clippers were in the market for a shooter this summer and they get a tremendous one in the former Bucks guard. Redick averaged 14.1 PPG last season for the Bucks and Magic, though his downtown shooting dipped to 36.6% versus his 40% clip from the previous six seasons. It's also worth noting that Redick attempted 5.8 threes per game, versus 3.1 prior to 2012/13.
Bledsoe is a major acquisition for the recently-crowned GM Ryan McDonough. The 23-year-old guard will team up with No. 5 overall pick Alex Len for the Suns who are hoping to recover from a rough 2012/13 campaign. The Clippers were extremely high on Bledsoe and his potential, but even ardent supporter Chris Paul acknowledged earlier this year that he would likely be traded to fill a greater need. Bledsoe was stellar last season, averaging 8.5 PPG and 3.1 APG in 20.4 minutes per contest, serving primarily as Paul's understudy. Bledsoe's addition figured to change things for point guard Goran Dragic and may also effect last year's first-round pick Kendall Marshall.
The Suns also get Butler in the swap and they'll pay him $8MM in his upcoming walk year. The veteran averaged 10.4 PPG last season, his lowest mark since his sophomore campaign in 2003/04. He started all 78 games that he played in for the Clippers last season but played just 24.1 minutes per contest. One has to imagine that he'll see a good amount of burn for the rebuilding Suns.
Dudley started 50 games (79 played in total) for the struggling Suns last season, averaging 10.9 PPG and 3.1 RPG. The 6'7" forward has a reasonable contract as he earns $4.25MM in each of the next two seasons and can make the same amount in 2015/16 if he triggers his player option. While he's not the centerpiece of the deal for L.A., he can certainly be a valuable addition to their bench.
As for the Bucks, this deal is something of a head-scratcher. Milwaukee parted ways with Tobias Harris in a six-player deal to acquire Redick back in February and five months later, they have just two second-round picks to show for it.
FA Updates: Brewer, Teague, Hawks, Knicks, Lucas
With the July moratorium scheduled to be lifted tomorrow, free agent contracts can finally become official, and tomorrow should be a busy day, as teams and players formally finalize their agreements from the last nine days. However, there are still plenty of players on the market in search of a new team, or a deal with their old team. Here's the latest on a few of them:
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that the Timberwolves have spoken to Corey Brewer's reps, and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune hears from a source close to Brewer that the Wolves "would love him" (Twitter link).
- The Bucks' interest in Jeff Teague is "undeniable," but it's not clear if the Hawks are ready to take back Brandon Jennings or Monta Ellis in a sign-and-trade, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
- After passing along a handful of Knicks updates this morning, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com provides a couple more. According to Zwerling, there's still mutual interest between the Knicks and Aaron Brooks, and the team also has some interest in Shawne Williams, though there's "nothing firm" there (Twitter links).
- Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports that John Lucas III met with the Jazz in Orlando yesterday, and hears from agent Bernie Lee that Lucas will meet with another team today in his hometown of Houston. According to Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter), four teams, including the Jazz, are interested in the free agent point guard.
- Before he agreed to sign with the Pistons, Italian forward Gigi Datome drew interest from the Celtics, Bucks, Rockets, Suns, Spurs, and Grizzlies, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Odds & Ends: Morrow, Ellis, Rivers, Collison
Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- The Grizzlies, Warriors, and Bobcats are the latest teams to show interest in Anthony Morrow, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. The Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Rockets, and Knicks have all reached out as well.
- Nothing is imminent at this point between the Hawks and Monta Ellis, but the two sides are engaged in talks, Kennedy tweets.
- Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck took a shot at former coach Doc Rivers, telling Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that "Doc left us, period." Still, Grousbeck is confident his team can rebuild, as Bulpett observes in a separate piece.
- Many around the league are surprised that the Clippers were able to snag Darren Collison for a starting salary of just $1.9MM, Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets.
- The Spurs called 6'8" sharpshooter James Southerland to see if he would consider playing overseas next season if they took him with the 58th pick in last month's draft. Southerland turned down the offer and went undrafted, and is trying to prove himself with the Sixers and Warriors in summer league, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
- Josh Smith's agreement with the Pistons shatters the notion that marquee free agents won't come to Detroit, observes MLive's David Mayo, who examines how Smith fits on the team and what moves might be next for Joe Dumars and company.
Odds & Ends: Blazers, Iguodala, Knicks, Morrow
Now that the Trail Blazers have struck a deal to acquire a big man (Robin Lopez), the team figures to move on to address other needs. As Jason Quick of the Oregonian tweets, Portland's focus could shift to a wing player next, with Francisco Garcia, Matt Barnes, and Corey Brewer representing possible targets.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the Association:
- Andre Iguodala will likely make a decision on a team early next week, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).
- The Knicks are likely out of the running for Matt Barnes and Nate Robinson now that the team no longer has its full mini mid-level exception, tweets Zwerling.
- Before they agreed to sign C.J. Watson, the Pacers expressed interest in Robinson, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
- Kennedy also tweets that free agent shooter Anthony Morrow has been in contact with the Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Rockets, and Knicks.
- A source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (Twitter link) that the Mavericks weren't willing to commit $8MM a year to J.R. Smith, let alone $10MM. The market for Smith was fairly modest, according to Berman.
- Jared Dudley wasn't looking to be traded out of Phoenix, and is open to returning to the Suns at some point down the road. But as he tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, if the Suns were going to move him, Dudley couldn't have asked for a much better fit than the Clippers.
Clippers Notes: Trade, Bledsoe, Redick
The Clippers wanted to land a shooter this offseason and they managed to pull it off in their three-way trade earlier tonight when they got J.J. Redick in a sign-and-trade with the Bucks and Suns. Here’s the latest fallout from Clipperland..
- Surprisingly, the deal was conceived and completed inside of 24 hours, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). While there has been speculation around the NBA that Eric Bledsoe would be moved this summer, he wasn’t available until Chris Paul agreed to a contract extension.
- Redick was close to signing with the Timberwolves before the Clippers deal came together, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- The Clippers still want to re-sign Matt Barnes after acquiring Redick and Jared Dudley, but it “may be tough” to bring back Chauncey Billups, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- Los Angeles won’t move Jamal Crawford and they’re focused on finding another big, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Clippers, as well as the Suns, improved with the three-way swap, writes Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld. The Clippers were looking for another shooter and depth at the shooting guard position, both of which Redick provides.