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.
Pacific Rumors: Gasol, Clippers, Lakers, Kings
Pau Gasol won’t be having any in-person meetings tonight, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The big man will be taking calls at his home in Los Angeles instead. The market for him will take shape over the first week of free agency as Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James make their choices. Of course, many free agents will find themselves in a holding pattern until those two decide on where they’ll sign. In the meantime, here’s more news from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers registered interest in Carmelo Anthony tonight and will be meeting with him on Thursday, a source tells Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
- Spencer Hawes is a free agent target for the Clippers, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Clips targeted him at the trade deadline.
- The Clippers are interested in bringing back Darren Collison, Glen Davis, and Danny Granger in that preferred order, Markazi also reports (on Twitter).
- One of the top off-season priorities for the Clippers is upgrading at small forward and they will reach out to Paul Pierce and Trevor Ariza, Markazi tweets. Clippers coach/president Doc Rivers will recruit his former pupil Pierce while Chris Paul will work on his former teammate Ariza (link).
- The Lakers like Ariza, Kyle Lowry, Luol Deng, and Chandler Parsons, but won’t offer any of them deals longer than one or two years, tweets Mark Medina of the Daily News.
- The Kings will look to add a point guard even if they re-sign restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
Bulls, Mavs, Wolves Eyeing Chandler Parsons
The Bulls and Mavs are among the teams to register interest tonight in Rockets’ restricted free agent Chandler Parsons, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The general rule of thumb, Stein says, is that any team interested in Carmelo Anthony also seems to be interested in Parsons. Meanwhile, Stein adds that the Wolves continue to monitor the forward in the event that the Rockets decide to make a run at Kevin Love. So far, Anthony has been the Rockets’ focus.
We heard earlier tonight that the Cavs are also eyeing Parsons. In the last three years with the Rockets, Parsons has averaged 14.1 points per night and shot 47.3% from the floor. The former second round pick played more minutes than any member of the Rockets last season. The Rockets presumably want to keep Parsons, but they also have their eye on bigger fish – like Melo – this summer.
Latest On Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony is confident that the Knicks will offer him a maximum-salary contract to entice him to stay, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. The team is reportedly willing to do so in spite of Phil Jackson‘s repeated public attempts to persuade the star forward to re-sign for less. Anthony is eligible for a deal worth more than $129.1MM over five years, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors explained.
The sought-after free agent is set to meet with the Bulls on Tuesday, Mavs and Rockets on Wednesday, and the Lakers at some point this week, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The visit with Lakers brass is likely to happen Thursday, Isola writes. The Knicks are nonetheless apparently upbeat about their chances to keep the 2012/13 scoring champ.
The Bulls appear to be in the lead to snatch him away from New York. Derrick Rose reiterated his stance that he doesn’t feel that it’s his place to recruit stars to the team while nonetheless praising Anthony’s game in an interview with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. A source close to Rose told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that Anthony understands that Rose would like to have him in Chicago and denied that Rose would prefer that the Bulls acquire Kevin Love instead of Anthony.
Clippers Prioritize Re-Signing Darren Collison
Doc Rivers made it clear his top priority this summer is re-signing Darren Collison, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Collison turned down a player option worth $1.9MM that would have brought him back to Los Angeles for the 2014/15 season. “You know our first guy, I’ll be honest, is one of our guys that opted out,” Rivers said, referring to Collison. “He’s a little guy. That’s very important for us.”
The rise in the projected tax line to $77MM will mean that the Clippers will have access to the full non-taxpayers mid-level exception, worth roughly $5.3MM. Collison’s impressive 2013/14 campaign will likely force Los Angeles to dip into most or all of their mid-level exception if they’re truly interested in bringing the point guard back.
Los Angeles hasn’t counted themselves out of the race to land Carmelo Anthony yet, says Turner, but they would need to make significant changes to their roster in order to land the superstar forward. According to Turner, Spencer Hawes is interested in playing for the Clippers, but he’d have to be willing to take a pay cut if he wants to join Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The Clips have $66.3MM in guaranteed salary next season, so a run at re-signing Collison is likely a more realistic scenario for Rivers and company.
Rivers mentioned how it’s tempting to shoot for the stars in free agency but added it’s important to be practical at the same time. “You look at needs first, unless there’s somebody out there that’s so talented that they trump all your needs and you go for that,” Rivers said. “But most of the time that is too expensive.“
And-Ones: Suns, Summer League, Kidd
Jason Kidd met with members of the Bucks on Friday, and a resolution to the situation is expected within the next 24 hours, reports Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter links). Gardner also notes that Kidd was discussing only a coaching position, and the Nets were asking for a first-round draft pick, while the Bucks are offering a second-rounder as compensation.
More from around the league:
- Joe Rexrode of The Detroit Free Press looks at the draft outcomes for former Michigan State Spartans, Gary Harris and Adreian Payne.
- The Suns plan to pursue both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. In the article, Wojnarowski weighs in on how the franchise could make both of their salaries fit while still retaining Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic.
- Marc Porcaro of SecretRival.com breaks down the current Summer League rosters for the NBA.
- Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee profiles the Kings‘ latest addition, Nik Stauskas, and looks at what he brings to the franchise.
- Marvin Williams, an unrestricted free agent, is garnering significant interest from some contending teams, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake City Tribune (Twitter link).
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com (video link) breaks down what compensation the Nets could be looking for if the Bucks want to hire Kidd as their new coach.
- The Jazz are prepared to match any offers that restricted free agent Gordon Hayward might get, reports Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (Twitter links). The Suns, Celtics, and Hornets are already interested in Hayward, Genessy reports. Phoenix might possibly offer a near max deal, according to the tweet.
Western Notes: Lakers, Parsons, Honeycutt
If they are unable to land Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James, the Lakers are also expected to have a strong interest in Wizards free-agent forward Trevor Ariza, Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, Pistons center Greg Monroe, and Suns forward Channing Frye, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
More from out west:
- Potential suitors are beginning to line up now that the Rockets have declined their team option on Chandler Parsons. Teams that are potentially interested in pursuing Parsons are the Timberwolves, Bulls, Mavericks, and Lakers, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Houston will have the opportunity to match any offer sheet that Parsons signs.
- Spears also notes that if the Timberwolves aren’t able to work out a trade that sends Kevin Love to the Warriors for Klay Thompson, then Minnesota might attempt to work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Rockets for Parsons.
- Former NBA player, Tyler Honeycutt is weighing overseas offers versus making an NBA comeback, reports David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link). He has already auditioned for the Jazz, Rockets and Warriors.
And-Ones: Hinkie, Anthony, Jazz
Many NBA stars are having discussions of teaming up now and in the future, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer details how Sixers GM Sam Hinkie pounced on the Magic‘s needs by drafting Elfrid Payton at No. 10 and then trading him to Orlando, receiving back the 2015 first-rounder Philadelphia owed to the Magic.
- A Knicks player that recently spoke with Carmelo Anthony told Marc Berman of The New York Post that the star forward gave no indication of leaving New York.
- The Jazz will most likely let 2013 draft pick Raul Neto spend another year developing overseas, reports Jody Genessy of Deseret News.
- Utah has yet to decide what to do with 2008 draft selection Ante Tomic, per Genessy. The Jazz could buy out his overseas contract and bring the center over to contribute this season, trade his rights, or simply wait another year.
- Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald tweets that Ray Allen is still in the Heat‘s plans going forward. Allen has been leaning toward returning to play another year alongside LeBron James.
Lakers Don’t Give Qualifying Offer To Bazemore
6:46pm: Despite the Lakers deciding against making Bazemore a restricted free agent, there is mutual interest between the team and guard in his return to LA next season, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
2:01pm: The Lakers have chosen not to extend a qualifying offer to Kent Bazemore, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (on Twitter). As a result of the team’s decision, Bazemore will become an unrestricted free agent, and Los Angeles will receive a cap hold of $915,243 on their books.
Bazemore was shipped from Golden State to LA near the deadline last season, and he proved to be a valuable rotation piece for the Lakers. He averaged 13.1 points in 28.0 minutes per game while shooting 45% from the field.
Los Angeles wants as much cap flexibility as possible to increase their odds at signing Carmelo Anthony and/or LeBron James this summer, according to Pick (Twitter link). It’s unlikely that the decision to refrain from extending a qualifying offer to Bazemore will be the deciding factor in landing either of the superstars, but the move will provide slightly more breathing room nonetheless.
Lawrence’s Latest: Boozer, ‘Melo, Grizzlies
There’s genuine fear within the Bulls’ front office that owner Jerry Reinsdorf will refuse to use the amnesty provision on Carlos Boozer this summer, passes along Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. Chicago will have a hard time creating the cap room necessary to pursue marquee names if they don’t find a way to get Boozer off the books. Here’s more from Lawrence:
- Carmelo Anthony would be interested in teaming up with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, says Lawrence, but the Lakers are unlikely to have the cap space to bring in both superstars.
- It sounds as if the Rockets‘ pursuit of ‘Melo is unlikely to result in a success. “The only reason Carmelo will go to Houston to listen (to the Rockets) is because of Kevin McHale,” a source told Lawrence. “If the coach wasn’t a top-50, all-time player or was a lesser-name coach, then ‘Melo wouldn’t even visit there. But he’ll listen because it’s Kevin McHale.“
- The Grizzlies are interested in bringing aboard former Knicks president Glen Grunwald to come in and serve under Chris Wallace for two years before taking over the reins as GM, Lawrence writes. That echoes an earlier report from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com but appears to add an expiration date for Wallace’s time in charge of the front office.
- One league source told Lawrence that he wasn’t sure if Bruno Caboclo was even worth a second-round selection. The Raptors selected Caboclo with the 20th pick in the draft, and Lawrence writes that it’s virtually impossible to find a GM who agrees with their decision.
- Utah’s decision to draft Dante Exum isn’t surprising since the the Jazz aren’t sold on Trey Burke as a franchise point guard, reveals Lawrence.
- Dirk Nowitzki won’t even consider signing with a team other than the Mavs this summer, Lawrence confirms.