Nets Eye DeMar DeRozan, Who’ll Opt Out
The Nets are expected to make DeMar DeRozan one of their primary targets in free agency this summer, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post, who hears from a source close to DeRozan that he’ll turn down the player option for next season on his contract with the Raptors. However, DeRozan feels the Raptors have treated him well, and he has an uncommon loyalty, Lewis’ source cautioned. The Aaron Goodwin client has spoken about his loyalty in the past, saying at the start of camp this fall that he takes pride in being the longest-tenured player on the Raptors roster.
It’s no surprise to hear that DeRozan plans to opt out, since his option is worth only slightly more than $10MM and the 26-year-old is the NBA’s 11th leading scorer this season, averaging 22.6 points per game. Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote this summer that early indications were that he’d opt out. DeRozan is eligible for a maximum salary of a projected $24.9MM next season, and turning down the option would make him part of a relatively thin 2016 free agent class just as the NBA’s salary cap is set to surge, leaving teams with plenty of cash to burn. The Nets have only about $45MM in guaranteed salary committed for 2016/17 against a projected $89MM cap.
Bojan Bogdanovic and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are the only Nets wing players with fully guaranteed salaries for next season, and the Nets, at 10-25, could use a major upgrade. Brooklyn, which doesn’t have much at the point guard position, either, is reportedly likely to make Mike Conley its top free agent target, though DeRozan, No. 8 in our 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings, probably wouldn’t be far behind. The Raptors have wing players DeMarre Carroll and Terrence Ross signed to long-term deals, but they’d surely be loath to watch DeRozan bolt, especially to another Eastern Conference team.
Where do you think DeRozan will be playing next season? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Eastern Notes: DeRozan, Nets, Jefferson, Curry
Coach Dwane Casey isn’t quite sure why DeMar DeRozan has been playing better of late, but the Raptors nonetheless believe his improved shooting and overall play are sustainable, based on an uptick that dates back to this past March, observes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. DeRozan has a player option worth slightly more than $10MM for next season, but it seems a near-certainty that he’ll decline it and hit free agency in the summer. See more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Nets CEO Brett Yormark spoke about the need for the team to play better in an interview with Crain’s New York Business, and while his remarks weren’t particularly substantive, they demonstrate a continued increase in Yormark’s basketball chatter, NetsDaily points out (Twitter link). Yormark, if given basketball decision-making power, would like to offer “everything under the sun” to bring John Calipari back to the Nets, as Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post wrote in a chat last week (hat tip to Sam Amico of Amico Hoops). However, owner Mikhail Prokhorov wants to make CSKA Moscow team president Andrey Vatutin the next Brooklyn GM, with current GM Billy King‘s contract up after the season, as Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net reported earlier today.
- Al Jefferson‘s history of injuries juxtaposed against a rising salary cap suggest that the Hornets face a difficult choice as they ponder whether to re-sign him in free agency this summer, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders.
- Stephen Curry has no shortage of affection for Charlotte, where he grew up, but a multitude of reasons that extend even beyond his idyllic basketball situation with the Warriors convince Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that Curry won’t give the Hornets a second thought when he hits free agency in 2017.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Carroll, Nets, Railey
Draft picks, cap space, and “Trader Danny” Ainge, the team’s president of basketball operations, leave the Celtics in fine shape as they seek to add marquee players, co-owner Wyc Grousbeck believes, as he explained Wednesday in a radio appearance on the Felger & Mazz show on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com has the details and transcription that shows Grousbeck defending the team’s approach to rebuilding and indicating that a major free agent run isn’t the team’s preferred path.
“Free agency is the last choice and it’s when you haven’t made a trade that locks up your cap, or you haven’t developed guys enough who then are max guys to re-sign them,” Grousbeck said. “We’re not saving for free agents. It’s not like we’re saying no to expensive people. We brought in [David] Lee and [Amir] Johnson but on one year. We’re going to take a look at those guys. Two good players. We have the option to probably re-sign them next summer. We can extend some of the guys on the roster or we can make a trade in February and take on a bunch of money. So all those things. At the end of it all if there’s free agency dollars left then you can go the free agency route.”
See more from the Atlantic Division:
- DeMarre Carroll took a hard fall in Toronto’s opener Wednesday, but it turned out just to be a bruised elbow, and his ability to shrug off that and play his usual hard-nosed defense underscored why the Raptors signed him to a four-year, $58MM deal, DeMar DeRozan said, notes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
- The playoffs are still the goal for the Nets, GM Billy King told reporters this week, but he acknowledged that the team still must develop its young players, as The Record’s Andy Vasquez relays. Brooklyn owes its unprotected first-round pick to the Celtics this year.
- The contract that Jordan Railey was briefly on with the Sixers was a non-guaranteed deal for one year at the minimum, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Philadelphia announced Monday that it had signed and quickly waived the former Washington State center for the purpose of securing his D-League rights. The Sixers incurred a small cap hit for doing so, since the deal came after Saturday’s deadline for teams to remove non-guaranteed salary without it counting against the cap.
Atlantic Notes: Thomas, Knicks, DeRozan
Knicks coach Derek Fisher is focusing on his squad’s intangibles and professionalism, rather than lament the fact that New York didn’t land any of the top names in free agency, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “Character, professional mindset,’’ Fisher said when listing the team’s strengths. “You’re not in the NBA if you’re not talented. We don’t have to get into who’s talented. The character of our group and the way we’re approaching what’s going on daily, those are going to be the strengths. We’ll have rough nights, rough stretches. We have the beginnings of at least a group able to handle some of the adversity and setbacks that come with a long NBA season. The basketball part will take care of itself as long as we become a team. We have the type of guys that are interested in being a team.’’
When asked if the professionalism he was speaking of was an improvement over last season’s team, Fisher said, “It’s just different. Until the season starts and we figure out who we are, you can’t really say it’s better. But it’s different. We’re all different. Teams have different strengths and weaknesses. The strength of this particular group is not in having what people consider the sexy names or guys who didn’t come play with our team, but guys who truly want to be here. I think it’s going to help us.’’
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers owner Josh Harris admits that while he wishes that his team was further along in its rebuild, he is content with the progress that is being made, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “I think we are making progress,” Harris said. “I’m an impatient person at heart. I would rather get to the end point as fast as possible. But at the same time, the goal is still the same goal: to be an elite extremely competitive team that goes deep in the playoffs. But at the same time, there aren’t shortcuts to it. So you have to react to the realities . . . I certainty wish it was going faster. But at the same time, I’m happy with the progress.“
- Since being acquired at last season’s trade deadline, Isaiah Thomas has been the Celtics‘ best player, and this coming season will provide him with an opportunity to take the next step toward being recognized as one of the top players in the league, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes.
- DeMar DeRozan is eligible to opt out of his current deal with the Raptors and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but he is adamant about wanting to focus on the coming campaign, and not his next pact, Eric Koreen of The National Post relays. Discussing the wealth of questions he receives about next season, DeRozan told Koreen, “I hate that, honestly. I never speak about it. With me, I’ve always been that one player: I’ve been loyal. I’ve been every single thing you can think of here. I think people don’t understand how much pride I take in playing [in Toronto]. A lot of times when I do get asked that, it kind of frustrates me. Everyday I wake up, I take pride in being the longest Raptor here. People bring up third or whatever in franchise scoring — there is so much stuff like that.”
And-Ones: Durant, DeRozan, Warriors, Bennett
Kevin Durant is fully cleared for training camp, Thunder GM Sam Presti said, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Thus, the former MVP is ready for the start of a pivotal season for the Thunder, who’ll surely do what they can to prove their worth as a contender before Durant can bolt in free agency next summer, and for Durant himself, who’s out to prove he can stay healthy after a broken foot cost him all but 27 games this past season. While we wait for action to begin in a 2015/16 campaign sure to include plenty of chatter about Durant’s future, see more from around the NBA:
- It’s certainly no shock, but GM Masai Ujiri conceded that DeMar DeRozan won’t be talking about an extension with the team this season in advance of his ability to opt out next summer, as Ujiri said this week on SportsNet’s Free Association podcast. The Aaron Goodwin client becomes eligible for an extension on October 31st, three years from the day that he inked a rookie scale extension with Toronto, but unlike those sorts of extensions, veteran extensions come with sharp financial limits that discourage players from signing them.
- The Warriors don’t have much cap flexibility, but their existing roster and superior management team, which includes Executive of the Year Bob Myers, has them atop the ESPN Insiders Future Power Rankings, which rate teams based on their potential for success over the next three seasons.
- Former 15th overall pick Austin Daye has hired agent Obrad Fimic of the AltiSport agency to negotiate deals in Europe, Fimic announced (on Twitter). The Hawks waived Daye in July, but no indication of NBA interest has emerged since.
- The Timberwolves didn’t provide Anthony Bennett with the tools to succeed on the court, as Flip Saunders‘ lack of enthusiasm for three-pointers encouraged the former No. 1 overall pick to launch too many long twos, one of myriad problems with Bennett’s game, opines Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated. Still, Bennett deserves blame for many of his shortcomings, too, and he’ll need to show improvement just to carve out a niche as a reserve stretch four, Golliver believes.
And-Ones: Faried, Deng, DeRozan
The growing sense around the Nuggets is that the team wants to see if Michael Malone can mentor Kenneth Faried the way he reached DeMarcus Cousins with the Kings, and it seems highly unlikely that Denver will trade the power forward before the start of the season, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Heat want to hold on to Luol Deng and see how well the team can play, sources close to the organization tell Kyler, but if Miami underwhelms, Kyler believes Miami would put Deng on the block.
- The Raptors are not entertaining trades for DeMar DeRozan, sources close to the team informed Kyler.
- The additions that the Clippers made this offseason to bolster their bench have made them the NBA’s most improved team heading into the 2015/16 campaign, opines Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). Doolittle also calls out the Hornets and Mavericks as teams that have made positive strides this Summer, while listing the Nets, Sixers, and Suns as franchises that have taken a step back this offseason.
- With the NBA’s salary cap expected to increase dramatically next Summer there are a number of pending free agents who stand to benefit from the windfall, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) writes. Some under-the-radar players who can expect significant pay increases on their next contracts include Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Hornets), Harrison Barnes (Warriors), Langston Galloway (Knicks), and Jordan Clarkson (Lakers), Pelton opines.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Lowe’s Latest: Heat, West, Aldridge, Suns
The Heat have “put out Shabazz Napier feelers” as they seek to maximize their cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes within a larger column on free agency. Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen are available “for nothing,” Lowe adds, presumably meaning that the Heat continue to place a priority on clearing their salaries in an effort to avoid repeat-offender luxury tax penalties. Heat president Pat Riley denied a report last month that the team was shopping the pair, who are set to make a combined $9.3MM this coming season, but it sounds as if Miami is at least open to the idea of moving them if another team comes forward with an offer. Miami could simply decline its 2016/17 team option on Napier, worth about $1.35MM, but the team presumably wants to extract more value than that out of last year’s 24th overall pick. Lowe dishes plenty more in his latest must-read column, and we’ll pass along some of the highlights:
- David West turned down an extra $4MM or so from the Wizards and about an extra $2MM from the Warriors when he reportedly agreed to sign for the minimum salary with the Spurs, several league sources tell Lowe. That signals that Washington would have spent its $5.464MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level and Golden State would have used its $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level instead of committing part of it to Leandro Barbosa.
- The Nuggets tried before the draft to trade the lottery protected 2016 first-round pick it acquired from the Blazers in the Arron Afflalo trade in February, but no one bit, out of fear that the Blazers would lose LaMarcus Aldridge and miss the playoffs two years in a row, Lowe hears. If Portland doesn’t qualify for the postseason in 2016 or 2017, the first-rounder turns into two second-rounders, as RealGM notes.
- Aldridge’s interest in the Lakers was serious as free agency began, several sources told Lowe. He took two meetings with the team after the first one apparently didn’t focus enough on basketball for his liking.
- Suns owner Robert Sarver is impatient with his team’s playoff drought and has made it clear to the front office that he wants them to be aggressive in free agency, Lowe reports. That explains Phoenix’s pursuit of Aldridge, which had the Suns seemingly co-favorites with the Spurs at one point.
- The best information so far indicates that DeMar DeRozan and Chandler Parsons will opt out next summer, Lowe writes, though it’s early.
- George Karl loved coaching Kosta Koufos when they were together with the Nuggets, according to Lowe, so Sacramento’s agreement to sign the center leaves the Grantland columnist with the impression that Karl indeed has some degree of sway over Kings personnel.
Mavs, Raptors Meet With Wesley Matthews
12:46pm: The Raptors have a meeting set with Matthews, reports Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link). Toronto would likely have to offload a significant amount of salary to afford him, given the Carroll deal. DeMar DeRozan has been heavily involved in the recruitment of both, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (on Twitter), so presumably he won’t be on the move if the Raptors trade anyone. Meanwhile, Stein indicates that Toronto’s meeting with Matthews has already happened (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 11:41am: Dallas is considered the front-runner for Matthews, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. Toronto has a deal with DeMarre Carroll, so presumably that’ll take the Raptors out of the running.
TUESDAY, 11:44pm: The Mavs and Matthews are meeting this evening, at the same time a different Mavs contingent is with DeAndre Jordan, according to Stein (on Twitter).
12:30pm: New York is among the teams on Matthews’ radar, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, who nonetheless expresses pessimism that the money would work for both sides.
8:58am: The Raptors and Mavs have interest in signing Wesley Matthews, who’s ahead of schedule as he rehabs his torn left Achilles tendon, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News first reported the interest from Dallas. The Jeff Austin client is seeking about $15MM on his next deal, as Sam Amick of USA Today reported earlier.
The Celtics and Knicks are also reportedly interested. All four teams, as well as the incumbent Blazers, have the cap flexibility necessary to pay the swingman what he’s seeking, though it would seem they all have higher priorities, including LaMarcus Aldridge, a teammate and close friend of Matthews. It would be a tight squeeze for the Mavs and Knicks to sign both to the sorts of deals that Aldridge, who can command the max, and Matthews are looking for, and it would be virtually impossible for the Raptors and Celtics to do so unless they clear salary via trade. The Blazers, who have Bird rights on both, have the greatest capacity to sign the pair, but Aldridge is reportedly almost certain to leave Portland.
Matthews, a career 39.3% three-point shooter and fifth in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus/Minus among shooting guards, would fit the three-and-D type the Mavs reportedly plan to seek if they sign Aldridge. Matthews would be a more difficult fit in Toronto, where DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross are under contract on the wings.
Eastern Rumors: Cavs, DeRozan, Celtics, Monroe
Some sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that they think LeBron James will ask the Cavs to change coaches (Twitter link), though he has no intention of pushing the team to fire David Blatt, as ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported last week. Blatt has made it clear on multiple occasions that he expects he’ll be back. Still, we’ll see what happens this summer in Cleveland. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Chatter continues to indicate that DeMar DeRozan will opt out and seek a maximum-salary deal next summer, and “there is no way” that the Raptors would be willing to pay him that much, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. For this summer, the Raptors will probably have particular interest in Marc Gasol and Paul Millsap, Wolstat also writes.
- Celtics don’t find their chances to land a star encouraging, as Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe hears. Himmelsbach confirms earlier reports of interest in Greg Monroe and Millsap, though he hears from several team sources who say the team didn’t offer Marcus Smart in trade proposals to other teams on draft day.
- Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com believes the new regime in Atlanta isn’t as enamored with Monroe’s game as the team’s last set of higher-ups was (Twitter link). The Hawks, who have a new principal owner in Tony Ressler and have formally cut ties with GM Danny Ferry, aren’t among the teams reportedly meeting with the soon-to-be free agent big man.
- Jimmy Butler would like to sign a one-year offer sheet with the Lakers, a league source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, but that would be impossible since offer sheets must be for at least two years and at least three if, as the Bulls have long planned, Chicago makes a five-year max offer. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported a couple of weeks ago that Butler’s interest in the Lakers had increased, but the Bulls have the right to match any offer and are expected to do so, Medina notes.
- Reggie Jackson turned down an offer worth more than $12MM a year in extension talks with the Thunder last year because he wanted out of Oklahoma City and onto a team where he could start, a source told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Jackson will probably demand the max if the Pistons want him to sign for five years, the same source said to Ellis.
- Mario Hezonja and Barcelona, his Spanish team, have reached a deal on a buyout that will allow him to part ways with the club and sign with the Magic, who drafted him fifth overall Thursday, reports Jose Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo (translation via Sporando’s Enea Trapani). The buyout is worth 1.6 million euros, the equivalent of about $1.79MM at today’s exchange rate. Orlando will presumably cover the maximum $625K of that amount.
Raptors Rumors: Casey, Williams, Lowry
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri didn’t say whether coach Dwane Casey would be back next year, though he indicated that if he had decided against keeping him, he’d have already said so, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). “There’s no doomsday here,” Ujiri said, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (on Twitter). “Initial indications” are that the Raptors will retain Casey, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears, as he writes in the same piece, but league sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe that it’s still uncertain whether the coach will be back next season, even though he’s under contract. Casey agreed to a three-year deal last offseason that consists of two guaranteed years and a team option for 2016/17. There’s plenty more on the Raptors, as we detail:
- The belief is that the Raptors would like to re-sign Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams on a reasonable deal, according to Stein, who writes in the same piece, though Eric Koreen of the National Post suggests that Williams and the rest of the Raptors free agents aren’t strong bets to return. An NBA executive told Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun that he would only sign Williams to a one-year deal, citing his defensive shortcomings.
- Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas are the only Raptors who should feel confident that they’re likely to remain in Toronto for next season, Stein hears, adding that rival teams would nonetheless be unsurprised if the team makes changes to its core.
- Casey and Ujiri have no shortage of faith in Terrence Ross, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, who says that chances are that Ross is still with the Raptors next season. A trade of DeRozan would allow Ross into his natural position of shooting guard, and many believe “the winds are blowing” in that direction, Wolstat writes. Ross, a former No. 8 overall pick, is eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason.
- Valanciunas will also be up for a rookie scale extension this year, and Koreen suggests it’s likely that the Raptors will explore the notion of giving him one.