Dwyane Wade Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Trying To Clear Cap Space For LeBron

July 6th, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cavs are working to clear cap space in order to carve out a max slot for LeBron James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Sources tell Wojnarowski that Cleveland is looking for a team to take Nets guard Marcus Thornton in a deal to unload their own Jarrett Jack.

Moving Jack’s $6.3MM/year salary would enable the Cavs to clear room for LeBron while keeping LeBron’s friend Anderson Varejao in the fold (link). Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) has heard from multiple sources that Paul has told the Cavs he’s impressed with what they’ve done and what they can still do with their roster, so a return back home doesn’t sound so far fetched at this point for LeBron.

Meanwhile, James has had minimal contact with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and the longer that goes on, the more unsettled the two are becoming about Miami’s future (link). “They’re reading the tea leafs,” a source tells Wojnarowski. LeBron and agent Rich Paul will meet with Pat Riley in person this week, Sam Amick of USA Today reports, so everyone involved might gain some clarity in a matter of days.

Latest On LeBron, Bosh, Wade

July 6th, 2014 at 7:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Teams are awaiting direction from LeBron James‘ agent Rich Paul today to find out if the four-time MVP will proceed to free agent meetings this week, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). James has yet to meet with any club face-to-face and has been using Paul as a proxy.

As we learned last week, Paul has been telling clubs that James will take a more serious look at other teams if Miami president Pat Riley doesn’t act quickly in building a stronger supporting cast for the league’s best player. Of course, the caliber of talent that Riley can bring in will hinge greatly on what Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decide to do.

There’s been speculation that Bosh is fishing for a max deal, but agent Henry Thomas scoffed at that notion in a chat with Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. Thomas would not say if Bosh or Wade, both of whom are his clients, are considering meeting with other teams and added that he does not believe James, Wade, and Bosh have met collectively since they got together in late June to initially discuss their free agency plans.

“This is a process — really a different process for each one of them,” Thomas said. “It just has to play out. But what I can tell you is that nothing’s changed.”

Thomas insisted that Bosh and Wade are operating under separate circumstances, but expects them to reach decisions on new deals “within the next couple of days.”

And-Ones: Deng, Mavs, Ariza

July 5th, 2014 at 11:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Luol Deng is apparently sticking to his desire for $12MM per season, notes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link). Deng has spoken with the Heat who are unsure about how much cap space they will have until LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade make their decisions, and the Hawks who are currently unwilling to pay that amount, according to the tweet. Deng’s best chance might be with the Mavericks who he is scheduled to meet with soon, opines Amico.

Here’s more from around the league:

Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders runs through the best and worst performances from the first day of Summer League action, including some lottery picks making their debuts.
The Rockets and the Cavaliers are getting closer to creating max contract slots, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Rockets are discussing deals for Jeremy Lin, and the Cavs have been shopping Jarrett Jack packaged with a draft pick, notes Wojnarowski.
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders looks at the Mavericks cap situation after the reported signing of Devin Harris.
Trevor Ariza met with the Heat on Thursday, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

Latest On Heat, Chris Bosh, LeBron James

July 5th, 2014 at 12:24pm CST by Zachary Links

Chris Bosh‘s representatives have made recent calls around the league to reconfirm that max slots would be available to him, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The answer his camp has received is yes.

The biggest issue for Miami right now could be that they might not be able to meet Bosh’s salary desires and still maintain space for free agents, Wojnarowski tweets. Getting Bosh to take a discount might not be as easy as once thought. If LeBron James wants a short-term deal in Miami, it doesn’t seem likely that Bosh would want to commit long-term at a steep discount only to possibly get left behind later (link). Meanwhile, Pat Riley has been unable to give the reps for free agents concrete offers because he doesn’t have the precise figures on Bosh and Dwyane Wade yet (link).

That doesn’t mean the Heat are waiting on any member of the Big Three to talk shop, however. Team execs will be meeting in Chicago with representatives for Luol Deng today, reports Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link), and Riley will be in attendance according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). David Aldridge of NBA.com (via Twitter) adds that they’ll be meeting with Anthony Morrow‘s reps as well.

Eastern Rumors: Wade, Bosh, ‘Melo, Gasol

July 4th, 2014 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

Happy Fourth of July to our American readers! It remains to be seen if there will be any free agency fireworks today, but with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh hesitant to take discounts, prompting a disconnect between them and LeBron James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the fuse has been lit. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference as the market waits to see what James and Carmelo Anthony will do:

The Bulls remain confident that they’re still in the running to end up as Anthony’s choice, but they sense they’ve lost momentum with the Knicks prepared to offer the max, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Pau Gasol learned when he met with the Bulls on Thursday that he would be a starter if he signed with the team, as Cowley, writing in the same piece, also hears.
The Raptors have had preliminary talks with Patrick Patterson as they concentrate on securing depth behind Amir Johnson, reports Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. They’re willing to wait before shopping for a physical, defensive-minded wing this summer, Smith adds. Concerns about Johnson’s ability to stay healthy also likely played a role in the team’s decision to fully guarantee Tyler Hansbrough‘s contract, Smith believes.
The Hornets have expressed interest in signing Ramon Sessions, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). A report late Thursday indicated the opposite, so perhaps Charlotte reached out within the last several hours.

Latest On LeBron James

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the LeBron James sweepstakes officially underway, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com is reporting (Twitter link) that officials from the Cavs, Mavs, Rockets, and Suns have already met with LeBron’s agent Rich Paul this week in Cleveland.

LeBron’s Return To Miami Not Certain

July 2nd, 2014 at 6:27pm CST by Zachary Links

This week, several reports have indicated that LeBron James was leaning heavily towards re-signing with the Heat and clubs around the league seem to have shifted their focus away from the game’s top talent. In fact, while Carmelo Anthony continues his nationwide tour, teams have been having trouble getting in touch with James’ camp. However, a report from Chris Broussard of ESPN.com paints a different picture of where the Heat stand with James.

After a lunch meeting last Wednesday, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were committed to returning to the Heat, but James was unsure of what he would do, sources said. James also did not ask or suggest that Wade and Bosh opt out of their deals or take lesser salaries to allow the Heat to add other top players. Bosh and Wade are intent on returning, but neither of them knows what James will do.

Bosh and Wade were so uncertain about James’s future after the meeting that one of them spoke about what the Heat might look like without him, according to one source. Where LeBron winds up, as far as Bosh and Wade are concerned, is still up in the air. The only certainty is that James wants a max deal.

Heat Telling Free Agents They Can Spend $12MM+

July 2nd, 2014 at 2:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 2:50pm: Bosh is seeking a deal worth $16-18MM, a source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 4:00pm: Agent Henry Thomas, who reps both Wade and Bosh, told TNT’s David Aldridge that the salary figures reported for his client are inaccurate (Twitter link).

3:28pm: Ken Berger of CBSSports.com and Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report put the brakes on the idea of such deep discounts, having heard that Bosh and Wade aren’t expected to accept figures quite so low (Twitter link).

2:44pm: The Heat are telling free agents that they have more than $12MM to spend, indicating that Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh or both are willing to take major discounts, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The Oregonian’s John Canzano hears Bosh is set to sign a five-year deal worth $11MM in the first year, while Wade will get a four-year deal starting at $12MM. Grantland’s Zach Lowe hears those figures are $12MM for Bosh and $10MM for Wade (Twitter links).

Those numbers, together with the maximum deal that LeBron James is insisting upon, would appear to give the Heat even more flexibility, since LeBron’s max is projected to be around $22MM. That would leave the Heat with $44-45MM or so in commitments, not counting roster charges and the cap hold for first-round pick Shabazz Napier. The salary cap is projected to come in at $62.3MM, so it seems Heat president Pat Riley is leaving room for a player or two at above the minimum salary in addition to a $12MM acquisition. That might come in the form of a signing at the value of the $2.732MM room exception.

The Heat are trying to arrange a meeting with Kyle Lowry today, according to Windhorst, who also suggests the team could go after Marcin Gortat (Twitter link). The Heat reportedly see Luol Deng and Lowry as their top free agent targets from outside the team, and while Deng is unwilling to take a discount to sign in Miami, $12MM appears to be close to market value.

Southeast Rumors: Lowry, McRoberts, Livingston

July 1st, 2014 at 7:03pm CST by Zachary Links

The Heat‘s infatuation with free agent guard Kyle Lowry has been well documented, but the Big Three haven’t been actively recruiting him, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. More from the Southeast Division..

Josh McRoberts‘ agent tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that there’s mutual interest between his client and the Hornets. “Quite a few teams have expressed” interest, Mike Conley Sr. said in a phone interview. “We haven’t gone into any in-depth discussions yet, but we know how the Hornets want him.”
The Hornets approached Shaun Livingston about a possible return to Charlotte, a knowledgeable source tells Bonnell. Livingston played for Charlotte in the 2010-11 season when they were under their maiden Bobcats moniker.
Kent Bazemore has heard from the Hawks, Celtics, Mavs, Lakers, Suns, and Bulls, tweets Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link) adds the Spurs to that list.

LeBron James To Demand Max Salary

July 1st, 2014 at 3:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 3:12pm: James is indeed seeking a maximum salary deal for just one or two seasons, according to John Canzano of The Oregonian. Canzano reiterates the details of the discounted figures to which Wade and Bosh have consented to assist the team in its attempt at a significant upgrade.

MONDAY, 12:26pm: LeBron James will insist on the maximum salary in a new deal this summer, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, though it’s not clear whether he’d demand the maximum number of years. James isn’t planning to meet with any teams, allowing agent Rich Paul to do all of the negotiating, and that plus his salary demand has led teams around the league to believe more strongly that James will stay with the Heat, according to Windhorst.

The ESPN scribe suggests that the NBA’s maximum salary for a veteran of 10 or more seasons will rise to $22.2MM for 2014/15. That would be the max for James, but even if the NBA’s max doesn’t surge that high, James’ max will be no less than $20,020,875, which is 105% of his salary from this past season.

James met with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to discuss salaries this weekend, so it appears it will be up to Wade and Bosh to take discounts if the Heat are going to add a free agent of note from another team this summer. All three took less than the max to sign with Miami in 2010.

Windhorst’s assertion that James appears increasingly likely to re-sign counters a dispatch from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who hears that James had begun to distance himself from Heat management during the season. Still, a source tells Amico that James would like to sign a deal that would give him the ability to opt out after one season, and with James apparently undecided on the length of his deal, according to Windhorst, perhaps James is indeed eyeing another shot at free agency in 2015.