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Central Notes: Monroe, Butler, Osman, Johnson

October 5th, 2015 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Bucks GM John Hammond believes the team’s plan for a new arena, which has since cleared all hurdles for public funding, played a role in convincing Greg Monroe to sign with the team, as Hammond told NBA TV’s Dennis Scott and TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Monroe cites advice from former Bucks who became his teammates on the Pistons.

“When I signed, it wasn’t all the way done yet, but now, they have a new stadium coming,” Monroe said. “And I saw how the fans were. We played there, been coming there for years now, multiple times a year in the division. I know what kind of fan base they have. And I talked to a couple of my former teammates in Detroit who played here before, and they had nothing but great things to say about the city and the organization. So with all of that combined, I just definitely felt I made the right decision.”

See more from the Central Division:

Jimmy Butler thinks new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg will improve the team’s floor-spacing, an element Butler thought was “terrible” last season, but Butler, in an interview with Aldridge for the same piece, identifies Hoiberg’s personal touch as the most significant change from former coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Cavs spoke with No. 31 overall pick Cedi Osman about a month ago, but he’s planning to remain overseas with Anadolu Efes, where he has a contract that runs through at least 2017/18, for the next two seasons, as Osman writes for Eurohoops.net. “I’m happy that my rights are owned by the Cleveland Cavaliers and I hope that when I go there, I’ll meet LeBron James!” Osman writes. “I have a lot to learn from him!”
Stanley Johnson was a surprise pick at No. 8 with Justise Winslow still on the board and he struggled in the Pistons‘ open scrimmage Saturday, apart from a highlight-reel play, but he’s otherwise made a strong impression with the team so far, observes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

Central Notes: Thompson, Love, Bulls, Douglas

August 14th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James believes the Cavs front office has “done a great job” this summer, but the next step, he added, is to re-sign Tristan Thompson, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com chronicles. James and Thompson share Rich Paul as an agent.

“Our No. 1 objective right now is to sign Tristan,” James said Thursday at Cedar Point amusement park. “He’s a huge part of our team. Short term and long term he makes our team more dangerous.”

Keeping him for this season doesn’t appear to be the issue. Paul raised the specter of Thompson signing his one-year, approximately $6.778MM qualifying offer earlier this week, but the agent said that if that happened, Thompson wouldn’t re-sign with the Cavs in unrestricted free agency next season. The Cavs are offering less than the near-max that Thompson seeks, Windhorst notes. See more from Cleveland amid the latest from the Central Division:

James also expressed confidence that Kevin Love, who re-signed on a five-year deal earlier this summer, will function better this season than last, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. Love arranged a meeting with James earlier this summer. “He wanted to talk about the season, what could happen with the team going forward,” James said. “I was absolutely open to it. I was one of the people that wanted him there when we made the trade last summer. The fact that he committed to us let me know the type of guy we have. I think he’s going to be great for us. I think he’ll be an All-Star this year and a much more vocal part of the team this season.”
Jimmy Butler knows much hinges on the Bulls‘ coaching change and their ability to take advantage of opportunities, as Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com relays (Twitter links). “We got the same team. Is it enough? We’ll find out. It wasn’t enough last year. Only thing we changed was coach,” Butler said. “We got the same exact team. We had a chance. We were right there. If we’re healthy…we’ll be right in the same position.”
Toney Douglas understands he faces a challenge to make the opening night roster for the Pacers, a team that already has 15 fully guaranteed salaries to go along with his partially guaranteed deal, writes Manny Randhawa of the Indianapolis Star. President of basketball operations Larry Bird used the phrase “having him in camp” twice in the press release to announce the signing of Douglas, but the point guard isn’t discouraged. “We really haven’t gotten into detail about me being here, but I know I’m here for a reason,” Douglas said this week to reporters, including Randhawa. His contract covers one season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

Central Notes: Thompson, D-League, Butler

August 13th, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite Rich Paul’s proclamation that his client, Tristan Thompson, would not re-sign with the Cavaliers next summer if he were to sign his qualifying offer, worth nearly $6.778MM, Cleveland should not offer the forward a maximum salary deal, opines Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer. Livingston points to the exorbitant luxury tax hit that would go along with such a lucrative contract for Thompson, and notes that prior to the 2014/15 campaign the forward had been considered a disappointment by many. The Plain Dealer scribe also adds that despite the threat by Paul that Thompson would depart, the Cavs would still retain the 24-year-old’s Bird rights, meaning that they could outbid other teams for Thompson’s services next offseason.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

The Pacers will meet with officials from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants next week to discuss terms of the prospective sale of the D-League franchise to Indiana, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets.
Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler acknowledges that the chemistry between he and point guard Derrick Rose needs to improve next season, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. “I think we can,” Butler said during an appearance on “The Waddle and Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000, when asked about his chemistry with Rose. “I think we will. And I think we better, because the way I look at it, I don’t think either one of us is going anywhere anytime soon.”
Toney Douglas said that the presence of Donnie Walsh as a consultant helped him decide to sign with the Pacers, Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com writes. “I love Donnie,” Douglas said. “Donnie has always been a great guy. I loved him when I was in New York. Him being here was really a great situation. I trust him. He’s not going to lie to you; he’s going to keep it real and tell you what you need to do.” Walsh was president of the Knicks when the team swung a deal with the Lakers to acquire the draft rights to Douglas back in 2009.

Central Notes: Butler, Ellis, Young

July 17th, 2015 at 9:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There had been rumblings toward the end of the 2014/15 season that there was tension between Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose, with Rose supposedly becoming frustrated with Butler’s expanded offensive role with the Bulls, rumblings that Butler categorizes as false, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. “I think he’s always been supportive of me being aggressive, especially on offense,” Butler said. “We all know that I’ll be the aggressor on defense. So from what I can tell, the guy’s always been in my corner.”

The swingman believes the only reason his relationship with Rose was even discussed is because of Chicago’s season ending on a disappointing note in the NBA playoffs, Friedell adds. “The only reason that it came up is because we lost,” Butler said. “I don’t think we have any beef or whatever you want to call it. I think we just want to win. We didn’t win, so now [people say] we’re beefing, now we have a problem with each other, and I don’t think that’s the case.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The league has temporarily disallowed the four-year deal worth approximately $44MM that Monta Ellis inked with the Pacers, Zach Lowe of Grantland reports in a series of tweets. Lowe is quick to stress that Ellis will indeed become a member of the team, but Indiana simply ran out of necessary cap room, and will need to change the order in which some other transactions are finalized to make Ellis’ deal work.
The salaries that Ellis is set to earn with that Pacers contract are $10.3MM this coming season, $10,763,500 in 2016/17, $11.227MM in 2017/18, and he has a player option for the final season worth $11,690,500, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Pacers 2015 second-rounder Joseph Young will be paid $1,007,026 and $1,052,342 the first two years of his deal, both of which are fully guaranteed, and $1,097,658, which is non-guaranteed, during the 2017/18 campaign, Pincus relays, adding that a fourth season, worth $1,142,974, is a team option (Twitter link).

Central Rumors: Drummond, Butler, Pacers

July 12th, 2015 at 9:06am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons will begin extension talks with center Andre Drummond this summer with the aim of signing him to a long-term deal, most likely for the max, Terry Foster of the Detroit News reports. The Pistons want to lock up their franchise player even though they could have more flexibility to sign free agents and make trades next summer by waiting to re-sign him when he’s a restricted free agent, Foster continues. The incentive for Drummond is to get the guaranteed money now in case he suffers a significant injury, Foster adds. Money is apparently no object to get an agreement. “We have until the end of October so we will get into those talks in the next couple of weeks,” Pistons president of basketball operations and coach Stan Van Gundy said during a press conference. “What you are talking about there is more timing than anything. It is not like you will be haggling over dollars, so it is a different situation.”

In other news around the Central Division:

Van Gundy admitted he took “a little bit of a gamble” with his commitment to point guard Reggie Jackson, who has never started a full season, John Niyo of the Detroit News writes. Jackson, a restricted free agent, agreed to a five-year, $80MM deal without any options to be the team’s floor leader going forward. Van Gundy wanted to have Jackson for the long haul. “You’ve got to weigh in future years,” Van Gundy told the Detroit media. “Most of the guys who signed free-agent contracts [this July], they’ve got an out after year three or four. We were willing to pay more money to not have the out.”
Jimmy Butler received a $4.6MM signing bonus when he re-signed with the Bulls, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Butler stayed put with a five-year deal worth approximately $95MM. A 5% trade kicker is another element to the contract, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Pacers will use cap room to re-sign guard Rodney Stuckey since they renounced his non-Bird rights, Pincus reports. They also renounced their rights to Andrew Bynum, David West and Luis Scola, among others, Pincus adds (Twitter links). Stuckey agreed to a three-year, $21MM deal to remain with Indiana.

Jimmy Butler Re-Signs With Bulls

July 9th, 2015 at 11:25am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 9TH, 11:25am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

“We are thrilled that Jimmy has committed to remain a Chicago Bull for years to come,” GM Gar Forman said in the press release. “As one of the leagues rising stars, we look forward to his continued growth and him being a major contributor to our team’s continued success.”

JULY 1ST, 1:21pm: Jimmy Butler and the Bulls are finalizing a max contract for five years with a player option after year four, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). It’ll be worth an estimated $95MM, according to Wojnarowski, with the precise value to be determined, when the deal can become official at the end of the July Moratorium next week. Other teams pursuing him have given up the chase, Wojnarowski adds. The client of Happy Walkers and Steve McCaskill was strongly leaning toward taking Chicago’s five-year offer, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com had reported earlier, and it long appeared as though the Bulls would keep him, with the power to match offers and the willingness to pay the max.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The restricted free agent reportedly intended to seek short-term offer sheets, but wound up re-signing with Chicago on a deal that won’t allow him to choose free agency until 2019. Still, when the Bulls tendered a maximum qualifying offer, that meant Butler couldn’t sign an offer sheet that would let him into free agency sooner than 2018, and he apparently put off meetings with the Lakers, Sixers and Mavs when that offer from Chicago came in. The only recourse would have been to sign his standard qualifying offer, worth less than $4.434MM, and while that would have let him into unrestricted free agency next summer, it would have been a profound financial sacrifice for this coming season.

Butler already gambled on himself when he passed up $11MM salaries on a proposed extension with Chicago this past fall. The former 30th overall pick apparently would have settled for between $12.5MM and $13MM a year at that point, but his performance this season, which earned him this year’s Most Improved Player of the Year award, sent his value skyrocketing.

The result will cost the Bulls even more than the difference between what he might have taken in an extension and an estimated $16MM starting salary for this coming season. Chicago, which also agreed to a three-year, $14.4MM deal with Mike Dunleavy today, is almost certain to pay a stiff tax bill, since it entered free agency with $63MM already against a tax threshold likely to land somewhere around $82MM when the league sets it at the end of the moratorium.

Jimmy Butler Ponders Max Offer From Bulls

July 1st, 2015 at 10:46am CST by Chuck Myron

10:46am: The Bulls are open to a player option, Johnson reports (Twitter link).

9:17am: The Happy Walters client is strongly leaning toward Chicago’s five-year offer instead of a shorter deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

12:48am: Butler wants a player option in any deal that he signs, and while he may shop himself to other teams if the Bulls don’t grant that request, Chicago would still match any offer, according to K.C. Johnson the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links).

WEDNESDAY, 12:12am: The swingman is thinking about doing a five-year max deal that includes a player option on the last season with the Bulls, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.

TUESDAY, 11:09am: Butler put off meetings with the Lakers, Celtics, Sixers and Mavs when the Bulls made their max qualifying offer and is now deciding how many years to sign for on a deal with Chicago, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

MONDAY, 3:43pm: The Bulls have given Jimmy Butler a maximum qualifying offer, meaning other teams can’t sign him to an offer sheet that runs fewer than three years, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). Those three years can’t include an option. Opposing teams would otherwise be limited to offer sheets of at least two years had Chicago merely extended a standard qualifying offer. The Bulls have also made the standard QO, worth nearly $4.434MM, that Butler can accept if he is intent on reaching unrestricted free agency as quickly as possible, though that would entail great financial sacrifice this season.

The max qualifying offer, by rule, is a fully guaranteed five years with a starting salary at the max and 7.5% raises. It can’t include any option years. The Bulls and Butler are free to negotiate different terms, but it nonetheless raises the stakes, with Butler reportedly wanting to sign a short-term deal with the Lakers.

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune reported back in January that the Bulls planned a max offer for Butler, so today’s news is no surprise. Still, paying an estimated max salary of around $19MM to Butler next season will likely send the Bulls, who already have about $63MM in guaranteed salary for 2015/16, into tax territory, with the tax line projected to come in at $81.6MM.

Western Notes: Davis, Prince, Matthews

July 1st, 2015 at 6:36am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have contacted free agent Ed Davis, and would like for him to return to Los Angeles next season, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. There will be some competition for Davis’ services, as four undisclosed teams have also expressed interest in the big man, Medina notes. Davis is seeking a two or three-year deal worth $7MM-$8MM, or a one-year arrangement worth $9MM-$10MM, the Daily News scribe adds. In 79 games for the Lakers last season, Davis notched averages of 8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 23.3 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Clippers are not optimistic about the idea of Paul Pierce taking less money to come their way, Sam Amick of USA Today Sports tweets.
The Lakers have expressed interest in restricted free agents Jimmy Butler of the Bulls, and Iman Shumpert of the Cavaliers, Medina relays (Twitter link).
The Spurs were among the teams to contact unrestricted free agent Tayshaun Prince, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweets.
The Mavericks and Wesley Matthews are still engaged in contract talks, but remain approximately $3MM apart in annual value for the agreement, Amick tweets. Matthews is seeking an annual salary of $15MM per year, while Dallas is offering $12MM, Amick notes.
The Jazz contacted free agent Joe Ingles to express their interest in re-signing the forward, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News tweets. Utah tendered Ingles a qualifying offer worth $1.045MM on Monday, making him a restricted free agent. The 27-year-old appeared in 79 games for the Jazz in 2014/15, including 32 starts, and averaged 5.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 21.2 minutes per contest.
The Mavs have reached out to point guard Nick Calathes, who is a restricted free agent, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweets.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Cavs, Wizards Pursue Mike Dunleavy

June 30th, 2015 at 11:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

11:39pm: The Cavs are indeed in pursuit, as well as the Wizards, but the Bulls are still the favorites, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter).

9:26am: LeBron James would like the Cavs to sign Mike Dunleavy, but the small forward is highly likely to re-sign with the Bulls, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). James, though he’s opting out of his deal, has been very much engaged with Cavs management about the roster and is expected to re-sign. Dunleavy is also reportedly drawing interest from the Clippers.

Chicago apparently wants Dunleavy back, though there’s a limit to how much the Bulls would pay the client of outgoing Wasserman agent Arn Tellem. The Bulls are also highly likely to retain Jimmy Butler, whom they’ve made a maximum qualifying offer. Should Butler end up signing for the max, it’s likely the Bulls will have already exceeded the projected $81.6MM tax line even without a contract for Dunleavy.

The Cavs will probably end up paying an even heavier tax burden, and they’ll almost certainly be limited to offering Dunleavy the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception. The Bulls have Early Bird rights to Dunleavy, so they’ll likely be able to pay him as much as about $6MM next season if they want to.

Eastern Rumors: Cavs, DeRozan, Celtics, Monroe

June 29th, 2015 at 11:53am CST by Chuck Myron

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.