Kevin Durant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers Interested In Ryan Anderson

February 17th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:27pm: The Wizards have talked with the Pelicans about acquiring Anderson, but prefer to pursue Kevin Durant rather than pay Anderson in free agency, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Anderson is expected to attract a salary starting at $16MM-$18MM when he hits the market this summer, and Washington would rather chase Durant without having to worry about Anderson.

Wojnarowski also reports that the Pistons and Pelicans had “serious talks” about Anderson before Detroit opted to trade for Tobias Harris on Tuesday. Detroit was interested in a larger deal with the Magic that included Evan Fournier, but Orlando wanted to keep him.

3:39pm: The Cavaliers are talking to the Pelicans about power forward Ryan Anderson, tweets Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. He adds that a three-team deal that includes Kevin Love is still possible. Cleveland has “strong interest” in acquiring Anderson, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.

The Pelicans are motivated to move Anderson because they aren’t sure if they can keep him once he enters free agency this summer. New Orleans expects Anderson to receive an offer with a starting salary in the neighborhood of $16MM-$18MM. The Heat, Kings, Wizards and Pistons are among the teams rumored to have interest in Anderson, although Detroit may have pulled out after Tuesday’s trade for Tobias Harris.

If Love is included in a deal, it will end a tumultuous season and a half with the Cavaliers. After being acquired from Minnesota in a 2014 trade, Love was supposed to be part of a new Big Three in Cleveland, but the fit was never as smooth as expected. He posted scoring and rebounding totals that were far behind his numbers with the Wolves.

Anderson, an eight-year veteran stretch forward, is averaging 16.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 51 games with New Orleans. His salary is $8.5MM this season, while Love is making $19.5MM in the second season of a five-year max deal, so if they’re both involved in the same trade, some work will need to be done to match salaries.

Western Notes: Griffin, McRae, Durant

February 16th, 2016 at 10:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s likely the Clippers hang on to Blake Griffin through at least the rest of this season, but he isn’t “untouchable” in trade talk and the Clippers are listening to offers, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Still, while the team is liable to take a more aggressive stance about trading Griffin if it finds out before the trade deadline that it has no shot at Kevin Durant this summer, the Clips would demand a huge offer just to trade him away before draft time in June, much less Thursday’s 2pm Central trade deadline, according to Lowe. Clippers executives are adamant that they don’t intend to trade their star power forward, with one of them telling Dan Woike of The Orange County Register that the team never offered Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for a package of four players, as had been reported.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Kings are seeking a major upgrade at shooting guard and are not looking for younger players who couldn’t provide significant contributions immediately, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (on Twitter). Sacramento is said to be desperate to deal away shooting guard Ben McLemore, with the Timberwolves and other teams reportedly interested in the young wing.
The Mavericks would be interested in Wolves shooting guard Kevin Martin if he works a buyout with Minnesota, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter). Dallas would be reluctant to trade for Martin because of the fear he would pick up his player option for next season worth $7,377,500, MacMahon notes.
Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said the team is looking to add a guard via a 10-day deal, but that isn’t likely to occur prior to the team’s next two contests, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
The Warriors find themselves in a difficult position at trade deadline time as the team attempts to repeat as NBA champions while trying to set itself up for a run at Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. Golden State has to weigh its pursuit of the all-time regular season victory mark against the chance to land Durant this offseason, Kawakami notes. In order to clear enough cap room to ink Durant outright, the Warriors would need to part ways with a significant chunk of talent, which could derail the team’s chances at bringing home a title in 2015/16, Kawakami adds.
The Suns have recalled shooting guard Jordan McRae from their D-League affiliate in Bakersfield, the team announced. McRae, who is with Phoenix on a 10-day deal, was sent to the D-League so he could participate in the league’s All-Star game, wherein he notched seven points and five assists in 14 minutes of action.
The Kings don’t appear to want to bring George Karl back next season even though they’ve committed to him through the end of this season, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. He’ll have $6.5MM in guaranteed salary remaining on his contract once this season is done.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Rumors: Horford, Wizards, Heat

February 14th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Will Joseph

The Hawks are not actively shopping Al Horford despite his looming free agency, one league source told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Horford has not signaled to Atlanta that he wants out via trade nor has he indicated he would re-sign with the Hawks, Deveney also hears. It was recently reported that Atlanta is thinking “long and hard” about offering Horford a five-year max deal. Horford has said on multiple occasions that he is fond of playing for the Hawks.

Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:

Kevin Durant likely needs more of an incentive to join the Wizards this summer than simply Washington being his hometown team, J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com opines. Durant has strong feelings toward his roots, but it seems like he cares more about winning, Michael writes. “I’m always going to be a part of that. That’s what made me who I am. I walked those straights. I took that subway back when it was MCI Center watched the Wizards play. And the Mystics,” Durant said regarding the Wizards. “I’m always going to be a part of that community no matter what because that’s where I grew up at. That’s where I honed my skills.That’s where I became a man so I’m always going to be part of that community and I always appreciate the support. They have a great team there with a lot of great young players and they’re right in front of you so don’t take nothing for granted.”
The Heat would likely only sign Hassan Whiteside to a lucrative long-term deal if he shows improved maturity and produces at an elite level while helping to lead Miami to a deep playoff run, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. It will also take the Heat missing on top free agents this summer for the team to lock up Whiteside, Jackson adds. Earlier today, we noted that there was an increased feeling within the Heat’s front office that moving Whiteside might be best for the franchise.

Northwest Notes: Miller, Durant, Blazers

February 14th, 2016 at 1:58pm CST by Will Joseph

There is one team inquiring about Wolves veteran point guard Andre Miller, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears (on Twitter). While it is unclear which team that is, Wolfson rules out the Kings, despite Sacramento coach George Karl‘s relationship with Miller. At 39 years old, Miller has played sparingly this season and likely would not return much for the Wolves. It is reasonable to think Miller would be part of a bigger package for that reason, but I speculate the Wolves are motivated to move Miller to allow rookie Tyus Jones to play more.

Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Steve Novak is a potential trade chip for the Thunder because of his expiring contract, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes in one of his latest deadline primers. Expiring contracts, however, are not as valuable as they have been in previous years because of the salary cap’s expected rise, as Marks points out.
That’s another reason why the Thunder would much rather prefer to have Kevin Durant than the expected $19MM in cap space this summer if Durant signs elsewhere and team decides against bringing back restricted free agent Dion Waiters, Marks adds in the same piece.
Speaking of Durant, Draymond Green told Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (audio link) that although the star players are friends, Green will not be trying to recruit Durant to sign with the Warriors this summer during the rest of All-Star weekend (h/t Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman).
With close to $20MM in cap space, the Blazers are in position to take on contracts with the goal of obtaining a future pick or significant asset and thus should be viewed as a sleeper team at the deadline, Marks writes in his look at Portland.

Latest On Carmelo Anthony

February 14th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Denials continue regarding the rumor that broke Friday of a proposed three-team deal that would send Carmelo Anthony to Cleveland, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman cites two league sources who told him the Knicks haven’t talked to either the Cavaliers or Celtics about the trade, which would have shipped Kevin Love to Boston and a package of players and draft picks to New York.

Anthony, who said Saturday that he wouldn’t waive his no-trade cause to make the deal possible, attracted attention earlier this weekend with comments that “it won’t sit well with me” if the Knicks miss the playoffs for a third straight season. He plans to eventually talk with his representatives from Creative Artists Agency about his future in New York, but on Saturday Anthony expressed a desire to stay in the city.

“Doing it in New York is better than doing it any place in the world,’’ Anthony said. “One in New York is better than multiple somewhere else. That was the reason I wanted to come to New York. That’s the reason I’m in New York. It just bothers me when I start hearing all these trade rumors. Nobody has talked to me. I don’t know where it comes from. Sometimes it gets to you. As a player you get tired of hearing something all the time.”

There’s more Anthony-related news as Thursday’s trade deadline draws closer:

In addition to the no-trade clause, Anthony’s contract contains a 15% trade kicker, which means the Knicks would pay a heavy price if they deal him away. “That was something my agent really talked about,’’ he told Berman. “Knowing how few people had that, that was a big part of signing that contract. It’s security at the end of the day. You never know what could possibly happen or what it can do. All players would want that.”
Anthony is still hoping to find another star willing to join the Knicks, Berman writes in the same piece. One possibility is the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, whom New York plans to target this summer with an estimated $19MM in cap room. Anthony said talk about star players joining forces is common around the league. “I say why not come with me,’’ he said. “When I say playing with stars, that’s conversations. Everybody has those conversations. Guys that are in my circle have those conversations. On the Olympic team, guys have those conversations — 90% of the time it never happens. The Miami thing came into fruition, but it took a lot. That’s just dreams and wishes.’’
All parts of the proposed deal aren’t dead, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News, who broke the story Friday. Isola writes that the Celtics and Cavaliers have talked about a trade sending Love to Boston, and Anthony’s name was included as part of “very preliminary discussions.” Anthony would prefer to stay with the Knicks for now because he has a good relationship with owner James Dolan and he wants to keep his family in New York, which was a factor when he re-signed with the franchise in 2014.
If Anthony ever does decide a trade is in his best interest, the Cavaliers remain a possibility, along with the Celtics and Clippers, according to Isola. Anthony owns a house in Los Angeles and has a friendship with Chris Paul.

Thunder Notes: Westbrook, Durant, Novak, Augustin

February 13th, 2016 at 4:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook is brushing aside talk that he might join the Lakers when his current contract expires, writes Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Westbrook, who will be a free agent in 2017, has close ties to the Los Angeles area, being born in Long Beach and playing college basketball at UCLA. Westbrook was a Lakers fan growing up, but he says he has no plan to play for them. “I like where I am now,” Westbrook said. “Oklahoma City is a great place for me.”

There’s more news today regarding the Thunder:

Signing a one-year contract may be Kevin Durant‘s best strategy in free agency, Slater writes in a separate piece. The All-Star small forward, who is expected to be the most sought-after free agent this summer, can benefit financially by testing the market again in 2017. Slater explains that Durant can get a max deal this summer worth 30% of a salary cap that is projected at about $90MM. Next season will be Durant’s 10th in the league, which qualifies him for 35% of the cap, which is expected to rise to about $108MM in 2017/18. Chuck Myron recently examined Durant’s free agency options in depth.
Durant would be interested in a front office position once his playing days are done, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
Little-used combo forward Steve Novak could be a valuable trade chip for Oklahoma City, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Novak has only played 24 minutes over seven games this season, but Marks thinks a team could be tempted to take on his expiring $3.75MM contract. Novak has been with eight franchises during his 10-year NBA career. Marks also advises the Thunder to hold onto all of their starters and rotation players to make a run at the NBA title. That includes reserve point guard D.J. Augustin, who averages just 15.3 minutes per night, but whose experience might be valuable in the playoffs, as the only other backup at that position is rookie Cameron Payne.

Western Notes: Durant, Paul, Carter

February 13th, 2016 at 10:16am CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder small forward Kevin Durant said he was shocked that the Knicks fired coach Derek Fisher, who was considered a strong link to the pending unrestricted free agent, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes. Durant noted that stability was important to him in an organization, Iannazzone adds. “No matter what profession, you always want to be stable,” Durant said. “You always want to have good people around you. And you always want to work with great people. That’s how it is in Oklahoma City. … Sometimes you can put your spirit in and you can kind of dictate that environment for yourself.”

Durant did add that while he enjoys that stability with the Thunder, he could be a stabilizing force elsewhere, the Newsday scribe relays. “I think I have that ability and that capability of just improving wherever I go, also improving the environment wherever I go,” said Durant. While Durant enjoys the weekend’s All-Star festivities, here’s more from out West:

People close to Mavs power forward Dirk Nowitzki believe he wants to play another two seasons in the NBA before retiring, Chris Ballard of SI.com said in an installment of SI Now (video link; transcription via the Dallas Morning News). Nowitzki has one year remaining on his current deal, which is a player option worth a team-friendly $8,692,184 for 2016/17.
Scratch one potential post-NBA career off point guard Chris Paul‘s list, as the Clippers playmaker said he has no desire to join the coaching profession in the future, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post tweets.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle isn’t surprised that Grizzlies swingman Vince Carter is still productive at 39 years of age, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News notes. “I’m not surprised,” Carlisle said. “Vince is a great player. He’s established some unbelievable longevity. He’s been a great role player with two different clubs – us and Memphis.” Carter’s salary of approximately $4.264MM for next season is partially guaranteed for $2MM, and Commercial Appeal scribe Chris Herrington suggested recently that the Grizzlies will “almost certainly” waive him this summer and pocket the savings.

And-Ones: Colangelo, Tavares, Durant

February 12th, 2016 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers executive Jerry Colangelo indicated that the franchise may take a page out of the Warriors‘ organizational playbook and add more voices to their front office, Kurt Helin of NBCSports.com relays. “[Golden State] proves the point,” Colangelo told reporters today. “If you have the right mix of people you can have a collaborative effort because people respect one another, and usually that comes from people who have had experience, who’ve been around the track. You add all of that to the mix and it could work.”

“I think that any time you have an opportunity to enhance your organization, and you bring people in to accomplish that, you consider it. Big time. You really do,” Colangelo continued. “And I think in our case we have a very bright young guy in [GM] Sam Hinkie, who holds the title of president and GM, and in his space he’s really strong. One could build a case for saying you’d like to have more people added who have experience in other aspects of those jobs. That’s the kind of conversation that’s going on. “

Here’s more from around the league:

The Thunder haven’t given any consideration to trading small forward Kevin Durant, who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, prior to next week’s deadline despite the uncertainty that revolves around his future, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays. “I never thought about that at all,” Durant said about being dealt by OKC. “I don’t know, man. I don’t want to be moved. I want to finish this thing out with my team. I think we got a really good thing going right now, so I haven’t really thought about it. We never talk about that stuff, me, [GM] Sam Presti, our assistant GM [Troy Weaver]. It’s always about how I can be better for my teammates and with my leadership skills.”
Jeff Ayres‘ second 10-day deal with the Clippers expired Thursday night, so he became a free agent. Teams are only permitted to ink any single player to a total of two 10-day pacts per season, and if Los Angeles wishes to retain Ayres, it would have to sign him for the remainder of the season. The Clippers’ roster count now stands at 14 players.
The Hawks have recalled center Edy Tavares from the Spurs‘ D-League affiliate where he had been sent as part of the flexible assignment rule, Atlanta announced via press release. Tavares has averaged 9.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 21.1 minutes during his seven D-League assignments this season.

Max Contract Scenarios For Kevin Durant

February 12th, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Durant today denied that he’s given thought to signing a two-year deal with a player option when he hits free agency this summer. It’s a contractual strategy that LeBron James has pursued the last two years to provide for the most flexibility and money possible, and given the rapid escalation in the salary cap that’s about to take place and Durant’s relative youth, it would be an even smarter idea for him than it would be for LeBron.

First, let’s look at what Durant would make if he signs a five-year, maximum-salary contract with the Thunder, based on the NBA’s maximum-salary projections:

2016/17: $24,900,000
2017/18: $26,767,500
2018/19: $28,635,000
2019/20: $30,502,500
2020/21: $32,370,000
Total: $143,175,000

He’d see slightly less if he signed a max deal for as many years as he could with another team. Only the Thunder can give him a fifth year, and everyone else is limited to offering 4.5% raises instead of 7.5% raises. Again, the figures here rely on the league’s projection for next year’s maximum salaries.

2016/17: $24,900,000
2017/18: $26,020,500
2018/19: $27,141,000
2019/20: $28,261,500
Total: $106,323,000

Signing a two-year deal with a player option after the first season would take him down a more lucrative path, assuming the NBA and the players union don’t significantly alter maximum salaries or contract parameters when they negotiate the next collective bargaining agreement, which will likely kick in for the 2017/18 season. It’s a distinct possibility that they will indeed make changes, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports notes (Twitter link). So, uncertainty exists, but the existing structure makes the short-term deal an intriguing option.

We haven’t seen maximum-salary projections for 2017 yet, but the salary cap is projected to hit a whopping $108MM that summer, a drastic escalation not just from the $70MM cap for this season but also from next season’s projected $89MM cap. The sizes of maximum salaries are tied, though indirectly, to the size of the cap, so using the $108MM projection, it’s possible to estimate how much Durant’s max will be.

The NBA has three different maximum-salary tiers. Players with six or fewer years of experience see a max of roughly 25% of the cap. Those with seven, eight or nine years of experience are eligible for approximately 30% of the cap. And veterans of 10 or more seasons can get as much as about 35% of the cap. Durant is in his ninth season, so he’ll fall into the 30% tier for his free agency this year. That’s reflected in the $24.9MM figure used in the scenarios above. He’d fall into the 35% category after one more season, taking his starting salary in a contract he’d sign in 2017 even higher. I estimated for an earlier piece that the 35% maximum salary for 2017/18 will be $35.603MM, based on the league’s projections and formula for determining max salaries, which Larry Coon explains at the bottom of question No. 16 in his Salary Cap FAQ.

So, with that number in mind, and assuming the next collective bargaining agreement doesn’t bring about drastic change, here’s what Durant could get if he signs a deal with the Thunder this summer that allows him to opt out next year and re-signs on a five-year max deal in 2017:

2016/17: $24,900,000
2017/18: $35,603,000
2018/19: $38,273,225
2019/20: $40,943,450
2020/21: $43,613,675
2021/22: $46,283,900
Total: $229,617,250

Durant wouldn’t have the advantage of signing a five-year deal with higher raises with a team other than the Thunder in 2017, even if he signs with that non-OKC team this summer. That’s because he’d need to have been with that team for at least three seasons to accrue full Bird rights. So, here’s what Durant would get if he signs a max deal in 2017 outside of Oklahoma City:

2016/17: $24,900,000
2017/18: $35,603,000
2018/19: $37,205,135
2019/20: $38,807,270
2020/21: $40,409,405
Total: $176,924,810

That would give Durant close to $37MM more than he would make over the same five-year period if he simply re-signed for five years at the max with Oklahoma City, even though the Thunder can pay him more than anyone else on a long-term deal this summer. That’s why it would behoove Durant to at least consider the option of signing a short-term deal this year, even given the uncertainty of collective bargaining agreement negotiations ahead. For all we know, the environment for max players could be better under the next labor deal than it is under this one, and with LeBron and Chris Paul, both of whom are currently on max deals, playing prominent roles in the union, that’s certainly not out of question.

Northwest Notes: Durant, Lauvergne, Rubio

February 12th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The idea that Kevin Durant will sign a two-year deal with a player option after the first season to align his free agency with that of Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook, whose contract expires after next season, isn’t one that Durant has given much thought, as he said on ESPN Radio today, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link).

“Actually that’s probably one of the first times I’ve heard that one, but, no, I haven’t really thought about it, man,” Durant said. “I’m just, with [coming back from] injury and just getting back to playing again, I haven’t thought about contracts or free agency or none of that stuff at all. … I really haven’t thought about that one. I guess I have to.”

Durant would stand to benefit financially from the short-term deal, since becoming a free agent in 2017 would allow him to make a starting salary worth roughly 35% of the salary cap, instead of 30%. The cap is also projected to reach $108MM in 2017 and only $89MM this coming summer. Still, the uncertainty surrounding the next collective bargaining agreement, likely to take effect before 2017 free agency, might mean changes to the sort of contract Durant could sign, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). See more from the Northwest Division:

Nuggets coach Michael Malone spoke earlier this week of finding a way for Joffrey Lauvergne to see more playing time, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post observes. The Nuggets reportedly want a late first-rounder in exchange for the center, but Dempsey believes Lauvergne is staying put.
The four-year, $55MM extension that kicked in for Ricky Rubio this season is soon to become one of the most team-friendly deals in the league, thanks to the escalation of the salary cap and Rubio’s “electrifying” play, Marks opines. Timberwolves GM Milt Newton denies that he’s received any trade calls on Rubio lately but said he would be obliged to listen if a team did ask about him, as Newton said to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
The Wolves allowed a pair of small trade exceptions, one worth $816,482 and the other $500K, to lapse Wednesday. They were vestiges of the team’s swap that sent Mo Williams and Troy Daniels to the Hornets last year.