LeBron James Not Currently Engaged With Teams
The growing belief around the league has been that LeBron James will ultimately wind up back in Miami. All signs continue to point in that direction. Teams hoping to engage James have been mostly unable to and while no doors have been closed, teams are moving on, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
It’s been known for a while that the free agency market would be in a holding pattern as teams are prioritizing runs at James and Carmelo Anthony. While Anthony’s free agency could continue to gum up the works for other free agents, it doesn’t appear at this time that will be the case with LeBron.
It seems that the most likely scenario will be James re-signing with the Heat while teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade take discounts to help the team improve in other areas.
Southwest Rumors: Daniels, LeBron, Parsons
The Rockets would like to re-sign Troy Daniels, but he’s also receiving interest from the Mavericks, Spurs, Grizzlies, and Pelicans, according to sources that spoke with RealGM’s Shams Charania. Daniels became a playoff hero for Houston after he was called up from the D-League but they could be seeing plenty of him on the opposing side this season with the entire Southwest Division in pursuit. Here’s the latest out of the Southwest..
- The Mavericks, Rockets, and Suns are among the teams that are set to meet with LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paul, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- Several teams are thinking of signing Chandler Parsons to a high-dollar offer sheet if only to burden the Rockets with an unwieldy cap hold while they decided whether to match, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes.
- The Grizzlies are split on what to do with free agent forward James Johnson, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal. The coaching staff sees Johnson as a mistake-prone player and is frustrated by him. Meanwhile, some of the team’s execs see him as a wild card worth keeping.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southeast Rumors: Lowry, McRoberts, Livingston
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
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.
Southeast Rumors: Wizards, Heat, McRoberts
Plenty of teams are hoping for a chance to pitch to LeBron James, but the Wizards aren’t one of them, as owner Ted Leonsis explained in an appearance on 106.7 The Fan today. Scott Allen of The Washington Post has the transcription.
“You’d have to have cap space and you’d have to renounce all your free agents,” Leonsis said. “Then you’d have to be able to call their agent and say, ‘Would you think he would consider coming here?’ So, I never understood the grandstanding. Some of the bloggers have said, just get in the mix and throw your name out there. OK, so you generate positive pixels and it creates these faux expectations, and LeBron is in total control of his future. LeBron will do what LeBron wants to do. We have to be able to control what we want to control, and right now our main targets are retaining our players.”
Here’s more from around the Southeast Division:
- The Heat‘s top two targets for outside improvement appear to be Kyle Lowry and Luol Deng, but neither seem likely to end up with the team, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Deng is unwilling to take a discount to go to Miami, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, probably putting him out of reach (Twitter link).
- Hornets free agent power forward Josh McRoberts and the Blazers have mutual interest in a deal, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears.
- The Wizards would like to bring back free agent point guard Garrett Temple, but they face competition from the Heat, Magic and Bulls, who have also expressed interest, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- The Hawks are interested in re-signing Elton Brand, but the Knicks are eyeing him, too, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Free Agent Rumors: Melo, Love, Henry, Sessions,
The Knicks are still viewed in league circles as the favorites in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The team is confident that it will get the final sales pitch with Anthony, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The latest free agent rumors from around the league..
- The Rockets, Suns, Bulls, and Warriors are all expected to make plays for Kevin Love if they miss out on LeBron James and/or Anthony, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press.
- The Pacers are targeting Xavier Henry in free agency to replace Evan Turner, tweets Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth.
- Bucks free agent guard Ramon Sessions‘ camp received calls from three teams in the first hour of free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
- The Grizzlies, Nets, Spurs, and Thunder have expressed in free agent point guard Sebastian Telfair, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Telfair played in China last season. For the Nets, Telfair could be a potential replacement for Shaun Livingston if he goes elsewhere.
- The Nets reached out as soon as the negotiating window opened to their own free agents Paul Pierce, Livingston, and Alan Anderson, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
- The Blazers have strong interest in signing a stretch four, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Spencer Hawes, Boris Diaw, and Josh McRoberts are among their targets.
- Blazers GM Neil Olshey met with Hawes and his agent, Greg Lawrence, tonight in Los Angeles, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- Channing Frye would be open to returning to the Blazers, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “Of course coming back would be an option,” Frye wrote in an e-mail. “I love the city, the fans, and the players they have are top notch.”
- Nick Young was contacted by the Lakers and a number of other teams, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter).
Heat Big Three Will Give Riley Time To Upgrade
12:48am: In an update to his story, Wojnarowski writes that Bosh, Wade, and Udonis Haslem have the framework of deals in place to remain with Miami, arming Riley with his limitations within the salary cap to sign talent, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
“Everybody has their [contract] number and has left a little bit of room to let [Riley] maneuver,” one source briefed on the contract discussions said.
With that bit of space, Riley plans to look into free agents including Marcin Gortat and Marvin Williams.
8:16pm: As free agency starts, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade plan to give Pat Riley a window to enact his plan for upgrading the team’s supporting cast, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Of course, much of what Riley can do will depend on how much breathing room he has to operate with. There was some hope that James would take less than the max deal to help the Heat reload, but earlier today we learned that’s not in the cards. LeBron met with Wade and Bosh to discuss salaries over the weekend, so it will be up to Wade and Bosh to take discounts if the Heat are going to add a free agent of note this summer. Both Bosh and Wade, along with LeBron, took less than the max to sign with Miami in 2010, so it remains to be seen if they’ll take another pay cut.
Teams will be blowing up all three of their phones when the clock strikes midnight tonight, but LeBron, Wade, and Bosh will give Miami an opportunity to prepare a battle plan before they consider going elsewhere.
Los Angeles Rumors: LeBron, Melo, Meeks, Hawes
The Clippers continue to have interest in LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). The Clips also placed calls to Luol Deng, Darren Collison, and Trevor Ariza tonight. The Clippers don’t have meetings scheduled with James or Anthony but remain interested and will continue to pursue both of them, Shelburne tweets. More out of L.A..
- Mark Medina of the Daily News (on Twitter) hears that Jodie Meeks received calls from a “number of teams” including the Lakers. It’s unclear who those other teams are, however.
- Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) hears that Spencer Hawes might be too expensive for the Clippers. The big man is seeking $8MM per season, a raise over the $6.5MM he made in 2013/14.
- The Clippers are interested in free agent Ed Davis, sources Turner (via Twitter).
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.
Lakers Call LeBron James’ Agent
The Lakers called LeBron James‘ agent Rich Paul early this morning, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter). James, of course, will not be taking face-to-face meetings with teams at this time and is allowing Paul to handle talks with teams.
While there is a growing belief in league circles that James will wind up returning to the Heat, that’s not going to stop teams from building ambitious plans to make a run at the top player in the NBA. James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh will field pitches from other clubs this week, but they’ll reportedly wait to hear what Pat Riley has in mind before getting in advanced talks with anyone else.
Bosh and Wade might take pay cuts to make things work in Miami, but James reportedly is only interested in a max deal.