Eastern Notes: LeBron, Monroe, Magic, Bulls
LeBron James is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Heat president Pat Riley in Las Vegas, league sources told ESPN’s Chris Broussard. A few days ago, we passed along that the free agent superstar was planning to have a sitdown with Riley at some point this week. Here’s what else has been buzzing in the Eastern Conference this evening:
- Pistons president/head coach Stan Van Gundy reiterated that restricted free agent Greg Monroe is still part of the team’s future plans, reports David Mayo of MLive. Mayo also explains how Detroit could potentially create an additional $4.5MM in cap space this summer by making other moves in free agency first before signing Monroe to a new contract.
- In their final move of this summer’s free agency, the Magic aim to land a third point guard to back up Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
- The Bulls’ pursuit of Pau Gasol is dependent on what Carmelo Anthony decides to do in free agency, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, who hears that the wait has become “frustrating” for Chicago’s front office.
- When Knicks head coach Derek Fisher spoke with Carmelo last week, he guaranteed that the team would be better next season with the new system, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Fisher, who hasn’t spoken with Anthony since Thursday’s meeting, wouldn’t say whether he felt good or not about New York’s chances of retaining the star forward.
- In another piece, Berman writes that Anthony has held out faint hope that Knicks president Phil Jackson can clear the necessary cap space this summer to bring LeBron James to New York. Doing so would at the least require New York to find takers for Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani in salary dump deals.
- Having completed his workout for the Raptors, former NBA swingman Yakhouba Diawara will be auditioning for the Bucks next, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket (Twitter link).
- Celtics guard Rajon Rondo recently spoke with Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe and brushed off speculation that the arrival of rookie point guard Marcus Smart could affect his future in Boston. “I don’t think (anything) of it… I can be here today, gone tomorrow. You never know. For me to get bent out of shape, or to feel threatened by the Celtics drafting a point guard, it means nothing.”
And-Ones: Bosh, Rockets, ‘Melo, Thunder
Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski told FOX Sports 1 that Chris Bosh told the Rockets something that they don’t want to hear: “I want to be in Miami, I want to play with LeBron [James],” (link via Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders). More from around the league..
- Carmelo Anthony is “torn” over where to spend the prime years of his career, a friend of the Knicks All Star forward tells Frank Isola of the Daily News. Anthony, 30, is still debating his next move with the Knicks, Lakers, and Bulls as his top three choices, the source claims.
- The Knicks are feeling uneasy about the Melo situation, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. Meanwhile, the Bulls are encouraged by his indecisiveness, writes Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times.
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks met today with Pau Gasol, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- In his introductory press conference, new Nets coach Lionel Hollins presented himself as a very different man than Jason Kidd, writes Mitch Abramson of the Daily News.
- A bunch of teams, including the Warriors, concluded early after July 1st that Channing Frye would get more than the mid-level exception, tweets Zach Lowe of Grantland. However, teams didn’t expect him to land with the Magic. Frye is set to ink a four-year, $32MM pact with Orlando.
- Kobe Bryant is recruiting Steve Blake and Caron Butler to the Lakers, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
- Blazers point guard Mo Williams is scheduled to meet with the Mavericks tomorrow, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
Amico On Heat, Cavs, LeBron James
The Heat might be in line to add another free agent before the end of the day, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Miami made headlines this afternoon when they agreed to deals with a pair of veterans in Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger. Here’s more from Amico on the Heat, Cavs, and LeBron James:
- McRoberts’ decision to ink a deal with the Heat is appealing to LeBron, a source tells Amico, since the former Charlotte big man could take over the role of defending opposing teams’ power forwards from James.
- Amico also hears that bigger name free agents like Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, and Luol Deng aren’t interested in the reduced salaries that the Heat are offering.
- One Western Conference GM told Amico that plenty of front offices around the league are actually hoping the Heat’s Big Three remains intact. “One thing [Miami has] proven the past four years is they can’t add any real talent around those guys,” the GM said. “Their run will be over in two years, and it may already be. I’d be considerably more scared of LeBron in Cleveland or Phoenix.“
- The same GM suggested that Pat Riley will have a hard time explaining to James the club’s lack of a proven starting point guard.
- One Cavs source told Amico that Cleveland would be making moves soon and that the front office has been busy trying to improve the team, independent of the club’s pursuit of James. Sources also told Amico they expect LeBron to make his decision on where to sign by Wednesday.
- Kyrie Irving has reached out to James in an effort to recruit the All-Star forward to Cleveland, hears Amico. Of course, Irving agreed to a long-term extension with the Cavs earlier this month.
Lakers Using Pau Gasol As Selling Point
Pau Gasol is being courted by a number of teams, including top contenders, but the Lakers aren’t counting themselves out of it by any stretch. In fact, the Lakers are using Gasol as a selling point with other free agents as sources believe he would re-sign rather quickly if they’re able to sign LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
If the Lakers don’t land Anthony or James, Gasol will consider those contending clubs that have called, Shelburne tweets. Still, she wouldn’t count the Lakers out as they can offer more money than anyone else.
The Mavs, Heat, Bulls, Thunder, and Spurs are among the many teams with interest in the Spaniard.
Mavs Notes: Anthony, Hayward, Gasol
A source told Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Carmelo Anthony is going to re-sign with the Knicks and that his inclusion of the Mavericks on his recruiting trip was a “charade.” Anthony has also met with the Lakers, Bulls, and Rockets.
More from Dallas:
- Price also tweets that between Vince Carter and Shawn Marion, the Mavs have a better chance at re-signing Carter, but they would like both players back.
- The Mavericks still have Gordon Hayward on their free agent shopping list, reports Price (Twitter link), but the Jazz have maintained they will match any offer sheet that Hayward signs.
- The Mavs are also keeping a close watch on Pau Gasol, and envision him backing up both Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler, tweets Price.
And-Ones: Bogdanovic, Blatt, Anthony
Serbian shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, the 27th overall pick of the Suns, is finalizing four-year deal with Fenerbahce, reports David Pick of Eurobasket. The deal contains an NBA escape clause after the second year, according to Pick.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer looks at the road that led to David Blatt becoming the latest Cavaliers head coach, and the challenges ahead of him with the franchise.
- The Knicks consider the Bulls the only real threat to lure Carmelo Anthony away from New York, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.
- According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the free agents the Heat have been linked to so far are Isaiah Thomas, Pau Gasol, Anthony Morrow, Marvin Williams, Kris Humphries, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, and Caron Butler.
- Jay Yeomans of the Deseret News looks at why the Steve Novak trade makes sense for the Jazz.
- Sam Amick of USA Today (video link) examines the ripple effect across the league that the signings of Anthony and LeBron James will have.
- Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders takes a look at what the fall back is for each of the teams that are trying to woo Anthony.
Eastern Rumors: Wade, Bosh, ‘Melo, Gasol
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.
Bulls, Thunder In Lead For Pau Gasol
THURSDAY, 10:45pm: The Bulls and Thunder are the most intriguing destinations to Gasol at this time, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
10:37am: Stein counters that the Thunder do believe they have a legitimate chance of landing Gasol, though whether he’d take a sizable discount to sign with Oklahoma City remains a question (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 9:00pm: The Thunder view a run for Gasol as a “long shot” since they can only offer the mid-level but they also believe it’s “worth a try,” a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (via Twitter).
8:24pm: Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook made a come-to-OKC pitch directly to Gasol today in Los Angeles, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
7:15pm: Sources say the Bulls’ rising interest in Gasol is a reflection of concern that they can’t convince Carmelo Anthony to leave the Knicks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein adds (link) that Gasol is giving legit consideration to joining the Spurs if he looks at places where money is scarce. Gasol likes the Spurs in part because of Gregg Popovich‘s ability to manage minutes as well as the international flavor of the roster, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
6:05pm: The Thunder have come on strong with Gasol and have been described as the “frontrunner” for him, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.
5:30pm: The Bulls are zeroed in on wooing Carmelo Anthony, but they’re also eager to add Pau Gasol if things don’t work out on that front. The Spaniard is their top target after the Knicks star and Chicago officials will be traveling to L.A. on Thursday to sit down with him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The Bulls and Thunder have emerged as two new top-flight teams in the hunt for Gasol, Stein tweets. Gasol has been drawing considerable interest from multiple suitors since free agency kicked off earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the Spurs are among the teams that made contact with Gasol on Wednesday, according to Joe Goodman of the Miami Herald. LeBron James and Anthony might be stealing the big headlines right now, but it won’t be long before Gasol is among the hottest free agents available.
Carmelo Anthony Rumors: Thursday
Carmelo Anthony is doubling up on meetings again after visiting the Rockets and Mavs on Wednesday. He’s seeing both the Lakers and the Knicks today in Los Angeles. We’ll round up the latest ‘Melo updates here:
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) gets the sense that the Rockets are fully focused on Carmelo and are merely on the outskirts of the LeBron James chase, as much as they’d like to be a factor there.
- The Knicks have concluded their free agent meeting with Anthony, and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link) is reporting that as expected, the team offered Anthony the maximum five-year, $129MM deal that he was eligible to receive.
- Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link) confirms the Knicks offer as well as the earlier report that the Lakers offered Anthony a four-year, $96MM deal.
- Broussard also tweets that Anthony did not give the Knicks an answer or a timetable tonight. He will take the holiday weekend to think things through.
Earlier updates:
- Anthony has been pursuing a conversation with Pau Gasol about playing together on the Knicks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- The time of today’s meeting with the Lakers was changed, and it might conclude before Kobe Bryant can arrive back in town to be in attendance, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). He’s going to try to meet with Anthony later, Shelburne adds.
- People around Anthony believe he plans on making up his mind this weekend as he spends time at his home in Los Angeles, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Knicks owner James Dolan won’t be present for today’s meeting, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Team president Phil Jackson, coach Derek Fisher and GM Steve Mills are instead all flying in.
- Rival suitors appear to be increasingly pessimistic about their chances of prying ‘Melo from the Knicks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. But the Lakers, for their part, weren’t short on confidence going into today’s meeting, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes.
- Though the Bulls reportedly floated the idea of a $16MM annual salary for ‘Melo, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune says they didn’t discuss financials much, if at all, with the Bulls instead generally communicating that they’d secure the necessary cap flexibility (Twitter link).
- The Bulls see the Knicks as their only real competition for Anthony, and they’re selling Gasol on the idea that they could sign both him and Anthony, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- The meeting that ‘Melo had Wednesday with the Mavs was all business and lacked the elaborate flair that accompanied his visits with Chicago and Houston, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details.
And-Ones: Gasol, Knicks, Lakers, Marion
There won’t be a decision from Pau Gasol anytime soon as to where he will be signing, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com. This is despite the pleas and pitches he has received from Carmelo Anthony and numerous teams, notes Aldridge.
More from around the league:
- Gasol will meet with Heat president Pat Riley and coach Eric Spoelstra in Los Angeles, a source tells ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne.
- The Lakers have interest in re-signing Xavier Henry, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Medina also notes that signing Anthony is the team’s top priority.
- Caron Butler is drawing strong interest from multiple teams but is likely to choose between Heat, Lakers or Spurs, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
- The Hornets have not approached point guard Ramon Sessions about a possible return to Charlotte, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
- The Heat, Bulls, Mavericks, and Rockets have all expressed interest in signing Shawn Marion, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- MacMahon also writes that the Mavericks best chance of landing restricted free agent Chandler Parsons is if Anthony signs with the Rockets.
- Now that the Raptors have re-signed Kyle Lowry, they will turn their focus to retaining the services of Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, writes Eric Koreen of The National Post.
- The Knicks have inquired about Pelicans free agent center Jason Smith, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post.
- According to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link), the Celtics, Clippers, Mavericks, Timberwolves and Heat have reached out to free agent Kris Humphries.