Southwest Notes: Parsons, Mavericks, Baynes
Here’s what we’ve gathered out of the Southwest Division:
- It’s widely suspected around the league that Dan Fegan insisted that the Rockets turn down their team option on Chandler Parsons before he would allow fellow client Dwight Howard to sign in Houston last summer, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Parsons strongly denied knowing of such a deal, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- On Monday, Parsons told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports that he wasn’t thrilled with how the Rockets handled his restricted free agency. “…I was offended by the whole process…(Houston) publicly said that they were going out looking for a third star when I thought they had one right in front of them. I guess that’s just how they viewed me as a player. I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface of where I can be as a player and I think I’m ready for that role.”
- Today, Parsons said he was surprised about the backlash he received by making those comments. While he didn’t back off from what he said, Parsons also cited that he praised Rockets GM Daryl Morey (Twitter link from Feigen).
- On Monday, Mavericks president Donnie Nelson told Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the team may not be done tweaking their roster. “We’re not done…But we feel pretty good about where things are right now.” Following the team’s addition of Rashard Lewis today, Price reminds that Nelson plans to keep one of the team’s final two roster spots open for flexibility down the line (Twitter link).
- In the former piece, Price mentions also Al-Farouq Aminu, Bernard James, Shawn Marion, and Ivan Johnson as other names that Dallas could attempt to add before the start of next season.
- Nelson sat down for an interview with KESN-FM 103.3 to offer some insight on how the Mavs plan to approach the rest of the season (transcription via SportsDayDFW) and mentioned that the team is always keeping its eye out for a shooter. It’s worth noting that he said this before they added Lewis, however.
- While they won’t close the door on re-signing Marion, Nelson acknowledges that the veteran forward’s value in the marketplace is much higher than what the Mavs can afford.
- The Spurs still hope to retain restricted free agent center Aron Baynes, tweets Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. Young adds that San Antonio is willing to match any reasonable offer.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Renounced Players: Thursday
Many of the agreements signed during the July moratorium were contingent on teams clearing cap space to accommodate them, and to do so, teams must sometimes renounce their Non-Bird, Early Bird or full Bird rights to their own free agents to erase their cap holds from the books. Teams that renounce those rights no longer have the ability to exceed the cap to re-sign those players unless they use an exception like the mid-level or the biannual. The end of the moratorium usually brings about a fair number of renouncements, so we’ll track today’s here, with the latest on top:
- The Mavs have renounced Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and Vince Carter, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter link). That doesn’t mean the Mavs don’t intend to re-sign Nowitzki, as they already agreed to do. Teams that sign players to offer sheets are permitted to rescind their renouncements if the original club matches the offer sheet. In this case, the Mavs will rescind their renouncement of Nowitzki if the Rockets match the offer sheet for Chandler Parsons, and they’ll use cap space to re-sign Nowitzki if Houston doesn’t match.
- The Jazz renounced their rights to Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush, according to Deeks tweets.
- The Hornets renounced Jannero Pargo, Anthony Tolliver, DJ White, Luke Ridnour, Josh McRoberts and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Deeks notes in the same tweet. Just like the Mavs, the Hornets may rescind these renouncement if the Jazz, as they reportedly intend to do, match Charlotte’s offer sheet for Gordon Hayward.
Mavs Rumors: Williams, Carter, Blair, Marion
There’s strong mutual interest between the Mavs and Mo Williams, with Mavs GM Donnie Nelson having called him “the perfect fit in many respects,” reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Presuming the Rockets don’t match the Mavs’ offer sheet to Chandler Parsons, Dallas would like to re-sign Vince Carter for the $2.732MM room exception, but if Carter doesn’t bite, the Mavs would strongly consider using it on Williams, MacMahon writes. There’s more on Williams amid the latest from Dallas:
- If Carter does take that room exception, the Mavs are holding out hope that they can convince Williams to sign for the minimum salary, since he lives in the area and wants to be near his family, MacMahon tweets. Portland’s deal today with Steve Blake indeed gives the Blazers less of a shot to re-sign Williams, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, but Bartelstein cautioned that there’s still a chance the combo guard stays in Portland.
- The Mavs are also targeting DeJuan Blair for the minimum, and that would be the only price they’d be willing to pay for him, MacMahon also tweets.
- Teams have been checking in with Shawn Marion, but there’s been no movement of any substance toward a deal, and the Mavs will remain in play if they miss out on Parsons, reports Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).
- Ivan Johnson is a part of the Mavs’ summer league team, but there’s mutual optimism that his relationship with the team will continue into the fall, MacMahon writes in a separate piece. “He’s more than just a summer league guy for us,” Mavs GM Donnie Nelson said. “We’re definitely taking a peak, and we like what we see.”
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.
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.
Heat Eyeing Marion, Carter, Blake
The Heat will pursue Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, and Steve Blake this summer, sources tell Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Marion, 36, wants to continue living in Dallas after his playing career is through, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that will retire in Dallas. Carter, 37, was mentioned as a possibility for Miami earlier today along with the Thunder, Blazers, Raptors, and the incumbent Mavericks. The Knicks and Wolves appear to have interest in Blake, too.
The Mavs have been worried that interest from other teams in Carter and Marion would compromise their cap space. The Warriors don’t seem to have keeping Blake a high priority, despite the way he quickly warmed to the franchise. Blake can also envision a return to the Lakers, who traded him to Golden State at the deadline.
Miami’s star trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have given team president Pat Riley a window of time to upgrade the team, and it appears Riley’s first forays will be with veterans. Blake, at 34, is the youngest of the three free agents that Deveney reports the Heat have an eye on.
Southwest Notes: Parsons, Nowitzki, Marion
Other teams have outsized expectations of what the Rockets can achieve in the player acquisition department based on Houston’s recent success, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. The Rockets have been leaning all year toward declining their option on Chandler Parsons, so this week’s news isn’t necessarily an indication that they suddenly have confidence that they’ll land another marquee player this summer, Lowe says. There’s plenty more on the Rockets in Lowe’s piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- The Rockets asked Charlotte for the equivalent of three first-round picks in return for Omer Asik this season, Lowe also writes in the same piece. It’s unclear exactly what would qualify as the equivalent of a first-rounder, but perhaps Lowe is referring to a rookie fresh off having been a first-round pick, like Cody Zeller.
- Parsons has repeatedly asked for a raise the past two years, leading Lowe to wonder if he’s promised to re-sign in exchange for the Rockets declining his option.
- A new contract for Parsons this summer would most likely count at 50% of its value for outgoing salary-matching purposes in a sign-and-trade, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains in a piece for Hoop365. It’d count at full value for incoming salary in that scenario, one of the reasons why it will be difficult for the Rockets to pull off such a maneuver, Deeks adds.
- Mavs owner Mark Cuban isn’t worried about a report identifying Dirk Nowitzki as a free agent target of the Rockets, telling Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that, “I don’t pay attention to that.”
- Reports that Shawn Marion wants to finish his career as a member of the Mavericks misconstrued his meaning, as Marion said Wednesday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM that he merely meant to say that he wants to live in Dallas after he retires from playing. Still, he would prefer to re-sign with the Mavs this summer. Vince Marotta of ArizonaSports.com rounds up his comments.
- Jarnell Stokes, K.J. McDaniels and Russ Smith will audition for the Grizzlies next week, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports in a subscription-only piece.
Mavs To Pursue ‘Melo, Tyson Chandler
The Mavs are optimistic that they’ll be on the list of teams that Carmelo Anthony plans to meet with this summer and that he’ll give them legitimate consideration, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Dallas will also try to acquire another Knick, with Stein asserting that they’ll be first in line should New York make Tyson Chandler available via trade. The Mavs will attempt to court LeBron James, too, though Stein suggests that’s a longshot effort.
Dallas only has about $28.2MM in commitments for next season, but that doesn’t include the roughly $2MM non-guaranteed portion of Samuel Dalembert‘s contract or new deals for Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter and Devin Harris. The team has expressed interest in keeping all of them, and the team’s “working assumption,” according to Stein, is that Nowitzki will sign for $10-12MM per year. That doesn’t leave much wiggle room for a max offer to Anthony, who can draw a starting salary of up to $22,458,401. Still, Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com wrote Monday that the Mavs wouldn’t have interest in ‘Melo if he demands his max.
While the Mavs could net Chandler as part of a sign-and-trade involving Anthony, that would be extremely difficult, given Chandler’s salary of nearly $14.6MM next season. The reacquisition of the center who was the defensive anchor of the Mavs’ 2011 title team would probably preclude Anthony from heading to Dallas, and it would make it difficult for the Mavs to accommodate any other marquee free agent this summer. Stein reiterates McMahon’s report from yesterday indicating that the Mavs will likely target Luol Deng but take a pass on any pursuit of Lance Stephenson.
The Mavs have some concern about their ability to keep a couple of their own free agents, too, according to Stein. They’re worried that they’d have to cut deeply into their cap flexibility to fend off suitors for Vince Carter and, in particular, Shawn Marion. Carter and Marion have expressed their preference to re-sign, though such statements are commonplace for soon-to-be free agents at this time of year, and they don’t always translate into a new deal that keeps them in place.
Mavs Rumors: Bledsoe, Stephenson, ‘Melo, Dirk
Mavs GM Donnie Nelson promises an “action-packed summer,” but he indicated today that he’s pleased with the roster as is, notes Bryan Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter links).
“I think if we had the same cast or crew come and lace ’em up next year, I’d feel real good about our chances,” he said.
Fellow ESPNDallas.com scribe Tim McMahon doesn’t buy it, writing that the Mavs front office knows it needs significant improvement to contend. There’s more from McMahon’s piece amid the latest on the Mavs:
- McMahon throws Eric Bledsoe‘s name into the mix of likely targets that already included Marcin Gortat and Luol Deng, though he acknowledges that it’ll be “extremely difficult” to pry Bledsoe, or even Gortat, away from their respective teams. The Mavs are unlikely to make a run at Lance Stephenson, according to McMahon.
- The Mavs would like to get involved in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, but not if he demands a max contract, McMahon writes.
- Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs have made it clear that they fully intend to strike a new deal this summer. Nowitzki acknowledged today that he doesn’t think it will resemble Kobe Bryant‘s massive two-year, $48.5MM extension, but he does want the team to respect his continued on-court prowess in negotiations, as Gutierrez observes (Twitter links). McMahon, in his piece, suggests Nowitzki is likely to sign a three-year, $30MM deal.
- Shawn Marion, who turns 36 on Wednesday, plans to play two more seasons, tweets Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com, noting that while there’s strong mutual interest in a return to the Mavs, the forward will also think about signing elsewhere. Still, he intends to retire as a Mav one way or another, Gutierrez notes (Twitter link).
- Soon-to-be free agent DeJuan Blair is hopeful that he’ll re-sign with the Mavs this summer, as Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram chronicles.
- We passed along news of the Mavs’ mutual interest in Devin Harris earlier today.