Clippers Waive Willie Green
SUNDAY, 10:40pm: Green has officially been waived, the Clippers announced.
SATURDAY, 12:47pm: A source tells Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times that the Clippers wish to re-sign Green to another deal (Twitter link).
10:16am: The Clippers are planning against keeping Willie Green‘s non-guaranteed contract on the books for 2014/15, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM. While the report frames the decision as a declined team option, Green’s deal is actually a non-guaranteed year that becomes fully guaranteed if he isn’t waived before July 1st. Presumably, the Clippers are planning to waive Green prior to that deadline.
Qualifying Offers: Sunday
Here’s the latest on teams’ decisions of whether or not to extend qualifying offers to their potentially restricted free agents:
- E’Twaun Moore has expressed interest in a possible return to the Magic, but Orlando pulled back their qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent, reports Marc Stein of ESPN (via Twitter). Moore’s cap hold will now be on the team’s books for $915,243 as a result.
- The Lakers have extended a qualifying offer to Ryan Kelly, reports Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Los Angeles’ offer to Kelly, worth $1,016,482, makes the second-year Duke product a restricted free agent.
Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh Opt Out
SUNDAY, 4:05pm: Pat Riley was informed today by agent Henry Thomas that Bosh is exercising his early termination option and will become an unrestricted free agent, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link).
5:28pm: Bosh is “on the verge” of opting out, and will do so before the deadline on Monday, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
3:18pm: Bosh has not yet decided whether he’ll opt out or not, his agent tells David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 2:37pm: Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will opt out of their current deals and enter free agency this summer, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press and Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter links). Wade and Bosh become the latest members of Miami to opt out of their deals, following news that LeBron James and Udonis Haslem had done the same.
Wade’s decision to exercise his early termination option and pass on the final two years of his deal means that he’ll forfeit over $41.8MM in guaranteed salary. He’s unlikely to garner an offer worth a higher annual value in free agency, given his age and concerns about his health.
Bosh, who’s sacrificing a guaranteed $42.6MM, will likely be able to fetch a higher salary than Wade, and Broussard hears the big man is seeking a five-year pact worth $15-$16MM per year. Such a deal would be worth less than what Bosh would have made had he chosen not to opt out.
The duo’s motivation to sacrifice so much money is a result of their desire to make a future work with LeBron, who’s seeking a max contract, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Although LeBron’s priority remains to find a way to make a future work with Miami, a failure by the organization toward improving their roster to his satisfaction could mean the four-time MVP leaves Miami, says Wojnarowski.
If the Heat renounce the Bird Rights of their free agents, they will have a record $55MM in cap room this summer, with only Norris Cole‘s contract guaranteed on the books next season. To no surprise, Pat Riley has already confirmed to reporters, including Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post, that he hopes to bring back Wade and Haslem for the 2014/15 campaign (Twitter link).
Kings Release Willie Reed
SUNDAY, 2:46pm: The team officially announced the move via a press release.
SATURDAY,11:11am: The Kings have released Willie Reed, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGm. Reed will catch on with the Pacers summer league squad, though that does not necessarily mean that he is in line for a look as a roster addition in Indiana.
Reed spent most of last year in the D-League before Sacramento signed him to a pro-rated contract late in the season. The power forward didn’t play a single minute for the Kings, signed more as an asset for Sacramento’s D-League affiliate.
The Bell Management International client has never seen NBA action. He earned $102,089 on his deal with the Kings, and the nonguaranteed salary they waived for the upcoming season would have been $915,243. He had a similar experience as a late-season addition to the Grizzlies in 2012/13, where he was never utilized before eventually being released by Memphis.
Qualifying Offers: Saturday
The start of the NBA’s 2014 free agency period is just a little less than two days away, and teams continue to extend qualifying offers to their eligible free agents. The offers are rarely accepted, but the player becomes a restricted free agent as a result of the tender. Choosing not to extend an offer to a player who’s eligible for one means the player becomes an unrestricted free agent, prohibiting the player’s current club from matching offer sheets from rival suitors. For a full explanation, check out the Qualifying Offers entry in the Hoops Rumors Glossary. We’ll track today’s qualifying offer updates right here:
- The Wizards haven’t made their final decision, but are likely to extend a qualifying offer to Kevin Seraphin, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
Earlier updates:
- The Celtics have extended a $3.6MM qualifying offer to Avery Bradley, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
- The Pelicans will not extend a qualifying offer to Brian Roberts, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW (on Twitter). Becuase Roberts started 42 games for New Orleans last season, he met the starter criteria, which boosted the amount of his qualifying offer to $2,875,131, as Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron explains.
- Trevor Booker also met the starter criteria last season, and the Wizards have decided not to tender him a qualifying offer, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Booker’s offer would have been worth $4,677,708.
- Earlier today, we heard the Lakers would refrain from extending a qualifying offer to Kent Bazemore.
- The Raptors extended qualifying offers to Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, and Nando De Colo.
Raptors Extend Offers To Vasquez, Patterson
11:51am: The team has announced that a qualifying offer for each player has been officially extended.
11:07am: The Raptors will extend qualifying offers to Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, and Nando De Colo today, tweets Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. The players will all become restricted free agents as a result of the offers, giving Toronto the right to match any offers they secure on the open market.
Both Vasquez and Patterson were acquired as pieces in the Rudy Gay trade with Sacramento this season. Vasquez, who has played well as both a starter and backup in his short career, triggered an increased qualifying offer of $4.7MM. Patterson, a steady rotation big who excels as a shooter, will receive a reduced offer at roughly $4.3MM.
De Colo’s offer will be roughly $1.8MM. De Colo arrived in Toronto via a trade deadline deal with the Spurs, and played limited minutes as a backup wing. All three will assuredly seek more lucrative offers from other teams for Toronto to match or decline, as qualifying offers will remain on the table during that process.
Haslem Opts Out, Wade And Bosh To Follow?
Udonis Haslem has opted out of the the final year of his contract, tweets Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report. Skolnick suggests that the move is a part of a concerted strategy by the Heat’s Big Three to provide cap flexibility in Miami, and that Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will exercise their early termination clauses for the same purpose. Haslem will forgo $4.6MM in salary for 2014/15 in hopes of re-signing a multi-year deal that rewards him financially while giving the Heat some much needed breathing room as it seeks to retain and build around its championship core (all Twitter links).
As soon as LeBron James terminated his contract with Miami for this season, the onus shifted to the Heat management and players to find a way to convince the league’s best player of their viability as a long-term contender. Haslem shares representation with Wade and Bosh, and had the trio opted to remain on their original contracts, there would have been virtually no room for team president Pat Riley to significantly improve the roster outside of re-signing aging veterans.
While Bosh has maintained his willingness to accept a reduced deal in order to keep the team in tact, Wade has been mum on his decision. Wade stands to sacrifice the most by terminating his deal, as he would give up over $41.8MM over the next two years in salary. That’s a number he is very unlikely to fetch on the open market, especially after a poor showing in the Finals despite regimented rest to keep him fresh throughout the year.
Suns Extend Qualifying Offers To Bledsoe, Tucker
The Suns have tendered qualifying offers to Eric Bledsoe and P.J. Tucker, making them restricted free agents, the team announced via press release. It’s a largely academic procedural move for both, particularly in the case of Bledsoe, who seems capable of commanding a maximum salary contract. Phoenix will have the ability to match offers from other teams for each as long as their qualifying offers remain on the table.
Bledsoe’s qualifying offer is worth $3,726,966 while Tucker’s amounts to $2,875,131. Tucker, who proved one of the league’s best bargains on a minimum-salary deal the past two seasons, is high on returning to the Suns, but the client of the Arete Sports Agency is looking for a raise. It seems like it’ll take money in the neighborhood of the $5.305MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level to secure Tucker, though Phoenix’s ability to match offers might depress that figure. The Suns have his Early Bird rights, allowing them to pay up to about $6MM to re-sign him, but they can also use cap space if necessary.
The team has made it clear it will match any offer for Bledsoe, so he seems destined to remain in Phoenix, in spite of interest from the Lakers and Mavs. He’s No. 4 in the latest edition of the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
Sixers Trade For Pierre Jackson
1:53pm: The trade is official, the Pelicans have announced.
FRIDAY, 12:30pm: There’s still no official announcement, but Sixers GM Sam Hinkie confirmed the swap to reporters, including Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). Hinkie also expects that Jackson will sign with the Sixers for next season.
THURSDAY, 10:43pm: The Sixers will send 47th overall pick Russ Smith to the Pelicans in exchange for the rights to Pierre Jackson, last year’s No. 42 pick who became a D-League sensation this past season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jackson never signed with New Orleans, heading overseas after he and the team couldn’t strike a deal following his high-scoring showing in the D-League.
Byron Mullens Opts Out, Will Hit Free Agency
Sixers big man Byron Mullens has turned down his minimum salary player option for next season and will become a free agent, GM Sam Hinkie told reporters, including Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). The Wasserman Media Group client would have made a guaranteed salary of more than $1.063MM had he remained under contract, but he’ll seek more on the open market.
The Clippers sent him to the Sixers for a second-round draft pick at the deadline to lower their tax bill and open up room for bench upgrades in L.A. Mullens failed to have an impact after signing with the Clippers last summer, averaging just 6.2 minutes per game for them this season. He saw 13.7 MPG for Philadelphia, averaging 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds, but perhaps most noteworthy for him was his 40% three-point shooting over his 18-game stint with the Sixers. He’s just a 31.9% three-point shooter for his career.
Philadelphia is set to have ample cap flexibility, so Mullens’ decision will probably have no significant effect on Hinkie’s summer plans.