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Lakers Extend Qualifying Offer To Robert Sacre

June 26th, 2013 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have extended a qualifying offer to Robert Sacre, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Because Sacre only has a single year of experience under his belt, Sacre's qualifying offer is worth $988,872.

The qualifying offer from the Lakers ensures that L.A. will be able to match any rival offer for Sacre, up to the mini mid-level exception ($3.18MM). For most restricted free-agents-to-be, the qualifying offer is simply a formality, with the expectation being that they'll receive larger multiyear offers and won't consider accepting the one-year QO. In Sacre's case though, I wouldn't be surprised if the 24-year-old accepts the offer to return to the Lakers.

In 2012/13, Sacre split time between the Lakers and the D-League's D-Fenders. In 32 NBA games, he averaged 1.3 PPG and 0.8 RPG, appearing in just 6.3 minutes per contest.

Lakers Exercise Team Option On Jodie Meeks

June 26th, 2013 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers have exercised their 2013/14 option on Jodie Meeks, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (via Twitter). The move will keep Meeks under contract for one more season for a salary worth $1.55MM.

Meeks, 25, averaged 7.9 PPG and shot 35.7% on three-pointers in 78 games during his first season with the Lakers. Depending on what roster moves the team makes this offseason, Meeks could be relied upon for a few more minutes per game, with Kobe Bryant not expected to be ready to return from his Achilles injury by the fall.

Now that Metta World Peace has opted in for 2013/14 and Meeks' $1.55MM salary is guaranteed, the Lakers have over $77MM in commitments on their books for next season. That doesn't include the non-guaranteed portion of Chris Duhon's salary or the cost of bringing back Dwight Howard.

James Jones Exercises Player Option

June 25th, 2013 at 7:40pm CST by Michael Pina

Heat guard James Jones has exercised his player option for the 2013/14 season, remaining with the two-time defending champions for at least one more year, according to the team's official Twitter account.

Known solely for his ability to knock down three-point shots, other areas of Jones' game aren't seen as strengths. He played just 221 minutes last season, and only 33 in the playoffs.

James is set to make $1.5MM next season.

Kings Extend Qualifying Offer To Tyreke Evans

June 25th, 2013 at 5:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have made a qualifying offer to Tyreke Evans, ensuring that he'll be a restricted free agent this offseason, the team announced today in a press release. The one-year offer is worth $6,927,157.

As I noted earlier today when it was reported that the Knicks extended a qualifying offer to Chris Copeland, we'll be seeing plenty of these QOs over the next several days, as teams formally make free agents restricted. By extending an offer to Evans, the Kings will have the opportunity to match any rival sheet he signs with another team.

In the unlikely event that Evans were to accept the one-year offer from the Kings, he would become eligible for unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2014.

Rashard Lewis To Exercise Player Option

June 25th, 2013 at 5:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Rashard Lewis' agent, Colin Bryant, confirmed today what Lewis himself told Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld two weeks ago, telling Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link) that the Heat forward will pick up his 2013/14 player option to remain in Miami.

Lewis' option for next season will only pay him the minimum salary for a veteran with 10+ years of experience ($1,399,507). Still, he'd probably have trouble finding more than the minimum with another club, so giving up the chance to compete for another title in Miami never really made much sense for the 33-year-old.

In his first season with the Heat, Lewis appeared in 55 games (14.4 MPG), averaging 5.2 PPG and 2.2 RPG while shooting 38.9% on three-pointers.

Knicks Extend Qualifying Offer To Chris Copeland

June 25th, 2013 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have formally extended a qualifying offer to Chris Copeland, making him a restricted free agent, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). The offer is for a one-year deal worth $988,872.

Copeland's is the first of many qualifying offers we're likely to see this week. As we explain in our Hoops Rumors glossary, QOs are one-year deals that a player has the option to accept. The offers, which vary in value based on a player's service time and previous contract status, also give the team the right to match offer sheets for the player in free agency.

As I noted this morning, however, because the Knicks are in the tax, they may not have the opportunity to match on Copeland if a rival suitor, such as the Pelicans or Pacers, offers a starting salary worth more than the taxpayer mid-level exception (approximately $3.18MM). The reported interest in Copeland also makes it unlikely that he'd accept the $988,872 offer from the Knicks, since he figures to receive larger bids on the open market.

Metta World Peace To Opt In For 2013/14

June 25th, 2013 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

Metta World Peace won't exercise the early termination option on the final year of his contract, meaning he'll remain under contract with the Lakers for the 2013/14 season, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. World Peace had until today to make a decision on his $7,727,280 option for next year.

While the man formerly known as Ron Artest was extremely unlikely to receive a $7.73MM salary on the open market, the decision wasn't a total no-brainer. Had he opted out of his contract, World Peace could have negotiated a new deal with the Lakers at a lesser rate, ensuring he remained in Los Angeles. Now that he has opted in, he risks becoming an amnesty victim next month if the Lakers decide they'd rather reduce their tax bill than keep World Peace on the roster.

With World Peace now officially on the books for '13/14, the Lakers have approximately $76MM in guaranteed salary committed to next year's roster. Decisions are still due on whether to bring back Chris Duhon and Jodie Meeks, and of course, a new max contract for Dwight Howard would push team salary into the $100MM range.

Patty Mills Exercises 2013/14 Player Option

June 24th, 2013 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Patty Mills has picked up his player option for 2013/14, and will remain under contract for one more season, the Spurs announced today in a press release.. By exercising the option, Mills is guaranteed a salary of $1,133,950 for next year.

Mills, 24, signed a two-year contract last summer with the Spurs that started at about $1.09MM, the maximum the team could offer him using the Non-Bird exception. Since the second year of the deal was a player option, Mills could have opted out and attempted to renegotiate another new contract, but based on his modest production this past season (5.1 PPG, 1.1 APG, 11.3 MPG), he wouldn't have been able to make a particularly strong case for a raise.

As I noted earlier this afternoon in my preview of the Spurs' offseason, Mills represented one of a handful of option decisions to be resolved this week. Boris Diaw also has a player option he's likely to exercise, while the team will have to decide whether to fully guarantee Matt Bonner's 2013/14 salary.

Bucks Exercise Team Option On Gustavo Ayon

June 22nd, 2013 at 9:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks have officially exercised their 2013/14 team option on Gustavo Ayon, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. The option is worth $1.5MM and could keep Ayon under contract for one more season before he hits free agency.

Although the Bucks have picked up the option, Ayon's contract remains non-guaranteed, as Mark Deeks details at ShamSports.com. The '13/14 season on Ayon's deal won't become fully guaranteed unless he remains on the roster beyond July 25th, according to Deeks. So this transaction essentially just postpones the team's decision on Ayon by a few weeks.

Ayon, 28, came to Milwaukee as part of the six-player deadline deal that was headlined by the Bucks' acquisition of J.J. Redick. It was the second time the Mexican big man had been moved during the 2012/13 season — he was sent to Orlando last July in exchange for the signed-and-traded Ryan Anderson.

Although Ayon has been relatively productive during his two NBA seasons, he hasn't seen a ton of playing time, averaging 16.7 minutes in 109 career contests. During those games, he has recorded 4.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, a 15.1 PER, and a .542 FG%.

Nuggets Hire Tim Connelly

June 17th, 2013 at 1:47pm CST by Luke Adams

1:47pm: The Nuggets have officially announced the hiring of Connelly in a press release.

"We are extremely excited to have Tim join the Denver Nuggets organization," Kroenke said in a statement. "He comes from a great basketball background, possesses an incredibly strong work ethic and is a wonderful person. His passion and energy for the game of basketball are contagious and I am confident that he will be a great fit with us in Denver."

10:09am: The Nuggets have decided on their new head of basketball operations, agreeing to hire Tim Connelly to replace Masai Ujiri, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Connelly's official title in Denver will be executive VP of basketball operations.

Connelly, who had previously been working as an assistant GM for the Pelicans, was named by Wojnarowski last month as a candidate for the Denver opening. Connelly was also linked to the GM job with the Timberwolves. He'll take the reins with a franchise that has lost its GM, its top assistant GM, and its head coach in the last several weeks.

Since the Nuggets' season ended with a first-round loss to Golden State, Ujiri has been hired as the Raptors' new head of basketball operations, Pete D'Alessandro has reached an agreement to become the Kings' general manager, and George Karl was let go by Denver when the two sides couldn't agree on an extension.

One of the first tasks facing Connelly this summer will be Andre Iguodala's free agency. Iguodala decided to exercise his early termination option and hit the open market, though he and the Nuggets have mutual interest in a new deal that keeps him in Denver.

Connelly also figures to assist team president Josh Kroenke in hiring a head coach to replace Karl. Lionel Hollins is scheduled to interview with the Nuggets on Wednesday, while Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports that the club will meet with Brian Shaw on Tuesday.