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Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, Bulls, Lakers, Ariza

July 3rd, 2014 at 1:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony will meet with the Knicks in Los Angeles today after he finishes his visit with the Lakers, report Chris Broussard and Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Marc Berman of the New York Post had speculated that an L.A.-based meeting between Carmelo and the Knicks could take place, since Anthony, team president Phil Jackson and coach Derek Fisher all have homes in the area. Here’s more on ‘Melo and other news from the third day of NBA free agency:

  • The Bulls floated a $16MM annual salary figure to Anthony during their meeting on Tuesday, a source tells Berman for the same piece.
  • The Lakers had planned to largely to hold off and hoard cap flexibility for the summer of 2015, but the team has shifted gears and become more “proactive” this summer, Berman also hears.
  • Trevor Ariza told agent Rob Pelinka to try to work out a deal with the Wizards before he explored options with other teams, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The Wizards are confident in their ability to re-sign the small forward and don’t plan on any major moves until they strike a deal with Ariza. Still, Broussard counts the Wizards among the teams with interest in fellow small forward Luol Deng (Twitter link), so it seems the team has a contingency plan.
  • The Pacers reportedly reached out to Rodney Stuckey, but Broussard hears Indiana has no plans to pursue the combo guard (Twitter link).
  • It’s unlikely that the Heat will wind up with as much as $12MM in money to spend beneath the cap, as they’ve reportedly been telling free agents, observes Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick (on Twitter). They’ll probably remain above the cap, according to Skolnick, leaving the $5.305MM mid-level exception as their most lucrative tool.
  • The Clippers have strong interest in Toure’ Murry, tweets Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal, and they’ve spoken with Jordan Farmar, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
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Southeast Rumors: Monroe, Sefolosha, Wizards

July 2nd, 2014 at 9:14pm CST by Zachary Links

Restricted free agent Greg Monroe and unrestricted free agent Thabo Sefolosha are at the Wizards‘ Verizon Center, tweets Gene Wang of the Washington Post.  No offer was made to Sefolosha during the visit and there isn’t much for the Wizards to offer, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter).  More out of the Southeast..

  • The Heat inquired on Sefolosha today, league sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (on Twitter), but they’re predictably far from concrete offers.
  • The Wizards and Gortat were haggling over the number of years in his deal, and Washington’s willingness to include the fifth season convinced the big man to agree to re-sign, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post explains.
  • Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter) hears that the Hawks are in hot pursuit of Kent Bazemore.
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Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Nelson, Butler

July 2nd, 2014 at 8:08pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, I joined Zach Burke, Craig Smoak, and Q on 1660 ESPN Radio in Central Texas to talk LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, the latest on the Mavericks and Rockets, and much more.  If you missed out, you can listen to the interview here.  Here’s more from around the league..

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Southeast Rumors: Gasol, Heat, Gortat, Ariza

July 1st, 2014 at 11:50pm CST by Zachary Links

We rounded up news from the Southeast Division earlier tonight and we’ve got even more for you here..

  • You can add Pau Gasol to the Heat‘s wish list.  Team president Pat Riley had a phone conversation with the big man today, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
  • The Heat reached out to Marcin Gortat but talks didn’t get very far, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.  The big man was focused on a new deal with the Wizards which was accomplished tonight.
  • J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter) hears that Trevor Ariza may have been “inspired” by Gortat signing so quickly with the Wizards and his own deal might get fast tracked as a result.
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Wizards Re-Sign Marcin Gortat

July 1st, 2014 at 7:16pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 10TH: The deal is official, the Wizards announce.

JULY 1ST: The Wizards have agreed to sign big man Marcin Gortat to a new deal, according to teammate and enterprising journalist John Wall on Twitter.  Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) says that it’s a five-year, $60MM pact.  There are no options or early terminations in Gortat’s deal, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com.

The mutual interest in a reunion between Gortat and the Wizards has been widely reported for months now, but there were still a number of suitors that threatened to get in the way.  The Heat, for one, were said to be thinking about uniting Gortat with their Big Three this summer.  The Cavs were also contemplating a run at the 30-year-old, but the Wizards managed to get on the phone with Gortat just after the clock struck midnight and apparently made quick progress on a deal.

Gortat, 30, averaged 13.2 PPG and 9.5 RPG last season for the Wizards while helping them reach the second round of the playoffs.  The five-year, $60MM contract matches up with the deal that the Wolves gave to Nikola Pekovic roughly eleven months ago, though it’s not clear if Gortat has an incentives package like Pek’s ($8MM in total).

As Wall touched on his tweet, the Wizards will now turn their attention to re-signing teammate Trevor Ariza.  Ariza has spoken fondly of his time in D.C. but is said to be seeking a deal in the $8-$11MM range and likes the idea of playing in a warm weather city.

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Southeast Rumors: Wizards, Heat, McRoberts

July 1st, 2014 at 1:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

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.
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And-Ones: Sterling, Parker, Crawford

July 1st, 2014 at 9:44am CST by Chuck Myron

Attorneys for Donald Sterling will argue that wife Shelly Sterling exerted undue influence on one of the two doctors who examined Donald and declared him mentally incompetent, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com details. Donald’s mental competency is no longer on trial. Instead, the probate trial between the Sterlings will center on whether Shelly followed the rules of the Sterling family trust, according to Shelburne. Those rules required that two mental health experts submit letters to the effect that Donald was mentally incompetent before allowing Shelly to take full control of the trust, Shelburne writes. Shelly agreed to sell the Clippers in May to Steve Ballmer, claiming that she fully controlled the trust, but Donald is fighting the sale. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Spurs kept Tony Parker through Monday, unsurprisingly, but doing so means his $3.5MM partial guarantee is now a fully guaranteed $12.5MM salary for 2014/15.
  • Jamal Crawford of the Clippers had his $1.5MM partial guarantee bumped to a full guarantee of $5.45MM when he remained on the roster through Monday.
  • Kosta Koufos remains on the Grizzlies, so his $500K partial guarantee is now a $3MM full guarantee.
  • Parker’s teammate Austin Daye is also still with the Spurs, so his $250K partial guarantee is a fully guaranteed minimum salary.
  • The Hornets kept Jeffery Taylor around, so his minimum salary went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed.
  • It appears as though the Magic are officially under the cap, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That means Orlando loses access to a $6,077,280 trade exception it could have reaped from last week’s Arron Afflalo deal.
  • The Hawks didn’t give big man Gustavo Ayon a qualifying offer by Monday’s deadline, making him an unrestricted free agent, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). There weren’t reports of qualifying offers to James Southerland of the Pelicans, Adonis Thomas of the Sixers and Bernard James of the Mavs, so presumably they’re all unrestricted free agents as well.
  • The Wolves hired Ryan Saunders as an assistant coach, the team announced (on Twitter). Saunders, the son of Wolves head coach/executive Flip Saunders, had served the last five seasons as a Wizards assistant.
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Southeast Rumors: Ariza, Gortat, Ferry, Lewis

July 1st, 2014 at 12:24am CST by Zachary Links

The latest out of the Southeast Division..

  • Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears that Trevor Ariza is after a deal in the $8-11MM per year range and likes the idea of playing in a warm-weather city.  Still, staying with the Wizards is an intriguing option for him.
  • The Wizards spent the evening reaching out to their own free agents, Marcin Gortat, Ariza, and Drew Gooden, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
  • Ariza has significant interest from clubs, including the Cavs, and Wizards coach Randy Wittman will be in Los Angeles tomorrow morning to meet with him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.  A league source close to Ariza tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) that his potential destinations include the Suns, Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Mavs, Jazz, Cavs, and Wizards.
  • Hawks‘ GM Danny Ferry plans to be “very aggressive” in free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
  • Heat free agent forward Rashard Lewis is expecting interest from the Heat, Pacers, Thunder, Raptors, and Spurs, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
  • So far the Hornets have not expressed interest in Luol Deng, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).
  • The Hawks were the first team to call unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore after midnight, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).  The Hawks are really high on the Lakers free agent.
  • Unrestricted free agent Trevor Booker has attracted interest from several teams, including the Heat, Wolves, Jazz, Nets, Knicks, Magic, and Wizards, sources tell Michael Lee of the Washington Post (on Twitter).
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Qualifying Offers: Monday

June 30th, 2014 at 11:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Teams must decide today whether to tender qualifying offers to their players eligible for restricted free agency or lose the right to match offers from other teams. We’ll round up all of today’s qualifying offer decisions here:

  • The Pacers declined to tender a qualifying offer to Lavoy Allen, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Still, there’s mutual interest in a new deal, Buckner adds (on Twitter).
  • The Hawks extended a qualifying offer to Mike Scott, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports (on Twitter).
  • No surprise here: Chandler Parsons got his QO from the Rockets, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.
  • The Pacers won’t extend a QO to Evan Turner, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
  • Kevin Seraphin officially got his qualifying offer from the Wizards, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.
  • As expected, the Warriors won’t extend a QO to Jordan Crawford, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • The Hawks have extended a qualifying offer to Shelvin Mack, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
  • The Bucks have told forward-center Ekpe Udoh he will not be tendered an offer thus making him an unrestricted free agent, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter).
  • The Grizzlies have passed on making a qualifying offer to Ed Davis, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Davis was reportedly a favorite of former CEO Jason Levien, but with Zach Randolph having agreed to an extension, it appears that Davis isn’t quite as highly valued in Memphis as he once was. His qualifying offer would have been worth $4,268,609, a slightly smaller amount than he was originally in line for, as I explained.
  • No shock here, but the Pistons extended a qualifying offer to Greg Monroe, tweets Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, preserving their right to match offers for the fifth-rated player in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings. The qualifying offer is worth nearly $5.5MM, but he’ll command much more than that.
  • The Pelicans will not give Darius Miller a qualifying offer, reports John Reid of The Times Picayune. The offer would have been worth more than $1.115MM.
  • The Spurs have tendered a qualifying offer to Aron Baynes, notes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (on Twitter). It’s worth more than $1.115MM, the same amount as Miller’s would have been.
  • The Knicks have elected not to make a qualifying offer to Toure’ Murry, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). They’d like to re-sign him nonetheless, Stein adds in a second tweet, but other teams have interest, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt says (on Twitter). The offer would have been worth more than $1.016MM.
  • Othyus Jeffers and Robbie Hummel won’t receive qualifying offers from the Wolves, the team announced (on Twitter). The offers would have been for amounts slightly greater than $1.148MM and $1.016MM, respectively.
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Free Agent Rumors: Lakers, Gasol, Davis, Ariza

June 30th, 2014 at 10:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) says the Suns and Hawks will be interested in Pau Gasol.  The Lakers, Knicks, Bulls, Mavs, and Rockets are also expected to pursue the Spaniard.  There should be plenty of options out there for Gasol but Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) hears that the Thunder are unlikely to be in the running.  Here’s more from around the league..

  • Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter) hears that MarShon Brooks is the only definitive Lakers free agent not returning.  Everyone else has a chance to return depending on who else is available.
  • The feeling from NBA sources is that this free agency period could be “uneventful” for the Jazz outside of Gordon Hayward and Marvin Williams, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
  • The Clippers remain interested in re-signing Glen Davis and his reps have talked with the club, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).
  • Wizards coach Randy Wittman and VP Ed Tapscott are slated to visit their free agent forward Trevor Ariza in his hometown of Los Angeles tomorrow, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.
  • Meanwhile, Drew Gooden expects to re-sign with the Wizards on a minimum salary deal, a source tells Spears (Twitter link).  Meanwhile, Al Harrington is one of the Wizards’ summer league coaches and still wants to play.
  • After extending a qualifying offer to Avery Bradley, Danny Ainge made it clear that the the guard “is a big part” of the Celtics‘ future, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com.
  • Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle looks at the pitch that the Rockets plan on making to Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paul.
  • Euroleague point guard Bo McCalebb is officially free agent, his agent Eric Fleisher told Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter).  There is no buyout of any kind that needs to be addressed, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets.
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