2012 July | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Claim Jon Leuer Off Waivers

July 20th, 2012 at 10:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:03pm: The Cavs confirmed their successful waiver claim on the team website.

6:35pm: Zgoda tweets that the Timberwolves didn't put in a claim for Leuer, correcting what he said earlier.

6:02pm: Jon Leuer is headed to Cleveland after being waived by the Rockets earlier this week, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Zach Lowe of SI.com says the Cavs will simply sign him (Twitter link), but Either way, it appears the 6'10" Leuer will suit up for the Cavs next season, likely on a minimum-salary deal. Zgoda says the Timberwolves also put in a claim, but since the Cavs had an inferior record last season, Cleveland's bid wins out.

The 6'10" power forward averaged 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds with a 15.3 PER in 12.1 minutes a game as a rookie last season for the Bucks, who traded him to the Rockets as part of a deal for Samuel Dalembert. He was the 40th overall pick of the 2011 draft.

Celtics Likely To Withdraw Offer To Stiemsma

July 20th, 2012 at 9:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:57pm: Forsberg says the team making the offer is not the Timberwolves, though he doesn't identify which team it is.

9:17pm: The Celtics have been outbid for Greg Stiemsma and are likely to withdraw their qualifying offer for the 6'11" big man, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com hears that a team has made an offer to Stiemsma that exceeds the $1.054MM qualifying offer from the Celtics, and Zgoda hears the same via Stiemsma's agent (Twitter links).

I'd guess the team making the offer to Stiemsma is the Timberwolves, since a report earlier this week from A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com indicated Minnesota was prepared to offer him an annual salary of nearly $3MM. That would be about $1MM more than the Celtics could offer with their biannual exception. Boston, which has only had Stiemsma under contract for a year, has non-Bird rights on Stiemsma, allowing for a 120% raise or the amount of his qualifying offer, whichever is greater — and in Stiemsma's case, the qualifying offer is greater. The biannual exception amount of $1.957MM would be the most the Celtics could pay him, but it appears that still won't be enough to bring Stiemsma back.

Stiemsma and agent Mike Naiditch have expressed a willingness to be patient while the Wolves work on other priorities, but with Nicolas Batum, Courtney Lee and Jordan Hill eluding the team's grasp, it appears Stiemsma is finally the priority atop Wolves GM David Kahn's desk. Stiemsma was a revelation for the Celtics last season after spending most of his career overseas and in the D-League after going undrafted out of the University of Wisconsin in 2008. The 13.9 minutes per game he saw in 55 contests for the Celtics were more than he averaged in any of his four collegiate seasons, He put up 2.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a night in the regular season before an aching left foot limited his playing time and effectiveness in the playoffs.

Blazers Rumors: Aldridge, Batum, Hibbert, Canales

July 20th, 2012 at 8:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was a busy day for the Blazers, who officially welcomed Nicolas Batum back after matching his offer sheet from the Timberwolves. They also were involved in a three-team trade, picking up Sasha Pavlovic, the cash to cover his salary, and two second-round picks in exchange for 2011 second-round pick Jon Diebler. There's also encouraging news from LaMarcus Aldridge, who says he's "98 percent" healed from hip surgery and expects to be playing five-on-five again in a week, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. There's plenty more going on in the Rose City, and we've got it here:

Batum addressed some of the comments he and others made during his contentious restricted free agency. In a video on CSNNW.com and transcribed by Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Batum said it was true that he wanted to go to Minnesota, but never ruled the Blazers out. "Minnesota was a good situation for me, but I never said it was better than Portland," he said. "I told Portland, 'If you really want me, match. If you don't want me, I'll go.'"
Aldridge told reporters, including Chris B. Haynes of CSNNW.com, that he was communicating with Roy Hibbert throughout the Blazers' courtship of the restricted free agent center who ultimately chose to re-sign with the Pacers (Twitter links). "I was disappointed," Aldridge said of Hibbert's decision. "I definitely felt like he would put us over that hump of being on the next level."
Aldridge said he hasn't been paying attention to the team's head coaching search, but reiterated his endorsement of interim coach Kaleb Canales, as Freeman notes, via Twitter.

Agent Says Knicks Eyeing Shooting Guards

July 20th, 2012 at 7:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reports the Knicks have interest in unrestricted free agents Sonny Weems and Maurice Evans, according to Roger Montgomery, the agent for both players. The Knicks are seeking depth at shooting guard with Iman Shumpert out until January and J.R. Smith the only rotation-caliber two-guard on the roster, but have only the veteran's minimum at their disposal, as Zwerling points out.

The Knicks could also be a candidate for Randy Foye if the Clippers consent to a sign-and-trade, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, also identifying the Suns, Bucks and Bulls as Foye suitors (Twitter link). Foye spent most of last season in the starting lineup for the Clippers, averaging 11.0 points, 2.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds with a 13.5 PER.

The 26-year-old Weems spent last season playing overseas after averaging 9.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Raptors in 2010/11. Toronto withdrew its qualifying offer to Weems last week, making him an unrestricted free agent. Evans, who'll be 34 when the season starts, spent last season with the Wizards, putting up 4.9 PPG, 1.0 RPG and 0.4 APG in just 14.3 minutes a night.

Evans seems the more likely bet to settle for the minimum salary, as Zwerling notes. A twist to the story is that Montgomery is also the agent for Jeremy Lin, whose offer sheet the Knicks declined to match this week.

Nuggets Sign Randolph, Amnesty Andersen

July 20th, 2012 at 6:31pm CST by Ryan Raroque

FRIDAY, 6:31pm: The Nuggets have officially announced the signing in a press release on the team's website.

TUESDAY, 9:28pm: According to a report by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post, the Nuggets have signed forward Anthony Randolph and will use their amnesty provision to cut Chris Andersen. This will be Randolph's fourth destination since being drafted by the Warriors in 2008. The 6'10 forward averaged 7.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 1.0 BPG, while shooting 47% from the field in 15.2 MPG last season for the Timberwolves. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo reports that the deal will be for $6MM over three years (Twitter link).

Dwight Howard Rumors: Friday

July 20th, 2012 at 6:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Last night, we heard from agent Dan Fegan that Dwight Howard would not be signing an in-season extension with any team that acquires him this year. This news comes as no surprise — even if Howard had been dealt to his preferred destination in Brooklyn, it would have been shocking if he'd immediately finalized a three-year extension, rather than waiting until next summer to ink a more lucrative five-year contract. And as many writers have pointed out, even a promise that he'd re-sign when he becomes a free agent is technically against NBA rules.

Regardless, if sounds like Howard is becoming more amenable to signing long-term with the Lakers, so it's hard not to consider L.A. the current frontrunner in the D12 sweepstakes. Here are today's Howard updates, with the latest news up top:

Amico elaborates on the difficulty the Magic have been presenting possible trade partners, saying they keep changing the terms of potential deals at the last minute. A source tells Amico that Nets GM Billy King thought he had finalized a trade with the Magic at one point earlier this summer before the Magic pulled back.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reiterates that it's the Magic, rather than Bynum's or Howard's representatives, that are complicating a potential deal (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

The three-team talks involving the Magic, Lakers, and Cavaliers are running into the same problems that plagued Orlando's talks with the Nets, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Magic aren't convinced that this is the best they can do for Howard, while the Cavs are reluctant to get too serious until they find out if Andrew Bynum would be open to committing long-term to Cleveland.
Berger hears from one source that Howard was convinced to waive his early termination option in March by Magic officials that said if things didn't work out for Dwight in Orlando, the team would trade him to Brooklyn. However, another source tells Berger that no such promise was made to the star center.
The Magic, Lakers, and Cavs are still "far" from finalizing any deal, but aren't deterred by comments made by Fegan or Bynum's agent David Lee, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link).
Kris Humphries said today that he was never approached about accepting a sign-and-trade to the Cavs, so the Magic/Nets talks didn't advance that far, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

E’Twaun Moore Headed To Bulls?

July 20th, 2012 at 5:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

E'Twaun Moore was just traded to the Rockets in the three-team Courtney Lee deal, but by all accounts Houston is likely to waive the 6'4" guard soon. According to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com, Moore already has a new team lined up, saying he expects to wind up with the Bulls.

Moore would have to clear waivers before signing with the team of his choice, so it's unclear whether Chicago is simply his preference or if the Bulls have given him indication they'll claim him off waivers. He has a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary for next season that becomes guaranteed if he's not waived by the end of summer league this weekend.

Moore, the 55th overall pick in the 2011 draft, averaged 2.9 points and made 37.8% of his three-point attempts in 38 games for the Celtics last season.

Mavericks Sign Jae Crowder

July 20th, 2012 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have officially signed second-round pick Jae Crowder, according to a team release. Crowder was the third of three Dallas picks in June's draft, taken 34th overall with one of the selections acquired from Cleveland in the trade for 17th overall pick Tyler Zeller.

Crowder, a 6'7" forward, averaged 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in his final season at Marquette. Terms of his contract weren't disclosed, but he'll likely earn something close to the rookie minimum this year, with at least some guaranteed money included in the deal.

Suns Sign Michael Beasley

July 20th, 2012 at 3:29pm CST by Sean Highkin

JULY 20TH: The Suns have confirmed that the Beasley deal is done, tweets Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

JULY 4TH: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that unrestricted free agent forward Michael Beasley has agreed to sign with the Phoenix Suns for $18MM over three years.

According to Stein, Beasley, who played the last two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, chose Phoenix over four other interested teams. Beasley, 23, averaged 11.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 2011/12 as a member of the Timberwolves.

The T-Wolves decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Beasley last week, ensuring that he'd be an unrestricted free agent, and Minnesota wouldn't have a chance to match offers and retain him. The Suns, meanwhile, have now committed a sizable chunk of cap space to the agreement with Beasley and an offer sheet for Eric Gordon. There were rumors that the Suns would also aggressively pursue Goran Dragic, but the club may not have the necessary remaining cap space to make the point guard a competitive offer.

Warriors Interested In Andrei Kirilenko

July 20th, 2012 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors are seeking a backup forward and have been linked to Carl Landry, Kenyon Martin, Shelden Williams, and others. Today, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group adds another name to the team's wish list, reporting that Golden State is interested in Andrei Kirilenko, though Thompson cautions the Russian forward would be a long shot for the Warriors.

Earlier today, we passed along comments Kirilenko yesterday in which he suggested he could end up on the Nets or back in Russia with CSKA Moscow. As I wrote at the time, the Nets could only offer the veteran's minimum. The Warriors have the flexibility to offer at least double that amount, but it's not clear if that would be enough or if Kirilenko would have interest in the Warriors.

Based on Kirilenko's comments about potentially returning to the NBA, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link) wonders if the Timberwolves, another team that could offer more than the Nets, would be interested in the veteran forward.

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