Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Love, Fields, Lin, Bass

July 1st, 2015 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics would have been bigger contenders to land Kevin Love if the team’s roster wasn’t stocked with still developing players, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “Look, Kevin’s first choice is to stay with Cleveland, and I have no doubt that’s going to get worked out,” a source close to Love said. “But I think Kevin’s liked Boston for a while as a place to play. If their roster was more ready to win right now, maybe there’s a chance we’re having a different conversation. And maybe he’d be going back to Cleveland no matter what. All I know is that a lot of teams wanted in on him, and Boston was one of the only ones he spoke to.” Love announced his intention to return to the Cavaliers earlier today.

With the free agent signing period now officially underway, here’s the latest rumblings out of the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks have reached out to swingman Landry Fields, who is an unrestricted free agent, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays (Twitter link).
New York has also expressed interest in 2014/15 Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams, who is an unrestricted free agent, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
Free agent point guard Jeremy Lin was contacted by the Knicks, who need to add backcourt depth this summer, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Lakers, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Pacers, Bulls and Clippers have also shown interest in Lin’s services.
The Celtics still aren’t sure if they will re-sign Brandon Bass, but did contact the forward today to let him know the team hasn’t forgotten him, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes (Twitter link).
The Knicks have been in contact with forward Lance Thomas regarding a return to the team, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays (via Twitter). The Spurs and Nets have also expressed interest in the 27-year-old, Begley adds.
There is mutual interest between free agent forward Thomas Robinson and the Nets, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily tweets.
The Knicks have expressed interest in K.J. McDaniels, who is a restricted free agent, so the Rockets would have an opportunity to match any offer sheet the forward were to sign, Begley relays (on Twitter).
Members of New York’s front office will meet with free agent center Robin Lopez in Los Angeles this week, Begley tweets.
The Knicks are among the teams interested in guard Wayne Ellington, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News notes (Twitter link). Also interested in the 27-year-old are the the Cavaliers, Warriors, Wizards, Spurs and Hawks.
The Knicks were prepared to offer DeMarre Carroll a similar deal to the four-year, $60MM arrangement he reached with the Raptors, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link). Carroll felt that Toronto’s long-term outlook was better than New York’s, Zillgitt adds.

Celtics, Jae Crowder Make Progress In Talks

July 1st, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jae Crowder is progressing in discussions about a deal to re-sign with the Celtics, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Charania tweeted earlier that the Mavericks, who dealt Crowder to Boston in December, and Celtics were front-runners for the Glenn Schwartzman client.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge made it clear this spring that he wanted to re-sign the former 34th overall pick. Crowder has hoped to return, but not before testing the market.

Jimmy Butler Ponders Max Offer From Bulls

July 1st, 2015 at 10:46am CST by Chuck Myron

10:46am: The Bulls are open to a player option, Johnson reports (Twitter link).

9:17am: The Happy Walters client is strongly leaning toward Chicago’s five-year offer instead of a shorter deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

12:48am: Butler wants a player option in any deal that he signs, and while he may shop himself to other teams if the Bulls don’t grant that request, Chicago would still match any offer, according to K.C. Johnson the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links).

WEDNESDAY, 12:12am: The swingman is thinking about doing a five-year max deal that includes a player option on the last season with the Bulls, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.

TUESDAY, 11:09am: Butler put off meetings with the Lakers, Celtics, Sixers and Mavs when the Bulls made their max qualifying offer and is now deciding how many years to sign for on a deal with Chicago, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

MONDAY, 3:43pm: The Bulls have given Jimmy Butler a maximum qualifying offer, meaning other teams can’t sign him to an offer sheet that runs fewer than three years, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). Those three years can’t include an option. Opposing teams would otherwise be limited to offer sheets of at least two years had Chicago merely extended a standard qualifying offer. The Bulls have also made the standard QO, worth nearly $4.434MM, that Butler can accept if he is intent on reaching unrestricted free agency as quickly as possible, though that would entail great financial sacrifice this season.

The max qualifying offer, by rule, is a fully guaranteed five years with a starting salary at the max and 7.5% raises. It can’t include any option years. The Bulls and Butler are free to negotiate different terms, but it nonetheless raises the stakes, with Butler reportedly wanting to sign a short-term deal with the Lakers.

David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune reported back in January that the Bulls planned a max offer for Butler, so today’s news is no surprise. Still, paying an estimated max salary of around $19MM to Butler next season will likely send the Bulls, who already have about $63MM in guaranteed salary for 2015/16, into tax territory, with the tax line projected to come in at $81.6MM.

And-Ones: Harris, Brewer, Anderson

July 1st, 2015 at 7:37am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks could be a potential suitor for Magic forward Tobias Harris, who became a restricted free agent after Orlando extended him a qualifying offer on Tuesday, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter). Atlanta’s level of interest in Harris is dependent on how the team’s pursuit of its own free agents, DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap, goes, Kennedy adds. Here’s more from around the league:

The Clippers, Knicks, and Lakers all put in calls on free agent center DeAndre Jordan during his dinner with the Mavericks, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Unrestricted free agent Corey Brewer has had phone conversations with the Rockets, Celtics and Knicks since the start of free agency, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Brewer and his representatives sat down for a meeting with the Lakers on Tuesday night, Wojnarowski adds.
Alan Anderson, who bypassed his player option for 2015/16 worth $1,333,484 with the Nets, is seeking an annual salary of $3MM-$4MM from a contending team, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com relays.
The Wizards‘ front office was encouraged at the team’s chances to re-sign Paul Pierce after conversing with the veteran, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays (on Twitter). Pierce and his family have grown fond of the Washington D.C. area, and the veteran’s role with the team as well, Mannix adds.
If the Pistons land free agent Danny Green this offseason, it would be the biggest free agent coup in team history, writes Terry Foster of The Detroit News. The forward is in high demand, with the Spurs, Mavericks, Knicks, Kings, and Trail Blazers all expressing interest in signing the 28 year old, Foster adds.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Rozier, Okafor, Teletovic

July 1st, 2015 at 5:06am CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics executive Danny Ainge has been criticized for taking Louisville point guard Terry Rozier with the No. 16 overall pick, but Ainge didn’t want to run the risk of another team selecting the player, Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald writes. “We liked Terry from the very beginning,” Ainge said. “I was getting a little nervous that he was moving up too high in the draft. If another week had gone by he would have been rated much higher. He was 20 in the last two or three weeks of the process. There was a time we thought maybe we could get him at 28, but it was clear on draft day that wouldn’t happen.”

Trading down to select Rozier wasn’t an option, according to Ainge, Murphy notes. “We knew he wouldn’t be there 12 picks later,” Ainge said. “Our intel was that we should not [trade down], and that he would go very close to where we drafted him. He was going to be picked. We really liked him and wanted him. We got the guy we wanted. He’s a guy we have known about, and we thought he was very underrated based on the media and how they perceived him. Terry improved rapidly because of the quality of player he is the last few weeks of the draft process. He was getting attention around the league, which worried us because we thought we had a diamond in the rough. Nobody was valuing him all that much.”

Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Nets restricted free agent Mirza Teletovic is receiving significant interest from European teams, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post relays (Twitter links). The 29-year-old forward’s first preference is to remain in the NBA, Bontemps adds.
Sixers coach Brett Brown came away excited about No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor‘s potential after a conversation with Okafor’s coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News writes.”I had a fantastic conversation with Coach K and when we hung up, I knew Jahlil had great potential and is a terrific, young prospect, but I hadn’t realized what type of person we had, as well,” Brown said. “The more I learn about Jahlil, the more you respect his upbringing value and love of the game. I was in the office at 6:30 the other morning, and he’s in the gym working with a trainer. You then go upstairs and get ready for a day’s work and you feel great. I’m really excited to coach him, and the program is going to realize very quickly how special he is.“
While the Sixers will do what they can to improve their roster, the franchise isn’t expected to be major players in the free agent market this summer, Cooney writes in a separate piece.

Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Millsap, Wade

June 30th, 2015 at 10:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Madison Square Garden named long-time talent agency executive David “Doc” O’Connor as its next chief executive, as The Associated Press writes. O’Connor comes from CAA, the same agency that represents Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and Paul George. O’Connor will officially join the Knicks on July 15th. Here’s more out of the East..

Paul Millsap‘s possible price range of $17-$19MM would be too high for the Knicks, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Knicks are said to be eyeing the Hawks free agent.
Heat people are optimistic a deal will get done with Dwyane Wade, even though Wade is expected to at least consider other options, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Meanwhile, two Wade associates cite the Lakers as his top choice other than the Heat.
The Celtics are expected to show interest in free agent forward Amir Johnson and they could also pursue a reunion with former Celtic Gerald Green, Chris Mannix of SI tweets.
Pending free agent Rodney Stuckey will have at least two “serious” suitors besides the Pacers when he hits free agency tonight, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets. The guard is very much interested in staying with the Pacers, but Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com (on Twitter) hears that his asking price might be around $6MM. He hears that roughly six teams have expressed interest.
There’s mutual interest between the Pacers and Lavoy Allen, but the two sides won’t have deep discussions until the Pacers see what kind of money they have available, Agness tweets.
Free agent guard John Jenkins has signed with Relativity Sports, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Hawks guard, who appeared in just 37 games the past two seasons after playing in 61 contests as a rookie in 2012/13, left BDA Sports Management earlier this month.

Qualifying Offers: Tuesday

June 30th, 2015 at 9:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are the latest qualifying offer decisions to come in..

The Spurs extended QOs to Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph, making them restricted free agents, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Knicks forwards Travis Wear and Alexey Shved and Spurs big man Aron Baynes did not receive qualifying offers, according to Pincus (on Twitter).
Pacers forwards Chris Copeland and Shayne Whittington, Sixers center Henry Sims, Nuggets center Ian Clark, Celtics center Gigi Datome, Wolves big man Arinze Onuaku, Mavs center Bernard James, Lakers guard Vander Blue, and Kings forward Derrick Williams did not receive qualifying offers, Pincus tweets.
The Grizzlies have made Nick Calathes a restricted free agent by extending him a QO, according to Pincus (on Twitter).
The Warriors have made Ognjen Kuzmic a restricted free agent, Pincus tweets.

Earlier Updates:

The Sixers declined to offer guard Glenn Robinson III a qualifying offer, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. However, Philly has shown an inclination to revisit a longer-term deal for Robinson this summer, according to those same sources. In 35 games as a rookie, Robinson averaged 2.1 PPG.
The Hornets will not make a qualifying offer to guard Jeffery Taylor, according to a source that spoke with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (on Twitter). Taylor will now become an unrestricted free agent.
Pero Antic, who was rumored to be going overseas, was given a qualifying offer by the Hawks, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). If the Hawks need to maximize their cap space, Pincus adds (link), they can revoke the qualifying offer to Antic and renounce him.
As expected, the Magic have extended qualifying offers to both Tobias Harris and Kyle O’Quinn, according to John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com (on Twitter).
The Rockets made Patrick Beverley and K.J. McDaniels restricted free agents by extending QOs to them, Pincus tweets.

Eastern Rumors: Pierce, Bass, Chandler

June 30th, 2015 at 7:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wizards‘ wish list in free agency will hinge heavily on what happens with Paul Pierce, Jorge Castillo off The Washington Post writes. Pierce can re-sign with Washington for 120% of what he earned during last season, about $6.6MM. It’s not clear how long the Wizards will wait for Pierce to make a call, however. It’s conceivable that Pierce could be drawn to a Celtics return or a reunion with Doc Rivers in Los Angeles. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference..

The agent for Celtics forward Brandon Bass’s agent tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe there have been indications that numerous teams will have interest in his client. However, Tony Dutt also says there’s mutual interest in a return. “I think Brad [Stevens] and Danny [Ainge] understand the value of what Brandon brings,” Dutt said. “He loves Boston, and if it works out for him to stay there, we’d be more than happy.” Bass averaged 10.6 PPG and 4.9 RPG per game last season.
Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) notes that Tyson Chandler and coach Jason Kidd are both represented by Excel Sports. In addition to Kidd, many Bucks players are also represented by Excel, as shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database. Earlier today it was reported that there is mutual interest between Chandler and the Bucks.
Hawks free agent shooting guard John Jenkins has left BDA Sports Management, according to Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. Jenkins appeared in just 37 games the past two seasons after playing in 61 contests as a rookie in 2012/13. The former first-round pick has posted averages of 5.6 PPG and 1.6 RPG while connecting on 38 percent of his shots from three-point range.
The Hawks announced that guard Kyle Korver is expected to be ready for training camp after having right elbow surgery to remove loose bodies today, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Rumors about Rodney Stuckey‘s perceived bad attitude hurt his stock during last summer’s free agency, league sources tell Candace Buckner of the Indy Star. “Moody, can’t be coached, bad guy, can’t win with him,” said an Eastern Conference insider, repeating the circulated gossip. “Anybody that really knows him, would know … he’s one of the most misunderstood guys in the league.” Buckner hears that at least five teams have expressed interest in speaking with Stuckey, who flourished this past season with the Pacers.
With Greg Monroe headed elsewhere, the Pistons will need to add two backup centers this summer, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes. The Pistons won’t be spending big on backup fives, but they could be looking at guys like Brandan Wright, Kosta Koufos, or maybe even Omer Asik, Ellis writes. GM Jeff Bower confirmed that he wants to have six bigs and not five next season.
The Raptors didn’t send back any salary to the Thunder in the trade that brought in Luke Ridnour, so they had to use one of their trade exceptions. Their $2.358MM exception for John Salmons, which expires tonight, wasn’t quite large enough for Ridnour’s $2.75MM salary, so they either used part of their $3,445,947 Steve Novak trade exception, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders surmises (on Twitter), or, in a less likely scenario, part of the $6.4MM trade exception they created just last week in the Greivis Vasquez deal.
Travis Wear will play on the Knicks‘ summer league team and probably will be invited to training camp unless he gets a guaranteed offer elsewhere, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Greg Monroe To Meet With Four Teams

June 30th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Will Joseph

WEDNESDAY, 4:00pm: Boston isn’t on the list of teams that Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today hears Monroe will meet with, so it looks like the Celtics are indeed a no-go.

TUESDAY, 8:05am: The Celtics are already out of the running for Monroe, a league source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post, though it’s unclear whether Monroe has canceled his meeting with them.

MONDAY, 1:56pm: The Knicks, unsurprisingly, are the favorites for Monroe, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

SUNDAY, 8:20pm: Greg Monroe, who will become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday, will meet with the Celtics, Knicks, Bucks, Lakers and Trail Blazers once free agent negotiations begin Wednesday and seemingly put an end to the idea that he will re-sign with the Pistons, reports Darrell Williams in a story for the Louisiana Advocate.

Though agent David Falk and Monroe have maintained that the Pistons have a shot to keep him, with Monroe going so far as to say at one point that they had the upper hand, he’s never appeared likely to re-sign after taking Detroit’s qualifying offer this past summer. When asked about the Pistons by Williams, Monroe suggested the team is going in a different direction.

“[Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy] had smaller teams in Orlando years ago,” Monroe said. “[Andre Drummond] is like Dwight Howard. So Stan wants to put good players around him. The team has different plans, and I respect that. I don’t want to be anywhere I’m not wanted.”

Monroe said he is looking for a two-year deal with an option, citing the expected rise of the salary cap as something that is affecting his decision. The big man also wants to play for a playoff-caliber team.

“I’m looking to be with a team that’s ready to win,” Monroe said. “Hopefully it will be a team where I’m the missing piece.”

Curiously, Monroe, while speaking with his hometown paper, said he would be interested in suiting up for the Pelicans, who have not shown interest.

“I’d love to play and represent this city,” he said. “Obviously, they have a guy like Anthony Davis who is a superstar already, and he’s only going to get better. I think I could really play well with him. Our games complement each other. I’m a low-post scorer. Obviously he’s a great midrange player.”

More likely choices include the teams Monroe said he will meet with. The Celtics have a need for a big man and possess the financial flexibility to make a deal happen, the Knicks need a cornerstone big man to build around and the Blazers need to plan for the possibility of life without unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge.

Atlantic Notes: D. Williams, Celtics, Carmelo

June 30th, 2015 at 2:38pm CST by Zachary Links

Nets execs believe there’s a trade market for Deron Williams, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. While Williams is obviously nowhere near what he once was, those execs feel that another team will find that he is just in need of a change of scenery. Of course, a skeptic would point to his surgically repaired knees as a larger problem than personalities clashing in Brooklyn. Here’s more from the Atlantic..

The Celtics don’t have a history of landing difference makers in free agency, but they have every reason to believe this summer will be different, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. Blakely points to Boston’s major market appeal and their available cash as major reasons for hope. Conversely, however, players and agents have indicated to him that they won’t be landing one of the top three or four players via free agency.
The Celtics will be prioritizing high-character guys in free agency and they showed a commitment to that philosophy in the draft, as Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. The C’s, for example, had interest in Robert Upshaw, but were turned off by his substance-abuse issues. “With a young team, I don’t think we really needed to deal with that,” a C’s source said of Upshaw.
After reports indicated that Carmelo Anthony was unhappy with the selection of Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks star reached out to the rookie, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes. “Carmelo reached out to Kris after all of that. It was beautiful that a player of that profile can do something like that. It’s great,” Porzingis’ older brother, Janis, confirmed on Monday during an appearance on ESPN 98.7 FM’s “The Hahn and Humpty Show.”
New Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. says he will use Knicks president Phil Jackson’s critical remarks about him Friday as motivation, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Jackson said he believed Jerian Grant has more of the attributes the Knicks want from a guard. “Once I heard him say that, all hands on deck now,” said Hardaway, who was sent to Atlanta in exchange for the pick that was used to take the Notre Dame standout. “Obviously as a basketball player, you take that to heart. So, it’s time to move on, get better, and when the time comes, the time comes. Right now, it’s all about Atlanta basketball.”
Jackson’s recruiting strategy is to sell prospective free agents on winning with the Knicks rather than New York business opportunities, an NBA exec tells Berman.
Celtics GM Danny Ainge says draft-and-stash prospect Marcus Thornton will most likely be in the D-League or in Europe next season, Adam Himmeslbach of The Boston Globe tweets. Thornton, a product of William & Mary, is not to be confused with the veteran guard of the same name.
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri says his team will be “open-minded and open for business” while still keeping its core intact, Eric Koreen of the National Post writes. The core he is likely referring to is the trio of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Jonas Valanciunas.
The Raptors are finalizing an agreement to hire former Thunder assistant Rex Kalamian as part of Dwane Casey‘s staff, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.