Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Stephenson, Miller, Knicks

July 16th, 2014 at 10:15am CST by Chuck Myron

Some Pacers players attempted to persuade the team to sweeten its offers to Lance Stephenson, but the front office resisted, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Stephenson agreed early this morning to bolt for the Hornets, and as his new three-year, $27.5MM deal quickly came together, the Pacers never received the opportunity to match Charlotte’s offer, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star writes. There’s more on his deal amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:

The Mavs made a three-year $20MM offer to Stephenson, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). The new Hornets two-guard would have joined the Mavs instead if the Rockets hadn’t passed on matching the Mavs’ offer sheet to Chandler Parsons, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
The Pacers made two different five-year offers to Stephenson, but he rejected them both, favoring a shorter arrangement, agent Alberto Ebanks tells Buckner (Twitter link). Indiana wasn’t willing to go shorter than five years, Broussard writes in his piece.
The Nuggets had a three-year, $12MM offer on the table for Mike Miller, but he passed it up for two years and $5.5MM with the Cavs thanks to persistent entreaties from LeBron James, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com details.
Knicks president Phil Jackson thinks the team has too many guards, and he may end up waiving Wayne Ellington, whom New York acquired in the Tyson Chandler trade, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The Jazz almost doubled the average annual value of the deal that the Wizards were willing to give Trevor Booker, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
The Hawks held on to Pero Antic through Tuesday, meaning his non-guaranteed salary for 2014/15 has become fully guaranteed for $1.25MM. The same is true for Kyle O’Quinn, whose minimum salary with the Magic went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed when Orlando kept him Tuesday.

Hornets Interested In Lance Stephenson

July 15th, 2014 at 9:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

9:29pm: Stephenson will meet with Hornets brass in Las Vegas tomorrow, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

9:13pm: The Hornets are looking into possibly signing Lance Stephenson, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. As Bonnell mentions, the team hadn’t shown much interest in Stephenson once free agency began; however, having lost out on Gordon Hayward after Utah decided to match the Hornets’ offer sheet for the young forward, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that they’d target another prominent free agent swingman.

Earlier this month, talks between Stephenson and Indiana reached an impasse, as the 6’5 guard chose not to accept a five-year, $44MM deal. Yesterday, we heard that the Pacers couldn’t increase their offer for more than what they’ve already presented to Stephenson. Today, Pacers owner Herb Simon gave Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star a brief description about where the franchise currently stands with respect to negotiations. “We made him a wonderful offer and they didn’t think it was enough so it’s a simple situation” (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Davis, Pacers, Thunder, Miller

July 14th, 2014 at 11:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Baron Davis is preparing himself for a return to the NBA this fall, reports Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report (Twitter links). When asked what offensive system he likes, Davis said the Clippers’ and the Warriors’. Davis feels like he can play 15-20 minutes per game next year, notes Zwerling.

Here’s more from around the league:

Mike Miller is leaning towards signing with the Cavaliers, but the Nuggets are still in play for the free agent’s services, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
With LeBron James headed back to Cleveland, and Pau Gasol on his way to Chicago, the Central Division has gotten much tougher for the Pacers, writes Michael Marot of The Star Tribune. This makes re-signing Lance Stephenson even more of a priority, opines Marot.
Thunder assistant coach Brian Keefe will join Derek Fisher‘s coaching staff in New York, reports Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
The Thunder have to keep building their roster through the draft because the franchise is continuing to have difficulty luring free agents to Oklahoma City, writes Jon Hamm of ESPN.com.
With many of the biggest names in free agency now spoken for, Fred Kerber of The New York Post runs down the winners and losers in free agency thus far.
The Mavericks aren’t done upgrading their roster, writes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, “We’re always looking for help in the backcourt, with an eye on 3-point shooting, and then kind of a rangy defender would be nice as well. We’re still in search of those, but those spots don’t necessarily need to be filled through free agency. Obviously there are trades and all kinds of other ways you can do that.”
The Warriors may be interested in free agent Brandon Rush, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. Rush averaged 9.7 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 67 games with Golden State before getting injured last season. GM Bob Myers said of Rush, “Rush was great. Everybody that’s been a fan saw how good he was for us, so if he’s healthy, and he can play, which we hear he can — we’ll go watch him and see — it’s a good addition if we could get him. You don’t know what the price would be, but we like Brandon.” The article also notes that Rush is scheduled to hold a workout for interested teams soon.

Eastern Notes: Humphries, Meeks, Patterson

July 14th, 2014 at 10:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Free agent Kris Humphries is still open to returning to the Celtics, writes Ben Rohrbach of WEEI 93.7 FM. Humphries said, “I could definitely see it. My agent handles most of the stuff with free agency. We’ll see what happens. I definitely could see it. I played out last year and didn’t look to jump to a playoff team before the end of the year, so I definitely enjoyed my time there, and we’ll see what happens.”

Here’s the latest from the east:

Jodie Meeks wants to reward the Pistons on the court this season for making his signing a priority, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Meeks said, “I was their No. 1 priority. He [Stan Van Gundy] liked the way I competed on offense and defense. That’s my motto: Not worry about the bad shooting nights. Just play hard and let the chips fall where they may.”
Patrick Patterson never had any desire to leave Toronto, which made his decision to re-sign with the Raptors easy, writes Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun. On remaining in Toronto, Patterson said, “Toronto was always one of my top choices as far as coming back. The fans and organization and the team and the friendships I have with these guys — I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to give those up, so there was no real uncertainty or doubt. It was all about coming to the right terms and getting everything situated.”
The Bucks may announce their new partial owners soon, possibly as soon as tomorrow, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
Van Gundy admits that Greg Monroe‘s contract situation with the Pistons has him a “little nervous,” writes David Mayo of MLive. Van Gundy said, “The nervousness is just the unknown. It’s not knowing, beyond this year, especially, where you’re going. But again, we have plenty of time, if something happened, to adjust for next year and everything else.”
The Lance Stephenson free agency situation could drag out for awhile, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. A league executive told Mannix that the Pacers couldn’t increase their offer much more above what they have already presented Stephenson.

And-Ones: Rockets, Gay, Livingston, Miles

July 14th, 2014 at 9:02am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets promised Chris Bosh that they would match the Mavs’ offer sheet for Chandler Parsons if he jumped from Miami to Houston, but when Bosh agreed to re-sign with the Heat, the Rockets changed course, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com details (All Twitter links). Houston declined to match the deal for Parsons during the three-day window that expired Sunday night, and now the Rockets are poised to turn their attention back to longtime target Rajon Rondo and find a way back into the Kevin Love sweepstakes, Stein says. Here’s more from around the league after a busy weekend:

Rudy Gay, who chose in June to opt into the final season of his contract with the Kings, said Sunday that he’s open to signing an extension but will wait to see how the team develops, as he told reporters, including Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “If I was going to opt out, I was definitely going to look at my options on different teams,” Gay said. “But with me opting in, I’m not saying no extension is going to happen. I’m just trying to see where we’re going as a team and how we plan on getting better.”
The final season of Shaun Livingston‘s three-year contract with the Warriors is worth $5,782,450 but only guaranteed for $3MM, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. That guarantee could increase if Livingston triggers incentives, Pincus adds.
Mutual options don’t exist in the NBA, but it appears that the last year of C.J. Miles‘ new four-year deal with the Pacers will function much like a mutual option, as Pincus details (Twitter link). Pincus indicates that his salary for that season is non-guaranteed but becomes guaranteed if he’s not waived after a certain date. Presuming he’s retained, Miles has a player option for that season, according to Pincus.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports lists the contract guarantee date for Peyton Siva as having been July 12, so it appeared that his minimum salary contract would be fully guaranteed for the coming season when he remained on the Pistons roster through Saturday. However, Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter) and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com both list the date as the 20th, so it appears that Siva’s contract remains non-guaranteed unless he’s not waived on or before this coming Sunday.
The Jazz didn’t attempt to re-sign Richard Jefferson before he moved on to the Mavs, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Eastern Notes: 76ers, KG, Knicks, Pacers

July 13th, 2014 at 8:05pm CST by Zachary Links

The 76ers are wise to try and emulate the Spurs, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Like the Spurs, the Sixers are putting emphasis on continuity, as evidenced by their commitment to reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams amidst trade speculation. Of course, they also have a Gregg Popovich disciple in coach Brett Brown. Here’s tonight’s look at the Eastern Conference..

Despite the loss of Paul Pierce, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that Kevin Garnett likes the direction of the Nets and is “excited” about joining them for the upcoming season. That would indicate that Garnett, who is under contract for $12MM this season, won’t be retiring. That jibes with a report from Tim Bontemps of the New York Post earlier today.
Knicks president Phil Jackson indicated to reporters today that he won’t be spending much more this summer after re-signing Carmelo Anthony, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
Despite all of his idiosyncrasies, Paul George believes the Pacers will be a stronger title contender with Lance Stephenson back in the fold, writes Michael Marot of The Associated Press. “It’s all on Lance’s plate,” George said. “I didn’t have to deal with this because I was a restricted free agent. It’s really up to Lance, but I will say I do want him to come back.”

Free Agency Notes: Deng, Augustin, Mavs

July 12th, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Cray Allred

The Pacers organization is presenting a united in front in their attempts to convince Lance Stephenson to re-sign with Indiana, reports Michael Marot of The Associated Press. Indy brass, coaches, and players are hopeful they can challenge again in the East with Stephenson back aboard now that LeBron James has fled Miami. Here are more of the night’s free agency rumblings:

The Suns are now trying to break into the Luol Deng sweepstakes, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Both the Hornets and Mavs are interested in free agent point guard D.J. Augustin, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Mavs have also shown interest in Mo Williams and Mike Miller in their ongoing attempts to recover three-point shooting now that Jose Calderon and Vince Carter are gone, reports Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
The Mavs are likely to re-sign backup center Bernard James, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
MacMahon tweets that Dallas’ acquisition of Greg Smith indicates the team has moved on from DeJuan Blair, who is presumably after a more lucrative deal than the minimum contract the Mavs were willing to offer.

Central Rumors: Wiggins, Pacers, Mirotic

July 12th, 2014 at 7:47pm CST by Cray Allred

The Central Division has been reshaping the past few days, with LeBron James and Pau Gasol arriving to the Cavs and Bulls, respectively. Here’s a rundown of the division:

If Andrew Wiggins is set to be traded in a deal for Kevin Love, David Blatt doesn’t know anything about it, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter). “He’s not going anywhere, as far as I’ve heard,” said the Cavs‘ soon-to-be first-year coach.
LeBron’s two-year contract with the Cavs is purely a business decision and doesn’t indicate any hesitancy from James to finish his career in Cleveland, a source tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt explains how James could maximize his earnings with a series of short-term deals in the coming years.
The Cavs renounced their rights to Luol Deng, tweets Mark Deeks of ShamSports. The move clears Deng’s cap hold with Cleveland and forfeits their right to exceed the cap to sign him, but it clears the cap room necessary for Cleveland to sign LeBron. Deng has long been expected to sign elsewhere this summer, and is in serious talks with the Heat.
The Pacers are interested in obtaining Suns point guard Goran Dragic, potentially in a sign-and-trade agreement involving Lance Stephenson, writes Mitch Lawrence of New York Daily News.
The Pacers would also be interested in Carlos Boozer, should he get amnestied by the Bulls, writes Lawrence.
The Bulls were offered a late top-10 2014 draft pick for Nikola Mirotic and declined, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Pacers Sign C.J. Miles

July 11th, 2014 at 10:37am CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 11TH: The Pacers formally announced the signing via press release, making it official.

“We’re very glad to have C.J. and he really wanted to be here,” president of basketball operations Larry Bird said. “He brings versatility to the small forward and shooting guard positions. He’s a great shooter and scorer. We think he’ll fit nicely with the culture of our team.”

JULY 2ND: The Pacers have reached agreement with C.J. Miles on a multiyear deal, reports Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). It’s a four-year, $18MM pact, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Wojnarowski wrote earlier that the Pacers envisioned using part of their $5.03MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception on Miles after committing a portion of it to Spanish league sharpshooter Damjan Rudez.

The Adrian Clark client and Pacers officials had been set to meet Tuesday as Indiana’s interest became clear. The Pacers moved quickly on the former Cavalier, and have been the league’s most active team in free agency so far, coming to terms with Rudez as well as the undrafted Shayne Whittington. The movement comes after news of an impasse between the club and Lance Stephenson, and money for Stephenson beneath the tax line for Indiana is quickly drying up. The team also reportedly has interest in Rodney Stuckey.

Miles, 27, averaged 9.9 points and 39.3% three-point shooting in 19.3 minutes per game for Cleveland this past season, starting 34 contests. The deal with Indiana is the most lucrative of his nine-year NBA career, as he topped out at $3.7MM annually with the Jazz, according to Basketball-Reference.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pacers Re-Sign Lavoy Allen

July 11th, 2014 at 10:33am CST by Zachary Links

JULY 11TH: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.

“We’re very happy to have Lavoy back,” Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said. “When he had the opportunity to play, he played well. He fits in with what we’re trying to accomplish here and every day he’s committed to getting better.”

JULY 5TH: The Pacers have reached a deal with Lavoy Allen to keep him in Indiana, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. The two sides reached agreement late last night, according to Candace Buckner of The Star (on Twitter).

The Pacers declined to extend a qualifying offer to Allen on June 30th, but there was still mutual interest in working out a new deal. Less than a week later, the forward found his way back to the Pacers. Allen came to the Pacers in the February deal that brought Evan Turner to Indiana.

In 65 games for the Sixers and Pacers last season, Allen averaged 4.7 PPG and 4.8 RPG in 16.5 minutes per contest.