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Fallout From/Reaction To Ty Lawson Deal

July 20th, 2015 at 1:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ty Lawson‘s drinking habit had concerned teams even when he entered the NBA, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who hears from several sources who say that it helped dissuade the Celtics from trading for him while they were in talks with the Nuggets before the February deadline. The video that depicts him smoking from a hookah and predicting that the Nuggets would trade him to the Kings as he watched Denver select Emmanuel Mudiay in the draft was a turn-off for potential suitors, too, Lowe writes. Lowe and others have more on the trade agreement, as we’ll pass along here:

The Lakers were the only team other than the Rockets to express interest in Lawson shortly before the deal, according to Lowe, though Chris Mannix of SI.com heard the Pistons also did.
Nick Johnson, one of the players heading to the Nuggets, didn’t get along with the coaching staff at the Rockets D-League affiliate while on assignment last season, several league sources told Lowe.
The Nuggets face a scramble to complete the trade before the close of business today so that they can waive Pablo Prigioni, as they reportedly intend to do, before his partial guarantee of $440K becomes a full guarantee of nearly $1.735MM, as former Nets executive Bobby Marks details. Teams can waive physicals and the requirement that the players report, but it would be up to the Rockets to do so with Lawson, Marks notes. Also, players in the final year of their respective contracts must certify a trade before it goes final, so Denver has to get in contact with Prigioni, Kostas Papanikolaou and Joey Dorsey, Marks explains (All four Twitter links).
Lawson is on board with the trade, agent Happy Walters told Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. “He’s excited,” Walters said. “I spoke to him once about it. He’s close with James [Harden], tight with Corey [Brewer], knows Trevor [Ariza] and Dwight [Howard] and is real excited. It’s an opportunity for him. He’s been deep in the playoffs before, but this is something he feels really good about.”
Houston’s new point guard has his baggage, but the Rockets didn’t relinquish much in the deal, making it a risk that the rigors of the Western Conference demand that they take, opines Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
Lawson might not be the third star the Rockets have been seeking to complement Harden and Howard, but Michael Lee of The Washington Post points out that he’s the sort of facilitator that Harden has said he’d welcome.
What’s your reaction to the deal? Leave a comment to let us know.

And-Ones: Gallinari, Belinelli, Jazz, Harrellson

July 20th, 2015 at 10:35am CST by Chuck Myron

Danilo Gallinari confirmed to Italian media that he and the Nuggets are discussing an extension, as Dario Vismara of Rivista Ufficiale NBA tweets (translation via Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi). Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reported last week that the team intended to begin talks. The Nuggets can open about $6MM in cap room if they waive both Pablo Prigioni and Kostas Papanikolaou, whom they’re reportedly about to acquire in the deal for Ty Lawson, as former Nets executive Bobby Marks points out (on Twitter). They could use the cap room to give Gallinari a renegotiation and extension, as they did with Wilson Chandler, a maneuver that would be more lucrative for Gallinari than a simple extension. While we wait to see if that’s the route the Nuggets take, here’s more from around the NBA:

The Pelicans, Knicks, Clippers, Lakers, Spurs and Warriors all made offers to Marco Belinelli, who instead signed with the Kings, as he said at the same gathering of Italian media, Vismara notes (Twitter link).
The salary cap is set to surge next summer, but the 2016 free agent class doesn’t have much depth beyond Kevin Durant and LeBron James, leaving many teams with a conundrum as they face the prospect of a salary floor of some $81MM, as Marks examines for HoopsHype.
A work stoppage in 2017 is a “virtual certainty,” an executive from a team recently told Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com, in spite of commissioner Adam Silver’s suggestion to the contrary. Teams are worried that the new TV revenue somehow won’t allow them to keep up with surging payrolls, and clubs that have traditionally relied on revenue sharing figure to take a hit with fewer teams in line to pay into the luxury tax in seasons to come, as Arnovitz details.
The Jazz are drawing raves from coaches and GM around the league for their home-grown approach to rebuilding and hesitance to sign mid-tier free agents who’d only help the team make incremental gains, Arnovitz writes in the same piece.
Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tells the story of a handful of summer leaguers who carry divergent credentials, including three-year NBA veteran Josh Harrellson, who’s willing to be flexible as he tries to make it back to the NBA now that he’s recovered from a career-threatening back injury. “I think I’ll get a camp invite,” Harrellson said. “My main goal is to get a contract out of this. Even if it’s a partial [guarantee], just something.”

Suns Sign Ronnie Price

July 17th, 2015 at 4:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

JULY 17TH, 4:17pm: The deal is official, Phoenix announced. “The Suns are pleased to welcome Ronnie Price and his family back to Phoenix,” said president of basketball operations Lon Babby. “As we know, Ronnie is the consummate professional and a great teammate.”

JULY 8TH, 4:24pm: The Suns have reached an agreement with unrestricted free agent Ronnie Price, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link). The deal is a one-year, minimum salary arrangement, Coro notes. Price is in line to make $1,499,187 as 10-year vet, with the Suns responsible only for the $947,276 two-year veteran’s minimum and the league picking up the rest, since it’s a one-year deal. The veteran point guard spent the 2011/12 season with Phoenix.

Price spent the 2014/15 campaign with the Lakers, appearing in 43 contests, including 20 as a starter. His numbers were 5.1 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, with a slash line of .345/.284/.800. Through 468 career games the point guard is averaging 3.6 PPG, 1.2 RPG, and 1.7 APG, while shooting .374/.291/.735.

The 32-year-old had expressed a desire to return to the Lakers back in April, even if it was as a third-string guard. “I enjoyed being a voice in the locker room. I enjoyed being able to help younger guys. I helped great veterans that can help me. I’d be selfish not to extend that knowledge to players that are younger than me,” Price told Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. “Of course you want to play. That’s why we do what we do. You want to play. You never know what’s ahead. Whatever role is my role, I’ll embrace it whether it’s being here or the third guard.” Price should certainly see more playing time in Phoenix, who is in need of depth in its backcourt.

Western Notes: Durant, Matthews, Hamilton

July 17th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Executives from around the league seem to think that Kevin Durant will end up re-signing with the Thunder next year, but the Wizards, Mavericks, Lakers, Heat, Knicks and Nets are expected to be among his most dogged suitors, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Damion James, a Wizards summer-leaguer whom Castillo describes as Durant’s best friend, says it’ll come down to wins and losses.

“He’ll do whatever it takes to win. Whoever gives him the best chance to win is where he’s going to end up,” James said.

The Thunder certainly seem to have kept themselves in the discussion on that front, having just paid the max to avoid losing Enes Kanter. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

No contract handed out this summer has seemed to draw as many surprised reactions for its munificence as the one Wesley Matthews ended up with from the Mavericks, observes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The shooting guard was going to make $57MM over four years with the Mavs before they bumped his deal up to the maximum of $70,060,025, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “A healthy Wesley Matthews at $70MM is insane,” one GM told Bulpett. “But Wesley Matthews coming off Achilles’ surgery at $70MM? What’s a stronger way to say insane?”
Justin Hamilton is close to a deal with Valencia of Spain, according to Paco Garcia Caridad of the Spanish outlet Marca (Twitter link; translation via Trapani). Hamilton, who went to the Finals with the Heat in 2013/14, finished this past season as a member of the Timberwolves.
Miroslav Raduljica has agreed to sign with Panathinaikos of Greece, reports Sportando’s Enea Trapani. The Kings reportedly had interest in the big man who was briefly with the Wolves this past season. The team was reportedly close to a deal with Nikola Milutinov, whom the Spurs drafted 26th overall, but now the status of negotiations with Milutinov is unclear. Regardless, the Spurs have already filed paperwork with the league saying they won’t sign Milutinov this year, thus clearing his cap hold.

Rockets, Pistons, Lakers Interested In Ty Lawson

July 17th, 2015 at 8:33am CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets, Pistons and Lakers are among the teams that have expressed interest in Ty Lawson lately, league sources told Chris Mannix of SI.com, who suggests that their interest persists in spite of Lawson’s arrest on suspicion of DUI this week. The possibility that the Nuggets trade Lawson this offseason remains strong, Mannix adds. The point guard’s talent continues to hold intrigue to teams around the league, as Mannix explains.

The news is nonetheless surprising, and conflicts with a report from earlier this week indicating that teams were showing little interest, at best, in Lawson even before the arrest, which was his second DUI-related arrest in six months. Denver was asking for a first-round pick and a young player in talks, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports wrote in that dispatch, while Yahoo Sports colleague Adrian Wojnarowski heard that teams had been waiting, prior to the arrest, for the Nuggets to lower their price for Lawson.

A league source tells Mannix that Kings coach George Karl would welcome Lawson in Sacramento, echoing just what a person familiar with Karl’s thinking told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck in February. Still, Lawson’s off-court issues were a significant reason why the Kings weren’t willing to give the Nuggets the No. 6 pick when they spoke with Denver about Lawson before the draft.

Lawson’s troubles extend beyond his legal woes. He was late reporting back to the Nuggets after the All-Star break, and GM Tim Connelly publicly implored him to “grow up.” The Nuggets used their first-rounder, at No. 7, on point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, a move that prompted an incredulous reaction from Lawson when he was watching on television.

The Nuggets are set to pay Lawson more than $12.404MM this season and more than $13.213MM in 2016/17, though Mannix suggests he’s more of a bargain than those figures may indicate, given the escalating salary cap. Still, he’d be an awkward fit in Detroit, where the Pistons just made a lucrative commitment to Reggie Jackson and traded this week for backup point guard Steve Blake. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press surmises that if Detroit had interest, that’s probably no longer the case (Twitter link). The Lakers drafted point guard D’Angelo Russell No. 2 overall last month, so there’s little logic behind a Lawson pursuit on their account, either. The Rockets just re-signed Patrick Beverley, though his deal is worth just $23MM over four years.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Karl, Cousins, Dawson

July 16th, 2015 at 11:32am CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have seemed to lag behind in the adoption of advanced metrics, so they’re creating a new front office position designed to serve as a liaison between the coaching staff and number crunchers in management, as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register details. Assistant coach Clay Moser is expected to transition into that role, Oram reports, noting that the Lakers underwhelmed LaMarcus Aldridge with the basketball side of their presentation while he was reportedly “floored in a good way” by the Rockets’ analytics and on-court projections. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

George Karl was known to have reached out to DeMarcus Cousins on several occasions over the past few months, but before their brief encounter at summer league this week, Karl hadn’t spoken with him for quite some time, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. Still, Kings vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac wants everyone on the same page by training camp, and the plan is for Karl and Cousins to have a more extensive face-to-face meeting before that, as Amick details.
Kings management won’t let Karl hire son Coby Karl as an assistant coach, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times hears (Twitter link).
The Clippers are in line to save money on No. 56 pick Branden Dawson even though they gave up $630K to trade for his rights, as former Nets executive Bobby Marks observes (Twitter links). He’ll make the rookie minimum salary of $525,093 this season, but if the Clips had instead signed an undrafted free agent for the minimum, it would have counted as $947,276 for luxury tax purposes, as Marks points out, adding that the Clippers are in line to pay about $1MM less in tax penalties as a result.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Young, Karl

July 14th, 2015 at 8:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns have an outmoded local TV deal that squeezes their revenue, and they struggle to draw when they don’t make the playoffs, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, suggesting that’s behind owner Robert Sarver’s aggressive push to get the team back to the postseason. Phoenix came up short in its strong pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge, but Sarver insists to Lowe that the Tyson Chandler deal wasn’t made solely in an effort to woo Aldridge. The cap-clearing Marcus Morris trade was a signal of the team’s interest in Aldridge, but Phoenix also made it out of a desire to open playing time for other wing players, T.J. Warren in particular, Lowe writes.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers swingman Nick Young has been the subject of trade rumors this offseason, but the team currently has no plans to deal the scorer, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register tweets. According to Oram, the Lakers had shopped Young in an effort to clear some quick cap room, but no enticing offers materialized.
Despite the rocky start to their relationship, Kings coach George Karl believes he and center DeMarcus Cousins can coexist in Sacramento, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports relays. “I just said hello to him this afternoon,” Karl told Spears. “I don’t think it’s something we have to rush through. You got two guys that are very frustrated with losing, two guys that are somewhat stubborn and two guys that love to compete. Sometimes, that doesn’t work the first time you hang around. But you have to take your time to make it work. I’m very confident to make it work.“
During his offseason dealings, Kings vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac tried to sell players on the changing culture of the Sacramento organization, Spears adds. When asked what his sales pitch was to free agents, Divac said, “We are changing the culture and we want to make a team that’s going to have the same energy that we had during my time because Sacramento needs that. They believe in it and I believe it. We really put good talent over there and now it’s up to Coach to put it together.“
Rajon Rondo believes that he can rebuild his free agent value this season with the Kings, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “I’ve been faced with challenges my whole life,” said Rondo. “A lot of people didn’t expect me to come this far in the NBA. I have no doubts about what my talents can do and what I can bring to the team and I’m looking forward to putting my work in and getting the job done.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacers Ink Jordan Hill

July 14th, 2015 at 1:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

1:25pm: It’s a one-year, $5MM deal, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.

JULY 14TH, 1:06pm: The deal is official, the team announced.

“We’re happy to have Jordan as part of our team,” Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said. “He brings size and energy to our front court and we look forward to see how he plays an up-tempo game. We know he can rebound and score points for us and we look forward to having him.”

JULY 9TH, 6:49pm: The Pacers and unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill have committed to signing a contract, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reports (Twitter links). The length and amount of the deal is not yet known, as the details are still being worked out, Deveney adds.

This soon-to-be signing likely comes as a blow to the Mavericks, who were reportedly interested in Hill, as well as have a void at the pivot, which the 27-year-old could have helped fill. The Lakers had expressed interest in re-signing Hill, though the acquisition of Roy Hibbert likely ended any chance of Hill returning to Los Angeles next season. The Lakers had declined their $9MM team option on Hill for 2015/16.

Hill, a BDA Sports Management client, is coming off a career year for production. The five-year veteran averaged 12.0 points per game this past season, the first in which he’s put up a double-digit scoring average. His 7.9 rebounds and 26.8 minutes per game, as well as his 57 starts, were also career highs.

Multiple Teams Eye Carlos Boozer

July 13th, 2015 at 9:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

July 13th, 9:15pm: The Nuggets and Knicks, in addition to the Pelicans, Clippers, Raptors and Spurs, are interested in Boozer, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).

1:21pm: The interest between Boozer and the Clippers is mutual, a source tells Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

July 7th, 1:12pm: The Pelicans are also showing interest, Broussard tweets. His latest dispatch doesn’t include the Spurs, so it’s unclear if they’re still in the mix after reaching a deal with David West.

July 6th, 1:21pm: Free agent Carlos Boozer is in talks with the Clippers, Spurs, Mavericks and Raptors, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com first reported that the Spurs had expressed interest, while Broussard identified San Antonio and Dallas on the eve of free agency as teams that were poised to pursue the Rob Pelinka client, along with the Nets, Rockets, Heat and incumbent Lakers.

The Mavs and Spurs would appear to have the most to spend among the four teams that Broussard reports in connection with Boozer today, as they have the $2.814MM room exception at their disposal. However, it seems Dallas is nearing a deal for that exception amount, and San Antonio reportedly has interest in David West, perhaps at that same price point. It looks like Toronto has its room exception earmarked for Bismack Biyombo, while the Clippers have $2.088MM left on their mid-level in the wake of Paul Pierce‘s deal and the departure of DeAndre Jordan.

Boozer, who’ll turn 34 in November, expressed a willingness to take a bench role as he expressed his desire to re-sign with the Lakers. Someone close to the power forward told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that he wouldn’t be surprised if Boozer signed with the Heat this summer, though it’s unclear if either the Lakers or the Heat still have interest.

Pacific Notes: Jordan, Love, Pierce, Cousins

July 13th, 2015 at 6:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

DeAndre Jordan often returns the purchases he makes, friends tell Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, who note that he’s on his third agent in seven years. Thus, perhaps the Mavs might have known that Jordan wasn’t quite in the bag until he put pen to paper. They triumphantly celebrated when it seemed Jordan was on his way to Dallas, as Shelburne and MacMahon detail.

“I hear this scream in the backyard and it’s [Mavs owner Mark] Cuban, walking inside with his hands up like, ‘We got him!'” Chandler Parsons said. “It was unbelievable. I was so hyped, because he really is a franchise-changing type player. They don’t come around very often. It was awesome. His mom was crying. I think Cuban might have even cried.”

Parsons called Jordan’s decision soon thereafter to instead return to the Clippers “very unethical and disrespectful,” as the Mavs small forward said to the ESPN scribes. Still, the Jordan saga isn’t the only storyline that’s changed during NBA free agency. A few more are amid the latest from around the Pacific Division:

The Lakers reportedly had a meeting planned with Kevin Love before he recommitted to the Cavs, but the purple-and-gold were never under the impression they would get that visit, a Lakers source told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link).
Paul Pierce doesn’t have a team option on the final season of his three-year deal with the Clippers, as originally reported, but he does have a partial guarantee of $1,096,080 on the final season, which is worth a total of $3,679,840, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The deal is the most the Clips could have given him using their taxpayer’s mid-level exception.
Wesley Johnson‘s contract with the Clippers covers two years, instead of just one as originally reported, Pincus reports (Twitter link). Both seasons are at the minimum salary, and the second season is a player option, according to Pincus.
DeMarcus Cousins expressed his enthusiasm this weekend for playing alongside Rajon Rondo, notes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Cousins reportedly wants a trade to the Lakers, but Rondo has committed to sign with the Kings.
The Suns had been eyeing Sonny Weems for more than a year, but Phoenix’s two-year, $5.8MM offer shocked him, and when he jumped on it, he turned down a fully guaranteed two-year, $6MM offer from Barcelona, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. The Phoenix deal reportedly includes a team option on year two, but the Suns think he can become the first guard off their bench, Coro writes. The Spurs also had a level of interest in the 29-year-old swingman, according to Coro.