Los Angeles Lakers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Seraphin, Stuckey, Antic

July 3rd, 2015 at 11:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards expect Kevin Seraphin will test the free agent market, and they’ll attempt to find a sign-and-trade partner for the big man, reports J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (Twitter link). Such a sign-and-trade would be structured so that Washington could gain a trade exception, Michael adds (on Twitter).

Here’s more from around the league:

The Hawks have rescinded their qualifying offer to Pero Antic, making him an unrestricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The move was made to maximize the team’s available cap space, Pincus adds. Antic has already signed a two-year deal with Fenerbahce, a Turkish club.
Free agent point guard Rodney Stuckey is receiving interest from the Cavaliers, and while talks thus far have been exploratory, the interest is mutual, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group tweets.
The Hornets have expressed a willingness to work out a sign-and-trade involving Mo Williams, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays (on Twitter).
The Lakers have expressed interest in Jason Smith, league sources tell Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
The Grizzlies would be amenable to working out a sign-and-trade deal for center Kosta Koufos, Wojnarowski tweets. The Yahoo! scribe mentions the Clippers as a team who should consider trying to work out a deal with Memphis.
With the Magic missing out on free agent target Paul Millsap, who re-signed with the Hawks, the team may pass on adding another power forward this summer, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “We’ll continue to look at the free agents that are available,” Orlando GM Rob Hennigan said. “We’ll continue to look at trade opportunities. We still have quite a bit of cap space. Our tune has not changed. We’ll continue to look for opportunities. And if we feel like the opportunities make really good sense, then we’ll be as aggressive as anyone to try to complete a deal.”
When asked specifically about adding a power forward, Hennigan said, “I’m not sure. I think we have enough on the roster as is. It just goes back to those opportunities again. Like I said a few weeks ago, we have to be careful of spending just to spend,” Robbins relays.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

LaMarcus Aldridge Rumors: Friday

July 3rd, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

LaMarcus Aldridge checked in third when we did our last Free Agent Power Rankings in June, but he seems to have the league on a string now with LeBron James almost assuredly going back to Cleveland and Kawhi Leonard already reportedly committed to the Spurs. Aldridge reportedly met with the Lakers for a second time and the Heat for the first time Thursday, when he apparently canceled a meeting with the Knicks. We’ll use this post to track the client of Arn Tellem and Thaddeus Foucher today, with any new information added to the top:

The Spurs and the Suns have solidified themselves as the favorites to land Aldridge, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.

11:45am update:

Spurs president/coach Gregg Popovich would like to have another meeting with Aldridge, and the team is confident that the power forward will choose San Antonio, as John Canzano of The Oregonian hears (Twitter links).

11:00am update:

Rival executives believe that Riley told Aldridge that he should sign a short-term deal if he goes elsewhere with the idea that the Heat would come calling again next summer, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

9:51am update:

The Spurs are in the lead for Aldridge, with the Suns second and the Mavs a “darkhorse of sorts” in third, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. The Lakers, Rockets and Raptors don’t seem to have moved any closer, Amick adds, having heard that the Heat‘s meeting with Aldridge was “much ado about nothing” other than a nice dinner.

8:45am update:

Aldridge is genuinely torn and will need some more time to decide, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The Spurs and Suns are the front-runners, the Blazers are trying for a Hail Mary, the Mavericks are still in pursuit, the Lakers are flailing and the Knicks are in the green room, as Shelburne succinctly puts it (on Twitter).
The meeting between Aldridge and Heat president Pat Riley went longer than expected Thursday, but the Texas teams (presumably meaning the Spurs and Mavs, though he’s met with the Rockets) remain out front for him, reports Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (Twitter link).
The Lakers apologized to Aldridge for not giving him more of a basketball focus in their initial meeting, which was more than an hour old before GM Mitch Kupchak and coach Byron Scott spoke, according to Shelburne (Twitter link).
The presentation the Lakers made was a good one, but the team doesn’t believe Aldridge was wooed by it, sources tell Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

DeAndre Jordan To Sign With Mavs

July 3rd, 2015 at 3:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:33pm: The deal includes a player option after year three, tweets Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

3:20pm: The Clippers have been told of Jordan’s decision to sign with Dallas, too, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (on Twitter).

NBA: Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

2:55pm: DeAndre Jordan has told the Mavericks he’s signing with them, sources tell Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). The sought-after center plans to announce the news tonight, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who adds that it’ll be a four-year, $80MM deal (Twitter links). Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) reported minutes earlier that the Dan Fegan client was on the verge of accepting an offer from the Mavericks, pegging it at that same four-year, $80MM mark, which appears to represent the max. Dallas has been extremely optimistic, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com tweeted shortly after Stein’s report. It would be a profound disappointment for the Clippers and represent a miss for the Lakers, too. Jordan’s representatives have already told the Knicks they’re out of the running, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The options for the Clippers are limited, since they couldn’t generate a trade exception for the full value of Jordan’s starting salary even if they could convince the Mavs to work a sign-and-trade, because he’s getting a raise of better than 20%, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). It’s a vestige of the base-year compensation rules that would cap the value of the exception at Jordan’s previous salary of slightly more than $11.44MM. That wouldn’t be enough for the Clippers to trade for David Lee, Roy Hibbert or Nene without matching salaries. The Clippers don’t have enough cap flexibility to sign a comparable replacement.

MacMahon first reported Jordan’s extreme interest in signing with Dallas back in April. That was in spite of Jordan’s clear affection for Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers. Still, Jordan made it clear even in the spring that the Clippers weren’t necessarily the favorites as he approached unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career. Jordan was concerned about how the Clippers roster would age over time, and Blake Griffin‘s ability to reach free agency himself in two years, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported overnight. The center also reportedly didn’t see eye-to-eye with Chris Paul, though there were conflicting reports on just how much of a factor that was. Jordan was also apparently tired of playing third wheel behind Griffin and Paul.

The Clippers nonetheless seemed to impress in their meeting with him Thursday, but so did the Mavs, and owner Mark Cuban and recruiter extraordinaire Chandler Parsons met with Jordan again this morning, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPN.com. Dallas, once the deal becomes official following the July Moratorium, will land the sort of star free agent target it’s missed out on ever since it won the title in 2011. The Mavs will take him into cap space, barring any sign-and-trade developments. Jordan’s deal, put together with the roughly $13MM that Wesley Matthews will reportedly see this coming season on his contract with Dallas, likely closes off the team’s cap flexibility, limiting it to the $2.814MM room exception for outside free agents who want more than the minimum.

DeAndre Jordan Rumors: Friday

July 3rd, 2015 at 2:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

DeAndre Jordan appears torn between the Clippers and Mavericks, though he’s ruled out neither the Lakers nor the Knicks, as the last reports from Thursday indicated. We’ll round up today’s latest here, with any new information added to the top throughout the day:

Jordan’s representatives have told the Knicks he won’t sign with them, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter), so Lopez looks like he’ll end up in New York.

1:11pm update:

Jordan has narrowed his list to just the Clippers and Mavs, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski, who writes in a story on New York’s tentative deal with Robin Lopez. That Lopez deal still seems tied to Jordan’s decision, however. So, it would appear that the Knicks haven’t abandoned hope, remote as their chances might be. The Clippers are confident, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders hears (Twitter links).

11:11am update:

A person close to Jordan who was in the Clippers meeting left with a positive impression, saying “they had their stuff together,” as he spoke with Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. The Mavs also reportedly impressed in their meeting.

8:16am update:

The Dan Fegan client has concerns about the Clippers‘ roster and doesn’t know that it’ll age well, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link). He’s worried about what will happen when Blake Griffin can opt out of his contract in two years, Shelburne adds.
Jordan entered free agency giving the Clippers a slight edge, a league source Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Other reports indicate that it’s a 50-50 proposition now, and Dan Woike of The Orange County Register has heard that it’s been that way for a while (Twitter link).
Those around Jordan have downplayed tension between him and Chris Paul, Medina writes in the same piece.

Latest On Corey Brewer

July 3rd, 2015 at 12:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:46pm: The Pistons, too, have interest, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

12:06pm: The Knicks are meeting with Corey Brewer today in Los Angeles, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link), as New York is increasingly prioritzing him, as well as Derrick Williams, with whom the team is also meeting today, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). The Lakers are still interested in Brewer, according to Broussard (on Twitter), a couple of days after he and the team reportedly met. The Rockets were apparently intent on re-signing him when they reportedly became first team to contact Brewer as his free agency began this week, but Houston isn’t really in the mix for the Happy Walters client now, a source told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Feigen nonetheless suggests the distinct possibility that the Rockets get back in the game on the 29-year-old who’s shown a clear preference to remain in Houston (Twitter link).

Brewer waived his player option upon the trade that sent him to Houston this past season with the thought that the Rockets would use Early Bird rights to re-sign him, Feigen writes. Houston can pay him up to nearly $8.23MM without using cap room, but it appears as though the Rockets haven’t offered him an amount close to that figure, as Feigen indicates.

Broussard estimates that the Knicks have about $8MM in cap flexibility left, presumably working off the assumption that New York will miss on DeAndre Jordan and that Robin Lopez will instead sign with the team to pair with Arron Afflalo, who’s already agreed to a deal. The Lakers hang back with max-level cap room, so they would ostensibly have an edge in a bidding war. Brewer, who once played for George Karl, has apparently piqued the interest of some members of the Kings brass, and Sacramento has no shortage of cap flexibility, either. The Celtics also reportedly spoke with him.

Latest On DeAndre Jordan

July 2nd, 2015 at 11:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

11:03pm: Jordan remains torn between the Clippers and the Mavericks after meeting with Los Angeles earlier this evening, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). However, the Lakers and Knicks have not been completely ruled out by the big man, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPN.com.

4:26pm: The Mavs and the Clippers are the only legitimate candidates for Jordan, a source told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News today.

4:01pm: The Mavs made a strong impression on Jordan during their meeting, but if they don’t land him, they’ll seriously consider signing Kosta Koufos, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.

10:41am: New York is still a long shot for Jordan, people connected to the center said this morning to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).

9:31am: The Clippers were confident about retaining DeAndre Jordan going into the start of free agency Wednesday, but they felt they had only 50-50 chances as of Wednesday night, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Lakers were nonetheless “somewhat underwhelming” in their presentation to him, sources told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Jordan sensed the Lakers had been through a whirlwind day after meeting earlier with LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Monroe, according to Turner (on Twitter), and the nighttime start may have hampered the visit, as both the team and Jordan’s camp were tired, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (Twitter links). Still, a source close to Jordan who spoke with Mannix called the meeting “very professional” and disputes the idea that he took any issue with it.

The meeting with the Lakers lasted about two hours, less than half the time Jordan spent with the Mavs, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details. Dallas impressed the Dan Fegan client, according to Medina, and a full contingent from the Mavs was on hand. The Lakers didn’t have Kobe Bryant present for their meeting, and no members of the Buss family, the owners of the team, were there either, Turner tweets. That’s in contrast to the meeting that Aldridge took with the Lakers, which included Bryant, Jeanie Buss and Jim Buss.

Jordan is meeting with the Knicks today and the Clippers this evening, Turner hears (Twitter links), and he doesn’t plan to make a decision until after he completes those visits, sources also told Turner.

Free Agent Rumors: Stoudemire, Hill, Butler

July 2nd, 2015 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The free agent signing period is now in its second day, and here are the latest rumblings from around the league:

The Clippers, Rockets, Mavericks, Lakers, and Suns all have expressed interest in signing Amar’e Stoudemire as a backup big man, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Stoudemire is only interested in signing with the Clippers if DeAndre Jordan departs and he could become the starter, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
The Mavs will shift focus to pursuing unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill if the team misses out on signing Jordan, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
Having missed out on Greg Monroe, one of their prime free agent targets, the Knicks have been in contact with Hill’s representatives, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes.
Caron Butler, who was waived by the Bucks shortly after they had acquired him from the Pistons, is on the Knicks‘ radar thanks to his shooting ability and potential fit in the triangle offense, Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets. The Cavaliers have also been in constant contact with Butler, though no signing appears imminent, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Unrestricted free agent Quincy Acy is garnering interest from the Magic, Kings, Pelicans, Hawks, and Spurs, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
Free agent Gigi Datome is split on whether to return to the NBA next season or to play in Europe, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. The forward’s primary concern is playing time, not money, adds Himmelsbach.
The Mavs are back in play for J.J. Barea after he was leaning toward signing with the Heat Wednesday, TNT’s David Aldridge relays in a series of tweets. The point guard is seeking a three-year deal, Aldridge adds. Dallas is optimistic it can land Barea but is waiting for other free agents to make their decisions first, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (on Twitter).
Unrestricted free agent Joel Freeland said that he will sign with a European team if he doesn’t agree to an NBA contract by July 10th, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (via Twitter).
Center Kosta Koufos has received interest from the Mavs, Lakers and Kings, Kennedy tweets. The Bucks had shown interest as well, prior to signing Greg Monroe, Kennedy adds.
Free agent forward Derrick Williams is scheduled to meet with the Knicks and Mavericks today in Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets.
The Pistons and Suns both made hard pushes to sign DeMarre Carroll, who instead inked a deal with the Raptors, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Carroll was blown away by Toronto’s offer, its environment, and is a big fan of coach Dwane Casey, Arnovitz adds.

LaMarcus Aldridge To Meet Lakers Again, Heat

July 2nd, 2015 at 3:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:54pm: Riley will indeed have a meeting with Aldridge that will come after the second meeting with the Lakers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

3:23pm: Aldridge canceled his meeting with the Knicks today, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). He turned away from New York when the team made it clear it wanted him to play center, Aldridge adds (on Twitter).

3:06pm: The Lakers will meet with LaMarcus Aldridge again today in Los Angeles, one day after it appeared he’d decided against signing with them after their initial meeting, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Heat would also like to get a meeting, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter).

Heat president Pat Riley is in Los Angeles to conduct business related to free agency, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links). Plenty of other free agents set up their home bases in L.A., meaning Riley didn’t necessarily go there just to meet with Aldridge, but it’s nonetheless an intriguing coincidence. The Heat would have to unload tens of millions worth of salary commitments to have a shot at Aldridge, barring a sign-and-trade, but the Blazers apparently don’t want to participate in any Aldridge sign-and-trades.

The Spurs, Rockets, Suns, Mavericks, Raptors and Knicks, along with the Lakers, are so far the teams on his meeting agenda, with all of them coming to see him in Los Angeles. He’s also considered taking one or two trips to see suitors, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter).

The Suns made an aggressive move toward him today, reportedly agreeing to clear about $8.423MM salary in a trade with the Pistons. They also agreed to sign Tyson Chandler on Wednesday, and while that leaves Phoenix still short of the cap room they’d need to sign Aldridge to the max, Aldridge has wanted to play with Chandler, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic notes (Twitter link).

Knicks, Lakers Consider Trading For David Lee

July 2nd, 2015 at 1:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:32pm: The Lakers would be more likely to try to trade for Lee if they miss on their top three free agent targets than they would be to revisit trade talks with the Kings for DeMarcus Cousins, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

1:27pm: The Knicks have had discussions about reacquiring David Lee, reports Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether those talks involved the Warriors or were internal. Lee played the first five years of his career in New York and still owns a home in the area, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post (on Twitter). Golden State and representatives for Lee, a Mark Bartelstein client, have reportedly agreed to work together to find a trade taker for the power forward and his salary of nearly $15.494MM for this coming season as the Warriors seek to lessen their tax burden.

New York is prioritizing free agents, but Lee is a possibility, according to Beck. The Knicks missed out on Greg Monroe, who’s off to the Bucks. They’re meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan and Robin Lopez, though they seem long shots for both Aldridge and Jordan.

New York could absorb Lee into cap space, allowing the Warriors to move off his entire salary. That would be a boon for Golden State, which figures to pay the tax even if Lee isn’t around but would save on extra penalties if his salary is off the books. Lee fell out of the rotation this past season but has twice been an All-Star.

Grizzlies, Marc Gasol Progress Toward Deal

July 2nd, 2015 at 11:28am CST by Chuck Myron

Marc Gasol‘s preference is to sign a five-year deal for the max with the Grizzlies, and as the Arn Tellem client and the Grizzlies continue to hammer out the structure of a would-be deal, other teams have given up pursuit, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Spurs, who appeared to have the best shot to lure him from the Grizzlies, as well as the Lakers, Knicks and Bucks all scuttled plans to chase him before free agency began, convinced he would stay in Memphis, as Stein details.

It’s likely that Gasol will re-sign with the Grizzlies today, as TNT’s David Aldridge reported Wednesday, and Stein wrote earlier this week that the 30-year-old center didn’t plan to meet with other teams. Grizzlies owner Robert Pera was among a contingent of Grizzlies higher-ups who traveled to Spain to ensure Gasol is formally on board with staying.

The seven-year veteran is No. 4 in our Free Agent Power Rankings. He’s eligible for a starting salary worth about 30% of the salary cap, or roughly $19MM, with 7.5% raises from the Grizzlies.