Miami Heat Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Bogdanovic, Blatt, Anthony

July 5th, 2014 at 8:56am CST by Eddie Scarito

Serbian shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, the 27th overall pick of the Suns, is finalizing four-year deal with Fenerbahce, reports David Pick of Eurobasket. The deal contains an NBA escape clause after the second year, according to Pick.

Here’s more from around the league:

Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer looks at the road that led to David Blatt becoming the latest Cavaliers head coach, and the challenges ahead of him with the franchise.
The Knicks consider the Bulls the only real threat to lure Carmelo Anthony away from New York, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.
According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the free agents the Heat have been linked to so far are Isaiah Thomas, Pau Gasol, Anthony Morrow, Marvin Williams, Kris Humphries, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, and Caron Butler.
Jay Yeomans of the Deseret News looks at why the Steve Novak trade makes sense for the Jazz.
Sam Amick of USA Today (video link) examines the ripple effect across the league that the signings of Anthony and LeBron James will have.
Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders takes a look at what the fall back is for each of the teams that are trying to woo Anthony.

And-Ones: Clippers, Williams, LeBron

July 4th, 2014 at 11:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link) wonders what the Clippers recent signing of Spencer Hawes will mean for the extension chances of DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford with the team.

Here’s more from around the league:

Unless the Clippers are willing to trade J.J. Redick or first-round picks to the Nets for Paul Pierce, a sign-and-trade is unlikely, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Free agent forward Marvin Williams has been in discussions with the Spurs, Heat, Wizards, Hornets, Clippers, Magic, and Suns, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link).
Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman breaks down the Thunder‘s Summer League roster.
The Lakers indeed met today with Rich Paul, the agent for LeBron James, as expected, Aldridge tweets.
Talks are advancing between Luol Deng and the Hawks, though no agreement is pending, notes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).

Western Notes: ‘Melo, Mavs, Bledsoe, Kaman

July 4th, 2014 at 1:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

The offer the Mavs are making to Carmelo Anthony involves a starting salary of slightly more than $18MM, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link). That would mean a max of $77MM over four years, though McMahon pegs the likely value of the offer at $75MM. In any case, that’s significantly less than the nearly $96MM over four years the Lakers are reportedly offering in a max deal, and about $50MM less than the five-year max that the Knicks have apparently put on the table. There’s more from MacMahon on the Mavs amid the latest from the Western Conference:

The Mavs have confidence they’ll strike a deal to re-sign Devin Harris, presuming they don’t land Anthony or LeBron James, even if some of the inflated agreements around the league this week have pushed his market value higher, MacMahon writes. The team sees Isaiah Thomas as its primary fallback option should Harris sign elsewhere, and Dallas has also been in contact with the agent for Wasserman client D.J. Augustin, MacMahon adds.
There are some who believe that agent Rich Paul’s talks with teams about LeBron are instead intended to pitch clubs on Suns restricted free agent Eric Bledsoe, whom Paul also represents, tweets USA Today’s Sam Amick.
The Blazers came to terms with Chris Kaman believing they wouldn’t be able to sign Spencer Hawes or Channing Frye, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
The Warriors have officially hired Alvin Gentry, Ron Adams and Luke Walton as assistant coaches, the team announced. Gentry, who spent last season as a Clippers assistant, was a candidate for multiple head coaching vacancies this summer. Adams was an assistant with the Celtics last season while Walton was an assistant for the Lakers D-League affiliate.
Marcus Camby, 40, still harbors aspirations of returning to the NBA after missing last year as he recovered from left foot surgery, an injury that prompted the Rockets to waive him just before the start of the regular season.

Eastern Rumors: Wade, Bosh, ‘Melo, Gasol

July 4th, 2014 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

Happy Fourth of July to our American readers! It remains to be seen if there will be any free agency fireworks today, but with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh hesitant to take discounts, prompting a disconnect between them and LeBron James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the fuse has been lit. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference as the market waits to see what James and Carmelo Anthony will do:

The Bulls remain confident that they’re still in the running to end up as Anthony’s choice, but they sense they’ve lost momentum with the Knicks prepared to offer the max, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Pau Gasol learned when he met with the Bulls on Thursday that he would be a starter if he signed with the team, as Cowley, writing in the same piece, also hears.
The Raptors have had preliminary talks with Patrick Patterson as they concentrate on securing depth behind Amir Johnson, reports Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. They’re willing to wait before shopping for a physical, defensive-minded wing this summer, Smith adds. Concerns about Johnson’s ability to stay healthy also likely played a role in the team’s decision to fully guarantee Tyler Hansbrough‘s contract, Smith believes.
The Hornets have expressed interest in signing Ramon Sessions, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). A report late Thursday indicated the opposite, so perhaps Charlotte reached out within the last several hours.

And-Ones: Thomas, Deng, Granger, Carmelo

July 3rd, 2014 at 11:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Some items from around the league as we get ready for tomorrow’s fireworks and plenty of free agency fireworks to come..

The top three teams, in order, for Kings restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas are the Lakers, Heat, and Pistons, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press.
The Wizards have reached out to Anthony Morrow, Marvin Williams, P.J. Tucker, Luol Deng, and Danny Granger, among others, league sources tell Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
The Lakers came away very impressed with Carmelo Anthony after their meeting with him and they really believe that they got a sense for him as a person, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Of course, the bigger question is how Melo feels about the Lakers.
John Canzano of The Oregonian isn’t exactly doing cartwheels over the Blazers‘ signing of Chris Kaman.

Latest On LeBron James

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the LeBron James sweepstakes officially underway, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com is reporting (Twitter link) that officials from the Cavs, Mavs, Rockets, and Suns have already met with LeBron’s agent Rich Paul this week in Cleveland.

And-Ones: Gasol, Knicks, Lakers, Marion

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There won’t be a decision from Pau Gasol anytime soon as to where he will be signing, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com. This is despite the pleas and pitches he has received from Carmelo Anthony and numerous teams, notes Aldridge.

Pacific Notes: Thomas, Clippers, Bazemore

July 3rd, 2014 at 6:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

News of Sacramento’s signing of Darren Collison was no shock to Isaiah Thomas, who fully expected the Kings to sign another point guard, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Collison is under the impression he’ll start, and the Kings like Thomas as a sixth man, Jones says (on Twitter). Jones nonetheless suggests Thomas is unlikely to re-sign (Twitter link).

Heat Rumors: Ariza, Deng, Stephenson, Morrow

July 3rd, 2014 at 4:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

What happens with the Heat this summer will prove pivotal to teams around the league, and while LeBron James largely holds the keys, team president Pat Riley isn’t sitting idly as he attempts to improve the roster with the hope his star returns. Here’s the latest from South Beach:

The Heat are “extremely interested” in Trevor Ariza and Luol Deng, Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick writes, adding that signing them would require both to tamp down their salary demands. Ariza’s camp has made it clear that he wants much more than $8MM a year, Skolnick hears.
Miami indeed inquired about the availability of Lance Stephenson, Skolnick adds in the same piece, confirming a report by ESPN’s Dan Le Batard, but they didn’t come close to matching the five-year, $44MM offer from the Pacers that the shooting guard reportedly turned down.
The Heat never made an offer to Kyle Lowry or Marcin Gortat, a source tells Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, and Miami never made either a priority, as Skolnick writes in his piece. The Heat believe that agents have been overstating Miami’s interest in some players as a means of driving up the value of their clients, and they’re even more frustrated with the high price of some of the deals so far in free agency, Skolnick hears. They had interest in Jodie Meeks and Avery Bradley, but not for the money they received, as the Bleacher Report scribe adds.
The Heat never had a legitimate shot with mid-tier considerations like Lowry and Gortat anyway, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who hears that they’re going after Anthony Morrow. The Thunder are also pursuing Morrow and the Magic had been, too, before they reached their deal with Ben Gordon, Stein adds (All Twitter links). The Heat have had Morrow on their radar for quite some time, Skolnick tweets.

Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, Bulls, Lakers, Ariza

July 3rd, 2014 at 1:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony will meet with the Knicks in Los Angeles today after he finishes his visit with the Lakers, report Chris Broussard and Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Marc Berman of the New York Post had speculated that an L.A.-based meeting between Carmelo and the Knicks could take place, since Anthony, team president Phil Jackson and coach Derek Fisher all have homes in the area. Here’s more on ‘Melo and other news from the third day of NBA free agency:

The Bulls floated a $16MM annual salary figure to Anthony during their meeting on Tuesday, a source tells Berman for the same piece.
The Lakers had planned to largely to hold off and hoard cap flexibility for the summer of 2015, but the team has shifted gears and become more “proactive” this summer, Berman also hears.
Trevor Ariza told agent Rob Pelinka to try to work out a deal with the Wizards before he explored options with other teams, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The Wizards are confident in their ability to re-sign the small forward and don’t plan on any major moves until they strike a deal with Ariza. Still, Broussard counts the Wizards among the teams with interest in fellow small forward Luol Deng (Twitter link), so it seems the team has a contingency plan.
The Pacers reportedly reached out to Rodney Stuckey, but Broussard hears Indiana has no plans to pursue the combo guard (Twitter link).
It’s unlikely that the Heat will wind up with as much as $12MM in money to spend beneath the cap, as they’ve reportedly been telling free agents, observes Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick (on Twitter). They’ll probably remain above the cap, according to Skolnick, leaving the $5.305MM mid-level exception as their most lucrative tool.
The Clippers have strong interest in Toure’ Murry, tweets Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal, and they’ve spoken with Jordan Farmar, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).