- The Rockets, Heat, Warriors, and Spurs are among the teams with interest in Timofey Mozgov, joining the Cavaliers and Knicks, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers also could be in play for Mozgov, depending on how free agency plays out.
- The Knicks have some level of interest in pending free agent Courtney Lee, according to Stein and Ian Begley of ESPN.com. New York appears to be focusing its efforts on adding a big man – possibly Joakim Noah – and a wing in free agency.
The Hornets are more likely to lose than Jeremy Lin in free agency than they are to re-sign him, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), who is hearing that the Nets may “hard-sell” Lin when the free agent period begins. Several teams are expected to pursue the veteran point guard, but he would be a good fit in Brooklyn, potentially reuniting with former Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson.
- In a Wednesday piece, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com identified the Bucks, Grizzlies, and Nets as probable suitors for Kent Bazemore. Michael Scotto of The Associated Press adds a few more teams to that list of suitors, tweeting that the Pelicans, Rockets, and Magic will also be eyeing Bazemore. The Hawks also want to re-sign the free agent wing, and we heard on Wednesday that the Knicks will also have strong interest in him too.
- The Rockets, Grizzlies, Knicks, and Pelicans are interested in free agent guard Eric Gordon, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A report earlier in the year suggested that New Orleans likely won’t go to great lengths to bring back Gordon, after he spent five injury-plagued seasons with the team.
THURSDAY, 7:10am: Stein fills in the rest Durant’s schedule, tweeting that he’ll meet with the Clippers on Friday and the Celtics on Saturday. So KD’s full lineup of meetings will look like this:
- June 30th: Thunder
- July 1st: Warriors and Clippers
- July 2nd: Spurs and Celtics
- July 3rd: Heat
WEDNESDAY, 11:17am: Durant’s meeting with the Heat will occur on Sunday, according to an ESPN.com report from Broussard and Stein.
11:00am: Kevin Durant‘s schedule for the next several days is beginning to take shape, with a handful of reporters filling in the details on the star forward’s free agent tour. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard (via Twitter), Durant will have his first meeting with his current team, sitting down with the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Thursday.
Once free agency officially begins on Friday, Durant will head to the Hamptons in New York for the rest of his meetings, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Per Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Durant will meet with the Warriors on Friday afternoon in the Hamptons. Meanwhile, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the Spurs’ pitch to the former MVP is scheduled for Saturday.
In addition to meeting with the Thunder, Warriors, and Spurs, Durant also has sit-downs lined up with the Heat, Celtics, and Clippers, and those meetings will take place over the first few days of July, says Broussard (via Twitter). The ESPN reporter adds (via Twitter) that the Knicks are still receiving consideration for a meeting, while the Lakers won’t get one. There’s no mention of the Hawks, who are also trying to “wedge their way” into the Durant sweepstakes, but it doesn’t look like Atlanta will get an audience with KD.
Durant has said that his top priority for his next destination is competing for a championship, and being able to do so immediately. Wojnarowski recently reported that the 27-year-old has plans to go on a publicity tour starting on July 9th, so he’ll likely make a decision before that date.
While a two-year contract with an opt-out after the first year makes the most financial sense for Durant, who could land a much larger max contract in 2017, there have been increased rumblings that he’s not eager to go through the free agent process again in a year, so it’s possible he’ll sign a long-term contract with the team he chooses.
- Unrestricted free agent Jamal Crawford has meetings set with the Clippers, Knicks, Magic, Mavericks and Heat for when the free agent signing period kicks off, Brad Turner of The Los Angels Times reports (via Twitter).
- The Knicks‘ release of point guard Tony Wroten after acquiring Derrick Rose from the Bulls last week raised some eyebrows around the league given New York’s rather thin backcourt depth chart. Some light has been shed on why New York parted ways with Wroten, with a league source informing Stefan Bondy and Frank Isola of The New York Daily News that the guard was waived due to an undisclosed disciplinary issue. Memphis subsequently claimed Wroten off waivers.
New Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek views shooting guard and center as two spots the team needs to address in free agency, but suggested today that center may be the top priority of the two, as Ian Begley of ESPN.com outlines.
One possible free agent target at shooting guard for the Knicks is Kent Bazemore — New York has “heavy interest” in the Atlanta wing, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. However, Berman cautions that the Knicks may not have the resources to aggressively pursue Bazemore, since he figures to be seeking $16MM+ per year, and New York will have to address multiple positions in free agency. Per Berman’s source, Bazemore isn’t ruling out suitors like the Knicks and Pelicans, but his preference is to re-sign with the Hawks, if possible.
Following the trade that sent Robin Lopez to Chicago in a package for Derrick Rose, the Knicks will be focused more on frontcourt players than guards in free agency. Joakim Noah has frequently been mentioned as a target for New York, but he’s not the only free-agent-to-be big man from an Eastern rival that the Knicks will be eyeing.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, some members of the Knicks organization are high on Timofey Mozgov, who will be on the team’s radar during the free agent period. As Begley observes, Mozgov would be similar to Lopez in that he wouldn’t require touches, and would provide rim protection and rebounding. And while his upside isn’t as high as Noah’s, Mozgov is younger and healthier than the longtime Bull.
Here’s more on the two New York teams, as they prepare for free agency:
- The Nets will enter July armed with a ton of cap space, and according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), there’s mutual interest between Brooklyn and free agent guards like Rajon Rondo and Brandon Jennings. Having agreed to send Thaddeus Young to Indiana, the Nets could have enough cap room for two max free agents, but it’s probably more likely that they spread that room out to sign a few players.
- Another free agent guard, Jamal Crawford, is anxious, but excited, for free agency to begin, as Dan Woike of The Orange County Register details. Woike reports that Crawford has a meeting scheduled with the Clippers, but is also expected to receive interest from the Knicks and Nets, among other teams. The Heat, Raptors, Mavericks, and Magic may also have interest in Crawford, per Woike.
- The Nets were one of three teams to have a traded player exception expire within the last few days, with their $1.358MM TPE going unused. The Hornets had two small trade exceptions expire, while the Grizzlies lost a minuscule TPE. The details on those four exceptions can be found here.
8:08pm: Durant will not meet with his hometown Wizards, J. Michael of CSNMidatlantic.com reports. The Wizards have already moved on with their free agency plans, as league sources told Michael that the idea of returning home “doesn’t resonate” with Durant.
MONDAY, 12:41pm: Durant and his representatives have now scheduled meetings with the Celtics, Clippers, and Heat, bringing the total number of meetings on tap for KD to six, reports ESPN’s Chris Broussard. A meeting with the Knicks also remains in play, but hasn’t yet been confirmed.
FRIDAY, 10:44pm: The Warriors, Spurs and Thunder will be the first three teams to land face-to-face recruiting meetings with Kevin Durant, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein adds that the meetings will take place next week and more teams are expected to be granted an opportunity to make a pitch. Durant’s representatives are working to solidify meetings with the Celtics, Clippers and Heat in addition to the aforementioned teams, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports.
Both the Warriors and Spurs are planning on having key members of their respective organizations in attendance, Stein adds. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will be among the attendees for Golden State’s pitch, while San Antonio will have Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan among the attendees at its meeting. Sources tell Stein that the Warriors believe their chances of landing Durant have increased as a result of losing to the Cavs in the NBA Finals. Earlier this week, a source suggested to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News that the Warriors appear to be the biggest threat to land the 2013/14 MVP should he leave Oklahoma City.
Durant is expected to have his agent Rich Kleiman and a few family members and friends alongside him during the initial meetings. The meetings are expected to take place in New York, according to Wojnarowski, although teams are still awaiting official word. It was reported last week that the meetings would take place in Los Angeles, where Durant owns a home.
The Knicks and Lakers remain hopeful about getting a meeting, Stein adds. Despite no definite report of a future meeting with Durant, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets that the Knicks are expected to get one.
The Rockets are not expected to get serious consideration, as was previously reported, and Stein adds that the Wizards are not optimistic about their chances of landing Durant.
Durant’s top priority for a destination remains competing for a championship and doing it immediately. A source tells Wojnarowski that Durant has plans to go on a publicity tour starting on July 9, and he expects to make a decision before that date.
The Knicks would like to set up a meeting to make their pitch to Kevin Durant, but nothing has been agree to or scheduled yet, and it remains to be seen whether that sit-down will take place. Still, that hasn’t stopped Carmelo Anthony from making his own recruiting pitch to his friend and Olympic teammate, as ESPN’s Marc Stein details.
“I’m with KD now; he’s right downstairs. We’ve been together. We’ve been talking,” Anthony told ESPN. “I do consider myself part of the Knicks, so that (free agent) meeting has already taken place.”
While tampering policies prevent teams from making contact with free-agents-to-be or their agents to discuss deals before July 1st at 12:00am, the NBA typically doesn’t police interactions between players, leaving players like Anthony and James Harden free to attempt to woo Durant, even though the Knicks and Rockets may not formally meet with him.
- Durant may not be the only free agent to receive a call or a text from Carmelo. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets that Anthony has been selling the Knicks to a few other players as well.
As for DeRozan, he reportedly has no plans to meet with any teams besides the Raptors, and Amick suggests the All-Star guard may even be willing to accept a little less than the max from Toronto if it helps the team accommodate a new deal for Biyombo. If DeRozan does explore the market though, he’ll have no shortage of suitors. Amick lists the Clippers, Warriors, Heat, Knicks, and Magic as clubs with interest in DeRozan.
- There’s strong mutual interest between Joakim Noah and the Knicks, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that Noah is eager to sit down with the Knicks once he reaches free agency.