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Carmelo May Take Less Than Max From Knicks

July 5th, 2014 at 12:12pm CST by Zachary Links

In their meeting earlier this week, Knicks president Phil Jackson told Carmelo Anthony he can have the team’s maximum 5-year, $129MM contract if he wishes. However, Marc Berman of the New York Post has learned there’s a distinct possibility Anthony will still decide to take a little less than the max.

One scenario would be Anthony starting at the max $22.4MM, but taking a 7.5% pay reduction in Year 2, as allowed by the collective bargaining agreement.  That reduced salary for 2015/16 would give the Knicks a little more cap space next summer.

A source close to Anthony said he has confidence Jackson and General Manager Steve Mills will make the Knicks top-flight contenders in the future, but was unsure about their ability to upgrade the team for this season.  Anthony understandably does not want to go through another 37-45 campaign.

“I don’t think the money ever was the most important part,’’ the source said. “I think his concern was, could they make the team better this season? He is comfortable in the outer years, but needed to be convinced about the upcoming year.’’

It was reported yesterday that Anthony left the meeting with the Zen Master feeling like the two men had a shared vision for the future of the club.

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Knicks Will Not Take Boozer In Sign-And-Trade?

July 5th, 2014 at 10:17am CST by Zachary Links

JULY 5th: While some have been skeptical that the Knicks would go for Boozer in a sign-and-trade, new team president Phil Jackson would have to consider it, and a person with knowledge of the situation said it’s expected that he would, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.

JULY 1st: The Bulls might want to work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks for Carmelo Anthony, but they won’t be able to do it with Carlos Boozer, writes Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.  Chicago would probably want to include Boozer, who has been mentioned as an amnesty candidate, in such a deal, but the Knicks aren’t interested in the veteran forward.

Of course, this is all somewhat premature since the Bulls have yet to reach out to New York about an S&T scenario.  Still, it stands to reason that the Knicks would want to get something in return for Melo if he skips town.

Boozer is set to earn $16.8MM this season and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf is probably less than thrilled about the prospect of paying him for nothing.  However, if he’s willing to go through with the amnesty clause, Broussard lays out some possibilities for the Bulls if they get Anthony to agree to sign.  If the Bulls dump Boozer and trade away Mike Dunleavy for nothing, could start a four-year deal for Anthony at $15MM in the first year.  If they moved Jimmy Butler as well, they could start Melo off at $17MM.  Of course, that’s still less than the $22.4 million the Knicks can offer him next season.

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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:

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Carmelo Anthony Rumors: Friday

July 4th, 2014 at 4:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony has been plenty busy, meeting with five teams in the first three days of free agency. He doesn’t have a visit on the agenda today as he takes the holiday weekend to decide where to play next season, but there’s still chatter surrounding the perennial All-Star. Here’s the latest:

  • The Knicks already appeared to be leading the ‘Melo sweepstakes, and Thursday’s meeting between Anthony and the team only upped New York’s chances, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Team president Phil Jackson cleared any doubt about the strength of his desire to have Anthony re-sign and the star forward left the meeting mostly sharing the Zen Master’s vision for the club’s future, Wojnarowski hears.
  • A brief hello was all there was to Derrick Rose‘s participation in the Bulls‘ recruiting pitch to Anthony on Tuesday, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Most other reports indicated that Rose had a somewhat larger presence, speaking to ‘Melo for 15 to 20 minutes in the locker room, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes via Twitter. The Bulls never asked him to formally take part in its presentation, but he would have done so if they had, as Broussard details.
  • Anthony and Kobe Bryant aren’t as close as most dispatches make it seem, a person who knows both well tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
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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.
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Bulls, Thunder In Lead For Pau Gasol

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:45pm CST by Zachary Links

THURSDAY, 10:45pm: The Bulls and Thunder are the most intriguing destinations to Gasol at this time, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

10:37am: Stein counters that the Thunder do believe they have a legitimate chance of landing Gasol, though whether he’d take a sizable discount to sign with Oklahoma City remains a question (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 9:00pm: The Thunder view a run for Gasol as a “long shot” since they can only offer the mid-level but they also believe it’s “worth a try,” a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (via Twitter).

8:24pm: Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook made a come-to-OKC pitch directly to Gasol today in Los Angeles, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

7:15pm: Sources say the Bulls’ rising interest in Gasol is a reflection of concern that they can’t convince Carmelo Anthony to leave the Knicks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.  Stein adds (link) that Gasol is giving legit consideration to joining the Spurs if he looks at places where money is scarce.  Gasol likes the Spurs in part because of Gregg Popovich‘s ability to manage minutes as well as the international flavor of the roster, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

6:05pm: The Thunder have come on strong with Gasol and have been described as the “frontrunner” for him, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

5:30pm: The Bulls are zeroed in on wooing Carmelo Anthony, but they’re also eager to add Pau Gasol if things don’t work out on that front.  The Spaniard is their top target after the Knicks star and Chicago officials will be traveling to L.A. on Thursday to sit down with him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The Bulls and Thunder have emerged as two new top-flight teams in the hunt for Gasol, Stein tweets.  Gasol has been drawing considerable interest from multiple suitors since free agency kicked off earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are among the teams that made contact with Gasol on Wednesday, according to Joe Goodman of the Miami Herald.  LeBron James and Anthony might be stealing the big headlines right now, but it won’t be long before Gasol is among the hottest free agents available.

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Carmelo Anthony Rumors: Thursday

July 3rd, 2014 at 10:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony is doubling up on meetings again after visiting the Rockets and Mavs on Wednesday. He’s seeing both the Lakers and the Knicks today in Los Angeles. We’ll round up the latest ‘Melo updates here:

  • Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) gets the sense that the Rockets are fully focused on Carmelo and are merely on the outskirts of the LeBron James chase, as much as they’d like to be a factor there.
  • The Knicks have concluded their free agent meeting with Anthony, and Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link) is reporting that as expected, the team offered Anthony the maximum five-year, $129MM deal that he was eligible to receive.
  • Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link) confirms the Knicks offer as well as the earlier report that the Lakers offered Anthony a four-year, $96MM deal.
  • Broussard also tweets that Anthony did not give the Knicks an answer or a timetable tonight. He will take the holiday weekend to think things through.

Earlier updates:

  • Anthony has been pursuing a conversation with Pau Gasol about playing together on the Knicks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
  • The time of today’s meeting with the Lakers was changed, and it might conclude before Kobe Bryant can arrive back in town to be in attendance, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). He’s going to try to meet with Anthony later, Shelburne adds.
  • People around Anthony believe he plans on making up his mind this weekend as he spends time at his home in Los Angeles, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
  • Knicks owner James Dolan won’t be present for today’s meeting, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Team president Phil Jackson, coach Derek Fisher and GM Steve Mills are instead all flying in.
  • Rival suitors appear to be increasingly pessimistic about their chances of prying ‘Melo from the Knicks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. But the Lakers, for their part, weren’t short on confidence going into today’s meeting, as Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes.
  • Though the Bulls reportedly floated the idea of a $16MM annual salary for ‘Melo, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune says they didn’t discuss financials much, if at all, with the Bulls instead generally communicating that they’d secure the necessary cap flexibility (Twitter link).
  • The Bulls see the Knicks as their only real competition for Anthony, and they’re selling Gasol on the idea that they could sign both him and Anthony, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • The meeting that ‘Melo had Wednesday with the Mavs was all business and lacked the elaborate flair that accompanied his visits with Chicago and Houston, as Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram details.
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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.

More from around the league:

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And-Ones: Monroe, Pacers, Rambis, Stephenson

July 3rd, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

None of the executive, scouts, and agents with whom Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press spoke over the last two years said they considered Greg Monroe worthy of a maximum-salary contract. The reported interest from the Magic is “lukewarm at best,” as Ellis writes amid his look at Monroe’s market value and options. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The league projects that the Pacers will wind up having made $7MM in 2013/14, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. The league says they’ll have lost $14MM on their own but made $18MM through revenue sharing and another $3MM via luxury tax payouts.
  • Lakers assistant coach and head coaching candidate Kurt Rambis has agreed to become an assistant coach for the Knicks, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. The Knicks had reportedly offered him a four-year deal worth about $1.2MM a year.
  • Chicago has spoken with Lance Stephenson, but the Bulls see him merely as a fallback option and feel like his asking price is more than they’ll be willing to pay, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
  • Agents and union officials are looking to change the perception that stars should take paycuts for the benefit of their teams, as Sean Deveney of the Sporting News details.
  • The Magic and Suns are pursuing Patrick Patterson, according to David Baumann of CBS Sports Radio Orlando (Twitter links).
  • An executive with an Eastern Conference team told Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News that his club was preparing a multiyear deal for Patty Mills but halted its pursuit when news of Mills’ shoulder injury surfaced. Mills wound up with a three-year, $12MM deal from the Spurs.
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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).
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