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Latest On Rockets’ Pursuit Of Jimmy Butler

June 26th, 2019 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Rockets hoping to sell Jimmy Butler and the Sixers on agreeing to a sign-and-trade scenario that would send the standout wing to Houston, the Rockets are offering Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, and P.J. Tucker to teams with cap room, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski explains, Capela, Gordon, and Tucker are being offered individually to potential trade partners, as the Rockets search for the best first-round pick they can get for one of those players. The idea would be to redirect that pick to Philadelphia in a potential sign-and-trade for Butler, Woj adds.

Despite the Rockets’ efforts, the Sixers have privately been expressing confidence that they’ll be able to re-sign both Butler and Tobias Harris in free agency, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter). Philadelphia holds both players’ Bird rights, giving the club the ability to offer more years and more money to each player than any other team will be able to.

While losing Butler won’t be the Sixers’ first choice, there’s reason to believe they might be amenable to working out a sign-and-trade if he decides to leave. If the Rockets were to offer, say, Gordon or Tucker along with a first-round pick, the Sixers could acquire a potential starter on an affordable contract along with another asset for a future deal, and would still have cap room left over. That might be preferable to losing Butler for nothing, especially if the 76ers don’t have other specific free agent targets lined up for their cap space.

The Rockets will face many obstacles en route to acquiring Butler though. They’d almost certainly to have to bring in a third team in order to meet salary-matching requirements, and would risk losing all three of Capela, Gordon, and Tucker to make a deal happen (due in part to a subsequent hard cap).

Sixers Notes: Horford, Brogdon, Butler

June 25th, 2019 at 9:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

It’s not a given that the Sixers bring back their five starters this offseason.

Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris will each have rival teams looking to offer them a max deal. J.J. Redick will likely see heavy interest on the market as well, with Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer hearing that shooting guard will yield offers in the range of $12MM annually.

“They have tough decisions to make and so do we,” GM Elton Brand said.

Bringing back those three players will put the Sixers over the salary cap and out of contention for a number of free agents. Should the team decide to make major changes, there’s a wide range of talent on the market.

“We definitely need hard-nose players, shooting,” Brand said. “We want to add shooting. If you watch the playoffs, these are playoff-tested players … I don’t want to say names … but [the Sixers want] veteran-tested players, playoff-tested players that can take us over the edge with our talent.”

Al Horford, Malcolm Brogdon, and Danny Green are players the team could have interest in Pompey adds.

Here’s more on Philadelphia and the team’s pending free agents:

Don’t be surprised if the Clippers make a play to sign Harris, Pompey notes. The combo forward, who came to the Sixers via a midseason trade with the club, will be taking meetings on June 30 and July 1.
The Sixers may have to offer a five-year deal in order to keep Jimmy Butler, Pompey writes. Butler and his camp are meeting this week to go over free agent objectives.
Marcus Morris, Ed Davis, Ish Smith, Cory Joseph, and Patrick Beverley are among the free agents whom the Sixers could pursue, Pompey adds in the same piece. The team has confidence in its ability to lure one or two impactful free agents should it lose one of its max free agents.
Derek Bodner of the Athletic details how the Sixers are devaluing second-round picks. The team will have three more second-rounders next year after wheeling and dealing picks last week, as I recently detailed.
Furkan Korkmaz may join Turkish team Fenerbahce next season, according to Sportando. The former No. 26 overall pick is all but certain not to be back in Philadelphia next year.

Rockets To Pursue Sign-And-Trade For Jimmy Butler

June 25th, 2019 at 5:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets‘ top priority this offseason will be to recruit Jimmy Butler via sign-and-trade to Houston, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

The Rockets are unlikely to carve out enough cap room to sign Butler outright, so a sign-and-trade is the most feasible option to bring the four-time All-Star to Texas, as Wojnarowski details. In that scenario, Philadelphia would receive players back as opposed to losing Butler for nothing had he signed with a team with cap room.

Clint Capela and Eric Gordon would likely leave Houston in a potential sign-and-trade with a third team possibly getting involved due to Base Year Compensation rules, Woj writes. Of the two, Gordon would be the better fit for Philadelphia, particularly if the team believes J.J. Redick may depart in free agency.

We recently detailed some of the roadblocks standing in the way of a potential Butler acquisition by the Rockets after The Houston Chronicle first reported that the team would pursue the standout swingman.

[RELATED: Why NBA Sign-And-Trades Are Rare]

Butler could receive a four-year, max deal from Houston worth roughly $141MM. The Sixers plan to be aggressive in their attempts to retain Butler and the franchise could offer him the full five-year, $190M max deal at the start of free agency to trump any rival offer.

Houston previously pursued Butler when he was in Minnesota. The franchise reportedly offered four first-round picks in exchange for the wing.

Mavs Interested In Patrick Beverley, Nikola Mirotic

June 25th, 2019 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

Free-agent-to-be guard Patrick Beverley is “very much in play” for the Mavericks next week, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Sources tell Townsend that Beverley and the Mavs view one another as a “perfect fit.”

It remains to be seen how much of their projected cap room the Mavs will be willing to commit to Beverley, who figures to be in line for a sizable raise. The veteran point guard is also expected to draw interest from teams like the Lakers, Clippers, and Sixers. Still, a source tells Townsend that Beverley and the Mavs plan to meet near the start of free agency.

Nikola Mirotic is another free agent receiving consideration from the Mavericks, a source tells Townsend, though the veteran power forward is further down on the team’s wish list than Beverley. Mirotic appears unlikely to re-sign with the Bucks, since they’ll also be trying to bring back Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, and Brook Lopez.

Meanwhile, Nikola Vucevic has long been viewed as a potential target for Dallas, but Townsend hears that the Magic center will be seeking a starting salary in the $25MM range, which would likely price the Mavs out of the bidding. The Magic, Celtics, and Kings could be among the teams in play for Vucevic, Townsend adds, noting that Al Horford appears to be a more likely target for Dallas if the club decides to spend big on a center.

The Mavs project to have about $29-30MM in cap space this summer if they keep the cap holds for Kristaps Porzingis, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Maxi Kleber on their books. They could create a little extra flexibility by renouncing Finney-Smith and/or Kleber, but wouldn’t be able to carve out significantly more space without moving a player like Tim Hardaway or Courtney Lee.

Details On Draft-Night Trade With Wizards

June 25th, 2019 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams

In the deal that saw them send the draft rights to Bol Bol (No. 44 pick) to the Nuggets, the Heat received $1.2MM in cash and will get either the Nuggets’ or Sixers’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is lower), Pincus reports (via Twitter).
In exchange for Jonathon Simmons and the No. 42 pick, the Sixers acquired $2MM in cash from the Wizards, according to Pincus, who adds (via Twitter) that Washington didn’t require Simmons to pass a physical.

Sixers Waive Haywood Highsmith

June 24th, 2019 at 4:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers have waived swingman Haywood Highsmith, Serena Winters of NBCSPhilly tweets.

That opens up a two-way contract slot, since Highsmith was signed in that manner during January.

The 6’7” Highsmith got a taste of NBA action, appearing in five games and averaging 1.8 PPG in 8.0 MPG. The 22-year-old Highsmith, a former Division II standout who played his college ball at Wheeling Jesuit, spent most of last season with the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia’s G League affiliate. He appeared in 46 G League contests, averaging 12.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 2.7 APG in 32.2 MPG.

Sixers, Celtics Believed Kawhi Would Sign In L.A. In 2019

June 24th, 2019 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Within an article exploring the pitch the Clippers should make to Kawhi Leonard in free agency, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz cites sources who say a belief that Leonard would sign with an L.A. team in 2019 was a significant reason why the Celtics and Sixers didn’t go all-in for the forward on the trade market a year ago.

Atlantic Notes: Harris, Green, Nets, Knicks

June 23rd, 2019 at 5:31pm CST by JD Shaw

With free agency set to open in just one week, star forward Tobias Harris is planning to conduct meetings across the country in his first two days on the open market, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

Harris, who’s expected to command a maximum-salary deal, will be one of the most coveted players at his position. He’ll take meetings on the East Coast on the evening of June 30 and West Coast on July 1, Bondy adds.

Harris is coming off a season where he averaged 20 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest, appearing in 82 games with the Clippers and 76ers. Philadelphia acquired him in a trade shortly before the February 7 deadline.

In addition to Harris, an eight-year NBA veteran, the Sixers are also expected to pursue new contracts with free agents Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick and James Ennis at the start of free agency.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:

Raptors free agent Danny Green believes the percentage of Kawhi Leonard re-signing with the team is higher than him leaving, Julia Kreuz of Sportsnet relays. Leonard will be forced to make a difficult decision in free agency, potentially between the Raptors and his hometown Clippers. “The city, the fans have done their job, the organization’s done their job. it’s going to be a hard place to turn down,” Green said. “[You] have a great team and have a city, people, fans that love you and are willing to give you damn near everything. And a condo… and some food… and a plane… and dessert after that, who knows. They give you everything, the world, and then some.”
The Nets have a secret weapon in their pursuit of Kevin Durant, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Brooklyn employs Dr. Martin O’Malley as the team’s orthopedic specialist, with O’Malley operating on Durant’s torn Achilles’ Tendon earlier this month and broken foot roughly four years ago. It’s widely believed Durant is upset with the medical care he received from Golden State during the NBA Finals, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher.
Unless the Knicks manage to sign a major free-agent this offseason, the team will continue to ask its fans to exercise patience as it builds around a young core that now features third overall pick R.J. Barrett, Adam Zagoria of Forbes writes. “We laid out a plan when [GM] Scott [Perry] came on board and then [coach] David [Fizdale] joined us that we were going to build this team the right way,” Knicks president Steve Mills said. “We were going to draft well and we were going to be diligent about how we built this team, and not take any shortcuts.”

And-Ones: Josh Smith, Draft, Free Agency, Ayon

June 23rd, 2019 at 11:43am CST by Arthur Hill

Josh Smith had an ugly debut in the Big3 last night, writes J.L. Kirven of The Detroit Free Press. Smith was loudly booed by a Detroit crowd that hasn’t forgiven him for his short stay with the Pistons, then got tossed from the game after a skirmish with Royce White.

Smith, 33, is part of a fresh influx of talent in the league, playing his last NBA games during the 2017/18 season. However, Detroit was probably the worst city for him to start on the BIG3’s revolving tour. He lasted just a season and a half there after signing a four-year, $54MM deal in 2013. The Pistons used the stretch provision to unload him, and he won’t come off their payroll until collecting another $5,331,729 next season.

“I enjoyed the intensity and the passion,” Reggie Theus, his BIG3 coach, said after the game. “Obviously he’s got to contain himself …”

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

Fewer than half of the underclassmen who entered this year’s NBA draft were selected, prompting Michael Rand and Marcus Fuller of The Minneapolis Star-Tribune to examine whether players are benefiting from the current system. Rand contends an expanded G League and the addition of two-way contracts have created more opportunities for undrafted players. Fuller defends the rights of underclassmen to pursue their dreams of playing professionally even if they turn out to be bad decisions.
Bobby Marks of ESPN takes a look at the 13 teams with cap space, including nine with $20MM or more, that are positioned to make big moves as the free agency sweepstakes kicks off next Sunday. The Nuggets, Magic and Sixers could join that list, but only if they renounce significant free agents.
Mexican center Gustavo Ayon is leaving Real Madrid and wants another shot at the NBA, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Ayon, 34, spent time with the Hornets, Magic, Bucks and Hawks, but hasn’t played in the league since the 2013/14 season. “I don’t know if it is a farewell. Today I don’t have any offer,” Ayon said. “I want to go back to the NBA. It is a personal desire.” Jordan Mickey, who played for the Celtics and Heat, may replace Ayon if he leaves, writes Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.
Former Bucks, Pelicans and Jazz guard Nate Wolters has signed with Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, Carchia reports. He spent this season with Zalgiris Kaunas in Lithuania.

Horford Would Be Good Fit If Harris Or Butler Bolt

June 22nd, 2019 at 9:20am CST by Dana Gauruder

Al Horford would be a “no-brainer” free agent target for the Sixers if they don’t re-sign both Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Horford would be a natural fit at power forward alongside Joel Embiid and could play center in games that the oft-injured Embiid sits out, Pompey notes. Horford will decline his $30.1MM player option with the Celtics and pursue a multi-year contract in free agency.

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