Andre Iguodala Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Sixers, Garrett, Butler, Iguodala

August 29th, 2013 at 3:26pm CST by Luke Adams

In his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Eric Pincus takes a look at the outstanding trade exceptions currently being held by NBA teams. Pincus' list matched up nearly perfectly with our own trade exception tracker, but added one we didn't have: Incredibly, the Sixers, despite being well below the league's minimum payroll threshold, have continued to function as an over-the-cap team this summer, with an assist from a trade exception obtained when the club send Jrue Holiday to New Orleans. That TPE is now worth $5,128,993, after a portion of it was used to absorb Tony Wroten's salary.

Check out Pincus' piece for more details on how the Sixers could be considered over the cap, and read on for a few more Thursday odds and ends:

Former Suns guard Diante Garrett tweeted today that he'll "be with OKC this year." We haven't heard any confirmation from Oklahoma City beat writers or national reporters, but it looks as if Garrett will, at the very least, be in training camp with the Thunder.
Sources tell Jake Pavorsky of Liberty Ballers that the Sixers may take a look at big man Micheal Eric in training camp this fall. Eric was in camp with the Cavaliers a year ago.
Grantland's Zach Lowe takes an in-depth look at the Caron Butler swap between the Suns and Bucks, noting that Butler's expiring contract "is sexy [as a trade chip] in theory, but not in reality." I wrote earlier today about some of the cap and roster implications of the trade.
Warriors GM Bob Myers spoke to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News about all the behind-the-scenes work it took to land Andre Iguodala, a task Myers says "looked futile" at some points.

Western Notes: Bryant, Nuggets, D’Antoni

August 24th, 2013 at 8:04pm CST by Spencer Lund

As fallout from the Ric Bucher revelations about Dwight Howard's demands to remain with the Lakers continues, CBS Sports' Matt Moore looks at how Bucher's quotes have been portrayed in the media. While listing the headlines, Moore shows that they've primarily focused on the Lakers protecting Kobe Bryant in lieu of Howard's stipulation that he not be re-signed next summer.

As we already updated, Howard never explicitly said that he'd re-sign with the Lakers if Mike D'Antoni were ousted as coach. The focus in the media, as Moore shows, was on the back-and-forth between Bryant and Howard: two superstars possessing egos that wouldn't allow them to co-exist on the same roster, and how the Lakers would rather let Dwight walk than entertain the idea of Bryant leaving LA.

Here's some more on the Lakers chances next season, and a report card on the Nuggets tumultuous offseason…

Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver gives the Nuggets an F in his recent offseason report card grade at SI's The Point Forward blog.
Golliver compares the offseason of the Pacers with the Nuggets to show how, despite both teams experiencing impressive regular seasons, the Pacers continued to trend up in the playoffs, and the Nuggets failed to keep everything together this summer.
They lost GM Masai Ujiri – who accepted the Raptors' high-paying GM role – and the 2013 NBA Coach of the Year George Karl – who they did not retain for the final year of his contract.
Not only did the Nuggets lose their coach and GM, but they also lost free agent Andre Iguodala to the Warriors in a three-team deal involving the Jazz, Nuggets and Warriors.
Unlike the Pacers – who were able to re-sign David West this summer and significantly upgrade their bench – the Nuggets signed offense-first players like Nate Robinson and J.J. Hickson and allowed others, like defensive wing-stopper Iggy, to bolt the sinking ship.
HoopsWorld's Jabari Davis put together a plan for the Lakers while pretending to be their GM during a chat with readers earlier today.
In his plan, Davis said the Lakers should try and land a top 12 spot in next summer's heralded 2014 NBA Draft.
Davis also discusses the possibility that Jordan Farmar and Steve Blake improve next season, how the additions of Nick Young, Wesley Johnson and Farmer's athleticism will translate well with D'Antoni's uptempo offense and the chances Bryant sits out the full season – similar to Derrick Rose last season with the Bulls – while they attempt to position themselves higher in the the 2014 draft.
Davis also believes the Lakers can win between 44-47 games next season and finish with a 6-8 seed in the West if Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Bryant all play at least 70 games together.

Odds & Ends: Paul, NBPA, Butler

August 22nd, 2013 at 7:42pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In discussing Chris Paul's election as the new NBPA president, ESPN's Brian Windhorst writes that neither Paul nor former union vice president Jerry Stackhouse would commit to a timetable nor discuss whether a search firm was in place to find a replacement for ex-NBPA executive director Billy Hunter. Stackhouse, who will remain active with the union in an advisory role, said they aren't in a rush but have already identified a number of candidates. Windhorst also says the union would ideally want a new executive director in place by February 1st, when Adam Silver is set to begin his job as the new commissioner. Here are more of tonight's miscellaneous news and notes, along with more from the above piece:

Some comments from Paul: "I've been thinking about (running) for a while on and off…I've had a lot of dialogue about it with committee members. I wouldn't have taken on the role if I was going to do it alone."
There are a few specific issues that were tabled during the 2011 CBA which still need to be resolved, especially blood testing for performance enhancing drugs (including human growth hormone) and the current age limit to declare for the NBA draft.
Lakers guard Steve Blake and Bobcats forward Anthony Tolliver were added as new members to the executive committee, joining Paul, Roger Mason Jr., Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala, James Jones, Matt Bonner, and Willie Green.
The union has turned to Deloitte Financial Advisory Services to examine its structure and will make necessary changes, such as adding a human resources and information technology department (J.A. Adande of ESPN.com).
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes that the NBPA has hired Reilly Partners to help with restructuring and forming a job description for the executive director position, and that two names have surfaced as potential candidates for the opening: former NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson and former NBA and Madison Square Garden executive Steven Mills.
Suns forward Caron Butler says he's looking forward to being a mentor to teammate Michael Beasley, gives his thoughts on the Clippers, and talks about how he's approaching the upcoming season in Phoenix. Butler adds that no one from the Clippers front office has spoken to him since he was notified by his agent about being traded, but insists there's no ill will: “I don’t leave with bitterness or anything, but a phone call would have helped the situation…But it’s cool, it’s no hard feelings because that’s the nature of the business" (NBA.com's Jeff Caplan).
Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy looks at a list of 11 of the top 13 players drafted this past June and discusses their chances at winning Rookie of the Year.
In the same piece, Kennedy relays a clip from Gary Payton's interview on FOX Sports, in which the Hall of Fame point guard reveals that he may have had something to do with Allen Iverson's "practice" rant on the 76ers several years ago: "(Iverson) asked me…'How do you keep your body is so good of a shape, and don’t get hurt, and stay always on the court?’ And I just told him for real, my coach George Karl didn’t let me practice. So that was it. I said, ‘You have to stop practicing." While watching the actual rant, Payton recalled thinking: ‘Don’t say it like this! Don’t do it like that, Allen…When he said it, I said, ‘No, that was not our conversation.’”

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Pistons, Bucks, Heat

August 7th, 2013 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up some Wednesday links from around the Eastern Conference….

Both seasons of Jeremy Tyler's two-year deal with the Knicks are partially guaranteed, confirms Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Begley adds (via Twitter) that it's "highly unlikely" the Knicks sign Chris Duhon, despite their reported interest.
Speaking to Grantland's Zach Lowe, Pistons GM Joe Dumars says that he only started talking to the Bucks about Brandon Jennings four days before the deal was consummated, and adds that the team had some "good talks" with Andre Iguodala before Iggy decided to sign elsewhere.
In his latest mailbag, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com field a handful of questions on the Pistons' trade and free agent options.
Bucks coach Larry Drew has offered his top assistant coaching position to a former NBA coach and is awaiting a response, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. It's not clear who the unnamed candidate is, but according to Woelfel, Jim Cleamons and Dean Demopoulos are among those interviewed for the job.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel still expects the Heat to sign one more "proven veteran" at some point this offseason.
The Bobcats intend to work out Seth Curry, Stephen Curry's younger brother, in the coming weeks, says Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter).

Odds & Ends: Kleiza, Iguodala, Dooling, Knicks

July 19th, 2013 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up a few Friday odds and ends from around the Association….

After being amnestied by the Raptors, Linas Kleiza is drawing interest from several European teams, including CSKA Moscow, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, passing along a report from Djordje Matic.
Sam Amick of USA Today spoke to Andre Iguodala about his free agency, and some drama along the way related to the Kings and Nuggets.
Keyon Dooling is receiving "serious interest" from two teams and will likely decide next week where he'll sign, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, who adds that a reunion with the Grizzlies is unlikely.
There's nothing new on the Raja Bell front, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, noting that the Knicks no longer have any interest in Bell after signing Metta World Peace. The Knicks remain in the market for a point guard and a big man though, says Zwerling.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com explains why he finds it unusual that the NBA decided to compensate the Thunder for a portion of Kevin Durant's contract.
Multiple teams have inquired on undrafted free agent Khalif Wyatt, according to agent Stephen Pina. Wyatt played for the Sixers' Summer League squad in Orlando, but hasn't talked to Philadelphia yet about a more permanent contract (Twitter links via Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com).

Contract Details: Bulls, Cavs, Mavs, Nuggets

July 17th, 2013 at 8:37am CST by Luke Adams

In addition to new contracts being finalized and signed, there are a few more cap details worth keeping an eye on throughout July. We won't be updating our traded player exceptions list to reflect all the latest deals until the dust has settled a little and each move has been officially completed, but as our list shows, the Bulls had their $5MM Kyle Korver TPE expire overnight.

There are also a number of 2013/14 salaries becoming guaranteed this month, including Kyle Lowry and Lance Stephenson earlier this week. Mavericks second-year big man Bernard James also appears to be guaranteed for the coming year, since he wasn't waived by July 15th, per Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com.

Here are a few more of the latest contract and cap details worth noting, courtesy of Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld:

Mike Dunleavy's two-year deal with the Bulls is worth the team's full mini mid-level exception, for a total of about $6.51MM. Meanwhile, Chicago second-round pick Erik Murphy gets a two-year, minimum-salary that's not fully guaranteed for either season.
The Bulls also used the stretch provision on Richard Hamilton, allowing the team to spread his guaranteed $1MM over the next three seasons (Twitter link).
The Cavaliers signed Jarrett Jack for a flat $6.3MM per season, while Earl Clark received a flat $4.25MM per year (Twitter links).
Jose Calderon's starting salary with the Mavericks is $6,791,570 (Twitter link). With annual 4.5% raises, that works out to exactly $29MM over four years. Additionally, Gal Mekel's three-year contract with the team is for the minimum and is fully guaranteed.
J.J. Hickson gets the full mid-level for three years from the Nuggets, which works out to about $16.15MM overall.
Two players who were involved in the same sign-and-trade transaction have had their numbers confirmed. Randy Foye receives $3MM from the Nuggets in each of his first two seasons before a $3.135MM 2015/16 salary, which isn't fully guaranteed. Andre Iguodala, meanwhile, signed with the Warriors for exactly $48MM over four years, but his salaries will decrease from $12.87MM this season to $11.13MM in the fourth season (Twitter link).
For the record, that gap between Iguodala's and Foye's first-year salaries should represent the value of the trade exception created by Denver: $9,868,632. I wonder if Iguodala's salary starts so high in part to help the Nuggets create a larger TPE.

Northwest Notes: Mozgov, Iggy, Splitter, Wolves

July 12th, 2013 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

With the Thunder and Nuggets still looking strong, and the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers adding reinforcements, the Northwest could have four playoff contenders in 2013/14. Here's the latest out of the division:

The Nuggets are getting "increasingly close" to an agreement with restricted free agent big man Timofey Mozgov, according to GM Tim Connelly (link via Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post).
The Nuggets' failure to re-sign Andre Iguodala wasn't for lack of trying. Within a piece about the Warriors' newest acquisition, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle says Iguodala passed on a front-loaded five-year, $60MM offer from the Nuggets, and nearly agreed to sign a lucrative deal with the Mavericks just an hour before reaching a deal with the Warriors.
According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Trail Blazers reached an agreement with Tiago Splitter on a four-year, $36MM offer sheet. However, the team backed off when it became apparent that the Spurs would match.
Now that the Timberwolves have traded Luke Ridnour, agents for free agent point guards will begin reaching out to the team, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Nate Robinson's camp figures to be among those in contact with the Wolves, though Wolfson doesn't see a fit there.
The Jazz hope to use their remaining cap space to take on another contract and pick up another draft pick, as they did in their deal with the Warriors, tweets Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune.

Odds & Ends: Jenkins, Wizards, Warriors, Amnesty

July 11th, 2013 at 10:30pm CST by Alex Lee

It’s already been a busy night, as news broke of Andrei Kirilenko‘s deal with the Nets followed shortly after by word that the Lakers would amnesty Metta World Peace. Here are some other odds and ends from around the NBA on Thursday night:

The Hawks have named Taylor Jenkins as an assistant coach, the team announced
today in a press release. Jenkins had most recently been the head coach of the D-League’s Austin Toros.
The Wizards are in no rush to fill their final roster spot,
since they want to have flexibility for when the right player comes along,
according to GM Ernie Grunfeld (Twitter link). Grunfeld sounded optimistic about the team’s offseason today, as the Wiz wrapped us their summer minicamp, writes Gene Wang of the Washington Post.
The Wiz cut ties with roster longshots Josh Boone, Kevin Dillard and James Harris today, tweets Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News outlines how the Warriors front office has changed the way the team is viewed around the NBA, to the point where he says Golden State has “switched places” with the Lakers. Kawakami also provides a transcript of Andre Iguodala‘s introductory press conference.
Now that the Lakers have amnestied World Peace, only 12 teams remain that haven’t utilized the provision and within those teams, only 30 players are left that fit the criteria for amnesty eligibility. Here is the list, courtesy of Marc Stein of ESPN.

Warriors Notes: Cap, Lee, Picks, TPEs, Jackson

July 11th, 2013 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

3:44pm: Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group passes along a couple more notes on the Warriors' cap situation, via Twitter.

Thompson confirms that Golden State will have trade exceptions worth Richard Jefferson's and Brandon Rush's salaries ($11,046,000 and $4,000,000 respectively).
The team will also sign Marreese Speights and Toney Douglas using its mid-level exception, while Jermaine O'Neal will get the bi-annual exception.

2:07pm: Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News has conducted a lengthy Q&A with Warriors owner Joe Lacob about the team's approach to the offseason, and its recent moves. Lacob explains how Golden State identified Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala as its top targets and went about acquiring Iguodala. The entire piece is worth a read, particularly for Warriors fans, but here are a few of the most notable tidbits:

According to Lacob, the Warriors decided that now was the time to make a big move and add a major piece to the core, rather than letting contracts like Richard Jefferson's and Andris Biedrins' expire and trying to make a splash next summer.
Lacob adds that the team was "never going to part with [its] core." While he doesn't name specific players, I'm guessing he's referring to Steph Curry, Harrison Barnes, and Klay Thompson.
The Warriors "were always going to keep" David Lee as well, says Lacob, adding that the club never offered Lee to another team in trade talks.
Lacob, addressing the fact that Andrew Bogut's and Lee's names surfaced in trade rumors: "These are NBA players; they know trades happen. It’s part of their lives, part of their business…. We didn’t want to trade any of them or give them up in any way. We wanted to do whatever could to add to them."
The two first-round picks the Warriors sent to the Jazz are unprotected, Lacob confirms.
Asked if more moves are coming, Lacob says he thinks the Warriors are "done for now."
If the club does want to add another player, there should be trade exceptions available from the three-way trade with the Jazz and Nuggets. Lacob's words: "I know we have at least an 11 I believe and a 4. There might be a 9 in there too." By my math, the Warriors created TPEs worth $11,046,000 and $4,000,000, but won't have one for $9,000,000.
Golden State is prepared to go into luxury-tax territory going forward, says Lacob.
Lacob on possible trade options down the road: "We have a lot of assets at this point, a lot of really good players that people want. Bob Myers gets called every day—we had some amazing offers, people calling, not us calling them, on some really good players."
Lacob envisions Mark Jackson as the Warriors' long-term coach, but says there's no specific timetable for extension talks.

Warriors Add Andre Iguodala On Four-Year Deal

July 10th, 2013 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10TH: As we've noted in a pair of other posts, Iguodala's deal is now official, after he was incorporated into the three-way deal between the Warriors, Jazz, and Nuggets.

JULY 5TH: The Warriors have reached an agreement to sign Andre Iguodala to a four-year, $48MM deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

With the Nuggets opposed to facilitating a sign-and-trade for Iguodala, the Warriors appear to be signing the free agent swingman using cap room. The team will clear a huge chunk of salary from their books by sending Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson, and Brandon Rush to the Jazz, which should be enough to clear the space necessary for Iguodala.

Iguodala had been pursued by the Kings and Nuggets, among other teams, before agreeing to terms with the Warriors. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Denver made Iguodala a four-year, $52MM offer, and also proposed five-year scenarios, but the 29-year-old opted for Golden State instead. Earlier this week, the Kings made Iguodala a four-year offer reported to be in the $52-56MM range, but withdrew it before he made his decision.

Even after agreeing to sign Iguodala, the Warriors haven't dropped out of the race for Dwight Howard. A sign-and-trade is still a viable option if Howard wants to come to Golden State and the Lakers are willing to negotiate, particularly since the Warriors may be more open to moving Klay Thompson and/or Harrison Barnes once they lock up Iguodala.