Austin Daye Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Rumors: Oden, Pelicans, Mavs, Miller

July 19th, 2013 at 8:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs made a valiant run in the NBA Finals, and the Rockets made the most impressive splash of the summer when they signed Dwight Howard. The other three teams in the Southwest Division have a lot of catching up to do, and there's news tonight on each of them:

The Pelicans have been expected to make an offer to Greg Oden, but they haven't done so yet, according to John Reid of the The Times Picayune, who hears that the team will meet with the former No. 1 overall pick next week in Indianapolis. The Pelicans are willing to offer a one-year deal with incentives that could lift the value to $3MM, Reid hears, which jibes with a similar report earlier this week from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Dallas announced the signing of Samuel Dalembert tonight, but as expected, the Mavs are still in the market for Oden, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Grizzlies have reached out to Mike Miller in an attempt to meet with the free agent sharpshooter, report Ron Higgins and Marlon W. Morgan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The Thunder appear to be in the lead for Miller.
Austin Daye became an unrestricted free agent when the Grizzlies declined to make him a qualifying offer last month, and he tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that he's been in talks with several teams. Daye says he hasn't worked out for any teams, but Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reported yesterday that he'd worked out for the Knicks.

Atlantic Notes: Pierce, Garnett, Sixers, Knicks

July 18th, 2013 at 1:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Three new Nets were formally introduced at a press conference in Brooklyn today, with Jason Terry obviously receiving a little less attention than longtime Celtics Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. While Pierce appeared emotional about leaving Boston, both veterans spoke about having a great opportunity to compete for a title with the Nets, as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com details. Here's more on Pierce and Garnett, as well as a few other notes from around the Atlantic Division:

According to Pierce, he initially had to talk Garnett into waiving his no-trade clause to complete the deal, with the two teammates speaking on the phone for an hour and a half. Pierce added that he hopes to become a general manager someday, and that if he were Danny Ainge, he would've accepted the offer the Nets made (Twitter links via Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com).
Pierce also said that he never spoke to Ainge about keeping the Celtics' core together and attempting one more run, but noted that it would have been tough to make the necessary improvements to return to title contention (Twitter link via Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe).
No matter how many candidates the Sixers bring in, and they've been linked to plenty, Michael Curry and Brett Brown still appear to be the frontrunners, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein. According to Stein, Brown is expected to receive the last interview that the team conducts (Twitter links).
Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com adds Austin Daye and Quincy Douby to the list of players who have worked out for the Knicks in Las Vegas (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Josh Newman of SNY.tv hears that the Lakers and Sixers are also expected to take a look at Douby this month (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Allen, Kings, Cuban

May 25th, 2013 at 6:59pm CST by Spencer Lund

Despite the Grizzlies place in the thick of their Western Conference Finals series against the Spurs, their perimeter defensive specialist, Tony Allen, will be an unrestricted free agent this July.

Allen spoke with Ramona Shelburne at ESPN.com yesterday about the blue collar "Grit and Grind" Grizzlies, their blue collar Memphis fans, and–towards the end of the piece–his impending free agency. Said Allen:

"I don't even understand the business side. When July hits, somebody is going to have to sit me down and explain it. All I know is I'm a Grizzly and I believe I'm going to be a Grizzly when it's over with.

"I bleed blue. I think they going to keep me. But if they don't, I understand.

"I don't even think about it now. I just play. I love being in Memphis. I love the city. Hopefully I stay here. It feels like home."

Speaking of Allen's Grizzlies, here are some more notes from around the Western Conference:

Grizzlies coach, Lionel Hollins, tells ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz "Flopping isn't a part of the game and it shouldn't be a part of the game," in response to the controversy surrounding the flagrant 1 called on Manu Ginobili after his foul on Allen knocked him out of the air.
According to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link), Austin Daye will go on the Grizzlies' inactive list for game 3 tonight in favor of Donte Greene. Marc J. Spears of Y! Sports, confirms (Twitter link).
ESPNDallas.com's Tim MacMahon brings us the highlights from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's interview on 103.3 FM's ESPN Dallas Game Day.
MacMahon also tells us after hearing from Cuban, that the Mavericks owner has a two year plan to turn the Mavericks into title contenders.
The new owner of the Kings, Viveck Ranadive, is looking at Warriors assistant, Mike Malone, to coach the team. But Matt Steinmetz at CSNY Bay Area says he'd be surprised if the Kings hire a coach before finding a general manger (Twitter link).

Kyler On Blatche, Daye, Landry, Pacers, Spurs

April 29th, 2013 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

History was made this morning, as Jason Collins publicly came out as the first active male athlete to announce that he's gay. Collins, who hopes to continue his playing career, will be a free agent this summer, looking for a contract from a team in need of frontcourt help. In his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler looked at a few other big men facing free agency, exploring what their respective futures might hold. Let's check out the highlights….

Andray Blatche is still being paid by the Wizards through next season, so he won't necessarily be seeking the highest salary offered this summer. However, if he can secure a multiyear deal, he may lean toward that opportunity, says Kyler.
Although he's eligible for restricted free agency, Austin Daye is unlikely to receive a qualifying offer from the Grizzlies. Kyler doesn't expect the ex-Piston to be back in Memphis next season.
Carl Landry remains likely to opt out of his last year with the Warriors in search of a longer-term contract.
The Pacers won't hold full Bird rights on David West, but West's Early Bird rights will be more than enough to make him a competitive offer. Kyler thinks West and the Pacers are likely to work out a deal fairly quickly that will keep the power forward in Indiana.
Kyler notes that trading Danny Granger would help give the Pacers the flexibility to bring back both West and Tyler Hansbrough, who is eligible for restricted free agency. Kyler expects the Pacers to issue a qualifying offer to Hansbrough and match any reasonable offer.
Antawn Jamison is unlikely to re-sign with the Lakers, and if Earl Clark returns, it will have to be for not much more than the $1.24MM he made this year, says Kyler.
Boris Diaw, who has a player option, and Matt Bonner, whose deal is only partially guaranteed, both figure to be back with the Spurs next season. However, Kyler says DeJuan Blair is "done in San Antonio," which echoes what we heard yesterday.

Grizzlies, Raptors, Pistons Finalize Rudy Gay Deal

January 30th, 2013 at 8:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:23pm: The Raptors sent out a press release confirming the deal for all three teams. The second-rounder headed to the Grizzlies is Toronto's own 2013 pick, and Memphis is receiving cash from the Raptors as part of the deal, the statement notes.

8:20pm: Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets that Detroit's side of the deal is official, and that Calderon will join the team in time for Friday's game. Since it was the Pistons-Grizzlies part that seemed to have hit a snag earlier, rather than the Raptors-Grizzlies end of it, the swap appears to be squared away. Pistons GM Joe Dumars has released a statement, as Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News passes along (All Twitter links).

7:28pm: The trade call has ended, meaning the deal is now official, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

6:55pm: The trade call has been delayed slightly, but it's still going on, tweets Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, who adds that the deal is still going to happen.

6:18pm: Goodwill now hears from a source who says the trade will indeed go down (Twitter link).

6:06pm: A source tells Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News there's "one hangup" in the deal, though Goodwill doesn't specify what it could be (Twitter link).

5:56pm: The Pistons' side of the trade has not yet been finalized, Aldridge notes via Twitter, though with the trade call scheduled in a few minutes from now, it's likely we'll soon have official word. Both Prince and Daye are inactive for Detroit's game tonight.

5:33pm: The Raptors will likely waive and buy out the rest of Haddadi's two-year contract, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Haddadi is making $1.3MM this year and is due a partial guarantee of $200K on his fully $1.398MM salary next year. Under terms of the new CBA, the Grizzlies will not be allowed to sign Haddadi again for one year.

5:13pm: The Grizzlies, Raptors and Pistons have all reached agreement on a three-team trade. ESPN's Marc Stein reported the Grizzlies have acquired Jose Calderon and Ed Davis from the Raptors in exchange for Rudy Gay and Hamed Haddadi. TNT's David Aldridge reports the Pistons will receive Calderon from the Grizzlies in exchange for Tayshaun Prince (Twitter link). Stein added that Austin Daye is also headed to Memphis, and noted the Grizzlies will get a second-round pick from the Raptors as well.

The trade call will be placed to the league office at 7pm Eastern, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. When the trade becomes official, it will end several weeks of speculation about Gay's future in Memphis, as the Grizzlies look to avoid becoming a repeat taxpayer. It also ends months of chatter about Calderon in Toronto. The Pistons apparently beat out the Mavericks for the point guard, as Dallas refused to part with Vince Carter in any potential deal, Stein tweets.

The Grizzlies save significant money in the deal, as the combined salaries of Prince, Daye and Davis add up to $11.9MM, much less than the total of $17.8MM that Gay and Haddadi are getting. Daye can come off the books next season, as he's a restricted free agent this summer. Davis has one more season left on his rookie deal, at $3.15MM, and is set to hit restricted free agency in 2014 unless the Grizzlies extend his deal. Gay's contract runs through 2014/15, a player option season in which he's due to make $19.3MM. The Grizzlies are now $8MM under the luxury tax, which could give them more flexibility to make other moves this season, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com points out (Twitter link). The Grizzlies will pay out $37.2MM less as a result of the moves, Berger adds.

Technically, the deal is actually a pair of two-team trades, rather than one three-team trade, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter link). The Raptors, operating exclusively with the Grizzlies, wind up with Gay's sizable contract, adding roughly $5MM to their payroll, which was at about $61.2MM. They're still well below the $70.307MM tax line, and figure to remain that way even when DeMar DeRozan's four-year, $38MM extension kicks in next season.

The Pistons, meanwhile, part ways with the last remaining member of their 2004 championship team, bringing in a point guard to mentor second-year man Brandon Knight. It also clears cap room, since Calderon's expiring $10.56MM contract will come off the books this summer, while Prince is signed through 2015.

Raptors Close To Acquiring Rudy Gay

January 30th, 2013 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

5:01pm: If the Pistons are the third team in the deal, they're poised to send both Prince and Austin Daye to Memphis for Calderon, tweets Stein.

4:42pm: The Grizzlies spent the day calling around doing background work on Tayshaun Prince, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), so presumably Prince would be headed to Memphis if Calderon is sent to Detroit. Sam Amick of USA Today reports that the Celtics are another team in the mix to acquire Calderon.

4:35pm: If and when the deal is finalized, the Grizzlies are also expected to receive a second-round pick from the Raptors, according to Stein.

4:30pm: According to Stein (via Twitter), the Mavericks are another potential landing spot for Calderon, though Dallas is reluctant to part with Vince Carter, who the Grizzlies would want to replace Gay. Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com made the case this morning for why the Mavs make sense as the third team in a Raptors/Grizzlies deal.

4:23pm: The Grizzlies and Raptors have a deal in place that would send Gay and Hamed Haddadi to Toronto in exchange for Calderon and Davis, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). An agreement hasn't been finalized yet because it figures to eventually include a third team, possibly the Pistons, that would acquire Calderon, says Stein (via Twitter).

4:03pm: Several sources tell Wojnarowski that the Grizzlies have a plan to move Calderon to a third team in the discussed deal with the Raptors (Twitter link).

3:48pm: As Tillery suggested, the Grizzlies would prefer to send Calderon to a third team in the trade scenario they're discussing with the Raptors. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com tweets that there are "several potential suitors" making a push for the point guard.

3:34pm: The Grizzlies appear to be moving closer to a deal that would include Rudy Gay, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Tillery reports that Memphis is weighing whether or not to pull the trigger on one of three different scenarios, including one that would send Gay to the Raptors. The Grizzlies have two other potential deals on the table if they and the Raptors can't reach an agreement by this weekend.

Adrian Wojnarowski is also reporting that the Grizzlies and Raptors are making progress on a potential trade. According to Wojnarowski, the two sides have discussed scenarios involving a third team in addition to straight-up scenarios. The Raptors would likely part with Jose Calderon and Ed Davis in any deal (Twitter links).

According to Tillery, in their talks with the Raptors, the Grizzlies are seeking a small forward, a draft pick, and possibly Davis. A third team may have to be involved to acquire Calderon and provide the small forward the Grizzlies are hoping to land. Darrell Arthur would not be involved in that hypothetical trade, says Tillery.

Wojnarowski adds in another tweet that the Grizzlies and Raptors are discussing the potential deal with their respective ownership groups, and could reach an agreement as soon as tonight.

Spears On Jennings, Daye, Smith

December 19th, 2012 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Like many NBA writers, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports ranks the 30 NBA teams each week. This time around, Spears peppered his ratings with a few noteworthy rumors, and we'll take a look at those here.

The Bucks have told Brandon Jennings they'll match any offer he gets in restricted free agency next summer, according to Spears. Jennings is averaging career highs in assists and steals this season after the Bucks turned him down for an extension before the October 31st deadline. The point guard will be one of the gems of restricted free agency in the offseason, and even if a few teams might be scared off by Milwaukee's willingness to match, Jennings could be in line for a maximum offer. In any case, this news would seem to indicate the Bucks aren't looking to trade Jennings, but that's not necessarily set in stone.
The Pistons are "actively shopping" Austin Daye, according to Spears. I think it would be difficult to find much of a market for the 24-year-old forward, who has appeared for a total of just 40 minutes in six games this season, and the 15th overall pick from 2009 hasn't done much to distinguish himself in four seasons with the Pistons, averaging 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for his career. MLive.com's David Mayo notes that Daye is returning to the Pistons rotation, and it's possible the team could be making that move simply to try to showcase him.
Sources tell Spears that Hawks GM Danny Ferry isn't interested in trading Josh Smith. This is in line with what we've heard so far about the mutual satisfaction between Atlanta and the athletic forward. Smith is making $13.2MM this season in the final year of his deal.

Aldridge On Extension Candidates

October 15th, 2012 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

The latest Morning Tip piece from TNT's David Aldridge is up at NBA.com, and focuses on the first round of the 2009 draft class, most of whom are eligible for contract extensions this month. However, Aldridge doesn't expect many new deals to be inked, since the new CBA doesn't give players a ton of incentive to sign early.

"Now (that) you can only give the same amount of years that they can get next summer, the player isn't as interested," one team executive told Aldridge. "Now, you have no advantage. I used to be able to say 'I can give you a year more today than you can get next year. So let's talk about a deal and maybe the number is more realistic.' But they've taken that away."

Here's what Aldridge has heard on a number of extension candidates:

The Kings will "probably not" be offering Tyreke Evans an extension, Aldridge hears from a source.
Things are "pretty quiet" on the Brandon Jennings front, and Aldridge isn't expecting him to work out a long-term extension with the Bucks.
DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors aren't close to a deal, but have been talking for weeks. Aldridge cautions not to rule out the possibility of the two sides reaching an agreement.
Aldridge does, however, essentially rule out extensions for Austin Daye (Pistons) and James Johnson (Kings).
Jrue Holiday's agent will touch base with the 76ers later this week about a possible extension.
Ty Lawson of the Nuggets is the one player that everyone around the league believes will sign a long-term deal by Halloween.
The Hawks are talking to Jeff Teague about a new deal, but Aldridge thinks it's unlikely the team commits to anything yet when it could have so much cap space available next summer.
Agent Mark Bartelstein on Taj Gibson and the Bulls: "They've made it clear they'd like to sign Taj. They're making an effort, and so are we… if we can get something done that everybody feels good about, great. If not, I'm sure he'll have a great year."

Pistons Notes: Daye, Drummond

October 8th, 2012 at 4:17pm CST by Michael Pina

Here are a few notes coming out of Detroit:

Coming off a season that saw him barely get off the bench as a small forward, Austin Daye has solely been playing power forward in the Piston's training camp, writes MLive.com's David Mayo.
The Detroit Free-Press' Vince Ellis has a detailed recap of the team's practice earlier today. Included in it are some positive reviews of lottery pick Andre Drummond's performance.
The Pistons have four power forwards right now: Austin Daye, Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiell, and Jonas Jerebko. It'll be interesting to see how each of them can find playing time, reports Pistons.com writer Keith Langlois.
On SheridanHoops.com, Sean Corp gives five reasons why Pistons fans should feel positive about their team.

Eastern Notes: Bynum, Celtics, Daye, Magic

October 1st, 2012 at 9:05pm CST by Michael Pina

Here are a few pieces of news from around the Eastern Conference.

Pistons guard Will Bynum appears much more comfortable heading into the second season with Lawrence Frank's system in Detroit, writes MLive.com's David Mayo.
The Celtics aren't worried about their lack of a true back up point guard, writes ESPNBoston.com's Greg Payne.
The Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis writes that Pistons forward Austin Daye is headed into what could be the third make-or-break season of his three year career.
Kyrylo Fesenko passed up more than one other offer to join the Bulls training camp, tweets RealGM.com's Shams Charania.
To the untrained eye, it would appear the Magic are a franchise in rebuild mode, but as the team prepares to begin training camp, Orlando head coach Jacque Vaughn says the word "rebuilding" isn't allowed around his team, writes the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins.