Carmelo Anthony Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Rumors: Rondo, Love, ‘Melo, Bucks

June 27th, 2014 at 9:02am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters Thursday night that he intends to keep Rajon Rondo around in spite of the team’s decision to draft fellow point guard Marcus Smart at No. 6, observes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Rondo’s name has come up frequently in trade rumors, but Ainge, as usual, did his best to dispel such talk, also dismissing the idea that Smart’s arrival is a harbinger of soon-to-be restricted free agent Avery Bradley‘s departure.

“Absolutely. No question,” Ainge said of whether Smart and Rondo could share the floor. “And [Smart] and Avery. No question. [Smart]’s a very versatile player. He can play off the ball. He can handle the ball. With his length and his size, he can probably play against a lot of small forwards — 6’3″, long wingspan, 230 pounds. He’s a very versatile player. Easily those guys can play together, and I think they would really thrive playing together, all of them.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Kevin Love is “100%” on board with the notion of signing a long-term deal with the Cavs if LeBron James returns to Cleveland, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Trade talk between the Cavs and Wolves had reportedly halted when Love made it clear he wouldn’t remain in Cleveland past his current deal if Minnesota sent him there.
Knicks president Phil Jackson reiterated his desire for Carmelo Anthony to take less than the maximum salary to re-sign with the club, notes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. “I think it puts limitations on a team,” Jackson said of a maximum-salary contract. “What happens is then you end up having two or three players that have big contracts and everybody else’s is either veteran minimums or young players coming in. You don’t have that middle ground for a player that’s veteran, comfortable leadership-quality people. Miami explored it. I think they got the most out of it.”
The Bucks are looking to acquire a veteran big man, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, who believes that Larry Sanders would be a part of any deal to acquire one (Twitter links).

Mavs Notes: Dirk, LeBron, Melo, Chandler

June 26th, 2014 at 8:46am CST by Zachary Links

Dirk Nowitzki is thrilled to have Tyson Chandler back in Dallas, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. “He helped me get a championship, so we had great chemistry together,” Nowitzki said when asked about the trade when it was heavily rumored last night. “So if it is true, I will be thrilled.” Dirk went on to say that he’d “love” to welcome Carmelo Anthony to Dallas and will help to recruit him if he’s interested in coming aboard. Here’s more out of Dallas..

The Mavs are real players for LeBron James and Melo after the trade, a team source told Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
Dirk also told reporters, including Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) that he expects a short and quick meeting with owner Mark Cuban before coming to terms on a new deal.
The Mavs initiated the Chandler talks weeks ago and were very motivated to get a deal done, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report tweets.
Chandler and his camp feel “great” about the trade, a source tells David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link).
Mark Cuban isn’t admitting a mistake by re-acquiring Chandler, writes MacMahon. “It’s apples and oranges,” Cuban said via an email. “You couldn’t get from there to here.”
There won’t be any drama from Dirk in free agency, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com writes.

Broussard’s Latest: LeBron, Griffin, Harden

June 25th, 2014 at 2:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers aren’t among the top choices for LeBron James, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, who nonetheless wouldn’t rule them out completely. Broussard doubts that James would head there until Donald Sterling is formally ousted as owner of the club, and there’s also concern about how well James would fit on the court with friend Chris Paul, though Broussard doesn’t specify if that’s a concern of James’. Still, Heat president Pat Riley believes acquiring Blake Griffin via sign-and-trade would be the best outcome if James decides to leave Miami, Broussard reports. The ESPN scribe identifies the Heat, Cavs, Rockets, Knicks and Nets as having better chances than the Clippers do of landing James, given the four-time MVP’s preferences, and he has a few bombshells in his report, as we detail.

If the Rockets clear enough cap room to sign one of LeBron and Carmelo Anthony, their next step would be to dangle James Harden to acquire the other via sign-and-trade. The Knicks and the Heat would be receptive to trading for Harden in that scenario, Broussard adds.
Chris Bosh appears sold on Miami, but it’s questionable whether he’d want to stay if James leaves, Broussard writes.
Riley is planning a run at Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, according to Broussard. I’d assume it would involve pursuing him via free agency in the event that Oklahoma City amnesties him, rather than pursuing him via trade, though that’s just my speculation.
Broussard hears there’s a decent chance that the Warriors would be willing to acquire Jeremy Lin if he’s part of a package with Chandler Parsons.
The Nets would prefer trading Deron Williams rather than Joe Johnson in an effort to clear room for James, Broussard says.

Eastern Notes: Allen, Wade, Pistons

June 24th, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Ray Allen is leaning toward returning for a 19th season in the NBA and has a desire to continue playing alongside LeBron James, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Back in February, the sharpshooting veteran said that he wouldn’t be retiring this summer, and today’s report echoes a similar sentiment passed along last week. Allen just completed the second of a two-year, $6.32MM deal with the Heat and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

As for Dwyane Wade‘s contract status and whether or not he’ll decide to opt out, the 32-year-old guard didn’t have any updates today. “No news here yet.”

You can find more of tonight’s rumblings out of the Eastern Conference below:

Pistons president/head coach Stan Van Gundy said that he’s open to signing Greg Monroe to a one-year qualifying offer and letting the big man hit unrestricted free agency next summer, according to Larry Lage of the Associated Press. Van Gundy said that Monroe’s contract situation is the “most important thing on (the Pistons’) plate this offseason.”
Van Gundy added that the team would be willing to trade a future second-round pick and cash in order to land a late first round pick, especially if someone they ranked in the teens falls to the end of the first round.
Jim Boeheim – Carmelo Anthony‘s former college coach at Syracuse – believes that Anthony would take less money to sign with a contender this summer, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago.
Chauncey Billups is considering retirement, writes Aaron Matas of 9News.com. When Matas mentioned rumors of the Timberwolves approaching the 37-year-old guard about an assistant coaching job, Billups declined comment; however, Billups did say that he’d generally consider a television or front office position first before dipping into coaching when he does decide to retire from playing.
The Celtics hired Benas Matkevicius – a former scout of CSKA Moscow – to be the team’s international scout, tweets Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (h/t to CSKABasket.com).

Clippers Open To Dealing Griffin For LeBron?

June 24th, 2014 at 8:57pm CST by Ryan Raroque

8:57pm: The team is discussing a run at LeBron but won’t trade Griffin for him, tweeted Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com earlier tonight. Shelburne points to the many times that Rivers has assured the Clippers big man that he’s “untouchable.”

5:07pm Clippers president of basketball operations Doc Rivers would be open to dealing Blake Griffin in a sign-and-trade package to land LeBron James, several NBA officials told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Griffin is slated to earn $17.6MM in 2014/15; according to Turner, Jared Dudley or Matt Barnes could be included along with Griffin in a deal, presumably to give LeBron a contract starting at above $20MM annually. Dudley and Barnes are on the books for $4.25MM and roughly $3.39MM respectively next season. The team wouldn’t mind including DeAndre Jordan or Jamal Crawford as an additional piece, but also understands that it would be difficult to do so.

Turner includes that the Clippers also haven’t ruled out making a run at Carmelo Anthony this summer, but didn’t specify if Los Angeles would be open to offering the same package to New York. According to one NBA official, Steve Ballmer – whose $2 billion offer to buy the Clippers is not official yet – would agree to paying the luxury tax if the team were to land James or Anthony.

Mannix’s Latest: Bradley, Cavs, Magic

June 24th, 2014 at 8:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Avery Bradley arguably had the most impressive NBA season of his career to date, averaging 14.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.1 SPG, and 39.5% from three-point range. With this in mind, rival executives tell Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that the 23-year-old guard could land a contract this summer that pays in the range of $7MM-$9MM annually, which could influence the Celtics to consider drafting some insurance for their backcourt this upcoming Thursday.

Below, you can find more interesting tidbits that Mannix passes along in his latest mock draft:

League sources say that the Cavaliers are weighing three options: Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Dante Exum. Mannix notes that Exum is a wild card; if Cleveland ultimately walked away with Exum on draft night, I think it’d be plausible to imagine that they’d trade down to select him.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan will not be inclined to draft someone who isn’t ready to play right away, which suggests that Joel Embiid may be out of the question with their No. 4 pick.
Two rival executives say that the Kings have been actively shopping their No. 8 pick.
The Bulls continue to shop their two first round picks – No. 16 and 19, respectively – hoping to land either future first rounders or the chance to move up in this year’s draft. Trading those picks for future selections would aid in Chicago’s attempt to clear cap space to make a run at Carmelo Anthony in free agency this summer.
The Rockets have fielded offers for their No. 25 pick. With their sights set on keeping enough salary cap space clear for a run at Carmelo or LeBron James, Mannix thinks that drafting and keeping an international player overseas next season would make sense if Houston decided to retain their selection.

Cavs, Hawks, Lakers Eye LeBron-‘Melo Pairing

June 24th, 2014 at 11:47am CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks, Cavs and Lakers are considering clearing the cap space necessary to double up on marquee free agent signings this summer and ink both LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, report Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. James’ decision to opt out of his contract and hit free agency has spurred the thinking of the Hawks and Cavs, while the Lakers have been considering this scenario for a while, according to the ESPN scribes.

James timed his opt-out nearly a week ahead of his June 30th deadline to do so to give potential suitors a better chance to make the necessary cap-clearing moves, sources tell Windhorst and Stein. He also plotted the timing to give the Heat a chance to make moves of their own, Windhorst and Stein add. The Heat have given at least some thought to recruiting Anthony to join James in Miami.

The Lakers probably possess the easiest path to the requisite cap space with about $34MM in commitments for next season and Nick Young‘s player option, which he appears likely to decline. They’ve been linked to trades in which they’d give up Steve Nash and the No. 7 overall pick, and they’ve entered those discussions with clearing cap space in mind, as Stein and ESPN.com colleague Ramona Shelburne wrote earlier today.

The Cavs don’t have much more in guaranteed salary, with just about $36MM, and they believe they can clear about $30MM in space under the projected $63.2MM cap without giving up Kyrie Irving or the No. 1 overall pick. The Hawks have a little more than $47MM tied up for next year, and they’re reluctant to tear apart their roster, according to Windhorst and Stein, in spite of a report earlier this morning that they were pondering a run at Anthony.

In any case, Cleveland, Atlanta and the Lakers all face a tight squeeze if they hope to accommodate both James and Anthony, who can command combined maximum salaries of roughly $42.5MM. Still, there’s been talk that each would be willing to take a discount, and, as Windhorst and Stein note, James and Anthony will likely communicate during free agency.

Hawks Ponder Run At Carmelo Anthony

June 24th, 2014 at 9:05am CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks are thinking about launching a run at Carmelo Anthony, according to Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who deem Atlanta a “sleeper” team in the race for the star forward. A run at ‘Melo reminiscent of last year’s darkhorse pitch to Dwight Howard is one of many options that Hawks GM Danny Ferry is considering, though it would require that the team clear a significant amount of cap space.

Atlanta and the Heat are on the fringes of an Anthony sweepstakes that more prominently features the Rockets, Mavs and Lakers, as well as the Bulls, who appear to have taken the lead, as Shelburne and Stein write. The Knicks are in the running, too, as they bid to keep Anthony from leaving New York.

The Knicks can re-sign him using Bird rights, but the Lakers have the most cap flexibility among the teams in the race. Still, Anthony wants the Lakers to upgrade their roster before he would consider them, according to Shelburne and Stein. That’s why rumors involving No. 7 pick and Steve Nash have cropped up, as Lakers look to part with them in search of improvements, as the ESPN scribes explain. Sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that ‘Melo met recently with Kobe Bryant in Europe, and while Bryant denies that any meeting took place, he said a meeting with Anthony is indeed on his agenda (Twitter link).

Ferry would have to make a few trades of his own just to open up room for a competitive contract offer. The Hawks have slightly more than $47MM in commitments to eight players next season, not counting their first-round pick at No. 15 overall. If the Hawks renounced all of their free agents, roster charges would bring Atlanta’s cap hits to about $49MM, leaving only about $14.2MM under the $63.2MM projected salary cap to bid for Anthony, who can make a starting salary of nearly $22.5MM.

Atlantic Notes: ‘Melo, Garnett, Felton, Draft

June 23rd, 2014 at 3:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

Neither New York team has a pick in either round of Thursday’s draft, but it seems there’s a decent chance that will change. The Knicks are thinking about trading Iman Shumpert for the first-rounder they’re seemingly intent on landing, and the Nets have scheduled workouts for this week with a bunch of potential second-round prospects, as we detail below amid the latest from the Big Apple:

Carmelo Anthony has opted out of his deal with New York, but it wasn’t news to the Knicks. He told the team three weeks ago that he still planned to opt out and reiterated as much during their meeting a little more than a week ago, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks nonetheless like their chances of re-signing him, Berman also notes.
The Nets are quietly optimistic that Kevin Garnett will return next season, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. His willingness to play out the final year of his contract, worth $12MM, is reportedly key to the future of soon-to-be free agent Paul Pierce, as Stein notes.
Raymond Felton avoided jail time as part of a plea agreement to resolve felony gun-related charges stemming from a February incident, reports Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. The Knicks point guard has been a part of trade rumors.
C.J. Fair, Semaj Christon, James Michael McAdoo, Johnny O’Bryant III, Xavier Thames, Ronald Roberts Jr., Langston Hall, Branden Frazier, Cameron Clark, Kyle Casey, Akil Mitchell, Cory Jefferson and Artem Klimenko are all working out for the Nets this week, the team announced.

Carmelo Anthony Talks Free Agent Decision

June 23rd, 2014 at 12:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony has opted out of his contract with the Knicks for next season and will hit free agency, as has been the plan since October. The Leon Rose client opened up in a video interview with Vice Sports about his thinking as he considers where he’ll sign next month, as Marc Berman of the New York Post and RealGM transcribe. We’ll share some of ‘Melo’s most noteworthy quotes from the interview, which was taped on June 3rd:

On his desire to help shape the roster of his team:

“As far as player personnel goes, I would love to be involved in that. At the end of the day, you’re creating a family.”

On the practical implications of his decision:

“The average person sees the opportunity to say ‘Melo should go here, ‘Melo should go there, he should do this, I think he should do that. They don’t take in consideration the family aspect of it. Where are you going to be living at? Do you want your kids to grow up in that place or that city? Do I want to stay the rest of my career in that situation and city? All that stuff comes into play.”

On how his family will come into play:

“My son goes to school and loves it here. To take him out and take him somewhere else, he has to learn that system all over again. He has to get new friends. I know how hard it was for me when I moved from New York to Baltimore at a young age, having to work to make friends and fit in and try to figure out the culture in that area. As far as basketball goes, it’s hard to just say OK I’m going to go there. Everybody is affected by it.”

On the importance of the 2014/15 season:

“The average person is looking at it next year — like it’s one year — you can win a championship if you go here. We’re looking at the big picture. You’re looking at the next six to eight years of your career.”