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Warriors, Draymond Green Cease Talks

July 1st, 2015 at 3:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:34pm: It’s “just a gap” between the Warriors and Green, a source who spoke with Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com said, adding that talks are going neither well nor poorly (Twitter link).

2:19pm: The Warriors and Draymond Green have broken off discussions with the restricted free agent poised to shop himself to other teams, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Wasserman Media Group client is now poised to shop himself to other teams, though Golden State can still match.

Offers made to DeMarre Carroll, Khris Middleton and Paul Millsap have surprised the Warriors, as the market has been surprisingly robust for forwards like Green, as Spears details. At least five teams, including the previously reported Pistons, Hawks and Rockets, have interest, according to Spears.

Rockets, Hawks Eye Draymond Green

June 30th, 2015 at 7:55am CST by Will Joseph

TUESDAY, 7:55am: The B.J. Armstrong client is willing to take less than the max to stay with the Warriors and help the club keep its roster together, despite the interest from other teams, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears.

MONDAY, 11:01pm: Green is scheduled to meet with Warriors when free agency begins at 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Wednesday in L.A., a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 9:01pm: Draymond Green, who will become a restricted free agent Wednesday, plans to do his due diligence with all suitors, which include the Pistons, Rockets, Hawks and, of course, the Warriors, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports.

“The one thing I’ve been taught is to go into this thing with no expectations,” Green said. “When you do, that’s when it gets frustrating. That’s when it gets stressful. I just want to have fun and enjoy this process.”

Green, a first-team all-NBA defensive team selection, is projected to make close to max money during free agency. The Warriors could match any offer sheet he signs and have expressed a high interest in doing so.

“They said they wanted to keep me, but we will see what happens,” Green said. “I don’t know. I am not getting no pressure. There are no reports [of management] flying around right now [to see me]. There is really no need to feel pressure. Ain’t nothing going on right now other than LeBron James and Kevin Love opted out.”

Qualifying Offers: Monday

June 29th, 2015 at 7:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors formally made a qualifying offer of $2.725MM to Draymond Green, ensuring the versatile forward will be a restricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. Golden State is expected to match any offer sheet to Green, one of the key players en route to its first championship in 40 seasons. The Pistons, Hawks and Rockets are among the teams expected to pursue Green. The Warriors also extended a qualifying offer of $1.147MM to Ognjen Kuzmic but declined the same amount on Justin Holiday, allowing the shooting guard to become an unrestricted free agent, according to a tweet from Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.

In other news regarding qualifying offers around the league:

The Cavaliers made qualifying offers to three of their rotation players, allowing Cleveland to match any offer sheet, Pincus reports in a separate tweet. Tristan Thompson ($6.778MM), Matthew Dellavedova ($1.147MM) and Iman Shumpert ($4.334MM) were the players who received them.
The Thunder made a qualifying offer of approximately $7.47MM to Enes Kanter, according to Pincus (Twitter link).
The Jazz gave a qualifying offer of $1.045MM to Joe Ingles and the Timberwolves did the same for about $1.147MM to make Robbie Hummel a restricted free agent, according to Pincus (Twitter links). However, Minnesota declined the same price tag on Justin Hamilton‘s qualifying offer, Darren Wolfson of KSTP.com tweets, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
The Suns made the qualifying offer of $4.79MM to Brandon Knight while his former backcourt partner, the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, got a qualifying offer of $2.275MM, according to Pincus (Twitter links).
The Raptors extended a qualifying offer of $1.829MM to a player who was overseas last season, Nando De Colo, Pincus tweets. De Colo played for CSKA Moscow last season.

And-Ones: Celtics, Bulls, Rodriguez, Frazier

June 20th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics are reportedly trying to move out of the No. 28th spot in the draft in an effort to gain more cap flexibility, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter Link). Earlier today, it was reported that the team would like to move up in the draft in order to select Myles Turner. Boston also owns the No.16 overall pick, so perhaps it could dangle both picks to a team drafting in the back-end of the lottery, which is where Turner is expected to be selected.

Here’s more from around the league on the last day of spring:

Sergio Rodriguez is not contemplating the possibility of making the jump to the NBA, barring an offer he cannot refuse, according to Marca.com (Translation by HoopsHype.com). It was previously reported that the point guard planned to try and secure an NBA deal this summer.
Tom Thibodeau and his coaching staff reportedly lobbied for Draymond Green to be the No.29 overall selection in the 2012 draft instead of Marquis Teague, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Since taking over for Thibodeau, Fred Hoiberg has immersed himself in the Bulls’ draft process, according to Johnson in the same piece. Hoiberg is also working finalize his staff with Pete Myers, Ed Pinckney, Mike Wilhelm and video coordinator Charlie Henry.
Michael Frazier will work out for the Sixers, Hawks and Rockets, according to Antonya English and Bob Putnam of the Tampa Bay Times. The former Gator has previously worked out for 11 other teams.

Latest On Warriors, Draymond Green

June 17th, 2015 at 9:14am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 9:05am: Green seemed make his intentions clear late Tuesday when Kawakami asked him if he was sure he’d be back with the Warriors next season.

“I’ll be here. I love this group of guys,” Green said.

Kawakami cautioned that the remark came in the emotionally charged hours after the Warriors had won the championship, and Green said in response to a follow-up question that he’s not thinking about his free agency for now. Still, it’s nonetheless a positive sign for the Warriors.

TUESDAY, 3:17pm: Warriors GM Bob Myers refused to delve deeply into the mechanics of the negotiations the team has planned with soon-to-be restricted free agent Draymond Green, but he nonetheless expressed confidence the team will bring him back, as Jeff Faraudo of the Bay Area News Group writes.

“Tell the Warrior fans they shouldn’t worry,” Myers said.

The Warriors front office had given every indication as the trade deadline approached that they planned to match any offer for Green, as Bay Area News Group columnist Tim Kawakami reported then, and the latest comments from Myers suggest that hasn’t changed. Myers cited league rules against public comments about contract talks as he refused to elaborate today, and while it’s not uncommon for teams to say they’ll match any offer for a restricted free agent, the league frowns on it.

In any case, Myers made it clear that the team hopes to retain the core of its club, Faraudo relays, which may or may not include David Lee, who’s suddenly become a significant weapon again after falling out of the rotation and sitting on the bench for all of the first two Finals games. Lee’s salary of nearly $15.494MM for next season is part of more than $77.5MM in commitments Golden State already has for 2015/16, never mind a new deal for Green. The Warriors have Bird Rights on Green, so they can pay up to the max if they want, but that would likely entail a massive tax bill with the tax line projected to come in at $81.6MM.

Green, a native of Michigan, reportedly had significant interest in signing an offer sheet with the Pistons, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote during the season in a report that seemed to suggest a max offer from some team would be in play. Wojnarowski detailed the Warriors’ desire to match an offer that would exceed Klay Thompson‘s salary, which will be no more than $15.5MM next season, rather than make the offer themselves, lest Thompson’s feelings get hurt. Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy seemed to make it clear he has plenty of interest in Green, though that doesn’t necessarily mean that he’d want to tie up his team’s cap for three days while the Warriors can simply wait to match. Van Gundy also made his comments in response to questions about Green long before the Pistons traded for Ersan Ilyasova, whose presence helps solidify the team’s front line.

Myers said today that he doesn’t expect that the job change for Arn Tellem, the super-agent from the Wasserman Media Group who’s leaving for a job with the Pistons organization, would play a role in negotiations with Green, who’s represented by Wasserman’s B.J. Armstrong. Myers, himself a former agent, used to work with Armstrong, as Myers pointed out, according to Faraudo.

Cavs Notes: Love, Draft, Dellavedova

June 9th, 2015 at 11:46am CST by Chuck Myron

Team officials around the league are split on whether Draymond Green or Kevin Love is the better player, and no one on the Warriors would trade Green for Love straight-up these days, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. That represents a dramatic shift from the beginning of the season, but Cavs GM David Griffin, whose team had been discussing Love trades with the Timberwolves two years prior to last August’s trade, is adamant that the Cavs want to keep Love, according to Lowe. There’s more on Love, who likewise continues to insist that he wants to stay in Cleveland, amid the latest on the Cavs:

Cleveland’s willingness to have given up Andrew Wiggins for Love in the first place was tied to the choice LeBron James made to return to Cleveland, Griffin admitted in his interview with Lowe. “You have a finite window when you’re dealing with a player that’s 30,” Griffin said, citing James’ age. “The organization had wanted Kevin for a while, but we paid the price we paid entirely because of LeBron’s presence.”
Lowe nonetheless suggests that the Cavs could have kept Wiggins and acquired Thaddeus Young from the Sixers instead of Love, sending salary filler to Philadelphia along with the same first-round pick that ended up going to Sixers in the three-team Love trade.
The Cavs had workouts scheduled Monday with Arizona power forward Brandon Ashley, Michigan State guard Travis Trice, Wisconsin-Green Bay point guard Keifer Sykes, Louisville swingman Wayne Blackshear and Stanford small forward Anthony Brown, sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link).
Matthew Dellavedova is proving former Cavs GM Chris Grant wise as he makes an outsized impact in the Finals at the tail end of the two-year minimum-salary deal Grant signed him to in 2013, as Chris Mannix of SI.com examines. Dellavedova is set for restricted free agency this summer.

Leonard, Green, Allen Lead All-Defensive Teams

May 20th, 2015 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Tony Allen, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul comprise this year’s All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced via press release. Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Bogut, John Wall and Tim Duncan are on the second team. Bogut’s selection is perhaps most important, since he triggers a bonus worth 15% of his nearly $12.973MM salary for this season, giving him approximately $1.946MM in extra pay. It also means his cap hit for next season jumps to $13.8MM instead of $12MM, since the bonus will fall in the category of a likely bonus. Still, the extra $1.8MM wouldn’t count against the tax next season unless Bogut again plays in 65 games and makes an All-Defensive team.

Leonard was the leading vote-getter from the media members who cast the ballots, which is no surprise, since he also won the Defensive Player of the Year award. The latest honor is further ammunition for a max contract this summer from the Spurs, though it appears he and San Antonio were already set to quickly agree to terms on one come July. Green and Jordan are also soon-to-be free agents on the first team, while Butler and Duncan are heading to free agency from the second team.

Davis, who’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, topped the voting among second-teamers. The balloting went by a points system in which two points were awarded for a first team vote and one point for a second. Rudy Gobert, who received five first team votes, garnered the most points among those who missed the cut for both teams. LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Avery Bradley, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Klay Thompson, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley were others who garnered multiple first team votes but didn’t make it on either team. Click here to see how each media member voted.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Green, Clippers

May 19th, 2015 at 9:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Kings have been searching for players who can score from the perimeter in the last few drafts but haven’t struck gold yet, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee writes. However, Sacramento isn’t a few more made three-pointers away from being a contender, and the franchise should focus on adding a playmaker rather than a simple scorer in this year’s draft, Jones opines. “I think they’ve got to be careful,” ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla said. “They’re in that range where they don’t want to reach and take a guy with maybe top-15 talent just because it’s a need. My suggestion to the Kings would be take the best available player and hope that guy is a shooter.”

Here’s the latest out of the Pacific Division:

Warriors‘ forward Draymond Green admitted that his pending restricted free agency this summer caused him to press at the beginning of the season, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders relays. “A part of that was I was coming into a contract situation. It’s normal for that to be on your mind,” Green said. “Steve [Kerr] and [Alvin] Gentry sat me down and they said listen, ‘We know the situation you’re in. We know you’re in a contract year, and you better believe we’re going to do everything we can to help you in your contract year.’ Coach Kerr said, ‘I’ve played in this league 15 years, I’ve been a GM, I understand all that stuff.’ That kind of helped me settle down. It was like, alright don’t go out there worrying about that. It’s the completely wrong thing to be worried about.”
Their salary cap situation will make it difficult for the Clippers to make roster improvements this offseason, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register writes. Los Angeles has $58,125,748 in guaranteed salary already on the books for next season.
Kings president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac further stamped out DeMarcus Cousins trade rumors today, calling him “untradeable” and someone he wants to build around in an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link). Divac made it clear last month that he intends to keep Cousins in Sacramento for the long term, and the newly minted exec is reportedly in awe of the big man’s talent.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Warriors Notes: Green, Myers, Iguodala

May 9th, 2015 at 8:50pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Mary Babers-Green, the mother of Draymond Green, reiterated that her son likes playing in Golden State and that where she lives won’t be a major factor in his decision, Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal writes.

“I want him to stay in the place that will be the most productive for his career, and I want what makes him happy,” said Babers-Green, who lives about 70 miles away from Detroit. “The Bay loves Dray, and Dray loves the Bay. I’ve got NBA TV.”

It was previously reported that the 25-year-old had “significant interest” in signing an offer sheet with the Pistons this summer. President of Basketball Operations Stan Van Gundy hinted that Detroit was interested in signing the Michigan State product. However, GM Bob Myers made it clear that Green is in the Warriors’ long-term plans and the team intends to match any offer sheet he signs. “We really like him,” Myers said. “We believe he’s a core member of our team and we believe he’s a big part of our future.”

As Draymond Green and the Warriors take on the Grizzlies in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, here’s more from Golden State:

Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders believes Green could command a maximum salary contract this offseason. Nearly two-thirds of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in my poll earlier this season do not believe Green is worth the max.
Retaining Klay Thompson and hiring coach Steve Kerr were the two moves that allowed the Warriors to reach their level of success this season, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com opines. Myers won executive of the year after the team’s 67 win campaign. Last month, I examined the transactions that Myers made in order to put a championship contender on the floor and Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors documented the former agent’s draft history in Golden State.
Andre Iguodala accepted a reserve role for the Warriors this season, but the guard still tries to have the same mentality as he did when he was a starter, Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group writes. “You try to do the same; you try to be on the attack at all times. It’s a little bit of a different dynamic with the role and everything, but you still want to be an impact player,” the Arizona product said. Iguodala made slightly less than $12.3MM this season, which is the second highest salary of any non-starter in the league, behind teammate David Lee, who made slightly more than $15MM.

Pacific Notes: Bogut, Green, Suns, Lakers

April 10th, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Trading for Andrew Bogut in 2012 was a turning point for the Warriors, who clinched the league’s best record Thursday, writes USA Today’s Sam Amick. Bogut, who signed a rare veteran extension in 2013, credits the owners and GM Bob Myers for reviving a team that was “in shambles” upon his arrival. That certainly makes it easier to stomach paying the 15% bonus that Bogut appears poised to trigger. There’s more on the Warriors amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

It’s been a “fitful” season for the Suns, as president of basketball operations Lon Babby puts it, and he acknowledges that the team’s deadline trades were made with the long term in mind and compromised the team this season, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. Babby also said he continues to support GM Ryan McDonough and coach Jeff Hornacek.
Myers makes it clear in a long piece from Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams that the Warriors are thinking of soon-to-be restricted free agent Draymond Green as a part of the team beyond the end of his contract this summer. “We really like him,” Myers said. “We believe he’s a core member of our team and we believe he’s a big part of our future.”
Management, and not Kobe Bryant, is to blame for the inability of the Lakers to attract marquee free agents the past two summers, as Matt Barnes opines to Chris Ballard of SI.com. Barnes spent 2010/11 and 2011/12 with the Lakers before moving on to the Clippers. A report in October cited agents and team sources who said Bryant was driving free agents away from the Lakers.