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Nets Likely To Make Mike Conley Top 2016 Target

November 2nd, 2015 at 1:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

People around the team believe that Mike Conley is the 2016 free agent that the Nets are most likely to make their top target next summer, according to Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis. His connection to Nets coach Lionel Hollins, who used to be the bench boss for the Grizzlies, remains strong, with Conley having called him “like a second father almost to me,” as Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com noted this weekend. Still, Mazzeo suggests that it will be tough for the Nets to make themselves appealing to the point guard who’s No. 3 behind only LeBron James and Kevin Durant in our latest Free Agent Power Rankings, and Herrington doesn’t regard the Nets as a serious threat to sign him.

Conley, 28, is coming to the end of a deeply discounted contract that’s set to give him only slighly more than $9.588MM this season, but not many believe he’ll leave Memphis, as TNT’s David Aldridge wrote this summer. Marc Gasol hinted this summer that Conley is planning a long-term future with the Grizzlies, though the center more recently said he wouldn’t try to coerce his teammate into staying.

The Nets have a hole at point guard, where Jarrett Jack, who’s been a reserve for most of his 10 previous seasons in the NBA, is the starter in the wake of the team’s offseason buyout deal with Deron Williams. Brooklyn owes its 2016 first-round pick to the Celtics without protection, so GM Billy King will likely have to turn to veterans if he is to upgrade the roster after this season. The Nets have only about $45MM committed for next summer, when Joe Johnson comes off the books, and some around the league believe the salary cap will shoot up to $95MM.

Conley will be eligible for a projected maximum starting salary of $24.9MM for 2016/17, though that number is based off the league’s official cap projection of $89MM, and since max salaries are tied to the cap, a $95MM cap would enable Conley to command more. His agent is Mike Conley Sr., his father.

The Grizzlies can use Bird rights to go over the cap to retain Conley, though with less than $48MM committed for 2016/17, they have the cap flexibility to go after another team’s key free agent. Herrington speculates that they might pursue Harrison Barnes, who broke off extension talks with the Warriors last week, though Barnes will be a restricted free agent, meaning the Warriors can match offers for him.

What do you think of Brooklyn’s chances to land Conley or another marquee free agent next summer? Leave a comment to let us know.

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Extension Rumors: Sunday

November 1st, 2015 at 11:13pm CST by Will Joseph

It seems unlikely that Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal and Warriors center Festus Ezeli will receive rookie-scale contract extensions and thus will be restricted free agents come July, barring an unexpected late turnaround in negotiations, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports.

The news regarding Beal does not come as a surprise because though the Wizards fully intend to sign him to a maximum-salary contract, they prefer to do so next summer. Stein adds that the Wizards have been consistent with their message that they see Beal as a future and long-term star for the franchise. Reports have conflicted about how much negotiating has occurred between Ezeli and the Warriors, but an extension never seemed imminent.

The window for former first-round picks to sign contract extensions during the fourth and final year of their rookie contracts is Monday.

Here is more news on extensions:

  • Players known to still be in negotiations entering the deadline include Raptors shooting guard/small forward Terrence Ross, Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard and Thunder shooting guard Dion Waiters, according to Stein. Regarding Ross, it’s likely to go down to the wire and the Raptors would be open to giving him an extension, if the price is to their liking, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. reports. “I mean it would be an honor to get an extension,” Ross told Lewenberg. “If that doesn’t happen then we’ll take it from there.”
  • Extensions at this point are looking unlikely for Sixers shooting guard Tony Wroten and Celtics big men Tyler Zeller and Jared Sullinger, according to Stein.
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Pacific Notes: Barnes, Chandler, Clark, Lakers

October 27th, 2015 at 3:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors GM Bob Myers didn’t express trepidation as he told reporters today that Harrison Barnes has chosen to end extension talks, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group relays (Twitter link). Golden State will have the right to match offers for Barnes in restricted free agency next summer.

“We ended discussions in a very healthy place if that’s possible, and I say that in all sincerity,” Myers said.

See more on the Warriors amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

  • Tyson Chandler is hopeful that he can remain with the Suns for the duration of his four-year contract and finish his career with Phoenix, as he said in a response to a question from Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “It’s been tough. I want to, honestly,” Chandler said. “I wanted to do it in Dallas. Now I want to do it in Phoenix. It’s a lot of stress on kids and the family, even myself. I would love to continue to grow with this franchise and try to elevate it, especially with these young players. I think I can be huge here as far as the impact I can make. That’s my goal.”
  • Ian Clark picked up a $473,636 partial guarantee that’s worth half his full-season salary Monday, when the Warriors made him part of their opening night roster. His contract had been non-guaranteed. He’d lock in the full amount on the leaguewide guarantee date in January. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders first reported the terms of his deal.
  • The Lakers upgraded their roster over the summer, but co-owner and executive VP of basketball oeprations Jim Buss indicated to USA Today’s Sam Amick that improvement in the standings this season isn’t his goal. “[Jerry Buss] taught me for all these years, we’re always looking three to five years ahead,” Buss said, referring to his late father, the longtime Lakers owner. “Right now, I’m not looking at this season … I don’t care about making the playoffs and getting eliminated in the playoffs. What I care about is getting the core players, because we want to get to the top, and the only way we can get to the top is to have the core players, get the free agents, have flexibility in our [salary] cap, and we’ll be there within three years. Not a problem. Boom.”
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Warriors, Harrison Barnes Halt Extension Talks

October 27th, 2015 at 1:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Harrison Barnes has decided against an extension with the Warriors, GM Bob Myers told reporters today, including Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). The sides were facing a November 2nd deadline to reach a deal that would keep Barnes out of restricted free agency next summer. Barnes said he prefers to focus on this season and defending Golden State’s championship and seems “very comfortable” with the idea of ending negotiations until July, observes Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).

Barnes said a month ago that extension talks were going well shortly after Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that he had turned down a four-year, $64MM offer. That offer came before he changed agents, switching from Jeff Wechsler of 24/7 Sports Management to Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management. Myers made it clear over the summer that he wanted to sign the former No. 7 overall pick to an extension, though co-owner Joe Lacob more recently told Kawakami that while he’d like to see the team do an extension with Barnes, he’d be OK with him ending up in restricted free agency.

Next season’s projected maximum salary for a player with Barnes’ level of experience is $20.4MM, though that number stands to escalate if the cap ends up higher than the projected $89MM, as some around the league reportedly believe it will. Golden State already has $74.8MM in guaranteed salary for 2016/17, including partial guarantees for Jason Thompson and Shaun Livingston. The cap hold for Barnes, worth more than $9.683MM, would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the Warriors to pursue max level free agents while waiting to re-sign Barnes next summer, as the Spurs did with Kawhi Leonard‘s restricted free agency this year. A sign-and-trade would represent the most logical path to a marquee free agent addition for Golden State, and Kawakami speculated that the Warriors would be better positioned for sign-and-trades if they inked Barnes to an extension.

Barnes had a breakthrough season last year under coach Steve Kerr, who moved him back into the starting lineup after he’d spent a year coming off the bench behind Andre Iguodala. He still averaged the same number of minutes per game, but he posted better scoring and rebounding averages, and he improved his three-point shooting from 34.7% to an elite 40.5%.

The former University of North Carolina player is still just 23, with room for improvement, as I noted when I profiled Barnes’ extension candidacy, suggesting that $16-18MM a year would satisfy both sides. That was before news surfaced that Barnes had turned down Golden State’s offer of $16MM annual salaries.

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Pacific Notes: Crawford, Barnes, Ezeli, Hibbert

October 21st, 2015 at 2:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

It took a sell job from Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, but Jamal Crawford is on board with continuing to be a part of a crowded rotation, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register details. Rivers and Crawford spoke about their issues over the summer and again before camp, and while Crawford took to social media this summer to drop vague hints that he was dissatisfied, the two-time Sixth Man of the Year now says it can “easily work” for him in L.A. Rivers said in September he was unlikely to trade Crawford, swatting down rumors. See more from the Pacific Division:

  • Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob would like to see the team sign Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli to extensions before the November 2nd deadline, but he’d still be OK with them ending up in restricted free agency next summer, as Lacob said in a podcast with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Lacob also made it seem as though it’s unlikely that Steve Kerr will coach the team in the opener as he continues to nurse his ailing back.
  • Roy Hibbert is fostering team chemistry in a way that no one did on the Lakers last year, Jordan Clarkson tells Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. The big man doesn’t see it as all that important but thinks that if he can help others perform, it will reflect well on him in the future. Hibbert is poised to hit free agency this coming summer. “When the team wins,” Hibbert said, “everybody wins. So helping them is going to help me on the court in the long run and then that will help whatever contract stuff. So you have to be selfless.”
  • Omri Casspi is struggling in the preseason, but coach George Karl isn’t worried about the player in whom the Kings invested $5.8MM on a new two-year deal this summer, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I think the way he played at the end of last year, he’s earned the right to be given some freedom and opportunity to figure out what happens this year,” Karl said.
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And-Ones: Extensions, Kentucky, Lakers

October 11th, 2015 at 10:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The Pistons do not seem overly concerned about maximizing on cap space and waiting to the summer to strike a deal with Andre Drummond and it’s more likely than any other potential extension other than Harrison Barnes that the center secures a lucrative extension this month, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. Stein adds that Barnes is also likely to receive a large extension from the Warriors before the league’s deadline for rookie-deal extensions on November 2nd. Stein points out — as we at Hoops Rumors have consistently mentioned where applicable as well — that the window has been pushed back two days (it usually is October 31st).

The Wizards have an opposite approach from the Pistons and instead are hoping to convince Bradley Beal to hold off on a new deal until next summer because the delay could lead to Washington having nearly $10MM in additional salary cap space next summer when it intends to make a run Kevin Durant.

You can view our Extension Candidate series by clicking here.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Rasual Butler likely must beat out Jimmer Fredette and Reggie Williams, among others, for the Spurs‘ final regular season roster spot, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio-Express News writes. Butler, 36, knew what the odds were when he signed with the Spurs last month, McDonald adds. Butler, as McDonald points out, has played for five teams since the start of the 2010/11 season.“Some of us have to work a little harder, and you have to be OK with that,” Butler said. “You have to pick your lunch pail up and go to work if this is what you love do to.”
  • All 30 teams scouted Kentucky’s pro day, Adam Zagoria of SNY.TV reports.
  • Matt Brase will finish the preseason with the Rockets before taking over as coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their NBA D-League affiliate, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes in a worthwhile profile. Brase was announced as the Vipers’ new coach in August.
  • The Lakers are hopeful rookie Marcelo Huertas, whose $525,093 contract isn’t guaranteed, can stabilize the second unit, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times details. Huertas has been unable to practice because of a hamstring strain, Pincus adds. “He’s a very, very good floor leader,” Lakers head coach Byron Scott said. “He’s a gutsy, pesky-type guy.  He doesn’t back down.  He’s going to try to guard you to the best of his ability, and he’s a guy that can make plays for you.”
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Pacific Notes: Johnson, Morris, Barnes, Collison

September 30th, 2015 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wesley Johnson grew tired of the individualism on the Lakers last season and sought a change this summer, as Janis Carr of the Orange County Register details. Johnson signed with the Clippers, citing the persistence of the front office that took a similar tack in its pursuit of Josh Smith, and the swingman praised the clear set of expectations that Doc Rivers has laid out for him, contrasting it to what he thought was a disjointed Lakers offense, Carr observes.

“You would go out there and want to play the right way, but everyone wanted to prove themselves,” Johnson said, according to Carr. “So nobody really knew what was going on. Nobody ever knew, so it was hard for anyone to come in and get into a good rhythm or flow. Nobody was playing together.”

See more from the Pacific Division:

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Pacific Notes: Cousins, Bryant, Warriors

September 28th, 2015 at 10:16pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and coach George Karl called their relationship “solid” during the team’s annual media day on Monday, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports. While Karl reportedly wanted to trade Cousins after he took over as the head coach late last season, they seem to have ironed out their differences, Jones continues. Cousins called Karl “my man” and said their offseason meeting in Las Vegas was vital to establishing a relationship. “When we met in Vegas, we came to a head and we talked our differences out like men,”€ Cousins said to Jones. “And at the end of the day, it’s about winning games. That’€™s one thing me and him can agree on –€“ we want to win and that’™s our goal and that’s all that really matters, winning.”€ Karl gave Cousins an A-plus for his offseason training and said Cousins has shown maturity, Jones adds. “€œI see a different player,”€ Karl said. “€œI see a different substance of character in this guy right now.”

In other news around the Pacific Division:

  • Kobe Bryant feels more uncertainty about this season than any other in his career with the Lakers, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Bryant is unsure how the team will blend together after the franchise made a number of offseason moves and drafted D’Angelo Russell as their point guard, Medina continues. “It’€™s a big question mark,” Bryant said during the team’s media day. “We have a lot of young guys. It’s a good mix. We have some veterans as well. But guys have never played together before, so it remains to be seen.” Bryant is also unsure how he fits into that mix after enduring three season-ending injuries in as many seasons, Medina adds.
  • Small forward Harrison Barnes claims that extension talks with the Warriors are “going well,” Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Barnes reportedly turned down a four-year, $64MM offer but expressed confidence during the team’s media day that a contract can be finalized before the Nov. 2nd deadline, Simmons continues. GM Bob Myers said last week that he expects the negotiations to go down to the wire, Simmons adds.
  • Veteran power forward Nikoloz Tskitishvili, who is in training camp with the Clippers, feels he’s ready for the NBA again after playing in six countries over a nine-year span since leaving the United States, according to Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. “I’m just enjoying what I do,” he said to Kavner. “With this mentality, I got better. All of a sudden, I was like, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’ I think I’m ready for it.”
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Reaction To Warriors, Barnes Extension Talks

September 22nd, 2015 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Harrison Barnes resisted the notion that he should give former agent Jeff Wechsler the standard 4% commission before their parting of ways, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear how much commission Barnes has agreed to give new agent Jeff Schwartz. Wechsler, in negotiations with the Warriors, had reportedly asked for more than the $16MM annually the team offered before Barnes let him go, and it would be surprising if Barnes found Wechsler not to be aggressive enough in talks with the club, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group surmises. See more on the Warriors and Barnes:

  • Lowe doesn’t envision Barnes ending up with a max deal (Twitter link), but Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com thinks it won’t be hard for him to come up with $20MM salaries if he hits free agency next summer, given the rising cap and his ability to defend opposing power forwards. That would be right around Barnes’ projected max of $20.4MM. Some in the Warriors organization feel guilt over the way the team failed to properly develop Barnes earlier in his career, Strauss writes.
  • Barnes has more value to the Warriors if they sign him to an extension than if they don’t, in part because it would clear a hurdle to a sign-and-trade that brings Kevin Durant to Golden State next summer, as Kawakami details. The Warriors would nonetheless be willing to pass on an extension if Barnes wants much more than $16MM, Kawakami opines, believing that the sides will instead settle somewhere around $16MM just as the deadline is closing in.
  • The presence of Draymond Green, whom the Warriors re-signed for five years and $82MM this summer, serves as a roadblock to Barnes ever hitting his ceiling as a player for Golden State, argues Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.
  • Barnes’ apparent rejection of the Warriors’ offer validates the decision the Hornets made to sign Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to a four-year, $52MM extension, posits Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who doesn’t believe the Hornets would trade Kidd-Gilchrist straight up for Barnes if the idea were ever broached (All Twitter links).
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Warriors Offer Harrison Barnes Extension

September 20th, 2015 at 7:26pm CST by Will Joseph

The Warriors have offered Harrison Barnes a four-year, $64MM contract extension proposal, reports Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, who cites league sources.

The offer wasn’t accepted, Wojnarowski adds, but this appears to be a starting point in talks that could last until the November 2nd deadline for rookie extensions. Golden State has been reportedly seeking a deal with Barnes and fellow extension-eligible Festus Ezeli.

The offer of $16MM per year annually had been negotiated by Barnes’ former agent, Jeff Wechsler, according to Wojnarowski. After that initial offer, Wechsler countered with a figure north of $16MM annually before he and Barnes parted ways, league sources told Wojnarowski. Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports is representing Barnes now. Former Nets executive Bobby Marks tweets that the proposed deal would allow the Warriors to stay under the tax in the 2016/17 season and allow them to re-sign Stephen Curry in 2017/18 and still have money left for free agents.

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