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Eastern Notes: Knicks, Pistons, LeVert, Green

October 10th, 2016 at 9:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks team president Phil Jackson believes the acquistions of point guard Derrick Rose and center Joakim Noah poses “minimal risk and a great reward,” according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Jackson made that comment during a podcast with Shaquille O’Neal. Rose was acquired in a trade with the Bulls, while Noah signed a four-year, $72MM contract as a free agent. “Both of them, I think, have some career left, even though they’ve had injuries, and it’s what they call risk-reward,” Jackson said to O’Neal. “What was the risk and what was the reward? And I felt it was a minimal risk and a great reward if we were able to put together a good team.”

In other developments around the Eastern Conference:

Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy does not plan to carry both Lorenzo Brown and Ray McCallum on his opening-day roster, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports. Brown and McCallum are locked in a training-camp battle to back up point guard Ish Smith with starter Reggie Jackson sidelined the first month of the season by knee tendinitis. Neither one has a guaranteed contract. “It’s not going to be an easy decision,” Van Gundy told Langlois. “The way we’d love to start the year is to have them both because you want three point guards. But to do that, we’d actually have to cut somebody on a guaranteed contract. I don’t foresee that.”
Caris LeVert has been a limited participant in training camp as the rookie guard continues to progress from the foot injuries that cut short his final season at the University of Michigan, Cory Wright of BrooklynNets.com reports. New Nets coach Kenny Atkinson is still unsure when LeVert, the 20th overall pick in this year’s draft, will be able to go without any restrictions, Wright adds.
Jeff Green‘s ties to the Magic’s front office and the trade that brought Serge Ibaka to Orlando made it an easy decision for him to sign with the franchise, John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com writes. The well-traveled small forward signed a one-year, $15MM contract with the Magic after agreeing to the deal on the first day of free agency. “I knew (assistant GM) Scott (Perry) and (GM) Rob (Hennigan), too, from OKC,” Green told Denton. “I saw that the Magic had traded for Serge on draft day and I had played with Serge already. … I knew this would be a great situation.”

Southeast Notes: Jack, Magic, Cuban, Whiteside

July 30th, 2016 at 4:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Veteran point guard Jarrett Jack is looking forward to a “new start” in Atlanta after a torn ACL cost him most of last season, writes Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. Jack, who played in just 32 games for the Nets before suffering the injury in January, signed with the Hawks two weeks ago. Jack lives in Atlanta and played at Georgia Tech, so he said the city was an obvious destination. “I was flattered that they called and wanted to take a chance on me, knowing that I’m coming off knee surgery,” he said, “but I’m willing to prove to everybody that I’m more than capable of withstanding the physical challenges of the season and just contributing to the team.” Jack continues to rehab the knee and said he plans to be fully ready by the start of the season. He is about a month away from being cleared for full five-on-five basketball.

There’s more news from the Southeast Division:

Developing chemistry is the next challenge in Orlando after this summer’s huge turnover, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The changes started with the hiring of coach Frank Vogel and continued through a revamped roster that has just six players back from the end of last season. The most notable additions for the Magic were Serge Ibaka, who was acquired in a draft night trade, and Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green, who signed as free agents. “To me, chemistry and togetherness is something you earn, something you achieve and something you work towards by creating this culture where people like to come to work and people are playing for each other,” Vogel said. “You talk about selflessness and a team-first mentality. Whether we’ve been together for five years or are brand new to each other, every year you’ve got to work to achieve chemistry.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who lost DeAndre Jordan to a change of heart in free agency last summer, said he never tried to persuade Heat center Hassan Whiteside to reconsider before this year’s moratorium was lifted, relays Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Whiteside was Dallas’ top target in free agency, but he decided rather quickly to stay in Miami. “Never crossed our mind,” Cuban said in an interview with Dallas radio station 105.3-FM. “… We were happy with the direction we were going in and we had made our pitch to Hassan, but we didn’t really think he was going to leave and we didn’t go back to him and even bring it up.”
Offseason signings have left the Heat with 11 players who are ineligible to be traded before December 15th, Winderman notes in the same piece. In addition to Whiteside, they are Wayne Ellington, Udonis Haslem, Stefan Jankovic, James Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Willie Reed, Dion Waiters, Okaro White and Derrick Williams.

Magic Sign Jeff Green

July 1st, 2016 at 5:38pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The Magic have officially signed Green, the team announced today in a press release.

JULY 1: After acquiring one former Thunder forward in a trade last month, Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan has now agreed to sign another former Oklahoma City frontcourt player. According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link), the Magic have reached an agreement on a one-year, $15MM deal with Jeff Green.

[RELATED: Magic to re-sign Evan Fournier]

Green, who will turn 30 in August, appeared in a total of 80 games this past season for the Grizzlies and Clippers, averaging 11.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.7 APG. The veteran forward, who started his career with the SuperSonics a year before they became the Thunder, heard from the Clippers last night, but their interest in re-signing him didn’t materialize into a deal.

Signing a one-year contract this summer will allow Green to reach the open market again in a year, when the salary cap will easily exceed $100MM. If he has a strong season in Orlando, Green could parlay his performance into a more lucrative multiyear deal next time around.

The Magic have been very active so far this offseason, sending Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova, and the rights to Domantas Sabonis to Oklahoma City for Serge Ibaka. Orlando followed up that move by acquiring Jodie Meeks in a deal with the Pistons, then reaching long-term agreements with D.J. Augustin and Evan Fournier in free agency.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Rumors: Wade, Heat, Lakers, Horford

July 1st, 2016 at 4:34am CST by Luke Adams

A source involved in the Dwyane Wade situation tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the Heat have been unable to tell Wade exactly what they’re willing to pay him because their plans will largely depend on whether or not they land Hassan Whiteside and/or Kevin Durant. That has left Wade feeling frustrated, since he wants to be a priority for the team. Still, Jackson says it would be a surprise if the veteran guard ultimately ended up anywhere except Miami.

Here are several more rumors and updates left over from what has been a busy first few hours of free agency:

The Lakers didn’t reach out to Al Horford when free agency began, but they do have interest in him, says Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. It’s not clear whether that interest has dwindled at all now that the team has agreed to terms with Timofey Mozgov.
The Magic have expressed interest in Jeff Green, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Dwight Howard has sit-downs lined up with four teams, with his Friday meetings happening in Atlanta and his Saturday meetings happening in Las Vegas, tweets ESPN’s Chris Broussard. We know Howard is meeting with Atlanta and Boston, but it’s not clear who his other two suitors are.
Don’t be surprised if – and when – the Pistons go after Thomas Robinson, per David Mayo of MLive.com (Twitter link).
Lance Thomas and Langston Galloway each received interest from a handful of teams as free agency got underway, with the Thunder, Timberwolves, Nets, and Hawks calling Thomas, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com. The Knicks would like to re-sign both players.
E’Twaun Moore will start hearing pitches on Friday and his free agency may move quickly, sources tell ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). The Bulls are viewed as the favorites to retain Moore.
When he called free agent guard Jamal Crawford on Thursday night, Clippers coach Doc Rivers swore Crawford wouldn’t be going anywhere, per Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).

FA Rumors: DeRozan, Crawford, Clippers, Dudley

July 1st, 2016 at 12:47am CST by Luke Adams

Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News has updates on a pair of free agent shooting guards, reporting (via Twitter) that the Sixers and Lakers have inquired tonight on DeMar DeRozan, who is meeting with the Raptors in Los Angeles. Toronto remains the strong favorite to re-sign DeRozan. Wolfson also tweets that Jamal Crawford has received calls tonight from the Sixers, Knicks, Clippers, Magic, and Heat.

Here’s more from across the NBA:

In addition to reaching out to Crawford tonight, the Clippers also met with Austin Rivers in Orlando and Jeff Green in Miami, doing due diligence on their pending free agents, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. After meeting with the Clips, Rivers is expected to talk to the Knicks and possibly the Trail Blazers on Friday, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
The Nets, Jazz, and Suns are among the teams in pursuit of Jared Dudley, with the Wizards also in the hunt to bring back the veteran sharpshooter, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein. Utah had a meeting with Dudley tonight, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
League sources continue to tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that the Kings may be preparing a “significant” offer for restricted free agent Dion Waiters. The Thunder would have the opportunity to match an offer sheet, but may not be aggressive in trying to retain Waiters now that they have Victor Oladipo.
The Thunder were indeed among the teams to reach out to Al Horford tonight, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. A Thursday report indicated that Oklahoma City has its eye on Horford as part of its pitch to keep Kevin Durant.
Speaking of Durant, during The Vertical’s free agency show tonight, Wojnarowski said that Jay-Z and Roc Nation tried to push Durant to take a free agent meeting with the Nets, but KD dismissed that idea (Twitter link via Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily).

Pacific Notes: Rondo, Kupchak, Bender, Clippers

June 25th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Kings‘ decision to take big men in the first round of the draft may force them to make an aggressive offer to free agent point guard Rajon Rondo, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento traded down with its first pick and took center Georgios Papagiannis at No. 13, then later added forward Malachi Richardson at No. 22 and forward/center Skal Labissiere at No. 28. The selections leave the Kings with holes on the roster, Jones notes, and could make them desperate to keep Rondo, who led the NBA in assists this season.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

Kings GM/executive Vlade Divac said his team is “set” in the front court after draft night, Jones tweets. Divac adds that he is open to re-signing Rondo.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak hopes to surround all his young talent with some veteran leaders, posts Baxter Holmes on ESPN Now. L.A. selected Brandon Ingram on Thursday to team with D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson, if he re-signs with the team. “History tells you that a bunch of young guys on the team is probably not a good thing,” Kupchak said. “They look around for leadership or they look around for advice from somebody who’s been through this a couple times, and if there’s nobody to talk to, well, you don’t know how to handle the situation. So I think we will look to add some veteran leadership and hopefully it’s not only leadership but guys who can help us win games.”
The Suns feared Dragan Bender wouldn’t be available later if they didn’t take him at No. 4, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 in Phoenix. The Suns thought Denver would take Bender at No. 7, which is why they nabbed him with the fourth pick and waited until No 8 to take Marquese Chriss.
Even though they have limited cap room, the Clippers will make an effort to re-sign all their free agents, coach Doc Rivers told Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. “To a man, they all want to come back,” Rivers said. “Then there’s business. We’ll see once July 1st comes. It’s going to be interesting the way the cap’s going up. We have three Bird [Rights] guys we have a chance of signing [Jeff Green, Jamal Crawford and Luc Mbah a Moute], but they all may be — not all of them — but they may outprice and we can’t sign all three. But we’re going to try.”

Rockets Notes: Free Agency, Beasley, D’Antoni

May 28th, 2016 at 5:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets should concentrate on shooters in free agency if their primary targets don’t work out, recommends Kevin P. Smith of Real GM. Houston is hoping to meet with Kevin Durant and Al Horford, two of the top names in the free agent class, but if neither player comes to Houston, Smith believes 3-point marksmen should be the priority in new coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense. The writer mentions Brandon Jennings and Jerryd Bayless as possible backups to Patrick Beverley, and suggests Ryan Anderson and Mirza Teletovic as potential front court prospects. Smith also says the Rockets could have interest in Marvin Williams, Jeff Green, Derrick Williams, Marreese Speights and Al Jefferson.

Two late-season additions, Michael Beasley and Andrew Goudelock, are likely to stay in Houston for another season, Smith says in the same piece. Beasley, who played most of last season in China, averaged 12.8 points per night in 20 games after joining the Rockets. Houston has a $1.4MM team option on Beasley for 2016/17. Goudelock only made it into eight games after signing with the Rockets in March, but a $1,015,696 team option gives him a chance to stick around.
Rockets owner Leslie Alexander chose the “big, splashy name” when he hired D’Antoni this week, charges Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. Smith writes that the Rockets should have hired Hornets assistant Stephen Silas, and that D’Antoni is the wrong choice to bring the discipline and emphasis on defense that the Rockets need to improve on a 41-41 season.
Free agents will be more likely to consider Houston because of D’Antoni’s history of helping his players land big contracts, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com. Adande lists Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jodie Meeks as players who struck it big in free agency after playing in D’Antoni’s up-tempo system.

Doc Rivers Talks Offseason, Green, Stephenson

May 16th, 2016 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

In a conversation with ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Clippers head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers discussed a handful of interesting topics, including the Blake Griffin-Matias Testi incident, his relationship with Austin Rivers, and J.J. Redick‘s podcast.

Rivers also weighed in on some of the possible personnel decisions facing the Clippers, and addressed the impact of some decisions that he and the club have made in the past. Here are a few of the more notable quotes from Doc’s conversation with Lowe:

On whether he boxed the Clippers into a corner by saying the team won’t trade its top three players (Chris Paul, Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan):

“I don’t worry about the corner thing, ever. I’m always gonna do what’s good for the team. You don’t ever do anything but that. But I feel like the best thing for the team right now is to keep them together. Can that change? Of course it can change. But I don’t think it will.”

On whether Jeff Green will be the Clippers’ starting small forward in 2016/17:

“We gotta sign him first. … We don’t need a superstar [small forward]. We have superstars at other positions. We need guys who are complementary players. Jeff is terrific in that role.”

On Lance Stephenson and why he didn’t work out for the Clippers:

“He played great for Memphis. He wasn’t a great fit for us. Defensively — that’s where I was more disappointed, and shocked. I look at that body, and that athleticism, and I think: That’s a prototypical great defender. And he’s not that. … But I’ll tell you one thing — he’s not a bad kid. He gets cast as this malcontent bad kid, and Lance was never that. I thought he was funny. The guys liked him. But Lance wants to score every time he touches the ball, and he’s not that type of guy.”

On whether Rivers is concerned that the Clippers have given up too many draft picks:

“Yeah. I am. I think we had to because of the cap situation we inherited, but we’re starting to get some back. The best thing to happen to us is we get the Brooklyn pick at the start of the second round. That’s a big deal for us. So now, I think we have a chance to get healthy, get picks and keep building our team.”

Grizzlies Notes: Coaching Search, Joerger, Conley

May 8th, 2016 at 10:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Pacers coach Frank Vogel will be part of a long list of candidates to replace Dave Joerger, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Tillery expects the Grizzlies to reach out to veteran coaches David Blatt, Brian Shaw, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy. GM Chris Wallace promised a “thoughtful and comprehensive” process, adding that there is no rush to find a replacement. He plans to consider college coaches as well as NBA assistants. “We don’t have a guy,” Wallace said. “We’ll talk to people and see how it goes. It’s not about dealing from a pre-existing category. It’s about finding the right guy. We’re very much in the preliminary stages.” Tillery writes that “reshaping” the team, which the front office didn’t believe Joerger was willing to do, will be among the responsibilities for the next coach.

There’s more out of Memphis:

Wallace’s call for stability in the organization is laughable, writes Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal, pointing out that in the past four years, the Grizzlies have been through an ownership change, two GM changes and two coaching changes. Joerger had been expressing his unhappiness in subtle ways throughout the season, Calkins notes, and felt betrayed when Jeff Green and Courtney Lee were dealt away at the trade deadline. Joerger also said the roster was “old and slow” and repeatedly praised Jazz rookie Rodney Hood, whom the Grizzlies passed over in the draft. Calkins questions whether free agent point guard Mike Conley will want to re-sign with an organization that has seen so much turnover.
The Grizzlies may not have enough to offer on the free agent market, according to Ben Dowsett of Basketball Insiders. Memphis must decide by June 29th whether to pick up a $9.4MM option for next season on Lance Stephenson. If the Grizzlies keep him and all their other contracts while renouncing Matt Barnes and Chris Andersen, they will have about $60MM in guaranteed salary against a cap projected at more than $90MM. However, Conley carries a $14MM cap hold, which means money must be cut in other areas for the team to offer a max contract. Vince Carter and JaMychal Green are possibilities, as they both have contracts that won’t be guaranteed until January. Brandan Wright and his $5.7MM deal could be traded to clear more room. Dowsett speculates about Eric Gordon, Joe Johnson, Arron Afflalo, Gerald Henderson and Leandro Barbosa as possible free agent targets.

Clippers Rumors: Griffin, Paul, Jordan, Crawford

May 2nd, 2016 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Doc Rivers hinted before the season that he would consider breaking up the team’s core if it fell short in the playoffs again, and trade speculation has surrounded Griffin for much of the year, but Rivers seems to maintain belief in what Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan can do, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The coach/executive said today that he doesn’t think the team’s window for title contention is closed, Markazi tweets.

“I like our team,” Rivers said after Friday’s season-ending loss to Portland. “Our bench was fantastic this year. The problem is we have a lot of free agents on our team and I think a lot of them are going to be attractive, and so we have to fight to keep our own first and then try to build from that point. We’re going to have a difficult time. It’s going to be tough.”

See more on the Clippers:

Rivers can’t envision any player in the league picking up his player option for next season, given the sharp escalation of the salary cap that’s poised to create a player-friendly market this summer, notes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Rivers confirmed that means he expects Cole Aldrich, Wesley Johnson and son Austin Rivers to opt out from the Clippers this summer, and the coach/executive also believes Paul and Griffin will opt out in the summer of 2017, Bolch relays (Twitter links).
Doc Rivers said today that he wants to re-sign as many of the team’s free soon-to-be free agents as possible this summer, according to Bolch (Twitter links). “They all want to come back, but they’ve all played well and so they’ve all made it more difficult,” Rivers said. Jeff Green, Jamal Crawford, Luc Mbah a Moute, Pablo Prigioni and Jeff Ayres are the Clippers on expiring contracts, and presumably the same sentiment applies to the trio with player options.
Crawford said after Friday’s game that he’d like to re-sign with the Clippers, tweets Jen Beyrle of The Oregonian. The 36-year-old Crawford and J.J. Redick, who turns 32 next month, both said on Redick’s podcast for The Vertical that they’d like to play five more years, and Redick would like to sign a four-year deal when his existing contract expires in the summer of 2017, as Markazi relays via Twitter.
Paul Pierce has one more year left in him, Rivers believes, according to Bolch (Twitter link). Pierce, 38, is signed through the 2017/18 season but is 50-50 on whether to retire this summer.
The creation of a Clippers D-League affiliate will be a matter of discussion this summer, Rivers said, cautioning that it remains uncertain whether a team will be in place in time for next season, tweets Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. The Clips are reportedly exploring the idea of starting a D-League team in Bakersfield, California.