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Rockets, Sixers In Talks On Jeremy Lin Deal

July 11th, 2014 at 12:19pm CST by Cray Allred

FRIDAY, 12:19pm: The Rockets and Sixers are currently in talks about a Lin deal, but no agreement has been reached, a source tells Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 11:55pm: The Rockets have a deal in place to send Jeremy Lin to the Sixers if Houston is able to sign Chris Bosh, league sources tell Mitch Lawrence of New York Daily News. The trade would give the Rockets needed cap flexibility in their attempt to make room for Bosh.

The Sixers were reportedly open to such a trade, but wanted to receive a first rounder from Houston as part of the agreement. Lawrence doesn’t report the specifics of compensation, but it seems likely Philadelphia’s demand has been met. That’s speculation on my part, since the Sixers would appear to have more leverage considering the Rockets are being squeezed into a three-day window to have any chance of securing Bosh alongside Chandler Parsons,  who agreed to sign a max offer sheet with Dallas that Houston will have 72 hours to match or decline.

The move would work in conjunction with Houston’s pending agreement to send Omer Asik to the Pelicans, which still depends upon New Orleans’ ability to clear salary before taking back the big man’s contract. Lin and Asik have identical contracts that include a balloon payment exceeding the cap hit in the final year, which is the approaching 2014/15 season.

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And-Ones: Early, Bazemore, Lin, Nets

July 6th, 2014 at 9:43pm CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks may have gotten the steal of the draft when they selected Cleanthony Early with the 34th pick, opines Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The article also notes that Early plans on using his draft night slide as motivation, saying, “At the end of the day, they made their decision, they made their choices, and they’re going to have to live with that, they’re going to have to stick with that. I’m going to have to live with that, I’m going to have to stick with that. But the only difference is, the way my heart is set up and the way I am, I’m going to use it as motivation. It fires me up. If I ever feel like I am being overlooked or I feel like I got something to prove, I’m willing to accept that challenge. The only thing I have to do is get in the gym and continue doing what I’ve been doing.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

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And-Ones: Deng, Mavs, Ariza

July 5th, 2014 at 11:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Luol Deng is apparently sticking to his desire for $12MM per season, notes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link). Deng has spoken with the Heat who are unsure about how much cap space they will have until LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade make their decisions, and the Hawks who are currently unwilling to pay that amount, according to the tweet. Deng’s best chance might be with the Mavericks who he is scheduled to meet with soon, opines Amico.

Here’s more from around the league:

  •  Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders runs through the best and worst performances from the first day of Summer League action, including some lottery picks making their debuts.
  • The Rockets and the Cavaliers are getting closer to creating max contract slots, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Rockets are discussing deals for Jeremy Lin, and the Cavs have been shopping Jarrett Jack packaged with a draft pick, notes Wojnarowski.
  • Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders looks at the Mavericks cap situation after the reported signing of Devin Harris.
  • Trevor Ariza met with the Heat on Thursday, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
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Western Notes: Randle, Lin, Ariza, Stuckey, Davis

July 2nd, 2014 at 11:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Specialists have determined that Lakers first-round pick Julius Randle does not need surgery on his right foot and has been cleared to play, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. More from around the NBA..

  • Rockets GM Daryl Morey brushed off criticism over the club’s decision to photoshop Carmelo Anthony wearing the No. 7 that is sported by Jeremy Lin, writes Mark Berman of FOX 26.  Of course, if Houston manages to sign Melo, that could mean the end of Lin in Houston.  “Bottom line, if Carmelo comes Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin have to be traded. It’s just math. It’s not personal,” said the GM.
  • The Jazz are among the suitors for Trevor Ariza, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
  • Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (on Twitter) hears that there is definite interest in free agent guard Rodney Stuckey, particularly from high-level clubs.  Goodwill suggests that a return to the Pacific Northwest could also be in the cards for the guard.  In recent days, we’ve heard that the Magic and Pacers have interest.
  • The Clippers have been talking to free agent Ed Davis and they’re optimistic, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  The Grizzlies opted against tendering the 25-year-old an offer earlier this offseason.
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And-Ones: Raptors, Mayo, Prince, Lin, Rivers

July 2nd, 2014 at 1:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

I appeared Tuesday on WWL radio’s Sports Talk With Bobby Hebert and Deke Bellavia in New Orleans to discuss NBA free agency, and already the tenor of the market is taking shape. Lucrative deals for shooting guards Jodie Meeks, Avery Bradley and Ben Gordon have dominated headlines so far, and Gordon’s deal in particular has many free agents optimistic about their own market values, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The Raptors were already worried they were being priced out of retaining restricted free agents Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson before news of the Gordon deal hit, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link). Here’s more from around the league.

  • Executives from multiple teams have been offered O.J. Mayo of the Bucks, Tayshaun Prince of the Grizzlies, Jeremy Lin of the Rockets, and Austin Rivers of the Pelicans in trade scenarios, league sources tell tell Kennedy.
  • The Pacers have reached out to Rodney Stuckey, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. He’s presumably a backup plan in case the team can’t reach a deal with Lance Stephenson.
  • The Warriors could have signed Stuckey, who was willing to sign with the club for the mid-level exception, but they gave that money to Shaun Livingston instead, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).
  • Spencer Hawes “likes everything about the Blazers” and is “very interested” in signing with them, a source tells The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman. Portland has made Hawes their top target among sharpshooting big men, but he’s still in no rush to come to deal, Freeman writes.
  • Vince Carter is receiving a steady stream of pitches from the Heat and others, but the Mavs maintain strong interest in re-signing the swingman, according to Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
  • The Magic claimed Willie Green off waivers Monday, and while they still had the chance to put him back on waivers before his non-guaranteed minimum salary became fully guaranteed, they didn’t do so before Tuesday’s deadline, so his money will stay on the books.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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Warriors Willing To Trade For Jeremy Lin

June 26th, 2014 at 8:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors have told the Rockets that they’re on board with trading for Jeremy Lin, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com wrote Wednesday that there was a decent chance that Golden State would be willing to accept the point guard via trade as Houston attempts to clear his salary, as long as Chandler Parsons was also part of the deal. Thompson’s report makes no mention of Parsons, however.

Golden State could use a trade exception worth more than $9.8MM left over from last year’s three-way deal with the Jazz and Nuggets to acquire Lin, as Thompson points out. The Warriors tried in vain to find a capable backup point guard to replace Jarrett Jack this past season, and Lin was once a member of the W’s, who waived him before his sudden rise to fame with the Knicks. Still, it’s unclear just what Houston would have to do to entice Golden State to take back Lin and his nearly $15MM salary for next season, one that dwarfs his nonetheless sizable $8,374,646 cap hit.

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Western Rumors: Love, Rockets, Nuggets

June 26th, 2014 at 7:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here’s the latest from the Western Conference as the draft gets underway:

  • The Wolves spent the afternoon in meetings, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter), and he wouldn’t be surprised to see some major news come out tonight regarding Kevin Love and the Warriors.
  • Meanwhile, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) believes that the odds are still against a Love trade materializing tonight.  However, sources tell him that the two sides continue to talk despite the hangup over whether Klay Thompson is in play.
  • Echoing an earlier report from USA Today’s Sam Amick, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears from a rival executive that the Rockets already have a Jeremy Lin deal lined up and ready to execute if they need the cap space to sign Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James. It’s likely that the Rockets flip the first-rounder they’re acquiring from the Pelicans in the Omer Asik trade, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
  • David Pick of Eurobasket.com has consistently heard that the Nuggets will take Jusuf Nurkic at No. 11 (Twitter link).
  • The Thunder will either draft a wing player or trade the 29th overall pick for one, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
  • The Mavs almost certainly won’t trade for a first-round pick in tonight’s draft, Donnie Nelson says, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com notes (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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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.
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Rockets Set To Trade Lin, Asik

June 21st, 2014 at 12:11pm CST by Cray Allred

The Rockets have deals in place to move the contracts of both Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Houston would need to move both deals to make room for either Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James, but they are waiting to part with Lin and Asik until they are sure they could land either superstar this summer. Presumably, a deal for either would bring back limited returns thanks to the bloated payout due each player for the 2014/15 season. If Houston were to part with the burdensome, but productive players only to strike out in free agency, it would weaken their team heading into next season.

‘Melo is increasingly expected to opt out and change teams, but his decision to leave the Knicks is still weighing on him, writes Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. The Rockets are considered a front-runner to land ‘Melo if he opts out as expected, and the Bulls are their steepest competition. Chicago has been zeroing in on the All-Star since February, making a host of moves to clear the necessary cap space to sign him, per Herring. James appears more likely to remain with his home team in Miami, but should he leave the Heat, both the Bulls and Rockets are preparing to pursue him as well.

The Rockets snagged Lin and Asik away from Chicago and New York before the 2012/13 season with identical contracts that include a balloon payment exceeding the cap hit in the final year, which is the approaching 2014/15 season. Ironically, the deals that pried the pair away from their respective teams in 2012 are now putting Houston at a disadvantage against the same teams in acquiring Anthony.

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Rockets Likely To Decline Parsons’ Option

June 4th, 2014 at 10:02am CST by Ryan Raroque

WEDNESDAY, 10:02am: The Rockets are leaning toward turning down their option on Parsons, but the team has yet to finalize its decision, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Houston is nonetheless likely to decline the option, unless it gets the sense that he’ll receive offers it deems too high, Feigen hears. The willingness to make Parsons a free agent this summer indicates the team’s confidence in its ability to sign a marquee free agent this summer, as Feigen observes. Houston would have to clear a significant amount of salary off its books to make that happen, but the Rockets like their chances of moving Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, since they would be looking for cap flexibility rather than players in return, Feigen reports.

TUESDAY, 9:35pm: The Rockets plan to decline Chandler Parsons‘ fourth-year team option and make him a restricted free agent this summer, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski ofYahoo Sports. Parsons’ 2014/15 option is worth $960K, and if Houston decided to ultimately pick up that option, the 6’9 forward would hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2015. The team is said to be wary of allowing Dan Fegan – Parsons’ agent – the ability to land his client a monster contract on the open market next year, and by letting Parsons hit restricted free agency this July, Houston could simply match an offer sheet and keep him on a long-term deal.

Interestingly, Wojnarowski points out a few other distinct advantages that Houston has by letting Parsons hit free agency now. The Rockets reportedly have their sights set on chasing after big time free agents who have the option of opting out of their deals this summer, including LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, and Dirk Nowitzki. In one scenario, Wojnarowski writes that the Rockets could secure a max free agent to play alongside Dwight Howard and James Harden, and then subsequently re-sign Parsons to a new contract below the max-level range. Wojnarowski also hears that the Rockets are also pursuing Timberwolves star Kevin Love in trade talks, adding that Parsons could alternately be used as a bargaining chip in a potential sign-and-trade with Minnesota.

Selected 38th overall in 2011, Parsons has not only proven to be one of the most promising young players at his position, but one of the best value players in the entire league. In 74 games this past season, the former Florida Gator averaged 16.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.2 SPG in 37.2 MPG while shooting 47.2% from the field and 37.0% from long distance. After earning roughly $890K in 2013/14, Parsons – according to a league executive – could command as much as $12MM or $13MM annually on his next contract.

Houston will have until June 30 to formally decline the option. At the very least, says Wojnarowski, doing so clears the way for Parsons to receive an enormous payday now and creates a better climate for the Rockets to negotiate an extension with their prized young forward.

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