Josh Smith Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Smith, Cuban, Curry, Allen

July 18th, 2015 at 10:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Owner Mark Cuban said the Mavericks weren’t pursuing Josh Smith before he left the Rockets to sign with the Clippers, according to The Dallas Morning News. “We weren’t in that mix at all,” Cuban said in a radio interview with KESN-FM, adding that the Mavericks unsuccessfully tried to sign Smith after he was waived by the Pistons in December. There was a report last week that Dallas was one of the teams in play for the free agent forward.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Cuban overpaid free agents by millions to prove his loyalty, charges Tim Bontemps of The New York Post. Being spurned by DeAndre Jordan affected Cuban’s judgment in subsequent deals, Bontemps contends. He praises the Mavericks owner for acquiring Zaza Pachulia cheaply and gambling on Deron Williams for $11MM over two seasons, but writes that the deals given to Wesley Matthews ($70MM over four seasons) and J.J. Barea ($16MM over four seasons) could lead to an ugly cap situation in the future.
The Pelicans haven’t decided whether to offer a contract to Seth Curry, tweets John Reid of The Times-Picayune. GM Dell Demps discussed the possibility tonight on NBA TV. New Orleans is rumored to be close to giving a guaranteed deal to Curry, who was the top scorer in the Las Vegas summer league heading into today’s games.
The Grizzlies‘ Tony Allen is convinced that he made the right choice when he left Boston for Memphis five years ago, writes Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal. The defensive specialist signed with the Grizzlies as a free agent in July of 2010. Allen has two more seasons and more than $10.6MM left on his current contract. “I can’t envision myself no place else,” he said. “I got about five more years.”

Western Notes: Clippers, Gasol, Lawson

July 17th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs owner Mark Cuban, during an appearance on “The Afternoon Show with Cowlishaw and Mosley” (h/t Dallas Morning News), said that he did everything possible to land free agent DeAndre Jordan, who spurned Dallas to re-sign with the Clippers. “Well no initially you do [look back on it], ‘What could we have done differently?’ and you go through the whole process and unless we just held him hostage, there’s nothing we could have done,” Cuban said.

“I mean literally Monday night I was texting him back and forth talking about players. He was asking for Mavs gear. Monday night everything was fine,” Cuban continued. “Tuesday morning everything wasn’t. And then we flew to — I flew to Houston, and then the next day I was with his agent the whole time. And in my mind, I’m like, ‘of course the guy’s going to want to see his agent and is going to meet with him face-to-face and if he changes his mind, that’s great, but at least he’ll have the counsel of his agent to guide him through it.’ And so if I’m standing there talking to his agent, at least I’ll have a sense of what’s going on. He would text his agent, I don’t know if he actually called him, but he definitely texted him while he was sitting next to me, but he never saw him at all the entire night. I don’t know what else I could have done.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Nuggets guard Ty Lawson, who suffered his second DUI-related arrest in six months on Tuesday, was ordered to complete a 30-day residential treatment program by a Colorado judge, Kristen Wyatt of The Associated Press reports.
Thursday’s signing of Josh Smith was the latest splash for the Clippers this summer, but it’s also their latest risk, as Dan Woike of The Orange County Register analyzes. The team has no shortage of players who like the ball in their hands, Smith among them, Woike notes. The Clips didn’t have much room to maneuver financially once they re-signed DeAndre Jordan, so president of basketball operations Doc Rivers had to get creative.
The five-year contract Marc Gasol signed with the Grizzlies is for the max and will seem him earn a total of $113,211,750, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
Austin Rivers‘ two-year deal with the Clippers is worth precisely $6,454,902, Pincus reports (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Clippers Sign Josh Smith

July 16th, 2015 at 8:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

8:39pm: The signing is official, the Clippers announced.

5:40pm: The deal is for one year and the veteran’s minimum, Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times tweets.

4:15pm: The Clippers and unrestricted free agent Josh Smith are finalizing a deal that would bring the veteran to Los Angeles for next season, both Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter) and Shams Charania of RealGM report (Twitter links). Smith’s agent, Wallace Prather, confirms that the two sides have come to terms on a one-year contract, Marc Berman of Fox 26 tweets.

The 29-year-old appeared in 55 games for the Rockets last season after he was surprisingly waived by the Pistons, averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 25.5 minutes per contest. His career numbers through 11 seasons in the NBA are 15.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 3.2 APG, with a slash line of .455/.285/.633.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reported on Monday that the Clippers were interested in Smith, and the Kings and Mavericks were also reportedly keen on adding the forward to their rosters. Smith had also expressed a strong interest in re-signing with Rockets, who certainly helped him rebuild his career in the wake of his unceremonious exit from Detroit.

The Clippers have been quite active this offseason in addressing their needs for outside shooting. The team also signed veteran small forward Paul Pierce, and acquired swingman Lance Stephenson from the Hornets. Smith can certainly provide depth at both forward spots, though his questionable shot selection has made coaches and fans scream in frustration on numerous occasions throughout his career.

Clippers, Josh Smith Have Mutual Interest

July 10th, 2015 at 12:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

FRIDAY, 12:42pm: The Clippers remain interested even after Jordan’s decision to return, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The Kings and Mavs are also reportedly in the mix.

TUESDAY, 12:21pm: The interest between the Clippers and Smith is mutual, and the team has spoken to the representatives of the Brian Dyke and Wallace Prather client, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter).

MONDAY, 6:34pm: The Clippers are targeting unrestricted free agent Josh Smith even though the club is cap-strapped, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN com tweets.

Though the Clippers lost DeAndre Jordan to the Mavericks, they still have approximately $68.1MM in guaranteed salary commitments next season. They also used part of their mid-level exception to get a verbal agreement with veteran forward Paul Pierce and only have $2,088MM remaining. Smith could slide into the rotation as a backup to Blake Griffin at power forward, as well as play some small forward and even play alongside Griffin in smaller lineups.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of buzz regarding Smith in free agency, though the Kings reportedly met with him. Smith has expressed a strong interest in re-signing with Rockets, who signed him as a free agent in late December after the Pistons released him, even though he was in the second year of a guaranteed four-year, $54MM deal.

Still, it would appear that Smith could find a bigger offer if he’s patient. While he flamed out in Detroit, he seemed to reestablish at least some of his value as a rotation player on a team that reached the Western Conference Finals.

Smith started at small forward for Detroit but mainly played power forward with the Rockets off the bench, averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 55 games. He also had some big games in the postseason, averaging 13.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

Kings, Mavs Interested In Josh Smith

July 9th, 2015 at 1:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings have a “very strong” interest in Josh Smith, league sources tell Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter links), and the Mavs are in play for him, too, as Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops hears (Twitter link). Still, while six teams have shown interest, “nothing of substance” is in the works for Smith, a source tells Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link), whose report came after the Mavs news but before the report on the Kings. Fischer last week reported that the Kings would soon begin talks with the client of Brian Dyke and Wallace Prather.

Smith has reportedly held mutual interest in re-signing with the Rockets, and he enjoys playing for Kevin McHale, notes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Still, the Rockets have only Non-Bird rights on the forward who signed at midseason, meaning they can only give him $2,492,400, a 20% raise on the $2.077MM he saw in 2014/15, without clearing cap space or raiding the mid-level exception.

The Clippers and Smith also reportedly had mutual interest, though that surfaced before DeAndre Jordan flipped from his decision to sign with the Mavs to recommit to the Clippers instead. Thus, the Clippers only have the minimum salary to offer. The Mavs have loads of cap room that they were to spend on Jordan, while the Kings have roughly $7MM in cap space.

Western Notes: McDaniels, Boozer, Suns

July 4th, 2015 at 7:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets‘ plan is to match any offer sheet that K.J. McDaniels signs and potentially look at trade opportunities, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The shooting guard previously expressed his desire to remain in Houston.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

In addition to making a push to sign David West, the Spurs have expressed interest in Carlos Boozer as they look to fill out their bench, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com tweets.
The Suns missed out on signing LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines the team’s remaining options to add talent this offseason. Coro believes West could be a fit, but he doubts West will see the team as the contender he is reportedly seeking.
It is unlikely that the Suns pursue forward Josh Smith, Coro adds in the same piece. Coro names Andrea Bargnani, Amar’e Stoudemire and Jordan Hill among possible frontcourt players that Phoenix could target.

Mutual Interest Between Heat, Lou Williams

July 3rd, 2015 at 9:21am CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat and Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams have mutual interest, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, while league sources tell Jake Fischer of SI Now that the Kings will begin talks with Williams and Josh Smith today (Twitter link). Williams would have to take a steep discount unless the Heat, who likely have only the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level to spend above the minimum on outside free agents, can clear quite a bit of salary or pull off a sign-and-trade, and Jackson has received no indication of any ongoing sign-and-trade discussions. The Kings, with plenty of cap flexibility to play with following their agreement on a three-player trade with the Sixers and failed pursuits of Monta Ellis and Wesley Matthews, would appear to have more of a clear shot at Williams, though it’s unclear if he’s as interested in Sacramento as he appears to be in Miami.

The Knicks reportedly reached out to Williams earlier this week. The new client of Wallace Prather was apparently expected to hear from New York and Sacramento, as well as the Lakers and Nets, while Jackson anticipated that he would reach out to the Heat. Williams called re-signing with the Raptors the ideal situation in April, but Toronto, which was reportedly chasing Matthews, largely hasn’t been linked to its own free agent since.

Houston and Smith reportedly have mutual interest, but the Rockets aren’t making much progress with their free agents at this point as they wait to hear LaMarcus Aldridge‘s decision, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details. Several reports indicated that the Kings engaged in talks with the Pistons about trading for Smith last summer, and Smith has said that he and Rajon Rondo, who’s meeting with the Kings, have spoken on multiple occasions about the possibility of playing together.

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Beverley, Smith

May 31st, 2015 at 6:07pm CST by Will Joseph

Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said he will make a push to add a player who is between 6’7″ and 6’9″ who can shoot 3-pointers in the draft, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal writes. The Grizzlies own the 25th pick. The Grizzlies’ workout on Friday featured Tennessee’s Josh Richardson, Arkansas’ Ky Madden, Florida State’s Aaron Thomas, Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton, Florida’s Chris Walker and Arizona’s Brandon Ashley, Tillery reports. Citing the team’s recent draft history, Tillery writes that the Grizzlies believe it’s very conceivable to find a player that is talented and ready to fill a need at that pick. Connaughton appeared to be the most intriguing player in the Grizzlies’ workout, Tillery adds, citing the 6’5″ guard’s 44-inch vertical leap, shooting ability and basketball savvy. GM Chris Wallace said that the pick has to end up being an asset.

“You’d love to have need and talent coincide,” Wallace said. “What you’re trying to do is get a player who is going to be with you for a while and help the team or someone that gains some interest around the league, and helps you make a transaction. Those are reasonable scenarios for picks in the 20s.”

Here’s more from out of the Southwest:

Like he has expressed previously, Patrick Beverley, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, is hopeful he will be with the Rockets next year, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. “Hopefully it’s here,” Beverley said, per Berman. “I’m very loyal. This is the only team that took a chance on me. I understand it’s a business.” Reports in April indicated the Rockets would like to re-sign Beverley, who earned $915,243 this season.
Josh Smith is another free agent who has previously conveyed his desire to return to the Rockets next season, but the veteran understands how unpredictable the free agency climate can be, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “Coming into free agency, you never know what is going to happen,” Smith said. “You just hope for the best and stay positive. Just reflect right now and don’t worry about the future.” It was reported last month there there’s mutual interest between Smith and GM Daryl Morey in a new deal.

Western Notes: Rockets, Muhammad, Lakers

May 28th, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Now that the Rockets have been eliminated from the playoffs the franchise will begin working toward its offseason plans. Josh Smith, Jason Terry, and Corey Brewer, all of whom are set to become unrestricted free agents this summer, have indicated that they want to return to Houston next season, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “I like the future if we can keep all the pieces together,” Smith said. “I like what the future holds for us. You never know in free agency what may occur. The city of Houston and this team has definitely embraced me for my individuality and the way I play the game. It would be great to do something special for the city and for this team.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Wolves swingman Shabazz Muhammad has parted ways with agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports Management and signed with Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays (Twitter link).
The Lakers held workouts earlier today for Justin Anderson, Askia Booker, Anthony Brown, Charles Jackson, Stefan Nastic, and Delon Wright, the team announced (via Twitter).
Arkansas forward Bobby Portis is scheduled to work out for the Thunder this Friday, Gary Washburn of Boston Globe tweets.
The Nuggets brought in Florida guard Michael Frazier for a workout today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (Twitter link).
Center Andrew Bogut praised the Warriors‘ front office for keeping the core of the team intact and not going for a “home run” in the NBA draft, via trades, or through free agency, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (on Twitter).

Southwest Notes: Smith, Ginobili, Gasol

May 6th, 2015 at 2:34pm CST by Chuck Myron

Josh Smith has found contentment in Houston after enduring much criticism elsewhere, and the Rockets share that feeling of satisfaction with the partnership, as Grantland’s Jonathan Abrams examines. There’s mutual interest between Smith, who hits free agency again this summer, and GM Daryl Morey in a new deal, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last month, and Morey made it clear to Abrams that he values the 29-year-old.

“I’m not sure what we’d do without him,” Morey added. “He’s been critical to getting us where we are right now.”

Houston will have Smith’s Non-Bird rights to give him a 20% raise on the $2.077MM salary he signed for via the Biannual Exception in December. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

Manu Ginobili suggested that he’s never pondered retirement quite so seriously before and said that Tim Duncan‘s decision about whether to play again next season will affect his own, as the swingman wrote for La Nacion’s Canchallena.com and as Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News translates. In any case, Ginobili, whose contract with the Spurs expires this summer, said he’ll take the rest of the month to decide whether to return.
Concerns about whether Ginobili, Duncan and Gregg Popovich would remain over the course of a three-year deal were in Pau Gasol‘s head when he decided against signing with the Spurs, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com writes in a lengthy piece on the Bulls, whom Gasol chose instead.
Dirk Nowitzki confirmed that there was no vote that took place when the Mavs decided to divvy up playoff shares without giving one to Rajon Rondo, as he said on KTCK-AM this week (transcription via the Dallas Morning News). “No, we actually didn’t vote. It was just the guys who were there that day got a playoff share,” Nowitzki said. “What we usually do is give a lot of weight to the guys that work for you all season long; the locker room guys, the equipment guys, the trainers, the massage guys [or] whoever you feel helped you get through the season. We usually divide it up and then give them a lot of money. I think that got blown out of proportion. It’s not like it was that much money. I don’t think Rondo would have cared either way.”