Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets Notes: Carroll, Free Agents, Aldrich, Draft Pick

July 9th, 2017 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Brooklyn GM Sean Marks got Raptors president Masai Ujiri to sweeten the deal involving DeMarre Carroll as they talked during Saturday’s games at the Las Vegas Summer League, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Toronto’s original offer involved just Carroll and a first-round pick, but Marks was able to convince Ujiri to send along a second-rounder and take back the $3MM contract of Justin Hamilton.

The deal provides needed cap relief for the Raptors, while giving the Nets a replacement for Otto Porter after the Wizards announced their intention to match Brooklyn’s four-year, $106.5MM offer sheet. The trade may not be finalized before Thursday while the Nets wait for the Wizards to conduct Porter’s physical and report the results to the league.

There’s more today out of Brooklyn:

With nearly $17MM left in cap space along with a $4.3MM room exception, the Nets will move on to other targets in free agency, Lewis adds. They were believed to be interested in Pistons’ guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but the Carroll trade prevents them from making a max offer. Caldwell-Pope turned down $80MM over five years from Detroit, but his options may be limited now as fewer teams have cap room to work with. Other possibilities for Brooklyn are C.J. Miles, Dewayne Dedmon, Nikola Mirotic or another restricted free agent in JaMychal Green. Coach Kenny Atkinson sees the value in having an older player around. “I do think [Marks and I] both agree that we don’t want to go in with a totally young roster,” he said. “We do need that veteran support. If it’s the right position where somebody can help us, it’s definitely something [to consider].”
Saturday’s deal may end the Timberwolves’ hopes of getting the Nets to take on Cole Aldrich’s salary, Lewis notes in the same piece. Minnesota wants to unload Aldrich, who will make $7.3MM in the upcoming season and nearly $6.9MM in 2018/19, to create enough cap room to sign Miles. However, Marks wouldn’t agree to the deal unless the Wolves threw in Oklahoma City’s 2018 first-rounder.
The second-rounder the Nets will receive in the Carroll deal will probably be the lower of the Magic or Lakers picks, according to a tweet from NetsDaily. Brooklyn already has the rights to the Pacers’ 2018 second-rounder if Indiana misses the playoffs.

Community Shootaround: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

July 8th, 2017 at 11:06am CST by marksuleymanov

After the Pistons‘ acquisition of Avery Bradley from the Celtics, the team promptly renounced restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The move puts Caldwell-Pope on the open market, free to sign with any NBA team and there has been no shortage of interest in the 24-year-old guard.

The Lakers are reportedly interested in Caldwell-Pope on a one-year commitment whereas the Nets have remained a suitor — and were expected to issue him an offer sheet before he hit unrestricted free agency. The Nets’ cap space is currently tied up after issuing a four-year, $101MM max offer sheet to Otto Porter. While the Wizards are believed to match the offer sheet, the Nets can continue their pursuit of KCP through discussion with his camp about a potential offer if and when Brooklyn retains cap space.

Los Angeles has about $17MM in cap space, which the team can use on a potential one-year deal. The Nets are more interested in long term pacts, especially after acquiring former second overall pick D’Angelo Russell from the Lakers. It’s ironic that the Lakers could have assembled a Caldwell-Pope/Russell back court and now the Nets are in a better position to do so.

In his fourth NBA season in 2016/17, Caldwell-Pope averaged 13.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, and shot nearly 40% from the floor in 76 contests. His numbers have not seen a drastic improvement but – given his age and ability – his potential may outweigh his production as teams consider his worth.

One minor detail to remember for any team interested in Caldwell-Pope’s services is that he’s suspended for the first two games of the 2017/18 season. Therefore, he will be eligible for 80 out of 82 games but that will likely not impact any teams pursuit.

With all of this in mind, which destination is most ideal for Caldwell-Pope? Does a one-year investment or a long term teal make more sense for the 24-year-old? Which team would benefit most from plugging him into their starting lineup?

Celtics Trade Avery Bradley To Pistons

July 7th, 2017 at 2:56pm CST by Luke Adams

2:56pm: The Celtics and Pistons have sent out press releases confirming that Bradley and a 2019 second-round pick are headed to Detroit in exchange for Morris. The deal is now official.

9:17am: The Celtics and Pistons are finalizing a trade that will send Avery Bradley to Detroit, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, Boston will also send out a 2019 second-round pick and will receive Marcus Morris in the swap.

Because Morris’ $5MM salary for 2017/18 is about $3.8MM lower than Bradley’s figure, the move will allow the Celtics to create the cap room necessary to finalize their maximum salary deal with Gordon Hayward, per Bobby Marks of ESPN. The club also has the $4.328MM room exception available for another free agent.

Boston had reportedly been shopping Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Marcus Smart in an effort to clear enough space for Hayward’s new contract. With Bradley on the move, Crowder and Smart are poised to stay put, at least for now.

In addition to creating some cap space, the trade will add a power forward to a Celtics rotation that is in need of bigs. So far this offseason, the Celtics have waived Tyler Zeller and lost Amir Johnson and Kelly Olynyk in free agency, creating some frontcourt concerns for a team that already lacked reliable rim protection and rebounding. Morris isn’t an elite rebounder, but the 6’9″ forward has the ability to guard bigger players.

During his two seasons in Detroit, Morris missed just five regular season games, making 159 starts for the Pistons. He averaged 14.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 2.3 APG, with a shooting line of .426/.345/.763.

As for the Pistons’ side of the swap, the team had entered the offseason with a need for some backcourt depth and has now added Bradley and Langston Galloway. With Detroit’s payroll on the rise and its backcourt filling up, it will be interesting to see whether the team remains committed to retaining Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

By exceeding the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Galloway, the Pistons created a hard cap of $125.266MM, significantly limiting their ability to match a big offer sheet for KCP unless they can shed a contract or two. Team salary is currently in about the $109MM range. For what it’s worth, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Twitter link) suggests the club’s talks with Caldwell-Pope haven’t progressed, and speculates that the team may make him unrestricted or decline to match an offer sheet.

Bradley, 26, enjoyed his best season in 2016/17 on a per-game basis, averaging new career bests in PPG (16.3), RPG (6.1), APG (2.2), and a handful of other categories. He also provided excellent perimeter defense and shot .463/.390/.731.

Although Bradley is a very solid pickup for the Pistons, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent a year from now, which is perhaps one reason the Celtics ended up moving him — Crowder remains under contract for three years, while Smart is a restricted free agent next summer and Morris has two years left on his deal, so the team retains some control on all three of those players. Wojnarowski suggests that the Pistons may be aggressive in pursuing a new deal for Bradley, who is extension-eligible, but the team’s cap situation limits its ability to give him a major raise before next summer.

Before agreeing to a trade with the Pistons, the Celtics reportedly talked to the Jazz about a sign-and-trade involving Crowder and to the Knicks about a deal that would have included Smart. Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers and Clippers were “prominent in [Bradley] talks until the end.”

As an aside, it’s worth noting that the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement was put to good use in this deal. Under the new CBA, over-the-cap teams are permitted to take back 175% of their outgoing salary, plus $100K, instead of 150% plus $100K (up to a $5MM difference in salaries). In the old system, Detroit would only have been able to take back up to $7.6MM for Morris, but the new CBA allows the team to squeeze in Bradley’s $8.809MM salary.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Rumors: Clippers, KCP, Lakers, Casspi

July 7th, 2017 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent big man Willie Reed is meeting today with the Clippers, league sources tell Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms the meeting and adds (via Twitter) that Jeff Withey is also sitting down with the club today. Los Angeles doesn’t have a whole lot of financial flexibility left, having used most of its mid-level exception on Milos Teodosic, but the club remains in the market for a backup for DeAndre Jordan, with Marreese Speights having opted out.

Here’s more on free agency:

The Pistons‘ best offer to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was worth $80MM over five years, which “wasn’t even close” to what the free agent guard was seeking, a source tells Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) also hears the two sides weren’t at all close, though he doesn’t confirm those specific figures. Caldwell-Pope is now an unrestricted free agent.
The Lakers have shown some interest in Rodney Stuckey, but have only had preliminary discussions on that front, writes Mark Medina of The Orange County Register. Alex Kennedy (Twitter link) first reported L.A.’s interest in Stuckey.
Before he agreed to sign with the Warriors on a minimum salary deal, Omri Casspi turned down a one-year, $4.5MM offer from a probable lottery team, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, who notes that Casspi opted for a chance at a title instead of the bigger payday.
The Timberwolves are said to be trying harder to unload Cole Aldrich‘s contract in an effort to land C.J. Miles, but the team remains reluctant to attach a first-round pick, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.

Lakers Interested In KCP On One-Year Deal

July 7th, 2017 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

With Kentavious Caldwell-Pope heading to the unrestricted free agent market, the Lakers have significant interest in pursuing him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). However, according to Wojnarowski, that interest will hinge on Caldwell-Pope’s willingness to sign a one-year “balloon” deal.

The Lakers have been unwilling this summer to commit to multiyear deals for free agents, since the team intends to retain as much cap flexibility as possible for the summer of 2018, when potential targets like LeBron James and Paul George will reach free agency.

By my estimation, the Lakers have a little over $17MM in available cap room. The team reportedly made a one-year, $17MM offer to Dion Waiters, and would likely put the same offer on the table for Caldwell-Pope. However, the former Pistons guard could almost certainly land a more lucrative multiyear deal from another team, such as the Nets — assuming the Wizards match their offer sheet for Otto Porter.

Still, a one-year deal might hold some appeal for Caldwell-Pope, particularly if he were given a primary scoring role. His numbers haven’t improved much over the last three years, but he’s still just 24 years old and probably has more upside than he has shown. If he were to sign a one-year deal with the Lakers and enjoyed a breakout season in 2017/18, he’d likely be one of the top players on the market a year from now. Given how many teams are expected to be over the cap in 2018 though, I’d still expect Caldwell-Pope to pursue a long-term payday this year if such an offer is out there for him.

J.J. Redick provided a blueprint for a one-year “balloon” offer earlier in the week when he reached a one-year, $23MM agreement with the Sixers.

Eastern Rumors: Nets, Hardaway, Hornets, Celtics

July 7th, 2017 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

Before Rudy Gay signed with the Spurs, the Nets expressed interest in the veteran forward, having viewed him as a contingency plan in the event that the Wizards match their offer sheet for Otto Porter, reports Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

With Gay off the board and Porter likely to be retained by Washington, the Nets will be a “strong contender” for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. That’s no surprise, now that the 24-year-old is unrestricted, but for Caldwell-Pope to be an option for Brooklyn, his camp may have to be patient, since the Nets’ cap room may be tied up for a few days until the Wizards make their decision on Porter official.

Here’s more from around the East:

Before the Knicks swooped in with a $71MM offer sheet, the Hawks were willing to offer Tim Hardaway Jr. a four-year deal in the $48MM range, league sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe. We’ll see if Atlanta is willing to go significantly higher than that to match New York’s offer, or if Hardaway will return to the Knicks.
The Hornets are in the market for another big man, GM Rich Cho said today (Twitter link via Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer). Charlotte is also evaluating whether to sign a third point guard or keep Briante Weber in that role. Weber has a non-guaranteed contract.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri said today that he’s comfortable entering the 2017/18 season as a tax team, but there’s still plenty of time to make moves. He’s waiting for the trade market to open up a little, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN 1050.
The plan for the Celtics has always been to have draft-and-stash prospect Guerschon Yabusele on their roster this fall, a league source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), Boston will likely need to waive or trade Jordan Mickey and Demetrius Jackson to retain Yabusele’s cap hold.

Pistons Renounce Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

July 7th, 2017 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

11:04am: The Pistons are renouncing Caldwell-Pope, which will make him an unrestricted free agent, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The timing of the move is interested, since the Nets’ cap room may be tied up for several days as they wait for official word from the Wizards on Porter. We’ll see if Caldwell-Pope waits on Brooklyn or quickly pursues a deal with another team.

11:02am: In the wake of their trade agreement for Avery Bradley, the Pistons are prepared to move on from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, reports Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). According to Ellis, Detroit is looking to add “two more guys” to its roster. But Caldwell-Pope may not be one of them.

Talks between the Pistons and Caldwell-Pope haven’t progressed so far, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN tweeted earlier today. Windhorst noted that there’s a possibility Detroit will pull Caldwell-Pope’s offer and make him an unrestricted free agent. While that hasn’t happened yet, it doesn’t look like the Pistons will match a big offer sheet for KCP.

Caldwell-Pope, 24, is viewed as one of the top two-way wings left on the market, but the qualifying offer he received from the Pistons gives Detroit the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signed. However, having added Langston Galloway, Eric Moreland, and Bradley, the Pistons have upwards of $109MM in salary commitments and have a hard cap of $125.266MM.

While Caldwell-Pope may not receive a maximum salary deal, any offer worth more than about half the max would put the Pistons in a tough spot. And with Galloway and Bradley now in the mix, the team’s need for another guard has diminished — especially since Bradley can provide the sort of three-point shooting and defense that KCP did.

A report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski earlier today suggested that the Pistons may be aggressive in trying to extend Bradley, but the club’s cap situation limits its ability to make a competitive offer. Ellis (Twitter link) hears from a source that Bradley won’t do an in-season extension since the money is too low, but the team still hopes to have him long term in Detroit. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer and the Pistons will hold his Bird rights.

Whether or not Caldwell-Pope’s qualifying offer is rescinded by the Pistons, it may make sense for his camp to wait to see what happens with the Nets and Otto Porter. The Wizards are expected to match Brooklyn’s offer sheet for Porter, and Caldwell-Pope may be next up on the Nets’ wish list.

Free Agent Rumors: Wolves, Young, Knicks, Gay

July 3rd, 2017 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Warriors remain an option for Nick Young, several other teams are in the mix, per Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). Oklahoma City and New Orleans have been mentioned as possible landing spots, and Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link) says the Timberwolves have also inquired.

As Wolfson notes in a separate tweet, Minnesota has reached out to Gerald Green as well. The Timberwolves are “casting a wide net” for wing options, in the hopes that a bigger name falls into their lap for the $4.3MM room exception, says Wolfson.

Here are more free agency updates from around the NBA:

According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), the Knicks have told multiple agents that they believe they’re closing in on a deal with a guard. Kyler suggests that mystery guard may be Derrick Rose or Shelvin Mack. Of those two, Mack seems like the more probable candidate, as a Sunday report suggested that Knicks GM Steve Mills isn’t bullish on bringing back Rose.
Rudy Gay was “impressed” by the Clippers‘ presentation to him on Sunday, but no deal is in place between the two sides, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The team met with Danilo Gallinari on the weekend as well.
Appearing on Zach Lowe’s ESPN podcast for the first time, cap guru Bobby Marks expressed skepticism that the Nets will go after Pistons restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as aggressively as they pursued RFAs a year ago. Brooklyn has frequently been linked to KCP and Otto Porter, but there has been no word yet about a Nets offer for either player. Brooklyn was scheduled to meet with Porter today, according to Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.

Nets Consider Offers For Porter, Caldwell-Pope, Ingles

July 1st, 2017 at 6:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

After J.J. Redick announced an agreement with the Sixers this afternoon, the Nets are turning their sights toward a trio of restricted free agents, reports Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Armed with $28.5MM in cap space, Brooklyn will consider Wizards forward Otto Porter, Pistons shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jazz forward Joe Ingles. Any offer sheet the Nets submit to any of them can be matched by their current team, but that won’t deter Brooklyn GM Sean Marks.

“We have an analytic value,” he said. “We have a scouting value placed on these players, and if we feel comfortable with an offer to these players, whether restricted or unrestricted, we’ll make those deals. But we’re not going to go chase things.”

The Nets submitted sizable offer sheets to Portland’s Allen Crabbe and Miami’s Tyler Johnson last summer and to Houston’s Donatas Motiejunas in December. All three were matched, leaving the Nets empty-handed.

There are questions about the availability of this year’s targets as well. The Wizards have vowed to match any offer that Porter brings them. However, Washington’s attempt to re-sign him in late-night negotiations ended without a contract, and there are reports that Brooklyn would be willing to offer $106MM over four years, starting at $24.75MM for 2017/18. Porter is expected to hold several meetings with several teams starting Sunday.

The Pistons have also stated that they plan to keep Caldwell-Pope, but their signing today of Langston Galloway and the drafting of Luke Kennard indicates that a backup plan is being formed in case Caldwell-Pope becomes too expensive.

The Nets have arranged a meeting with Ingles, although Lewis sees him as a secondary option in case the attempt at Porter is unsuccessful. The Washington Post is reporting that Ingles may have a four-year, $60MM offer from the Magic, but Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel says the team’s interest in Ingles is being overstated (Twitter link).

Central Notes: Shumpert, KCP, Holiday

July 1st, 2017 at 2:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The reported agreement between the Pistons and Langston Galloway has some speculating that the team may be willing to let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leave as a restricted free agent, though, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press notes that the signing won’t necessarily affect Detroit’s dealings with the shooting guard (Twitter links). The Pistons will likely make additional roster moves in order to retain Caldwell-Pope, Ellis opines. By using more than $5.192MM of their mid-level exception to ink Galloway, the Pistons will have a hard cap of $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year, which could create problems if another team gives Caldwell-Pope a maximum salary offer sheet.

With free agency well underway, here’s more of the latest news and rumors from the Central Division:

The Cavaliers are reportedly seeking to move Iman Shumpert via trade and several teams have had discussions with Cleveland regarding the shooting guard, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype relays (via Twitter). The team reportedly wants to clear Shumpert’s salary of $10,337,079 off its books for the coming season.
The Bulls have expressed interest in signing unrestricted free agent Justin Holiday, Kennedy relays in a separate tweet. The Knicks, Mavs and Wolves are also among those interested in the swingman’s services.
The Bulls primary focus for this offseason and beyond is to land a top four pick in next June’s NBA Draft in order to have a shot at selecting Michael Porter Jr., Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun Times relays. “We’re not going to be throwing huge money at people right out of the gate,’’ VP of basketball operations John Paxson told reporters earlier this week. “We have to be disciplined and patient. You need the right veterans, guys who are good teammates and supportive of the young guys and can teach them how to be pros. If there was a young player who we thought fit our future, we would certainly look at that.’’