Kevin Love Rumors | Hoops Rumors

LeBron James To Opt Out, Not Planning Quick Deal

June 26th, 2015 at 9:32am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James will turn down his player option worth more than $21.573MM, and he doesn’t plan to immediately re-sign with the Cavs, preferring to wait and see how the team goes about its other business in July, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Chances are “slim” that James leaves Cleveland again, Haynes writes, but waiting to re-sign gives him a chance to go into a deal with full knowledge of what will surround him, and it keeps pressure on the organization, Haynes writes. The Rich Paul client plans to be “the last domino to fall,” league sources tell Haynes.

GM David Griffin said James is “very much engaged” with the team as he speaks with management on almost a daily basis about the roster, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Still, it’s widely known that James won’t meddle in front office affairs or with coach David Blatt and his staff, according to Haynes. The four-time MVP believes other coaches would be better equipped to lead the Cavs to a title, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson among them, but he nonetheless has no intention to push for a coaching change, as Chris Broussard of ESPN.com said this week (video link).

That James would opt out is not at all surprising, since opting in would entail a financial sacrifice. James will be able to make a salary of at least $21,676,620 next season on a new deal, slightly more than his option would give him, and that figure could grow higher, depending on where the league sets the maximum for a player with 10 or more years of experience. James is likely to re-sign with Cleveland on a max deal for two years with a player option on year two, as Joe Vardon of the Northeast Ohio Media Group wrote months ago.

James wants the Cavs to re-sign Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith, though he won’t actively recruit any of them, Haynes writes. Griffin has said that he’d like to keep the team together, though he expressed guarded interest in Smith as he confirmed Smith has opted out, saying the Cavs want him back “if it’s the right situation for us,” as Haynes notes.

J.R. Smith Opts Out, Plans To Re-Sign With Cavs

June 25th, 2015 at 11:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

JUNE 25TH, 11:53pm: The deadline for Smith to opt in lapsed, so he has officially opted out, GM David Griffin said, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

JUNE 24TH, 3:30pm: Smith is indeed opting out, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, who notes that there’s mutual interest in a return to Cleveland (Twitter link)

JUNE 17TH, 8:59am: J.R. Smith told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that he’ll probably turn down his player option worth nearly $6.4MM for next season, but Smith said to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group that he “absolutely” plans to be back with the Cavaliers (Twitter links). The Leon Rose client is no doubt seeking to capitalize on a revitalization that’s taken place since the January trade that took him from the Knicks to Cleveland, though it appears he wants to remain in surroundings in which he’s thrived.

A raise for Smith would further inflate the cost to the Cavs of keeping this year’s roster intact. The team has had internal discussions about lifting the payroll to $100-110MM next season, which, if it ends up on the high end of that range, would entail a tax bill of some $75MM or more, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Cleveland’s only guaranteed contracts are with Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao, both of whom have extensions kicking in for next season, and Joe Harris. The Cavs also have a $4.95MM team option on Timofey Mozgov and the trade asset of Brendan Haywood‘s non-guaranteed salary of more than $10.5MM. Aside from that, every other player can elect free agency.

LeBron James and Kevin Love are also expected to decline their player options, Windhorst writes, which wouldn’t be a shock as far as James is concerned, but would run counter to what Love told Haynes in January that he planned to do. The Cavs are expected to extend qualifying offers to Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova to retain the right to match competing bids for them in free agency this year, Windhorst adds.

The mercurial Smith seemed like a much better fit this season as a supporting piece in the Cavs starting lineup than in the Sixth Man role he played in New York, one in which he’d grown stale after winning the Sixth Man of the Year award in 2012/13. The 29-year-old, who turns 30 in September, took 7.3 three-pointers per game in the regular season with the Cavs, which would be a career high if extrapolated over an entire season. He made 39.0% of them, better than the 35.6% he made on only 3.8 three-point attempts per game for the Knicks this year, who appeared eager to make the trade out of the fear that Smith would opt in and take up some of their cap flexibility for next season.

Belief Increasing That Lakers Will Draft Russell

June 25th, 2015 at 6:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:42pm: There’s a 90% chance the Lakers draft Russell, a source told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

6:07pm: The increasing belief is that the Lakers will take D’Angelo Russell, and not Jahlil Okafor, with the No. 2 pick, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Russell going to the Lakers in his latest mock draft amid the growing belief within the Lakers organization that they’ll land either LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love in free agency.

Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding reported earlier today that the front office had been coming to a growing consensus on the Ohio State guard, though Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com heard the team had yet to decide, and Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reported that they were leaning toward Okafor, as we passed along. Either way, we’ll find out soon, with the Lakers scheduled to pick within the hour.

Lakers spokesman John Black says that he knows whom the team will draft, indicating that a decision has been made, tweets Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.

Latest On LaMarcus Aldridge

June 25th, 2015 at 3:39pm CST by Zachary Links

On Thursday morning, we learned that the Rockets are planning on getting in the mix for LaMarcus Aldridge this summer, as well as Kevin Love. Of course, Houston will not be alone in that pursuit. Aldridge is reportedly becoming increasingly fond of the Lakers and many other clubs are getting ready to make a play for the four-time All-Star. Here’s the very latest on Aldridge..

A source close to Aldridge told ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chris Broussard that he’s as good as gone from Portland. “He’s gone,” a source close to Aldridge said. “There’s a 99.9 percent chance that he’s out of Portland.” The duo says Aldridge is thinking about signing with the Hawks, which adds him to the list with the Spurs, Lakers, Knicks, and Mavs. The Cavs, they say, are a longshot team. Aldridge to Cleveland would likely mean a sign-and-trade involving Kevin Love.

Earlier updates:

As the Blazers‘ fear of losing Aldridge grows, they’re working to use the No. 23 pick in the draft to acquire a big man either to help replace him or to bolster the frontcourt around him, Jake Fischer of SI Now tweets. There was talk of the Blazers and Sixers discussing a trade that would send the No. 23 pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the 35th and 37th picks (and perhaps more), but Fischer (link) hears the Blazers are interested in using the No. 23 pick to acquire an established big man, not get more picks.
Teams are already preparing to line up for Aldridge, but several execs have begrudgingly acknowledged to Chris Mannix of SI (on Twitter) that the Spurs will be tough to beat.
Jabari Young of CSNNW (on Twitter) hears that Aldridge wants to live in a more diverse area.

Kevin Love Opts Out, Will Become Free Agent

June 25th, 2015 at 2:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

THURSDAY, 2:51pm: Love has officially opted out, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 1:21pm: Kevin Love is opting out of his contract with the Cavaliers and will become a free agent, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deadline for Love to make a decision isn’t until Thursday, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported earlier (on Twitter), so the power forward still has the power to change his mind if he wants. The league has no mechanism for players to officially turn down options, as those with player options simply allow the deadline to pass if they don’t want to opt in, but Stein indicates that Love’s decision to opt out is final. Cavs GM David Griffin said last week that he was expecting Love to opt out but re-sign with the club in July, and Love has time and again said he intends to remain with Cleveland. Opting out is nonetheless an about-face for Love, who told Haynes in January that he would instead opt in.

Opting out would appear the wise financial play for the Jeff Schwartz client, since he’d make only slightly more than $16.744MM on the option but stands to make as much as the max, an estimated $18.96MM, if he indeed opts out. Some executives have been predicting that the Cavs will sign-and-trade him to one of his many suitors, given the success Cleveland had without him while he was out with a shoulder injury during the playoffs, though Griffin insists he wants to keep the core of his team together, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote earlier this week. There’s little doubt the Cavs will put a max offer of their own on the table for him, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com wrote in late April, several weeks after ESPN colleague Chris Broussard had heard from rival executives who’d begun to question that prospect.

The Celtics and Lakers have been most frequently linked to Love over the past several months, even as the former All-Star has consistently batted down rumors that he’ll depart the Cavs. Love has nonetheless been a poor fit in Cleveland, which gave up Andrew Wiggins in the trade to acquire him, and Cleveland is reportedly staring at the possibility of a $100-110MM payroll as it seeks to keep its roster together.

Rockets To Make Play For Love, Aldridge

June 25th, 2015 at 9:24am CST by Zachary Links

9:24am: Both Jones and the No. 18 pick are very available as the Rockets look to shed salary, Stein tweets.

8:27am: The Rockets will try to get in the mix for Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge this summer, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Rockets do not have a whole lot of cap space to work with this summer, but they are working to change that. Stein adds that Houston is likely to try to trade Terrence Jones at some point today (link).

Yesterday, we learned that Love will opt out of his contract with the Cavs to become a free agent. By opting out, the forward can make as much as the max, an estimated $18.96MM. Some executives have been predicting that the Cavs will sign-and-trade him to one of his many suitors, given the success Cleveland had without him while he was out with a shoulder injury during the playoffs, though Griffin insists he wants to keep the core of his team together, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote earlier this week. There’s little doubt the Cavs will put a max offer of their own on the table for him, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com wrote in late April, several weeks after ESPN colleague Chris Broussard had heard from rival executives who’d begun to question that prospect.

Aldridge, meanwhile, is said to be coming increasingly fond of the Lakers. The big man will have tons of suitors this summer and the Blazers are reportedly concerned about him bolting.

Jones is scheduled to earn $2,489,530 during the 2015/16 season after having his fourth-year option exercised by Houston. He was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

Celtics To Pursue Paul Pierce, Robin Lopez

June 24th, 2015 at 3:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:45pm: The Celtics consider a frontcourt tandem of Love and Lopez a “dream scenario,” but it’s not one they expect to happen as of right now, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.

1:45pm: The Celtics plan to pursue Paul Pierce and Robin Lopez as complementary players to sell Kevin Love on the idea of signing with Boston, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Celtics have about $40MM on the books against a projected $67.1MM cap already, and if they sign Love to a deal starting at an estimated max of $18.96MM, they’d be hard-pressed to find room for both Pierce and Lopez without making salary-clearing trades. They also face a stiff challenge from the Clippers for Pierce, as the Clips seek to offload bench players in deals that could net them trade exceptions to allow them to sign-and-trade for the 37-year-old small forward, but Pierce is “in play” for the C’s if they can get Love, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter).

Pierce told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald in December that he would probably speak with president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and co-owner Wyc Grousbeck about a role with the Celtics for after his playing days. Pierce would like to become a GM someday, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter). It appears that Boston has a different sort of return planned for him if the circumstances are right. Pierce intends to play next season, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reported, and he’s turning down a player option worth nearly $5.544MM on the contract he signed last summer with the Wizards, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The Clippers will have only the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level to spend on outside free agents if they re-sign DeAndre Jordan for the max. They could aggregate bench players to create a trade exception for larger than that amount, as Wojnarowski suggests, though doing so would require the team to find willing trade partners, and they’d also have to convince the Wizards to go along with the plan if they want to sign-and-trade for Pierce. The Nets reportedly resisted the Clips’ efforts to construct sign-and-trade scenarios involving Pierce last year.

Lopez has said he’d prefer to re-sign with the Blazers, though Portland is in flux. Many executives around the league expect LaMarcus Aldridge, for whom Lopez has been a strong complement, to leave the Blazers, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote today.

Suns To Pursue Kevin Love; Blazers Eye Him

June 24th, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns promise to be an aggressive suitor with Kevin Love headed for free agency, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, and the Blazers are likely to go after him if LaMarcus Aldridge leaves Portland, according to Marc Stein of ESPN. Many executives around the league expect Aldridge to depart, Stein writes, leaving room for Love, an Oregon native.

The Cavs remain the front-runners for Love, who’s insisted repeatedly that he wants to stay in Cleveland, Wojnarowski tweets, but the possibility remains that he’ll listen to pitches from the Celtics and Lakers, Wojnarowski adds. He doesn’t mention either Phoenix or Portland in that context, and it’s unclear if either team would be on Love’s wish list if he changes his mind about the Cavs. LeBron James doesn’t intend to put on a recruiting effort to keep Love, believing that the power forward understands the opportunity he has to continue with a Cleveland team that appears poised to be a perennial contender, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group (Twitter link).

Phoenix has only about $43MM in guaranteed salary against a projected $67.1MM cap, and while much of that appears to be earmarked for a new deal for Brandon Knight, his cap hold is less than $8.885MM, so Phoenix won’t necessarily have to contend with an eight-figure number on the books for him as it goes after other free agents. It still knocks the team out of max-level territory for Love, so Phoenix likely would have to either renounce Knight or swing a trade. Conflicting reports paint a somewhat confused picture about whether the Suns are shopping Eric Bledsoe.

The Blazers have only about $25MM in commitments for next season with three fifths of their starting lineup bound for free agency. Still, Damian Lillard‘s rookie scale contract runs through next season, and while he’ll seek a max extension this summer that wouldn’t kick in until 2016/17, he seemingly remains an alluring would-be partner for another star if Aldridge indeed departs.

Central Notes: Blatt, Bucks, Love

June 18th, 2015 at 5:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

LeBron James‘ attitude and demeanor toward Cavaliers coach David Blatt during the NBA Finals was unbecoming and inappropriate, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. Stein references LeBron essentially calling his own timeouts and making substitutions, as well as eschewing Blatt for assistant coach Tyronn Lue. James also nixed a number of plays that Blatt had drawn up during timeouts, which only served to undermine the coach in the eyes of the rest of the team, Stein notes.

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

While some have speculated that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert might make a play for former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, a number of Cleveland’s front office personnel insist that Gilbert is Blatt’s biggest supporter, Zach Lowe of Grantland tweets. GM David Griffin downplayed any issues between Blatt and James in today’s season-ending news conference, saying, “Sensationalism sells. LeBron said David’s a hell of a coach,” Sam Amico of FOX Sports.com relays (Twitter link).
Griffin said that he expects James and Kevin Love to both opt out of their deals this summer, but he anticipates that both will re-sign with the Cavs, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group tweets. While this news isn’t a surprise as far as LeBron is concerned, it does run counter to what Love told Haynes back in January that he planned to do.
The Bucks held workouts today for Josh Gasser (Wisconsin), Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Cady Lalanne (Massachusetts), Amere May (Delaware State), and TaShawn Thomas (Oklahoma), the team announced (via Twitter).
Cavs veteran forward Shawn Marion confirmed today that he is indeed retiring after 16 years in the league, Stein relays in a separate article. “I wanted to go out on my terms,” Marion said. “The biggest thing is having a son. I got attached to him. Seeing him periodically is hard. Watching him grow up on pictures and videos is hard.” The Matrix’s final career numbers through 1163 contests are 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.
Bucks coach Jason Kidd is excited about the team’s possibilities for tweaking its roster this offseason, Genaro C. Armas of The Associated Press writes. “Yeah, I like what [GM John] Hammond has done, the position he has put us in pre-draft,” Kidd said. “We’ll see what happens,” Kidd continued. ”You’ve got a lot of different things, possibilities that you’re not landlocked to get better, and that means not moving a major piece.”

Cavs Notes: Love, Draft, Dellavedova

June 9th, 2015 at 11:46am CST by Chuck Myron

Team officials around the league are split on whether Draymond Green or Kevin Love is the better player, and no one on the Warriors would trade Green for Love straight-up these days, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. That represents a dramatic shift from the beginning of the season, but Cavs GM David Griffin, whose team had been discussing Love trades with the Timberwolves two years prior to last August’s trade, is adamant that the Cavs want to keep Love, according to Lowe. There’s more on Love, who likewise continues to insist that he wants to stay in Cleveland, amid the latest on the Cavs:

Cleveland’s willingness to have given up Andrew Wiggins for Love in the first place was tied to the choice LeBron James made to return to Cleveland, Griffin admitted in his interview with Lowe. “You have a finite window when you’re dealing with a player that’s 30,” Griffin said, citing James’ age. “The organization had wanted Kevin for a while, but we paid the price we paid entirely because of LeBron’s presence.”
Lowe nonetheless suggests that the Cavs could have kept Wiggins and acquired Thaddeus Young from the Sixers instead of Love, sending salary filler to Philadelphia along with the same first-round pick that ended up going to Sixers in the three-team Love trade.
The Cavs had workouts scheduled Monday with Arizona power forward Brandon Ashley, Michigan State guard Travis Trice, Wisconsin-Green Bay point guard Keifer Sykes, Louisville swingman Wayne Blackshear and Stanford small forward Anthony Brown, sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link).
Matthew Dellavedova is proving former Cavs GM Chris Grant wise as he makes an outsized impact in the Finals at the tail end of the two-year minimum-salary deal Grant signed him to in 2013, as Chris Mannix of SI.com examines. Dellavedova is set for restricted free agency this summer.