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Western Rumors: Suns, Love, Miller, Miles

July 2nd, 2014 at 3:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have spoken with Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes, Danny Granger, Ed Davis, Marvin Williams, Josh McRoberts, Gordon Hayward, Chandler Parsons, Isaiah Thomas and Patrick Patterson, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Still, Coro cautions that they aren’t necessarily interested in all of them. Phoenix also made contact with Eric Bledsoe, P.J. Tucker and Channing Frye on the first day of free agency, Coro adds. Here’s more from the West, including a Kevin Love update:

The Wolves are indeed insisting that the Warriors take back Kevin Martin in any trade involving Love, a source tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). Minnesota is also holding firm on its insistence that Klay Thompson be a part of the Warriors’ package, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
The Clippers, Nuggets, Rockets, Thunder and the incumbent Grizzlies are among the teams pursuing Mike Miller, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. He’ll allow the Grizzlies to make a final push before he makes his decision, and while he said on Sports56 radio in Memphis that he’s received at least five offers, he added that his heart is in Memphis, as Tillery notes (Twitter link).
The Thunder and C.J. Miles had mutual interest before he agreed to sign with the Pacers, but Oklahoma City wasn’t willing to have the contract go quite as long as the four years that Indiana gave him, as The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry tweets. The Thunder are believed to be limiting their new contracts this summer to two years with Kevin Durant‘s potential free agency looming in 2016, Mayberry adds (on Twitter).
The Clippers have reached out to unrestricted free agent Ed Davis, reports Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The Jazz are among several teams interested in Kent Bazemore, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).

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.

Raptors Extend Offers To Vasquez, Patterson

June 28th, 2014 at 11:51am CST by Cray Allred

11:51am: The team has announced that a qualifying offer for each player has been officially extended.

11:07am: The Raptors will extend qualifying offers to Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, and Nando De Colo today, tweets Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. The players will all become restricted free agents as a result of the offers, giving Toronto the right to match any offers they secure on the open market.

Both Vasquez and Patterson were acquired as pieces in the Rudy Gay trade with Sacramento this season. Vasquez, who has played well as both a starter and backup in his short career, triggered an increased qualifying offer of $4.7MM. Patterson, a steady rotation big who excels as a shooter, will receive a reduced offer at roughly $4.3MM.

De Colo’s offer will be roughly $1.8MM. De Colo arrived in Toronto via a trade deadline deal with the Spurs, and played limited minutes as a backup wing. All three will assuredly seek more lucrative offers from other teams for Toronto to match or decline, as qualifying offers will remain on the table during that process.

Raptors Notes: Casey, Lowry, Vasquez, Patterson

May 6th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors coach Dwane Casey and GM Masai Ujiri held a joint press conference today, an hour or so after the Raptors released a statement confirming that Casey and the team have an agreement in principle on a new three-year contract. Casey and Ujiri touched on that deal and other offseason priorities for Toronto, as we detail:

Ujiri tried to engage Casey in talks about an extension while the team was treading water early in the season, but the coach decided to leave that discussion until after the season, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Casey didn’t think about testing the market once the season was over, believing it would have been disingenuous for him to do so, Wolstat adds (Twitter links).
Keeping free agent point guard Kyle Lowry is indeed a key priority for the team, Ujiri said, suggesting that Lowry’s affection for the Raptors will make negotiations easier, tweets Michael Grange of Sportsnet. Casey had each player sign a document after the All-Star break stating their commitment to the team, and Lowry was the first to sign, observes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (Twitter link).
Ujiri said the team’s primary focus will be on keeping its own free agents and retaining the core of the team, as Smith and Wolstat pass along (Twitter links). Grange gets the sense that the Raptors intend to re-sign Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, both of whom will hit restricted free agency this summer (Twitter link).
Casey identified Vasquez as a cornerstone and called him perhaps the most confident player on the team, according to Grange (on Twitter).
Size on the wing and maybe a shot blocker are the team’s most significant needs, Ujiri said, but the GM cautions that he’ll allow the Raptors to grow gradually and won’t look for a quick fix, as Grange notes in a pair of tweets.

Raptors Notes: Lowry, Casey, Patterson

May 5th, 2014 at 11:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Kyle Lowry made his affection for the Raptors clear today in speaking to reporters, including Michael Grange of SportsNet, saying, “I love this situation, it’s as simple as that.” That’s as definitive a statement as the soon-to-be free agent has made about Toronto, in Grange’s eyes (Twitter links). Lowry also made note of his enjoyment of playing alongside DeMar DeRozan, who’s on a long-term deal with the Raptors, as Grange observes (on Twitter). Still, while the Raptors appear to have a strong chance of keeping him around, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun gets the sense that his free agency won’t be an open-and-shut case (Twitter link). Here’s more from Toronto:

Lowry says he’s sure coach Dwane Casey will be back, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets. The “expectation around town” is that Casey, whose contract is up, will receive an extension of at least two years, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Patrick Patterson intends to explore his opportunities in restricted free agency, but he referred to Toronto today as the best of his three NBA stops, Wolstat notes (Twitter links).
We passed along that the Raptors are considering a run at Vince Carter in an earlier post.

Eastern Notes: Heat, Anthony, Young, Raptors

April 15th, 2014 at 6:23pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The general consensus among several NBA executives is that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh will presumably re-sign with the Heat, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. As for Carmelo Anthony, most executives reportedly believe that the seven-time All-Star will re-up with the Knicks (Twitter links).

Unfortunately, the Knicks reported today that an MRI revealed a small tear in Anthony’s right labrum; however, no surgery is needed and he’ll be re-evaluated in a month (Twitter links via the official Knicks PR account). Depending on how one looks at it, it may be considered a blessing that the star forward will not risk aggravating the injury by trying to play through pain had New York made the playoffs this year. Al Iannazzone of Newsday (via Twitter) notes that Anthony decided to continue playing on a torn labrum in his left shoulder at the end of last season.

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference tonight:

Thaddeus Young isn’t sure if his time with the 76ers is running out, but the veteran forward tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer that he’ll remain with the team as long as they want him and he’s under contract. Young is still on the books for 2014/15; however, the Sixers could look to deal him this summer if they feel that he’ll eventually choose to turn down his $9.8MM player option for 2015/16, adds Pompey.
Soon-to-be restricted free agents Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez are “immensely open” to re-signing with the Raptors on long-term deals this summer, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Charania also hears from DeMar DeRozan, who says he never thought about trying to push for an early escape from his four-year extension when the team was struggling early this season.
Nets GM Billy King is exploring all of the team’s options in the NBDL right now, relays Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (via Twitter). King added that an announcement will be made as soon as a decision is reached.
Toney Douglas considers himself to be in a more advantageous position heading into free agency this summer after making the most of his chance to revive his career with the Heat this season, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Masai Ujiri On Lowry, Casey, Hayes

February 17th, 2014 at 12:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri‘s phone isn’t making much noise, but he’s not turning it off, either. Ujiri tells Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun that he’ll be listening to trade offers that come in between now and Thursday’s deadline. The Raptors are 28-24, good for third place in the Eastern Conference, but the team’s performance hasn’t altered Ujiri’s timetable for putting the club in title contention, Ganter notes. Ujiri also spoke with Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, and we’ll pass along the best of both pieces here:

On whether he’s open to trading Kyle Lowry or any other player:

“I hate to comment about any player in that way, but I think we are not good enough so you have to keep it open. That’s the honest answer. These guys have done pretty good. I know we’ve won a couple of games but we haven’t done anything yet. We’ll keep trying to grow.”

On coach Dwane Casey, whom Ujiri says has done “an excellent job”:

“When we talked about it with Casey when I came on, it was something like where I said we are going to assess the whole season and for me, my evaluation was not wins and losses at all. For me, you almost put a coach under pressure where he’s trying to do things. It wasn’t only the growth of the players. It was the growth of the coaches and the growth of us working together as a front office … I don’t just mean, ‘How did Terrence (Ross) grow or Jonas (Valanciunas) grow?’. How did we all grow working together? How are we all growing together? How do we interact, how do we communicate with front office, coaches, players? That’s our job here. We’re not always going to agree but we have to find a way to communicate and make a decision on things.”

On whether he sensed the December trade that shipped Rudy Gay to the Kings would be so beneficial to the Raptors:

“When we did the trade, we honestly didn’t know which way it would go so we were preparing for either way. Obviously, you do background, you check on attitude, you check on good teammate, you check on off-the-court habits and that stuff. Even some of that information, you can only get so much that’s accurate and so much that’s not but we tried to just do our homework, due diligence like everyone does. You bring in someone like (Greivis) Vasquez who can maybe (play) as a starter in the pinch. I think (Patrick) Patterson is a young big in the league and you’re intrigued by some of the little things he does. I think (John) Salmons is older but brings a steady calm and, you know what? Chuck Hayes? I didn’t know what Chuck Hayes had left but (as) a post-defender and leader and anchor type in pinch minutes on defense, I think he’s shown us he can be (of) some help.”

Kings Acquire Rudy Gay

December 9th, 2013 at 3:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The Kings have officially acquired Rudy Gay from the Raptors along with Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy, Toronto announced via press release. Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes are headed north of the border. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports originally reported last night that the swap would take place (Twitter links).

“We thank Rudy, Aaron and Quincy for their time here. They were great professionals and strong community ambassadors of the Raptors,” Toronto GM Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “The trade gives us good flexibility and more certainty as we plan for our future.”

The Kings plan on using Gay as a stretch-four and see Gay and the recently-acquired Derrick Williams as being capable of guarding either forward position, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. With Williams and Gay, the Kings are buying low on two notable names that have depreciated in the eyes of many evaluators.

“We’re excited to welcome these additions to our team,” Sacramento GM Pete D’Alessandro said, according to a release from the Kings. “In Rudy we’ve acquired one of the league’s proven scorers while Aaron and Quincy provide size and depth in our frontcourt. We also appreciate the contributions and efforts that John, Chuck, Greivis and Patrick made to the Kings organization. We all wish them the very best moving forward.”

Gay, 27, boasts career averages of 18.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG, but newer metrics such as PER have shown that his efficiency leaves much to be desired. It’s not just fans and front office execs that have taken notice, either. After a November game in which the small forward took 37 shots and scored 29 points, LeBron James remarked that he would put up 60 points “easy” if he attempted such a gaudy number of shots.

While the Kings gain at athletic wing in Gay, the Raptors free up a good amount of money for 2015 and gain a couple of interesting pieces along the way as well. As for the financial part of things, the only guaranteed 2015 money that came back in the deal is Hayes’ $5.9MM contract. Beyond that, they can clear $14.5MM by declining options/qualifying offers for Vasquez, Salmons, and Patterson.

Last month, it was reported that Ujiri was exploring trade options for Gay and others with Jonas Valanciunas, 2011′s fifth overall pick, the only real untouchable of the bunch. Gay was the team’s most obvious chip since he’s still capable of being a top scorer for a team and could be a rental since he has a player option for 2014/15 that he could turn down in favor of a longer deal. With a $17.89MM salary, however, finding a home for Gay hasn’t been easy. Gay’s player option for 2014/15 is worth $19.2MM.

Vasquez, 27 in January, took a major step forward with the Pelicans last season when he put up career best averages of 13.9 PPG and 9 APG. Today’s news means that Vasquez has now worn three different jerseys in this calendar year – the guard came to Sacramento in July as a part of the three-way Tyreke Evans deal. While Vasquez has fans in the Kings front office, they clearly felt that this was a trade they had to make to get a dominant wing. It also has the added benefit of clearing up the Kings’ backcourt logjam.

Patterson, 24, is also in his third career trade with today’s deal. The power forward has had an up-and-down career through Houston and Sacramento and hasn’t been off to a blazing start this season. Patterson is putting up just 6.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG while shooting 41% from the floor.

Salmons, 33, has been seeing almost 25 minutes per contest with the Kings this season but is putting up some of his weakest per 36 minutes averages of his career. Only $1MM of Salmons’ $7MM salary in 2014/15 is guaranteed and it’s a safe bet that he’ll be let go. Acy, 23, hasn’t seen much burn this season, playing 8.7 minutes per contest across seven games.

More than three-quarters of Hoops Rumors readers said that they expected Gay to be traded before the deadline. It certainly helped that Ujiri and D’Alessandro have a history after working together in Denver. By trading Andrea Bargnani and Gay, Ujiri has cleared ~$20MM off of the books next season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Kings Won’t Extend Vasquez, Patterson

October 31st, 2013 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

Two Kings extension candidates won’t be receiving new deals today, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson will instead hit the free agent market next summer.

We heard this morning that extensions were still in play for both Vasquez and Patterson in advance of tonight’s deadline. Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld suggested that the framework of a Vasquez deal was in place if the team chose to pursue it, but it looks like Sacramento has prioritized future cap flexibility.

With no extensions in place, Vasquez and Patterson will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2014. If the Kings decline to tender a qualifying offer to either player, he could become unrestricted, but assuming those QOs are made, Sacramento will still have the opportunity to match any rival offers for the duo. According to Spears (Twitter links), despite not signing him to an extension today, the Kings still “feel strongly” about Vasquez, and will likely match any offer sheet he signs next July.

Pacific Rumors: Kings, Vasquez, Warriors

October 31st, 2013 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Suns and Kings aren’t expected to be contenders in 2013/14, but both teams got off to good starts in their home openers last night, defeating the Trail Blazers and Nuggets, respectively. Two more Pacific teams are in action tonight, as the Clippers aim to become the last team in the division to get in the win column when they host the Warriors. While we look forward to that game, let’s round up a few items out of the Pacific….

In examining which rookie scale players will sign new contracts today, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld discusses a pair of Kings, noting that extensions remain in play for Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez. According to Kyler, the “framework” of a deal for Vasquez is in place, but it’s not clear whether or not Sacramento is interested in finalizing anything today.
The Warriors and Mark Jackson have not talked recently about an extension for the head coach, tweets Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. Jackson is under contract through the 2014/15 season, so extension negotiations could wait until next year.
Dwight Howard decided to sign with the Rockets this summer despite “relentless negative campaigning” from rival suitors, including the Warriors, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski hears from sources that Warriors advisor Jerry West was disparaging of James Harden during Golden State’s pitch to the free agent center. Asked about West’s comments on Harden, Howard laughed and replied, “Well, Jerry West said a lot of things.”
While Kings minority owner Shaquille O’Neal boldly predicted that the team would earn a playoff spot this season, Vivek Ranadive is more focused on the long term. According to Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee, Ranadive doesn’t plan to judge the season on wins and losses, but rather on whether the new system shows forward progress.