Paul Pierce Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, LeBron, Morrow, Blake

July 10th, 2014 at 8:53pm CST by Charlie Adams

Phil Jackson might be expecting Carmelo Anthony to rejoin the Knicks, but ‘Melo hasn’t ruled out the Bulls just quite yet, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Meanwhile, the Heat expected to have had an answer from LeBron James by this point, according to Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick. James was frustrated with some of coach Erik Spoelstra‘s strategy during the Finals this year and wasn’t impressed with team president Pat Riley‘s end-of-season press conference last month, Skolnick adds.

While the NBA world waits on the decisions of superstars like Anthony and James, let’s round up the latest from free agents all around the league..

Anthony Morrow has received interest from several teams, but it appears he’s deciding between joining the Clippers, Heat, Wizards, Raptors and Suns, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com, who adds that each of the teams Morrow is considering would be willing to use some or all of their mid-level exception to sign him (Twitter links). Given that the Clippers and Heat have both used up the full amount of their mid-level exceptions, signing Morrow would likely require a sign-and-trade to complete.
The Warriors took “another” look at DJ White today, notes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter), thereby implying it’s at least the second time Golden State has looked at the big man. White had his rights renounced by Charlotte earlier today.
Other teams submitted much stronger bids for Steve Blake but he “desperately” wanted to play for the Blazers, as he agreed to do today, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). The Lakers weren’t among the teams making an aggressive play for the point guard, as they offered only the minimum salary, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times hears.
The Jazz, Pelicans, Rockets, and Nets are interested in Francisco Garcia, a source tells Haynes (Twitter link).
The Wolves are making an effort to sign Evan Turner to one-year deal, a source tells tells Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com. Turner played poorly last season after being shipped to Indiana at the trade deadline.
The matter of whether Mike Miller will re-sign with the Grizzlies will likely come down to contract length rather than salary, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who writes in subscription-only piece. Memphis wants him back on a two-year deal, but Miller is pushing for three or four seasons.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been in contact with Paul Pierce‘s representatives at Excel Sports Management, but it’s unlikely the veteran forward ends up in Houston, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Alex Lee and Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Rockets Receive Mavs Offer Sheet For Parsons

July 10th, 2014 at 6:03pm CST by Cray Allred

6:03pm: The three-day clock on the Parsons offer sheet will begin tonight at 11pm CDT, reports Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star Telegram (Twitter link), giving the Rockets until Sunday at that time to match. In a separate tweet, Price reports that the deal will pay Parsons $14.7MM next season, $15.36MM in 2015/16 and $16.02MM in 2016/17 for a total of $46.08MM over three years. Price also confirms the third year is a player option.

1:59pm: The Rockets have received the signed offer sheet from the Mavs, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports, so the possibility of a sign-and-trade is out and Houston’s three-day window to match will begin (Twitter link).

1:24pm: Parsons indeed signed the offer sheet, Wojnarowski clarifies, but it simply hasn’t been delivered to the Rockets, meaning it’s not official yet, and the clubs can continue to work toward a sign-and-trade (Twitter link).

12:55pm: Dallas and Houston are indeed in talks about a sign-and-trade involving Parsons, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski also says Parsons has yet to sign an offer sheet, repeating what Nelson told reporters earlier today. That’s in spite of the earlier report to the contrary and photos of Parsons signing paperwork that Mavs owner Cuban posted to a social media site, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News observed.

11:57pm: Nelson told reporters that the plan is to submit the offer sheet by the end of the night, notes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com (on Twitter), so it appears that’s the deadline for working out a sign-and-trade.

11:52pm: A possible sign-and-trade is in play for the Mavs and Rockets regarding Parsons, which is why Dallas is hesitating to submit the offer sheet, tweets Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.

11:36am: Mavs GM Donnie Nelson said the team hasn’t submitted any offer sheets, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. That suggests that while Parsons may have indeed signed the offer sheet, the Mavs haven’t officially given the Rockets notice, as required, to begin the three-day matching period.

10:37am: If the Rockets sign Bosh, they intend to match the offer sheet for Parsons if they can before their time to do so runs out, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). If they don’t sign Bosh, Houston is undecided on matching, Feigen adds.

THURSDAY, 8:04am: Parsons has signed the offer sheet, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes, but there’s been no announcement from the Mavs, so it’s unclear whether the Rockets have been officially notified and their three-day window to match the offer sheet has begun. The value of the trade kicker is the maximum 15%, according to Spears (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 8:06pm: The deal includes a trade kicker, tweets Spears.

5:56pm: The Mavs and Chandler Parsons have reached an agreement on an offer sheet for three years and approximately $46MM. The third year is a player option, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Marc Stein of ESPN.com was the first to report the agreement (on Twitter), and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has confirmed the pending deal (via Twitter). The max salary for a player of Parsons’ status on a three-year deal would be $46,228,710, as we learned earlier today, so Dallas has offered the max or close to it to the small forward.

Parsons will sign the offer sheet when the league moratorium is lifted at 12:01am EDT, a source tells Spears (Twitter link), and the Rockets will have three days to match the deal for their restricted free agent. Houston will be faced with a 72-hour window to resolve its pursuit of Chris Bosh if they want to retain both Parsons and add the Heat veteran, as Parsons currently minuscule cap hold will turn into a massive amount of salary if they match Dallas’ offer. The Rockets would no longer have room to sign Bosh at the max level in that scenario.

Houston chose to decline the slender $960K team option for Parsons this season in a move that preserved their right to match offers for the third-year forward in restricted free agency rather than see him become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Houston has planned on retaining Parsons through this process, although the outcome of their respective pursuits of Carmelo Anthony, Bosh, and LeBron James could have altered those plans. GM Daryl Morey has been in contact with the agents for Trevor Ariza, Luol Deng, and Paul Pierce today, tweets Wojnarowski and Sam Amick of USA Today, three small forwards that would make sense as contingency plans in the event Houston doesn’t match Dallas’ offer. As it stands, Houston hasn’t been notified that they are out of the running on Anthony or James, but don’t appear to be front runners for either star.

Hawes Signs With Clippers

July 9th, 2014 at 11:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

JULY 9th, 11:26pm: The team announced that Hawes has officially signed the contract. No mention of a sign-and-trade was mentioned in the release.

7:27pm: Doc Rivers is trying to arrange a sign-and-trade with the Cavaliers for Hawes, which would preserve the Clippers midlevel exception which the team would then use to target Paul Pierce, tweets Wojnarowski.

JULY 4th, 6:26pm: Free agent Spencer Hawes has reached agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources have told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal is for four-years, $23MM, according to Wojnarowski’s tweet. Hawes was one of the more desirable big men on the market after a season that saw him average 13.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.2 BPG while splitting time between the Cavaliers and the Sixers.

According to Wojnarowski’s article, Hawes was determined to sign with a contender, and he had visited seriously with the Suns and Trail Blazers before settling on the Clippers offer.

The Clippers had recruited Hawes hard for the full midlevel exception and worked with his agent, Greg Lawrence of Wasserman Media Group, on a deal that includes a player option for the fourth year and a 15 percent trade kicker, sources told Wojnarowski.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Rumors: ‘Melo, Ariza, Stephenson

July 7th, 2014 at 6:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers aggressively pitched to Carmelo Anthony the idea that he can be the star of the team once Kobe Bryant‘s contract expires in 2016, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears (Twitter link). ‘Melo was to have taken the weekend to make his free agent choice, but it appears he still hasn’t made up his mind. Here’s more from a wild Monday of free agency:

The Cavs, Lakers, Heat and Mavs are all pursuing Trevor Ariza, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Wizards are presumably still in the hunt, as well. The swingman is seeking salaries of $9-11MM, Berger adds.
The Mavs have indeed shown interest in Lance Stephenson, reversing their previous stance against signing him, reports Chris Broussard of ESPNDallas.com, but it’s still very unlikely the shooting guard will end up in Dallas, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The Pacers‘ recent five-year, $45MM offer disappointed the Alberto Ebanks client, who’s begun shopping for other teams, Broussard writes.
The Celtics are also interested in Stephenson, Broussard adds (via Twitter).
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) continues to hear that the Thunder are ahead of the Heat in the Anthony Morrow chase. Along with Pau Gasol, Morrow has been a prime OKC target in free agency.
A Chinese team offered Sebastian Telfair a two-year, $7MM deal as word of an impending deal with the Thunder leaked, agent Joel Bell tells Shams Charania of RealGM. Telfair passed that up to strike a one-year, minimum-salary agreement with the Thunder.
Paul Pierce‘s representatives are telling teams that he’s looking for a two-year deal worth $9-10MM per season, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (on Twitter). The Jeff Schwartz client is waiting to see if teams are willing to offer more money once the first-tier free agents come off the board, Mannix adds (Twitter link).
The Nets, Trail Blazers and Spurs have worked out free agent Ivan Johnson, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Hornets are among the teams set to meet with unrestricted free agent Kent Bazemore, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Free agent Matt Bonner has remained in contact with the Spurs on a possible reunion and is waiting for the roster to unfold, sources tell RealGM’s Shams Charania (on Twitter). No other clubs are in the mix for him yet.

Nets Rumors: Pierce, Hollins, Bogdanovic

July 7th, 2014 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets aren’t in the running for either LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, but given their role in reported talks with the Cavs involving Jarrett Jack as Cleveland attempts to clear salary cap room for James, Brooklyn is still at the forefront of NBA conversation. Here’s the latest:

Paul Pierce remains high on the notion of re-signing with the Nets, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, adding that the 36-year-old would like to play at least two more seasons (Twitter link). Brooklyn has rebuffed the Clippers’ attempts to acquire Pierce via sign-and-trade.
New Nets coach Lionel Hollins was reportedly a strong candidate for the Lakers job before he wound up with Brooklyn, but in his introductory news conference today, he indicated that the Lakers didn’t push hard enough for him, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. “I’m all about who wants me,” Hollins said. “If they wanted me, they would have hired me.”
Hollins also made it clear he wouldn’t attempt to usurp the role of GM Billy King, as predecessor Jason Kidd apparently tried to do prior to Kidd’s exit, notes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter link).
Brooklyn’s discussions with draft-and-stash prospect Bojan Bogdanovic center around what would be a deal for the $3.278MM taxpayer’s midlevel exception, as Bontemps details.

Western Notes: LeBron, Warriors, Mavs

July 6th, 2014 at 8:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors could have dealt Harrison Barnes to the Magic for Arron Afflalo and a future first-round pick, a source tells Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Twitter). The Warriors passed, but such a deal would have eased losing Klay Thompson in a Kevin Love trade.

And-Ones: Clippers, Williams, LeBron

July 4th, 2014 at 11:17pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link) wonders what the Clippers recent signing of Spencer Hawes will mean for the extension chances of DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford with the team.

Here’s more from around the league:

Unless the Clippers are willing to trade J.J. Redick or first-round picks to the Nets for Paul Pierce, a sign-and-trade is unlikely, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Free agent forward Marvin Williams has been in discussions with the Spurs, Heat, Wizards, Hornets, Clippers, Magic, and Suns, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter link).
Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman breaks down the Thunder‘s Summer League roster.
The Lakers indeed met today with Rich Paul, the agent for LeBron James, as expected, Aldridge tweets.
Talks are advancing between Luol Deng and the Hawks, though no agreement is pending, notes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).

Clippers Search For Sign-And-Trade Deals

July 3rd, 2014 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:33pm: Deng reciprocates the Clippers’ interest in a sign-and-trade deal, and he’s expected to speak with Rivers today, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

1:12pm: There have been no such talks outside of the Nets expressing their lack of interest, according to Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link).

8:12am: The Clippers and Nets have spoken about a sign-and-trade that would involve Paul Pierce heading to Los Angeles, report Ramona Shelburne and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. The Clippers have offered a combination of Jared Dudley, Matt Barnes and Reggie Bullock as they seek to relieve a glut of small forwards, but Brooklyn is so far unreceptive to any such package, according to Shelburne and Youngmisuk.

Pierce and Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers have talked about a deal, the ESPN scribes say, and while the Clippers could use the $5.305MM mid-level exception to sign him outright, a sign-and-trade would allow Pierce to reap a higher salary, since the Nets have his Bird Rights. Brooklyn could use those Bird Rights as leverage to keep Pierce in black-and-white, but because the team is well above the salary cap, it wouldn’t have means to replace the Jeff Schwartz client if he simply decided to sign with the Clippers for their mid-level. Pierce’s interest in the Clippers has been known for a while, and the connection between Pierce and Rivers, who spent several years together with the Celtics, is strong.

The 36-year-old Pierce is nonetheless a fallback for the Clippers in case the team can’t convince either LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony to come west, Shelburne and Youngmisuk write. Rivers and company have also met with Trevor Ariza, according to the report, and they’re also interested in sign-and-trades involving Ariza, Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Pierce has a litany of other options as well, as the Blazers, Grizzlies, Bulls, Mavs and Rockets are other teams that have reportedly reached out to him.

Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Waiters, Pierce, Blatche

July 1st, 2014 at 10:34am CST by Chuck Myron

As Carmelo Anthony is set to visit with the Bulls today, two sources tell Marc Berman of the New York Post that Anthony’s wife is quite satisfied with living in New York and doesn’t want him to leave the Knicks. ‘Melo and Tom Thibodeau are in agreement that the Bulls shouldn’t trade Taj Gibson in any scenario, even as the Bulls attempt to clear salary to sign the Knicks star, Berman also writes. Many around the league reportedly see the Knicks as having the inside track to retain Anthony, though the Bulls appear to have the lead among teams looking to take him away from New York. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics have made contact with about 30 players in the hours since free agency began, with Gordon Hayward and Chandler Parsons among them, tweets Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
Cavs GM David Griffin said Friday that he sees No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins as “a big two-guard,” leading some executives to believe that the Cavs will look to trade Dion Waiters this summer, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). This also explains Cleveland’s push to sign Trevor Ariza, Kennedy surmises (on Twitter).
The Clippers loom as the largest threat to sign Paul Pierce away from the Nets, but the Nets still seem optimistic about their chances of keeping him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Nets GM Billy King reached out to all of the team’s free agents except Andray Blatche, as King told reporters today, including Stefan Bondy of the New York Post (Twitter link). That signals Blatche’s imminent departure from Brooklyn, Bondy concludes.
Suitors believe they can pry restricted free agent Mike Scott from the Hawks with an offer sheet at the right amount, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
The Pistons are expected to meet with Anthony Morrow soon, according to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
Head coach David Blatt and lead assistant Tyronn Lue helped sell Kyrie Irving on signing the $90MM extension with the Cavs in their overnight meeting, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Free Agent Rumors: Melo, Love, Henry, Sessions,

July 1st, 2014 at 1:15am CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks are still viewed in league circles as the favorites in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The team is confident that it will get the final sales pitch with Anthony, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The latest free agent rumors from around the league..

The Rockets, Suns, Bulls, and Warriors are all expected to make plays for Kevin Love if they miss out on LeBron James and/or Anthony, tweets Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press.
The Pacers are targeting Xavier Henry in free agency to replace Evan Turner, tweets Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth.
Bucks free agent guard Ramon Sessions‘ camp received calls from three teams in the first hour of free agency, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
The Grizzlies, Nets, Spurs, and Thunder have expressed in free agent point guard Sebastian Telfair, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Telfair played in China last season. For the Nets, Telfair could be a potential replacement for Shaun Livingston if he goes elsewhere.
The Nets reached out as soon as the negotiating window opened to their own free agents Paul Pierce, Livingston, and Alan Anderson, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).
The Blazers have strong interest in signing a stretch four, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Spencer Hawes, Boris Diaw, and Josh McRoberts are among their targets.
Blazers GM Neil Olshey met with Hawes and his agent, Greg Lawrence, tonight in Los Angeles, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Channing Frye would be open to returning to the Blazers, writes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. “Of course coming back would be an option,” Frye wrote in an e-mail. “I love the city, the fans, and the players they have are top notch.”
Nick Young was contacted by the Lakers and a number of other teams, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter).