Shaun Livingston Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kevin Durant Re-Signs With Warriors

July 6th, 2017 at 8:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: Durant has officially re-signed with the Warriors, per RealGM’s transactions log.

JULY 3: Kevin Durant has agreed to a two-year, $53MM contact with the Warriors, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com tweets. The second year will be a player option, Haynes adds in another tweet. Durant’s salary for next season will be $25MM, Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.

Durant’s willingness to take far less than a 20% raise aided the Warriors’ efforts to retain their free agents, Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Durant, who opted out of his contract with the full intention of re-signing with Golden State, was eligible to receive a maximum starting salary of $34.65MM. Durant, who made $26.54MM last season, decided to take significantly less than the expected 20% raise that would have secured him a $31.8MM salary for next season.

That is a major reason why the Warriors successfully negotiated new contracts with free agents Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. Iguodala, who was sought after by numerous clubs, agreed to a three-year, $48MM deal while Livingston agreed to stay put for three years and $24MM. In essence, as Thompson points out, Durant is gifting part of his salary for next season to his teammates.

Durant’s discount will also help ownership save some money on its luxury tax bill, depending upon how far over the tax line the franchise goes. Durant’s first-year salary will save the franchise approximately $20MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who projects Golden State will now pay $32.4MM instead of $52.4MM in luxury taxes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Iguodala Drawing Interest From At Least Seven Teams

June 27th, 2017 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Andre Iguodala wasn’t able to take home the NBA’s 2016/17 Sixth Man of the Year award on Monday night, but he’s on the verge of landing a nice consolation prize in the form of a lucrative new contract. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com, at least seven teams from around the league are expected to make an effort to pry Iguodala away from the Warriors.

The Timberwolves, Spurs, Clippers, Sixers, Magic, Nets, and Jazz are among the clubs with interest in Iguodala, per Haynes. Previous reports have suggested that the Bulls, Suns, and Hawks also may have interest in the veteran swingman, though Chicago has since entered a rebuilding phase, and Phoenix and Atlanta may opt to go in another direction.

According to Haynes, the Timberwolves and Sixers both have interest in Iguodala as a veteran leader for their young squads, while the Jazz view Iguodala as a contingency plan should they lose Gordon Hayward in free agency. The Spurs have internally discussed the possibility of trying to add both Iguodala and Chris Paul, according to Haynes, who confirms that San Antonio has explored trading Danny Green and LaMarcus Aldridge.

As Haynes explains, Iguodala has become one of the hottest free agents on the market this summer because teams view it as a priority to get him out of Golden State. Building a super-team to compete with the Warriors isn’t realistic for most franchises, so chipping away at the Warriors’ core by signing away one of the team’s key contributors is a more logical way to close the gap between Golden State and the rest of the league.

While earlier estimates for Iguodala’s new contract indicated the Warriors might be able to bring him back for an annual salary in the range of his current $11.1MM+ figure, a report from Shams Charania of The Vertical last week suggested that number could be much higher if the 33-year-old heads elsewhere. According to Charania, there’s a belief among teams around the NBA that Iguodala could approach $20MM per year on a new deal.

Outside of the Warriors’ stars, Shaun Livingston and Iguodala represent the team’s most important veteran free agents. Haynes says that Livingston should be popular in July as well, reporting that the veteran point guard may command a salary in the range of $10-12MM per year.

Warriors Rumors: Free Agents, Iguodala, Livingston

June 16th, 2017 at 11:54am CST by Luke Adams

It has been less than four full days since the Warriors won Game 5 of the NBA Finals and captured their second title in three years, but fans and observers are already looking ahead to see how Golden State intends to keep its championship roster together. Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News takes a deep dive into that subject today, breaking down the Warriors’ salary cap options and providing a handful of insider tidbits as well. Let’s round up the highlights…

Multiple NBA sources have told Kawakami that it’s all about the Warriors’ Big Four and Andre Iguodala, suggesting that the team won’t break the bank for anyone else on the roster. That includes free-agents-to-be like Zaza Pachulia, David West, Ian Clark, and JaVale McGee.
Out of that group of the Warriors’ top five players, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Iguodala are all eligible to become free agents. Kawakami expects Curry to receive a five-year, super-max deal worth upwards of $205MM, while Durant appears willing to accept a 20% raise rather than the full max, allowing the club to stay over the cap to re-sign Iguodala and possibly others.
Assuming Durant settles for a 20% raise, look for Iguodala to sign a multiyear deal worth between $8MM and $12MM annually, says Kawakami. The Sixth Man of the Year candidate has suggested he expects to re-sign with Golden State and that negotiations are almost done. If another team swoops in with a massive offer, it’s possible Iguodala reconsiders his options, but at that this point, the main question appears to be how many years will be on his new Warriors contract.
Shaun Livingston‘s situation is “much more open-ended,” with Kawakami pegging the odds of the point guard’s return as a coin flip. Kawakami speculates that a one- or two-year deal worth $6-7MM per year would be feasible for the Warriors, but Livingston will likely do better than that on the open market.
As Kawakami points out, it’s worth keeping an eye on the tax apron, which is projected to be around $127MM for 2017/18. If a team wants to use its full mid-level exception and/or bi-annual exception, it can’t exceed the apron at any point during the league year. If the Warriors go over that number, they’ll be limited to the taxpayer MLE – worth about $5.2MM – and minimum salary contracts for any additional signings.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Durant, Livingston, Kerr

June 14th, 2017 at 9:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are willing to be flexible with their contracts to give the Warriors the best shot at repeating, relays Anthony Slater of The San Jose Mercury News. Curry is eligible for a five-year mega max deal this summer worth about $205MM. His contract would start at about $35.5MM next season and climb to roughly $46.7MM in the final year. “As we go into talks and this whole process — which is obviously new for me — I will approach it as getting the most as I can as an individual, as a player, something I’ve been working for for a very long time,” Curry said. “In the context of keeping the team together, if there are decisions that need to be made, we’ll talk about [a slightly smaller deal] for sure.”

Durant would be eligible for the same contract, but because he just signed with the team last summer, the Warriors don’t have his Bird rights. They would have to renounce Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston to open enough cap space for Durant. An alternative is a 20% raise from this season, which would bump Durant’s salary to $31.8MM and permit Golden State to go over the cap to keep Iguodala and Livingston. “I feel as though I am going to be back here — no question,” Durant said. “We’ll all figure something out, work something out. I want to be here.”

There’s more news out of Golden State:

Past dynasties have demonstrated that not everyone can receive fair market value, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. The toughest decisions this summer will involve Iguodala, Zaza Pachulia and David West, three unrestricted veteran free agents who may be looking at their last chance for big-money contracts.
Another of Golden State’s 10 free agents is Livingston, who also prefers to stay with the Warriors, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. Livingston could be looking at a substantial raise after making a combined $16.5MM in his three years with Golden State. “I think we’ll all love to keep this group together and see what we’re able to accomplish together,” Livingston said. “But we’ll see what happens when that time comes. There’s obviously a domino effect. Guys have decisions to make, but it’s about enjoying this journey, this moment that we’re on right now.”
Steve Kerr discusses his unusual role in the title run and his future in coaching in a podcast with Zach Lowe of ESPN.com.

Warriors Notes: Fraser, Kerr, Barnes, Livingston

April 30th, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Arthur Hill

Having to get by without Steve Kerr for the first 43 games of last season has made the transition easier this year, assistant coach Bruce Fraser tells Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Ongoing complications from Kerr’s 2015 back surgery forced him to miss Games 3 and 4 of the Trail Blazers series and have put his availability in question for the next round and beyond. Former NBA coach Mike Brown has taken over the team on an interim basis and “has been really good with letting our culture stay intact,” Fraser said.

Fraser adds that helping Kerr get healthy is the organization’s primary concern. “I used to ask him a lot at the beginning how he was doing and I could tell after a while he just didn’t like that question,” Fraser said. “He hides it from everyone. I’m no different. But he also doesn’t want you to feel sorry for him. He doesn’t want it to be a crutch for himself or a hindrance to the team or us. He learned how to manage it pretty well. So he was really good with it all–some moments better than others. It just got worse. We just need to get him back.”

There’s more Warriors news this morning:

Brown brings a different tone to Golden State’s huddles, but he is maintaining the same philosophies that Kerr employs, Kevin Durant says in the same piece. “They’re two different voices, two different personalities,” Durant said. “They work well with each other and they learn from each other I can tell. But we play a certain way and we’ve been playing that way the whole season. It’s not like coach Brown is coming in trying to change anything up. He’s coaching us within the flow of the game and whatever he sees he’s going to help us out.”
The Warriors are hoping to have Matt Barnes and Shaun Livingston available when their second-round series starts Tuesday, relays the Associated Press. Barnes, who has been out since April 8th with a foot injury, has been upgraded to probable for Game 1. Livingston remains questionable with a sprained finger on his right hand that he suffered in the opener against Portland. Durant is expected to play without the minutes restriction that was imposed when he returned from a strained left calf for Game 4 against the Blazers.
Center Zaza Pachulia talks the experience of being surrounded by mega-stars in the “Warriors Plus-Minus” podcast with Kawakami.

Knicks Notes: Noah, Porzingis, Kobe, Livingston

April 27th, 2017 at 11:55am CST by ChrisCrouse

Joakim Noah, who signed a four-year, $72MM deal last offseason, underwent rotator cuff surgery on Wednesday, Al Iannazzone of Newsday relays. Noah was suspended by the league for taking a banned substance at the end of this season. He was able to serve eight of his 20 games since he was deemed healthy enough to play toward the end of the 2016/17 campaign. He’ll serve the remaining 12 games of the suspension once he’s recovered from his left shoulder surgery and ruled healthy enough to play. The Knicks didn’t give a timetable for his return, but coach Jeff Hornacek previously said the rehab process should take approximately five months.

Team president Phil Jackson remains hopeful that Noah can return from his injury and live up to his current contract. “We talked a lot about, ‘Can you get yourself back into this condition? Hamstrings, hamstrings, hamstrings,” Jackson said earlier this month. “‘Eventually it ended up being the knee that was creating ultimately other problems. So we hope going forward – he expresses great dedication in getting back to what he was and who he is as a basketball player. So I have to trust him in that.”

Here’s more from the city that never sleeps:

Kristaps Porzingis may be frustrated with the Knicks‘ organization, but that doesn’t extend to assistant coach Joshua Longstaff, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Longstaff will join Porzingis in Latvia this summer and Bondy hears that the big man wants Longstaff to be an assistant coach for the Latvian National Team. New York previously offered to approve Porzingis’ participation in the European Championships if the Latvian team allowed the assistant to be on its staff.
Can Jackson and Carmelo Anthony coexist in New York after a season of turmoil? Kobe Bryant believes there’s a chance the two parties can, as Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. “Michael [Jordan] had his rough times with him as well. The history is you get through rough times after you win a good amount of championships. We certainly had our rocky times, but we still stuck to it, we figured out our way through it and came out better because of it. I think the most important thing is sticking to it, being patient. Sometimes things work out. Sometimes they don’t,” Bryant said.
Shaun Livingston, who will be a free agent this offseason, is a longtime favorite of Phil Jackson and could be a reasonable target for the Knicks to go after this summer, Keith P. Smith of RealGM writes. Smith argues that Livingston would be a good fit in the triangle offense.

Kevin Durant To Play In Game 4

April 24th, 2017 at 8:07pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kevin Durant will play in tonight’s matchup against the Blazers, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post tweets. Shaun Livingston and Matt Barnes will remain sidelined.

Golden State will be without Steve Kerr as well. Kerr is experiencing health issues which stem from the back surgery he underwent in 2015. He and Durant both missed the Warriors’ Game 3 win on Saturday.

Durant missed 22 games this season, including the two games he was sidelined for in this series. In his first postseason game with the Warriors last weekend, Durant scored 32 points and pulled down 11 boards before exiting the game with a calf injury.

Andre Iguodala Likely To Remain With Warriors

April 17th, 2017 at 8:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Andre Iguodala will be a free agent this offseason, but he’s unlikely to leave Golden State, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. A source tells the scribe that the real question is how many years will Iguodala’s next deal with the Warriors run.

A new contract for Iguodala will have to wait until other dominos fall in the Bay Area this offseason. The Warriors could face cap issues as they try to re-sign Kevin Durant. Kawakami notes that they would have to get creative in order to open up the necessary cap space for a Durant max deal and those efforts may include renouncing the rights to Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. Taking that route would forfeit Iguodala’s Bird Rights, something that would limit the amount they can offer the 2015 NBA Finals MVP.

If Durant is willing to take merely a 20% raise on his 2016/17 salary, the team would not have to fit him into cap space and they could retain the bird rights of its other players, Kawakami notes. Durant could sign another two-year deal with a starting salary of approximately $31.8MM, which would contain another opt-out after the first season. That amount would come in roughly $4MM less than the maximum he could receive, so it’s not a given that the team takes this path.

Durant doesn’t plan on leaving Golden State and he hasn’t given much thought to his contract situation. Regardless of what happens with his option this summer, he wants the team to stay together.

“I haven’t thought about it, but obviously you want to keep this group together,” Durant said. “We want to see how far we can go with this thing. I’m sure once the season’s over with, we’ll figure that stuff out everybody. I’m sure it’ll all work out for the best.”

Kawakami adds that Golden State’s plan all along was to keep this core together for years to come and the franchise won’t change course anytime soon.

Durant Has No Plans To Leave Warriors

April 14th, 2017 at 10:54am CST by Arthur Hill

After hosting potential suitors at the Hamptons last summer, don’t expect a repeat performance from Kevin Durant in free agency this year.

Appearing on the Warriors Plus-Minus podcast, Durant said staying in Golden State will be an easy decision, relays host Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News.

“Obviously I’m thinking about the playoffs right now,” Durant said. “Haven’t even thought about [free agency] that much. But I don’t plan on going anywhere else.”

Durant rocked the NBA last July 4th when he announced that he was leaving Oklahoma City to join the Warriors. The two-year contract he signed contained a player option that gives him the freedom to negotiate an even larger deal this offseason.

Durant is eligible for a max contract starting at about $36MM for 2017/18. However, the Warriors don’t have his Bird rights because they just signed him a year ago, so much of that salary would have to come from cap space. To make that happen, Golden State would have to renounce Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.

Kawakami notes that if Durant were to agree to a 20% raise, it would bump his salary from $26.5MM to $31.8MM without draining cap room. The team does have Bird rights on Iguodala and Livingston, so both could subsequently be retained without affecting the cap.

One possibility for Durant is another two-year deal with a player option for next summer, which creates the opportunity for an even larger contract starting with 2018/19.

“Like I said I haven’t thought about it, but obviously you want to keep this group together,” Durant said when asked about that possibility. “We want to see how far we can go with this thing. I’m sure once the season’s over with, we’ll figure that stuff out, everybody. I’m sure it’ll all work out for the best.”

Durant added that he is comfortable with his decision to come to the Bay Area, and he believes it’s the “perfect place” for him to play.

Pacific News: Clippers, Afflalo, Pachulia

January 5th, 2017 at 6:20pm CST by Austin Kent

The Clippers may be turning the corner, at least as far as their health is concerned. Superstar point guard Chris Paul has missed seven of the last contests but is expected to be back in the lineup uninhibited on Friday, says Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Daily News.

A return from Paul, coupled with news that rookie Brice Johnson has been cleared for contact, will give Clippers head coach Doc Rivers that much more confidence heading into the middle portion of the season. Johnson is a power forward out of North Carolina that Los Angeles drafted with the 25th overall pick last summer.

Additionally, Woike writes that Blake Griffin is expected to make his own return to the Clippers later this month.

Also out of the Pacific Division:

It wasn’t long ago when Arron Afflalo‘s future with the Kings looked to be in doubt. Now the veteran has upped his standing in the team’s rotation. “I’ve evolved into getting over myself,” Afflalo told the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones. “We have a great opportunity as a team – playoff position. There will be nights where I can perform at a level I was expected to perform at, and there will be nights where other guys take the lead.”
Things haven’t always gone well for Shaun Livingston since he was drafted in 2004, but he’s settled into a great role with a dominant Warriors team. The veteran point guard spoke with Basketball Insiders’ Michael Scotto about his career thus far and his future. “I’d love to stay [with Golden State].” he said, “It’s been home for me, the Bay has welcomed me with open arms. I love it out there. But, we’ll see what happens. Obviously, decisions have to be made and you just roll with the punches.”
The NBA recently changed how All-Stars are to be selected and it’s already foiled Warriors big man Zaza Pachulia‘s second consecutive campaign as a dark horse possibility, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.