Wesley Matthews Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Perkins, Stefanski, Matthews

September 19th, 2015 at 12:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kendrick Perkins said it was the Pelicans‘ strong young core of players that led him to choose to sign with the team this summer, Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com writes. “You looked at every position from AD [Anthony Davis] to Jrue Holiday to Eric Gordon to Tyreke Evans and you just saw that they had a nice core, young guys that were good at every position,” Perkins said. “Raw talent. All they needed was a couple teaching points on the little things and professionalism. They had that [professionalism] already, because they work hard. But on the court, they needed a leader. The leader is not always the best player on the team, but more so the vocal side.”

“The young talent [was appealing],” Perkins continued. “You look at their team and [think about] having a veteran guy around to lead them and teach them how to be professionals, how to take care of their bodies, to be responsible on the road, to stay focused and don’t worry about the nightlife. Just the little things. You could tell they were a few things away from reaching a great goal. So I just felt like this was the place for me. I reached out to [GM] Dell [Demps] and he reached out to me. I felt wanted.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Grizzlies VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski is happy in Memphis and has no interest in the Bucks’ vacant assistant GM position, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times tweets.
Wesley Matthews, who signed a four-year, maximum salary deal with the Mavericks this offseason, hopes to break out of the three-and-D label he had with the Blazers and show his full repertoire of skills this season, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays. “You know, I’ve never been one to allow someone to label me,” Matthews said. “I always continue to try to get better. I’m not a content type of person. If they come up with a term ‘three-and-D’ and they want to fit me in that category, that’s fine. But there’s not a thing that I don’t think I can do on the court, and I’m excited for the opportunity. You know, talking to coach [Rick] Carlisle, I’m obviously familiar with the system, having ran it in Portland. And talking to him, there’s opportunities that he sees how I can help this team. And I’m excited for those opportunities.”

Neil Olshey On Aldridge, Batum, Aminu, Kanter

August 27th, 2015 at 1:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey was coy when Grantland’s Zach Lowe asked him why he signed Enes Kanter to a max offer sheet but hasn’t done so with Tristan Thompson, but Olshey expressed contentment and optimism about the roster he’s built even amid the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge. Olshey, speaking on The Lowe Post podcast, believes the revamped Blazers have the potential to grow like the group he had with the Clippers in 2010/11 that featured Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe, Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu, all of whom were 22 or younger.

Aminu, who turns 25 next month, is one of the new Blazers, and Olshey talked about the forward’s four-year, $30MM deal, Aldridge’s exit, and a host of other offseason topics. His entire conversation with Lowe is worth a listen, especially for Portland faithful, and we’ll round up a few highlights here:

On the fluctuation of the team’s chances to re-sign Aldridge:

“I think, honestly, because of how unhappy LaMarcus was when we all joined the Trail Blazers, myself, [coach] Terry [Stotts], our regime, it wasn’t like we were put on notice, Zach, but I think we were all aware that it was going to be an uphill battle, and I think it was an uphill battle that we had fought and won right up until [Wesley Matthews] was injured. … We were 100% confident in LaMarcus right up through the trade deadline, and then when Wes got hurt, and we weren’t playing as well, and we realized our margin for error with that group was more narrow than we would have liked to have believed, I think we felt like, you know what? We’re going to have more of a battle on our hands than we had anticipated in terms of keeping LaMarcus.”

On the Nicolas Batum trade, which Olshey said was made independent of Aldridge’s decision to walk:

“There was a three-fold approach there. One, we felt like if we brought in another starter, then Gerald Henderson would have strengthened the bench. We got a bright, young prospect in Noah Vonleh who we were really high on in the draft, and we created a positive variance in our favor in terms of our cap position to go and be more aggressive in free agency to continue to build with the group that was there. So, that deal was done absent anything with LaMarcus other than the fact that he was aware of the deal prior to us making the decision to move forward with Noah and Gerald in lieu of Nicolas.”

On those who would laugh at the team’s financial outlay in the the Al-Farouq Aminu deal:

“If they’re laughing, they haven’t seen him play, and they haven’t realized that in two years, the cap’s going to be $108MM, so you’re basically talking about a deal that’ll be less than what the mid-level was on previous caps. So, this is a guy that I know well. I drafted him. I had him for a year with the Clippers. He’s tracking up. I think his growth was accelerated by playing for Rick Carlisle in Dallas. I think that was like a three-year tutorial crammed into nine months. He’s a better player today than he was then. Look, we had moved Nic Batum. We wanted to get younger at that position and we wanted to get an athletic guy if we chose to push the floor. We felt like, at that point, he could play in multiple roles with LaMarcus or without, depending on what his decision was, and I really believe, look, when you look at a way a contract is structured, we had a lot of cap room this year [and] it’s a descending deal.”

On whether he truly wanted Kanter on the team:

“We did. We absolutely did. We pursued him. Look, it’s not the first time we went down the road of restricted free agency for a starting center and maybe won the recruiting battle but lost the war in terms of adding him to our roster, and that situation played out. You know, look, we’re really happy with the guys we have right now.”

What do you think of the way Olshey has positioned the Blazers for the post-Aldridge era? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Western Notes: Waiters, Ezeli, Withey

August 25th, 2015 at 10:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder are open to the idea of a rookie scale extension for Dion Waiters, but only if the shooting guard is willing to give them a discount, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That casts doubt on whether the former No. 4 overall pick would sign before the deadline this fall, particularly coming off a career-low scoring average this past season.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

The Warriors would sign Festus Ezeli to a rookie scale extension if the price is right, Kyler also relays. GM Bob Myers recently indicated to Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com that the team would consider the idea of doing a deal with the backup center that would keep him out of restricted free agency next summer.
The two-year pact that Jeff Withey inked with the Jazz includes a partial guarantee of $200K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
Mavericks swingman Wesley Matthews told Mavs.com scribe Bobby Karalla (on Twitter) that he will be ready to play come opening night. The shooting guard tore his left Achilles tendon on March 5th, and missed the last 22 games of the 2014/15 season. Matthews inked a four-year max deal with Dallas this offseason.
The most likely scenario for the Jazz heading into training camp will be for the team to stand pat and continue to carry just four point guards on its roster, Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Utah, in the wake of the season-ending injury Dante Exum suffered, plans on going with Trey Burke as the starter, and will utilize Raul Neto and Bryce Cotton as the reserves. The Jazz are said to be interested in acquiring Wizards guard Garrett Temple, but Washington reportedly isn’t in any rush to part with the 29-year-old.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Durant, Matthews, Hamilton

July 17th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Executives from around the league seem to think that Kevin Durant will end up re-signing with the Thunder next year, but the Wizards, Mavericks, Lakers, Heat, Knicks and Nets are expected to be among his most dogged suitors, writes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. Damion James, a Wizards summer-leaguer whom Castillo describes as Durant’s best friend, says it’ll come down to wins and losses.

“He’ll do whatever it takes to win. Whoever gives him the best chance to win is where he’s going to end up,” James said.

The Thunder certainly seem to have kept themselves in the discussion on that front, having just paid the max to avoid losing Enes Kanter. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

No contract handed out this summer has seemed to draw as many surprised reactions for its munificence as the one Wesley Matthews ended up with from the Mavericks, observes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. The shooting guard was going to make $57MM over four years with the Mavs before they bumped his deal up to the maximum of $70,060,025, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “A healthy Wesley Matthews at $70MM is insane,” one GM told Bulpett. “But Wesley Matthews coming off Achilles’ surgery at $70MM? What’s a stronger way to say insane?”
Justin Hamilton is close to a deal with Valencia of Spain, according to Paco Garcia Caridad of the Spanish outlet Marca (Twitter link; translation via Trapani). Hamilton, who went to the Finals with the Heat in 2013/14, finished this past season as a member of the Timberwolves.
Miroslav Raduljica has agreed to sign with Panathinaikos of Greece, reports Sportando’s Enea Trapani. The Kings reportedly had interest in the big man who was briefly with the Wolves this past season. The team was reportedly close to a deal with Nikola Milutinov, whom the Spurs drafted 26th overall, but now the status of negotiations with Milutinov is unclear. Regardless, the Spurs have already filed paperwork with the league saying they won’t sign Milutinov this year, thus clearing his cap hold.

Mavericks Rumors: Cuban, Matthews, Williams

July 11th, 2015 at 1:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban dismissed DeAndre Jordan‘s apology and celebrated the trade for Zaza Pachulia today on CyberDust, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. “When is an apology not an apology? When you didn’t write it yourself. Next,” Cuban wrote of the Clippers’ center, who committed to Dallas before changing his mind Thursday. He also said the the Mavericks have been working for some time to acquire Pachulia. “He is a good rebounder,” Cuban stated, “and in the hard to believe category he shoots the 15 foot pick and pop at the same level as … Dirk [Nowitzki]. Look it up!”

There’s more this afternoon from Dallas:

Wesley Matthews never considered reneging on his deal with Dallas after hearing about Jordan, MacMahon writes. Matthews spent time in Los Angeles with Jordan and Chandler Parsons the weekend before free agency began, and they had several conversations about playing together. Matthews said Cuban gave him the opportunity to back out of his deal after the news about Jordan broke, but that wasn’t an option for the former Blazer. “I came to Dallas with one intention, and that’s to win,” Matthews said. “I’m excited about it. With DeAndre or without DeAndre, I know that this organization is a championship organization.”
Had Jordan come to the Mavericks, the team would not have had enough cap space to offer Deron Williams a two-year, $10MM deal, MacMahon tweets. Williams is expected to sign with Dallas for that figure after clearing waivers.
Although the Mavericks were interested in Williams, they didn’t consider a trade with the Nets because he would have consumed too much cap space, according to ESPN.

Southwest Notes: Parsons, Asik, Aldridge

July 10th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In a candid Q&A session with Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, Mavs forward Chandler Parsons detailed the team’s recruitment of DeAndre Jordan, and expressed his disappointment with the center re-signing with the Clippers. When asked about his reaction to Jordan spurning Dallas, Parsons told MacMahon, “I’m shocked, very disappointed, frustrated, disrespected. This is something that I’ve never seen in my career, and I know that it doesn’t happen very often. When a man gives you his word and an organization his word, especially when that organization put in so much effort and I walked him through this process and was very, very open and willing to work with him, it’s just very unethical and disrespectful.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

It’s the Spurs‘ own 2016 second-rounder headed to Sacramento in the Ray McCallum trade, according to RealGM.
The protection on the 2017 second-round pick headed from the Hawks to the Spurs in the Tiago Splitter trade is for the top 55 picks, as RealGM details.
The four-year max deal that Wesley Matthews signed with the Mavs includes a player option after year three, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
The final season in Omer Asik‘s five-year deal with the Pelicans is an early termination option. That season is partially guaranteed for $3MM, though he can end up with a larger partial guarantee if he triggers incentives, Pincus notes (Twitter links).
The Grizzlies used the mid-level exception for their deal with Brandan Wright. Pincus pegs its value at $17.1MM, though he’s probably rounding down from $17,129,640, the full value of the mid-level over three years. Wright also has a 15% trade kicker.
Alexis Ajinca‘s four-year deal with the Pelicans is worth $19.2MM, tweets Pincus.
The starting salary in Patrick Beverley‘s deal with the Rockets is $6,486,486, but that’s a function of front-loading. It’s worth a total of $23MM over four years, Pincus relays (on Twitter).
LaMarcus Aldridge has a 15% trade kicker in his max deal with the Spurs, notes Pincus (via Twitter).
The Mavs considered trying to swing a trade for Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson before Deron Williams reached a buyout arrangement with the Nets, MacMahon tweets. Williams is expected to sign with Dallas if he clears waivers, which is highly likely given the point guard’s player-friendly contract.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Sixers Acquire Stauskas, Landry, Thompson

July 10th, 2015 at 6:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

6:35pm: The Sixers and Kings have issued press releases announcing the trade is official. Philly gets Stauskas, Landry, Thompson, Sacramento’s 2018 first-round pick and the right to swap first-rounders in 2016 and 2017. Sacramento gets the rights to Gudaitis and Mitrovic.

“Jason, Carl and Nik are all tremendous professionals and we’re grateful for their contributions,” Kings president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac said in Sacramento’s statement. “Jason leaves an indelible mark in Sacramento as the team’s alltime leader in games played, but he was also a champion in the community. Carl and Nik were well regarded as teammates and respected stewards of the organization during their time as Kings. We wish them all great success in the future.”

JULY 10TH, 11:48am: Neither team has made an official announcement, though the RealGM transactions log and salary cap expert Larry Coon (Twitter links) indicate the trade has indeed taken place. Sacramento creates trade exceptions equivalent to the salaries of Stauskas, Landry and Thompson, but those are poised to disappear once the team formalizes its free agent signings.

JULY 3RD, 11:35am: Executives around the league are talking about the notion that the Kings might back out of the deal now that they’ve missed on Ellis and Matthews, though none of those execs truly expect Sacramento to pull out, reports Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link).

JULY 2ND, 8:54am: A future second-round pick is also going to Sacramento, Wojnarowski writes in his full story. The Sixers receive Sacramento’s 2018 first-round pick and the right to swap first-rounders with the Kings in 2016 and 2017, a league source tells USA Today’s Derek Bodner (Twitter link). The overseas assets that the Kings receive are the rights to Arturas Gudaitis and Luka Mitrovic, the 47th and 60th picks, respectively, in last week’s draft, ESPN’s Pablo Torre tweets. Gudaitis just signed a two-year deal with an option for a third year with Lietuvos Rytas of Lithuania, the team announced (translation via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). The Sixers are interested in keeping Landry, Thompson and Stauskas rather than waiving any of them, a source said to Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (on Twitter).

10:56pm: The Sixers will receive a protected first round pick from the Kings, and swap rights with Sacramento in the first round of two other drafts, Zach Lowe of Grantland tweets.

JULY 1ST, 10:17pm: The Sixers and Kings have agreed to a deal that would send Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, and Nik Stauskas to Philadelphia, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). Philadelphia is expected to send Sacramento the rights to overseas players in return, notes Wojnarowski (on Twitter), though it is unclear which players will be involved.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The deal is a salary dump for Sacramento, tweets Wojnarowski, with the Kings clearing room for pursuing free agents. Thompson is set to earn $6,431,250 in 2015/16, Landry $6.5MM, and Stauskas $2,869,440. Sacramento is clearing the decks for a pursuit of point guard Rajon Rondo, swingman Wesley Matthews, and possibly Monta Ellis, the Yahoo! scribe adds (via Twitter ).

Stauskas, 21, is the prize here for the Sixers, who were willing to absorb the contracts of Thompson and Landry to acquire him, Wojnarowski tweets. The young shooting guard failed to impress in Sacramento after being selected with the No. 8 overall pick back in the 2014 NBA Draft. In 73 appearances during his rookie campaign, Stauskas averaged 4.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, with a slash line of .365/.322/.859. He should have every opportunity to develop on a young Sixers team badly in need of shooters.

Thompson still has two years remaining on his deal, though his salary of $6,825,000 for the 2016/17 campaign is partially guaranteed for just $2.65MM. In 81 contests last season, the 28-year-old averaged 6.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 24.6 minutes per game. Landry, 31, also has two years remaining on his contract, though both seasons are fully guaranteed. He logged 70 appearances last season for the Kings, posting 7.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 0.4 APG in 15.0 minutes per night.

Northwest Rumors: Kanter, Aldridge, Matthews

July 10th, 2015 at 9:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Thunder GM Sam Presti said shortly before receiving official notice of Portland’s max offer sheet to Enes Kanter that he intended to match any offer for him and had planned in advance for the sort of offer sheet to which the Trail Blazers signed the big man, as Presti told The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater. Presti added that Kanter, during a meeting with the Thunder on Tuesday, had expressed a desire to remain in Oklahoma City. The Thunder have until Sunday to follow through and exercise their right to pull their prize trade deadline acquisition back to OKC. Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

Other teams simply weren’t interested in doing sign-and-trades for LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews, according to Blazers GM Neil Olshey, as Mike Tokito of The Oregonian relays (on Twitter). Aldridge and Matthews have officially signed outright with the Spurs and Mavericks, respectively.
Olshey also said that an extension for Meyers Leonard was a subject of discussion but made it clear that he wants the former lottery pick around for the long term, Tokito tweets. It’s unclear if the Blazers are having internal conversations about an extension or have begun talks with Leonard’s reps at the Creative Artists Agency. The sides have until October 31st to sign a rookie scale extension or Leonard will be set for restricted free agency next summer.
The Blazers renounced their Non-Bird rights to Alonzo Gee, among other players who’ve since signed elsewhere or have already retired, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Jazz have arranged to pay the maximum $625K toward the buyout of draft-and-stash prospect Tibor Pleiss from his contract with Barcelona of Spain, as José Ignacio Huguet of Mundo Deportivo reports (translation via Rick Saldaña; hat tip to Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune). Pleiss traveled to Utah and engaged in contract talks with the Jazz, though his trip ended before a deal could be struck, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). Still, Pleiss and the Jazz maintain mutual interest, according to Genessy (on Twitter).

Reactions To DeAndre Jordan Signing

July 9th, 2015 at 6:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

DeAndre Jordan officially re-signed with the Clippers today after changing his mind regarding the verbal contract agreement he had made with the Mavericks. Jordan’s deal is for four years, $87.6MM, with a player option after the third season, and includes a 15% trade kicker. Wednesday night was a surreal event as Clippers officials camped out at Jordan’s Houston area home until the July moratorium officially came to an end at midnight Eastern time, and Jordan could officially sign the agreement. Here are some of the reactions around the league regarding this unusual event:

Mavs owner Mark Cuban took exception to a report made by ESPN’s Chris Broussard which stated that Cuban was desperately contacting Jordan’s relatives in a last-ditch effort to sway the big man toward Dallas on Wednesday evening. Cuban posted a message via CyberDust (h/t Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com) saying that he hadn’t spoken with Jordan since Tuesday night, and that the owner even offered to let unrestricted free agent Wesley Matthews out of his own verbal agreement with Dallas.
Broussard stood by his report (via Twitter), relaying that multiple sources had informed him that Cuban was attempting to contact Jordan on Wednesday night, and if Cuban was able to obtain Jordan’s address, he would have attempted to visit the center in an attempt to change Jordan’s mind yet again.
The NBPA issued a statement regarding the moratorium as it relates to the Jordan situation (h/t Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe), which read, “The moratorium period exists for both players and teams to thoughtfully weigh and consider options before signing any contracts. And while we fully support the opportunity to review options, we also acknowledge there is a risk for both players and teams for the other party to change his mind during discussions. We all walk into these conversations understanding that as with any business contract, it’s not a deal until the paper is signed.“
The Mavs will have no choice now but to rebuild, writes MacMahon in a separate piece. The snub by Jordan and the departure of Tyson Chandler to the Suns have left the organization with few options for next season at the pivot, MacMahon opines.
Zach Lowe of Grantland proposes that the NBA ban all contract talks until the end of the moratorium on July 9th, so that when discussions officially commence, they can lead to enforceable, signed contracts right away.
Mavericks former minority owner/GM Frank Zaccanelli said that Dallas may be thankful down the line that it missed out on Jordan, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News relays. “They dodged a bullet,” Zaccanelli said of Jordan’s decision. “He’s a really good rebounder and a good defender. But he’s a liability on offense and there’s no way he’s going to be able to be your focus offensively. He can’t make fouls shots and he has no outside shot. Plus, Dallas is the hottest market in the world right now and somebody doesn’t want to be there, and he wasn’t going to be the centerpiece of the franchise anyway, then the Mavericks shouldn’t want him.”

Mavericks Sign Wesley Matthews

July 9th, 2015 at 5:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

5:40pm: Matthews’ deal is now for the max, at four years and about $70MM, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets, since DeAndre Jordan pulled his about-face and signed with the Clippers.

JULY 9TH, 5:33pm: The signing is official, the Mavericks announced in a press release. “We just like him as a culture guy — his toughness and work ethic. He’s become a terrific player,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s a different kind of guy than we’ve had here, but he can play both wing positions. He can post up, he’s a great three-point shooter, and he’s developed a post game to where he can both score and make plays out of the post. We think he’s going to bring a lot to our team.”

JULY 3RD, 7:23am: The deal will probably average about $13MM a year, but that’s flexible, pending Jordan’s decision, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Presumably, a commitment from Aldridge would affect the final Matthews numbers as well, but that’s just my speculation.

JULY 2ND, 11:59pm: The Mavericks have an agreement in principle from free agent Wesley Matthews that he’ll play in Dallas next season, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (Twitter link). It will be a four-year arrangement, though the final amount has not been finalized, Aldridge adds. The Mavericks are waiting on word from free agents LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan before settling on a final amount with Matthews, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Matthews reportedly turned down a four year, $64MM offer from the Kings, who also coveted the swingman, as Aldridge notes (on Twitter). Dallas was reported to be extremely reluctant to meet Matthews’ asking price considering the frightening history of players who came back from torn Achilles tendons, noted Stein. The Mavs wanted to sign Matthews to a deal with salaries in the $10-12MM range annually, the ESPN scribe added. The Raptors were also reported to have interest in Matthews.

The shooting guard tore his left Achilles tendon on March 5th, 60 games into the season. Portland went 41-19 with the guard in the lineup and just 10-12 without him. Matthews’ 2014/15 numbers were 15.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 33.7 minutes per contest, with a slash line of .448/.389/.752. His career numbers through 441 games are 14.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 2.1 APG, with a shooting line of .443/.393/.825. Not too shabby numbers for a player who went undrafted out of Marqutte back in 2009.