Here is the latest on NBA free agency
The Bucks traded the Brooklyn Nets a 2nd-round pick in 2015 and a 2nd-rounder in 2019 for Nets coach Jason Kidd who went 44-38 with the team last year, bringing them to the playoffs. “When you list the characteristics that make a successful head coach, you would include leadership, communication and a competitive drive,” general manager John Hammond said in a statement. “Jason used all of those traits to become a 10-time All-Star player in the NBA, and has now translated his on-court success to the bench. We welcome him to the Bucks organization and look forward to building a Championship-caliber team with him as our head coach.” The Bucks fired former coach Larry Drew who went 15-67 last year, making the Bucks the worst team in the league. “Despite the challenging season, Larry always handled himself and represented the Bucks in a first-class manner,” GM John Hammond said in a statement on Drew’s firing Monday. “Larry did the best he could in a difficult situation, especially given all of our injuries. I want to thank Larry for all of his efforts, and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.” Ettore Messina and Lionel Hollins are the most likely candidates to replace Kidd as the coach of the Nets sources tell me.”We met again today, and the meetings went well,” Nets GM Billy King said. “So now, after I finish [this interview], I’ll meet with the staff, talk to ownership and then look at our list and see if we have to go further because we’ve got a list that we’d like to go through if we need to.”
10. Eric Bledsoe
9. Greg Monroe
8. Eric Bledsoe
7. Luol Deng
6. Kyle Lowry
5. Dwayne Wade
4. Dirk Nowitzki
3. Chris Bosh
2. Carmelo Anthony
1. Lebron James
Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Udonis Haslem joined Lebron by opting-out of their contracts, giving the Miami Heat an NBA-record $55 MILLION dollars in cap space.”Dwyane has been the cornerstone of our organization for over a decade, and we hope he remains a part of the HEAT family for life,” Riley said in a statement. “Udonis has been the heartbeat of this team for 11 years. He has sacrificed countless times to make this organization successful, and he is the epitome of what this organization stands for. We look forward to meeting with Dwyane and Udonis and their agent in the coming days to discuss our future together.” Wade opts out of 2 years, 41.8 million, Bosh opts out of 2 years, 42.6 million and Udonis will not exercise his player option for 4.6 million. And the Heat are trying to clear more cap space by trading away Norris Cole. Free agency start July 1st.
Q: Was this a surprise?
A: I think we all expected Bosh and Lebron to opt-out but Wade comes as a little surprising, after a poor performance towards the end of the year last year he won’t get nearly as much money.
Q: IF NOT WITH THE HEAT where will Wade sign?
A: I’ll go with a long-shot here but I think he’d be a good fit in Phoenix.
Q: IF NOT WITH THE HEAT where will Wade sign?
A: Houston, easy choice, playing alongside Dwight Howard eases the burden for him on the defensive end and the Rockets need a stretch 4, they won’t find one better than Bosh.
Q: IF THE BIG THREE TAKE PAY CUTS who should the Heat sign as a 4th star?
A: I’d love to see Kevin Love in Miami but the more likely option is Kyle Lowry.
Q: Where will Wade and Bosh sign next year
A: I’ll even give you a clue: It seats 19,600 people, is named after an airline and the address is 601 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132
Andrew Wiggins SG, KansasGOOD PICK: Wiggins is the best long-term player in the draft and has the highest ceiling.
Jabari Parker SF, Duke
Joel Embiid C, Kansas
Aaron Gordon PF, Arizona
Dante Exum PG, Australia
Marcus Smart PG, Oklahoma State
Julius Randle PF, Kentucky
Nik Stauskus SG, Michigan
Noah Vonleah PF, Indiana Elfrid Payton PG, Louisiana-Lafayette (TRADED)
Doug McDermott SF, Creighton (TRADED)Dario Saric PF, Croatia (TRADED)
Zach LaVine PG, UCLA
TJ Warren SF, NC State
Adreian Payne PF, Michigan State
Jusuf Nurkic C, Croatia (TRADED)James Young SF, KentuckyTyler Ennis PG, SyracuseGary Harris SG, Michigan State (TRADED)
Bruno Caboclo SF, Brazil
Mitch McGary PF, Michigan
Jordan Adams SG, UCLARodney Hood SG, DukeShabazz Napier PG, Connecticut (TRADED)
Clint Capela PF, Switzerland
PJ Hariston SG, North CarolinaBogdan Bogdanovic SG, Serbia
CJ Wilcox SG, WashingtonJosh Huestis PF, Stanford
Kyle Anderson PF, UCLA
Lebron James has opted-out of his contract with the Miami Heat his agent, Rich Paul told the team on Tuesday. Lebron was scheduled to make 42.7 million dollars over the next two years. Now this DOES NOT mean James is leaving the Heat, he could just re-negotiate but this does worry me from a Miami fans perspective but Pat Riley seemed unfazed
“I was informed this morning of his intentions. We fully expected LeBron to opt out and exercise his free-agent rights, so this does not come as a surprise,” Heat president Riley said in a statement. “As I said at the press conference last week, players have a right to free agency and, when they have these opportunities, the right to explore their options. The last four seasons have been historic, and LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Erik Spoelstra have led the Miami Heat to one of the most unprecedented runs in the history of the NBA. We look forward to sitting down with LeBron and his representatives and talking about our future together. At the moment, we are preparing for the opportunities in the draft and free agency as we continue with our goal of winning NBA championships.”
Carmelo Anthony also opted-out and now teams, namely the Lakers, Hawks , and Cavs are considering roster moves to gain salary cap space in hopes of signing Melo or LBJ. “Being able to have flexibility as a professional, anyone, that’s what we all would like,” James said last week. “That’s in any sport, for a football player, a baseball player, a basketball player, to have flexibility and be able to control your future or your present. I have a position to be able to do that. … There’s a lot of times that you’re not in control of your future as a professional.” Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade also have opt-out options that they HAVE NOT exercised yet, the right expires on June 30th.”There’s a conversation that will be had between the three of us,” James said last week. “I think it’s only right. I think we’ve earned that for each other, to have a conversation and see what could possibly happen.”
Q/A
Q: Are you surprised by the opt-out
A: Not at all, it gives him so much freedom, he can sign a new big-money deal, come back for less too give the Heat cap space to sign a new player, or go to a new team
Q: What will the rest of the big 3 do?
A: If Lebron is staying they will OPT-OUT so they can take a paycut so the Heat get more flexibility to add another star unless LBJ leaves, sources have told me if Lebron opts-in then Wade opts-in, with a knee injury he won’t get as much money than he would by opting-in. I think Bosh would opt-in too.
Q: Where SHOULD Lebron go?
A: Where do I want him to go? LA, to the Clippers. I would love seeing LBJ play for Doc Rivers and form a new and better Big 3, CP3, Blake, and Lebron (Blake would actually, probably get cut to provide cap space)
Q: Where WILL Lebron go?
A: The Miami Heat, duh! Behind the Spurs, who he is not going to, trust me. The Heat are the most championship-ready team, he would probably take a paycut to provide cap room so the Heat can add another key piece and challenge for a title.
TOP 3 POSSIBLE LBJ LANDING PLACES (BY LIKELIHOOD)
1. Miami
2. Houston
3. Cleveland
James can start talking to teams on July 1st.
1 Andrew Wiggins SG, Kansas
Wiggins has the higher ceiling and is a better fit for Cleveland.
Jabari Parker SF, DukeJoel Embiid C, Kansas Dane Exum PG, AustraliaNoah Vonleah PF, IndianaAaron Gordon PF, ArizonaJulius Randle PF, KentuckyMarcus Smart PG, Oklahoma StateNik Stauskus SG, Michigan Doug McDermott SF, CreightonDario Saric PF, CroatiaJusuf Nurkic C, BosniaGary Harris SG, Michigan StateRodney Hood SG, DukeElfrid Payton PG, Louisiana-LafayetteAdreian Payne PF, MichiganJames Young SF, KentuckyShabazz Napier PG, ConnecticutPJ Hariston SG, North Carolina Zach LaVine PG, UCLAKyle Anderson PF, UCLATJ Warren SF, NC State Tyler Ennis PG, SyracuseJordan Clarkson PG, MissouriKJ McDaniels SF, ClemsonJarnell Stokes PF, TennesseeMitch McGary PF, Michigan Clint Capela PF, SwitzerlandGlenn Robinson III SF, MichiganPatric Young C, Florida
Carmelo Anthony officially opted out of his contract with the Knicks on Monday to test free agency his agent, Leon Rose said Monday. “Carmelo loves being a Knick, he loves the city, and he loves the fans,” Rose said. “At this stage of his career, he just wants to explore his options.” Anthony can sign a max contract worth 129 million dollars over 5 years with the Knicks or a max contact worth 96 million for 4 years with a different team. The most likely landing sites for Melo would be Dallas, Chicago, or Houston. The Heat are another possibility but the big 3 would have to take paycuts in order to do so.
“The average person just sees opportunity to say that, ‘Oh, Melo should go here, Melo should go there. I think he should do this, I think he should do that.’ But they don’t take into consideration the family aspect of it. Your livelihood. Where you’re going to be living at. Do you want your kids to grow up in that place? In that city? Do I want to spend the rest of my career in that situation in that city? So all of that stuff comes into play,” Anthony said in an interview with Vice Sports that was taped on June 3.–My son goes to school (in New York). He loves it here. To take him out and take him somewhere else, he has to learn that system all over again, he has to get new friends. And I know how hard it was for me when I moved from New York to Baltimore at a young age. Having to work your way to try to make friends. And go extra to try to make friends and try to fit in and try to figure out the culture in that area.–As far as this goes, basketball goes, it’s hard to just say, ‘OK, I’m going to go here, I’m going to make this decision, I’m going to do that. Because everybody’s affected by that.” Anthony also said he’d think about the “big picture” when making a decision. “The average person is looking at it as next year, like it’s just one year. ‘Next year you win the championship if you go here.’ We’re looking at the big picture here now, you’re looking at the next six to eight years of your career, of the end of your career at that. So do you want to spend that much time in that place?”
Teams can meet with Melo starting July 1st, the start of free-agency season.
Joel Embiid, possible #1 pick suffered a stress fracture in his right foot and will undergo surgery Friday his agent confirmed in a statement: “Joel Embiid suffered a stress fracture to the navicular bone in his right foot, he is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow. Joel will be unable to participate in any additional workouts, and will not attend the draft in New York. We will have no further comment until after the surgery.”
Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker all embraced as they became the winningest trio in NBA playoffs history with a 104-87 win over the Miami Heat to become NBA champions. The Spurs 5th championship comes just 1 year after the Heat denied them that feat.”We wanted to redeem ourselves. I’m just glad we were able to do that,” Parker said.
Lebron James was the highest scorer of the game with 31 points in the loss. “We had a great first quarter, but from that point on they were the better team, and that’s why they’re the champions in 2014,” said James. Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 22 points and 10 rebounds becoming the Finals MVP and joins Tim Duncan (’99, ’03, ’05) and Tony Parker (’07) as the only Spurs to win a finals MVP.”I’ve said many times, a day didn’t go by where I didn’t think about Game 6,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of the turning point in last year’s finals. “So I think, just in general, for the group to have the fortitude that they showed to get back to this spot, I think speaks volumes about how they’re constituted and what kind of fiber they have.”
San Antonio reversed a 16-point deficit and turned it into a 17-point win, a +33 swing which is one of the biggest i’ve ever seen!”They played exquisite basketball this series and in particular these last three games and they are the better team. There’s no other way to say it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Finals FG percentage all-time.
| FG Pct | |
|---|---|
| 2014 Spurs | 52.8 |
| 1991 Bulls | 52.7 |
| 1989 Pistons | 52.7 |
| 1987 Lakers | 51.5 |
| 1984 Lakers | 51.5 |