Three weeks into July, with summer league winding down, the vast majority of the player movement around the NBA has been completed.
It’s a good time to look at how the landscape of the league has shifted since the start of free agency, as well as pass along some of the chatter from the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues:
Love to talk
Once LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony made their decisions in free agency, the league’s focus shifted back to the pursuit of Kevin Love, with the consensus being his next team will be either the Warriors or Cavaliers.
Both the Warriors (Klay Thompson) and Cavaliers (Andrew Wiggins) have been reluctant to include a player in the deal that Timberwolves coach and president Flip Saunders covets. Which team blinks first?
Many believe if Saunders had his choice, he would make the deal with the Warriors, which would bring back three players – Thompson, Harrison Barnes and David Lee – who could step in and help the team right now. But the Cavaliers could offer a package including both Wiggins and last year’s top overall pick Anthony Bennett that is intriguing from an upside standpoint. After Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday that James told Love he would like to play with him, you would expect the Cavaliers to do what it takes to put the two stars together.
Buzz out of Charlotte
Perhaps the most interesting signing of the summer: Lance Stephenson leaving Indiana to go to Charlotte. After Stephenson turned down a five-year, $44 million offer from the Pacers, the mercurial guard from Brooklyn wound up signing a three-year deal worth $27 million, with the third year a team option.
That contract puts the Hornets in the driver’s seat with Stephenson. He chose to have the shorter deal to establish his market value and prove he can handle the expectations — eyeing a much bigger deal by the end of the contract when the league’s new television deal kicks in. By having the third-year option, the Hornets have a hammer to hold over Stephenson’s head throughout the deal.
It has been an excellent offseason for Charlotte, which picked up Noah Vonleh and P.J. Hairston in the draft, found a very solid replacement for Josh McRoberts in Marvin Williams and then added Stephenson. There is some question about how Hairston and Stephenson – very talented guards with potentially volatile personalities – will mix. If any coach can keep them sorted out, it’s Charlotte’s Steve Clifford. The Hornets had already gotten plenty of buzz – pun intended – around the league for their welcome return to the Hornets name and colors. Now they have significantly upgraded the roster, as well. It should be a fun season in Charlotte.
Heat check
When James left for Cleveland, it looked as if Miami’s mini-dynasty would immediately crumble. Chris Bosh seemed destined to go to Houston, while even Heat lifer Dwyane Wade was set to have discussions with his hometown Bulls.
But the Heat re-upped Bosh, giving him the five-year max, brought back Wade and surrounded them with several intriguing pieces. Signing McRoberts and Luol Deng for roughly $15 million combined was lauded around the league, though spending a couple million on Danny Granger — whom many expected to get a minimum deal — was confusing to the same people.
That said, a rotation of Bosh, Wade, Deng, McRoberts, Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen, rookies Shabazz Napier and James Ennis and whoever they sign with their $2.7 million room exception (maybe Shawn Marion?) and spare veterans has the makings of an intriguing contender in the East.
Hollywood horror flick
The Lakers came into the summer hoping to bring James and Anthony to Los Angeles. They came away with neither, and their goal for next season becomes to try and finish in the top five of the 2015 draft, which would allow them to keep their pick (rather than shipping it off to Phoenix as the last vestige of the Steve Nash trade).
They made a nice trade to get Jeremy Lin with a future first-round pick from the Rockets. Getting Carlos Boozer on amnesty waivers was a decent move and getting Ed Davis for a cheap number was a good signing. But losing Pau Gasol hurts, and signing Jordan Hill for $9 million a year for two years simply didn’t make much sense. Then there’s the whole Kobe Bryant situation, which has the potential to get very ugly – because of the injuries he’s dealt with and what you can expect will be a low level of tolerance for losing.
Factor in the Lakers not even having a coach at this point, and they could finish with the worst record in the Western Conference (after finishing second-to-last last season) — and a legitimate shot to keep that draft pick.
Ainge rover
Speaking of flagship NBA franchises, people around the league are wondering what the next step for the Celtics will be. General manager Danny Ainge has done everything he could to get into the Kevin Love sweepstakes, but Saunders simply isn’t interested in the bevy of draft picks (nine first-rounders in all) that Ainge has at his disposal.
This leaves the Celtics with a choice to make: Either move Rajon Rondo for more young assets/picks, or find veterans to upgrade the roster around him. The general feeling is Rondo could wind up changing addresses, with Sacramento long known to be interested. But Ainge is one of the more unpredictable GMs in the league, and he’ll keep looking until he finds the best deal.
Houston knock it
Some have poked fun at the Rockets for the way things played out over the last week: First it looked as if they would have Chris Bosh and Chandler Parsons and instead wound up with Trevor Ariza. It really shows how much luck can factor into these things. Houston general manager Daryl Morey was so close to having the best starting five in the NBA, and instead was left with egg on his face after making a poor trade – dealing Lin and a pick to the Lakers for cap space he wound up not really needing – and not getting his guy.
Meanwhile, the Mavericks have had a nice offseason, getting Parsons from their in-state rivals and trading for Tyson Chandler from the Knicks to round out a very intriguing starting five with Devin Harris, Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki.
That should give Rick Carlisle more than enough ammunition to make some noise even in the Western Conference, with the return of Chandler – who should be happy and motivated heading into a contract year – likely to have a big impact on what was a porous defense last season.
Restrictions apply
The two biggest names left on the market (not including Love) are top restricted free agents Eric Bledsoe and Greg Monroe.
Bledsoe and the Suns are reportedly far apart in contract negotiations. The Suns are likely to match any offer for Bledsoe — who teamed up with Goran Dragic in the backcourt under first year coach Jeff Hornacek to be one of the NBA’s biggest surprise teams last season — but that shouldn’t stop a team from ponying up for a max offer sheet.
One possible option is the Bucks, who are in desperate need of a point guard and who have at least some interest in Bledsoe – though, like everyone else, they expect Phoenix to match.
Monroe is stuck in a logjam in Detroit, where they have Andre Drummond, Josh Smith and Monroe to play two positions. Like Bledsoe, Monroe is expected to have any offer matched, which is limiting his value, and new Pistons czar has talked about wanting to make things work with Monroe in Detroit.