NBA notebook: Pau Gasol, Spurs set on $30 million, 2-year deal
The San Antonio Spurs didn’t waste any time after losing out in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes.
The Spurs agreed to a two-year deal with veteran forward Pau Gasol on Monday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.
The deal is worth more than $30 million and final terms will be completed after the Spurs make a move or two to create the necessary cap space, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract cannot be signed until Thursday.
The Spurs were one of six teams granted a meeting with Durant last weekend, and they had hoped to sell the biggest available free agent on joining the most consistently successful American sports franchise of the last two decades. But Durant announced on Monday he was leaving the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors, making the Western Conference even more daunting for the Spurs and the rest of the contenders.
That didn’t stop the Spurs from remaining aggressive in hopes of matching a team that won a league-record 73 regular-season games and just added a fourth All-Star to its roster.
Gasol has been one of the league’s most talented and versatile big men for the last 15 years. He spent the last two seasons in Chicago and averaged 16.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists this year, his game showing few signs of aging even as he prepares to turn 36 on Wednesday.
In many ways, it’s a perfect match for the Spurs, who have long coveted international players for their polished skills and unselfish approach. He will fit right in with Gregg Popovich’s ball-moving system, and the Spurs’ reputation for resting players so they can be fresh for the playoffs had to be appealing to Gasol, who will be entering his 16th NBA season.
There were a number of suitors lining up for him, including Portland, Minnesota and Toronto. The Timberwolves offered him a two-year deal worth $36 million to open negotiations, but Gasol wanted to play for a team that was ready to contend for the championship.
The Spurs will have to make roster moves to accommodate Gasol’s deal, which was first reported by Yahoo Sports. That could include trading veteran forward Boris Diaw to get the cap space to add Gasol to a frontcourt that already features LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard.
It also raises further questions about the future of franchise player Tim Duncan. He has been mulling retirement after completing his 19th season. Most believe there is a real chance Duncan will end his career this summer. Should that happen, Gasol gives the Spurs a player who could slide right into that role.
Mavs getting C Andrew Bogut in deal with Warriors
Andrew Bogut is headed to the Dallas Mavericks from Golden State thanks to the Warriors’ successful pursuit of Kevin Durant.
A person with knowledge of the deal said that the Mavericks have agreed to acquire Bogut with the Warriors trying to clear salary cap space so they can add the four-time scoring champion Durant to the Splash Brothers duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Other details of the trade are still being worked out, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been finalized and can’t be official until league business resumes Thursday.
The person also said the Mavericks are set to sign Harrison Barnes, who will become an unrestricted free agent after Golden State renounces his rights to clear enough cap room to sign Durant.
The Mavericks had informed Barnes they would him extend him an offer sheet as a restricted free agent, but now the sides have agreed to a maximum contract and Dallas will sign Barnes to a four-year, $94 million deal as early Thursday when contracts can be finalized.
The Mavericks missed out on their top two targets in free agency for the fifth straight year when Memphis guard Mike Conley and Miami center Hassan Whiteside stayed with their current teams.
But Dallas added three starters in two days, including bringing back point guard Deron Williams for a second season with his hometown team. The Mavericks also virtually assured the return of Dirk Nowitzki for a 19th season.
Bogut will get $11 million in the final year of his deal, and Williams has agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract. Those moves will give the Mavericks more flexibility next summer with expected strong classes in free agency and the draft.
The Mavericks should be competitive in the meantime after things looked bleak following the first day of free agency. The lineup is similar to last season, when Dallas was the sixth seed in the Western Conference with a 42-40 record, and lost to Durant and Oklahoma City in five games in the first round.
Bogut, a 7-footer who averaged 5.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game last season, is expected to be healthy after sustaining bone bruises around his left knee in Game 5 of Golden State’s seven-game loss to Cleveland in the NBA Finals.
While he’s not the same player who averaged a double-double for three straight seasons earlier in his career, the 11-year veteran is a stronger presence at the rim than Zaza Pachulia. Pachulia started for Dallas last season after DeAndre Jordan committed to the Mavericks, changed his mind and stayed with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Barnes has lacked consistency but will bring a 3-point threat similar to that of Parsons. The question is how efficient he will be without Curry and Thompson getting most of the focus from defenses.
Wesley Matthews is going into his second season as Dallas’ shooting guard, with an expected improvement in his career-low 39 percent shooting because he came back sooner than expected after tearing his Achilles tendon late in his final season with Portland.
Nowitzki hasn’t agreed to a deal, but that’s likely a formality that might not be complete until after other signings.
Heat offer Wade 2-year, $40 million deal to stay
Dwyane Wade has an offer to consider.
Wade has been extended a two-year, $40 million contract offer to stay with the Miami Heat, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The second year would be at Wade’s option, said the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because talks are ongoing. The contract, if accepted, would essentially match the career-best $20 million salary Wade made this past season.
This is the second consecutive summer in which Wade and the Heat have had a rocky time finding common contractual ground, and the issue this time could be more about the length of the deal than the compensation. Wade has left millions on the bargaining table in past negotiations with the Heat, though some of that sacrifice also helped him win championships in 2012 and 2013.
A three-year deal would obviously help him recoup more of what he’s given up in the past.
Wade was returning this week to the U.S. from a European vacation, which he shared part of with longtime friends LeBron James and Chris Paul. Wade is scheduled to be in New York and guest-host “Live With Kelly” alongside Kelly Ripa on Thursday morning, which coincidentally is the day the NBA’s offseason moratorium on player movement expires and new contracts can be signed.
Wade has spent all 13 of his NBA seasons in Miami and has said several times that he wants to spend his entire career with the club. Wade averaged 19.0 points and 4.6 assists this past season, and was an All-Star pick for the 12th time.
Knicks agree to deal with Brandon Jennings
A person with knowledge of the details says that Brandon Jennings has agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks.
Jennings will finally join the Knicks after they passed on him in the 2009 NBA draft, the person told The Associated Press, confirming reports of the point guard’s one-year, $5 million deal.
The Knicks took forward Jordan Hill with the No. 8 pick in 2009. Jennings went two picks later to Milwaukee, and he hurt the Knicks with a series of strong performances when he played against them.
Now he will come to New York as the backup to Derrick Rose, whom the Knicks acquired from Chicago in a trade last month.
Jennings was limited to 48 games last season with Detroit and then Orlando after he was traded at midseason. He has averaged 15.5 points and 5.9 assists in 460 games.
Sixers to sign Spanish point guard
So far the Philadelphia 76ers’ free-agent acquisitions haven’t caused the big splash that some followers are hoping for.
Call them little ripples as the Sixers made their second move by securing veteran point guard Sergio Rodriguez to a one-year, $8 million deal. That came three days after point guard Jerryd Bayless agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal.
With just a one-year deal, Rodriguez, 30, appears to be a stop-gap option until next summer, when elite point guards Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry are scheduled to become free agents.
It would make sense for the Sixers to go hard after Lowry. The two-time NBA all-star is a Philadelphia native, a former Villanova standout and a close friend of Bryan Colangelo, the Sixers’ new president of basketball operations. As the president of the Toronto Raptors, Colangelo acquired Lowry in a trade from the Houston Rockets on July 11, 2012.
For now, the Sixers added Rodriguez and Bayless to a point guard group that includes T.J. McConnell and seldom-used Kendall Marshall, who is far from guaranteed to make the team.
Rodriguez is a veteran who knows how to run an offense and get teammates in position, and he is likely to help the young Sixers until they come up with a legitimate starter at point guard.
Rodriguez played the last five seasons for Real Madrid. The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder averaged 10.8 points, 5.8 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 24 minutes per game last season. He shot 46 percent from the field and 38 percent on three-pointers.
The Phoenix Suns selected Rodriguez with the 27th overall pick of the 2006 draft before trading him to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft night. He played three seasons in Portland before being shipped to the Sacramento Kings on June 25, 2009. Then he was traded to New York Knicks on Feb. 18, 2010. Rodriguez returned to Spain after that season.
He averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 assists and 13.2 minutes during his four NBA seasons. His most productive time came with the Knicks. Rodriguez averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 assists while shooting 54 percent from the field in 27 games. He started eight of those games.
Also on Monday, Ramon Sessions agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million deal to play for the Charlotte Hornets. The point guard received interest from the Sixers, but they didn’t make him an offer.