NBA free agency: Latest news and highlights
With the clock ticking to the start of NBA free agency, the updates are rolling in from around the Association. Keep track of all the latest here from our team of reporters:
3:43 p.m. ET: Quote machine Evan Turner is drawing interest from both the New Orleans Pelicans and the New York Knicks, with the latter expected to meet with the unrestricted free agent, sources tell Ian Begley.
1:41 p.m. ET: The Thunder will get the first say with Kevin Durant … and maybe the last one, too? ESPN’s Marc Stein reports that the Thunder, who sat down with their star free agent Thursday in Oklahoma City, are seeking a second meeting in the Hamptons with Durant after the Warriors, Clippers, Spurs, Celtics and Heat have their turns.
1:24 p.m. ET: The Knicks’ run on Bulls players may not be over. New York, which traded for point guard Derrick Rose, has emerged as the “strong favorite” to land free-agent center Joakim Noah, according to Marc Stein and Ian Begley — to the point where other teams are already conceding.
1:15 p.m. ET: Make way for another star in Los Angeles? The Clippers already have a “Big Three” in place in Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, but the team plans to sell a “Big Four” to Kevin Durant when the sides meet on Friday, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Arash Markazi. Fitting Durant onto their books would require a lot of cap gymnastics, and for Durant to take less than his max. But sources say Paul, Griffin and Jordan will be in the meeting to pitch the possibility.
12:13 p.m. ET: Dallas Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons should have his choice of destinations this summer. The Memphis Grizzlies are a suitor for the 27-year-old, according to Marc Stein, as are the Los Angeles Lakers, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
7:23 a.m. ET: Could the Thunder end up with two big free-agent additions? OKC, which is hoping to lure Durant back to town, is also positioning itself for a pursuit of Atlanta Hawks big man Al Horford, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The Thunder have been making calls around the league in the hopes of clearing the requisite cap space to add Horford, who played for coach Billy Donovan at Florida, to a core of Durant, Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams, according to Windhorst.
1:19 a.m. ET: Eric Gordon, who has spent the past five seasons with New Orleans, is drawing interest from the Rockets, Grizzlies, Knicks and Pelicans, according to Broussard.
June 29 updates
10:42 a.m. ET: The Wizards may be out of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, but they’re looking to act quickly to bring back restricted free agent Bradley Beal, sources tell Stein. In lieu of Durant, the Wiz have set their sights on the likes of Al Horford, Ryan Anderson and Nicolas Batum, according to Stein.
8:48 a.m. ET: Dwight Howard could sit down with as many as five teams when free agency begins on July 1, sources tell ESPN’s Chris Broussard and Marc Stein, with the Hawks and Celtics known to have secured a face-to-face meeting.
