Irving confirms his future in Cleveland and is set to sign new long-term deal.
With speculation rife over which free agents will be moving where this summer, here is a round-up of all the main headlines from the first night of NBA free agency.
– Amongst all the hearsay, Kyrie Irving has ensured that there are no doubts surrounding his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers, after the point guard signed a five-year deal worth $90m.
While he has yet to put pen to paper on the extension, both Irving and franchise owner Dan Gilbert took to Twitter to share the news.
– Carmelo Anthony is expected to meet with the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, before trips to the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday and then he will finish listening to pitches from interested teams on Thursday at the Los Angeles Lakers. He is not scheduled to talk to any other teams yet.
– The Miami Heat continue to be at the forefront of speculation, not only concerning their Big Three, but also potential free agency targets that they will look to acquire in order to bolster their roster.
Kyle Lowry appeared to be their priority, but Luol Deng has now emerged as a possible candidate, although interest is strong in the former Chicago Bulls star with no less than six teams said to be monitoring his situation.
– The Los Angeles Lakers are also expected to be busy in the coming weeks, as it is reported that ideally they want to pair Anthony with James. Failing that, they will still hope to persuade Anthony to move to Los Angeles, with Pau Gasol potentially being re-signed.
However, interest is also high in the Spaniard, and there will be no shortage of suitors if the Lakers opt against bringing him back next season.
– Paul Pierce has been linked with a switch to the Los Angeles Clippers where he would join forces with Doc Rivers again, and the Brooklyn Nets appear to be ready to let the market set the price for him before possibly matching an offer.
His potential exit clouds doubt over Kevin Garnett’s future, not only with the Nets but in the NBA as there is early talk that he could consider retirement.
– Spencer Hawes was contacted by the Cleveland Cavaliers to re-sign with them, as was Trevor Ariza with the Washington Wizards after meeting with coach Randy Wittman, while the Mavericks are understood to have contacted Chandler Parsons, with the Houston Rockets said to be willing to allow him to leave if they can land Anthony.
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