The NBA free agency frenzy has died down, but there are still a few quality players available on the open market. Summer League also concludes tonight, but there are plenty of trade rumors swirling, specifically centered around the futures of Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City and Blake Griffin in Los Angeles. Here are the latest NBA rumors and news from you need to know.
Dion Waiters an unrestricted free agent
The Thunder have rescinded their qualifying offer to guard Dion Waiters, making him an unrestricted free agent, reports The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski:
The Oklahoma City Thunder rescinded the qualifying offer to guard Dion Waiters on Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent, league sources told The Vertical.
The Thunder still hold Waiters’ Bird Rights and could re-sign him to a deal, but several teams with salary-cap space – including Brooklyn and Philadelphia – make it unlikely that Waiters returns to the Thunder.
The Nets are considered the favorite to land Waiters, but the Sixers plan to try and lure the Philadelphia-native home. He averaged 9.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game off the bench for the Thunder last season.
Oklahoma City eyeing Westbrook, Griffin combo in 2017
The reason why OKC has rescinded their offer to Waiters is because of their desire to renegotiate Westbrook's contract, hoping to guarantee he will be with the Thunder through the 2017-18 season. According to Wojnarowski, that would allow them to pursue Griffin in free agency next summer:
The move protects salary cap space for the Thunder’s primary offseason objective, league sources said: persuading five-time All-Star guard Russell Westbrook to renegotiate his contract, which would eliminate his 2017 free agency.
For Westbrook, the most likely scenario for a renegotiation would be to use the Thunder’s cap space to guarantee he will stay under contract with the Thunder through the 2017-18 season. This would give Oklahoma City the chance to recruit one of its top targets – 2017 free agent and Oklahoma native Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers – to partner with Westbrook, league sources said.
Westbrook hasn't committed to renegotiating his contract - he can earn more money by re-signing with the Thunder as a free agent - but Oklahoma City has told teams that he isn't available for trade.
Bucks place Greg Monroe on trade block
Milwaukee re-signed center Miles Plumlee to a four-year, $52 million deal on Monday, and now have put fellow center Greg Monroe on the trade block, according to ESPN's Marc Stein:
In the wake of Milwaukee's re-signing of Miles Plumlee, league sources say that Bucks center Greg Monroe remains available via trade
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 19, 2016
The Bucks signed Monroe to a three-year, $50 million deal last offseason, but he failed to fit in or make an impact with the team last year. Still, he averaged 15.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in 2015-16.
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