The deadline for players to be waived in order to be eligible for the playoffs with another team passed last night, and Chris Kaman, who would have been on the radar of just about every team needing a big man had he been bought out, is still with the Hornets. New Orleans "desperately" tried to trade him before last week's trade deadline, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, but didn't get a worthy offer. He'll be a free agent at season's end, and wants to sign with a contender then, Kennedy said. Here's the rest of what's shaking around the NBA:
- Guard Donald Sloan, who signed last week with the Cavs, gave reporters a little insight on his contract, as the end of this video on Cavs.com shows. His deal extends into next year, but is guaranteed only until the end of this season.
- Newest Mav Kelenna Azubuike, who drew raves from owner Mark Cuban last night, will start off with the Texas Legends, the Mavs D-League affiliate, notes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
- The Hawks expressed interest in trading for Ramon Sessions before the Cavs wound up dealing him to the Lakers, Kennedy tweets.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel answered reader questions about the Heat. Despite this week's signing of Ronny Turiaf, much of the talk still revolves around the center position.
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld rounds up the players who could sign contracts worth as much as $10MM a year as free agents this summer.
- Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters hasn't made up his mind about whether he'll enter the NBA Draft just yet, but he says the Spurs, Thunder and Jazz have called him in case he wants to give it a go, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY. He's projected to go in the middle of the first round, and could climb into the lottery, Zagoria writes.