2012 March | Hoops Rumors

Latest On J.J. Hickson

March 20th, 2012 at 11:00am CST by Luke Adams

After failing to find a trade at last week's deadline, the Kings parted ways with J.J. Hickson yesterday, buying him out of the remainder of his contract. Hickson is expected to land in Golden State, but still needs to clear waivers, and may have other teams interested in him. Here's the latest on Hickson, with the newest updates up top:

Hickson will likely pick the Warriors over the Suns because Golden State can offer him a larger role, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
As we covered earlier, the Pacers, Cavaliers, and Raptors, who all have enough cap space to easily absorb Hickson's $2.35MM salary, won't be placing waiver claims, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
In an interview with Cowbell Kingdom, Hickson acknowledged he's considering the Suns in addition to the Warriors: "We’re still talking and hopefully I can find the right situation for myself and then we’ll go from there."
A Warriors exec told Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group that he's not sure why Hickson has fallen off so much, "but we want to find out."
The Nets aren't interested in Hickson, says Fred Kerber of the New York Post.

Hornets Claim Chris Johnson Off Waivers

March 20th, 2012 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have claimed Chris Johnson off waivers from the Trail Blazers, the team announced today in a press release. Portland waived Johnson along with Greg Oden last week to make room for the players they acquired in separate trades with the Rockets and Nets.

New Orleans is over the salary cap, but was able to claim Johnson because he's on a minimum-salary contract. The Hornets will take on the big man's $762,195 cap figure, taking it off the Blazers' books. Because the Hornets had a pair of open roster spots, following the expiration of Jeff Foote's 10-day contract, they won't have to make a corresponding move to clear room for Johnson.

Johnson, 26, signed 10-day contracts with the Blazers and Celtics last season before agreeing to a contract for the rest of last season and this season with Portland. In 20 games for the Blazers this year, the former LSU Tiger averaged 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds in just 4.7 minutes per contest.

Kyler On Arenas, Hickson, Turiaf, Fisher, Powell

March 20th, 2012 at 9:28am CST by Luke Adams

In his latest NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler checks in on a few free agents and free-agents-to-be, providing updates on their potential destinations. Let's round up the highlights….

Gilbert Arenas is expected to take a physical and finalize his deal with the Grizzlies today.
The Pacers, Cavaliers, and Raptors, who all have enough cap space to easily absorb J.J. Hickson's $2.35MM salary, won't be placing waiver claims.
A number of teams are interested in Ronny Turiaf but "word is" the forward will likely decide between the Celtics and Heat. Like Hickson, he doesn't figure to be claimed on waivers by clubs with cap space.
The Lakers have extended an offer to Derek Fisher to join the team's basketball operations staff. However, it doesn't appear Fisher is ready to retire just yet. We heard earlier today that the Thunder and Heat are the favorites to land the longtime Laker.
Josh Powell is drawing interest from the Suns and Celtics, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reported last night. I believe Powell signed in Switzerland late in February, and I haven't seen any reports that indicate he's parted ways with Neuchatel. The Swiss regular season has ended though, so perhaps Powell is lining up an NBA job for when he returns. Since he hasn't played for an NBA team this season, he can sign after March 23rd and still be eligible for the postseason.

Lakers Will Exercise Option On Andrew Bynum

March 20th, 2012 at 8:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers still have three months to officially exercise their team option on Andrew Bynum for next season, but they've already made their decision. GM Mitch Kupchak confirmed to Mike Breshanan of the Los Angeles Times that the team will pick up Bynum's $16.1MM option for 2012/13.

"He's the starting center on the West All-Star team. Why wouldn't we do everything we could to keep him here?" Kupchak said. "We're ecstatic to have him on the team."

Decisions on options are due by June 30th, so the Lakers have plenty of time to make the move official. Assuming the two sides don't agree on an extension before the end of Bynum's current contract, he would be eligible for unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2013. With Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol set to make nearly $50MM combined in 2013/14, Bynum's contract situation will be one worth keeping an eye on next year.

With Andres Nocioni seemingly on his way out of Philadelphia, Bynum's was the only significant team option left on the board for next season.

Odds & Ends: Blazers, Bulls, Hornets, Lakers

March 19th, 2012 at 10:36pm CST by Zachary Links

With the Bulls' 85-59 victory over the Magic this evening, Tom Thibodeau reached 100 victories and hit that mark in the least time of any coach in NBA history. Here's more on Chicago and the rest of the league..

Blazers interim GM Chad Buchanan originally wanted the Nets 2012 first-round pick sans protection in the Gerald Wallace deal but compromised in the end for top-three protection, tweets Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge.com.
Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com spoke to a number of Bulls players and people around the team about the prospect of picking up a free agent. The general feeling around the club is that while they would gladly welcome a new acquisition, they don't feel as though they need one to win.
David Aldridge of NBA.com takes a look back at the deadline deals that went down and also the ones that didn't. Aldridge opines that the Hornets, Wolves, and Hawks all should have made moves rather than stand pat.
Most of the big names in this summer's free agent class are veterans on the downslope of their career, writes Sam Amico of FOXSportsOhio.com.
The Celtics, Suns, and Pacers will all be flush with cash this summer, writes Larry Coon for ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd). Teams with limited cap flexibility going forward include the Bulls, Heat, and Lakers.

Turiaf To Decide On New Team By Wednesday

March 19th, 2012 at 9:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Free agent Ronny Turiaf will decide on a new team by Wednesday, agent Mark Bartelstein told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Celtics and Heat lead the pack of interested teams.

The Nuggets waived Turiaf yesterday, just days after receiving him from the Wizards in the deal that brought them JaVale McGee. The 6’10” big man has the unique distinction of being involved in two three-team deals inside of four months.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, O’Neal, Lopez, Nets, Celtics

March 19th, 2012 at 9:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Gerald Green signed with the Nets for the remainder of the season yesterday, but he hopes and expects to remain a Net longer than that, as he told Fred Kerber of the New York Post.

"Me being here is good. I think the team wants me here," Green said. "Next year, I don’t think I’m going anywhere. I’m going to be here and I think we can definitely work something out. I wanted the team to have all the flexibility it could for what they want to do in the offseason so they’re fine with that. I’m not trying to go anywhere. So we’ll just finish out this season and see how it goes."

Here are a few more Monday updates out of the Atlantic Division:

Carmelo Anthony says that the Knicks have been more relaxed since Mike Woodson took over as head coach, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
Jermaine O'Neal tweets that he's not sure what his basketball future will hold. Earlier today, the Celtics announced that the veteran will have to undergo surgery on his wrist and will miss the remainder of the season.
Brook Lopez was disappointed earlier this season when the Nets didn't offer him a contract extension but coach Avery Johnson says that the center isn't holding a grudge, writes Stefan Bondy of the Daily News. Lopez also heard his name pop up in trade rumors once again at the trade deadline as the Nets reportedly offered him to Milwaukee for Monta Ellis.
Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside thinks that Green's success with the Nets could make scouts re-examine some so-called failed prospects that are having success in the D-League.
After a quiet trade deadline, the Celtics' future is uncertain, writes Paul Flannery of WEEI.com.
In a separate piece for WEEI.com, Flannery examines how the deadline deals impact the Celtics.
Mike D'Antoni never viewed himself as a locker-room therapist, which was a factor in his parting ways with the Knicks, says Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Brad Miller To Retire After Season

March 19th, 2012 at 8:49pm CST by Zachary Links

Two-time All-Star Brad Miller intends on retiring at season's end, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). The Timberwolves center plans to turn his attention to his hunting TV show after walking away from the game.

In 14 NBA seasons, Miller has suited up for six different clubs and had two separate stints with the Bulls. The soon-to-be 36-year-old averaged 11.3 PPG and 7.2 RPG for his career.

Miller has a $5.1MM team option for next season that comes with a very small buyout, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. If Miller is interested, Wolves president David Kahn would like to see him remain with the organization in some capacity after he's done playing, Zgoda tweets.

Southeast Notes: Heat, Fisher, Magic, Diaw

March 19th, 2012 at 7:49pm CST by Zachary Links

Let's get you caught up on some items out of the Southeast division on a busy night in the Association..

Count Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel among those who thinks the Heat should make a play for both Derek Fisher and Ronny Turiaf. Earlier today, LeBron James told reporters that he wouldn't mind playing alongside Fisher.
However, Winderman (via Twitter) doesn't see J.J. Hickson as a good fit for the Heat. He believes that the forward would be redundant for the team and while he has upside, Miami is likely looking to make a move for the present rather than the future.
DeSagana Diop was activated in favor of Boris Diaw tonight, but there's nothing new regarding Diaw's potential buyout, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The Bobcats would like to rid themselves of the forward's contract.
Even without a major acquisition at the trade deadline, are the Magic still good enough to contend this season? The players seem to think so, writes Chris Tomasson of FOXSportsFlorida.com.
Forward Brian Cook says that he'll play hard for however long he's with the Wizards, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Washington is willing to accomodate Cook if he wants to play elsewhere and his agent Mark Bartelstein is set to have buyout discussions with the club this week.

Latest On Derek Fisher

March 19th, 2012 at 7:12pm CST by Luke Adams

After Derek Fisher and the Rockets reached an agreement on a buyout this weekend, Fisher's business manager Jamie Mior released a statement explaining the decision:

"After much discussion and expressing their desire to welcome Derek to their team this season as well as the 2012-2013 season, the Houston Rockets and Derek have negotiated a buyout. Derek's desire to win a sixth championship is what drives him and will continue to drive him as he moves forward. We thank the Houston Rockets front office for their interest, time and their absolute professionalism. There will be no further comment at this time."

While we wait to see if Fisher clears waivers this Wednesday, rumors about which teams are interested in signing him have already surfaced. Let's round up a few of them….

ESPN.com's John Hollinger (via Twitter) notes that Fisher declining his $3.4MM option for next year means that the Rockets were essentially paid $200K to acquire a first-round pick.
The Blazers aren't interested in Fisher, tweets Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
The Rockets' buyout of Fisher paid him for the rest of this season, but he opted out of all $3.4MM next year, a person with knowledge of the deal told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Thunder are deciding whether to make a formal bid for Fisher.
The Clippers aren't interested, says Stein.
Fisher has strong interest in joining the Bulls or Heat, according to Stein, but it's unclear to what extent that interest is reciprocated.
Stein adds that the Spurs have some interest, since their signing of Patrick Mills is being held up — according to Stein, the Blazers have yet to renounce Mills' rights, which is odd, since the team tweeted on Saturday that it was done.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) cautions that there's no guarantee Fisher will play for another club this year. The veteran is weighing the option of re-joining the Lakers in a coaching or front office capacity, tweets Kyler. Fisher, of course, can't re-sign with the Lakers as a player this season.

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