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Magic Not In Hurry To Trade Dwight Howard

July 21st, 2012 at 3:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:44pm: The Magic hope to have a deal by early August, reports Sam Amick of SI.com (Sulia link).

3:04pm: Magic officials continue to hold out for the best Dwight Howard deal, and are unlikely to trade him in the next few days, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes. The Rockets, a major player in trade talks, will be tied up while waiting for the Bulls to decide whether to match their offer sheet to Omer Asik, and it won't be clear what kind of cap space and assets Houston will have available until that situation is resolved, Kennedy says. 

The Rockets and Lakers have been forced to bid against each other for Howard, and the Magic will weigh their final offers once the Bulls make their decision on Asik, according to Kennedy. Asik has signed the offer sheet but the Bulls have yet to see it, meaning the three-day period Chicago has to match is not yet under way. Last night, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio also noted the Magic's patient approach, but heard from an opposing team's GM who said there's no way the Magic can bring Howard to training camp in late September. I'm not sure if that deadline holds much weight, however, since Howard and the Magic already co-existed last season amid plenty of trade speculation, and there's no guarantee Howard's back will be healthy enough to allow him to make the start of camp anyway, though the big man insists he'll be ready for the season.

If Howard is still with the Magic come January 15th, when the Nets can trade Brook Lopez, Newsday's Rod Boone believes Orlando and Brooklyn would reinitiate talks, but obviously much can happen between now and then (Twitter link).

The Magic remain focused on their coaching search in the meantime, which is down to assistants Jacque Vaughn of the Spurs, Michael Curry of the Sixers and Lindsey Hunter of the Suns, Kennedy says. With the second round of interviews complete, Vaughn still appears to be the frontrunner, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, with Hunter the next choice. The next step involves meeting with the DeVos family, the owners of the team (Twitter links). 

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Celtics Sign Jamar Smith

July 21st, 2012 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics have signed free agent guard Jamar Smith, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Bulpett says the move was made earlier this month, and though the team has yet to confirm the signing, Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com says Smith has earned an official invitation to training camp in the fall. So, it's likely Smith has a non-guaranteed deal, perhaps with a team option for a second season, as RealGM.com suggests.

The 6'3" Smith, 25, went undrafted in 2010 out of Southern Indiana and played last season for BK Prostejov in the Czech Republic. The Celtics had him in camp in 2010, and he's a part of the Celtics summer league team this year. He appeared in 48 games for the Maine Red Claws, Boston's D-League affiliate, in 2010/11, racking up 13.7 points and 5.0 assists per game to go with 43.2% three-point shooting.

Bulpett adds that the team is also pursuing Dionte Christmas, a 6'5" guard out of Temple who went to camp with the Sixers in 2009. 

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Greg Stiemsma Still Waiting For Offer From Wolves

July 21st, 2012 at 2:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Greg Stiemsma and agent Mike Naiditch have been patiently awaiting an offer from the Timberwolves while the team deals with other priorities, but that's about to change, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Naiditch said Stiemsma's willing to give the Wolves a discount, but suggested that won't be the case unless an offer is made today (Twitter link).

Stiemsma would like to play near his native Wisconsin, as Zgoda notes, and with the Bucks never a serious contender for him, Minnesota represents his closest option (Twitter link). Last night Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reported that an unidentified team has made a significant offer, noting that it's not the Wolves. It's not the Celtics, either, since they're limited to offering the biannual exception of $1.957MM and appear likely to withdraw their qualifying offer, making Stiemsma an unrestricted free agent. 

Stiemsma seems likely to sign for more than $2MM per year, and could fit into a team's $3MM mini mid-level exception or the $2.5MM room exception. A team with cap room could sign him, too, of course. He could wind up with the Cavs, who might be after frontcourt help following the loss of free agent Antawn Jamison and their unsuccessful amnesty waiver claim of Luis Scola, but that's just my speculation.  If the Wolves don't sign him, Zgoda suggests Ronny Turiaf might be next in line for the team (Twitter link). 

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Ben Wallace, Juwan Howard Considering Returns

July 21st, 2012 at 1:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Long-tenured NBA veterans Juwan Howard and Ben Wallace are considering whether to come back and play one more season. Howard, who'll turn 40 on February 7th, said he'd prefer to come back with the Heat if he opts against retirement, according to the Associated Press.

"I still have the itch," Howard said. "I still have the passion and the love for the game. More importantly, I still like staying in shape and I can't sit on my behind. I'm still iffy as far as if I want to come back and play or not, but I'll tell you one thing – once I decide, I want to be ready. So I am working out … ready for whatever happens."

Wallace recently indicated he'd like to return to the Pistons after previously saying he'd retire following last season. He tells WTVR, a Richmond, Va., television station near his home, that he's "50-50" about coming back. The Detroit Free Press says the team would have to make a trade to open a roster spot for Wallace, but that's contingent on the team signing second-round pick Khris Middleton, which is not a given. The Pistons are mulling whether Wallace fits in with their youth movement, but some in the organization would like him around to mentor ninth overall pick Andre Drummond, the Free Press report says.

Wallace averaged 1.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game last season for the Pistons, cracking the starting lineup 11 times. Howard was an afterthought in Miami, notching 1.5 PPG and 1.7 RPG in just 6.8 MPG in 28 appearances. If either were to play next season, it would almost certainly be on a veteran's minimum deal.

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Los Angeles Notes: Gasol, Hill, Simmons

July 21st, 2012 at 12:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Last night, the Lakers reached agreement with big man Jordan Hill on a two-year, $8MM deal.  The former No. 8 pick in the 2009 draft didn't necessarily shine in his seven regular season games for Los Angeles but averaged 4.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game in the postseason.  Here's more out of the Staples Center..

  • Kobe Bryant isn't the only one high on Pau Gasol, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) says that Lakers brass has renewed excitement about him with Steve Nash joining the mix.
  • The "high character guys" on the Clippers made Grant Hill's free agency decision an easy one, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.  Last season, Hill started 46 of 49 games for the Suns, putting up 10.2 points in 28 minutes per game. 
  • The Clippers are also looking into re-signing forward Bobby Simmons, Turner writes.  "We've been talking," agent Mark Bartelstein said. "There is interest, but no decision has been made."
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Odds & Ends: Nets, Lakers, Felton, Sixers

July 21st, 2012 at 10:26am CST by Zachary Links

ESPN's Chris Broussard (video link) ran down his winners and losers of the NBA offseason thus far and the Nets top his list thanks in large part to their acquisition of Joe Johnson.  The Lakers are also in the winners circle after landing Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison.  Later, Broussard puts the Mavericks in the losers category as they failed to sign Deron Williams or trade for Dwight Howard.  Here's more from around the league..

  • Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops recaps the Lakers' offseason and dismisses talk of Nash and Kobe Bryant clashing stylistically.  However, he notes that the training staff in Los Angeles will have to pull the same kind of magic as the Suns staff did in order to keep the aging point guard healthy.
  • Point guard Raymond Felton is looking to revitalize his career with the Knicks, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.  The 28-year-old was less-than-stellar in the first half of the year with Portland but showed promise after coach Nate McMillan was fired, averaging 14.4 PPG  on 46.3% shooting with 7.7 APG.
  • The Sixers did a solid job of addressing their lack of size in the frontcourt this offseason and improved their team overall this summer, opined Charles Barkley in an interview with CSNPhilly.  
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Hoops Links: Lee, Nets, Vazquez, Lin

July 21st, 2012 at 9:00am CST by Zachary Links

Twelve years ago this week, Isiah Thomas was named as head coach of the Pacers, replacing Larry Bird.  As with Bird, the job in Indiana was his very first experience as head coach.  Bird had the more successful coaching debut between the two: Larry Legend was named the Coach of the Year in 1997/98 after leading the club to 58 wins while Thomas led the Pacers to a .500 record in his first season.

If you have a great blog piece that you think we should feature in Hoops Links, you can send it to me at  HoopsLinks@gmail.com.  Here's this week's look around the basketball blogosphere..

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.

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Odds & Ends: Nowitzki, Collison, Humphries, Hill

July 20th, 2012 at 11:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA superstars are often reluctant to take a back seat to anyone, but that's just what Mavs coach Rick Carlisle wants to see Dirk Nowitzki do. For the Mavs to contend for a championship again, someone other than Nowitzki must be the best player on the team, Carlisle told radio station 1070 the Fan in Indianapolis (via the Dallas Morning News). Of course, after missing out on Deron Williams, it doesn't appear like Nowitzki will have to relinquish his status as the team's alpha dog any time soon, unless Dallas somehow jumps to the forefront of Dwight Howard trade talk. We've got more news and analysis from around the league here:

Earlier updates:

  • Carlisle, in the same interview, also said he's excited to see what the extra motivation of a contract year will do for the play of point guard Darren Collison, acquired in a trade with the Pacers.
  • Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com looks at the effect re-signing Jordan Hill will have on the Lakers. He also notes that the team doesn't have any money committed beyond 2013/14, except for the final season of Steve Nash's contract.
  • Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News examines how agent Dan Fegan patiently waited for the market to turn in favor of client Kris Humphries, who re-signed with the Nets on a two-year, $24MM deal, taking advantage of the team's inability to acquire Dwight Howard.
  • With Humphries, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez, the Nets are believed to be first team with five players making at least $10MM a year, writes Chris Bernucca of SheridanHoops.com. 
  • The Spurs are high on 6'9" free agent Eric Dawson, who signed a pair of ten-day contracts with the team last season, and he's a candidate to return, says Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. It might be tough for him to make the team right out of camp, though, since the team already has five big men under contract, as McDonald notes (Twitterlinks).
  • The offseason is only a few weeks old, but Ben Golliver already has a list of free agency winners and losers on CBSSports.com. The Heat, Nets, Pacers, Lakers, Mavs and Nuggets have come out on top, Golliver says, while the Magic, Knicks, Bulls, Suns, Rockets and Trail Blazers didn't fare so well.
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Central Rumors: Bynum, Scott, Greene, Scalabrine

July 20th, 2012 at 10:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs and Bulls have been in the news a lot lately, with talk of a three-way trade that would send Andrew Bynum to the Cavs dominating headlines in Cleveland while the Bulls await the arrival of the offer sheet Omer Asik signed with the Rockets. The Cavs also claimed Jon Leuer off waivers today, while the Bulls are in advanced talks with Marco Belinelli and reportedly pursuing E'Twaun Moore. We've got more on these two busy Central Division teams here:

 

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Celtics Acquire Courtney Lee

July 20th, 2012 at 10:08pm CST by Luke Adams

5:49pm: The second-round picks the Blazers will get are both for 2013, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. They'll receive the Celtics' own selection, along with the Timberwolves' pick that the C's acquired in an earlier deal. Freeman also passes along word from Blazers GM Neil Olshey, who says he is hopeful Pavlovic will make the team out of camp (Twitter link). Freeman confirms, via Twitter, that the Celtics will send the Blazers cash to cover Pavlovic's salary, which will likely be the veteran's minimum. Pavlovic's 2012/13 contract is non-guaranteed, so he could be waived without the Blazers taking a cap hit, Freeman confirms in an email to Hoops Rumors.

4:05pm: In making their own official announcement about the trade, the Trail Blazers noted that they'll acquire two future second-rounders from the Celtics, rather than just one (Twitter link).

2:12pm: The Rockets have officially announced the Lee sign-and-trade agreement in a press release. Based on the team's announcement and a tweet from Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, the deal looks like this:

According to ESPN.com's John Hollinger (via Twitter), Lee will earn exactly $5MM in his first year, making his total contract worth the same as the maximum mid-level exception (four years, $21.35MM). The Rockets, meanwhile, are expected to waive Moore and Williams in the very near future. Diebler, the player whose rights Houston receives from Portland, was selected by the Blazers 51st overall in 2011 and spent last season overseas.

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