2012 July | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Sign Jonas Valanciunas

July 18th, 2012 at 4:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have officially signed last year's fifth overall pick Jonas Valanciunas, the team announced today in a press release. Valanciunas appears to have finalized his buyout with Lithuanian team Lietuvos Rytas and inked a rookie scale contract to join the Raptors.

"We are very pleased to welcome Jonas to the organization," said Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo in a statement. "We are certain that Raptors fans will soon realize that the year-long process was worth the wait."

Because he signed just a year after he was drafted, Valanciunas will likely receive a first-year salary worth 120% of this year's rookie scale amount for the fifth overall pick. Such an agreement would pay him $3,374,640 in his rookie season.

Southwest Notes: Lin, Mavericks, Grizzlies

July 18th, 2012 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we rounded up a number of pieces reacting to the Knicks' decision to let Jeremy Lin sign with the Rockets, but the Lin updates continue to pour in. ESPN's J.A. Adande argues that Houston is the ideal spot for Lin to thrive, while the day's most interesting Lin piece came from Pablo S. Torre of SI.com, who chronicles the point guard's free agency process.

"Honestly, I preferred New York," Lin told Torre. "But my main goal in free agency was to go to a team that had plans for me and wanted me. I wanted to have fun playing basketball. … Now I'm definitely relieved."

As the newest Rocket arrives in Houston, here are a few more items out of the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks are still scouring the free agent market for bench options, GM Donnie Nelson tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "We're always looking. It's one of those situations where free agents have to be looking out for their best interest, and it's our job to look out for the Mavericks' best interest. We're looking at trying to get the best possible talent that we can."
While the Mavs could still choose to re-sign Delonte West, Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com wonders if the club should turn its focus to a rebounder instead, and lists a few potential targets.
The Grizzlies' front office is happy with how the roster is shaping up, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Tillery adds that the team still expects to send Dante Cunningham to Minnesota for Wayne Ellington, and that the trade could be finalized any day. I imagine the Timberwolves are still waiting for resolution on Nicolas Batum's offer sheet.

Clippers Sign Grant Hill

July 18th, 2012 at 2:05pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 2:05pm: The Clippers have officially signed Hill, the team announced in a press release. Los Angeles will use its bi-annual exception on Hill, putting his two-year contract in the neighborhood of $4MM.

TUESDAY, 12:21pm: The Clippers will add Hill using either the bi-annual exception or a sign-and-trade, meaning he'll make more than the minimum salary, tweets SI.com's Sam Amick. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports adds that it'll be a two-year contract.

11:40am: The Clippers have reached an agreement to sign Grant Hill, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR Phoenix first tweeted that Hill was headed to the Clippers. Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that the two sides are still finalizing the details of the contract, but says Hill has committed to sign with Los Angeles.

Four Teams In Running For Darko Milicic

July 18th, 2012 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

No team submitted a bid for Darko Milicic when the Timberwolves placed him on amnesty waivers, but the former second overall pick is drawing interest now that he's a free agent. According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the Heat, Clippers, Bulls, and Nets are the frontrunners to sign Milicic.

We heard yesterday that the Nets and Clippers are targeting backup centers, so their interest comes as no surprise. The Heat are also in the market for a big man, after adding a pair of shooters, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, in free agency. The most interesting team of the four is the Bulls — K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune wonders (via Twitter) if Chicago's interest in Darko is a hint that the team might let Omer Asik go to Houston.

While Milicic certainly hasn't had the sort of career that the other top-five picks in 2003 have, the 27-year-old is one of the more attractive centers left among this summer's unrestricted free agents. Nazr Mohammed, Ben Wallace, and Ryan Hollins are a few of the other available options.

With the T-Wolves still paying him for the next two years, Milicic is a good bet to sign a minimum-salary deal this summer.

Brook Lopez Wants To Finish Career With Nets

July 18th, 2012 at 1:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Brook Lopez's new $60MM+ contract with the Nets will keep him under contract in Brooklyn until the summer of 2016, but if it were up to him, he'd remain with the team longer than that.

"The Nets are the only place I want to be," Lopez told reporters, including Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. "I want to be a Net for my entire career."

It appeared at times that Lopez wouldn't even remain with the Nets until the end of the month, as rumors swirled that he'd be the centerpiece of a package to acquire Dwight Howard from the Magic. Lopez said today that he wasn't sure whether he would've accepted a sign-and-trade to go to Orlando in such a deal, but now he won't have to worry about being moved until at least January 15th. That's the day Lopez can be included in trades again, though Nets coach Avery Johnson downplayed the possibility.

"Whenever a free agent signs a contract, I don't think the possibility of you being traded in January ever comes up," Johnson said. "We're glad where it worked out where he's here. He's obviously drawn some attention from other teams in the free agency process, but he's home, he's with the Brooklyn Nets, and he'll be in the starting lineup at Barclays Center on opening night."

Ty Lawson Optimistic About Contract Extension

July 18th, 2012 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 1:04pm: Lawson remains hopeful that a contract extension with the Nuggets will be finalized in the near future.

"We’ve already been negotiating and talking about it," Lawson told Lang Greene of HoopsWorld. "So my agent and the team will probably come to an agreement real soon.”

FRIDAY, 3:23pm: The Nuggets have yet to be linked to any outside free agent this summer, but it's been a busy month for the team nonetheless. Denver re-signed Andre Miller to a three-year deal, made a five-year offer to JaVale McGee, and could also be working on an extension for Ty Lawson. According to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, Lawson is optimistic that he and the Nuggets will finalize a long-term extension in "the next month or two" (Twitter link).

Top Remaining Free Agents By PER

July 18th, 2012 at 12:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Player Efficiency Rating isn't the be-all, end-all statistic by which to measure NBA players, but it does provide an easy way to at least get an idea of a player's productivity. While the stat is not without its issues, it manages to neatly level the playing field when comparing, for instance, a point guard and a center.

So, with many of this year's top free agents off the board. Let's check in on the remaining available players, sorting them by their 2011/12 PER. Players must have played at least 500 minutes last season to be listed here. Restricted free agents are marked with an asterisk, while the player's PER is in parentheses. Here's the top five at each position:

Categories:
Uncategorized

Dwight Howard Rumors: Wednesday

July 18th, 2012 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

A morning report yesterday suggested that the Lakers were "pushing hard" for Dwight Howard, but nothing seemed to come of it, as follow-up reports indicated that the two teams had been talking for weeks without making a ton of progress. With a few months before the season begins, the Magic don't seem to be in any hurry to move Howard, but the rumors keep trickling in. Here's Wednesday's latest:

The Cavaliers have inched back ahead of the Rockets as the potential facilitator for a Magic/Lakers deal, according to ESPN.com's Ric Bucher. Bucher says the Cavs are discussing a three-way trade that would see them land Andrew Bynum for a package that includes draft picks and Anderson Varejao. However, nothing is close.

Earlier updates:

The Lakers have no interest in taking on Hedo Turkoglu in a deal for Howard, but could be open to taking on Jason Richardson's contract, says Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
There was no face-to-face meeting between Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and Magic GM Rob Hennigan yesterday to discuss Howard, according to Ramona Shelburne and Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
While the Cavaliers and Rockets have been involved in trade talks as a potential third-team facilitator, the most substantial talks have been directly between the Lakers and Magic.
Although Howard will still not commit to signing an extension in Los Angeles, the team is willing to continue its pursuit of him without any assurances. It's not clear if the Magic feel the same way about Andrew Bynum, however.
The Lakers have been "resistant" to the idea of taking on any bad contracts from Orlando, especially since signing Steve Nash to an expensive three-year deal.
The latest round of Howard discussions "is starting to hamstring business around the league," and there's a belief that the Lakers or one of the other Howard suitors could pull out of talks at some point this week to focus on other moves, like the Nets did.
If the Lakers back off of Howard, they'd turn their attention to re-signing Jordan Hill and extending Bynum.

Jeremy Lin Links: Reactions, Fallout, Analysis

July 18th, 2012 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

Count me among those confused about the Knicks' decision not to match the Rockets' offer sheet to Jeremy Lin. While the $14.9MM 2014/15 cap hit would have been a bitter pill to swallow, there were ways around it, whether it meant trying to trade Lin's expiring contract or waiving him using the stretch provision. Considering the Knicks were willing to commit money to Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, Marcus Camby, and Steve Novak for 2014/15, it seems odd that the team would draw the line for Lin, the only player in that group that will still be in his prime by that point.

Of course, everyone else has an opinion on how Lin's free agency played out, so let's round up some of the reactions and the fallout to the point guard's $25.1MM deal with the Rockets….

Latest On Courtney Lee

July 18th, 2012 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

With most of the big-name free agents off the board, Courtney Lee appears to be the top option remaining on the market among wing players. As such, he's drawing plenty of interest — Paul Flannery of WEEI.com writes that agent Dan Fegan advised Lee to be patient, and that patience is close to paying off.

If the Timberwolves' offer sheet to Nicolas Batum is matched by Portland, as expected, both Minnesota and Phoenix will have plenty of cap space to use on Lee. The 26-year-old is also drawing interest from the Bulls and Celtics, though those clubs would likely have to acquire Lee via sign-and-trade.

A deal with Chicago might pique the Rockets' interest, as the Bulls have a $5MM trade exception that could be used to avoid sending salary back to Houston. As the Rockets pursue Omer Asik and Dwight Howard, it's unlikely the team would want to absorb any contracts, which a trade with Boston would require. According to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, Lee has expressed a "strong interest" in playing for Doc Rivers and the Celtics, but with a sign-and-trade difficult to work out and the bi-annual exception unlikely to be enough for Lee, that appears to be a long shot.

Lee may have been a Plan B for some teams that missed out on players like Batum, Eric Gordon, and O.J. Mayo, but as one of the top available targets out there now, he appears to be in line for a lucrative deal.

Month: November 2024