2012 July | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Sign Jason Terry

July 18th, 2012 at 7:41am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 18TH, 7:41am: The Celtics have officially signed Terry using their mid-level exception, reports Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter).

JULY 17TH, 4:58pm: After spending nearly a week exploring a way to acquire Terry via sign-and-trade and save their $5MM mid-level exception, the Celtics have exausted the possibilities and are preparing to simply announce the Terry signing, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

Clippers Amnesty Ryan Gomes

July 17th, 2012 at 11:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Just before the 11:00pm CST amnesty deadline, the Clippers used the amnesty provision to waive Ryan Gomes, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. By amnestying Gomes, Los Angeles clears the final year of his deal, worth $4MM, from its cap, though the team will still have to pay him.

2012 Amnesty Period Ends

July 17th, 2012 at 10:35pm CST by Luke Adams

10:35pm: A league official has corrected the earlier information sent out, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The amnesty deadline for this season is actually at 11:00pm central time today, rather than at 4:00pm CT. That allowed the Nuggets to amnesty Chris Andersen, and gives teams about 25 more minutes to cut players using the amnesty provision. The lists below will be updated to reflect any last-minute decisions.

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Uncategorized

Knicks Won’t Match Offer Sheet For Lin

July 17th, 2012 at 9:31pm CST by Luke Adams

9:31pm: Al Iannazzone of Newsday tweets that the Knicks have confirmed to him that they will not match Houston's offer sheet to Jeremy Lin. Yahoo's Marc J. Spears also reiterated (via Twitter) the same report from a Knicks spokesman and says that Lin is now a member of the Rockets.

5:41pm: Beck tweeted that he's been assured that the Knicks will not reverse their decision.

3:29pm: In his piece for the Times, Howard Beck notes that there is an "incredibly small" chance the Knicks change their minds before tonight, but that as of now, the decision is considered final. The team is expected to announce its decision later tonight.

3:11pm: The Knicks are done deliberating and have decided not to match the Rockets' offer sheet to Jeremy Lin, according to Howard Beck of the New York Times (via Twitter). The decision, which had been due by midnight tonight, means that Lin will become a Houston Rocket, signing a three-year, $25.1MM deal with the club.

After publicly giving every indication early in the offseason that they'd be bringing Lin back, the Knicks balked when the Rockets re-negotiated the point guard's offer sheet to include a $14.9MM third-year salary. Under the Gilbert Arenas provision, the Rockets are allowed to spread Lin's cap hit evenly over the three years of the deal (about $8.3MM annually), but if the Knicks had matched, they would have to pay $5MM in year one, $5.225MM in year two, and $14.898MM in year three. That third year would have come in 2014/15, when a number of Knicks players, including Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler, are set to make max or near-max money.

Still, with relatively small salaries in the first two seasons of the deal, and two years to figure out their approach for year three, it's rather surprising to see New York decide not to match. Even if Lin turned out to be no more than a bench player, his $14.9MM expiring contract in 2014/15 could have been used as a trade chip, or waived using the stretch provision, reducing the team's cap and tax hit.

For the Rockets, the news is good — had the Knicks matched the offer sheet, Houston would have been left looking at a free agent market featuring point guards such as Jonny Flynn, Derek Fisher, and Delonte West. With New York electing to let Lin walk, Linsanity will head south to Houston, back to the team that waived him in December.

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Free Agent Rumors: Timberwolves, Rush, Mills

July 17th, 2012 at 8:42pm CST by Luke Adams

A couple more notable names came off the free agent market this morning, when Kris Humphries landed a two-year deal from the Nets and Grant Hill agreed to sign with the Clippers. While a number of solid rotation players are still available, the market is rapidly thinning for teams in search of starters. As clubs continue to jockey to sign the remaining available players, we'll track many of today's free agent rumors right here:

Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune lists who the Timberwolves will target with nearly $14MM in cap space if they lose out on Nicolas Batum, specifically highlighting Courtney Lee, Jordan Hill, and Greg Stiemsma.
Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times says that despite the delay on an official decision regarding Brandon Rush's future, the Warriors are still likely to retain him.

Earlier updates:

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com clarifies that Spurs guard Patty Mills re-signed with San Antonio for the value of his qualifying offer of about $1.08MM with a $1.13MM player option for 2013-14 (Twitter link).
Jason Quick of The Oregonian says that the Trail Blazers could target free agent point guard A.J. Price (Twitter link), also mentioning that Price's agent, Jeff Schwartz, declined to comment.
The Cavaliers, Rockets, Timberwolves, Hornets, 76ers, Suns, Trail Blazers, Kings, and Raptors are all eligible to make a bid on recently amnestied Andray Blatche (Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets). Mannix also says (via Twitter) that although doesn't expect a team to bid, Blatche will draw interest as an unrestricted free agent.
Mike Trudell of KCAL-9 in Los Angeles tweets that owner Jim Buss has reiterated GM Mitch Kupchak's comments that the team would like to re-sign Jordan Hill.
John Reid of the Times Picayune writes that the Hornets are interested in Ryan Hollins.
The Clippers' agreement with Hill likely takes them out of the running for Marco Belinelli, but Belinelli is still drawing interest, says Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. Pincus names the Bulls, Magic, Warriors, and Knicks as potential suitors.
Mavericks VP of basketball operations Donnie Nelson says the Mavs are still interested in bringing back Delonte West, who has "other options on the table he's going through." Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News has the details.
Raja Bell, who is attempting to work out a trade or buyout from the Jazz, hasn't heard from the Heat, but has drawn interest from six other teams, says Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
Anthony Randolph has "more than piqued" the Nuggets' curiousity, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
Nuggets coach George Karl has a standing offer out to unrestricted free agent Anthony Carter to become an assistant coach under Karl whenever his playing career is over, says Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link). However, Carter still believes he can help a team as a third point guard and hopes to play for a couple more years, according to Tomasson.
Despite rumors of overseas interest, Sonny Weems continues to seek an NBA contract, agent Roger Montgomery tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter).
The Nets' next move might be signing Nazr Mohammed or Ryan Hollins as a backup center, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
The Clippers are also looking to add a big, and are eyeing Hollins and Darko Milicic, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
In a piece for ESPN Deportes, Andres Nocioni confirms he'll continue playing for Caja Laboral in Spain next season rather than returning to the NBA (hat tip to Sportando for the translation).

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Odds & Ends: Gordon, Cavaliers, Vazquez

July 17th, 2012 at 6:51pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Eric Gordon may have to win back some of the fans in New Orleans this year after comments he made about his "heart" already being in Phoenix and not wanting the Hornets to match after the Suns signed him to an offer sheet. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo elaborates on Gordon's thoughts throughout the free agency process and says that the Gordon is now committed to leading a young New Orleans team moving forward. Spears also says that the 6'3 guard has the ability to opt out after the third season and become an unrestricted free agent. Here's more of the miscellaneous tidbits what we've heard this evening..

Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago discusses why the Bulls' title window will shrink over the next two seasons.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer describes the progress that Byron Mullens appears to be making with the Bobcats based on his performances at the Las Vegas Summer League.
76ers head coach Doug Collins says he feels "very good" about what the team has accomplished during this offseason, writes John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com.

Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated sat down with Hawks forward Josh Smith, who appears to be happy with the direction the team is going in. In a separate piece, Amick discusses the impact that the Kings' acquisition of Aaron Brooks will have on Jimmer Fredette's future in Sacramento.
Luis Scola talks about how excited he is to join the Suns (NBA.com report).
On the Mason and Ireland show on ESPN LA, Chris Broussard said that Dwight Howard likes Los Angeles but still has his heart set on Brooklyn.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com does not think the team will use their amnesty this year (Twitter link).
Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets that Will Barton's deal with the Trail Blazers is guaranteed for two years with a team option in the third year.
In an interview on NBA TV, coach Byron Scott said that the Cavaliers aren't desperate to add a veteran right now, and implied that he is ready to have his young players gain experience instead (Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reports).
Iliana Limón Romero and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel write that Fran Vazquez has agreed to a two-year deal (with a third-year option) to stay with Unicaja Málaga of the ACB and Euroleague. The deal does not have an opt-out clause, which ultimately prohibits the 6'10 big man from leaving for the NBA and joining the Magic until 2014-15 at the earliest. Orlando used their 11th overall selection in 2005 to select the Vazquez and currently own his draft rights.
Chris Haynes of CSNNW documentedDerrick Williams' thoughts on almost being traded to the Trail Blazers. The former 2nd overall pick of the Timberwolves says that the uncertainty had been giving him a "tough time".
According to head coach Doug Collins, the 76ers have received multiple trade offers for Andre Iguodala and rookie Moe Harkless (Tom Moore of PhillyBlurbs.com tweets).
Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld has the latest thoughts from Jermaine O'Neal, who says that he feels he has a lot left.
Mike Trudell of KCAL-9 in Los Angeles tweets that Lakers owner Jim Buss likes Robert Sacre, the team's 60th pick of last month's draft. Buss added that he has a good chance to make the team.
Tariq Lee of AZCentral.com writes about Charles Garcia's second opportunity to make it into the league with the Suns.

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Lakers, Rockets Continue Pursuing Dwight Howard

July 17th, 2012 at 5:45pm CST by Luke Adams

5:45pm: Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal cites a team executive involved in the discussions between the Lakers and Magic who says that both teams have been talking about Dwight for weeks but haven't been making much progress. Lloyd also references an Eastern Conference executive who believes that the Magic are in no hurry to move Howard and are holding out for the Rockets to improve their offer.

4:24pm: The Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin offer sheets won't affect the Rockets' discussions for Howard, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. However, reports that Houston would take on all of Orlando's bad contracts in a Howard deal are "ridiculous," tweets SI.com's Chris Mannix.

Feigen also notes that the Magic/Lakers talks would likely involve the Rockets as a third team (Twitter link), while Mannix cautions that both Howard and Bynum would have to agree to sign long-term with their new teams before any trade could happen (Twitter link).

1:57pm: Talks between the Lakers and Magic are ongoing, but a Howard trade would be "very tough to pull off," a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). That news isn't surprising — I briefly outlined below why the two teams aren't an ideal match.

11:02am: The Lakers are "pushing hard" to acquire Dwight Howard and are meeting with the Magic today to discuss a possible deal, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Spears, the Lakers continue to seek a long-term commitment from Howard.

Weekend reports indicated that the Lakers and Magic were involved in Howard talks that also included the Cavaliers, though Cleveland seems to have disengaged from those discussions. While the Lakers' Andrew Bynum is a better centerpiece than rival suitors can offer for D12, it's still hard to imagine the Lakers and Magic consummating a deal without involving at least one more team. The Magic are seeking cap relief, young talent, and draft picks in any Howard trade, and outside of Bynum, L.A. can't offer that. The Lakers included four picks in their sign-and-trade for Steve Nash, and are over the luxury tax line, making it difficult for them to take on any bad contracts.

The Magic recently put Howard trade talks on the backburner while they search for a new head coach, but are still fielding offers from interested teams. The Rockets are also seriously pursuing the star center, reportedly offering a package that included recent draftees, future picks, and cap relief. However, Houston does not currently have a meeting set up to discuss Howard with the Magic, tweets Spears.

As for the Nets, having recently re-signed Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries, they appear to be out of the Howard sweepstakes until at least January. But as ESPN.com's John Hollinger points out, Humphries' sizable first-year salary could make it easier for the Nets to put together a package for Howard that lets them take back a few of Orlando's undesirable contracts. Of course, that scenario assumes Howard is still playing for the Magic in the new year, which is far from a certainty.

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Mike Miller Won’t Retire

July 17th, 2012 at 5:41pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Despite being continually plagued by several injuries last season, Mike Miller does not plan to retire, according to an ESPN report (via the Associated Press). The Heat veteran dealt mostly with a debilitating back problem last season that would have caused him to lean toward retirement if surgery was required this summer. However, after discussions with his doctor and the conclusion that rest and rehabilitation were viable alternatives to surgery, Miller remains hopeful that he can recover well enough to play again soon.

Timberwolves Eyeing Lee, Stiemsma

July 17th, 2012 at 5:10pm CST by Luke Adams

While much of today's speculation has revolved around whether the Knicks will match Jeremy Lin's offer sheet, another sheet that's worth nearly twice as much will be resolved tomorrow. If the Timberwolves' $46.5MM offer sheet to Nicolas Batum is matched by Portland, the T-Wolves are expected to shift their focus to other free agents, including Courtney Lee and Greg Stiemsma, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

NBA D-League Affiliations For 2012/13

July 17th, 2012 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2012/13 season will mark the first time that NBA teams will be permitted to send players with less than three years of NBA experience to their respective D-League affiliates an unlimited number of times. While this should help the D-League evolve into a more effective development system for the NBA, not all D-League franchises are affiliated with a single NBA team. The League announced its list of affiliates today, which includes 11 D-League franchises associated with a single NBA team, and five more that are affiliated with three or four NBA clubs. Here's the complete list:

Austin Toros: San Antonio Spurs
Bakersfield Jam: Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors
Canton Charge: Cleveland Cavaliers
Dakota Wizards(*): Golden State Warriors
Erie BayHawks: New York Knicks
Fort Wayne Mad Ants: Charlotte Bobcats, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks
Idaho Stampede: Portland Trail Blazers
Iowa Energy: Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Hornets, Washington Wizards
Los Angeles D-Fenders: Los Angeles Lakers
Maine Red Claws: Boston Celtics
Reno Bighorns: Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz
Rio Grande Valley Vipers: Houston Rockets
Sioux Falls Skyforce: Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers
Springfield Armor: Brooklyn Nets
Texas Legends: Dallas Mavericks
Tulsa 66ers: Oklahoma City Thunder

(* The Dakota Wizards will become the Santa Cruz Warriors for the 2012/13 season, pending NBA approval.)

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NBA G League

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