It's been another busy day in NBA free agency, with Manu Ginobili, Garrett Temple, and Donald Sloan agreeing to terms, while O.J. Mayo appears to be closing in on a deal of his own. As we wait to see which player is next to come off the board, let's check in on a few odds and ends from around the NBA….
- A source tells Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities that there has been contact between the Timberwolves and Matt Barnes' camp (Twitter link).
- In his latest chat session, Chad Ford of ESPN.com fielded questions on last week's draft, next year's draft, and the issuing of tanking vs. rebuilding. Ford issued a series of tweets last night suggesting that a lot of teams appear interested in tanking next season, while Tom Ziller of SBNation.com replied with a column suggesting that rebuilding isn't necessarily synonymous with tanking.
- The Knicks, who are hoping to split up their mini mid-level exception on two players, inquired again on Elton Brand today, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. While Brand is receiving plenty of interest, no officials offers are on the table yet, says Zwerling (Twitter links).
- ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton (Insider link) and Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (via The Basketball Jones) share their thoughts on the Clippers/Suns/Bucks three-way trade, while Grantland's Zach Lowe provides his take on that deal and a number of yesterday's free agent agreements.
- According to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (via Twitter), BDA Sports has signed Thomas Robinson, who had previously been represented by Tony Dutt.
- In a piece for ShamSports.com, Deeks explains the difference between team options and non-guaranteed contracts, and why the distinction can be important.
- When Dwight Howard makes his decision, expect a number of free agent dominos to begin falling, says Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.