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Ivan Johnson Considering Overseas Offers

August 16th, 2013 at 2:57pm CST by Zachary Links

Free agent Ivan Johnson hasn't seen interest from NBA teams build in recent weeks and he's now seriously considering lucrative offers out of China and Italy, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.  Four clubs are still in talks with Johnson, but none of those teams have stepped up enough for his representatives to feel good about things.

Johnson, who is one of the better big men left on the open market, is looking for offers higher than the veteran's minimum.  That could be overly ambitious considering the fact that Johnson's free agency has been moving in "slow motion" as of late.

“It is very legitimate Ivan could end up overseas this season,” agent Jeremiah Haylett said. “It’s the best possibility right now. It wouldn’t be a multi-year deal, though, because he would like to get back into the NBA.”

Over the past two seasons, the 6'8" forward has averaged 6.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 125 games for the Hawks.  The Knicks have been among the clubs linked to Johnson, but his salary requirements coupled with the signing of Jeremy Tyler could hurt his chances in New York.

Johnson is no stranger to playing overseas, having had stints in South Korea, Puerto Rico, and China.

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Atlantic Notes: Garnett, Nets, Sixers, Forbes

August 16th, 2013 at 2:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's the latest out of the Atlantic Division..

  • Nets head coach Jason Kidd says prized offseason acquisition Kevin Garnett probably won't play in any back-to-backs this season,  according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).  Kidd added that he's already talked that plan over with the 37-year-old superstar (link). 
  • New 76ers head coach Brett Brown has decided to let assistants Michael Curry, Aaron McKie, and Jeff Capel go, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  "I'm doing that for obvious reasons," said Brown. "I want to hire my own staff and have a clean start going in that direction. … I feel like it's important that I come in with my own staff and start fresh and try to rebuild."  Curry was a candidate for the head coaching job after Collins resigned on April 18th.
  • Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal wonders if Gary Forbes could be this summer's Ronnie Brewer for the Knicks.  New York will audition the 28-year-old veteran early next week.
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Knicks Meeting With Hamed Haddadi

August 16th, 2013 at 12:48pm CST by Zachary Links

The Knicks have been connected with free agent big man Hamed Haddadi for several weeks and the two sides could finally be coming together on an agreement.  The Knicks are meeting with the Iranian center today, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

From a basketball perspective, Haddadi can provide the Knicks with additional frontcourt depth at what will presumably be the league minimum.  Signing him would also have the added benefit of scratching the back of agent Marc Cornstein who represents free agent acquisitions Metta World Peace and Beno Udrih.

Haddadi finished last season strong after coming over from the Raptors at the deadline as he averaged 4.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game for Phoenix.  The big man had a partially-guaranteed deal with the Suns for 2013/14 and the team opted to cut him loose for $200K this summer rather than pay him $1.4MM for the season.

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Bucks, Larry Sanders Near Deal On Extension

August 16th, 2013 at 11:55am CST by Zachary Links

The Bucks and Larry Sanders are nearing agreement on a four-year, $44MM contract extension, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.  The deal will include bonuses that could push the value of the contract to the $48 million range, according to sources.

Sanders, 24, enjoyed a breakout season in Milwaukee last year, averaging 9.8 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 2.8 blocks per contest.  Even though the Bucks were swept by the Heat in the opening round of the playoffs, Sanders showed that he could produce in the postseason with 10.8 PPG and 8.3 RPG.

The Bucks have had a very busy offseason which has seem them add free agents O.J. Mayo, Carlos Delfino, and Zaza Pachulia while parting ways with a number of players including Monta Ellis and J.J. Redick.  Milwaukee also replaced interim coach Jim Boylan with former Hawks head man Larry Drew.

Recently, our own Chuck Myron examined Sanders as an extension candidate and concluded that he would wind up with a contract that would give him between $11MM and $12MM annually.  That's pretty much what the big man has in this deal as his base AAV is $11MM with incentives that could bump him to $12MM.  Sanders is a client of Relativity Sports' Dan Fegan, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.

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Southeast Notes: Harrington, Vesely, Wade

August 16th, 2013 at 11:45am CST by Zachary Links

Dwyane Wade and his Big Three cohorts can opt out of their deals with the Heat in the summer of 2014, but the 31-year-old reiterated yesterday that he isn’t going anywhere.  The veteran will be able to resume activity this week after undergoing treatment for tendinitis in his knees, which will be critical to his basketball future for this season and beyond.  Here’s the latest out of the Southeast..

  • The Wizards‘ signing of Al Harrington undoubtedly strengthens the club, but it could also hurt the development of 2011 first-round picks Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton, notes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.  Vesely could see minutes at center, but he’ll have to jockey with Kevin Seraphin for time.  Meanwhile, Singleton could slide down to the three spot, but he’ll need to shoot better than the 38.2% he put up last year.
  • Wade hopes that this season will see his role increase, despite his health issues, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).
  • More from Winderman, who writes in today’s mailbag that he could see Juwan Howard transition into a coaching or developmental role when his career is through.   
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Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Holiday, Evans, Mavs

August 16th, 2013 at 11:00am CST by Zachary Links

Earlier this week, we learned that the Rockets nearly had Dwight Howard in the bag 15 months before actually signing him.  The Rockets reached a tentative agreement to acquire D12 from the Magic at 2012's trade deadline, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, before the deal fell through.  The Magic wanted to rid themselves of Howard at the deadline if he didn't waive his ETO and Orlando liked Houston's offer better than the one they had from the Nets.  Here's today's notes out of the Southwest Division..

  • Shaun Powell of Sports On Earth runs down ten offseason moves that will impact the 2013/14 season.  Among them are the culture change (and, name change) that the Pelicans have gone through this summer.  Their aggressive gameplan led to them snagging Jrue Holiday from the Sixers and Tyreke Evans from the Kings, which cost them two first-round picks and $84MM altogether.  Powell doesn't see a really high ceiling for New Orleans this season, opining that their starting five might be good enough to get bounced by the Clippers in the first round.
  • Matt Moore of CBSSports.com grades the Pelicans' offseason and gives them a B for their efforts.  The grade could be anything from an "A+ to an F" with everything hinging on how well this very unorthodox lineup defends. 
  • In a press conference yesterday, new Mavericks guard Monta Ellis expressed confidence that he's ready to be the main guy (or, at least, the co-main guy) in Dallas, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas News.  “I think I’m ready,” he said. “This is going to be the year, with the work I put in this summer and the relationship with me and Coach that’s building right now. And the relationship I’m going to build with my teammates. I feel great. I’m in a great spot.”
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Lakers Notes: Kobe, Paul, Stern, Fisher

August 16th, 2013 at 8:54am CST by Zachary Links

Last night, Kobe Bryant sat down for a chat with Jimmy Kimmel in Los Angeles for an AXS TV special titled "Kobe Up Close".  Here's a look at Bryant's candid interview from the Nokia Theatre..

  • Bryant was asked if he's certain that he'll be a Laker for life and he responded in the affirmative, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.  Of course, Kobe will be a free agent following the 2014 season, but it doesn't sound as though the Lakers star plans on making a big change next summer.
  • Chris Paul personally called Bryant to inform him that the proposed deal to send him to the other Los Angeles team was squashed by the league office, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  Paul began the phone call by exclaiming, "Man, you won't believe it!" 
  • Kimmel asked Kobe if Paul should be a Laker today.  Bryant responded, "Legally speaking, yes.  David Stern speaking? No," tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • When asked if he could have one former teammate return, Bryant said that it would be Derek Fisher because "that's my guy," tweets McMenamin.  The veteran guard re-signed with the Thunder back in July.
  • Bryant acknowledged that he might not be ready for the season opener, according to the AP.
  • Kimmel asked Bryant if he'd be interested in owning a team after retirement and the guard inferred that he'd like to own a piece of the Lakers, tweets Shelburne.
  • Lakers assistant Mark Madsen told Kennedy (Twitter link) that offseason additions Jordan Farmar, Nick Young, and Wesley Johnson have already begun working out in the L.A. gym this summer.  The former-player-turned-coach is impressed to see the newest members of the club taking initiative.
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Western Notes: Kobe, Young, Mavericks

August 15th, 2013 at 11:04pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Sitting outside of Staples Center tonight with late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant says that he'll never accept being called the greatest Laker ever from Magic Johnson considering that he learned so much from him. As for his injury timetable, he's not sure if he'll be back by opening night at this point but is trying his best to get ready (ESPN Los Angeles' Arash Markazi via Twitter). Here are the rest of tonight's miscellaneous tidbits from the Western Conference: 

  • Markazi and ESPN LA's Ramona Shelburne relay that Kobe would have picked North Carolina instead of Duke had he not decided to make the jump to the NBA out of high school, and shared that the Clippers feared they wouldn't be taken seriously if they drafted a 17-year-old despite telling him that he'd given them the best workout they've ever had (All Twitter links). 
  • Flabbergasted that his team was projected to finish 12th in the West this year, Nick Young is "upset and ready for the season," writes Markazi: "How are you going to be ranked that low with Kobe and Pau and Nash? There’s always going to be haters and we just have to keep proving them wrong." 
  • Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW thinks that the seventh or eighth-seed will be the best-case scenario for the Mavericks if all goes well this year. Jarret Johnson of the Star-Telegram looks at why there's optimism surrounding the team heading into the season. 
  • Noting that six general managers around the league have previous ties with the Spurs along with four former coaching assistants now leading teams of their own, Dan McCarney of Spurs Nation describes why San Antonio's structure is a model that many teams want to follow but will find hard to duplicate.
  • Timberwolves' president Flip Saunders says that Kevin Love is now 242 lbs after playing last season at 250 (Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press via Twitter). 
  • Paul Coro of AZ Central tweets a picture of the Suns' new uniforms, which were debuted tonight. 
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Eastern Notes: Wade, George, 76ers

August 15th, 2013 at 10:05pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Heat superstar Dwyane Wade, like teammate LeBron James, can potentially opt out next summer and become a free agent, but told reporters on Thursday that there really isn't much to make of it right now and made it clear about where he stood: "Everyone knows where I want to be…That's what it's all about to me, is making sure we focus on this season, winning this championship…I want to be in Miami and I have nothing else to talk about. So there won't be (any) exciting news over here" (Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). Wade also touches upon his health and is excited about the addition of center Greg Oden. Here's more out of the Eastern Conference tonight: 

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Clippers Tell Jamison They’re Waiting On Odom

August 15th, 2013 at 8:35pm CST by Ryan Raroque

According to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times, one source says the Clippers have notified free agent forward Antawn Jamison that they are waiting for an answer from Lamar Odom, who is the more preferred target of the two at this point. Yahoo's Marc J. Spears (via Twitter) says that Jamison was led to believe he'd be joining the Clips before being notified of the team's pursuit of Odom today.  

The Clippers are willing to offer the veteran's minimum of $1.4MM, and although Odom would prefer more money, no other NBA team has made a higher offer (Twitter links). In addition to a strong recommendation from Vinny Del Negro, Spears tweets that head coach Doc Rivers is patiently waiting to sign the 6'10 forward after getting rave reviews of how great of a teammate he is. The 14-year-veteran appeared in all 82 contests for LAC last season, averaging 4.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 19.7 MPG. Odom's shooting percentages (39.9% overall and 20.0% from three) were far below his career averages, although he did hit long range shots at a higher clip in the postseason (35.7%). 

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