Earlier today, Portland General Manager Neil Olshey disclosed that he plans to move from the free agent market to the trade market as it appears that Roy Hibbert will be staying put in Indiana. Here's more on the Blazers..
Jeff Green reached an agreement to remain with the Celtics on Saturday, while Aaron Brooks became an unrestricted free agent after the Suns withdrew their qualifying offer to the guard. What will Sunday bring? Here are the latest rumors on a number of free agents still on the market:
- The Heat have interest in unrestricted free agent point guard John Lucas III, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
- Marcus Camby's meeting with the Knicks today was "very positive," a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, and Zwerling hears that Camby is drawn to the Knicks because of his "great relationship" with GM Glen Grunwald.
- "Everything went well" during the Heat's meeting with Rashard Lewis today, as Lewis' agent tells David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). Lewis has yet to make a decision, with the Knicks and Hawks still in the running, Aldridge says.
Earlier updates:
Kevin Love tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that if the Timberwolves don't starting winning more often this season, he isn't sure how long he'll want to remain in Minnesota.
"My patience is not high," said Love, in Las Vegas this week to practice with the U.S. Olympic team. "Would yours be, especially when I'm a big proponent of greatness surrounding itself with greatness? All these [Team USA] guys seem to have great players around them. It's tough seeing all these guys that are young and older who have all played in the playoffs. When they start talking about that, I have nothing to talk about. If I don’t make the playoffs next year I don’t know what will happen."
Unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill has not yet made his decision about where to sign, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune reports via Twitter, despite Hill's cryptic tweet last night that seemed to indicate otherwise. There's no apparent timetable for a decision, as an agreement could be reached as early as tonight or a few weeks from now, Zgoda tweets.
Despite averaging a career high in points (13.9), rebounds (4.6), blocks (1.0), and steals (1.0) last season, Nicolas Batum has expressed his desire to leave the Trail Blazers. He and his agent, Bouna N'Diaye, met with Portland GM Neil Olshey, scouting director Chad Buchanan, and capologist Joe Cronin on Thursday in an attempt to persuade the team not to match the Timberwolves' offer sheet, writes Chris Haynes of CNNSW.
Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago reported earlier that the Bucks presented Kirk Hinrich with an offer of about $4 MM per year, while the Bulls have made an offer somewhere between the veteran's minimum and around $2 MM per year. The proposed length of either deal is still unknown. Although the Bulls have been relatively quiet at this point during the offseason, Sam thinks that Chicago could eventually become financially viable for free agent point guards such as Ramon Sessions, Raymond Felton, Jerryd Bayless, and Delonte West, who could be available if they are not acquired during the first wave of free agent signings. Derek Fisher and Jonny Flynn were also mentioned as potential additions.
We are currently less than four days away from the end of the NBA's moratorium period, and here is the rest of what we've heard around the league this evening…
- Ersan Ilyasova plans to meet with Bucks owner Herb Kohl on Tuesday, which is seen as an important opportunity in the team's effort to retain the 6'10'' forward (Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times reports). Earlier this week, we reported that Milwaukee offered a deal worth around $40MM over five years.
Larry Bird was leaning toward a return as Pacers president, former Celtics teammates tell Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, until owner Herb Simon nixed the idea of adding a scorer to the team during a meeting with Bird in late June, shortly before Bird resigned June 26th. Bird was considering an offer for Eric Gordon, Lawrence writes, but Simon, who has a net worth of $1.8 billion, doesn't want to pay the luxury tax. Though Indiana has only about $36MM in guaranteed salaries for next season, the Pacers likely couldn't have brought aboard Gordon, who's signed an offer sheet with the Suns for the maximum four years and $58MM, and retained all their free agents without becoming a tax team. Bird's concerns about his shoulder and back were also reasons he stepped down, but the 55-year-old NBA legend left the door open for a return to another team's front office. Lawrence has more from around the league, and we've got the highlights here:
It's been a busy day in Boston, and that's not even counting the doubleheader between the Red Sox and Yankees. You can head over to MLB Trade Rumors for baseball news, but we've got the Celtics covered right here. Already today they've reached an agreement with Jeff Green, and we've heard that negotiations between C's restricted free agent big man Greg Stiemsma and the Timberwolves are on hold, perhaps allowing Boston a chance to woo him back. Stiemsma's agent, however, says his client prefers the Timberwolves and is willing to be patient with them, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Here's more of what we're hearing:
After Team USA's first practice Friday afternoon, Lakers guard Kobe Bryant told reporters, including Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), that he's not so sure that the team is done making trades. "I don't think that they're done. The moves they make just seem to come out of nowhere," Bryant said. Here's some more Saturday afternoon linkage..
After a season in which Michael Beasley, Martell Webster, and Wesley Johnson spent a good chunk of time at the wing positions in Minnesota, the Timberwolves have prioritized the spot early in the offseason. The team acquired Chase Budinger via trade, and reached a contract agreement with Brandon Roy. On top of that, the Wolves are set to sign Nicolas Batum to a big, four-year offer sheet. Does Minnesota have the cap room for all these potential new additions? Let's take a look….