Andre Iguodala

Odds & Ends: Gordon, Cavaliers, Vazquez

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..

Read more

Nine Assured Of Team USA Spot; Odom Withdraws

TUESDAY, 11:41am: Blake Griffin is expected to take Chris Bosh's spot on the U.S. roster, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. As Goodman adds in a second tweet, that would leave five players competing for the final two spots.

Read more

Warriors Rumors: Trades, Draft, Thompson, Curry

Earlier today, we heard from ESPN.com's Chris Broussard that the Nuggets and Warriors had discussed the possibility of a trade that would send the No. 7 pick to Denver and Wilson Chandler to Golden State. Broussard is back with more Warriors info this afternoon, tweeting that the team is eyeing other small forwards besides Chandler, including Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala, and Marvin Williams. No deals are imminent, according to Broussard, but the Warriors are a good bet to be active either today or tomorrow. Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group has a few more Warriors items, so let's check those out:

Read more

Odds & Ends: Iguodala, Sixers, Jennings, Spurs

All indications from Philadelphia are that they want to shake things up this offseason.  We already know Rod Thorn is more or less out and that Lou Williams has opted out.  In his chat today, ESPN's Chad Ford said that he is again hearing Andre Iguodala is being shopped.  Ford mentions the Wizards or Bobcats as possible destinations with the Sixers, in return, moving up from pick fifteen.  Ford mentions Bradley Beal, Thomas Robinson or Andre Drummond as Sixers' targets.  Here are others odds and ends from around the league on Sunday night:

Read more

Kennedy On Roy, Celtics, Sixers, Gasol

HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy has the day's major story so far, about the return of Brandon Roy. While Roy suffers from a degenerative condition in his knees, Kennedy is confident that Roy can not only come back to play in the NBA, but do so at a high level. Kennedy recalls a conversation with Jamal Crawford, who said Roy looked dominant in pickup games against NBA players right before he retired. There will be plenty of suitors for Roy, Kennedy opines, believing he'd fit in as a sixth man with the Heat or the Lakers. There are several rumors on other topics around the league in Kennedy's latest chat transcript, and we'll hit the highlights here.

Read more

Sixers Rumors: Williams, Hawes, Thorn, Iguodala

Multiple reports have indicated Lou Williams will be opting out of the final year of his contract with the 76ers, though not necessarily to leave Philadelphia. Williams himself seemed to be laying the groundwork for such a decision yesterday, tweeting "Quick note. Opting out doesn't necessarily mean you're leaving. It's getting out of one contract to begin a new one." The Sixers will be faced with a number of free agent decisions besides Williams this summer, and Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News has updates on a few of those players and on the executives that will be making the roster moves….

Read more

Raptors Shopping First Round Pick

9:21pm: According to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, the asking price reported by ESPN is a little steep in comparison to what his sources have told him. Wolstat writes that the Raptors are willing to deal the No. 8 pick, but that they aren't willing to package a young talent like Ed Davis in it.

Read more

Warriors Rumors: Draft, Iguodala, Gay, Batum

The Warriors were one of a few teams to benefit from Wednesday night's draft lottery results, hanging onto their lottery pick for another year. According to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, GM Bob Myers doesn't intend to use all four picks the Warriors hold, but views them as valuable trade assets. Myers also aims to land a starter with the seventh overall pick, pointing out that "I don't think anyone would accept the thought of drafting a backup" with a top-10 pick. Here are a few more of the morning's Warriors updates:

Read more

Sixers Rumors: Williams, Brand, Iguodala, Meeks

Plenty of 76ers-related news, rumors and speculation has surfaced since the team lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Saturday night in Boston. I wrote about the team's offseason outlook yesterday, and today Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld shares a few more Sixers updates. Here are the highights:

  • Lou Williams is expected to opt out of his contract and seek a new deal similar to the five-year, $43MM Thaddeus Young signed with Philadelphia in December, according to Kyler.
  • Kyler hears that Elton Brand would be open to exercising his early termination option and eliminating the final year of his contract. However, the Sixers would have to be willing to sign him to a new multiyear deal. I have a hard time seeing this one happening. Brand would have to receive a pretty hefty commitment in a new contract to make up for the $18MM+ he'd be giving up, and that would hinder Philadelphia's future cap flexibility. It makes more sense for the Sixers to simply amnesty him and eliminate the bad contract, rather than inking an expensive new deal.
  • Andre Iguodala is expected to be available in trade talks this summer, though only if a suitor wants to make a "significant offer."
  • Jodie Meeks and Lavoy Allen will be free agents, and while Kyler writes that the 76ers can extend both players $1MM qualifying offers to make them restricted FAs, that's not quite accurate. The new CBA means a qualifying offer for Meeks, who met the "starter criteria" over the past couple seasons, would actually be worth about $2.7MM. I'll have more on this topic later today.

Sixers May Face Major Changes In Offseason

Still fresh off Saturday night's series-ending loss to the Celtics, the Sixers are already looking ahead to next year as their offseason got underway on Sunday. While the team may have exceeded expectations by pushing Boston to a Game 7, some critics may point to the fact that the Sixers faded in the second half of the season as a reason why the franchise needs to make changes to the roster. CSNPhilly.com's John Finger suggests that big changes may be on the horizon for the Sixers as the team looks to make a deeper run in next year's playoffs. Head coach Doug Collins was the first to admit that the group of guys currently on the Sixers roster will most likely not be the same heading into the 2012/2013 season. 

“I hope our guys are going to grow from this, I hope we grow as a team,” Collins said after the Game 7 loss to Boston. “We have to add some more pieces, we know that. [Owner] Josh Harris is totally committed to that. On a day like today I always tell our players to make sure they look around the locker room and look at your teammates. You’re forever bonded, but this team will not be the same team next year. That’s the nature of sports.”

Finger says Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand may not be on next year's team as the Sixers will look to add a big man like Pau Gasol and a scorer like Steve Nash to the roster. Iguodala could be used as a trading chip to acquire Gasol as the Lakers are looking to move the Spaniard with hopes of becoming younger and faster to better complement Kobe Bryant. Financially, the move would make sense as Gasol is owed $38MM over the next two seasons while Iguodala is set to earn $30.6MM during the same time frame. Brand's future may not be as kind as Iguodala's as the former Duke star may face becoming a salary dump for a team looking for an expiring contract.