A flurry of trade rumors surounded the Lakers and Pau Gasol yesterday, with Los Angeles reportedly "very open" to discussing Gasol trades. While Wednesday's round of rumors had L.A. potentially landing everyone from Josh Smith to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (in the form of a top-five pick), I wouldn't be surprised if Pau is a Laker at the end of the day. There still seems to be a divide between what the Lakers hope to get for Gasol and the Spaniard's actual trade value, given his sizable contract. Here are a few more Lakers swirling around on the morning of draft day though:
A day after acquiring Chase Budinger from the Rockets, Minnesota formally introduced the newest Timberwolf in an afternoon press conference. While the T-Wolves gave up their first-round pick and only hold the No. 58 pick in tomorrow night's draft, president of basketball operations David Kahn says the team isn't done making moves, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). Here's what Kahn had to say on a few other T-Wolves topics (all Twitter links):
According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, the general consensus around the league is that Ray Allen will join the Heat next year (Twitter link). Since the team will be about $2MM above the tax apron, the most that Miami would be able to offer would be the mini-mid level exception of $3MM. Here's more of tonight's miscellaneous links, including Tyreke Evans, Baron Davis, and the Bulls…
It's still not entirely clear whether the players' union's victory in this month's Bird Rights ruling will withstand the NBA's appeal, but for now at least, it appears the Knicks will have a $3MM mid-level exception to sign outside free agents this summer. According to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, one player who is interested in signing for that MLE is Randy Foye. Zwerling hears from a source that Foye is expected to receive a handful of offers at or around $3MM, but that the guard's top choice is New York.
Here are a few more Tuesday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:
As Brandon Roy prepares to make an NBA comeback, rumors surrounding the former Trail Blazer have begun to heat up. Last week we heard that new Warriors GM Bob Myers would "absolutely" call Roy to express interest, and yesterday a report suggested that the Timberwolves were preparing a two-year offer for the 27-year-old. We can add at least three more potential suitors to the mix, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Bulls, Mavericks, and Pacers have serious interest in Roy.
The Timberwolves are set to offer Brandon Roy a two-year contract, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com. The former Portland star sat out the 2011/12 season due to health concerns stemming from a lack of cartilage in his knees. After being amnestied by the Trail Blazers, Roy is free to sign with any team in the league. While many thought the former All-Star had permanently retired from the NBA, Roy has been training in Seattle in hopes of making a return for the 2012/13 season. The 27-year-old remains a health concern but has received an endorsement from Wolves assistant coach Bill Bayno, who has previously worked with Roy in Portland.
Even though the Heat captured the 2012 NBA championship on Thursday night, their roster may look very different entering next season, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. The team’s core obviously stay, but they’ll have to re-sign or replace a number of players who were key during their title run. Here's Kennedy on what's next for Miami and more..
About two months after we first heard that new Warriors GM Bob Myers would "aggressively" try to keep restricted free agent Brandon Rush in Golden State, Myers' comments on Rush today were even more unequivocal. "We have a restricted free agent who we really like, and who we're going to keep," the GM said, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Although Rush is expected to join Klay Thompson, Richard Jefferson, and Dorell Wright as options at the two and three, Myers didn't rule out targeting another veteran shooting guard — Brandon Roy.
5:30pm: The Oregonian's John Canzano has a new column advising Blazers fans to prepare for Roy's return.
3:26pm: The progress of Roy's recovery will be on display this weekend when he plays in the Jamal Crawford Summer Pro-Am with Nate Robinson, Spencer Hawes, Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas, among others, Kennedy reports (Twitter links).
11:51pm: NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper has a quote from University of Washington guard Tony Wroten, supporting the claim that Roy is in excellent physical condition.
10:43am: Former Blazers shooting guard Brandon Roy is preparing to return to the NBA next season, according to comments he made on the Twitter account of close friend Will Conroy, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports. Roy has been contemplating a comeback for several months, after repeated knee injuries prompted him to retire before the season.
Tim Duncan called the loss that ended the Spurs' season last night "very, very disappointing," but told Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News that the disappointment wouldn't be a factor in the decision facing the free agent this offseason.
"Not really," Duncan said. "Bottom line is the summer is going to come. The summer is going to be here, and it is what it is. I’ll figure it out when I come to it. I haven’t even thought about it, and I really don’t care. I’ll figure it out when it happens, just like everything else."
Let's round up a few more morning notes from around the league….