Chris Andersen Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Andersen, Knicks, Gay, Bobcats

January 19th, 2013 at 12:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The Birdman has likely flown across the Knicks' radar, but the club has yet to engage Chris Anderson in serious talks or bring him in for a workout, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The free agent has obvious Knicks ties thanks to his time playing with J.R. Smith in Denver and his ties to GM Glen Grunwald. Here's more from around basketball on this Saturday afternoon..

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links) wonders if the Bobcats are willing to take on Rudy Gay's sizable contract. The forward will earn $17.9MM next season and $19.3MM in 2014/15. Charlotte is reportedly very interested in the Grizzlies star.
Meanwhile, GM Rod Higgins tells Bonnell (on Twitter) that there is no limit as to what the Bobcats might try to do before the deadline.
After their recent west coast swing, it's safe to say that this Heat roster is more than qualified to win another title as currently assembled, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
The Raptors need to seek out talented veterans with winning experience in the opinion of Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Star (via Twitter).
The Suns' front office is responsible for the club's woes, not former coach Alvin Gentry, opines Tom Ziller of SB Nation. I had a similar take in this morning's edition of Hoops Links.

Winderman On Buyouts, Trade Candidates, Haslem

January 13th, 2013 at 1:00pm CST by Sean Highkin

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel weighed in on a variety of topics about the Heat's roster and trade prospects on Sunday. Here are the highlights:

In a new mailbag column, Winderman acknowledges that the Heat need big-man help, but suggests they wait on buyout candidates rather than settle for someone currently on the free-agent market. He lists Milwaukee's Samuel Dalembert as a possible buyout candidate.
Winderman considers the Spurs' DeJuan Blair to be a viable trade candidate, and another reason why the Heat should be patient.
Winderman gives an update on the legal situation of Chris Andersen, the former Nuggets big man who has been linked to the Heat in recent weeks.
In a separate column, Winderman discusses the impact veteran bigs Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony have had on the Heat since being given bigger roles in the rotation.

Odds & Ends: Martin, Knicks, Cavs, Andersen

January 9th, 2013 at 9:51pm CST by Zachary Links

Kenyon Martin is one of many talented NBA veterans who has so far been unable to find a home in 2012/13. That may change soon as the Knicks are showing interest in him, but a source tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com that they have only discussed him internally to this point. The Knicks haven't reached out to Martin's representative yet, but that could be around the corner. Here's tonight's look around the Association..

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did an on-air interview during the telecast of tonight's game to discuss the current state of the club. While 2012/13 has been difficult for Cleveland thus far, the owner vowed that better days are ahead, according to the Plain Dealer (on Twitter). "This year has not been an easy year…Things will improve. There are better days ahead. We will get through it," said Gilbert.
One NBA executive told Andrew Perna of RealGM that we likely won't see significant trades go down until February. “There hasn’t really been a lot of talk going around,” the executive said. “There is general chatter, but nothing serious. A lot of teams are trying to figure out what is going on with [the Grizzlies] and all the names that have been thrown around.”
Nuggets coach George Karl gave Chris Andersen a strong endorsement in an interview with Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (on Twitter). While admitting that the 34-year-old isn't what he once was, he believes that he could be a solid piece for the Heat for 15-25 minutes per night. The forward known as Birdman auditioned for Miami earlier this week.

Heat Sign Jarvis Varnado

January 9th, 2013 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 7:51am: The Heat signed Varnado to a 10-day contract late last night, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). It appears Miami waited until Wednesday to officially complete the move, which will allow them to keep Varnado around for an extra day next weekend.

TUESDAY, 11:20am: Jarvis Varnado was waived two days ago by the Celtics, meaning he's on track to clear waivers later this afternoon. When that happens, Varnado is expected to sign a 10-day contract with the Heat, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Varnado, who was drafted 41st overall by the Heat in 2010, spent two seasons overseas before joining Miami's camp this fall. However, he was cut by the team before the regular season began. The former Mississippi State product signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Celtics in December and appeared briefly in five games for Boston before being released in advance of this week's guarantee deadline.

The Heat are also working out Chris Andersen today, and signing Varnado wouldn't necessarily preclude adding the Birdman as well. After waiving Terrel Harris and Josh Harrellson this week, the Heat have two open roster spots.

Odds & Ends: Kaman, Fredette, Beverley

January 7th, 2013 at 11:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chris Kaman, making $8MM this year as one of many Mavs on a one-year contract, told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida that he wants to return to Dallas next year, but he isn't sure whether the team will have him. Kaman's preference is for long-term contracts (Sulia links). "Nobody wants to do a one-year deal," he said. "If anybody prefers, they would do a long-term deal if they felt comfortable in the situation. So everybody kind of is just trying together to be a team. I think sometimes that creeps in. 'I’m in this one-year deal, I better play good.' It’s not that it’s selfish but it’s just a lot of pressure for a player." The handful of players without fully guaranteed contracts who got the ax today probably wouldn't mind a one-year deal right now, but it's all relative in the NBA. Here's more from around the Association.

DeMarcus Cousins isn't the only member of the Kings off-limits in trade talks, as USA Today's Sam Amick hears the team is not making Jimmer Fredette available, either.
The final two seasons of Patrick Beverley's three-year contract with the Rockets are team options, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
The Rockets signed Greg Smith to a similar deal 11 months ago, and he's become a significant contributor off the bench this season, as Feigen examines.
Mike James will sign his 10-day pact with the Mavs on Tuesday, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (Twitter link).
Wolves GM David Kahn doesn't think the team's most pressing need is another big man, even with Kevin Love sidelined, and said he's having difficulty getting other GMs to engage in serious trade talk with the deadline still more than six weeks away. Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune has the details.
The Wolves are still keeping an eye on Mickael Gelabale, but other teams may have stronger interest, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
Chris Andersen's "ancillary issues" aren't a concern for the Heat, who will bring him in for a workout Tuesday, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Winderman is presumably referring to Andersen's legal troubles last year.

Heat Eyeing Chris Andersen

January 7th, 2013 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Having cleared a pair of roster spots by cutting Terrel Harris and Josh Harrellson, the Heat are considering signing Chris Andersen, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Andersen will be in Miami over the next couple days to take a physical and work out for the Heat, according to Wojnarowski.

This isn't the first time the Heat have mulled the idea of signing the Birdman. Back in August, the team was looking at Andersen, but ultimately elected to sign Harrellson instead. However, Miami was unwilling to guarantee Harrellson's contract for the season, and has circled back and renewed its interest in Andersen.

If the Heat decide to sign Andersen, the club will have the opportunity to offer him a 10-day contract rather than a rest-of-season deal, since the 10-day-contract portion of the season got underway today.

Atlantic Notes: Copeland, Rasheed, Bynum

October 24th, 2012 at 8:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

We rounded up a host of Celtics news earlier, but there's more out of the Atlantic Division this evening, as the Nets and Knicks face off in the final preseason game for both teams.

Reports have been optimstic about camp invitee Chris Copeland's chances of making the Knicks regular season roster, and SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria and Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com give further indication the power forward will remain with the team for the start of the regular season.
Rasheed Wallace is likely to get the team's other open roster spot, Zwerling reports in the same piece, adding that the Knicks aren't in pursuit of free agents Kenyon Martin, Chris Andersen or Josh Howard to fill in for the injured Amare Stoudemire.
The Sixers have no timetable for the return of Andrew Bynum, who continues to be held out of practice. John Finger of CSNPhilly.com and Zach Lowe of Grantland.com examine what the team will do as long as its marquee offseason acquisition can't play.

Poll: Which FA Will Make An Impact In 2012/13?

October 24th, 2012 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics recently snatched Leandro Barbosa off the free agent market, ensuring that perhaps the most prominent name among the remaining unsigned players has a job this season. However, there are still a number of players who not only are free agents, but haven't even participated in training camp with a team.

Along with the players who have yet to sign a contract this offseason, plenty of recent camp cuts have become unrestricted free agents again, further saturating the market. While many of the names on our list of free agents likely won't play for NBA teams this year, odds are that at least a couple will sign with contenders and potentially have an impact later in the season.

So today's poll question is this: Which of the remaining free agents do you expect will make the most significant impact this season? Make your pick below and feel free to explain your choice in the comments section.

Latest On Unsigned Free Agents

October 11th, 2012 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

With Tracy McGrady having signed to play in China earlier this week, our list of 2012/13 unrestricted free agents continues to grow more and more sparse. Still, there are surprising names on there, such as Kenyon Martin, Leandro Barbosa, Mickael Pietrus, and Michael Redd. We don't have any new updates on those four, but here's the latest on a few of the other notable names on the market:

Derek Fisher: Kobe Bryant tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link) that he's confident his longtime teammate will find an NBA home soon, since "every team needs a guard like him." Fisher had been working out with the Lakers this fall, but can't re-sign with Los Angeles at this point, since the team traded him in March. There was speculation that the Celtics could kick the tires following Keyon Dooling's retirement, but there doesn't appear to be anything concrete there.
Josh Howard: While Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com tweets that Howard should be on a roster before opening night, it's a little surprising he's still out there at all. We've heard rumblings that Howard was closing in on a decision since late July, after all. I wouldn't rule out the Sixers, who were said to be eyeing Howard last month and currently appear to have camp invitees Dan Gadzuric, Damien Wilkins, and Devin Searcy fighting for the final two roster spots.
Chris Andersen: Within the previously-linked Zwerling tweet, the ESPNNY scribe adds that the Birdman should find a suitor by opening night as well, though it's unclear where he'll land. Andersen seems to have been willing to sign with a number of teams earlier in the offseason, but the Timberwolves, Heat, and Knicks all failed to reciprocate his interest. An August report suggesting the big man had offers of up to $5MM annually seems a little outrageous now, but perhaps there would still be modest offers available overseas.
Maurice Evans: Another player Zwerling expects to sign with a team this month, Evans wants to continue his playing career despite receiving interest from the Wizards in a front office capacity. Last week, we heard that teams would likely evaluate what they have in camp before moving on someone like Evans, so perhaps a club disappointed with its camp invitees will turn to the veteran wing within the next few weeks.

Timberwolves Still Seeking Big Man, Wing

September 19th, 2012 at 5:15pm CST by Luke Adams

5:15pm: According to a tweet from ESPN contributor Darren Wolfson, the Wolves are still interested in free agent swingman Mickael Pietrus.

3:14pm: After a busy offseason that saw the team bring in new additions like Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger, and Alexey Shved, the Timberwolves are still looking for a couple more pieces to round out their roster. According to Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500, the Wolves would like to bring in another big man and wing player, but the issue of guaranteed salary has been a roadblock so far (Twitter link).

The Timberwolves have been linked to a number of players in recent weeks, including Sean Williams, Hassan Whiteside, Mehmet Okur, Mickael Pietrus, and Anthony Tolliver. However, Minnesota can only offer a minimum-salary contract, and based on Wolfson's report, it sounds as if the team may not even necessarily want to guarantee a minimum-salary deal.

In a second tweet, Wolfson says it doesn't appear that Raja Bell will be a target for the T-Wolves if and when he receives a buyout from the Jazz. Wolfson adds that Chris Andersen has interest in joining the Wolves, but that the interest isn't mutual. That seems to be a common theme for the Birdman, who also reportedly has unreciprocated interest in the Knicks and Heat.