Dwight Howard Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Howard, Celtics, Turiaf, Warriors

July 23rd, 2012 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

While it's always a little dangerous to read too much into Summer League results, it's still worth looking back at the month's top performers in Orlando and Las Vegas. A pair of SBNation.com scribes have done just that, with Mike Prada ranking the drafted rookies, from Damian Lillard to Fab Melo, while Scott Schroeder lists a few of the top "veterans," including Josh Selby, Tobias Harris, and Markieff Morris.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the Association:

We haven't heard many updates about the Dwight Howard talks involving the Magic, Lakers, and Cavaliers in the last couple days, but Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio hears they're not entirely dead — they're just in a holding pattern for now, with teams (particularly the Magic) weighing other options.
An opposing executive tells Amico that it's too early to evaluate Chris Grant's job performance as Cavs GM.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com takes an in-depth look at the Celtics' roster and payroll situation
Spain's Real Madrid is eyeing big men, and Ronny Turiaf is on their radar, according to Javier Maestro of Encestando.es (English link via HoopsWorld).
Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com names a few forwards the Warriors could still potentially target in free agency.

Poll: Which Team Will Win Howard Sweepstakes?

July 21st, 2012 at 8:20pm CST by Daniel Seco

The conversation surrounding Dwight Howard's future as a member of the Magic has consumed the thoughts and minds of front office executives, members of the media and fans across the globe. Month after month, rumors have surfaced with information that Howard's headed to one particular team in exchange for some group of players, picks and prospects, only to seemingly lose credibility and fall apart just as quickly as it came to fruition.

With no deal in sight, the Magic announced on Saturday that they hope to move Howard by the beginning of August to gain some sense of closure heading into the new season. The question becomes which team will win the sweepstakes and add arguably the best big man in the league to its roster.

Magic Not In Hurry To Trade Dwight Howard

July 21st, 2012 at 3:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:44pm: The Magic hope to have a deal by early August, reports Sam Amick of SI.com (Sulia link).

3:04pm: Magic officials continue to hold out for the best Dwight Howard deal, and are unlikely to trade him in the next few days, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes. The Rockets, a major player in trade talks, will be tied up while waiting for the Bulls to decide whether to match their offer sheet to Omer Asik, and it won't be clear what kind of cap space and assets Houston will have available until that situation is resolved, Kennedy says.

The Rockets and Lakers have been forced to bid against each other for Howard, and the Magic will weigh their final offers once the Bulls make their decision on Asik, according to Kennedy. Asik has signed the offer sheet but the Bulls have yet to see it, meaning the three-day period Chicago has to match is not yet under way. Last night, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio also noted the Magic's patient approach, but heard from an opposing team's GM who said there's no way the Magic can bring Howard to training camp in late September. I'm not sure if that deadline holds much weight, however, since Howard and the Magic already co-existed last season amid plenty of trade speculation, and there's no guarantee Howard's back will be healthy enough to allow him to make the start of camp anyway, though the big man insists he'll be ready for the season.

If Howard is still with the Magic come January 15th, when the Nets can trade Brook Lopez, Newsday's Rod Boone believes Orlando and Brooklyn would reinitiate talks, but obviously much can happen between now and then (Twitter link).

The Magic remain focused on their coaching search in the meantime, which is down to assistants Jacque Vaughn of the Spurs, Michael Curry of the Sixers and Lindsey Hunter of the Suns, Kennedy says. With the second round of interviews complete, Vaughn still appears to be the frontrunner, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, with Hunter the next choice. The next step involves meeting with the DeVos family, the owners of the team (Twitter links).

Dwight Howard Rumors: Friday

July 20th, 2012 at 6:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Last night, we heard from agent Dan Fegan that Dwight Howard would not be signing an in-season extension with any team that acquires him this year. This news comes as no surprise — even if Howard had been dealt to his preferred destination in Brooklyn, it would have been shocking if he'd immediately finalized a three-year extension, rather than waiting until next summer to ink a more lucrative five-year contract. And as many writers have pointed out, even a promise that he'd re-sign when he becomes a free agent is technically against NBA rules.

Regardless, if sounds like Howard is becoming more amenable to signing long-term with the Lakers, so it's hard not to consider L.A. the current frontrunner in the D12 sweepstakes. Here are today's Howard updates, with the latest news up top:

Amico elaborates on the difficulty the Magic have been presenting possible trade partners, saying they keep changing the terms of potential deals at the last minute. A source tells Amico that Nets GM Billy King thought he had finalized a trade with the Magic at one point earlier this summer before the Magic pulled back.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reiterates that it's the Magic, rather than Bynum's or Howard's representatives, that are complicating a potential deal (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

The three-team talks involving the Magic, Lakers, and Cavaliers are running into the same problems that plagued Orlando's talks with the Nets, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Magic aren't convinced that this is the best they can do for Howard, while the Cavs are reluctant to get too serious until they find out if Andrew Bynum would be open to committing long-term to Cleveland.
Berger hears from one source that Howard was convinced to waive his early termination option in March by Magic officials that said if things didn't work out for Dwight in Orlando, the team would trade him to Brooklyn. However, another source tells Berger that no such promise was made to the star center.
The Magic, Lakers, and Cavs are still "far" from finalizing any deal, but aren't deterred by comments made by Fegan or Bynum's agent David Lee, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link).
Kris Humphries said today that he was never approached about accepting a sign-and-trade to the Cavs, so the Magic/Nets talks didn't advance that far, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

Latest On Andrew Bynum

July 20th, 2012 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

As many Dwight Howard rumors as we've been subjected to over the last few months, it's been easy to overlook that many of those trade rumors also include another All-Star center, who will hit free agency himself at just age 25 next summer. Andrew Bynum's agent David Lee was asked yesterday by Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal specifically about whether his client was interested in the Cavs, but Lee spoke to a number of reporters in more general terms as well, including Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com and Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Here are the highlights from the two pieces:

The Lakers have yet to grant any team linked to Bynum, such as the Cavs, Magic or Rockets, permission to speak to Lee.
"I can't imagine any team foolish enough to do the deal without asking permission to speak to Andrew," Lee said. "That's beyond belief, but strange things happen." Based on Adrian Wojnarowski's report for Yahoo! Sports yesterday though, it sounds more like the Lakers are unwilling to let teams speak to Bynum without having agreed to a trade in principle.
Lee denied that Bynum has a preferred list of destinations.
ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (within Shelburne's piece) reports that Bynum is unlikely to sign an extension anywhere except maybe with the Lakers. Again, like the story on Howard last night, that's referring to an in-season extension, which would max out at three years and is unlikely for any star player.
Extension discussions between the Lakers and Lee have yet to begin, but the agent expects them to get underway soon of the Howard trade talks drag out much longer.
Also within Shelburne's piece, ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst adds that while the Cavs are interested in Bynum, the club has no choice but to view him as a one-year rental for now.
The constant trade rumors haven't soured Bynum on the Lakers at all, according to Lee: "He's never had a problem with the organization despite all the things he has gone through. I don't think I've ever heard him offer a negative comment about the (Lakers) organization."

Howard Willing To Commit Long-Term To Lakers

July 19th, 2012 at 10:10pm CST by Luke Adams

10:10pm: Howard's agent Dan Fegan refuted reports that his client would sign an extension with the Lakers if he is traded to them, writes Ric Bucher of ESPN.com. "Dwight's position has remained unchanged since the end of this past season," said Fegan. "He fully intends to explore free agency at the end of next season, regardless of what team trades for him, including Brooklyn."

Fegan's comment doesn't neccessarily contradict this morning's report as it stated that Howard would "commit long-term" rather than immediately ink an extension. An extension could only give Howard a three-year deal while waiting until free agency could give the big man a five-year pact.

7:56am: After indicating for months that the Brooklyn Nets were the only team he had long-term interest in, Dwight Howard has signaled that he'd be willing to re-up with the Lakers if he were traded to Los Angeles, according to Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com. ESPN.com's Chris Broussard and Ramona Shelburne confirm Rudolph's report, noting that, while the Lakers haven't yet been informed of any change in Howard's thinking, the team has "always figured" he'd come around on a long-term extension if he were dealt to the Lakers.

While the Lakers remain "dogged" in their pursuit of Howard, it appears to be the Magic that are holding up any deal, according to ESPN.com. Orlando is willing to trade D12, of course, but doesn't want to rush into making a trade it isn't 100% sure about. The Magic have discussed the possibility of acquiring Andrew Bynum themselves or re-routing Bynum to a third team such as Houston or Cleveland in exchange for draft picks and cap relief — if Bynum comes to Orlando, Broussard says the young center would want to test the free agent market next summer, which may give the Magic doubts about acquiring him.

In the past, reports have suggested that Howard was reluctant to join the Lakers in part because he didn't want to follow in Shaquille O'Neal's footsteps and in part because he was worried he might take a back seat on a team led by Kobe Bryant. However, according to Rudolph, Howard has moved past those concerns, and is confident he'd play an "integral role" with a team ready to compete for a title.

If Howard were to be dealt to the Lakers, he almost certainly wouldn't sign a new contract immediately. He could maximize his earnings by waiting until the end of the season and then signing a five-year, max-salary deal, like Deron Williams did with the Nets earlier this month. An in-season extension would only lock up him for a maximum of three more years.

Magic, Lakers, Cavs Making Progress In D12 Talks

July 19th, 2012 at 5:45pm CST by Luke Adams

6:45pm: The Cavaliers are eager partners in the trade talks but won’t proceed until the Lakers grant them permission to talk to Bynum and his agent about the center’s willingness to sign a contract extension, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Meanwhile, the Lakers want the deal agreed to in principle before letting Cleveland talk to Bynum and his representatives.

2:07pm: David Lee, the agent for Bynum, told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that he hasn't been approached by Cavs GM Chris Grant at all about a possible trade, adding, "I would imagine any team involved in this trade would be smart enough to talk to us" (Sulia link).

Asked if Bynum would be open to a long-term deal with the Cavs, Lee declined comment, but said he was baffled by a recent report that named Cleveland as a potential destination for his client in free agency: "I was taken aback by the list considering there is nobody in anybody’s camp he could’ve been talking to. I have no idea where that came about" (Sulia links).

11:03am: The Magic, Lakers, and Cavaliers have the "framework" in place for a trade that would send Dwight Howard to Los Angeles and Andrew Bynum to Cleveland, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter). While Amico hears that the three teams are moving closer to a deal, a Lakers official denies that anything is imminent (Twitter link). Amico clarifies that there is talk throughout the league that a trade is getting closer, but none of those rumblings seem to be coming from the Magic, Lakers, or Cavs camps (Twitter link).

Overnight reports suggested that Howard has become open to the idea of signing a long-term deal if he's traded to the Lakers, which removes one significant roadblock from the discussions. However, the Magic still don't appear to be in any rush to pull the trigger quite yet. I'd be a little surprised if they finalized a deal before the Rockets get resolution on Omer Asik and are able to make their final offer to Orlando.

The talks involving the Magic, Lakers, and Cavs would reportedly include the Lakers taking on Howard and a bad contract or two, the Cavs acquiring Bynum and perhaps another bad contract, and the Magic getting Anderson Varejao, draft picks, and cap relief.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hill, Rush, Warriors

July 18th, 2012 at 7:31pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the latest out of the Pacific Division..

The Lakers have stayed in contact with the Cavaliers in hopes of orchestrating a three-way deal with the Magic involving Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum, but little progress has been made and no deal is remotely close, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Right now, the Cavs don’t seem willing to part with any of their young players including Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller, and Kyrie Irving.
Jordan Hill‘s agent Kevin Bradbury says the T’Wolves are “right there” with Lakers but there probably won’t be a deal reached tonight because he’s flying home from Vegas, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
The lack of news on the Warriors re-signing Brandon Rush doesn’t mean that they won’t re-sign him, writes Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. GM Bob Myers is likely waiting for an over-the-cap club to extend him an offer sheet for the mid-level so that they can match.
Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) knows that Antawn Jamison is 36 and shot 40% last season but believes that he’ll help the Lakers’ reserves immensely. The forward agreed to terms with the club earlier today.

Dwight Howard Rumors: Wednesday

July 18th, 2012 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

A morning report yesterday suggested that the Lakers were "pushing hard" for Dwight Howard, but nothing seemed to come of it, as follow-up reports indicated that the two teams had been talking for weeks without making a ton of progress. With a few months before the season begins, the Magic don't seem to be in any hurry to move Howard, but the rumors keep trickling in. Here's Wednesday's latest:

The Cavaliers have inched back ahead of the Rockets as the potential facilitator for a Magic/Lakers deal, according to ESPN.com's Ric Bucher. Bucher says the Cavs are discussing a three-way trade that would see them land Andrew Bynum for a package that includes draft picks and Anderson Varejao. However, nothing is close.

Earlier updates:

The Lakers have no interest in taking on Hedo Turkoglu in a deal for Howard, but could be open to taking on Jason Richardson's contract, says Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
There was no face-to-face meeting between Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and Magic GM Rob Hennigan yesterday to discuss Howard, according to Ramona Shelburne and Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
While the Cavaliers and Rockets have been involved in trade talks as a potential third-team facilitator, the most substantial talks have been directly between the Lakers and Magic.
Although Howard will still not commit to signing an extension in Los Angeles, the team is willing to continue its pursuit of him without any assurances. It's not clear if the Magic feel the same way about Andrew Bynum, however.
The Lakers have been "resistant" to the idea of taking on any bad contracts from Orlando, especially since signing Steve Nash to an expensive three-year deal.
The latest round of Howard discussions "is starting to hamstring business around the league," and there's a belief that the Lakers or one of the other Howard suitors could pull out of talks at some point this week to focus on other moves, like the Nets did.
If the Lakers back off of Howard, they'd turn their attention to re-signing Jordan Hill and extending Bynum.

Odds & Ends: Gordon, Cavaliers, Vazquez

July 17th, 2012 at 6:51pm CST by Ryan Raroque

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..

Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago discusses why the Bulls' title window will shrink over the next two seasons.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer describes the progress that Byron Mullens appears to be making with the Bobcats based on his performances at the Las Vegas Summer League.
76ers head coach Doug Collins says he feels "very good" about what the team has accomplished during this offseason, writes John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com.