Greg Oden Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Wolves, Gomes, Mavs, Clark

July 23rd, 2013 at 11:49am CST by Luke Adams

Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote earlier today that there's about a "99.9999%" chance that the Timberwolves work out a deal to bring back Nikola Pekovic. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune also suggests that it's just a matter of time, tweeting that he thinks a deal will be completed next week. Whether or not the Wolves re-sign Pekovic, and it seems like a lock that they will, don't expect the team to have any interest in Greg Oden, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). According to Wolfson, David Kahn had interest in Oden, but Flip Saunders is passing on the former first overall pick.

Here are a few more items from out of the Western Conference:

Ryan Gomes, who says he hopes to be a coach one day, has worked out for the Thunder and Spurs as he weighs his options for the upcoming season, he tells Nick Greene of the Hartford Courant.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban appeared on KESN-FM in Dallas to follow up on his comments about the team potentially being better off without Dwight Howard, and the Dallas Morning News has the details.
Undrafted free agent guard Ian Clark put up 33 points in the Warriors' championship win at the Las Vegas Summer League, and is drawing interest from NBA teams, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. Zillgitt names the Warriors, Trail Blazers, and Jazz as clubs eyeing Clark.
A strong Summer League performance also has NBA teams eyeing Dionte Christmas, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. The Suns are among the clubs with interest.

Free Agent Rumors: Miller, Oden, Camby, Blair

July 22nd, 2013 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent rumors and rumblings have slowed down since the start of July, as most of the bigger names have come off the board. Still, even though not a ton of teams have significant cap space or exception money remaining, plenty of intriguing players remain on the market. We're entering the point in the summer where teams are hunting for bargains and value signings, so here's the latest on a few players who could fit that bill:

Mike Miller is meeting face-to-face for a second time with both the Thunder and Grizzlies, who appear to be the two favorites for him, says Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Rockets and Nuggets aren't out of the running yet, but Miller's choice will likely come down to OKC or Memphis (Twitter links).
The Heat, Pelicans, and Kings will observe Greg Oden in person as he works out this week, according to Stein and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, though Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports says (via Twitter) it'll just be the Pelicans and Kings. The Spurs and Mavericks are still in the hunt as well, with Miami and San Antonio still viewed as the frontrunners for the former first overall pick.
Marcus Camby is expected to make a decision on his next team within the next week, with the Rockets, Bulls, and Heat among the finalists, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
According to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, DeJuan Blair's asking price is in the $3MM range, Lamar Odom is only interested in playing for a Los Angeles team, and Josh Akognon is drawing heavy interest from Chinese teams.
Zwerling adds (via Twitter) that the Knicks have some interest in Ivan Johnson, but the big man is still seeking a mini mid-level deal.
Prior to reaching an agreement with the Nuggets, Nate Robinson received serious interest from the Wizards, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). Washington had already used its mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, so making a competitive offer would have been tricky.
Free agent point guard Delonte West spoke to Tzvi Twersky of SlamOnline.com about his desire to return to an NBA roster.

Odds & Ends: Mavs, Brown, Telfair

July 20th, 2013 at 5:32pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Amin Elhassan of ESPN (hat tip to SportsDayDFW) spoke about the Mavericks' signing of Samuel Dalembert, calling him a player who will be well-suited for a role as an impact player on the defensive end. Elhassan also doesn't think that bringing Dalembert on board will impact the team's pursuit of Greg Oden, who could be "the steal of the century" if healthy. Here are some more news and notes from around the Association this evening:

Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown addresses his relationship with LeBron James and his stint as coach of the Lakers in part one of an interview with Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
The Knicks, Heat, and Thunder have shown interest in Sebastian Telfair, HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy tweets.
Kennedy, as part of his NBA PM piece, passes along comments from Chris Douglas-Roberts, who's confident that the Lakers will bring him to training camp for a second straight year.
Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York tweets that contrary to reports, the Bulls, Clippers, and Rockets are all front runners for Marcus Camby, and that the 39-year-old center is still weighing opportunities. It isn't clear as to what reports Zwerling is alluding to, as his list of frontrunners hasn't appeared to change much from this past week (with the exception of the Heat).
The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer touches on LeBron James and Andrew Bynum and a broad spectrum of Cavs-related topics in her mailbag column.
Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets that former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway Sr. networked with several teams in Las Vegas about potentially joining an NBA coaching staff and is optimistic about his chances.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southwest Rumors: Oden, Pelicans, Mavs, Miller

July 19th, 2013 at 8:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs made a valiant run in the NBA Finals, and the Rockets made the most impressive splash of the summer when they signed Dwight Howard. The other three teams in the Southwest Division have a lot of catching up to do, and there's news tonight on each of them:

The Pelicans have been expected to make an offer to Greg Oden, but they haven't done so yet, according to John Reid of the The Times Picayune, who hears that the team will meet with the former No. 1 overall pick next week in Indianapolis. The Pelicans are willing to offer a one-year deal with incentives that could lift the value to $3MM, Reid hears, which jibes with a similar report earlier this week from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Dallas announced the signing of Samuel Dalembert tonight, but as expected, the Mavs are still in the market for Oden, tweets Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The Grizzlies have reached out to Mike Miller in an attempt to meet with the free agent sharpshooter, report Ron Higgins and Marlon W. Morgan of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The Thunder appear to be in the lead for Miller.
Austin Daye became an unrestricted free agent when the Grizzlies declined to make him a qualifying offer last month, and he tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that he's been in talks with several teams. Daye says he hasn't worked out for any teams, but Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reported yesterday that he'd worked out for the Knicks.

Kyler’s Latest: Bucks, Magic, Knicks, LeBron

July 18th, 2013 at 9:58am CST by Luke Adams

When I asked Hoops Rumors readers yesterday what Brandon Jennings' future holds, about half of you predicted a return to Milwaukee, either on a one-year contract or on a longer-term deal. And according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, the Bucks have indeed shifted their focus back to retaining Jennings, after their pursuit of Jeff Teague fell short. Here's more from Kyler on the Bucks and a few other situations:

While the Bucks' three-year, $15MM contract with Zaza Pachulia was viewed as an overpay, sources tell Kyler that Pachulia had received two-year offers worth about the same amount annually, making that third year necessary for Milwaukee to get a deal done.
The Magic haven't been very involved in free agency this summer, but they continue to work the phones on possible deals. According to Kyler, the team is hoping to reach a buyout agreement with Al Harrington that would reduce his guaranteed salary for the 2014/15 season.
We've already heard that the Pelicans are preparing an offer in the $3MM range for Greg Oden. Kyler reports that the offer may be worth $3MM+ annually for two years, adding that Oden's camp is looking for a "safe" spot for the former first overall pick to continue his career. An organization with patience and the right kind of expectations is Oden's preference.
Although the Knicks will continue to be active in looking to add talent this year and next, the team will be careful about taking on any salary beyond next season, says Kyler. With Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, and Andrea Bargnani set to come off the books by the summer of 2015, the Knicks barely have any salary on their books beyond that.
It's been widely assumed that LeBron James will opt out of his contract next summer in search of a new long-term deal, but Kyler says that's not a lock. LeBron will also have the chance to opt out in the summer of 2015, and the continued health and production of Dwyane Wade figures to play a significant part in the MVP's decision.

Mavs Reach New Agreement With Devin Harris?

July 17th, 2013 at 9:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban indicated that the team has a new deal with point guard Devin Harris, whose initial three-year, $9MM agreement with the team was scrubbed when he suffered a toe injury.

"He's coming back. We just restructured the deal,'' Cuban said, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).

A new deal between Dallas and the Excel Sports Management Client would come as no surprise, since the team still had interest in bringing him aboard even as the two sides mutually agreed to call off the initial arrangement. The financial terms of the latest agreement are unclear, but I'd imagine he'll take a paycut of some kind. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors speculated this week that Harris could be in line for a two-year minimum salary contract with a player option for the second season.

The Mavs have a lot of balls in the air with regard to free agency at the moment, having struck a deal with Samuel Dalembert earlier this evening. The team is expected to reach agreement with Brandan Wright soon, and Dallas continues to eye Greg Oden. Cuban confirmed the team is still in the market for the No. 1 overall pick, but the owner says his team and Oden's representatives haven't engaged in contract talks, Price notes (on Twitter).

Dallas also has a decision to make regarding Bernard James, whose contract for this season was supposed to have become fully guaranteed if he wasn't waived on or before this past Monday. James and the team agreed to put off that deadline.

Mavs Close To Deal With Samuel Dalembert

July 17th, 2013 at 5:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs have made Samuel Dalembert a target for the past couple of weeks, and now it appears they're nearing an agreement with the veteran center, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Dallas is one of several teams looking at Greg Oden, but Stein adds that the Mavs feel compelled to add Dalembert after missing out on Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum (Twitter link).

Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning news wrote over the weekend that Dallas and the Pinnacle Management client were "inching toward" a deal, so it looks like they're finally approaching the end of that process. Stein identified Dalembert as the Mavs' prime target a week ago.

As for Oden, the Mavs are aware they can be outbid, but they've met face-to-face with the Mike Conley Sr. client and continue to try to sell him on the idea of making his comeback in Dallas, Stein tweets. The Mavs would like to sign both Dalembert and Oden, and with the prospect of a crowded frontcourt, the team convinced Bernard James to postpone the date when his contract for this season goes from non-guaranteed from fully guaranteed, as Stein also reports via Twitter. That date was originally this past Monday, but James' salary remains non-guaranteed. Dallas wants to let its pursuit of the other big men play out before committing to James, though the team is still high on him, according to Stein (Twitter link).

The team is also likely to re-sign Brandan Wright, one of its own free agents. None of the big men the Mavs appear to be going after have the cachet of Howard or even the oft-injured Bynum, so it's odd to see them place such a priority on Dalembert, who played only a bit part with Milwaukee this past season. Dalembert would seem to be a lateral move, at best, from Chris Kaman and Elton Brand, who've signed with other teams after spending 2012/13 with the Mavs.

Odds & Ends: Oden, Henderson, Rockets, Raptors

July 17th, 2013 at 4:57pm CST by Luke Adams

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

Although we'd previously heard that the Pelicans hoped to meet with Greg Oden this week, it now appears they'll do so next week, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link) is hearing that Gerald Henderson is seeking something in the neighborhood of O.J. Mayo money ($8MM annually).
The Rockets have some interest in the recently-released Mike Miller and Marcus Camby, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Having amnestied Linas Kleiza and bought out Camby, the Raptors will likely use the rest of their mid-level exception ($2.15MM) to bring in another player, but will probably save their bi-annual exception for next year, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter).
Pistons GM Joe Dumars recently denied a pair of trade rumors involving his club, but says the door will "continually stay open" on talks that could help improve the roster (link via Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News).
Grantland's Zach Lowe spoke to new Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek about taking over a lottery team, playing two point guards at the same time, and how Michael Beasley can save his career.

Eastern Notes: Curry, Henderson, Oden, Joseph

July 16th, 2013 at 8:16pm CST by Luke Adams

We've already had two amnesty provisions in the East announced tonight in Linas Kleiza and Drew Gooden. Let's round up the rest of the Eastern Conference news here on Tuesday night:

The latest on the Sixers coaching search indicates that the team is no rush to make a decision, but that doesn't bother in-house candidate Michael Curry, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curry, who conducted the team's pre-draft workouts and coached the Sixers summer league team, is expected to be interviewed and was told from the start by general manager Sam Hinkie that the coaching search would be a long process.
The Bobcats and restricted free agent Gerald Henderson are having ongoing contract discussions about a return to Charlotte, but are still not close financially, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Just last week, we heard that the Bobcats and Henderson had reached a stalemate. It doesn't look like things have changed much, but the report that the sides are still communicating is good news for Bobcats fans.
With the Heat now rumored to be the unofficial frontrunner to land Greg Oden, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders what type of message it would send if the team used the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth about $3.2MM, on the injury-prone Oden only days after re-signing Chris Andersen, who contributed to their second straight title run, for about half the price. Winderman also speculates that the Heat could try to move Joel Anthony in a cost-cutting move that would easier allow them to ink Oden (Twitter links).
Kris Joseph, waived yesterday by the Celtics, will likely look to latch on with an NBA team in a training camp this fall. The Nets, with whom Joseph finished last season, are said to have interest in the forward, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, but are prohibited from signing him for a year after shipping him north in the deal to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

Eastern Notes: Curry, Henderson, Oden, Joseph

July 16th, 2013 at 8:16pm CST by Luke Adams

We've already had two amnesty provisions in the East announced tonight in Linas Kleiza and Drew Gooden. Let's round up the rest of the Eastern Conference news here on Tuesday night:

The latest on the Sixers coaching search indicates that the team is no rush to make a decision, but that doesn't bother in-house candidate Michael Curry, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curry, who conducted the team's pre-draft workouts and coached the Sixers summer league team, is expected to be interviewed and was told from the start by general manager Sam Hinkie that the coaching search would be a long process.
The Bobcats and restricted free agent Gerald Henderson are having ongoing contract discussions about a return to Charlotte, but are still not close financially, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Just last week, we heard that the Bobcats and Henderson had reached a stalemate. It doesn't look like things have changed much, but the report that the sides are still communicating is good news for Bobcats fans.
With the Heat now rumored to be the unofficial frontrunner to land Greg Oden, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders what type of message it would send if the team used the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth about $3.2MM, on the injury-prone Oden only days after re-signing Chris Andersen, who contributed to their second straight title run, for about half the price. Winderman also speculates that the Heat could try to move Joel Anthony in a cost-cutting move that would easier allow them to ink Oden (Twitter links).
Kris Joseph, waived yesterday by the Celtics, will likely look to latch on with an NBA team in a training camp this fall. The Nets, with whom Joseph finished last season, are said to have interest in the forward, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, but are prohibited from signing him for a year after shipping him north in the deal to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.