JULY 11TH: The Thunder have officially signed Thabeet, according to a team release.
JULY 4TH: The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to sign center Hasheem Thabeet to a two-year deal, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman, the contract is fully guaranteed for both seasons.
As the first day of free agency continues, reports continue to pour in on teams reaching out to certain players, perhaps to schedule meetings or make contract offers. We've rounded up plenty of those items already today, but we'll use this space to follow a few more updates, as they come in….
It's past midnight on the East Coast, and that means teams may negotiate with free agents from other clubs, as the NBA's offseason gets under way in earnest. Players can't officially sign contracts until July 11, and trades can't be made official until that date either. That doesn't mean there won't be plenty of talk and agreements in principle between now and then, and if this evening is any indication, we're in for a busy couple of weeks ahead. There are several bits of news rolling in on free agents as July begins, so we'll round up what we're hearing around the late-night rumor mill here.
Earlier updates:
It was a rough night for the Knicks in South Beach. First, the Heat went up 2-0 in their first round series with a 104-94 win behind 25 points from Dwyane Wade. Later, reporters were held out of the Knicks' locker room as Amare Stoudemire was being tended to for lacerations on his left hand. It appears that the big man took his frustrations out on a fire extinguisher and his status for Game 3 could be in jeopardy. Here's more from around the league..
With the Trail Blazers assuming the look of a franchise trying to turn the page and overhaul almost every key piece, CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes attended the team's final practice today and asked seven of the team's free agents—Nicolas Batum, Raymond Felton, Joel Przybilla, Jamal Crawford, J.J. Hickson, Hasheem Thabeet, and Jonny Flynn—if they expected to be back with the team next season. Their answers were both varied and interesting. Here's what they said.
Batum, a restricted free agent, said he would see whether or not the team is willing to match any offers he gets. If they don't he'll probably leave. Hickson called his relationship with the Trail Blazers a "win-win" situation; he'd prefer to stay. Thabeet said he'd love to stay in Portland. Flynn says anything could happen, but that he appreciates the opportunity the Trail Blazers organization gave him to see the court.
Przybilla says he'll probably have minor surgery on his left foot once the season ends, but that he'd like to come back next year and thinks he'd be more effective in a regular 82 game campaign. Felton and Crawford, two players who had disappointing first years with the team, both gave uncommitted answers as to whether or not they pictured themselves back next season. Crawford's contract has a player option for next season, but it's believed he will opt out of it.
In his first game since becoming a member of the Warriors, Richard Jefferson had a tough go, making just two of 14 shots and scoring nine points in just under 38 minutes of play. On Thursday, the Spurs dealt Jefferson for veteran swingman Stephen Jackson. Due to the approximate $30 million due his way over the next three years (including an $11 million player option in 2013-14 which he's likely to exercise), the Warriors were questioned for making the deal.
Here are a few other notes from around the league.
ESPN.com's John Hollinger has posted grades for every trade that took place today. The post is only available to ESPN Insider subscribers, but here are the highlights:
Here's the complete list of trades that took place this week leading up to the trade deadline earlier today:
The Rockets have acquired Marcus Camby from the Trail Blazers, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Blazers will receive Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, and a second-round pick (originally the Timberwolves') in exchange for Camby (Twitter links).
Camby is in the final year of his contract, with a cap figure that exceeds $11MM+. Flynn and Thabeet are also on expiring deals, totaling a little over $8.5MM. So Houston should receive about $2.5MM in summer savings, along with a player who should see more consistent minutes.
According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports (via Twitter), the Rockets had been pursuing Camby for a while. Berger says if Camby was to be traded, Houston was his preferred destination.
In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler reported that Dwight Howard is highly unlikely to change his mind again, but that the Magic seem to have a deal they'd do with the Nets if Howard waffles once more. You can follow all of today's Howard updates here, and check out the rest of Kyler's morning notes below: