Kyle Korver

Latest On Billy Hunter, NBPA

Recently placed on indefinite leave, NBPA executive director Billy Hunter is prepared to actively pursue efforts to keep his job in the next coming days as the annual player's meeting is set to take place this weekend in Houston (Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today). Facing accusations of nepotism and questions about the approval of his contract, Hunter and his lawyers are prepared to refute the independent report conducted by the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, which says that he failed to properly put the interests of the Union above his personal interests. 

"There's no there there…This is an effort to make zero plus zero plus zero equal one," said Corey Worcestor, one of Hunter's lawyers who asserts that his client had done nothing wrong and acted in accordance with union bylaws. 

This article from NBA.com indicates that while Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison originally planned to release a supplement to their original report, the New York law firm will hold off for now being that the government is now conducting its own investigation. 

Zillgitt writes that the players will need a majority vote from the executive committee in order to fire Hunter, with or without cause. According to his contract, firing with cause would involve finding him guilty of "embezzlement, theft, larceny, material fraud or other acts of dishonesty." In this case, Hunter would be paid for the remainder of the year. Should he be fired without cause, Hunter would accrue all of what he is owed under his current contract, which isn't thought to be a consideration among the players union at this point. Zillgitt also adds the opinion of Geoffrey Rapp, a sports law expert and professor at the Toledo College of Law, who says that the players would likely only focus on the "acts of dishonesty" phrase being that Hunter hasn't been accused of committing embezzlement, theft, or larceny. 

According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, J.J. Redick, who serves as the Magic's acting representative to the Union, along with the rest of his teammates in Orlando believe that Hunter's time as executive director is up:"I think most everyone in the NBA has reached the same conclusion, and that’s that we need some change.”

Kyle Korver, who is the Hawks' representative, also weighed in: "I think one of the weaknesses so far at this point has been a lack of communication. I think a lot of us were taken by surprise by a lot of things that supposedly have been found."

While Hunter is expected to release a statement to defend himself, the New York law firm plans to present information directly to union membership this weekend in Houston. 

Broussard On Eric Gordon, Rockets, Pacers, Smith

Already today, we've passed along a few trade rumors from Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game and Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Now, it's Chris Broussard's turn, as the ESPN reporter has published a lengthy Insider-only piece on the latest rumblings from around the league. Here's what Broussard has for us:

  • The Hornets have made some calls to gauge Eric Gordon's trade value, but Broussard hears that there's less than a 10% chance he's moved within the next week. The Mavericks, Rockets, and the Warriors are among the clubs believed to have inquired on Gordon.
  • The Rockets still figure to make a run at Dwight Howard this summer, but Andrew Bynum and perhaps a trade for Gordon are the team's Plan Bs. Since Houston is saving its cap space for the summer, the club isn't expected to be too active at the trade deadline.
  • Indiana will likely keep Danny Granger through the deadline, but is willing to move Tyler Hansbrough, D.J. Augustin, or Gerald Green. The Pacers dangled Hansbrough and Augustin when talking to the Magic about J.J. Redick, but Orlando didn't have interest.
  • Three different general managers told Broussard on Wednesday that Danny Ferry and the Hawks have decided not to re-sign Josh Smith this summer and are trying hard to trade him this week. Rival executives don't expect Ferry to settle for the Nets' offer of Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks, however.
  • The Hawks have also discussed moving Kyle Korver and Anthony Morrow.
  • Teams have been calling the Suns, one of the league's most active clubs, about Marcin Gortat, Markieff Morris, and Jared Dudley. A deal with the Knicks involving Dudley and Iman Shumpert is "not happening," according to Broussard's sources.
  • As has been the case for many reporters over the last few weeks, Broussard has received mixed reports on whether the Jazz are more likely to trade Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson. The Trail Blazers are one team that likes Millsap, says Broussard.
  • A few executives that have spoken to Broussard have mentioned the possibility of the Clippers trying to trade DeAndre Jordan and Caron Butler to create the necessary cap space to make a play for Dwight Howard this summer. That one sounds awfully far-fetched to me though, considering the team would have to make additional moves to clear enough room, and would have to acquire only expiring contracts in return. Even then, there's no guarantee they could land Howard as a free agent.

Western Notes: Grizzlies, Baynes, Sloan, Lakers

A year ago, fans voted Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Andrew Bynum to be the Western Conference's starting lineup for the All-Star Game. This season, fan voting produced nearly the same result, with four of the same five guys returning as All-Star starters. The only difference? One Lakers center replaces another, as Dwight Howard, rather than Bynum, will start for the West.

Here are a few more notes from around the conference:

  • Zach Randolph and the Grizzlies are still adjusting to the new ownership group in Memphis, as Randolph tells Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: "It was definitely (former owner Michael) Heisley's plan to keep us all together and make a run for the championship. So when you come in with something different, of course, it kind of bothers you."
  • Australian big man Aron Baynes is on his way to San Antonio to take a physical and begin completing his paperwork with the Spurs, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com and Sportando. We heard earlier this month that the Spurs were working to sign Baynes.
  • The Hornets don't plan to sign Donald Sloan to another 10-day contract at this point, tweets Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Sloan's first 10-day deal expired Wednesday at midnight.
  • Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link) believes Kyle Korver makes sense as a trade target for the Lakers.

Odds & Ends: LeBron, Wall, Pacers, Rose

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Friday evening:

Eastern Notes: Rich Paul, Magic, Hibbert

You can find the miscellaneous links we've gathered up out of the Eastern Conference below: 

Greene On Lou Williams, Morrow, Korver

The sound bites we hear in the first week of NBA training camps often fall into the same few categories: Every player is in great shape, no one is worried about contract situations, and every team expects to be in the playoffs. It makes it all the more difficult to get an interesting quote, but Lang Greene of HoopsWorld managed to get a few out of some Hawks, which he rounded up in today's NBA AM piece. Here are the highlights:

  • Lou Williams admits that he was caught off guard when the Sixers decided they didn't want to bring him back: "Just to be honest, I was completely surprised. But I think they were in a position where they were trying to transition to a different style of basketball and that showed with them going with bigger guards and getting Andrew Bynum."
  • After playing his college ball at Georgia Tech, playing in Atlanta is something of a homecoming for Anthony Morrow, who says he'd like to remain with the Hawks past this season: "I would love to be here long term. It’s like home for me. I’m familiar with here. It would be great. I’m looking forward to it, when that day comes. So I just want to come out and focus on having a great season."
  • According to Kyle Korver, the Bulls' front office was upfront with him toward the end of last season about the fact that major personnel changes were coming in Chicago. Korver, along with most of the rest of the Bulls' "bench mob," including Omer Asik, C.J. Watson, John Lucas III, and Ronnie Brewer, are playing for other teams now, and Korver understands why: "It wasn’t anything about our play. It was strictly a business decision. They were way over the salary cap. Derrick [Rose]’s contract is a big one and it kicked in and you already have a lot of other guys locked in."

Nugent On Bulls’ Future

Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld has a new column discussing the Chicago Bulls' playoff hopes for the 2012/13 season, as they cope with the loss of Derrick Rose to a torn ACL:

  • Nugent believes the losses of Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, C.J. Watson, and Ronnie Brewer will weaken Chicago's bench, as Taj Gibson will be left as the sole remaining member of the unit that many believed was the best bench in the NBA last season.
  • Nugent considers Marco Belinelli to be a downgrade from Korver as the team's designated three-point specialist.
  • While Kirk Hinrich has proven a capable veteran presence, Nugent points out that injuries have been a concern with the Bulls' newly signed point guard.
  • Regardless, Nugent expects the Bulls to make the playoffs this season, even if much of their title contention hope rests with Rose's recovery timetable.

Hawks Acquire Kyle Korver

JULY 16: The Hawks have announced via a team press release that they have officially acquired Kyle Korver from the Bulls in exchange for cash. As noted on Twitter by ESPN.com's John Hollinger, the Bulls receive a $5MM trade exception in the deal, and the Timberwolves are no longer involved

JULY 13: The trade will also include the Timberwolves, according to Johnson (via Twitter). Korver will be absorbed into the Hawks' $5MM trade exception, and the Bulls will receive a second-round pick from Minnesota, says Johnson. It sounds as if one more detail is required here.

2:18pm: The Bulls have agreed to trade Kyle Korver to the Hawks, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). The deal is pending a physical, and could become a sign-and-trade involving Kirk Hinrich, according to Johnson.

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Nicolas Batum Signs Timberwolves’ Offer Sheet

SATURDAY 7:46pm: The Trail Blazers' unwillingness to work out a sign-and-trade with the Timberwolves may stem from the two teams' ongoing discussions to resolve a dispute involving a prior trade for Webster, reports Ric Bucher of ESPN.com

FRIDAY 6:15pm: After waiving Martell Webster and trading Brad Miller earlier today, the Timberwolves will not be able to submit their offer sheet to Nicolas Batum until Sunday, writes Jaynes.

THURSDAY 9:51pm: Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com writes that Minnesota added a 15% trade kicker to Batum's offer sheet in which a hefty 15% tax is imposed on the team that trades him during his new contract. This essentially makes it more difficult for Portland to match the deal, however, since the Timberwolves have not submitted the offer sheet to the league yet, there still remains the possibility of a sign-and-trade with the Trail Blazers. 

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Timberwolves Amnesty Darko Milicic

5:08pm: Count the Celtics, Nets and Clippers among the frontrunners to acquire Milicic, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). 

SATURDAY, 4:15pm: Milicic has cleared waivers and is now an unrestricted free agent, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports (Twitter link). 

THURSDAY, 11:55pm: The Timberwolves have officially waived Milicic and designated him as their amnestied player, the team announced (via Twitter). Teams with cap space can place bids on Darko, starting at a minimum of about $2.5MM, according to SI.com's Zach Lowe (via Twitter). If he goes unclaimed, he'll become an unrestricted free agent.

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