Louis Amundson

Louis Amundson Met With Lakers, Clippers

At the start of the week, we heard that free agent big man Louis Amundson was hopeful of landing a new contract soon. Since then, at least two more potential suitors have emerged. Amundson visited with the Lakers and Clippers this week, and his meetings with both teams were positive, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com.

"They were good meetings," Bartelstein said. "I wouldn’t quite use the word frontrunner right now, but there’s interest, and hopefully we can get something done soon."

Both Los Angeles clubs could use some frontcourt depth. The Clippers have recently been linked to Lamar Odom and Antawn Jamison, so it's not clear if Amundson would be an alternative to those guys, or if the Clips would try to sign more than one of them. The team still has a pair of roster spots open. As for the Lakers, they signed Chris Kaman last month, but only have Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill, and Robert Sacre as additional frontcourt pieces, so they'll almost certainly add at least one or two more bigs before camp gets underway.

Amundson, 30, averaged 1.9 PPG and 2.7 RPG in 39 total games with the Timberwolves, Bulls, and Pelicans last season. For his career, he has averages of 3.7 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 327 career contests (12.8 MPG).

Lou Amundson Hopeful That He’ll Sign Soon

At this stage of the offseason, Lou Amundson finds himself among the top remaining players on the open market.  Now, after meeting with two NBA teams last week, the forward is hopeful that he'll reach a decision on his next club, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM.

Amundson has drawn interest from several teams seeking frontcourt depth, including the Knicks.  The Heat, Kings, Mavericks, Hawks, and Pacers have also been linked to the 6'9" forward at one point or another.

The 30-year-old averaged 1.9 PPG and 2.7 RPG with the Pelicans (née Hornets), Bulls, and Timberwolves last season.  Amundson, who went undrafted in 2006, has played seven seasons in the NBA with career averages of 3.7 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 12.8 minutes per contest.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Amundson, Sanders, Heat

Let's round up a few Friday morning items from around the Eastern Conference….

  • The Knicks are one of a handful of teams that have interest in Louis Amundson, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Zwerling adds that Amundson is hoping to make his free agent decision next week.
  • When the Knicks conducted a workout featuring five free agents on Wednesday, the identity of the fifth player, a Lithuanian big man, wasn't immediately clear. Today, Zwerling identifies the player as Ovidijus Galdikas (Twitter link).
  • According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter), Larry Sanders, who is reportedly nearing an extension with the Bucks, recently changed agents, switching from Andy Miller to Dan Fegan. Earlier in his career, Sanders was represented by Happy Walters, who now works with Fegan at Relativity Sports.
  • Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld hears that unrestricted free agent Stephen Jackson has talked to the Heat (Twitter link).
  • Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reiterates that the Heat will sign at least one more veteran before camp, though he's not sure if it'll be another minimum-salary deal, or if the team will use some or all of its mini mid-level exception.

Several Teams Interested In Lou Amundson

There are a number of teams anxiously awaiting Greg Oden's free agent decision today and  many of those clubs all seem to have a common Plan B.  Some of the same teams that are pursuing the former No. 1 overall pick are also showing interest in free agent  Louis Amundson, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

The Heat, Kings, and Mavericks, who are all finalists for Oden, have registered some level of interest in the well-traveled 30-year-old (link).  The Hawks, Knicks, and Pacers are also looking into Amundson.

The UNLV product averaged 1.9 PPG in 9.5 minutes per contest for three teams last season.  In seven career NBA seasons with eight diffeent clubs, Amundson has career averages of 3.7 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 12.8 minutes per contest.

Southwest Notes: Amundson, Mavs, Leuer

Here's a look at the Southwest Division..

  • Former Pelicans forward Louis Amundson is talking to several teams, but he doesn't have an offer yet, a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).  Amundson had his rights renounced by New Orleans earlier this month.  The UNLV product averaged 1.9 PPG in 9.5 minutes per contest for three teams last season.
  • Mark Cuban's hiring of Gersson Rosas as the team's next GM is more than a change in the Mavericks' organization, it's an experiment in the world of bio-analytics, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com.  
  • ShamSports has the exact year-by-year breakdown on Jon Leuer's contract with the Grizzlies.  The big man will make $900K in year one, $968K in 2014/15, and $1.035MM (non-guaranteed) in the final season.

Renounced Players: Wednesday

As teams clear cap space to finalize signings and trades, it may mean renouncing Early Bird or Bird rights to their own free agents, in order to remove cap holds from the books. Once a player is renounced, his previous team has no more claim to him that any other team — he could still be re-signed, but it would have to be done using cap space or an exception. Some of those decisions are more notable than others, but for completion's sake, we'll track the latest of these cap-clearing moves right here:

Earlier updates:

 

Hornets Notes: Williams, Forwards, Free Agents

Sitting at 26-48, the Hornets head to Golden State tomorrow night to take on the Warriors.  With only eight games remaining, it sounds like the team will have some decisions to make in the offseason.  Let's round up all things New Orleans here on this Tuesday night:

  • Hornets coach Monty Williams does not foresee the Hornets (soon to be the Pelicans) having any problems attracting top talent this offseason, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune.  Along with the name change, the New Orleans franchise has a 55,000 square foot practice facility in the works as well as ample cap space to make a splash.  Williams says that multiple free-agents-to-be have suggested to him during games that they'd love to play for him in New Orleans. 
  • Williams addressed the idea of changes to the team's roster over the summer, notes Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com (Twitter link). "That’s just the nature of it. When you have a record like we have, you’re not going to settle for this production," Williams said.
  • Williams expressed his displeasure with the team's small forwards earlier this season, and Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune echoes that sentiment, imploring the team to prioritize an upgrade at the three this summer.  As it stands now, the Hornets use Al-Farouq Aminu, Darius Miller and Lance Thomas at that spot, who barely combine for 12 points per night. 
  • The Hornets could have as many as eight players become free agents when the season ends in two weeks, including the entire small forward trio mentioned above, Reid writes.  Aminu will become a free agent, along with Xavier Henry, Roger Mason and Louis Amundson.  The Hornets must decide whether to extend team options to Miller, Thomas and backup point guard Brian Roberts.  Per Reid, this has resulted in an environment where the current players are desperate to make an impression. While Reid doesn't mention him, Terrel Harris has a non-guaranteed deal next season and could also become a free agent. 

Hornets Sign Louis Amundson, Waive Henry Sims

TUESDAY, 10:03am: The Hornets have officially signed Amundson for the remainder of the season, the team announced in a press release. Sims has been released to clear a roster spot, according to the club.

MONDAY, 3:26pm: Louis Amundson's brief stint with the Bulls will come to an end tonight, as the big man tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Twitter link) that he'll sign with the Hornets once his 10-day contract with the Bulls expires. Amundson's new deal with New Orleans will be for the rest of the season, adds Tomasson (via Twitter).

Amundson, 30, played just two minutes for Chicago, appearing in only one of the five games the team played during his 10 days with the club. He expects to receive more minutes with the Hornets, as he tells Tomasson (Sulia link).

"Chicago was prepared to sign me to another 10-day," Amundson said in a text message. "But I felt I should go somewhere where I can get a better opportunity to play."

In 20 games with the Timberwolves earlier this season, Amundson averaged just 8.1 minutes per contest, his lowest mark since 2007/08. His 6.4 PER and .368 FG% were also career-lows. The Wolves cut him last month when they signed Chris Johnson and Mickael Gelabale to rest-of-season deals.

The Hornets currently have a full roster of 15 players, though two of those guys are on 10-day deals. Henry Sims' 10-day contract expires tomorrow night, so I would guess that New Orleans will wait until Wednesday to sign Amundson, ensuring that the team doesn't have to release a player on a guaranteed contract.

Bulls Sign Louis Amundson

SATURDAY, 1:01pm: The Bulls have made Amundson's signing official, announcing it in a press release.

FRIDAY, 2:19pm: Amundson turned down a rest-of-season offer from another team because he had already committed to the Bulls' 10-day offer, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). It's not clear which club made Amundson the offer.

11:48am: The Bulls will sign Louis Amundson to a 10-day contract, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (via Twitter). Amundson was said to be drawing interest from at least four Eastern Conference teams, with ESPN.com's Marc Stein reporting that Chicago was the frontrunner.

The Knicks, Heat, and Celtics also had interest in Amundson. However, the Knicks would have needed to release a player or give up on Kenyon Martin to make room for the big man. The Heat, meanwhile, liked Amundson, but felt he duplicated a lot of the skills Chris Andersen brings to the table, according to Tomasson (Twitter link). As for the Celtics, they filled their final roster spot earlier today by signing Shavlik Randolph.

In 20 games with the Timberwolves earlier this season, Amundson averaged just 8.1 minutes per contest, his lowest mark since 2007/08. His 6.4 PER and .368 FG% were also career-lows. The Wolves cut him last month when they signed Chris Johnson and Mickael Gelabale to rest-of-season deals.

If Amundson does well in Chicago on his first 10-day contract, the Bulls have room under their hard cap to eventually sign him for the remainder of the season. The 30-year-old is expected to finalize the deal with the Bulls tomorrow, according to Tomasson.

Wolves Rumors: Ridnour, Barea, Butler, Bjelica

The trade deadline may be behind us, but that doesn't mean Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities won't continue checking in with his weekly Scoops column on Fridays. Wolfson still has a handful of Timberwolves-related notes to pass along, so let's check them out….

  • Louis Amundson told FOX Sports Florida that the Timberwolves nearly traded him and Luke Ridnour to the 76ers for Spencer Hawes, but a source close to one of those players tells Wolfson that's "not true." Still, as Wolfson has previously reported, the Sixers did talk to Minnesota about Ridnour and J.J. Barea.
  • Given how heavily the T-Wolves shopped Ridnour and Barea prior to the deadline, one of them will be moved this summer, says Wolfson.
  • One source tells Wolfson to expect the Wolves to pursue a trade for Caron Butler in the summer. Butler, who will be entering the final year of his contract next year, was nearly sent to the Wizards on deadline day.
  • Nemanja Bjelica, the 35th overall pick in the 2010 draft, is likely to come over to the NBA next season, a source tells Wolfson. Bjelica, whose rights the Wolves hold, signed a five-year contract with Spanish club Caja Laboral in 2010, but the deal included an NBA opt-out.