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Odds & Ends: Tolliver, Rubio, Knicks

September 13th, 2012 at 10:40pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Anthony Tolliver has been working out with several Timberwolves players, namely Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger (Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter) looks at it as a sign that Tolliver "badly" wants to remain in Minnesota next year. In another tweet, Zgoda caught Nikola Pekovic's thoughts regarding Ricky Rubio, saying that while the Spanish point guard looks good and hopes to be running again next week, he is still aiming for a return in December. We've had quite a bit of updates tonight, so be sure to check out the newest tidbits from around the league here..

Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets that Trail Blazers guard Elliot Williams is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday to repair a ruptured achilles tendon.
Justin Verrier of ESPN talks about Chris Bosh's willingness to continue playing center after contributing to a successful title run at that position with the Heat.
Free agent Maurice Evans remains confident in the leadership ability he can bring to a team, says Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Although a source suggested that the Wizards offered him a position in their front office, Evans says that he believes he still has value as a player.
ESPN's Chris Broussard writes that Hakeem Olajuwon is slated to visit with the Knicks for several days next week to continue working out with Amare Stoudemire in addition to helping Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Marcus Camby. On another matter, Tracy McGrady's health looked "good" during his workout with the team (Ian Begley of ESPN New York tweets).
According to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, Dwight Howard's rehab is going well, although he won't be ready for the start of training camp or the start of pre-season. Earlier, Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register reported (via Twitter) that the Lakers were expected to make an announcement today regarding an update of Howard's recovery from back surgery.

Timberwolves guard Brandon Roy says that he hasn't been experiencing any setbacks as he starts increasing the intensity of his workouts before training camp (NBA.com via the Associated Press). His teammate, Nikola Pekovic is said to have lost "seven or eight pounds" and is recovering well after undergoing a procedure in May to remove bone spurs in his ankle, writes Ray Richardson of TwinCities.com.
Jason Friedman of Rockets.com tweets that Jon Brockman suffered a right eye injury on Monday, according to an announcement by the Rockets today. While surgery is not required, there is currently no timetable for his return.
Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York (via Twitter) says that although Tracy McGrady's name has been linked to the Knicks, New York is still focused on adding a big man. He also mentions that Kenyon Martin, Louis Amundson, D.J. White, and Chris Andersen still remain unsigned.
Among the names that mostly appeared to be relevant during Brooklyn's pursuit of Dwight Howard was MarShon Brooks, who made a splash as a rookie on the Nets last season. Now ready to begin his sophomore campaign in Brooklyn, the 6'5'' guard out of Providence opened up about his experience in dealing with trade rumors as well as how he plans to adapt his scoring mentality in a rotation full of scorers (Roderick Boone of Newsday reports).
According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, many people within NBA circles believe that the Heat's big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh will eventually part ways after the 2014 season, listing Wade's age, injury history, and with free agency looming for LeBron that summer as some significant factors (Sulia link).
Julie Copeland of the Santa Cruz Sentinel says that the Santa Cruz City Council has unanimously approved building permits for the Warriors facility, and that a funding vote is pending (Twitter link).
Jim Paschke of Bucks.com tweets that Scott Williams has accepted an assistant coaching position with the Idaho Stampede of the NBDL.

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Agent Says Knicks Eyeing Shooting Guards

July 20th, 2012 at 7:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reports the Knicks have interest in unrestricted free agents Sonny Weems and Maurice Evans, according to Roger Montgomery, the agent for both players. The Knicks are seeking depth at shooting guard with Iman Shumpert out until January and J.R. Smith the only rotation-caliber two-guard on the roster, but have only the veteran's minimum at their disposal, as Zwerling points out.

The Knicks could also be a candidate for Randy Foye if the Clippers consent to a sign-and-trade, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, also identifying the Suns, Bucks and Bulls as Foye suitors (Twitter link). Foye spent most of last season in the starting lineup for the Clippers, averaging 11.0 points, 2.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds with a 13.5 PER.

The 26-year-old Weems spent last season playing overseas after averaging 9.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Raptors in 2010/11. Toronto withdrew its qualifying offer to Weems last week, making him an unrestricted free agent. Evans, who'll be 34 when the season starts, spent last season with the Wizards, putting up 4.9 PPG, 1.0 RPG and 0.4 APG in just 14.3 minutes a night.

Evans seems the more likely bet to settle for the minimum salary, as Zwerling notes. A twist to the story is that Montgomery is also the agent for Jeremy Lin, whose offer sheet the Knicks declined to match this week.

Free Agent Rumors: Nets, Pacers, Green

July 11th, 2012 at 9:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The July moratorium came to an end late last night, and a number of teams didn't waste any time in finalizing moves. The Lakers' acquisition of Steve Nash was the first transaction to become official, followed closely by the Knicks' signing of J.R. Smith, Deron Williams' contract with the Nets, and Blake Griffin's five-year extension with the Clippers. We're expecting more deals to be formally announced today, but there are plenty of free agents still on the market too. We'll be tracking the latest news on those guys right here, with the newest items added to the top of the page throughout the day….

The Nets are considering Kenyon Martin and Craig Smith and discussing a sign-and-trade for Antawn Jamison, clouding Kris Humphries' future with the team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
The Pacers are targeting unrestricted free agent Gerald Green as their wing player off the bench, and are expected to offer him a three-year, $10MM contract, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star. O.J. Mayo and Courtney Lee are out the team's price range at the moment (All Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

Kennedy On Heat, Nash, Kaman, Roy, Lewis

June 23rd, 2012 at 10:18am CST by Zachary Links

Even though the Heat captured the 2012 NBA championship on Thursday night, their roster may look very different entering next season, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. The team’s core obviously stay, but they’ll have to re-sign or replace a number of players who were key during their title run. Here's Kennedy on what's next for Miami and more..

Southeast Notes: Hennigan, Heat, Wizards, Bobcats

June 21st, 2012 at 9:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic formally introduced new GM Rob Hennigan today, and the former Thunder assistant GM received a thorough vetting from the central Florida media. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel writes about Hennigan's analytical, "Moneyball" approach and wonders whom he'll hire to coach the team. Fellow Orlando Sentinel writer Mike Bianchi says the 30-year-old Hennigan could age quickly, given the drama surrounding Dwight Howard. John Denton of Magic.com looks at the path Hennigan took to get to his new position, and the tasks that lay ahead. Clearly, Hennigan will be judged first on what he does with Howard, whether that means keeping him or turning him into assets or cap space that can help the team in the future. There's plenty of news concerning Hennigan's opponents in the Southeast Division as well.

Latest On Discord In Players Union

April 21st, 2012 at 4:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:15pm: Evans says Fisher did not participate in a conference call the committee set up to give Fisher and Hunter a chance to share their sides of the story following the audit request, according to Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Evans is upset the union's business has gone public, and says that Fisher has not been absent from many union activities of late.

4:03pm: Derek Fisher remains committed to staying as president of the National Basketball Players Association, even as the NBPA executive committee has voted 8-0 to ask for his resignation. Still, Fisher's opponents seem to have a replacement already lined up, as Maurice Evans tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that he believes fellow committee member Chris Paul will be the next president.

“He played an intricate role during the lockout and throughout the negotiations," Evans said of Paul. "He has the confidence of a lot of guys on the board and around the NBA. Going forward, we believe that he would do a great job. That has yet to be determined or voted on and we’ll address those matters down the road. For now, we’ll continue to support every member of the executive committee and value every member’s opinions.”

It's unclear what must happen for Fisher to be removed from his post. SI.com's Sam Amick says union bylaws are unclear on whether Fisher can be forced out if he refuses to go. Kennedy writes that Fisher may reconsider if the 30 team representatives join the executive committee in calling for him to resign, but as we heard yesterday, not all the player reps oppose Fisher.

The controversy was stirred earlier in the week when Fisher called for an audit of the union's finances. According to Evans, Fisher alleged that executive director Billy Hunter engaged in misappropriation of funds, poorly handled decisions during the lockout, and allowed nepotism take hold in the union office. Three members of Hunter's family work in some capacity for the union, while a fourth was used as outside counsel during the lockout, Amick reports.

A routine financial audit in February found no issues, Kennedy writes, and Evans rejects the notion that the committee is standing in the way of transparency, calling for the union to move forward with its business. There have been allegations that Fisher worked out a deal on the side between himself and the league during the lockout, and though Evans said some of Fisher's actions have been questionable, he wouldn't specifically confirm claims of a side deal, according to Kennedy.

NBPA Wants Derek Fisher Out As President

April 20th, 2012 at 4:44pm CST by Michael Pina

4:44pm: The NBPA confirmed in a series of tweets today that it has asked for Fisher's resignation. Maurice Evans, a member of the executive committe, spoke to Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner about the issue, explaining why the executive committee wants Fisher to step down.

"We sent out a letter on behalf of the entire board to Derek, telling Derek that we have appreciated his leadership up until this point, up until the lockout," Evans said. "From the end of the lockout to now, we have been dissatisfied with his actions. There's been a number of actions that have been questionable, and that have lost him the confidence of the board, not the other players, because the other players are not up to speed with what's going on."

2:27pm: Fisher made a brief statement on the issue at the Thunder's shootaround today, saying that he takes his position very seriously and that he's fighting for what's best for the players. Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman has the full transcript of Fisher's comments.

12:03pm: Not all the player reps are on board with ousting Fisher. One player rep told Wojnarowski, "Before we let Billy [Hunter] do anything else, I want an audit of this union… A lot of guys feel that way."

11:40am: Hunter is pursuing a call of team player reps today to vote on removing Fisher from his position, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter) that it's unclear just how much power the player reps have in the decision.

FRIDAY, 10:35am: In a letter to executive committee members, Fisher urged them to live up to their "fiduciary responsibility" and vowed not to resign, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

"He's lost the confidence of the players and he's not representing our interests," one union member told Berger. "We gave him the courtesy of having the option to resign without letting this thing get messy."

THURSDAY, 10:11pm: Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Billy Hunter, the executive director of the NBA Player's Association, has convinced the union's executive committee to seek the resignation of the organization's president, Derek Fisher.

Reportedly, the main reason for their fallout came when a power struggle occurred after Fisher convinced the executive committee to vote for an independent auditor to look into the union's finances. Hunter then turned around and convinced the committee that an audit wasn't necessary, and that they should instead try to oust Fisher from his position.

Mistrust between the Player's Association's two most public figures was first created during the lockout, when various players were forced to choose which side they trusted. As it stands, Fisher refuses to step down, and has two years left to serve as NBAPA president. Hunter has three-plus years left on his contract.