Mehmet Okur Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Timberwolves Maintain Interest In Mehmet Okur

September 5th, 2012 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Based on recent reports, is seems as if the Timberwolves will add at least one more body to their frontcourt before training camp begins, and Mehmet Okur remains on the team's radar, according to Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 (Twitter link). However, the T-Wolves can still only offer a minimum-salary contract, so unless Okur will accept such a deal or GM David Kahn can clear cap space by making a trade, it's unlikely Okur ends up in Minnesota, says Wolfson.

While the Timberwolves could comfortably bring aboard a player on a minimum salary, many of the free agents they've been linked to are seeking larger deals. Whether this suggests Kahn is considering moving salary or that the club is hoping one of its targets eventually settles for the veteran's minimum is unclear. However, Joan Niesen of FOX Sports North tweets that Anthony Tolliver continues to check in with the T-Wolves as well, to see if the team can bring him back.

The Timberwolves used their cap space this summer to sign Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy, and Alexey Shved, then used their $2.575MM room exception on Greg Stiemsma. Okur, meanwhile, is coming off a year in which he earned over $10MM, but only appeared in 17 games due to back issues — if he were to sign for the veteran's minimum of $1,351,181, it would be his lowest salary since he earned $1.1MM in 2003/04.

Wolves Rumors: Tolliver, Blatche, Okur, Andersen

August 29th, 2012 at 9:40am CST by Chuck Myron

We've heard a few dispatches about Wolves GM David Kahn's pursuit of an additional big man in recent days, and Darren Wolfson provides further detail on 1500ESPN.com. We've got the highlights here:

Though earlier reports seemed to indicate the Wolves weren't seeking to trade for a big man, Wolfson hears the team has asked Anthony Tolliver to be patient as the team seeks a trade to free up more cap room. Tolliver's agent has said his client is not interested in the minimum salary, which is all the Minnesota has to offer free agents. Even though Tolliver has been with the Wolves the past two seasons, the team renounced his Early Bird rights earlier in the summer to clear room for Nicolas Batum's offer sheet. Tolliver is reportedly in "constant contact" with a handful of teams, including the Wolves.
We heard yesterday that Andray Blatche and Hassan Whiteside worked out in front of a Wolves scout, and according to Wolfson, Blatche is "said to be open" to signing for the veteran's minimum.
Mehmet Okur is a "long shot" to sign with Minnesota, a source close to Okur tells Wolfson. The 6'11" outside marksman is seeking more than the minimum.
Wolfson reported last week that Josh Harrellson isn't in the Wolves' plans because the 6'10" former Knick doesn't possess the requisite length. Chris Andersen, who's the same height, apparently possesses a wingspan that fits what Kahn and company are looking for, but the Wolves aren't considering him, either.

Odds & Ends: Wolves, Okur, Nuggets, Muhammad

August 17th, 2012 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

It's been a slow day for NBA news and rumors, but there are still plenty of links worth checking out. Here are a few that have trickled in over the course of the day:

The Timberwolves wouldn't mind adding another big man, and are "kicking around" the idea of Mehmet Okur, tweets Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500. As Wolfson notes, however, considering Minnesota only has the minimum salary to offer, Okur is an unlikely target for the team.
If the Nuggets are able to lock up Ty Lawson and Andre Iguodala to long-term deals, it would ensure that a "thrilling nucleus" is in place in Denver, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post.
UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad tells HoopsWorld that he's not expecting to necessarily be a "one-and-done" player, but I'd be surprised if the top prospect doesn't enter the draft after his freshman season. Plus, as Yannis Koutroupis writes, given the NCAA's current investigation that's putting Muhammad's amateur status in jeopardy, the star recruit could be fortunate to play even one year at UCLA.
Dwyane Wade tells Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Sulia link) that his recovery from knee surgery is on schedule and he expects to "turn it up more" in the next couple weeks.

Odds & Ends: Draft, Brown, Cavs, Okur

April 21st, 2012 at 5:54pm CST by Daniel Seco

With the first of Saturday evening's eight games already underway, let's catch up on the latest news and happenings from around the league.

Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times checks in with four different scouts to get a better picture of how the top-10 picks of the NBA draft will unfold come June. While all four agreed Kentucky's Anthony Davis was the sure-fire top pick in the draft, the group was split between Davis' former teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kansas forward Thomas Robinson as the player most likely to be selected second. Among the surprise names listed as a potential top-10 pick included Duke freshman guard Austin Rivers, who is projected by most experts to hear his name called in the mid-teens.
Newly-minted SMU head coach Larry Brown recently offered some unsolicited advice to Bobcats owner Michael Jordan about the way he runs his franchise in an interview with NBA.com. Brown said that while he enjoyed working for Jordan thanks to the former Bulls star having high expectations for his team, he was not happy with how Jordan surrounded himself with people too afraid to challenge him. The Bobcats have currently lost 19 consecutive games and need to win one more to avoid having the lowest winning percentage in NBA history.
Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer ponders how the city of Cleveland will handle the Cavaliers struggling yet again next season if the team continues to follow the Oklahoma City model of rebuilding a roster through top-five selections in the draft.
The Celtics and Bulls were reportedly among a group of playoff-bound teams who inquired about the availability of Mehmet Okur in hopes of strengthening their frontcourt, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Okur, 32, started the season with the Nets before being dealt at the trade deadline to the Blazers along with Shawne Williams and a 2012 first-round draft pick (top-three protected) in exchange for swingman Gerald Wallace. The Blazers released Okur on March 21 due to the fact that the Turkish big man's back trouble would seemingly keep him out of action through June.

Celtics Nearly Traded Ray Allen To Grizzlies

April 18th, 2012 at 8:25am CST by Luke Adams

Although the Celtics ended up standing pat at last month's trade deadline, the team was close to making one or two blockbuster moves and breaking up its Big Three, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

According to Wojnarowski, Ray Allen received a phone call from Celtics coach Doc Rivers, telling him he'd been traded to the Grizzlies for a package that included O.J. Mayo and a draft pick. However, shortly after the call, Allen received word that the deal had fallen apart.

The Celtics also had serious discussions with the Nets about a deal that would've sent Paul Pierce to New Jersey in exchange for Mehmet Okur and a lottery pick, says Wojnarowski. Grantland's Bill Simmons wrote of those talks last week, noting that the Nets eventually elected to acquire Gerald Wallace from Portland for a similar package (one which also included Shawne Williams).

While the Celtics have played their best basketball of the season since the deadline and are a popular choice to upset the Bulls or Heat in the Eastern playoffs, the team's failed trades are interesting to consider. Had they made those deals, Boston would be heading into the summer armed with three first-round picks and even more cap flexibility, without Pierce on next year's books. We'll see if the Celtics' Big Three has one more run left to reward GM Danny Ainge's deadline decision to stand pat.

Blazers Claim J.J. Hickson Off Waivers

March 21st, 2012 at 5:44pm CST by Sean Highkin

5:44pm: The Oregonian's Joe Freeman claims (via Twitter) that the Blazers will waive Mehmet Okur to clear a roster spot for Hickson. The forward is in the final year of his contract and is making $2.3MM this season, meaning he fits into the trade exception the Blazers acquired from Houston in the Marcus Camby trade last week. Hickson will be a restricted free agent this summer.

5:15pm: SI.com's Sam Amick tweets that the Trail Blazers have been awarded free agent forward J.J. Hickson through the waiver process.

Hickson, who was bought out by the Kings on Monday, was previously expected to sign with the Warriors provided he cleared waivers.

The Blazers have a full 15-man roster, meaning they will have to cut a player to make room for Hickson.

Northwest Notes: Fisher, Jazz, Nene, Okur, Blazers

March 20th, 2012 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder are reportedly among the favorites to sign Derek Fisher for the remainder of the season, so Royce Young of Daily Thunder explores whether Fisher would be a worthwhile acquisition for Oklahoma City, eventually concluding that having him on board "probably would do a lot more good than bad." Kevin Durant seems to be in agreement, telling Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman that he'd support the move if the team signed Fisher.

While we wait to see where the veteran point guard lands, let's check out a few more items from out of the Northwest….

The Jazz don't plan to make use of their empty roster spot to add another player this season, GM Kevin O'Connor tells Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Nuggets president Josh Kroenke was frustrated by reports that suggested Denver signed Nene with the intention of trading him, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. "I want to squash that right now," Kroenke said. "This organization is not in a situation where we can take a $60-plus million gamble like that…. Our initial plan was to have Nene around for quite a while. It hurt me to see that [people] thought that I would view someone like that."
Acting Trail Blazers GM Chad Buchanan said that releasing Mehmet Okur is a possibility if the team needs to clear a roster spot. Given Okur's season-long back injury, the contract will qualify for about $2MM insurance coverage (Twitter links via Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge).
In a piece for Blazer's Edge, Jeff Kramer of Storytellers Contracts explains how the Blazers' trades last week affected their potential cap room this summer.

Recap Of Trade Deadline Deals

March 15th, 2012 at 5:33pm CST by Sean Highkin

Here's the complete list of trades that took place this week leading up to the trade deadline earlier today:

On Tuesday, the Warriors sent Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.
The Warriors then flipped Jackson to the Spurs for Richard Jefferson, T.J. Ford, and a first-round pick on Thursday.
The Grizzlies traded Sam Young to the 76ers for the rights to former second-round pick Ricky Sanchez.
The Pacers acquired Leandro Barbosa from the Raptors in exchange for a second-round draft pick and cash considerations.
The Blazers entered rebuild mode by trading Gerald Wallace to the Nets for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a 2012 first-round draft pick with top-3 protection.
Portland also sent Marcus Camby to the Rockets for Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, and a second-round pick.
The Rockets acquired Derek Fisher from the Lakers as well as the Mavericks' 2012 first-round pick (from the Lamar Odom trade) for Jordan Hill.
The Lakers also traded for Ramon Sessions, sending Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, and a 2012 first-round pick to the Cavaliers and also receiving Christian Eyenga. The Cavs will also have the ability to swap the Heat's 2013 pick (which they own from the LeBron James sign-and-trade) with the Lakers' pick that year.
The Nuggets, Wizards, and Clippers agreed to a three-team deal that will send Nene, Brian Cook, and a future second-round draft pick to Washington; Nick Young to the Clippers; and JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf to Denver.

Nets To Acquire Gerald Wallace

March 15th, 2012 at 12:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Blazers and Nets have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Gerald Wallace to New Jersey, reports TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter). The Blazers will receive Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a top-three protected 2012 pick. Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported the two sides were close, confirms the agreement (via Twitter).

After finding out Dwight Howard would not be available via free agency this summer, the Nets quickly turned to trades that would add help for Deron Williams. The price for Wallace seems awfully high though — while the Nets were able to move Okur's expiring $10.89MM contract and avoid Williams exercising his $3.1MM option for next season, the first-round pick seems to be the Nets' own selection. While New Jersey will retain the pick if it lands in the top three, it's very possible that the Blazers will receive a top-ten pick in what's expected to be a strong draft. The Nets currently have the sixth-worst record in the league (15-29).

Wallace has a $9.5MM player option for next season, which I assume the Nets will want him to exercise. Perhaps the two sides could even agree to void the player option in favor of working out a longer-team deal with a reduced 2012/13 cap figure. Even with Wallace on the books for next year, the team should have a decent amount of cap space to re-sign Brook Lopez and perhaps sign another free agent to entice Williams to stay.

Nets Close To Deal For Gerald Wallace

March 15th, 2012 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

12:11pm: The pick that would be going to the Blazers in this proposed swap would only be top-three protected, says Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

11:48am: The discussed trade would send Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a protected first-round pick to the Blazers, tweets Wojnarowski. Such a deal would save the Nets money this year and potentially clear out more cap space for next year, which explains the first-round pick that would be going to Portland.

11:28am: The Trail Blazers and Nets are engaged in "advanced talks" on a deal that would send Gerald Wallace to New Jersey, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). A deal is close, adds Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Newsday's Al Iannazzone tweeted earlier today that the Nets were eyeing Wallace.

Wallace, 29, has a player option worth $9.5MM for next season, so perhaps the Nets would want him to make a decision on that option in the event of a trade. Turning it down would mean increased summer cap space for the Nets.