Metta World Peace Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: MWP, Rondo, Ariza, Jennings

July 15th, 2013 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

As the third week of NBA free agency gets underway, let's round up a few items related to Eastern Conference teams….

Agent Marc Cornstein confirms to Marc Berman of the New York Post that there's mutual interest between the Knicks and his client, Metta World Peace. World Peace and his reps are expected to weigh several options before making a decision.
Celtics fans shouldn't have to worry about Rajon Rondo pulling a Ray Allen anytime soon. At his summer camp in Kentucky, Rondo declared that he "would never play for the Miami Heat" (link via WEEI.com).
The players the Celtics acquired from the Nets in their blockbuster trade aren't as valuable as the draft picks involved, but MarShon Brooks could end up being a hidden gem, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
With his free agency a year away, Wizards forward Trevor Ariza has signed with agent Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Ariza had previously been represented by David Lee.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com examines a few potential outcomes for Brandon Jennings' free agency, including accepting the Bucks' qualifying offer.

Metta World Peace To Play In China?

July 14th, 2013 at 8:39pm CST by Zachary Links

8:39pm: Agent Marc Cornstein told Marc Berman of the New York Post (via Twitter) that he will meet with his client tonight to go over all of his options. Cornstein said that a meeting with the Knicks is possible, indicating that nothing is a done deal yet with the enigmatic forward.

7:16pm: Metta World Peace said that he is going to play in China next season in a text to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter). Peace's desire to play in China was reported shortly after he was amnestied by the Lakers,

A source close to the forward told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com earlier today that World Peace's top preference was to join up with the Knicks with the Clippers as a distant second and China third on his wishlist. It now appears that Peace got a tremendous offer to play overseas or was throwing some misdirection to the media in advance of his decision.

World Peace was set to make $7.73MM in 2013/14 and carrying his salary on the books for 2013/14 would have carried major luxury tax implications. The veteran is, of course, known for his tenacious defense, but his play has declined considerably in Los Angeles in recent years. Last season, World Peace averaged 12.4 PPG with 5.0 RPG in 33.7 minutes per contest.

Metta World Peace Clears Waivers

July 14th, 2013 at 6:46pm CST by Zachary Links

6:46pm: World Peace is set to meet with Knicks officials in Vegas, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

6:15pm: World Peace texted Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) and expressed that he is interested the Clippers, but has to "meet them first".

5:31pm: At least four teams have contacted MWP already, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (via Twitter).

4:03pm: Metta World Peace has gone unclaimed on the amnesty waiver process and is now a free agent, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Teams had until 4pm central to claim the forward.

While World Peace was rumored to be eyeing a move to China, it now appears that he wasn't entirely serious about that notion. A source told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com earlier today that his top preference is to sign with the Knicks with the Clippers as a fairly distant second and China in third. The interest between MWP and the Knicks is believed to be mutual.

Metta World Peace Wants To Join Knicks

July 14th, 2013 at 2:09pm CST by Zachary Links

The deadline for a team to claim Metta World Peace off of amensty waivers is at 4pm central today and while he might go untouched in the next few hours, there are plenty of teams that would love to bring him aboard. Here's the latest on MWP..

A source close to MWP tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter) that he definitely wants to play for the Knicks. The Clippers are a fairly distant second, with China third.
If World Peace clears waivers this afternoon, the Knicks are expected to be the first in line to sign him, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) expects the forward to wind up with the Knicks, Nets, or Clippers if he's willing to play for the veteran's minimum for one year. All three teams would offer at least a puncher's chance at a title in 2013 and varying degrees of familiarity. World Peace, of course, spent the last few years in Los Angeles and is a New York City native.
Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links) has heard that Chris Paul and Matt Barnes have reached out to MWP about joining the Clippers. The veteran could potentially come in as a backup power forward in Doc Rivers' rotation. Pincus also notes that the Clippers tried to deal for him way back when he was a member of the Pacers.
Knicks exec Larry Johnson wants to see the club go out and get World Peace, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Knicks Rumors: Martin, Robinson, Jordan, Tyler

July 14th, 2013 at 8:56am CST by Chuck Myron

It sounds like the Knicks will fall short of landing Samuel Dalembert, who's close to a deal with the Mavs. As Knicks GM Glen Grunwald and company search for free agent help, they're limited to handing out no more than the $1.7MM portion of their mini mid-level exception that remains after the team used part of it to re-sign Pablo Prigioni. Still, the team has plenty of targets, as we detail:

The Knicks are in the lead for Kenyon Martin, a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Since Martin played on the Knicks last season, the team can ink him using Non-Bird rights, but that would still provide a salary of no more than about $1.6MM.
Nate Robinson, Aaron Brooks, Daniel Gibson, Charles Jenkins, John Lucas III, A.J. Price, Nolan Smith, Sebastian Telfair and Toure Murry are all point guards the Knicks are considering, Zwerling writes.
Robinson would consider signing with the Knicks, but only if he doesn't receive a more lucrative offer from another team, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. The team reached out to the diminuative point guard recently, but as we heard yesterday, a few other clubs have interest in him, too.
Jerome Jordan, Liam McMorrow and Jeremy Tyler will draw close attention from the Knicks during the Las Vegas summer league, according to Zwerling. There's a "big chance" Tyler will draw an invitation to Knicks training camp, perhaps with a partial guarantee, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Mike Woodson is intent on keeping Carmelo Anthony at power forward, prompting the club to search for a veteran small forward to use alongside him. Zwerling points to Raja Bell, Josh Childress, Dahntay Jones, Metta World Peace, Mickael Pietrus and Shawne Williams as some of the small forwards drawing the Knicks' eye.
Al Harrington, who seems to be drawing close to a buyout from the Magic, is another Knicks target, Berman adds.

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Cavs, World Peace

July 13th, 2013 at 11:41pm CST by Spencer Lund

A source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks have expressed interest in Samuel Dalembert. Knicks GM Glen Grunwald was chatting with Dalembert’s agent from Pinnacle Management Corporation, at Summer League yesterday (Twitter link).

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News believes Isiah Thomas is the best chance the Knicks have to snag Metta World Peace, if he clears waivers, with the remaining $1.7MM from their mini mid-level exception.

Metta recently spoke with Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. They discussed Metta’s working with LeBron James and Kevin Durant as a player development coach, what competition means to him, and why he’s such a big fan of LeBron (all Sulia links)

Here's some more from around the Eastern Conference…

Jim Baubach of Newsday on why the undrafted C.J. Leslie might be a keeper for the Knicks.
The Cavs should return to relevance much faster than the NBA standard writes the Akron Beacon Journal’s Jason Lloyd
Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Andrew Bynum and the friction he’s already experienced while on the Lakers with new Cavs head coach Mike Brown.
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer with a roundup of what he learned about some of the Sixers’ new additions during Orlando Summer League action.
Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets that Larry Sanders was cheering on his Bucks teammates at Las Vegas’ Summer League from the bench.
A noticeably slimmed down Carlos Boozer was watching his younger brother Charles Boozer play for the Bulls Summer League team in Las Vegas today reports K.C Johnson at the Chicago Tribune.

Pacific Notes: World Peace, Odom, Kings

July 13th, 2013 at 6:02pm CST by Spencer Lund

Metta World Peace was officially amnestied by the Lakers on Thursday, and remains on amnesty waivers, rather than regular waivers–instead of claiming his entire salary, teams can now place partial bids for his services, with the highest bid winning out. Here's the full explanation of the amnesty provision, and this year's amnesty primer.

Doug Davis, one of a pair of agents for the former Ron Artest, suggested that his client's assertion that he may leave the NBA should be taken with a grain of salt, notes Marc Berman of the New York Post. World Peace doesn't want to uproot his family, so the Clippers appear to be his first choice among NBA teams, but Knicks coach Mike Woodson said the team is "on alert" in case World Peace clears amnesty waivers.

"There’s a number of definitely positive things about New York," Davis said. "Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to assess them [Sunday] after he clears waivers. It’s a very tense time, this 48-hour period. We want him to be in control of his own destiny."

Here's what else is happening around the Pacific Division on this Saturday in the midst of amnesty week:

The Clippers continue to eye free agent big men Lamar Odom and Antawn Jamison, but sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the team is taking it slow as it determines the best fit (Twitter link).
Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times examines whether the Lakers should attempt to avoid paying the luxury tax this season.
The Kings have renounced their rights to Toney Douglas, who already has an agreement in place with the Warriors, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Kings also renounced their rights to Cole Aldrich.
And the Kings officially announced in a press release that rookie Ben McLemore had been signed: "The Sacramento Kings today signed first-round draft pick Ben McLemore to a contract, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro. Sacramento selected McLemore with the seventh-overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed."

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Humphries, Wallace, Peace, Nets

July 13th, 2013 at 11:20am CST by Zachary Links

Yesterday, the Nets and Celtics officially completed the nine-player swap that will send Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the land of the hipsters. However, two of the players shipped to Boston may not be long for the C's. A source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that the club may look to flip Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace. Humphries, who is coming off of a rough 2012/13 season, makes $12MM in the final year of his deal. Wallace, meanwhile, makes more than $30MM over the next three seasons and moving that contract won't be easy by any means. Here's more out of the Atlantic..

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni thinks that the recently amnestied Metta World Peace would be a good fit for the Knicks, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. D'Antoni went on to say that amnestying him was purely about finances and had nothing to do with character.
Not a huge surprise, but Nets General Manager Billy King confirmed that owner Mikhail Prokhorov reached out to Andrei Kirilenko by telephone before he signed, tweets Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. Kirilenko shocked everyone when he agreed to sign with the Nets for the $3.1MM mini-mid level exception earlier this week.
With speculation that the Nets made an under-the-table agreement with Kirilenko, they are now the bad guys of the NBA, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

Western Notes: World Peace, Kings, Young, Pek

July 12th, 2013 at 10:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni told Marc Berman of the New York Post that the team's decision to amnesty Metta World Peace was purely financial.

"Obviously it’s a byproduct of the CBA," D’Antoni said. "As a person and player, I couldn’t find anyone better. He’s great. I enjoyed coaching him. I hope he finds something great. He deserves it. It’s not the coaches. It’s management. They have to manage the cap."

The former Ron Artest probably won't be heading back to Sacramento, with the Kings not planning to place a bid through amnesty waivers, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (on Twitter). While World Peace contemplates a future with another L.A. team, the Lakers have turned their attention elsewhere, and we cover that and other news out of the Western Conference:

Nick Young's minimum-salary pact with the Lakers is only for one year, but GM Mitch Kupchak suggested that the 28-year-old is a part of the team's long-term plans, as Dave McMenamin passes along (Twitter link). "Although it's a short contract, we hope he would be here for a very long time," Kupchak said.
Talks between the Wolves and Nikola Pekovic are still going on, but they're moving slowly, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, who figures they'll drag on into next week, at least. President of basketball ops Flip Saunders characterizes the negotiations as "progressing," Zgoda observes in another tweet.
Saunders also indicated that the Wolves aren't planning another major move this summer. "What you see is what you get," he said, as Zgoda notes via Twitter.
The Warriors' ambitions of opening a San Francisco arena by 2017 seemed far-fetched in the beginning, and it's becoming clear that the building won't be ready until 2018 at the earliest, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group details.

World Peace Not Interested In NBA For 2013/14?

July 12th, 2013 at 8:00pm CST by Luke Adams

8:00pm: There are still indications that World Peace would have interest in joining a contending team in the NBA if he clears amnesty waivers, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. The veteran appears intent on becoming a free agent rather than being claimed, Amick adds, pointing out that World Peace would forfeit his salary from the Lakers if a team claims him and he fails to report to camp. The Clippers have overtaken the Knicks as the top team on World Peace's list of preferred destinations, but both clubs appear to have interest in signing the man formerly known as Ron Artest, even though they can only offer the minimum salary.

4:21pm: Metta World Peace is now officially on amnesty waivers, meaning teams with cap space are allowed to place partial bids during the next two days. If more than one team places a claim, the highest bidder will land World Peace, assuming a portion of his salary. If there are no bidders, the man formerly known as Ron Artest becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Considering under-the-cap teams – many of them non-contenders – have the opportunity to claim World Peace without his say, we should probably take any comments he makes over the next couple days with a grain of salt. But according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com and Shahan Ahmed of NBC Los Angeles, the ex-Laker told the duo that he's not interested in playing in the NBA in 2013/14. The 33-year-old's top choice is to play in China, while his other potential options include coaching with an NBA team, or playing arena football (Twitter links).

Again, with World Peace at the mercy of the waiver system, it's reasonable to assume that he may be trying to scare off non-contenders from claiming him. If he were to become an unrestricted free agent, he'd be able to sign with any team besides the Lakers, and he reportedly has interest in joining the Knicks, among others.

Howard Beck of the New York Times noted earlier today (via Twitter) that World Peace wouldn't officially be placed on waivers until 4:00pm CST today, so the bidding period will end on Sunday afternoon.