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Latest On Derek Fisher

March 19th, 2012 at 7:12pm CST by Luke Adams

After Derek Fisher and the Rockets reached an agreement on a buyout this weekend, Fisher's business manager Jamie Mior released a statement explaining the decision:

"After much discussion and expressing their desire to welcome Derek to their team this season as well as the 2012-2013 season, the Houston Rockets and Derek have negotiated a buyout. Derek's desire to win a sixth championship is what drives him and will continue to drive him as he moves forward. We thank the Houston Rockets front office for their interest, time and their absolute professionalism. There will be no further comment at this time."

While we wait to see if Fisher clears waivers this Wednesday, rumors about which teams are interested in signing him have already surfaced. Let's round up a few of them….

ESPN.com's John Hollinger (via Twitter) notes that Fisher declining his $3.4MM option for next year means that the Rockets were essentially paid $200K to acquire a first-round pick.
The Blazers aren't interested in Fisher, tweets Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
The Rockets' buyout of Fisher paid him for the rest of this season, but he opted out of all $3.4MM next year, a person with knowledge of the deal told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Thunder are deciding whether to make a formal bid for Fisher.
The Clippers aren't interested, says Stein.
Fisher has strong interest in joining the Bulls or Heat, according to Stein, but it's unclear to what extent that interest is reciprocated.
Stein adds that the Spurs have some interest, since their signing of Patrick Mills is being held up — according to Stein, the Blazers have yet to renounce Mills' rights, which is odd, since the team tweeted on Saturday that it was done.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) cautions that there's no guarantee Fisher will play for another club this year. The veteran is weighing the option of re-joining the Lakers in a coaching or front office capacity, tweets Kyler. Fisher, of course, can't re-sign with the Lakers as a player this season.

Buchanan On Nets Trade, Williams, Canales, Mills

March 19th, 2012 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers acting GM Chad Buchanan spoke today about a number of topics, and Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge shared the key quotes via Twitter. Here's a round-up:

Within 45 minutes of the Gerald Wallace trade, teams began calling to express interest in the Nets' first-round pick that Buchanan nabbed in the deal.
Shawne Williams, who was acquired in that trade with the Nets, is a buyout candidate, but the Blazers are "not necessarily committed to buying him out," says Buchanan. Williams, who is sidelined with a foot injury, has a player option for next season.
Blazers management consulted LaMarcus Aldridge before replacing Nate McMillan with Kaleb Canales. Aldridge fully endorsed Canales.
If the Blazers had been able to trade a point guard and free up a roster spot, they would have re-signed Patrick Mills. It appears Mills is heading to San Antonio instead.

Central Notes: Nocioni, Pistons, Kaman, Walton

March 17th, 2012 at 6:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls are the class of the Central Division and the league, topping the NBA with a 36-10 mark heading into tonight's game with the Sixers. Here's what's happening with a couple of other teams in the division trying to build toward what Chicago has now:

Don't expect to see Andres Nocioni back with the Bulls as the team would add a shooting guard or a big man if they were to make an addition, tweets Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald. The Sixers released the forward this morning.
According to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, the Pistons were not in the running for Patrick Mills, who is close to joining the Spurs (Twitter link). That contradicts an earlier report from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
Langlois also looks at the patient approach of Pistons GM Joe Dumars and passes along that Detroit may look to sign Chris Kaman, a Michigan native, as a free agent in the offseason.
New Cav Luke Walton, acquired this week in the Ramon Sessions deal, said he and Lakers coach Mike Brown "weren't on the same page" in L.A., according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Nonetheless, Walton was still caught off guard by the trade. Cleveland coach Byron Scott is complimentary of Walton's skills and basketball IQ, but isn't sure what his role will be, Amico writes.

Southwest Rumors: Fisher, Mills, Jackson

March 17th, 2012 at 3:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Four of the five Southwest Division teams are in action tonight, including the Mavs and first-place Spurs, who meet in Dallas. Here's a quick check around the division:

Though reports suggest Houston will buy out Derek Fisher, coach Kevin McHale's comments, as noted by Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, seem to suggest he'd like to see the point guard in uniform for the team tonight. Fisher has yet to report to the Rockets.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that the Spurs would go after Fisher if his rumored buyout takes place, given the team's need at point guard in the wake of T.J. Ford's sudden retirement this week.
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports via Twitter that the Rockets are pursuing former Blazers guard Patrick Mills, who has received FIBA clearance to play in the U.S. after signing with a Chinese team earlier this year. That's further suggestion that the Rockets will let Fisher go, as they also signed guard Courtney Fortson today.
Jason Terry believes San Antonio's trade of Richard Jefferson for Stephen Jackson was a "no brainer," reports Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas/Fort Worth. Jackson, scheduled to make his debut tonight according to a tweet from Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com, gives them scoring and toughness, Terry says.

Spurs Close To Signing Patrick Mills

March 16th, 2012 at 3:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Spurs are finalizing a contract with former Blazers guard Patrick Mills, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated tweets that it will be a two-year deal.

Amick adds via Twitter that the deal will include a player option in the second year, worth about $1MM. The Blazers renounced Mills' rights this morning, the team confirmed via Twitter.

According to a tweet from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Pistons also wanted to sign Mills. The Rockets were interested in the guard, too, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported earlier today. The Spurs were also reportedly interested in Derek Fisher, whom the Rockets are rumored to be buying out. San Antonio was searching for a point guard after the abrupt retirement of T.J. Ford this week, who was subsequently shipped to Golden State for financial reasons in the Stephen Jackson-Richard Jefferson deal. The Warriors have waived Ford, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Mills, a 2009 second-round pick out of St. Mary's College, averaged 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in two seasons as a backup in Portland. He signed with a Chinese team earlier this season, but has received FIBA clearance to join an NBA team.

Blazers Notes: Mills, Batum, Felton

March 16th, 2012 at 8:07am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers were one of Thursday's most active teams, sending out Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace in separate deals, then parting ways with Chris Johnson and former number one pick Greg Oden to clear space for the new acquisitions. Oh, and the team fired its coach too, with assistant coach Kaleb Canales taking over for Nate McMillan. What's next for the Blazers? Let's have a look….

Patrick Mills, who played in China this season, is a restricted free agent and could be brought on board for the rest of the season. However, acting GM Chris Buchanan indicated the team isn't looking at bringing anyone on board at the moment: "We're at 12 healthy bodies. It's an opportunity for guys to get some more minutes. At this point I wouldn't anticipate us adding another player" (link via Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge).
Asked specifically about Mills, Buchanan said the team would take to his representatives in the coming days, and would consider all its options, including renouncing Mills' rights. Renouncing his rights would allow Mills to become an unrestricted free agent and sign anywhere.
Nicolas Batum, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, will "definitely" be a Blazer next year, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. However, it'll cost the team more than what Batum's agent was asking for in January.
After shopping Raymond Felton aggressively yesterday, Buchanan says a buyout for the point guard "is not an option," according to Haynes.

Patrick Mills Receives FIBA Clearance

March 1st, 2012 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

Patrick Mills has returned from China and has received a letter of clearance from FIBA, according to Mills' own Twitter account. The clearance means he's eligible to sign in the NBA again.

As a restricted free agent, Mills is in a situation similar to Wilson Chandler's, which has been well documented. Because it's March 1st, Mills can no longer sign an offer sheet with another team, so if he hopes to play in the NBA this season, he'd only be able to sign with the Trail Blazers.

Portland has a full roster after signing Joel Przybilla, so it's unclear if they're interested in bringing Mills aboard. Unlike Chandler, Mills wouldn't necessarily be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer if he just signed a rest-of-season deal, so that seems like a possibility. If the Blazers aren't interested in adding the 23-year-old to this year's roster, they could renounce him, allowing him to sign elsewhere. The 6'0" point guard could also sit out the rest of the season and become a restricted free agent again in the offseason.