According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, the general consensus around the league is that Ray Allen will join the Heat next year (Twitter link). Since the team will be about $2MM above the tax apron, the most that Miami would be able to offer would be the mini-mid level exception of $3MM. Here's more of tonight's miscellaneous links, including Tyreke Evans, Baron Davis, and the Bulls…
10:55am: TNT's David Aldridge hears that, whether or not the offer Givony reported is actually on the table, there's "no way" the Kings would accept it (Twitter link). However, SI.com's Sam Amick (Sulia link) cites a variety of reasons why it makes sense that Evans would be available for the right price.
10:32am: After completing one trade this morning, the Rockets appear to be engaged in discussions with the Kings on another deal. According to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link), the Rockets have offered Kyle Lowry, the No. 14 pick, and the No. 16 pick to the Kings in exchange for Tyreke Evans and the No. 5 pick. However, SI.com's Sam Amick hears from two sources that such an offer isn't on the table (Twitter link).
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Saturday night:
Within the last week, both Sam Smith of Bulls.com and Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com concocted trade scenarios in which the Bulls acquire Tyreke Evans from the Kings, increasing speculation about such a deal. But Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio hears from multiple sources that there's nothing to the idea, and that it's not something that's being discussed by the two teams. That tidbit comes from Amico's Thursday column, and he's back with another piece today, so let's take a look at the highlights:
A handful of tonight's coaching search updates came in the form of tweets. TNT's David Aldridge reported that Brian Shaw had an interview in Charlotte today, but was not offered the job. Yahoo's Marc Spears also confirmed that no offer was made, adding that Portland and Orlando are still on Shaw's radar. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated, who broke the news about Sloan's withdrawal from Charlotte's head coaching race, thinks the Trail Blazers have a better chance of landing Shaw than the Magic do.
We've got more on Orlando's GM search and highlights from HoopsWorld chats with Mark Nugent and Tommy Beer…
Like Blake Griffin, James Harden, and other members of the 2009 draft class, Tyreke Evans is heading into the final year of his rookie deal and will be eligible for a contract extension starting in July. Unlike Griffin and Harden, however, Evans is not expected to receive an extension offer this summer, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
Here are this evening's miscellaneous stories:
- Lang Greene of HoopsWorld had his weekly chat with fans tonight. Among the more significant things he talked about were the chances that Tyreke Evans gets shopped this summer, the Nets pursuing Kevin Garnett if Deron Williams leaves, the Hornets matching any offer for Eric Gordon, and Portland being the realistic destination for Goran Dragic.
- With $12MM in cap space before the draft, Bryan Colangelo talked about the Raptors' approach going into the offseason: "If there was going to be a year to make a bigger splash, whether in free agency or utilizing the space to acquire players by trade, I felt that would be better served in a subsequent season and that’s probably this summer" (Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld reports). Colangelo also told Brotherston that he and Ed Stefanski will be very active in terms of placing and entertaining calls with other GMs in the upcoming weeks and months.
- Scoop Jackson, Melissa Isaacson, and Jon Greenberg of ESPN cover a few topics on the Bulls, including how Derrick Rose's injury will affect Chicago's title hopes over the next two years, whether Luol Deng should immediately get surgery and skip the Olympics, and Carlos Boozer's reliability in the playoffs.
- Magic GM Otis Smith traveled to Los Angeles to check on Dwight Howard as he recuperates from surgery, according to Illiana Limón and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. While there had been speculation that Howard is estranged from the franchise, Smith and Magic CEO Alex Martins say that he hasn't asked for a trade.
- Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times provides a "to-do list" for the Nuggets if they are to have any chance at beating the Lakers.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas wonders if the Mavericks should make strategic defensive adjustments on Russell Westbrook or just hope that he starts missing mid-range jumpshots.
- An article posted on Suns.com reports that Channing Frye underwent successful surgery on his right shoulder today.
The Pacific Division hasn't been decided yet, but the magic number is down to one. If the Lakers win the final game of their season in Sacramento, or the Clippers lose in either Atlanta or New York, the Lakers will clinch the division. The consolation for the Clips? A win against either the Hawks or Knicks would at least earn them first-round homecourt advantage. Either way, the Staples Centre will be hosting of plenty of postseason contests starting next weekend.
Here's the latest out of the Pacific:
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News put the Warriors' odds of retaining their first-round pick at about 20-25% after they beat the Timberwolves yesterday. Golden State's pick is top-seven protected, and as our tentative draft order shows, the team is currently the league's eighth-worst.
- Warriors fans shouldn't sweat it if the team loses its first-rounder, says Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com.
- J.A. Adande of ESPN.com argues that Metta World Peace should be suspended for two games more than James Harden misses. World Peace's elbow during yesterday's game resulted in a concussion for Harden, and will certainly mean a suspension for the Lakers forward — Las Vegas has set the over/under at 7.5 games (Twitter link). In a poll yesterday, 58% of respondents said the Lakers would still win at least one playoff series without the man formerly known as Ron Artest.
- With Steve Nash facing free agency, Eric Koreen of the National Post examines the pros and cons of a few potential destinations for the Suns star.
- Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty ponders whether the Tyreke Evans era could be nearing an end for the Kings.
- Sacramento officials will return a portion of the $200K the NBA sent the city for pre-development work on the Kings' arena, reports Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee.
With a busy Sunday on tap for all of the Pacific Division teams minus a Suns squad who blew an opportunity to shore up their muddled playoff picture, we'll head out west to check in on the latest news and headlines.
- Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation says that while LeBron James and Kevin Durant have had excellent seasons, the real MVP is Clippers point guard Chris Paul. Monroe points to Paul's ability to take the Clippers from a perennial doormat to one of the top four teams in the conference as the main reason why the former Wake Forest star deserves the nod as most valuable player. In his first season in Los Angeles, Paul is averaging 19.3 PPG, 9.0 APG and a league-leading 2.45 SPG.
- The Clippers have received the better end of the deal that saw the Hornets send Paul to Los Angeles in exchange for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and the Timberwolves' unprotected first-round pick, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune. Paul's MVP-level play aside, the Hornets spent most of the season without Gordon, the centerpiece of the trade, who has only played in eight games this season. As a result, the Clippers and Hornets have nearly swapped roles from a season ago as Los Angeles is playoff-bound with New Orleans looking to continue to rebuild through the draft.
- Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee suggests Kings guard-turned-small forward Tyreke Evans is at a crossroads in his young career. Sacramento will consider trading the former Memphis star, not because of his lack of production, but because the team has struggled mightily over the past six seasons. Regardless of where he ends up this offseason, Evans has to figure out if he is willing to do whatever it takes to elevate his play to the next level given his boundless talent.
On this day in 1996, the Bulls defeated the Bullets 103-93 to finish the season with a 72-10 record, which eclipsed the 1972 Lakers‘ 69-13 mark. The W also earned Chicago their 33rd road victory, the most ever in a season by an NBA team. Here’s a look at today’s items from around the Association..
- Tyreke Evans‘ agent, Arn Tellem, was in town yesterday for a meeting with Kings president Geoff Petrie and management about his client, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The two sides didn’t talk about a contract extension or a potential trade for Evans but did discuss where he stands with the team going forward.
- Wizards forward Rashard Lewis is a likely candidate to be bought out this summer, but the 32-year-old believes that he has plenty of basketball left in him, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
- There are still times when JaVale McGee misses Washington, but the big man is happy to be with the Nuggets, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. McGee won’t say much about his impending free agency but says that he wouldn’t mind coming back to Denver.
- Avery Bradley has gone from question mark to future cornerstone for the Celtics’ long-term rebuilding project, writes Paul Flannery of WEEI.com.