Earlier today, a report surfaced suggesting that Victor Claver was on the verge of buying out his contract with Valencia in Spain and reaching an agreement with the Trail Blazers. Both Blazers GM Neil Olshey and Claver himself released statements this afternoon to say that nothing official had been consummated between the two sides, but that there is still mutual interest in Claver coming to Portland.
It's still not entirely clear whether the players' union's victory in this month's Bird Rights ruling will withstand the NBA's appeal, but for now at least, it appears the Knicks will have a $3MM mid-level exception to sign outside free agents this summer. According to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, one player who is interested in signing for that MLE is Randy Foye. Zwerling hears from a source that Foye is expected to receive a handful of offers at or around $3MM, but that the guard's top choice is New York.
Here are a few more Tuesday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:
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…
Blazers owner Paul Allen was among the team executives in attendance for the second of two pre-draft workout sessions today, and got a chance to see Perry Jones III, John Henson and Jared Sullinger, among others, according to tweets from Joe Freeman of The Oregonian and Chris B. Haynes of CSNNW.com. Allen shot down rumors that he's looking to sell the team, as Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge writes, and CSNNW.com has more of the owner's comments to the media in two videos. Blazers beat writers have delivered plenty of news in the last hour, as we round up here. …
- The team hasn't contacted the Warriors about permission to interview assistant coach Michael Malone or the Pacers about assistant Brian Shaw, leading Haynes to surmise that interim coach Kaleb Canales is the frontrunner to take over the job on a permanent basis.
- In the same piece, Haynes also cites an earlier report from fellow CSNNW.com writer Dwight Jaynes that the team hasn't spoken to Jerry Sloan about an interview, either.
- Haynes relays general manager Neil Olshey's comments on the slow search. "Free agent wise, Yeah, I think it affects it a little bit. But, like I said, we're going to have a process here," he said. "We're going to build this thing the right way … We'll find the right coach to coach the roster."
Earlier updates:
Let's follow up on Tuesday's Trail Blazers items with another round of updates today:
- The Blazers have identified two or three more candidates for their general manager opening that they hope to interview soon, writes Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune. President Larry Miller says he hopes to have a "couple more" candidates meet with owner Paul Allen within the next two weeks or so, at which point the team may be ready to make a decision.
- Eggers hears that Portland is having its GM hopefuls complete a written psychological test to establish leadership qualities. "I’ll just say it’s pretty extensive," Miller says. "We try to do as much due diligence as possible."
- Larry Drew of the Hawks is a possibility to be the Blazers' next head coach, according to Eggers. "Word is" Drew may not have his option picked up by the Hawks after he failed to lead Atlanta past the first round, says Eggers.
- Acting GM Chad Buchanan expects buyouts for former Blazers draft picks Joel Freeland and Victor Claver to be low enough that there shouldn't be an issue bringing them overseas: "We’ve had talks with both players and their parties, and we’re hopeful we can get something worked out."
- Dave Deckard of Blazer's Edge takes an in-depth look at Nicolas Batum's impact on Portland's cap, and how it would affect the team if he signed an offer sheet early.
Thursday afternoon links from around the NBA:
- Ben Wallace is still on the fence about retirement, Pistons teammates Tayshaun Prince tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. "One side is telling him it is time to spend time with the family and relax a little bit," Prince said. "And then the other side is saying I still have more left in the tank."
- With the NBA having officially released the full list of early entrants for June's draft, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) and Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com provide brief commentaries on each of the players in the draft pool, from Anthony Davis to Erik Austin (who?).
- Speaking of the draft, this year's lottery has been officially scheduled for May 30th at 7:00pm CT at Times Square Studios in New York, as Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. You can find the tentative draft order and lottery odds here.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun examines a number of free agents the Raptors might keep an eye on this summer.
- The Trail Blazers could look into signing one or both of former draft picks Joel Freeland and Victor Claver this offseason, acting GM Chad Buchanan told Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune.