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Free Agent Spending By Division: Southwest

August 16th, 2012 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Our look at offseason spending continues today as we examine the fifth of six NBA divisions. So far, we've covered free agent expenditures in the Atlantic, Central and Southeast, and Northwest divisions, using Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker. The Southwest division is up next, and it includes a surprising pair of teams at the top and bottom.

Once again, these figures only take into account free agent signings, so salary absorbed in trades or money used to sign draft picks isn't included in this list. Additionally, not all of this salary is necessarily guaranteed, which we'll try to note as we go along. Here are this summer's Southwest Division free agent costs, sorted by player salary:

New Orleans Hornets: $108.948MM (Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Robin Lopez, Roger Mason)
It wasn't a surprise to see the Hornets match the Suns' max offer sheet for Gordon and bring him back on a four-year deal worth $58MM+. But I wasn't expecting the Hornets to splurge on a couple more free agents, as they did with Anderson and Lopez. To be fair, it appears only the first year of Lopez's three-year, $15MM+ contract is guaranteed, but Anderson's four-year, $34MM deal is fully guaranteed. With Gordon, Anderson, Anthony Davis, and Austin Rivers signing four-year deals this summer, the Hornets' core appears to be in place through at least 2016.

Houston Rockets: $56.248MM (Omer Asik, Carlos Delfino, Jeremy Lin)
It appeared for some time as if the Rockets would use their cap space to absorb salary in a major trade. Instead, they used it to sign a pair of players to offer sheets they may have thought would be matched. The "poison pill" included in both Asik's and Lin's offer sheets won't apply to Houston, since the Rockets have the ability to spread the two players' annual salaries out more evenly (about $8.3MM per year each). Still, the $25.1MM they'll spend on each player is a risky investment.

San Antonio Spurs: $52.697MM (Boris Diaw, Tim Duncan, Danny Green, Patty Mills)
The Spurs' offseason was fairly quiet, as the team simply re-signed its own free agents rather than exploring the market too extensively. All of these contracts except Green's include a player option in the final year, and all four of them are fully guaranteed, with Duncan's $30MM representing by far the largest commitment.

Memphis Grizzlies: $26.832MM (Darrell Arthur, Jerryd Bayless, Hamed Haddadi, Marreese Speights)
Like the Spurs, the Grizzlies focused primarily on re-signing their own free agents, with one notable exception: Memphis replaced the departing O.J. Mayo with Bayless. Mayo ended up signing for not much more than the two-year, $6.135MM deal Bayless inked with the Grizzlies, so it will be interesting to see if the minor savings are worth it.

Dallas Mavericks: $17.444MM (Chris Kaman, O.J. Mayo, Delonte West)
The Mavericks appeared prepared to offer Deron Williams a four-year, $73MM+ contract, which would have significantly altered their place on this list. But when D-Will opted to return to the Nets, the Mavs took a more cautious approach to free agency, committing to Kaman, Mayo, and West on short-term deals. Given the possibility that Mayo will opt out of his second year and the fact that West is on a minimum-salary deal, the total amount the Mavs spend on this summer's free agents could end up being less than $13MM.

Latest On Greg Oden

August 15th, 2012 at 8:24am CST by Luke Adams

Within the last few months, multiple reports have suggested Greg Oden is considering returning to the NBA for the 2012/13 season, and would like the opportunity to play for the Heat. However, talking recently to David Hughes of the Tribune-Star, Oden downplayed his chances of making his NBA return this season.

"I would love to play [in 2012/13], but I’m not going to rush anything," Oden said. "I need to take a year off. What I told [agent] Mike [Conley] was 'Look, I want to get back with a team. I want to play. If there’s a chance that later on in the [NBA] year, if I feel good or if I’m healthy enough to play, I would love to play this year.' That’s the conversation we had. I think some people kinda blew that up and took his words and kinda changed them around. I know I need to get healthy first before I do anything."

According to Oden, teams haven't exactly been burning up his phone line expressing interest in signing him, considering he's still recovering. The former first overall pick added that he doesn't have one specific team in mind as a destination: "I want to go to a place where I can get healthy and with somebody who can believe in me and my skills — somewhere it could be a good fit for the both of us."

One general manager that spoke to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link) considers teams like the Spurs, Pacers, and Magic as the eventual favorites to sign Oden, but cautions that that's just his specuation. Amico also hears from a GM (it's unclear whether it's the same one) that teams with cap space, like the Suns or Cavs, could take a flier on Oden toward the end of the season, though the GM thinks it would have to be a minimum-salary contract.

Wizards Notes: Tolliver, Singleton, Blatche

August 7th, 2012 at 1:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The Wizards are looking to round out their roster with low-cost options and Michael Lee of The Washington Post has the latest on the club's top targets..

While it's probably a longshot, the Wizards are one of a handful of teams who have expressed interest in Josh Childress, a source told Lee (via Twitter).
Washington continues to pursue forward Anthony Tolliver but the Wizards so far have only offered him a minimum contract. Tolliver's agent Larry Fox confirmed that the interest is mutual but says that his client isn't “in the minimum game.” The Pacers, Bobcats, and Timberwolves are also said to be in talks with the 27-year-old. Fox is certain that Tolliver will get more than that minimum and says that he is in no rush to sign.
James Singleton shot down the Wizards' offer of a one-year, minimum contract and now says that he is considering four offers from China. No matter where he signs, the forward plans to make it a two-year deal. While Singleton, 31, enjoyed his time in Washington, he says that he expected a more lucrative offer out of the club.
The Spurs and Heat have both reportedly expressed exploratory interest in former Wizard Andray Blatche but neither club has made a serious pitch to sign him, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Spurs Still Looking To Trade DeJuan Blair

August 7th, 2012 at 10:38am CST by Zachary Links

On draft day, the Spurs were reportedly looking to find a new home for forward DeJuan Blair. More than a month later, Blair remains in San Antonio but the big man told Douglas Farmer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is still being shopped.

“Hopefully, I stay a Spur, but if it doesn’t happen, life moves on,” Blair said. “They’ve got me on the trade market and they’ll do the best to get me in the greatest situation possible.“

Despite seeing more than 20 minutes per regular season game in his time with the Spurs, Blair has hardly seen the same kind of burn in the playoffs. The forward averaged just 7.6 minutes per game in last year’s playoffs, making him largely expendable for the perennial contenders. The Warriors have been said to have interest in Blair but are unwilling to give San Antonio the first-round pick that they seek in return.

Odds & Ends: Atkinson, Spurs, Macklin, Amundson

August 6th, 2012 at 9:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks assistant coach Kenny Atkinson will be leaving New York and taking the same position with the Hawks, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley. Atkinson was a crucial cog in the development of Jeremy Lin. Here's more of what we're hearing from around the Association:

With a report being released tonight that Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey might be heading to the Jazz to become their new general manager, Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News writes that other teams are gutting San Antonio's front office.
Vernon Macklin's agent has informed Hoopshype.com that his client is currently drawing interest from the Nets, Suns, Bucks, Wizards, and Lakers. Macklin spent last season in Detroit, and is also drawing interest overseas, in Turkey and Greece.
Free agent power forward Louis Amundson is in discussions with a number of teams, but has yet to make up his mind, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reports, adding that he's likely to sign for a team's mini mid-level exception (Twitter link). It's not clear whether Zwerling means the taxpayer's mini mid-level of $3.09MM or the room exception, a mini-midlevel of $2.575MM available to teams under the cap. However, the list of remaining mid-level exceptions that Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors put together Friday provides a hint. Only the Lakers have all of the taxpayer's mini mid-level available, and they're looking for backcourt help, meaning that if Amundson goes for a mini mid-level, it's likely to be the room exception currently held in full by nine teams.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel ponders the merits of Dexter Pittman, 45th overall pick Justin Hamilton and free agent Mickell Gladness as reserve center options for the Heat. As Winderman points out, Pittman will almost assuredly be on the team, since his minimum-salary contract is guaranteed.
The Jazz starting lineup isn't set in stone, and Jody Genessy of the Deseret News handicaps the team's positional battles.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com catches up with recent Bulls signee Nazr Mohammed, a Chicago native who says he always dreamed for playing for his hometown team.

Heat, Spurs Discussing Andray Blatche

August 5th, 2012 at 8:35am CST by Sean Highkin

SUNDAY, 8:35am: Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel says the Heat are doing background work on Blatche, even though Miami may not be a good fit for the former Wizards player. While the move would give the Heat an inexpensive yet potentially effective piece off the bench, Blatche may have a greater opportunity to earn playing time on a different roster.

SATURDAY, 6:20pm: ESPN's Marc Stein reports (via Twitter) that the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are two of the teams that have expressed interest in signing Andray Blatche. Blatche was waived by the Washington Wizards on July 17 using the amnesty clause. No team placed a bid on the remaining three years and approximately $23.4MM on his contract, thus making him an unrestricted free agent.

Blatche, 25, averaged 8.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG for the Wizards during the 2011/12 season. He appeared in just 26 games during the season, in which he battled various injuries.

Odds & Ends: Ginobili, Pierce, Gee, Warriors, D12

August 3rd, 2012 at 11:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

While others, notably Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, decry the use of NBA players in the Olympics, Spurs GM R.C. Buford and coach Gregg Popovich believe they've reaped benefits from the pressure situations and team building Manu Ginobili has experienced while routinely playing for Argentina's national team, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. Ginobili is adding to his Hall of Fame resume during the London Games, and his success this summer is further evidence he can still produce at a high level for the Spurs in 2012/13. Here's what's going on stateside this evening:

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe has more from Paul Pierce, who also spoke at length with the Celtics team website. Pierce, whose current deal includes a team option for 2013/14, said he wants to "see what it feels like to be a free agent for once in my life" when his contract is up.
Earlier today when Luke Adams looked at wing players who might be candidates to join the Lakers, restricted free agent Alonzo Gee wasn't on the list. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio says that's with good reason, since the Cavs are likely to match any offer the Lakers would make (Twitter link).
There's been plenty of optimism from the Warriors this week, but Andrew Bogut acknowledges the team still has work to do if it's going to make the playoffs, notes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group (Sulia link).
Baseball crowds don't always mix with basketball fans, but if there's anything that can be gleaned from the boos Dwight Howard got at the Dodgers game tonight, as noted by Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, L.A. might take a while to warm to D12 if he winds up with the Lakers (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Blazers, Timberwolves, McGrady

July 31st, 2012 at 9:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The NBA does not make a profit by sending its stars to play at the Olympics, and a move to re-direct their headline players into a rebranded World Cup of Basketball would certainly change that. While Ken Berger of CBS Sports understands the idea of pulling NBA stars out of the Olympic games in the future, he says that it should be based on the premise that "Dream Teams" have run their course, and not because it is driven by an opportunity for David Stern and NBA owners to try to make money elsewhere. With that aside, here are some of tonight's miscellaneous links…

Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld mentions that Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones cannot be included in a potential Dwight Howard trade until the end of August, specifically 30 days after each of them signed their rookie deals with the Rockets on July 26 (Sulia link).
In a series of tweets, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports that Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey has concluded the second round of interviews and will "move on to the next phase" of the process once all four finalists are given due consideration. Although team owner Paul Allen was not involved in the interviews with Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, Kaleb Canales, and Elston Turner, Quick assumes that Olshey will ultimately present a recommendation for hire to Allen after deliberation. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter) pointed out that Turner's interview lasted for four-and-a-half hours today.
When asked if the Timberwolves had more changes to make after the Olympics, GM David Kahn replied, "Maybe it’s a tweak here and there, maybe even something big, to make us even better still" (according to a tweet by Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). In a separate piece, Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press documented Kahn's thoughts on the team's new additions this offseason.
HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy says that although the Bulls and Tracy McGrady have flirted in the past, it doesn't sound like a deal is close (Twitter link).

Odds & Ends: Varejao, Olympics, Hornets, Spurs

July 29th, 2012 at 4:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao has seen his name pop up in trade rumors this month, mostly in connection with a possible three-team Dwight Howard trade. However, the Brazilian says that the speculation doesn’t bother him, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “There’s nothing that I can do. If they trade me, they trade me,” Varejao said. Here’s more from around the Association..

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tells told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) that “…the Olympics are a huge for-profit endeavor. It makes no sense that NBA owners subsidize it.” An NBA GM agreed with Cuban’s assessment, suggesting that players shouldn’t have their salaries guaranteed in the event of injuries in the Olympic games (Twitter link).
Hornets owner Tom Benson is hoping to raise the club’s profile to the level of his New Orleans Saints, writes Peter Finney of The Times-Picayune. The Hornets sold 10,000 season tickets last season and Benson has an ambitious goal of selling 17,000 for the upcoming year.
Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld runs down the best remaining free agents by position. The best player left on the open market, he writes, is arguably forward Carl Landry.
Raul Barrigon of HoopsHype caught up with Hall Of Famer David Robinson to discuss Tim Duncan‘s new contract, the Spurs‘ knack for finding international talent, and the Dream Team.

Odds & Ends: Cavs, Parker, Kirilenko, Fields

July 27th, 2012 at 10:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

Every team in the NBA gets an equal number of home games and road games every year, but that doesn't guarantee equitability. Matt Moore of CBSSports.com goes in-depth on this year's slate, explaining how strength of schedule varies across the league. The Spurs, thanks to their annual rodeo road trip, have only two home games in February. The Clippers will go on an eight-game road trip while the Grammys occupy the Staples Center, but their rival Lakers only play seven road games during that time. The Magic will play the fewest sets of back-to-back games, with 13, while nine other teams have 22 back-to-backs. There's plenty more of note this evening from around the Association:

Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld notes the Cavs still have the flexibility needed to acquire Andrew Bynum if three-team trade talks with the Lakers and Magic get going again (Sulia link).
Tom Withers of the Associated Press catches up with Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who's taking a more cautious approach to life following the injury he sustained to his eye as a bystander to a nightclub brawl. Parker doesn't plan on letting the apprehensiveness carry over to his play, however.
One NBA assistant coach tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune that Andrei Kirilenko is a better fit with Wolves coach Rick Adelman's offensive system than he was with former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan's (Twitter link).
Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld talks to Landry Fields, now with the Raptors after the Knicks declined to match his backloaded offer sheet. Fields reflected on his time in New York and says his new team feels optimistic about making the playoffs this year.
Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com echoes the comments of former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy on ESPN 1000’s "Waddle & Silvy" show, calling for the Bulls to extend coach Tom Thibodeau's contract.
Austin Rivers (right ankle) and Xavier Henry (right knee) have undergone surgeries, the Hornets announced on their website, but both will be ready in time for fall training camp.