Earlier today, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wrote that Dwight Howard was showing interest in the Rockets and Mavericks while he contemplates his free agent fate this summer and ignores the Lakers' request to re-sign with them as quickly as possible. The Lakers can offer Howard a fifth year and more money because the 2011 CBA allows annual raises of 7.5% over the first year, which would be in excess of $20MM for Howard; the other teams bidding for the 27-year-old center's services, including the long shot Nets and Hawks, can only offer increases of 4.5% over the first year.
Remember, Howard is just entering his peak years, and will likely sign another max contract before he retires, so a four-year deal with an option for the final year would allow him to become a free agent again at 30, when he can then sign a larger five-year deal. While Howard takes his time deciding, do you think he re-signs with the Lakers, or does he jump to some other team said to be in the mix?
10:45pm: There have been some updates on the second to last day of the Chicago predraft camp, which started on Thursday and ends tomorrow night, as well as other draft-related news, including a few players who hope their names are announced earlier, rather than later, by David Stern in June.
3:00pm: There isn't on-court action at the Chicago predraft camp this weekend as there was Thursday and Friday, though teams and players remain in town until tomorrow. Several general managers tell Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that they would prefer the event focus less on putting players through drills and afford them more time for interviews. With ESPN televising the part of the combine with players on the hardwood, I wouldn't expect the GMs to get their wish anytime soon. Here's the latest draft-related news:
Spencer Lund contributed to this post
2:52pm: Here are a few more updates out of Chicago:
11:44am: It took us multiple posts yesterday to round up all the tidbits trickling out of Chicago, where the NBA is holding its draft combine this week. We'll see if today is as busy, but in the meantime, here are the latest updates on the 2013 draft:
Earlier this week, Dirk Nowitzki addressed the Mavericks' desire to bring some major talent on board this summer in free agency, going into a little detail about the pitch he expects potential targets to receive. Nowitzki spoke about the same topic today, reiterating that it's "pretty obvious" he'll be in line for a pay cut in the summer of 2014, which will allow the team to flexible in handing out bigger-money contracts to other players. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News has the details and the quotes from Nowitzki.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the Western Conference:
As the Mavericks head into the offseason looking to add talent, and potentially another star, to the roster to complement Dirk Nowitzki, the German appeared on Ben and Skin on 105.3FM in Dallas to discuss the coming summer. The Dallas Morning News transcribed a few of Nowitzki's more interesting quotes, so let's take a look at what he had to say....
On the team's ability to add players this offseason:
"It's easier to turn a franchise around if you have cap space. You can go for free agents, you can go for a big sign-and-trade. We could be a lot worse off and be locked in on a bunch of contracts. And we've got the draft. This is a big summer for us. I think [Mark] Cuban is as fired up as me. I've been to the gym a couple of times working out already; I see him in his little box suite, going to work already."
On top free agents Dwight Howard and Chris Paul:
"We'd love to get one of those two. We'd love to get a player in here who can create his own shot and be a superstar-type player. It's still a long way to go until July. Those guys need to clear their minds a little bit and get away and then start thinking what they want to do with their futures. Hopefully, that's where we come in and put a great pitch out there and see what happens."
On making a pitch to free agents:
"I'll definitely be a little involved. But I'll be in the draft 'war room' for the first time ... order some pizza and talk some basketball. I got one year left on this deal and then I'm coming off the books. So if that helps for us to be better I'm going to take a paycut. That's part of the pitch. Cuban and Donnie [Nelson] have got to be part of the pitch. I think Dallas and the fans here, the sellout streak, the city to live in is gorgeous and has gotta be in the top five in the league. Hopefully, some of those guys will decide to come, and if not, we've gotta have a Plan B. If none of those top free agents come, we gotta make some moves with sign-and-trades or something. We want to get back to the playoffs and be a factor. We owe it to these fans who come out every single night to support us."
It's worth noting that when Nowitzki refers to his willingness to take a paycut, he's likely referring to his next contract. The NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits the veteran forward from renegotiating his current contract to reduce his existing $22.72MM salary for the 2013/14 season.
The Knicks are staring at a 3-1 deficit after falling to the Pacers for the second game in-a-row tonight in Indiana, 93-82. The Pacers will look to close out the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday in game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup.
While the now-less exciting second round of the NBA playoffs trundles on with the Spurs back at the cozy confines of AT&T Arena in San Antonio for game 5 against the Warriors, we've got more Andrew Wiggins and Sam Hinkie news, and some reports from the predraft NBA combine starting in Chicago tomorrow and going through Sunday..
With Mike Conley playing a significant role in leading the Grizzlies to within one game of the Western Conference Finals, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com looks back at Conley's history in Memphis. As Shelburne writes, Conley was almost dealt to the Bucks for Ramon Sessions before Lionel Hollins took over as the Grizzlies' coach and gave Conley a vote of confidence.
"It was more than a rumor," Conley said. "My dad's also my agent and he called me to say I wasn't playing this one game. When they tell you that, you know it's pretty serious."
Conley's place in Memphis is certainly safe these days, and after last night's win, his team has a 3-1 lead on the defending conference champs. As we look forward to seeing whether the Grizzlies can eliminate the Thunder, let's check in on a few other items from around the West....
Greece's Olympiacos has won its second straight Euroleague title, and at least one of the club's players seems to be drawing trade interest from NBA teams. Rigas Dardalis of EuroHoops.net writes that Kostas Papanikolaou, who received the Euroleague's Rising Star award, has received interest from the Spurs, Mavericks, and Knicks, among other teams.
Papanikolaou was selected by the Knicks 48th overall in the second round of the 2012 draft, but was sent to the Trail Blazers in the deal that brought Raymond Felton to New York. Although Portland currently holds Papanikolaou's rights, the small forward doesn't seem to be in the team's immediate plans, given the presence of Nicolas Batum and Victor Claver on the roster, according to Dardalis.
The Blazers are expected to be involved in free agency this summer as the team looks to upgrade its bench, but with plenty of cap space and four draft picks, Portland should also have plenty of worthwhile assets at its disposal in addition to Papanikolaou's rights, if the club decides to explore the trade market.
All eyes will be on Clippers guard Chris Paul this summer and while the All-Star has been treated like royalty in L.A. and arguably has been given more pull than any other player in the league when it comes to personnel decisions, it's possible that CP3 will head elsewhere as he looks to win his first NBA title. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld ran down the Clippers' biggest competition and identified the Mavericks, Hawks, Rockets, and Nuggets as the top threats to pull him away from La La Land. Here's tonight's look around the Association as the Clippers gear up for a very interesting summer..
According to Grantland's Bill Simmons, who finishes off his three-part trade value column, there's "increasing buzz" that the Lakers would amnesty Kobe Bryant if they were guaranteed to sign both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul. That appears a longshot on multiple counts, since the Clippers seem all but assured of re-signing Paul, while the Lakers have insisted they're not considering the amnesty move on Kobe. Even if the Lakers take Kobe's $30MM+ salary for next season off their books, it would still be difficult for the team to fit a max contract for Paul under the cap. Regardless, the offseason figures to be full of intrigue in L.A., as always. Here's the latest from the City of Angels and other Western Conference locales:
As we noted this morning, reports out of Minnesota are suggesting O.J. Mayo will be a top target for the Timberwolves in free agency this summer. Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com explores that story from the Mavericks' perspective, wondering how the Wolves' interest in Mayo could affect Dallas. As MacMahon notes, the Mavs would like to re-sign Mayo, but are unlikely to engage in any bidding wars for him. MacMahon suggests that if the Wolves prioritize Mayo over Nikola Pekovic, it could open up the door for the Mavs to make a run at Pekovic. Here's more out of Dallas:
With Flip Saunders assuming control of the Timberwolves' basketball operations, the team's coming offseason figures to play out a little differently than past summers under GM David Kahn. Nonetheless, it sounds as if Saunders will be targeting at least one player that Kahn pursued in the past. Dan Barreiro of KFAN in Minneapolis tweets that he expects the T-Wolves to "go hard" after O.J. Mayo this summer.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities follows up on Barreiro's tweet, confirming his report and noting (via Twitter) that he has heard from multiple people that Saunders likes Mayo. Wolfson adds (via Twitter) that the Wolves figure to have plenty of other players on their wish list and that creating the necessary cap space for the free agent guard may be tricky, but that Mayo has been cited by multiple sources as a likely target for Minnesota.
Assuming Brandon Roy's and Greg Stiemsma's contracts for 2013/14 are fully non-guaranteed, the Wolves only have about $36MM in guaranteed salary on their books for next season. That would seem to give them plenty of room to make a run at Mayo, who I predicted would earn more than the mid-level. However, that total doesn't include Andrei Kirilenko's $10.22MM player option, and it also assumes the team won't bring back restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic. If Kirilenko opts in and Pekovic returns on a $10-12MM salary, the Wolves won't have much room left to make Mayo a lucrative offer.
A sign-and-trade deal with the Mavericks is also a possibility if Minnesota doesn't have the necessary cap space to sign Mayo outright. But taking on salary in a Mayo trade could compromise Dallas' other plans in free agency, so I'd expect the Mavs to be reluctant to work out a Mayo deal unless they were presented an offer they couldn't refuse.
It's also worth mentioning that, since Mayo has a $4.2MM player option for next season, he could still decide to exercise that option before June 30th, avoiding free agency. The 25-year-old is considered extremely likely to opt out and become a free agent though.
Not long after being officially introduced as the Suns' new general manager, Ryan McDonough addressed the topic of his head coaching search, saying that several people on his list of ideal candidates for the job have matched up with the list that had been in place before he was hired, adding that Lindsey Hunter still remains as "one of the top guys" (Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic via USA Today). McDonough also underscored the draft as a franchise's "lifeblood" for "sustainable success" and was complimentary of some of the current players on the roster. Here's more out of the Western Conference tonight:
There are plenty of names being thrown into the mix for the Nets' head coaching opening and seemingly just as many being taken out of the equation. Sam Amick of USA Today is the latest to chime in on the subject, reporting that Scott Skiles is among Brooklyn's candidates, but that the chatter about a Jerry Sloan/Deron Williams reunion probably shouldn't be taken seriously. Here are a few more Tuesday odds and ends from around the NBA:
In a video interview, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune says that he isn't exactly sure what the hiring of Flip Saunders means for Rick Adelman. Zgoda also mentions that Saunders' offseason goal is to add perimeter shooters and "balance the roster," which he interprets to mean that the Timberwolves will try to land a shooting guard with good size and see what they can get for Derrick Williams. You can find more notes out of the Western Conference tonight below:
We'll have to wait until July for most of this summer's player movement, but a handful of coaches are already on the move. Here's the latest on a pair of head coaching searches and a Trail Blazers assistant heading south:
While fans of playoff teams are watching to see if their favorite clubs can make it through to the second round, fans of lottery teams are still playing the waiting game. May 21st's draft lottery is still almost three weeks away, but at least this year's draft class has been finalized, with the NBA announcing this year's complete list of early entrants yesterday. As lottery teams continue to look ahead to the combine and lottery on the way later this month, here are a few draft-related updates:
Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game reported in March that the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is adopting a tournament-style format this year, and the league confirmed the news today. The games will take place between July 12th and July 22nd, and while the move promises excitement, the contests won't necessarily have much meaning. Damian Lillard won the circuit's co-MVP honors last summer to kick off his Rookie of the Year campaign, but the other co-MVP was Josh Selby, who's been out of the NBA since March. While we wait to see how the revamped summer league shakes out, there's plenty of other NBA news:
With three games on the postseason schedule tonight, including two that could be series-enders, it appears we're in for another fun night of NBA ball. While we prepare for the evening's action in New York, Indiana, and Oklahoma City, let's check in on a few items out of the Southwest Division....
Here's a look at the latest out of the Lone Star State..