The latest news and notes from around the Atlantic Division:
JULY 27TH: The Sixers have officially signed Ivey, the team announced today in a press release.
JULY 17TH: The 76ers and Royal Ivey have agreed to terms on a contract, Philadelphia coach Doug Collins told reporters (including Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com). The years and dollars are unknown, but I'd be surprised if Ivey receives another more than a minimum-salary, one-year guarantee.
We heard last week that the Sixers were hoping to add one more big man and a veteran point guard to their roster this offseason. They ticked the former off their checklist by signing Kwame Brown, and the addition of Ivey appears to round out the team's July moves.
Ivey, 30, spent the last two seasons with the Thunder, seeing limited action at the point behind Russell Westbrook and Eric Maynor. This will be the second stint in Philadelphia for the former Longhorn, who has also seen action with the Hawks and Bucks since being drafted in 2004.
Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago reported earlier that the
Bucks presented
Kirk Hinrich with an offer of about $4 MM per year, while the
Bulls have made an offer somewhere between the veteran's minimum and around $2 MM per year. The proposed length of either deal is still unknown. Although the Bulls have been relatively quiet at this point during the offseason, Sam thinks that Chicago could eventually become financially viable for free agent point guards such as
Ramon Sessions,
Raymond Felton,
Jerryd Bayless, and
Delonte West, who could be available if they are not acquired during the first wave of free agent signings.
Derek Fisher and
Jonny Flynn were also mentioned as potential additions.
We are currently less than four days away from the end of the NBA's moratorium period, and here is the rest of what we've heard around the league this evening...
- Ersan Ilyasova plans to meet with Bucks owner Herb Kohl on Tuesday, which is seen as an important opportunity in the team's effort to retain the 6'10'' forward (Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times reports). Earlier this week, we reported that Milwaukee offered a deal worth around $40MM over five years.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweeted that the Lakers are scheduled to meet with unrestricted free agent Jodie Meeks early next week. In another tweet, Amico says that the Celtics have reportedly stepped up their interest in O.J. Mayo, but thinks Boston would likely have to add him via a sign-and-trade.
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweeted that although the Timberwolves express interest in Anthony Tolliver, the team has not made any promises. Zgoda also added via Tolliver's agent that there are five other teams that have shown interest.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer answered some questions from Cleveland fans about the Cavaliers' offseason. While the team appears committed to keeping Anderson Varejao, Boyer thinks that his name will be brought up by other teams during trade discussions. With regards to free agency, she believes that Anthony Tolliver, Sonny Weems, Jonny Flynn, and Royal Ivey could be targets.
- Ben Golliver of the BlazersEdge wonders if there are more front office changes coming after the resignation of Larry Miller, considering that the Trail Blazers still have executives held over from two prior regimes (Twitter link).
- Carmelo Anthony publicly endorsed the Knicks' efforts to recruit Marcus Camby, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
- Bulls forward Taj Gibson told Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago that he'd like the team to keep Omer Asik and would be ecstatic if the team somehow found a way to bring unrestricted free agent Kirk Hinrich back to Chicago. The two had been teammates during Gibson's rookie season.
- Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes about Austin Daye and Charlie Villanueva as two players who will look to stake their claim as the stretch-four in Lawrence Frank's rotation. Both are in Orlando participating in summer league practices, but only Daye will compete on the Pistons' summer league team.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel talked about Jameer Nelson's return to the Magic and what it means for his leadership role moving forward.
