Iverson Declines Offer From Venezuela
12:35pm: Guaros de Lara GM Tomas Morris says that Iverson has declined the offer from the club, though the door remains open to a deal happening, tweets Francisco Vega of Latinbasket.com. Sources tell Vega (via Twitter) that Guaros de Lara's offer was worth twice as much as the offer from Puerto Rico.
11:13am: Venezuelan club Guaros de Lara reached agreement on a deal with guard Allen Iverson, Venezuelan sources tell Sportando. The pact will likely be announced at some point today.
Iverson was said to be deciding between the offer from Guaros de Lara and Puerto Rico's Indios de Mayaguez. The eleven-time All-Star also had conversations with the Lakers but the deal would have required the 36-year-old to spend time in the D-League.
Kevin Durant Parts Ways With Agent
SATURDAY: Durant is considering signing with Jeff Schwartz, Rob Pelinka, or CAA, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
FRIDAY, 7:05pm: The Associated Press reports (via ESPN.com) that Durant's brother will handle agent duties until he chooses a new representitive.
6:34pm: Kevin Durant confirmed to The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry that he has parted ways with agent Aaron Goodwin (via Mayberry's Twitter).
As a Goodwin client, Durant signed a five-year extension with Oklahoma City before the 2010/11 season that will pay him approximately $86MM and keep him in a Thunder uniform through 2015/16. It is unclear at this point what prompted Durant's decision to drop Goodwin, or who will represent him going forward.
Odds & Ends: Jackson, Freeland, Heat, Calderon
Saturday afternoon linkage..
- If Stephen Jackson wants to leave Milwaukee to play with Dwight Howard in Orlando, the guard will have to give the Bucks $5MM or so back in a buyout, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
- Former Blazers draft pick Joel Freeland denied a report from earlier this week that he agreed to a contract extension with his Spanish club, writes Nick Gibson of SheridanHoops.com. The big man also insists that he has nothing against the prospect of playing in Portland and will make the transition to the NBA “if the situation is right.”
- The Heat could use an upgrade at center as they may have to face Tyson Chandler, Dwight Howard, and Joakim Noah to win the Eastern Conference in the postseason, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
- Some fans are calling for the Raptors to start tanking, but that doesn’t guarantee much for the club and would hurt the locker room culture, writes Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun. Some are also calling for Toronto to deal Jose Calderon as the point guard has just one year remaining on his deal, but Jerryd Bayless hasn’t done enough prove that he be the team’s one-guard going forward.
- A number of contenders could benefit from adding Steve Nash to the fold, but the point guard continues to stand his ground and won’t ask for a trade, writes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com.
- There isn’t a trade out there that will be good enough to boost the 76ers into a finals team, opines John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- In his piece earlier today, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Warriors could use a 10-day contract as a tryout for a D-League big man. Will Foster of the Rio Grande Valley and Bakersfield’s Brian Butch could both be considered.
Knicks Notes: Smith, Lin, Grunwald
Last night, the Knicks' seven-game winning streak came to a halt as they lost to the Hornets 89-85 at the Garden. Here's a look at some Knicks news as they get set to take on Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks tomorrow afternoon..
- The Knicks aren't concerned about J.R. Smith's past off-the-court troubles, writes Christopher Hunt of ESPNNewYork.com. “We did our due diligence on this and we had people that had, let’s say, inside personal experience with J.R. and they all came out in favor of this move,” Knicks interim general manager Glen Grunwald said.
- Grunwald hopes to keep Smith beyond 2012 and is hopeful that it will be more than a "one-year run" for the guard in New York, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- In the same piece, Berman notes that the Knicks might now be faced with a good problem in that they will have too much depth. Rookie power forward Josh Harrellson returns after the All-Star Break from a fractured wrist and point guard Baron Davis is set to debut.
- With the emergence of Jeremy Lin and the addition of Smith, Grunwald believes that New York is in position to contend, writes Berman.
Odds & Ends: Lopez, Seattle, Jackson
Some notes from around the league on Friday night:
- Andy Vasquez of The Record reports that Brook Lopez may make his 2011/12 season debut tomorrow against the Bulls. Lopez has not played this year and is often mentioned as the centerpiece of a potential Dwight Howard deal for the Nets.
- The proposal is in place for a new NBA arena in Seattle, but the AP's Tim Booth points out that there are still hurdles to be cleared before the plan can progress.
- Stephen Jackson tells HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy that he is frustrated with his playing time in Milwaukee and does not foresee sticking around with the Bucks long-term.
- Journeyman Jeff Adrien, who has bounced around the Warriors, Rockets, and D-League since 2010, has signed a deal to play in Russia with Khimki Moscow.
LeBron Stresses Commitment To Heat
LeBron James sparked controversy earlier this week with comments that he would be open to a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played the first seven seasons of his career. However, on Friday, he clarified these comments, as reported by the Associated Press (via The New York Times):
"I love the fans of Miami. I'm here," he said following Friday's shootaround as the Heat prepared to play the Cavs. "The question was asked of me, could I see myself playing back here. I said yeah, in the sense of I don't know what my future holds and I don't want to take that out. I love the fans of Miami.
"I've got everything thing invested with this team. I'm looking forward to the years to come."
These latest comments are intended to diffuse the firestorm caused by some earlier comments that hinted at a return to the Cavs for James in the future. He signed a six-year deal with the Heat worth $110MM in July 2010 and can opt out after the fourth year, giving him the ability to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2013/14 season.
Sixers Owner Discusses Front Office, Amnesty
Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris discussed a variety of issues relating to the team in a media address before Friday's game against the Mavericks. Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News has the details:
- Harris hinted that the Sixers may look to pursue a big man to replace some of the production of the injured Spencer Hawes, but cautioned that quality, affordable centers are few and far between.
- He praised the work of president Rod Thorn and head coach Doug Collins in putting together a winning organization and building chemistry, and stated he does not believe major moves need to be made at this time.
- On whether the Sixers would ever use the amnesty clause, Harris was noncommittal, saying they would only do it if the right situation arose. Looking at their roster, nobody jumps out as a clear amnesty candidate, as the final year of Andres Nocioni's contract is a team option for $7.5MM for 2012/13. Elton Brand is slated to make approximately $18.1 million in the final year of his deal, but Brand is still productive enough that it is hard to picture Philadelphia exercising the clause.
Felton Frustrated With Role In Portland
6:36pm: Haynes reports that Felton is now claiming his comments were taken out of context, and that he has met with McMillan privately and supports the team's direction.
5:24pm: Raymond Felton is struggling in his first season with the Trail Blazers, and in an interview he gave to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, he seemed to place the blame on Blazers coach Nate McMillan:
“I know I'm struggling, but it's hard to perform the way you know how when you know they don't have confidence in you,” Felton told CSNNW.com. “Never in my days playing basketball, have I felt like a coach wasn't confident in my abilities. It's hard to play knowing that.
"Coming in and out of games is throwing my rhythm off, but it's something that I'll get through."
Felton is in the final season of a two-year, $15.8MM contract he signed with the Knicks before the 2010/11 season. He was traded to the Nuggets in the Carmelo Anthony deal last season and then to Portland in a draft-day deal in 2011 that sent Andre Miller to Denver. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
This developing rift between Felton and McMillan, along with the Blazers' struggles in the first half of the season, make them a team that could be in the market for a point guard as next month's trading deadline approaches. A rental of Steve Nash or a trade for Rajon Rondo seems like a long-shot for Portland, but they could target a lower-level stopgap solution to make a playoff run before entering the offseason with a significant amount of cap room.
Knicks Sign J.R. Smith
The New York Knicks have officially announced the signing of J.R. Smith to a two-year contract. An agreement between the Knicks and the veteran guard was announced earlier today. The deal is reportedly worth a pro-rated version of the Knicks' mini mid-level exception, with a player option for the 2012/13 season worth $2.5MM.
Smith played for the Zhejiang Golden Bulls of the Chinese Basketball Association during the NBA lockout, signing a one-year, $3MM contract. He played well, averaging 34.4 PPG, but his team underperformed and did not make the playoffs. Upon announcing his return to the NBA, Smith was linked to the Clippers and Lakers before ultimately deciding on the Knicks.
LeBron Laying Groundwork For Return To Cavs?
With the Heat set to face the Cavaliers in Cleveland tonight, the focus is on LeBron James, who yesterday expressed an openness to eventually play in Cleveland again before telling Heat fans not to worry today. While both remarks struck me as attempts by James to make everyone happy, Adrian Wojnarowksi of Yahoo Sports says LeBron came to Cleveland on a mission this week, and that his comments were no accident.
According to Wojnarowski, James delivered the same message he expressed publicly yesterday to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert months ago via "an emissary or two." Wojnarowski says LeBron is legitimately interested in the possibility of returning to Cleveland when he can opt out of his current contract (2014) and is already putting out feelers. Says one source to Yahoo: "[LeBron] has started to lay the groundwork, and he’s waiting to see what Dan Gilbert’s reaction to it is."
Under NBA tampering rules, Gilbert can't reply to James' comments, so we shouldn't to expect to hear anything out of the Cavs' camp. And with over two years until he even has the chance to opt out of his current deal, the two-time MVP could easily change his mind a few more times before he even hits free agency again. However, according to the Yahoo report, LeBron has nagging doubts about Miami.
Wojnarowski is blunt in his assessment of LeBron's motives, writing that the former Cavalier "lives for the recruitment, lives to be wanted elsewhere," and rightly pointing out that the Heat and president Pat Riley must be "livid" about James discussing free agency already.
Whether or not James is serious about a potential return to Cleveland, this week has made one thing clear: The road to The Decision: Part II could be even longer and more winding than the first time around.