Joel Freeland will talk to the Trail Blazers this weekend and could agree to a contract before the Olympics, according to Ian Whittell of the Wardle Whittell Agency (Twitter links). Freeland, who was drafted by the Blazers in the first round in 2006, is "open to offers" and will have four Portland execs watching him play Lithuania at an Olympic warm-up in Houston tomorrow, says Whittell (Twitter link).
Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends, including items on the top player on the market, the Western Conference champs, and the NBPA's latest victory….
- SI.com's Zach Lowe takes an in-depth look at the Thunder's cap situation in the short- and long-term.
- In a separate piece at SI.com, Lowe examines what today's Bird rights ruling means and doesn't mean for the Knicks.
- In his usual Friday mailbag at Bulls.com, Sam Smith fields questions from readers about Chicago's offseason plans.
- Deron Williams' mother may not know where her son intends to sign in free agency, but she tells Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com that she's not pushing Williams to come home to Dallas and sign with the Mavericks.
- Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times takes issue with Jim Buss' contention that the Lakers don't need to make any major moves to compete for a title next season.
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