The major news of the day in the Pacific Division, and the league, for that matter, is the four-team trade that brings Lamar Odom back to the Clippers, his original NBA team. Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes about several key decision the Wolves have to make Saturday, many of which may be tied to the team's pursuit of Pau Gasol via trade with the Lakers. Richardson mentions that Michael Beasley has been working out in Los Angeles with former Laker Norm Nixon, who says his old team would "love" to sign Beasley. Nixon doesn't speak for the Lakers in an official capacity, of course, but it's just one more intriguing tidbit as Sunday's start to free agent negotiation's draws near. Here's more from the West Coast:
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic says it seems Steve Nash's days in Phoenix are over, as the Suns appear unwilling to come close to the $11.7MM he earned in 2011/12. Coro believes another team will give Nash an offer that approaches that figure.
Earlier updates:
- Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee is getting the impression Terrence Williams could be back with the Kings, though Jason Thompson is the team's first priority. Still, Jones wouldn't be shocked to see Williams wind up elsewhere (Twitter link).
- Jones believes Nicolas Batum would be an ideal target for the Kings, noting that he's a restricted free agent and the Blazers control his destiny. Jones also wonders whether Andrei Kirilenko, who was close to signing with the Kings last year, could become a King this summer (Twitter links).
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com examines what signing Andre Miller would do for the Warriors. The team would only be able to use the mid-level exception of $5MM-per-year to sign him, Steinmetz notes, speculating that Golden State might pursue a sign-and-trade with the Nuggets to bring Miller aboard. That seems like quite a long shot.
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