How The Joe Johnson Deal Works Financially
When the Nets agreed to acquire Joe Johnson from the Nets, the general perception was that Brooklyn's cap space allowed the team to absorb Johnson's mammoth contract. However, while the Nets' cap flexibility affords them the opportunity to make the deal, it actually appears that they won't be using any cap room in this trade or in any other moves this summer.
Semih Erden Signs In Turkey
After two seasons in the NBA, Semih Erden has signed a two-year contract with Aandolu Efes Istanbul and will return to his native Turkey, confirms Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The agreement, first reported by Basketfaul, also includes a third-year option, and was made official by the team today.
Odds & Ends: Hawks, D-Will, Calderon, Celtics
It's been another whirlwind day of player movement in the NBA, as the Hawks agreed to two significant trades, sending Joe Johnson to the Nets and Marvin Williams to the Jazz. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld speculated that Josh Smith may be the next Hawk to go (Twitter link), but Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com report that Smith is excited about the moves, which would free up plenty of cap space for next summer, when Atlanta could go after Smith and other major targets. Here's news from elsewhere around the busy Association.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday
The first day of free agency was a busy one on the Dwight Howard front, as reports suggested D12 was upset with the Magic and that Orlando was discussing potential trades with the Lakers, Nets, and Rockets. Howard denied saying that the Magic "blackmailed" him and told Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com that he was tired of hearing reports cite unnamed sources when discussing his situation, but also said he'd only re-sign with one team if he were traded — presumably the Nets. We'll track the latest on Howard throughout the day, with the latest updates on top of the page:
- The Mavs' offer for Howard could include some combination of Rodrigue Beaubois, Vince Carter, Dominique Jones and Brandan Wright, Jared Cunningham, Bernard James and Jae Crowder, plus draft picks and a sign-and-trade of Ian Mahinmi, a source tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Earlier updates:
Heat Pursuing Rashard Lewis
The Heat have had multiple conversations with Tony Dutt, the agent for Rashard Lewis, about bringing the 6'10" long-range shooter aboard with the NBA champions, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. Dutt says money is not a primary issue for his client, who will receive the $13.7MM guaranteed portion of his contract for next season after he was waived by the Hornets this weekend.
Bulls Rumors: Hinrich, Asik, Roy, Fisher, Lucas
In case you missed it amidst tonight's flurry of free agent rumors, the Bulls are making Kirk Hinrich their top free agent target, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Johnson has more in a full report, adding that Hinrich will command most, if not all, of the team's $3MM mini mid-level exception. Hinrich may not be altogether exciting for Bulls fans, but they haven't stopped their pursuit of others, including Brandon Roy, and GM Gar Forman left open the possibility the team could match the Rockets' backloaded offer for Omer Asik, which will be officially tendered on July 11th. "I'm not going to talk about any type of negotiation or anything contractually until we see something," the GM said. "We've made it clear we value Omer and it's been our goal that Omer would stay with the Bulls." Johnson has more out of Chicago, and we've got the highlights here:
Suns Rumors: Gordon, Dragic, Nash
The Suns have been notable in recent years for the way their training staff has perpetuated the careers of Steve Nash and Grant Hill. They may not have as many aging bodies to work with next season, though, as several other teams are chasing Nash, and Hill is drawing plenty of interest as well. When Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors previewed Phoenix's offseason in May, he said that if Nash leaves, the Suns might be best served by saving their ample cap space for the future and focusing on building through the draft for now. Still, the Suns appear to have significant free agent targets, including Eric Gordon and Goran Dragic, and there's more news on them tonight.
- The Suns are considering making a maximum four-year, $58MM offer to Gordon, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tweets.
Earlier updates:
Free Agent Rumors: Lin, Hinrich, Kaman, Nash
While a report surfaced last night suggesting that the Knicks may be reluctant to match a backloaded offer to Jeremy Lin, it doesn't appear that such an offer will come from Brooklyn. According to TNT's David Aldridge, the Nets haven't reached out to Lin, and appear to be viewing Steve Nash as Plan B if they can't lock up Deron Williams. Let's round up a few more free agent tidbits from around the league….
- While an earlier report (linked below) from K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune suggests the Bulls will only offer the minimum to Kirk Hinrich, Johnson says he's now emerging as the team's top target (Twitter link).
- Chris Kaman had a "positive" meeting with the Pacers today, but no offer was made, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Frank Isola of the New York Daily News believes Lin and Nash may be an either/or proposition for the Knicks.
Earlier updates:
Clippers To Make Offers To Crawford, Billups
The Clippers, who'll meet Tuesday with Jamal Crawford, plan to make him an offer for the $5MM mid-level exception, and will offer Chauncey Billups a one-year, $4MM contract, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. The team is also eyeing center Ryan Hollins.
Kings Meet With Ryan Anderson
8:40pm: Petrie reiterated to Jones that Thompson remains his top priority, saying the team has made him an offer and added that he can envision Anderson sliding over to play small forward for the team (Sulia link).
7:32pm: The Kings met with restricted free agent Ryan Anderson today, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Jones opines the three-point sharpshooter, who attended high school in the Sacramento area, would make sense for the Kings (Twitter link). With Anderson in town and Thomas Robinson, another power forward, arriving through the draft, Jason Thompson is taking a "wait-and-see" approach to re-signing with the Kings.