Pincus On Howard, Bynum, Gasol, Green, Clippers
Sources tell Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld that the Lakers would be "far more comfortable" building around Dwight Howard rather than Andrew Bynum. If today's rumored four-team trade comes to fruition, the Lakers would get their wish. Pincus has a few more items of note in his latest piece, and we'll hit the highlights here:
- If the Rockets can't land Howard or Bynum, they might have interest in acquiring Pau Gasol if he's dealt to the Magic, Pincus says. Gasol would net the Magic fewer assets than if they dealt Howard to the Rockets, but Pincus believes it would still be a solid haul.
- The Lakers have their $3.09MM taxpayer's mini mid-level exception available, but are reluctant to tie it up with a trade for Howard still in play.
- Pincus has the details on Willie Green's deal with the Clippers, who acquired the veteran shooting guard in a sign-and-trade last month. It's a three-year deal for $4.2MM, but only the first season, at $1.375MM, is fully guaranteed. He also looks at the multiple trade exceptions held by the Clippers, which gave the team a choice when they acquired Green. The team opted to use part of a $2.76MM exception left over from dealing Al-Farouq Aminu in the Chris Paul trade.
Ashton Gibbs Signs In Greece
Rookie free agent Ashton Gibbs has signed a one-year deal with Greek team Panionios B.C., tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Gibbs went undrafted in June after playing his college career at the University of Pittsburgh.
Gibbs, 22, averaged between 14.6 and 16.8 PPG in his last three seasons as a Panther. ESPN.com's Chad Ford ranked the point guard as a top-100 prospect in his draft class, including the 14th-best player at his position.
Odds & Ends: Bobcats, Kapono, Griffin, Mavs
The Bobcats have been linked to a number of power forwards this summer, including Carl Landry, Antawn Jamison, and Louis Amundson. However, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer says (via Twitter) that the idea Charlotte is "desperate" to add another power forward is off base. Here are a few more Thursday afternoon odds and ends from around the Association:
- Jason Kapono turned down an offer to play for Orleans in France, according to Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of Catch and Shoot (French link).
- According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Bulls turned down the Magic when Orlando asked permission to interview Chicago assistant Adrian Griffin for its lead assistant position. The Bulls appear to only be allowing Griffin to interview for head coach openings, says Haynes.
- Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com wonders how the Mavericks stack up against their Western Conference foes, following the team's offseason moves.
- Having signed a three-year deal with the Suns, Michael Beasley is looking forward to getting a fresh start in Phoenix, as he tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
- Lang Greene of HoopsWorld identifies a few teams whose summer acquistions may have them ready to make the leap from the lottery to the playoffs in 2012/13.
Bucks Sign Joel Przybilla To One-Year Deal
AUGUST 9TH, 12:40pm: The Bucks have officially signed Przybilla, the team announced today (Twitter link).
AUGUST 6TH, 10:15pm: The contract is a one-year, $1.35 million deal, tweets CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes.
9:03pm: Joel Przybilla has reached a verbal agreement to sign with the Bucks, tweets JournalTimes.com's Gery Woelfel.
AUGUST 3RD, 6:14pm: Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com says the Mavericks, with 15 players already on the roster, seem like "a distant third" behind the Bucks and Trail Blazers in the competition for Przybilla. He adds that the Mavs have expressed interest in Przybilla ever since the free agent period began July 1st, and that the team was among those interested in signing him at midseason in 2011/12.
1:32pm: Unrestricted free agent Joel Przybilla is expected to make a decision at some point this afternoon or evening on where he'll play in 2012/13, a source tells SI.com's Sam Amick. As Amick notes, Przybilla's options appear to be the Trail Blazers, Mavericks, and the Bucks — we heard earlier today that Milwaukee was considered the frontrunner.
While all three clubs have some form of mid-level or room exception available, I would imagine Przybilla won't land more than a minimum-salary contract. When he eventually signed for the 2011/12 season, the 32-year-old earned a prorated portion of the veteran's minimum from the Blazers. In 27 contests for Portland, the big man played 16.6 minutes per game, averaging 2.0 points and 5.1 rebounds.
If Przybilla signs with the Bucks, he and Samuel Dalembert will be the only true centers on the roster. However, the team has a few other guys that could play in the middle, including Ekpe Udoh and Drew Gooden.
Basketball Age Limit Unlikely For 2016 Olympics
This week may not represent your last chance to watch LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and other NBA stars play Olympic basketball after all. The NBA continues to push for an age limit for men's basketball at the Olympics, but according to Ian Thomsen of SI.com, such a rule is unlikely to be instituted in time for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro.
Commissioner David Stern and the NBA have hoped to create a new World Cup of Basketball that features the game's biggest stars, while modifying Olympic play to include only 23-and-under players. That plan is still in the works and could be in place by the 2020 games, but according to Thomsen, it's "highly unrealistic" that FIBA will move quickly to introduce an age limit by 2016. Thomsen points out that the involvement of the International Olympic Committee would complicate talks, and that the new rule would "require the ratification of 213 national basketball federations around the world."
Whether or not NBA stars are still playing for Team USA in Brazil in 2016, managing director Jerry Colangelo hopes to oversee the U.S. basketball program through those Olympics. Asked by SI.com if he planned to continue representing Team USA for another four years, Colangelo replied, "Yes, I think so."
Chamberlain Oguchi Drawing NBA Interest
Nigeria managed just one win in preliminary play at the Olympics, and suffered an 83-point loss at the hands of Team USA, ending their Olympic run early. But at least one player from the squad caught the attention of some NBA front offices with his performance in London. 6'6" swingman Chamberlain Oguchi has received training camp invitations from several NBA teams, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Oguchi, 26, played his college ball in America, at Oregon and Illinois State, but has played mostly overseas since 2009, with one D-League stint in 2010/11. In Nigeria's final game against France earlier this week, Oguchi poured in 35 points, including eight three-pointers, impressing many NBA executives in attendance, according to Wojnarowski.
If Oguchi were to sign with an NBA team, his contract would likely be non-guaranteed and would start at the rookie minimum, so it's unclear whether that will provide enough incentive to return to North America. Either way though, the 26-year-old is one player to significantly improve his stock at the Olympics, putting his name back on the NBA radar.
Free Agent Spending By Division: Southeast
While a handful of free agents are still on the market and many will sign deals in the coming weeks, the brunt of the offseason spending is now complete. Using Hoops Rumors' Free Agent Tracker, we'll be looking back at this summer's free agent signings, checking in on which teams were the offseason's big spenders and which teams were relatively quiet. Our look at summer spending starts with the Southeast Division, and will eventually continue to cover the other five divisions.
These figures only take into account free agent signings, so salary absorbed in trades or money used to sign draft picks isn't included in this list. Additionally, not all of this salary is necessarily guaranteed, which we'll try to note as we go along. Here are the Southeast's expenditures in free agency, sorted by player salary:
Orlando Magic: $25.2MM (Jameer Nelson)
Besides adding rookies Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O'Quinn, the Magic really only made one signing, inking Nelson to a three-year deal. Not all of the $25.2MM is guaranteed, but Nelson will make a guaranteed $8.6MM in each of the first two seasons of the contract, which certainly isn't an inconsequential commitment for a team looking to create cap flexibility.
Atlanta Hawks: $22.396MM (Lou Williams, DeShawn Stevenson)
A necessary add-on via sign-and-trade in the Joe Johnson blockbuster with the Nets, Stevenson required a three-year deal, but only the first year is guaranteed. Unless Stevenson really impresses the Hawks this year, he'll likely be let go after the season, reducing the Hawks' total summer-2012 commitments to about $17.9MM. Most of that, of course, comes from Williams' deal, which is worth the full mid-level — $15.675MM over three years. Despite being the division's second-biggest spender in free agency, the Hawks cleared a ton of money from their books this offseason by moving Johnson and Marvin Williams.
Miami Heat: $12.439MM (Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis)
Lewis will earn a veteran's minimum worth over $1.3MM from the Heat in each season of his two-year deal. However, his salary will only count toward the team's cap for about $854K in 2012/13 and $884K in 2013/14, shaving a little over $1MM off the Heat's free agent bill. Allen and Lewis also have player options in the final years of their contracts, so Miami's overall price tag for the two players could end up being as little as about $7.17MM, if both opt out early.
Charlotte Bobcats: $10MM (Ramon Sessions)
It was hard to imagine coming into the offseason that the 7-59 Bobcats would be able to attract many desirable free agents to Charlotte. That's turned out to be the case, for the most part, as the club's pursuits of Carl Landry, Antawn Jamison, and others have come up short so far. Sessions was willing to take the Bobcats' money though, signing a two-year deal worth $5MM annually.
Washington Wizards: $1.801MM (A.J. Price, Cartier Martin)
The Wizards have talked about all year about using the trade market as a way of avoiding free agency. They acquired players on expensive, multiyear deals, such as Nene, Emeka Okafor, and Trevor Ariza, noting that it was easier to bring aboard a player whose salary was set in stone rather than trying to negotiate with free agents. So far this summer, the team has stuck to its word, seemingly avoiding the market entirely, except for a pair of minimum-salary deals. The Wizards will pay about $854K of both Price's and Martin's salaries, making Washington's total bill in free agency so far just $1.71MM.
Cavaliers Sign C.J. Miles
THURSDAY, 8:18am: Miles' deal with the Cavs will pay him $2MM per year, with a team option for the second season, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
WEDNESDAY, 3:12pm: The Cavaliers have officially signed Miles, the team announced in a press release.
2:22pm: Miles has passed his physical, acording to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter). The Cavs have yet to officially announce the signing, but should do so soon.
FRIDAY, 11:10am: Miles and the Cavs have agreed to terms on a deal, says Smith in his story for the Salt Lake Tribune.
10:41am: After drawing interest from a handful of teams, including the Lakers and Bucks, C.J. Miles is expected to sign with the Cavaliers, according to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter). Smith adds that Miles' bond with Cavs coach Byron Scott influenced his decision and that his contract is expected to be for two years (Twitter links).
Cleveland is one of the few remaining NBA teams that has a decent chunk of cap space at its disposal, so Miles figures to be signed using some of that space. The Cavs should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $10-15MM under the cap, though obviously the 25-year-old won't receive a salary that large.
According to Smith, the Rockets and Mavericks were among the other teams interested in Miles this summer (Twitter link). The seven-year veteran has spent his entire NBA career with the Jazz until this point, with his career year coming in 2010/11 when he averaged 12.8 points and 14.4 PER in 25.2 minutes per contest.
Restricted free agent Alonzo Gee has yet to re-sign with the Cavs or sign an offer sheet with another club, but Miles' deal with Cleveland doesn't necessarily mean Gee won't be back. Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer noted earlier this week that even as the Cavs were pursuing players like Miles and Carlos Delfino, the team remained very open to retaining Gee.
Najera Drawing Interest, Considering Retirement?
THURSDAY, 8:15am: Peter Vecsey of the New York Post (Twitter link) hears that Najera is planning on retiring to become an assistant coach in the D-League, so it's unclear at the moment exactly what the 36-year-old's future holds.
WEDNESDAY, 7:02pm: The Rockets, Timberwolves, and Nets are among the teams interested in free agent forward Eduardo Najera, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Najera is now fully recovered from a fractured forehead frontal bone and is back to playing.
Najera, 36, spent the last two seasons with the Bobcats, where he averaged 2.4 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 12.1 minutes per contest. The veteran also spent a season-and-a-half with the Nets before being traded to the Mavericks for Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams in January 2010. In eleven NBA seasons, Najera has averaged 4.9 PPG and 3.7 RPG with his most productive seasons in Dallas and Denver.
Magic Sign Kyle O’Quinn
THURSDAY, 8:10am: O'Quinn's deal with the Magic will pay him a guaranteed $788K in year one, with non-guaranteed salaries in years two and three, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Because he's making more than the rookie minimum, O'Quinn's salary will come out of the Magic's $5MM mid-level exception, which the team had yet to use.
WEDNESDAY, 8:07pm: Kyle O'Quinn has signed a three-year, $2.5MM deal with the Magic, his agent tells Adam Zagoria of SNY TV (via Twitter). Orlando drafted the forward in the second-round with the 49th overall pick. It's not yet known if the contract is partially or fully guaranteed.
O'Quinn, 22, emerged as an NBA prospect beginning in his junior campaign at Norfolk State. As a senior, O'Quinn put up 15.9 PPG and 10.3 RPG for the Spartans as he led them to a remarkable upset over No. 2 Missouri in the first-round of the NCAA tournament. While the power forward was counted on for offensive production in college, he stands out for his strong defensive play and was named MEAC Defensive Player of the Year last season.