A year ago, the biggest unrestricted free agent on the open market, Deron Williams, made his decision to sign with the Nets on July 3rd. A year later, the two biggest free agents available are Chris Paul and Dwight Howard. Paul quickly agreed to re-sign with the Clippers, while Howard is visiting with the Mavericks and Lakers today after meeting with the Rockets, Warriors, and Hawks earlier in the week.
Will Howard follow in D-Will's footsteps and make a decision on the 3rd, once his meetings are finished? We'll have to wait to find out, but in the meantime, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the Association….
- In examining potential free agent targets for the Bucks, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times says to keep an eye on Carl Landry and Devin Harris, who both told Woelfel recently that they'd be open to playing in Milwaukee.
- Woelfel adds in a tweet that the Bucks appear to be eyeing former Pacers GM David Morway as a potential assistant GM in Milwaukee.
- As Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes, tanking hasn't exactly worked for the Celtics in the past, so it may not be the best approach for the 2013/14 team either.
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star says there's a belief Raptors GM Masai Ujiri may not use the amnesty provision later this month, in order to keep Linas Kleiza's expiring contract around for trade purposes.
- Writing for The Basketball Jones, Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com explains why the Andrea Bargnani trade looks much better for the Raptors than the Knicks.
- Because the Suns decided not to release P.J. Tucker yesterday and the Clippers held on to Willie Green, both players' contracts have become fully guaranteed for the 2013/14 season, per ShamSports.com.
- Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com examines some of the Lakers' free agent targets, attempting to determine which possibilities are more realistic than others.
- The NBA players' union has filed a motion to dismiss Billy Hunter's lawsuit against the NBPA, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.