Greg Oden To Meet With Mavs, Kings, Pelicans
Greg Oden will be in Las Vegas to week, and will meet with at least three teams while he's there, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The Mavericks, Kings, and Pelicans will all meet with the former first overall pick this week, according to Stein, who adds that the Mavs' sitdown is scheduled for today.
While the Spurs and Heat still appear to be the frontrunners for Oden's services, a handful of other teams remain in the mix. In addition to the three teams he'll meet with this week, the big man also still has the Celtics and Bobcats on his radar, his agent indicated on Friday. As I noted at the time, the comments made by Mike Conley Sr. suggested to me that Miami remained atop Oden's wish list.
Given the number of teams interested in Oden, it seems possible he'll receive more than the minimum salary if and when he signs. But I imagine clubs are still wary of his medical history, so he'll likely have to show strong indications he'll be ready to play in the fall before a club is willing to roll the dice on him.
Odds & Ends: Howard, Bogut, Jennings, Jazz
Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- With a difficult free agent process behind him, Dwight Howard is ready to begin his new chapter with the Rockets, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- Andrew Bogut was on the trading block this summer, and while reports indicated he was upset with his inclusion in rumors, the big man expressed no hard feelings when he spoke with Warriors GM Bob Myers, as Myers tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
- Steve Aschburner of NBA.com argues that both the Bucks and Brandon Jennings would be better off if he accepted his qualifying offer. Doing so would give Jennings unrestricted free agency in 2014, and the motivation of a walk year could spur improvement that benefits the Bucks.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPNNew York.com (on Twitter) hears from league insiders that play in the Las Vegas summer league is more intense than usual as roster spots and financial flexibility are tighter in this free agent market. Teams seem to be waiting longer to fill out their rosters.
- Andris Biedrins, Richard Jefferson and Brandon Rush are heading to the Jazz because they made a transaction work, not because Utah believes they have the potential to get the team further than Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Mo Williams, and Randy Foye could, writes Jody Genessy of The Deseret News.
Metta World Peace To Play In China?
8:39pm: Agent Marc Cornstein told Marc Berman of the New York Post (via Twitter) that he will meet with his client tonight to go over all of his options. Cornstein said that a meeting with the Knicks is possible, indicating that nothing is a done deal yet with the enigmatic forward.
7:16pm: Metta World Peace said that he is going to play in China next season in a text to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter). Peace's desire to play in China was reported shortly after he was amnestied by the Lakers,
A source close to the forward told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com earlier today that World Peace's top preference was to join up with the Knicks with the Clippers as a distant second and China third on his wishlist. It now appears that Peace got a tremendous offer to play overseas or was throwing some misdirection to the media in advance of his decision.
World Peace was set to make $7.73MM in 2013/14 and carrying his salary on the books for 2013/14 would have carried major luxury tax implications. The veteran is, of course, known for his tenacious defense, but his play has declined considerably in Los Angeles in recent years. Last season, World Peace averaged 12.4 PPG with 5.0 RPG in 33.7 minutes per contest.
Northwest Notes: Wolves, Brewer, Nuggets, Gasol
Here's the latest out of the Northwest Division..
- Pau Gasol or Rajon Rondo could be possibilities for the Nuggets if the Lakers or Celtics decide to really blow things up, writes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. The Nuggets are armed with a trade exception of nearly $10MM from the Andre Iguodala trade and have added flexibility to pull of a deal.
- Corey Brewer is back with the Timberwolves, but this time around he sees a much different team, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. “There are a lot of good players there, and there’s a chance to win. The first time, we didn’t have a chance to win. What better than to come back and have a chance to win where I started? If we stay healthy, we’ll be in the playoffs," said the Florida product.
- More from Zgoda's conversation with Brewer (via Twitter), who tells him that the Bucks, Hawks and Kings also pursued him but of the four clubs, he liked the Wolves' roster the most and the direction the team was going.
Metta World Peace Clears Waivers
6:46pm: World Peace is set to meet with Knicks officials in Vegas, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
6:15pm: World Peace texted Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) and expressed that he is interested the Clippers, but has to "meet them first".
5:31pm: At least four teams have contacted MWP already, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post (via Twitter).
4:03pm: Metta World Peace has gone unclaimed on the amnesty waiver process and is now a free agent, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Teams had until 4pm central to claim the forward.
While World Peace was rumored to be eyeing a move to China, it now appears that he wasn't entirely serious about that notion. A source told Chris Broussard of ESPN.com earlier today that his top preference is to sign with the Knicks with the Clippers as a fairly distant second and China in third. The interest between MWP and the Knicks is believed to be mutual.
Hoops Links: Millsap, Peace, Splitter, Howard
Roughly 45 years ago today, The 76ers traded Wilt Chamberlain to the Lakers for Darrell Imhoff, Archie Clark, and Jerry Chambers plus an undisclosed amount of cash. Chamberlain would go on to average 17.7 PPG in his five final NBA seasons and help the Lakers win their first title in L.A. in 1972.
Got a fantastic basketball blog piece that you want featured on Hoops Rumors? Send your submissions to HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here's this week's look around the web..
- Soaring Down South looks at what Paul Millsap can bring to the Hawks.
- Silver Screen And Roll reflected on Metta World Peace's time in L.A.
- Pounding The Rock examines the enigma that is Tiago Splitter.
- Hoops Addict says Dwight Howard comes with too much baggage.
- Blog A Bull breaks down Chicago's Luol Deng dilemma.
- Bright Side Of The Sun has some questions about Phoenix's plan at the one-guard spot.
- Rufus On Fire gives us the state of the salary cap in Charlotte.
- Red94 sees major changes taking place after this summer's free agency period.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Hoops Rumors Originals
Here's our look back at the original analysis produced by the Hoops Rumors team this week..
- Chuck Myron brought us a roundup of international draft and stash players.
- The Wolves have found a creative way to retain their existing talent while adding new talent, writes Luke Adams.
- Luke ran down the NBA's new max salaries.
- Want a refresher on the amnesty provision? Luke has you covered.
- Here's a look at this year's tax paying teams.
- Did you miss out on Luke's weekly chat on Monday at 4pm central? Shame on you. Fortunately, however, you can get caught up here.
- Here's how you can follow your favorite team via Twitter, Facebook, and RSS.
- Play nice everyone. Here's our commenting policy.
Week In Review: 7/8/13 – 7/14/13
The Mavs agreed to a three-year, $9MM deal to bring Devin Harris back to Dallas, but an injury threw up a red flag and the two sides decided to call it off. Instead, the Mavs inked Monta Ellis to a three-year, $28MM deal. It's not quite Dwight, but it's definitely an upgrade for Mark Cuban & Co. Here's more from the week that was..
- Andrew Bynum and his balky knees are headed to the Cavs.
- The Pistons are trying to land Rajon Rondo.
- The Hawks matched the Bucks' offer sheet for Jeff Teague.
- The Nets signed Andrei Kirilenko to a $3.1MM deal and conspiracy theories immediately started flying.
- The Warriors agreed to sign big man Marreese Speights to a three-year, $11MM deal with a team option on the final year
- The T'Wolves got Corey Brewer.
- The Kings acquired Luc Mbah A Moute from the Bucks.
- The Cavs are out on Greg Oden, but several teams are still in the hunt.
- Tyler Hansbrough is headed north of the border after agreeing to sign with the Raptors.
- The Lakers signed Chris Kaman, bringing him back to the Staples Center.
- Metta World Peace may or may not want to return to the NBA next year after being amnestied by the Lakers.
- Dwight Howard was irked by Kobe Bryant's unwillingness to pass the torch.
- Nick Young is headed to the Lakers.
- The Lakers re-signed Robert Sacre.
- The Mavs are going after Samuel Dalembert.
- After agreeing to a deal with Kevin Martin earlier this month, the T'Wolves worked out a sign and trade with the Thunder.
- The NBA will replace Stu Jackson with Rod Thorn.
- Chris Copeland signed the Pacers' offer sheet and the Knicks can't legally match.
- The Bobcats are exploring a sign-and-trade deal with Gerald Henderson.
- Gigi Datome is joining the Pistons.
- The Nuggets and other clubs are eyeing Nate Robinson.
- The Lakers will sign Wesley Johnson.
- The Nets are eyeing Alan Anderson.
- The Spurs are likely to re-sign Gary Neal.
- Brandan Wright is likely to return to the Mavs on a deal worth $4MM per year.
- The Wizards have interest in DeJuan Blair.
- The Warriors will sign former Knick Toney Douglas as well as Jermaine O'Neal.
- The Mavs signed the well-traveled Wayne Ellington.
- The Nets won't sign Bojan Bogdanovic.
- The Pistons re-signed Will Bynum.
- Hopefully you're not drinking water while you read this. Brandon Jennings is seeking $12MM per year.
- Ellis parted ways with his agent.
- The Rockets waived a pair of bench players.
- The Heat re-signed Birdman.
- The Magic and Hedo Turkoglu are making headway on buyout talks.
- Anthony Morrow will join the Pelicans.
- The Bulls and Luol Deng are still talking extension.
- Jordan Farmer is coming back to the Lakers.
- Toronto will sign one guard Dwight Buycks.
- The Spurs made a run at AK47.
- The Rockets will sign Reggie Williams.
- The Pelicans waived Lance Thomas.
- The Pistons will welcome back Chauncey Billups.
- The Pelicans signed Greg Stiemsma.
- The Pistons cut Kim English.
- The Warriors picked up their option on Mark Jackson for 2014/15.
- Ronny Turiaf will sign with the Timberwolves.
- The Pistons won't amnesty anyone.
- The Rockets signed Robert Covington earlier today.
Metta World Peace Wants To Join Knicks
The deadline for a team to claim Metta World Peace off of amensty waivers is at 4pm central today and while he might go untouched in the next few hours, there are plenty of teams that would love to bring him aboard. Here's the latest on MWP..
- A source close to MWP tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter) that he definitely wants to play for the Knicks. The Clippers are a fairly distant second, with China third.
- If World Peace clears waivers this afternoon, the Knicks are expected to be the first in line to sign him, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
- Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) expects the forward to wind up with the Knicks, Nets, or Clippers if he's willing to play for the veteran's minimum for one year. All three teams would offer at least a puncher's chance at a title in 2013 and varying degrees of familiarity. World Peace, of course, spent the last few years in Los Angeles and is a New York City native.
- Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links) has heard that Chris Paul and Matt Barnes have reached out to MWP about joining the Clippers. The veteran could potentially come in as a backup power forward in Doc Rivers' rotation. Pincus also notes that the Clippers tried to deal for him way back when he was a member of the Pacers.
- Knicks exec Larry Johnson wants to see the club go out and get World Peace, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Pacers Sign Chris Copeland
Chris Copeland is officially a member of the Pacers after the Knicks did not match his offer sheet, the Pacers announced. Copeland signed a two-year, $6.2MM offer sheet with Indiana last week and the Knicks did not have the cap space to match. Still, three days had to pass before the agreement could become official.
There were several teams in play for the John Spencer client, including the Lakers, Bucks, Jazz, and Pelicans. The Nuggets and Cavs were also among the teams involved, though their level of interest was not quite known.
The Knicks probably would have liked to keep Copeland, but they had only $1.75MM left on their mini mid-level exception after giving a portion of it to Pablo Prigioni. Copeland averaged 8.7 PPG and shot nearly 48% from the floor in 15.4 minutes per night in 2012/13.
Before signing with the Knicks in 2012, Copeland played overseas with Okapi Aalstar in Belgium, TBB Trier in Germany, and Torrons Vicens in Spain. He also played one season in the NBA Developmental League with the Fort Worth Flyers and averaged 10.1 PPG.