Hawks Buy Out Jordan Farmar
JULY 16TH: The Hawks have officially requested waivers on Farmar, according to a team release. Now that the two sides having finalized Farmar's buyout, he'll be headed to Turkey's Anadolu Efes, with whom he has reportedly reached an agreement.
JULY 5TH: Once the agreed-upon Joe Johnson swap between the Nets and Hawks becomes official next week, the Hawks are expected to buy out Jordan Farmar, according to NetsDaily.com (Twitter link). Farmar is under contract for $4.25MM for the coming season, but figures to be bought out for $1.5MM.
Central Notes: Scola, Cavs, Korver, Pistons
Yesterday, the Rockets officially used their amnesty clause to release forward Luis Scola. It's possible that the big man will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent, but there are interested teams out there, including one out of the Central division..
Rockets Reconstruct Trade Offer For Howard
11:35am: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that he doesn't believe last year's rookies (Morris, Parsons) and this year's three draftees (Lamb, White, Jones) are all a part of the Rockets' offer, but that many of them could be involved.
7:43am: In an effort to convince the Magic to deal Dwight Howard directly to Houston, the Rockets are in the process of reconstructing their trade proposal for the star center, according to an ESPN.com report by Marc Stein and Chad Ford. Stein and Ford write that the Rockets are looking to clear the necessary cap space to absorb at least three additional contracts in addition to Howard's, from a group that includes Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Duhon, Glen Davis, and Jason Richardson.
Hawks Sign Lou Williams
THURSDAY, 5:20pm: GM Danny Ferry announced today that the team has signed Williams to a multi-year contract (via an official press release).
TUESDAY, 4:04pm: The Hawks have reached an agreement on a multiyear contract with Lou Williams, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Atlanta has trades lined up to send Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams to the Nets and Jazz respectively, but still won't have much free cap space, so I would guess the deal is for the mid-level exception.
Jordan Farmar Signs In Turkey
THURSDAY, 2:58pm: Farmar has officially signed his three-year deal with Anadolu Efes, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter). Presumably, of course, this means Farmar has been officially bought out by the Hawks as well.
WEDNESDAY, 7:26am: With the moratorium lifted, the blockbuster trade that will send Joe Johnson to the Nets can officially be finalized as soon as today. At that point, Jordan Farmar, who is headed to the Hawks in the deal, will be bought out for $1.5MM by Atlanta. And according to Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger, Farmar already has his next contract lined up — he'll sign with Turkey's Anadolu Efes and play overseas.
Kyler On Calderon, Howard, Blair, Augustin
Jose Calderon's name has surfaced as a possible amnesty candidate a few times this offseason, but according to Raptors president Bryan Colangelo, the team doesn't expect to amnesty Calderon or anyone else this week. While Colangelo acknowledged that Calderon wasn't "thrilled" about the trade that brought Kyle Lowry to Toronto, he still views him as a valuable piece on the roster, as Eric Koreen of the National Post writes. Colangelo confirmed that a few teams have inquired on Calderon, and Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes that a trade is much more likely than an amnesty. Here are a few more notes from Kyler's HoopsWorld piece:
Odds & Ends: Nets, Brooks, Heat, Turiaf, Blazers
It's been another busy day of NBA free agency, and no team has been busier than the Nets, who've either signed, re-signed, acquired or traded 13 players today, according to the count of New York Times reporter Howard Beck (Twitter link). Many of those moves came as the team finalized earlier deals, like the swap for Joe Johnson, but some of the news was fresh, like the four-year extension for Brook Lopez. It doesn't appear GM Billy King and company are finished, either, as they're reportedly discussing a sign-and-trade deal for Antawn Jamison. We have plenty more on the moves to come here:
Magic Suspend Dwight Howard Trade Talks
9:38pm: A compelling reason the Rockets, Warriors and Hawks may take on Howard without knowing whether he'll re-sign is the possibility of flipping him to the Nets, says Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter links). The Rockets' continued pursuit of Howard has no bearing on their offer sheet to Omer Asik, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune hears (Twitter link).
3:55pm: While the Magic appear to be putting Howard talks on the backburner for now, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that Orlando would listen if the Nets (and presumably any other team) came forward with new proposals.
Hawks, Jazz Swap Marvin Williams, Devin Harris
JULY 11, 5:46pm: The deal is now official, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune.
JULY 2, 6:10pm: The Hawks and Jazz have agreed to deal Marvin Williams for Devin Harris, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. It's the second deal of the day for new Hawks GM Danny Ferry, who agreed to ship Joe Johnson to the Nets earlier.
Nets, Hawks Finalize Joe Johnson Deal
JULY 11, 5:03pm: The deal is now official, according to a press release by the Nets.
JULY 11, 4:40pm: Nets GM Billy King posted "Welcome Joe Johnson" on his Twitter account, presumably meaning the trade has been finalized.
JULY 2, 4:51pm: DeShawn Stevenson's sign-and-trade deal that puts him on the Hawks is for three years and $6.9MM, but only the first year, at $2.3MM, is guaranteed, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports via Twitter.
4:39pm: Wojnarowski now says the deal likely happens regardless of where Deron Williams signs (Twitter link).
4:18pm: The Nets and Hawks have agreed to terms on a trade that would send Joe Johnson to Brooklyn, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, who says the deal is contingent on Deron Williams agreeing to return to the Nets. However, David Aldridge of TNT says the Nets would agree to the deal regardless of Williams' status (Twitter link). Broussard adds that the deal would put the Nets out of the running of Dwight Howard, as it wouldn't leave enough cap room.