Agent Says Knicks Eyeing Shooting Guards
Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com reports the Knicks have interest in unrestricted free agents Sonny Weems and Maurice Evans, according to Roger Montgomery, the agent for both players. The Knicks are seeking depth at shooting guard with Iman Shumpert out until January and J.R. Smith the only rotation-caliber two-guard on the roster, but have only the veteran's minimum at their disposal, as Zwerling points out.
The Knicks could also be a candidate for Randy Foye if the Clippers consent to a sign-and-trade, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, also identifying the Suns, Bucks and Bulls as Foye suitors (Twitter link). Foye spent most of last season in the starting lineup for the Clippers, averaging 11.0 points, 2.2 assists and 2.1 rebounds with a 13.5 PER.
The 26-year-old Weems spent last season playing overseas after averaging 9.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists for the Raptors in 2010/11. Toronto withdrew its qualifying offer to Weems last week, making him an unrestricted free agent. Evans, who'll be 34 when the season starts, spent last season with the Wizards, putting up 4.9 PPG, 1.0 RPG and 0.4 APG in just 14.3 minutes a night.
Evans seems the more likely bet to settle for the minimum salary, as Zwerling notes. A twist to the story is that Montgomery is also the agent for Jeremy Lin, whose offer sheet the Knicks declined to match this week.
E’Twaun Moore Headed To Bulls?
E'Twaun Moore was just traded to the Rockets in the three-team Courtney Lee deal, but by all accounts Houston is likely to waive the 6'4" guard soon. According to Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com, Moore already has a new team lined up, saying he expects to wind up with the Bulls.
Moore would have to clear waivers before signing with the team of his choice, so it's unclear whether Chicago is simply his preference or if the Bulls have given him indication they'll claim him off waivers. He has a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary for next season that becomes guaranteed if he's not waived by the end of summer league this weekend.
Moore, the 55th overall pick in the 2011 draft, averaged 2.9 points and made 37.8% of his three-point attempts in 38 games for the Celtics last season.
Nets, Bobcats, Lakers In Mix For Jamison
8:42pm: ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin tweets that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak acknowledged the team's interest in Jamison, but said no signing is imminent just yet.
5:56pm: The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell has tweeted that Antawn Jamison is set to become a Laker.
5:01pm: TNT's David Aldridge tweets that the Nets are a less likely destination than the Lakers or Bobcats for Jamison, unless negotiations with Kris Humphries collapse.
Magic, Lakers, Cavs Mulling Howard, Bynum Deal
SUNDAY, 8:48am: High-ranking officials from the teams involved in a potential Howard trade tell Amico that the Cavs have walked away from the deal again, ending all recent talks (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 9:12pm: Magic general manager Rob Hennigan wants to build his team in a similar fashion to how the Thunder were constructed, writes Kennedy (via Twitter). This plan would require Orlando to acquire multiple lottery picks and successfully draft players who would turn into superstars.
7:07pm: The Magic prefer draft picks and young prospects as the team is not interested in making the playoffs as an 8th seed, tweets Kennedy. Orlando hopes to completely rebuild its roster if the team trades Howard.
Bobcats Claim Brendan Haywood
4:55pm: Aldridge confirms, via Twitter, that the 'Cats will pay Haywood $2.05MM a year for the next four seasons. The Mavs will pay the rest of the money on his deal, but it won't count against Dallas' salary cap.
4:37pm: The winning bid was for $2.05MM, tweets TNT's David Aldridge. Though the tweet is unclear, I'd assume that's the per-season salary.
4:11pm: The Bobcats have claimed Brendan Haywood off amnesty waivers, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Mavericks used the amnesty clause Wednesday to erase the final four seasons and $37.7MM left on his deal. It's unknown how much the winning bid was for, but since the 'Cats were the only team we heard about with a possible interest in the big man, it probably wasn't for too much.
Blazers Sign Will Barton
The Blazers have signed 40th overall pick Will Barton, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link). Monday we heard the team had reportedly agreed to ink him to a guaranteed contract, a rarity for a second-round pick. My guess would be the deal is for the rookie minimum of $473,604, if not slightly higher. The contract may also include a second non-guaranteed year, but that's just my speculation.
Barton averaged 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the University of Memphis as a sophomore this past season, prompting him to declare himself the best wing player in the draft.
Celtics Trying To Clear Space For Courtney Lee
The Celtics agreed to terms with Jason Terry last week, but they'd "love" to turn the deal into a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks in order to free their mid-level exception to pursue Courtney Lee, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Mavericks and Celtics discussed a sign-and-trade for Terry earlier in the process, but the Mavs are no longer open to such a move (Twitter link). Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com hears the only way a sign-and-trade happens is if a third team gets involved.
Northwest Rumors: Batum, Tolliver, Randolph, Roy
The Wolves' courtship of Nicolas Batum took another unusual turn last night, when Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reported that the league has ruled the offer sheet he signed with the team is invalid, since the Wolves don't have enough cap space to accommodate the four-year, $46.5MM deal. Minnesota moved to clear cap space Friday by waiving Martell Webster and trading Brad Miller to the Hawks. They also renounced the rights to free agents Anthony Tolliver and Anthony Randolph, as fellow CSNNW.com scribe Dwight Jaynes reported. But, as Jaynes noted, Webster won't clear waivers until Sunday at 4:00pm Central, at which time the Wolves can finally submit a new signed offer sheet from Batum. That's not the only news from the Northwest, and we've got the rest here:
Grizzlies Re-Sign Darrell Arthur
FRIDAY, 5:03pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Arthur, the team announced in a release.
MONDAY, 8:00am: Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal identifies the third year of Arthur's deal as a player option, and says the contract will be worth slightly over $9MM.
Trail Blazers Sign J.J. Hickson
FRIDAY, 2:53pm: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Hickson, the team announced today (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 8:48pm: A source tells Sam Amick of SI.com that Hickson's deal is worth about $4MM, which is pretty close to what he would have made with his qualifying offer (Twitter link). That would be something of an about-face for the Blazers, possibly triggered by Indiana's apparent willingness to either match an offer sheet or re-sign Roy Hibbert.
8:03pm: J.J. Hickson and the Blazers have agreed to a one-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The team elected not to give Hickson a qualifying offer which would have been close to $4.4MM, making him an unrestricted free agent, so presumably the deal is for less than that amount.