Rockets Amnesty Luis Scola
FRIDAY, 2:33pm: The Rockets have officially released Scola via the amnesty clause, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
THURSDAY, 8:57pm: Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld points out why Scola could actually clear the amnesty waivers and become an unrestricted free agent. An amnesty bid requires the incorporation of the non-guaranteed amount of the contract. While Scola was guaranteed $9.4MM and $10.2MM for the next two seasons, his final season was for $11MM with just $1MM guaranteed. A bidding team would have to account for the non-guaranteed $10MM over the life of the original deal (three years in this case), thus starting the bid at a minimum of around $3.3MM. Pincus mentions that teams won't have that kind of cap space to make such an offer, which increases the possibility that Scola clears waivers.
Odds & Ends: Spurs, Perkins, Fields
Bulls Notes: Rose, Asik, Howard, Hinrich
Derrick Rose's road to recovery appears to be progressing along nicely according to his brother Reggie, who says that the Bulls superstar is "way ahead of schedule." Rose is now walking without a brace and is currently in California enjoying a quiet retreat from Chicago in the meantime (Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago has the report). Here's what else we've heard out of Chicago tonight, including more on Omer Asik, thoughts on Dwight Howard, and a returning Bull..
Griffin Injured During Team USA Scrimmage, Davis Recalled
10:15pm: Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reports that the injury is a meniscal tear that will require arthroscopic surgery.
9:15pm: Yahoo's Marc J. Spears says that although Blake is done with the Olympics, he should be ready for training camp (Twitter link).
4:32pm: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted earlier that Blake Griffin hurt his knee during a scrimmage with Team USA and will return to Los Angeles for further examination by team doctors. Just yesterday, Griffin signed a five-year maximum extension to remain with the Clippers.
Team USA officials have summoned Anthony Davis back to Las Vegas immediately to fill in as Griffin's replacement, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Calderon Requests Trade From Raptors
Marc Stein of ESPN writes that Jose Calderon would like to be traded from the Raptors. Calderon is well aware that the team does not plan to waive him with their amnesty clause, but is likely seeking a change of scenery with Kyle Lowry appearing to be the team's new starting point guard. Calderon's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed that he and Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo are now working to find a deal (Twitter link). Stein cites sources that believe the Raptors prefer to trade the Spanish guard to a team with cap space in order to acquire a trade exception.
Lakers Eyeing Jamison, Brand, Jermaine O’Neal
Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles reports that the Lakers are in the market for big men, with Antawn Jamison, Elton Brand, and Jermaine O'Neal on their short list of targets. While the team is still currently in negotiations with Jordan Hill, they also hope that the above listed players would be available for the veteran's minimum. Although the Lakers still have their $3MM mid-level exception to use, they would prefer to set it aside in the event that a deal for Dwight Howard gets done and a glaring void consequently arises.
Jerry Sloan Withdraws Interest In Trail Blazers
Nearly a day after interviewing for Portland's coaching position with GM Neil Olshey, Jerry Sloan decided to remove himself from the Trail Blazers' list of coaching candidates (Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida reports). Although he declined to give reasons why the job no longer interested him, Sloan conceded that "it just didn't work out on my part" during a phone interview.
Pacers Sign Gerald Green
The Pacers officially announced that they have signed guard/forward Gerald Green today. The former 18th overall pick of the 2005 draft averaged 12.9 PPG in 31 games with the Nets last season, shooting an exceptional 48.1% from the field and 39.1% from deep. Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, we relayed a report yesterday that the team was expected to make an offer worth $10MM over three years.
Wizards Re-Sign Cartier Martin
Via an official press release from NBA.com, GM Ernie Grunfeld has announced that the team has re-signed Cartier Martin. The 6'7 guard/forward averaged 23.0 MPG, 9.3 PPG, and shot 44.0% from the field for Washington last season, appearing in 17 games and starting twice.
Winning Bid For Brand To Be Announced Friday
The winner among teams that place a bid on recently-amnestied forward Elton Brand will be announced on Friday after 4:00pm CST (Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas reports). Only teams below the salary cap have the opportunity to bid. The Mavericks are expected to be "aggressive" suitors for the 13-year-veteran, who have high hopes of paring Brand with Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman. Other teams with cap space, such as the Suns and Trail Blazers, also have a chance to vie for Brand's services.
In the unlikely situation that no team places a bid, Brand would become an unrestricted free agent and could then sign with any team.