Southeast Notes: Heat, Miller, Mack
The buzz is back in Charlotte, or at least, it is in one sense. The floundering Bobcats will shed their moniker dedicated to their former owner and their day-glow orange jerseys and become the Hornets in 2014/15. Here's a look at the latest out of the Southeast..
- The Heat dropped Mike Miller's salary by using the amnesty clause, but their real tax test is still ahead of them, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. If a proven veteran with an outsized contract is put on the market at the deadline, Winderman wonders if the club will take the plunge by packaging smaller pieces such as Joel Anthony, Udonis Haslem, and Shane Battier to get a deal done.
- One reader asks Winderman if the Heat still have room in their rotation for another upgrade this winter. With Chris Andersen, Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Ray Allen, Battier, Norris Cole, and possibly Haslem, there doesn't seem to be another rotation spot available.
- The Hawks appear to be overloaded at the one-guard position after re-signing Jeff Teague and drafting Dennis Schroder, but GM Danny Ferry believes that there will still be a place for guard Shelvin Mack, writes Robby Kalland of Peachtree Hoops.
Bucks Sign Carlos Delfino
JULY 17TH: The Bucks have officially signed Delfino, the team confirmed today (Twitter link).
JULY 7TH: The Bucks are set to sign Carlos Delfino to a two-year, $6.5MM deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The third year is a team option that could boost the total value of the pact to $10MM.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier tonight that the two sides were nearing agreement on a contract. We recently heard that the Knicks were showing interest in Delfino as they seek out a solid wing defender who can also shoot it from beyond the arc. He also received interest from a club in China, but the interest wasn't mutual.
Delfino and teammate Aaron Brooks were informed in mid-June that they wouldn't be brought back as the club had to make way for D12. Had his non-guaranteed deal been honored, Delfino would have made $3MM in 2013/14. The soon-to-be 31-year-old averaged 10.6 PPG and 3.3 RPG in 25.2 minutes per game last season.
Delfino is a client of ASM Sports, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Eastern Notes: Curry, Henderson, Oden, Joseph
We've already had two amnesty provisions in the East announced tonight in Linas Kleiza and Drew Gooden. Let's round up the rest of the Eastern Conference news here on Tuesday night:
- The latest on the Sixers coaching search indicates that the team is no rush to make a decision, but that doesn't bother in-house candidate Michael Curry, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curry, who conducted the team's pre-draft workouts and coached the Sixers summer league team, is expected to be interviewed and was told from the start by general manager Sam Hinkie that the coaching search would be a long process.
- The Bobcats and restricted free agent Gerald Henderson are having ongoing contract discussions about a return to Charlotte, but are still not close financially, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Just last week, we heard that the Bobcats and Henderson had reached a stalemate. It doesn't look like things have changed much, but the report that the sides are still communicating is good news for Bobcats fans.
- With the Heat now rumored to be the unofficial frontrunner to land Greg Oden, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders what type of message it would send if the team used the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth about $3.2MM, on the injury-prone Oden only days after re-signing Chris Andersen, who contributed to their second straight title run, for about half the price. Winderman also speculates that the Heat could try to move Joel Anthony in a cost-cutting move that would easier allow them to ink Oden (Twitter links).
- Kris Joseph, waived yesterday by the Celtics, will likely look to latch on with an NBA team in a training camp this fall. The Nets, with whom Joseph finished last season, are said to have interest in the forward, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, but are prohibited from signing him for a year after shipping him north in the deal to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Eastern Notes: Curry, Henderson, Oden, Joseph
We've already had two amnesty provisions in the East announced tonight in Linas Kleiza and Drew Gooden. Let's round up the rest of the Eastern Conference news here on Tuesday night:
- The latest on the Sixers coaching search indicates that the team is no rush to make a decision, but that doesn't bother in-house candidate Michael Curry, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curry, who conducted the team's pre-draft workouts and coached the Sixers summer league team, is expected to be interviewed and was told from the start by general manager Sam Hinkie that the coaching search would be a long process.
- The Bobcats and restricted free agent Gerald Henderson are having ongoing contract discussions about a return to Charlotte, but are still not close financially, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Just last week, we heard that the Bobcats and Henderson had reached a stalemate. It doesn't look like things have changed much, but the report that the sides are still communicating is good news for Bobcats fans.
- With the Heat now rumored to be the unofficial frontrunner to land Greg Oden, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders what type of message it would send if the team used the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth about $3.2MM, on the injury-prone Oden only days after re-signing Chris Andersen, who contributed to their second straight title run, for about half the price. Winderman also speculates that the Heat could try to move Joel Anthony in a cost-cutting move that would easier allow them to ink Oden (Twitter links).
- Kris Joseph, waived yesterday by the Celtics, will likely look to latch on with an NBA team in a training camp this fall. The Nets, with whom Joseph finished last season, are said to have interest in the forward, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, but are prohibited from signing him for a year after shipping him north in the deal to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Eastern Notes: Curry, Henderson, Oden, Joseph
We've already had two amnesty provisions in the East announced tonight in Linas Kleiza and Drew Gooden. Let's round up the rest of the Eastern Conference news here on Tuesday night:
- The latest on the Sixers coaching search indicates that the team is no rush to make a decision, but that doesn't bother in-house candidate Michael Curry, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curry, who conducted the team's pre-draft workouts and coached the Sixers summer league team, is expected to be interviewed and was told from the start by general manager Sam Hinkie that the coaching search would be a long process.
- The Bobcats and restricted free agent Gerald Henderson are having ongoing contract discussions about a return to Charlotte, but are still not close financially, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Just last week, we heard that the Bobcats and Henderson had reached a stalemate. It doesn't look like things have changed much, but the report that the sides are still communicating is good news for Bobcats fans.
- With the Heat now rumored to be the unofficial frontrunner to land Greg Oden, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel wonders what type of message it would send if the team used the taxpayer mid-level exception, worth about $3.2MM, on the injury-prone Oden only days after re-signing Chris Andersen, who contributed to their second straight title run, for about half the price. Winderman also speculates that the Heat could try to move Joel Anthony in a cost-cutting move that would easier allow them to ink Oden (Twitter links).
- Kris Joseph, waived yesterday by the Celtics, will likely look to latch on with an NBA team in a training camp this fall. The Nets, with whom Joseph finished last season, are said to have interest in the forward, tweets Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, but are prohibited from signing him for a year after shipping him north in the deal to acquire Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Smith, Celtics
Knicks fans got some unfortunate news this evening when the club announced that J.R. Smith has undergone patellar tendon surgery and an arthroscopy for a tear in the lateral meniscus of his left knee. He'll need three to four months to recover, putting him in line for a return between October 15th and November 15th, according to the club. The timing of the news is curious as the defending Sixth Man of the Year re-signed with the Knicks on a four-year, $24.7MM deal just last week. Here's more out of the Atlantic..
- A league source told Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks knew that Smith would likely require surgery on his knee when they signed him to his new deal. Zwerling adds that an orthopedist once told him that about 60% of NBA players undergo knee procedures over the summer, many of which the public doesn't hear about (link).
- At today's press conference introducing Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, and Keith Bogans to the Boston media, GM Danny Ainge admitted that there's still a lot of work ahead for him this summer. "I think everything is in flux for the next few months," Ainge said. "We have a little bit of a logjam at our big positions. We have a little bit of a logjam at the shooting guard position. So there’s some decisions and some choices that we’re going to have to make over the next few months."
- Ainge went on to say that the Nets wanted a Dream Team at any cost, writes Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com in his wrapup of the presser.
- Former Celtics guard Terrence Williams has left agent Aaron Goodwin and joined up with Herb Rudoy, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). You can keep track of everyone's representation with the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Wizards Rumors: Wall, Bynum, Haynes
Over the weekend, John Wall spoke with Michael Lee of the Washington Post about his expectations for the upcoming season. While many are wondering about his future with the Wizards, he claims that his focus will be reaching the postseason for the first time in his NBA career. Could he be headed to the negotiating table sooner rather than later? Here's more on that and other notes on D.C..
- The Wizards have began talking with Wall's agent, Dan Fegan, regarding an extension before the regular season, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Wall will make $7.259MM this season and if he and the team don't reach a deal on an extension by October 31st, the Wizards have the option of extending him a qualifying offer of $9.698MM in the spring. The Wizards star believes that he is deserving of a max deal, but many in the basketball world do not agree.
- Guard Will Bynum said that he had an offer from the Wizards and was drawing heavy interest from the Knicks and Clippers, but the Pistons were always his preference, tweets Keith Langlois of NBA.com. Detroit re-signed Bynum to a two-year, $5.75MM deal earlier this month.
- Wizards summer league invite Marquez Haynes is impressing people in the organization, including assistant coach Sam Cassell, Michael writes. The guard had interest from other clubs this summer, including the Mavs and Jazz, but wound up with the Wizards' squad.
Sixers Claim Tim Ohlbrecht, James Anderson
The Sixers have claimed Tim Ohlbrecht and James Anderson off of waivers from the Rockets and signed both players to non-guaranteed deals, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Rockets placed both players on waivers this past Saturday.
Anderson and Ohlbrecht were each about to enter the second year of a three-year minimum-salary deal with the Rockets, but the final two seasons were non-guaranteed in both cases. Philadelphia is a logical landing spot for both players as recently-minted GM Sam Hinkie spent years in the Houston front office. If they make the 76ers, they'll join another ex-Rocket (sort of) in Royce White.
Anderson was the 20th overall pick in the 2010 draft, but the Spurs declined to pick up the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him a free agent last summer. He spent training camp with the Hawks, re-signed with the Spurs early in the season, and wound up with the Rockets in January after San Antonio let him go.
Ohlbrecht was undrafted out of Germany, but Houston picked him up in February in the hopes that the 6'11" center could develop into a frontcourt contributor. Neither he nor Anderson played an integral role for the Rockets this past season.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Bucks, Jennings, Pistons, Bulls
Brandon Jennings remains under team control for the Bucks, but the standout guard reportedly doesn't want to return to Milwaukee. Jennings has had an up-and-down relationship with the Bucks over the years and it would appear that he's not so high on the club as it stands. The 23-year-old is also said to be seeking a deal with a $12MM average annual value, but if he really wants to escape Milwaukee, he just might sign the $4.53MM qualifying offer so that he can be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Here's more on Jennings and other items out of the Central Division..
- The Pistons and Bucks haven't had any conversation about a sign-and-trade involving Jennings, according to Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).
- Lionel Hollins said that he thought he was bound for the Bucks before the club decided to tap former Hawks head man Larry Drew, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
- Marquis Teague thinks Bulls Summer League teammate Andrew Goudelock deserves a a job on an NBA roster this season, but it remains to be seen if a GM will agree, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Latest On Antawn Jamison
Antawn Jamison has been on the free agent radar of teams for the last couple of weeks, but he says that teams have shied away from him due to unnecessary concerns about his surgically-repaired wrist, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). He has been linked to the Clippers quite a bit, but a source tells Spears (link) that the Bobcats are interested as well.
Jamison told Spears (Twitter link) that he began shooting 3-pointers again last Friday and can do full contact 5-on-5 in a month. He's also willing to workout for teams to show that he will be good to go in time for the start of the 2013/14 season.
Last week we heard that the Clippers continue to eye both Jamison and Lamar Odom, but are taking their time as they determine the best fit. The Clips are unlikely to sign both, so it's probably a one-or-the-other scenario for them.