Brook Lopez Wants To Finish Career With Nets
Brook Lopez's new $60MM+ contract with the Nets will keep him under contract in Brooklyn until the summer of 2016, but if it were up to him, he'd remain with the team longer than that.
"The Nets are the only place I want to be," Lopez told reporters, including Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. "I want to be a Net for my entire career."
It appeared at times that Lopez wouldn't even remain with the Nets until the end of the month, as rumors swirled that he'd be the centerpiece of a package to acquire Dwight Howard from the Magic. Lopez said today that he wasn't sure whether he would've accepted a sign-and-trade to go to Orlando in such a deal, but now he won't have to worry about being moved until at least January 15th. That's the day Lopez can be included in trades again, though Nets coach Avery Johnson downplayed the possibility.
"Whenever a free agent signs a contract, I don't think the possibility of you being traded in January ever comes up," Johnson said. "We're glad where it worked out where he's here. He's obviously drawn some attention from other teams in the free agency process, but he's home, he's with the Brooklyn Nets, and he'll be in the starting lineup at Barclays Center on opening night."
Free Agent Rumors: Timberwolves, Rush, Mills
A couple more notable names came off the free agent market this morning, when Kris Humphries landed a two-year deal from the Nets and Grant Hill agreed to sign with the Clippers. While a number of solid rotation players are still available, the market is rapidly thinning for teams in search of starters. As clubs continue to jockey to sign the remaining available players, we'll track many of today's free agent rumors right here:
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune lists who the Timberwolves will target with nearly $14MM in cap space if they lose out on Nicolas Batum, specifically highlighting Courtney Lee, Jordan Hill, and Greg Stiemsma.
- Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times says that despite the delay on an official decision regarding Brandon Rush's future, the Warriors are still likely to retain him.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Gordon, Cavaliers, Vazquez
- Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago discusses why the Bulls' title window will shrink over the next two seasons.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer describes the progress that Byron Mullens appears to be making with the Bobcats based on his performances at the Las Vegas Summer League.
- 76ers head coach Doug Collins says he feels "very good" about what the team has accomplished during this offseason, writes John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com.
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.
Contract Details: Novak, Green, Miller, Thompson
While most players' contracts include annual raises, or at the very least, identical annual salaries, Steve Novak's new contract with the Knicks is a little different, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains (Twitter link). Novak's deal starts at a little over $4MM, dips to below $3.5MM by 2014/15, then rises back up to $3.75MM for 2015/16. The unusual structure of the deal provides the Knicks a small amount of savings in the years when the rest of the team's roster will get extremely expensive.
Deeks shared a number of other contract details from around the league, via Twitter, so let's round them up….
- The Spurs' deal with Danny Green is for three fully-guaranteed years and $11,287,500, with no options.
- Andre Miller will earn $5MM in each of the next two seasons with the Nuggets. The third year of his deal is partially guaranteed for $2MM of $4.625MM.
Earlier updates:
Nets Sign Jerry Stackhouse
MONDAY, 2:01pm: The Nets have officially signed Stackhouse, the team announced (Twitter link). Stackhouse himself first tweeted the news: "Officially a member of The Brooklyn Nets… NYC here we come!!!"
WEDNESDAY, 9:38am: The Nets have agreed to terms on a one-year contract for Jerry Stackhouse, reports ESPN.com's Chad Ford (via Twitter). The deal will pay Stackhouse the veteran's minimum, approximately $1.35MM.
Atlantic Notes: Lin, Valanciunas, Raptors, Nets
"Though he sure didn't act like it," writes Marc Berman of the New York Post, "Jeremy Lin still wants to be a Knick." Berman cites a source close to Lin who says that the young point guard is hoping the Knicks match Houston's offer sheet. Berman's apparent critique of Lin's handling of free agency is somewhat bizarre, considering the Post scribe reported two weeks ago that the Knicks intended to sit back and wait while Lin went out and let the market set his price tag.
As we wait to see whether the Knicks will truly let Lin walk, here are a few more items out of the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks still want to make some minor adjustments and figure to make a couple more small moves, says Gery Woefel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter).
- Expect the Raptors to sign 2011 fifth overall pick Jonas Valanciunas in the "next couple days," tweets Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.
- With Jose Calderon's future in Toronto uncertain, the Raptors would like to upgrade their bench at point guard, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter).
Earlier updates:
Nets Sign Mirza Teletovic
JULY 16TH, 12:18pm: The Nets have officially signed Teletovic, the team announced today (Twitter link).
JULY 4TH, 4:13pm: Larry Coon of ESPN.com and HoopsWorld confirms via Twitter that the Nets were able to agree with Teletovic for the $3.09MM mid-level. Assuming the maximum 4.5% raise, this would put the total of Teletovic's three-year deal at $9,687,150. Besides saving a few million dollars on Teletovic, this gives the Nets significantly more financial flexibility this season, as they're now free to exceed the $74.31MM "tax apron."
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Lin, Smith, Knicks
Earlier this week, the Nets backed out of the Dwight Howard sweepstakes and instead opted to re-sign restricted free agent Brook Lopez. General Manager Billy King told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, that it was clearly time to walk away from the talks and focus on the pieces that are already in Brooklyn. “At some point, you have to decide that you’ve got a young center who is pretty good,” King said of Lopez. “It was about getting him under contract and getting him focused, and getting our team focused." Here's more out of the Atlantic..
Odds & Ends: Humphries, Pistons, Warriors, Celtics
Rick Bonnell from the Charlotte Observer tweets that the Nets may have offered Kris Humphries either a two-year, $20MM or a three-year, $26MM contract.
As summer league kicks off tonight in Las Vegas, here's some more news from around the league.