Sundiata Gaines, Nets To Part Ways
According to a tweet from New York Daily News reporter Stefan Bondy, Nets General Manager Billy King has announced that Sundiata Gaines will not be returning to the team.
Gaines averaged 5.1 PPG in 12 starts last season for the Nets. He was recently mentioned as one of the pieces in a possible mega deal for Dwight Howard, but that deal has since died.
Gaines is now an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any team.
King: Nets Close To Re-Signing Kris Humphries
Nets GM Billy King told reporters today, including Newsday's Rod Boone (Twitter link), that his team is "close" to signing Kris Humphries to a new deal. King added that "it's a process" and said that it mostly came down to money at this point, tweets SI.com's Chris Mannix.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported yesterday (via Twitter) that the Nets were said to be offering Humphries a three-year, $24MM deal, while the Bobcats' offer was for three years and $22MM. For Brooklyn, re-signing Humphries makes some sense, since the team holds his Bird rights and could only sign outside free agents to minimum-salary deals. Of course, the Nets could also get something in return if they pulled off a sign-and-trade deal to send Humphries elsewhere.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Thursday
While reports yesterday suggested that the Magic had suspended Dwight Howard trade talks while they search for a new head coach, it appears the team is still willing to listen to new offers. However, those offers likely won't be coming from the Nets for a while. After Brooklyn agreed to re-sign Brook Lopez to a four-year, maximum-salary contract, it took the team's top trade chip from the trade block until at least January 15th, at which point he's eligible to be traded again. Who knows if Howard will still be in Orlando by that point, but here's the latest on the Magic's star center:
- Although Howard remains Houston's number one priority, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweeted earlier that acquiring Andrew Bynum in a three-way deal with Orlando and the Lakers is the designated back up plan.
- Interestingly enough, ESPN's Marc Stein retweeted a follower who recognized that the Rockets' official Twitter account decided to follow Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon, Glen Davis, and Jason Richardson as of tonight.
- John Denton of NBA.com says that according to GM Rob Hennigan, there is nothing imminent in Howard trade talks.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Nets, Villanueva, Warriors, Bulls
As busy as the Nets have been so far this month, we haven't heard much out of majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. That changed today, however, as Prokhorov released an official statement discussing the team's offseason:
"I'm thrilled with the way our team has come together. My congratulations and appreciation go out to general manager Billy King, assistant general manager Bobby Marks and head coach Avery Johnson for their tenacity, nerve and heart throughout this process. With the re-signing of Deron Williams and the trade for Joe Johnson, we go into our new home led by an All-Star backcourt and with every hope of a great season for the Brooklyn Nets. I can't wait until opening night."
While Prokhorov starts counting down the days until opening night, we'll round up the rest of the morning's odds and ends right here:
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:
Free Agent Rumors: Nets, Pacers, Green
The July moratorium came to an end late last night, and a number of teams didn't waste any time in finalizing moves. The Lakers' acquisition of Steve Nash was the first transaction to become official, followed closely by the Knicks' signing of J.R. Smith, Deron Williams' contract with the Nets, and Blake Griffin's five-year extension with the Clippers. We're expecting more deals to be formally announced today, but there are plenty of free agents still on the market too. We'll be tracking the latest news on those guys right here, with the newest items added to the top of the page throughout the day….
- The Nets are considering Kenyon Martin and Craig Smith and discussing a sign-and-trade for Antawn Jamison, clouding Kris Humphries' future with the team, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- The Pacers are targeting unrestricted free agent Gerald Green as their wing player off the bench, and are expected to offer him a three-year, $10MM contract, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star. O.J. Mayo and Courtney Lee are out the team's price range at the moment (All Twitter links).
Earlier updates:
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.
Nets Sign Brook Lopez To Four-Year Extension
8:33pm: Howard Beck of the New York Times has the details on Lopez's contract, which includes a player option in the fourth year. Lopez will get $13.668MM for the coming season, $14.694MM in 2013/14, $15.719MM in 2014/15 and, the option is for $16.774MM in 2015/16. (Twitter links)
7:47pm: The Nets have announced the contract is official, via Twitter.
Nets Acquire Reggie Evans Via Sign-And-Trade
JULY 11, 7:12pm: The move is now official, according to the Nets (Twitter link).
JULY 3, 3:53pm: The second-round pick heading to the Clippers will likely be for 2017 or 2018, tweets Howard Beck of the New York Times.
3:02pm: The Nets have reached a sign-and-trade agreement with the Clippers for Reggie Evans, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). SI.com's Sam Amick reports (via Twitter) that the Nets will send a future second-rounder to the Clippers.
Sixers Amnesty Elton Brand
JULY 11, 7:00pm: The Sixers have officially used the amnesty clause on Brand, David Aldridge of TNT reports (Twitter link). Teams can submit bids for Brand over the course of the next week for either his full $18.16MM salary or a portion of it. John Hollinger of ESPN.com says the Mavs are likely to make a bid, and can do so for up to $9.2MM (Twitter link).
JULY 6, 11:12am: The Mavericks are one under-the-cap team that will have interest in Brand, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. David Aldridge of TNT tweets that the Nets will be interested as well, but they wouldn't have a shot at the power forward unless he clears waivers.