Mavericks Claim Elton Brand
5:38pm: According to NBA.com's David Aldridge, the Mavericks have not yet decided on whether they'll place an amnesty bid on Luis Scola, and they'll wait to see if other prominent players are amnestied before making a decision. All teams have until 5 PM EST on Sunday to place a claim on Scola.
4:06pm: The Mavericks have submitted the winning bid and claimed Elton Brand off amnesty waivers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Brand and his $18.16MM salary were amnestied on Wednesday by the 76ers, giving under-the-cap two days to bid on him. The Mavs' winning bid was $2.1MM, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link), which will reduce the amount of money the Sixers owe the veteran big man to somewhere in the $16MM range.
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.
Hornets, Clippers Talk Belinelli Sign-And-Trade
The Clippers have interest in Marco Belinelli, but having already committed their full mid-level exception to Jamal Crawford, don't have a ton of cap flexibility to sign him. As such, the Clips have discussed the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets, as we heard from ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne earlier this week. However, according to John Reid of the Times Picayune, the Hornets aren't interested in L.A.'s offer of Ryan Gomes and a second-round pick.
Odds & Ends: Lorbek, Magic, Mavs, Nash
Although the Spurs will bring one international prospect stateside this season, having signed Nando De Colo to a contract, another of the team's top international players doesn't appear headed for San Antonio. Spanish club Regal Barcelona announced today that they have re-signed Erazem Lorbek to a three-year deal to remain with the team (English translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The Spurs, who hold Lorbek's NBA rights, were said earlier this offseason to be "very close" to a deal with the Slovenian forward, so it's a little surprising to see him re-up with Regal Barcelona.
Let's round up a few more Friday morning odds and ends….
Free Agent Rumors: Humphries, Stiemsma, Lin
As NBA teams continue to agree to contracts and officially sign this year's free agents, you can keep tabs on all the activity by checking out Hoops Rumors' 2012 Free Agent Tracker. We're continuously updating our database to reflect the latest contract agreements, adding details on years and salaries as they become available. But there are still plenty of unsigned players left on the market, so we'll track today's rumors on those guys right here:
- TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter) cites league sources that believe Kris Humphries would be more inclined to remain with the Nets than leave for the Bobcats. Marc Stein tweeted that the Nets could be involved no matter what Humphries decides to do, and could end up offering to negotiate a sign-and-trade if he chose Charlotte.
- The Timberwolves are waiting for Portland to make a decision on Nicolas Batum before they extend an offer sheet to Greg Stiemsma, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Earlier updates:
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.
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.
Pacers Trade Collison, Jones To Mavs For Mahinmi
THURSDAY, 4:51pm: Indiana announced the deal through an official press release.
WEDNESDAY: The Pacers have traded Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones to the Mavs for Ian Mahinmi, who will sign a four-year, $16MM contract as part of the deal, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (Twitter links). Jones is due $2.9MM next season and Collison about $2.3MM, so, as John Hollinger of ESPN.com points out, that eats into the amnesty bid the team could make for Elton Brand (Twitter link). Presumably, this also takes Dallas out of the running for Aaron Brooks.
The Pacers are expected to either match Roy Hibbert's offer sheet from the Blazers or sign him outright, so Mahinmi will likely be the backup center for the team. Indiana also has 7'0" Miles Plumlee, the team's first-round draft pick.
Mavericks Officially Amnesty Haywood
Knicks Sign Jason Kidd
JULY 12TH, 2:25pm: The Knicks have officially signed Kidd, the team announced in a press release.
JULY 5TH, 10:22pm: The Knicks are pursuing a sign-and-trade with the Mavs to acquire Kidd by including non-guaranteed contracts and a draft pick, writes Howard Beck of The New York Times (via Twitter).