Elton Brand Hoping Mavs Claim Him
Elton Brand, who was placed on waivers using the amnesty clause earlier tonight by the Sixers, wants the Mavs to put in a claim for him, reports David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com hears the Mavs will make a "very aggressive bid" for Brand.
Brand is owed $18.16MM for next season. Though it won't count on the salary cap for the Sixers, they'll still have to pay it unless a team puts in a claim for all or part of Brand's salary in the next week. If more than one team puts in a claim, the team that bids highest gets Brand, and the amount of the bid goes on that team's salary cap.
Earlier tonight, John Hollinger of ESPN.com estimated the amount the Mavs could bid at $9.2MM, but revised that to $4.3MM after the Mavs agreed to trade for Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones (Twitter links).
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.
Odds & Ends: Magic, Smith, Haywood, Humphries
This year's amnesty period kicks off on Wednesday and this afternoon Larry Coon of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) ran down his candidates for each of the 23 teams that did not use the provision last year. Among the most likely to go are Mike Miller of the Heat and Darko Milicic of the T'Wolves. After that, there are a number of "jump ball" candidates such as the Mavs' Brendan Haywood. The waiving of Haywood once seemed like a foregone conclusion but after striking out on Deron Williams, Dallas is no longer starved for cap room. Here's more from around the Association..
Free Agent Rumors: Wallace, Grizzlies, Fisher
We're into the home stretch of the July moratorium, and it won't be long before all the moves that have been agreed upon in the last week are made official. In the meantime, teams have two more days to prepare for the next stage of free agency, and the rumors continue to swirl. You can track all of the contract agreements to date using our Free Agent Tracker, and you can follow many of today's free agent rumors right here, with the latest up top….
- There's a "pretty good chance" that Ben Wallace will return to the Pistons next season, a source tells Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
- A source told The Commercial Appeal (via Twitter) that it's unlikely that the Grizzlies will sign Russian guard Alexey Shved. Shved allegedly received offers from the Grizzlies, Cavs, and T'Wolves.
- However, the Grizzlies are working to bring veteran guard Willie Green to Memphis, The Commercial Appeal tweets. The soon-to-be 31-year-old averaged 7.6 PPG last year for the Hawks.
Earlier updates:
Free Agent Rumors: Lucas, Camby, Lewis
Jeff Green reached an agreement to remain with the Celtics on Saturday, while Aaron Brooks became an unrestricted free agent after the Suns withdrew their qualifying offer to the guard. What will Sunday bring? Here are the latest rumors on a number of free agents still on the market:
- The Heat have interest in unrestricted free agent point guard John Lucas III, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
- Marcus Camby's meeting with the Knicks today was "very positive," a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, and Zwerling hears that Camby is drawn to the Knicks because of his "great relationship" with GM Glen Grunwald.
- "Everything went well" during the Heat's meeting with Rashard Lewis today, as Lewis' agent tells David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). Lewis has yet to make a decision, with the Knicks and Hawks still in the running, Aldridge says.
Earlier updates:
Mavericks, Cavaliers, Rockets May Interest Bynum
Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that the Mavericks and Cavaliers are teams with cap space that could interest Andrew Bynum during his pending free agency in 2013. He also mentions the Rockets as another potential suitor. The Lakers recently exercised Bynum's $16.1MM team option for the 2012-13 season, and the 24-year-old center is currently slated to become a free agent next summer.
Latest On Marcus Camby
7:31pm: Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets that the Heat are not interested in including Joel Anthony or Norris Cole in any sign-and-trade deals. Also, Rashard Lewis appears to be their number one target (Twitter link), thus making Camby less of a priority right now.
5:08pm: Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston reports that the Rockets are willing to work out a sign-and-trade with any team, not just the Heat or the Knicks.
4:50pm: Jared Zwerling of ESPN.com notes via Twitter that Camby's meeting with the Heat, originally scheduled for this morning, was postponed, not canceled.
Suns Pull Qualifying Offer To Aaron Brooks
SATURDAY, 5:38pm: According to a tweet by Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, the Suns have officially withdrawn their qualifying offer to Brooks, making him an unrestricted free agent.
3:10pm: Kennedy and Brooks have deleted their tweets, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, reporting mutual interest between Brooks and the Rockets, refers to Brooks as a restricted free agent. So, it appears the issue has not yet been finalized.
2:04pm: Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld confirms the Suns have withdrawn the qualifying offer, making Brooks an unrestricted free agent (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 10:45pm: It appears that the Suns have withdrawn their qualifying offer to Aaron Brooks after the guard sent out a tweet reading, "Unrestricted :-)." If Phoenix has in fact pulled the qualifying offer from Brooks, he is now an unrestricted free agent.
Atlantic Notes: Allen, Celtics, Williams, Brand
Earlier this evening, Celtics fans were disappointed to learn that sharpshooter Ray Allen has opted to leave the C's for the Heat. The shooting guard turned down what was reportedly a two-year, $12MM offer to stay in Boston in favor of a three-year deal worth just over $9MM.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes that the loss of Allen is effectively a double-whammy for the C's as they cannot easily turn around and sign a similar player to offset the loss. This is because the Celtics only have the bi-annual exception available to lure a player in. Boston may also bring back swingman Mickael Pietrus, but for now it would seem that they'll have to bank on quality production and perimter shooting from Jason Terry to fill the gap. Here's more out of the Atlantic..
Dwight Howard Rumors: Friday
In yesterday's round-up of Dwight Howard rumors, we heard that the Nets and Magic were "still plugging away" in negotiations, and that the Magic are seeking cap relief in any deal. The Lakers also remain in the hunt, as Kobe Bryant would welcome the opportunity to play with Howard, even if he won't actively recruit him. As the Howard trade talks continue, we'll round up Friday's updates right here, with the latest items up top:
- There hasn't been any movement on the Howard talks today, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). In addition to the Nets and Lakers, the Hawks, Mavericks, and Rockets remain in play, Berger adds.
Earlier updates: