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Free Agent Rumors: O’Neal, Bulls, Wallace

July 19th, 2012 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have made a handful of signings so far this summer, but every contract agreement they've reached has been for one of their own players — unrestricted free agents Tim Duncan and Boris Diaw will return, along with restricted free agents Danny Green and Patty Mills. Even the team's one new addition, Nando De Colo, wasn't a free agent, since San Antonio held his NBA rights exclusively. The Spurs are standing relatively pat this offseason, not pursuing outside free agents, and that's just fine with coach Gregg Popovich, as he tells Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

So while the remaining free agents on the market aren't likely to draw a ton of interest from San Antonio, there are plenty of other potential destinations out there. Here's the latest on a few available players:

The Bucks are taking a "long look" at Jermaine O'Neal's workout today, tweets Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.

Earlier updates:

The Bulls are eyeing shooting guards such as Marco Belinelli, Randy Foye, Delonte West, and Willie Green, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com.
Despite indicating earlier this year that he intended to retire, Ben Wallace would like to return to the Pistons for the 2012/13 season, says Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. The Pistons have a full roster, so they'd have to make a move to clear a spot to sign the unrestricted free agent.
The Warriors and Bobcats are still pursuing Carl Landry, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Charlotte, which could offer Landry more money, is attempting to work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets.
A number of teams have expressed interest in Mickael Pietrus, but the Celtics are still "very much in the picture," says A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com adds (via Twitter) that Pietrus has a "huge" offer from an overseas team, but that he wants to play for an NBA contender on more than a minimum-salary deal.
The Clippers have reached out to Ryan Hollins and Darko Milicic, in hopes of adding a backup big man for the minimum salary, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Darko's agent Marc Cornstein says playing time will be a bigger factor for his client than money, since the Timberwolves are still sending him pay checks.
A big-name free agent came off the market yesterday when the Trail Blazers matched Nicolas Batum's offer sheet. As Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes, Blazers GM Neil Olshey stressed that reports suggesting Batum didn't want to return to Portland were orchestrated by the Timberwolves and Batum's agent. "Nic never said that," Olshey said. "Let’s be very clear. Nic made a couple of comments at the behest of the Minnesota Timberwolves and his agent. That was their agenda; it was never Nicolas’s agenda."

Odds & Ends: Gordon, Cavaliers, Vazquez

July 17th, 2012 at 6:51pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Eric Gordon may have to win back some of the fans in New Orleans this year after comments he made about his "heart" already being in Phoenix and not wanting the Hornets to match after the Suns signed him to an offer sheet. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo elaborates on Gordon's thoughts throughout the free agency process and says that the Gordon is now committed to leading a young New Orleans team moving forward. Spears also says that the 6'3 guard has the ability to opt out after the third season and become an unrestricted free agent. Here's more of the miscellaneous tidbits what we've heard this evening..

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.

Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated sat down with Hawks forward Josh Smith, who appears to be happy with the direction the team is going in. In a separate piece, Amick discusses the impact that the Kings' acquisition of Aaron Brooks will have on Jimmer Fredette's future in Sacramento.
Luis Scola talks about how excited he is to join the Suns (NBA.com report).
On the Mason and Ireland show on ESPN LA, Chris Broussard said that Dwight Howard likes Los Angeles but still has his heart set on Brooklyn.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com does not think the team will use their amnesty this year (Twitter link).
Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets that Will Barton's deal with the Trail Blazers is guaranteed for two years with a team option in the third year.
In an interview on NBA TV, coach Byron Scott said that the Cavaliers aren't desperate to add a veteran right now, and implied that he is ready to have his young players gain experience instead (Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reports).
Iliana Limón Romero and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel write that Fran Vazquez has agreed to a two-year deal (with a third-year option) to stay with Unicaja Málaga of the ACB and Euroleague. The deal does not have an opt-out clause, which ultimately prohibits the 6'10 big man from leaving for the NBA and joining the Magic until 2014-15 at the earliest. Orlando used their 11th overall selection in 2005 to select the Vazquez and currently own his draft rights.
Chris Haynes of CSNNW documentedDerrick Williams' thoughts on almost being traded to the Trail Blazers. The former 2nd overall pick of the Timberwolves says that the uncertainty had been giving him a "tough time".
According to head coach Doug Collins, the 76ers have received multiple trade offers for Andre Iguodala and rookie Moe Harkless (Tom Moore of PhillyBlurbs.com tweets).
Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld has the latest thoughts from Jermaine O'Neal, who says that he feels he has a lot left.
Mike Trudell of KCAL-9 in Los Angeles tweets that Lakers owner Jim Buss likes Robert Sacre, the team's 60th pick of last month's draft. Buss added that he has a good chance to make the team.
Tariq Lee of AZCentral.com writes about Charles Garcia's second opportunity to make it into the league with the Suns.

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Odds & Ends: Lin, Drummond, Joseph, Cavaliers

July 15th, 2012 at 3:08pm CST by Michael Pina

With ongoing uncertainty surrounding Jeremy Lin's tenure with the Knicks, ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling took the liberty of comparing the former Harvard point guard's skill set with the incoming Raymond Felton, who was acquired in a sign-and-trade with Portland last night. According to a few advanced statistics it's evident that Lin would be the better basketball option for New York, but the decision to let him go would be more of a financial one.

As we dig into this Sunday afternoon, here are a few more tidbits from around the league.

Pistons To Sign Viacheslav Kravtsov

July 14th, 2012 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 14, 1:57pm: The team has announced the move is official, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.

JULY 2, 9:54am: The Pistons will sign Viacheslav Kravtsov when the moratorium period ends, according to agent Jeff Schwartz (link via ESPN.com's Marc Stein). Pistons president Joe Dumars confirmed the agreement in a statement.

Central Notes: Scola, Cavs, Korver, Pistons

July 14th, 2012 at 11:15am CST by Zachary Links

Yesterday, the Rockets officially used their amnesty clause to release forward Luis Scola. It's possible that the big man will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent, but there are interested teams out there, including one out of the Central division..

Odds & Ends: Humphries, Pistons, Warriors, Celtics

July 13th, 2012 at 10:29pm CST by Michael Pina

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.

Odds & Ends: Nets, Villanueva, Warriors, Bulls

July 12th, 2012 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

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:

Pistons Sign Kim English

July 12th, 2012 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons have officially signed second-round pick Kim English, the team announced today in a press release. The Missouri shooting guard was selected 44th overall in the June draft by Detroit.

As we heard from Mark Deeks of ShamSports yesterday, English's deal is guaranteed for his rookie season, but non-guaranteed for year two. He will likely earn the rookie minimum (about $473K) in 2012/13.

Pistons Sign Kyle Singler

July 11th, 2012 at 1:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 11TH: The Pistons have officially announced the signing of Singler, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (via Twitter).

JUNE 29TH: The Pistons will sign 2011 second-round draft pick Kyle Singler on July 11, the first day free agents can officially ink contracts, said Joe Dumars, the team's president of basketball operations, as Larry Lage of The Detroit News reports. Singler played the 2011/12 season in Spain after Detroit took him with the 33rd overall pick last June. The 6'8" forward averaged 16.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his final season of a four-year stay at Duke.

Contract Details: Taylor, Joseph, English

July 11th, 2012 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

Contracts for first-round picks have minimal variance from team to team, as most first-rounders sign for 120% of the rookie scale amount, with two guaranteed years and two team options. However, deals for second-round picks aren't quite as predictable. While second-rounders generally sign for the rookie minimum, which is $473,604 for 2012/13, certain teams are more willing to give guaranteed years than others. Mark Deeks of Sham Sports has tweeted the details on a few contracts for second-round picks, so we'll round them up below….