Josh Howard Rumors: Monday
Last night, we heard that Josh Howard was close to making a decision on his free agent destination, having narrowed his options to five teams: the Jazz, Pacers, Knicks, Nets, and Warriors. While we wait to see where the veteran forward lands, there are a few rumblings today detailing how serious a couple of his suitors are. Let's round those rumors up right here….
- A source very close to Josh Howard told Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter) that nothing is imminent between the forward and the Knicks.
- The Warriors' interest in Howard is very minimal, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Sulia link). Golden State is still prioritizing power forwards, with Carl Landry atop the team's wish list. If the Warriors were to shift their focus to small forwards, they would target players that could also play the four, and Howard probably doesn't fit that description.
- Howard feels some loyalty to the Jazz, since they took a chance on him last year, so Utah is "near the top of his list," says Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune (Sulia link). It's also worth noting that, since they have his Non-Bird rights, the Jazz can offer Howard a first-year salary up to $2.58MM without using a mid-level exception.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Hill, Warriors, Howard
The famed "Princeton Offense" has powered a number of NBA teams, most notably Mike Bibby's Kings and Jason Kidd's Nets, in recent years, and Kobe Bryant is now pushing for the Lakers to use it this season, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Bryant hopes that it will help create space for him on the floor by keeping defenses honest. "There's so many threats, so many options, it's very tough to defend. Against the type of defenses that teams play nowadays, they load up on one side and are constantly coming with help from the weak side. The Princeton offense makes it very, very tough to lock in on one particular player," Bryant said. Here's more on the Lakers other items out of the Pacific..
- Jordan Hill's contract with the Lakers will pay him $3.5MM in each of the next two seasons, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter). The big man's deal was initially reported to be in the neighborhood of $8MM.
- Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter) estimates that the Warriors have about $3.15MM below the tax line to sign Brandon Rush if the first year of Draymond Green's deal is pegged at $800K. Green agreed to a three-year, $2.6MM contract with the final year ($900K) partially guaranteed, but the exact breakdown is not known.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com explains why he believes the Lakers should continue their pursuit of Dwight Howard. Lakers fans by-and-large seem to be sick of the prolonged "Dwightmare" but Kamenetzky argues that from a basketball standpoint, there's no reason to close the door on the deal.
- Suns forward Jared Dudley (via Twitter) watched Jermaine O'Neal work out and insists that the free agent will get signed if he has the chance to audition for an NBA team. Recently, we learned that the Bucks had an eye on the veteran.
Warriors Close To Signing Rush, Landry
2:57pm: Bartelstein tells Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that deals for Rush and Landry could be finalized "within the next day or two" (Twitter link).
2:24pm: The Warriors are closing in on deals with restricted free agent Brandon Rush and unrestricted free agent Carl Landry, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com. Rush and Landry, who are both represented by Bartelstein, could each agree to deals with Golden State by the end of the day, according to Steinmetz.
Landry has been the Warriors' top target for the last couple weeks, as the team looks to add a power forward to its rotation. The former Hornet is arguably the top free agent remaining on the market, but it was unclear whether Golden State had the financial flexibility to make him a competitive offer. SI.com's Zach Lowe tweeted earlier today that the Warriors seem unlikely to be able to sign both Landry and Rush without surpassing the luxury tax threshold.
As for Rush, he has received a little interest from rival teams, including the Lakers, but with the Warriors expected to match any reasonable offer sheet, it seems as if clubs have shied away from formally extending an offer. Bartelstein suggests Rush will simply re-sign with the Warriors rather than signing an offer sheet — in that case, the 27-year-old could either sign his qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, or work out a multiyear agreement with the team.
If the Warriors are able to finalize deals with Landry and Rush, the team probably won't retain free agent forward Dominic McGuire, says Steinmetz.
Warriors Agree To Terms With Draymond Green
The Warriors and Draymond Green have agreed to terms on a contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski tweets that Green's deal will be worth $2.6MM over three years, with a team option for year three. $250K of $900K in that third season will be guaranteed, while presumably each of the first two years are fully guaranteed (Twitter link).
Because the Warriors are signing Green for more than the rookie minimum, they figure to be using a portion of their mid-level exception to consummate the deal. If Golden State can also ink Carl Landry to a contract, the veteran forward will likely get most of the rest of the team's MLE.
Green, the 35th overall pick in June's draft, averaged 16.2 points and 10.6 rebounds in his senior year at Michigan State. The 6'8" forward was viewed as a probable late-first-round pick, so it's not surprising that he'll earn a little more than the rookie minimum with the Warriors.
Josh Howard Close To Decision
Yahoo!'s Marc J. Spears tweets that unrestricted free-agent forward Josh Howard is close to making a decision on where to sign for the 2012/13 season. Spears reports that Howard's current team, the Utah Jazz, are in the mix to land him, along with the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Knicks.
Terms of Howard's upcoming deal are not known. Howard, 31, made approximately $2.1MM last season, averaging 8.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG for the Jazz.
Timberwolves Sign Andrei Kirilenko
FRIDAY, 12:31pm: Having finalized the trade that removed Johnson's salary from their books, the Timberwolves have officially announced the signing of Kirilenko (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 4:51pm: The Timberwolves are "finalizing" a two-year, $20MM contract agreement with Andrei Kirilenko, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The second year of the deal is expected to be a player option, adds Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Minnesota is putting the finishing touches on a three-team trade with the Suns and Hornets that will allow the team to clear Wesley Johnson's $4.29MM salary from its books, creating the necessary cap space for Kirilenko. The terms of Kirilenko's deal appear to be a bit higher than originally thought, making him an even tighter fit, as we examined earlier. It seemed as though the Wolves could only afford about an $8MM first-year salary for Kirilenko, but it's possible they could clear additional room by adding players to the three-team trade.
The 31-year-old Kirilenko has averaged 12.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in 10 NBA seasons, all with the Jazz. The Russian forward, who spent 2011/12 with CSKA Moscow, had drawn interest from the Nets and Warriors, but neither team had the capability to come close to a $10MM annual salary. The Nets were limited to giving him the veteran's minimum, while the Warriors are reluctant to use the full mid-level exception, since doing so would push them over the taxpaying threshold.
For the Wolves, the move gives them the sort of long-armed forward they missed out on when the Blazers matched the offer sheet to Nicolas Batum. Though the 6'9" Kirilenko is older, he comes on a much shorter deal and solidifies the team's status as a contender for a playoff spot, answering Kevin Love's recent appeal for a more competitive team.
Warriors Sign Kent Bazemore
THURSDAY, 8:45pm: The Warriors have officially signed Bazemore, according to a team release.
TUESDAY, 10:30am: The Warriors have agreed to sign Kent Bazemore to a two-year, partially-guaranteed contract, according to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (via Twitter). Exact terms of the deal aren't known, but it will almost certainly be a minimum-salary contract.
Bazemore graduated from Old Dominion this spring, but went undrafted last month. The 23-year-old averaged 15.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his senior year at ODU, and played for the Warriors' Summer League team in Las Vegas. Since Bazemore is a wing player, his signing shouldn't affect the Warriors' pursuit of a big man.
Latest On Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum
9:43pm: SI.com's Chris Mannix suggests the Magic, who league executives believe are determined not to cave into Howard's demands, may prefer to wait to make a move until after January 15th, when trading for Brook Lopez once again becomes a possibility. That would give the Magic a chance to see how Lopez has healed from his broken foot, Mannix says.
8:59pm: The Magic didn't really try to convince Howard to stay in today's meeting, as Hennigan simply saw it as an opportunity to build trust, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Hennigan and the other Magic officials didn't talk to Howard about their head coaching search, Robbins adds. (Twitter links). The Magic expected Howard to reiterate his trade demands, however, and the team isn't deterred from its plan, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reports via Ramona Shelburne (Twitter link).
8:41pm: Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com has details on the meeting between Howard and Hennigan, reporting that Hennigan, just hired this summer to replace Otis Smith, expressed a desire to get to know D12, while Howard wanted to see his plan for improving the team and was disappointed not to find out about it during the hour-long meeting. Hennigan told Howard he didn't have any trade in the works and wasn't sure how to respond to what Howard was telling him. Other teams are getting frustrated with the Magic's half-hearted attempts to trade Howard, and Wojnarowski reports the Magic are looking for strong package in return, similar to what the Nuggets got for Carmelo Anthony (Twitter link).
8:29pm: The Mavs are the "overwhelming favorite" to sign Howard if he winds up in free agency next summer, Wojnarowski hears, adding that Howard's camp has consistently warned the Rockets not to trade for him, with the threat of moving to their in-state rivals (Twitter links).
8:26pm: Chris Mannix of SI.com hears Howard would be open to re-signing with the Lakers after the season (Twitter link). Howard expressed his curiousity to Hennigan about why the Magic didn't make a trade while other stars, like Joe Johnson and Steve Nash, were on the move, Wojnarowski tweets.
8:19pm: Dwight Howard, in his meeting with Magic GM Rob Hennigan and Magic officials, gave the team three options: an immediate trade to the Lakers, a midseason trade to the Nets, or a clean break next summer, Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM tweets.
Meanwhile, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has left the door open to trading for Dwight Howard, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne hears the Lakers' stance hasn't changed, as they still believe a year with the Lakers would convince Howard to re-sign with the team next summer even if he's unwilling to make a long-term commitment to the team now. Still, the Lakers are unwilling to take on other lucrative deals the Magic want to include in a Howard trade. Shelburne also reports that Andrew Bynum's agent, David Lee, says he has not spoken with Kupchak about an extension for his client, refuting Kupchak's comments to the contrary.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports hears that the fact the Magic have waited so long to pull the trigger on a deal has hurt their offers (Twitter link).
7:55pm: Howard reiterated to Hennigan tonight that he doesn't want to stay in Orlando, and said he'll leave as a free agent next summer if the Magic refuse to trade him, Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com reports. Still, Hennigan is in no rush to move Howard without "acceptable compensation" in return (All four Twitter links).
Odds & Ends: Celtics, Hawks, Miles, Brewer
- With only four players remaining on the Hawks roster from last season, new general manager Danny Ferry has managed to clean his team's salary structure while keeping hopes high for the future, writes HoopsWorld.com's Lang Greene.
- C.J. Miles, a free agent who most expected to have found a new team by now, will meet with the Cavaliers this week, writes The Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko.
- The Timberwolves made Ronnie Brewer a "generous" offer, but the free agent forward decided to sign with the Knicks instead, according to TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.
- Before signing A.J. Price, the Wizards were interested in signing Jonny Flynn to be John Wall's backup, but decided against it, writes the Washington Post's Michael Lee.
- ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling breaks down the Knicks decision to acquire Ronnie Brewer and Pablo Prigioni.
- Mavericks second-round pick Bernard James is expected to sign a contract with the team in the next day or two, reports ESPNDallas.com's Jeff Caplan.
- The Trail Blazers reportedly interviewed as many as 10 candidates to fill their empty head coach position in Las Vegas last week, but have yet to contact any of them to say they were advancing to a second round of discussion, according to The Oregonian's Jason Quick. The process remains in its infant stage.
- Agent Mark Bartelstein tells Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that he hopes Carl Landry and Dominic McGuire will make decisions in the next few days. Those two players, including free agent Brandon Rush, could be part of the Warriors' plan moving forward (Sulia links).
Andrei Kirilenko To Return To NBA
8:34pm: Several league executives believe the Timberwolves are pursuing Andrei Kirilenko. Kirilenko is no longer considering Brooklyn, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski. The Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda believes the Wolves may offer Kirilenko a deal somewhere along the lines of two years and $18MM. (Twitter link)
3:39pm: According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Nets are making a "hard push" to sign Kirilenko, despite only being to offer the veteran's minimum. Stein confirms that the Warriors are also in the hunt for the veteran forward.
12:04pm: The Nets have not been officially informed that Kirilenko won't sign with them, so that possibility still could be alive, says Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).
11:22am: After spending the 2011/12 season overseas, Andrei Kirilenko will return to the NBA, he confirmed today. Kirilenko told Russia's R-Sport (English link via Sportando) that he has informed CSKA Moscow president Andrei Vatutin of his intentions to continue his career in the NBA.
Kirilenko has long been linked to the Nets, in large part due to his friendship with the team's owner, Mikhail Prokhorov. However, a source tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link) that Kirilenko is not interested in signing in Brooklyn for the veteran's minimum, which is all the Nets could offer.
If the Nets are out of the running, Kirilenko's NBA destination is a bit of a mystery. There are a few teams with cap space or exceptions left to make the Russian forward a competitive offer, but many of those clubs are non-contenders — it seems unlikely the 31-year-old would make the jump to the NBA unless he were signing with a playoff team.
The Warriors are one team recently reported to have interest in Kirilenko.