SUNDAY, 1:21am: The Hornets are prepared to match a maximum offer for Gordon, according to Sam Amick of SI.com (via Twitter). Four years and $58MM represents the max salary the 23-year-old could earn from rival teams.
SATURDAY, 11:12pm: Eric Gordon is seeking a four-year, $58MM deal in meetings with the Pacers, Rockets, Suns and Blazers, reports ESPN's Chris Broussard. The Hornets' restricted free agent is also considering sit-downs with the Bobcats and Mavericks (Twitter links).
The Nets, who are reportedly in discussions with the Hawks about trading for Joe Johnson, are considering making a significant offer to unrestricted free agent O.J. Mayo, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Nets were also "deep in discussions" today about a trade for power forward Luis Scola before talks with the Rockets broke down, Wojnarowski also reports via Twitter.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey will kick off the NBA free agent period in Los Angeles, where he plans to meet with restricted free agent Omer Asik tonight, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (via Twitter). The Bulls have officially tendered Asik a qualifying offer worth about $2.32MM, so Chicago will have the opportunity to match any offer sheet the big man signs with another club.
After drafting a pair of power forwards, Royce White and Terrence Jones, on Thursday night, the Rockets are looking to trade last year's starter. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, Houston is actively shopping Luis Scola in trade discussions. A specific trade partner has yet to emerge, says Stein.
We keep hearing teams like the Mavericks, Nets, and Raptors named as potential suitors for Steve Nash, but if one of those teams misses out on both Nash and Deron Williams, its next target could be Jeremy Lin. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld hears from sources that one of those three clubs could sign Lin to an offer sheet, forcing the Knicks to match. Here are a few more free agent updates from Kennedy, with just over 12 hours left until the fun begins….
With less than 24 hours to go until teams can officially begin negotiating with free agents, the focus has shifted from the draft and incoming rookies to where NBA veterans will end up. No free agent is more coveted than Deron Williams, but he's narrowed his choices to the Mavs and Nets. There are plenty of quality players left for other teams, however, including Roy Hibbert and Eric Gordon, whom the Rockets will target, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, adding that the team is also going after Omer Asik. Here's more on the free agent plans of teams around the league and other late-night news:
Now that the 2012 draft is officially a thing of the past, we shouldn't require multiple posts to round up all the day's draft-related content, like we did on Thursday. But even with the draft over, a few updates continue to trickle in. We'll round up today's leftover draft notes here, adding any new items to the top throughout the day….
Earlier updates:
With the NBA's 2012 free agent period just two days away, teams continue to extend qualifying offers to free agents in order to make them restricted. If a qualifying offer is not tendered to a player eligible for restricted free agency, he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Players who are tendered qualifying offers have the option to accept the one-year contract and hit unrestricted free agency a year from now, but the primary purpose of the offers are to ensure that the player's team can match any offers for him this summer. We'll track today's qualifying offer updates right here, with the latest added to the top of the page….
Earlier updates:
Lamar Odom is finally heading back to Los Angeles after a lost year in Dallas, as the Mavericks, Clippers, Jazz and Rockets finalized a four-team deal that makes Odom a Clipper and Mo Williams a part of a crowded backcourt in Utah. There's plenty of reaction to the trade, including its effect on the Mavs and their pursuit of major free agents. As Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld notes, the Mavs can only use the $8.9MM trade exception they got in the deal if they don't want to renounce the rights to some of their own free agents and go under the salary cap, which they'd have to do to sign Deron Williams or another big-time target from a different team. If the Mavs don't land a major free agent, they can go over the cap to sign their own guys and use the trade exception to swing a deal for another player who can help. Here's the rest of what NBA writers are saying about the trade:
The four-team deal between the Jazz, Mavericks, Clippers and Rockets that sends Lamar Odom to the Clippers and Mo Williams to Utah has been finalized, according to a release by the Mavs.