Dwight Howard Rumors: Tuesday
4:43pm: The Magic haven't ruled out trading Howard to the Nets, and continue to talk to the Lakers, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
12:54pm: The Lakers are prepared to offer Bynum and Metta World Peace in exchange for Howard, providing Dwight agrees to sign an extension, tweets Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com. Based on Wojnarowski's report, I'd be a little surprised if Orlando agreed to that deal. Plus, it would hinge on both big men agreeing to sign new contracts.
The Magic would include Jason Richardson in any Howard deal, Rudolph adds in a second tweet.
Rockets Pessimistic About Re-Signing Dragic
TUESDAY, 10:18am: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle confirms that a Dragic/Rockets reunion appears very unlikely, noting that yesterday's meeting ended with a "thanks and good luck" kind of exchange (Twitter links).
MONDAY, 11:19pm: The Rockets are offering $8MM a year, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
O.J. Mayo Seeking More Than Mid-Level
O.J. Mayo has informed teams he's interested in signing for more than mid-level money, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald and Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. According to Kyler, Mayo's representatives view the 24-year-old as a consolation prize for teams who miss out on Eric Gordon – potentially the Pacers, Rockets, Suns, and Hornets.
Odds & Ends: Hawks, D-Will, Calderon, Celtics
It's been another whirlwind day of player movement in the NBA, as the Hawks agreed to two significant trades, sending Joe Johnson to the Nets and Marvin Williams to the Jazz. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld speculated that Josh Smith may be the next Hawk to go (Twitter link), but Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com report that Smith is excited about the moves, which would free up plenty of cap space for next summer, when Atlanta could go after Smith and other major targets. Here's news from elsewhere around the busy Association.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday
The first day of free agency was a busy one on the Dwight Howard front, as reports suggested D12 was upset with the Magic and that Orlando was discussing potential trades with the Lakers, Nets, and Rockets. Howard denied saying that the Magic "blackmailed" him and told Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com that he was tired of hearing reports cite unnamed sources when discussing his situation, but also said he'd only re-sign with one team if he were traded — presumably the Nets. We'll track the latest on Howard throughout the day, with the latest updates on top of the page:
- The Mavs' offer for Howard could include some combination of Rodrigue Beaubois, Vince Carter, Dominique Jones and Brandan Wright, Jared Cunningham, Bernard James and Jae Crowder, plus draft picks and a sign-and-trade of Ian Mahinmi, a source tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Earlier updates:
Suns Rumors: Gordon, Dragic, Nash
The Suns have been notable in recent years for the way their training staff has perpetuated the careers of Steve Nash and Grant Hill. They may not have as many aging bodies to work with next season, though, as several other teams are chasing Nash, and Hill is drawing plenty of interest as well. When Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors previewed Phoenix's offseason in May, he said that if Nash leaves, the Suns might be best served by saving their ample cap space for the future and focusing on building through the draft for now. Still, the Suns appear to have significant free agent targets, including Eric Gordon and Goran Dragic, and there's more news on them tonight.
- The Suns are considering making a maximum four-year, $58MM offer to Gordon, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tweets.
Earlier updates:
Free Agent Rumors: Lin, Hinrich, Kaman, Nash
While a report surfaced last night suggesting that the Knicks may be reluctant to match a backloaded offer to Jeremy Lin, it doesn't appear that such an offer will come from Brooklyn. According to TNT's David Aldridge, the Nets haven't reached out to Lin, and appear to be viewing Steve Nash as Plan B if they can't lock up Deron Williams. Let's round up a few more free agent tidbits from around the league….
- While an earlier report (linked below) from K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune suggests the Bulls will only offer the minimum to Kirk Hinrich, Johnson says he's now emerging as the team's top target (Twitter link).
- Chris Kaman had a "positive" meeting with the Pacers today, but no offer was made, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Frank Isola of the New York Daily News believes Lin and Nash may be an either/or proposition for the Knicks.
Earlier updates:
Lakers, Nets, Rockets Talking Howard Trade
The Lakers and Magic have had preliminary contact about a possible deal for Dwight Howard, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The Nets and Rockets have also talked to Magic officials, sources said.
Eric Gordon Rumors: Sunday
Eric Gordon is drawing interest from a number of teams, and at least one of them figures to sign him to the maximum-salary offer sheet he's seeking. The Hornets are expected to match any offer Gordon receives, so his suitors may just be jockeying for the right to tie up their cap for three days when the moratorium ends. Still, we're not entirely sure of New Orleans' intentions yet, so let's round up today's Gordon-related items right here:
Free Agent Rumors: Lakers, Mavs, Cavs, Crawford
It's past midnight on the East Coast, and that means teams may negotiate with free agents from other clubs, as the NBA's offseason gets under way in earnest. Players can't officially sign contracts until July 11, and trades can't be made official until that date either. That doesn't mean there won't be plenty of talk and agreements in principle between now and then, and if this evening is any indication, we're in for a busy couple of weeks ahead. There are several bits of news rolling in on free agents as July begins, so we'll round up what we're hearing around the late-night rumor mill here.
- The Lakers are seeking a point guard in free agency, and in addition to reaching out to Ramon Sessions, they're also targeting veterans like Chauncey Billups, Jameer Nelson, and Kirk Hinrich, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- In search of a center, the Mavericks have shown some interest in Hasheem Thabeet and Joel Przybilla, says Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
- The Cavaliers have expressed interest in Jonny Flynn, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. They're also eyeing Sonny Weems, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
Earlier updates: