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Odds & Ends: Calderon, Suns, Magic, Howard

By Alex Lee | at July 15, 2012 10:54 pm

Ever since the Raptors' acquisition of Kyle Lowry, there has been a steady flow of rumors revolving around Jose Calderon's future, or lack thereof, in Toronto. Calderon, who will run the point for Spain's Olympic team later this month in London, has already expressed his discontent with the thought of being relegated to back up duties, but according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, he may not have a choice.

Wolstat caught up with Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo who said, “We have had a few more trade inquiries regarding Jose (but) the scenario doesn’t seem to present itself to a trade today, but we’ll continue to monitor that and just try to determine whether it’s going to work in the long run.” Colangelo also implied that amnestying Calderon is not in the plans.

Here are some more updates from around the league on Sunday night:

Jeremy Lin Rumors: Sunday

By Daniel Seco | at July 15, 2012 9:59 pm

The return of Jeremy Lin to the Knicks seemed to be more of a sure thing than Michael Jordan smoking a cigar on the golf course merely 24 hours ago. With the Knicks set to add Raymond Felton to their backcourt through a sign-and-trade with Portland, Lin's future in New York remains unclear. The Knicks have until 11:59pm (EST) on Tuesday to make up their mind and will reportedly take the entire time allotted before announcing a decision. We'll keep track of all the latest rumors and news surrounding the offseason version of Linsanity with the latest news on top.

The New York Times' Howard Beck writes that a person with knowledge of the Knicks' situation said while it is "more likely than not" that they don't match the Rockets' offer, it is also "not definitive."
Carmelo Anthony is the latest to chime in on the offseason Linsanity. Anthony called the Rockets-Lin offer sheet "ridiculous" during an interview with reporters today, according to Yahoo's Marc Spears. Anthony also insisted that should the Knicks not match, it is not his doing. "It's up to ownership to match, not me," he said. "I'm tired of people trying to blame me for the fact that the Knicks might not match. I want everybody to get paid if they have the opportunity."
Ian O'Connor from ESPN New York gives his take on why the Knicks must match the Rockets' offer for Lin, saying that his stint of success last year, while brief, showed too much promise for the Knicks to not retain him.

4 comments Houston Rockets New York Knicks Carmelo Anthony J.R. Smith Jared Jeffries Jeremy Lin

Lin Signs Rockets’ Offer Sheet; Knicks To Match?

By Daniel Seco | at July 15, 2012 9:05 am

JULY 15TH, 9:05am: The acquisition of Raymond Felton doesn't mean Lin's tenure in New York has come to a close, as head coach Mike Woodson has been known to use two point guards in the backcourt, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.

JULY 14TH, 11:00pm: According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the Knicks have received Lin's offer sheet from the Rockets and have until 11:59pm on Tuesday to match the offer (Twitter link).

5:46pm: Contrary to previous reports, the Rockets have not yet delivered the Lin offer sheet to the Knicks, reports Feigen (via Twitter).

4:18pm: The Rockets have met with Grunwald and the three-day period to match has begun, Feigen tweets.

3:39pm: In an odd twist, the Knicks seem to be playing a game of keep-away from the Rockets in an attempt to tie up their cap as long as possible, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. The Knicks, in Las Vegas for the summer league, have refused to accept the offer sheet at their team hotel, despite a courier's attempts to reach Knicks officials by phone and at their rooms. The Rockets sent the offer sheet via FedEx to the Knicks offices in New York, but the league has said GM Glen Grunwald must receive it personally (All Twitter links). The Knicks are reportedly upset with the Rockets for increasing the third-year salary in the offer to about $14.9MM.

3:00pm: The Knicks have yet to receive a signed offer sheet from the Rockets, tweets Steve Popper of the Bergen Record, and New York is unsure it will see the offer sheet at any point today, reports Newsday's Al Iannazzone, via Twitter.

JULY 13TH, 3:37pm: According to a handful of reporters, including ESPN.com's Marc Stein (Twitter link), the Knicks are expected to take the full three days to match the Rockets' offer sheet, tying up Houston's cap in the process.

2:57pm: Lin officially signed his offer sheet from the Rockets today, according to TNT's David Aldridge. Interestingly, the originally-reported terms seem to have been modified — Aldridge says that the deal is now for three years and $25.1MM, with a maximum salary in the third year (about $14.9MM). However, the Knicks still intend to match it, says Aldridge (Twitter links).

JULY 6TH, 7:58am: The Rockets' offer sheet agreement with Lin "hardly created a ripple" for the Knicks, who intend to match it, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

"He's their guy," one source told Berman. "They'll match."

JULY 5TH, 6:35pm: Jeremy Lin has agreed to terms on an offer sheet from the Rockets, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. The deal is a four-year, $28.8MM offer with a team option in the final year, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (on Twitter). New York will have three days to match the offer beginning July 11.

According to reports, the Knicks are willing to pay whatever neccesary to retain Lin's services, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com says Lin's offer from the Rockets spikes during the third year of the contract due to the Gilbert Arenas Provision (on Twitter). Lin will reportedly earn $5MM during his first year with the Rockets, $5.2MM in his second and $9.3MM during the third and fourth years of his contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

The Rockets are in the market for a starting point guard after seemingly losing Goran Dragic to the Suns during free agency and trading Kyle Lowry to the Raptors. Houston's offer to Lin is similar to the one Dragic received from the Suns, except for Dragic's All-Star bonuses and his player option versus Lin's team option in the fourth year, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

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45 comments Houston Rockets New York Knicks Transactions Jeremy Lin

Magic, Lakers, Cavs Mulling Howard, Bynum Deal

By Chuck Myron | at July 15, 2012 8:48 am

SUNDAY, 8:48am: High-ranking officials from the teams involved in a potential Howard trade tell Amico that the Cavs have walked away from the deal again, ending all recent talks (Twitter link).

SATURDAY, 9:12pm: Magic general manager Rob Hennigan wants to build his team in a similar fashion to how the Thunder were constructed, writes Kennedy (via Twitter). This plan would require Orlando to acquire multiple lottery picks and successfully draft players who would turn into superstars.

7:07pm: The Magic prefer draft picks and young prospects as the team is not interested in making the playoffs as an 8th seed, tweets Kennedy. Orlando hopes to completely rebuild its roster if the team trades Howard.

6:41pm: The Cavs are seeking assurances from Bynum that the big man would sign an extension with the team before talks intensify, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link).

5:02pm: Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal says that while it makes sense the Cavs have entered the discussion again given their involvement in the rumored Howard/Nets deal last week, the Cavs and Magic would both be looking for draft picks as part of the deal, and the Lakers don't have any to spare (Sulia link).

4:22pm: The Lakers, Magic and Cavs have discussed a three-team deal that would send Dwight Howard to L.A., Andrew Bynum to Cleveland and provide the Magic with draft picks, prospects and cap relief, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports (Twitter links). Details are scarce and the situation is fluid, but the deal would make sense, says fellow HoopsWorld scribe Steve Kyler, especially if Bynum winds up in Cleveland, since the Magic prefer to acquire other assets instead of another veteran center (Twitter links).

Both the Rockets and the Lakers continue to pursue D12 and have been in contact with the Magic, Kennedy says, via Twitter. An earlier report by David Pingalore of local TV affiliate WKMG in Orlando suggested that a deal between the Lakers and Magic was in place and would be announced shortly, though Kyler suggests such reports might have been leaked to entice the Rockets to up their offer, and said he did not think a deal with the Lakers would be announced this week (Twitter links).

Kennedy said it's hard to tell whether the Rockets or Lakers are in the lead for Howard's services as the Magic weigh all their options (Twitter link). Kyler tweets that the Lakers' willingness to take on Jason Richardson's contract is appealing to Orlando, but the Magic still want more relief. Former Magic director of player development Adonal Foyle told Kyler yesterday he believes the Magic will wind up trading Howard to the Rockets, since they're the only team willing to take on Orlando's unfavorable contracts (Twitter links).

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35 comments Cleveland Cavaliers Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic Andrew Bynum Dwight Howard

Celtics Trying To Clear Space For Courtney Lee

By Chuck Myron | at July 14, 2012 2:32 pm

The Celtics agreed to terms with Jason Terry last week, but they'd "love" to turn the deal into a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks in order to free their mid-level exception to pursue Courtney Lee, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Mavericks and Celtics discussed a sign-and-trade for Terry earlier in the process, but the Mavs are no longer open to such a move (Twitter link). Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com hears the only way a sign-and-trade happens is if a third team gets involved.

0 comments Boston Celtics Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Courtney Lee E'Twaun Moore JaJuan Johnson Jason Terry Jeff Green Keyon Dooling Mickael Pietrus

Dwight Howard Rumors: Friday

By Michael Pina | at July 13, 2012 9:57 pm

The Rockets and Magic are further from completing a deal than has been speculated, reports NBA.com's David Aldridge. It's been rumored that Houston had made the decision to amnesty Luis Scola so that they could take on several of Orlando's terrible contracts, but they're apparently only willing to take back one. Also, they're only willing to give up one of their three first round draft picks.

5 comments Houston Rockets Dwight Howard

Rockets Amnesty Luis Scola

By Ryan Raroque | at July 13, 2012 2:33 pm

FRIDAY, 2:33pm: The Rockets have officially released Scola via the amnesty clause, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

THURSDAY, 8:57pm: Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld points out why Scola could actually clear the amnesty waivers and become an unrestricted free agent. An amnesty bid requires the incorporation of the non-guaranteed amount of the contract. While Scola was guaranteed $9.4MM and $10.2MM for the next two seasons, his final season was for $11MM with just $1MM guaranteed. A bidding team would have to account for the non-guaranteed $10MM over the life of the original deal (three years in this case), thus starting the bid at a minimum of around $3.3MM. Pincus mentions that teams won't have that kind of cap space to make such an offer, which increases the possibility that Scola clears waivers.

11 comments Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Transactions Dwight Howard Luis Scola

Rockets Reconstruct Trade Offer For Howard

By Luke Adams | at July 13, 2012 11:35 am

11:35am: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that he doesn't believe last year's rookies (Morris, Parsons) and this year's three draftees (Lamb, White, Jones) are all a part of the Rockets' offer, but that many of them could be involved.

7:43am: In an effort to convince the Magic to deal Dwight Howard directly to Houston, the Rockets are in the process of reconstructing their trade proposal for the star center, according to an ESPN.com report by Marc Stein and Chad Ford. Stein and Ford write that the Rockets are looking to clear the necessary cap space to absorb at least three additional contracts in addition to Howard's, from a group that includes Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Duhon, Glen Davis, and Jason Richardson.

12 comments Atlanta Hawks Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic Andrew Bynum Chandler Parsons Chris Duhon Dwight Howard Glen Davis Hedo Turkoglu Jason Richardson Jeremy Lamb Kevin Martin Luis Scola Marcus Morris Patrick Patterson Royce White Terrence Jones

Dwight Howard Rumors: Thursday

By Luke Adams | at July 12, 2012 10:52 pm

While reports yesterday suggested that the Magic had suspended Dwight Howard trade talks while they search for a new head coach, it appears the team is still willing to listen to new offers. However, those offers likely won't be coming from the Nets for a while. After Brooklyn agreed to re-sign Brook Lopez to a four-year, maximum-salary contract, it took the team's top trade chip from the trade block until at least January 15th, at which point he's eligible to be traded again. Who knows if Howard will still be in Orlando by that point, but here's the latest on the Magic's star center:

Although Howard remains Houston's number one priority, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweeted earlier that acquiring Andrew Bynum in a three-way deal with Orlando and the Lakers is the designated back up plan.
Interestingly enough, ESPN's Marc Stein retweeted a follower who recognized that the Rockets' official Twitter account decided to follow Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon, Glen Davis, and Jason Richardson as of tonight.
John Denton of NBA.com says that according to GM Rob Hennigan, there is nothing imminent in Howard trade talks.

Earlier updates:

23 comments Brooklyn Nets Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic Andrew Bynum Chris Duhon Dwight Howard Glen Davis

Kyler On Calderon, Howard, Blair, Augustin

By Luke Adams | at July 12, 2012 10:30 am

Jose Calderon's name has surfaced as a possible amnesty candidate a few times this offseason, but according to Raptors president Bryan Colangelo, the team doesn't expect to amnesty Calderon or anyone else this week. While Colangelo acknowledged that Calderon wasn't "thrilled" about the trade that brought Kyle Lowry to Toronto, he still views him as a valuable piece on the roster, as Eric Koreen of the National Post writes. Colangelo confirmed that a few teams have inquired on Calderon, and Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes that a trade is much more likely than an amnesty. Here are a few more notes from Kyler's HoopsWorld piece:

4 comments Atlanta Hawks Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic Philadelphia 76ers San Antonio Spurs Toronto Raptors D.J. Augustin DeJuan Blair Dwight Howard Jose Calderon

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