Free Agent Rumors: Jamison, Sessions, Lewis
Five days into free agency, a number of big names, such as Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, are off the market. But there are still plenty of players out there looking for contracts. We'll wrap up many of today's free agent updates right here, with the latest items added to the top of the page throughout the day….
- Antawn Jamison had dinner in Charlotte with Bobcats executives Rod Higgins and Rich Cho, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links). The former UNC star has also been talking to Warriors general manager Bob Myers, Jamison's former agent, and will chat with head coach Mark Jackson in the near future.
- The Mavericks have reached out to Ramon Sessions for a second time and pitched a starting job to the veteran point guard, writes Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
- Rashard Lewis will visit the Heat this weekend after having his contract bought out by the Hornets, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (Twitter links). The Hawks and the Knicks are among other teams interested in the veteran forward.
Earlier updates:
Roy Hibbert, Blazers Reach Verbal Agreement
THURSDAY 5:35pm: The Pacers have yet to decide whether they will match the Trail Blazers' max offer sheet to Hibbert, reports David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter).
SUNDAY 1:28pm: The Blazers and Hibbert have reached a verbal agreement, and the big man will sign an offer sheet with Portland on July 11th, says Joe Freeman of the Oregonian. The Pacers will then have three days to match the offer.
Pacers Sign Miles Plumlee
The Pacers have signed 2012 first-round pick Miles Plumlee to a rookie scale contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the 26th overall pick is eligible for a first-year salary of up to $1,073,280.
Plumlee, a 7'0" center from Duke, was projected by many pundits to be a second-round pick, so the Pacers' decision to select him late in the first round was a little surprising. In his final season with the Blue Devils, Plumlee averaged 6.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game.
Free Agent Rumors: Mavs, Dragic, Orton, Blazers
Day 3 of NBA free agency is underway, and the July free agent period hasn't lacked for action so far. We'll use this space to track a number of updates on second- and third-tier free agents as the day continues. Here's the latest:
- The Warriors, Lakers, and Bobcats are all interested in Antawn Jamison, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears.
- The Mavericks might clear cap space for next summer when Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are unrestricted free agents, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski.
- Ersan Ilyasova's agent has said his client is seriously considering a "big offer" from a European club, according to HoopsHype.com.
- The Timberwolves continued negotiation with Nicolas Batum, Greg Stiemsma, and Jordan Hill on Tuesday, but no deal was reached, writes TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.
Earlier updates:
Courtney Lee Becomes Unrestricted Free Agent
7:33PM: Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears reports that several teams are interested in Lee's services, including the Bulls, Pacers, Wizards, Mavericks, and Clippers.
6:56PM: The Rockets have withdrawn their qualifying offer to shooting guard Courtney Lee, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The team previously had the right to match any offers for Lee's services.
Clippers In Advanced Talks With Jamal Crawford
TUESDAY, 9:46am: The Clips are meeting with Crawford today and are considered the frontrunner for him, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Los Angeles reportedly intends to offer Crawford a three-year deal worth the $5MM mid-level exception, and I wouldn't be surprised if he accepts it.
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.
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:
Odds & Ends: Duncan, Kaman, Miles, Korver
Tim Duncan is having good contractual talks with the Spurs about re-signing and it’s very unlikely that he will consider another team, sources told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Then again, it seems like Duncan never thought about leaving San Antonio to begin with. In the middle of the team’s postseason tear, the big man admitted to reporters that he had little interest in testing the open market. Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..
