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Free Agent Rumors: Lakers, Mavs, Cavs, Crawford

July 1st, 2012 at 3:00am CST by Chuck Myron

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:

The Mavericks are interested in Anthony Randolph, according to Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
Jamal Crawford was contacted by six teams tonight, with Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld identifying the Celtics, Suns, 76ers, Timberwolves, and Clippers, while Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com says the Pacers were also in touch.
Seven teams contacted Ian Mahinmi when free agency opened, but the Mavericks weren't one of them, says Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
The Kings have reached out to Terrence Williams, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
There are five or six teams ready to make Lou Williams a contract offer, tweets John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has already called Ramon Sessions to open dialogue about a new contract, says Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports clarifies an earlier item on Omer Asik (linked below), tweeting that a Blazers contingent met with Asik tonight, but that GM Neil Olshey was meeting with another player.
After his meeting with the Rockets tonight, Omer Asik will sit down with Blazers GM Neil Olshey, who plans to make him an offer, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Rockets free agent Goran Dragic wants to be the starter no matter where he winds up, Wojnarowski also tweets.
The Clippers will talk with Nick Young, Randy Foye and Jamal Crawford, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
Lakers unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill will meet with the Wolves on Monday, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Nets are committed to reaching a deal with Mirza Teletovic but are waiting to find out what happens with Deron Williams first, reports Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak contacted Devin Ebanks via text message about re-signing him, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey is meeting tonight with Bulls restricted free agent Omer Asik, and K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune hears the Rockets are prepared to offer Asik a deal worth $8MM a year (Twitter link).
The Mavs may have interest in Wolves unrestricted free agent Michael Beasley, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
The Clippers had contact tonight with Chauncey Billups' representatives, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.

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Sacks Gaining Support For Clippers GM Job

June 30th, 2012 at 8:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

Clippers director of player personnel Gary Sacks is gaining support from others within the organization to take over the GM job vacated earlier this month by Neil Olshey, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Sacks has teamed with Clippers president Andy Roeser and coach Vinny Del Negro to run L.A.'s front office since Olshey left.

Clippers Rumors: Griffin, Paul, Martin, Evans

June 30th, 2012 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

Blake Griffin doesn't hit free agency this summer, but the Clippers figure to make his future a top priority in the coming days nonetheless. According to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, when free agency begins, the Clippers are expected to offer Griffin a five-year extension, with an opt-out after four years. Griffin is expected to agree to either that offer or a four-year extension, says Turner. Here are the rest of the Clippers rumors from Turner's piece:

Kennedy On Lin, Gordon, Mayo, Hibbert, Hill

June 30th, 2012 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

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….

Reaction To Lamar Odom/Mo Williams Trade

June 29th, 2012 at 10:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

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:

Odom To Clips, Williams To Jazz In 4-Team Deal

June 29th, 2012 at 7:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

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.

League, Union Reach Bird Rights Settlement

June 29th, 2012 at 6:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

The league and the National Basketball Players Association have reached a settlement that will extend Bird rights to four players claimed off waivers this season, but will limit the retention of Bird rights for players claimed off waivers in the future, according to Howard Beck of The New York Times (Twitter links). From now on, full Bird rights will only be retained if the player is claimed off amnesty waivers. Otherwise, such players will retain only early Bird rights (Twitter links).

Mavs, Clippers, Jazz Agree To Odom Deal

June 29th, 2012 at 6:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 6:17pm: The deal, which could become official later today, will also involve the Rockets, who'll receive Furkan Aldemir, taken 53rd by the Clippers in Thursday's draft, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. The Rockets will send cash to the Mavs, tweets fellow Los Angeles Times writer Brad Turner.

FRIDAY, 5:32pm: The Mavericks and Odom have agreed to extend the deadline to fully guarantee Odom's contract by one day, until tomorrow, so that the trade can be finalized, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com says "only paperwork" is left to be done before the deal is official (Twitter links).

4:43pm: Williams has agreed to join the Jazz, a source tells Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter).

12:22am: Even with the tentative agreement in place, this deal could fall apart within the next couple days, according to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune. With details of the negotiations becoming public, the Jazz are "backing off somewhat," trying to avoid a game between teams and agents (Twitter links). While the swap still could happen, Utah has other options it could explore, and may choose to leave the deal behind should it continue to publicly unravel (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 7:54pm: Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor told Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone in Utah that the deal has too many moving parts and "isn't close to being done" (Twitter link). Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times also reports that nothing is official yet, though a deal could be reached by Saturday.

6:59pm: According to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune (Sulia link), Williams still hasn't make a final decision on his future.

6:50pm: Williams has decided to accept the trade to the Jazz, a source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Assuming Williams officially picks up his player option, this trade remains on track to be completed by tomorrow, says Shelburne.

3:28pm: The Mavericks, Clippers and Jazz have reached an agreement on a deal that would send Lamar Odom to the Clippers and Mo Williams to the Jazz, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News reports. The deal hinges on Williams' willingness to pick up his $8.5MM option for 2012/13, so nothing is official yet.

Earlier today ESPN.com's Chad Ford and Marc Stein reported the Jazz had entered discussions. Previously, the Mavs and Clippers were looking for a third team to take on Williams' contract, as the Mavs want to free as much cap space as possible.

In the proposed deal, the Jazz would use their $10.89MM trade exception, which stems from the team's trade of Mehmet Okur to the Nets in December, to take on Odom's salary. The Mavs would then gain a trade exception worth Odom's $8.9MM salary.

The Mavs have been trying to get rid of Odom before Friday, when his $8.2MM salary becomes fully guaranteed. Williams is open to the idea of exercising his option, but "is exploring all options," tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

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NBPA Wins Bird Rights Ruling

June 28th, 2012 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 4:06pm: The union and the league are moving toward a settlement in the case, which could be finalized as soon as Friday, Howard Beck of The New York Times writes. The most likely outcome will allow players claimed off waivers to retain some form of Bird rights, Beck says.

June 22, 7:28pm: The NBA players' union doesn't think that an appeal from the league can be resolved by July 1st, which would effectively mean that the union's win will stand, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPN.com (via Twitter).

June 22, 2:25pm: The NBA will appeal Dam's ruling, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt adds that the appeal will be heard by a panel, but that no date has been set yet (Twitter link).

June, 22, 1:37pm: Kenneth Dam, the arbitrator tasked with making a decision on last week's Bird Rights hearing, has sided with the NBPA, according to Howard Beck of the New York Times. Dam's decision means that players claimed off waivers won't have their Bird clocks reset. As such, Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak will have Early Bird rights this offseason, while Chauncey Billups and J.J. Hickson will regain full Bird rights.

Amico On Lakers, Mayo, Rockets, Varejao

June 28th, 2012 at 3:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

With the Lakers holding only the 60th pick in the draft, much of the talk surrounding the team has had to do with Pau Gasol. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears much more from L.A. and shares it along with a number of tidbits from around the Association. A source tells Amico the Lakers will look to dump salary this offseason and sign Spencer Hawes, Nick Young, Kirk Hinrich and Kris Humphries. The Lakers may also look into trading for Jordan Crawford if the Wizards draft Bradley Beal tonight. Here's more from Amico: