Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday
It may not be many more days until our long national Dwightmare is over. Yesterday's reports on Howard suggested talks involving the Magic, Nets, and Cavaliers were getting serious, and that Orlando plans to make "one last sweep" around the league before deciding whether to accept the Nets' offer. While we wait to see if anything is agreed upon today, here are the latest rumblings on the Howard front:
- Chad Ford's ESPN.com report includes some more slight tweaks to the framework described below. Ford adds Chris Duhon to the list of players headed to the Nets, suggests the Magic would receive one fewer first-rounder (a total of three instead of four), and says the Cavs would receive $3MM in cash.
- Ford's report, along with tweets from the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, suggest that the Cavs and Clippers still aren't entirely on board. The Plain Dealer tweets that talk of a deal getting close is premature, while Berger says the Clips haven't agreed to anything yet and are one of several potential fourth-team facilitators in the mix (Twitter links).
Earlier updates:
Blake Griffin Intends To Sign Max Extension
JULY 9TH: Griffin has been excused from Team USA practice today to take care of his contract extension, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Not that I'm accusing Griffin of playing hooky, but his extension can't become official until the moratorium ends, so it should still be a couple days before the deal is formally finalized.
JUNE 30TH: Blake Griffin has informed Clippers officials that he intends to sign a five-year contract extension with the team, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Team president Andy Roeser will formally make the offer when rules allow at 11pm Central time tonight, Shelburne says. Griffin is unable to sign the extension until July 11, when the moratorium period ends.
Latest On Ray Allen
2:47pm: Allen left Miami without giving the Heat an answer on their offer and is "torn" on whether to leave the Celtics, says Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. TNT's David Aldridge adds (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies and Timberwolves are still options, though Allen doesn't have plans to visit either team. I'd guess his decision comes down to Miami and Boston.
FRIDAY, 1:54pm: The Timberwolves are the "dark-horse" in the chase for Allen, tweets Ric Bucher of ESPN.com. As Bucher acknowledges though, Minnesota is an extreme long shot.
Latest On O.J. Mayo
11:18am: Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star says the Pacers have "great, great interest" in Mayo, and that he's the team's top choice among outside free agents.
9:13am: As the Grizzlies agree to re-sign one of their free agents, Marreese Speights, another Memphis free agent continues to seek a new contract. O.J. Mayo almost certainly won't be returning to the Grizzlies, but he "may be close to something" with the Pacers, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
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:
Dwight Howard Rumors: Wednesday
Yesterday's round of Dwight Howard rumors was fairly eventful, featuring reports that the Magic are discussing deals with a number of teams, including the Lakers and Nets. The Nets still appear determined to put together a complicated package for Howard, though their increasing cap figure will make it difficult. The Lakers, meanwhile, seem willing to offer Andrew Bynum, but only with Metta World Peace in the deal as well, and only if D12 agrees to sign a long-term deal. I don't think that package gets it done for a Magic team looking for cap relief.
We'll round up today's Howard updates right here, so check back throughout the day for the latest:
Clippers Rumors: Crawford, Allen, Billups, Hollins
The Clippers had a "positive meeting" with Jamal Crawford in Los Angeles and made the former Blazer a contract offer, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Crawford is still considering a handful of other teams, however, including the Timberwolves, 76ers, Grizzlies, and Suns. Here are a few more Wednesday morning Clippers items:
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.
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.
