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:
SUNDAY, 1:21am: The Hornets are prepared to match a maximum offer for Gordon, according to Sam Amick of SI.com (via Twitter). Four years and $58MM represents the max salary the 23-year-old could earn from rival teams.
SATURDAY, 11:12pm: Eric Gordon is seeking a four-year, $58MM deal in meetings with the Pacers, Rockets, Suns and Blazers, reports ESPN's Chris Broussard. The Hornets' restricted free agent is also considering sit-downs with the Bobcats and Mavericks (Twitter links).
SATURDAY, 6:17pm: The Hornets announced that they have bought out Lewis.
TUESDAY, 11:02pm: Rashard Lewis will be bought out by the Hornets and is set to become an unrestricted free agent, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Lewis is under contract for over $22MM in 2012/13, but only about $13.7MM is guaranteed, so New Orleans will shave nearly $9MM off of its cap figure for next year.
Although it's looking increasingly less likely that Steve Nash will be re-signing in Phoenix, the Suns are eyeing a number of potential targets to pursue using their expected cap space. Among those targets, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, is restricted free agent Eric Gordon. Coro says the Suns are preparing to make a "large offer" to Gordon, who could command in the neighborhood of $12MM annually.
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….
With less than 24 hours to go until teams can officially begin negotiating with free agents, the focus has shifted from the draft and incoming rookies to where NBA veterans will end up. No free agent is more coveted than Deron Williams, but he's narrowed his choices to the Mavs and Nets. There are plenty of quality players left for other teams, however, including Roy Hibbert and Eric Gordon, whom the Rockets will target, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, adding that the team is also going after Omer Asik. Here's more on the free agent plans of teams around the league and other late-night news:
Now that the 2012 draft is officially a thing of the past, we shouldn't require multiple posts to round up all the day's draft-related content, like we did on Thursday. But even with the draft over, a few updates continue to trickle in. We'll round up today's leftover draft notes here, adding any new items to the top throughout the day….
- Sean Deveney of The Sporting News offers grades for each team's draft, and The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat shares his list of winners and losers.
Earlier updates:
Our previous round-up of Thursday's draft rumors was getting a little unwieldy, so here's a new post for the evening's rumors. Even with the draft underway, the rumors continue to pour in, so we'll round up the latest updates right here. Here's the latest draft buzz, with the newest items up top:
- After trading three picks for one to land Tyler Zeller, the Cavs are trying to trade back into the draft, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- The Grizzlies intend to keep Tony Wroten, the 25th overall pick, but are working on a trade, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Earlier updates:
To absolutely no one's surprise, the Hornets have officially selected Anthony Davis with the first overall pick in the 2012 draft. While rumors swirled about every pick in the draft from No. 2 to No. 60, the No. 1 pick was never in doubt, as Davis was considered all year to be the best college prospect available. The Hornets won the first overall pick in the draft lottery, despite having just the fourth-best odds (13.7%).
Davis, 19, led the Wildcats to an NCAA championship in his only year at Kentucky. In his freshman season, he averaged 14.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 4.7 BPG, and a ridiculous 35.71 PER. Marcus Camby is considered his NBA floor, while he's also drawn comparisons to Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and others. Alex Lee of Hoops Rumors profiled Davis here.
You can follow the rest of tonight's draft results right here.
The Hornets have officially extended a qualifying offer to Eric Gordon, the team announced today. The offer ensures that Gordon will be a restricted free agent and gives the Hornets an opportunity to match any offer sheets he signs.
Because Gordon missed most of the 2011/12 season, he failed to meet the starter criteria defined by the CBA, so his qualifying offer will only be worth $4,001,917. While Gordon could choose to accept the offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, it's more likely he'll sign a long-term deal this summer, probably with the Hornets.