Celtics Acquire Courtney Lee
5:49pm: The second-round picks the Blazers will get are both for 2013, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. They'll receive the Celtics' own selection, along with the Timberwolves' pick that the C's acquired in an earlier deal. Freeman also passes along word from Blazers GM Neil Olshey, who says he is hopeful Pavlovic will make the team out of camp (Twitter link). Freeman confirms, via Twitter, that the Celtics will send the Blazers cash to cover Pavlovic's salary, which will likely be the veteran's minimum. Pavlovic's 2012/13 contract is non-guaranteed, so he could be waived without the Blazers taking a cap hit, Freeman confirms in an email to Hoops Rumors.
4:05pm: In making their own official announcement about the trade, the Trail Blazers noted that they'll acquire two future second-rounders from the Celtics, rather than just one (Twitter link).
2:12pm: The Rockets have officially announced the Lee sign-and-trade agreement in a press release. Based on the team's announcement and a tweet from Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, the deal looks like this:
- Celtics receive: Courtney Lee (sign-and-trade from Rockets)
- Rockets receive: JaJuan Johnson, E'Twaun Moore, Sean Williams, Bobcats' 2013 second-round pick (from Celtics), and the rights to Jon Diebler (from Trail Blazers)
- Trail Blazers receive: Sasha Pavlovic, second-round pick (from Celtics)
According to ESPN.com's John Hollinger (via Twitter), Lee will earn exactly $5MM in his first year, making his total contract worth the same as the maximum mid-level exception (four years, $21.35MM). The Rockets, meanwhile, are expected to waive Moore and Williams in the very near future. Diebler, the player whose rights Houston receives from Portland, was selected by the Blazers 51st overall in 2011 and spent last season overseas.
Odds & Ends: Felton, Wizards, Thunder, Leuer
Earlier today on the MSG Network, newly acquired Knicks point guard Raymond Felton said he still would have wanted to come to New York even if they matched Jeremy Lin's offer, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Felton knows that there will automatically be comparisons between his performance and Lin's, but as a competitor he believes that he is the superior player. Here's more from around the Association..
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis told Mike Wise of the Washington Post that JaVale McGee and Nick Young were less-than-beneficial to the club's locker room atmosphere. "I don’t think Nick and JaVale were bad people. But they wanted stats. I understand that, relate and get it. But they weren’t playing as a team," said Leonsis.
- The staff at DailyThunder.com agrees that James Harden will likely have a new deal worked out with the Thunder by the end of summer but they are less optimistic for Serge Ibaka and Eric Maynor.
- John Hollinger of ESPN.com (via Twitter) will be surprised if a team like the Bobcats or Hornets doesn't claim Jon Leuer. Earlier tonight we learned that the T'Wolves are also interested.
- After being waived by the Kings earlier this week, Hassan Whiteside has received interest from several NBA teams, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
Free Agent Rumors: Timberwolves, Rush, Mills
A couple more notable names came off the free agent market this morning, when Kris Humphries landed a two-year deal from the Nets and Grant Hill agreed to sign with the Clippers. While a number of solid rotation players are still available, the market is rapidly thinning for teams in search of starters. As clubs continue to jockey to sign the remaining available players, we'll track many of today's free agent rumors right here:
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune lists who the Timberwolves will target with nearly $14MM in cap space if they lose out on Nicolas Batum, specifically highlighting Courtney Lee, Jordan Hill, and Greg Stiemsma.
- Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times says that despite the delay on an official decision regarding Brandon Rush's future, the Warriors are still likely to retain him.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Gordon, Cavaliers, Vazquez
- Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago discusses why the Bulls' title window will shrink over the next two seasons.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer describes the progress that Byron Mullens appears to be making with the Bobcats based on his performances at the Las Vegas Summer League.
- 76ers head coach Doug Collins says he feels "very good" about what the team has accomplished during this offseason, writes John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com.
Odds & Ends: T-Wolves, Griffin, Nuggets, Hollins
- After tearing his left meniscus during a Team USA practise last Wednesday, Blake Griffin was forced to remove himself from the Olympic games. The Clippers forward had successful surgery today, and is still expected to be ready in time for training camp, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears.
- The Nuggets are considering using their amnesty provision on forward Chris Andersen, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Andersen has two years and $9MM left on his deal.
Earlier updates:
Warriors, Bobcats Pursuing Carl Landry
MONDAY, 4:42pm: There are several teams pursuing Landry, with the Warriors and Bobcats "running neck and neck at the front of the pack," reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter).
SATURDAY, 5:20pm: The Warriors met with Landry on Friday to discuss the possibility of the forward signing with Golden State, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (Sulia link).
Southwest Rumors: Anderson, Pargo, Miles
The Rockets have arguably been the Southwest team in the news most often this month, as they've pursued restricted free agents and continued to try to land a superstar like Dwight Howard via trade. For now though, Daryl Morey and the Rockets are playing the waiting game, as they wait to see whether the Knicks will match their offer sheet for Jeremy Lin. In the meantime, here are a few updates on Houston's division rivals….
Odds & Ends: Fields, Scola, Blazers, Gordon
The Knicks’ deadline to match Landry Fields’ 3-year, $18.7MM offer sheet from the Raptors is tonight at 11pm CDT. If they match Lin and Fields, the Knicks will have roughly $86MM committed to those two plus Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler for the 2014-15 season, tweets Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Include Jason Kidd and Steve Novak and it’s more than $92MM committed to seven players. The luxury tax penalties really start to get stiff in 2013/14 and that could make the Knicks' decision on Fields a difficult one. Here's more from around the Association..
T-Wolves Waive Webster, Trade Miller To Hornets
5:48pm: The Timberwolves have also traded Brad Miller and two second round picks to the Hornets for a future second round pick, the team announced today.
4:15pm: The Timberwolves have released Martell Webster, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Webster's contract for 2012/13 was only partially guaranteed, so most of his $5.7MM salary will come off Minnesota's books. Assuming he clears waivers, Webster will become an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.
Hornets, Clippers Talk Belinelli Sign-And-Trade
The Clippers have interest in Marco Belinelli, but having already committed their full mid-level exception to Jamal Crawford, don't have a ton of cap flexibility to sign him. As such, the Clips have discussed the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal with the Hornets, as we heard from ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne earlier this week. However, according to John Reid of the Times Picayune, the Hornets aren't interested in L.A.'s offer of Ryan Gomes and a second-round pick.