Eastern Rumors: Jefferson, Knicks, Robinson
Here's a look at the latest from the Eastern Conference on a busy first evening of free agency:
- Al Jefferson will be meeting with the Bobcats on Wednesday, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer doesn't believe much will come of it (Twitter links).
- The small forward position is still a need for the Knicks and they inquired about both Francisco Garcia and Matt Barnes, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post (via Twitter).
- The Knicks spoke with Nate Robinson's representatives, but don't count on the diminutive point guard winding up back in New York, Berman tweets.
- The Celtics are set to be a taxpayer in 2013/14, but president of basketball operations Danny Ainge hinted today that the team will try to get under the tax line, as Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com notes. Still, it looks like Rajon Rondo will be sticking around Boston.
- The agreement between Mike Dunleavy and the Bulls figures to help second-rounder Erik Murphy make the Chicago roster, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
- Beno Udrih's agent told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News (on Twitter) that his client is "less likely" to re-sign with Magic but a return is "not impossible". The Pinnacle Management client has ten teams interested in him, according to his agent, though he wasn't specific on which clubs. Deveney has heard that the Wizards and Celtics are among those with interest, though the Wizards are probably out, with Eric Maynor coming aboard.
- The Pacers officially announced that they have hired Nate McMillan as associate head coach.
- Patrick Ewing will be Steve Clifford's associate head coach in Charlotte, with Bob Beyer, Stephen Silas, Bob Weiss and Mark Price filling out the Bobcats staff, according to a team press release.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Trade Rumors: Asik, Bledsoe, Afflalo, Chandler
Most of the news and rumors we're passing along today relate to free agency, but during the July moratorium, it's likely we'll see a few trades agreed upon as well. Let's round up a few of today's reports on potential trade possibilities….
- Ostensibly, the Trail Blazers' acquisition of Thomas Robinson allows the Rockets to clear the cap room to make a max offer to Dwight Howard. However, the underrated aspect of the deal, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, is that the Rockets could look to move Omer Asik if they land Howard. Haynes says Portland is "closely monitoring" that situation, since the big man would be the kind of rim-protecting defensive specialist the club has been lacking.
- The Clippers and Magic are still discussing a potential deal that would send Arron Afflalo to L.A. for Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). However, before getting serious about Afflalo, the Clippers figure to make a run at free agent shooting guards such as O.J. Mayo and Tony Allen.
- A source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) that while the Knicks haven't offered Tyson Chandler in any trade talks, the team wouldn't be opposed to moving him in the right offer. I'm guessing Chandler will stay put, but as their acquisition of Andrea Bargnani showed, the Knicks are willing to get creative to try to improve their roster.
Big Man Rumors: Bynum, Wright, Oden, Mullens
Earlier this afternoon, we passed along a few notes and rumors related to point guards. Now let's go a little bigger, with a focus on free agent centers….
- The Mavericks were one of several teams to contact Andrew Bynum shortly after free agency began last night, agent David Lee tells Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The Mavs, like all the teams chasing after Dwight Howard, are also in the market for Bynum as a fallback option, and the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers are reportedly pursuing the oft-injured center as well.
- Dallas would like to retain Brandan Wright, but the Hawks, Magic, Pistons, Raptors, and Knicks all expressed interest in the Jim Tanner client after free agency began last night, McMahon reports. Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) also adds the Lakers to the list of potential suitors for Wright.
- The Heat, Spurs, Cavs, Celtics, Mavericks, Kings, Pacers, and Grizzlies all have interest in Greg Oden, but the former No. 1 overall pick is in no rush to make his decision on where to sign, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. He's hoping to be physically ready to play by training camp.
- According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter), it's unlikely that Oden lands with the Cavs.
- The Lakers have inquired on Byron Mullens, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Mullens became an unrestricted free agent when the Bobcats didn't tender him a qualifying offer.
- The Heat are in contact with Chris Andersen's camp in the hopes of working out a deal, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
Point Guard Rumors: Calderon, Telfair, Mavs
With free agent rumors coming in fast, we have enough updates on point guards alone to dedicate a whole post to the position. Here's the latest:
- Chris Broussard of ESPN.com hears the Pistons are intent on bringing back Jose Calderon (Twitter link), though an earlier report indicated that the team is unwilling to exceed a deal worth $7MM a year to re-sign him.
- Sebastian Telfair has drawn interest from the Knicks, Nets, Heat, and Thunder, sources tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (Twitter link).
- Finding a starting point guard remains a top priority for the Mavericks, who hope to have Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel compete for backup minutes, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News suggests keeping an eye on Greivis Vasquez, though he's more of a secondary option for the Mavs, since the Pelicans may not be inclined to trade him even with Jrue Holiday on board.
- The Jazz, who had plenty of free agents come off their roster last night, were no doubt busy, but they did reach out to Jamaal Tinsley, tweets Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Nemanja Nedovic, who says he's ready to come stateside next season if the Warriors want him, was "shocked" when Golden State drafted him. He had worked out for the Pistons, Cavaliers, Hawks, Knicks, and Bucks, but not the Warriors, prior to the draft (Twitter links via Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle and Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group).
- The Sixers didn't extend a qualifying offer to Charles Jenkins, making him an unrestricted free agent, notes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Richardson To Join Raptors Via Sign-And-Trade
Quentin Richardson will head to the Raptors through a sign-and-trade deal that will complete the Andrea Bargnani swap, according to Newsday's Al Iannazzone (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com speculated last night that Richardson or Earl Barron would likely be signed-and-traded to the Raptors to make the numbers in the Bargnani deal work. It's unclear exactly how much Richardson will earn, but it probably won't be the hefty $5MM payday that Keith Bogans is getting to be part of the Celtics/Nets blockbuster.
Still, it seems Richardson is in line for more than the prorated minimum salary he earned after signing with the Knicks at the end of the regular season. The client of Jeff Wechsler spent most of 2012/13 out of the NBA after the Magic cut him at the end of training camp. The 13-year veteran made just one regular season appearance for the Knicks, and got in five of the team's playoff games for a total of only 14 minutes.
Knicks Rumors: Camby, J.R. Smith, Copeland
The major news out of New York is last night's agreement on a trade that will bring Andrea Bargnani to the Big Apple. Marcus Camby is one of the players headed to the Raptors in return, and he caused a stir overnight, releasing a statement in which he said "it was unfortunate that I didn't get a meaningful chance to contribute" with the Knicks this past season, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Camby also said that while he has an affinity for Toronto and Raptors fans, he wants to be with a title contender and will evaluate his options, Spears tweets. Since Camby's under contract through 2015, he doesn't appear to have many options, and this morning he backtracked a bit via Twitter, at least on the Knicks side of the affair, thanking the Knicks and their fans for their treatment of him during his time in New York (hat tip to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com). Zwerling has much more on the Knicks this morning, so let's dive in:
- J.R. Smith agreed to meet last night with Knicks coach Mike Woodson and members of the team's front office to discuss a future in New York for the reigning Sixth Man of the Year.
- Plenty of teams are in the market for Chris Copeland, and a source tells Zwerling that the Pelicans and Bucks are prepared to make attractive bids for the forward. The Jazz and Lakers were the first two teams to inquire about Copeland when free agency started last night.
- A source close to Kenyon Martin is "confident" that the veteran wants to return to the Knicks, Zwerling writes.
- The Knicks are interested in Aaron Brooks, who was waived Sunday by the Rockets. Leon Rose, Brooks' agent, also reps Bargnani, Carmelo Anthony and Smith.
- DeJuan Blair is not a candidate to join the Knicks because of the team's limited financial flexibility, Zwerling hears.
Knicks, Others Express Interest In Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis is drawing plenty of interest from contending teams early in free agency, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who reports that the Knicks are among the clubs to express interest in the veteran guard. The Bulls, Spurs, Nuggets and Suns have also inquired on Ellis, says Berger.
Many of those teams would seem to be long shots for Ellis. The Knicks, for instance, likely won't be able to acquire players via sign-and-trade since they're over the tax line, so they'll only have the mini mid-level exception ($3.18MM) available. Considering he just turned down an option worth $11MM, Ellis seems unlikely to sign with a team that can't even offer him that amount over three years.
Still, Ellis and agent Jeff Fried are "known to be willing to compromise in order to sign with a contending team," according to Berger, so it's probably too early to rule out any suitors, as unlikely as they may appear.
Free Agency Notes: Smith, Evans, Blazers, Kaman
It's officially the start of free agency! Here's the latest as we enter July..
- A source tells Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News (Twitter link) that the Pistons will absolutely not offer Josh Smith a max deal. We learned earlier today that Detroit is among the teams targeting the Hawks free agent.
- The Pelicans will have a sizable offer sheet ready for Tyreke Evans when they meet with him tonight, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. We learned earlier tonight that New Orleans was set to be the first team to meet with the Kings guard. Meanwhile, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (Twitter link) that while the Pelicans got the first meeting with the 23-year-old, he will still do his due diligence on teams and the Kings are still in the mix.
- The Blazers and the reps for center Chris Kaman are expected to meet face-to-face now that free agency is underway, tweets Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Both the unrestricted free agent and the club feel that it would be a "great fit" (link).
- The Jazz and Lakers were the first two teams to inquire on Knicks free agent Chris Copeland tonight, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Odds & Ends: Delfino, Knicks, Redick, West
The Knicks have an interest in Carlos Delfino and Aaron Brooks, who were waived by the Rockets earlier today, tweets Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Brooks also has interest (Twitter links) in signing with New York and it helps that he is represented by CAA, the same company that represents J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony. Here’s more from around the Association..
- It’s appearing less and less likely that J.J. Redick will return to the Bucks in free agency, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
- The Pacers‘ top priority in free agency remains re-signing David West, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Sources say that a meeting is expected soon, if not tonight, then tomorrow.
- Andrei Kirilenko is a free agent again, but Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter) cautions that AK is not a fit for the Jazz right now based on the dollars and years it would take to sign him.
- The frontrunners for Gigi Datome are the Celtics and Grizzlies, according to an Italian report passed along by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The small forward was named Serie A Regular Season MVP and ended the year averaging 16.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.7 APG in 48 games.
Knicks Waive James White
SUNDAY, 1:20pm: The Knicks officially announced that they have waived White.
SATURDAY, 3:32pm: White is negotiating with several teams in China for better money than he could find in the NBA, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
2:56pm: The Knicks will let go of James White and his non-guaranteed salary for next season, agent Bill McCandless tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). The report indicates the Knicks will be declining a team option on White, but White is listed as having a non-guaranteed deal at ShamSports.com. White's deal was to have become fully guaranteed if he weren't waived on or before June 30th, so that amounts to a team option anyway.
Several other NBA teams are interested in the 30-year-old small forward, and White's representatives are in talks with a team in Europe, Charania writes. White's camp expects additional overseas interest to develop as well.
"I don't know what it will be, but I am sure that James will make more money in 2013-14 than he has in any prior season," McCandless said. "James loved his time with the Knicks, and he’s looking forward to a new team, where assuredly he would play more."
White, who made the two-year veteran's minimum of $854,389 this year, was set to make only the minimum salary for next season, but the team's decision doesn't come as a complete surprise considering White's limited role with the Knicks. White averaged 2.2 points in 7.6 minutes per game over 57 contests in New York this season, though he did make 16 starts when the team was dealing with injuries to its regulars. White and the Knicks had spoken about extending the guarantee deadline on his deal, but when the team came away with Tim Hardaway Jr. in Thursday's draft, that dissuaded the Knicks from changing the terms of the contract, according to Charania.