Free Agent Rumors: Landry, Thomas, Mason
A few more free agents have come off the board today, as A.J. Price and Pablo Prigioni finalized deals with the Wizards and Knicks respectively, while Ronnie Brewer was among the players to agree to a new contract, reaching a deal with the Knicks. With a number of available players still on the market though, here's a round-up of a few of the day's assorted free agent rumors:
- The Hornets have renounced Carl Landry's Bird Rights, making a sign-and-trade difficult to work out, writes Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. The Bobcats were interested in a sign-and-trade deal for Landry, but New Orleans would need to get back under the cap to have room to make it work.
- Malcolm Thomas, who was named to the All-Summer League team, is drawing interest from a number of teams, including the Clippers, Bulls, Hawks, and Bobcats, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Former Lakers second-rounder Patrick Beverley is seeking an NBA job, having worked out for the Bulls, Cavs, and Rockets this offseason. Agent Kevin Bradbury tells Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com that he thinks his client would be a good fit in Chicago: "He plays defense and does what’s asked of him. He fits the Bulls’ system. I think that’s intriguing for the Bulls. He really respects [Tom Thibodeau]."
- The Wizards have interest in bringing back Roger Mason, but Mason isn't looking to sign a one-year, minimum-salary deal, says Michael Lee of the Washington Post. The veteran guard has also received interest from the Thunder, Hornets, Bulls, and Lakers.
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.
Contract Details: Novak, Green, Miller, Thompson
While most players' contracts include annual raises, or at the very least, identical annual salaries, Steve Novak's new contract with the Knicks is a little different, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports explains (Twitter link). Novak's deal starts at a little over $4MM, dips to below $3.5MM by 2014/15, then rises back up to $3.75MM for 2015/16. The unusual structure of the deal provides the Knicks a small amount of savings in the years when the rest of the team's roster will get extremely expensive.
Deeks shared a number of other contract details from around the league, via Twitter, so let's round them up….
- The Spurs' deal with Danny Green is for three fully-guaranteed years and $11,287,500, with no options.
- Andre Miller will earn $5MM in each of the next two seasons with the Nuggets. The third year of his deal is partially guaranteed for $2MM of $4.625MM.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Spurs, Perkins, Fields
Thunder Sign Hollis Thompson
The Thunder have signed Hollis Thompson to a three-year deal, agent Seth Cohen tells Bobby Bancroft of 106.7 The Fan (Twitter link). Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman confirms the agreement, writing that Thompson will receive a partially-guaranteed contract worth the rookie minimum (about $473K) for 2012/13.
Thompson, a 6'8" junior out of Georgetown, went undrafted in June, but quickly found a spot at the back of the Thunder's roster. The 21-year-old becomes the 15th player under contract for next season for Oklahoma City, meaning players like Derek Fisher, Royal Ivey, and Nazr Mohammed almost certainly won't be back.
Thunder Sign Hasheem Thabeet
JULY 11TH: The Thunder have officially signed Thabeet, according to a team release.
JULY 4TH: The Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to sign center Hasheem Thabeet to a two-year deal, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman, the contract is fully guaranteed for both seasons.
Grant Hill Considering Lakers, Heat, Thunder
Although a report last week indicated that Grant Hill would either sign with the Lakers or retire, the veteran forward hasn't quite narrowed his options down that far yet, says David Aldridge of TNT. According to Aldridge, Hill is considering the Heat and Thunder in addition to the Lakers, and each team has returned interest in the 39-year-old.
Free Agent Rumors: Wallace, Grizzlies, Fisher
We're into the home stretch of the July moratorium, and it won't be long before all the moves that have been agreed upon in the last week are made official. In the meantime, teams have two more days to prepare for the next stage of free agency, and the rumors continue to swirl. You can track all of the contract agreements to date using our Free Agent Tracker, and you can follow many of today's free agent rumors right here, with the latest up top….
- There's a "pretty good chance" that Ben Wallace will return to the Pistons next season, a source tells Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
- A source told The Commercial Appeal (via Twitter) that it's unlikely that the Grizzlies will sign Russian guard Alexey Shved. Shved allegedly received offers from the Grizzlies, Cavs, and T'Wolves.
- However, the Grizzlies are working to bring veteran guard Willie Green to Memphis, The Commercial Appeal tweets. The soon-to-be 31-year-old averaged 7.6 PPG last year for the Hawks.
Earlier updates:
Lawrence On Bird, Hibbert, Gordon, Brooks
Larry Bird was leaning toward a return as Pacers president, former Celtics teammates tell Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, until owner Herb Simon nixed the idea of adding a scorer to the team during a meeting with Bird in late June, shortly before Bird resigned June 26th. Bird was considering an offer for Eric Gordon, Lawrence writes, but Simon, who has a net worth of $1.8 billion, doesn't want to pay the luxury tax. Though Indiana has only about $36MM in guaranteed salaries for next season, the Pacers likely couldn't have brought aboard Gordon, who's signed an offer sheet with the Suns for the maximum four years and $58MM, and retained all their free agents without becoming a tax team. Bird's concerns about his shoulder and back were also reasons he stepped down, but the 55-year-old NBA legend left the door open for a return to another team's front office. Lawrence has more from around the league, and we've got the highlights here:
Free Agent Rumors: Redd, Camby, Stiemsma
Brandon Roy, Jason Kidd, and Jamal Crawford were among the players to reach agreements with new clubs yesterday, while Nicolas Batum and Jeremy Lin agreed to lucrative offer sheets that their current teams are expected to match. What will Friday bring? Here are the latest rumors on a number of free agents still on the market:
- The Suns and Bulls are the two teams "most heavily in the mix" for Michael Redd, says Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
- Marcus Camby will meet with the Heat tomorrow and the Knicks next, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Feigen adds that Camby likely won't meet with the Rockets until there's resolution on Omer Asik.
Earlier updates: