Nets Sign Brook Lopez To Four-Year Extension
8:33pm: Howard Beck of the New York Times has the details on Lopez's contract, which includes a player option in the fourth year. Lopez will get $13.668MM for the coming season, $14.694MM in 2013/14, $15.719MM in 2014/15 and, the option is for $16.774MM in 2015/16. (Twitter links)
7:47pm: The Nets have announced the contract is official, via Twitter.
Nets, Hawks Finalize Joe Johnson Deal
JULY 11, 5:03pm: The deal is now official, according to a press release by the Nets.
JULY 11, 4:40pm: Nets GM Billy King posted "Welcome Joe Johnson" on his Twitter account, presumably meaning the trade has been finalized.
JULY 2, 4:51pm: DeShawn Stevenson's sign-and-trade deal that puts him on the Hawks is for three years and $6.9MM, but only the first year, at $2.3MM, is guaranteed, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports via Twitter.
4:39pm: Wojnarowski now says the deal likely happens regardless of where Deron Williams signs (Twitter link).
4:18pm: The Nets and Hawks have agreed to terms on a trade that would send Joe Johnson to Brooklyn, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, who says the deal is contingent on Deron Williams agreeing to return to the Nets. However, David Aldridge of TNT says the Nets would agree to the deal regardless of Williams' status (Twitter link). Broussard adds that the deal would put the Nets out of the running of Dwight Howard, as it wouldn't leave enough cap room.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Wednesday
In yesterday's round of Dwight Howard rumors, we learned that the Cavaliers had pulled out of the complicated four-team talks that included the Nets and Magic. The Nets are still in the mix for Howard, but are focusing more on one-on-one talks with Orlando now. Meanwhile, the Magic continue to talk with other teams, including the Rockets, Lakers, and Hawks, about a variety of trade scenarios involving the star center. What will today bring? We'll track the latest right here….
- According to SI.com's Sam Amick, the Magic could simply let the Nets fall out of the race for Howard and seek another trade partner. Amick adds that the Rockets have been calling around looking for a taker for Luis Scola, in an effort to allow the Magic to clear more cap space in a Howard deal.
- Among the Nets' reasons for accelerating the Howard talks: They're concerned that the Trail Blazers will step in and sign Brook Lopez to an offer sheet after missing out on Roy Hibbert, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The Rockets represent another threat to the Nets if their offer sheet for Omer Asik is matched, adds ESPN.com's Chad Ford (via Twitter).
Earlier updates:
Hornets Acquire Ryan Anderson In Sign-And-Trade
WEDNESDAY, 10:40am: The Magic have officially announced the completion of the Anderson/Ayon sign-and-trade in a press release.
SUNDAY, 3:21pm: The Hornets will acquire Ryan Anderson in a sign-and-trade deal with the Magic, writes Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski. Once the moratorium ends, Anderson will agree to a four-year, $36MM deal with New Orleans, and the Magic will receive Hornets center Gustavo Ayon.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Tuesday
The Dwight Howard rumor mill was in full swing on Monday, as we needed multiple posts to round up all of the day's rumblings. I recapped the Monday highlights right here, including the framework of a possible four-team deal, but things continue to evolve quickly. So let's follow along with Tuesday's updates, which we'll add to the top of this page throughout the day….
- As Marc Stein suggested (below), the Rockets have remained "strongly engaged" with the Magic on direct talks for Howard and haven't spent much time on three-team scenarios, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Magic, Smith, Haywood, Humphries
This year's amnesty period kicks off on Wednesday and this afternoon Larry Coon of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) ran down his candidates for each of the 23 teams that did not use the provision last year. Among the most likely to go are Mike Miller of the Heat and Darko Milicic of the T'Wolves. After that, there are a number of "jump ball" candidates such as the Mavs' Brendan Haywood. The waiving of Haywood once seemed like a foregone conclusion but after striking out on Deron Williams, Dallas is no longer starved for cap room. Here's more from around the Association..
Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday Night
The Magic and Nets are reportedly working to put together a multi-team deal that will send Dwight Howard to Brooklyn. The Cavaliers and Clippers could be a part of the mega-trade but nothing has been cemented yet and other clubs could be roped in to make the swap a reality. Here's the latest on D12 and the Magic..
Latest On Four-Team Dwight Howard Talks
We've still got plenty of time left in the day, and our round-up of Dwight Howard rumors for Monday is already getting a little too lengthy. So rather than keep tacking on more details to it, let's round up what we know so far right here.
According to various reports, the Magic and Nets have engaged the Cavaliers and Clippers in talks to facilitate a deal involving Howard. There are a lot of moving parts, but the framework of the proposed deal looks something like this:
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:
Odds & Ends: Miles, Magic, Celtics, Hawks
With free agent news and rumors dominating the headlines over the last week, it's been easy to miss a number of other stories that have flown under the radar. One such story today: The Wizards have hired Don Newman as an assistant coach under Randy Wittman. A longtime NBA assistant coach, Newman has spent the last seven years on the Spurs' bench in San Antonio, and represents a solid hire for Washington.
Here are a few more Monday afternoon odds and ends from around the league….