Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday
The first day of free agency was a busy one on the Dwight Howard front, as reports suggested D12 was upset with the Magic and that Orlando was discussing potential trades with the Lakers, Nets, and Rockets. Howard denied saying that the Magic "blackmailed" him and told Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com that he was tired of hearing reports cite unnamed sources when discussing his situation, but also said he'd only re-sign with one team if he were traded — presumably the Nets. We'll track the latest on Howard throughout the day, with the latest updates on top of the page:
- The Mavs' offer for Howard could include some combination of Rodrigue Beaubois, Vince Carter, Dominique Jones and Brandan Wright, Jared Cunningham, Bernard James and Jae Crowder, plus draft picks and a sign-and-trade of Ian Mahinmi, a source tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Earlier updates:
Nets Extend Qualifying Offer To Brook Lopez
The Nets have officially extended a one-year qualifying offer to Brook Lopez, making him a restricted free agent, GM Billy King confirmed today (Twitter link via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News). Because Lopez met the starter criteria, as defined by the CBA, his qualifying offer will be worth around $4.39MM.
The big man could choose to accept the one-year offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but he's far more likely to sign a multiyear deal this offseason. Having tendered the qualifying offer, the Nets will have a three-day window to match any offer sheet Lopez signs.
Atlantic Rumors: Nets, Lopez, Young, Sixers, Draft
The Sixers and Celtics are taking the weekend off, but resume their compelling series tied at two games apiece Monday in Boston. Here's what's going on around the Atlantic Division:
- While noting that Pacers center Roy Hibbert is in line for much more, Chris Mannix of SI.com lets fly that the Nets are expecting to pay Brook Lopez somewhere between $8MM and $10MM a year in his next contract (Twitter link). Lopez, who played in just five games this season due to injuries, is a restricted free agent, so the Nets may not have a say in the terms of his deal if he chooses to sign an offer sheet with another team.
- The Sixers locked up Thaddeus Young for five years and $43MM before the season started, and he's making his presence known against the Celtics, as John Finger of CSNPhilly.com examines.
- Four second-round draft prospects — Scott Machado, Zack Rosen, Terrell Stoglin and Maalik Wayns — will work out tomorrow for the Sixers, the team announced. Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com has details.
Nets Rumors: Deron Williams, Bogdanovic, Lopez
The Nets, who hold the 57th overall pick, are holding a workout today at their practice facility for roughly two dozen fringe draft prospects. They'll also be hosting a free-agent mini-camp next week, the team announced, and it will likely involve another set of guys trying to play their way onto the end of a team's bench. Here's the rest of the day's news from Brooklyn:
- Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record rounds up what Deron Williams has said and done since the end of the season to indicate his willingness to re-sign with the Nets.
- GM Billy King said Bojan Bogdanovic, a 6'7" swingman currently playing in Turkey, would like to join the Nets, but he remains under contract with his European team, writes Sportando's Emiliano Carchia. The Nets acquired Bogdanovic's NBA rights through a draft-day trade last year, but King did not sound optimistic about him coming to Brooklyn for next season, Carchia says.
- Restricted free agent center Brook Lopez is "progressing nicely" in his recovery from the ankle injury that ended his season, King told reporters, including Brendan Prunty of the Star-Ledger. King qualified those remarks by saying Lopez is still not running or jumping, as we heard earlier today.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News looks at Zack Rosen, a prospect whom the Nets could target to fill the backup point guard role. The 6'1" Rosen, who played through what might be a broken thumb at the combine today, hopes to follow the path of another Ivy League point guard: Jeremy Lin.
Odds & Ends: Nets, Lopez, Suns, Scalabrine
A look around the league as we await Game 3 of Spurs–Clippers..
- Nets General Manager Billy King says that center Brook Lopez's recovery is underway, but the big man is not yet up to running or jumping, tweets Andy Vasquez of the Star-Ledger. Lopez, 24, is a restricted free agent this summer.
- The Suns plan to match offers to restricted free agent Robin Lopez but will have someone different mentoring the center if he returns. After four seasons with the Suns, assistant coach Bill Cartwright's contract will not be renewed, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic.
- Bulls forward Brian Scalabrine, who is set to hit free agency, told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that he plans to play in the NBA for as long as he can. The 34-year-old fan favorite would also like to explore coaching and color commentary after his playing career is through.
- The Nets' draft combine at their practice facility is jam-packed with team executives and coaches but many prospects declined their invitation and missed a great opportunity for exposure, says Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter links).
Odds & Ends: Deron Williams, Hawks, Harrington
A few Wednesday afternoon odds and ends, as we prepare for tonight's Celtics/Sixers and Lakers/Thunder contests….
- The Nets believe that re-signing Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace and upgrading at power forward could be enough to convince Deron Williams to re-sign, says Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal Constitution previews the Hawks' offseason, noting that the team won't have much flexibility to sign free agents this summer.
- Al Harrington underwent successful surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Nuggets announced today.
- In an ESPN.com chat, Chad Ford touches on a number of topics, including how he thinks the Magic's offseason will play out.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com examines what the Bulls' 2012/13 season could look like if Derrick Rose is out for a significant chunk of the year.
Kyler On Williams, Nash, Gordon, Mayo, Hibbert
In his NBA AM column at HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler shares the latest rumblings on a handful of this summer's top free agents. Here are the highlights:
- It's far from a done deal, but the general feeling around the Nets is that they're in the driver's seat for Deron Williams. Kyler names the Mavericks, Trail Blazers, and Magic as other teams that figure to aggressively pursue the point guard.
- Steve Nash continues to tell people that returning to Phoenix is a "real and viable option." Kyler points out that even if Nash ends up elsewhere, the Suns could work out a sign-and-trade to get something out of it.
- It's nearly a lock that Eric Gordon will be retained by the Hornets, but it's not clear how high the bidding will go. The Hornets were unable to agree on an extension with Gordon earlier this season, and while that was due in part to not having new ownership in place yet, there are also questions about the 23-year-old's durability.
- According to Kyler, there's a good chance O.J. Mayo doesn't become a restricted free agent this summer, since a qualifying offer would put the Grizzlies over the tax line. If Memphis doesn't extend a qualifying offer, Mayo would be eligible for unrestricted free agency.
- Kevin Garnett would like to finish his career with the Celtics.
- The Pacers are prepared to match just about any offer for Roy Hibbert, and will let the market set the price for their center.
- The Nets hope to deal with Brook Lopez's free agency after working out some of their other situations, but Lopez could disrupt their plans if he signs an offer sheet with another club early in the free agent period.
Billy King Talks Nets’ Offseason
Nets GM Billy King took a look ahead to the offseason today, discussing the next steps for his team with a number of beat reporters. Here are the highlights, courtesy of Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, and Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger (all links via Twitter):
- Bondy tweets that King wanted to sign Gerald Green to a long-term contract but could only offer him the veteran's minimum.
- Earlier this morning, Bondy said he thought Deron Williams was leaning toward re-signing in Brooklyn. King also says he feels "pretty good" about the point guard returning to the Nets. The GM identified Williams, Brook Lopez, Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, and Gerald Green as core pieces.
- The Nets don't expect Wallace to opt into the final year of his contract, and intend to sign him to a multiyear deal. Wallace, who said last week that he doesn't want to play on a one-year deal, has to make his decision official by June 15th, so the team could either extend him or negotiate a new deal in free agency.
- King doesn't know how many of the club's 11 potential free agents will be re-signed, but says the Nets have plenty of cap space and the potential to create even more.
- The goal is to "win now," says the GM.
- King will travel to Istanbul next week to meet with Bojan Bogdanovic. The Nets' 31st overall pick in last year's draft has another year remaining on his contract overseas.
Atlantic Rumors: Williams, Lopez, Raptors, Wilcox
Earlier today, we heard that Gerald Wallace will seek a multiyear guarantee this summer. Here's a few more items out of the Atlantic Division:
- Deron Williams told reporters, including Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record, that he hopes to sign a new contract before the Olympics, which will get underway in late July (Twitter link).
- Brook Lopez "made it very clear" to the same group of reporters that he loves being a Net and hopes to re-sign with the team (Twitter link).
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star thinks the Raptors should trade their first-rounder if they don't land the first overall pick. He argues that the team will have a lottery pick arriving in Jonas Valanciunas, and would be better off with a veteran player rather than another rookie.
- Chris Wilcox, recovering from heart surgery, was waived by the Celtics a few weeks ago, but plans to attend the team's playoff games against the Hawks. Wilcox told Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com that he'd like to be a Celtic next season: "I want to finish what I’ve started here. I thought this was a great opportunity for me and things were working out well, and I went to the doctor to get a check up and things just changed."
- Asked by Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times if he'd exercise his early termination option this summer, Lou Williams said he has yet to decide. John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported last weekend that the Sixers guard would opt out of his deal.
Nets Shut Down Brook Lopez For Season
The Associated Press reports (link via The New York Post) that the New Jersey Nets have shut down center Brook Lopez for the remainder of the 2011/12 season.
Lopez, 24, is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and figures to be one of the most attractive free-agent big men on the market. Because of this, general manager Billy King has decided it is not worth the risk to play the injury-plagued Lopez in the final 10 games of the season.
Lopez missed the majority of the season with a broken foot and only appeared in five games before spraining his right ankle. He was averaging 19.2 PPG and 3.6 RPG.