Central Rumors: Bynum, Scott, Greene, Scalabrine
The Cavs and Bulls have been in the news a lot lately, with talk of a three-way trade that would send Andrew Bynum to the Cavs dominating headlines in Cleveland while the Bulls await the arrival of the offer sheet Omer Asik signed with the Rockets. The Cavs also claimed Jon Leuer off waivers today, while the Bulls are in advanced talks with Marco Belinelli and reportedly pursuing E'Twaun Moore. We've got more on these two busy Central Division teams here:
- Cavs coach Byron Scott denies having a close relationship with Andrew Bynum, which has been cited as a reason why a trade sending Bynum to Cleveland would work, Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer reports. "I don't know who wrote that, but I've read that as well," Scott said. "No, we're not very close. We're not very close at all."
- Donte Greene is in conversations with a few teams, but hopes to sign with the Bulls, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. The team has yet to make him an offer, Howard-Cooper adds. The Kings declined to tender a qualifying offer to the 6'11" forward in June, making him an unrestricted free agent.
- Free agent Brian Scalabrine will not be back with the Bulls next season, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes at the bottom of a larger look at the team's offseason.
Donte Greene To Become Unrestricted Free Agent
Two days after extending a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Jason Thompson, the Kings have decided not to do the same for Donte Greene, effectively making the former Syracuse Orangeman an unrestricted free agent come July 1st. Greene tweeted on Wednesday night, thanking the Sacramento fans for their support.
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee posted a reaction to the decision to let Greene walk. Greene spent four seasons in Sacramento, averaging 6.1 PPG in limited minutes. Similar to his time at Syracuse, Greene was never able to fulfill the potential that his 6'11" frame promised. Still only 24, Greene is still a good bet to land an NBA job this offseason.
Odds & Ends: Turiaf, Arenas, Lakers, Greene
Let's check in on a few Monday morning odds and ends from around the league….
- The player option included in Ronny Turiaf's deal with the Heat for next season is worth $1.2MM, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
- This week's Morning Tip column from TNT's David Aldridge examines the Bulls and the Pacers, and includes an interview with Dwight Howard.
- Although the Lakers worked out Gilbert Arenas before the veteran guard signed with the Grizzlies, it doesn't sound like L.A. was ever close to adding him, as coach Mike Brown tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times: "Unless something gets real close or it might not even get close, I'm not always involved with the process. It never got to a point where they wanted my opinion on it or said we're not going to do it because of this or that."
- Facing free agency this summer, Kings forward Donte Greene just has a few more weeks to prove his value, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Keith Langlois of Pistons.com fields questions on the Pistons' draft and free agent outlook in his latest mailbag.