Atantic Notes: Casey, Teletovic, Meeks
The latest news and notes from around the Atlantic Division on Sunday afternoon:
- Despite rumors that Dwane Casey's job is in jeopardy, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star backs the Raptors coach and notes that perception around the league is generally optimistic about Casey and the team's future.
- Mirza Teletovic was used to being the focal point of his team in Europe, so it's been a challenge for him to adjust to being on the end of the Nets' bench this season, as Newsday's Roderick Boone chronicles.
- Mark Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer talks to Lakers guard Jodie Meeks, who reflects on the 76ers organization where he spent the first three seasons of his career as his new team prepares to play his former one.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Iman Shumpert and Amare Stoudemire are making progress toward returning to the Knicks.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Teletovic, Holiday, Rondo
The Nets will be playing their home games at the Barclays Center for the first time this season, but it doesn't seem as if many Nets will be sticking around Brooklyn for too long after the buzzer sounds. Howard Beck of the New York Times writes that the team will continue to practice in New Jersey and will live outside of Brooklyn for the coming season. Due to the location of the team's practice facility, a handful of players will live in New Jersey, while a few more, including Deron Williams, will live in Manhattan. Here are the rest of the Tuesday morning items out of the Atlantic Division:
- Nets offseason signee Mirza Teletovic has yet to find a new home stateside, but he's been turning heads at the 2013 EuroBasket Qualifier, as Wendell Maxey of Ridiculous Upside notes. In six games for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Teletovic has averaged more than 25 PPG.
- Max Rappaport of Sixers.com passes along a TrueHoop piece by Beckley Mason and Tom Haberstroh, which theorizes that Jrue Holiday could be a major beneficiary of Andrew Bynum's arrival in Philadelphia. Holiday is eligible for an extension this offseason, and when I looked at his case, I argued that it would probably take a breakout year in 2012/13 to earn him the maximum salary he's reportedly seeking.
- Chris Forsberg and Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com preview Rajon Rondo's season by predicting whether the Celtics point guard will go over or under certain statistical benchmarks.
Nets Sign Mirza Teletovic
JULY 16TH, 12:18pm: The Nets have officially signed Teletovic, the team announced today (Twitter link).
JULY 4TH, 4:13pm: Larry Coon of ESPN.com and HoopsWorld confirms via Twitter that the Nets were able to agree with Teletovic for the $3.09MM mid-level. Assuming the maximum 4.5% raise, this would put the total of Teletovic's three-year deal at $9,687,150. Besides saving a few million dollars on Teletovic, this gives the Nets significantly more financial flexibility this season, as they're now free to exceed the $74.31MM "tax apron."
Atlantic Notes: Young, Teletovic, Allen, Gordon
Earlier this afternoon we learned that the Raptors have offered Steve Nash a three-year, $36MM deal. The aging point guard is also being courted by the division rival Nets, Knicks, as well as the Mavericks. Here's the latest out of the Atlantic..
Free Agent Rumors: Lakers, Mavs, Cavs, Crawford
It's past midnight on the East Coast, and that means teams may negotiate with free agents from other clubs, as the NBA's offseason gets under way in earnest. Players can't officially sign contracts until July 11, and trades can't be made official until that date either. That doesn't mean there won't be plenty of talk and agreements in principle between now and then, and if this evening is any indication, we're in for a busy couple of weeks ahead. There are several bits of news rolling in on free agents as July begins, so we'll round up what we're hearing around the late-night rumor mill here.
- The Lakers are seeking a point guard in free agency, and in addition to reaching out to Ramon Sessions, they're also targeting veterans like Chauncey Billups, Jameer Nelson, and Kirk Hinrich, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- In search of a center, the Mavericks have shown some interest in Hasheem Thabeet and Joel Przybilla, says Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
- The Cavaliers have expressed interest in Jonny Flynn, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. They're also eyeing Sonny Weems, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Foye, Teletovic, Claver, Roy
It's still not entirely clear whether the players' union's victory in this month's Bird Rights ruling will withstand the NBA's appeal, but for now at least, it appears the Knicks will have a $3MM mid-level exception to sign outside free agents this summer. According to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, one player who is interested in signing for that MLE is Randy Foye. Zwerling hears from a source that Foye is expected to receive a handful of offers at or around $3MM, but that the guard's top choice is New York.
Here are a few more Tuesday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:
Mirza Teletovic Eyeing NBA
Bosnian forward Mirza Teletovic is expecting to make the jump to the NBA in the near future, according to his agent Misko Raznatovic. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando passes along and translates a report from Noticias de Alava in which Raznatovic says his client will play in the NBA next season, though his destination is yet to be decided.
Knicks, Nets, Cavs, Suns Eyeing Teletovic
After leading the Euroleague in scoring this season, Mirza Teletovic may be taking his talents to North America. According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, the Bosnian forward is drawing interest from the Knicks, Nets, Cavaliers, and Suns.
New York Rumors: Nash, Dragic, Woodson, Nets
It still doesn't feel entirely natural to group the Nets with the Knicks as the NBA's New York teams, but Brooklyn's new residents are a part of the Big Apple going forward, so let's round up the latest rumors on both clubs:
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York tweets that he's hearing Steve Nash won't want to sign with the Knicks this summer. Whether or not that's true, this always seemed like a long-shot to me, since Nash will get offers that greatly exceed what New York could give him.
- In a piece for ESPNNewYork.com, Zwerling compares Jeremy Lin to Goran Dragic, noting that the Rockets free agent could be an alternative to Lin for the Knicks.
- Mike Woodson's new contract will be for three years and could be worth more than $10MM, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- There is mutual interest between Mirza Teletovic and the Nets, according to NetsDaily.com (via Twitter). Teletovic, a 26-year-old Bosnian power forward, led the Euroleague in scoring this season.