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Nicolas Batum Has “Serious Offer” From T-Wolves

By Luke Adams | at July 1, 2012 1:52 pm

1:52pm: Minnesota seems to be Batum's preferred non-Portland destination, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, adding that the two sides have a "great shot" at reaching a verbal agreement. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune wonders (via Twitter) if that agreement could happen today, since the T-Wolves are trying to get Batum into town for a visit.

7:42am: While the Trail Blazers were visiting restricted free agent Roy Hibbert and offering him a maximum deal, Portland's own RFA Nicolas Batum was being aggressively courted himself. According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Timberwolves contacted Batum and made a "serious offer" for the 23-year-old. Haynes reports that the T-Wolves' offer to Batum is in the four-year, $45-50MM range, and that the two sides will meet in Minnesota today to further discuss it.

4 comments Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans Portland Trail Blazers Toronto Raptors Nicolas Batum

Lakers Eyeing Jose Calderon

By Luke Adams | at July 1, 2012 1:19 am

The Raptors don't necessarily have to amnesty Jose Calderon to create the necessary cap space to make Steve Nash an aggressive offer in free agency, but it seems like the team is at least considering it. Clearing Calderon from their books could give the Raptors the flexibility to try to sign not just Nash, but another quality free agent as well. If Toronto does decide to use its amnesty provision on Calderon, the Lakers may have the inside track on picking him up, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

0 comments Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat San Antonio Spurs Toronto Raptors Jose Calderon Luis Scola

Odds & Ends: Bulls, Gasol, Knicks, Pistons

By Luke Adams | at June 30, 2012 11:40 am

While the Bulls will be involved in free agency, expect the team to take a more casual approach, says Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times. According to Hayes, Bulls GM Gar Forman and vice president John Paxson figure to be mostly spectators during the "fast-and-furious" portion of free agency. The team will still explore possibilities, but those possibilities are more likely to come at the back end of free agency than the front end.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA, as we count down to free agency….

0 comments Chicago Bulls Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers New York Knicks Toronto Raptors Jeremy Lin Kostas Papanikolaou Pau Gasol

Kennedy On Lin, Gordon, Mayo, Hibbert, Hill

By Luke Adams | at June 30, 2012 10:26 am

We keep hearing teams like the Mavericks, Nets, and Raptors named as potential suitors for Steve Nash, but if one of those teams misses out on both Nash and Deron Williams, its next target could be Jeremy Lin. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld hears from sources that one of those three clubs could sign Lin to an offer sheet, forcing the Knicks to match. Here are a few more free agent updates from Kennedy, with just over 12 hours left until the fun begins….

2 comments Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans Phoenix Suns Toronto Raptors Eric Gordon Grant Hill Jamal Crawford Jeremy Lin O.J. Mayo Ramon Sessions Roy Hibbert

Steve Nash Expects Quick Free Agent Decision

By Luke Adams | at June 30, 2012 8:39 am

We're currently less than 15 hours away from the start of the NBA's 2012 free agent period, and Steve Nash doesn't expect to take much time to decide on his destination. Nash tells ESPN.com's Marc Stein that he might make his decision within the "first day or so" of free agency.

"It's crazy to decide on the next three years of your life in an afternoon or a day," Nash said. "Just because things happen fast. People want to get it out of the way and move on. Not only myself but the teams as well. If something funny happens and I want to take my time, I'll definitely take my time. But the way these things go, I feel, usually (they) happen quick."

As we heard yesterday, the Raptors are expected to make an aggressive pitch to the Canadian point guard, and ESPN.com's John Hollinger (Insider link) thinks Toronto could be the frontrunner. According to Stein, the Raptors' offer could approach $12MM annually. Nash acknowledged that the Raps probably won't become a title contender anytime in the near future, even if the signs there, but said he'll still consider them.

"The Raptors would be one of those teams where you're probably not going there to win a championship in the next three years," Nash said. "For me it'd be going home to Canada, to a great city, and trying to help an organization move forward…. I'm going to look at every opportunity and Toronto will be one that I'll study as well and look at the opportunity for them to grow in the next three years and what kind of impact I can have on that team. And obviously from a community standpoint, it's a special place for me."

The Knicks also appear ready to make a pitch to Nash, and will have a contingent in New York to recruit Nash tomorrow, says Stein, but they can't compete with Nash's other suitors from a financial standpoint. The Mavericks and Nets also could be in the mix, particularly whichever team finds itself on the short end of the Deron Williams sweepstakes. The Mavs are prepared to offer the 38-year-old a two-year deal, according to Stein.

What's becoming more clear is that Nash seems unlikely to re-sign in Phoenix. While at one point the Suns appeared to be the favorites, Nash says he no longer views them as a "home run" and thinks the team may be moving in a different direction.

"For the first time I realize that it might not be Phoenix," Nash said. "I would have said even in the middle of (last) season or last year that I would have thought I probably would have stayed in Phoenix forever. But it's come to a point now where I'm facing the reality that's not (the case)."

As we prepare for free agency, you can check out Hoops Rumors' full list of unrestricted free agents right here.

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0 comments Brooklyn Nets Dallas Mavericks New York Knicks Phoenix Suns Toronto Raptors Steve Nash

Draft Notes: Friday

By Luke Adams | at June 29, 2012 11:57 pm

Now that the 2012 draft is officially a thing of the past, we shouldn't require multiple posts to round up all the day's draft-related content, like we did on Thursday. But even with the draft over, a few updates continue to trickle in. We'll round up today's leftover draft notes here, adding any new items to the top throughout the day….

Sean Deveney of The Sporting News offers grades for each team's draft, and The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat shares his list of winners and losers.

Earlier updates:

Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets that Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo said he may try to get teams that were interested in trading for the No. 8 pick to take something else in return. Colangelo also said a team offered $1.75MM to get pick No. 37, but the Raptors had three guys they liked too much to give up the pick, which they used on Quincy Acy, Wolstat also tweets.
Cavs coach Byron Scott compares No. 4 pick Dion Waiters to Dwyane Wade and isn't concerned that he never started a game in his two years at Syracuse, according to the Associated Press (via NBA.com). Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer believes the Cavs got better through the draft, but isn't sure exactly how that will show up in the won-lost column.
Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld looks at the draft's biggest losers.
According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, undrafted rookie Maalik Wayns will play for the Magic's summer league team (Twitter link).
Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo "tried hard" to move down in the draft, but most offers involved trading out of the draft entirely, which he didn't want to do, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter).
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com provides an interesting behind-the-scenes perspective of the Cavaliers' draft night.
The Thunder took steps in the days leading up to the draft to assure James Harden he wouldn't be dealt for a top-three pick, and then proved it, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
The Rockets were interested in trading up to No. 8 to take Andre Drummond, but the Raptors' asking price was way too high, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
It was a little surprising not to see Iona guard Scott Machado drafted last night, but he's already drawing interest as an undrafted free agent. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), Machado has the Raptors, Rockets, Bobcats, Cavaliers, Hawks, and Hornets calling him about playing in the Summer League.
Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside examines a few more of this year's top undrafted prospects.
Draft evaluations are already beginning to roll in, as ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) provides his grades for all 30 teams, while SI.com's Chris Mannix and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports are among those to name this year's winners and losers.
Proving it's never too early to look ahead to next year's, Ford (Insider link) also has a preview of the 2013 draft class, and Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com publishes his first 2013 mock draft.

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0 comments 2012 NBA Draft Atlanta Hawks Charlotte Hornets Cleveland Cavaliers Houston Rockets New Orleans Pelicans Oklahoma City Thunder Orlando Magic Toronto Raptors Andre Drummond James Harden Maalik Wayns Scott Machado

Qualifying Offers: Friday

By Luke Adams | at June 29, 2012 10:43 pm

With the NBA's 2012 free agent period just two days away, teams continue to extend qualifying offers to free agents in order to make them restricted. If a qualifying offer is not tendered to a player eligible for restricted free agency, he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Players who are tendered qualifying offers have the option to accept the one-year contract and hit unrestricted free agency a year from now, but the primary purpose of the offers are to ensure that the player's team can match any offers for him this summer. We'll track today's qualifying offer updates right here, with the latest added to the top of the page….

The Cavs have made a qualifying offer to Luke Harangody, according to the joint Twitter account of Plain Dealer writers Mary Schmitt Boyer and Jodie Valade. The tender is expected to be around $1.05MM.

Earlier updates:

0 comments Boston Celtics Charlotte Hornets Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Lakers Memphis Grizzlies Philadelphia 76ers Toronto Raptors Transactions Utah Jazz A.J. Price Alonzo Gee Courtney Lee D.J. Augustin Darrell Arthur Derrick Brown Devin Ebanks George Hill Greg Stiemsma Jeremy Evans Jerryd Bayless Lavoy Allen Luke Harangody Marreese Speights Omer Asik Roy Hibbert Sonny Weems

Odds & Ends: Deng, Batum, Jennings, Warriors

By Luke Adams | at June 29, 2012 3:19 pm

Eight years ago today, the Rockets made one of the biggest trades in team history, sending Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato to the Magic in exchange for Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, and Reece Gaines. GM Daryl Morey and the Rockets may have been looking to make a similarly big splash this June, but draft day came and went without a major trade from Houston. Still, if nothing else, the Rockets accumulated a ton of talent Thursday night, drafting Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones with their three first-round picks.

Here are a few more Friday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA:

0 comments Brooklyn Nets Chicago Bulls Cleveland Cavaliers Dallas Mavericks Milwaukee Bucks Minnesota Timberwolves Orlando Magic Portland Trail Blazers Toronto Raptors Alexey Shved Brandon Jennings Deron Williams Luol Deng Nicolas Batum

Raptors To Aggressively Recruit Nash In New York

By Luke Adams | at June 29, 2012 8:16 am

Reports of the Raptors' strong interest in Steve Nash are gaining steam, with Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reporting last night that Toronto was planning a "hard push" for the Canadian point guard. Marc Stein of ESPN.com has specific details on the team's recruiting plan, tweeting that the Raptors intend to park "no less than a five-deep contingent" in Manhattan as soon as allowed. According to Stein (Twitter link), Raps GM Bryan Colangelo wooed Nash in the same aggressive way for Phoenix, and quickly signed him in 2004.

6 comments Toronto Raptors Steve Nash

Odds & Ends: Nash, Lakers, Kings, Bulls, Rockets

By Luke Adams | at June 29, 2012 12:46 am

Another NBA draft is in the books, and once again, we're reminded that no matter how many draft rumors we read, and how many mock drafts we run through, we have no idea what will happen on draft night. While the latest version of Hoops Rumors' own mock draft looked okay a couple days ago, you can count our accurate picks on one hand. Be sure to check out the complete draft results for a rundown of every pick and trade from Thursday night, but with the draft behind us, we're looking ahead to free agency. Here are a few post-draft odds and ends from around the Association:

1 comment Chicago Bulls Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Sacramento Kings Toronto Raptors Jason Thompson Luol Deng Steve Nash

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