Western Rumors: Odom, Wolves, Kings, Lee, Mavs
Jordan Farmar tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he and other former teammates of Lamar Odom haven't heard back from the free agent forward amid ominous reports about his off-court issues. McMenamin also shares reflections on Odom from other current and former Lakers figures, and the scribe finishes with a touching personal anecdote about his interaction with the forward. Of course, Odom isn't the only NBA player dealing with trouble these days. About half of Hoops Rumors readers believe Michael Beasley is worth a look from their favorite teams, so perhaps there's a chance Odom can make it back to the NBA. Here's more from around the Western Conference:
- Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) that the club doesn't have any interest in bringing in a veteran free agent as a 15th man, preferring to keep that last roster spot open for a young player.
- A labor agreement for the construction of a new Kings arena in Sacramento was announced today, as expected, but the head of a group that opposes such agreements says they may donate to the same anti-arena petition effort that Seattle investor Chris Hansen funded. Ryan Lillis and Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee have the details.
- David Lee's offseason hip surgery revealed the injury he suffered in the playoffs was even worse than previously thought, but he's already back to 100% and working out with most of his Warriors teammates, as Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reports.
- The Mavericks have hired Wizards scout Mike Wilson in a player personnel role, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- We rounded up a few items from the Pacific Division earlier today.
Odds & Ends: Telep, Jefferson, Griffin
The Spurs have always been about innovation in the front office and they made an out-of-the-box hiring today by hiring well-respected prep recruiting analyst Dave Telep, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Telep, who recently left a job at a cable TV outlet, will work in a scouting coordinator role for the NBA draft under GM R.C. Buford.
- It's difficult to be excited about the offseason in the Southeast Division with the most exciting move being the Bobcats signing Al Jefferson to a hefty contract, writes CBSSports.com's Royce Young. However, there is a power shift with the Heat at the top and the Wizards and Bobcats are trending up a bit while the Hawks will probably take a step back.
- Whether or not the Clippers can truly contend in 2013/14 depends on star forward Blake Griffin, opines Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.
- In his weekend mailbag, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes that Landry Fields, who signed a three-year, $18.75MM, deal with the Raptors last offseason, is slowly working to get his shot back while rehabbing his arm/elbow injury.
Poll: Where Will Jason Collins Play Next Season?
In April this year, Jason Collins came out as the first active male homosexual athlete in an American professional sport. So far, he's failed to find an NBA team that can use his defense, size, toughness and veteran leadership.
This isn't so much related to his sexual orientation, but the fact he's a 12-year journeyman big in a league that's increasingly made a backup center somewhat superfluous.
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com wrote earlier today that an informal poll of league executives and general managers during Las Vegas' Summer League shows that Collins stands a good chance to land on an NBA roster as a 12th, 13th, or 14th man. The belief is he'll catch on as we progress towards training camp and teams look to flesh out their rosters. The informal poll by Arnovitz mirrors the one ESPN.com's Marc Stein conducted among general managers the day after Collins came out in Sports Illustrated.
Some teams have shown an interest already, but we're still more than a month from the start of training camp, and Collins is unsigned. Here's a look at some of the teams that have expressed interest, but so far failed to sign the veteran center.
- The last team he played for, the Wizards, do not appear likely to bring the big man back as he was included in the Jordan Crawford trade primarily to make the numbers work.
- The Nets were also interested in Collins since he last played with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce with the Celtics before being dealt to Washington.
- Y! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that when the Celtics traded Collins to the Wizards in February, Garnett was said to have been "extremely frustrated."
- Collins also has a history with the Nets' Jason Kidd and new assistant coach Lawrence Frank, after playing under Frank during Kidd's run with the Nets earlier in the millennium.
- But because Reggie Evans was not ultimately included in the trade bringing Pierce and KG to Brooklyn, the need for Collins to backup KG and Brook Lopez dissipated.
- The Pistons expressed exploratory interest in Collins earlier this month. But after he worked out for them, they elected not to sign the 34-year-old out of Stanford.
- Collins expressed an interest in returning to the Celtics weeks before coming out as gay.
So Collins is still a free agent despite most executives believing he'll find a roster spot before the season starts.
The question remains: where will Jason Collins play next season, if at all?
Where Will Jason Collins Play Next Season?
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Retire 35% (198)
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Will play, but not in the NBA 20% (117)
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Another NBA team 20% (114)
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Brooklyn Nets 13% (77)
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Boston Celtics 7% (41)
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Detroit Pistons 4% (24)
Total votes: 571
Eastern Notes: Sanders, Casey, Celtics, Newton
In his latest piece for Grantland.com, Zach Lowe explores what Larry Sanders has to do to justify his new, long-term contract with the Bucks. In breaking down Sanders' footwork and positioning on specific plays, Lowe goes much more in-depth than I did when I examined the big man's four-year extension earlier today, but we ultimately reached similar conclusions. Even though Sanders has only had one productive NBA season, I liked the deal for Milwaukee, and Lowe agrees, writing that it "should turn out just fine for the Bucks."
Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Even though Dwane Casey is heading into the final year of his deal, the Raptors head coach doesn't intend to "spend a waking moment" worrying about his uncertain long-term contract situation, as he tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.
- Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld explains how the Celtics/Grizzlies swap of Fab Melo and Donte Greene worked financially, adding that Boston sent $1.66MM in cash to Memphis to complete the deal.
- The Celtics also officially finalized their coaching staff today, formally announcing the hirings of assistants Ron Adams, Micah Shrewsberry, and Walter McCarty in a press release.
- After some conflicting reports on whether or not Timberwolves president Flip Saunders had interviewed Milt Newton for the team's GM job yet, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets that Saunders is in Washington today to meet with the Wizards executive.
- In today's mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman addresses the unlikely possibility of a Chris Bosh trade and agrees that the Heat could use another athletic perimeter player.
Overseas Rumors: Varnado, Smith, Martin, Leslie
The international free agent market is still hot, and plenty of players with NBA ties are doing business with clubs from overseas. Here's the latest:
- Sidigas Avellino is close to an agreement with Heat big man Jarvis Varnado, the print edition of the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport reports, according to Sportando's Enea Trapani. Varnado is on a non-guaranteed contract with Miami, and with rumors that the Heat will only carry 13 players this year, he appears to be on shaky ground.
Earlier updates:
- Nolan Smith was expected to join the Celtics in training camp, but he's signed to play with Cedevita Zagreb, the Croatian team announced on its website (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia).
- Cartier Martin is mulling the idea of playing in China, agent Andy Miller tells J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Martin has spent parts of the last four seasons with the Wizards, but it doesn't look like the team plans to re-sign him.
- Former second-round draft pick Travis Leslie has signed with JSF Nanterre of France, the team announced (Twitter link; hat tip to Carchia). Leslie played 10 games with the Clippers in 2011/12. He signed a 10-day contract with the Jazz last season, but he didn't appear in a game for Utah. This week Nanterre also signed Deshaun Thomas, whom the Spurs drafted 58th overall in June).
- One-time Kings and Rockets small forward Tyler Honeycutt has officially signed his deal with Ironi Nes Ziona of Israel, Carchia tweets. Sportando contributor David Pick reported a few days ago that the two sides had agreed to a deal.
Southeast Notes: Harrington, Vesely, Wade
Dwyane Wade and his Big Three cohorts can opt out of their deals with the Heat in the summer of 2014, but the 31-year-old reiterated yesterday that he isn’t going anywhere. The veteran will be able to resume activity this week after undergoing treatment for tendinitis in his knees, which will be critical to his basketball future for this season and beyond. Here’s the latest out of the Southeast..
- The Wizards‘ signing of Al Harrington undoubtedly strengthens the club, but it could also hurt the development of 2011 first-round picks Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton, notes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Vesely could see minutes at center, but he’ll have to jockey with Kevin Seraphin for time. Meanwhile, Singleton could slide down to the three spot, but he’ll need to shoot better than the 38.2% he put up last year.
- Wade hopes that this season will see his role increase, despite his health issues, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).
- More from Winderman, who writes in today’s mailbag that he could see Juwan Howard transition into a coaching or developmental role when his career is through.
Eastern Notes: Wade, George, 76ers
Heat superstar Dwyane Wade, like teammate LeBron James, can potentially opt out next summer and become a free agent, but told reporters on Thursday that there really isn't much to make of it right now and made it clear about where he stood: "Everyone knows where I want to be…That's what it's all about to me, is making sure we focus on this season, winning this championship…I want to be in Miami and I have nothing else to talk about. So there won't be (any) exciting news over here" (Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). Wade also touches upon his health and is excited about the addition of center Greg Oden. Here's more out of the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Pacers' swingman Paul George is ready to lead Indiana as the team's "No. 1 guy" (Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star).
- Despite the thought that the 76ers could trade Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner, or Spencer Hawes if the right deal presents itself, newly hired head coach Brett Brown raved about what each of them can bring to the court for him (Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
- Knicks head coach Mike Woodson specifically mentioned Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, and Carmelo Anthony when asked about his starting five for next season, but was non-committal when asked if third-year guard Iman Shumpert would be included in that group at shooting guard, notes ESPN New York's Ian Begley. With that being said, Begley suggests that Woodson may look to continue starting Pablo Prigioni alongside Felton while sliding Shumpert to small forward and offers more thoughts on the rest of the team's rotation.
- ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg rounds up a few predictions from the Celtics blogging community on how the 2013-14 season will play out, and the majority appears to imagine a finish anywhere in or between the ninth and twelfth seeds in the Eastern Conference.
- John Schuhmann of NBA.com thinks the Wizards are primed for a playoff run this year.
Wizards Sign Al Harrington
The Wizards have officially signed Al Harrington to a contract, the team announced today (Twitter link). ESPN.com's Marc Stein was the first to report earlier this week that the two sides were nearing an agreement, not long after Harrington was released by Orlando.
Harrington, 33, missed nearly all of the 2012/13 season due to a staph infection, but has worked hard to get back into playing shape for the coming year, as he told Sam Amick of USA Today last month. Harrington is just one year removed from a productive season in Denver, in which he averaged 14.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 64 contests.
After having used their full mid-level exception on Martell Webster and their full bi-annual exception on Eric Maynor, the Wizards could only offer Harrington a minimum-salary contract, which is what he'll receive. Michael Lee of the Washington Post noted yesterday that it would be a one-year deal, so Harrington will earn about $1.4MM, though Washington will only be on the hook for about $884K of that amount. The 15-year veteran is also still owed $7MM+ from the Magic for the next two seasons.
The Wizards had 14 players on guaranteed contracts prior to adding Harrington, so it looks like the team's 15-man roster is set, though a few players could receive non-guaranteed camp invites.
Al Harrington Nearing Deal With Wizards
TUESDAY, 4:10pm: Harrington will likely finalize his agreement with the Wizards on Wednesday, tweets J. Michael of CSN Washington.
MONDAY, 8:41am: Having been waived by the Magic earlier this month, Al Harrington appears poised to join another Southeast club. Sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein that Harrington is leaning toward signing a deal with the Wizards. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld backs up Stein's report, tweeting that an agreement between the two sides looks likely, as long as the veteran forward passes a physical.
Harrington, 33, missed nearly all of the 2012/13 season due to a staph infection, but has worked hard to get back into playing shape for the coming year, as he told Sam Amick of USA Today last month. Harrington is just one year removed from a productive season in Denver, in which he averaged 14.2 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 64 contests.
The Wizards used their full mid-level exception on Martell Webster and their full bi-annual exception on Eric Maynor, so the team could only offer Harrington a minimum-salary contract. However, the 15-year veteran is still owed about $7.4MM by the Magic for the next two seasons, so he's likely prioritizing a good fit over the highest offer. Washington has one guaranteed roster spot still available and is looking to add some "frontcourt scoring punch," according to Stein.
Eastern Notes: Harrington, Knicks, Sixers, Brown
Earlier today, we rounded up several Bobcats rumors and notes from Zach Lowe, and passed along word that Eric Griffin will participate in training camp with the Heat. Now let's check out a few more of the day's items from around the Eastern Conference….
- Al Harrington is closing in on a one-year contract with the Wizards and tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post that he believes Washington is "definitely" a playoff team. Although Harrington's health forced him to consider retirement at times last year, he's looking forward to getting back on the court for the Wizards.
- The signing of Beno Udrih ensures that Knicks coach Mike Woodson will have plenty of lineups and styles of play at his disposal this season, writes Beckley Mason of the New York Times.
- Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News writes that Brett Brown will be a good fit as the Sixers' new head coach, while Tom Ziller of SBNation.com points out that just because Brown received a four-year deal, it doesn't necessarily mean he'll keep the job for all four years.
- Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld identifies Danny Granger (Pacers), Rajon Rondo (Celtics), and Joel Anthony (Heat) as a few players he thinks may be moved before next year's trade deadline.