Knicks interested on signing Allen Iverson
July 31, 2009
The Milwaukee Bucks may be willing to let its young restricted free agent point guard, Ramon Sessions, go in order to have enough cash to afford forward Hakim Warrick. New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni apparently is very interested in signing Sessions but there may be a problem: Allen Iverson.
Knicks president Donnie Walsh apparently met with Iverson’s agent a few weeks ago and liked what he heard: the former superstar wants to salvage his career and would sign a mid-level deal (only $5.85 million!) for one season. The Knicks are still apparently holding out hope that it can have enough open salary-cap space next summer to lure one of the big-name free agents: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, etc.
The 23-year-old Sessions, meanwhile, wants a multiyear deal. So if the Knicks sign Sessions, it could be the first time Walsh publicly shows that LeBron may be out of the team’s reach next summer.
Source: ESPN.com
Cavaliers, 76ers, Bucks all interested to sign forward Hakim Warrick
July 31, 2009
Hakim Warrick is a very popular man these days. The former 6′9″ forward for the Memphis Grizzlies is looking for a new team and three are supposedly very interested in signing him: the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks.
The Cavs want to hear back on its contract offer in the next few days, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer; the offer is supposedly for just under $2 million and has a player option for 2010-2011.
Meanwhile, the Sixers and Bucks supposedly have a little more cash to offer Warrick and Philly is reportedly thinking they’ve got a good shot at him because Warrick grew up in the City of Brotherly Love.
Word is that if Warrick says no to the Cavs, the team will go after Joe Smith.
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer
Report: Odom agrees to deal with Lakers
July 31, 2009
Free agent Lamar Odom plans to return to the champion Los Angeles Lakers with a four-year contract, according to a report on ESPN. Multiple sources also confirmed to Yahoo! Sports that the deal was close.
The contract reportedly would be worth as much as $33 million, including the Lakers’ option on the fourth year of the deal.
Odom, 29, averaged 11.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists for Los Angeles last season. He had also been considering rejoining the Miami Heat, for whom he played during the 2003-04 season before joining the Lakers.
Source: ESPN
Ricky Rubio joining NBA in 2011?
July 30, 2009
Tryouts for the Spanish national team start today and the 18-year-old Ricky Rubio wants to know just where he’s going to be for the next big chunk of his life. Ah, youth. Life just isn’t that simple, Ricky. Surely you know that by now.
Life gets trickier as well when you are a top draft pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves but is also under contract to another team back in Spain. (Go DKV Joventut!) Rubio seems to have worked out that situation by supposedly being close to getting a five-year deal offered to him from Regal FC Barcelona that’ll give him $1.4 million every year to throw around. Sorry, ‘Wolves fans.
But wait! There’s hope on the horizon. The deal reportedly has a clause that would let Rubio out of his deal in two years. Hello, NBA!
Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press
Bobcats trying to resign Felton?
July 30, 2009
Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins is keeping busy these days. He got a deal done the other day that sent Emeka Okafor to the Big Easy in exchange for Tyson Chandler. And he’s apparently spent a good chunk of time trying to re-sign restricted free agent point guard Raymond Felton.
But that hasn’t gone so well. The two sides are apparently at a “stalemate,” according to the Associated Press.
So the expectation is that the Bobcats will continue to try to find some deals on the trade market. Especially since all of its division rivals have gotten better this off-season. AT least they have on paper.
Source: Detroit News/Associated Press
Pacers’ Dunleavy back from injury before January?
July 30, 2009
The Pacers could really use shooting guard Mike Dunleavy. But nobody wants to rush him back from knee surgery. The word is that the team is still planning for him to be out till January but that he is expecting to return sooner than that.
Dunleavy is already able to cut and squat and move his leg in all sorts of ways that most normal people would define as perfectly healthy, according to the Indianapolis Star. But he’s not a normal person. So he’ll keep working out and the Pacers will keep hoping the doctors will agree with Dunleavy’s “gut feeling” that he’ll be back sooner rather than later.
Source: Indianapolis Star
Jason Williams set to make a comeback.
July 30, 2009
Point guard Jason Williams is finally close to being able to come off the voluntary retirement list that he put himself on last summer when he told the Los Angeles Clippers to take a hike with the deal he had signed with them.
Now the 33-year-old fella who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2008 but the Memphis Grizzlies are apparently taking a gander at him this week, according to AOL FanHouse. If that weren’t enough, word is that Williams has some interest from the New York Knicks as well, which is just a sad statement on how far the Knicks have fallen.
Source: AOL FanHouse
Belinelli gets traded to Raptors
July 30, 2009
The Toronto Raptors have traded small forward Devean George for Golden State Warriors’ guard Marco Belinelli, a league source confirmed Wednesday night.
George, 31, was part of the complex four-team deal that landed the Dallas Mavericks’ Shawn Marion earlier this summer.
Belinelli, a teammate with Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani on the Italian national squad, missed 25 games because of injury and was nearly dealt in a draft-night trade to Phoenix to acquire Amare Stoudemire.
Source: ESPN
Carlos Boozer wants to play for the Miami Heat
July 29, 2009
Carlos Boozer still seems to be thinking that he won’t be playing for the Utah Jazz next season. And if you listened to him on Monday when he was down in Florida, it appeared that he really wants to be with the Miami Heat, according to Deseret News.
In his radio interview, he went out of his way to tell listeners how great he thinks South Beach is, how great he did in the playoffs, and how he can’t wait to find out where he’ll be playing this coming season.
Of course, if Miami can convince Lamar Odom to come to the Heat – and Dwyane Wade and team prez Pat Riley are apparently in Los Angeles this week doing everything they can on this front – the team likely won’t have the cash for Boozer, leaving him stuck in Salt Lake City.
Source: Deseret News
Tyson Chandler to play power forward on Bobcats?
July 29, 2009
Now that the Emeka Okafor-for-Tyson Chandler between the New Orleans Hornets and the Charlotte Bobcats, there are seemingly three centers in Charlotte: Chandler, Nazr Mohammed, and DeSagana Diop.
Hornets coach Larry Brown isn’t worried because he’s apparently planning to play the 7′1″ Chandler at power forward from time to time and have him guard guys out on the perimeter. According The Baseline, Brown says that Okafor was more of a natural center than Chandler and can handle playing a more flexible game.
Source: The Sporting News