The NBA is recovering from its collective draft hangover just in time to start the madness of free agency. We have big news coming out of Boston, plus all the latest NBA buzz as we gear up for the start of free agency at midnight ET. Kevin Garnett is remaining a Celtic, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. “[Garnett’s] loyalty to coach Doc Rivers made him likely to return to Boston once he decided to keep playing. One NBA executive
We told you restricted free agency is tricky. Well, it’s so tricky that the Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves decided not to participate in it. This week, the Grizzlies decided against making a $7.4 million qualifying offer to guard O.J. Mayo while making cheaper QO’s to forwards Marreese Speights and Darrell Arthur. The Timberwolves made the same decision on their $8.2 million qualifying offer to Michael Beasley. Those decisions make Mayo and Beasley unrestricted free agents – and remove them from our
13. O.J. MAYO: The Grizzlies made qualifying offers to forwards Marreese Speights and Darrell Arthur but not Mayo, whose $7.4 million would have put Memphis well into supertax territory. The combo guard is free to sign with any team but may have to take a bit of a pay cut. He is just 24, makes 3-pointers and can attack off the dribble. But the market is filled with veteran shooting guards. DESTINATION?: Indiana tried to trade for him two years ago and
Free agency started Sunday midnight ET. On Monday, the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks are expected to make an unrelenting push for All-Star point guard Deron Williams, who is clearly the best available player. The team that lands Williams also has the best chance of acquiring superstar center Dwight Howard, who is not a free agent but has said that he would like to play alongside Williams. In terms of flexibility, the Nets have the inside track. They can offer Williams more money
The Los Angeles Clippers today acquired forward Lamar Odom from the Dallas Mavericks as part of a four-team trade also involving the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets. The Clippers sent point guard Mo Williams to the Jazz and the draft rights to Furkan Aldemir, the Clippers’ second round selection (53rd overall) in the 2012 NBA Draft, to Houston, while the Jazz conveyed the draft rights of Tadija Dragicevic, Utah’s second round pick (53rd overall) in the 2008 NBA Draft to Dallas. To complete the
NEW YORK — The Knicks came out winners again Friday in the arbitration case involving Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak’s free agency after the NBA and the players’ union reached a settlement and the league dropped its appeal of arbitrator Kenneth Dam’s ruling. Lin and Novak, who were acquired by New York through waiver claims, will have “Early Bird” rights that will allow the Knicks to exceed the salary cap to re-sign them. In essence, it means New York can use its
With the NBA Draft over, evaluations of the decisions were made from general managers, owners, players, writers and even fans. See our exclusive sights and sounds of the Draft here, and check who said what, along with today’s biggest news below: Mo Williams has cleared the path to complete the Lamar Odom deal, and he was never in the way, reported by Ramona Shelburne: “Los Angeles Clippers guard Mo Williams has officially picked up his option for next season, clearing the way
