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SH Blog: CP3 to return to Clippers; Iguodala, Josh Smith have significant interest; Bargnani to Knicks?

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  • Update to a story from yesterday, from Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “The Dallas Mavericks are in talks with the Boston Celtics to pursue point guard Rajon Rondo, according to a source close to the situation. But the source said that no deal involving Rondo would occur unless the Mavericks were able to acquire Dwight Howard. That’s because of salary cap ramifications. Howard, the Los Angeles Lakers center who will be a free agent on Monday, reportedly has narrowed his free agent destinations down to the Mavs and Houston Rockets. But the Atlanta Hawks and Lakers are still in the mix, too.”
  • Marc Berman of the New York Post has this on J.R. Smith, plus a general preview of what the Knicks will be doing this offseason. Totally worth checking out. Here’s the Smith part: “According to a person who spoke to Smith, the explosive but flaky shooting guard believes he will get an offer that will top the Knicks’ maximum bid — starting at $5.4 million — under early-Bird-rights bylaws. The Sixth Man Award winner who flopped in the playoffs then must decide if he wants to take a little less to stay in his hometown and perhaps play alongside his brother, Chris Smith. The Knicks believe odds are they will retain J.R. Smith, but it hardly is a guarantee considering the bevy of under-the-cap clubs and a weak free-agent class. The Bucks, Pistons and Suns are contemplating throwing money Smith’s way.”

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  • Tim Bontemps of the New York Post has this on Andray Blatche: “Along with Watson, the other prominent free agent the Nets would like to retain is big man Andray Blatche. After taking a chance on Blatche when the Wizards opted to use the amnesty provision in the new collective bargaining agreement to dump him — and the final three years of his contract — from their salary cap, the 6-foot-11 power forward/center more than repaid the Nets for their faith in him. Blatche averaged 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds, as he and Brook Lopez combined to be the best one-two scoring combination at center in the league. Because Blatche still is owed several million dollars from the Wizards each of the next two years, the prevailing thought is despite the fact the Nets only can offer him a slight raise over the minimum salary he received this past season, Blatche will be back with the Nets.”

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  • Andre IguodalaChristopher Dempsey of the Denver Post looks at how the Nuggets will try to get Andre Iguodala back: “The moment Brian Shaw was hired as the Nuggets head coach, point guard Ty Lawson’s power was restored. He’d been working from a position of little influence, trying to convince teammate Andre Iguodala to extend his contract with the Nuggets while the team had vacancies in both its general manager and head coaching positions. Shaw’s hiring changed all of that. Lawson’s words to Iguodala, who had spent time at the Pepsi Center working out and working on his game since the end of the season, now carried additional weight. “I think he wants to be back,” Lawson said. “He’s been working out up here. Normally, if you don’t want to go back to somewhere, you won’t go back at all. So, he’s been working out here. We’ll be in his top one or two. I still try and sell him on it. It was a hard sell when we didn’t have a GM or a coach, but now we do, so I’m going to be back at it again.” “

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  • Andrew BynumYannis Koutropis of HoopsWorld lets us know about one of the forgotten men in this year’s free agent crop: “There will be no shortage of interest in unrestricted free agent center Andrew Bynum once teams are allowed to contact free agents at 12:01 a.m. EST tonight, according to sources close to the situation. The source specifically mentioned the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers as two teams expected to reach out to Bynum along with all of the franchises with cap space that are pursuing center Dwight Howard. Howard is set to meet with the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. Of those five, the Hawks, Mavericks and Rockets have the necessary space under the cap to make a max, or near max, offer without needing to do a sign-and-trade. Bynum missed all of the 2012-13 season with the Philadelphia 76ers due to persistent knee trouble. However, his camp is confident in his recovery and went on the record stating that they expect him to be ready for the start of training camp.”

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  • Some Wizards news, from Michael Lee of the Washington Post: “After Webster, the Wizards will have to find a suitable backup for Wall, who is expected to receive a maximum contract extension that will kick in at the start of the 2014-15 season. The team went 4-28 without Wall last season and can’t afford to have such a significant drop-off in case of injury, especially with President Ernie Grunfeld already stating that the team intends to make the playoffs next season. According to league sources with knowledge of the Wizards’ thinking, the team will seek out Eric Maynor, Beno Udrih and possibly John Lucas III as backup point guard options. A.J. Price and Garrett Temple, two of the many Wall substitutes last season, are both unrestricted free agents. Temple is the most likely of the two to return, giving his size and versatility to play and defend multiple positions.”

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    Dan Malone just finished his third year as a journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.

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