The Knicks are among the teams interested in Monta Ellis, from Ken Berger of CBSSports: “As the free-agent negotiating period opened Monday morning, the Knicks expressed an interest in pursuing a deal with Bucks shooting guard Monta Ellis, league sources told CBSSports.com. A union of Ellis and the Knicks is viewed as a long shot, as the Knicks have only the $3.2 million taxpayer mid-level exception available. Ellis just opted out of a deal that would have paid him $11 million next season in Milwaukee. The Bulls, Spurs, Nuggets and Suns also are among the teams who expressed interest in Ellis as the free-agent negotiating period began Monday at 12:01 a.m. ET, league sources said.”
Mitch Kupchak briefly met with Howard right before he went off to be courted by a various number of teams, from Mark Medina of Daily News: “It turns out the Lakers wanted more than the last word. The Lakers may have received assurances from Howard that they will be the last team he meets as he explores the free agent market. But Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak still briefly met with center Dwight Howard shortly after free agency began at 9 p.m. on Sunday, according to a league source familiar with the discussions. “It went well,” the source said.”
The Warriors are surprisingly willing to explore trade options for David Lee, from Woj: “The Golden State Warriors are exploring trade opportunities for All-Star forward David Lee and the three years, $44 million left on his contract, league sources told Yahoo! Sports… Golden State offered Lee in a package for Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani, sources said, but the Raptors made a deal with the New York Knicks to shed the final two years, $22.5 million on Bargnani’s contract. The Warriors tried to pry Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge as part of an offer that included Brandon Rush, league sources said. Portland has been engaging trade talks for Aldridge, but has pursued more robust offers than Golden State’s proposal, sources said.”
Josh Smith is Detroit’s No. 1 priority right now, from Woj: “Detroit Pistons general manager Joe Dumars met with Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith at 12:01 a.m. ET with a plan to make the free agent forward a substantial four-year offer, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Atlanta has shown far more interest in working sign-and-trade arrangements for Smith than re-signing him to a long-term deal, league sources said. Along with re-signing point guard Jose Calderon, Smith is the Pistons’ top priority on the market, league sources told Y! Sports.”
The Rockets brought their biggest guns out to woo Dwight Howard, from Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld: “The Houston Rockets met with unrestricted free agent Dwight Howard for several hours on Sunday evening and pulled out all of the stops to impress the All-Star center, according to sources close to the situation. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, owner Les Alexander, head coach Kevin McHale, players James Harden and Chandler Parsons and legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were in attendance for the dinner, which wrapped up around 3:30 a.m. EST. Yao Ming was also involved in the Rockets’ presentation, delivering a message to Howard through Skype.”
One of the biggest pitch from the Rockets may have been Kevin McHale’s willingness to say that the offense would be built around Howard, from Woj: “McHale made it clear to Howard that he planned to build his system around him, and that, ultimately, he would hold Howard accountable every day in the franchise’s pursuit of a title. The Rockets had long believed that McHale, a Hall of Fame power forward, would be an immense asset in the recruitment of Howard. Howard had never had a head coach that could identify with him so well, who could literally look him in the eyes.”
The Rockets are so confident in their chances of landing Howard that they are looking to move Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, from Berger: “Emboldened by their pursuit of free agent Dwight Howard, the Rockets have called several teams and made Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin available in potential trades, league sources told CBSSports.com. The Rockets are oozing with confidence that they will lure Howard from the Lakers, and are making contingency plans to construct the team around him. “They already have him, if you talk to them,” one league source said.”
