Hello and welcome to the Evening News.
As the offseason continues, we’ll keep you updated every evening.
What’s happening today?
Timberwolves ink Pekovic to longterm deal
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a five year contract with center Nikola Pekovic.
This just in: I’m told Nikola Pekovic and Wolves have agreed to five-year deal worth $60 million
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) August 14, 2013
The deal will not hold any options but could exceed the $60 million mark if Pekovic plays well.
Sources with knowledge of deal say contract will also include up to $8 million in additional incentive-related bonuses for Pekovic
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) August 14, 2013
The team had been in talks with Pekovic’s camp since the early days of free agency. Negotiations, however, had reportedly been at an impasse for several weeks.
One surfaced rumor suggests Pekovic was purposefully stalling in his negotiations as an excuse to avoid playing for Montenegro in next month’s Eurobasket Tournament in Slovenia. He is officially withdrawn from the tournament.
Another rumor suggested Pekovic was seriously contemplating Minnesota’s qualifying offer and the possibility of entering next summer as an unrestricted free agent. In the end, the money was too good to ignore.
The finalized agreement will likely conclude the Timberwolves’ eventful offseason:
“Retaining Pek was our No. 1 priority this offseason, and we’re very excited that he’s chosen to continue his career in Minnesota,” team president Flip Saunders said. “Thanks to a lot of hard work and determination, Pek has developed into one of the NBA’s premier centers and is entering the prime of his career. We envision Pek and Kevin Love being the ‘Bruise Brothers’ and forming one of the best frontcourts in the NBA for a long time to come.”
At only 27 years old, the big man figures to continue growing as a player. Last year, in Kevin Love’s absence, Pekovic posted career highs with 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
Houston nearly acquired Howard in trade with Orlando in 2012
In the infamous February of 2012, Dwight Howard gained a reputation for being intolerably indecisive. Howard waffled back and forth for days on whether to waive his Early Termination Option and opt in to another season with the Magic. Finally, just hours before the trade deadline, at word that he was getting traded, Howard concluded to waive his ETO after all. 
The result? Several peeved trade suitors, a substantial blow to the superstar’s reputation, and an awkward season of Howard in Hollywood.
Before Howard ultimately decided to opt in to another year in Orlando, the overwhelming belief was that he would be traded to Brooklyn for a package centered around Brook Lopez. However, as Rockets GM Daryl Morey told CBS Sports Radio’s John Feinstein today, that wasn’t necessarily the case:
“We were sort of the ugly guy chasing the pretty girl for awhile,” Morey told Feinstein. “We [had tried] to trade for him twice. In fact, once we were allowed to talk to Dwight when free agency started off, he told us how – and we didn’t know this for sure – but how Orlando basically told him he was going to get traded to us if he didn’t re-up with them a couple years back when he re-signed. He was almost a Rocket a couple times. Obviously in this business, you’ve got to be well-prepared, and you have to have some good fortune.”
League sources have confirmed that there was a tentative deal in place that would have sent Howard to the Rockets at the trade deadline in 2012. Magic officials have admitted in private that they preferred Houston’s package to Brooklyn’s.
While this news might lead some Rockets fans to wonder what their team would’ve looked with Howard patrolling the paint last season, the point is moot. Had Houston executed the trade for Howard in February of 2012, they likely would’ve traded themselves out of the market for James Harden.
Howard likely would not have stayed with Houston had he been traded. The Nets would have had the capspace to sign him outright. With that in mind, Houston likely would have backed out of any deal at the last moment.
I don’t doubt that ORL was threatening to trade Howard (to a team other than his preferred Nets), but many believe it was just a strategy by ORL to scare Howard into waiving his ETO.
The NY Post reporter, Fred Kerber, later said that ORL threatened to trade Howard to the Lakers at the deadline and THAT was the reason Howard got scared (he didn’t want to play with Kobe) and changed his mind on the flight back to ORL at 1 AM on the morning of the trade deadline.
It was recently mentioned that Howard’s agent wasn’t in contact with Howard at that late night, believing that Howard was about to be traded to the Nets at the deadline, as Howard had released a statement earlier in that day that he wasn’t serious about staying with ORL.
In other words the talk of trading Howard to Houston or the Lakers was a BLUFF to scare Howard. It worked and there were likely other promises which was why Howard was so upset later on.