Too much news to waste your time with an intro. So let’s get right to it:
MELO TO OPT OUT OF KNICKS CONTRACT
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com:
Anthony has to inform the team if he intends to opt out of the final year of his contract on Monday. So Anthony will let the Knicks — and the rest of the NBA — know sometime tomorrow if he will test free agency this summer. If Anthony tests free agency, the Chicago Bulls are expected to be among several suitors for his services.
Anthony, according to league sources, has already done some homework on the Bulls and the city of Chicago. He has talked to more than one high-profile person who lives in Chicago about what it’s like to be famous in the Windy City, league sources say.
That’s just the latest dot to connect when it comes to Melo and Chicago. In March, ESPN.com reported that Anthony talked to Bulls center Joakim Noah during All-Star Weekend about what it was like to play under Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau. That conversation turned into a recruiting pitch from Noah to Anthony. At the very least, Anthony is intrigued by the possibility of playing there.
One scenario through which Anthony can end up with the Bulls is a sign-and-trade involving Carlos Boozer. Of course, the Knicks would have to agree to a sign-and-trade.
That’s one of the biggest issues facing New York right now. The Knicks have to decide whether they are willing to execute a sign-and-trade to send Anthony to another team.
This is crucial, because if Phil Jackson & Co. are open to completing a sign-and-trade, Anthony’s options on the open market increase. Both Chicago and Houston are in a position to execute a sign-and-trade for Anthony.
RUDY GAY OPTS IN; WILL WAIT TO TALK EXTENSION
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports:
Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay will exercise his $19.3 million contract option for the 2014-15 season, but has tabled extension talks until later this summer, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The re-signing of Gay is a top priority for the Kings. Team management and Gay’s agent, Alex Saratsis of Octagon, are expected to re-engage discussions in the near future, sources said.
After July 1, the Kings and Gay will be able to negotiate a full four-year contract extension. Gay has been in constant contact with Kings management, and has been impressed with new owner Vivek Ranadive’s commitment to constructing a contender, sources said.
The Kings consider Gay a cornerstone of the franchise’s future and prolonging the process on extension discussions gives him a chance to further evaluate the team’s progress on improving the roster before he fully commits to a deal. If Gay is unable to complete an extension in the next year, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2015.
BUCKS COULD MOVE ILYASOVA, KNIGHT
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times:
The most likely Buck player to be relocated to a different zip code is Ersan Ilyasova, who is coming off a disappointing season but whose stock remains fairly high.
The general consensus among some NBA personnel is that the Bucks, who are obviously in a rebuilding mode, could obtain a late-first round pick for the 27-year-old Ilyasova in what is regarded as one of the most deep and talented draft in years.
It’s hardly a secret some teams who are picking in the late teens and 20s are receptive to moving their pick. One of them is Phoenix, which has the 18th and 27th overall picks and would like to add a veteran frontcourt presence. Another is Oklahoma City, which is unlikely to keep both of its picks at 21 and 29.
And there is also Houston, which has the 25th pick and failed in its attempt to secure a “stretch 4” at the trading deadline in February.
Houston has shown interest in Ilyasova in the past with some Rockets firmly believing Ilyasova would nicely complement Rocket stars James Harden and Dwight Howard with his potent perimeter shooting.
…
While there are some NBA officials who fully expect Ilyasova to be traded by the draft, he might not be the only Buck to be jettisoned.
Young forward John Henson, who has shown flashes of being a top-flight player, is also available and some Bucks insiders claim the team’s new owners — Marc Lasry and Wes Edens — have given their blessing to possibly trading young point guard Brandon Knight, arguably the team’s best player.
Both Henson and Knight undoubtedly would bring back at least a mid-first round pick, if the Bucks desired to move them.
MAVS INTERESTED IN GASOL, OTHER CENTERS
Tim MacMahon and Marc Stein of ESPN.com:
The Dallas Mavericks plan to be among the teams pursuing Los Angeles Lakers center/power forward Pau Gasol once free agency begins July 1, according to sources close to the situation.
The Mavs’ level of interest in the 7-foot Gasol is largely dependent on his price tag, sources told ESPNDallas.com. The four-time All-Star, who turns 34 next month, is expected to take a major pay cut after making $19.3 million last season.
Gasol could well represent the Mavs’ best opportunity to upgrade at the center position via free agency. They also have significant interest in Washington’s Marcin Gortat, whom they recruited as a restricted free agent in 2009, signing him to an offer sheet that was surprisingly matched by the Orlando Magic.
Sources, however, say the Mavericks fear they’ll be priced out of the hunt to pry Gortat from the Wizards, who have ample space under the salary cap and are interested in keeping the 29-year-old Gortat as part of a young core of the team that broke the franchise’s five-year postseason drought and advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
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Dan Malone has finally finished his journalism degree at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is now a reporter at the Bryan Times in northwest Ohio. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.
For a Melo S&T, 3 sides would have to agree. Can’t see Bulls wanting to give up any talent like Taj Gibson, when all they have to do is amnesty Boozer and give away Dunleavy to a team with space like the Mavs. They could also give away Snell.
Melo won’t want the Bulls to give up talent either, just to get a 5 year contract. Melo made that mistake when signing with Knicks.
Knicks were talking about a S&T with CLE, for the #1 pick, but Melo wouldn’t be interested in playing in CLE.
*Note: Ilyasova is believed to be 3 years older than his stated age. He was a refugee from the former Soviet Union, to Turkey, and he had no documentation. In other words, he may be finished, and on the decline.
Phil Jackson appears to be starting over, as he is willing to trade Shumpert for a very late 1st round pick – in order to acquire a PG. PJax may be hated next season as Knicks could be worst team in NBA. Can’t see a LeBron going to a rebuilding Knicks team.