UNDER CONTRACT: F LaMarcus Aldridge, F Nicolas Batum, G Wesley Matthews, F J.J. Hickson, F Luke Babbitt, F Jared Jeffries, G Elliot Williams, G Nolan Smith, G Ronnie Price, G Sasha Pavlovic DRAFT PICKS: F-C Joel Freeland (2006), F Victor Claver (2009), G Damian Lillard, C Meyers Leonard, G Will Barton FREE AGENTS: G Jonny Flynn, F Craig Smith, F Shawne Williams, C Dan Gadzuric MOVES: The Trail Blazers needed a real center – no, not rookie Meyers Leonard – to take the pressure off
The Orlando Magic have tried a number of two-team trades with Dwight Howard that haven’t worked. There has been talk of at least one three-team trade that did not work. Now there is apparently a four-team trade involving Howard being discussed. According to a report Thursday by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo!, Howard would go to the Los Angeles Lakers in a true blockbuster deal also involving Philadelphia and Denver. From Yahoo!: “A deal is not considered imminent, but the talks have grown serious over
We are down to the bargain bin of free agency. Reduced for clearance! Everything must go! Up to 90 percent off! Yes, we know Mickael Pietrus and Derek Fisher aren’t exactly scrap heap material. Both were key players for playoff teams last season, as were Leandro Barbosa and Kenyon Martin. But most of what is left falls into three categories: Olympians, amnesty victims and veterans too proud to take minimum deals. There is some variety remaining at both forward spots and shooting guard but
UNDER CONTRACT: C Andrew Bogut, F David Lee, F Richard Jefferson, C Andris Biedrins, G Stephen Curry, G Jarrett Jack, F Carl Landry, G Klay Thompson, C Jeremy Tyler, G Charles Jenkins, G Brandon Rush, G Kent Bazemore DRAFT PICKS: F Harrison Barnes, C Festus Ezeli, F Draymond Green FREE AGENTS: C Mikki Moore MOVES: Financial constraints kept the Warriors very quiet until the final day of the moratorium, when they dealt Dorell Wright to Philadelphia and acquired Jarrett Jack from New Orleans in
Earlier this week, our Mark Heisler reported that the Orlando Magic would be willing to wait until next summer to trade Dwight Howard if that is what it takes to get fair value for the superstar center. It’s hard to imagine Howard even coming to training camp with the Magic, let alone playing the entire season in Orlando, where he is slightly more popular than George Zimmerman and Casey Anthony. But what if he did? The NBA schedule was released Thursday, and more
We are three-plus weeks into free agency, and the cupboard is not quite bare. There are still some good players out there, whose choices are narrowed to two primary options: (a) go for the money and play for a loser, or (b) pass on the money and play for a winner. More than two-thirds of NBA teams have no cap room remaining. The ones that do mostly are those in rebuilding mode – Sacramento, Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Toronto and Minnesota. There are
UNDER CONTRACT: F-C Tim Duncan, G Manu Ginobili, G Tony Parker, G-F Stephen Jackson, F Boris Diaw, C Tiago Splitter, F Matt Bonner, G Danny Green, F Kawhi Leonard, G Patty Mills, G Cory Joseph, F DeJuan Blair, G Gary Neal DRAFT PICKS: G Nando de Colo (2009) FREE AGENTS: None MOVES: The Spurs approached free agency the way men approach a mall. They didn’t browse or waste hours walking around and looking. They walked in knowing what they wanted, made their purchase, and left. GM R.C.
The two biggest names in this game we love remain Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. And as free agency slows to a crawl after three frenetic weeks, the basketball world’s focus is on Barcelona, Spain, where Bryant, James and the rest of Team USA practiced and held court with the international media, one day before their “friendly” vs. Argentina on Sunday. In terms of popularity, Bryant is the unquestioned king. His jersey is the top seller internationally, while James is third, trailing Derrick Rose.