// NEW YORK — Free agency opens in less than a week, unless the New York Knicks go to court to halt it. Is that really possible? Well, nothing can be ruled out with the Knicks sitting in a state of limbo after the NBA said it would appeal an arbitrator’s decision granting full Bird rights to Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak (along with J.J. Hickson of the Portland Trail Blazers and Chauncey Billups of the Los Angeles Clippers.) If the ruling stands,
NEW YORK — The NBA announced this afternoon it will appeal an arbitrator’s ruling that granted full “Bird rights” to players claimed off waivers, including Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak of the New York Knicks. In an unexpected victory for the players’ union and the Knicks, arbitrator Kenneth Dam ruled that a player’s Bird rights travel with him when his contract is claimed off waivers. The Knicks acquired Lin and Novak in that manner, and they will now have the right
Right now, the Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to figure out how to get three more wins over the Miami Heat and claim the NBA championship. Whether they can do that remains to be seen. But once the Finals are over, the Thunder will have another issue on their hands – putting a coach in place for next season. Thunder coach Scott Brooks does not have a contract for next season. And while a trip to the NBA Finals makes it seem
Yesterday, we ran down the top 20 unrestricted free agents. Today, we look at the top 10 restricted free agents, which is a little trickier. By and large, restricted free agents are all on their rookie contract, which provides guaranteed money that can establish the starting point for negotiations. And that’s where it gets tricky. JaVale McGee made $2.46 million this season and has a qualifying offer for $3.49 million next season. Both figures are well below what starting centers receive. But how
Tonight is the NBA draft lottery, which is one way to build a team. The other way is free agency, which starts in just over a month. Many teams positioned themselves for this summer, expecting Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams all to opt out and become free agents. But Howard and Paul opted in, and now there is money to spend on a significantly weaker but nevertheless strong class. A handful of teams could be very active this summer. Among playoff
New Orleans Hornets center Chris Kaman has a bruised left tibia and likely will miss the rest of the season, the team announced Tuesday. According to the Hornets, Kaman suffered the injury in Sunday’s home win over Memphis. He sat out Monday’s win at Charlotte, although according to the AP story, the team gave no reason for his absence. Kaman’s absence over the last five games is not a big deal for the Hornets, who acquired him in the Chris Paul deal
Unlike Allan Houston and the “Allan Houston Rule,” it was fitting that Derrick Rose was the first player to benefit from the “Derrick Rose Rule,” a provision in the new collective bargaining agreement that makes a player completing his rookie deal eligible for 30 percent of the salary cap as a max salary if he meets certain criteria. Beginning with the 2012-13 season, Rose will receive nearly $95 million over the next five years. That’s about $11 million more than he
Here is the latest news. So far, two guys are getting amnestied: Gilbert Arenas and Chauncey Billups. Richard Jefferson was expected to be a third, but he showed up at Spurs training camp and participated. Vince Carter was bought out, as was Richard Hamilton, and Brandon Roy was told to retire. Also, Mark Cuban revealed that he was one of the five owners who voted against the new labor deal. He also came out in support of David Stern for vetoing the