Archive for category Rumors
Lakers Trying To Move Sasha Vujacic
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on July 28, 2010
The Los Angeles Lakers are actively seeking out a trade partner willing to take on the final year of Sasha Vujacic’s deal, according to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Windhorst says the Lakers offered the Cleveland Cavaliers Vujacic and a first round pick for Delonte West and are using that same offer to entice other teams into taking Vujacic of their payroll.
A source close to the situation confirmed this report to NBA News and Rumors.
Windhorst says that there is a “decent chance” that the Lakers will move Vujacic before the season begins.
The Lakers have had an active off-season and with Derek Fisher staying in town, Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, and Devin Ebanks coming along, and Shannon Brown likely to re-sign, there is little room for Vujacic on Los Angeles’ roster, especially considering the designated shooter hasn’t had much success doing just that over the past two years.
Update: Cavs Close To Trading For Ramon Sessions
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on July 26, 2010
July 26th, 7:10 PM CT, Update: Bob Finnan of the Cleveland News-Herald says that Sebastian Telfair will also be included in the deal, giving Minnesota another point guard to have on the roster just in-case something happens to Flynn or Ridnour. Finnan also says the Cavs will receive a second round pick in 2013.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are close to completing a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves for Ramon Sessions, according to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland would also receive reserve center Ryan Hollins in return for Delonte West.
According to multiple league sources, the Cavs have entered advanced talks with the Minnesota Timberwolves for guard Ramon Sessions. It is likely a deal will involve Delonte West, who has been shopped by the team for the last several months because his contract is not guaranteed for next season — which makes him an attractive asset.
Obviously, point guard is a position that the T’Wolves are set at for years to come and Session’s services were no longer necessary. Jonny Flynn, Luke Ridnour and Ricky Rubio are all classified as Minnesota point guards though Rubio has not come over from Europe.
The Timberwolves will likely waive Delonte West as soon as the trade becomes official which will save them about $4.1 million as only $500,000 of his $4.6 million contract is guaranteed if he is waived prior to August 5th.
Clearly there is no right move for Cleveland to make this off-season that will make up for what they lost in LeBron James, but adding Sessions, a six-foot-three point guard that can also play some two, is a nice addition for Byron Scott and his uptemp offense.
Minnesota To Look At Anthony Tolliver
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on July 26, 2010
A quick note from Chris Tomasson of FanHouse: With Ryan Hollins possibly going to Cleveland in a deal involving Ramon Sessions and Delonte West, the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking at free agent forward Anthony Tolliver to fill the back-up forward/center spot that Hollins had.
Chris Paul To Formally Request Trade Tommorrow
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on July 26, 2010
New Orleans Hornets superstar point guard Chris Paul will formally request a trade in a sit down meeting with the team’s general manager and head coach, according to The Times-Picayune.
A source close to Paul said he has not yet formally told the Hornets to trade him, but he plans to inform them during Monday’s meeting he would be willing to play elsewhere if they cannot accommodate his wishes to improve the roster.
Paul has been spending this past week around LeBron James in Las Vegas while also visiting the Team USA Basketball Camp. According to a source, James has been in Paul’s ear about getting out of New Orleans as soon as he can if he wants to become a champion.
Paul’s wish list includes the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers, according to another source that is close to Paul. The source says CP3 believes he can win a title with any of those teams in at least two seasons.
Update: Knicks Targeting Raymond Felton?
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on July 6, 2010
July 6th, 4:50 PM, Update: Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports confirms the Knicks interest in Felton and also names the Miami Heat and New Jersey Nets as teams that are also interested. However, Spears notes that none of these teams are willing to commit to Felton until LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have made their decisions.
After signing Amare Stoudemire to a five-year, $100 million deal, the New York Knicks are now targeting a point guard to pair with Amare in Mike D’Antoni’s pick and roll offense, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports.
The bread and butter of the Phoenix Sun offense under D’Antoni and Alvin Gentry was the pick and roll with Amare and Steve Nash. Of course, there is nobody in the league that runs the pick and roll better than Nash, so Amare may never look as smooth or be as efficient as he was in Phoenix. However, the Knicks are hard after a point guard to play that role.
Berger reports that the Knicks are looking into Raymond Felton, a free agent coming off of a deal with Charlotte, in a sign and trade with the Bobcats. The sign and trade he suggests involves David Lee going to Charlotte in return for Felton. Certainly, this deal checks out for both sides and would all depend on what kind of contracts each player is looking for. New York has money to spend on Felton but Charlotte may not be able to afford Lee.
Nonetheless, Lee would be an excellent addition to a team that failed to find offense a lot of times last season and he would be with a team where his defensive deficiencies would be hidden with such great defensive players around him like Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson and Tyson Chandler. Lee has a face-up game from the mid-range and is very good on his way to the basket, whether on the pick and roll or on a dribble drive.
Felton ranked 71st in the league in pick and rolls as the ball handler, producing .84 points per possession. Not a great number but it is an upgrade over any point guard that New York had last season and there was no scoring threat for him to run that pick and roll with. Amare would give him a fantastic partner and would ultimately result in increased production from him. Felton is also a good defensive player and would at least stay in front of his man which has been an issue with the Knicks over the past few seasons.
Tony Parker has also been targeted by the Knicks but it appears as if it would be easier to acquire a free agent in a sign and trade rather than trading for Tony Parker straight up.
LeBron Leaning Towards the Knicks?
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on July 6, 2010
LeBron James is leaning towards the New York Knicks, according to Alex Kennedy of HOOPSWORLD. Kennedy said this on twitter just minutes ago:
In the last 24 hours, multiple sources have indicated that LeBron James could be leaning to the New York Knicks.
Kennedy also said the following in a column:
Several sources indicated that James’ advisors Maverick Carter and Randy Mims could be traveling to New York on Wednesday and sources have hinted that James will be joining them for the trip. Sources also said that Carter and Mims have been picking the Knicks’ brains for details and information on their salary cap and free agent plans over the past few days.
This report seems to contradict what Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said yesterday, which was that LeBron wasn’t leaning in any direction.
If James really is leaning towards the Knicks, this development must have come after New York agreed to terms with Amare Stoudemire. The common belief amongst basketball folk has been that the chips would fall after LeBron made his move but if this is true it seems as if LeBron wanted to have someone else commit to a team before he finalized his decision.
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LeBron Undecided on Destination
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on July 5, 2010
After several meetings with NBA teams and a weekend to mull it over, LeBron James is sill undecided on where he will play next season, according to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Windhorst, who classifies himself as a stalker when it comes to following LeBron this off-season, said the following about LeBron’s situation on twitter this evening:
Based on several people who have talked to LeBron in last 72 hours, he is giving impression he’s undecided after last week’s meetings.
He really likes Rose & Noah. But there’s lack if shooters on roster. Also it doesn’t sound like he’s exactly being welcomed by Rose. Also, I can confirm several reports of a rift between Wes Wesley & James camp. Wes was indeed pushing Chicago, I’m told.
At this point, LeBron has tightly closed ranks, only seriously talking about decision with a couple people. Which is why so little info.
Not surprising. As many people have speculated, if LeBron is going to leave Cleveland, it is unlikely that he will pick his team before his basketball camp in Ohio ends.
Has Chris Bosh agreed to a Deal Already?
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on July 5, 2010
According to the twitter account of Hadi Teherany, presumably an employee of the Apoko Group, posted the following message earlier tonight:
Just got some GREAT NEWS! CONGRATS!!!! You will all know soon….a celebration is in order tomorrow for my brother!!!!
Hadi was an executive for a DVD named First Ink that was created in 2009 that was all about Chris Bosh’s off-season last year. On Hadi’s twitter profile he says “Chris Bosh, Max Deal,” and is referred to as Bosh’s “fluffer” by Toronto Raptor fans. I have no prior knowledge of Hadi but it appears as if he owns a company named Max Deal Technologies and won several domains with Chris Bosh in a Cybersquatting case.
Here is an excerpt about the case:
In a landmark legal case, Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh has won custody of nearly 800 domain names wrongfully appropriated from professional athletes and celebrities. Through his social media firm, Max Deal, Bosh is offering to return the domain names for free to their rightful owners. The offer was announced by Bosh’s agent, Henry Thomas, Co-President of Max Deal, Hadi Teherany, and Bosh’s law firm, Winston & Strawn LLP, which secured the victory.
A call was placed to Hadi and we will update if he returns the call.
There is also a chance Hadi was referring to a client of the Akopo Group.
Here is the description of what the Apoko Group does:
This generation demands that their stars constantly reinvent themselves and never remain static. Apoko understands that in order to stay in the limelight, celebrities must diversify their offerings and exposure and continually present different sides of themselves.
The best way to achieve this is within the digital landscape, an area we have devoted our lives too.
Essentially this company helps athletes increase their popularity in the digital world.
The Apoko group website lists five clients: Baron Davis of the Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns, Morris Peterson of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Nick Swisher of the New York Yankees and Roger Mason Jr., who is currently a free agent. Presumably Hadi is referring to Roger Mason Jr, as he is the only player of the five that can sign with a team this off-season.
My guess is that he was referring to Bosh but we’ll keep you updated.
Ricky Rubio To Remain In Spain
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on August 8, 2009
Ricky Rubio
It’s been a long, drawn out process, but it appears the Ricky Rubio situation is finally coming to an end. According to DKV Joventut’s official Twitter page, the team has announced that Ricky Rubio will remain for the final two years on his current contract.
“After endless comings and goings, Ricky Rubio is finally where he is. After many speculations about its future, the player decided to put an end to the issue of their transfer and will be announced at DKV Joventut, where he still has two more years (on his) contract.”
Rubio had the choice to not play any sort of professional basketball this year, and re-enter the 2010 NBA Draft which would have resulted in the Minnesota Timberwolves losing their Draft rights to Rubio. However, Rubio, unable to come to terms on a buy-out, decided it would be best to remain with DKV Joventut.
It’s expected Rubio will attempt a buy-out again at the end of the DKV Joventut’s season.
Source: DKV Joventut Twitter
Lakers To Try And Extend Kobe Now?
Posted by Mark Travis in Rumors on August 1, 2009
The Los Angeles Lakers have completed all of their off-season moves by releasing shooting guard Sun Yue, who was guaranteed $100,000 of his $736,420 if he was on the roster on August 1st.
“We really appreciated the opportunity the Lakers gave Sun and the way they approached the entire situation,” Sun’s agent Charles Bonsignore said.
“They were all class. But because of the depth on their roster, we both knew that even if he made the team there wouldn’t be a lot of opportunity to play and the Lakers didn’t want to hold him back.”
With no more money to spend and with all players from last year being resigned, the Lakers will now “turn to the future, beyond this season,” according to GM Mitch Kupchak.
The first thing on the docket for securing the future of the organization? Signing Kobe Bryant to an extension.
Kobe acknowledged earlier this off-season that it would be best for the Lakers to focus on free agents before they started talks with him, but now seems like a good time to get things started.
Source: Los Angeles Daily News
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