Per the Miami Herald…

Dwyane Wade said Monday he plans to talk to several free-agent friends after the season about their plans (LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire) and encourage them to sign with Miami if he stays. Miami has room for two maximum contracts — including Wade — with another $5 million or so left. Wade has expressed a preference to stay, and owner Micky Arison put the odds at 95 percent, but he won’t handicap it: “I’m not a percentage guy. I have a lot of things to think about.”

No surprise here. Wade, LeBron, Bosh and Stoudemire all know each other so once the playoffs are over — and everyone gets a sense of what LeBron is going to do — the campaigning will start. I think Wade will stay in Miami if he can get one of the three aforementioned players to join him. With a Cavs title, we could see LeBron stick in Cleveland, Bosh and Joe Johnson in New York and Wade and Stoudemire in Miami. Or Bosh and Stoudemire could swap places. If the Cavs lose in the playoffs, all bets are off.

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Frank Isola of the New York Daily News thinks that there is already a deal in place that will bring Joe Johnson to New York.

There is a growing sentiment among opposing team executives that at the very least the Knicks will sign Atlanta’s Joe Johnson, whose agent, Arn Tellem, orchestrated the Tracy McGrady trade to the Knicks and has been friends with Walsh for 20 years. It’s called a “wink-wink deal,” and even though it is against NBA rules, the practice does exist and is nearly impossible to police.

“I think that’s a done deal,” said one Eastern Conference GM.

Both Isola’s words and the unnamed GM’s quote sound like speculation, but as always, when there’s smoke, there’s usually fire. Johnson has talked openly about what the future may hold, and while I still don’t believe that he’s a “max” player, it’s a natural fit given the Johnson-D’Antoni relationship and the Knicks’ up-tempo system.

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Joe Johnson was asked about his free agent plans after the Hawks’ game against the Knicks, and here’s what he had to say…

The inquisition of Joe Johnson began at about 6:20 p.m. ET, lasted approximately 10 minutes and yielded the following nugget:

If a certain someone, like maybe this certain guy in Cleveland, accepted a max offer from the Knicks and wanted Johnson as a sidekick, Johnson would be willing to sign for less than the maximum.

“I’ll sacrifice,” Johnson said.

Those words will carry some weight as we head toward July 1, 2010, because there aren’t a whole lot of max-level free agents out there who are willing to go on the record saying they’ll sacrifice money if it translates into success on the court.

But Johnson went ahead and said it Monday, and given the fact that he turned down a five-year max contract extension from the Atlanta Hawks last summer, that statement ranks as an eyebrow-raiser.

Chris Sheridan goes on to speculate about what the Knicks might do if Plan A (LeBron) and Plan B (D-Wade) both fail. How about a Bosh/Johnson or a Stoudemire/Johnson combo in NYC?

While LeBron, Wade and Bosh are all playing coy about their free agency plans, Johnson is refreshingly honest about all the possibilities. Considering that he’s playing for one of the top teams in the East, it’s an interesting way to go.

A LeBron/JJ combo in New York probably isn’t going to happen. I have a feeling that LeBron will only go to the Knicks if he knows he’s going to play with Wade or Bosh. Usually championships are built around one excellent perimeter player and one excellent big man — think Kobe-Shaq, Parker-Duncan, Wade-Shaq — but Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen did make the 2/3 combo work very well in Chicago, though MJ made a living in the post. LeBron doesn’t like to play with his back to the basket.

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Deadspin has the details.

Okay, that’s not quite what he said…

The Lakers’ loss to Orlando on Sunday marks the first time since Pau Gasol’s arrival that the team has lost three straight games. After the game, Gasol discussed the lack of flow on offense, which could be construed as a knock on Kobe.

“We haven’t been playing with a good flow out there offensively and it takes a lot of people out of their rhythm,” Gasol said. “We need to figure out how to move the ball a lot more so there’s a flow out there, there’s a rhythm.”

When Gasol was pointedly asked if the offense was being bogged down by how many shots Bryant has been attempting, he answered, “I don’t know” at first, but then made the point he was trying to make regardless of whether he would be treading a little harshly on the guy who just hit back-to-back 22-footers with 26.4 seconds left and 12.9 seconds left in the fourth.

“Kobe’s a great player,” Gasol said. “We have to find balance as a team, as a unit out there. Kobe’s a great player and he’s probably the best offensive player out there. We understand that. … But at the same time, we need to find that balance and we need to find balance with our interior game developing … using it a little more and moving the ball and changing sides more, because that’s the triangle, that’s what it does. … We need to get focused on that a little more. To find that balance, to find that flow.”

Kobe’s M.O. is pretty much the same game to game. He starts out by looking to set up teammates and picking his spots to take shots. If the offense is rolling, he’ll continue to pass first until the situation warrants that he take over. If the offense is sputtering, he’ll generally look to start taking a lot of shots when the Lakers get down by 8-10 points, depending on how much time is left in the game.

Gasol went 8-13 in the game for 20 points, but he was physically overmatched by Dwight Howard on the block. He looked visibly frustrated throughout the second half, which could partly be due to his lack of post up opportunities on the offensive end.

The Lakers should be all right, but the lack of flow could be attributed to Ron Artest. He went 2-10 on the night and the ball tends to stop when it finds his hands. He’s only shooting 41.5% on the year, so when he’s in with the starters, he should probably be the fourth option. He is behind Kobe, Gasol and Andrew Bynum in shot attempts, but he’s far too close (9.8 to 10.6) to Bynum for my liking, especially considering Bynum has the highest points per shot (1.40) on the team.

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They don’t have any cap room, but that doesn’t mean the Dallas Mavericks can’t make some big moves this summer.

He has one year and $13 million left after this season … but it’s not guaranteed. Meaning a team can trade for him, and drop him. That’s a $13 million savings. Not too shabby.

One team that would like to drop that much and get under the luxury tax? The Hornets.

No one is suggesting the Hornets would trade Chris Paul to Dallas, but David West is a possibility. The Mavs also have Caron Butler and young guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who has played pretty well in his rookie season.

It’s going to be an interesting summer indeed.


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- DIGITAL SPORTS DAILY wonders who has the inside track on the fourth #1 seed after Duke’s loss to Maryland last night.

- In a very enlightening piece, PRO FOOTBALL TALK asks and answers 20 questions about an uncapped year in the NFL.

- FIVE TOOL TOOL lists 10 reasons why fantasy baseball is becoming too popular.

- RUMORS AND RANTS has proof that Taylor Mays ran the 40 faster than his “official” 4.43 time. Here’s the video: