Yes, according to his Twitter feed.

My people just informed me that we are getting close to a deal. I asked them to call me the when its done. I am so ready to know!

I have not been this eager with anticipation since the night before the NBA Draft in 96. Then I knew where I was going, now I want to know!

It sounds like even he doesn’t know where he’s going. Why are his people keeping him in the dark? So that he won’t spill the beans on Twitter?

Chris Sheridan outlines the five teams that are likely in the mix for AI’s services: Miami, New York, Charlotte, LA Clippers and Memphis.

He thinks the Heat are the frontrunner.

Per the NY Post…

Pint-sized New York Knicks player Nate Robinson came up short last night in The Bronx, where cops busted the slam-dunk expert for driving with a suspended license, authorities said.

Robinson — whose license was suspended in June for the fifth time — was driving himself and newly drafted New Jersey Nets player Terrence Williams when cops stopped him in The Bronx in the late afternoon.

Robinson tweeted just after he was pulled over, saying that he thought that he was stopped because his windows were too dark. After the arrest, he had this to say…

“To All My Tweeps: I was irresponsible earlier when I tweeted about being pulled over,” Robinson wrote afterwards. “I thought it was for tinted windows but turns out I had an unpaid ticket and I wasn’t aware the ticket had been mailed to my Seattle address … I apologize to the Knicks, my family and fans.”

Tsk, tsk, tsk…

Not a smart move for a restricted free agent hoping to sign a one-year deal with the Knicks and enter unrestricted free agency next summer. I doubt this will impact the Knicks’ decision, but you never know.

It seems like an obvious match on paper. The Knicks have a well-documented need for a point guard and Ricky Rubio is threatening to play another year or two in Spain so that he can avoid playing in Minnesota, at least for the time being. Then, of course, there is the T-Wolves’ decision to draft point guards with back-to-back picks in this year’s draft. Throw in the Knicks’ reluctance to sign a point guard this summer and it all adds up — they’re pursuing Rubio.

One insider tells RealGM’s Alex Kennedy that Kahn could be working out a scenario where Rubio would be dealt to the New York Knicks.

“Kahn and [Knicks' President] Donnie Walsh are close and New York is looking for a cheap point guard who could help attract free agents next summer. Rubio fits that mold. I think that’s what this latest trip to Spain is about, working something out with New York.”

First, let me state that this is all speculation. An “insider” told Real GM that Kahn “could be” working out a deal that would send Rubio to New York. This isn’t exactly substantial stuff.

Regardless, it’s not clear what New York would have to give up in this scenario, as they don’t have too many assets to offer. David Lee is a possibility, but the T-Wolves are pretty set up front with Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. Nate Robinson is a good scorer, but wouldn’t be equal value for the potential that Rubio brings to the table. Wilson Chandler is a nice (though not particularly efficient) small forward, which is the same position that LeBron James plays.

Lee would seem to be the best that the Knicks have to offer, but would the T-Wolves want to pay him $8-$10 million per season when he’d likely come off the bench? Thinking about it, Chandler plus an unprotected first round pick might do the trick.

I think we can file this one under “obvious,” since the Magic didn’t re-sign Turkoglu, but it’s interesting nonetheless…

Per Real GM…

In a conversation with Blazers’ general manager Kevin Pritchard, [Magic GM Otis] Smith told Pritchard that he had “caught a break” with Turkoglu signing elsewhere and made it clear the Blazers “weren’t missing out on anything,” sources tell RealGM’s Alex Kennedy.

Smith didn’t feel that Turkoglu was worth the five-year, $50 million Portland was ready to spend.

Turkoglu is 30. If anyone thinks that he’s going to be worth $11-$12 million when he’s 34 or 35 and at the back end of this contract, I’d like to have some of what they’re smoking. But both the Blazers and the Raptors knew that in order to get Turkoglu to agree to a deal, it had to be a long-term contract.

Smith didn’t say this publicly, so I’m not going to blast him for throwing a former player under the bus. But it still seems odd that he’d be badmouthing Turkoglu — one of the main reasons the Magic made an appearance in the Finals — to other GMs around the league. When Jameer Nelson went down, Turkoglu took over the ballhandling duties and acted as a point forward. He ran countless pick and rolls with Dwight Howard, dished out a bunch of assists and hit several huge shots. Simply stated, Orlando wouldn’t have made it to the Finals without him.

Is he worth $10 million a year heading into his thirties? Probably not. But he’ll probably earn his keep for the first few years of that contract, and that’s all the Raptors are worried about right now.

Per Yahoo! Sports…

Free-agent forward Leon Powe will sign a two-year contract for the league minimum with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday if the team’s doctors are satisfied with the progress of his injured left knee, a league source said.

Powe tore his anterior cruciate ligament and cartilage in his knee during Game 2 of the Boston Celtics’ first-round series against the Chicago Bulls. He had reconstructive surgery on May 5 – his third major knee surgery – and has been rehabilitating in Los Angeles. Powe hopes to be back on the court by this season’s All-Star break, and the Cavaliers are willing to take a low-risk gamble on him pending the results of his physical.

Over the past two seasons with the Celtics, Powe has been highly productive in the limited minutes he’s received. He had a PER of 21.04 in the 2007-08 season and 17.25 in 2008-09. (15.00 is average.) He’s an energy guy with a great nose for the ball and a limited offensive game. Sound familiar? That’s exactly how I’d describe Anderson Varejao.

Which brings me back to the problems I have with the Cavs’ offseason. I don’t mind the addition of Shaquille O’Neal, but if he and Varejao (or Powe, if he signs) are on the court at the same time, LeBron is going to find that it’s going to be tougher to get to the hoop. Other than Zydrunas Ilgauskas, none of the Cavs’ bigs can shoot the ball effectively from outside the lane.

This wouldn’t be much of a concern if Cleveland didn’t depend so much on LeBron’s one-on-one game. If he can’t get to the rim as easily, he’ll be settling for jumpers, and the Cavs’ offensive efficiency will go down.

Olympiakos has plucked another young NBA player in his prime. Denver’s Linas Kleiza is headed to Greece.

Per Yahoo Sports…

Denver Nuggets restricted free-agent forward Linas Kleiza(notes) has agreed to a two-year, $12.2 million contract with Greek team Olympiakos, his agent Bill Duffy told Yahoo! Sports on Monday.

The contract has an opt-out clause, which allows Kleiza to again become a restricted free agent next summer.

Duffy said that while Kleiza attracted interest from other NBA teams, his client’s restricted free-agency status limited his options.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — the NBA needs to do away with restricted free agency. Most RFAs are left in limbo for a year, and instead of playing the season for peanuts, guys like Josh Childress and Linas Kleiza are bolting for Europe. If they were unrestricted, they would have probably stayed in the NBA.

The Associated Press is reporting that the Celtics have re-signed Glen “Big Baby” Davis to a two-year deal.

Davis had a PER of 10.77 for the season, which is well below average. But without Kevin Garnett in the lineup, he raised his game in the playoffs, averaging 15.8 points and 5.6 rebounds in 36.4 minutes per game.

ESPN is reporting that the deal is worth $6.3 million over two seasons.

Over the years, there have been more than a few players who have been able to parlay a strong playoff performance into a bloated contract — just ask Knicks fans about Jerome James — but it looks like teams showed restraint given Davis’ mediocre regular season performance. This contract seems reasonable, though minutes are going to be hard to come by with Garnett’s return and the C’s decision to sign Rasheed Wallace and Shelden Williams.

Per ESPN…

Williams is expected to sign a five year, $37.5 million contract as early as Friday, according to the source. The deal also has some hard to reach incentives that could boost the value of the contract to $43 million.

I estimated Williams’s value to be in the $7-$8 million per year range, and it looks like the contract will be worth somewhere in the range of $7.5 million to $8.6 million per season, depending on those incentives.

Last season, the 23-year-old forward averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, and improved his three-point accuracy from 10% to 36% year over year. I think the sense is that Williams is a bit of a disappointment since he was picked #2 overall in 2005 ahead of Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and isn’t on the same level as those guys. But he’s still very young and has improved his PER every year that he’s been in the league. He is also a very solid defender, which is an underrated characteristic in today’s NBA.

BREW HOOP has a nice roundup of the Ramon Sessions situation. The Knicks haven’t yet signed him to a deal, but the two sides are still negotiating.

Rumor has it that the Bucks would match up to $3 million per season. The Knicks’ payroll is currently projected to be around $27.4 million heading into next summer, and if the salary cap drops to $50 million, that leaves $22.6 million to sign LeBron (or some other max player) and David Lee and/or Sessions. (This assumes that GM Donnie Walsh can’t move Eddy Curry or Jared Jeffries.) Whatever deal the Knicks offer Sessions will cut into that cap space in 2010 since the minimum contract length is two years for a restricted free agent. It appears that the Knicks are looking at the worst case scenario (not being able to move Curry or Jeffries) and have to choose between Sessions and Lee.

As for the Bucks, I’ve made my feelings clear — they need to hold onto Sessions.

Yesterday, I wrote extensively about this move, and his agent, Bill Duffy, announced the trade earlier today.

Here is what TrueHoop has to say…

The Bucks may win the award for saying goodbye to the most talent this summer, but they are certainly stocking the cupboard with a big selection of active and long young forwards. Presumably at least some of them will buy in to Scott Skiles’ intense approach to the game. With Brandon Jennings at point guard, the Bucks are shaping up to be one of those high-energy teams that will be fun to watch whether they win or lose.

Frank Madden of BrewHoop had this to say…

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