Tag: NBA free agency (Page 8 of 22)

      Odom-to-Miami looking like a real possibility

      July 19, 2009 /

      Yesterday, when we learned that Lamar Odom called Lakers owner Jerry Buss to try to smooth things over, it seemed (fairly) inevitable that the two sides would come to some sort of understanding and Odom would return to the Lakers. But a day later, it looks like there is a real chance that he may end up signing with the Miami Heat.

      Amid a growing sense around the league that the Miami Heat have a real shot at stealing Lamar Odom away from the Los Angeles Lakers, Odom is expected to take the weekend to ponder his next move.

      Sources with knowledge of Odom’s thinking told ESPN.com that he has not abandoned hope of resuscitating serious negotiations with L.A. after Lakers owner Jerry Buss angrily pulled a three-year, $27 million offer off the table earlier this week.

      According to a broadcast report Friday night from longtime L.A. television anchor Jim Hill, Odom called Buss directly on Thursday in an attempt to reignite talks.

      The Heat, meanwhile, have made it clear that they are prepared to offer the richest contract they can in an attempt to convince Odom to stop haggling with the Lakers, with the Dallas Mavericks also eager to offer the same fallback option.

      Heat star Dwyane Wade made a public plea Friday for Odom to return to the franchise that sent him to the Lakers in the Shaquille O’Neal deal in the summer of 2004, announcing that “we want him back home.”

      According to sources close to the process, Odom has been apprised that he can sign a five-year Heat deal consuming all of the team’s mid-level exception, which would be worth $34 million and include the option to return to free agency after three years and negotiate a larger contract with Miami.

      Read the rest of Marc Stein’s column (which he’s been updating throughout this process) here.

      I think this all comes down to Jerry Buss’s mood. Odom wouldn’t have called him if he didn’t want to take the Lakers’ offer. But Buss pulled the offer after negotiations fell apart, and it’s not clear how willing he is to open talks again.

      Ultimately, cooler heads are likely to prevail. With Richard Jefferson landing in San Antonio, Shawn Marion headed to Dallas, and Portland sitting on a load of cap space, the Lakers’ Western Conference foes are getting better, and even though they signed Ron Artest, they know they can’t afford to lose both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom this summer.

      Or maybe they can. Like I said, this all depends on Jerry Buss. He made Odom an offer that was well above his market value and Odom’s camp tried to put the squeeze on him.

      Hell hath no fury like an owner scorned.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Market heating up for Knicks’ free agents

      July 18, 2009 /

      Things have been pretty quiet this summer on the David Lee and Nate Robinson front. But now that the unrestricted free agent market has all but dried up, teams are setting their sights on the restricted free agents that are still available.

      Knicks team president Donnie Walsh predicted negotiations with David Lee will come to a head early next week, and indications were Lee will either sign an offer sheet with the Trail Blazers or settle for the Knicks’ five-year offer, which agent Mark Bartelstein still believes is below Lee’s market value.

      he Blazers got back $10 million in cap room when the Jazz matched their four-year, $32 million offer to forward Paul Millsap. Bartelstein is trying to get the Blazers to offer Lee a five-year, $50 million contract, but they have been reluctant, feeling that the Knicks will match.

      With his eye on the 2010 salary cap, Walsh is seeking a deal averaging between $7 and $8 million.

      Isn’t Millsap’s value higher than Lee’s? Millsap is just as good of a rebounder and can score with his back to the basket. Lee is an energy guy and his numbers are a little inflated since the Knicks play at such a frenetic pace under Mike D’Antoni. Walsh has his value pegged (at $7-$8 million per season), but it is Bartelstein’s job to get as much money for Lee as he can.

      I don’t think the Blazers are reluctant because they think the Knicks will match, I think they’re reluctant to give Lee $10 million per season.

      Meanwhile, Olympiakos made a strong offer to Nate Robinson.

      The Knicks will have trouble competing with Olympiakos’ offer to fellow restricted free agent Nate Robinson. A source said the Greek team’s offer is equivalent to $10 million a year, factoring in endorsements and merchandising.

      Robinson can play next season for $2.9 million and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If he goes to Greece, the Knicks will still hold his rights next summer. Josh Childress will play for Olympiakos for another season after testing the waters this summer.

      The NBA needs to get rid of restricted free agency altogether. If a team can’t work out an extension by the summer before the final year of the player’s contract then that player should become an unrestricted free agent the following summer.

      7/19 Update: The Hoop is reporting that Olympiakos’s offer to Robinson is for $9 million over two years.

      Finally, the Knicks have interest in Ramon Sessions, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times. (Actually, he posted this on Twitter.)

      I hear Knicks covet Ramon Sessions, expected 2 call Bucks soon about sign and trade. Otherwise prepared 2 use mid-level. Yes, Knicks love Sessions

      I’ve been waiting for the market for Sessions to heat up. I think he’s worth the mid-level, so the Bucks better figure out a way to keep him or get something in return.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Heat trying to land Boozer, Odom

      July 16, 2009 /

      According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports…

      Now, the Heat are working furiously to deliver Lamar Odom and Carlos Boozer to the shores of Biscayne Bay. The Heat are trying to sell Odom on a five-year, $34 million contract at the mid-level exception, and a league executive with knowledge of the talks says Miami has also hatched a three-way proposal with the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies to secure Boozer.

      The essentials of a possible deal would include Miami sending forward Udonis Haslem and Dorell Wright to Utah. Because Memphis is under the cap, Utah could move Wright’s $2.8 million salary to the Grizzlies and save itself approximately $5.6 million with salary and luxury-tax payments. Memphis would probably get cash and picks for its trouble. The Heat would have to send one more small contract to make the math on the salary exchange work.

      Odom can play some small forward, so this isn’t an outrageous plan by Riley and the Heat, though I’m not sure where it would leave Michael Beasley. Wojnarowski says that the Lakers have offered Odom $36 million over four years (which works out to about $8 million per season, after state taxes), so I’m not sure why he’d take the Heat’s deal, unless he is looking to sign the biggest contract overall. There is no state tax in Florida, so Miami’s $34 million deal is slightly larger than the Lakers’ deal, after state taxes.

      The Boozer acquisition seems more likely, and although I do like Haslem, I’m not sure that he’s enough to convince Utah to pull the trigger. Portland is also working on a deal for Boozer, since all signs point to the Jazz matching the Blazers’ offer sheet to Paul Millsap whether or not Boozer is on the roster. The Blazers are also trying to get the Pistons involved so that they can try to pry Tayshaun Prince away from Detroit, though Joe Dumars has wisely stayed out of such talks thus far. It appears that he doesn’t see Boozer as a $14 million per season player and that’s what Boozer’s camp is asking for. With his injury history, they need to set their sights a little lower.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Lakers pull offer to Odom off the the table

      July 15, 2009 /

      It seems that Lamar Odom and the Lakers have reached something of a stalemate.

      Sources told ESPN.com that Odom and the Lakers had reached an accord entering the weekend on a per-season wage of $9 million for the 29-year-old. But Odom balked at L.A.’s unwillingness to extend an offer spanning more than three years in length and spent the past few days weighing his options.

      Yet it’s believed that Odom has indeed received offers from the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks that — because neither Florida nor Texas imposes state taxes — are not as far away in value from the Lakers’ presentation as it would seem.

      Odom would have the ability with either the Heat or the Mavericks to sign a three-year, $19 million contract and negotiate a new deal with full Larry Bird rights in the summer of 2012 or take a five-year deal worth $34 million to bank more overall money, along with the state-tax benefits, than he could in a new three-year deal with the Lakers.

      It’s funny how certain things come to light as these deals are made, or in this case, not made. California’s tax rate for people making more than $1 million is 10.3%, while Florida and Texas do not tax personal income. That means that the Lakers’ three-year offer is worth about $8 million per season after state taxes, or just over $24 million total. Compare that to the deals that the Mavs and Heat could offer ($19 million for three years or $34 million for five years) and a mid-level deal in a state with no income tax isn’t too far off.

      Still, why would Odom reject the Lakers’ offer if everyone knows it’s the best that he has available? Portland isn’t interested, though that could change if the Jazz match the Blazers’ offer sheet to Paul Millsap. None of the other teams with cap space seem too eager to make a run at Odom, so it seems strange that he is playing hardball here. It’s not like he has a history of playing consistent basketball year in and year out. As far as his on-court performance is concerned, the guy is kind of a flake.

      My guess is that Odom’s camp waits to see what happens with Portland then come back to the Lakers and accept this three-year deal. But one wonders if Jerry Buss is sick of playing games and might decide to stick it to Odom if/when he comes crawling back.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      NBA Free Agency Rumors: AI, Odom, Childress and more

      July 14, 2009 /

      – The Clippers are interested in signing Allen Iverson, and if he’s interested in a big market where he can rehab his image, this might be the place. It looks like Miami isn’t willing to offer much money, but if cash is more important than playoff potential, then the Clips are a good fit.

      – According to GM Mitch Kupchak, Lamar Odom and the Lakers aren’t on the same page. The team has offered $8 million per season but Odom wants $10 million, and the contract’s length may be an issue too. Dallas, Miami, Phoenix and Portland (if the Jazz match their offer for Paul Millsap) have emerged as possible landing spots for Odom. He doesn’t have much leverage if the Blazers aren’t interested. The other three teams would have to work out a trade and it would take a good player (Josh Howard, Michael Beasley, etc.) to get the Lakers to bite.

      – The Jazz have until February to move Carlos Boozer before the luxury tax implications of keeping both Boozer and Paul Millsap kick in. Right now, it looks like the Jazz are planning to match, even if they have to take out a loan to pay Millsap the huge signing bonus that is a part of his deal with the Blazers. If the Jazz do match, it will be interesting to see if the Blazers have a Plan C after missing out on Hedo Turkoglu and Millsap.

      – After a brief flirtation with the Bucks and the Bobcats, Josh Childress is heading back to Greece. The Hawks still hold his rights, and his camp was unable to work out a sign-and-trade with Milwaukee or Charlotte, so Childress’s best option was to play for Olympiakos for another season.

      – Brandon Roy wants a fifth year option, but the Blazers have only offered four years. It’s not clear what the Blazers are worried about; I’d want to lock him up for as long as possible.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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