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[T-Snell]

Source: Caron Butler has 4 meetings set


Caron Butler begins a busy week Monday with at least four visits lined up to teams interested in signing the Dallas Mavericks' free-agent forward.

Butler will visit with team officials from the Chicago Bulls on Monday morning, followed by trips to sit down with officials from the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday and possibly the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, a source close to the situation confirmed Sunday night.

The source said that the Mavs have yet to express interest in retaining the nine-year veteran.


Butler is returning from a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee that he sustained on Jan. 1. He underwent surgery a few days later and missed the rest of the season. Butler has spent the majority of the offseason training in Chicago and says that he is fully recovered.

The NBA is permitting team executives to begin talking to free agents as of 9 a.m. CT Monday morning. Teams have been allowed to talk to player-agents since Wednesday.

Dallas could simply be letting the early process play out as owner Mark Cuban and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson strategize a game plan moving forward under the new collective bargaining agreement.

They are also hoping to re-sign center Tyson Chandler, who last week told ESPN.com that he did not expect to return to the Mavs.

Chandler, who brought accountability to the Dallas defense in his first season with the club, is also making the free-agent rounds this week with plans to visit the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and Nets, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

If the Mavs are headed in a different direction, they could see Butler move a few hours south to their hated Southwest Division rival.


The Spurs could clear enough cap space to offer Butler the full mid-level exception starting at $5 million. That would require using the one-time amnesty provision to jettison small forward Richard Jefferson, who is due $9.2 million and has mostly underwhelmed in two seasons in San Antonio.


Nelson and Cuban did not return messages Sunday night.

As for other Mavs free agents, shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson will begin a series of conference calls Monday with interested teams, according to Stevenson's agent Mark Bartelstein. More than a dozen teams, Bartelstein said, showed initial interest in the 30-year-old veteran, including the Mavs.

Backup point guard J.J. Barea has attracted interest from the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings, a source close to that situation said Friday.


Barea, who reiterated on Friday during a brief phone conversation that his priority is to remain with the Mavs, is expected back in Dallas on Tuesday.


http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...ast-four-teams

[T-Snell]

Slimmer Love looking for a fat contract


Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love arrived at Target Center on Sunday morning for his first postlockout workout 25 pounds lighter than when he left following last season.

He lifted weights, did some on-court conditioning and then declared himself fit and ready for an onrushing, truncated preseason that's crucial for a number of reasons.

Included is an open window these next few weeks for signing a contract extension that will keep him in Minnesota.

"I love Minneapolis, I love the Twin Cities," he said. "I really do like it here. I'm in a comfort zone. This is the first NBA city I fell in love with, so this is all I know. Maybe we'll keep it that way and maybe we won't."

Wolves President David Kahn calls signing Love to a contract extension a "priority," and said he expects Love to be a "big part of our franchise for a number of years."

The big question, of course, is the same one that faced the franchise 14 years ago when Kevin Garnett's rookie contract approached expiration:

At what price for a multiskilled player and rebounding virtuoso who nonetheless might not be the No. 1 guy on a contending team?

The Wolves could place Love in a newly created "designated player" category that would guarantee him a five-year extension -- one year longer than any other team could sign him starting next summer -- and a maximum salary contract that could surpass a $17 million average.

"Am I worth the max?" he asked, repeating a reporter's question. "I'll let the front office answer that question."

He provided more than a hint at how he assesses his value, however, when he spoke animatedly about a provision in the new labor agreement tentatively reached between owners and players.

Already dubbed the "Derrick Rose Rule," it will reward overachieving rookies handsomely early in their careers.

That rule will allow a team to sign a player still in his rookie contract to an extension worth 30 percent of his team's salary cap rather than 25 percent if he already has been an All-Star Game starter twice, made two postseason all-NBA teams or won an MVP award.

Love seemed agitated -- albeit good-naturedly -- that sportswriters voting for postseason awards or fans voting for All-Star Game starters could make a difference.

"I don't know how the owners got away with this. ... I just think they put that in there to tick people off," he said.

If so, apparently it has worked.

Love will be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn't sign an extension in the coming weeks. The Wolves could match any offer he receives from another team. Or Love could accept a $6.1 million qualifying offer to play one more season and become an unrestricted free agent in 2013.

"I don't think it'll be a distraction and whatever happens, happens," Love said. "Right now, it's not up to me."
Note

Yahoo!Sports reported Sunday the Wolves are one of seven teams set to talk to free-agent guard Jamal Crawford on Monday and are one of five teams considering making an offer to restricted free-agent center DeAndre Jordan.


http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/135003703.html

[T-Snell]

Progress on B-list; on-time vote expected


NEW YORK -- Negotiators have made significant progress on secondary issues that must be finalized before the new collective bargaining agreement can be ratified and are confident the process will be completed in time for both sides to vote on the deal this week, a person briefed on the process told CBSSports.com.

Lawyers for the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have pared the list of outstanding items to about 50, down from about 250 when the process began Friday, the person said. Among the more important B-list issues, it remains likely that the age limit for draft eligibility will be unchanged and is expected to be revisited at a later date when there is time for more thorough discussion. The two sides also are still negotiating the language on a new drug-testing policy and a provision by which teams will be able to shuttle players back and forth to the NBA Development League.

Player reps from all 30 teams will be in New York Wednesday to discuss details of the new deal. Players and the league's Board of Governors are scheduled to vote eletronically on Thursday, with training camps and free agency slated to open Friday.


http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.co...38893/33709627

[T-Snell]

Lakers talking Gasol or Bynum for Chris Paul?


As NBA teams race to spend their Mid-Level Exceptions on the likes of Kwame Brown, Jeff Foster and Samuel Dalembert in free agency, the Los Angeles Lakers hold two of the league's premier big men -- Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum -- on their roster. Both players have questions about their longterm fit in L.A. and both ended their 2010-2011 seasons in disappointing fashion. Add up the ever-present demand for quality big men and the Lakers' surplus of potentially ill-fitting low-post parts and it's a recipe for trade rumors galore.

Indeed, Yahoo Sports reports that New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul, who is eligible to sign an extension this season but reportedly desires a new team and/or bigger stage, has been the subject of recent conversation between the Lakers and the Hornets involving Gasol or Bynum.
The Lakers and Hornets talked several days ago, league sources told Yahoo! Sports, but it was one of those circuitous conversations that left the sides unclear what it would take to get a deal done, and the talk ended with no formal offers. The Lakers and Hornets expect to speak again this week, sources said. The prospect of Pau Gasol as the primary player going to the Hornets won’t be acceptable, sources said. The Lakers will ultimately be willing to let New Orleans pick its player in the deal – Bynum or Gasol – but New Orleans is determined to get quality, and quantity, in a deal.

Bynum has privately been heard to say this offseason that he wants his own team, and the chances of him getting that – in New Orleans or Orlando – have never been higher. Years ago, Kobe Bryant wanted Bynum moved for Jason Kidd, but Bryant’s been insistent all summer that he still believes in this core, isn’t interested in wholesale change.
The Hornets face the prospect of rebuilding their entire roster from zero should Paul eventually communicate that he wants out and if former All-Star forward David West signs elsewhere in free agency. If you're the Hornets and you're aiming for a slash-and-burn rebuild, you want to shed center Emeka Okafor's 8-figure contract that potentially runs through 2013-2014 in any Paul trade, and the Lakers have a handy piece in facilitating that thanks to forward Lamar Odom, whose contract is only fully guaranteed through this year.

Emerging from the Chris Paul fracas with Gasol locked in through 2013-2014 or Bynum through 2012-2013, a chance to re-sign Odom, loads of cap space to build a roster and whatever other tertiary trade pieces L.A. can scrounge up (money, future draft picks, etc.) wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for New Orleans. Not by a long shot. The preference is probably for Gasol, despite the fact that he's 31, but either player gives you a platform to build around. Other potential suitors -- particularly the New York Knicks -- can't make an offer that's even in the vicinity.

Meanwhile, for Los Angeles, it would mean better roster balance, more room for the remaining big man to breathe and a dynamic playmaking point guard to extend the career of All-Star guard Kobe Bryant. It would amount to a gigantic upgrade at the position of greatest need while taking a step back at the position of greatest depth. If included, Okafor would be one of the best reserve big men off the bench or could be flipped in another deal. For roster chemistry reasons, the Lakers probably want to ditch Bynum instead of Gasol, although contractually he is a better value as long as his knee issues don't recur. Parting with either one is a no-brainer if it Nets Paul in return. The Lakers are built and paid to win now, and Paul brings that promise to any team he plays on, especially one that's already as loaded as the Lakers are. If there's a risk, it's that both Paul and Bryant have issues with their knees, but pairing two of the game's top-8 players, not to mention elite competitors and most marketable faces, would make this a risk well worth taking.

The Hornets should slow play this so as to maximize the total package for Paul. But the main pieces are there: a centerpiece player in return, financial relief and the odds and ends that go into dealing with a team as loaded as the Lakers (picks, millions in cash, etc.). It's difficult to imagine that another team can make as compelling of an offer without totally demolishing their team's core or identity. Swing a trade like this, and the Lakers as potential contenders don't skip a beat, at least for the next two or three seasons.



http://eye-on-basketball.blogs.cbssp...48484/33712552

[Ljuba90]

Sources: Mavs saving room for run at D-Will


Tyson Chandler's hunch that he'll be wearing a new uniform soon could prove to be true. And it may have nothing to do with Chandler and everything to do with Deron Williams.

With serious interest registered from the Nets, Golden State, Houston and Sacramento, four teams with cap space and flexibility, the man who served as the glue for the Mavericks' 2011 NBA title could be slipping away -- but for reasons that go well beyond the uncertain free-agent market for Chandler himself.

The Mavs are in no rush to pony up a max offer to retain Chandler, largely because they want to maintain flexibility for next summer's free-agent class -- which just happens to include Dallas' own Williams, multiple sources told CBSSports.com. While much of the speculation in this five-day run-up to the start of free agency Friday has centered around 2012 free agents Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, Williams' situation is in many ways more intriguing.

"Everything is sort of stuck because of Chris and Dwight," one agent said Monday.

Add Deron to that list.

The Nets traded Derrick Favors, Devin Harris and two first-round picks to Utah for Williams in February and are in the process of trying to assemble enough talent around him to keep him with the team when it moves to Brooklyn next season. Like Paul and Howard, Williams has an early-termination option that would make him an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Williams already has indicated he will not sign an extension this season, just as Paul and Howard will not. Howard remains intent on finding his way to Los Angeles to join the Lakers, while Paul has his sights set on New York -- though he remains open to a trade that would team him up with Howard in Orlando.

Williams spoke with members of the New York-New Jersey media Monday and proclaimed in a radio interview on New York's WFAN that there's a 90 percent chance he stays with the Nets. New Jersey has expressed interest in free agents Chandler, Nene and Caron Butler, but the big prize that would make D-Will's decision to stay on the East Coast a no-brainer would be a trade for Howard -- a tantalizing scenario that could play out one way or another by the end of the week.

New rules that dampen the home team's advantage in offering its own prospective free agent a significantly larger extension -- and essentially take away the extend-and-trade and sign-and-trade safety nets -- are expected to force the Hornets and Magic to make quick decisions on how to handle Paul's and Howard's impending free agency. The Nets, having given up so many assets for Williams, are in a position to be more patient and do everything possible to entice their star to stay put.

But if the Nets are unsuccessful in their efforts to land Howard -- Brook Lopez, first-round picks and absorbing Hedo Turkoglu's contract doesn't figure to be enough -- then Williams will have an interesting decision to make come July 1. And the buzz among front-office executives Monday was that Dallas owner Mark Cuban would be in a position to sell Williams on taking less money to play in his hometown.

Once Williams becomes a free agent, he could get a five-year, $100 million deal to stay with the Nets. Signing with Dallas would net Williams only a four-year, $74 million deal. How much playing in his hometown is worth to Williams would depend, in part, on what pieces the Nets surround him with between now and then.

Of the teams expected to contend for a championship this season, only Dallas would have the cap space to sign a max player next summer and still have room to do more. If the Mavs used the amnesty provision on Brendan Haywood next summer, they'd be more than $21 million under the cap -- with Dirk Nowitzki still around, draining jumpers.

Jason Terry and Jason Kidd come off the books after the season, and the Mavs will want their Hall of Fame point guard to pass the torch to a star in his prime and keep Nowitzki in the hunt for more titles during the final two years of his contract. In addition to Williams, Paul and Howard, the 2012 free-agent class is loaded with attractive restricted free agents, such as Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon, O.J. Mayo and George Hill -- not to mention Derrick Rose, who nobody envisions leaving Chicago.

So the lackluster nature of this free-agent class compared to next summer's, combined with confusion about the new rules and an unwillingness to be the team that sets the market, have slowed the activity with four days to go before camps and free agency officially open. Also, don't underestimate how the shortened season provides an incentive for teams to pass on significant moves now when July 1 is only a few months away.

The biggest impediment to the wheeling and dealing in 2011 has everything to do with 2012 and beyond.

http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.co...fb_na_txt_0001

[LBJmvpFORlife]

Clippers offer 5 years, $40M to keep RFA DeAndre Jordan, sources tell Y! Still, he's destined to sign offer sheet and force them to match.

Adrian Wojnarowski from Twitter

[LBJmvpFORlife]

Mavericks Hoarding 2012 Cap Space With Eyes Reportedly On Deron Williams


Dec
06
8:30a
by Tom Ziller

READ MORE: nba rumors, Deron Williams (G - NJN), Tyson Chandler (C - DAL), New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks

If you're curious as to why the Dallas Mavericks are letting Tyson Chandler flirt with other teams instead of dropping an offer no other team can match, CBS Sports' Ken Berger proffers a potential answer: the reigning NBA champions are looking to maintain enough salary cap space in 2012 to sign Deron Williams to max contract.

That may seem crazy given that on Monday Williams told the New York media that he feels that there's a 90 percent chance he'll re-sign with the Brooklyn Nets in 2012. But Berger says that the Mavericks are banking on the Nets struggling in 2011-12 without a big acquisition like Dwight Howard or Nene.

Williams is from Dallas.

As for Chandler, Berger reports that serious interest has been registered by the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Nets. New Jersey, then, could deal a double-blow to Dallas by picking up Chandler and watching he, Brook Lopez and Williams return the team to its former glory.



http://www.sbnation.com/2011-nba-fre...tyson-chandler

[LBJmvpFORlife]

Source: Lakers Contact Delonte West
by Tzvi Twersky | @ttwersky

Delonte West may be going Hollywood.

The 28-year-old free agent spent time during the lockout working on a self-produced reality show. Now, according to a knowledgeable source, the guard is entertaining calls from the Los Angeles Lakers.

If he were to sign with L.A., West, who spent the 2010-11 season with the Boston Celtics, would be reunited with Coach Mike Brown, who was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers when West played there from 2008-10.

“I love Mike Brown,” West told SLAM when we spent time with him this past summer. “I mean, he’s a great guy. Too good. what else can you ask from a coach? He tried to do everything to keep everybody happy, keep the personalities happy [in Cleveland].”

Meanwhile, according to the same source, the Boston Celtics did not contact West on the first day that teams were allowed to reach out to players directly (though they have reached out to his representatives).

The combo-guard averaged 5.6 ppg and 2.7 apg in 24 games during an injury-riddled ’10-11 season for the Celtics. He upped that to 6.6 ppg in the Playoffs, including five straight double-figure scoring games against the Miami Heat in the Conference Semifinals.

West did his best during the lockout to address his tarnished image. Now he’d like a chance to do the same on the court.

“I know that any team that gets me next year will be making a great pickup,” West told SLAM this past summer. “I still have a chip on my shoulder, one, because I feel that I haven’t be compensated like the players I’m competing against; I can’t wait to show them that I deserve something. And, two, I got a chip on my shoulder because I just do. That’s how I live life.”


http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba...-celtics-dont/

[T-Snell]

In hardly unexpected news, UFA Jared Jeffries will re-sign with the Knicks, source says.

KBerg

[LBJmvpFORlife]

NBA will open training camps on Friday, according to league officials. No delays.

H.Beck

[T-Snell]

New Orleans strongly engaged with Clippers, Warriors and Celtics in trade talks for Chris Paul on Tuesday, league sources tell Y!

Woj, nesto se kuva opasno ovde.


EDIT:

Paul has indicated Clippers and Warriors could raise chances of keeping him long-term if they sign center Tyson Chandler too, sources say.

[T-Snell]

Hornets engaged in serious CP3 talks


The Hornets began to seriously engage in trade discussions for superstar Chris Paul Tuesday, with the Celtics, Clippers, Warriors and Mavericks among the most serious suitors, sources told CBSSports.com.

The Clippers' opening salvo was an offer that included Eric Gordon and restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan, with L.A. hoping that the prospect of playing with electrifying forward Blake Griffin and the big stage of Los Angeles would be enticing enough to Paul that he would eventually commit to the team long term.

The details of offers surrounding talks with Dallas and Golden State weren't known, though Yahoo Sports reported that the Warriors' offer centered around Stephen Curry and rookie Klay Thompson. But the Celtics stepped forward with an offer that would not have to come with any commitment from Paul that he'd re-sign with Boston after the season. According to a person familiar with the discussions, the Celtics offered Rajon Rondo, two future first-round picks, and restricted free agent Jeff Green in a sign-and-trade for Paul.

The impetus behind the Celtics' potential rental offer for Paul was intriguing: Come to Boston, take a shot at winning a title with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett while the window is still open, and then have enough room to entice Dwight Howard to come on board as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Garnett and Allen come off the books July 1, leaving the Celtics with only $30.4 million in committed salary for next season, when Howard can opt out of his contract with Orlando.

Though Paul has never expressed a desire to play in Boston, if he liked his new surroundings and the Celtics' chances of luring Howard, he would be in a championship-contending situation and could get his max deal of five years, $100 million six months after the trade.

UPDATE: Independent of the Paul situation, the Warriors are among the teams with the most serious interest in free-agent center Tyson Chandler, and the interest is mutual. Paul reportedly has let it be known that a team like the Warriors or Clippers signing Chandler, his former teammate in New Orleans, would enhance its chances of getting a long-term commitment from him -- a scenario confirmed by front office executives Tuesday.

The Hornets also are open to the idea of sending out free-agent power forward David West in a sign-and-trade, possibly as part of a trade package for Paul, sources said. It was New Orleans' interest in Jordan that prompted the Clippers to step forward Tuesday with a reported five-year, $40 million offer for their restricted free agent -- though a person close to Jordan said he is intent on remaining in L.A.

The Knicks also were said to be trying to engage New Orleans in conversations, given that Paul has long coveted the chance to join his friends Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire in New York. But the best the Knicks can offer at the moment is Chauncey Billups' expiring $14 million contract, Landry Fields, Iman Shumpert and center Jerome Jordan, a solid prospect who has yet to play a minute in the NBA.

The "other" L.A. team, the Lakers, also have a strong hand in their efforts to try to land Paul, Howard, or in a dream world, both. The Lakers have no chance of clearing the cap space necessary to lure Paul next summer, so their best chance is their deep stockpile of assets, including Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom.

Hornets GM Dell Demps has indicated a strong desire to reach a swift resolution to the Paul drama and not allow it to linger for months the way the Nuggets were held hostage last season by the Anthony saga. Denver, of course, was able to get a better deal from the Knicks at the February trade deadline than would've been available before the season. But that was largely due to two key provisions that have been muted in the new collective bargaining agreement: the same length and dollars in an extend-and-trade that Anthony could've received had he simply resigned with Denver, and the fallback option of a sign-and-trade.

Paul can get only one year added to his contract in an extend-and-trade, and he'd get the same money via a sign-and-trade next summer that he would get simply by leaving outright as a free agent for a team with room: four years and approximately $74 million, as opposed to the five-year, $100 million deal New Orleans could offer he he played out the season. Paul also could get a five-year max deal from a new team following a six-month window from the date he was traded.

But front office executives who've been in touch with Demps say that New Orleans has no appetite for a protracted and potentially ugly trade saga with Paul. Yahoo Sports reported that Demps may push for final offers and a resolution by the time training camps and free agency open Friday.


http://ken-berger.blogs.cbssports.co...38893/33733675

[T-Snell]

Source: Tracy McGrady, Hawks agree


Tracy McGrady has agreed to a 1-year, veteran-minimum deal with the Atlanta Hawks, a source close to the situation told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

McGrady, a 6-foot-8 shooting guard, played for the Detroit Pistons last season. He averaged 8.0 points and 23.4 minutes per game for the Pistons, appearing in 72 gmaes and starting 39.

Once one of the league's most prolific scorers, McGrady, now a 15-year-veteran, has been hampered by injuries over the past few seasons.



http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/73...al-source-says

[T-Snell]

Jason Kapono intends to sign a one-year contract for the veteran minimum with the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, league sources tell Y!

The NBA has informed teams that they can begin player transactions at 2 p.m., ET on Friday, league sources tell Y! Sports.

A-Woj

[T-Snell]

Greg Oden will be a Trail Blazer next season. Agent Bill Duffy says Oden will sign 1-year QO on Friday for $8.9 mil

To je to.