HoopsHype.com Rumors

Saturday, September 5

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Veterans Juwan Howard and Stromile Swift will audition for the Trail Blazers next week as the team looks to sign a backup power forward before training camp opens at the end of the month. Howard, a 15-year veteran, played in 42 games last season (three with Denver, 39 with Charlotte) and averaged 4.1 points and 1.8 rebounds. Oregonian

Howard, 36, has played with seven different NBA teams and is a former All-Star. Two seasons ago he played a key reserve role with Houston, averaging 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds. "We really like him,'' Pritchard said. "We like his leadership. Everywhere he has been he has been a great influence, and we think he can still play.'' Oregonian

Pritchard said the team continues to negotiate with starting power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who is eligible for a contract extension. The team has until Oct. 31 to sign Aldridge to a one-to-five year extension, or else he will become a restricted free agent after this season. "We're talking,'' Pritchard said. "We're definitely working at it.'' Oregonian

King James could soon be looking for a new realm. LeBron James, who is in England as part of a worldwide promotional tour, said Saturday it is still unclear whether he will stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers when his contract runs out at the end of the upcoming season. "I haven't decided," said James, who also spoke to dozens of kids wearing T-shirts with "Earn the crown" and "The King is coming" written on them. ESPN.com

The Suns have nothing to lose by evaluating Stoudemire and the rest of the roster before committing to an extension. (The odds of one of those happening before next summer are virtually nonexistent.) Stoudemire has everything to gain by producing the most impactful season of his eight-year career, which would make it worthwhile to walk away from the $17.7 million he is due in 2010-11 by opting out. Both sides are in wait-and-see mode. But while all the attention is on the free-agent summer of 2010 as the "Summer of LeBron," here is a different way to look at it: If Stoudemire bounces back with a vengeance this season, he could suddenly find himself in the enviable position of being the most desirable 2010 free agent with a realistic chance of leaving his current team. CBSSports.com

"Maybe Dwyane [Wade] leaves, but I don't think anybody believes LeBron leaves Cleveland," an NBA front-office source said. "They're spending $100 million trying to win a title for the guy. If you're starting a team tomorrow, I'm not sure how many people pick [Chris] Bosh over Amar'e. Other than that, there's nobody who's his equal on the free-agent market and I think he knows that." CBSSports.com

Sean May can’t imagine why the Charlotte Bobcats have yet to sign ex-teammate Raymond Felton to a long-term contract. “I don’t know what the numbers are – why they’re so far apart – but personally I think it’s kind of ridiculous that going a month into training camp he doesn’t have a deal done,’’ May said following Friday’s North Carolina alumni game at the Smith Center. Charlotte Observer

A source familiar with the situation projected that a deal in the range of $7 million a season would breach this gap. If Felton doesn’t sign a long-term deal, he’d likely play next season on a one-year qualifying offer of $5.5 million, then become an unrestricted free agent. Charlotte Observer

Alan Hahn: Mike James had a shot at a homecoming earlier in the summer, but neither team could find an amicable deal. Twitter.com

Amar'e Stoudemire was back on the court this past week, rocking a pair of goggles to protect his surgically repaired eye and looking nothing like a man who'd missed five months of competitive basketball. "Breathtaking" is a word one eyewitness used when discussing Stoudemire's return to full-contact drills on the Phoenix Suns' practice court. Much more meaningful was a comment that came from veteran Grant Hill, who couldn't believe how active and agile Stoudemire was after such a long layoff. "If I didn't play for five months and came out here," Hill told a confidant, "I would die." CBSSports.com

American athletes find themselves high on annual top-earning celebrity lists -- Tiger Woods is a perennial top-five finisher on Forbes's Celebrity 100 list, and Michael Jordan had seen that ink for decades. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James made the magazine's top 100 celebrity earners list last year as well. But the top-earning NBA player last year, according to Forbes, wasn't an American-born player. It was Rockets star Yao Ming, who is said to have earned $52 million in 2008. The financial impact Yao has had on the NBA, the Rockets, his Rocket teammates, and Chinese basketball has been studied widely. But don't think Yao isn't getting his cut. According to Forbes China, Yao has topped the Chinese celebrity list in terms of earnings for six straight years now. FanHouse.com

The rumours which insisted that PAOK was close to signing an NBA player whose name would have an impact in Europe are coming true as the club is close to getting Tyronn Lue. Lue has great NBA experience as he has played 11 full seasons there after his graduation from Nebraska College in 1998. Last season he had a limited role at Milwaukee Bucks where he averaged 4.7 ppg and 2.2 rpg in 13.1 minutes (30 games), at first, and then at Orlando Magic where he averaged 3 ppg and 1.6 rpg in 9.2 minutes (14 games) later on in the season. TalkBasket.net

Another day passed without receiving an answer on whether Iverson would accept a one-year offer to play in Memphis this season. The Griz expected Iverson, 34, to decide before the weekend. But the free-agent guard apparently needs more time even though the Grizzlies have expressed strong interest in him since July. Memphis Commercial Appeal

Griz general manager Chris Wallace told The Commercial Appeal on Thursday that it's understandable why Iverson would carefully consider his options. "He's in new territory. He's never been a free agent," Wallace said. "He's never been a free agent this late in the offseason. I'm sure he's trying to turn over as many scenarios as he can until he has to commit." Memphis Commercial Appeal

A resolution to the Raymond Felton negotiations that avoid him signing the qualifying offer. From what I hear, a deal that gets him in the vicinity of $7 million per season would get that done. Charlotte Observer

Felton generally deflected questions about his contract status. “It hasn’t happened yet, but it’s going to happen – that’s all I can say,’’ Felton said. “I think we’re going to work something out.’’ A source familiar with the situation projected that a deal in the range of $7 million a season would breach this gap. If Felton doesn’t sign a long-term deal, he’d likely play next season on a one-year qualifying offer of $5.5 million, then become an unrestricted free agent. Charlotte Observer

Sean May can’t imagine why the Charlotte Bobcats have yet to sign ex-teammate Raymond Felton to a long-term contract. “I don’t know what the numbers are – why they’re so far apart – but personally I think it’s kind of ridiculous that going a month into training camp he doesn’t have a deal done,’’ May said following Friday’s North Carolina alumni game at the Smith Center. Charlotte Observer

The Knicks lost out on Bucks point guard Ramon Sessions yesterday, re-igniting Donnie Walsh's interest in the Timberwolves' Ricky Rubio and increasing Walsh's urgency sign restricted free agents David Lee and Nate Robinson. New York Post

Walsh said he will put the heat on next week in trying to sign Lee and Robinson to one-year deals. And he also will inquire again about Rubio, who agreed to play in Spain another two years, prompting Minnesota to ink Sessions to an offer sheet. "I'm going forward with it," Walsh said of Lee and Robinson. "It's the beginning of September. I'd like to see if we can get something done. We want to keep them, put it that way, and that's up to me. I'll try to see where we can get to as quickly as we can get to." New York Post

The last time Walsh inquired about Rubio was right after the draft, but Wolves president David Kahn, once a close associate in Indiana, told Walsh they were keeping him. "Obviously it went through my mind," Walsh said. "Rubio committed to Spain. Right away David signs Sessions. That might mean Rubio is in play. I'll find that out." Sessions signed a four-year, $16 million pact that the Bucks likely won't match. According to Sessions' agent, Walsh was on the verge of signing Sessions to a four-year pact in late July but backed off when he learned the 2010 salary cap likely is dropping to the worst-case scenario of $50 million. Walsh's goal this summer was saving cap room for a run at LeBron James. New York Post

It has been an awkward off-season for Walsh, whose short-term goals were repeatedly short-circuited by his long-term agenda. He is committed to clearing salary-cap space in 2010, making it difficult to sign players in 2009. He has yet to re-sign his own top free agents, David Lee and Nate Robinson (although that will probably happen soon). So for all of the activity in July and August, Sept. 1 arrived without a single signing. “It’s been a difficult summer,” Walsh said. “We’ve tried on a daily basis to see if there were things out there that could make us better and yet not hurt us.” New York Times

On July 7, the N.B.A. announced a modest decline in the 2009-10 salary cap, and warned teams of a potentially large drop — up to 5 percent — for 2010-11. At that moment, Walsh said, he scuttled any plans to offer multiyear contracts to free agents, including Lee and Robinson. “That changed everything,” he said. “It made it very difficult to project a scenario where you could fit in signing long-term contracts this year and yet have enough room to do what you want next year. Up to then, I wasn’t set against it all the way.” New York Times

“Either a sign and trade will get done here in the next month, or we’ll find a deal that makes sense for everybody on a one-year basis,” Lee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said. New York Times

With Andre Miller cast as the Blazers' prized offseason free-agent addition, and with Jerryd Bayless somewhat a Blazers' face of the future, Blake could wind up as the odd man out in Portland. And that doesn't even get into Brandon Roy's ability to handle, or Rudy Fernandez's desire for greater minutes. The issue is what a team as deep as the Blazers could possibly want from a roster as limited as the Heat's. They certainly wouldn't want another guard, such as Daequan Cook, would they? But also keep in mind that the trade exception the Heat holds from last February's Jermaine O'Neal trade means Blake's $4 million expiring contract can be had while sending less in return to Portland, which therefore could create a trade exception of its own. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

All it took was Ricky Rubio deciding to stay in Spain. That opened the door for Milwaukee Bucks point guard Ramon Sessions to receive a four-year, $16 million offer sheet on Friday from the Minnesota Timberwolves. This was the type of contract Sessions and his agent, Chubby Wells, had been seeking all summer but had been unable to get despite diligent discussions with several National Basketball Association teams. But when Rubio, the 19-year-old point guard and fifth-overall pick in the June draft, decided to decline Minnesota's buyout offer earlier this week and sign instead with Regal FC Barcelona, Wells' phone began to ring. "It came up kind of fast," Wells said, confirming the deal. "We were working on a couple things, but we weren't going to wait around. "In this (economic) climate, it's an excellent deal. I think he played well enough to get the mid-level exception (starting at $5.8 million) in a normal year." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

If the Bucks are intent on keeping Sessions, however, they could trade an existing player or make a deal that would net them about $2 million in savings. That could allow them to match Sessions' first-year salary, which is estimated to be around $3.5 million. The salaries in the deal escalate in the ensuing years, and the fourth year is a player option, according to a source familiar with the contract. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

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But Daniels confirmed he passed up a chance for more lucrative offers after Indiana failed to pick up his option. "Not many people get a chance to play with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace," Daniels said at a press conference in Waltham. "It's a good opportunity and I'll worry about the money later. Right now we have to worry about one thing and that's winning the championship this season." Boston Globe

Most professional athletes today tend to live up to Rod Tidwell from the 1996 film Jerry Maguire’s credo of “Show me the Money.” Such is not the case with newly-signed Celtic Marquis Daniels. Daniels had several offers to sign for more elsewhere, but decided to leave money on the table to sign with the Celtics by inking a one-year deal, reportedly for Boston’s $1.99 million biannual exception. “I had other situations where I could’ve went and made more money,” Daniels said. “But I wanted to be a part of a great franchise and a winning franchise.” WEEI

A quick sidenote on Rodriguez that I forgot to mention along the way: Considering the Kings stand to net approximately $1.1 million for trading for him, any production is gravy. Sources with knowledge of the situation informed me the Kings were paid $2.9 million in the trade and Rodriguez will make approximately $1.8 million next season (he has a qualifying offer in 2010-11). They also acquired the 38th pick in the deal, of course, otherwise known as unsigned former University of Washington forward Jon Brockman. I can't see Brockman securing a whole lot of guaranteed money when he does eventually sign, but that would hypothetically cut into the savings. Sacramento Bee

Ray Allen: Halftime of a game is used for players to rest and figure out what they can do better in the second half. Not to be tweeting. Twitter.com

But after there were reports out of Puerto Rico that swingman Francisco Garcia had injured his finger while missing time in the FIBA Americas Championship, the Kings announced today that the productive sixth man has a fractured right ring finger and will not play in the remainder of the tournament. Sacramento Bee

Garcia - who labored through the same injury late last season after breaking the right ring finger on March 3 against Indiana - will return to Sacramento late next week to have the finger re-evaluated. All of which means Daniel Shapiro and Pete Youngman will have their hands full in what is an already-busy month for the Kings' fifth-year strength and conditioning coach and longtime trainer, with Udrih and Garcia needing rehab of various sorts from the start. While neither injury is being deemed serious at the moment, there is a legitimate chance for lasting implications on both fronts. Garcia suffered through last season with a lingering injury (his calf) and surely hopes this one doesn't pester him for months to come. He will have no shortage of small forwards looking for minutes with starter Andres Nocioni, second-year Donte' Greene and rookie Omri Casspi, so any stumble at the start is undesirable. What's more, he had been playing very well for his Dominican Republic team (see stats here). Sacramento Bee

As for Udrih, I spoke with his agent, Marc Cornstein, today and have this update. "It sounds like he just has a minor tweak of his knee," Cornstein said. "It doesn't seem all that serious, but unfortunately the timing is right before the championships start Monday. In all likelihood - it's not 100 percent - but in all likelihood he won't play in Poland (for the Euroleague championships) but he should be ready for (Kings) camp (on Sept. 29) with no issues...It's only two or three weeks (recovery time) they're saying. But he is disappointed that he went through all this and won't have a chance to play with the (Slovenian) team." Sacramento Bee

Canada defeated the Dominican Republic 80-76 and grabbed the final berth for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The field is now complete as Canada joins Argentina, Brazil and Puerto Rico. After Canada's unexpected qualification, coach Leo Rautins said he'll add three NBA players to the roster. "We're going to be making some changes," said Rautins after the victory over the Dominican Republic. "Maybe (Steve) Nash, Matt Bonner, Jamal Magloire. We're very excited." ESPN.com

"I'm very proud of those guys. We had 12 players here. There weren't any stars," Rautins said. "They never gave up." ESPN.com

Charlie Villanueva: Postgame Tweet: I wasn't going to tweet anything, but I have an obligation to the fans. I'm in complete DISAPPOINTMENT with our lost today. Twitter.com

Charlie Villanueva: I really don't know what to say. I've let my country down and I feel responsible. I feel filled with GREAT regret and sorrow. Empty. Twitter.com

Charlie Villanueva: I'm still proud of who I am and what I represent. I'm Dominican. And I'm fortunate to have given the honor to represent my country. Twitter.com

Gb have shelled out around £40,000 to insure NBA forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu ahead of next week's EuroBasket games in Poland. Mensah-Bonsu, 25 and 6ft 9ins, has not formally signed a contract with his new team the Houston Rockets, and coach Chris Finch explained: "All our players are insured but Pops' situation was different because it needed a bespoke policy. You have to cover the gaps in insurance so his earning potential is not exposed." And his presence is a huge fillip to Finch as his side are without Luol Deng and Ben Gordon. Mirror

This past year your name was linked to both Philadelphia and Detroit coaching situations. What was fact and fiction? Doug Collins: All this stuff with Philadelphia, I never spoke with them. I was never part of that equation. Joe Dumars called me about coming to Detroit. We spoke a few times and I don’t think situation was right for me. I didn’t want to go to a team starting over. There is perception I am itching and that isn’t case. I will keep an open mind on things. HoopsHype.com

How close were you to returning to coaching the Chicago Bulls in 2008? Doug Collins: There has been the perception that I am dying to get back to coaching. What I always have done is say I will listen. It would be silly not to listen to opportunities in life. One of the great things about working for Turner is that they are about family and want what is best for my family. Two years ago John Paxson called me and I was very close to going to Chicago. They were a young team and I really saw a good 6-7 year run. Chicago is a city my wife and I spent 10 years in. Jerry Reinsdorf said he loved me like a son, and said he could always find a coach but didn’t want something to hurt our friendship and that he couldn’t fire me again. I said let’s give a hug and move on. HoopsHype.com

When you do a broadcast, what is your philosophy? Doug Collins: Don Hewitt (the 60 Minutes creator), who recently passed away, said the essence of television was four words – tell me a story. That is my philosophy of broadcasting. Tell me a story. When you sit down to watch, there will be a story, a beginning a middle and an end. I am in charge of telling the story. As much as I might prepare, that story may change every night and you have to be so prepared. HoopsHype.com

Dr. Derric DesMarteau, longtime team dentist for the Golden State Warriors, the Oakland Raiders and other sports organizations as well as a highly regarded private dentist with a thriving practice in Piedmont, died Aug. 20 from complications from cancer. He was 58. "He had such a love of dentistry, such an unbelievable passion for it," said Rhonda Nelson, who worked with DesMarteau for 17 years as his office manager. "He could work magic with people. Patients came to him when other dentists said they'd given up on them, so he would often get unusual cases and restore their whole mouths." Oakland Tribune

"You could always see him on the sidelines at the games," Nelson said. "He traveled with the teams, and (handled) many emergencies taken care of in the locker room. And our office makes all the mouth guards for the players." Oakland Tribune

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