HoopsHype.com Rumors

Point guard Luke Ridnour missed Monday afternoon's practice at the Lakers' training facility in El Segundo and instead was examined by a doctor in the Los Angeles area, presumably to see if his ailing hamstring is more than strained. "Obviously, his hamstring has been bothering him for a while," Kurt Rambis said. "It has probably reached its peak. We've got to get it resolved. We've got to get him back healthy and not thinking about it." Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Minnesota Timberwolves, Luke Ridnour, Injuries 

Ridnour, 29, is keeping an open mind. He said Wednesday he was excited to join the Wolves, although he was in negotiations for a similar contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers settled on veteran free agent Steve Blake to be their backup point guard. St. Paul Pioneer Press

Luke Ridnour didn't sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves just to be a mentor to the younger players. Team president David Kahn says Ridnour was brought in to challenge Jonny Flynn for the starting point guard spot. ESPN.com

The Timberwolves apparently have finalized contract talks with free-agent point guard Luke Ridnour and plan to introduce the eight-year NBA veteran Wednesday at a news conference at Target Center. Ridnour, who played last season with the Milwaukee Bucks, reportedly agreed to a four-deal worth $16 million. Ridnour, 29, averaged 10.4 points, 4.0 assists and 1.3 turnovers in 21.2 minutes as the backup point guard to rookie standout Brandon Jennings. St. Paul Pioneer Press

SLAM: There’s another guy who played in the Pacific Northwest coming your way. Minnesota just signed Luke Ridnour. Did you get a chance to run into him much when you were coming up in Oregon? KL: Oh yeah, definitely. He’s a great player. I can’t wait to get a chance to play with him. He’s really a pass first guy. He can find us, shoot the three-ball. He’s one of those guys who you know is a good pro and is going to stick around for a long time. I used to watch him and Luke Jackson at Oregon do their work. I watched him in Milwaukee too. Luc Mbah a Moute said I’m going to love playing with him. I’m glad we were able to sign him. SLAM

Minnesota Timberwolves, Free Agency, Luke Ridnour, Kevin Love 

Kevin Love: From the Jazz, yeah, and a few first round picks and then a big trade exception. And we've got Darko Milicic for $20 million over four years, we have Michael Beasley now, we're just finalizing Luke Ridnour for $16 million, so I guess "interesting" is definitely the word. As far as predictions go, it's tough, because at some point you gotta stop blowing up the team and play with the guys you have. FanHouse.com

Minnesota Timberwolves, Trade, Darko Milicic, Michael Beasley, Luke Ridnour 

Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn is once again changing directions on his franchise’s future at point guard. As a possible prelude to the trading of Ramon Sessions, Luke Ridnour has agreed in principle to a four-year, $16 million contract with the Wolves, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Yahoo! Sports

Minnesota Timberwolves, Luke Ridnour, David Kahn, Ramon Sessions 

Today, they're sending away the centerpiece to the Kevin Garnett trade and are close to signing former Bucks guard Luke Ridnour to a four-year, $16 million free-agent contract that mirrors the deal Ramon Sessions signed last summer. You can now expect Sessions to be the next one dealt away somewhere. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Free Agency, Trade, Luke Ridnour, Ramon Sessions 

The Timberwolves on Monday continued to negotiate deals that would send Al Jefferson to Utah and bring free-agent guard Luke Ridnour to Minnesota. They also officially signed Darko Milicic, Wesley Johnson and Lazar Hayward and finally completed the trade that will send two second-round picks to Miami for Michael Beasley. "And it's not even dinner time yet," Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said after the team's loss to San Antonio in their Las Vegas summer league opener. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Trade, Al Jefferson, Luke Ridnour 

After signing Ramon Sessions to a four-year, $16 million contract a year ago, Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn is trying to unload the guard to teams able to absorb his salary, league executives told Yahoo! Sports. “They’re basically looking for a salary dump,” said an executive with a team who spoke to Minnesota. “That won’t be easy.” Kahn’s plan this time? Trying to sign point guard Luke Ridnour to an identical four-year, $16 million contract, league sources said. Yahoo! Sports

Minnesota Timberwolves, Free Agency, Luke Ridnour, David Kahn 

The Lakers are leaning toward not bringing back guard Shannon Brown. Among the free-agent guards still available are Luke Ridnour, Earl Watson, Shaun Livingston and Javaris Crittenton. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Shannon Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Luke Ridnour, Earl Watson, Shaun Livingston 

Minnesota Timberwolves president David Kahn says the team hosted point guard Luke Ridnour and forward Travis Outlaw for free agent visits this week. Outlaw has agreed to a five-year, $35 million contract with the New Jersey Nets, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. The person requested anonymity because financial terms of the deal were not being disclosed. USA Today

Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Free Agency, Luke Ridnour, Travis Outlaw 

Frank Isola: I'm hearing Knicks don't want to be locked into Raymond Felton & prefer Luke Ridnour cause they'll go after CP3, Parker or Deron in 2011 Twitter

New York Knicks, Free Agency, Raymond Felton, Luke Ridnour 

While Amar’e Stoudemire would love to team up with point guard Tony Parker, a source told The Post the new Knicks power forward would prefer, given his choice of free-agent point guards, to pick-and-roll with Milwaukee’s Luke Ridnour. The Knicks have Raymond Felton and Ridnour high on their list, but feel Ridnour could be the better value. The source said Stoudemire views Ridnour as Nash Lite — someone who can run the pick-and-roll, pass the ball well and shoot from the outside. There are concerns Stoudemire will not be the same without Nash. In a post on his Twitter account, Nash wrote, “It was a dream playing with you. New York’s going to love you.” New York Post

Free Agency, Amare Stoudemire, Luke Ridnour 

It doesn’t look like Luke Ridnour will be returning to the Milwaukee Bucks. Ridnour, a key contributor in the Bucks’ run to the playoffs last season, is an unrestricted free agent and is drawing keen interest from several teams with the New York Knicks being the most prominently mentioned one. Bucks general manager John Hammond obviously would love to retain Ridnour, who is coming off perhaps his best season as a pro. Racine Journal-Times

Milwaukee Bucks, Free Agency, Luke Ridnour 

Hammond acknowledged Tuesday that Ridnour’s return probably wasn’t in the cards. Asked if the Bucks were still in the picture for Ridnour’s services, Hammond said, "I don’t think so. I think it’s going to be difficult for us.’’ Racine Journal-Times

Milwaukee Bucks, Free Agency, Luke Ridnour 

However, the Knicks are looking to upgrade at that position and will meet with free agent Raymond Felton. The Knicks have also expressed interest in Luke Ridnour. New York Daily News

Charlotte Bobcats, New York Knicks, Free Agency, Raymond Felton, Luke Ridnour 

The Knicks have eyed Ellis for awhile. Other point guards high on their list are Luke Ridnour and Raymond Felton, depending on price, according to a source. The Knicks also are interested in Carlos Arroyo -- for a lower price. New York Post

New York Knicks, Free Agency, Raymond Felton, Luke Ridnour, Carlos Arroyo 

Knicks meeting today at Westchester compound to discuss next step after three days of free agent meetings. Not ready yet to make appointments with the next wave of free agents, but names such as Raymond Felton and Luke Ridnour on the list. Steve Blake was, as well, but he's now off the board after signing with the Lakers. Newsday

New York Knicks, Free Agency, Raymond Felton, Luke Ridnour, Steve Blake 

If the Lakers lose Brown and Farmar, they are interested in signing a point guard such as Steve Blake, Luke Ridnour or Earl Watson. Blake is a pass-first point guard with a decent three-point touch, a 30-year-old veteran who made $4.25 million last season with the Clippers and Portland. He averaged 6.8 points and 6.1 assists in 29 games with the Clippers while shooting a commendable 43.7% from three-point range. Ridnour, 29, made $6.5 million last season with Milwaukee and would have to take a steep pay cut to join the Lakers. He averaged 10.4 points and four assists last season. Watson, 31 and formerly of UCLA, averaged 7.8 points and 5.1 assists last season for Indiana, but he has never been a great three-point shooter, averaging 33.1% in his career. Like Ridnour, he made $6.5 million last season and would have to take a sharp cut to return to Los Angeles. Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Trade, Luke Ridnour, Steve Blake, Earl Watson