Re: Offical Free Agent Central

[red222]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have begun to aggressively pursue Dorell Wright, according to sources.

The Thunder are working to remain below the luxury tax threshold.

Kevin Martin is unlikely to return to the Thunder.

The Mavericks were one of several teams to contact Andrew Bynum shortly after free agency began last night, agent David Lee tells Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The Mavs, like all the teams chasing after Dwight Howard, are also in the market for Bynum as a fallback option, and the Trail Blazers and Cavaliers are reportedly pursuing the oft-injured center as well.

Dallas would like to retain Brandan Wright, but the Hawks, Magic, Pistons, Raptors, and Knicks all expressed interest in the Jim Tanner client after free agency began last night, McMahon reports. Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link) also adds the Lakers to the list of potential suitors for Wright.

The Heat, Spurs, Cavs, Celtics, Mavericks, Kings, Pacers, and Grizzlies all have interest in Greg Oden, but the former No. 1 overall pick is in no rush to make his decision on where to sign, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. He's hoping to be physically ready to play by training camp.

According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter), it's unlikely that Oden lands with the Cavs.

The Lakers have inquired on Byron Mullens, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Mullens became an unrestricted free agent when the Bobcats didn't tender him a qualifying offer.

The Heat are in contact with Chris Andersen's camp in the hopes of working out a deal, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.

[red222]

Wizards also would "love" to bring back Antawn Jamison,who played there from 2004-10. Wiz texted the mutually interested Jamison on Sunday

Wizards are making a contract offer to their own free agent G-F Martell Webster today, source tells Y! Sports. He is Wiz "No. 1" FA priority

[chicagobullz48]

damn cj to the pacers? all the rival teams are taking our guys to learn our stuff.Plus the guys are still salty they got dropped by the bulls.It's weird to see former bulls running to our rivals next thing you know marco will be on indy or miami.Also anybody notice hw indy is trying to get better to? they're aiming for cj, marco, redick, mayo, kevin martin this rivalry is going to be tougher for us from now on.

[Doom]

Unrestricted free agent C.J. Watson is closing in on an agreement with the Pacers, according to Hoopsworld.
The Nets aren't going to bring him back with Paul Pierce now on the wing, plus they also should have more confidence in Tyshawn Taylor. Watson joining up with the Pacers could mean it's curtains for unrestricted free agent D.J. Augustin, as well.

[Doom]

My summary of each team and how the Bulls and the Heat are the only teams that have basically done nothing/will do nothing in the off season.

Boston Celtics - Traded away their 2 long time franchise players, looking to rebuild
Brooklyn Nets - On the other end of the Boston trade, in a win now mode after getting KG, Pierce and Terry
New York Knicks - Traded for Bargnani and seemingly in a win now mode, need to sign several players
Philadelphia 76ers - In full rebuilding mode, traded away their all star player
Toronto Raptors - Traded Bargnani for pieces and to free up cap space

Cleveland Cavaliers - Changing up their roster to position themselves for future success. Got a new coach, did not retain Speights, Ellington or Casspi.
Detroit Pistons - Looking to land Iggy or Josh Smith in free agency, somewhat of a rebuilding phase
Indiana Pacers - Looking to and should resign unrestricted free agent David West
Milwaukee Bucks - Will offer the max to Jennings, hopefully retain Redick, lost Ellis to free agency

Atlanta Hawks - Will lose Josh Smith to free agency, looking to rebuild
Charlotte Bobcats - Did not resign several players and still trying to rebuild from the ground up
Orlando Magic - Basically the same story as Charlotte, rebuilding with a good core of young players
Washington Wizards - Hoping to sign Webster, just drafted a highly skilled player, rebuilding with a great young group

Dallas Mavericks - A complete revamp of their roster, looking to sign superstar players in free agency like D12
Houston Rockets - Clearing cap space to hopefully pull the trigger on D12
Memphis Grizzlies - Looking to resign unrestricted free agent Tony Allen, traded for Kosta Koufos, did not resign Daye or Leuer
New Orleans Pelicans - Full rebuilding mode, looking to trade Eric Gordon, traded their pick for Jrue Holiday
San Antonio Spurs - Has a ton of cap space to sign a superstar player, looking to retain a similar team from last season while adding to their core

Denver Nuggets - Fired their coach and GM of the year, trying to retain Iggy, traded away their starting center Koufos allowing McGee to get more playtime.
Minnesota Timberwolves - Kirilenko opted out of his contract, looking into O.J. Mayo, Redick, Dunleavy, want to retain Pekovic.
Portland Trail Blazers - Rebuilding phase, allstar player says he wants to stay in Portland yet opts out of all his Portland based endorsements and tries to sell his condo. Trying to get a true center via free agency or trades.
Oklahoma City Thunder - May or may not retain free agent Kevin Martin, maybe looking elsewhere for services, possibly trading Perkins
Utah Jazz - Got great deals from the draft, need to decide who to retain from their core of players (Milsap, Williams, Jefferson).

Golden State Warriors - Maybe looking to trade allstar David Lee, meeting with D12 to possibly land him in free agency, lost Carl Landry.
Los Angeles Clippers - Successfully retained CP3, got a great new coach in Doc Rivers, looking to change up the team a little bit by dealing players like Bledsoe.
Los Angeles Lakers - Desperately trying to keep D12 in free agency, need to rebuild bench as well.
Phoenix Suns - In full rebuilding mode, will likely get rid of Marcin Gortat and other pieces to make a younger future.
Sacramento Kings - A young team that is seemingly a mess, trying to deal players that have been unsuccessful while building around their talented but immature star, Cousins.


Chicago Bulls - No major decisions made/announced, plan on changing bench with low cost players for the third year in a row
Miami Heat - No major decisions made/announced

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 20m
As @KCJHoop reports on Gar Forman's dismissal of Tom Thibodeau's top aide, relationship between Bulls' GM and coach easily worst in NBA.

[bad knees]

Lot's of info about a lot of players, and nothing so far about Nate. That's a good thing to keep in mind during this disconcerting period. Yes, the Bulls will contact everyone with their low demands, and likely will not get anybody until the end. But at least that means that they are talking to Nate and Marco, too.

[Jimmy Forums]

CJ Watson to the Pacers? Adds to the bad blood. Those are gonna be straight up brawls.

[red222]

The Lakers and Warriors have engaged in no sign-and-trade talks for Dwight Howard, league source says.

Even if Dwight indicated desire to play in Bay, Lakers may still balk at sign-and-trade. Source says LA has demonstratoed no appetite for it.

Denver could become a real threat for Tony Allen should Memphis fail to hold onto him, league sources tell Y!

[Tetlak]

Bulls reach out to Nate Robinson

http://espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpo ... ocalId=chi

[imagge]

@AlexKennedyNBA NOTES, THIS TWEET IS C.J. WATSON COMMITTING TO TWO-YEAR DEAL W/INDY)

[Chi]

Chicago Bulls Rumors ‏@chicagobullsbot 1h

Free Agency: Chicago Bulls GM Gar Forman said today they haven't rule out using the MMLE this summer. (Source: Mike McGraw)

[Magilla_Gorilla]

CJ Watson to the Pacers? Adds to the bad blood. Those are gonna be straight up brawls.

Heres hoping CJ finds it in his heart to pass the ball to Sam Young in the waning seconds of a close Game 7.

[yifsuibfe1]

My summary of each team and how the Bulls and the Heat are the only teams that have basically done nothing/will do nothing in the off season.

Boston Celtics - Traded away their 2 long time franchise players, looking to rebuild
Brooklyn Nets - On the other end of the Boston trade, in a win now mode after getting KG, Pierce and Terry
New York Knicks - Traded for Bargnani and seemingly in a win now mode, need to sign several players
Philadelphia 76ers - In full rebuilding mode, traded away their all star player
Toronto Raptors - Traded Bargnani for pieces and to free up cap space

Cleveland Cavaliers - Changing up their roster to position themselves for future success. Got a new coach, did not retain Speights, Ellington or Casspi.
Detroit Pistons - Looking to land Iggy or Josh Smith in free agency, somewhat of a rebuilding phase
Indiana Pacers - Looking to and should resign unrestricted free agent David West
Milwaukee Bucks - Will offer the max to Jennings, hopefully retain Redick, lost Ellis to free agency

Atlanta Hawks - Will lose Josh Smith to free agency, looking to rebuild
Charlotte Bobcats - Did not resign several players and still trying to rebuild from the ground up
Orlando Magic - Basically the same story as Charlotte, rebuilding with a good core of young players
Washington Wizards - Hoping to sign Webster, just drafted a highly skilled player, rebuilding with a great young group

Dallas Mavericks - A complete revamp of their roster, looking to sign superstar players in free agency like D12
Houston Rockets - Clearing cap space to hopefully pull the trigger on D12
Memphis Grizzlies - Looking to resign unrestricted free agent Tony Allen, traded for Kosta Koufos, did not resign Daye or Leuer
New Orleans Pelicans - Full rebuilding mode, looking to trade Eric Gordon, traded their pick for Jrue Holiday
San Antonio Spurs - Has a ton of cap space to sign a superstar player, looking to retain a similar team from last season while adding to their core

Denver Nuggets - Fired their coach and GM of the year, trying to retain Iggy, traded away their starting center Koufos allowing McGee to get more playtime.
Minnesota Timberwolves - Kirilenko opted out of his contract, looking into O.J. Mayo, Redick, Dunleavy, want to retain Pekovic.
Portland Trail Blazers - Rebuilding phase, allstar player says he wants to stay in Portland yet opts out of all his Portland based endorsements and tries to sell his condo. Trying to get a true center via free agency or trades.
Oklahoma City Thunder - May or may not retain free agent Kevin Martin, maybe looking elsewhere for services, possibly trading Perkins
Utah Jazz - Got great deals from the draft, need to decide who to retain from their core of players (Milsap, Williams, Jefferson).

Golden State Warriors - Maybe looking to trade allstar David Lee, meeting with D12 to possibly land him in free agency, lost Carl Landry.
Los Angeles Clippers - Successfully retained CP3, got a great new coach in Doc Rivers, looking to change up the team a little bit by dealing players like Bledsoe.
Los Angeles Lakers - Desperately trying to keep D12 in free agency, need to rebuild bench as well.
Phoenix Suns - In full rebuilding mode, will likely get rid of Marcin Gortat and other pieces to make a younger future.
Sacramento Kings - A young team that is seemingly a mess, trying to deal players that have been unsuccessful while building around their talented but immature star, Cousins.


Chicago Bulls - No major decisions made/announced, plan on changing bench with low cost players for the third year in a row
Miami Heat - No major decisions made/announced

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 20m
As @KCJHoop reports on Gar Forman's dismissal of Tom Thibodeau's top aide, relationship between Bulls' GM and coach easily worst in NBA.

I would like to address these items by team but I am at work. However, in a lot of these team summaries you use a lot of "needs to," "plans on," "looking to," "hoping to," etc. which is in no way a definitive description of actually completing something. For example you say that the kings are trying to deal players away.....Says who?....You?...because you read a tweet then it must be doctrine? We have no real idea of the inner-workings of any of these franchises.

Free agency has been going on for 15 hours and you, like a lot of posters here, have already hit the Abandon Ship button because you're angry that if the Lakers can pull off the Pau Gasol trade, why can't the Bulls trade Carlos Boozer for DeMarcus Cousins or some other lopsided trade that 2 teams would never agree on because reality.

Are we financially constrained for another year? Probably.

Are we upset that a blockbuster trade might not happen? Probably.

Do we understand that sometimes things are just out of the Bulls control? Not enough.

We need to be patient. I know we were patient for 2010 and nothing happened, but hey, 2010 was a anomaly and we took our swing and missed. Time to move on.

We are setting up to be flexible in 2014. Not because we want LeBron. but because being flexible opens more doors than before. The Bulls can be a lot more creative with a bigger paintbrush.

[Chi]

CJ already has negotiated and agreed and Nate hasn't even gotten a call yet (other then the Bulls)...

Where's all that big money he's supposed to be getting at?


The way it's looking is the Bulls can have him if they want him. My only question now is, do they want him?

[Magilla_Gorilla]

I look at this very simply. If the Bulls can do a deal that make them a better team today and going forward - they'll do it.

But they are not going to salary dump anyone, and they are not going to commit any money beyond next season. We all know this - why are people acting surprised or freaking out 17 hours into FA?

[JohnnyKILLroy]

CJ already has negotiated and agreed and Nate hasn't even gotten a call yet (other then the Bulls)...

Where's all that big money he's supposed to be getting at?


The way it's looking is the Bulls can have him if they want him. My only question now is, do they want him?

Or Nate's committed to staying?

[Magilla_Gorilla]

yada, yada, yada

I would like to address these items by team but I am at work. However, in a lot of these team summaries you use a lot of "needs to," "plans on," "looking to," "hoping to," etc. which is in no way a definitive description of actually completing something. For example you say that the kings are trying to deal players away.....Says who?....You?...because you read a tweet then it must be doctrine? We have no real idea of the inner-workings of any of these franchises.

Free agency has been going on for 15 hours and you, like a lot of posters here, have already hit the Abandon Ship button because you're angry that if the Lakers can pull off the Pau Gasol trade, why can't the Bulls trade Carlos Boozer for DeMarcus Cousins or some other lopsided trade that 2 teams would never agree on because reality.

Are we financially constrained for another year? Probably.

Are we upset that a blockbuster trade might not happen? Probably.

Do we understand that sometimes things are just out of the Bulls control? Not enough.

We need to be patient. I know we were patient for 2010 and nothing happened, but hey, 2010 was a anomaly and we took our swing and missed. Time to move on.

We are setting up to be flexible in 2014. Not because we want LeBron. but because being flexible opens more doors than before. The Bulls can be a lot more creative with a bigger paintbrush.

Nice work.

[Hangtime84]

Unrestricted free agent C.J. Watson is closing in on an agreement with the Pacers, according to Hoopsworld.
The Nets aren't going to bring him back with Paul Pierce now on the wing, plus they also should have more confidence in Tyshawn Taylor. Watson joining up with the Pacers could mean it's curtains for unrestricted free agent D.J. Augustin, as well.

why does Pacer need so many Point guards

[Chi]

CJ already has negotiated and agreed and Nate hasn't even gotten a call yet (other then the Bulls)...

Where's all that big money he's supposed to be getting at?


The way it's looking is the Bulls can have him if they want him. My only question now is, do they want him?

Or Nate's committed to staying?

I believe he is. He's said so since the end of the season. Everything coming from his side is that he wants to remain a Bull.

So it looks like it's all on the Bulls.

But all the Bynum/Monte/Mo Will/etc. talk seems to me like they prefer to look elsewhere.

[musketeer]

It seems like next year is when the Bulls will possibly make major moves. The contracts do not really align for big moves this offseason.

Plus, if you make a major move that gives up salary flexibility, Mirotic and the Bobcats pick, it is basically an all in move as the team would be stuck with no way to improve. Only way out would be doubling down with older players on worse contracts or giving up and tanking.

I also tend to think that the frustration here is related to not being in position to beat the Heat. In that regard, we are in the same boat as every other team. You can either try to go all in, give up all hope of future success (Brooklyn, Knicks) like the Celtics did last year. Just give up and decide to rebuild around youth like the Celtics did this year. Or just keep plugging away in a workmanlike fashion making smaller moves trying to improve without sacrificing the future. Seems like Indiana and Chicago are taking the 3rd route and I can't argue with it.