Roster Improvement: Free Agents Now and Later?

Celtics Elevating Interest In J.J. Redick

Marc Stein ‏@ESPNSteinLine

Hearing Celts, even before season-worst 7-for-32 shooting from 15+ feet in NYK loss, have ramped up their interest in Magic's J.J. Redick

Marc Stein ‏@ESPNSteinLine

Size obviously Celts' priority if they do deal before Feb. 21 trade deadline but word is they hope to work way into Redick mix if they can

Andre Iguodala Hoping To Stay With Nuggets Long-Term



By Christopher Dempsey
The Denver Post

It’s halfway through the season and it looks like things are crystallizing in Nuggets’ guard Andre Iguodala’s head concerning his opt-out decision at the end of the season.

Though he did not say it specifically it appears he’s leaning toward staying with the Nuggets long term, but here’s how: By opting out of his current contract, which would pay him roughly $16.2 million next season and signing a new, multiyear deal – even if the annual value of the contract comes out to be less than what he’s making now and scheduled to make next season.

“A lot of players have done it where they’ve gave up a large bulk of their contract, say, giving up $16 million to get $60 million,” said Iguodala, who turns 29 years old on Monday. “In the grand scheme of things that makes sense. But if you give up $16 million and you get $20 million (it doesn’t make sense). So it’s all about playing your cards right and seeing where you’re at. At the end of the day winning takes care of everything, so if we win here, then hopefully the organization and myself will come to an agreement and we’ll continue to build on what we have here.”

A player opting out of a lucrative final year isn’t unprecedented. In fact, the Nuggets recently went through just such a scenario when Nene opted out of his following the 2011 season, forgoing a final year worth $12 million. Now, Nene was able to parlay his unrestricted free agent status into getting a contract worth $13 million per year, so it was a net gain for him.

It’s unlikely Iguodala would make more annually than the $16.2 million he’d pass up, but his contract would probably not be anything smaller than Ty Lawson’s contract extension, which starting next season pays him an average of $12 million annually. And the savings of a new contract worth less per year would help the Nuggets, who could be up against the luxury tax threshold next season and would need to find some economic breathing room.

Iguodala’s contract status is one of the season’s biggest storylines for the Nuggets, and it will spill over into the summer. But increasingly it looks like the Nuggets are taking center stage in his mind.

“It’s not as hard as it seems,” Iguodala said. “It’s basically just weighing your options, seeing who has interest in you, or making a guesstimate on who has interest in you or what your value is at the current time. That’s pretty much it.”

Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com

XXIV wrote:^ I was interested in signing Williams over the offseason, hopefully we can cut Ebanks and sign him. Any sort of athleticism at SF would be of great help.

Doc Brown wrote:^^^ I've always liked TWill. He can play Point Forward and would be nice for the 2nd unit, so Blake/Duhon can just spot up and shoot, which might be the only thing they are good at.

Vlade_12 wrote:

Doc Brown wrote:^^^ I've always liked TWill. He can play Point Forward and would be nice for the 2nd unit, so Blake/Duhon can just spot up and shoot, which might be the only thing they are good at.

I agree. Do u think March is enough time for him to fit in?
We still have a 15th spot open

Vlade_12 wrote:

Doc Brown wrote:^^^ I've always liked TWill. He can play Point Forward and would be nice for the 2nd unit, so Blake/Duhon can just spot up and shoot, which might be the only thing they are good at.

I agree. Do u think March is enough time for him to fit in?
We still have a 15th spot open

Kobe8Fan wrote:

Sources: Raptors Would Prefer To Trade Lowry Over Calderon



By Ken Berger

The Toronto Raptors would prefer to trade Kyle Lowry over Jose Calderon, according to league sources.

Lowry was acquired last offseason from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Gary Forbes and a future first-round lottery pick.

Lowry is averaging 13.8 points and 5.8 assists in 27.7 minutes behind Calderon.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/2161 ... rs-in-bind

NBA Daily Lineups ‏@DailyNBALineups
#Pacers The Pacers have resigned Sam Young. Terms of the deal were not released. http://bit.ly/PsMI9f

Greg Oden Likely To Pick Between Heat and Cavaliers



By Jeff Goodman | College Basketball Insider

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat have emerged as the leaders to land former No. 1 pick Greg Oden.

The 7-foot Oden, who hasn't played since Dec. 5, 2009 due to multiple knee injuries, is hoping to take a visit down to Miami to meet with Pat Riley and the Heat in the next week, a source told CBSSports.com.

Miami would likely offer a deal for minimum salary while the Cavs could pay up to nearly $4 million. The Boston Celtics are another team that has expressed interest, but the source said that Oden is leaning towards making a comeback with either Cleveland or Miami.

Oden was the top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, but has had multiple knee surgeries. He's currently working out in both Columbus, Ohio, and Indianapolis -- and expects to be ready for the season-opener next season.

Oden, 25, has averaged 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 82 career NBA games. He is coming off his third microfracture knee surgery back in February 2012.

Doc Brown wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bddyq65

If Mitch could pull that s*** off.

Note.... I don't know what Memphis wants from Toronto, so I just sent Derozan/Fields to make it work. Just giving the idea of sending one PG to Toronto and the other to Memphis.

lakersin4 wrote:

Doc Brown wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bddyq65

If Mitch could pull that s*** off.

Note.... I don't know what Memphis wants from Toronto, so I just sent Derozan/Fields to make it work. Just giving the idea of sending one PG to Toronto and the other to Memphis.

Would be a great deal.. Makes some sense for Memphis too with Duhon's cheap buyout next year. I could see Calderon outplaying Nash some games.

khmrP wrote:

lakersin4 wrote:

Doc Brown wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bddyq65

If Mitch could pull that s*** off.

Note.... I don't know what Memphis wants from Toronto, so I just sent Derozan/Fields to make it work. Just giving the idea of sending one PG to Toronto and the other to Memphis.

Would be a great deal.. Makes some sense for Memphis too with Duhon's cheap buyout next year. I could see Calderon outplaying Nash some games.

uh NO, it makes no sense for Mem at ALL, they're trying to cut cost, a measly $3.5 buyout of Duhon doesn't achieve this goal, adding Fields/Derzon adds even more salary on even longer term than just keeping Gay

lakersin4 wrote:

khmrP wrote:

lakersin4 wrote:

Doc Brown wrote:http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bddyq65

If Mitch could pull that s*** off.

Note.... I don't know what Memphis wants from Toronto, so I just sent Derozan/Fields to make it work. Just giving the idea of sending one PG to Toronto and the other to Memphis.

Would be a great deal.. Makes some sense for Memphis too with Duhon's cheap buyout next year. I could see Calderon outplaying Nash some games.

uh NO, it makes no sense for Mem at ALL, they're trying to cut cost, a measly $3.5 buyout of Duhon doesn't achieve this goal, adding Fields/Derzon adds even more salary on even longer term than just keeping Gay

I was just speaking on Duhon making sense for them as a throw in.. The rest of the pieces is up to them to figure out.

khmrP wrote:uh NO, it makes no sense for Mem at ALL, they're trying to cut cost, a measly $3.5 buyout of Duhon doesn't achieve this goal, adding Fields/Derzon adds even more salary on even longer term than just keeping Gay

Note.... I don't know what Memphis wants from Toronto, so I just sent Derozan/Fields to make it work. Just giving the idea of sending one PG to Toronto and the other to Memphis.

Doc Brown wrote:

khmrP wrote:uh NO, it makes no sense for Mem at ALL, they're trying to cut cost, a measly $3.5 buyout of Duhon doesn't achieve this goal, adding Fields/Derzon adds even more salary on even longer term than just keeping Gay

Note.... I don't know what Memphis wants from Toronto, so I just sent Derozan/Fields to make it work. Just giving the idea of sending one PG to Toronto and the other to Memphis.