NBA: There’s Plenty of free agents looking for teams
By Mark Medina
Los Angeles Times
And everyone thought the NBA free-agent class of 2010 would make for a busy summer.
That class features LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but the off season moves in 2009 has already involved plenty of musical chairs.
The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal, who will play with James next season. Free agents Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza essentially switched places with each other, with Artest going to the Lakers and Artest shipping off to Houston. The Lakers have broken off negotiations with unrestricted free agent Lamar Odom and the Clippers are interested in another unrestricted free agent star, Allen Iverson.
Yet there are still plenty of other notable free agents still looking for a job on an NBA club next season. Here’s a partial list:
Marquis Daniels, guard, unrestricted free agent. Scored a career-high 13.6 points per game last season for Indiana. Teams interested: Dallas, Houston, Indiana. The latest: The Pacers didn’t pick up Daniels’ $7.4 million team option, but the Indianapolis Star reports he could resign with the team at a lower salary.
Carlos Delfino, guard. Restricted free agent. Teams interested: Toronto. The latest: The Raptors’ offered Pacers guard Jarrett Jack a four-year, $20 million deal after acquiring free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu. The Pacers have until Monday to match that offer, and the National Post says the Raptors will wait to see if that deal clears before deciding what to do with Delfino.
Glen Davis, forward, restricted free agent. Made a big jump from the Celtics’ bench to a starter in the playoffs. Teams interested: Boston, Cleveland, Charlotte, Detroit, Denver, New Orleans. The latest: With many teams interested in Davis, the Boston Globe reports he will seek big offers to challenge Boston to match it, which might be tough because the Celtics are over the luxury tax and recently signed Rasheed Wallace to a three-year, $18 million deal.
Raymond Felton, guard, restricted free agent. Teams interested: Charlotte, Philadelphia. The latest: Felton is seeking a long-term deal and the Charlotte Observer reports that returning to the Bobcats is his first choice. But a meeting with his agent and general manager Rod Huggins reportedly didn’t go so well.
Drew Gooden, forward, unrestricted free agent. Teams interested: Detroit, San Antonio. The latest: Dime Magazine suggests the Spurs’ signing of Antonio McDyess means Gooden won’t be back with San Antonio.
Linas Kleiza, forward, restricted free agent. A dangerous streak shooter. Teams interested: Cleveland, Detroit, Denver, New York, Toronto. The latest: Nuggets Coach George Karl told the Denver Post he wants to keep Kleiza, but isn’t sure if that’s possible.
David Lee, forward, restricted free agent. Teams interested: New York, Portland, Oklahoma. The latest: Knicks’ president Donnie Walsh told the New York Daily News that he won’t extend negotiations with Lee past this week. Lee has reportedly been asking for at least $10 million a year.
Stephon Marbury, guard, unrestricted. High-priced malcontent cut loose by Knicks last winter, then joined Celtics. Teams interested. None. The latest: Marbury told the New York Post he’s in talks with three European teams.
Paul Millsap, forward, restricted free agent. Teams interested: Utah, Portland. The latest: Millsap signed a four-year, $32 million deal with Portland last Friday. But Utah can keep him by matching Portland’s offer, which the Deseret News said is what the Jazz hope to do.
Andre Miller, guard, unrestricted. Teams interested: Indiana, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Portland. The latest: Miller wanted a three-year, $30 million contract, but won’t get that. Numerous reports say Miller has been seeking sign-and-trade deals with the aforementioned teams.
Nate Robinson, guard, restricted. Teams interested: New York, Sacramento. The latest: Newsday reports that Olympiakos, a Greek team, offered Robinson a two-year, $10 million deal. Talks between the Knicks and Robinson’s agent are expected to resume Friday.
Ramon Sessions, guard, unrestricted. Teams interested: Charlotte, Chicago Bulls, Miami, Milwaukee, Memphis. The latest: Hoopsworld reports that the Bucks are fielding sign-and-trade offers for Sessions.
Tim Thomas, forward, unrestricted. Teams interested: None. The Bulls waived him and bought out his $6.4 million contract Tuesday. His future remains uncertain.
Ben Wallace, forward, unrestricted. The latest: Detroit News reports he’s likely to return to the Pistons. Wallace accepted a $10 million buyout from Phoenix Tuesday, and is reportedly seeking a one-year deal before retiring at age 35.
Marvin Williams, forward, restricted. The latest: Hoopsworld says Williams to close to inking a multi-year deal with Atlanta; Williams was seeking $40 million, while the club offered $37.5 million. He hasn’t received any rival offers, ESPN.com reports, because teams think Atlanta will match it.