Blazers bring back free agent Przybilla (AP)
The Portland Trail Blazers are welcoming back free agent center Joel Przybilla. Przybilla, who spent more than six seasons in Portland before he was traded to Charlotte last season, has not played this season. The 7-foot-1 center was pursued by Chicago, Miami and Milwaukee but decided to rejoin the Blazers last week, pending a physical exam.
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J.R. Smith to Knicks: Team Reportedly to Finalize Deal with Free Agent Today
After a couple weeks of speculation, it appears as though the New York Knicks are on the verge of signing free-agent shooting guard J.R. Smith. The prolific bench scorer spent the early part of the season with a Chinese team but became eligible to return to the NBA on Wednesday.
According to Smith’s official Twitter feed, he chose the Knicks in a deal that will be announced later today. Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers were considered top candidates to land Smith as well, but he ultimately chose to reunite with former Denver Nuggets teammate Carmelo Anthony.
Marc Berman of the New York Post is reporting that Smith will be in attendance for the Knicks’ game against the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, but he won’t make his debut until Sunday. In order to make room for Smith on the roster the Knicks are expected to cut forward Renaldo Balkman. Guard Toney Douglas may also be bought out.
What It Means
The Knicks have been red-hot, winning their past seven games thanks to the ascension of point guard Jeremy Lin. It appears as though the Knicks are about to get even better, though, as Smith gives them a huge scoring threat off the bench, and Carmelo is very close to returning from a groin injury.
New York suffered early in the season from an inability to make open shots, so the signing of Smith will help that immensely. Smith has made at least two three-pointers per game in four of his past five NBA seasons, and he shot nearly 40 percent from beyond the arc last year, making him an ideal fit for head coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense.
What Happens Next
The Knicks will now need to integrate Smith into the offense and get Anthony back involved as well. There has been plenty of talk that Anthony’s return will curtail the Knicks’ recent run of success because he can be “selfish” with the ball at times.
Similar things have been said about Smith, but he is precisely the type of spot-up shooter that New York sorely lacks with the exception of Steve Novak. Smith figures to slide into a sixth-man role quite nicely and reprise his position as one of the best bench scorers in the NBA.
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Kenyon Martin Officially Becomes Unrestricted Free Agent
Welcome back Mr. Martin.
After being stuck in China for the last four-plus months, Kenyon Martin is finally free to come back to America and play in the NBA, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein:
There is a bevy of suitors interested in the 34-year-olds services. According to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski, at least six teams are interested including the Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.
In other words, any team that has championship aspirations and lacks depth is interested. The Denver Nuggets won’t be re-signing him, but may be able to get something out of him by pulling off a sign and trade depending on how the NBA rules on this unique situation.
So what’s the time-table for when K-Mart can suit up for the third team in his career? Fairly quickly:
I think you can look at the curiosity in Martin and realize the ridiculous season currently being played in the NBA. Teams are already extremely banged up and desperate for depth as they are run ragged through the grueling schedule. A 34-year-old with almost 750 regular and postseason games under his belt should not be a hot commodity.
Martin has had multiple knee surgeries and is a shell of his former high-flying self. Last year’s 8.6 ppg were the lowest of his career.
But regardless, he is still capable of playing strong defense in the post against some of the league’s top power forwards and he does have almost 100 games of playoff experience including two trips to the finals.
I expect K-Mart to be logging minutes in the next 10 days for either the Hawks or Heat, two teams that can provide him with the most playing time.
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Why the Philadelphia 76ers Should Pursure Free Agent Rasheed Wallace
A report from Yahoo Sports indicates veteran power forward Rasheed Wallace is seriously contemplating an NBA comeback.
A perfect fit would be no other than his hometown team, and the current leaders of the Atlantic Division, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Maybe, perhaps, Wallace is watching afar from home and seeing what he likes from his boyhood team.
Wallace is from Philly, a graduate of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia.
He is known also for his toughness and tenacity, which are basketball traits admired by Philly hoop fans (see Allen Iverson).
Philly is on a roll right now, 7-1 in their last eight games, and 8-3 overall. It is their best start since the 2000-01 NBA season when they started 10-0 and went to the NBA Finals that year.
Bringing in Wallace right now would give the Sixers a huge advantage because of what Wallace brings to the table.
With career averages of 14.6 points per game, 6.7 boards and some defense (1.3 blocks and one steal), Wallace is certainly a key player in the NBA and a borderline Hall of Fame candidate (he has a ring and the four All-Star appearances to make a case).
He last made his mark on the 2009-10 Boston Celtics team that went seven games with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals. Subbing for injured center Kendrick Perkins in Game 7, he and the Celtics came within a few points in the last minute of capturing another NBA title.
A respected veteran of the game, Wallace also understands the game very well from a psychological perspective (think technical fouls), Wallace would be a huge asset to the Sixers in that department where they do not have a guy who does that. The intimidation factor would be appreciated and go a long way.
Being that the Sixers have been shutting down their opponents as of late (six of their wins have been by 20 or more points, including last night’s game vs. Washington), Wallace would help the cause.
He can also shoot the long ball well, play from the post and use his size to his advantage.
Wallace won a ring on the 2004 Detroit Pistons team as a vital contributor.
He would also be a favorite of Coach Collins, who seems to have an affection for talented big guys on his team (see Tony Battie and Elton Brand).
But most importantly, it’s what the Sixers are building now that makes most sense.
They have a team that may make some moves this season and why not add to their run by bringing in a talent like Wallace? At 37 years old and a season removed from the NBA, this may be his swan song.
This Sixers have expendable players on their roster such as Lavoy Allen, Craig Brackins and Andres Nocioni, whom they can cut and Wallace would clearly get a roster spot over.
A Philly homecoming for ‘Sheed?
Might not be such a long shot from happening after all.
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Agent: Bogut hopes to return to Bucks soon
Andrew Bogut’s agent says the Milwaukee Bucks center will return to the NBA team as soon as he sorts out some family issues.
Bruce Kaider told The Associated Press on Sunday he expects that to be soon. The agent says Bogut is completely fit, but the Aussie is in his hometown of Melbourne and dealing ”with those things we all have to go through in life, certain personal issues that he is experiencing at the moment.” Kaider did not elaborate.
On Saturday, the Bucks lost 92-86 to the Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee’s third game in a row without Bogut.
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Some big names remain on NBA free agent list
After the Phoenix Suns signed Michael Redd today, the New York Knicks snagged Jeremy Lin off the waiver wire from the Houston Rockets and Kyrylo Fesenko agreed to a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, a number of NBA free agents probably woke up and asked themselves, “what about me?”
Here’s the latest players-for-hire around league and some teams they’ve been associated with lately on the open market in the NBA:
Andrei Kirilenko – There’s been no deal with the New Jersey Nets to this point, although the two sides have been in discussions. Until then, Kirilenko remains in Russia going through non-contact workouts with CSKA Moscow. Will the Sacramento Kings look to get involved again?
Gilbert Arenas – Will Arenas ever regain his form that made him an All-Star in Washington? It’s still a mystery if front offices around the league are cautious of his shady past or bloated asking price for someone who averaged 8 points per game last season in Or…
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Big names remaining on NBA free agent list
After the Phoenix Suns signed Michael Redd today, the New York Knicks snagged Jeremy Lin off the waiver wire from the Houston Rockets and Kyrylo Fesenko agreed to a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, a number of NBA free agents probably woke up and asked themselves, “what about me?”
Here’s the latest players-for-hire around league and some teams they’ve been associated with lately on the open market in the NBA:
Andrei Kirilenko – There’s been no deal with the New Jersey Nets to this point, although the two sides have been in discussions. Until then, Kirilenko remains in Russia going through non-contact workouts with CSKA Moscow. Will the Sacramento Kings look to get involved again?
Gilbert Arenas – Will Arenas ever regain his form that made him an All-Star in Washington? It’s still a mystery if front offices around the league are cautious of his shady past or bloated asking price for someone who averaged 8 points per game last season in Or…
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NBA Free Agent Rumors: 5 Teams Chasing Joel Przybilla
The NBA offseason has spilled over into the regular season. Most of the free agents have been signed, but there are are still a few second-tier players floating about.
One of the most coveted players on the market right now is Joel Przybilla.
Przybilla is an 11-year veteran who has career averages of 4.0 points and 6.3 rebounds. He’s not going to be a a huge difference-maker wherever he goes, but there are numerous teams that like what he brings, which is solid rebounding and defense as a backup center, i.e. a player who could be a nice back-end part to the rotation.
Here are five teams, in alphabetical order, that are the most likely landing spots for Przybilla.
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Celtics likely to leave one roster spot open for free agent acquisition
The Boston Celtics expect to keep one of their four training camp invites, leaving one roster spot open to add a late buyout or remaining free agent.“I don’t know [if the Celtics will carry 15 players], I would say most likely not,” said Rivers. “There are guys still out there, unsigned. And we might want to sign them.”Pressed on potentially signing a veteran, Rivers cracked, “First come, first serve. Can we make an announcement to all the free agents?” He then laughed before turning more serious.“Really, we’re looking around. I still think there will be buyouts, probably starting [Thursday]. So there’s so many things that could happen and we want to make sure if that happens, we’re able to [sign a free agent] quick instead of a delay. We may keep 15 for a couple more days, but after that, we’re probably going to go to 14.”Based on preseason results and Boston’s roster needs, Greg Stiemsma will almost definitely make the Ce…
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Kris Humphries to New Jersey Nets: Breaking Down the 2011 NBA Free Agent Signing
Kris Humphries is headed back to New Jersey and will remain with the Nets this season.
The forward has had a very interesting offseason as a result of his connection to Kim Kardashian, but now he can finally put his attention where it belongs: basketball.
After enjoying a career season last year where he averaged a double-double, Humphries will be looking to show that it was no fluke and he’s ready to enjoy a repeat performance.
He signed a one-year contract worth $8 million, and he’s a very welcome sight to a front line that needed some help alongside Brook Lopez.
Humphries envisioned getting $10 million annually on a long-term contract, but that market clearly wasn’t available. The Nets have been careful about offering multiyear deals this offseason, choosing to keep salary-cap space available for the pursuit of possible free agent Dwight Howard next summer.
There’s no doubt that Humphries was looking to command a contract for more than just a single season, but it should be beneficial to both sides as long as he maintains his level of production from last season and stays healthy throughout the season.
It’s a gamble by Humphries to accept a short-term deal, but it’s a necessary one at this stage in the game.
With teams having far more cap space available to use in 2012, Humphries will hit the open market once again and should be able to net something more in the neighborhood of what he was initially looking for when the offseason began.
If he impresses again in 2011-12, Humphries’ market could be even larger than anticipated.
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