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The Portland Trail Blazers have waived forward Ryan Gomes. Gomes, along with Luke Babbitt (16th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft), was acquired in a draft day trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves for guard/forward Martell Webster.
In his NBA career, Gomes averages 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game with 45.3% shooting.
Last season, Gomes for the Wolves averaged 10.9 ppg and 4.6 rpg.
It’s very likely that somoene will sign him as a free agent.
Houston Rockets All-Star Center Yao Ming has elected not to exercise the early termination option in his contract in order to complete the final year of his contract with the Rockets. Yao and Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey released the following statements today:
Yao Ming: “My decision is very clear, I am going to stay with the Rockets through the end of my current contract. Since my first day in Houston, I always felt that this community treated me very nice and made me feel like it was my second home. I feel Mr. Alexander and Daryl Morey have done a great job of building this team into a winner and I am comfortable that they will continue to bring in very good players to help us continue to build a championship team.”
Daryl Morey: “We are very excited to have Yao Ming committed to coming back for next season. He has been the foundation of this team since his arrival in 2002 and we are looking forward to having him back on the court next season.”
The Miami Heat announced today that they have made a qualifying offer to Joel Anthony, making him a restricted free agent and giving Miami the opportunity to match any contract offer he receives.
Anthony, a 6’9”, 245-pound center, was originally signed as a free agent by the Heat on July 3, 2007, after going undrafted out of UNLV, and then re-signed with Miami on July 20, 2009. He has appeared in 169 regular season games (45 starts) during his three-year stint with Miami, averaging 2.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.38 blocks and 17.0 minutes while shooting 47.8 percent from the floor and 66.8 percent from the foul line.
Anthony concluded the 2009-10 season tied with John Salley for ninth place on the Heat’s all-time blocked shots list with 233. Additionally, he has appeared in 11 postseason contests (two starts) with the Heat and has averaged 2.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.09 blocks and 15.2 minutes while shooting 75 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the foul line.
During the 2009-10 season, he appeared in a team-high 80 regular season games (16 starts) and averaged 2.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.43 blocks and 16.1 minutes while connecting on 47.8 percent of his field goal attempts and 71.7 percent of his free throw attempts. In addition to topping the Heat in games played he also led the team in blocks with 109, the 15th best total in the NBA. Anthony also saw action in each of Miami’s five postseason games in 2010 and averaged 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.00 blocks and 15.8 minutes while connecting on 71.4 percent of his field goal attempts and 75 percent of his free throw attempts.
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Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has acquired forward Yi Jianlian and cash considerations from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for guard/forward Quinton Ross.
“This trade is a good opportunity to add a skilled seven-footer with significant NBA experience who was the sixth overall pick in the draft just three years ago,” said Grunfeld. “Yi fits in very well with our ongoing plan of building towards the future with a core of young, talented players.”
Yi averaged career highs of 12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 52 games (51 starts) last season with New Jersey. The seven-foot native of China holds career averages of 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 179 games (152 starts) in three seasons with Milwaukee and New Jersey.
Originally selected by the Bucks with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Yi was traded to New Jersey along with Bobby Simmons in exchange for Richard Jefferson prior to the 2008-09 season. He averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds as a rookie and was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for December. Yi followed his rookie campaign by averaging 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds with the Nets in 2008-09. Prior to entering the draft, he led Guangdong to the Chinese Basketball Association title and competed for the Chinese National Team in the 2008 and 2004 Olympics.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Yi didn’t do much in New Jersey aside from frustrating teammate Brook Lopez by making various defensive mistakes. But he’s still a young player who can score and move around decently on offense. His passing, physical strength and defense is still a work in progress.
Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.
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The Miami Heat announced today that they have requested waivers on forward James Jones, a 6’8”, 220-pound forward, was signed by the Heat as a free agent on July 9, 2008.
He appeared in 76 regular season games (seven starts) during his two-year stint with Miami, averaging 4.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 14.9 minutes while shooting 36.6 percent from the floor, 37.6 percent from three- point range and 83.1 percent from the foul line.
Additionally, he appeared in eight postseason contests (seven starts) with the Heat and averaged 8.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 30.5 minutes while shooting 51.5 percent from the field, 47.8 percent from three-point range and 92.3 percent from the foul line.
During the 2009-10 season, he appeared in 36 regular season games (six starts) and averaged 4.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 14.0 minutes while connecting on 36.1 percent of his field goal attempts, 41.1 percent of his three-point attempts and 82.1 percent of his free throw attempts. In his lone 2010 postseason appearance he had two points in nine minutes of action.
The seven-year NBA veteran, and University of Miami graduate, was originally drafted in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers with the 49th overall pick. He has appeared in 366 career games (65 starts) and has averaged 6.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 18.9 minutes while shooting 39.8 percent from the floor, 39.5 percent from three-point range and 86.1 percent from the foul line.
Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald reports:
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Dwyane Wade has given the Miami Heat his “wish list” of potential targets he wants team president Pat Riley to pursue when free agency opens at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
Landing the services of LeBron James and either Amare Stoudemire or Chris Bosh in Miami would be the beginning of the kind of championship makeover Wade seeks this summer.
Wade stopped short of offering names of the marquee players he discussed with Riley in recent weeks. But the Heat’s star guard repeatedly mentioned James and Bosh when he talked about players who instantly could push a team to title contention.
Talk of James and Bosh coming to Miami intensified Monday amid national speculation the two were leaning toward joining Wade, with each taking slightly less money than the maximum they could command.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reports:
While the Cavaliers await a decision on LeBron James’ future, their coaching search appears to be nearing the final stages.
Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw arrived in town Monday and will continue meetings with owner Dan Gilbert and General Manager Chris Grant today, the team confirmed. The Cavs would like to make a decision on their next coach today, according to a source with knowledge of their plans, although a ”decision” does not necessarily mean a contract offer today.
By the conclusion of the interviews with Shaw, however, the team will probably choose between him and Byron Scott.
Shaw, who is represented by CAA Sports, the same firm that represents James, is the second known candidate, after Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, to be brought to Cleveland for an interview. Team executives met with Scott in Michigan on Father’s Day, according to his agent, Brian McInerney, but no offer was made.
Marc Berman of the New York Post reports:
Stephon Marbury said he is rooting for LeBron James to sign with the Nets to rescuscitate Newark and, eventually, his home borough, Brooklyn.
“LJ 23 should go to the Nets so that Newark would be able to grow and build businesses for the people there,” Marbury wrote in an e-mail to The Post. “After he builds the economy in Newark he can come to my borough and create a brand new life for people struggling to make it in this tough economy.”
Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:
It didn’t escape Brandon Jennings’ notice that the Bucks also obtained veteran small forward Corey Maggette in a trade with Golden State, with center Dan Gadzuric and guard Charlie Bell going to the Warriors.
“He’s a guy who can get to the line,” Jennings said of the 30-year-old Maggette, who will be entering his 12th pro season. “That’s what we missed last year. He can get you 20 or more (points per game), so I’m excited.”
Maggette was part of a high-octane Warriors offense that featured shooting guard Monta Ellis and rookie point guard Stephen Curry.
“He runs the floor,” Jennings said of the 6-6 Maggette. “Even though he demands the ball a lot, that’s all right, though. We’re going to need somebody who can take over at the end of the game.”
Free-agent negotiations begin Thursday, and Jennings said he hopes guard John Salmons will choose to return to the Bucks.
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has tendered qualifying offers to center Kyrylo Fesenko and guard Wesley Matthews. Per team policy, financial terms were not released.
In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer by June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.
A three-year NBA veteran, Fesenko (7-1, 300, Ukraine) appeared in 49 games (five starts) for the Jazz in 2009-10, averaging 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes. He also appeared in all 10 Jazz playoff games (nine starts), averaging 3.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.50 blocks in 18.0 minutes. Fesenko scored in double figures three times on the season, and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in Game 4 of the Conference Semifinals vs. the L.A. Lakers. Originally selected by Philadelphia in the second round (38th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Jazz acquired Fesenko’s rights in a draft night deal that sent the draft rights to Herbert Hill (55th overall pick) to the 76ers. Fesenko has appeared in a total of 79 regular season games (all with the Jazz) and owns career averages of 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 8.0 minutes per game.
Matthews (6-5, 220, Marquette) appeared in all 82 games (48 starts) for the Jazz as a rookie in 2009-10, averaging 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24.7 minutes. He also started all 10 Jazz playoff games, where he averaged 13.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.80 steals in 37.1 minutes. Matthews became just the ninth rookie in Jazz history to appear in all 82 games, and his 48 starts marked the most by a Jazz rookie since Jarron Collins (68) in 2001-02. Matthews scored in double figures 40 times, scoring 20+ points on three occasions, and started the team’s final 28 games of the regular season. He finished the season ranked in the Top 10 in scoring, minutes and free throw percentage among NBA rookies. Matthews was not selected in the 2009 NBA Draft and appeared with the Jazz in the team’s summer league entry in the 2009 Orlando Pro Summer League before making the team as an undrafted rookie free agent in training camp.