NBA News Blog – Page 1249 – NBA Blog

Celtics center Jermaine O’Neal will keep playing

Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reports:

Few players deliberate more over the pros and cons of surgery than Jermaine O’Neal, who after undergoing knee surgery last January has decided to take a more holistic approach with the torn ligament in his left wrist.

O’Neal, who went through the playoffs with the wrist injury, has decided to forgo surgery in favor of rehabilitation, according to Danny Ainge. The Celtics president said yesterday that O’Neal, attempting to take advantage of the team’s resources before players are locked out on July 1, has been a regular at the workout facility in Waltham.

“He has every intention of coming back,” Ainge said of the only true center on his team’s roster. “He has every desire to play, and didn’t like the way it finished this year, and doesn’t want to end his career on that type of note. He wants to be a much greater contributor.

“He chose not to have surgery.”

Rumor: Thunder open to trading Eric Maynor

Chad Ford of ESPN reports:

Is Thunder point guard Eric Maynor worth a lottery pick? Sources say the Thunder have been quietly gauging interest in Maynor over the last few days in an attempt to move up into the top half of the draft. They’ve spoken to the Kings (No. 7) and Bobcats (No. 9) in particular in the last few days.

Maynor was the 20th pick in the 2009 draft, which was one of the most loaded point guard drafts ever.

Sixers have discussed Andre Iguodala trades

Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

In recent weeks, the Sixers have discussed trades involving swingman Andre Iguodala with both the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, along with various other teams, but have yet to find a deal they deem worthy of execution.

Two factors seem to be slowing the Sixers’ willingness to deal Iguodala: the impending change in ownership and the impending lockout.

A little more than two weeks ago, news broke that Comcast-Spectacor was in serious discussions to sell the team to a group led by New York investor Joshua Harris. Although the deal is not yet official, many league sources have conveyed the belief that the Sixers front office is in a bit of a holding pattern until the new ownership officially takes the reins.

During a meeting with reporters after Tuesday’s final predraft workout at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Sixers president Rod Thorn said it’s business as usual for the basketball side, although Thorn also said that nothing was imminent with any trades.

Tony Parker hopes to stay with Spurs

Marc. J. Spears of Yahoo reports:

Tony Parker reiterated Wednesday that he hopes to remain with the San Antonio Spurs – even if the choice isn’t up to him.

The Spurs have had discussions about trading Parker for a high pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday. The Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings, who hold the fifth and seventh picks, respectively, have talked to the Spurs about Parker. One league source said the chances of the Spurs reaching a deal with the Kings isn’t likely.

Spurs guard George Hill also has drawn some trade interest from teams with picks in the middle of the lottery.

Parker said he hopes to finish his career in San Antonio.

“I just hope I stay in San Antonio,” said Parker, who is in town for Steve Nash’s charity soccer game. “I love it in San Antonio. I’ve had some great years in San Antonio. I just re-signed four years and I hope I can stay there.”

Lakers offer of Lamar Odom for No. 2 pick rejected by Timberwolves

Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (blog) reports:

The Lakers tried to move up in Thursday’s NBA draft by offering forward Lamar Odom to Minnesota for the Timberwolves’ No. 2 overall pick, but Minnesota turned them down, according to two NBA officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about the trade talks.

The Lakers wanted to use the No. 2 pick to select Arizona’s forward Derrick Williams, the officials said.

However, Minnesota didn’t want Odom, the NBA’s sixth man of the year last season, because the Timberwolves have Kevin Love at power forward and see him as part of the franchise’s cornerstone.

Lakers forward Matt Barnes exercises option to extend contract

Lakers forward Matt Barnes exercised his option to extend his contract for the 2011-12 season, it was announced today by General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Barnes, signed by the Lakers as a free agent on July 22, 2010, averaged 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 19.2 minutes over 53 games last season.

Originally selected by the Memphis Grizzlies in the second round (46th overall pick) of the 2002 NBA Draft, Barnes has averaged 7.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 497 career games.

Kings exercise options on Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi and DeMarcus Cousins

The Sacramento Kings have exercised the rookie contract options on guard Tyreke Evans, forward Omri Casspi and center DeMarcus Cousins for the 2012-13 season, Kings’ President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced today.

All of these moves were expected, says InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner.

Evans, a two-year NBA veteran, averaged a team-high 17.8 points (.409 FGs, .291 3FGs, .771 FTs), 4.8 rebounds, a team-leading 5.6 assists and 1.49 steals per game through 57 outings with the Kings this past season. He was the winner of the 2009-10 NBA Rookie of the Year Award and became only the fourth player in NBA history to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists as a rookie.

Casspi, a two-year NBA veteran, averaged 8.6 points (.412 FGs, .372 3FGs, .673 FTs), 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game through 71 contests this past season with Sacramento, of which he started 27. He is the first Israeli-born athlete to play in the NBA after being selected by the Kings with the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft.

Cousins, who recently finished his rookie campaign with the Kings, averaged 14.1 points (.430 FGs, .167 3FGs, .687 FTs), a team-high 8.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.05 steals per game through 81 outings, of which he started 62. He set a new Sacramento-era rookie record for total rebounds in a season (699).

76ers extend qualifying offers to Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have extended qualifying offers to center Spencer Hawes and forward Thaddeus Young. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed.

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 prior to 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.

Hawes started all but one game for the Sixers this past season, averaging 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21.2 minutes per game. The Sixers were 14-6 when he scored in double-figures. Hawes was originally the 10th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by Sacramento. He was acquired via trade from the Kings along with Andres Nocioni in exchange for Samuel Dalembert on June 17, 2010.

Young – who finished third in the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year voting this season – appeared in all 82 games for the Sixers in 2010-11, averaging 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.10 steals in 23.3 minutes per game. He ranked ninth in the league in field goal percentage (54.1% FGs) and is shooting 50.8% for his career. The Sixers were 12-3 when Young scored 20-plus points this past season. He was originally the 12th overall pick by Philadelphia in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Atlanta Hawks exercise option on Jeff Teague

The Atlanta Hawks have exercised the contract option for the 2012-13 season on guard Jeff Teague, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Rick Sund. Per team policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

Teague, the 19th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft out of Wake Forest, has seen action in 141 career regular season games for the Hawks averaging 4.2 ppg, 1.8 apg and 1.2 rpg (.420 FG%, .808 FT%).

He has also played in 17 career postseason contests, putting up 6.5 ppg, 1.9 apg and 1.1 rpg (.473 FG%, .826 FT%).

In last season’s Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Bulls, Teague tallied 14.8 ppg, 4.2 apg and 2.8 rpg (.537 FG%, .842 FT%), starting all six games.

Spurs deny shopping Tony Parker

If the phone rings, you answer it. And assuming the voice on the other end of the phone is familiar, you say hello, and you listen to what the person says to you.

And that’s all the San Antonio Spurs say they’re doing in regard to star point guard Tony Parker.

Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News (blog) reports:

Responding to an internet report about discussions the Spurs have had regarding potential trades, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford on Wednesday denied that the club actively is seeking a trade that would involve All-Star point guard Tony Parker.

“We’re not shopping anyone,” Buford said, via text message. “We’ve received calls on a lot of our guys and we’ve answered the phone.”

YahooSports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Spurs had been “in discussions” with with Raptors and Kings for a deal involving Parker.

An executive of a team not involved in the discussions said he had no knowledge that the Spurs were seeking deals for Parker, but confirmed the belief they were “gauging the interest” of teams that called about him.

With Tim Duncan looking old and the Spurs championship window probably closing, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Spurs scrap their team and rebuild. Though it’s still amazing how the team enjoyed a fantastic regular season, only to get upset by the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs.