Dwight Howard reportedly favors joining Nets

Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard is preparing to ask the Orlando Magic to trade him to the New Jersey Nets, according to sources close to the situation.

Howard’s representatives have told the Nets that they are his preferred destination.

Howard has yet to tell the Magic he will not re-sign with them after this season, but the sources said he will within the next few days, perhaps as early as Friday. There is also a chance that Howard will not attend the opening of training camp Friday, according to a source.

As ESPN.com reported last week, the Nets are ready to offer the Magic a package built around center Brook Lopez and two first-round draft picks, New Jersey’s own and one the Nets acquired from Houston in a previous trade, according to sources.

— Reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN the Magazine

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Thunder will attempt to part ways with Nate Robinson

STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF SAM PRESTI REGARDING NATE ROBINSON

Nate Robinson

“In collaboration with Nate Robinson and his representatives, we have mutually agreed to continue working toward clarifying his future status with the Thunder. Nate is an accomplished player, but with the current composition of our roster, it will be unlikely he will have an opportunity to contribute on a nightly basis. Given the compressed period of time that we have been given to work through the current situation, it has been decided that Nate will not attend training camp while we work with his representatives to resolve the situation. We will not be commenting on this subject further but will provide notification when a resolution is reached.”

Bucks will trade Keyon Dooling to Celtics

Keyon Dooling

The Celtics are going to announce the acquisition of veteran point guard Keyon Dooling from the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, the first day of training camp and trades can become official, according to a league source.

The deal is expected to include a second-round draft pick headed to Milwaukee and it gives the Celtics a veteran backup point guard behind Rajon Rondo, who remains a Celtic after Chris Paul was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers. The deal is somewhat complicated because the Celtics are over the salary cap.

— Reported by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe

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Greg Oden will remain with Trail Blazers

Greg Oden

Greg Oden is returning to the Trail Blazers.

The free agent center will sign a one-year qualifying offer with the Trail Blazers on Friday according to agent Bill Duffy. Oden, who turns 24 in January, will be paid $8.9 million this season.

Starting Friday, Oden was eligible to receive free agent offers from other teams, after which the Blazers would have three days to match. But Oden took other teams out of the equation by deciding to return to the Blazers.

“The mission has not been accomplished,’’ Duffy said Thursday. “The Blazers have stood by Greg, and now he is going to stand by them.’’

— Reported by Jason Quick of the Oregonian

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Mike Dunleavy Jr to join Bucks

Mike Dunleavy Jr

League sources indicated Thursday the Milwaukee Bucks will sign guard-forward Mike Dunleavy Jr. when contracts can officially be offered to free agents Friday.

The deal is expected to be for two years and in the $7.5 million range, meaning the Bucks are using some of their mid-level exception on the veteran, who is an unrestricted free agent.

Dunleavy averaged 11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 61 games with the Indiana Pacers last season

The 6-foot-9 Dunleavy played the last 4 1/2 seasons with the Pacers after beginning his NBA career with the Golden State Warriors.

— Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Shannon Brown, Sebastian Telfair to join Suns

Shannon Brown

In 2007 draft revisionist history, it is often said how the Suns could have had Rajon Rondo if they had not traded the pick in a money-saving move to Boston.

Actually, with concerns about Rondo’s shooting, some Suns staffers said at the time that Phoenix might have been more apt to draft Shannon Brown if it had kept the pick.

Four and a half years later, Brown will be a Sun. The Suns will sign Brown to a one-year, $3.5 million contract and the 6-foot-4 off-guard will join the team Friday.

The Suns, who also are expected to sign point guard Sebastian Telfair, pick up an athletic 26-year-old who averaged 8.7 points in 19.1 minutes per game for the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

— Reported by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic

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Pistons to keep Tayshaun Prince

Tayshaun Prince

Tayshaun Prince will be returning to the Detroit Pistons after reaching agreement on a $27 million, four-year contract, a league source told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.

Prince, an unrestricted free agent, has spent his entire career with the Pistons since coming into the league in 2002.

— Reported by ESPN.com

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Caron Butler to sign with Clippers

Caron Butler

Former Dallas Mavericks forward Caron Butler agreed to a three-year, $24 million contract with Los Angeles Clippers Thursday, according to his agent Raymond Brothers.

Butler had also considered San Antonio, New Jersey and Chicago, but ultimately the opportunity to team with Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon in Los Angeles proved too enticing.

“He’s very excited to be with Blake,” Brothers said. “And very excited to be with a young upcoming team he believes he can help win a championship.”

— Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com

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Tyson Chandler close to joining Knicks

tyson chandler

In the latest twist of his expected departure from the Dallas Mavericks, Tyson Chandler is closing in on a deal with the New York Knicks, according to sources close to the process.

“New York is Tyson’s first choice,” one source told ESPN.com, confirming a Thursday report from CBSSports.com that the Knicks have jumped ahead of the Golden State Warriors in the race to sign Chandler.

“It’s 98 percent sure that Tyson is going to wind up with the Knicks.”

To create sufficient salary-cap space to sign Chandler, New York is expected to shed the contracts of Chauncey Billups and Ronny Turiaf, through either trades or the forthcoming amnesty clause.

Signing Chandler, sources said, could free up the Knicks to offer star forward Amare Stoudemire to the New Orleans Hornets in a trade scenario for Chris Paul, who badly wants to reunite with Chandler after their time together with the Hornets. Sources say that’s one option New York is considering.

— Reported by Marc Stein of ESPN.com

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Nets hire P.J. Carlesimo and Mario Elie as assistant coaches

The New Jersey Nets have named P.J. Carlesimo and Mario Elie as assistant coaches, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.  Carlesimo and Elie join assistant coaches Popeye Jones and Tom Barrise and assistant coach/player development Doug Overton on Head Coach Avery Johnson’s staff.  In addition, the Nets have named Dr. Jeremy Bettle as the team’s strength and conditioning coach.

P.J. Carlesimo brings over 35 years of coaching experience to the Nets, most recently serving as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors in 2010-11.  A three-time NBA head coach, Carlesimo previously held the top job in Portland (1994-97), Golden State (1996-2000) and Seattle/Oklahoma City (2007-09).  In seven NBA seasons, Carlesimo had an overall NBA coaching record of 203-284 (.417).  In addition, Carlesimo spent five seasons (2002-2007) as Gregg Popovich’s lead assistant with the San Antonio Spurs, where they captured three NBA titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Carlesimo began his coaching career as an assistant at Fordham University in 1971, before serving as head coach at New Hampshire College, Wagner College, Seton Hall University, where he guided the Pirates to the NCAA Tournament championship game in 1989.

Carlesimo served as an assistant coach for USA Basketball for the gold-medal winning team at the 1992 Olympic Games, the 1990 World Championships, the 1990 Goodwill Games and the 1988 Olympic Trials. In addition, Carlesimo was the head coach of three other U.S. Teams, including the 1991 World University Games squad, winners of the gold medal, and at the Olympic Festival in Norman and Oklahoma City in 1989.

A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Carlesimo graduated from Fordham University in 1971.  He has been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (1992 USAB Dream Team), Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, the Wagner Hall of Fame and the Seton Hall Athletic Hall of Fame. His father, the late Pete Carlesimo, was the long-time executive director of the NIT.  Between coaching stints, Carlesimo has been a broadcaster for NBC Sports, Turner Sports and Spurs Television.

Mario Elie comes to the Nets after spending the last two seasons as an assistant with Sacramento.  Following an 11-year playing career, Elie entered the coaching ranks as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003-04.  From there, Elie went on to serve as an assistant coach for Golden State (2004-06) and Dallas (2007-09), before joining the Kings in 2009.

Elie enjoyed a successful NBA playing career averaging 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 732 regular season games with Golden State, Philadelphia, Portland, Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix. He also played in 116 career playoff contests, winning three NBA Championships with Houston (1994 & 1995) and San Antonio (1999).

A native of New York City, Elie was drafted in the seventh round by the Milwaukee Bucks (160th overall pick) in 1985 out of American International College – a Division II school in Springfield, Mass.  Elie played in Portugal, Argentina, Ireland, the USBL, the WBL and the CBA before making his NBA debut with the Philadelphia 76ers in December 1990.

Dr. Jeremy Bettle joins the Nets after serving at UC Santa Barbara as Director of Sports Performance and most recently, assistant athletics director.  At UCSB, he was directly responsible for the strength and conditioning of all 20 intercollegiate programs.  Prior to joining UCSB, Bettle was the Director of Wellness and Athletic Programs for Hayashida Physical Therapy in Santa Barbara, while also serving as the regional strength and conditioning coach for USA Rugby.

Bettle has also held positions as a strength and conditioning coach at Middle Tennessee State University, a technical manager for USA Rugby, and a speed development consultant with Viadana Rugby, the premier professional rugby organization in Italy.

Bettle holds a Ph.D in Human Performance from Middle Tennessee State.  He also has a Master’s in exercise science from Middle Tennessee State and earned a degree in sports and exercise science from Leeds University (England).  He holds a CSCS certificate from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).