http://[h3]
[h3]Nate to C's on again?[/h3]
10:11AM ET
[h5]Nate Robinson |
Knicks [/h5]
Reports out of Boston and New York have the Knicks and Celtics close to a deal that would send
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?playerId=2782Nate Robinson to Boston. This was a rumored trade earlier this season.
The trade discussions are confirmed by ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan.
But as Sheridan reminds us, trading Nate isn't an easy task because he's a base-year compensation player.
[h5]Chris Sheridan[/h5]
BYC can be complicating factor
"I have confirmed that the teams have renewed discussions, but there is one major thing to keep in mind: Robinson is what's known as a base-year compensation player, which can be a complicating factor. Robinson makes $4 million, but the Knicks can take back a maximum of only $2.02 million in returning salary. Just an educated guess, but if Boston were willing to trade a No. 1 pick for Nate, it would blunt the pain of New York's surrendering a first-rounder or two to the Rockets in a McGrady deal. On a related note, three plugged-in sources indicated the Knicks seemed eager to get their business done Wednesday rather than wait until the 11th hour Thursday afternoon."
[/h3]
http://[h3]New York in lead for T-Mac[/h3]
10:11AM ET
[h5]Tracy McGrady |
Rockets | Interested:
Bulls?,
Knicks? [/h5]
We told you yesterday that it was looking like either New York or Chicago would land Houston's
Tracy McGrady. As of this morning, that hasn't changed.
Late last night,
ESPN's Marc Stein reported the Rockets "are leaning toward taking the Knicks' offer."
However, there's still an unresolved issue in the negotiations.
For the price of taking on
Jared Jeffries contract, the Rockets are asking for a future first-round pick. But as
ESPN's Chris Sheridan writes: "A decade of sacrificing first-round draft picks has left [James Dolan] hesitant to sign off on letting another one go."
"The Rockets are believed to be seeking the Knicks' 2012 first-round pick, along with the option to swap first-round picks in 2011, and there are unresolved issues regarding lottery protection on the draft picks."
So while the Knicks -- who's offer along with Jeffries contains
Jordan Hill and
Larry Hughes -- may be in the lead, until the draft-pick issue is resolved, nothing will likely get done just yet.
As for the Bulls,
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported their offer to the Rockets includes
Brad Miller,
Tyrus Thomas and either
Kirk Hinrich or
John Salmons. But sources tell him the Rockets have shown "little interest" in taking on Hinrich or Salmons, so there has been talk of a third team becoming involved.
So, for now, both teams have snags in their offers. But Stein reported word from one source that said he expects a decision to be made today.
[h5]Chris Sheridan[/h5]
If Knicks trade Jeffries, cap space is there for two free agents
"The Rockets are believed to be seeking the Knicks' 2012 first-round pick, along with the option to swap first-round picks in 2011, and there are unresolved issues regarding lottery protection on the draft picks. But the bottom line for New York is that trading Jeffries opens up nearly $7 million in additional cap space for this summer, giving the Knicks the flexibility to not only make a max offer to
LeBron James but also choose between retaining All-Star
David Lee or trying to use Lee in a sign-and-trade for
Chris Bosh."
http://[h3]Jazz trade not expected[/h3]
9:07AM ET
[h5]Utah Jazz [/h5]
The
Utah Jazz are about $5 million above the tax line, but head coach Jerry Sloan doesn't think the team will make a trade by tomorrow.
"This is who we are, it looks like," Sloan told
The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday.
General manager Kevin O'Connor said once again that he's not under any orders to slash payroll and, according to the
The Salt Lake Tribune, can take on salary this season and next season.
http://[h3]Wizards not done?[/h3]
6:47AM ET
[h5]Washington Wizards [/h5]
The Wizards are only about $2.6 million above the tax line after the trade with the Mavericks and team president Ernie Grunfeld says he may not be done.
"We still have a lot of conversations going on," Grunfeld told
The Washington Post. "We want to see what this group does. If we don't make a move between now and Thursday, there are opportunities to do things during the summer. That's just life in the NBA. A lot of teams are out there talking, a lot of teams want to make moves. I thought the thing we did is going to be good for our team in the long haul."
The Wizards are talking to the Cavs about
Antawn Jamison and may move
Drew Gooden, who they just acquired from the Mavericks.
http://[h3]Pargo wants to be traded[/h3]
6:21AM ET
[h5]Jannero Pargo |
Bulls [/h5]
While the Bulls are hoping to trade
Tyrus Thomas,
Kirk Hinrich and
John Salmons, they are also, according to the
Chicago Tribune, trying to move
Jannero Pargo.
Pargo is not getting any time with the Bulls and hopes that changes by going to another team. Pargo's contract expires at the end of the season and the newspaper says the Knicks have some interest in him.
