A source close to the Kings said Tuesday a trade has been agreed upon sending Ron Artest to Houston for former Kings point guard Bobby Jackson, first-round draft pick Donte Greene, next season's first-round pick and cash considerations of approximately $1 million. The deal, the source said, cannot be finalized until Aug. 14 because of the nature of Greene's contract. A Rockets official who requested anonymity because of the private nature of trade talks said of the likely deal: "It feels very done to me." Sacramento Bee
A second source close to the Kings said second-round draft picks Sean Singletary and Patrick Ewing Jr. could be sent to Houston as a means to keep the Kings under the luxury tax threshold ($71 million). Both players have partially guaranteed contracts that aren't fully guaranteed until the regular season begins. That element of the deal, however, could be handled with different pieces as well. Sacramento Bee
Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Jackson - who will earn $6.09 million in the final season of his contract - said he had just been told of the likely trade. "I got wind of it, but it's not done yet," said Jackson, the point guard who was a fan favorite with the Kings from 2000 to 2005. "It's a possibility. I don't know yet." Sacramento Bee
While Artest repeatedly had stated his desire to remain with the Kings, the organization was not interested in signing him to a long-term deal. Artest, however, had been given a different impression. On July 1, he requested a conference call with his agent and Petrie in which he - according to sources with knowledge of the talks - expressed his desire for a maximum contract. He was informed that he was not in the team's long-term plans. Its plan was to further the youth movement. Sacramento Bee
The Orlando Magic will soon try to re-sign center Adonal Foyle, adding another big man after waiving little-used power forward James Augustine on Tuesday. Magic General Manager Otis Smith said he would like Foyle to return and would speak to his agent, Lon Babby, in the next few days. "Adonal's a big body; he knows how to play," Smith said. "We'll see where it goes." Augustine's release was not a surprise, considering he seldom played and the club is looking to maximize its budget. Orlando Sentinel
Smith said he wants to add a third point guard and added the club could go with just 14 players. Most teams carry 15. "We tried to do that last year, go with 14, but then Tony [Battie] got hurt," Smith said of Battie, who missed the season. Orlando Sentinel
The Bulls and forward Luol Deng are expected to finalize a six-year, $71 million contract today, with a formal signing likely Thursday. A source familiar with the negotiations said talks accelerated when Deng's agent, Jason Levien, flew to town Tuesday to meet with Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager John Paxson. The sides worked until about 8 p.m. and are expected back at the Berto Center today to go over details. Chicago Sun-Times
The new deal for Deng, a restricted free agent, includes incentives that could increase the total value to $80 million. That tops the five-year, $50 million deal Deng said he turned down at the start of last season. Deng had set Monday as a deadline to get a deal done because he is scheduled to leave for the European Championships, where he will play for the British team. Chicago Sun-Times
The deal is worth $71 million over six years, according to a league source. With incentives, it could grow to $80 million over the life of the contract. Deng's lead negotiator, Jason Levien, said two weeks ago that once Deng left the country, they planned to cease talks with the Bulls. Deng's camp felt negotiations had carried on long enough. If they couldn't make a deal by the time Deng went to England, Levien might ask the Bulls to work out a sign-and-trade deal. Arlington Heights Daily Herald
Though nothing has been signed yet, Deng postponed his flight to London and expects to attend a news conference announcing the contract later this week, most likely on Thursday. Arlington Heights Daily Herald
The Bulls are concerned about not paying the luxury tax and once Deng's deal becomes official, with a first-year salary of $9.4 million, they will have less than $8 million to work with next season before hitting the luxury tax threshold. If the Bulls do re-sign Gordon, they would face a crowded backcourt with Gordon, first-round draft pick Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Larry Hughes and Thabo Sefolosha. One of those players - most likely Gordon, Hinrich or Hughes - figures to be moved before the season begins. Arlington Heights Daily Herald
The Bulls remain far apart in negotiations with guard Ben Gordon, also a restricted free agent. Gordon's agent, Raymond Brothers, has told the Bulls that Gordon should be the highest-paid player on the team because he has led the team in scoring each of the last three seasons. Gordon averaged 18.6 points last season, down from a career-high 21.4 in 2006-07. Chicago Sun-Times
Gordon also has strongly considered signing the team's qualifying offer of $6.4 million for next season, after which he would be an unrestricted free agent. Chicago Sun-Times
Bobcats: Sometime soon, Okafor will sign a six-year, $72million contract. There will be smiles and back-slaps all around, but this sidesteps a calamity. Okafor wondered if he should remain a Charlotte Bobcat. Last fall he politely turned down a different contract offer - shorter term but also in the $12million-per-year range. Looking to prove he was worth more, he suffered through an awful coach, Sam Vincent, who messed with his head, and still averaged a double-double. Charlotte Observer
Robert "Tractor" Traylor, a former Michigan and NBA player who is serving time in a halfway house for preparing a false tax return, will ask a federal judge today to amend his probation conditions so he can try out for the Lakers. In September, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn sentenced Traylor, 31, to three years of probation -- to include three months in a federal halfway house -- after Traylor recorded as his own two homes that were owned by his cousin, convicted drug kingpin Quasand Lewis. Detroit News
But when Traylor got a chance this week to try out for the Lakers, his probation officer denied him permission to leave his halfway house and make the trip. Traylor's Detroit attorney, Steve Fishman, filed a motion Tuesday asking Cohn to overrule the probation officer, saying the judge "clearly intended to give Mr. Traylor the opportunity to obtain an NBA contract and continue his professional basketball career." Detroit News
On Tuesday, Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in triggering a scandal that raised suspicions about the integrity of the league's officiating. "Like Gerald Ford once said: 'Our long national nightmare is over.' The NBA's long national nightmare is over," said Williams, former general manager of the Magic. Donaghy pleaded guilty last year to taking payoffs and placing bets on games in a scheme with two friends that covered about 40 games during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Prosecutors said Donaghy, 41, made up to $30,000 a year for providing game tips. The two former high school classmates of Donaghy each was sentenced last week to a little more than a year in prison. Orlando Sentinel
Monta Ellis gave his first public interview since signing a six-year, $66 million contract with the Warriors last week, and he was hardly the shy kid they drafted in 2005 out of Lanier High School in Jackson, Miss. He seemed comfortable in his first appearance as the franchise's premier player. Still, hold off on crowning him king, he requests. "I have to do more, but it's not just me out there on the basketball court," Ellis said Tuesday from the Warriors practice facility. "It's me and four other guys. I'm just going to go to my coaches, my veteran guys, and we'll all try to lift this team. "I'm not trying to put anything on my back or try to put more on me, because it's not MY TEAM. We don't have Monta across the jersey. It's the Warriors." Contra Costa Times
With Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and Marcus Williams shipped off in trades, and veteran forwards Nenad Krstic and Bostjan Nachbar signing lucrative deals to play in Russia, coach Lawrence Frank will have to play his youngsters. First-round picks Brook Lopez and Ryan Anderson and second-round choice Chris Douglas-Roberts are eager to move into the rotation. "I think we'll be really young and we have a lot of guys that are willing to get their feet wet and get some experience," Lopez said yesterday at the NBA Rookie Photo Shoot at the Knicks training facility in Tarrytown. NY Post
The Nets tried to beat the Tuesday midnight deadline and work a deal. They had concrete offers, but losing Krstic left them at 15 contracts and they did not want to take anything back in terms of players. Chicago and Memphis were definitely in the mix. "We had a couple things that were relatively close," Thorn said. "But it just didn't get done. In some instances, we would have had to take back (a contract) that we didn't want." NY Post
The Pistons are about to sign former No. 1 overall pick Kwame Brown, and I think a lot of fans are scratching their heads on this one. Some are scratching as hard as they possibly can in an attempt to remove their brains. They don't particularly care for Brown. Ah, who am I kidding? They hate him and everything he represents. They think he was handed NBA millions before he earned them, that he copped an attitude when things didn't go his way, that his talent was overrated when he went No. 1 overall, and that he set the Wizards and the Lakers back with his mere presence. Detroit Free Press
Pistons president Joe Dumars declared in June that he would try to shake up his core. Well, Dumars has been shaking for weeks now, and Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Wallace and McDyess are still together. I knew those guys were close, but I didn't realize they were stuck to each other. Detroit Free Press
I still firmly believe that Dumars' first choice is to trade Billups. But if Brown plays well, the Pistons can look at trading one of their big guys, probably Wallace. As the trade deadline approaches next season, Wallace's value likely will increase. His contract is up next summer, and NBA teams salivate over big, expiring contracts. Detroit Free Press
Yesterday, Stefanski, the 76ers' general manager, officially announced the signing of shooting guard Kareem Rush. While the Sixers, per team policy, did not disclose terms of the agreement, a source familiar with the negotiations said Rush signed a minimum-level contract, which, for a player such as Rush, credited with six years of service in the NBA, would be $998,398. Rush made $770,610 last season with the Pacers. He is now the 10th player under contract for the Sixers this season. The addition of the 6-foot-6 Rush, who is known as a solid outside shooter, fills a gaping hole in the Sixers' arsenal. During the 2007-08 season, the 76ers were worst in the league from beyond the arc, shooting 31.7 percent. Philadelphia Inquirer
Now, attention turns to re-signing guard/forward Andre Iguodala and guard Louis Williams, both restricted free agents. A source close to the Iguodala negotiations said yesterday that the 76ers and Iguodala's representative were working to reach a deal. Philadelphia Inquirer
Timberwolves forward Ryan Gomes' new contract will keep him stocked with diapers and with the team for at least two seasons and as many as the next five. A month after he and his wife, Danielle, welcomed their first child, Gomes on Friday agreed with the team on a contract he signed Tuesday. The team announced his signing at Farview Recreation Center in north Minneapolis, where he and his Hoops for Heart Health Foundation donated a heart defibrillator last winter. The contract guarantees him $7.3 million -- $3.5 million this coming season, $3.8 million in 2009-2010 -- for the next two seasons. Minneapolis Star Tribune
Kobe Bryant, who lives for one-on-one challenges, went at it with former Trojan and soon-to-be Memphis Grizzlies rookie O.J. Mayo, a member of the U.S. Select team, last week in Las Vegas. "Kobe completely shut him down in the beginning," said U.S. managing director Jerry Colangelo. "But the longer they went, the better Mayo got." Bryant already knew Mayo, who attended his camp last summer, and already thought highly of him. LA Times
Kobe Bryant, who has been playing with a torn ligament between the fourth and fifth fingers on his right hand since February, says he will have surgery soon after he returns from the Olympics in China. "I'm definitely set on surgery," he said. "As soon as I get back, we'll talk about it, do it, get ready for the season. "I've heard three weeks, four weeks, five weeks. I heal pretty easy. I'm taking care of it, doing therapy, I should be back in no time." LA Times
As expected the Knicks waived Taurean Green and Bobby Jones, the two players they received Monday from Denver for Renaldo Balkman. NY Daily News
Dwyane Wade said today that he is "angry," and plans to play that way in the upcoming Beijing Olympics. The Miami Heat guard said he is angry about those who have questioned his fitness, those who debate his value to the U.S. team, and those who equate the Heat's drop in the standings to a supposed decline in his ability at age 26. "That's going to be like that probably all year, for a while, just that anger, that focus of getting back to total respect," he said this morning by phone before joining his Olympic teammates at practice in Macau, China. South Florida Sun-Sentinel