House Call: Thunder Pay Visit to Durant to Discuss Extension

Filed under: Thunder, NBA Free Agents

Sam Presti stayed true to his word.

While the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and friends were being recruited by so many teams at the start of free agency Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder general manager was focused on retaining his star before he ever reaches that point.

A source close to the situation told FanHouse Thunder officials were at the Oklahoma City house of small forward Kevin Durant at 11:01 p.m. local time (12:01 a.m. ET), making their intentions known at the earliest time allowed by league rules that they intend to offer an extension. ESPN.com first reported the visit.

 

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Lakers Let Jordan Farmar Become an Unrestricted Free Agent

Filed under: Lakers, NBA Free Agents

If the Lakers even wanted to consider the possibility of bringing reserve guard Jordan Farmar back next season, all they had to do was make a qualifying offer for one year in the amount of $3 million by Wednesday afternoon. The team apparently wasn’t interested in retaining that option.

Los Angeles let the deadline pass without extending that qualifying offer, thus making Farmar an unrestricted free agent, and eligible to begin negotiating with teams of his choosing anytime after 12:00 ET on July 1st.

It’s unclear exactly what Farmar’s value will be on the open market, both in terms of annual salary and in terms of the length of a contract. But one thing is certain: by not even bothering to retain the rights to match any offers Farmar may receive from other teams, the Lakers clearly are not interested in keeping Farmar on the roster, at any cost.

 

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GM Hammond Has ‘Guarded’ Optimism John Salmons Will Re-Sign With Bucks

Filed under: Bucks, Warriors, NBA Free Agents

Milwaukee general manager John Hammond said he has “guarded” optimism John Salmons will re-sign with the Bucks.

In an interview with FanHouse early Thursday morning, after the free agency period had begun, Hammond said he spoke to both Salmons and his agent, Joel Bell, by phone, shortly after midnight EDT. He plans to negotiate with Bell during the day Thursday.

“We’ve told him that we want him back,” Hammond said of Salmons, who opted out of a contract that would have paid him $5.81 million next season.

But is the feeling mutual?

“I think so,” Hammond said. “We talked at the end of the season about how much we appreciated the season that he had and helping us get back to the playoffs. And he appreciated that.”

Salmons was acquired last February from Chicago. After Salmons suited up, the Bucks went 22-8 and the move was a key reason Hammond was named NBA Executive of the Year. Milwaukee, despite being without injured starting center Andrew Bogut, took Atlanta to Game 7 in the first round of the playoffs before falling.

After averaging 12.7 points at the time of the trade, Salmons averaged 19.9 in 30 Milwaukee games to finish the season at 15.4.

The Bucks last week acquired a perimeter scorer in small forward Corey Maggette from Golden State. But Hammond stressed that move in no way has affected how badly the Bucks want Salmons back.

“Absolutely not,” Hammond said. “We want to improve this team and adding a player the magnitude of (Maggette) gives us that ability.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson

 

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Agent: Byron Scott, Cavs Agree to Terms

Filed under: Cavaliers, NBA Coaches, NBA Free Agents

After making a mess of their coaching search, the Cleveland Cavaliers have cleaned things up quickly.

Less than a day after Byron Scott’s agent, Brian McInerney, publicly congratulated his competition for winning the job and Scott himself wished the Cavs well in a late-night phone call, McInerney told FanHouse that Scott has agreed to “essential terms (of a contract), with details to be worked out throughout the night.”

Meanwhile, the former front-runner, Lakers assistant Brian Shaw, removed his name from consideration on Wednesday afternoon, according to his agent, Jerome Stanley.

In an interview with FanHouse, Scott’s agent, McInerney, had denied reports that it was a foregone conclusion Scott would become the Cavs coach, but he would say less than two hours later, “The presentation was very aggressive and didn’t require hours of negotiation.”

 

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Richard Jefferson Opts for Free Agency

Filed under: Spurs, NBA Free Agents

Spurs swingman Richard Jefferson has opted out of the final year of his contract and will become a free agent.

Spurs spokesman Tom James said the nine-year veteran informed the team Thursday. Jefferson was due to make about $15 million next year after underachieving in his first season in San Antonio.

Jefferson, who turned 30 years old this month, averaged 12.3 points last season, his lowest since his rookie year.

Coming off such a disappointing season, Jefferson likely won’t be able to earn all of the money he left on the table back in a single season, but as he told FanHouse’s Chris Tomasson in April, he hopes a temporary pay cut will result in long-term security.

Share “I probably wouldn’t make 15 [million dollars] some place, but you could somehow recoup some of that over a multi-year deal and get some guaranteed money for the next few years,” he said.

“So you figure it out. If you’re able to get four years and 40 [million dollars by opting out] from someone, it’s like, ‘OK, I did lose out on 15 [million dollars]. But I’m going to get basically a $25 million extension.’ Those are things that you think of at the end of the season.”

 

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Chicago’s Cap Crunch Continues: Kris Versteeg Traded to Toronto

Filed under: Blackhawks, Maple Leafs

As was the case with last week’s trade that sent Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta, clearing much-needed cap space is the motivating factor for Wednesday’s deal that resulted in Chicago sending Kris Versteeg to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to the trade Chicago had only $6 million in salary cap space (via CapGeek) with only 13 players under contract for the upcoming season. Simple math tells you that somebody had to go, and Versteeg was next in line.

In return for the 24-year-old winger, the Blackhawks received prospects Viktor Stalberg, Chris Didomenico and Phillippe Paradis. According to Hockey’s Future, only Stalberg was among Toronto’s top-five prospects, while Didomenico and Paradis ranked 12th and 13th respectively.

Along with Versteeg, the Maple Leafs also received prospect Billy Sweatt.

By trading Versteeg, the Blackhawks will save just a little over $3 million per season against the salary cap over the next two seasons; and they’re also losing a 20-goal scorer — and a top-six winger — that’s probably just entering the prime of his career.

That, however, is simply how things work in the salary cap NHL.

 

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NHL Free Agency: A Primer

Filed under: NHL Free Agency

Not sure what to expect as NHL free agency kicks off at noon on Thursday? FanHouse’s Christopher Botta breaks it down, college outline style.

We begin our NHL FanHouse primer on the unrestricted free agency period with a life lesson. Through my two decades on the team side of the NHL, I often picked the brains of the various league hockey ops personnel to learn how to get your man in free agency.

– Before you leave the office late on June 30, finalize your list of the free agents you really want. If there are any players you are only kinda-sorta interested in, eliminate them from your list and never think about them again.

– One second after the opening of the UFA Megsatore at noon on July 1, take what you would like to offer the agent of your desired free agent, add 50 percent more cash and one year to the term.

 

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Agent Says Phil Jackson Hasn’t Made Lakers Decision

Filed under: Cavaliers, Lakers, NBA Coaches

With reports circulating that Cleveland has turned its attention toward Byron Scott as the Cavaliers‘ next coach rather than Brian Shaw, many have been wondering if this means a decision has been reached on whether Phil Jackson will return to the Lakers. After all, Scott, a former Lakers guard, and Shaw, a Lakers assistant, both have been mentioned as possible Jackson replacements.

But Jackson’s agent, Todd Musburger, insisted in a brief phone interview with FanHouse on Wednesday night that Jackson has yet to decide anything on his future.

“There has been no decision yet by Phil,” Musburger said. “Any decision made by Phil is going to come from him.”

There has been speculation Scott was perhaps waiting see if the Lakers’ job would open before possibly going to Cleveland. But ESPN.com reported Wednesday night that Scott is in negotiations to be the Cavaliers’ next coach, and others outlets have followed with that.

Share There’s also been speculation about how Jackson’s situation has been affecting Shaw, who had been a strong Cleveland candidate before dropping out Wednesday. What might Shaw be hearing from Jackson, who is at his Montana home deciding whether he wants to coach again primarily due to his medical situation?

Jackson has said he expects to have a decision for the Lakers by Friday. After winning his 11th title two weeks ago, Jackson said last week he’s “leaning towards retiring,” but Musburger had told FanHouse he wouldn’t be surprised if Jackson retired or if he returned to the Lakers.

Musburger said he couldn’t comment specifically on the Cleveland coaching search and how it might relate to Jackson’s situation.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson

 

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Reports: Tiger Woods Interviewed in Galea Probe

Filed under: PGA

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Tiger Woods has been interviewed by federal authorities investigating a Canadian doctor accused of distributing human growth hormone, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation of Dr. Anthony Galea is ongoing.

Woods previously acknowledged that he’s been treated by the Toronto-based doctor but insisted that he did not receive any performance-enhancing drugs.

“Tiger willingly spoke to the authorities and cooperated fully,” Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, said in an e-mail. “It was confirmed that because he did nothing illegal, he is not the subject of any criminal investigation. Because there is an ongoing investigation involving others, there will be no further comment.”

The New York Times first reported Woods’ interview, citing two unidentified people.

Barbara Burns, a spokeswoman for U.S. District Attorney William Hochul, declined comment.

 

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Steve Phillips’ NL All-Star Starters

Filed under: MLB All-Star Game, MLB Video, Executive Take

The rosters for the 2010 MLB All-Star Game will be released this Sunday, and FanHouse TV’s Steve Phillips has been pondering his starting nine.

Perhaps the most intriguing spot? The one position on which fans don’t get to vote — starting pitcher.

There have been a number of outstanding performances in the first half from the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson and Yovani Gallardo, but only one of them can get the ball for the National League on July 13.

Click below to find out who made Steve’s team:

 

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