Lee and Big Al trade rumors and more
From Marcus Thompson II/Mercury Times:
According to multiple sources, including a few within the organization, the Warriors are one of a few teams in the mix for Lee via a sign-and-trade with the Knicks.
If James reaches a contract agreement with the Knicks, they would have to renounce their rights to Lee to have enough money under the salary cap to sign James.
From ProBasketballTalk: Well, of course the Minnesota Timberwolves would meet with Luke Ridnour
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been trying to off-load Al Jefferson for several weeks, and word is they have had more than a passing discussion with the Dallas Mavericks about a deal that would send the non-guaranteed contract of Erick Dampier to the Timberwolves in exchange for Jefferson.
The Wolves could immediately waive Dampier and clear his $13 million 2010-2011 salary from their books and gain additional salary cap space to potentially sign David Lee or Charlotte's Tyrus Thomas.
From Vincent Goodwill/Detroit News:
Mediocre players such as former Pistons Darko Milicic and Amir Johnson have verbally agreed to deals worth $20 million and $35 million, respectively. Those two don't even combine to put up All-Star numbers, yet they set the market in a sense for free agency.
The Timberwolves, who signed Milicic to this deal when there was no market for him, are led by general manager David Kahn and owner Glen Taylor. Kahn drafted three point guards last year and three small forwards this year. It's safe to say he's not a candidate for executive of the year. Taylor, on the other hand, is the same owner who was caught cheating in 1999, signing Joe Smith to an illegal deal that cost his team three first-round picks and a $3.5 million fine. Instead of overpaying under the table, he decided to do it above board this time. Bravo.
From Mike Cranston/Brisbane Times: Jawai hits fork in historic road to NBA