Friday Insider........more of the Spree stuff

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NBA swap meet heats up

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Can the Knicks sell Spree to the Hawks? | Cavs-Miller feud heating up | Can the Celtics land a big-time power forward? | Summer League Update | Peep Show

Updated NBA Free Agent Watch

Updated NBA Depth Charts

Two days into free agency and everyone is already bored. Most of the top free agents already have dates to the prom. There are about 10 teams that have the cash and the inclination to use their mid-level exceptions. Everyone else is fighting for scraps.

David Stern may have found a way to take the frenzy out of free agency. But the impending luxury tax and listless market are encouraging plenty of teams to talk trade.

"I think the combination of the collective bargaining agreement and the luxury tax is going to create a lot more trading in the summer," one team executive told Insider. "For the most part, free agents have all the incentives to re-sign with their own clubs, which really weakens the market. Then teams really don't have much money to spare to sign other guys. So what happens is that teams have only two real avenues to improve their teams — the draft and trades. The draft is over and I think you'll see the trading season really heat up in the next two weeks."

The summer of 2003 may be an exception because so many teams have cleared cap room to be players in the free-agent market. But 2004? Teams will be right back to where they are this summer — over the cap and running from Stern's tax collectors.

So, for teams like the Hawks, Celtics, Pacers and Raptors, who are trying to improve without paying the luxury tax, their real work has just begun . . .

Can the Knicks sell Spree to the Hawks?

Trade rumors swirling around Latrell Sprewell just won't keep going away.

The latest has the Knicks and Hawks talking about a trade that would send Spree and Othella Harrington to Atlanta for Jason Terry, Nazr Mohammed and Alan Henderson. The Hawks have been shopping Terry since they acquired Dan Dickau on draft night.

According to one Hawks souce, the coaching staff doesn't believe Terry has a future as a two guard because of his size. While he's shown flashes at point guard, the Hawks would prefer to deal him and bring in a more experienced, taller two guard that would allow them to play Dickau. Spree, who has been stuck playing out of position in New York his entire tenure there, meets the description. With young swingmen like Dion Glover and DerMarr Johnson waiting in the wings, the Hawks can afford to let Terry slide away.

The Knicks, who are desperate to upgrade at point guard and center, get both needs taken care of with one fell swoop. Mohammed is better than any free agent centers out there right now. Terry's game is hard to figure out, but the Knicks believe he can still play the point. While Henderson's salary (3 years, $22 million remaining) is tough to swallow, that has never stopped the Knicks in the past. The Knicks have been trying to get Toni Kukoc thrown into the swap instead of Henderson, but right now the Hawks aren't budging.

The N.Y. Daily News is also reporting that Cleveland could possibly be involved in a three-way deal that would send Andre Miller to the Knicks. The report doesn't, however, indicate who the Cavs would take in return. Given the fact that neither the Knicks nor the Hawks have players in the last year of their contracts, nor do the teams have many young prospects (unless your counting DerMarr Johnson, but I wouldn't), a deal with the Cavs seems unlikely.

Spree rumors over the past week have had him going to the Bucks, T-Wolves and even the Pistons, so take all of this talk with a grain of salt.

T-Wolves GM Kevin McHale shot down a Wally Szczerbiak-to-the-Knicks rumor Thursday. "I'm not trading with those guys," McHale told the Post. "I don't like their guys because of a combination of contracts and other things."

Earlier in the day, McHale told The Post: "Nothing's going to happen for a lot of reasons. I'm trying to make my team better. Believe it or not, you guys from New York think everyone's out there to make the Knicks better. That's not the way it works. I'm looking to make our team better, which is a foreign concept to you guys in New York."

Still, there's very little doubt left that Knick GM Scott Layden no longer feels like the Knicks can win with Spree playing out of position. "Sprewell's been the most shopped player in the league," one GM told the New York Times.

While that may be an overstatement, it shows that Sprewell's name has been prominent in trade talks. The Knicks realize he will have to be involved in any deal that brings them a top-flight player.

"The reason Sprewell has not been traded is not because of a lack of effort on the Knicks' part," the GM told the Times. "There are some teams interested in him, but it's not like the Knicks are going to get Kobe Bryant for him."

Knicks, Hawks Talk Spree Swap

Frank Isola / New York Daily News

McHale To Knicks: T'Wolves Won't Deal

Marc Berman / New York Post

Knicks' Priority Now Is Landing a Point Guard

Chris Broussard / New York Times

Cavs-Miller feud heating up

It looks like Cavs GM Jim Paxson is still determined to trade Andre Miller.

Paxson decided to let it slip Thursday that Miller's agent, Lon Babby, has now demanded either a max extension this year or a trade.

"Lon Babby has made it very clear that [Miller] wants the maximum contract and he wants it now," Paxson told the Akron Beacon Journal. "If not, he wants him traded. A lot of this stuff has been fueled from the other side, not Andre."

Paxson's remarks sent Babby into a tizzy. "Throughout this process, we have attempted to maintain privacy in discussions with the Cavaliers," Babby said. "However, at every turn, they have chosen to put their own spin on these discussions and have done so publicly. The Cavs have not offered Andre a contract. Andre wants to be compensated fairly and he wants to be in an environment where winning is a priority. He can't control whether [the Cavs] trade him."

While Paxson said he anticipated that Miller would be on the Cavs' roster next season, league sources continue to indicate that the Cavs are talking to teams about Miller. Despite public comments to the contrary, the team doesn't think it can play Miller and Dajuan Wagner on the floor together for long stretches.

In other Cavs news, the Cavs and Ricky Davis' agent, Dan Fegan, are "still not on the same page," about re-signing the free agent guard. The Cavs want to re-sign Davis to a three-year deal with a starting salary below the $4.6 mid-level exception. Davis is looking for a five- or six-year deal starting at more than $5 million a year. Fegan is a notoriously tough negotiator. "We're not close," Paxson told the Beacon Journal. Cavs coach John Lucas said negotiations could drag into September. Paxson added, "Or October."

Miller situation heats up

Chris Tomasson / Akron Beacon Journal

Can the Celtics land a big-time power forward?

It looks like the Celtics' free-agent woes could be wiped out with one big deal.

Unable to re-sign Rodney Rogers because of the luxury tax, the Celtics must find a way to replace him through a trade. Over the past few weeks the team has talked with the Pacers about Austin Croshere and the Heat about Brian Grant.

But in the end, it looks like they may just settle for a local boy. Five papers, the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Seattle Times, Seattle Post Intelligencer and Tacoma Tribune, are all reporting that the Celtics and Sonics are seriously discussing a swap of Kenny Anderson and Vitaly Potapenko for Vin Baker and either Shammond Williams or Earl Watson.

The Times claims that the trade is close to happening and could be completed by this weekend. The Herald characterized the rumor as mainly a Sonics creation and seemed to think that it wasn't as far along.

Whatever deal the Celtics pull off, it looks like they will move Anderson in an attempt to upgrade their frontcourt. Anderson has one year left on his contract, making him attractive to teams like the Sonics and Heat that are still trying to find ways to clear more cap space for the free-agent bonanza of 2003.

It doesn't hurt that Anderson is coming off, perhaps, his best season as a pro and several veteran teams are desperately searching for someone to run the point. The Pacers like Jamaal Tinsley, but feel he isn't ready to be a playoff point guard. The Heat have only Anthony Carter under contract. The Sonics still have Gary Payton, but he may be the next to go if they can move Baker for Anderson.

Payton is looking for a fat contract extension and the Sonics, who just forked over major cash to re-sign Jerome James, can't afford it. The Warriors, T-Wolves, Bucks, Knicks and Heat all have major interest in Payton.

Baker bound for Boston?

Percy Allen / Seattle Times

Celts: Taker for Baker?

Danny O'Neil / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

C's mull trade for Sonics' Baker: Kenny, Vitaly may be bait

Steve Bulpett / Boston Herald

Summer League Update

The NBA summer league gets in full swing today. Not only are the L.A. Summer Pro League and the Shaw Pro Summer League still rolling, but the Rocky Mountain Revue also kicks things off in Salt Lake City today.

The Bulls, Cavs, Mavs, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Suns, Blazers, Raptors and the Jazz will play for the next week. Top draft picks like Jay Williams, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Dajuan Wagner, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Qyntel Woods and Curtis Borchardt are expected to play in Utah.

Day four in Boston got off to a bang as Kwame Brown finally made an appearance for the Wizards. Brown struggled for most of the game and ended with six points and five boards in 18 minutes. Still, Washington handed Minnesota its first lost, 81-69, at the Shaw's Pro Summer League. Juan Dixon led a balanced Washington attack with 16 points, Etan Thomas added 15 points and Jared Jeffries and Bobby Simmons had 13 points each. Maurice Evans led the Timberwolves attack with 11 points while DeMarco Johnson chipped in with 10.

In Game 2, Richard Jefferson hit for a league-high 28 points to lead the Nets to their first win at Shaw's, 68-59, over the Knicks. In addition to his 28 points, Jefferson dished out six assists. Brian Scalabrine pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Lavor Postell led the Knicks with 14 points.

Game 3 saw the 76ers withstand a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Bucks to record their first victory at the Shaw's, 71-67. Samuel Dalembert led the 76ers with 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and Johnny Taylor added 14 points. Dan Gadzuric led the Bucks with 12 rebounds to go with his eight points.

In the nightcap, Boston's backcourt tandem of J.R. Bremer and Joseph Forte combined for 37 points and Kedrick Brown added 10 as the Celtics remained undefeated with an 83-68 win over the Magic. Forte finished with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Bremer added 16 points. Cory Hightower led the Magic with 18 points

In L.A., Jason Collier's 19 points and 10 rebounds propelled the Rockets to an 82-79 victory over the Clippers. Eddie Griffin added 18 points. The Clippers were led by Mike Batiste's 22 points.

Check out Insider's Pro Summer League , Shaw's Pro Summer League, Rocky Mountain Revue and Orlando Summer Pro League pages for rosters, leaders and box scores.

Brown Is Eager To Pick Up Pace

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

Top pick living, playing beyond expectations

Paola Boivin / Arizona Republic

Bremer gets opportunity to be a point man

Shira Springer / Boston Globe

Nuggets roster will teem with youth

Kyle Ringo / Rocky Mountain News

Homegrown Batiste hopeful

Joe Stevens / Los Angeles Daily News

Peep Show

Rockets: Representatives for the Rockets and Steve Francis will meet Thursday in Las Vegas, and the sides expect to return with at least a handshake agreement that will extend the 6-foot-3 guard's contract with the team, the Houston Chronicle reported. "We have set up the meeting for the 25th, and we certainly plan in this week leading up to the meeting to go through most of the things [contract issues] on the phone," agent Jeff Fried said. "We've always enjoyed a very good relationship with the Houston Rockets organization, and that's going to continue."

Suns: The team is expected to officially sign Scott Williams to a contract today. The terms of the deal are still unknown. The Suns hope the veteran big man can mentor Jake Tskalidis, Amare Stoudemire and Alton Ford.

Clipps: The team signed point guard Marko Jaric to a four-year contract Thursday. The 6-foot-7 Jaric, considered one of the top point guards in Europe, averaged 15.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists for Kinder Bologna last season. "This really strengthens our point guard position," Clippers vice president Elgin Baylor told the OC Register.

Spurs: The team signed two guard Emanuel Ginobili. Ginobili, a former Euroleague MVP, received a two-year contract worth $2.94 million. "He's gone from an unknown player to maybe the best player outside the NBA," GM R. C. Buford told the San Antonio Express News. "Now we're thrilled to death he's coming to San Antonio." "The biggest pressure I have is for myself," Ginobili said. "I know I can play. I have to show my coach and teammates. I have to get their confidence." The Express News reported that with the addition of Ginobili, the team is exploring trading combo guard Antonio Daniels.

Nuggets: Vincent Yarbrough, drafted 33rd overall by the Nuggets last month, and undrafted free-agent guards Pedrag Savovic and Lorinza "Junior" Harrington signed deals Thursday. However, first-round pick Nikoloz Tskitishvili has yet to sign his contract. Tskitishvili's contract has been done for several days, but the Nuggets are awaiting paperwork from Benetton Treviso, Tskitishvili's former team in the Italian League, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

Raptors: The team came to terms with undrafted high school McDonald's All-American DeAngelo Collins, a league source told Insider. While the 6-foot-10 forward didn't get a guaranteed deal, he did get guaranteed money through training camp. Collins, however, will not play on the Raptors' Rocky Mountain Revue team because of an injury.

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[DJ_Money]

I've read it before, and I still don't like it. Now that the ball is rolling, now we'll have rumors of JT being traded to every team. To the Warriors for Jamison (Maybe I would trade JT for Dunleavy, nah...) all the way to the Lakers for Fox/Horry. Blah...

BHD should be happy that the Raptors signed Collins. Better them than us...

[Hawksfreak]

Yall scaring me to death trading JT no way!

[Traceman]

I love the following excerpt from the report:

Earlier in the day, McHale told The Post: "Nothing's going to happen for a lot of reasons. I'm trying to make my team better. Believe it or not, you guys from New York think everyone's out there to make the Knicks better. That's not the way it works. I'm looking to make our team better, which is a foreign concept to you guys in New York."

That is EXACTLY right and what I pray is happening regarding the JT/Nazr/Hendu for Spree/Harrington rumors. Spree is so hyped by the media in NY that the stupid media in other places (including ATL) think he's still great. If McHale doesn't think Spree is worth Sczerbiak, I don't think he's worth JT either.

[Hawksfreak]

I just hope 100% that JT is staying!