| RECENT NBA NEWS provided by RotoWire.com |
| Coverwire Update |
Coverwire Take |
| Malik Hairston (G) |
7/31/2010 |
| Hairston asked the Spurs to release him from the final year of his contract in order to sign with an Italian League team, according to the San Antonio Express-News. |
This may be the last week see of Hairston in the NBA, as he signed a long term contract with the Italian League team. |
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| Kyle Weaver (G) |
7/30/2010 |
| Weaver was waived by the Thunder on Friday, NBA.com writer Art Garcia reports. |
Weaver was hurt most of last season, and when he was healthy he spent most of his time in the D-League. His best option may be to play overseas for a year or two, where he has reportedly been offered a contract by the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv. |
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| Joey Graham (F) CLE |
7/30/2010 |
| Graham signed a two-year deal with Cleveland on Friday, Yahoo! Sports reports. |
Graham averaged 4.2 points and two rebounds per game coming off the bench for the Nuggets last season. He has never posted spectacular numbers during his career, but due the recent gutting of the Cavaliers roster, he could see an increased role next season. |
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| Von Wafer (G) BOS |
7/30/2010 |
| The Celtics signed Wafer to one-year deal on Thursday, the Boston Globe reports. |
Wafer will provide the Celtics with a three-point threat off the bench, but his role is expected to be too limited to help in fantasy. The 25-year-old shooting guard has averaged 6.2 points in 109 NBA games. |
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| James Johnson (F) CHI |
7/30/2010 |
| The Bulls have interest in Rudy Fernandez and have offered Johnson in a deal for him, the Chicago Tribune reports. |
The Bulls still are seeking to add outside shooting for their 12th contracted player after witnessing an underwhelming workout from Tracy McGrady on Monday. Portland has shown little interest in Johnson, who is behind several others in Chicago's pecking order at forward, and other parts would needed to be added to make the salaries match to make a deal happen. |
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| Anthony Tolliver (F) |
7/29/2010 |
| Tolliver is deciding whether to re-sign with Golden State or sign with Minnesota, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. |
It sounds like he's leaning toward re-signing with the Warriors if he can get enough money. The Warriors chose not to tender a qualifying offer to Tolliver in June, making him an unrestricted free agent. |
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| Stephen Curry (G) GS |
7/29/2010 |
| Curry survived the first round of Team USA Basketball cuts Wednesday and needs to avoid being one of three players cut at the end of August to be part of the final roster for the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. |
Curry led the Warriors in minutes played and games started in 2009-10, and was the only rookie to finish the season among the NBA’s top 35 in minutes played and minutes per game. If he makes Team USA’s final roster, the experience playing with the star-studded roster and coaching staff could accelerate his development, but may come at the risk of offseason over-playing and fatigue in his sophomore NBA season. |
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| Kevin Seraphin (F) WAS |
7/29/2010 |
| Seraphin (knee) has reached a buyout with his French club team and will join the Wizards starting in 2010-11, the Washington Post reports. |
Seraphin, the 17th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, is one of those raw, young, project-type big men. Seraphin is dealing with a minor knee issue now but it should be OK by the time the season starts. He probably won't play much right away so no fantasy impact here, even with the talent-thin Wizards. |
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| Jason Collins (C) ATL |
7/29/2010 |
| The Hawks re-signed Collins to an undisclosed deal on Thursday, the Associated Press reports. |
Collins was stuck on the end of the Hawks' bench last season, averaging just 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds in 24 appearances. He'll once again provide (extreme) depth for the team, so don't bother looking his way for fantasy purposes. |
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| Eddie House (G) MIA |
7/29/2010 |
| The Heat signed House to a two-year, $2.8 million contract on Thursday, the Associated Press reports. |
House will give the Heat a long-range threat off their bench, essentially repeating the role he had while playing with the Celtics' Big Three the past few seasons. Even in a limited role, he'll hit his fair share of threes, but don't expect any fantasy value from House in other categories. |
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| Chris Paul (G) NOR |
7/29/2010 |
| Sources close to Paul said that new general manager Dell Demps made a very favorable impression on Paul during their meeting and that Paul has decided not to seek a trade out of New Orleans, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. |
We already knew that Paul didn't formally request a trade during Monday's meeting, and now (if this source is to be believed) he has decided that he won't make any trade requests in the immediate future. Paul apparently feels confident that Demps will be able to make the moves necessary to make the Hornets a contender, even though the team has been silent during the free agency period. Paul never did have much leverage in this situation, and it's appearing more and more likely that he'll remain in New Orleans for another season. |
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| Al Thornton (F) WAS |
7/29/2010 |
| Thornton will now have more competition at the small forward position with the team's re-signing of Josh Howard. |
Howard will possibly miss the start of next season, which should give Thornton a leg up at least in the beginning of the year. But Howard could be a threat to take Thornton's starting small forward job at some point next season if Thornton struggles. |
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| Josh Howard (F) WAS |
7/29/2010 |
| The Wizards do not anticipate that Howard (knee) will be ready before the start of the regular season, the Washington Post reports. |
Howard, who was just re-signed by the Wizards to a 1-year contract, is "ahead of schedule" and doing "very well" with his rehabilitation from knee surgery. That being said, he may miss some time at the beginning of the season, which could help Al Thornton get a firm grip on the starting small forward spot. |
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| Troy Murphy (C) IND |
7/29/2010 |
| The Pacers are receiving calls about Murphy, but they're reluctant to move him because of uncertainty surrounding the health of Jeff Foster (back) and Tyler Hansbrough (vertigo), the Indianapolis Star reports. |
Murphy, who is entering the final year of a deal that pays him $11.9 million, is an ideal candidate to be traded and likely will be at some point -- probably closer to the trade deadline. First, the Pacers must be sure of the health of their other big men. While the half-year rental price might be a little steep for an acquiring team, Murphy's a legitimate double-double threat. |
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| Mike Dunleavy Jr. (F) IND |
7/29/2010 |
| The Pacers are trying to move Dunleavy, who is in the final year of his contract, the Indianapolis Star reports. |
While Indiana coach Jim O'Brien holds Dunleavy in high regard, the Pacers have a logjam at the wing spot after drafting Paul George. The problem for the Pacers with finding a taker for Dunleavy is that he'll make $10.5 million this season and there are concerns about him coming off 2009 knee surgery. He shot 41 percent and averaged 9.9 points last season, his lowest scoring output since his rookie season. |
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| Kenny Hasbrouck (G) MIA |
7/28/2010 |
| The Heat signed Hasbrouck on Wednesday, the Miami Herald reports. |
Hasbrouck finished off the 2009-10 season with Miami after signing in March. He most recently played for the Heat's summer league team and will be a combo guard off the bench. |
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| Rasual Butler (F) LAC |
7/28/2010 |
| Butler signed a one-year deal with the Clippers on Wednesday, ESPN.com reports. |
Butler set franchise records in both three-pointers made and attempted last season (though his three-point percentage was only 33.6). He will likely be used less this season with the Clippers incorporating rookie Al-Farouq Aminu into the mix, but he should still see significant playing time. |
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| Rasual Butler (F) LAC |
7/28/2010 |
| The Clippers re-signed Butler to an undisclosed deal on Wednesday, ESPN.com reports. |
Butler averaged a career-high 11.9 points in 82 games with the Clippers last season. With rookie Al-Farouq Aminu and Ryan Gomes now on board, the minutes at small forward will likely be spread too thin for Butler to repeat last season's success. |
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| Josh Howard (F) WAS |
7/28/2010 |
| Howard signed a one-year deal with the Wizards on Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. |
Howard is a productive offensive player when healthy. He shot the ball over 40% last season, averaging 14.5 PPG. With John Wall in control of the offense this upcoming season Howard should see more open looks. |
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