[Tersk]

Theres a thread on that already.

[edwardcyh]

Wizards sign former Magic guard Stevenson
By Chad Ford
ESPN.com

Free agent DeShawn Stevenson agreed to terms with the Washington Wizards on Thursday, his agent, Mark Bartelstein told ESPN.com.

According to Bartelstein, Stevenson agreed to a two-year contract worth the NBA minimum salary. Since he has six-plus years of service, that would be $932,015 for the first year. Stevenson has a player option in the second year of the contract.

The deal is a pretty big blow to Stevenson financially. He opted out of a contract this spring that would have paid him $3 million and then turned down a three-year, $10 million contract from the Magic in early July.

Stevenson then changed agents and agreed to the deal with the Wizards.

"There just isn't much money left out there," Bartelstein said. "This gives DeShawn an excellent opportunity to play significant minutes on a very good team. I think by next summer, the rest of the league will see his real value and he'll earn back the money he lost."

The next big step for the Wizards will be deciding whether to match the Knicks' offer sheet to restricted free agent Jared Jeffries.

The Knicks made Jeffries a five-year, $30 million offer that the Wizards have until Monday to match. Several sources familiar with the Wizards' thinking believe that they are leaning against matching the offer due to luxury tax concerns. Matching the Knicks offer would put the Wizards over the luxury tax threshold.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2538921

[L]

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/s...0805wright.html
Wright signs with Hawks.

[edwardcyh]

Nuggets acquire former No. 1 pick Smith from Bucks
Aug. 10, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

DENVER -- The Milwaukee Bucks acquired guard-forward Ruben Patterson on Thursday from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for veteran forward Joe Smith in a move to bolster the benches for each team.

Bucks general manager Larry Harris said his first phone call was to the Nuggets after instructing his staff last week to scour other teams' rosters for a backup small forward.

"It really was a matter of reading some articles and going through the salaries starting with Atlanta and working all the way to Washington to see what deals worked and what deals made sense," he said. "We really needed to find a small forward that fit the bill for us."

Patterson played in 26 games with the Nuggets after being acquired in a deadline deal with Portland on Feb. 23. He averaged 12.1 points and 3.4 rebounds last season.

Smith is joining his sixth team, and the former No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 44 games for the Bucks last season. His best season was 1996-97, when he averaged 18.7 points and 8.5 rebounds for Golden State.

Smith adds depth to the Nuggets front court that includes Carmelo Anthony, Nene and Marcus Camby along with Kenyon Martin, who feuded last season with coach George Karl during the playoffs.

While Harris said there was no demand by Smith to be traded, Smith wanted a better situation after the Bucks dealt starting point guard T.J. Ford to Toronto for power forward Charlie Villanueva the day after the draft.

"Anybody who is in the last year of their contract wants to know their future," Harris said. "When we got Charlie, he could see he would be a backup."

It's the third major move the Bucks have made this summer, having also jettisoned starting center Jamaal Magloire to the Trail Blazers. Milwaukee now has four new players on its roster who played for Portland, the league's worst team last season.

Both Smith and Patterson are 31 and in the last year of their contracts, but Patterson, joining his fifth team, has had many well-documented problems off the court.

In 2001, he entered a modified guilty plea in Washington state to third-degree attempted rape for allegedly forcing his children's 24-year-old nanny to perform a sex act on him. A judge suspended all but 15 days of a one-year sentence, and Patterson served the time in his Cleveland home. He also was suspended for the first five games of the following season by the NBA.

Patterson was also convicted of misdemeanor assault outside a Cleveland night club in 2001 and arrested in 2002 on felony charges of domestic abuse that were later dropped.

Patterson has said his struggles with alcoholism were the culprit for his past problems and reiterated to the Bucks staff that he's moved on. Harris agreed.

"We feel Ruben understands coming to Milwaukee that talent is important, character is important," Harris said. "The past is one thing I think he's grown from, learned from those experiences and matured."

Harris said Patterson shouldn't need any motivation knowing he'll be working for a new contract in 2007.

"The slate is clean here, he knows that," Harris said. "He's going to play every night and he's going to do everything he can. Hopefully by our success, he will get compensated."

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/9595026

[edwardcyh]

Thomas files papers, denies harassing former Knicks employee
Aug. 10, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

NEW YORK -- Knicks coach Isiah Thomas has filed court papers denying he sexually harassed a former team executive, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.

In the 12-page court document filed Wednesday, Thomas acknowledged he once touched Anucha Browne Sanders' shoulder, and may have even tried to kiss her on the cheek. But he insisted he did nothing wrong, reiterating his stance since the allegations were made public in January.

Sanders, the Knicks' former senior vice president of marketing and business operations, contends she was fired in January "for telling the truth" while going through internal channels to stop the harassment. She has accused Thomas of telling her he was "very attracted" to her and "in love" with her and tried to kiss her.

Her "inability to accept the changes that occurred under Thomas' leadership fueled her antipathy toward Thomas and are reflected by this meritless lawsuit," Thomas' lawyers said in papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court, the Daily News reported.

According to the papers, Thomas admits he "greeted plaintiff by placing his hand on her shoulder and attempting to kiss her on the cheek."

But he categorically denied all of Browne Sanders' accusations.

"Many of the allegations are without any factual support and those that have some semblance of accuracy have been distorted," Thomas' defense attorney, Peter Parcher, wrote.

Thomas previously asked a judge to toss out the lawsuit and have Browne Sanders pick up the tab for his legal fees. Browne Sanders' attorney, Kevin Mintzer, declined comment to the newspaper on Thomas' papers, which were filed a week after she amended her lawsuit, adding James Dolan, the chairman of Madison Square Garden's parent company Cablevision, as a defendant.

In court documents, Browne Sanders said Thomas often berated her and made crude comments about her to Knicks officials, telling them not to listen to any of her directions.

In its own court papers, the Garden said Browne Sanders' firing was for legitimate business reasons.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/9594321

[edwardcyh]

Originally Posted by edwardcyh

Thomas files papers, denies harassing former Knicks employee
Aug. 10, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

Looks like Isiah Thomas' trouble has started ALREADY!

[edwardcyh]

Celtics swingman Pierce has minor surgery on left elbow
Aug. 9, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

BOSTON -- Paul Pierce had minor arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow Wednesday and is expected to be ready by the start of the Boston Celtics' training camp in early October.

The five-time All-Star swingman had one of his best seasons in 2005-06 when he averaged a career-high 26.8 points with 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.

For the fourth time in his eight seasons, all with the Celtics, he scored more than 2,000 points last season, tying Larry Bird for the team record.

He signed a three-year contract extension last month that ties him to Boston for the next five seasons.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/9593509

[xray]

Originally Posted by edwardcyh

Celtics swingman Pierce has minor surgery on left elbow

The five-time All-Star swingman had one of his best seasons in 2005-06 when he averaged a career-high 26.8 points with 6.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.

I guess that season was hard on that elbow.

[edwardcyh]

Originally Posted by bray1967

I guess that season was hard on that elbow.

Either that or he's having arthritis pains... His age IS getting up there!

[edwardcyh]

Tellem says Harrington ready for new offers
Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- Al Harrington's new agent said he is willing to listen to offers from all teams, making what looked like a done deal for the Indiana Pacers to acquire the free agent now seem uncertain.

The Atlanta forward, who had played six years for the Pacers, dumped agent Andy Miller and chose Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group. Tellem, a heavy hitter who also represents Houston's Tracy McGrady and Memphis' Pau Gasol, will officially become Harrington's agent Monday.

"We will explore the entire range of options available to Al," Tellem said. "We consider every team in the mix until there is a deal."

Harrington is considered the top remaining free agent on the market. He averaged 18.6 points and 6.9 rebounds a game for the Hawks last season.

The Pacers have made numerous offseason moves and have said they would like Harrington to play a key role in their change to a sleeker, faster-paced style.

But Golden State and Denver have reportedly expressed renewed interest in recent weeks.

Tellem is looking forward to representing the versatile 26-year-old.

"Al is going to be an extremely valuable addition wherever he lands," Tellem said. "He has already cemented himself as one of the NBA's up-and-coming young stars."

Tellem said Harrington is much like Utah's Andrei Kirilenko -- someone who can play multiple positions and is effective on both ends of the court.

Harrington played two seasons with the Hawks after six years with the Pacers and has family members who never left Indianapolis.

The Pacers have worked with Tellem before, as he's the agent who worked out Jermaine O'Neal's seven-year, $126 million deal in 2003. He also was Reggie Miller's agent.

Speed is not Tellem's concern, though he'd like to give his client enough time to get comfortable in his new surroundings.

"The quality of the deal is the most important element," he said. "We will review and exhaust all meaningful options until a fair deal is reached. A lot hinges on Atlanta, but the period ranges from very soon to a couple of weeks or more."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2544296

[xray]

Fast Facts:
NBA Ranking: 58
Salary Ranking: 711
(There are 710 players paid more than Harrington in the NBA)

http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile/459/al_harrington

Harrington said he doesn't have a salary goal for his next contract, and is primarily focused on returning to a winning environment.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...607030356/1088

Mavericks interested?

[edwardcyh]

Originally Posted by bray1967

Fast Facts:
NBA Ranking: 58
Salary Ranking: 711
(There are 710 players paid more than Harrington in the NBA)

http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile/459/al_harrington

Harrington said he doesn't have a salary goal for his next contract, and is primarily focused on returning to a winning environment.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...607030356/1088

Mavericks interested?

You think he'll settle for bench?

He'll be looking for a starting position with a starter salary. There may be 710 players paid more than him right now, but that won't last much longer. He signed with the new agent for more money, didn't he? I mean... I thought it was a done deal with the Pacers, and now this. . .