Setting Them Free: The NBA deadline for playoff eligibility was midnight last night, and several teams reached deals at the 11th hour, literally, and now in 48 hours some interesting names will become available as playoff eligible free agents, here is who got let go, and what's likely for each:
Drew Gooden: The Sacramento Kings reached a deal with forward Drew Gooden yesterday, the deal was reached literally minutes before the NBA's midnight cutoff. Gooden will leave a considerable amount of cash on the table, reported to be almost all of the $1.8 million remaining on his $7.1 million deal. Gooden who will hit the market on Wednesday is expected to sign with the San Antonio Spurs as early as Thursday, although there are other teams, including the Dallas Mavericks that are in the mix for Gooden. Sam Amick of The Sacramento Bee is reporting that Drew's motivations for a deal were about landing in a better situation for his pending free agency and needed to be in a situation where he can play, something he was not going to do in Sacramento.
Luther Head: The Houston Rockets reached a deal yesterday to set Luther Head free. Luther had struggled to find a consistent role in Houston and was not in their long term plans. Luther has been contacted already by the New Jersey Nets and it seems they may be the front runners for Luther's services. Mark Bartelstein, Head's agent, says he's heard from a dozen teams and Luther will be making a decision based primary on the situation that insures he plays every day.
Joe Smith: After days of denials, Joe Smith agreed to a contract buyout with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both Smith and the team downplayed the possibility of a deal for the better parts of two weeks and late yesterday both sides reached an agreement that has Joe surrendering some of the $1.2 million remaining on his $4.8 million contract. Its believed that when Joe clears waivers early Wednesday morning, he'll sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers who are expected to more than make up for the amount Joe left on the table in OKC. Joe could arguably be the best veteran option hitting free agency this week, but he has said several times that Cleveland was really the only place he'd want to sign and it seems that he'll get a deal to return before Thursday.
Stromile Swift: The Nets made room for an addition yesterday buying out Stromile Swift, ironically just days after Head Coach Lawrence Frank started talking up Stromile as ready to be active and play for the Nets. The deal will save the Nets a very minor amount of money, but it does put the 6'10 Swift on the market, although he may not be very attractive. Swift has played in six regular season games this season and has not played since early December.
Adonal Foyle: The Memphis Grizzlies reached a buyout with Foyle earlier in the week, but made the deal official yesterday. Foyle was acquired by the Grizzlies at the NBA trade deadline as part of the Rafer Alston deal with Orlando and Houston. There have been reports that Orlando's Stan Van Gundy would love to have Adonal back in Orlando, however under league rules Adonal can not return to Orlando for 30 days from the trade, making him almost useless to Orlando in the regular season. Adonal had been serving mainly as an additional assistant coach in Orlando, don't be surprised if Adonal retires and takes up coaching next season.
Jason Hart: Jason was waived by the Clippers last Friday, and will become an unrestricted free agent today. Reports from the area, and from HOOPSWORLD's Travis Heath suggest that Hart will ink a deal today with the Denver Nuggets.
Not As Bad As Expected: Bulls' forward Luol Deng was injured in Saturday's game versus the Rockets, in what was originally feared to be a stress fracture in his right tibia. MRI's conducted yesterday revealed that there was not a fracture, and what was thought to be a season-ending injury for Luol may only cost him a game or two. Luol is expected to practice this week and see how the injury responds. Luol signed a $72 million deal this past summer with the Bulls, a deal that also includes some $10 million in bonus money tied to playoff and team goals. It's believed if the Bulls can get into the playoffs this year, Luol will get a reasonable bonus, but the real money starts rolling in if the Bulls advance to the second round or the Conference Finals. The Bulls are currently one game out of 8th place in the east and have 22 games left on their regular season schedule.
The Big Cactus: Has anyone pondered where the NBA will get the gems of wisdom and knowledge dropped by Shaquille O'Neal when he's retired? Honestly, there is nothing better than a good Shaq-ism to get the week started. Friday night Shaq dropped in 45 points on the Toronto Raptors and after the game Raptors big man Chris Bosh basically accused the officials of letting Shaq camp out in the paint all night.
"He was just camping down in the lane," Bosh said. "I mean, if they're not calling three seconds - I thought it was a rule, but I guess not."
"I heard what Chris Bosh said, " O'Neal said to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. "That's strong words coming from the RuPaul of big men... I'm going to do the same thing (in their next meeting) I did before - make him quit. Make 'em quit and complain. It's what I do."
Unfortunately for Shaq, the Suns do not see the Raptors again this season. Your gonna miss Shaq when he's gone… You really are.
