RUMOR HAS IT…

In this week's section geared exclusively towards the latest rumors floating around the NBA …

Kidd Staying Put:  An informed source has told HOOPSWORLD that Jason Kidd intends to return to the Dallas Mavericks for a three-year, $24 million contract. 

Kidd has indicated to the Mavericks and New York Knicks that he'll mull over their respective offers over the weekend.  The Knicks are said to be offering Jason a guaranteed three years at the Mid-Level Exception (MLE) which works out to be approximately $18.1 million.

Barring a surprising change of events, Kidd is expected to notify the Dallas on Monday that he'll take their offer which would start at approximately $7.25 million for the upcoming season.

Dallas has also reached an agreement in principal with center Marcin Gortat for a five-year MLE deal (~$32.3 million).

Because Marcin is a restricted free agent, the Orlando Magic will have the opportunity to match.  The Mavericks are counting on Orlando passing on the lucrative offer for a player who would come off the bench behind Dwight Howard.

Sources indicate the Magic may very well decide to match the Mavs offer despite Gortat's desire for a new home.  Despite the success Orlando had in the playoffs, a source close to Marcin indicates he craves the opportunity to start and play major minutes.

When pitching Gortat, the Mavericks promised the Polish center a major role.  Should the Magic pass, word is Erick Dampier would immediately go on the trading block.

Dampier's final year is not guaranteed based on incentives.  Functionally he has a $12.1 million expiring contract.  Equally the Mavericks continue to shop Jerry Stackhouse whose $7.2 million contract has just $2 million guaranteed.

With $19.3 million in contracts to send out, Dallas would be in a good position to land an impact player needing a new home.  That list might include players like Amar'e Stoudemire, Rip Hamilton, Jason Richardson or Carlos Boozer.

Of course Gortat probably wouldn't be happy if pushed to the bench by Stoudemire or Boozer but by then he'd have signed his contract (tough business as it is).

Kidd's flirtation with New York stems from a belief that he could help draw LeBron James as a free agent in 2010.

The Mavericks, having given up Devin Harris to acquire Kidd from the New Jersey Nets, simply can't afford to let their veteran point guard go.

Expect the decision to be announced after the July 4th weekend.

Ariza was Plan A:  With the Los Angeles Laker boldly agreeing to terms with forward Ron Artest, General Manager Mitch Kupchak has landed a player the team has been itching to acquire since he was in Indiana.

The cost was the well-liked Trevor Ariza, who has agreed to sign an MLE deal with the Houston Rockets (~$32.3 million).

A source tells HOOPSWORLD that Kupchak was prepared to give Ariza an offer equivalent to the full MLE but at 10.5% raises, totaling at approximately $33.8 million over five years.

LA's ceiling might have been a $6 million starting salary for $36 million over five but before negotiations progressed after 9:00pm Pacific on Tuesday night, the source says that Ariza's agent, David Lee, took a confrontational approach with Kupchak.

Lee wanted a deal in the $50 million range and took offense to the team's stance that Trevor should test the market first for that level of compensation.

By the next morning, the Lakers were going after Artest in full force with Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and even Magic Johnson reaching out to the Houston forward.

LA was acknowledging privately that Ariza was going down the path of Ronny Turiaf, a player the team had great affection for and wanted to keep but couldn't because of economics.

Ariza's agent ended up settling for significantly less money with the Rockets, at least based on the expectations he presented to Kupchak.

By getting a raise greater than 20% (he earned $3.1 million last season), Ariza's contract has Base Year Compensation (BYC) status which is a technical term that indicates he's difficult to trade.  Should the Lakers and Rockets want to do a dual sign and trade with Ariza and Artest, Trevor being BYC makes that extremely difficult and quite unlikely.

While letting Trevor Ariza go was a difficult decision for the team, Kupchak reacted quickly.  Taking advantage of Houston's misfortune with Yao Ming's foot injury possibly taking him out for an entire year, the Laker GM quickly turned to Plan B.

Artest adds a level of intimidation to the Lakers that was sorely needed.

Winning the title helped rid the team of the "soft" label but sources close to the team have acknowledged that the Lakers got the best draw of three possible opponents in the NBA Finals.

Matchup up against the Orlando Magic, it was finesse vs. finesse.  While the Cleveland Cavaliers may have had their flaws, they would have been a more difficult out than Orlando.

Against a healthy Boston Celtics squad . . . some confidence but mild trepidation.  Of course Kevin Garnett was out for the postseason and Boston was never the threat they were a year ago.

The bottom line is that the Lakers felt getting tougher was a good thing.

Artest has his flaws but he's a physically dominating player on both ends who can free up Kobe Bryant from tougher defensive assignments.  The belief is that Coach Phil Jackson along with Bryant will be able to keep the volatile Artest in check and focused on his first title.

Ariza was blossoming into that role but in Artest LA gets a ready-made product.  There were some fears that Trevor's production, especially as a three-point shooter, could taper off after signing a long-term contract.

The Lakers intend to re-sign both Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown to round out the roster.  Odom hasn't drawn much interest beyond the MLE.

While it's not clear what price he'll agree to, LA had established Lamar as a priority over Ariza before the offseason began simply because there were more readily available options to replace Trevor (Artest).

Once Artest is signed, the team will have almost $82 million in guaranteed salaries which could total $93.5 million with luxury taxes.  Whatever Odom and Brown are paid, assuming they both return, will cost the Lakers double in tax.

Negotiations with Odom are ongoing.  Expect his representatives to protest as well at what the Lakers are offering but Lamar may not find much more than Ariza got in Houston on the open market.

If Odom is penciled in at $6.5 million (only a guesstimate) and Brown at $1 million, the team's total payroll would be $108 million for the upcoming season. 

The most that the Lakers can sign Brown for without using a portion of their MLE or their Bi-Annual Exception ($1.99 million) would be $837k.

Certainly Kupchak will look to trim off players like Adam Morrison, Sasha Vujacic and possibly even Jordan Farmar to get that number under $100 million if he can.

While negotiations with Odom could drag, it would appear that team owner Dr. Jerry Buss is willing to pay for team's opportunity to win now.

Cavaliers and Marion:  With the Cavaliers missing out on Artest, Ariza and possibly Rasheed Wallace, shouldn't Shawn Marion be the next on their list? 

Marion is versatile enough to play both forward positions interchangeably with LeBron James.  He too seems to be left out of the big money this offseason.

Shawn doesn't appear to be in long-term plans of the Toronto Raptors who are said to be pursuing forward Hedo Turkoglu. 

If the money dries up in Toronto, faced with signing for the MLE, perhaps Marion would be open to a short-term deal in order to explore free agency again in a year's time?

Cleveland may be Marion's best opportunity to compete for a title . . .