The Lakers offer is reportedly still unchanged, for three years at roughly $30 million. There was a four-year offer rumored to be worth $36 million, but sources say most of the fourth year was non-guaranteed and had a $3 million Laker buyout. The hold up on a deal seems to be that fourth year and that's something neither side seems to be able to agree on.

For the Lakers it is smart business to try and limit the length of Lamar's deal; no one knows what the economic structure of the NBA is going to be in three years and the Lakers' window for a championship is likely three more years. No one wants to eat a contract of an injured player and a fourth year on the deal would put Odom on the wrong side of 34 years old.

For Odom this may be his last big payday, and the appeal of Miami and Dallas' five-year offers is it guarantees a payday through 35. And while the dollars may be smaller when you factor in that $30 million for three years with the Lakers and then possibly three more years at or around the NBA minimum – Lamar's earning potential in the next five years is about equal in either scenario. What his camp is looking for is the Lakers to step up on the fourth year.

Pacers Waive Tinsley: The Indiana Pacers finally parted ways with Jamaal Tinsley yesterday, reaching terms on a contract buyout. Tinsley was owed $14.7 million over the next two seasons; the buyout is believed to be worth $10.7 million. The Pacers were facing a pretty nasty arbitration battle that was to begin on Monday.

The buyout agreement comes after months of denials from the Pacers that they would even consider buying out Tinsley. The Pacers tried relentlessly to find a trade for Jamaal but like most teams that end up in a dispute with a player, they found little value in Tinsley as most interested teams offered worse contracts or far less talent hoping to get Tinsley on the cheap.

Pacers' sources said in Orlando two weeks ago that if Tinsley was agreeable to a deal that "worked for both sides" a deal would get done and it seems a $4 million savings was enough to make it happen. Tinsley has been training in Atlanta and is said to be in very good shape. He will hit the free agent market and is already talking with the 76ers and the Miami HEAT.

Nate And The Knicks: Nate Robinson and the New York Knicks may be closing in on a one-year deal worth upwards of $4 million. Robinson is a restricted free agent and interest across the league has been lukewarm mainly because teams knew that an offer in the $4 to $5 million per year range would get matched by the Knicks.

Robinson turned down a $10 million offer from Greek powerhouse Olympiacos this week and all signs point to a deal with the Knicks in the coming days. Robinson's camp has hinted that Nate's deal will get done after the Knicks resolve talks with David Lee who seems to be leaning towards returning to the Knicks as well, possibly taking their four-year, $36 million offer.

Arroyo And The 76ers?: Carlos Arroyo was in Las Vegas last week to support his Maccabi Tel Aviv teammate Omri Casspi in summer league play and to talk with NBA teams about a possible return to the league. Carlos said he had a great time playing in Israel and would have no problem returning for another year, but that he felt it was time to get back into the league and was talking with several teams including the Philadelphia 76ers.

Arroyo signed a three-year deal last summer with Maccabi that is said to have favorable exit language if he gets an NBA offer this year. Arroyo earned roughly $2.5 million from Maccabi last season and is said to be looking for at least a two-year NBA deal this summer.

What's The Big Deal?: I am sure by now you have seen the LeBron James dunk video [ebaum nation has a pretty good hi-res clip here]. Maybe it's just me, I'm not sure I get what all the fuss was about. It's not like Xavier's Jordan Crawford did anything spectacular. In fact this was somewhat anti-climatic. NIKE made this thing a story by seizing reporter's video tapes, and from the looks of it a lot of people taped this, so again what's the big deal? Did we all get duped into a big viral marketing gimmick? How much free exposure did LeBron James' Skill camp get out of this? Had anyone outside of Xavier really heard of Jordan Crawford? LeBron James gets dunked on a lot in the NBA, and this particular dunk was nothing overly special. Crawford made a nice play and got above the rim, it's not like he Frederic Weis'd LeBron. It's amazing what gets people excited isn't it?

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"I want to continue with the club but, after everything that's happened, I don't think they're too comfortable having me in their squad," Rubio said Wednesday to the Associated Press. "I want to play in a winning team, on a team that can achieve many things."

The game here is to get Joventut to realize they won't get Ricky and they likely won't get the entire buyout, so how can we work this out. Timberwolves' team President David Kahn has inserted himself in this discussion and the hope is an agreement can be reached. The best case agreement is Joventut reduces the amount they want from Ricky (estimated at just over $6.6 million) – Rubio is slated to earn $2.7 million this season, $2.9 million next season and $3.1 million in year three of his rookie deal with the Timberwolves should he gain his release. There is belief Rubio will get some endorsement money, even in this economy, that could offset some of the buyout costs but the bulk of those dollars would still come from Ricky - Joventut will have to play ball for that to happen.

The Timberwolves can contribute up to $500,000 toward Rubio's buyout and little else. The belief among league sources is that Kahn will open the door to future talks regarding exhibition games and support from the Timberwolves, but first they have to work out a deal with Rubio.

There are two powerhouse Euroleague teams (Real Madrid and FC Barcelona) talking with Rubio and sources near Rubio view them as a real threat to this process. Both teams are willing to contribute far more than $500,000 to the buyout, but neither is willing to assume the total amount outright. It's believed both clubs have offers that are marginally better than what Ricky's rookie deal in the NBA would be, but again would still have Ricky contributing the bulk of his earning over the next three years to get his release.

Joventut is in a bad way financially, and the common belief is unless they get every penny they can out of Ricky, they may be out of business inside the next year which is why they are being so rigid with Rubio.