Pacers Plan to Pursue Roy, Mayo?

Kevin) Pritchard plans to work the phones in an attempt to add another big man and scorer on the wing. Guards Brandon Roy and O.J. Mayo are two wings players the Pacers plan to pursue. Jamal Crawford could also be a possibility.

Roy, a former All Star, retired last season because of knee problems but he’s attempting a comeback. He and Pritchard were together in Portland.

Mayo became an unrestricted free agent Friday when the Memphis Grizzlies did not tender a qualifying offer to him. Former Pacers president Larry Bird tried on several occasions to trade for Mayo in the past.

via Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Bulls GM Denies Actively Shopping Players

Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman said Thursday the organization didn’t make any serious efforts to trade forward Luol Deng or any of the team’s core players before the NBA draft.

Were we actively shopping our players? Absolutely not,” Forman said after the Bulls drafted Kentucky guard Marquis Teague with the 29th pick. “Are there conversations? All 30 teams have conversations about everybody on their roster. But we like the core of this team, and it’s our job to continue to try to put pieces around Derrick (Rose) and some of the other core guys and try to continue to trend up.”

Trade rumors swirled around Deng in recent weeks, and he recently acknowledged them and said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Bulls moved him.

via Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago

Hornets Extend Qualifying Offer to Gordon

The New Orleans Hornets announced Thursday afternoon they had extended a qualifying offer to restricted free agent shooting guard Eric Gordon.

Gordon turned down an offer of a four-year extension, reported to be in the neighborhood of $50 million, last January in order to test free agency.

The Hornets have the ability to match any offers Gordon receives on the open market, and likely will do so because of the cap space they’ve acquired by the departure of center Emeka Okafor and forward Trevor Ariza in a trade last week with the Washington Wizards.

Thursday’s offer by the Hornets to Gordon is a required procedural move. They cannot begin to negotiate an extension with him until July 1.

via Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune

Lakers Seeking Free Agency ‘Home Run’

But the focus on the Lakers’ offseason efforts will hardly center on the prospects of Marquette point guard Darius Johnson-Odom or Gonzaga center Robert Sacre. It will zero in on the Lakers’ failure to move up higher in the draft and whether the Lakers can make what (Lakers general manager Mitch) Kupchak described as a “home run” during free agency.

(Pau) Gasol shouldn’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. All things considered, no one outside of Kobe Bryant should really feel settled. Kupchak said the front office will continue trade discussions in what he said was “the beginning phase of when teams look to improve their team.” Considering the Lakers only have an $8.9 million trade exception and a mid-level slot worth $3 million, a trade could serve as the only way to bolster the lineup.

via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times

Sources: Raptors will Push Hard for Nash

(Steve) Nash has made it a point in recent interviews to stress that he’s “open to everything” and say he’ll listen to any team that calls, but industry sources monitoring the free-agent market have identified four teams that pose the greatest danger to the Suns in terms of signing Nash away: Toronto, Dallas, New York and Brooklyn.

Raptors president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo, who headed the Phoenix contingent that swooped into Dallas in July 2004 and convinced Nash to leave the Mavericks to return the team that drafted him in less than 24 hours, is planning a similar approach to courting Canada’s best-ever player in 2012.

Sources say that the Raptors will have at least five members of the organization waiting in New York this weekend to visit Nash as soon as he’s ready Sunday, with Toronto widely expected to make the richest financial offer Nash receives this offseason to come back to Canada. The offer is likely to approach $12 million annually, sources say.

Sources: Grizzlies Going After Ray Allen

One of the best defensive teams in the NBA over the past two seasons is going on a major offensive in free agency.

The Grizzlies have made veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen a prime offseason target and planned to contact him late Saturday night in the first step of what promises to be a strong pursuit of the NBA’s all-time leading three-point shooter.

Memphis, according to sources familiar with the team’s plans, will offer Allen its full mid-level exception ($5 million) in hopes of luring him away from other suitors — such as Miami — with only the mini-mid-level ($3 million) to spend.

via Ronald Tillery of The Memphis Commercial Appeal

Jameer Nelson Opts Out of Contract

Jameer Nelson, the Orlando Magic’s point guard of the last eight seasons, opted out of the final year of his contract on Friday.

But Nelson’s entry into the unrestricted free-agent market doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be leaving the Magic. New Orlando General Manager Rob Hennigan has said repeatedly in the past few days that the Magic want Nelson to be a part of the franchise for years to come, and veteran point guard echoed those feelings Friday night.

“I still hope to be with the Magic, but I have to see what direction I want to go with myself and I’ll have a decision to make,’’ Nelson said Friday night from his suburban Philadelphia home. “I want to be a Magic player, and it’s just about getting something done. I’m a free agent for the first time. It’s definitely weird. But it makes me feel good to hear that the Magic want me back. I have to do what’s best for me and my family, but I still want to be with the Magic.’’

via John Denton of NBA.com