Brook Lopez Re-Signs With Nets, Kills Dwight Howard Deal

This should finally end all of the Dwight Howard to Brooklyn trade rumors...until January 15th.

According to the The Star-Ledger, Lopez and the Brooklyn Nets agreed on a maximum-salary contract of $61 million over four years.

The deal means the Nets are officially out of the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. Teams are not able to newly-signed players, other than sign and trade deals, until January 15th, 2013. Lopez will be Brooklyn's starting center at the opening of the 2012-13 season.

What does this mean for Dwight Howard? Is this a smart move by Brooklyn? Will Howard's asking price drop by January?

Howard appears to be the odd man out in Orlando. He has done everything but spit on the Magic franchise since he "injured" his back late last season and missed the playoffs. The big man has made it clear that he wants out and his relationship with the team is beyond fractured.

I look for Howard to realize he can't put a Magic jersey back on and forces a trade to another team. Magic fans will no longer embrace him and he has to go.

The Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers have made it clear that they would like to trade for him, even if it's a rental for one season. Those teams believe they could entice Howard to sign a long-term deal once he is within the organization. Brooklyn made a similar gamble when they traded with the Utah Jazz for Deron Williams...he just signed a long-term deal to stay with Brooklyn.

The Nets are looking more and more like a playoff team. Their team currently has Lopez, Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallce, MarShon Brooks (who's underrated), and Mirza Teletovic in their rotation. This team looks like a top-five seed in the Eastern Conference.

I feel like this isn't the last time we will hear Dwight Howard & Brooklyn Nets in the same sentence, but this should end that trade rumor for a few months.

2012-13 NBA Off-season: Free Agent Tracker

If you're looking for NBA free agent information, you want everything, we have everything!

The Miami Heat didn't win the championship with only three guys, they needed to fill out their roster with competent players. The players who sign and appear on the last page of the sports section are just as important.

Players can officially sign with a team starting on July 11th. The listings below are the confirmed contract agreements so far. Bookmark this page, since I will be updating this post daily as the official free agent signings start rolling in.

Check out who your team has signed and other available free agents for the 2012-13 NBA season.

*[Name, 2011-12 Team, contract status]

Solomon Alabi (Toronto) - unsigned
LaVoy Allen (Philadelphia) - re-signed with Philadelphia 76ers, two years/$6 million
Ray Allen (Boston) - signed with Miami Heat, specific terms unknown
Lou Amundson (Indiana) - unsigned
James Anderson (San Antonio) - unsigned
Ryan Anderson (Orlando) - sign and trade with New Orleans Hornets, four years/$34-36 million
Gilbert Arenas (Memphis) - unsigned
Darrell Arthur (Memphis) - re-signed with Memphis Grizzlies, three years/$9 million
Omer Asik (Chicago) - signed with Houston Rockets, three years/$25.1 million
D.J. Augustin (Charlotte) - signed with Indiana Pacers, one year/$3.5 million
Leandro Barbosa (Indiana) - unsigned
Matt Barnes (L.A. Lakers) - unsigned
Brandon Bass (Boston) - re-signed with Boston Celtics, three years/$34.5 million
Tony Battie (Philadelphia) - unsigned
Nicolas Batum (Portland) - re-signed with Portland Trail Blazers, four years/$46.5 million
Jerryd Bayless (Toronto) - signed with Memphis Grizzlies, terms undisclosed
Michael Beasley (Minnesota) - signed with Phoenix Suns, three years/$18 million
Raja Bell (Utah) - unsigned
Marco Bellinelli (New Orleans) - signed with Chicago Bull, terms undisclosed
Mike Bibby (New York) - unsigned
Chauncey Billips (L.A. Clippers) - re-signed with Los Angeles Clippers, one year/$4.3 million
Craig Brackins (Philadelphia) - unsigned
Elton Brand (Philadelphia) - signed with Dallas Mavericks, one year/money undisclosed
Aaron Brooks (Phoenix) - signed with Sacramento Kings, two years/$6.6 million
Derrick Brown (Charlotte) - unsigned
Kwame Brown (Milwaukee) - signed with Philadelphia 76ers, two years/$6 million
Shannon Brown (Phoenix) - re-signed with Phoenix Suns, two years/money undisclosed
Chase Budinger (Houston) - trade with Minnesota Timberwolves, one year/$942k
Rasual Butler (Toronto) - unsigned
Andrew Byrnum (L.A. Lakers) - picked up option, one year/$16.1 million
Marcus Camby (Houston) - sign and trade with New York Knicks, three years/$13.2 million
Brian Cardinal (Dallas) - unsigned
Matt Carroll (Charlotte) - unsigned
Earl Clark (Orlando) - unsigned
Jason Collins (Atlanta) - signed with Boston Celtics, one year/$1.35 million
Brian Cook (Washington) - unsigned
Jamal Crawford (Portland) - signed with Los Angeles Clippers, three years/$15.7 million
Eddy Curry (Miami) - unsigned
Erick Dampier (Atlanta) - unsigned
Marquis Daniels (Boston) - unsigned
Baron Davis (New York) - unsigned
Carlos Delfino (Milwaukee) - unsigned
Boris Diaw (San Antonio) - re-signed with San Antonion Spurs, two years/$9 million
DaSagana Diop (Charlotte) - unsigned
Keyon Dooling (Boston) - unsigned
Goran Dragic (Houston) - signed with Phoenix Suns, four years/$30 million
Tim Duncan (San Antonio) - re-signed with San Antonion Spurs, three years/$36 million
Devin Ebanks (L.A. Lakers) - re-signed with Los Angeles Lakers, one year/$1.4 million
Semih Erden (Cleveland) - signs with Euroleague's Anadolu Efes in Turkey
Jeremy Evans (Utah) - re-signed with Utah Jazz, three years/$5.5 million
Maurice Evans (Washington) - unsigned
Reggie Evans (L.A. Clippers) - sign and trade with Brooklyn Nets, three years/$4.8 million
Jordan Farmar (Brooklyn) - signs with Euroleague's Anadolu Efes in Turkey
Raymond Felton (Portland) - sign and trade with New York Knicks
Rudy Fernandez (Denver) -signed with Eurpean League, Real Madrid C.F.
Kyrylo Fesenko (Indiana) - unsigned
Landry Fields (New York) - signed with Toronto Raptors, three years/$20 million
Derek Fisher (Oklahoma City) - unsigned
Jonny Flynn (Portland) - unsigned
Jeff Foster (Indiana) - retired
Randy Foye (L.A. Clippers) - signed with Utah Jazz, one year/$2.5 million
Sundiata Gaines (Brooklyn) - unsigned
Kevin Garnett (Boston) - re-signed with Boston Celtics, three years/$34 million
Alonzo Gee (Cleveland) - unsigned
Eric Gordon (New Orleans) - re-signed with New Orleans Hornets, four years/$58 million
Aaron Gray (Toronto) - re-signed with Toronto Raptors, two years/money undisclosed
Danny Green (San Antonio) - re-signs with San Antonio Spurs, three years/$12 million
Gerald Green (Brooklyn) - signed with Indiana Pacers, three years/$10 million
Jeff Green (Boston) - re-signed with Boston Celtics, four years/$36 million
Willie Green (Atlanta) - unsigned
Donte Greene (Sacramento) - unsigned
Hamed Haddadi (Memphis) - re-signed with Memphis Grizzlies, terms undisclosed
Luke Harangody (Cleveland) - re-signed with Cleveland Cavaliers, one year/$1.1 million
Manny Harris (Cleveland) - unsigned
Terrel Harris (Miami) - unsigned
Spencer Hawes (Philadelphia) - re-signed with Philadelphia 76ers, two years/$13 million
Brendan Haywood (Dallas) - signed with Charlotte Bobcats, four years/$8.2 million
Roy Hibbert (Indiana) - re-signed with Indiana Pacers, four years/$58 million
J.J. Hickson (Portland) - re-signed with Portland Trail Blazers, one year/money undisclosed
Cory Higgins (Charlotte) - unsigned
George Hill (Indiana) - re-signed with Indiana Pacers, five years/$40 million
Grant Hill (Phoenix) - signed with Los Angeles Clippers, two years/money undisclosed
Jordan Hill (L.A. Lakers) - re-signed with Los Angeles Lakers, two years/$8 million
Kirk Hinrich (Atlanta) - signed with Chicago Bulls, two years/$6 million
Ryan Hollins (Boston) - signed with Los Angeles Clippers, one year/$1.07 million
Josh Howard (Utah) - unsigned
Juwan Howard (Miami) - unsigned
Lester Hudson (Memphis) - unsigned
Kris Humphris (Brooklyn) - re-signed with Brooklyn Nets, two years/$24 million
Ersan Ilyasova (Milwaukee) - re-signed with Milwaukee Bucks, five years/$45 million
Royal Ivey (Oklahoma City) - unsigned
Damion James (Brooklyn) - unsigned
Antawn Jamison (Cleveland) - signed with Los Angeles Lakers, one year/minimum $
Jared Jeffries (New York) - sign and trade with Portland Trail Blazers
Yi Jianlian (Dallas) - unsigned
Armon Johnson (Brooklyn) - unsigned
Chris Johnson (New Orleans) - unsigned
Ivan Johnson (Atlanta) - unsigned
Dahntay Jones (Indiana) - sign and trade with Dallas Mavericks
Chris Kaman (New Orleans) - signed with Dallas Mavericks, one year/$8 million
Jason Kidd (Dallas) - signed with New York Knicks, three years/$9.5 million
Carl Landry (New Orleans) - unsigned
Courtney Lee (Houston) - signed with Boston Celtics, four years/$21.5 million
Rashard Lewis (New Orleans) - signed with Miami Heat, two years/$2.8 million
DeAndre Liggins (Orlando) - unsigned
Jeremy Lin (New York) - signed with Houston Rockets, three years/$25 million
Brook Lopez (Brooklyn) - re-signed with Brooklyn Nets, four years/$61 million
Robin Lopez (Phoenix) - sign and trade with New Orleans Hornets
John Lucas (Chicago) - signed with Toronto Raptors, two years/$3 million
Vernon Macklin (Detroit) - unsigned
Jamaal Magloire (Toronto) - unsigned
Ian Mahinmi (Dallas) - sign and trade with Indiana Pacers, four years, $16 million
Kenyon Martin (L.A. Clippers) - unsigned
Roger Mason (New York) - unsigned
Jason Maxiell (Detroit) - accepts player option, one year/$4 million
O.J. Mayo (Memphis) - signed with Dallas Mavericks, two years/undisclosed money
JaVale McGee (Denver) - re-signed with Denver Nuggets, four years/$44 million
Tracy McGrady (Atlanta) - unsigned
Dominic McGuire (Golden State) - unsigned
Jodie Meeks (Philadelphia) - unsigned
C.J. Miles (Utah) - unsigned
Darko Milicic (Minnesota) - unsigned
Andre Miller (Denver) - re-signed with Denver Nuggets, three years/$14.63 million
Patty Mills (San Antonio) - re-signed with San Antonio Spurs, terms undisclosed
Nazr Muhammed (Oklahoma City) - signed with Chicago Bulls, one year/money undisclosed
Darius Morris (L.A. Lakers) - re-signed with Los Angeles Lakers, two years/$1.4 million
Troy Murphy (L.A. Lakers) - unsigned
Eduardo Najera (Charlotte) - unsigned
Steve Nash (Phoenix) - sign and trade with Los Angeles Lakers, three years/$27 million
Jameer Nelson (Orlando) - re-signed with Orlando Magic, terms unknown
Steve Novak (New York) - re-signed with New York Knicks, four years/$15 million
Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana) - unsigned
Daniel Orton (Orlando) - unsigned
Jannero Pargo (Atlanta) - unsigned
Anthony Parker (Cleveland) - retired
Sasha Pavlovic (Boston) - unsigned
Mickael Pietrus (Boston) - unsigned
A.J. Price (Indiana) - signed with Washington Wizards, one year/money undisclosed
Ronnie Price (Phoenix) - signed with Portland Trail Blazers, one year/$1.15 million
Joel Przybilla (Portland) - unsigned
Vladamir Radmanovic (Atlanta) - signed with Chicago Bulls, one years/money undisclosed
Anthony Randolph (Minnesota) - signed with Denver Nuggets, three years/$6 million
Michael Redd (Phoenix) - unsigned
Nate Robinson (Golden State) - unsigned
Brandon Roy (Portland) - signed with Minnesota Timberwolves, two years/$10.4 million
Brandon Rush (Golden State) - unsigned
Walker Russell (Detroit) - unsigned
Brian Scalabrine (Chicago) - unsigned
Luis Scola (Houston) - signed with Phoenix Suns, three years/$13.5 million
Ramon Sessions (L.A. Lakers) - signed with Charlotte Bobcats, terms undisclosed
Bobby Simmons (L.A. Clippers) - unsigned
Craig Smith (Portland) - unsigned
Ish Smith (Orlando) - unsigned
J.R. Smith (New York) - re-signed with New York Knicks, two years/$5.6 million
Marreese Speights (Memphis) - unsigned
Jerry Stackhouse (Atlanta) - signed with Brooklyn Nets, one year/$1.3 million
DeShawn Stevenson (Brooklyn) - sign and trade with Atlanta Hawks
Greg Stiemsma (Boston) - unsigned
Jason Terry (Dallas) - signed with Boston Celtics, three years/$15 million
Hasheem Thabeet (Houston) - signed with Oklahoma City Thunder, two years/money undisclosed
Jason Thompson (Sacramento) - re-signed with Sacramento Kings, multi-year/money undisclosed
Jamaal Tinsley (Utah) - Utah Jazz picked up team option, one year/$1.35 million
Anthony Tolliver (Minnesota) - unsigned
Ronny Turiaf (Miami) - signed with Los Angeles Clippers, one year/money undisclosed
Bill Walker (New York) - unsigned
Ben Wallace (Detroit) - unsigned
Gerald Wallce (Brooklyn) - re-signed with Brooklyn Nets, four years/$40 million
Delonte West (Dallas) - re-signed with Dallas Mavericks, terms undisclosed
D.J. White (Charlotte) - unsigned
James White (Europe) - signed with New York Knicks, one year/money undisclosed
Chris Wilcox (Boston) - re-signed with Boston Celtics, one year/$1.35 million
Damien Wilkens (Detroit) - unsigned
Deron Williams (Brooklyn) - re-signed with Brooklyn Nets, five years/$98 million
Lou Williams (Philadelphia) - signed with Atlanta Hawks, multiyear/terms undisclosed
Mo Williams (L.A. Clippers) - traded to Utah Jazz, picked up player option, one year/$8.5 million
Shawne Williams (Portland) - unsigned
Sheldon Williams (Brooklyn) - unsigned
Chris Wright (Golden State) - unsigned
Nick Young (L.A. Clippers) - signed with Philadelphia 76ers, one year/$6 million
Sam Young (Philadelphia) - unsigned

Please leave a comment if you hear about signings before I do. I want to keep this as updated as possible for everybody. Thanks!

Gerald Wallace Declines Player Option, Becomes Free Agent

According to Legion Sports, Gerald Wallace will tell the Brooklyn Nets that he will decline his $9.5 million player option and will become an unrestricted free agent.

In what could be the worst trade this decade, the Nets traded Shawne Williams, Mehmet Okur, and a 2012 top-3 protected 1st round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for Wallace. The Nets' draft pick ended up being #6, so it will be sent to Portland to complete the deal. The Nets gave up all of that for roughly 20 games of Wallace.

Now that the Charlotte Bobcats all-time leading scorer is a free agent, will Wallace go back there and become an icon or sign with a contender? I name a few teams that currently need his services and have the cap space to offer him a contract.

Wallace has a weird NBA contract. His contract ends 15 days before the NBA Draft, so theoretically the Nets could use that information and draft to fill the need. Unfortunately, Portland owns their first round pick and the Golden State Warriors own their 2nd round pick (#35 overall). They do own the Miami Heat's 2nd round pick (#57 overall) and Draft Express currently has the Nets using that pick on Mike Scott, a 6'8 power forward from Virginia.

Even though Wallace is a free agent earlier than the rest of the class, he will still be under the same rules. He cannot start negotiating with a team until July 1st and will not be able to officially sign until July 11th.

Which teams are in need of Wallace and could afford to pay him?

The first team that comes to mind is the Charlotte Bobcats. Unfortunately, they have three ridiculous contracts on the books for 2012-13: Corey Maggette $10.9 million, Tyrus Thomas $8 million, and DeSagana Diop $7.4 million. Diop and Maggette's contracts will come off the books after next season, but the Bobcats will still owe Thomas $18+ million. Maggette could be a trade piece mid-season, since he is still productive, but Diop and Thomas are unmovable. Charlotte could afford to give Wallace a deal, even with a couple bad contracts on the books.

My fingers are crossed that the Bobcats sign Wallace this offseason. It has been a rough season for my friend Ben Swanson. He is SBNation's Charlotte Bobcats blogger at Rufus On Fire. It could heal the pain he has endured by being a Bobcats fan the last few years.

Depending on their selections in the NBA Draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers could be in the market for Wallace. A lot of mock drafts have them selecting either PF/C Andre Drummond (UConn) or PF Thomas Robinson (Kansas) with the #4 overall pick. If Bradley Beal falls to them, Wallace could be in play for Cleveland. He would be a nice complement to both Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson.

The Dallas Mavericks could end up poaching both of the marquee free agents from the Brooklyn Nets. All of the rumors point to Deron Williams declining his player option and signing with Dallas. In order to sign Wallace, Dallas would need to use their amnesty clause on Brendan Haywood. He is due to make $27+ million over the next three seasons.

The final team that I believe could go after Wallace would be the Boston Celtics. If Danny Ainge decides to go in a different direction and opts to not re-sign Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, the money would be there for a few marquee signings. It is a long shot because of their need for a center and that Wallace does a lot of things that Brandon Bass could be doing for the Boston next season. Ainge is unpredictable and he could try to reconstruct the next 'Big Three.'

The Brooklyn Nets find themselves in a bad situation. They are due to open their new arena in Brooklyn without a notable player to appear on billboards. Deron Williams is expected to decline his player option and will leave the Nets with MarShon Brooks as the face of their franchise. I would have said Brook Lopez, but the Nets have been throwing him out there as bait for both Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum over the last two seasons. I'm not sure if the fans actually see him as a player or just a trade commodity.

In the end, the NBA Draft will dictate where Gerald Wallace will end up. If a team misses out on a SF/PF scoring option, Wallace will end up on their wishlist.

RE-DO - 2005 NBA Draft

After any major sports draft, every team and their fans usually feel great about the future. The NBA many teams draft based on potential and not on the basis of past performance. 2005 was one of the last drafts that high school talent could bypass the college game and enter in the draft. Teams will still draft on potential, even a year in college doesn't show enough to make an educated determination on what player is better than the other. Here is a re-do of the 2005 NBA Draft if it happened today.

1. Chris Paul - Milwaukee Bucks - The Bucks would be a much improved team with Paul at the point. Andrew Bogut was a decent pick, but the draft class was presumed to be very thin in 2005 and they couldn't pass up on a big man with International flavor. Chris Paul is hands-down, head above shoulders, the filet mignon of this draft. (Paul went #3 to New Orleans)

2. Andrew Bynum - Atlanta Hawks - Atlanta was rebuilding a young roster and needed a scorer. At the time of the draft, Atlanta could have waited on a player to develop, but big men develop at a snail's pace. The Hawks ended up taking Marvin Williams, not a bad choice, but he was solely picked based on a predicted potential with no ceiling. (Bynum went #10 to the Lakers)

3. Deron Williams - Utah Jazz - Williams actually went at this spot and to-date seemed to be about the third best player in the draft. At the University of Illinois, Williams looked great, any other year, he would have went deeper in the draft, but he'll be great. (Williams went #3 to Utah)

4. Danny Granger - New Orleans Hornets - The Hornets was the lucky team in 2005 by picking Chris Paul. Granger would be a stud on any team in the NBA. He was supposed to go much earlier than where he went, many teams weren't sold on him. (Granger went #17 to Indiana)

5. Andrew Bogut - Charlotte Bobcats - Bogut would be a great addition to Charlotte. A Bogut/Okafor duo would be a much better front court team than May/Okafor. Charlotte went to take Raymond Felton at this spot, but many thought at the time that they needed to take some Tar Heels to increase attendance in Chartlotte. (Bogut went #1 to Milwaukee)

6. David Lee - Portland Trailblazers - Lee is an energy player that doesn't quit on either end of the floor. He was an Energizer bunny at the University of Florida, but many didn't think that his game wouldn't translate to the NBA. Portland picked Martell Webster, who is turning into a nice player, but in 2005 he was picked on potential. Lee has been the one constant on the Knicks roster during the last three years and will continue to be a piece of their future. (Lee was picked #30 by New York)

7. Marvin Williams - Toronto Raptors - I would like Marvin Williams on Toronto more than I do on Atlanta, where he ended up. Toronto was a team trying to find its identity without Vince Carter. They ended up taking Charlie Villanueva, which seemed like a decent move, since Villanueva could score all over the floor at UConn. (Williams went #2 to Atlanta)

8. Charlie Villanueva - New York Knicks - The Knicks could have used Villanueva on their team, especially since he would have been a nice middle of the floor scorer. New York had a ton of guards and wannabe big men, Villanueva fit a niche that they were missing. Channing Frye was the player chosen by New York, he may still end up being a decent guy, but probably not a starter. He was traded to Portland last season, where he is behind Greg Oden in the rotation. (Villanueva was chosen #7 by Toronto)

9. Jason Maxiell - Golden State Warriors - Maxiell would have added much needed defensive ability on the high-scoring Warriors. Golden State was coached by Don Nelson at the time he was just looking for more offense, so they chose Ike Idogu. Maxiell is coming into his own on Detroit where he is playing for a contender. (Maxiell was picked #26 by Detroit)

10. Jose Calderon - Los Angeles Lakers - Calderon was probably going to stay in Europe for a season or more, something the Lakers could have done. The Lakers were trying to find themselves as a team without Shaquille, so drafting a point guard may have not been in their plans. Andrew Bynum was probably the perfect pick for what they needed. (Calderon went undrafted in the 2005 NBA Draft)