FanHouse Nba Transactions

The Kings, seeking a defensive veteran for the small forward position, took on Desmond Mason in advance of training camp. That didn't turn out so well: Mason has been beyond awful on offense (surprising no one who has watched Mason play at any point over the past four years) and didn't make much of a difference for the league's 29th ranked defense.

Five games was enough for the Sacramento front office, as the team waived Mason a day after signing former Blazer and Spur Ime Udoka to a non-guaranteed minimum salary contract. Like Mason, Udoka is known for his defensive skill, having been signed as a sort of Bruce Bowen replacement two summers ago. That didn't really work out, and Udoka was left teamless for opening day after Portland waived the swingman at the end of the preseason.

The operative phrase here is "with plenty of time to spare."

The Blazers and LaMarcus Aldridge had been working on an extension, the second of the big two the Blazers needed to lock up to ensure stability in their young, contending core (the other being Brandon Roy). The two had until October 31st to get a deal done in order to avoid Aldridge becoming a restricted agent next summer.

There had been rumors that Aldridge was unhappy about how long it was taking, given the Blazers' hyper-eager approach to Roy's five-year, $80 million deal. With Oct. 31 just 10 days away, the clock was ticking. Both sides were confident a deal would get done, but you couldn't blame Blazers fans for getting nervous.

The biggest free agent on the market this year just got inked. Kind of. Though he wasn't going anywhere, Daryl Morey's been working without a contract since the end of last season. And today, the Houston Chronicle reports, the Rockets have finalized a deal that will keep him with the team through 2013.

So given the new timeline for Morey and his prior success, what are the odds Morey nabs an Executive of the Year award by the time his next contract is up?

Nate Robinson will remain a Knick, reports Alan Hahn of Newsday, and this is hardly a surprise. Robinson's agent Aaron Goodwin told FanHouse last week that the guard would certainly be in Knickerbocker blue next season. Hahn reports Nate will sign a one-year deal at some amount above the $3 million qualifying offer which has been on the table since July 1. Fellow restricted free agent David Lee is expected to follow with a similar deal.

One item that might get some attention in the coming days is that Robinson can veto any trade involving him this season. No-trade clauses in the NBA are extremely rare -- only Kobe Bryant has a full-blown no-trade negotiated into his contract. But Nate isn't unique, and this clause hasn't been specially negotiated into his contract. All restricted free agents who sign a one-year contract with their incumbent teams (qualifying offer or otherwise) receive the same veto power.

Sean Deveney of The Baseline reports that Charlotte point guard Raymond Felton plans to accept the $5.5 million qualifying offer presented by the Bobcats at the start of free agency. The qualifying offer allowed Charlotte to match any offer sheet from another team signed by Felton. But Felton never found a team willing to pay what he desired. Felton will be an unrestricted free agent next July.

While this result is hardly surprising, there remains a herd of elephants in the room. There's D.J. Augustin, the lottery pick successor to Felton entering his second season. There's Larry Brown, the notoriously trigger-happy boss of the team. And there's Felton himself, who has proved if nothing else over his four seasons that he is just not very good.

Allen Iverson has been back and forth on whether or not he would actually join the Memphis Grizzlies -- one of a handful of franchises that meets the exact opposite of his preferences (not competitive, full of young players, no chance at a championship, etc.) But with few options on the table, he's signing with them anyway.

So sayeth the breaking news machine that is Twitter.

God Chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career. I met with Mr. Heinsley, Chris Wallace and my next head coach Lionel Hollins

Of course, don't let my pessimism about Iverson's future with the Grizzlies deter you ... or him, for that matter.

---

---

C.J. Watson makes his offseason home in Las Vegas so he knows a little something about gambling. Apparently, he's going to roll the dice.

Two NBA sources confirmed that Watson will soon take a one-year qualifying offer from the Golden State Warriors worth $1.05 million. What that means is Watson said no to a three-year contract from the Warriors worth $5.4 million.

The Warriors, per team policy, did not comment on the pending signing. Calls to Watson's agent, Mike Higgins, were not returned.

The Clippers waived Mark Madsen Friday, paying him his $2.8 million salary to take his hustle somewhere else. The interesting note pointed out by Steve Perrin of Clips Nation is that the team chose to waive Mad Dog over Ricky Davis, who makes $2.4 million in 2009-10, the final year of his contract. Given the reputation of each in the locker room, this move either says something about Ricky's physical condition, or Madsen's lack of basketball usefulness.

And that itself leads me to wonder whether Mad Dog's NBA career is finished. It's a tight market, as you've heard ad nauseum. Last year, Madsen only managed to get 116 minutes on a bad Wolves team. The year prior: 151 minutes. The year prior: 473 minutes. The year prior: 676 minutes. The year prior: 601 minutes. Kevin Love played more minutes in his rookie season than Madsen has in the past five seasons combined. And the Wolves weren't exactly full of talent during most of that run.

Follow the logic train on this one.

Toronto needs defense and rebounding, since Andrea Bargnani, as talented as he is, lacks the toughness of say, an ostrich. They also need to clear 2010 space since The Big Twittermental, Chris Bosh, is going to have his share of offers. The Bucks have Amir Johnson, with $3.6 million expiring contract.

Milwaukee needs some flexibility at the wing, since Michael Redd spends more time on the shelf than Gigli. They also need some cheap backup point options, in case this whole Ramon Sessions thing doesn't go down. Toronto has Carlos Delfino (in a sign-and-trade possibility), and Roko Ukic.

Let's make a deal! Eventually!

In their typical low-key, take-your-time style, the Atlanta Hawks are moving closer to turning the Big Three of the Eastern Conference – Boston, Orlando, Cleveland – into a Big Four party this season.

According to reports Friday, the Hawks added veteran power forward Joe Smith to an already-promising mix that has improved steadily over the last five years, turning Atlanta into a legitimate contender in the East.

After re-signing free agents Mike Bibby, Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia – their own free agents -- earlier this summer, the Hawks improved their depth considerably by adding Jamal Crawford to the backcourt and now Smith to the frontcourt.