Points in the Paint

» July 3, 2009 9:37 PM | By Brandon Hoffman

The Oregonian reports Hedo Turkoglu has rejected Portland’s offer, and has ended negotiations with the team.

WFNY on Cleveland’s offseason: “Once again, teams all around the league are making impact free agent signings, while the Cavaliers continue coming up empty handed. It would be easy to blame Cavaliers GM Danny Ferry for this. After all, while he was smiling and beaming like a proud papa over the arrival of Shaq, Daryl Morey was on a plane to Las Vegas to meet with Trevor Ariza in person, a move which ultimately led Ariza to sign with Houston for the Mid-Level Exception. At the same time, Jerry Buss and Phil Jackson were sitting down with Ron Artest and securing one of the biggest coups in this year’s free agency period. And while all that was happening, in Detroit you had Wyc Grousbeck, Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce all meeting with Rasheed Wallace to try to convince him to go play for Boston. While it’s certainly true that there were reports that LeBron had met with Artest to recruit him to Cleveland, it’s hard to ignore the eerie parallel of the Cavaliers taking an afternoon off from free agency while players were signing all around them with Cleveland’s rivals for the throne.”

Ron Artest on his contract with the Lakers: “People ask me about the money, I’m like, ‘Listen, first of all, I’m still getting paid. When I was in the hood, I was maybe getting like 50 cents a day. I’m still getting millions, maybe not the 90 you guys want. It’s still money. And also, I get a chance to possibly do movies, and acting, and TV shows, and all those opportunities that come with it. All that’s gonna come from winning.”

Bucks Diary compares Trevor Ariza to Ron Artest in (Pts per 100 poss), the ability to get the ball back for your team (Possessions Created per 48), the ability to create your own shot (% of assisted FGs made vs. NBA average), assist rate, block rate, and personal foul rate.

Eric Pincus of HOOPSWORLD: “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.”

Tim Kawakami: “Warriors owner Chris Cohan is believed to be seriously considering selling his 80% stake in the franchise in the next year or two, according to the sources. (He took control of the franchise in January 1995.) In fact, one knowledgeable source said it’s ‘highly likely’ that Cohan will sell most or all of his controlling interest in the team, possibly pulling back only if the current recession unexpectedly continues through 2011 and Cohan can’t get the price he wants. The sources did not give specific reasons for Cohan’s potential sell-off, and all of them noted that Cohan has spoiled soon-to-sell speculation several times in the past. But one source pointed to Cohan’s long-running battle with the IRS and another theorized that Cohan has wearied of the criticism he receives for the team’s run of disappointment, which includes 1 playoff season and 14 seasons in which the team did not reach the postseason.”