30/12/13
Raptors & Wizards further gear up for free agency
It's been a busy week of player movement in the league, with several high profile veterans joining new teams.
Both Toronto and Washington released multiple players as they look ahead to next season's free agency period.Lewis, Scola, Douglas & Howard waived by Wizards
Washington have ended a busy week of wheeling and dealing by waiving Rashard Lewis, Toney Douglas, Luis Scola and Josh Howard.
With their primary focus seemingly now next season's free agency period, several players agreed to be released and find new clubs.
A couple of days after being released, Lewis announced on Twitter that he'd agreed to sign with the conference-leading Miami Heat.
Apparently they felt that after losing Dwyane Wade to Chicago they needed to add another scorer. Lewis is a cheap answer for them.
He will join Gilbert Arenas, Mickael Pietrus, Austin Daye and Jordan Hill on a talented Heat bench. He is averaging 9 ppg this season.
Scola reached an agreement with Phoenix a day after Lewis signed with Miami. He will give them an extra big man in their rotation.
Height is clearly an issue for the Suns as they already traded for forward Crawford Mayer from Oklahoma City earlier in the season.
Travis Outlaw is their starting power forward, whilst Spencer Hawes is their only recognised center. They also have Udonis Haslem.
Howard sign with Boston a day after being released. The Celtics are desperate to add anyone who can help them make a playoff push.
He will join the likes of Kirk Hinrich, Jason Maxiell and Brandon Wright on the Celtics bench and hope to contribute solid numbers.
Things aren't looking too good in Boston as they sit in 13th spot with a 13-19 record. They have lost 6 of their last 10 games.
Douglas was recently acquired from Sacramento in the Blatche trade. He reached a mutual agreement with the Wizards to be released.
With Washington unofficially giving up on this season in order to get a high draft pick, Douglas wanted to sign with a playoff team.
---------------Dalembert & Murphy released by Raptors
Toronto also released two veterans on Tuesday in Samuel Dalembert and Troy Murphy, who were recently acquired in a trade with Boston.
The pair were involved in the trade which saw Kendrick Perkins return to the Celtics. Both were on the last year of their current contracts.
Murphy agreed to a deal with the Lakers the day after being released. He will join Salmons, Robinson and Randolph on their bench.
Joining the Lakers means that he will team up with former Pacers team mate Danny Granger, who signed with them during the off-season.
Dalembert signed with Milwaukee the following Monday. He will fill a crucial backup role for Andrew Bogut that they had been lacking.
Their bench looks pretty solid now with TJ Ford, Ryan Anderson, Daequan Cook, Kosta Koufos, Ian Mahinmi and now Dalembert.
They are currently in 10th spot in the eastern conference with a 15-15 record and looking to make a mid-season push into the top 8.
---------------Bulls sign trio as they prepare for playoffs
A week after acquiring superstar Dwyane Wade in a trade with Miami, the Bulls have filled out their roster ahead of the playoffs.
They've signed veterans Caron Butler, Richard Jefferson and Baron Davis for the rest of the season. They have a combined age of 100.
The trio last played for the Clippers, Blazers and Rockets respectively. This could be their last shot at winning a championship.
Chicago are sitting pretty in second place in the eastern conference with a 22-8 record, just half a game behind leaders Miami.
They now have a fairly deep bench with Beno Udrih, Kris Humphries, Ronnie Price, Sean Williams already providing backup roles.