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Carmelo Anthony is willing to waive his no-trade clause to join the Houston Rockets, and the New York Knicks are ramping up their efforts to oblige. According to ESPN, the teams are diligently working on a deal to send Anthony to Houston where he would join All-Star point guard Chris Paul and James Harden, another All-Star and volume scorer who flourished in Mike D'Antoni's offense last season.
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Anthony and former team president Phil Jackson feuded through the media with the Knicks mired in a rebuild and Anthony, who signed a five-year, $124 million deal upon Jackson's arrival, failing to meet Jackson's expectations.
ESPN reported that the Rockets aren't being bashful about paying Anthony his guaranteed salary ($26,243,760) for the 2017-18 season, but the final year of that contract in 2018-19 ($27.9 million guaranteed) might be a roadblock unless the Knicks are willing to absorb a portion.
--Free agent guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agreed to a one-year, $18 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, according to multiple reports.
The deal will enable Caldwell-Pope to re-enter the market next summer, ESPN reported Tuesday night.
Caldwell-Pope excited the Lakers because of his strong defense and shooting, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Caldwell-Pope, 24, began free agency as a restricted free agent, but the Detroit Pistons renounced his rights last Thursday, making him an unrestricted free agent.
--The Utah Jazz agreed to a two-year deal with free agent swingman Thabo Sefolosha, according to multiple reports.
The deal is worth a reported $10.5 million for the 33-year-old Sefolosha, who spent the past three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.
The 6-foot-7 veteran averaged 7.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 62 regular-season games (42 starts) in 2016-17. He played just eight minutes in a six-game opening-round playoff series loss against the Washington Wizards.
Sefolosha had previous stops with the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder before signing with Atlanta in 2014. He owns career averages of 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 740 games (467 starts).
--The Cleveland Cavaliers and Turkish forward Cedi Osman agreed to a three-year, $8.3 million deal, according to multiple reports.
The Cavaliers picked the 22-year-old Osman with the 31st pick in 2015 after a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 6-foot-8 Osman spent last weekend with team officials in Las Vegas for the start of NBA Summer League. He did not participate in Cleveland's summer games because of a commitment with the Turkish national team.
Osman averaged 7.1 points and shot 34 percent on 3-pointers for Turkish club Anadolu Efes in Euroleague games last season.
--The NBA Board of Governors approved a rule to decrease the number of timeouts per game in an effort to speed up the game for next season.
The league announced that the Board of Governors unanimously approved rules changes pertaining to timeout format and procedures for administrating free throws and halftime.
Effective with the 2017-18 season, the maximum number of timeouts per game will decrease from 18 to 14. In addition, during the last three minutes of a game, teams will be limited to two team timeouts each instead of the previous rule that allowed three in the last two minutes.
"These changes will help us fulfill our goal of improving game flow and pace of play," Byron Spruell, NBA president of league operations, said in a statement. "Fewer stoppages and less time without action, especially at the end of a game, will further enhance the viewing experience for our fans."
