Ron Artest has told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that he will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. "I'm definitely going to L.A. -- to sign, yeah," Artest said in a phone interview. "Lakers, Lakers, Lakers. I'm in L.A. right now."

Artest said he met with Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss Thursday and previously had spoken with Lakers coach Phil Jackson. He was en route to his financial manager's office, where he planned to huddle on the phone with his agent, David Bauman, to finalize details. The parameters of the deal still need to be agreed upon, however.

"I don't really care about the money," Artest said. "I'll play there for nothing. ... L.A. was very interested in me, and they got me."

The Knicks will try to use their $5.7 million mid-level exception on Grant Hill, who accepted an invitation to New York Monday for a recruiting visit, according to a source. "Hill's a class act," Mike D'Antoni said Wednesday. "He didn't miss a game last year. I think he's one of the best free agents out there."

La Virtus comunica di aver firmato Ricky Minard per i prossimi due anni. Ricky Minard, 194 cm, proveniente da Montegranaro dove ha trascorso le ultime due stagioni, è nato a Mansfield (Ohio) l´11 settembre 1982. Nel 2004 è stato scelto al secondo giro del Draft Nba dai Sacramento Kings,con cui però ha trascorso solo pochi mesi, proveniente dall´Università Morehead State. Dopo aver lasciato i Kings (a novembre), nel gennaio del 2005 è approdato subito in Italia dove ha vestito la maglia della Lauretana Biella fino a fine stagione, poi è andato a Reggio Emilia per due anni e poi Montegranaro, con cui lo scorso anno ha registrato una media di 15.6 punti a gara per 32 minuti di media giocati, con 4.4 rimbalzi di media, 2.8 recuperi.

GENTILE SU MINARD: “Minard è un giocatore che ho seguito molto e mi è sempre piaciuto. Tecnicamente può giocare in diversi ruoli e potrà dare il suo contributo sia in attacco sia in difesa. Giocare in Eurolega poi, per lui, sarà una motivazione in più”.

The Pistons have reached a deal in principle with Ben Gordon, a source with knowledge of talks tells Adrian Wojnarowski.The deal is believed to be worth $55 million over five years.

RealGM Note: Gordon was ranked 48th in season FIC during the 2008-09 season and 'deserved' a salary of $11.24 million. He played under the qualifying offer after being unable to reach an agreement with Chicago.

Also Charlie Villanueva has agreed to a five-year deal with the Pistons. His contract is worth at least $35 million.

According to several league sources, the Cavaliers have been been in contact with Ron Artest. LeBron James met with Artest on Tuesday night, according to the report. The Rockets have had interest in Cavs free agent Anderson Varejao in the past, which opens up some possibilities of a sign-and-trade scenario - though the Cavs have said they want to re-sign Varejao.

Celtics general manager Danny Ainge paid Rasheed Wallace a visit just after midnight Wednesday. "I know he is definitely considering playing for them," one league source said of Wallace. Assistant director of basketball operations Leo Papile joined Ainge on the recruiting trip.

Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva flew to Detroit on Wednesday morning for a meeting with Pistons president Joe Dumars.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the pair are "moving rapidly toward deals" with the club.

Both Gordon and Villaneuva are unrestricted free agents, meaning that they are free to sign with any team they wish without Chicago and Milwaukee respectively having any say.

The Lakers contacted Lamar Odom on Tuesday night about remaining with the champions, and a number of other clubs are interested in the forward. The Spurs and Suns are interested in Odom, and have been looking to clear room in order to sign him.

Odom is believed to be seeking a four-year deal worth about $10 million annually. There are just a handful of clubs - Detroit, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Atlanta, Toronto, Portland and maybe Sacramento - that have enough cap room to sign Odom. "There are not a lot of teams," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "There's a couple, but it only takes one team to make an offer."

L'annuncio è imminente, di quelli che scuoto il mercato made in italy: Siena avrebbe messo sotto contratto il play del cska... Nikos Zizis, giocatore di classe ed esperienza. Un colpo di mercato dunque da capogiro. Sarà lui, dietro McIntyre, uno degli uomini chiave per l'assalto alle Final Four di Eurolega 2009/2010. Nei prossimi giorni l'annuncio ufficiale.

Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer announced on Tuesday that he is exercising his player option for 2009-10. Boozer will make $12.657 million this season and join the famed 2010 class a free agent next summer.

“We are excited that Carlos has decided to remain with the Jazz,” said Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor. “We are hopeful he can continue to play at an All-Star level and will have an injury-free season.” Boozer had been widely expected to become a free agent, but the economic climate of the NBA made delaying his free agency by one season a prudent decision.

Nessun ulteriore dubbio, Anderson Varejao ha deciso di non esercitare la sua player option e di diventare così un free agent.

Il giocatore ha prontamente informato i Cavs nella giornata di oggi.

Stephon Marbury would like to re-sign with the Celtics if the team offers him a fair deal. Marbury will become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday, and is looking to play with a title contender next season.

"I'm not trying to get a bunch of money," Marbury told the Boston Globe. "I know Boston doesn't have a bunch of money. I'm not seeking out teams with more money. I want to play for a championship-contending team. I can't play for a young team that's not in a position to compete for a championship."

The Knicks plan to meet with free-agent point guard Jason Kidd on Wednesday.Kidd is scheduled to meet with New York president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D'Antoni early Wednesday, according to a league source. He is expected to talk with the Mavericks before meeting with the Knicks in order to give them the first chance to re-sign him. The Knicks could offer Kidd their mid-level exception, or work a sign-and-trade with Dallas.

The Magic offered forward Hedo Turkoglu a four-year, $35 million extension shortly after the NBA Finals. Turkoglu rejected the offer and ultimately opted out of the final year in his contract to become an unrestricted free agent. Orlando acquired Vince Carter, who still has $33.6 million on his contract, on Thursday, which many believe spells the end for Turkoglu.

"It's going to be hard, but it's not out of the question, and it's certainly not out of our focus," president Bob Vander Weide said of re-signing Turkoglu. "We didn't do (the Carter trade) thinking automatically that Turk won't be here. What you try to do in this league is collect assets, but occasionally you have to move those assets for something that's a better fit. We still see Turk as an asset, and we'll try to get something done, but we won't know for a week or so what kind of deal we're up against."

Danny Ainge confirmed Monday that the Celtics will make a qualifying offer to forward Glen Davis.

By virtue of that, if another NBA team were to sign Davis, a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet, Boston would have seven days to match it.

Yao Ming could miss the entire 2009-10 season and his career could even be in jeopardy, according to a report from Yahoo! “The realization has hit them that this is grave,” one NBA general manager said.

The Rockets have privately told league peers it could be a full season before Yao might be able to return to basketball. Multiple league executives, officials close to Yao and two doctors with knowledge of the diagnoses are describing a troubling re-fracture of his navicular bone. Three pins were inserted a year ago, but the foot cracked in the playoffs and isn’t healing.

“It sounds like he’s missing most of next season, if not the entire 82 games,” one league executive who has had recent discussions with the Houston front office told Yahoo! Sports. “That’s all that [the Rockets] will concede quietly, but they know it’s probably much worse.”

Wallace, 34, is expected to be pursued by both the Magic and the Boston Celtics, who are competing with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Wallace has played 14 seasons in the NBA, earning a reputation as an often enigmatic, but unselfish player with championship experience.

Wallace still could remain in Detroit, but he has expressed a desire to finish his career with a legitimate contender in the East. He would help either Boston or Orlando counter Cleveland's addition of Shaquille O'Neal.

Il mercato Nba, dopo i fasti del draft, viene scosso da alcune brevi dichiarazioni rilasciate da Lou Babby, agente di Hedo Turkoglu: "Il mercato sarà pieno di sorprese ed interessante per Hedo".

Hedo Turkoglu infatti dopo la vicenda Carter (ingaggiato dai Magic) sembrerebbe aver respinto l'offerta di rinnovo offertagli da Orlando. Ora dunque a partire dal 1° Luglio sarà free agent. L'asta è pronta a partire. Non sono esclusi colpi di scena. Molte franchige sono alla finestra. I Magic rischiano seriamente di perdere il giocatore che li ha trascinati in questa stagione 2008/2009.

Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings, who played in Italy for one season instead of attending college, believes that he is better prepared for the NBA. "The experience I have gotten over there, you can't complain with that," Jennings said. "I'm not really a rookie, but I am a rookie in the NBA.

This is really my second year as a pro. "I think I'm ready. I'm more ready than a lot of these other players. A lot of these other players have a lot to learn with the pro game, but I think I've got it down a little bit."

While Blake Griffin and Hasheem Thabeet went first and second, Ricky Rubio was the fifth overall selection.

An NBA source told The Boston Globe that a trade was just consummated sending Nets forward Vince Carter to Orlando for guard Rafer Alston, forward Tony Battie and guard Courtney Lee.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns have come to an agreement on a blockbuster trade that sends Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland to team with LeBron James, according to sources.

The deal has been agreed to in principle and is expected to be finalized Thursday, according to sources. Cleveland will send Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic to Phoenix for the future Hall of Famer. Sources said the Suns will also receive the 46th pick in Thursday's NBA draft and $500,000.

The Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors are closing in on a trade that would find a new home for Jamal Crawford.

NBA front-office sources say that the Warriors and Hawks will soon complete a deal sending Crawford to Atlanta for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton.  (fonte espn.com)

Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna comunica di aver raggiunto un accordo biennale con Lino Lardo. Nonostante il cambio in seno alla società dunque, viene confermato l'ingaggio dell'ex coach reatino; a lungo contattato negli ultimi giorni.

Secondo voci di corridoio la Virtus Roma sarebbe molto vicina alla firma di Herve Tourè, ala forte francese quest'ultima stagione in forza a Cantù (chiusa con 11 punti e 6 rimbalzi di media in 28 minuti). Una prima mossa di mercato che andrebbe quasi a completare il reparto lunghi capitolino, qual'ora venisse confermato Andre Hutson. Vi terremo aggiornati.

The Washington Wizards have acquired Minnesota Timberwolves Randy Foye and Mike Miller in exchange for Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov and Darius Songaila and the fifth overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft.

The Milwaukee Bucks agreed to trade Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto, a Bucks source told ESPN.com! The two teams have agreed to the deal in principle.

The deal will clear $15 million off the books for the Bucks next season and give Milwaukee more flexibility for next year, while also saving them $3 million this year.

Novica Velickovic è il primo grande colpo del Real Madrid griffato Messina. L'accordo, che lo legherà ai Galattici, prevede un biennale con opzione per una terza stagione, esattamente come circolava da diversi giorni. Madrid ha fatto la sua prima mossa.

Mancava solamente l'ufficialità, ora Daniel Hackett, proveniente dall'università di USC, è a tutti gli effetti un giocatore della Benetton Treviso.

The Celtics reportedly offered Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen to the Pistons for Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince.

League sources told Yahoo! Sports of the deal, which reportedly never made it past lower level executives as Detroit rejected the offer immediately. The offer was made this past weekend.