NBA Rumors: Latest Rumblings and Offseason Buzz

Just because many of the top free agents on the market this summer have signed new contracts doesn’t mean there isn’t anything going on in the NBA.

There are still impact free agents looking to ink deals for the upcoming season. One of the players seeking a contract is Timofey Mozgov, who has played the last two seasons with the Nuggets. Last season, the center averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per night across 41 games.

Mozgov is a restricted free agent, and Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Kings are interested in landing him. The Nuggets still want to bring the big man back for the upcoming season, though, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. So, where’s he going to wind up?

Well, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld reports that the Spurs may be looking to strike a deal with Denver to acquire Mozgov. San Antonio would be a good fit for him if the team is unable to bring DeJuan Blair back for next year. Blair has played four seasons for the Spurs, but is currently an unrestricted free agent.

It appears that Mozgov is someone who a lot of teams would like to use off the bench, but it’s still very unclear as to which team he’ll be playing for next year.

While we wait to see what happens with the 27-year-old, here are a few rumors surrounding some of the lesser-known players trying to make a living in the NBA.

Smith Headed to Celtics Camp?

Nolan Smith may have only played five minutes for the Celtics during the Orlando Summer League, but his time with the team isn’t expected to be over just yet. Smith scored four points and had a steal against the Magic on July 7, but the guard got injured in the first quarter of the league-opener.

A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports Smith will be out for a while:

Even though Smith won’t be able to take the floor for a while, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports that he’s still expected to be with Boston for training camp:

Smith was drafted by Portland in 2011, and the guard has spent the last two seasons with the Blazers. This past season, he averaged 2.8 points in 7.2 minutes per night across 40 games. He played a bit in the D-League as well. Smith is currently seeking a contract, as he’s an unrestricted free agent.

Boston’s new head coach, Brad Stevens, is no stranger to Smith. The guard played his college basketball at Duke, who squared off against Butler, Stevens’ old program, a few times. Smith scored 13 points against Butler in the 2009-10 National Championship Game, which Duke won by two points.

While Smith is expected to be on the training camp roster, it still won’t be easy to make the Celtics’ regular-season roster. Boston has Rajon Rondo running the point, and Avery Bradley is his primary backup—if he’s not at shooting guard. Boston also has Phil Pressey, a point guard from Missouri.

Amundson Without Still Without Offer

Lou Amundson is the definition of a journeyman. The power forward has played in 327 career games with eight different teams since 2006-07. This past season, he played 39 games between New Orleans, Chicago and Minnesota. With those organizations, he averaged 1.9 points in 9.5 minutes per game.

Amundson is currently look for a team to play for in 2013-14, but he has yet to receive an offer according to Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York:

The Lakers are one franchise that might take a chance on the 30-year-old. Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times recently wrote that the league roster minimum is 13, and Los Angeles will need to sign at least one more player. Pincus looked at forwards to fill the void and named Amundson as one of the possible solutions.

Los Angeles probably should be looking to add someone who can play small forward and power forward while scoring a bit as well. While Amundson is big enough to play both, he’s never shown that he could score in a large capacity—albeit he’s never played much. That being said, the Lakers might not be interested in him.

All statistics in this article were obtained via ESPN unless otherwise noted.