July 13th Rumors.
Steve Blake is heading to Portland, meaning he won't have to travel far to join his new team. The free-agent point guard said today he has agreed to a three-year deal with the Trail Blazers. Though a Florida native, Blake and his family make their offseason home in Portland.
Morris Peterson and the New Orleans Hornets agreed to terms on a 4-year contract, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Friday. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract has not been announced, said Peterson would sign the deal following a vacation.
The Cavs, sources say, would have to send Drew Gooden to Sacramento in any deal for Bibby, which would make re-signing restricted free agent Anderson Varejao even more of a priority for Cleveland than it was a week ago. Yet Varejao is said to be strongly weighing the prospect of calling off negotiations this summer and invoking Cleveland's $1.3 million qualifying offer for next season, because the sides are so far apart in negotiations. If he chooses that option, Varejao would become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2008.
Steve Francis remains the Clippers' No. 1 free-agent target … and the Clippers are still considered the team most likely to sign Francis. But don't discount Dallas. The scoring guard formerly known as Stevie Franchise in Houston has a close relationship with Mavericks coach and offseason Houston resident Avery Johnson, who is heading Dallas' recruitment of both Francis and Chris Webber. It's believed that the Mavs favor Webber if they have to choose between the two. Yet they're also contemplating whether to divvy up their $5.3 million exception in an attempt to sign both former All-Stars, as Dallas searches for an additional offensive threat or two that can prevent opposing defenses from focusing so heavily on Dirk Nowitzki.
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