Free agent shooting guard O.J. Mayo is close to finding a new home with the Milwaukee Bucks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Bucks are in dire need of help in the backcourt. Milwaukee lost free agent shooting guard J.J. Redick in a three-team trade to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, and the team's starting guard tandem of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings each face uncertain futures as free agents.
Mayo spent last season in Dallas on a one-year deal after playing the first four years of his career in Memphis. He averaged 15.3 points 4.4 assists per game for the Mavericks playing on a one-year, $4 million contract and now is poised to sign a multi-year deal. Mayo, who turns 26 just after the start of next season, would give Milwaukee the outside shooting it desires. He shot a career-high 40.7 percent from three-point range last season.
SB Nation's Bucks blog Brew Hoop had this to say about about the possibility of Mayo signing in Milwaukee:
While he's always put up points, hit threes and racked up solid assist numbers for a secondary guard, Mayo has consistently posted mediocre advanced metrics, including a PER generally close to but not ever exceeding league average (15.0), a relatively high turnover rate and negative on/off differentials. Stylistically, he's a proven commodity from behind the arc and can finish around the hoop (generally around 60%), but lacks the burst to get there (or the line) as much as you'd want. In short he's a mixed bag, which means paying him more than mid-level-ish dollars comes with plenty of risk.
The Bucks are also in hot pursuit of free agent shooter Kyle Korver, reportedly offering him a four-year, $20 million deal.
Tyreke wants to go to New Orleans, or maybe he doesn't
Is Tyreke Evans ready to move on from the Sacramento Kings and start a new life as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans? It depends who you ask.
ESPN's Marc Stein and Jeff Goodman reported the shooting guard was ready to commit to the four-year, $44 million offer sheet the Pelicans gave him earlier this week, but those close to Evans told Dave Carmichael the report is false.
If the 23-year-old Evans does indeed want to leave the Kings, he'd be joining a young and talented Pelicans nucleus. New Orleans completed a shocking draft day deal with the 76ers for point guard Jrue Holiday, and already has Eric Gordon and 2012 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis installed in the starting lineup. Gordon and Evans may seem a bit redundant, but Evans spent plenty of time at small forward for the Kings last season and Gordon is notorious for being bitten by the injury bug.
There is one complication for Evans' move to New Orleans: the Pelicans would first have to clear the salary of big man Robin Lopez. The deadline for Lopez's buyout is Thursday.
Does New Orleans release a quality, affordable big man and risk Sacramento matching the offer sheet to Evans? It's one of the more interesting scenarios of the free agency period.
Manu is staying in San Antonio
Manu Ginobili might be aging, but the veteran shooting guard isn't done just yet. Ginobili has agreed to a two-year, $14 million contact that will keep him in San Antonio until he's 38 years old.
Ginobili averaged 11.8 points per game for the Spurs last season, his lowest mark since his rookie season in 2003. He still had a huge Game 5 in the NBA Finals that gave San Antonio a 3-2 lead on the Miami Heat, and it's evident the Spurs still believe he has something left in the tank.
But is the price too high? SB Nation's Mike Prada, who is grading every free agent deal in this StorySteam, believes the value of the contract is passable for one reason:
Ginobili is probably not going to be a $7 million/year player for the next two years, but this contract was the price of doing business with a franchise legend that's declining. Paying Ginobili his true market value may have been seen as disrespectful to someone who helped the team win championships in the past. It would be easy to say that human emotions shouldn't come into play in contract negotiations, but it's just not feasible.
Kobe's pitch to Dwight Howard
Here's what we know about Dwight Howard: he's met with five teams -- the Hawks, Mavericks, Rockets, Warriors and Lakers -- and is taking a few days to clear his head before making a decision. The star center has reportedly cut-off contract from his suitors and retreated to Aspen. He will reportedly announce his decision on Friday.
Howard has given no signs of which way he's leaning, but Lakers guard Kobe Bryant reportedly gave Howard a challenging pep talk in their meeting. Bryant told Howard "You have to learn how it's done."
Howard directly holds the future of one-sixth of the league's teams in his hand. His decision will be the biggest moment of free agency.
Copeland, Landry draw interest
Though star players garner most of the attention in free agency, there are also a number of helpful role players available on the market who are drawing interest. One of the hottest commodities might be forward Chris Copeland, who spent last season with the Knicks as a 29-year-old rookie after spending the rest of his career playing overseas.
Copeland has received interest from the Pacers and Utah Jazz in addition to the Knicks. He averaged 8.7 points per game last season on 47.9 percent shooting.
Carl Landry just enjoyed a fine season as a member of the Golden State Warriors, but the power forward might be ready to change addresses in California. Landry is meeting with the Clippers, where he may draw the team's entire mid-level exception.
More from SB Nation:
• The NBA's top 90 free agents | All NBA free agency news
• Dwight Howard finishes meetings, will decide soon
• Kings pull offer to Andre Iguodala
• Flannery: Tanking and rebuilding | Ziller: When it's OK to overpay