After two years of waffling back and forth, today could finally be the day Dwight Howard decides where he’ll spend the next few years of his career.
Howard met with five teams — the Rockets, Hawks, Warriors, Mavericks and Lakers — over the opening days of free agency, then left Los Angeles for the holiday to mull over his decision, with multiple reports saying he could make his choice known as soon as today.
The two front runners seem to be the Rockets, who offer the potential to play alongside James Harden and possibly another star, and the Lakers, who can offer Howard the star power of Los Angeles and the potential to possibly add two stars from what could be a star-studded free-agent class next summer, with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, among others, able to hit the open market.
* The Pelicans, Kings and Trail Blazers agreed to a three-team deal, sending 2010 Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans to New Orleans, according to multiple reports.
Evans agreed to a four-year, $44 million offer sheet with the Pelicans Wednesday night, which the Kings would have had three days to match when he officially signs it on July 10 after the league lifts its annual moratorium on signing free agents. But the three teams agreed to a sign-and-trade instead, with the Pelicans sending point guard Greivis Vasquez and center Robin Lopez and guard Terrel Harris to the Trail Blazers.
This marks the latest move in what has been a massive redevelopment of the Pelicans roster this offseason. New Orleans sent the draft rights to Nerlens Noel and a first-round pick in 2014 to the Sixers for All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday on draft night.
That move made Vasquez expendable in New Orleans after he averaged 13.9 points and 9.0 assists last season, while the drafting of shooting guard Ben McLemore seventh overall did the same for Evans with the Kings.
The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, have been looking for a center this summer to replace free agent J.J. Hickson and to play alongside All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Lopez, the twin brother of Nets All-Star Brook Lopez, averaged 11.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for the Pelicans last year while starting all 82 games.
Portland also sent the draft rights to center J
eff Withey to New Orleans and two future second-round picks to Sacramento.
* In other big-man news, the Bobcats continued to try and revamp their frontline by agreeing to a three-year, $40.5 million contract with free-agent center Al Jefferson.
After taking Indiana big man Cody Zeller with the fourth pick in the draft last week, the Bobcats locked up one of the NBA’s better low-post scorers in Jefferson, who averaged 17.8 points and 9.2 rebounds last season for the Jazz while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor.
In order to fit Jefferson — whose deal has a player option for the third season — under the salary cap, the Bobcats will use the amnesty provision in the collective bargaining agreement on power forward Tyrus Thomas.
* As they continue to revamp their roster after their loss to the Heat in the Finals, the Spurs agreed to a two-year, $6 millon deal with free agent shooting guard Marco Belinelli yesterday.
Belinelli, 27, was an effective scoring option off the bench for the Bulls last season, averaging 9.6 points and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point range. A career 38.7 percent 3-point shooter, Belinelli — who was played for four teams in his six-year career — could potentially replace Gary Neal coming off the bench for the Spurs.
Neal, a restricted free agent, could now be out of San Antonio’s price range after the Spurs re-signed center Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili this week.