Encouraged by several weeks at the top of his game and emotionally rejuvenated by finally feeling 100 percent again after a serious eye injury, Amar'e Stoudemire strongly indicated Monday he will opt out of the final season of his Suns contract and become a free agent. Stoudemire cautioned that no final decision has been made. But, speaking before the Suns played the Warriors at Oracle Arena, he told NBA.com that "It's definitely a great time. The timing is perfect as far as being a free agent. But it doesn't determine whether I stay or not." - NBA
Brian Cardinal, dealt to the Knicks for Darko Milicic last month and immediately waived, is expected to rejoin the Timberwolves on Tuesday for the final three weeks. Cardinal was a popular, calming figure in the Wolves' locker room, and Rambis said at the time of the trade that he regretted losing the 10-year veteran. - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the Cavaliers were close to a deal on Monday night for Ilgauskas to return to the team. Herb Rudoy, Ilgauskas' agent, said he expected things to go very smoothly and just had to iron out a couple of minor things with Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry. - Akron Beacon Journal
LeBron James this summer, Carmelo Anthony next summer? The Knicks actually are in position to work the 2010-2011 superstar exacta if things fall a certain way. Anthony, who headlines the 2011 free-agent class, visits the Garden tonight with the powerhouse Nuggets, looking to duplicate the 50 points he hung on the Knicks in Denver on Nov. 28 in a 128-125 win. Knicks president Donnie Walsh has been on a campaign to alert the team's fans that all the cap room does not have to be filled this July, when the Knicks have space to sign two maximum free agents. - NY Post
Dwyane Wade counts rap mogul and businessman Jay Z among his celebrity pals. But it's going to take more than serenading Wade on a hit song to get the Heat guard to consider changing teams. The Heat made its final trip of the season to New Jersey on Monday to play the Nets. Jay Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, co-owns the Nets and mentioned Wade in last year's hit song, Empire State of Mind. It's unclear what impact Jay Z's friendships with top free agents might have this summer. - Miami Herald
The Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) have retained Galatioto Sports Partners (“GSP”) to conduct a sale of the team, it was announced today. GSP, acting as the Club’s exclusive financial advisor, will manage all aspects of the sales process. As such, all related inquiries should be made directly to GSP. Neither the Warriors nor GSP anticipate making any further public comments regarding the sales process until and unless a definitive agreement on a transaction is reached. - InsideHoops
One source close to the situation told ESPN.com that there have been “no discussions” between Ellison and NBA legend Jerry West about West running the Warriors’ franchise if Ellison indeed buys the team. Yet. I took a brief detour to Ellison’s tennis tournament last week -- one of my favorite sporting events on Earth -- and was advised by two people who would know that Ellison indeed plans to come hard after West if he winds up owning the Dubs. - ESPN
Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson also could have some interest in becoming involved in an ownership group, a source said, provided he sells his minority stake in the Lakers. George Postolos, who had hoped to buy the Charlotte Bobcats, also could surface as a potential buyer. - Yahoo
Around the Bay Area on Monday, Warriors fans staged an impromptu memorial service for Cohan's ownership tenure, which will not be mourned. Inside Oracle Arena in the minutes before the Warriors game against Phoenix, things were not as pointed. But still, the signs of change were there. - San Jose Mercury News
Forbes estimated the Warriors' value in December at $315 million, down $35 million from the previous year but much more than Cohan's purchase price of $119 million in 1994. The magazine also deemed the Warriors as one of 18 NBA franchises that made money last year, ranking 11th at $11.9 million. - San Francisco Chronicle
All anyone knows for sure is that Tom Penn, the vice president for basketball operations and Pritchard's right-hand man, was fired last week for "philosophical differences." Outside of that, it's a bunch of no-name sources making wild accusations that Pritchard is power-hungry and trying to leverage owner Paul Allen into a new contract. That Pritchard and coach Nate McMillan don't get along. That Penn had a shouting match with team president Larry Miller before being fired. And remarkably enough, that Penn had the gall to call Allen a "liar" to his face. And about the only thing everyone in the Blazers offices can agree on is that none of the stories has been accurate. - Oregonian Blog
Tom Penn's firing over "philosophical differences" has turned up the heat on general manager Kevin Pritchard, whose confidence and swagger were stripped away just as surely as his right-hand man was last week. Alone to face the music, Pritchard clearly has run out of dancing partners. And so it was in that context that team president Larry Miller blew the following kiss of death Pritchard's way Monday, when he uttered the six words no executive or coach wants to hear: Pritchard will be evaluated "at the end of the season," Miller said. - CBS Sports
Then he had his problematic right knee drained the next day. The Celtics captain, who had averaged 28 points on 62 percent shooting (30-for-48) during the three games prior to last night, admits that he was “stubborn” in his insistence to play through knee trouble, a sprained foot and a sprained thumb. Yesterday, he was named Eastern Conference player of the week for his performance. - Boston Herald
In moving from a minority investor with the final say on personnel decisions to the first former player be a majority owner of an NBA team, Michael Jordan is preaching patience with his roster. He is vowing not to get into luxury tax territory with his payroll and showing distaste for what he feels is overblown hype for free agency this summer. "That doesn't guarantee that New York is going to be in the playoffs," Jordan said shortly after his $275 million purchase of the team was approved last week. "Everybody is second-guessing themselves. I like where we are. If I were to unload everybody on our team just so we can clear [salary-cap] space, does that mean they're going to come to Charlotte? It's no guarantee." - AP
By all accounts, this season has been very good for Ricky Rubio. He’s playing with Barcelona, which is easily the top team in Europe. And Rubio is starting at point guard. He’s averaging just over 20 minutes a night, but the team is so good that games are decided early on, meaning there’s plenty of garbage time for the reserves. Barcelona paid $5.3-million US to get Rubio. He doesn’t have a buyout (expected to be $1.4 million) until after his second season at which point Barcelona will have received its money’s worth. If there was a weakness in Rubio’s game coming into the draft it was his shooting. According to Calderon, that has improved. He’s only averaging 5.9 points a night and 4.6 assists, but on a team that is so stacked with talent, the numbers can be misleading. - Toronto Sun
Luis Scola is happy playing for Houston Rockets, and wants to stay in his current team after his contract with the Texan franchise expires this summer. - TheHoopsMarket
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