Today has been the busiest and craziest first day of free agency we have seen. Rumors, truth and trades. The day isn't even over yet!!!!

The ball blog will be a little light in the coming days, I will be sending updates here and there but check out the off season tracker for all the up to date signings, trades, waives and more!!!! Also make sure, as you see all over the site, follow my timeline on twitter!!! I like most have a regular 9-5, or in my case a 9-9 job. It is easier and quicker to update my timeline and come to the site when I have time. So please, if you want information at a real time pace, follow me on twitter and keep checking the blog and the off season tracker for all the news of our beloved association.

For all official transaction make sure you check the off season tracker

For all up to date and most current happenings please check my timeline on Twitter and give me a follow. That is where I will have up to the minute updates and retweets.

Wes Matthews to the Mavs is gaining steam, keep an eye out for that. Mark Cuban likes adding Wes and Jordan to Dirk and company for a 2 year windows for another chamionship run.

Danny Green back to the Spurs, then the Spurs traded Tiago Splitter to the Hawks. This means Millsap wont be back in Atlanta and that Aldridge is on his way to San Antonio.

At a meeting last night, the Magic offered Paul Millsap a 4 year $80 million dollar contract.

Monta Ellis and family are traveling to Indiana today to get details on a deal with the Pacers.

The Bulls are close on a 3 year $15 million dollar contract with Mike Dunleavy JR.

The Nets are close to finalizing contract extensions with both Brook Lopez and Thad Young.

Tonight, a minute after midnight, the madness starts. Tonight will ofiicially start the NBA free agency rush. Teams can meet with players, discuss contracts, and get the wheels going on what every team hopes is the start a championship season. Teams however cannot sign players until July 9th. This is when the CBA and all the league financials will be set in stone for the 2015-2016 season. I urge everyone to follow my twitter to stay on top of all NBA news as it happens!!!!

In an effort to land Aldridge in San Antonio, the Spurs are discussing a trade of Tiago Splitter for Brandon Haywood. Haywood then would be bought out to make cap room for Aldridge.

Dallas, the Knicks, Bulls and Cavs are going to talk to Patrick Beverly. He also will sit down with his current team, the Rockets on a new contract.

The Kings are heavily looking to retool as they will be speaking to many free agents. They are looking at talking with Rajon Rondo, Monta Ellis Jermey Lin, Dennis Schroder and explore talks with a trade to Denver for Ty Lawson.

Pero Antic is leaving the Hawks and the NBA to play in Europe next season.

AAron Affalo and Greg Monroe appear to be locks to sign with the New York Knicks.

The Bulls have made a qualifying offer to Jimmy Butler. It is said to be 5 years and $90 million dollars.

The Bulls, Mavs and Heat are all looking at signing JJ Barea.

Dwyane Wade officially opted out of his contract with the Heat. He is looking at the Lakers, Cavs, or returning to the Heat with a high payday.

The Heat's Loul Deng also opted in and will stay in South Beach.

Bismack Biyombo's contract was not tendered and will be a free agent. He will not be back with the Charlotte Hornets next season.

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The Raptors are said to be a dark horse in the Lamarcus Aldridge race, though many beleieve he will land either with the Lakers or Spurs.

If the Bulls do not re-sign Mike Dunleavy Jr, he will get offers from the Cavs among other contending teams. 

Likewise, if he does not return to Chicago, they will look at re-signing Marco Belinelli.

Ed Davis opted out of his contract with the Lakers.

Iman Sumpert has drawn heavy interest from the Mavs, Bucks and Lakers.

Trade city has hit Luke Ridnour the most, he once again has been traded. He has been traded for the 4th time since the finals. He will now head to Toronto. The Raptors aquired him for a trade exception this morning. 

Gravais Vasquez was traded from the Raptors to the Bucks for a future 1st and 2nd round pick.

:ebron and the Cavs are working together this offseason on some roster ideas.

Deandre Jordan will talk to the Knicks, Mavs, Bucks, Clippers and Lakers this offseason.

Rockets and the Kings want to sign Rodney Stuckey.

David West rumors point him to New York, but as written before, he will wait for other PF's to sign first.

Jerian Grant (Notre Dame) was drafted by the Wizards, traded to the Hawks, then traded to the Knicks last night. Tim Hardaway went from New York to Hawks in this.

Mason Plumlee and the draft rights of Pat Connaughton (also from Notre Dame) were traded from New Jersey to the Portland Trailblazers for Steve Blake and Hollis -Jeffersons' draft rights.

Roy Hibbert has opted in his contract with the Pacers.

Memphis traded Jon Lauer to the Suns for the draft rights of Andrew Harrison.

More and more reports coming from Sacremento are showing a riff between George Karl and the Kings owver Vivek Ranadive.

The Celtics are willing to unload Marcus Smart to get a lottery pick tonight.

Al-Farouq Aminu has opted out of his contract with Dallas.

Early morning reports are stating that the Utah Jazz are dangling Try Burke for trades.

Steam is picking up on the trade market for today, but a lot depends on the draft tonight. Jahil Okafor dropping to 3 will cause a domino effect to cause a trigger of trades.

The Suns and the Celtics are trying to create trades to aquire the 9th pick tonight which belongs to the Hornets.

There are whispering that Jahil Okafor's agent informed the 76ers to pass on him if he is availible with the 3rd overall pick tonight.

The Lakers are leaning towards drafting D'angelo Russell tonight.

Paul Millsap might be looking at a return to Utah this summer.

The Luke Ridnour tour has continued today. After starting in Orlando, then going to Memphis, he found his way to Charlotte. Now today he is the unknown player that netted Charlotte Jeremy Lamb. So, after all that, Lamb goes to Charlotte for Ridnour and a 2016 second round pick. Also along with this jumble, Matt Barnes has found his way to Memphis.

The Grizzles are also pursuing a trade to land Danilo Gallinari.

The eve before the draft, we have a couple of trades going down.

The Charlotte Hornets are doing some work by aquiring Jermey Lamb from OKC.

The Hornets also have traded Gerald Henderson and Noah Vonleh to Portland for Nicolas Batum.

Along with these trades, Charlotte is looking at dealing Cody Zeller.

With a day to go until draft night, here are some news and rumors hitting us early today.

Reports from Nick Friedell (ESPN Chicago) state that Gar Forman and the Chicago Bulls have had talks with the Kings in the last 12 hours.

Monta Ellis has officially opted out of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks and there have been rumblings of signing a deal with the Hawks or the Heat.

The Orlando Magic have trade Luke Ridnour to the Memphis Grizzles for the rights of Jannis Timma.

There is talk that the Dallas Mavericks are going to reach out to Danny Green.

David West and Kevin Love have opted out of their contracts. Rumors saying KLove could be headed to the Celtics to team with Brook Lopez and Paul Pierce. Also if Aldridge leaves Portland, they could be in the mix for Love as well.

If Kevin Love signs back with the Cavs, expect a 5 year $100 million dollar deal.

Some believe that Pierce going back to Boston secures an office job after retirement. 

The Detroit Pistons have tendered Reggie Jackson.

The sale of the Atlanta Hawks has been made official at the offices of the NBA.

Today the Milwaukee Bucks unvieled their new court. 

This Thursday will start the dream of 60 NBA hopefuls. We will see the hopes of not just these young players but also the teams they get drafted to. Much of the national spotlight goes on the night itself, however many of the fireworks have started already. We just calmed down from a magical season that ended in the Warriors winning their first championship since 1975 and have seen a few coaching changes. We also have been hearing a lot of chatter through the twitter verse on potential players on the move. This is something NBA followers have come accustomed to. With the draft and the upcoming free agency period about to start in July, we will hear about every possible trade under the sun. Some of these rumors are what drives sports talk radio around the country and keep beat writers active during the offseason. I am here tonight to talk about some of these rumors.

Demarcus Cousins

Boogie is a force down low. When he had Mike Malone coaching him he was unstoppable. He has always had the talent, but not the right head on his shoulders. Before we can even see the experiment of Boogie - George Karl, Karl wants Cousins out of Sacramento. There are rumblings pre-draft of seeing Cousins land in Lakerland, New York and even Orlando. He makes no sense in New York, and Phil Jackson wont part with 2028 first round draft pick just yet. Orlando is intriguing, but they would have to lose potential all star Nikola Vucevic. I see big things from the Magic in a few years, but Cousins would not fit the culture that Scott Skiles will build. Now to ShowTime, well.... maybe. You have to admit, Cousins would be a star in LA and be better than anyone they have or anyone rehabbing. You have to think 3 year window if you're a Lakers fan. The dream would be KLove and Westbrook teaming up back home The reality, Cousins, Randle, and etc. Now, if this is in the east, it would be a top 10 team, in the west however, you are still in NBA purgatory. With the number 2 pick in two days dangling as trade bait, I can see this move happening. As for wins and a playoff run due to a trade, very unlikely.

Jimmy Butler

Jimmy Buckets. He was a guy who declined a pretty good extension with the Bulls to see what he could do. He proved that he is worth the max. This is a player who was always an all-NBA defender, but now, he can go out a get over 20 a night. We saw him take over an injury riddled Chicago team and led them to the playoffs. He went to his first all star game and showcased his offense all season. He bet on himself and will win the lotto. Many people around the country think he will take a back loaded offer sheet and spurn the Bulls. He won't. His agency knows, sign a two year contract and bank when the new TV contract goes through. So I say he is a Bull for 2 more years. After that, its anyone's' guess. A championship run and a few more all star games might price him out of Chicago. Keep in mind, Chicago won't have Noah, Pau, Taj and maybe even DRose after the 2018 season, so maybe he stays. For now, he will stay in Chicago and see his offense climb under new coach Fred Hoiberg.

Kevin Love

KLove can opt out of his contract with the eastern conference champs. This all depends on what two other guys do, Draymond Green and Demarcus Cousins. If Boogie stays out of LA, look for KLove to make it back to the west coast. A wild card would be Draymond signing there as well. With his play and injury prone status, KLove does not fit with Lebron James. We saw a Cavs team perform better with Love on the bench when he could play. His time in Cleveland should be and will be over. As for other teams in the KLove sweepstakes, well.... LA is first and last for now. Over the next few weeks we will see if another team gets fooled into a Kevin Love deal.

Dwayne Wade

Wade is not going to Cleveland. He is not going to Chicago. He is retiring as a Miami Heat... in a few season.

Draymond Green

If Andre Iguodala can win the NBA Finals MVP, Green can get maxed out. He proved to be an important member of the Golden State Warriors, well most of the time. His physical play, energy and good presence in the locker room will make him a higher target the Demarcus Cousins. He stays in Golden State unless the big men dominos fall in odd places. As Warrior nation celebrates and preps for another run, they need to keep their team together. They will convince Green to stay at a discount, but they will have to get him on a short contract much like Jimmy Butler.

Lamarcus Aldridge and the others

Green and Cousins control the board, but why. NBA gm's know Aldridge and Marc Gasol might be the better players to build around available. So for Aldridge, I see the Bulls trading Tyrus Thomas for him... wait, something like that already happened. I see him landing in Dallas or staying in Portland. For Portland, Aldridge and Wes Matthews will be the key off season bullet points.

Marc Gasol can stay or land with the Spurs. San Antonio has one year left with the current roster. The addition of Gasol and maybe a Monta Ellis can stretch that another season or two. Usually quiet on bigger names, a future of Gasol, Leonard, and future unknown foreign draft pick could mean more gold in the Alamo city.

Wes Matthews. Is he healed? Ruptured Achilles  is a scary injury for any athlete. He is not going to come cheap though. Rumors stating he will be looking for $15 million per season. He is another guy I see cashing in somewhere for 2 years then moving on. There is a chance he stays in Portland, so I go 50/50 on Wes leaving. Though personally, a discount to be Chicago's 6th man and play with fellow Marquette star Jimmy Butler would be my dream.

As for draft night trades, it is anyone's guess. I do see Rajon Rondo, Ty Lawson and Mason Plumlee on the move between Thursday and mid July.