LOY's PLACE a celtics green blog: Sunday Rumors and Updates

The NY Post reports that Stephon Marbury had a new tattoo inscribed on his left temple. The "3" logo found on his Starbury sneaker and apparel line is now a permanent part of his bald head. His future with the Knicks is still up in air. Marbury desperately wants to stay with the Knicks and has done everything he can to ingratiate himself with his new coach including showing up at the Vegas summer league and joining the team for practice. If waived, Marbury has told confidants that the Celtics are on his radar because of his ties with Kevin Garnett and Boston's need of point-guard depth. Paul Pierce was quoted recently saying that the Knicks should cut Marbury so he could go to a veteran team where he would fit much better. Like the Celtics maybe?

Ron Artest has decided to change his name. The SacBee has this to report:

The latest from the Ron-Ron show: he's decided to change his name. OK, so technically he wants to go by his middle name of William. The thinking? Since Ron Artest is back to getting so much negative media coverage, maybe going by Bill - as he requested to be called - could give him a fresh start.

Ok, so the NBA won't have Ron Artest to kick around any more. But, I don't expect Bill Artest to behave any better than Ron did.

The Nets have signed 32 year old Eduardo Najera to a 4 year, $12 million contract. His contract is front loaded so that in 2010 when the Nets want to have the room to go after LeBron it will be down to 2.6 million. The NY Post has a funny tidbit on the Nets and Najera:

Quick aside on Najera: in annual anonymous poll conducted throughout league, Nets voted him among the league's dirtiest players (one guy, no longer with team, voted for Najera EVERY year). Bruce Bowen, Danny Fortson were other annual staples.

Several of the Celtics will be in Boston on Monday for the preview of the new DVD on their championship season. Rondo, Pierce, Perk, Powe, House and Posey will all be promoting it individually around town on Monday and Tuesday also. You can click here for a schedule of where they will be. The majority of the Celtics will be back in LA this week for the taping of the ESPYs. KG, Doc and the Celtics team are all up for awards. The only Celtics not expected to be there are Tony Allen and Scot Pollard. Life is busy for the World Champions.

The Clippers search for a replacement for the recently departed Elton Brand continues. ESPN reports that the most likely scenario is signing one of the top restricted free agents to an offer sheet. According to NBA front-office sources, the Clippers have expanded their list of restricted candidates beyond Josh Smith and Emeka Okafor who they targeted at first to Chicago's Luol Deng and Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala. This could drag out because with every offer they make, they will have to wait up to 7 days for the team to match it before moving on to the next. They could get lucky and nab the first one they go after. It is thought that the Hawks won't match an offer for Smith if it is large enough.

ESPN reports that there is little chance of the Lakers matching the offer sheet that Ronny Turiaf received from Golden State. Word is that they will pursue the trade with the Kings that could bring Kenny Thomas and Bill Artest (see above) to the Lakers in return for LaMar Odom. From ESPN:

The Lakers' interest, by all accounts, remains hot after their toughness and defense were repeatedly punked in a six-game NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics. Word is L.A. believes that any fears about Artest's reliability can be assuaged by the fact that Phil Jackson would be coaching him and that Kobe Bryant would be his teammate. Kobe and Ron-Ron share a mutual respect that suggests no threat to the Lakers' pecking order. Insists one source close to the process: "[Lakers owner] Jerry Buss actually likes Ron Artest's game and his personality."

With several other free agents already off the market, James Posey is the most coveted right now. It seems that the major suitors are Boston and New Orleans as reports are that the Cavs are out of the running, even though Posey is a Cleveland native. Washington is also in the mix, but they would have to shed some salary to make an offer. It seems that the first team to offer him that 4th year at the mid level will win the race.

The Miami Heat have said that they would like to keep Shawn Marion but so far, their offers haven't come close to what Marion is looking for. In the meantime, he is garnering a lot of interest from other teams including the Clippers and Warriors.

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