Apr 8, 2012; Newark, NJ, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Antwan Jamison (4) puts up a layup during the first half against the New Jersey Nets at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-US PRESSWIRE

One of the surprise teams on restricted free agent Eric Gordon’s list of possible destinations was the Charlotte Bobcats.

Now it seems like that list is down to just one team; The Phoenix Suns.

BUT…Gordon going hard with public comments that he’d rather be in Phoenix than NO, says in a statement given to … sulia.com/my_thoughts/03…

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 4, 2012

New Orleans is reportedly going to match the Suns max offer, and Gordon would be forced to play in New Orleans again next season.

The first player with a legitimate chance to sign with the Charlotte Bobcats is going to have dinner with team officials according to a tweet from beat writer, Rick Bonnell.

A source close to the situation confirms Antawn Jamison will have dinner with #Bobcats execs in Charlotte Thursday.

— Rick Bonnell (@rick_bonnell) July 3, 2012

Jamison isn’t the guy fans wanted to see Charlotte target at power forward, but he is someone the Bobcats feel comfortable with giving a short deal to. Charlotte management has expressed their desire to sign a veteran guy that can still play this off season, and Jamison fits that description, and helps fill a gaping hole in the paint at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Outside of the world of free agency, Charlotte has apparently interviewed UNLV assistant (and former Charlotte Hornet) Stacey Augmon for the Bobcats assistant coach vacancy.

Other than that, the Charlotte Bobcats have been one of the more quite teams in the early days of this free agent frenzy, despite the amount of money they have to spend.

Still, once some of the bigger peices start to fall (Williams, Nash, Illyasova, etc), expect Charlotte to get right in the thick of things.

I think that shot was an airball. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The biggest winner in the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors battle to land Steve Nash will no doubt be Landry Fields.

Fields and the Raptors have reportedly reached a verbal agreement on a 3-year, $20 million deal… That’s just under $7 million a year for a shooting guard who scored 8.8 points per game and shot 26 percent from behind the arc last season.

The boys in charge North of the Border are basically making this move to assure the Knicks won’t have any leverage to work a sign and trade with Phoenix for Steve Nash. There had been rumblings of such a deal as recently as Monday.

And, while this deal almost certainly takes the Knicks out of the running for Nash, it will probably take the Raptors out of the running for the playoffs over the next few years; If they do end up signing Nash, that will leave 56 million dollars tied up between two players for three seasons. Nash certainly makes that team better, but the addition of Fields won’t really mean much in the win/loss column.

There’s still a chance Nash ends up in New York. Phoenix apparently really likes Iman Shumpert, and if the Knicks were to offer him in a sign and trade situation, the Suns would think long and hard about it.

For now though, it looks like Nash is going to finish out his career on a middling team. At least he’ll be going home, and you can’t knock a guy for wanting to do that.

Mar 21, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (17) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday (11) during the second quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

I just saw a tweet that said the Charlotte Bobcats, Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets are interested in signing free agent power forward J.J. Hickson.

Hickson, who’s been in the league for four years, had a weird 2011/12 season.

He was signed by the Kings in the off season, played so poorly that Sacramento waved him, got picked up by the Trail Blazers, and averaged 15 points and eight rebounds over the last 19 games of the season.

He made less than three million dollars last season, and my guess is he’ll sign with the team that gives him the best deal.

Other free agent news on this great Monday morning includes… well not too much news.

The Nets are trying to swing so many deals that Chris Brousard’s head must be ready to burst. They’re willing to take on Joe Johnson and his horrifying salary, but they won’t give up Marshon Brooks. They also want to trade for Dwight Howard, sign Steve Nash and if they don’t get any of those guys, they’re likely to match any offer Brook Lopez receives.

The Houston Rockets and Omer Asik have reportedly agreed to a 3-year deal worth over $25 million, and while the Bulls say resigning him is a priority, 72 percent of Bulls fans don’t want their team to match that offer.

Finally, Knicks fans might need to worry about losing Jeremy Lin if the Raptors don’t sign Steve Nash.

According to SI [which cited Chris Brousard (who spoke hypothetically)]:

“While both Lin and the Knicks are hoping for a reunion, sources say that if any clubs offer Lin, a restricted free agent, a backloaded contract that pays him an eight-figure salary in the third and fourth years, the Knicks could be given pause about matching the offer.”

Don’t expect New York to let Lin walk, though. GM Glen Grunwald is going to wait to see what other teams offer his point guard, because he can match any deal.

April 10, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Injured Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard claps from the sidelines against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 93-85. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

Dwight Howard and Steve Nash are both getting killed by Internet morons, but for very different reasons.

The backlash against Howard for his childish antics this past season was harsh. Still, for whatever reason (I think he was roofied) he decided to opt into the final year of his contract with the Orlando Magic.

Now, for reasons only he and the Magic are aware of, Howard wants out again. Whether promises were broken or trust was pushed aside, we may never know, but now Howard’s haters are back out in full force.

Steve Nash is catching flack for an entirely different reason; He might just decide to take a three year $36 million deal to go back to his home country and play out what will likely be the final years of his career in Toronto.

Some people think he should take less money to go after a title. And those people are killing him for thinking about signing with the Raptors.  

How can both of these situations exist? Howard being slammed for demanding a trade to a team that with him, could possibly compete for a title as soon as next year, and Nash being slammed for pretty much the opposite of that?

First of all, I don’t like what Howard has done the past few seasons. If he wanted to be traded, he should’ve quietly asked management for one. If he didn’t get it after that he should’ve just opted out of the last year of his contract. Those clauses are put in there for pretty much that exact situation; You want out? Don’t opt in!

If you’re giving Nash a hard time for thinking about going home to finish his career, you just need to take up a new hobby and get off the Internet. He’s given everything to this game and if he wants to sign a bigger deal and fight just to make the playoffs, so be it.

The way things are going, it looks like Nash will end up in Toronto, and Howard will be traded.

And when those things happen, both guys will catch a ton of flack for doing essentially the exact opposite of each other.

Crazy world we live in, huh?