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NBA Rumors for Friday, July 25

InsideHoops NBA rumors updated 2:00 p.m. ET. More NBA rumors stories and other news also appears on the InsideHoops basketball blog.

The Los Angeles Lakers have offered their head coaching job to Byron Scott, according to league sources. The two sides are now in negotiations on a contract. The Lakers made Scott a verbal offer on Thursday after Scott spoke with owner Jim Buss. Scott and his representatives are now in the process of reviewing the Lakers' offer. ESPN.com

The Lakers also interviewed Mike Dunleavy, Kurt Rambis, Alvin Gentry and Lionel Hollins and had informal talks with George Karl. Rambis, Gentry and Hollins have been hired recently for new coaching positions. Scott played a key role in helping the Los Angeles Lakers win three NBA championships (1985, '87 and '88) during his 14-year NBA playing career. Yahoo

Patrick Beilein is leaving West Virginia Wesleyan to take a job on coach Quin Snyder's staff with the Utah Jazz, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Beilein, the son of Michigan coach John Beilein, will work under Snyder in a player development and video coordinator role. Yahoo

MAIN MORNING NBA RUMORS STORIES

The Cleveland Cavaliers cannot officially trade Andrew Wiggins before Aug. 23, but they remain the front-runner in the trade sweepstakes for the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love, according to sources close to the process. Sources told ESPN.com that the Wolves, at present, are higher on a Cleveland trade package centered around Wiggins than any other offer on the table for Love. ESPN.com

ESPN.com reported Tuesday that the Cavaliers, meanwhile, are increasingly confident about their chances of landing Love and firmly believe they are progressing toward a trade framework that the Timberwolves will accept in exchange for the All-Star power forward, which would enable Cleveland to pair him with Olympic teammate LeBron James. ESPN.com

The fact that league rules prevent Wiggins from being traded for 30 days after finally signing his rookie contract with the Cavs on Thursday would appear to give other suitors a window to put together an offer that could trump Cleveland's. But the Cavaliers' main current threat in the Love sweepstakes -- Chicago -- has to sweat out a similar wait if it hopes to entice the Wolves with either of its prized rookies. ESPN.com

The Golden State Warriors have long been regarded as Minnesota's preferred trade partner in a Love deal, with ESPN.com reporting as far back as May that both Golden State and Chicago appealed to him as potential destinations. But the Warriors have been consistently unwilling to surrender Klay Thompson in a Love trade, with Minnesota known to be unwilling to consider any deal with Golden State that does not include Thompson. ESPN.com

One source insisted this week, however, that the Wolves -- especially owner Glen Taylor -- actually now prefer a package headlined by Wiggins to a Thompson-led haul for Love because Wiggins is widely seen as possessing superstar potential while also just starting out on a rookie contract. Thompson is eligible for a lucrative contract extension from the Warriors or any team he's traded to between now and Halloween. ESPN.com

Love holds more than the usual sway in terms of where he winds up thanks to his ability to become a free agent in July 2015. Apart from the Denver Nuggets, who have continued to pursue a trade for Love despite the fact that sources say they have little hope of securing a long-term commitment from him, it's believed that no team in the hunt for the 25-year-old is prepared to surrender its most valuable trade assets without assurances that Love wants to play there and stay there. ESPN.com

The Cleveland Cavaliers officially signed No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins to a contract on Thursday, meaning he cannot be traded until at least Aug. 23. Wiggins has been involved in trade discussions between the Cavs and Minnesota Timberwolves as part of a deal that would send Kevin Love to Cleveland. Because of league rules on rookie contracts, such a deal now cannot be completed for 30 days. Wiggins, who signed a four-year deal, will have a starting salary of $5.5 million after the Cavs gave him the allowed 20 percent premium on the rookie scale, sources said. ESPN.com

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Wolves' preference, based on the offers made for Love to date, is completing a trade with Cleveland centered on Wiggins. But the 30-day window leaves open the possibility that another team could step in with an offer to trump Cleveland's best pitch. ESPN.com

A long-distance exchange of words between Chandler Parsons and James Harden is heating up the rivalry between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. Parsons, who left Houston to sign a three-year, $46 million deal with Dallas as a restricted free agent, took offense to former teammate Harden opining that Dwight Howard and Harden are the Rockets' stars and the rest of the roster is made up of role players. ESPN Dallas

"Dwight and I are the cornerstones of the Rockets," Harden said while appearing at a charity event in the Philippines, according to The Philippine Star. "The rest of the guys are role players or pieces that complete our team. We've lost some pieces and added some pieces. "I think we'll be fine next season." ESPN Dallas

"That's a pretty ridiculous statement if he meant that," Parsons said. "That's part of the reason I wanted to go to Dallas, because I'm ready for that next step. I'm ready for a bigger role, and I'm ready for more leadership." ESPN Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free agent guard Jameer Nelson. Nelson (6-0, 190) is a 10-year veteran and former NBA All-Star (2009) who has spent his entire career with the Orlando Magic. He has career averages of 12.6 points, 5.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 29.2 minutes in 651 games (556 starts) with the Magic. Inside Hoops

The Orlando Magic signed second-round pick Devyn Marble today. The contract will be for three seasons, according to an industry source familiar with the terms of the contract. Marble’s rookie season will be fully guaranteed. His second and third seasons are non-guaranteed but would become guaranteed if Marble remains on the roster after specified trigger dates on the calendar. Orlando Sentinel Blog

From the moment he hit the dramatic 3-pointer that helped send Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals to overtime and the Heat, eventually, to a second consecutive NBA championship, the notion of Ray Allen returning to AmericanAirlines Arena in an opposing uniform appeared remote. Of course, so did the possibility of LeBron James returning in visiting colors. Now, in an offseason that has turned the Heat upside down, from four-time-defending Eastern Conference champions to championship longshots, Allen, according to a report, appears poised to become the latest Heat champion headed from South Florida to Northeast Ohio. In the wake of James, James Jones and Mike Miller signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Allen reportedly is mulling a similar move, according to the Boston Globe. South Florida Sun Sentinel

Boston Celtics second-year forward Kelly Olynyk is expected to get additional offseason game reps as a member of Canada's senior men's basketball team. Olynyk reported for camp earlier this week in Toronto before the team, which did not qualify for this year's World Cup in Spain, instead traveled to Slovenia to open an 11-game European exhibition schedule on Thursday. Olynyk, a Toronto native who grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia, did not play for the national team last summer while sidelined by a case of plantar fasciitis. He did attend camp with the national team and expressed a desire to compete for his county. ESPN Boston

Houston added frontcourt depth by signing Joey Dorsey and Jeff Adrien and also added veteran point guard Ish Smith. Each of those three have previous stints with Houston. Houston has also reportedly signed first-round draft pick Clint Capela and are expected to have a deal with second round pick Nick Johnson soon. They also re-signed 3-point shooting specialist Troy Daniels. Both second-year guard Isaiah Canaan and third-year forward Donatas Motiejunas had strong showings with the Rockets summer league team in Vegas and they will each likely have a chance to earn more minutes and play a larger role this season. CSN Houston

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