Negotiations between fourth-year guard Eric Gordon and the New Orleans Hornets on a long-term Early Bird contract extension are ongoing, a league source has told SBNation.com. The source confirmed Yahoo!'s Marc J. Spears' report that the league office has approved a four-year offer for Gordon. The NBA owns the Hornets, and league commissioner David Stern has, according to a Monday report by Spears, thrust himself back into basketball operations for this set of negotiations.
Eric Gordon Extension Negotiations With Hornets Are Ongoing, According To Source
Gordon and the Hornets have until Wednesday to reach a deal. If they do not, Gordon will become a restricted free agent on July 1. The rumor mill has suggested that the Indiana Pacers could toss a max contract offer at Gordon in July if no deal with the Hornets is reached at this point. New Orleans would have the opportunity to match any offer sheet signed by Gordon in July, but teams typically prefer to avoid that scenario if possible.
The league source told SBNation.com that Dell Demps and Hugh Weber, who run the Hornets in New Orleans but were reportedly overridden by Stern in the Chris Paul trade saga, are authorized to cut a deal with Gordon's agent, Rob Pelinka. At what salary level that deal is authorized remains unclear.
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