Newsday's Greg Logan reports that even though Atlanta officials met with free agent center Erick Dampier yesterday, they are expected to leave him to the New York Knicks and shift their sights to restricted Grizzly free agent Stromile Swift.
Meanwhile Chris Mullin, general manager Dampier's Golden State Warriors, denied published reports which stated an agreement was in place with the Knicks should that be Dampier's preferred location, with big men Othella Harrington and Nazr Mohammed heading to the bay area.
"It's all speculation," Mullin told Bay Area reporters at a news conference introducing Warriors point guard Derek Fisher. "Nothing is imminent right now ... We're talking to several other teams. When something becomes clear, we're going to regroup and go from there."
The Hawks have cap room to sign Dampier to a maximum contract but Logan writes they may be leery of his work ethic, which is why they are turning their attention to Swift. New York is offering Dampier a contract starting at $9 million per season.