Hornets Expected To Re-Sign Donald Sloan
The Hornets are expected to re-sign Donald Sloan to a second 10-day contract, reports John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (via Twitter). New Orleans initially signed Sloan on February 8th, so his contract expired over the weekend.
In three games for the Hornets, Sloan averaged 4.0 PPG and 2.7 APG in 14 MPG. Earlier this season, the 24-year-old appeared in five games for the Hawks before being released.
Wilson Chandler Meeting With Nuggets
After spending the season in China, Wilson Chandler is back in America and will meet with the Nuggets today in Denver, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post (via Twitter). Chandler will be exploring a long-term or rest-of-season contract with the team.
While Chandler's Chinese team will be playing in the CBA postseason later this week, Chandler seems to have been allowed to come home early, as we heard on Friday. It's not clear yet whether the 24-year-old has been granted a FIBA letter of clearance, but as soon as he's cleared, he'll be eligible for restricted NBA free agency.
Teams are not allowed to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets as of March 1st, so it appears Chandler should have a small window available to entertain offers from teams besides Denver. Reports so far though indicate that he intends to re-sign with the Nuggets, who could match any offer made by another club.
Cavs Notes: Uzoh, Hickson, Casspi
The Cavaliers narrowly escaped yesterday's game against the Kings with a 93-92 win, and rookie Tristan Thompson played a major role in the victory, as Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. With 15 points and 12 rebounds, the Canadian power forward recorded his first career double-double and talked after the game about getting his "groove back." As the Cavs wait to see if Thompson can maintain this level of production going forward, let's check out some other notes out of Cleveland….
- Ben Uzoh, who signed a 10-day contract with the Cavs on February 10th, will not have his deal renewed, reports Reed in a separate Plain Dealer article.
- Within the same piece, Reed looks at J.J. Hickson's disappointment in the trade that sent him to Sacramento last summer, and his struggles with the Kings. Asked if he could make it work in Sacramento, Hickson paused and replied, "Uh, yeah. I think so, yeah."
- Hickson on whether he'd want to return to the Cavs via free agency: "Of course, why not? I'm not saying 'no, I don't want to come back.' If the opportunity presented itself, why not?"
- Omri Casspi, who came to Cleveland in the Hickson deal, also took some time to adjust to his new setting, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. However, Casspi says he enjoys playing for coach Byron Scott and calls his Cavs teammates "a great group of guys."
Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday
Over the weekend, we heard that the Warriors were still considering making a play for Dwight Howard, while Stephen Jackson was unconvinced that his friend would be leaving Orlando. With the All-Star Game in Orlando just six days away now, the Howard rumors could start to really heat up in a week or so. For now, here's the latest on the Magic star….
- Citing team sources, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld says the Magic will "actively explore the trade landscape" again starting on March 1st.
- The Rockets and Warriors are viewed as two teams who could try to acquire Howard, despite not being on his list of preferred destinations. Kyler says both teams feel like they'd have a chance at convincing Howard to stay if they could land him using non-core assets.
- Regardless of whether or not Howard is traded by March 15th, he intends to explore his options in free agency this summer, with both the Nets and Mavs having been promised a chance to make a sales pitch in July.
Stephen Jackson Talks Potential Destinations
It's no secret that Stephen Jackson is a trade candidate, and that the Bucks wouldn't hesitate to move him if they got an offer they liked. But just in case there was any confusion, Jackson expressed his opinion to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
"No disrespect to the guys (on the Bucks)," said Jackson. "But I’m at the stage of my career where I want to be in a different situation."
Reports have suggested that Dwight Howard and Jackson would like to play together, perhaps for the Magic or Nets. While the possibility of the pair teaming up in Orlando is likely a long shot, Jackson seemed enthusiastic about the chance to play in Brooklyn next season with Howard and Deron Williams. Williams had positive things to say about Jackson as well, telling Bondy he tried to recruit the 6'8" forward when he played for the Jazz.
"I like his game," said Williams. "I know a lot of people that knows him. I’m good friends with Baron Davis, who says (Jackson) was a great teammate. So he was just one of the guys I always wanted to play with."
Jackson says he has no desire to play for the Mavericks, another potential offseason landing spot for Williams and Howard. However, as Bondy points out in a pair of tweets, neither the Nets or the Mavs would be able to take on Jackson's $10MM+ 2012/13 salary if they signed Williams and Howard to max or near-max deals. To have a chance to team up with both players, Jackson would probably need to be amnestied by the Bucks.
Kobe, Gasol Discuss Lakers Trade Rumors
It was only four days ago that Pau Gasol addressed the trade rumors surrounding him and the Lakers, but after Sunday's loss to the Suns, Gasol and teammate Kobe Bryant shared a few more thoughts on the topic. Kobe was the first to talk to reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles, about the trade rumors involving Gasol and the team.
"It's hard for Pau because of all this trade talk and all this other stuff," said Bryant. "It's hard for him to kind of invest himself completely or immerse himself completely into games when he's hearing trade talk every other day. I wish management would come out and either trade him or not trade him."
Kobe stressed that he'd prefer the Lakers not to move Gasol, but said he'd like the team to make a decision one way or the other soon, so that Gasol can focus on playing basketball. Gasol agreed with the sentiment:
"It seems like there is a team almost every other day that is putting something together," said Gasol. "Which is flattering and I'm glad there are teams out there who would love to have me on their roster, because they believe in the player that I am, but at the same time, it's frustrating because if I own a player or a player plays for my team and I say, 'Look, I'm not interested in listening to anything because I value my player and I want to keep him here,' then all that stops. But, it seems that it's not that way."
For his part, Mitch Kupchak told SI.com's Sam Amick this weekend that he doesn't expect to make any major moves before the trade deadline. But the GM's comments left the door open enough that things could change between today and March 15th. Kupchak talked to Amick prior to the Suns game, so perhaps the Lakers' dismal showing in Phoenix, along with the comments made by the club's star players, could prompt Kupchak to explore a deal more aggressively.
Hawks Re-Sign Erick Dampier
The Hawks have re-signed Erick Dampier on a second 10-day contract, according to a team release last night.
Atlanta signed Dampier to a 10-day deal earlier this month to shore up a frontcourt that has been hit by injuries, including pectoral surgery that has sidelined Al Horford for most of the season. In four games for the Hawks, Dampier played just under 26 minutes, recording 10 boards and a blocked shot, though he didn't score a single point.
Kupchak, Lakers Not Expecting Any Moves
The Los Angeles Lakers dropped a game to the Phoenix Suns tonight and appear to be falling further away from their status as overwhelming Western Conference favorites from just a season ago.
After a failed attempt at a blockbuster trade for Chris Paul before the season, and a flurry of trade rumors involving Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told SI.com's Sam Amick he does not expect any big moves this season.
Despite popular opinion, a trade for Dwight Howard is hardly a cure-all for this Lakers' season. Howard's biggest strength is his ability to anchor a defense, and the Lakers are already quite formidable on that end, at fourth in the NBA at points per game allowed.
Their frontline of Bynum and Gasol is still perhaps the best frontline in the league and quite capable of generating high efficiency looks from the post and drawing double teams–and in Gasol's case, passing better out of those double teams. Howard might augment some of that, but his presence still leaves the Lakers woefully lacking.
Bryant already largely underutilizes Gasol and Bynum in the post, and according to previous reports, would look to do the same with Howard. The Lakers troubles remain on the offensive end.
The Lakers need to make some moves on the fringes of their roster. Replacing underproducing veterans like Fisher or World Peace with merely replacement level players would do wonders for the Lakers offense. Guys like Ramon Sessions or Aaron Brooks would provide significant upgrades.
Unfortunately, it appears the Lakers seem intent on standing pat.
Assessing Stocks: Golden State Warriors
Portfolio Review: The ownership and coaching staff has changed, but so much has remained the same for the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are in the basketball equivalent of hell, which is ninth seed purgatory. They are not quite good enough to be in the playoffs, and not bad enough to get top level talent through the draft.
The backcourt is the team's strength between Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson, but they also represent the best trade assets the team has going forward. Word is the Warriors are interested in Dwight Howard still. While it's doubtful they land him, it shows they are willing to blow things up for the right price. They need to. Even if it means taking a step or two back to start pushing forward again.
Prime Assets: The easy answer is Ellis, though the answer is not as easy as it was at the beginning of the season. Curry's ankle woes are a little concerning, and help obscure the Ellis vs. Curry debate a little.
Ellis is the Warriors' best player. Still, there are legitimate questions to how far a team can go with an undersized, high usage shooting guard not named Allen Iverson. If Ellis is your team's best player, what is the ceiling for your team? Ellis for draft picks or a frontcourt piece could work (the Utah Jazz, for example, have a plethora of big men and lack a dynamic perimeter threat). If the trade picks up an asset and drops the Warriors out of the middle of the first round and into a top ten pick over the next couple of years, it might even prove to benefit the team.
Worthless Stock: Andris Biedrins. Big, mobile big men are always going to have some value. But one on a big contract whose career is currently stalled by a phobia of free throw attempts?
The Rest: Curry should only be available for a near elite talent or top ten pick in this draft. For the former, given that Curry is on his rookie contract, he would probably have to be packaged with David Lee. Thompson could be a solid third guard on a good team eventually and merits holding onto. Dorell Wright might fetch a good first round pick for a potential playoff team, but is young, cheap, and understands his role well enough to be part of the answer going forward.
Assessing Stocks: Detroit Pistons
Portfolio Review: The Detroit Pistons are a mess. While their trade assets aren't entirely worthless, many of them are circling the drain, leaving them in a precarious position. The Pistons have invested more time and energy into their roster than they would likely receive back in return. If all the individual pieces were worthless, it might be easier to cut their losses, discard everything, and start over.
Right now the Pistons need to diversify their portfolio. They have some rotation pieces in the backcourt in Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum, and Ben Gordon. But all four are essentially slightly different variations of the same inefficient scoring combo guard. The key is to figure which one, if any, fits best with Knight and dump the rest for whatever they can get.
Prime Assets: Greg Monroe and Knight are too young and promising to determine their full trade value, so short of a one-sided offer, it makes little sense to deal them. On a good team with a reasonable contract, Ben Gordon was once worth at least one playoff victory by himself a series. On the Pistons, his contract is a liability and his presence in the lineup hinders the development of younger players.
The leaves Tayshaun Prince as their best asset, whether as a standalone or packaged with one of their backcourt pieces. Preferably for a rotation quality pure point guard like Ramon Sessions or legitimate shooting guard to begin the process of figuring out how to best use Knight.
Worthless Stock: Charlie Villanueva. Villanueva is a toxic asset whose lone redeeming value lies in the possibility that he might salvage his value to the team or be freed this offseason via amnesty.
The Rest: Combo guards and forwards are a dime a dozen in the NBA, and those on the Pistons have hardly shown anything separating themselves from the pack. Knight and Monroe are the set pieces, any redundant skill sets or players that might take up developmental resources to those two (minutes, usage, etc.) should be considered in a deal, even if it only returns addition by subtraction.