Minor Moves: Wright, N’Diaye
The D-League All-Star game will be a part of festivities tomorrow in Orlando, and we'll track any news coming out of the lead-up tonight here:
- Julian Wright, the 13th pick in the 2007 draft, has signed a D-League contract and will be assigned to a team by Monday, according to Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside. Wright hasn't played in the NBA this year after spending his first three years with the Hornets and last year with the Raptors. The 6'8", 225-pound small forward was a part of the playoff rotation in New Orleans when the Hornets pushed the Spurs to seven games in the conference semifinals in 2008, but never developed beyond that point. He's averaged 3.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 14.7 MPG in his NBA career.
- Schroeder says in the same piece that Hamady N'Diaye has signed with the D-League as well. N'Diaye was a second-round pick of the Timberwolves in 2010 who has spent time with the Wizards the last two seasons. He's played a total of 19 NBA games, averaging 0.7 PPG and 0.4 RPG in limited minutes. The Wizards waived the 7'0", 235-pound center earlier this month.
Trade Candidate: Kevin Martin
Yesterday we heard Kevin Martin tell Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle he disputes a report by Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld suggesting he’s dissatisfied with his situation in Houston. Regardless of whom you believe, it’s reasonable to suspect Martin could be on the trading block, since he was part of the ill-fated three-team deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers in December. The Rockets find themselves at 20-14, tied with the Lakers for fifth in the Western Conference after a surprisingly successful first half, but are apparently still pursuing a shakeup. Ingram, in his report, points to tension between the players and new coach Kevin McHale, who on the outside seems like a candidate for Coach of the Year.
Martin has a reputation as an all-offense, no-defense guy, but he’s consistently put up impressive numbers. He’s averaged at least 20 PPG the last five seasons, even though most of his time has been spent on lottery-bound teams in Houston and Sacramento. At 6’7”, he does give you length at the shooting guard position, an asset that teams with undersized backcourts, like Golden State, might covet. His scoring is down this season, at 18.0 PPG, partly the result of almost one fewer shot per game (6.0) compared to last year (6.9). Nonetheless, he makes a fairly attractive option to teams like the Cavs and Wolves who are in need of shooting guard help. His contract, which has 11.5MM guaranteed for this year and $12.4 for next, is a little pricey, but it’s not a long-term commitment.
The Clippers could also use a shooting guard, but they don’t appear to have the tradable assets required to get a deal done. Ingram mentioned the Wolves as a potential partner, and this ESPN Trade Machine idea, a three-teamer that includes the Warriors, could be a possibility. Warriors GM Larry Riley seems keen on making a deal, and if he decides to retool with the future in mind, he might go for a trade like this. The future is also a key component of this deal for the Rockets, who would essentially swap Luis Scola for David Lee and get Derrick Williams, the second pick in the 2011 draft, for Martin.
That said, teams exceeding expectations don’t deal away proven 20-point scorers all that often. Martin might be on the block, but the Rockets seem to be in firm control of the market.
League To Make 13-Man Rosters Permanent
The hectic post-lockout schedule will be gone next year, but one vestige of the 2011 lockout looks like it will remain. Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops reports the league's competition committee will recommend to the NBA Board of Governors that the 13-man active roster be made permanent.
Sheridan notes all 30 team representatives on the committee voted in favor of the change, in response to coaches and general managers who like the added flexibility they've experienced this year. The 13-man active roster was implemented earlier this season to help with the compressed schedule, but the roster size was originally supposed to go back to 12 at midseason. The league then said in January that the 13-man would stay in place throughout the season and the playoffs.
Traditionally, only 12 active players have been allowed each game, though teams could carry between one and three additional inactive players on the roster.
“The sentiment amongst the committee is you’re required to have a 13-man roster as it is, and if you’re required to have a 13-man roster, you should be able to dress and have their services available,” NBA vice president Stu Jackson said, according to the Sheridan report.
The committee is also recommending that waivers be allowed to process on the weekend. As it is, a player waived after the close of business on a Friday would not clear waivers until Tuesday.
Josh Powell Drawing Interest
Josh Powell is back from China and will likely sign with a team after the All-Star Break, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Several teams are taking a look at the 6'9", 225-pound power forward, according to Kennedy.
Powell signed with the Liaoning Dinosaurs of the Chinese Basketball Association during the lockout after spending the 2010/11 NBA season with the Hawks. He averaged 4.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 0.4 APG in a reserve role last year, similar to his career numbers of 3.9/2.9/0.5. The best of his six NBA seasons came in 2007/08 with the Clippers, when he averaged 5.5 PPG and 5.2 RPG and started 25 games for the Clippers. The North Carolina State product was a bench player on back-to-back championship teams with the Lakers as well.
He could fit into one of many teams with cap space, but he doesn't figure to make much more than the veteran's minimum. He may be an option for teams looking for depth up front who lost out on Joel Przybilla, like the Bucks, Bulls or Heat.
There's no word yet on whether he requires FIBA clearance before a deal can be finalized.
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Rasheed Wallace Plans To Sign With Lakers
Over a year and a half since he last played in an NBA game, Rasheed Wallace will come out of retirement and sign with the Lakers, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Wallace played for the Celtics in 2009/10, but had the rest of his contract bought out by the team and retired that summer. While the 37-year-old hasn't played since Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, he was said to be contemplating a comeback earlier this season.
The Lakers, with 14 players on their roster, won't have to make a move to clear a spot for Wallace. There had been speculation that the team could sign Gilbert Arenas using that roster spot, but the Lakers didn't make a move after watching Arenas work out in L.A. As for Wallace, Blakely hears from sources that a renewed conditioning regimen has the veteran big man looking better than he has "in years." Still, as a rival executive tells Blakely, Wallace will merely provide bench depth for the Lakers — adding him doesn't necessarily mean the team is more inclined to move Pau Gasol.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported in early February that the Lakers may have some interest in Wallace if Kenyon Martin signed elsewhere. Martin, of course, ended up in Los Angeles, but signed with the Clippers, not the Lakers.
Odds & Ends: Cousins, Lakers, Bobcats, Draft
Links from around the league as All-Star Weekend gets underway in Orlando….
- Speaking to reporters in Orlando, including Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, Andrew Bynum had some strong words regarding DeMarcus Cousins and Sacramento: "It’s terrible that he has to play in Sacramento. He could take his talents somewhere and really help a team" (Twitter links). For his part, Cousins doesn't seem to mind Sacramento, having said earlier this week that he hopes to remain with the Kings long-term.
- As he tells Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times, Derek Fisher knows the Lakers' roster may undergo some changes soon: "With the trade deadline looming, personnel can change, if that's what ownership or management decides. But if this is our team I think we're getting a better feel for who we are and what we're capable of doing."
- Bobcats GM Rich Cho tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he's not panicking or rushing the team's rebuilding process. Cho identifies the Thunder, who went through some growing pains when Cho was a part of their front office, as a team whose patience in rebuilding paid off. Of course, if Charlotte can strike gold in the draft like Oklahoma City did with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, it would go a long way toward improving the team's outlook.
- Speaking of the draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider-only link) says a 2012 draft class that once looked stacked is starting to show some cracks. While Anthony Davis remains locked in at the top of draft boards, the players behind him have some question marks.
- Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman thinks the Thunder's win last night over the Lakers is the latest example of last year's acquisition of Kendrick Perkins paying off.
Teams With Cap Space
Earlier this morning, we heard that the Pacers are exploring the trade market in search of a roster addition or two. Indiana is in a unique situation, with an incredible amount of cap space and no obligation to spend to reach the minimum cap requirements. While the Pacers' current cap figure falls well short of the minimum required team salary (85% of the cap), James Posey's amnestied $7.6MM salary counts for floor purposes, so the Pacers can stand pat if they so choose.
Although no other club has nearly the cap room Indiana does this season, there are a handful of under-the-cap teams who could make a move without having to use a mid-level or trade exception. Let's run through them, from the team with the most cap space (Indiana) to the least (Houston).
Indiana Pacers
Approximate cap space: $14.27MM
I don't expect the Pacers to make any moves for players under contract past this season. Indiana has a number of players on rookie scale contracts who will start to get more expensive over the next couple years, so the team won't want to chew up future cap space unless it can land a young, talented player. A rental player on an expiring contract is more likely, and I still think Indiana makes sense as the most likely destination for Chris Kaman.
Sacramento Kings
Approximate cap space: $9.43MM
While the Kings have a relatively affordable squad, they don't have quite the same flexibility the Pacers do. With nearly all its players under contract through next season, Sacramento is poised to increase its cap figure significantly this summer if it hopes to sign its lottery pick and hang onto restricted free agents like Jason Thompson, J.J. Hickson, and Donte Greene. Between the Kings' lack of expiring deals and its spot near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, I don't think we'll see Sacramento taking advantage of its cap space this season. The Kings need to add about $723K to reach the minimum salary requirement, but that amount is minimal enough that they may simply accept the end-of-season surcharge.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Approximate cap space: $7.21MM
Here's an interesting case. While it's widely assumed Cleveland will be looking to trade players like Antawn Jamison and Ramon Sessions this March, I'm not sure that'll be the case. The team has talked repeatedly about wanting to gain playoff experience, and as the current ninth seed in the East, it's not out of the realm of possibility. With Jamison's salary coming off the books this summer, the Cavs could afford to add a player who is under contract past this season and still have a ton of cap space in future seasons. If the Cavs can find a player that helps them this season and isn't too expensive going forward, I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled the trigger.
Toronto Raptors
Approximate cap space: $4.3MM
While the Raptors would probably love to use this cap room to sign Wilson Chandler to an offer sheet, any contract they offered Chandler could easily be matched by the Nuggets. If the Raptors make moves before the deadline, they're more likely to become sellers, gaining even more cap room to take advantage of this summer.
Washington Wizards
Approximate cap space: $2.17MM
Like the Raptors, the out-of-contention Wizards will be looking for deals that create even more cap space. They almost certainly won't use their remaining cap room to acquire anyone.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Approximate cap space: $1.2MM
Golden State Warriors
Approximate cap space: $813K
Houston Rockets
Approximate cap space: $777K
These three teams consider themselves playoff contenders, and should all be active on the trade market, trying to upgrade their rosters. However, their cap space isn't significant enough to play a major role in any trades.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Friday
With the media descending on Orlando for the All-Star Game, Dwight Howard is in for a busy weekend. Of the hundreds of questions he'll field over the next few days, Howard shouldn't expect many to address the Eastern Conference's strategy for Sunday's game. This weekend's inquiries will focus on D12's trade request, his contract status, and the Magic's post-All-Star plans. As the festivities get underway in Orlando, we'll keep tabs on today's Howard updates here, with the latest up top:
- Around the league, there are those who view it as "suicidal" if the Magic don't trade Howard by March 15th, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. "I think he's gone," one source told Berger. "And you can't afford to let him go and get nothing."
- Nets GM Billy King is preparing three- or four-team trade scenarios for Howard to pitch whenever the Magic are ready to talk, says Chris Mannix of SI.com.
- Asked if there's a future for him in Orlando, Howard said "it's a big possibility," according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Howard also cryptically commented, "Kobe [Bryant] asked to be traded, and looked what happened."
- Magic GM Otis Smith, meanwhile, views the odds as about 50/50, since "until you have a signed contract in your hand, it could go either way."
- "I do think there's a piece of Dwight that wants to be here," said Magic CEO Alex Martins. "And deep down inside knows that this organization is committed to winning."
- Howard suggested last night that the idea of being recruited by teams as an unrestricted free agent appeals to him, tweets John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com.
Atlantic Notes: Iguodala, Celtics, Raptors
Here are a few Friday items out of the Atlantic Division, which was home to a Guiness World Record holder for less than an hour this morning….
- The Sixers were discussing Andre Iguodala with several teams prior to last year's draft, but the team's new owner have nixed plans to trade him, says Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Recent frontcourt injuries shouldn't prompt the Celtics to make a major splash, but they need to bring in a big man who can defend, rebound, and learn the system, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Washburn names Earl Barron and Kyrylo Fesenko as two potential options for Boston.
- After grading Raptors players on their first halves, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun runs through what the future may hold for each player, at the trade deadline and beyond.