Week In Review: 3/4/12 – 3/11/12
A look back at all the most important news and rumors that happened last week:
- Minnesota point guard and league-wide sensation Ricky Rubio tore his ACL earlier this week. He will miss the rest of this season, along with this summer's Olympic games.
- After missing out on signing Kenyon Martin and Joel Przybilla, Miami still find themselves in search of a reserve big man.
- After taking over for the fired Paul Westphal, Keith Smart's contract option to serve as Sacramento's head coach for the 2012/13 season was officially picked up by the team.
- Jamal Crawford is reportedly drawing interest from Minnesota. It'll be interesting to see how Ricky Rubio's torn ACL affects this report.
- Boris Diaw and his agent asked for Charlotte to buyout his contract.
- Journeyman Leon Powe has officially signed a deal with a professional team in Puerto Rico.
- Despite the names of several high profile players appearing constantly in rumors, NBA executives don't believe this deadline will be an especially active one.
- Chicago head coach Tom Thibodeau is perfectly content with the roster he has, and doesn't see why his team would need to make a deal.
- The Trail Blazers are apparently interested in replacing Raymond Felton with Jose Calderon.
- Indiana still has serious interest in acquiring Chris Kaman.
- After putting on a string of performances exceeding his low expectations, Gerald Green was re-signed to a second 10-day contract by New Jersey.
- For the first time since entering the league, Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut is on the trade block.
- The Clippers have re-signed Bobby Simmons to a second 10-day contract.
- New Orleans signed Jeff Foote to a 10-day contract.
- Houston continues to court Pau Gasol.
- Before the season started it was assumed that JaVale McGee would be extended a multi-year contract at some point by Washington in the near future. With his mercurial play making a gradual increase this season, the Wizards have made it clear that their one-time franchise center is available.
- The Warriors will look to keep Klay Thompson unless they receive Dwight Howard in the deal. They're also looking to acquire Andrew Bogut.
- The Grizzlies are not likely to move O.J. Mayo before the trade deadline.
Minor Moves: Macklin
According to MLive.com's David Mayo, Detroit announced today that they will be sending Vernon Macklin down to the D-league's Fort Wayne Mad Ants. The move is in direct response to Charlie Villanueva's long-delayed return from an ankle injury.
The six-foot, 10-inch Macklin has played 19 games for the Pistons this year, averaging 1.4 PPG and 0.9 RPG in just over 4 MPG.
Finnan On Sessions, Jamison, Williams
The Cavaliers are officially in the mix for the playoff push as the squad sits two games behind the Knicks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. They'll look to make it three in a row when they host the Rockets later this evening. Let's take a look at the latest from The News-Herald's Bob Finnan to see what the Cavaliers plan on doing between now and the trade deadline:
- The prospect of the Cavaliers receiving a lottery pick for Ramon Sessions has diminished into likely netting the team a lesser first-round pick or even a second-round selection. While the Cavs must ensure they receive proper compensation for trading the talented point guard, the time is now to pull the trigger, says Finnan. If Sessions isn't traded, Finnan predicts the former Nevada star will opt out of his contract to test free agency.
- Finnan believes Antawn Jamison will remain a Cavalier for the rest of the season rather than be traded or have his contract bought out by the team. The former Tar Heel is widely viewed as a strong lockerroom presence and would prefer to remain with the team if given the choice. Jamison, 35, is currently averaging 18.3 PPG and 6.7 RPG on the season.
- One move that may make sense for the Cavaliers would involve the Hawks as a trade partner. Finnan notes that the Cavs have been in contact with the club to potentially bring Marvin Williams to Cleveland. Another scenario would add Josh Smith to the mix in return for Sessions and Jamison.
Knicks Notes: Smith, Chandler, Backcourt
Struggling to make any strides in a muddled playoff picture, the Knicks kick off a full slate of NBA action on Sunday against a 76ers team currently allowing the fewest amount of points per game. The Knicks presently occupy the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a middling Bucks squad two games back. Making noise in the news for a multitude of reasons, let's head to the Garden to see what's going on with the Knicks.
- With J.R. Smith demonstrating inconsistency as a starter since assuming Landry Fields' former role, Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni has reinstated Fields into the starting lineup effective immediately thanks to his improved play as a reserve, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Smith, signed just prior to the All-Star break after a stint in China, has averaged 8.9 PPG in his nine games with the Knicks. The former first-round pick out of New Jersey has been making headlines for his risque actions off the court leading to a hefty fine by the league.
- By many accounts the Knicks made one of the best moves of the abbreviated off-season by luring Tyson Chandler away from the Mavericks with a lucrative contract. According to Al Iannazzone of Newsday, Chandler believes the Knicks' roster has enough talent to close out games. "I feel like we may be the deepest team in the league. We should be able to come at teams in waves. It's a matter of putting that together." A newly-beardless Chandler, 29, makes his return to the starting lineup Sunday against the Sixers after missing two games with hamstring issues.
- Rather than focusing on fixing the struggling Knicks via trade, D'Antoni wants to explore providing the tandem of Jeremy Lin and Baron Davis more minutes together on the court to see how such a pairing may improve the squad's overall performance, writes Mark Hale of the New York Post.
Terry Calls For Roster Changes
Plummeting quicker than Carmelo Anthony's trade value, the Mavericks have found themselves mired in strife in the first nine games after the All-Star break. With a 2-7 record since returning from the festivities in Orlando, the Mavericks are trying to come up with answers before it becomes too late for the squad to even consider defending its title, says Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. More vocal than the rest of his teammates, Mavs guard Jason Terry points to personnel changes as a viable option for management to consider before the trade deadline.
Terry's view is a fair one as the team that beat the Miami Heat last June is not only comprised of different players, but the ones that remain are also one year older. The Mavs, with the second oldest roster in the league, have been dealing with myriad issues ever since they reached the pinnacle of the sport by taking home the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in 2011. Losing Tyson Chandler to the Knicks has proved to be a more difficult void to fill than expected and the acquisition of Lamar Odom has been nothing short of a disaster.
Unfortunately for Terry, the Mavs are unlikely to make the type of deal that would alter the team's course for the rest of the season. As rumors circulate from numerous media outlets, the Mavs are presumably looking to build salary cap space for the summer in order to make a run at some of the marque free agents set to become available on the market. The main problem for the Mavs isn't that they are just consistently being beaten by better teams, but rather are losing games to teams that have inferior talent to the reigning NBA champions. A continuing trend the rest of the season may spell the end of the Mavs careers for many players currently calling Dallas home.
Warriors Want To Keep Thompson
Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears that rookie shooting guard Klay Thompson is one player that the Warriors do not want to part with unless he's included in a deal for Dwight Howard. (Twitter link)
Highly touted for his shooting ability coming out of college, Thompson is averaging 7.8 PPG while shooting 45% from the field and an excellent 46% from three-point range in 17 minutes off of the bench. Should Monta Ellis be dealt at the deadline, Mark Jackson could then slide Klay into the starting lineup and give him in a larger role in his rotation. In a season-high of 27 minutes played on Wednesday against the Grizzlies, Thompson scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Two nights earlier, Thompson poured in 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting and 4-for-5 from range in 20 minutes during a win against the Wizards.
We wrote earlier that the Warriors are making a play for Bucks center Andrew Bogut, and having Thompson could make Ellis all the more expendable.
Grizzlies Not Likely To Move Mayo
While Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer says that Memphis has been trying to move O.J. Mayo for over a season now, Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld tweeted earlier that the Grizzlies are unlikely to make a move despite having received multiple offers for the fourth-year guard. If Memphis were to be involved in a trade this week, it will be a smaller, money-saving deal. (Twitter link)
Mayo has appeared to be comfortable in his reserve role as a scorer, and Lionel Hollins still manages to supply him with a substantial amount of minutes on the floor. The Grizzlies are 11-3 in their last 14 games, and Mayo's playing time has been near the 30 minute mark in nine of those contests.
Earlier this year, GM Chris Wallace handled the loss of Zach Randolph to injury by dealing guard-forward Xavier Henry for big man Marreese Speights. With Randolph recently being cleared for contact practice and eyeing a return to the court soon (according to The Sports Xchange of CBSsports.com), it would appear that there is no need for Memphis to make another move to add another big to the frontcourt, much less include Mayo in those type of talks.
During last year's deadline, the Grizzlies and Pacers had agreed in principle to send Mayo to Indiana but failed to submit the deal to the league office on time for approval.
Trade Candidate: Terrence Wiliams
While he certainly hasn't taken the league by storm, Terrence Williams appeared talented enough to be selected in the lottery of the 2009 NBA draft, going 11th to New Jersey ahead of Jrue Holiday, Ty Lawson, and Darren Collison. Now more than halfway into his third NBA season, Williams is struggling to crack the rotation in Houston while the other three players have found success and steady roles with their respective teams.
Senior writer Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld reports that Williams is unsure of his future with the Rockets and implied that he would not be upset if he were to be dealt. Kevin McHale weighed in on the matter of his lack of playing time: “It’s tough. We have a lot of wings. It’s really loaded up in that spot. It’s just a situation where he got some time early. He got some time lately and it’s just a tough situation for a lot of those wings.”
During his rookie season, the former Louisville Cardinal played in 78 games and started in 9 of them, averaging 22.6 MPG, 8.4 PPG, and 4.5 RPG. This season, Williams is averaging 4.5 PPG, and 2.4 RPG and played a total of just 32 minutes in the last 20 games. If given minutes, there is a chance that Williams could be a productive rotation player. In the season opener against the Magic, he scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in 27 minutes. In a January game against the Thunder, he played 23 minutes and shot 5-for-8 from the field en route to 13 points and 3 rebounds.
The 6'6'' guard-forward is on the final year of his rookie contract and accounts for 2.4MM of the Rockets' salary cap. At that number, Williams could either be packaged along in a deal involving Luis Scola (or another big contract) in order to help match salaries or find himself as the next target for teams looking to add wing help for cheap. Taking a chance on Williams would not have too much financial implication, as a team that trades for him could simply let him walk at the end of the season if the situation doesn't work out.
Draft Notes: Harkless, Barnes, 2013
- Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com writes that St. John's freshman forward Moe Harkless is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks concerning whether or not he will leave for this year's NBA Draft. Harkless is currently projected to be the 21st pick by DraftExpress.com.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer provides her take on Harrison Barnes of North Carolina and lists her projection of the top 10 players of this year's draft.
- Rick Bonnell of CharlotteObserver.com takes a more comprehensive look at Kentucky's Anthony Davis, who appears to have a great chance at being this year's #1 pick if he turns pro.
- Pete Thamel, writing for the New York Times, examines the fevered world around high school senior Nerlens Noel, projected by Draft Express as the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft. He's surrounded by college recruiters aplenty and is being sought by a representative with Creative Artists Agency.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com gives you his updated list of the top 100 prospects of the upcoming draft.
Odds & Ends: Timberwolves, CBA, Lakers
- Stephen Litel of HoopsWorld examines the impact the Ricky Rubio injury will have on the rest of the Timberwolves' personnel, and speculates, as we did earlier, that this may precipitate a Michael Beasley trade.
- The TrueHoop Network on ESPN.com discussed the how Rubio's injury affects Minnesota's involvement in the trade market, and the consensus appears to be that the Timberwolves will be able to make do with Ridnour and Barea in the meantime.
- NBA.com's John Schuhmann looks at the effect the new collective bargaining agreement is having on trade talks. The more punitive tax that is set to kick in during the 2013/14 season, restrictions on cap exceptions, and limits on sign-and-trades and max contracts are forcing GMs to adjust how they value players in trades.
- Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer believes that the value of the expiring contract has depreciated because of the new CBA.
- During a road trip that included disappointing losses to the Pistons and Wizards, the Lakers cancelled practice on Thursday and held a meeting between the coaches and players instead. The main message from the assistant coaches to the players appeared to be a request to "curtail external chatter," according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- HoopsWorld's Derek Page chatted with fans this afternoon and discussed a variety of ideas, including the suggestion that Chris Kaman would be a nice consolation prize for the Mavericks should they fail to land Dwight Howard.
- The Spurs have rarely engaged in deadline deals over the last 16 years, but Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation thinks that the team could be willing to shop their first round pick this time around if the right deal comes along.
- Although the Pistons are just four games out of the eighth seed, Lawrence Frank does not want to pay attention to the standings and would rather focus on taking things day by day, according to David Mayo of MLive.com.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel quotes Erik Spoelstra by saying that the Heat do not have any personnel moves pending after deciding not to renew the contract of Mickell Gladness. (Twitter link)