Sixers Confident They Can Keep Bynum
The relationship between Andre Iguodala, the Sixers and the fans of Philadelphia has been increasingly unique over the past five or so years. While he was clearly the best player on a team that made several playoff appearances, the organization seemed lodged in NBA mediocrity and the fans and new ownership group noticed. The Iguodala rumor mill churned for years, and on Thursday night it seems many in Philadelphia got their wish. Now the question is, can they keep their prized return, Andrew Bynum, for the long term?
We already heard that the Sixers moved onto Bynum only after learning that Howard had no long-term interest in Philly. CSNPhilly's Dei Lynam confirms that report and also offers insight into Bynum's future in Philadelphia from Sixers president and general manager Rod Thorn:
"Our feeling is that we will have a very good chance to sign Bynum for several reasons. Andrew was very happy about being traded to us. He thinks we have a good team. Secondly, he is from New Jersey and he is more of an East Cost guy than a West Coast type of guy and we think he will be very happy here. You never know until it happens, but I feel he'll like it here and want to continue his career here," Thorn said in a conference call with reporters on Friday.
When it comes to the NBA, Philadelphia is a strange case. A sports-crazed major city, it is seen as a top-flight destination when it comes to the three other major sports. But for whatever reason, that seemed to no longer be the case in the NBA. The Sixers are young, talented with ample cap space and trade assets, yet before this blockbuster were never mentioned as a possibility for any of the multitude of superstars who have changed teams of late.
Thorn went on to sing Bynum's praises, making it clear that the organization will have interest in locking up the New Jersey native. With Bynum comes his Bird Rights, so the Sixers will have the ability to offer him one more year than potential suitors can, assuming Philly will wait until next summer to negotiate a deal. With that said, do you think the Sixers can re-sign Bynum? Feel free to offer your opinion in the comments section.
Poll: With Howard Trade, Who Is The NBA Favorite?
Everything always seems to just work out for the Lakers, doesn't it? Landing Dwight Howard gives them a dreamworthy starting five that will undoubtedly cause many pundits to pick them as the favorite to win the upcoming season's NBA title. But the West was loaded before they landed Howard and is now even more so with the Nuggets adding Andre Iguodala in the same deal. No one is going to hand the Lakers the conference title, and the last time I checked the Miami Heat looked pretty incredible in the NBA Finals.
Asked for his thoughts on the Howard deal after the United States defeated Argentina in the Olympic semifinal, LeBron James didn't take the bait, predictably stating, "I don't have a thought. My mindset is now on Spain" (via Sen Deveney on Twitter). Kevin Durant gave a more entertaining quote, simply responding, "I really don't care" (via Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter). While his intentions are unknown, it doesn't make it any less entertaining – especially considering the elongated circumstances of Howard's trade.
So what do you think? With Howard in purple and gold, who is the favorite to win the NBA title? Feel free to make your case in the comments section.
With Howard Trade, Who Is The NBA Favorite?
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Lakers 57% (1,045)
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Heat 25% (463)
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Another Team 10% (180)
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Thunder 9% (158)
Total votes: 1,846
Magic GM Defends Dwight Howard Trade
We've already posted some of the reactions to the Dwight Howard trade from earlier today as well as last night once deal looked like it was official. The overwhelming consensus is that the trade is a coup for the Lakers, very helpful to the Nuggets and 76ers, and an absolute disaster for the Magic. So far, it looks like our readers agree, as only a small percentage of you think that the Magic got the best end of the deal.
Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan, presumably under fire from all angles today, spoke with the press today and offered his defense of the move, as told by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Hennigan worked with two very successful organizations in the Spurs and Thunder, which was part of the reason he was brought in to run the show in Orlando. Most of the quotes are expected, but here are some interesting tidbits:
"Our goals remained consistent throughout. We wanted to put ourselves in a position to create some long-term sustainability over time, and doing that with a mixture of young players, young veterans, draft players and some other assets to use to build going forward."
To the second-guessers and the laundry lists of rumored offers that seem like better packages for Howard than the one the Magic came away with, Hennigan said:
"At the end of the day you look at what's available in theory and what's available in reality. Sometimes those two things aren't always the same. We felt with all of the options we did explore, this was the best one for us."
One of those packages was the one offereed by the Rockets, in which Houston was rumored to be willing to deal draft picks and/or young players as well as eat some of Orlando's bad contracts. According to John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com (via Twitter), Hennigan essentially admitted that the offer sheets to Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik "limited some of the avenues" to a completed deal that would have sent Howard to Houston.
Again from Denton, Hennigan offered a rather ominous quote when asked why the Magic weren't angling to receive Andrew Bynum in the deal:
"One thing we always do is our research. We're very comfortable with the research we've done."
Hawks Notes: Roster Moves, Dwight Howard
Michael Cunningham and Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution each have new articles up today, detailing the Hawks' past, present, or future plans. There are plenty of interesting tidbits in each piece, so let's round up a few of the highlights….
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry would like to add another wing to the roster, if possible, as he tells Cunningham: "I would say probably a wing that can compete defensively at a high level would be a good thing to be able to add at some point."
- Ferry, however, cautions that any free agent signing may have to accept a non-guaranteed contract to allow the Hawks to maintain roster flexibility. "Being locked into 15 [guaranteed contracts] is generally not ideal," Ferry said.
- As of September 11th, the Hawks are allowed to trade Devin Harris and the players involved in the Joe Johnson haul in deals that aggregate their salaries. Cunningham says he wouldn't be surprised to see Ferry make another trade to "reconfigure Atlanta's unbalanced roster."
- Ferry kicked the tires on a major trade possibility, engaging the Magic in trade talks involving Dwight Howard, according to Schultz. But the GM says Orlando was apprehensive about dealing Howard to a division rival.
Cavaliers Sign Micheal Eric
4:25pm: Eric's deal is for three years, but the first season is just partially guaranteed and the second and third seasons are non-guaranteed, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
4:05pm: The Cavs have officially announced Eric's signing in a team release.
1:48pm: Rookie free agent Micheal Eric has signed a multiyear deal with the Cavaliers, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). The terms of the contract aren't known, but it's probably reasonable to assume that 2012/13 is the only year with any guaranteed money for the Nigerian big man.
Eric, who averaged 9.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game in his senior year at Temple, reportedly drew interest from a handful of teams leading up to the draft as a potential second-round pick.
Magic Acquire $17.8MM TPE In Howard Deal
Besides landing six players and five draft picks, the Magic also created a sizable traded player exception in today's Dwight Howard trade, according to GM Rob Hennigan. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets that the trade exception is worth about $17.8MM. Here's how it was presumably created:
- The Magic used a portion of their Brandon Bass trade exception to absorb Maurice Harkless' $1,731,960 salary. There was $2.75MM left on the exception after the Magic used part of it to acquire Gustavo Ayon, so there should be a little over $1MM remaining on it now.
- Using the $4.35MM trade exception they acquired when they sent Ryan Anderson to New Orleans, the Magic were able to absorb Josh McRoberts' $3,135,000 salary along with Christian Eyenga's $1,174,080 salary.
- By packaging two outgoing pieces in Chris Duhon ($3,250,000), and Earl Clark ($1,240,000), the Magic were able to take back up to $6,835,000 in salary (150% of those two players' salaries, plus $100K). That was barely enough room for Al Harrington ($6,687,400).
- The Magic were also eligible to take back up to 150% of Jason Richardson's $5,799,625 salary. Arron Afflalo ($7,750,000) fits into that amount with room to spare.
- That leaves Howard's $19,536,360 as the only remaining outgoing salary, so the Magic have up to one year to take back that amount. They started by absorbing Nikola Vucevic ($1,719,480), leaving a total of $17,816,880 to use before August 10th, 2013.
For a more detailed explanation of how traded player exceptions work, be sure to check out our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry.
Poll: Which Team Wins The Dwight Howard Trade?
It's Christmas in August for NBA fans tired of the constant Dwight Howard trade rumors and speculation — the Magic finally moved their franchise center today in a huge, four-team deal that netted them six players, five picks, and some cap relief.
It will likely be years before we can truly determine which teams "won" and "lost" this trade, but with the deal officially announced, we can at least examine each franchise's present-day thinking and take a stab at which club we think came out on top.
So was it the Lakers, who parted with the league's second-best center but landed the prize of the 2012 trade market? Or the Sixers, who were finally able to move Andre Iguodala and acquired a potential franchise center in return? How about the Nuggets, who unloaded arguably their two worst contracts and received an All-Star for their troubles? Maybe you even like the deal for the Magic, who loaded up on draft picks and did about as well as they could, given their lack of leverage.
Before making your pick, you can read up on the full details of the trade right here.
Which team made out best in today's four-way trade?
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Los Angeles Lakers 66% (1,301)
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Philadelphia 76ers 22% (432)
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Denver Nuggets 8% (156)
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Orlando Magic 4% (83)
Total votes: 1,972
Lakers Likely To Sign Ebanks, Meeks
Having officially acquired Dwight Howard today, the Lakers have likely made the last of their blockbuster moves in 2012. However, the team still remains active in filling out the rest of its roster. According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (Sulia link), now that the dust has settled on the Howard trade, Devin Ebanks is expected to re-sign his qualifying offer to return to the Lakers. The club also appears likely to sign unrestricted free agent Jodie Meeks, says Kyler.
The Ebanks update isn't new, as we heard last month that the 22-year-old was prepared to sign his qualifying offer to remain a Laker. The team reportedly asked him to hold off on officially signing his deal, since he potentially could have landed a larger deal as part of a sign-and-trade as a piece in a Howard trade. But now that the deal has been completed without his involvement, the path is clear for him to re-sign with L.A.
The Lakers' interest in Meeks has also been well-documented. When I examined potential free agent wings for the team, I identified the former Sixer as perhaps the best fit among the available options, given his solid outside shooting and defense. However, Meeks reportedly wasn't interested in signing for the veteran's minimum, while the Lakers weren't interested in using their $3.09MM mid-level exception, so we'll have to see if one of the sides has budged.
Four Teams Finalize Dwight Howard Blockbuster
1:34pm: Ken Berger of CBS Sports has tweeted a number of the details on the traded draft picks in the deal. We've updated the list below to reflect the protection on those picks.
12:19pm: The Magic, Lakers, Nuggets, and 76ers have completed their trade call with the league office, making Dwight Howard a Los Angeles Laker, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The Magic officially announced the transaction in a press release this afternoon.
The details of the massive four-team swap can be found in our post from yesterday that tracked updates as they came in. But here's a quick recap of how the deal looks from each team's perspective based on what's been reported so far, with players' 2012/13 salaries in parentheses. If anything changes when the teams make their official announcements, we'll update this post to reflect that.
Orlando Magic
Acquire: Arron Afflalo ($7,750,000), Al Harrington ($6,687,400), Josh McRoberts ($3,135,000), Maurice Harkless ($1,731,960), Nikola Vucevic ($1,719,480), Christian Eyenga ($1,174,080), protected 2014 first-round pick from Nuggets1, protected 2015 first-round pick from Sixers2, protected 2017 first-round pick from Lakers3, Warriors' 2013 second-round pick from Nuggets, conditional 2015 second-round pick from Lakers4
Trade: Dwight Howard ($19,536,360), Jason Richardson ($5,799,625), Chris Duhon ($3,250,000), Earl Clark ($1,240,000)
The Magic also create a trade exception worth about $17.8MM in the deal, as outlined here.
Denver Nuggets
Acquire: Andre Iguodala ($14,968,250)
Trade: Arron Afflalo ($7,750,000), Al Harrington ($6,687,400), protected 2014 first-round pick from Nuggets1, Warriors' 2013 second-round pick
Philadelphia 76ers
Acquire: Andrew Bynum ($16,889,000), Jason Richardson ($5,799,625)
Trade: Andre Iguodala ($14,968,250), Maurice Harkless ($1,731,960), Nikola Vucevic ($1,719,480), protected 2015 first-round pick2
Los Angeles Lakers
Acquire: Dwight Howard ($19,536,360), Chris Duhon ($3,250,000), Earl Clark ($1,240,000)
Trade: Andrew Bynum ($16,889,000), Josh McRoberts ($3,135,000), Christian Eyenga ($1,174,080), protected 2017 first-round pick3, conditional 2015 second-round pick4
1 The lesser of the Nuggets' and Knicks' first-rounders.
2 Top-14 protected in 2015, 2016, top-11 in 2017, top-8 in 2018; if the pick still hasn't been conveyed after four years, the Magic will receive 2018 and 2019 second-rounders instead of a first-rounder. The pick cannot be conveyed until the Sixers meet their draft pick obligations to the Heat, which could delay the Magic from getting a first-round pick until 2017.
3 Top-5 protected in 2017 and 2018, unprotected in 2019. The pick cannot be conveyed until the Lakers meet their draft pick obligations to the Suns, which would prevent the Magic from getting a first-round pick if the Lakers fail to make the playoffs the next three years. If that takes place, the Magic will receive 2017 and 2018 second-rounders instead.
4 Top-40 protected; if the pick isn't conveyed in 2015, the Magic will not receive it.
Bulls Stayed Involved In Howard Trade Talks
While it appears the Magic are dotting the I's and crossing the T's on a blockbuster deal that will send Dwight Howard to the Lakers, there was no shortage of other potential destinations for the star center. According to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com, the Bulls were one darkhorse suitor that stayed active in trade discussions with the Magic up until the end.
Chicago engaged former Magic GM Otis Smith in talks involving Howard, and continued to have dialogue with new GM Rob Hennigan after Orlando made its front office changes, says Friedell. Derrick Rose was, of course, off-limits in trade talks, so any Bulls package would likely have involved some combination of Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic, draft picks, and perhaps even Omer Asik, before he signed with the Rockets.
Based on the trade the Magic have agreed to, Chicago's offer, which would have included at least one expensive, long-term deal in Noah or Deng, may not have appealed to the Magic. It's also unclear whether the Bulls would have pulled the trigger on any deal without assurances that Howard would sign long-term, but it sounds as if they were at least thinking about it.