Howard To Lakers, Bynum To 76ers In 4-Team Deal
11:18am: SI.com's Sam Amick tweets that McRoberts will be heading to Orlando in the deal, rather than to Denver. Wherever McRoberts ends up, it seems the Lakers will be shipping him out to make the salary figures work.
10:55am: Coon corrects himself (via Twitter), suggesting that Bynum's and Eyenga's salaries aren't quite enough to absorb Howard's and Duhon's. Here's how it looks from the Lakers' perspective, by my calculations:
- The team's $1,422,207 traded player exception acquired via Walton can absorb Clark's $1.24MM option.
- Bynum's $16,889,000 salary and Eyenga's $1,174,080 total $18,063,080. The Lakers can take back 125% (plus $100K) of that amount: $22,678,850.
- Howard's and Duhon's salaries ($19,536,360 and $3,250,000, respectively) total $22,786,360, just barely too much for the Lakers to absorb. So in order to take on both players, Los Angeles will have to either include another player (perhaps McRoberts or Ebanks) or figure out another way to organize the deal. Assuming, of course, that all the public salary figures for these players are accurate.
We should hear shortly how the Lakers ultimately work things out, since the conference call with the league to finalize the trade is expected to begin momentarily, tweets Ken Berger.
10:26am: Cap expert Larry Coon clarifies (via Twitter) that the trade exception the Lakers acquired when they dealt Luke Walton to the Cavaliers is big enough to absorb Clark's salary, so Los Angeles wouldn't necessarily have to send out any more players in addition to Bynum and Eyenga.
10:08am: The pick heading to the Magic from the Sixers will be lottery-protected for the first two years, top-11 protected in year three, and top-eight protected in year four, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Since the Sixers have already dealt their 2013 first-rounder (lottery protected) to Miami, presumably the one going to Orlando would be for 2015, as Sam Amick of SI.com notes. If the Magic don't get a first-rounder from Philadelphia after four years, they'd get two second-round picks instead, tweets Berger.
9:32am: According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, Josh McRoberts may be headed to Denver in the four-way deal. This makes sense, since by my calculations, the Lakers would be unable to take back Howard, Duhon, and Clark without sending out another player in addition to Bynum and Eyenga.
8:49am: The first-rounder heading from the Lakers to Orlando will be the team's 2017 pick, while the first-rounder from Denver will be the lower of the club's two 2014 first-rounders, tweets TNT's David Aldridge. It's still not clear which first-round pick will be coming from the Sixers, but it figures to be 2015's, since their lottery-protected 2013 first-rounder is ticketed for Miami.
8:26am: Duhon is definitely involved in the four-way deal, as he tells Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 7:33am: According to Spears, one of the second-rounders heading to the Magic in the trade will be the Warriors' 2013 second-round pick, from the Nuggets (Twitter link). Orlando will receive one more second-rounder, to bring their total haul to five future draft picks, tweets Kennedy.
Additionally, multiple reports indicate that the conference call with the league to confirm the blockbuster deal will happen no later than about noon eastern today.
Odds & Ends: Suns, Courtney Lee, Greene, Mavs
All non-Dwight Howard NBA news is something of an afterthought today, as we wait to see if the four teams involved in Howard trade talks will finally officially consummate a deal, having reached a tentative agreement last night. As we wait, let's round up a few other Friday odds and ends from around the NBA….
- Joking that Howard is now out of the mix for the Suns' backup center and 13th-man opening, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines a few other options for the spot, including Jerome Jordan, Hassan Whiteside, and Shelden Williams.
- Courtney Lee tells Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com that joining the Celtics was a "no-brainer" for him.
- Former Kings forward Donte Greene was planning a charity game at a college in Sacramento, but the league has forced its cancellation, citing stipulations in the collective bargaining agreeement, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jonathan Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom adds detail, including word from Greene's Twitter account that players who took part without league approval would face suspensions and fines. Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas was one of the players scheduled to take part.
- Tim Colishaw of the Dallas Morning News argues that there would have been just as much risk for the Mavericks to keep their 2011 title team together as there was in breaking up the roster in an effort to land Deron Williams and/or Howard.
More Reactions To The 4-Way Howard Blockbuster
On a day when Team USA's semifinal game against Argentina was expected to dominate the headlines, the Olympics have taken a back seat to an epic four-way trade that will see three 2012 All-Stars changing hands. In a deal that's expected to be officially agreed upon later today, the Lakers will acquire Dwight Howard, the Sixers will land Andrew Bynum, and the Nuggets will get Andre Iguodala, while the Magic acquire a package of players and picks. We already examined some of the reactions to the agreement last night, but the links continue to pour in, so let's round up a few more….
- According to Wojnarowski, the Rockets' offer for Howard included recent first-rounders, future lottery and unprotected first-round picks, and the opportunity to move bad contracts and gain cap space (Twitter links). I've maintained for a while that Houston's looked like Orlando's most logical trade partner, and none of the details about the Rockets' offer make me think otherwise.
- In response to John Hollinger's tweet linked below, Brian Schmitz stresses, via Twitter, that the Howard deal ran through Hennigan first, before progressing to Martins and the DeVos family.
Earlier updates:
- ESPN.com's John Hollinger tweets that it was likely Magic CEO Alex Martins, rather than GM Rob Hennigan, that ran the Howard deal.
- In an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Hollinger says he likes the four-way trade for three teams, but really can't understand it from the Magic's perspective.
- Sam Amick of SI.com argues that it's unfair to criticize the Magic for the deal yet, since there's a major "wait-and-see" aspect to their haul.
- With everyone wondering whether the Magic could have acquired more from the Nets a month ago, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets Brooklyn's final offer for Howard: Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries (on a one-year, $9.6MM guarantee), MarShon Brooks, and four unprotected first-round picks for Howard, Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon, and Earl Clark.
- Bynum had been open to re-signing with the Lakers, but was also very receptive to signing with a team where he could earn more touches, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. Acquiring Bynum and his Bird Rights makes the Sixers the overwhelming favorites to retain him long-term, as I suggested earlier this week.
- The Howard trade is the latest bitter pill for the Mavericks' front office to swallow, writes Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
- National NBA fans may consider the Dwightmare to be over, but Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel says Howard's departure could haunt Magic fans for years.
Cavs Make Three-Year Offer To Alonzo Gee?
After recently signing C.J. Miles, the Cavaliers still appears intent on bringing back Alonzo Gee as well, despite the lack of movement on a deal for the restricted free agent. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter), the Cavaliers "supposedly have [a] three-year offer on the table" to Gee.
As a restricted free agent, Gee is eligible to sign an offer sheet with another club, which the Cavs would then have three days to match. However, the swingman doesn't have seem to have drawn any serious interest from rival teams so far this summer, perhaps because it appears Cleveland will match any reasonable offer. There is a standing qualifying offer worth about $2.7MM on the table for Gee — if he were to accept that one-year deal, he could become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
If Gee has received a three-year offer from the Cavs and hasn't accepted it, I can't imagine the salary is overly lucrative. Still, I expect the two sides to come to some sort of compromise within the next few weeks that will keep the 25-year-old in Cleveland through at least the coming season.
Fallout From Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum Trade
The news of the night is the news of the year in the NBA: An agreement has been reached on a trade that sends Dwight Howard to the Lakers. Andrew Bynum is also involved, as he heads to the Sixers. Of course, both players are eligible to become unrestricted free agents next summer, so the rumor mill is unlikely to stop for either of them anytime soon. Nonetheless, it still represents a blockbuster and a major turning point for several teams in 2012/13 and beyond. Here's what writers around the league are saying:
- If the Lakers can't re-sign Howard next summer, the Mavs "will be there waiting for him," a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Howard has expressed fondness for the Mavs in the past. In the same report, Kobe Bryant is described as being "ecstatic" about the deal.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com says Howard represents an upgrade over Bynum because of his defense, his athleticism, and his ability to fit better with Steve Nash.
- A few league executives believe there has to be something more in the deal for the Magic, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com wonders why the Magic waited so long to make a deal when the offers never improved (Sulia link). Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel isn't sure any notable free agents would be interested in signing with the depleted Magic next summer (Sulia link).
- Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Sixers now have the dominant big man team president Rod Thorn and coach Doug Collins have coveted. Cooney took to Twitter to say the trade is a coup for the Sixers, who get at least one season from Bynum and cap space if he leaves.
- Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post says the Nuggets will lose some offense, but Andre Iguodala will allow them to make major strides on defense, where they've struggled in recent seasons.
- Tim Bontemps and Fred Kerber of the New York Post look at the deal from the perspective of the Nets, who were once considered frontrunners for Howard. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News says, via Twitter, that the deal demonstrates that the Magic were never too high on Brook Lopez.
- The Cavs were asked to give up a lot more for Bynum when they were a part of trade talks, says Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Sulia link).
Magic Close To Four-Team Howard Blockbuster
9:12pm: Stein says there are still unreported names in the deal, but the Magic are getting Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless and a future first-round pick from each of the other three teams in the deal. The Sixers will get Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson. The Nuggets will get Andre Iguodala, and the Lakers will land Dwight Howard. Pau Gasol is not in the deal, Stein hears (All Twitter links).
8:59pm: A conference call has been scheduled for Friday morning with the league office to process the deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
7:34pm: Berger says the most likely scenario involves the Magic getting neither Andrew Bynum nor Pau Gasol, adding credence to earlier reports that Gasol won't be a part of the deal (Twitter link).
7:29pm: Various Twitter reports indicate differing levels of confidence that the deal will get done. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com says the deal will happen "barring any last minute snag." ESPN.com colleague Ric Bucher believes the Magic and Lakers are pushing hard to complete the trade, but adds there are still many question marks. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel says the talks are serious, but cautions there are a lot of moving parts. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports "guarded optimism" about the deal.
7:11pm: The deal has "huge legs," a source tells Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com, and the teams have made progress toward its completion today, Lynam tweets.
6:55pm: A source close to Gasol says he's not in the trade, Ric Bucher of ESPN.com tweets.
6:39pm: Chris Broussard of ESPN.com hears the deal is "very close" and could take place as early as Friday morning. Broussard says that Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles also hears Gasol may not be a part of the trade. Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com tweets that there is greater confidence a Howard deal will get done than in the past. The Sixers are willing to take on Bynum even without assurances he'll re-sign next summer, according to the ESPN report.
6:23pm: Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld, in an updated version of an earlier story, says one of the variants of the deal doesn't include Gasol, and it's unclear whether it includes Al Harrington. Devin Ebanks, on a sign-and-trade, and Josh McRoberts may also be a part of the deal.
5:52pm: A source close to the talks tells HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy that reports so far have the teams right, but the deal would likely include different players if it gets done, as the Magic, Lakers, Nuggets and Sixers discuss multiple scenarios. No deal is imminent or near completion, the source says (Twitter links).
5:41pm: Sixers center Nikola Vucevic would also go to the Magic as part of the deal, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Central Rumors: Bulls, Cavs, Miles, Gee, Scott
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com looks at how the Bulls are preserving their flexibility for seasons to come with their penny-pinching this summer. The Bulls may wind up paying the luxury tax this season, but are seeking to avoid doing so in later years when restrictions kick in that bar taxpaying teams from acquiring players via sign-and-trade, using cap exceptions, and making uneven financial trades. Elsewhere in the Central Division, Bob Finnan of The News-Herald provides few Cavs-centered updates this evening:
- Cavs GM Chris Grant was somewhat surprised that the team was able to sign C.J. Miles, given heavy pursuit by the Lakers and Rockets, Finnan writes. Miles will compete for a starting job, Cavs coach Byron Scott says, adding that only Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao are guaranteed spots in the starting lineup.
- Scott said the team's next move is to get a deal done with Alonzo Gee, Finnan notes. The Cavs are reportedly likely to match any offers the restricted free agent swingman receives from other teams.
- The Cavs have begun talks on a contract extension for Scott, who expressed his desire to stick around. "We'll take care of that somewhere down the line," the coach said in Finnan's story. "People ask, ‘Do you really like Cleveland?' I love it. The perception of Cleveland is it's the ‘Mistake by the Lake.' I hope I'm here in the next five years. I enjoy what's going on."
- The Magic have raided one Central Division team, hiring Pistons director of pro personnel Harold Ellis for a similar position, but won't be taking assistant coach Adrian Griffin from the Bulls, who've denied the Magic permission to interview him, as we heard in earlier reports today.
Potential Grizzlies Owner Sees Stock Slip Again
The stock price for the company owned by the man who's agreed to purchase the Grizzlies plummeted Thursday after the company warned investors of impact from a counterfeiting scheme, reports Kyle Veazey of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Robert Pera's Ubiquiti Networks was down to $9.55 per share this evening after closing at $15.01 prior to the release of its earnings report. The company was trading at more than $30 a share in April.
Pera declined comment about the Grizzlies in a conference call discussing the company's report. Pera is reportedly seeking local investors to join his bid. An New York Daily News story in June said a rapid decline of Pera's net worth was endangering his deal with current owner Michael Heisley, but Heisley said shortly thereafter he had no reason to expect Pera would not meet the $335MM purchase price. NBA commissioner David Stern said last month the league's vetting of Pera was on schedule and that he hopes the sale will be finalized in the next couple of months.
Ubiquiti is pursuing legal action against the counterfeiters who are affecting the company's sales. The company said it's likely to continue to feel the effects for the next two quarters. Ubiquiti juxtaposed the news with an otherwise positive sales report, saying revenue in the last quarter was up 40 percent over the same quarter a year ago.
Southeast Rumors: Magic, Wizards, Sichting
Orlando is once again the center of the NBA universe as the Magic are reportedly working on yet another Dwight Howard trade. Sam Amick of SI.com provided an update earlier on the talks, and in his story he passed along a few comments from Magic CEO Alex Martins on how the team will proceed with Howard.
"We have very specific goals as to what we would hope to achieve if we were to trade Dwight, OK?" Martins said. "We acknowledge and are realistic about the fact that you're never going to get equal value in return for Dwight Howard. But if we were to trade him, we have three primary goals that we're trying to achieve and in the end, any deal that's proposed to us I think we've been very clear about the fact about the goals of what we're trying to achieve."
Martins didn't specify what the three goals are, but said the team hasn't delineated from its plan, and added that the ability to acquire "the right combination of pieces" in return for Howard will determine whether they make a deal. We've got more on the Magic and the rest of the Southeast Division here:
- The Wizards have hired Jerry Sichting as an assistant coach, the team reports on its website. Sichting has 24 years of NBA experience as a player, assistant coach, and front office executive, but spent last season coaching Martinsville High School, his alma mater, in Indiana.
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News tweets that Harold Ellis, director of pro personnel for the Pistons, is jumping to the Magic to work in a similar capacity. He follows Scott Perry, who left the Pistons in June to become Orlando's assistant GM.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com doesn't think the latest Howard deal makes sense for the Magic (Twitter link). Andy Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com also looks at what each side might get in the deal, and believes the Sixers are the only team that would benefit. The deal remains fluid, though, and some of the players currently said to be part of the deal may not be included.
Delfino To Sign With NBA Team After Olympics
Carlos Delfino is focused on helping Argentina beat the USA tomorrow in the Olympic semifinals, but tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com he'll sign with an NBA team after the Olympics. Stein adds that the Rockets are "actively chasing" Delfino, and says the Celtics would like him but can't afford him, as we heard earlier this week (Twitter links).
The Cavs have also been linked to Delfino recently, but their interest may have cooled after signing C.J. Miles. Delfino has reportedly been seeking multiple years on a deal, and the notion that the Celtics can't afford him suggests he'll sign for more than the minimum salary, and likely more than the $1.957MM biannual exception as well.
Delfino averaged 9.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last season with the Bucks, with an 11.7 PER. He's said he was playing through an injury for part of the season, and expressed disappointment that the Bucks haven't pursued him with more vigor after he was willing to play hurt for them. The 6'6" swingman is putting up 15.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.5 APG in six Olympic games this summer.