Leandro Barbosa Denies Making Trade Request
5:28pm: Ainge told Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com that Barbosa has not brought any trade request directly to him. He explained Barbosa's frustration with his playing time but denied that the veteran guard has asked to be traded:
"I think it's been hard for [Barbosa] not to get an opportunity to play as much as he's wanted, but we have said from the beginning, even before he signed here, that minutes might be difficult to come by, because we were deep at that position, and he still chose to come here," Ainge said. "Actually, early in the year he played more than I expected him to play, and he played pretty well. So I think that we have had a couple of conversations, just about his role and where it went and he seemed satisfied with it. But he's never demanded or asked to be traded or any of those things at all."
2:14pm: Barbosa strongly denied that he wants to be traded by the Celtics, and denied making the statements passed along by ESPN Brazil, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter links). "No, I want to play," Barbosa said. "I want to be here. That's it."
1:10pm: In a recent radio interview, Leandro Barbosa revealed that he has asked to be let go by the Celtics, according to an ESPN Brazil report (hat tip to Sportando). It's not clear whether Barbosa is hoping for a trade or a buyout, since he talks about wanting to return to Brazil, but either way, it doesn't seem like it's an option team president Danny Ainge is eager to pursue.
It's possible that some details of the story are being lost in translation, but it's not hard to see why Barbosa may be frustrated with his role in Boston. The 30-year-old is playing just 10.7 minutes per game, by far his lowest mark since entering the league, despite a PER (15.4) that's in line with his career average. Additionally, he's earning a minimum salary for the Celtics after making $7.6MM in 2011/12, the final season of a five-year contract.
Barbosa's comments suggest that the Celtics would like to keep him on the roster for depth purposes, but with Avery Bradley back in the lineup, there aren't enough minutes to go around for all of the team's backcourt players. Barbosa is certainly someone to keep an eye on as the trade deadline approaches, since he could earn more minutes for a team in need of an inexpensive scorer.
Market For Rudy Gay Dwindling?
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com reports that the interest among teams in trading for Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay is not high, and although Memphis is continuing to shop Gay, the underwhelming offers may force them to wait until the offseason to move him and Zach Randolph.
Kennedy does not expect the Grizzlies to receive a young star or a high-upside rookie in return for Gay, naming Phoenix's Jared Dudley and Orlando's J.J. Redick as two potential players they could expect to land. Although Wizards rookie guard Bradley Beal was briefly discussed as a possible centerpiece for a Gay trade, Washington no longer has any interest in trading him.
Kennedy writes that much of the reluctance of teams to trade for Gay comes from his contract, which pays him $16.4MM this season, $17.8MM in 2013/14, and $19.3MM in 2014/15.
Odds & Ends: Seattle, Finley, Heisley, Arenas
Addressing the media in London today, commissioner David Stern didn't share many new details about a possible sale of the Sacramento Kings, but he did confirm that the NBA hasn't been informed of any sale agreement with Chris Hansen's Seattle group, according to Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. As Stern watches the Knicks and Pistons play at the O2 Arena, let's round up a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Following up on his piece yesterday in which he argued the NBA should give Seattle an expansion team rather than moving the Kings, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com addresses the arguments against expansion.
- Michael Finley's agent has been in touch with 5-10 NBA teams that have expressed some level of interest in his client, Finley tells BasketUSA.com (link via Sportando). It's not clear how serious any of that interest is, but it seems Finley is still attempting to make an NBA comeback.
- Although he says he hasn't had any conversations with team owners who may be interested in selling, former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has expressed some interest in buying another NBA team, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. "At least some people around the NBA know I am interested," Heisley said. "David Stern called me and asked if that was the case, and told him, 'Yeah.'"
- Gilbert Arenas will explore his NBA options upon returning from China this season, but suggests that he may play in the CBA again next year, according to a Hupu.com report (translation via HoopsHype).
- In their latest Insider-only draft preview piece on ESPN.com, Chad Ford and Jay Bilas discuss the current frontrunner to be picked first overall in June.
- In another Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard talks to executives and scouts about John Wall's current stock.
Pistons Not Shopping Tayshaun Prince
THURSDAY, 3:23pm: While the Pistons say they're not shopping Prince, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio says the team has made exploratory calls (Twitter link). There hasn't been much interest so far, according to Amico.
SUNDAY, 10:58pm: Tayshaun Prince is the lone holdover from Detroit's glory days in the aughts and one might think that the Pistons would look to move him for assets to help the club build for the future. However, neither Prince nor the Pistons front office are pushing for a trade, writes RealGM's Shams Charania.
Agent Bill Duffy says that Prince has been assured the Pistons won’t field trade offers for him and the two sides have “never” discussed a deal for the forward. The 32-year-old is averaging 12.1 points and 4.7 rebounds this season. Prince says that he's committed to helping the Pistons, even though the losing bothers him.
“I know there are a lot of contending teams that I can help,” Prince said. “But right now, this is the team I have to help. Everybody wants to be in the position where they have a chance of winning a championship every year, but obviously it doesn’t work that way.”
Prince has two more years on his contract beyond 2012/13 worth nearly $15MM.
Los Angeles Notes: Lakers, Kobe, Bledsoe
Both Los Angeles teams will be in action tonight on TNT, looking to extend their respective winning streaks to three games. The Clippers will be in Minnesota to face the reeling Timberwolves in the early game, while the Lakers host the Eastern-Conference-leading Heat in the late game. As we look forward to those contests, here are the latest links out of L.A.:
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak would prefer to exercise patience with the team's roster and sounds skeptical about the possibility of a trade, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. "We don't have many options," Kupchak said Wednesday. "It's not like we're going to be active or overly active in the trade market."
- Because of the early-season coaching change and the numerous injuries the team has suffered, it's not fair to say the Lakers' roster needs to blown up, according to Kupchak. "If everybody had been together and coach [Mike] D’Antoni had been here from day one and Steve Nash hadn’t gotten injured and our record still was what it is today, then that’d be a different story," Kupchak said, according to Medina. "Then you have to look in the mirror and say the team we put together is not good enough."
- Chris Paul's recent knee injury has given Eric Bledsoe the chance to start for the Clippers, providing the sort of starring-role opportunity many rival teams were hoping to see, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. The Clippers are unlikely to consider trades for Bledsoe in part due to concerns about how it would affect team chemistry, but the 23-year-old's recent boost in playing time could serve as a sort of audition for clubs that intend to pursue him down the road.
- According to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link), Andre Miller is skeptical that Kobe Bryant will really retire when his current contract expires in 2014, as Kobe has suggested a few times.
Pacers Re-Sign Dominic McGuire
The Pacers have re-signed Dominic McGuire to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. McGuire was initially signed by the Pacers on January 7th, the first day teams could sign 10-day deals, so his contract expired last night.
McGuire, 27, appeared in just two games for the Pacers, averaging six minutes per contest and failing to score a single point. However, he was productive at times for the Raptors and Hornets earlier this season, appearing in 24 games for the two teams, including nine starts for Toronto.
Besides playing for Indiana, New Orleans, and Toronto this season, the well-traveled McGuire has also played for the Warriors, Bobcats, Kings, and Wizards in his six-year NBA career, averaging 2.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG in 342 total contests. The Pacers won't need a corresponding move to make room for the former second-round pick, since a roster spot opened up when his first 10-day deal expired.
Timberwolves Shopping Derrick Williams
Derrick Williams is seeing a little more playing time recently, averaging 24.7 minutes per game over the Timberwolves' last five contests after seeing 17.4 MPG up until that point. Kevin Love's recent hand injury has contributed to Williams' increased minutes, but the team also may be trying to showcase the former second overall pick for a potential trade. According to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter), Williams is being "shopped heavily" by the T-Wolves.
Since being drafted one spot behind Kyrie Irving in 2011, Williams has struggled to fulfill his potential with the Timberwolves. Wolfson notes (via Twitter) that the team doesn't view Williams as an ideal fit in coach Rick Adelman's system, and is considering its short-term and long-term options in shopping the 21-year-old. With Love out, the Wolves are looking to acquire a big in any deal for Williams, according to Wolfson (via Twitter), though he's not sure about specific names.
This is hardly the first time we've heard about Williams' availability. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio wrote last Monday that he'd be surprised if the Arizona product was still in Minnesota after the trade deadline. On the same day, Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined Williams' trade candidacy, speculating about some potential fits for the second-year forward.
Although there's no guarantee that the Wolves will move Williams or anyone else by February 21st, Wolfson tweets that the team appears to be "trying hard" to make a move, and that it looks like something will happen in the next few weeks.
Berger On NBPA, Mavs, Grizzlies, Oden, Young
It's been months since Derek Fisher, Billy Hunter, and the NBPA were making headlines, but the law firm hired to look into how the Players' Association has spent its money and conducted its business is nearly ready to release the results, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. While it's not clear exactly what the report will reveal, several players believe the union needs a change in leadership, and are hoping Hunter will step down from his post even if the report exonerates him of any wrongdoing, according to Berger.
The latest edition of Berger's "Postups" column also features some trade rumblings, so let's round those up….
- Mark Cuban's declaration this week that the "Bank of Cuban" is open was met with indifference by some rival executives, who don't see many attractive assets on the Mavericks besides Dirk Nowitzki. "I don't think anybody is in a hurry to get [Chris] Kaman or [Elton] Brand and all that stuff," a rival executive said. "Unless he's trying to take a contract that's loaded."
- Since Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien is determined to make a good basketball trade rather than just dumping salary, there's a growing sense that Memphis will hang on to Rudy Gay and others, and deal with the team's cap and tax issues over the summer. I suggested as much when I looked at the Grizzlies' cap situation earlier this week.
- While Greg Oden doesn't expect to return to action until next season, he hopes to sign with an NBA team in the next month to get into a training and conditioning program with a club. The Celtics are monitoring Oden's progress, and Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com reports that the Spurs and Cavaliers have also expressed interest.
- Berger suggests that Nick Young is worth keeping an eye on as the trade deadline approaches, since his expiring contract could be valuable for a team in need of a scorer. The Sixers are currently four games out of a playoff spot — if they fall any further back, it definitely wouldn't surprise me to see them consider selling off pieces like Young.
Sixers Sign Shelvin Mack To 10-Day Contract
The 76ers have signed Shelvin Mack to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. No corresponding roster move is required to make room for Mack, since Philadelphia has a roster spot open, and will open up another one when Maalik Wayns' 10-day deal expires tonight.
Mack, 23, has averaged 3.8 PPG and 2.2 APG in 13.0 minutes per contests in 71 career NBA games with the Wizards, but was cut by Washington earlier this month. The Butler product has been very productive for the D-League's Maine Red Claws this season, averaging 20.5 PPG and 8.0 APG while shooting .462/.418/.896 in 14 games.
As for Wayns, he's set to become a free agent and will be able to sign another 10-day contract with the Sixers or any other NBA team. Grantland's Zach Lowe (Twitter link) hears the rookie is already drawing interest from D-League clubs.
Magic Aggressively Exploring Trade Options
The Magic were at the center of 2012's biggest trade, the four-way deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers, and while they don't have the pieces to make the same sort of splash in 2013, it appears the team will continue to be active on the trade market. According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, Orlando has been involved in "virtually every trade scenario out there" and is aggressively exploring its options.
Orlando's activity doesn't necessarily mean the club will make a deal on or before February 21st, but the Magic have made it clear they'll entertain offers for virtually anyone on their roster, says Kyler. With a pair of expiring contracts (J.J. Redick, Josh McRoberts), a collection of productive veterans (Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, Glen Davis), a few young players with upside (Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless, Andrew Nicholson), a massive $17.8MM trade exception, and a slew of future draft picks, the Magic could go in a number of different directions. However, it's unlikely that they'll compromise their future cap flexibility or part with any of their young players unless they find a deal that nets them a core piece.
One player that doesn't seem to be a future long-term piece in Orlando is Rudy Gay. According to Kyler, the Magic briefly discussed the veteran forward with the Grizzlies, but backed off due to Gay's contract and a belief that he wasn't an ideal fit.