Marcin Gortat Won’t Ask To Be Traded
Marcin Gortat reportedly turned down an extension offer from the Suns during the offseason, but that doesn't mean he's eager to get out of Phoenix. Gortat told Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com that, despite the team's struggles, he's not necessarily hoping to be traded in the next six weeks.
"Basically I just don't want to feel like a loser and escape," Gortat said. "The team needs you and then all of a sudden you escape because you said you wanted to be traded or you asked for a trade? It's not like that. If someone's going to decide to trade me, it is a business. I'll understand that. But now I'm on the Phoenix Suns and I'm going to help."
Earlier in the season, Gortat expressed some frustration with the Suns' style of play and his lack of involvement in the offense. So far in 2012/13, Gortat's 11.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 17.3 PER are all below last year's rates (15.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 21.2 PER). Additionally, the Suns are off to a 12-25 start, just one game out of the Western Conference cellar. Still, the 28-year-old big man feels attached to the club, as he told Camerato.
"Right now I feel like it's hard to leave this sinking boat, you know what I mean, just go to a different team and escape from everything," Gortat said. "I've never escaped in my entire life from anything like that. I never took any shortcuts. Basically I'm just going to try to play and help my team as much as I can."
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reported earlier this week that the Suns have no untouchable players, and will be very open to discussing trades in advance of the February 21st deadline. The Celtics have been mentioned as one possible suitor for Gortat, assuming the Suns make him available.
Suns To Assign Diante Garrett To D-League
We'll track Thursday's D-League assignments and recalls, with any additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Suns will send Diante Garrett to their D-League affiliate today, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. In a move that surprised me a little, Phoenix hung on to the little-used Garrett this week, ensuring that his non-guaranteed contract became guaranteed for the season. It's the first assignment to the Bakersfield Jam this season for the Iowa State product.
Latest On Kings, Seattle
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports dropped a bombshell yesterday, reporting that the Maloof family was close to selling the Sacramento Kings to a group of Seattle-based investors led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer. No agreement has been finalized yet, but Wojnarowski's story and subsequent reports have suggested that the two sides are in discussions. Here are the latest links related to the possible sale of the Kings:
- A trio of Sacramento Bee reporters, Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis, hear from sources that the Maloofs are indeed engaged in talks with the Seattle investment group. However, no formal offer has been made yet, according to the Bee report. Now that Kings ownership seems willing to explore the idea of selling the team, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson says he hopes to recruit local bidders in an effort to keep the franchise in Sacramento.
- The Bee's sources described the talks with Hansen's group as "conceptual" and said that reports suggesting a deal was nearly done may be premature. However, if the Seattle group were to present the Maloofs with a "ridiculous" offer, that could change quickly.
- The Maloofs, David Stern, and the NBA owe Sacramento a chance to try to put together a local investment group to keep the Kings, opines Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
- If the Kings relocate, then it's the Maloofs, rather than the community, that would deserve the blame, says Marcos Breton of the Sacramento Bee.
- Shaun Powell also calls out the Maloofs in his latest piece for Sports on Earth.
- Kings players are trying to focus on basketball and not get wrapped up in the swirling rumors, writes Matt Kawahara of the Sacramento Bee.
Heat Re-Sign Josh Harrellson
Three days after being released by the Heat, Josh Harrellson has rejoined the team, according to Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Richardson reports that Miami has re-signed Harrellson to a 10-day contract.
The Heat opened up two roster spots earlier this week by cutting Harrellson and Terrel Harris before their non-guaranteed contracts became guaranteed for the season. However, the club didn't waste much time in filling those spots. Besides Harrellson, Jarvis Varnado also signed a 10-day contract with Miami yesterday.
The pair of signings means that, for now, there's no room on the Heat roster for Chris Andersen, who worked out for the team this week. However, Miami will have the opportunity to reevaluate their frontcourt options in 10 days, when Varnado's and Harrellson's contracts expire.
Before Harrellson re-signed with Miami, he was in contact with the Timberwolves, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter).
Odds & Ends: Martin, Knicks, Cavs, Andersen
Kenyon Martin is one of many talented NBA veterans who has so far been unable to find a home in 2012/13. That may change soon as the Knicks are showing interest in him, but a source tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com that they have only discussed him internally to this point. The Knicks haven't reached out to Martin's representative yet, but that could be around the corner. Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert did an on-air interview during the telecast of tonight's game to discuss the current state of the club. While 2012/13 has been difficult for Cleveland thus far, the owner vowed that better days are ahead, according to the Plain Dealer (on Twitter). "This year has not been an easy year…Things will improve. There are better days ahead. We will get through it," said Gilbert.
- One NBA executive told Andrew Perna of RealGM that we likely won't see significant trades go down until February. “There hasn’t really been a lot of talk going around,” the executive said. “There is general chatter, but nothing serious. A lot of teams are trying to figure out what is going on with [the Grizzlies] and all the names that have been thrown around.”
- Nuggets coach George Karl gave Chris Andersen a strong endorsement in an interview with Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (on Twitter). While admitting that the 34-year-old isn't what he once was, he believes that he could be a solid piece for the Heat for 15-25 minutes per night. The forward known as Birdman auditioned for Miami earlier this week.
Dirk Nowitzki Wants To Stay With Mavericks
Late last week, Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki questioned some of the Mavericks’ roster building strategies and didn’t seem enthusiastic about their chances of landing a marquee talent after whiffing on both Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. However, the big man told reporters tonight that he doesn’t have any desire to be traded.
“I can’t really see myself anywhere else,” said Nowitzki, according to Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (on Twitter).
Nowitzki has become accustomed to winning during his time in Dallas, but the Mavericks were swept in the first round of last year’s playoffs by the Thunder and currently find themselves with a 13-22 mark after tonight’s loss to the Jazz. Regardless, the 34-year-old is under contract through 2013/14 and sounds committed to helping restore the Mavs to prominence.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Warriors, Barnes
Former Sonics coach George Karl is excited about the prospect of basketball returning to Seattle, but the Nuggets coach feels for the Kings fans in Sacramento, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. "There’s a part of me that’s disappointed because I think Sacramento, I’ve enjoyed my times in Sacramento. I think Sacramento is a great town. I’m not going to lie, I’m happy that Seattle is going to have a team…but I am disappointed that Sacramento can’t keep their team.” Here's more out of the Pacific Division, including notes on the Kings..
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea (on Twitter) believes that the Warriors will have to ask themselves if parting with Harrison Barnes would be worth it in a trade for the Grizzlies' Rudy Gay. Barnes has tremendous upside and Steinmetz believes that he could possibly be even better than Gay in five years.
- Sources say there are still a lot of unknowns and uncertainties before the deal putting the Kings in Seattle is finalized, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. The early returns on tonight's poll show that more than 88% of Hoops Rumors readers believe that the Kings will ultimately end up in Seattle.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (on Twitter) has some criticisms of Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and his handling of the newest developments on the Kings'.
Poll: Will The Kings Move To Seattle?
Earlier today, it was reported that the Maloofs were finalizing an agreement to sell the Kings to a Seattle-based group led by investor Chris Hansen. That's certainly cause for celebration for the basketball widows in Seattle, but the deal isn't as close to being completed as first thought.
We've been through this before with the Maloofs. There have been rumors of the team being sold over the years and in 2012 they were being courted by the city of Virginia Beach. Of course, all of that conjecture has yet to manifest itself in the form of a sale or a move. It seems that most NBA fans outside of Sacramento are on board with the Sonics 2.0, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the transaction will go through. When all is said and done, do you think we will see the Association return to the Emerald City?
Will The Kings Move To Seattle?
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Yes 90% (1,001)
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No 10% (108)
Total votes: 1,109
Maloofs Close To Selling Kings To Seattle Group
6:02pm: The Seattle group has made significant progress in negotiations and is confident a deal will eventually get done, a person who was briefed on the status of the negotiations told Sam Amick of USA Today. If the deal is completed, the team would be called the Sonics.
3:12pm: The Kings' minority owners haven't been told about a sale, according to Amick, who says that minority owners must be told before a sale is completed. Additionally, Amick writes that the NBA has issued a memo to the league's owners warning them not to comment on the Kings' situation.
12:41pm: The Maloofs are finalizing an agreement to sell the Sacramento Kings to a Seattle-based group led by Chris Hansen, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the Kings are expected to be sold for about $500MM, which would be a new record, topping the Warriors' 2010 sale price of $450MM. The Seattle group is seeking to relocate the team to the KeyArena for the 2013/14 season.
The deadline for NBA teams to file for relocation for the following season is March 1st, so there would be plenty of time to petition the league for a move to Seattle. Wojnarowski indicates that league officials would work diligently to help the franchise move to Seattle if the sale is finalized.
According to Wojnarowski, the Seattle group hopes to play two seasons in the KeyArena, starting in '13/14, before making the transition into the new arena — progress on that proposed arena has been approved so far by Seattle's City Council.
Daina Falk, the daughter of agent David Falk, had tweeted early this morning that the Kings were being sold to Hansen's group, which includes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, but later deleted the tweet. A Kings official had since denied that there was any truth to the rumor, according to a Sacramento Bee report. While no agreement has been signed yet, a source describes the deal to Wojnarowski as "first and goal at the one."
Wojnarowski's report comes on the heels of news that the city of Virginia Beach and Comcast-Spectator were unable to reach an agreement with the Maloofs that would have proposed to relocate the Kings to Virginia. At the time, Bruce Rader of WAVY-TV noted that Kings ownerships figured to explore other options, while Tom Ziller of SBNation.com speculated that Seattle rumors were about to heat up.
Assuming the deal is finalized and approved by the NBA, the Maloofs are expected to retain an extremely small percentage of the franchise, says Wojnarowski. However, they wouldn't have any real input or say in the team anymore.
The city of Seattle has, of course, been without an NBA franchise since 2008, when the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. If the Kings move to Seattle for the 2013/14 season, it will be a victory in the northwest for commissioner David Stern, who was reportedly "determined" to return the NBA to Seattle before retiring in February of 2014.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Kings’ Evans Wouldn’t Mind Being Traded
Trade demands aren't Kings guard Tyreke Evans' style, but he isn't thrilled about not receiving a contract extension this year and has had other issues with the club's front office. He's not about to make an issue of it, but Evans says that he would be neither shocked nor devastated if he were traded before the February 21st deadline, writes Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
Evans is also upset the organization didn't arrange for a second opinion on his sore left knee. Instead, his brothers and his agent were left to schedule a visit with Lakers orthopedist Dr. Steve Lombardo. The visit led to a different prognosis than the first look.
"The Kings need to do whatever they can to help the team win," said Evans, who also admitted that he has been extra cautious about his knee because of his contract situation. "I just want to go out there and play every night. That visit to (Lombardo)? That let me know that I wasn't totally wrong. I just need to get treated right. That was pretty much it."
Voisin writes that the Grizzlies have inquired on Evans and are known to be shopping small forward Rudy Gay. However, a deal involving Gay and Evans would require the Kings to make up the difference in salary on their end with contracts that extend beyond this season. The Lakers, Nuggets, and Celtics have also been interested in the past.