Trade Candidate: Derrick Williams
It has been a little more than 18 months since the Timberwolves took Derrick Williams second overall in the 2011 draft, but it appears the team is already close to cutting its losses on the 6'8" tweener forward. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio wrote today that it would be surprising if Williams were still in Minnesota after the deadline, and it's certainly not the first time his name has been mentioned in connection with trades.
Williams figures to see more minutes while Kevin Love is out for "a number of weeks" after breaking his hand again. It may represent one more chance for Williams to show his worth to the Wolves, and an opportunity for Minnesota to showcase him for other teams. So far, we haven't seen much of the Arizona product on the floor, as he's averaged just 20.3 minutes per game for his career, and is seeing even less time this year than he did as a rookie. Agent Rob Pelinka, stopping short of a trade request, has "voiced his displeasure" about Williams' limited role on the team, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reported last month.
His lack of minutes persists despite more efficient play this season, as most of his per-36 minute numbers are up, and he's once more showing hints of the three-point accuracy he displayed in college, knocking down 38% of his attempts from behind the arc. His PER has jumped to 15.6 from 12.9 in 2011/12, indicating that he's performing at a slightly above-average level. Still, slightly above average is not the caliber of play anyone expects from someone drafted No. 2 overall.
That's why he's largely regarded as a secondary figure in the trade rumors he's been a part of. Though Wolves GM David Kahn denies having spoken to the Lakers since the summer, Minnesota has reportedly has been offering Williams and Nikola Pekovic to L.A. since last season in an effort to land Pau Gasol. The Wolves would like to make Williams the centerpiece of a deal for Anderson Varejao, but the Cavs predictably have little interest in that. He's been linked to the Magic as part of a J.J. Redick deal, but the Magic apparently aren't as high on Williams as other teams are.
It isn't clear which teams, if any, are willing to give Kahn and company what they want for Williams. He makes some sense as a stretch four in Mike D'Antoni's system with the Lakers, who might be more intrigued if the Wolves offered Williams in tandem with someone other than the ground-bound, soon-to-be free agent Pekovic, a poor fit with Dwight Howard. The Raptors may be open to parting with Andrea Bargnani for Williams and Pekovic, but I'm not sure Kahn would want to absorb Bargnani's eight-figure salary through 2015. The Suns figure to be an active participant in deadline deals and already traded for Wesley Johnson, another of Minnesota's highly drafted disappointments, but Phoenix appears set at power forward with Markieff Morris and Luis Scola's cap-friendly, post-amnesty deal.
Kevin Love, when healthy, has a stranglehold on the power forward position in Minnesota, so if Williams has any future with the team, it will be at small forward. For now, he's blocked there by Andrei Kirilenko, who has a $10.2MM player option for next season. If he exercises it, there's little chance Williams would become a starter until 2014/15 at the earliest, and by then the deadline for the Wolves to decide whether to extend his rookie deal will have already passed. Even if Williams shows a degree of improvement while Love is out, Minnesota is probably better off trading him, unless he suddenly turns into a nightly 20 and 10 threat over the next few weeks. Williams' value decreases when he idles on the bench, so as long as there's a reasonable offer on the table when Love returns, the Wolves should take it.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Cousins, Virginia Beach
Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard both deny a report that they engaged in a "heated exchange" after a loss last week, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. They and coach Mike D'Antoni had some fun with it, though, posing for a photo of a mock duel between the two superstars that Bryant posted on his new Twitter account. It might be considered gallows humor for the Lakers, who sit at 15-18, but at least they're a step up from the Kings, who are 13-21 and have endured their share of reports about locker room dissent, too. Here's the latest on a pair of intriguing, if not winning, teams.
- Dan Fegan, the new agent for DeMarcus Cousins, met with Kings GM Geoff Petrie today, but Fegan didn't ask that his client be traded, USA Today's Sam Amick reports (Twitter links). The Kings continue to insist they're not interested in any Cousins swap.
- Today was the deadline that Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms set for securing an arena deal, but an announcement of whether the funding has been secured won't come until tomorrow, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The mid-Atlantic city is rumored to be in pursuit of the Kings.
- Despite a rash of injuries to their big men, the Lakers have no immediate plans for the roster spot they opened up by waiving Darius Johnson-Odom today, tweets HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler, who points out the free space gives them added flexibility in case they make a trade down the line.
- Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com poses five key questions for the Lakers, and believes that if the team isn't right around .500 come February, there will be significant changes to the roster.
- Zach Lowe of Grantland.com ponders the implications of the once-unthinkable prospect of the Lakers missing the playoffs this year.
Sixers Considered Trading For Eric Maynor
The Sixers have explored a trade for Thunder reserve point guard Eric Maynor, a source tells John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The Sixers are expected to re-sign Maalik Wayns to a 10-day contract tomorrow after waiving him and his partially guaranteed contract yesterday, but have reportedly been seeking an upgrade at backup point guard, where Wayns and Royal Ivey have both seen time.
"We need to see if we can find maybe another guy who can come in and play pick-and-roll and do some things for us when (starter) Jrue (Holiday) is off the floor," coach Doug Collins said, as Mitchell documents. "We really take a hit when Jrue is off the floor because we don’t have the personnel to do it with the (second) unit."
Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com noted that Collins is also looking for a point guard who can better defend the pick-and-roll. It's not clear exactly when the Sixers looked into Maynor, or whether they continue to entertain the possibility.
Maynor played only nine games last season before tearing his ACL, and since his return this year, he has struggled to regain his role as the primary backup to Russell Westbrook, as the Thunder have been going with Reggie Jackson in that role of late. Oklahoma City passed on an extension for Maynor before the season, so he's scheduled to hit restricted free agency in the summer. For his career, the former 20th overall pick has averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 assists in 14.7 minutes per game.
Atlantic Rumors: Draft Picks, Lopez, Rasheed
The Celtics have won the Atlantic Division the last five years, but they find themselves seven games back of the first-place Knicks entering the night. They have a chance to make up some of that deficit as they travel to Madison Square Garden this evening, but they'll have to do so without Rajon Rondo, who was suspended for one game after bumping an official in Atlanta last night and failing to cooperate with the league's investigation. Hawks GM Danny Ferry was perhaps a little too eager to help the investigation along, however, having drawn a $15K fine from the league, apparently for handing referees a DVD of the incident after the game, as Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details. We have more on Ferry's interaction with another Atlantic Division club right here.
- A source confirmed to NetsDaily that RealGM.com accurately lists a previously unreported detail of last summer's Joe Johnson trade. The Hawks received the right to swap first-round picks with the Nets in both 2014 and 2015.
- Brook Lopez isn't concerned about the idea he'd be included in a trade for Dwight Howard if the Lakers can't get their act together, as Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger documents.
- It appears as though Rasheed Wallace has survived today's deadline and will have his contract guaranteed for the rest of the season, as expected, and his renaissance with the Knicks this season is no surprise to Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes that Rivers thinks Wallace shouldn't have retired after his lone season with the Celtics in 2009/10.
Omri Casspi Requests Trade?
6:22pm: Casspi once more declined to address whether he's asked for a trade, but said tonight that he's happy in Cleveland, the Plain Dealer reports via Twitter. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal provides more details on Sulia, noting that Casspi said he hasn't asked coach Byron Scott why he's seen limited playing time.
12:26pm: A league source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link) that Casspi hasn't requested a trade. Casspi himself, however, declined comment.
12:15pm: Having appeared briefly in only one game for the Cavaliers since December 11th, Omri Casspi has requested a trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski reports that Cavs GM Chris Grant has been making calls in an attempt to find a deal, but hasn't had any success so far.
Since averaging 10.3 PPG in his rookie season in Sacramento, Casspi has seen his PPG and MPG decline each year, and has fallen out of Cleveland's rotation entirely in recent weeks. The 24-year-old is in the last year of his rookie contract, making about $2.28MM this season, and will be eligible for restricted free agency next summer. If the Cavs were to make a move, the incoming salary wouldn't necessarily have to match up with Casspi's relatively small cap figure, since Cleveland is well under the cap and could absorb larger salaries.
Casspi has already been involved in one trade early in his NBA career. After the 2010/11 season, the Israeli forward was traded to the Cavs by the Kings along with a protected first-round pick, in exchange for J.J. Hickson.
D-League Moves: Beverley, Leuer
We'll keep track of today's D-League movement in this post, with the latest news on top. You can follow all of this season's D-League assignments and recalls right here.
- The Rockets, in a press release that officially announced the signing of Patrick Beverley, also revealed that he's been assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. The 6'1" point guard has yet to play in either the NBA or the D-League after going undrafted in 2009. Houston brought Beverley over from Spartak St. Petersburg in Russia, for whom he was named Eurocup MVP last season.
- The Cavaliers have recalled Jon Leuer from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Leuer figures to be on the bench for the Cavs' game tonight in Chicago. Leuer was assigned to the Canton Charge last week, and played in two games for the club during his stint. The 23-year-old had double-doubles in both contests, leading the Charge to a pair of victories. Canton is now 7-1 this season with Leuer, and just 3-7 without him.
Odds & Ends: Pargo, Celtics, Gordon, Carlesimo
With the contract guarantee deadline looming and the 10-day-contract period underway, there have been plenty of roster moves made around the NBA today. We don't want to let anything slip through the cracks though, so while we await word of the next signing or cut, we'll check out a few odds and ends:
- Jannero Pargo is drawing fresh interest from multiple teams and is talking about a potential 10-day contract with two of them, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
- Sources tell Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld that DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, and Marcin Gortat are all potential trade targets for the Celtics. Gortat makes more sense to me than the other two, who seem like long shots for Boston.
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld speculates that Andrea Bargnani could be another possible target for the Celtics. The HoopsWorld scribe also writes that Eric Gordon is talking like someone who expects to be with the Hornets long-term.
- Tom Ziller of SBNation.com questions how the Celtics could possibly acquire Cousins without giving up Rajon Rondo, and explores the trade rumors surrounding Gay.
- Nets head coach P.J. Carlesimo appeared on WFAN in New York last week to discuss shedding the interim tag and working for Mikhail Prokhorov, among other topics. Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews has the quotes.
Lakers Waive Darius Johnson-Odom
The Lakers have waived Darius Johnson-Odom, the team announced today in a press release. Johnson-Odom was one of two Lakers on non-guaranteed deals, along with Robert Sacre. Given the injury woes plaguing the team's frontcourt, Sacre's job appears safe.
Johnson-Odom, 23, was drafted 55th overall in last June's draft, with a pick L.A. acquired from the Mavericks in exchange for cash. The Marquette product didn't see much action for the Lakers, failing to score his first NBA point in four games (six total minutes).
The move opens up a roster spot for the Lakers, which may be useful — with Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Jordan Hill all ailing, the club could decide to bring in a big man on a 10-day contract. For now though, the move is just about today's guarantee deadline, rather than clearing a spot for another player, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Pacers Sign Frank Vogel To Extension
The Pacers have signed head coach Frank Vogel to a contract extension, the team announced today in a press release. Vogel had been in the final year of his contract, though the Pacers held a team option for 2013/14, so it's not clear whether the club simply picked up that option or further extended Vogel's contract.
Since taking over as Indiana's head coach during the 2010/11 season, Vogel has led the team to an 82-56 record and a pair of playoff berths. The Pacers are also off to a strong start (20-14) this season despite not having top scorer Danny Granger in the lineup.
"This is a good deal for Frank and the franchise," said Pacers president Donnie Walsh in a statement. "Frank has done a great job turning our team around since he became coach and deserves the chance to continue the work he and his staff have started."
Western Notes: Lakers, White, Nowitzki, Wolves
Things aren't getting any easier in Lakerland, where Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Jordan Hill have all been sidelined with injuries. Howard suffered a torn labrum, Gasol has a concussion, and Hill is dealing with a hip issue, meaning the Lakers' frontcourt looks awfully thin in the short-term. While Robert Sacre looks forward to more playing time and we wait to see if the Lakers add another body, let's round up a few more notes out of the Western Conference….
- The Lakers haven't reached out to free agent big man Kenyon Martin, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com wonder if the Lakers should consider trading Howard.
- The Rockets are prepared to chalk up 2012/13 as a lost season for Royce White and attempt to reach some sort of agreement with the rookie forward in the offseason, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt and TNT's David Aldridge have the latest details on White, including his desire for the NBA and the Rockets to sign a document detailing his wishes for the mental health protocol that the team believes would be in violation of the CBA.
- Despite recent comments by Dirk Nowitzki questioning the Mavericks' approach to building the roster, owner Mark Cuban tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that Dallas won't be altering that approach. "If you only knew the things [Dirk] has said to me during recent seasons about our team," Cuban joked. "I'm glad I didn't listen."
- Nowitzki stressed to reporters today, including Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, that he never said he wanted to be traded.
- The Timberwolves have kicked the tires on Sam Young, who was released by the Pacers this weekend, but he's unlikely to land in Minnesota, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Young is currently out with an ankle injury.
- It would be a surprise if the Timberwolves don't move Derrick Williams at the trade deadline, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.