Eric Bledsoe Likely Unavailable At Deadline
With Chris Paul running the point in Los Angeles, backup guard Eric Bledsoe has frequently been mentioned as a potential trade candidate for the Clippers. However, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Clips are unlikely to consider dealing Bledsoe this season.
Stein reports that, despite optimism that Paul will sign a long-term deal this summer to remain with the Clippers, the club doesn't want to take anything for granted. If and when Paul is locked up, the team may become more open to the idea of dealing Bledsoe, but that obviously won't happen within the next few weeks, meaning Bledsoe probably won't be in play at this year's trade deadline.
External interest in Bledsoe remains high, according to Stein, which echoes what Sam Amick of USA Today wrote earlier today. Amick indicated that the Clips will receive plenty of offers on Bledsoe before February 21st, especially when veteran guard Chauncey Billups returns to the backcourt.
Assuming L.A. hangs on to Bledsoe through the season, the team may find itself faced with a smaller-scale version of Oklahoma City's James Harden predicament — Bledsoe will be eligible for an extension in the summer of 2013, but could also be an excellent trade asset if the Clips are reluctant to commit to a pricey, long-term deal for him.
Amick’s Latest: Cousins, Evans, Heat, Bargnani
In their Friday A-Z piece for USA Today, Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt lead off by examining a number of potential teams and players that could be involved in trade talks in the next few weeks. Most of the juicier rumors come from Amick, so we'll round up the highlights from his section of the piece right here:
- Geoff Petrie has said that the Kings aren't interested in trading DeMarcus Cousins, and it seems as if that sentiment is now being conveyed privately as well as publicly, according to Amick. However, the Kings would be open to listening to offers on Tyreke Evans or anyone else besides Cousins.
- The Celtics and Mavericks are two teams that could shake things up before the deadline — both clubs are underperforming and have been known to be aggressive pursuing upgrades in the past.
- The Heat would like to add a big man, but don't really have the assets needed to make a deal.
- Nolan Smith is a good candidate to be moved before the deadline by the Trail Blazers.
- The Cavaliers and Clippers won't be eager to move Anderson Varejao and Eric Bledsoe, respectively, but both teams should receive plenty of offers on those players, says Amick, noting that the Cavs' poor record will only increase the pressure to make a move.
- Both Amick and Zillgitt identify the Raptors' Andrea Bargnani as the biggest name likely to be on the move by February 21st.
Western Notes: Nolan Smith, Royce White, Mavs
You could make a convincing case that the biggest NBA news out of the Western Conference so far today has been Kobe Bryant's arrival on Twitter. With just a single tweet to his name, Kobe has already racked up over 200,000 followers, a figure that continues to grow exponentially. There's plenty going on around the rest of the conference too though, so let's check out a few links….
- Trail Blazers point guard Nolan Smith, a former 21st overall pick, is on a mission to prove that he's not a bust, and feels good about his impending free agency, as he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- Royce White appeared on SiriusXM radio to discuss his refusal of a D-League assignment, and both Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle and Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside have passed along a few of White's more interesting comments. Among them: White suggested the chances that he never plays in the NBA are "very high" and said that playing for a team besides the Rockets wouldn't be a solution.
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News expects O.J. Mayo to score a big contract next summer, but isn't sure it'll come from the Mavericks. The Mavs figure to be targeting the top free agents of the class before circling back to Mayo, according to Sefko.
- Kevin Sherrington of the Dallas Morning News is critical of the make-up of the Mavericks' roster, opining that with so many players on expiring deals, they're playing for contracts rather than wins.
- The Jazz announced today that Mo Williams underwent successful surgery on his injured right thumb, as Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune writes.
- Roster construction has been a bigger problem than DeMarcus Cousins for the Kings, according to Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com.
D-League Moves: C’s, Thunder, Pacers, Spurs
We'll follow Friday's D-League assignments and recalls below:
- Kris Joseph has been assigned to the D-League by the Celtics, the club announced in a press release. Joseph has averaged 19.5 PPG in eight games for the Maine Red Claws this season.
- After being recalled on Monday from the Tulsa 66ers, Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb, and Daniel Orton are all headed back to the D-League, the Thunder announced today in a press release.
- Orlando Johnson has been recalled from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Pacers announced in a team release. Johnson scored 25 points last night to help lead the Mad Ants to a 102-86 victory over the Santa Cruz Warriors.
- The Spurs have assigned Nando De Colo to the D-League for the second time this season, the team announced in a press release. He'll rejoin the Austin Toros.
Grizzlies Making Rudy Gay Available?
Rudy Gay is no stranger to trade rumors, having been the subject of a few rumblings as recently as last summer. And it appears that 2013 will bring even more rumors surrounding the veteran forward, with Zach Lowe of Grantland reporting that the Grizzlies have made it known in preliminary talks with NBA teams that Gay could be available.
Lowe clarifies that it doesn't sound as if Memphis is actively shopping the 26-year-old. However, the club is about $4MM into the luxury tax this season, and could be heading back into tax territory in the next two seasons, based on the contracts currently on the books. As such, moving Gay's three-year, $53MM+ deal might be an attractive option.
Former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley said back in June that the team had no plans to deal Gay, and a September report from the Memphis Commercial Appeal suggested that Memphis turned down a number of lowball offers for Gay over the summer. However, with a new owner (Robert Pera) in place, and new faces in the front office, such as John Hollinger and Jason Levien, the Grizzlies may be more open to revisiting the possibility of a move.
While Lowe doesn't specify which teams the Grizzlies may have spoken to about Gay, he does speculate on which clubs may be a fit, naming the Timberwolves, Bucks, Celtics, Hawks, Raptors, Rockets, and Jazz as "sensible candidates." Lowe also adds that the Warriors have "long coveted" Gay, but points out they don't really have the pieces to make a deal work at the moment.
Hornets Release Dominic McGuire
The Hornets have officially waived forward Dominic McGuire, the team announced today in a press release. ESPN.com's Marc Stein first reported (via Twitter) that McGuire was expected to be released.
McGuire had signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Hornets back on December 16th. With the contract guarantee deadline fast approaching, McGuire's contract would have become guaranteed for the season if he had remained on the Hornets' roster through next Monday. Instead, New Orleans has saved itself from paying the 27-year-old a rest-of-season salary.
The Hornets now have 13 players left on their roster, leaving two open roster spots. If New Orleans employs a strategy similar to last season's, the club figures to use those open spots to audition players on 10-day contracts. In 2011/12, the Hornets signed six different players to at least one 10-day deal, as our tracker shows.
McGuire, who began the season with the Raptors, posted nearly identical numbers in nine games for the Hornets (2.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 16.1 MPG) as he did in 15 games with Toronto (2.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 15.3 MPG). McGuire has also played for the Wizards, Kings, Bobcats, and Warriors during his six-year NBA career.
Kyrylo Fesenko Signs In Ukraine
FRIDAY, 10:36am: BC Donetsk has officially announced the signing of Fesenko, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. Charania writes that Fesenko's contract is "flexible," and while it's not clear if that means he could return to the NBA this season, it sounds as if he'll have the opportunity to earn a training camp invite stateside next summer.
TUESDAY, 2:11pm: After failing to catch on with an NBA team, Kyrylo Fesenko is working toward finalizing a contract to play in Ukraine, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.com. According to Charania, Fesenko is close to signing with BC Donetsk.
Fesenko was a training camp invitee for the Bulls this fall, but the team didn't have the cap flexibility to keep him around into the regular season. There was some speculation that Chicago could re-sign Fesenko later in the season, and the big man worked out for the Hawks as well, but it appears he'll head overseas instead.
Fesenko, who last played in the NBA last season with the Pacers, has appeared in 135 regular-season games over the course of his five-year NBA career.
Pacific Notes: Virginia Beach, Paul, World Peace
The Pacific Division was widely expected to be a two-team race this season, and that's been the case so far, but it's the Warriors that have crashed what was supposed to be an all-L.A. party. Golden State sits just 2.5 games back of the division-leading Clippers, while the third-place Lakers are nine games back of their Staples Center rivals. Here are a few Friday morning updates out of the Pacific:
- Virginia Beach mayor Will Sessoms has set a Monday deadline to reach an agreement with a professional sports team to move to the city, according to Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. If the city hasn't signed a lease with a team, such as Sacramento's Kings, by that time, then the mayor is expected to pull the plug on Virginia Beach's arena efforts for the year. "We have a timeline that is right upon us to go to the state to ask for a substantial amount of money," Sessoms said. "We are not going to go up there and make a fool of ourselves. I need to know something by Monday."
- Chris Paul tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he "never, ever" thinks about the possibility of playing with the Lakers, more than a year after David Stern vetoed a trade that would have paired CP3 with Kobe Bryant.
- After indicating that he'd like to coach after his playing career ends, Metta World Peace discussed his potential coaching style with reporters, including the Kamenetzky Brothers of ESPNLosAngeles.com (YouTube link). I get the impression that the Lakers forward hasn't considered the subject extensively yet.
Wolves Rumors: Pekovic, Varejao, Redick, Hayward
Despite Kevin Love leaving last night's game against the Nuggets in the second half, the Timberwolves managed to do something only the Heat had accomplished this season: Win in Denver. The victory pulled the Timberwolves within a half-game of the Nuggets, and into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. As the Wolves continue jockeying for position in the West, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities rounds up plenty of rumors out of Minnesota. Here are the highlights:
- While a trade is a possibility for the Timberwolves, David Kahn figures to wait for a few weeks to make any decisions, as he assesses what sort of impact Ricky Rubio will have.
- With Nikola Pekovic in the final year of his rookie deal, his price figures to soar next year, perhaps to close to $10-12MM annually. As such, Wolfson speculates that the Wolves could explore deals involving Pekovic.
- The Wolves have discussed Anderson Varejao with the Cavaliers, though those talks were "brief."
- Owner Glen Taylor is willing to go into the luxury tax in 2013/14 if the right opportunity presents itself.
- The Wolves like J.J. Redick a lot, but it would probably take Derrick Williams and a future first-rounder to get Orlando's attention. Wolfson adds in a tweet that there are certain teams that might give up more for Williams, but the Magic probably aren't one of those teams.
- The Martell Webster compensation case between the Wolves and Trail Blazers is closed, but it's not known when the league will make an announcement. Minnesota is expected to receive no more than a second-round pick and/or cash.
- Minnesota is expected to release Lazar Hayward before his contract becomes guaranteed. The team has talked to Josh Childress, but he's only interested in a guaranteed deal for now. Daequan Cook, recently cut by the Rockets, isn't on the Wolves' radar.
- If Greg Oden is eventually healthy enough to return to the NBA, the Timberwolves would be among the interested teams.
Poll: What Should The Jazz Do?
Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune wrote an interesting column today regarding the current state of the Utah Jazz. Despite having a roster filled with talented young pieces and valuable veterans, a variety of factors have the Jazz trapped in NBA mediocrity.
Most important, they simply aren't good enough as currently constructed and will likely be a fringe playoff team. Additionally, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are both unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. Utah has never been a traditional landing spot for big name free agents, nor has it had a great track record of keeping its best players (see Deron Williams). So what should the Jazz do?
The easy answer is to move Millsap and Jefferson this season for draft picks and/or young assets, especially when you consider that the team's best young players – Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter – play similar positions to them and would receive valuable bumps in playing time. That is essentially what they did with Williams. But compiling a team of 20-to-24 year olds, while it looks good on paper, is a risk in itself. For every Oklahoma City Thunder type result, there are teams that spend a decade in the lottery taking this approach.
Should Utah decide to make a run at a playoff spot, they could keep their big man duo and either attempt to re-sign one or both of them after the year or look to replace them with other free agents. But again, the Jazz have had limited success luring any free agents to Utah, much less impactful ones.
Every option comes with a certain level of uncertainty. So what would you do if you were running the Jazz? And please, feel free to expand on your selection in the comments section, especially if you selected "Other."