Magic, Bobcats To Swap McRoberts, Warrick
The Magic and Bobcats have agreed to a trade that will send Josh McRoberts to Charlotte and Hakim Warrick to Orlando, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The Magic are expected to waive Warrick after the deal becomes official, according to Sam Amick of SI.com (Twitter link). It's the second time Warrick has been dealt this season, as the Hornets traded him for Matt Carroll in November.
The Hornets and Warrick had been working on a buyout before the early-season trade, and it appears that's what the Magic will pursue as well. Warrick making $4MM this season, with a team option for $4MM that's likely to disappear unless another club claims him off waivers. McRoberts is making $3.135MM this season in the final year of an expiring deal, so the deal lines up well for salary-matching purposes.
Warrick was averaging 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 17.9 minutes per game with the Bobcats this season, and made 14 starts, but has appeared in only one game this month, as a reserve. McRoberts has put up 3.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG in 16.7 MPG this year for Orlando after coming over in the Dwight Howard blockbuster. The 6'10" power forward has shown versatility this season, guarding multiple positions, but he has seen his minutes cut recently as well, getting 14.8 MPG this month after seeing 21.4 MPG in January.
Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.
Hawks, Mavs Swap Morrow, Dahntay Jones
The Hawks have sent Anthony Morrow to the Mavericks for Dahntay Jones, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jones was reportedly going to be part of a deal for Beno Udrih, but apparently that one didn't materialize for Dallas. Both swingmen are on expiring contracts, though Morrow makes $4MM while Jones is earning $2.9MM this year. The salaries are still close enough for salary-matching purposes, and neither team is close enough to the tax for the difference to have an effect.
Morrow, 27, is seeing a career low 12.5 minutes per game this year with Atlanta after coming over during the summer in the Joe Johnson trade. He led the league in three-point percentage in 2o08/09 for the Warriors, making 46.7% of his long-range attempts as a rookie. He's a career 42.5% three-point shooter.
Jones, 32, saw about the same amount of floor time for Dallas (12.7 MPG), but doesn't provide the outside shooting presence that Morrow does. Instead, he's seen as a defensive presence, and started 71 games in front of J.R. Smith for the 2008/09 Nuggets, who advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
Hickson, Blair Remain With Respective Teams
The Trail Blazers were unable to work out a deadline deal involving J.J. Hickson, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter). Hickson will remain in Portland.
The Spurs were also unable to find an acceptable offer for DeJuan Blair, who will remain with San Antonio, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter).
Afternoon Rumors: Turner, Bargnani, Rockets, Cavs
A few last-minute rumors as the 2:00pm deadline approaches….
- Evan Turner's name is "all over the place" in trade talks, but the Sixers aren't expected to move him today, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
- There doesn't seem to be any progress on an Andrea Bargnani deal, tweets TNT's David Aldridge, adding that the Raptors seemed to recognize a week ago that they wouldn't be able to move Bargnani.
- The Rockets likely won't make another deal today, but count on them being active this summer, tweets Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game.
- As an executive tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cavaliers don't have many options that won't negatively affect their cap flexibility, so they've been relatively quiet (Twitter link).
- The Knicks are still working to move Ronnie Brewer, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Spurs Still Exploring Deal For DeJuan Blair
The Spurs are trying "right up to the wire" to find a taker for DeJuan Blair, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News tweets that he wouldn't be shocked if San Antonio takes the best deal out there for Blair at 1:59pm.
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News reported earlier today that the Spurs' asking price for Blair remained High, while Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld indicated this morning that the Hawks could be a suitor, particularly if they found a deal for Josh Smith.
J.J. Redick Rumors: Thursday
Based on reports late last night, it sounds like the Magic are still on the fence about whether or not they'll trade J.J. Redick. While the team is clearly fielding offers, Orlando also seems willing to hang on to Redick for the season if no suitable proposals are made. We'll track today's Redick rumors here, with the newest items added throughout the day:
- The Pacers are out of the running for Redick, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.
- The Redick talks are coming "down to the wire" with the Pacers, Sixers, and Bucks still involved, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. The Spurs are out, according to Aldridge.
- A source involved in the Redick talks now believes there's a strong chance the sharpshooter will remain in Orlando, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Earlier updates:
Kings, Warriors Not Expected To Reach Deal
1:35pm: Barring a last-minute surprise, the Warriors won't make a move to get below the tax, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Kings had some interest in Jeremy Tyler, according to Spears, but it sounds like the two teams couldn't work out an agreement.
10:22am: Given the team's uncertain ownership situation, we expected a quiet deadline from the Kings, but Sacramento has already made a six-player trade, and is still discussing deals. According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), the Kings have talked to the Warriors about acquiring one of Golden State's minimum-salary players, with cash as a sweetener.
Sending cash and a player to Sacramento now would help the Warriors save money later, if the team can dip below the luxury-tax threshold. Trading a pair of players from a group of minimum-salary guys that includes Charles Jenkins, Jeremy Tyler, and Kent Bazemore would allow Golden State to avoid being a taxpayer this season.
The Kings, meanwhile, are allowed to take on up to $3MM in cash via trade per season. The team acquired $1MM in its deal with the Rockets, but still has room to take on more, as Sam Amick of USA Today tweets.
While a Kings/Warriors swap would be a minor one, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee isn't ruling out the possibility that Sacramento could explore a larger deal, tweeting that the Kings may revisit Tyreke Evans talks.
Raptors, Suns To Swap Haddadi, Telfair
1:33pm: The second-round pick headed to Phoenix will either be the Raptors' or Kings' 2014 pick, whichever is lower, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
1:03pm: The Raptors and Suns have agreed to a deal that will send Sebastian Telfair to Toronto and Hamed Haddadi to Phoenix, reports ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (via Twitter). According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), the Suns will also acquire a second-round pick in the trade, as ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported earlier today.
Since trading Jose Calderon to the Pistons in the deal that landed them Rudy Gay, the Raptors had been exploring avenues for adding another point guard, having reportedly targeted Eric Maynor and Luke Ridnour along with Telfair. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported this morning that the Raptors had emerged as the frontrunners for Telfair, who had a cheaper salary and trade cost than Toronto's other options.
In addition to landing a protected second-rounder from the Raptors, the Suns will also cut costs a little, as Haddadi is earning just $1.3MM compared to Telfair's $1.57MM. The move also lets the team create playing time for rookie point guard Kendall Marshall, which was Phoenix's initial motivation for exploring a Telfair trade.
Mavericks Exploring Trade For Beno Udrih
1:29pm: If Udrih isn't used as part of a larger deal, the Bucks will likely send him to Dallas for Dahntay Jones and Rodrigue Beaubois, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
8:49am: The Bucks are one of the league's most active teams leading up to today's deadline, and figure to explore larger deals right up until 2:00pm. However, if the club doesn't move Beno Udrih and his expiring contract in one of those larger trades, Milwaukee could send him to the Mavericks, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
Udrih, who is averaging just 18.4 minutes per game for the Bucks, is overpaid at $7.37MM, but that salary could make him an attractive chip for a team like the Mavs, who are looking to clear cap room for the coming summer. It's not clear if Dallas would send out lesser expiring deals in the hypothetical trade, or whether they'd move a player like Shawn Marion, who is under contract beyond this season.
Josh Smith Rumors: Thursday
We're counting down the hours until today's 2:00pm CST trade deadline, and Josh Smith still appears likely to be on the move sometime before then. In yesterday's round-up of Smith rumors, we passed along word from HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy that "source after source" indicates Smith will be dealt today. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports the same thing, writing that the Hawks are expected to trade their veteran forward for the best deal that won't hurt their long-term financial flexibility. We'll track today's Smith rumors right here, with the latest added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Nets are still "hanging by a thread" in the Smith talks, tweets TNT's David Aldridge. Milwaukee still appears to be the leader, Aldridge confirms.
- The Suns are essentially out of the running for Smith, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who adds that the Bucks are viewed as the favorites (Twitter link).
- The Bucks and Hawks are still "seriously engaged" in talks for Smith, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- The Rockets appear to be out of the mix for Smith, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Earlier updates: