Knicks Rumors: Deadline, Amundson, Redick
The Knicks' front office typically doesn't talk to the media too often, which leaves coach Mike Woodson to discuss the team's plans as the trade deadline approaches. And Woodson has been insisting this week that a deal isn't likely for the Knicks, who the head coach believes can beat the Heat with the current roster. Here's the latest out of New York from Marc Berman of the New York Post:
- One source to Berman, on the Knicks' deadline plans: "They’re not even waiting on anything. It’s pretty safe to say they’re not making a deal."
- The Knicks are more likely to sign a free agent after they wait to see which players receive buyouts. Jermaine O'Neal is one possibility there, and the team also continues to monitor current free agent Kenyon Martin.
- Contrary to previous reports, Berman says the Knicks have "no interest" in Louis Amundson.
- A source shot down a previously-reported rumor that the Knicks could explore trading Iman Shumpert and Amare Stoudemire for Josh Smith. No surprise there, since the idea of the Hawks taking on Stoudemire's contract was always pretty outrageous.
- There's also no traction on talks with the Magic involving J.J. Redick, says Berman. The Knicks would have needed to include a third team, and weren't interested in giving up Shumpert anyway.
Kyler’s Latest: Suns, Redick, Lakers, Novak, Blair
With less than six hours until today's trade deadline, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld explores a few of the latest rumors in his NBA AM piece. Here are the highlights:
- Besides Jermaine O'Neal, Sebastian Telfair is another candidate to be a roster casualty once the Suns finalize their acquisition of Marcus Morris, says Kyler. If Phoenix trades either player for virtually nothing, the Grizzlies, who have seven trade exceptions and a need to add a 13th man to their roster, could get involved.
- As they explore J.J. Redick deals, the Magic continue to seek a high-level first-round pick or a package that includes a young player and second-round picks. Several teams have questioned whether it's worth meeting that asking price for what could be a 30-game rental of Redick, according to Kyler.
- If the Lakers make a trade, it's expected to be one that reduces their luxury-tax bill rather than one that drastically changes the roster.
- In addition to shopping Ronnie Brewer, the Knicks have also made Steve Novak available. The duo isn't drawing a whole lot of interest though.
- The Hawks are a potential destination for DeJuan Blair, particularly if Atlanta finalizes a Josh Smith trade.
Sixers Expecting Quiet Deadline
As today's trade deadline approaches, a few names, including Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes, have surfaced as potential trade candidates for the Sixers. However, head coach Doug Collins is anticipating a quiet deadline for the club, as he tells John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"I have not talked to [GM Tony DiLeo]," Collins said. "Our phones are pretty quiet. If he hears something, he'll give me a call. But I have not heard from him today."
Collins' comments echo his stance from earlier this week, when he told reporters that if the club makes a move, it will be a small one. The only Sixers-related report we heard yesterday suggested that the team doesn't have a move involving Turner in the works.
Celtics Rumors: Pierce, Barbosa, Ainge
With the names of Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce all invoked in recent trade chatter, the Celtics could be the most interesting team to keep an eye on Thursday. Following the team's late-night loss to the Lakers, here's the latest on the C's.
- A league source told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com on Wednesday that the Celtics have sought at least an All-Star caliber talent in return for Pierce, or a rotation player and a future first-round pick.
- Blakely mentioned earlier this week that the Celtics could waive injured Leandro Barbosa if they need extra roster space at some point this season. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe believes the reason they haven't let him go yet is so they can use him as trade ballast, as they did with Marquis Daniels in 2011 (Twitter link).
- No player in his tenure as Celtics president of basketball operations has been entirely untouchable, Danny Ainge tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
Odds & Ends: Dwight, Cavs, Blair, Wizards, Gordon
As the hours tick down to tomorrow's 2:00pm Central trade deadline, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News is already starting to look ahead to free agency, and he writes that the Cavaliers believe they could make a longshot bid to sign Dwight Howard. That one seems hard to believe, and even Lawrence intimates that it's a little far-fetched. Still, the Cavs were reportedly in the mix for Andrew Bynum last year, and they'll have plenty of cap space this summer, so I suppose it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
In the meantime, there's more on potential deadline deals, and here's the latest:
- We've already heard that Danny Granger is staying put, and TNT's David Aldridge hears that's likely the case for Spurs big man DeJuan Blair, too (Twitter link).
- An Eastern Conference executive tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post he believes there's "very little" the Wizards can get for Jordan Crawford.
- The Wizards reportedly gave up on acquiring Josh Smith because they aren't willing to give up any of the players the Hawks would want in return, and HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy identifies John Wall, Bradley Beal and Nene as the three players the team wants to keep in any deal.
- With a deadline trade to the Warriors unlikely and his knee still not 100%, it looks like Eric Gordon will stay put with the Warriors past the deadline, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times Picayune, who hears from a source who said "nobody wants" Gordon.
- The Suns agreed to a deal to acquire Marcus Morris for a second-round pick tonight, but considered trading a first-round pick for Morris when the Rockets took him on draft night. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details.
- The Magic have been trying to unload Al Harrington's contract, but the power forward figures he's not going anywhere, since other teams are likely wary of his health, as John Denton of Magic.com tweets.
- Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times identifies Devin Harris as a trade candidate and tweets that the Wisconsin product would mind playing for the Bucks, though I think if he ends up in Milwaukee, it's more likely via free agency this summer than in a deadline deal.
Kings Might Not Be Done Trading
The Kings already made one surprising deal with less than 24 hours to go before the trade deadline, and Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee hears there could be another on the way (Twitter link). Jones doesn't specify who might be included, but DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans have drawn interest, even as it has appeared the Kings would not make any moves while their sale, either to competing groups from Seattle to Sacramento, is pending.
The trade that sent out Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt for Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas was reportedly a cost-cutting measure that some members of the team's management opposed. Tom Ziller of SB Nation indicates that co-owner Gavin Maloof and GM Geoff Petrie are driving forces in the front office at the moment (Twitter links).
Still, it seems far-fetched the deal was done purely for financial reasons. If the Kings were planning to decline their team option on Garcia and waive Honeycutt, whose deal is only guaranteed for $100K next season, the trade saves them just $521K for next season, when new ownership is likely to be in place. It saves them a pro-rated portion of $3,674,395 for this year, though, so perhaps that's the primary concern.
Magic Still Mulling Possible J.J. Redick Deal
11:58pm: Redick prefers either staying in Orlando past the deadline or a trade that sends him to a contender, according to Robbins. He said he and the Magic haven't begun discussions about a new deal, and denied a report that he would seek a four-year, $40MM contract this summer.
11:50pm: Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that the Spurs also have interest in Redick. The Magic, from the start, have wanted no less than a first-round pick in return, Stein adds.
11:43pm: The Magic remain in discussions about possible deals involving J.J. Redick, but league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports they wouldn't rule out the notion of Redick remaining with Orlando the rest of the season (Twitter link). Though Redick, in his seventh year with the Magic, has become a fixture with the team, the DeVos family, owners of the Magic, won't stand in the way of any deals, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.
Several teams have reportedly sought the sharpshooting Duke product, including the Bucks, Wolves, and Grizzlies, who've all been linked to him just within the last 24 hours. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer, so if any team trades for him, it could merely be a rental, though the team would acquire his Bird rights. Still, Redick is frustrated by restrictions in the new CBA he believes are limiting the number of teams willing to take him on, as John Denton of Magic.com notes via Twitter. The Associated Press recently spoke with team officials and agents as they examined the inhibiting effect the CBA is having on trades.
Redick is making $6.19MM in the last season of a three-year deal with the Magic that was originally an offer sheet he signed with the Bulls in 2010. He's scoring 15.2 points per game on 45.4% shooting, both career highs.
Nets Deny Interest In Ben Gordon
10:55pm: Howard Beck of The New York Times received an "emphatic denial" that the Nets are interested in a Gordon deal (Twitter link). TNT's David Aldridge hears the same, adding that the Nets told the Bobcats today they had no interest (Twitter link).
10:47pm: The Nets are hanging on to Humphries for now because he could be a part of a three-way deal with the Hawks, Amico adds (Twitter link).
10:24pm: The Nets have secured an deal with the Bobcats to trade Kris Humphries for Ben Gordon, but they're waiting to see what the Hawks do with Josh Smith before finalizing the agreement, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. The Bobcats proposed the swap a few weeks ago, but it's been on the backburner since then. Amico classified the Nets as the frontrunner for Smith earlier tonight, so this could be an either-or situation for Brooklyn.
The salaries match up almost perfectly, with Gordon making $12.4MM this year and Humphries drawing $12MM. Humphries is signed through 2014, and Gordon has a player option for next season that he's likely to exercise.
The Nets had reportedly cooled on Gordon in recent weeks because of concerns about his defense, while the Bobcats intensified their efforts to move the 29-year-old shooting guard after he clashed with coach Mike Dunlap in practice. They made a pitch for Andrea Bargnani, but it doesn't appear the Raptors have nearly the motivation to trade Bargnani that the Bobcats do as they seek to get Gordon out of Charlotte.
Brooklyn appears anxious to move Humphries, as they've included him and MarShon Brooks in offers to the Celtics, Hawks and Bucks.
Josh Smith Rumors: Wednesday
Josh Smith appears to be the big-name player most likely to be moved before tomorrow's trade deadline, and Tuesday brought plenty of updates and rumors on his potential destination. We rounded up those updates right here, and we'll track today's news here, with any new items added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- "Source after source" informs HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy that Smith will be dealt by the deadline (Twitter link).
- With the Suns apparently standing pat despite a report classifying them as the frontrunner for Smith, it looks like the Bucks are in the lead for Atlanta's athletic power forward, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. The Bucks are willing to risk losing Smith in free agency, but chances are strong that he'll re-up in Milwaukee for the right price, according to Deveney. Still, Milwaukee won't include John Henson or Larry Sanders in any deal for Smith.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio believes the Nets are the frontrunners, with Milwaukee a darkhorse (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- Smith is open to playing with the Bucks even if Monta Ellis is not around, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link).
- Despite a report previously stating that the Nets are “solely focused” on Smith, a league source says that is definitely not the case, according to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld.
- The Suns, Bucks, and Nets are currently viewed as the three most likely destinations for Smith, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- A source tells Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today that it's not inconceivable the Hawks hang on to Smith through the deadline. With a huge amount of cap space available this summer, Atlanta could still re-sign the forward to a reasonable contract if another club doesn't make him the max offer he's seeking.
Adelman Doesn’t Expect Brandon Roy To Return
The outlook for Brandon Roy hasn't been positive for a while, and a setback a few weeks ago as he recovers from knee surgery derailed his hopes of returning before the All-Star break. Today, Wolves coach Rick Adelman expressed pessimism that Roy will make it back this season at all, as Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press documents.
"If he does play, it will be a pleasant surprise," Adelman said. "I don't expect him at this point."
Roy has suggested he'll retire if he can't make it back on the court this year. Neither Richardson, writing in his report, or Adelman appeared to rule out a return this season, but the idea that Roy is finished has apparently led Minnesota's front office to pursue trades that would attract teams looking for an expiring contract. Roy signed a two-year, $10.4MM deal before the season, but because his knee trouble resurfaced, the second season will likely become non-guaranteed. Roy would have to play in either 65 games or reach 1,400 minutes this season to trigger a guarantee on next year, and both thresholds appear far out of his reach. He's appeared in only five games and played a total of 122 minutes this year.
The Wolves are also interested in a buyout for Roy at some point this season, an idea that's met resistance from Roy's financial adviser. Minnesota may make a stronger push for a buyout after the deadline if they're not able to include Roy in a trade.