Celtics Still Pursuing Backcourt Help
Despite finalizing their 10-day contract with Terrence Williams, the Celtics are still pursuing a trade for backcourt help, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Berger reports (via Twitter) that Gerald Henderson is one potential target for the C's.
A blockbuster deal for the Celtics is looking increasingly unlikely, as Paul Pierce is reportedly drawing "lukewarm" interest, while Rajon Rondo has been told he won't be moved and Kevin Garnett would have to waive his no-trade clause. However, a smaller trade is still a possibility.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier today that the Celtics are shopping Fab Melo in search of a deal that would land the team a guard without compromising its rotation. As I noted at the time though, to acquire anyone on even a modest contract, such as Henderson ($3.1MM), Boston would need to include more salary.
Knicks Shopping Ronnie Brewer
While Knicks coach Mike Woodson has said he doesn't expect his team to make any moves before tomorrow's trade deadline, New York is shopping Ronnie Brewer, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter).
It's not clear who exactly the Knicks are targeting, but they've been linked to various guards and bigs within the last week or two, including Luke Ridnour, Jared Dudley, and Jermaine O'Neal, along with free agents like Kenyon Martin and Louis Amundson.
Since averaging nearly 23 minutes per game in November, Brewer has been nearly entirely removed from the Knicks' rotation, so he likely won't have much value on the trade market. Still, he's on a minimum-salary one-year deal, so if the team is determined to move him, it probably wouldn't be too hard to find a taker.
Lakers Notes: Howard, Kobe, Gasol, D’Antoni
Here's the latest on the Lakers, as the club prepares to host the Celtics tonight in Los Angeles….
- GM Mitch Kupchak has insisted for weeks that the Lakers won't trade Dwight Howard, and he told ESPN Radio today the team still envisions Howard as the centerpiece of its future (link via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com).
- Kupchak also hinted that the Lakers aren't necessarily counting on more than another year and a half from Kobe Bryant: "Kobe has one more year on his deal. That's all I can bank on or this organization can bank on. I have no idea if he wants to continue to play beyond next year. As of now, we're looking at a two-year window, [and that] plays to the urgency of the situation and how we build the team…. This team's window to win is this year and next year."
- Pau Gasol won't be moved this week, but Kupchak didn't rule out the possibility that trade rumors will surface again in the summer or next season: "His name has come up in the past and it would be misleading to say it won't come up in the future."
- According to Kupchak, the Lakers are "very happy" with coach Mike D'Antoni going forward, and are pleased with the job he has done considering he didn't have a training camp with the team.
- Asked today whether he sees himself as part of the Lakers' future, Howard replied, "Yeah, I do. We talked about it plenty of times. That's what we've always talked about since the first day I got here. It hasn't stopped. The goal hasn't changed and won't change." However, he stopped short of committing to re-signing with the Lakers, telling reporters that there's no need to make that decision right now (Twitter links via Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe).
“Lukewarm” Interest In Paul Pierce
With the Celtics having assured Rajon Rondo that he won't be moved and ending talks with the Clippers involving Kevin Garnett for now, the C's are down to one major trade chip, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com: Paul Pierce. And according to Blakely, interest in Pierce has been "lukewarm" so far.
The supposed lukewarm interest in Pierce doesn't necessarily mean the Celtics won't find a deal they like, involving the longtime Celtic or another player. But general manager Danny Ainge has been downplaying the idea that Boston will make a big move in the next 24 hours, suggesting that a smaller move to bolster the current roster is the more likely path.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier today that the Celtics were shopping Fab Melo in trade talks, and players like Courtney Lee, Brandon Bass, and Jason Terry have also been mentioned as smaller-scale trade candidates. In the meantime, the Celtics finalized a 10-day contract with Terrence Williams to add another healthy body to the roster.
Jazz Talked To Wolves About Paul Millsap
With less than 24 hours until the trade deadline, one of the biggest questions around the NBA is what the Jazz will do with Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. Both players are candidates to be dealt, but Utah may ultimately decide to move one of the two, or keep both guys for the rest of the season.
While we haven't heard anything today on the Jefferson front, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reports (via Twitter) that the Jazz have engaged in talks with the Timberwolves involving Millsap. Derrick Williams' name has come up in those discussions, according to Broussard.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reported today that Williams remains very available as Minnesota explores potential trades. While the Wolves are focused primarily on wing help, the team was also linked to Timofey Mozgov, so it makes sense that Minnesota could also have some interest in Millsap.
In Wolfson's report, he suggested that the Wolves viewed Mozgov as a better value as a free-agent-to-be than Nikola Pekovic, who the club isn't sure is worth $11MM annually. If the T-Wolves were to pursue Millsap, presumably the idea would be to obtain a potential alternative to Pekovic in free agency this summer.
Jordan Crawford Seeking Trade?
Earlier this week, we heard that the Wizards were shopping Jordan Crawford, and it sounds as if a trade may be the preferred outcome for both the team and the player. According to Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, Crawford isn't pleased with his reduced role in Washington, while Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio says flatly (via Twitter) that Crawford wants to be traded.
Crawford, 24, was seeing major minutes earlier in the season, averaging 19.1 PPG and 6.1 APG in 13 contests in December. However, he has seen his playing time reduced since John Wall returned to the lineup in January and since rookie Bradley Beal has emerged. Recently, Crawford has been removed entirely from the Wizards' rotation.
Last night, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that the Wizards aren't interested in taking back long-term salary for Crawford. Still, even if Washington were to take on a multiyear contract in a trade, the cost wouldn't be exorbitant — Crawford is only earning about $1.2MM this season, so he'd be unable to bring back more than about $1.8MM on his own.
Celtics Sign Terrence Williams
WEDNESDAY, 1:34pm: The Celtics have officially signed Williams, who received his letter of clearance from China, to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
MONDAY, 12:06pm: The Celtics have agreed to sign Terrence Williams to a 10-day deal, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Because Boston has a pair of open roster spots, no corresponding move will be necessary to clear room for Williams.
Williams, the 11th overall pick in 2009, spent most of this season playing in China for the Guangdong Southern Tigers. The 25-year-old averaged 17.9 PPG in 29 games in the Chinese Basketball Association this season, according to Asia-Basket.com. Mark Deeks of ShamSports reported last week that Donald Sloan had replaced Williams on Guangdong after Williams returned stateside due to a death in the family.
Although he has shown promise in stints with the Nets, Rockets, and Kings in three NBA seasons, Williams has recorded just 7.6 PPG and an 11.4 PER in his career. Williams, who was a camp invitee for the Pistons in the fall, will provide at least short-term depth for a Celtics team that has lost Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger, and Leandro Barbosa to season-ending injuries in the last month.
Washburn reported earlier today that the Celtics were close to signing Williams.
Thunder, Suns Not Discussing Gortat, Perkins
1:02pm: Coro follows up on his initial report, tweeting that apparently talk of a deal between the Suns and Thunder was just a "league rumor" during the All-Star break, rather than the two sides actually talking about it. So it sounds as if there's nothing to this one.
12:31pm: The proposed Gortat/Perkins deal is "not going to happen," according to John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR in Phoenix (via Twitter).
7:34am: According to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, the Thunder have been exploring a deal with the Suns that would send Marcin Gortat to Oklahoma City. In the hypothetical trade, the Suns would receive Kendrick Perkins, Jeremy Lamb, and a first-round pick from the Thunder in exchange for Gortat and P.J. Tucker.
Coro writes that the Suns would have some interest in Perkins, who would fit the team's new defensive culture, and that Phoenix likely would have drafted Lamb 14th overall last June had the Rockets not taken him two spots earlier.
Perkins' contract, which is more expensive and lasts a year longer than Gortat's, isn't viewed as a favorable one, and Lamb's stock may have fallen a little since last summer, so I'd imagine the first-round pick in the deal would be Toronto's pick. That choice, acquired by the Thunder in the James Harden trade, figures to be more valuable than any of Oklahoma City's own picks or the Mavericks' heavily-protected first-rounder.
Still, according to Coro, it's not likely that the Suns pull the trigger on a deal with the Thunder. Coro reports that it's more likely Phoenix simply stands pat to protect its future first-round picks and cap space, which should give the club room for a max free agent this summer. Small deals involving players like Sebastian Telfair or Jermaine O'Neal are also possible.
Odds & Ends: Kings, Hickson, Pacers, Blair
The Sacramento City Council voted in favor of supporting mayor Kevin Johnson's quest to keep the Kings in town yesterday, by a 7-2 margin, according to Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. While the vote was mostly symbolic, it shows that the city is open to providing a subsidy for a new arena that would be vital to Johnson's cause.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA, with a focus on tomorrow's trade deadline:
- The availability of big men like Marreese Speights and Jermaine O'Neal has softened the market for J.J. Hickson, according to Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge (via Twitter).
- While Danny Granger is viewed as the Pacers' top trade candidate, a deal involving Granger is unlikely, albeit not impossible, says Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. According to Kyler, the Pacers would prefer to move Gerald Green, though he doesn't have much value on the trade market at this point.
- Despite the fact that the 2013 draft class is perceived as subpar, teams around the league are very reluctant to part with first-round picks, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
- DeJuan Blair isn't letting himself be affected by trade rumors involving him and the Spurs, as he tells Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News. "Of course I would like to stay," Blair said. "I’d like a better opportunity, also, so it goes both ways. It’s a business at the end of the day, so it’s not about what I want. It’s about what they want."
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post spoke to Ersan Ilyasova about the Nets' pursuit of him last summer in free agency, before Ilyasova re-upped with the Bucks.
- ESPN.com's 5-on-5 panel names the ideal landing spots for a handful of trade candidates.
Kupchak Reiterates Howard Won’t Be Traded
11:45am: Speaking to Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio, Kupchak said he has received calls from rival GMs as recently as this morning about Howard, but that a trade won't be happening (Twitter link via Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com).
10:01am: Although Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has insisted both privately and publicly that Dwight Howard won't be traded at this year's deadline, reports continue to surface suggesting that the Lakers are listening to offers. According to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Kupchak reiterated yesterday that the Lakers won't be trading Howard.
"That would be correct," Kupchak said, when asked if the Lakers will hang on to Howard through the deadline. The GM added that he doesn't expect to make a move that upgrades the talent on the Lakers' roster, saying "I just don’t see how that’s realistic."
If the Lakers are at least still answering calls about Howard, the Hawks and Nets are among the teams rumored to be interested, but it sounds like the Lakers will take their chances that the All-Star center will re-sign in Los Angeles this summer.