Latest On Hawks, Josh Smith
The Hawks have convinced numerous teams that Josh Smith will be moved between now and Thursday's 2PM CST deadline, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The question, of course, remains where exactly the forward will be sent.
The Celtics are exploring their options to land Smith and they may need a third team to get involved in order to swing a trade. Kevin Garnett won't waive his no-trade clause to go to Atlanta and Stein can't see the C's trading Paul Pierce there to get a deal done (Twitter links). That presumably means finding a third team to get involved and send something desirable to the Hawks to get them to send Smith to Boston.
Odds & Ends: Luxury Tax, Mavs, Draft, Wiggins
Tonight's look around the Association as we approach Thursday's trade deadline..
- In his latest blog entry on CBA FAQ, Larry Coon looks at the cumulative effects of the luxury tax on teams. Going back to 2002, the Warriors, Bobcats, and Bulls have been the biggest beneficiaries of the tax pool. Meanwhile, the Mavericks and Knicks have been amongst the most penalized in the league, paying $192.8MM and $150.4MM, respecitvely.
- The 2013 NBA Draft class is so weak that more than a half dozen prospects from the 2014 Draft class would go No. 1 this year, one NBA GM told Adam Zagoria of SNY. “It’s a historically weak draft that, as a result, you’re going to see a lot more guys putting their name in knowing they’ll go higher in this draft, even though they may not be ready, just because next year’s class has such incredible depth that they could actually play better and improve and drop their draft status next year,” said the GM.
- Speaking of the 2014 draft, Canada's Andrew Wiggins figures to be the top selection. The 6-foot-8 forward could just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to strong talent from north of the border, Zagoria writes.
Heat Re-Assign Dexter Pittman To D-League
Tonight's D-League assignments..
- The Heat announced that they have re-assigned center Dexter Pittman to the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the D-League. Pittman, 24, was just recalled from Sioux Falls on Wednesday. After seeing time in 35 games last season, Pittman has seen action in just four contests this year.
Magic Open To Re-Signing J.J. Redick
Tomorrow night's game against the Bobcats could be J.J. Redick's last home game as a member of the Magic but the shooting guard has reason to be optimistic about his future in Orlando. Redick says that General Manager Rob Hennigan has told him that the team is "open" to re-signing him when he becomes a free agent this summer, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
The guard went on to say that Hennigan has stayed in touch with Redick and his agent, Arn Tellem, in recent weeks. At the same time, he says that he is only cautiously optimistic and refuses to get his hopes up about a lucrative new deal in Orlando.
“This is a business. I have to make a business decision. And I know this from experience, regardless of any personal feelings or any emotional attachment to anything, a team is going to do what they feel is best for the team. And there won’t be any hard feelings if I get traded in three days or if they elect not to re-sign me this summer," the 28-year-old said.
Earlier today, Robbins' colleague Brian Schmitz wrote that the Magic would be more willing to move Redick if a team was willing to take on Al Harrington and/or Hedo Turkoglu in a deal. Of course, the odds of that happening aren't great.
Sixers Sign Jeremy Pargo For Rest Of Season
4:45pm: The Sixers have officially signed Pargo a contract for the remainder of the season, the team announced today in a press release.
12:34pm: Following the expiration of Jeremy Pargo's 10-day contract with the 76ers, the team has agreed to re-sign the point guard to a rest-of-season deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
No corresponding move to clear a spot on the roster will be necessary for the Sixers, who had been carrying 13 players. Even with Pargo under contract for the rest of the season, the club will have one open roster spot to facilitate a trade or sign another free agent.
Pargo, who appeared in 25 games for the Cavaliers earlier this season, was released by Cleveland when the team acquired three Grizzlies players in exchange for Jon Leuer. The Sixers signed Pargo to a 10-day deal back on February 7th, and saw the 26-year-old averaged 8.0 PPG and 2.7 APG in three contests before deciding to re-sign him for the season.
Jeremy is the younger brother of current free agent Jannero Pargo, who signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hawks and was recently said to be drawing interest from the Celtics.
Trade Deadline Primer
After weeks of trade rumors and speculation, the 2013 deadline finally arrives on Thursday afternoon at 2:00pm central time. As we count down the final days until the deadline and look forward to seeing which players end up on the move, we'll direct your attention to a number of resources and links that will help prepare you for the week:
- Over the course of the season, we've profiled a number of players we consider to be trade candidates, including Josh Smith, Carlos Boozer, J.J. Redick, and others. You can find all those pieces linked right here.
- Not every NBA player is eligible to be traded this week. We listed the players ineligible to be dealt, and also rounded up the guys who have the ability to veto trades.
- A number of traded player exceptions, including a massive $13MM TPE for the Nuggets, are set to expire at the deadline. The list of expiring exceptions is here, while the complete list of outstanding trade exceptions is here. If you're unclear on how exactly these exceptions work, you can read our glossary entry.
- Generally speaking, players on expiring contracts are more likely to be moved than guys with another year or two left on their deals. Our list of 2013/14 free agents includes all the players currently on expiring contracts, plus those who have some form of option for next season.
- We recently took a look at the teams just above or just below the luxury tax line. Those clubs could be particularly motivated to avoid taking on salary as they weigh potential trade offers.
- Given the possibility that a few first-round picks could change hands this week, be sure to keep tabs on our tentative 2013 draft order to see where those draft picks might land.
- If you're looking to keep up with rumors on a particular player, check out our instructions on how to follow specific players on Hoops Rumors.
Buss Family To Continue Running Lakers
Following the passing of Dr. Jerry Buss, the Lakers held an afternoon press conference today in Los Angeles, during which Buss family spokesman Bob Steiner and Lakers vice president of public relations John Black addressed the media. Mike Trudell of Lakers.com brought us the key points, via Twitter:
- According to Black, Jerry Buss has had a plan in place for years for when he can no longer run the team. "The future of the organization will remain unchanged," says Black.
- Jim Buss will continue to run the basketball side of the Lakers, while Jeanie Buss will continue to run the business side, according to Black.
- Jim Buss, GM Mitch Kupchak, and the Lakers' staff will continue to handle the basketball decision-making for the club.
- The controlling ownership of the Lakers, which is about 65-66% of the franchise, has been passed on to a trust on behalf of Jerry Buss' six children. It will be managed by Jeanie, Jim, and Johnny Buss.
- As I noted earlier today, the Buss family has previously said they have no interest in selling the Lakers, and will carry out their father's wishes.
Odds & Ends: O’Neal, Jazz, Trade Candidates
With less than 72 hours remaining until the 2013 trade deadline, let's check in on a few odds and ends from around the NBA….
- Jermaine O'Neal tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that, with his daughter scheduled for March surgery to repair a leaky valve, he hasn't had a chance to think much about trade possibilities. "My focus is to finish my job and what I signed up to do," O'Neal said. "If [the Suns] want to do something to help the team, I’m for it."
- For the last few weeks, we've heard conflicting reports on whether the Jazz are more likely to move Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap, and it sounds like NBA general managers aren't any more certain than we are. "I think they'll trade one of them because they can't keep both," a rival GM tells Ian Thomsen of SI.com. "But I'm never sure which one will go. One day I think it's going to be Jefferson, and the next day it will be Millsap."
- Josh Smith, Kevin Garnett, and Jefferson are among the trade candidates discussed by Sean Deveney in his latest column for The Sporting News.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com goes through each of the NBA's 30 teams, predicting what they might be up to at the trade deadline.
- In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton examines whether deadline deals are actually effective, and weighs whether or not a few fringe playoff teams should consider being buyers.
Lakers Owner Jerry Buss Passes Away
12:14pm: The Buss family has released a statement, according to the Lakers' official website. It reads as follows:
"We not only have lost our cherished father, but a beloved man of our community and a person respected by the world basketball community.
"Dr. Buss had been hospitalized much of the past 18 months in a battle which showed his amazing strength and will to live. It was our father’s often stated desire and expectation that the Lakers remain in the Buss family. The Lakers have been our lives as well and we will honor his wish and do everything in our power to continue his unparalleled legacy."
10:07am: Longtime Lakers majority owner Jerry Buss passed away this morning, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Buss, who was 80, had owned a majority share of the Lakers since 1979, having overseen 10 championship teams during his tenure.
Although his son Jim and daughter Jeanie had taken over many of the basketball and business decisions for the franchise, Buss had remained a part of the Lakers' decision-making process until he was recently hospitalized by health issues. Buss was being treated for cancer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Following a January column by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register in which Ding speculated on what might become of Buss' 66% share of the Lakers when he eventually passed away, the Buss family released a statement refuting the idea that the team would be sold to an outside group.
"We unanimously agree that we have no intention of ever selling the Lakers, and intend to keep ownership of the team in our family for generations to come," the family said in the statement.
Eastern Links: Magic, Vucevic, Sixers, Boozer
The Eastern Conference may have been on the losing end of yesterday's All-Star Game in Houston, but there's still plenty happening around the conference. Here's the latest:
- As decision day nears for the Magic and J.J. Redick, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel says the team would be more willing to move Redick if another team was willing to take on Al Harrington and/or Hedo Turkoglu along with the sharpshooter, which isn't likely.
- Nikola Vucevic, who Schmitz calls Orlando's only untouchable player, appeared on WGYG in Orlando, and said he wasn't bitter at all about the offseason trade that sent him from the Sixers to the Magic (link via Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews).
- Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer argues that it's time for the 76ers to cut their losses on another major piece of that Vucevic trade: Andrew Bynum.
- One league source tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that he thinks Carlos Boozer is the player most likely to be moved by Thursday (Twitter link).
- Josh Smith, Andrea Bargnani, and Rodney Stuckey are among the players Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld says should have been traded before now in order to maximize their value.