Tentative 2013 NBA Draft Order
Even with 30+ games left on the regular-season schedule, it's clear that a handful of teams are lottery-bound and won't be making playoff runs this season. Additionally, with the trade deadline just eight days away, a number of draft picks figure to change hands in deals by February 21st. So for our readers who already have an eye on this June's draft, we've brought back a feature we introduced last season: Our tentative NBA draft order.
The list is based on this year's "reverse standings" and will be updated every morning for the rest of the season. Draft pick trades have been included via footnotes, and teams who are tied in the standings are marked with asterisks (tiebreakers are eventually determined via coin flip). A lottery team's odds to land the first overall pick are also included in the chart.
Besides the obvious fluctuations that are still to come in the standings, May's draft lottery also figures to shake things up a little at the top of the draft, but our tentative draft order represents how things will look next June 27th if everything holds to form. You can check out the up-to-date list anytime using the link under Hoops Rumors Features on the right sidebar.
Grizzlies Won’t Re-Sign Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson's second 10-day contract with the Grizzlies expired following last night's victory over the Kings, and the Dayton product won't be re-signed, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Because players can only receive two 10-day deals from a single team, the Grizzlies would have needed to guarantee Johnson's contract for the rest of the season to bring him back.
Johnson, not to be confused with the Timberwolves big man of the same name, appeared in eight games during his 20-day stint with the Grizzlies, including a January 25th contest against Brooklyn in which he scored 10 points and four rebounds. The 22-year-old was part of the rotation following the Grizzlies' trade with the Cavs, but saw his playing time dwindle after the club acquired Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye, and Ed Davis.
With Johnson no longer on the roster, the Grizzlies are currently carrying just 12 players. The team is permitted to have that number of players on a temporary basis, but will have to add a 13th man via trade or free agency in the near future. Armed with seven trade exceptions, including one worth nearly $7.5MM, Memphis has the ability to acquire a player in a trade without sending any salary out, something the club is reportedly considering.
Odds & Ends: Nets, Lakers, Shumpert, Noel, West
Trade talk has come in fits and starts over the past few days, but the action should start to pick up soon. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is among many who expect discussion to intensify this weekend, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. As the clock ticks closer to the deadline, which is a week from Thursday, here are a few late-night nuggets:
- While we've heard the Nets will go after Paul Millsap if they don't land Josh Smith, Nets Daily reports that Brooklyn has more interest in Millsap anyway, adding that MarShon Brooks and Mirza Teletovic are drawing consideration from other teams (Twitter links).
- The Lakers have an open roster spot, but coach Mike D'Antoni isn't anxious to add anyone, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. "We could bring somebody in and have them sit on the bench for a while but that doesn't make any sense either," the coach said. "You're playing games that you have to win. . . . Would I even play him?"
- Though he said this weekend that he couldn't assure Iman Shumpert he wouldn't be traded, Knicks coach Mike Woodson indicated to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN New York 98.7 FM radio that Shumpert is staying put. Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com has the details.
- Center Nerlens Noel, one of the top contenders to become the No. 1 overall pick in June, suffered a knee injury in Kentucky's game tonight and, according to Andy Staples of SI.com, left the arena in a wheelchair en route to a hospital (Twitter links).
- Texas Legends co-owner Donnie Nelson, who doubles as president of basketball ops for the Mavs, maintains the "door is open" for Delonte West to join the D-League team, even though the guard has yet to report after the Legends acquired his rights last month, The Associated Press reports (link via ESPN.com).
- The Chicago Tribune's David Haugh wonders if agent B.J. Armstrong and the Wasserman Media Group, along with Adidas, are pushing the Bulls to delay Derrick Rose's return until next season.
- Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com catches up with Shelvin Mack, whom the Celtics are reportedly considering.
Mavs Interested In Jennings, Not Josh Smith
11:47pm: Following up on his Jennings report, Stein adds that the Mavs aren’t looking at Josh Smith (Twitter link).
11:40pm: The Mavs are interested in point guard Brandon Jennings, and if the Bucks decide to make him available before next week’s trade deadline, Dallas will be one of the teams in the mix, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Mavs owner Mark Cuban, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and coach Rick Carlisle have all said in recent days that the team is unlikely to make any deadline deals, but multiple reports suggest that’s not the case. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears the team is seeking offers for Shawn Marion, while Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, as part of a chat with readers today, wrote that anyone aside from Dirk Nowitzki and Elton Brand is liable to be dealt.
Bucks GM John Hammond wants an overwhelming offer in return if he’s to part with Jennings, Amico hears. Jennings’ recent change of agents, from Bill Duffy to Jeff Schwartz, could suggest he wants to join a large-market team when he hits restricted free agency this summer. The Bucks will have the opportunity to match, and the team has reportedly told Jennings they’ll do so with any offer sheet he signs. Still, Milwaukee declined to extend Jennings’ rookie deal this past fall when he was reportedly asking for an annual salary of about $9MM to $10MM, and he could receive offers for much more on the open market.
In his chat, Sefko named Rodrigue Beaubois, Dominique Jones, Vince Carter and Brandan Wright as the Mavs players most likely to be dealt. I don’t think a package involving any combination of them or Marion would be enough to bowl Hammond over to the point that he’d be ready to deal. Though the Mavs have a wealth of expiring contracts, it will be hard for them to match salaries for Jennings, who’s making just $3.179MM this season in the final year of his rookie deal. They’d probably have to take back one of Milwaukee’s less desirable contracts, like that of Drew Gooden, who’s due more than $20MM between this season and 2015. Since the Mavs have their eyes set on pursuing maximum-salary players like Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, I’m not sure they’d be willing to compromise their flexibility to fit one of them under their cap to bring Jennings aboard.
Amico’s Latest: Garnett, Josh Smith, Millsap
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is hearing plenty of chatter from around the league, and shares a lot of information in his latest dispatch. He identifies the player receiving the most attention as the deadline approaches, and dishes on several big names. We'll cover the highlights here:
- The Celtics are open to trading Kevin Garnett, but president of basketball ops Danny Ainge is looking for something to get "really, really excited" about, Amico writes. Garnett has a no-trade clause, and reportedly will only waive it if he's dealt to Los Angeles and the Celtics also trade Paul Pierce away.
- Josh Smith is the most-talked-about name on the rumor mill at present, and Amico reiterates that the Spurs, Nets and Bobcats are among the teams that have interest in the athletic forward. The Nets are anxious to deal Kris Humphries, and could be looking to get a third team involved in talks with Atlanta to faciliate a Smith-Humphries deal. Cavs GM Chris Grant spent time on the phone with Nets GM Billy King last week, and Amico notes the close ties Grant shares with King, as well as the connection between Hawks GM Danny Ferry and King.
- Grant wants more draft picks, and is apparently willing to rent some of the Cavs' ample cap space for a player whose deal expires after next season, as Humphries' does.
- If they can't land Smith, plan B for the Nets might be Paul Millsap. We heard about Brooklyn's interest in the Jazz power forward earlier today.
- Bulls GM Gar Forman also covets Smith and Millsap. Chicago has talked to the Nets about Carlos Boozer, but there's been no recent movement on that front.
- Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings are available, but only for a team that makes an overwhelming offer to Bucks GM John Hammond.
- The Mavs are publicly downplaying the chances of a trade before the deadline, but that's not the case behind the scenes, where basketball president Donnie Nelson is seeing what he can get for Shawn Marion.
- Eric Gordon would love to return to his Indiana roots and the Hornets have interest in Danny Granger, but the Pacers and New Orleans have not discussed a Gordon-Granger swap.
Knicks, Wolves Talking Trade
Wolves GM David Kahn is in talks with the Knicks about a trade, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, though it's unclear which players are being discussed (Twitter link). Wolfson tweets his suspicion that Ronnie Brewer could be headed to Minnesota, but that appears to simply be an educated guess, as the Wolves made an offer to Brewer over the summer before he signed with the Knicks. Both teams have full rosters with 15 players, limiting flexibility, but the Knicks may be looking to add depth to their front line, while the injury-depleted Wolves could use some healthy bodies.
Wolfson speculates via Twitter that a long list of Knicks, including Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd, are probably off-limits in any trade conversations. The Knicks are a taxpaying team while the Timberwolves are well below the tax line, but given that New York is in title contention while Minnesota is probably looking toward next season, I don't think the Knicks are looking to pawn off any salary. Coincidentally, the Knicks are one of a few teams that reportedly has interest in Lou Amundson, whom the Wolves just waived.
The Wolves have been shopping Luke Ridnour, according to Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com, but the Knicks, like the Wolves, seem set at point guard, with Raymond Felton, Kidd and Pablo Prigioni around to man the position. The Wolves' most glaring need seems to be at the two, and while shooting guard Iman Shumpert's name has been linked to the Suns, it appears that rumor came from Phoenix's side.
Warriors Owners Won’t Require Team To Avoid Tax
Warriors co-owners Peter Guber and Joe Lacob have given GM Bob Myers no mandate with regard to the luxury tax, the GM said, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group tweets. That means the team, a few hundred thousand dollars over the tax line, has the latitude to make deals, but it doesn't suggest that a trade is necessarily likely. Myers said the team wants more time to evaluate what it has with Andrew Bogut back in the lineup, as Kawakami adds via Twitter.
The trade deadline is in nine days, which is a lot closer than the GM's assertion that it's still a ways out. Myers spoke today with reporters, including Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle, and said "material conversations" about a trade haven't taken place, believing talk won't heat up for at least a few more days.
Golden State, with a full complement of 15 players all season, hasn't made a transaction since training camp. The team made a splash at last year's deadline, acquiring Bogut and sending out Monta Ellis, and has spent most of this season waiting for Bogut's left ankle to heal. The 7'0" center still hasn't played as many as 28 minutes in a game since returning to the lineup on January 28th. The Warriors, who've dropped four in a row and fallen into sixth place in the Western Conference, have encountered adversity after enjoying some of their greatest success in years this season.
The Warriors could look to add reinforcements via trade, and possess a $3,294,960 trade exception that will expire at the deadline. They would reportedly love to deal for trade candidates Timofey Mozgov or DeJuan Blair, but the chances they pull the trigger on anything are slim, according to Marcus Thompson II, another Bay Area News Group scribe. Kawakami doesn't think Myers and company will add salary for either the short or long term, in spite of the flexibility the owners have given them (Twitter link). Kawakami pegs the Warriors at about $200K over the tax line, but HoopsWorld and ShamSports indicate that figure is closer to $800K.
In any case, that number figures to go up next season, when they have nearly $73MM in commitments, about $2.7MM into the tax. A significant amount of money comes off the payroll in 2014, but I don't think the team is about to add more salary and flirt with the harsh penalties coming up for teams that are habitual taxpayers. Unless they add an impact player, I don't think the Warriors are a single move away from a championship, so they're probably content to stick with their young team and see how it develops.
Trade Candidate: Jared Dudley
The Suns wouldn't be averse to trading any of their players, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports wrote today, and as they target Iman Shumpert, Al Jefferson, Gordon Hayward and others, Jared Dudley is a name that keeps coming up on Phoenix's end. The 27-year-old swingman is again performing close to the level he attained in last season's career-best campaign, and with an affordable long-term contract, he could be a fit for teams looking for a steady, if unspectacular, role player.
Dudley has been linked to the Knicks and Jazz in recent days, and the Grizzlies were reportedly insisting that Dudley be included in any offer that would have sent Rudy Gay to the Suns. Among those three teams, he would probably make the most sense in Memphis, where his long-range accuracy (he's made 38.9% of his treys this season) would help a squad that's last in the league in three-pointers made this season. Dudley could provide depth for the Grizzlies, who've continually reduced their forces to shed salary. Even now that Gay is in Toronto, the Grizzlies could slide Dudley's $4.25MM salary into the $7,489,453 trade exception they received in last month's three-team deal, and still have plently of room on the exception and under the tax line to add someone else. The hangup there would probably be over what the Suns would get in return, since Memphis doesn't have much in the way of draft picks to surrender, and giving up a player to get one in return wouldn't solve the team's depth issues.
The Knicks are at the opposite end of the three-point spectrum from the Grizzlies, having made the second-most long balls of any team in the league, so Dudley would likely overlap with existing talent in the Big Apple. Still, too much outside shooting isn't necessarily a problem, and for a high-payroll team like New York, Dudley's contract could be a welcome value. He's set to make the same salary every year through 2016, though the final season of his deal includes an early-termination option. Finding cheap contracts wouldn't really seem like a pressing concern for the Jazz, who have only about $25.3MM in commitments for next season, but GM Dennis Lindsey and company, just like every team's front office, aren't going to turn down a value, particularly if they'd be swapping him out for Gordon Hayward's rookie contract.
Utah is in the bottom third of the league in three-pointers made, but perhaps the reason why Utah and other teams would hesitate to jump at Dudley is that he probably wouldn't really represent a significant all-around upgrade, particularly if he's in the starting lineup. The 22nd pick in the 2007 draft, Dudley set his career mark in points per game at 12.7 last year, his first as a full-time starter. He's at 11.5 PPG this year, with averages of 3.5 rebounds and a career-high 2.6 assists in 29.4 minutes per game. Those conventional statistics suggest mediocrity, and they're backed up by his 15.1 PER, right on the mark for an average player. His presence hasn't been able to lift the Suns out of last place in the Western Conference, and while he could be the missing piece on an established team, Dudley by himself is nothing special.
Teams that can utilize him as a fifth starter alongside a more explosive wing player or use him as a shooter off the bench seem like the right fits. Though his name is not often mentioned when the league's best marksmen are discussed, he's a career 40.5% three-point shooter, and nailed 45.8% of his attempts from behind the arc in 2009/10, the fourth-best percentage in the league that season. He seems like he could be a more inexpensive option for teams going after J.J. Redick, who's making $6.19MM this year in the final season of his contract. Dudley would be a long-term alternative who could also be much easier to obtain, considering the Suns are looking to deal while the Magic seem reluctant to part with Redick. Given the volume of Redick rumors we've seen this season, Dudley's team-friendly pact, and Phoenix's willingness to make changes, I think the Boston College product shouldn't get too comfortable in the warmth of the Valley of the Sun.
Northwest Rumors: Carroll, Olshey, Pekovic
There are only six games in the NBA tonight, but four of the five Northwest Division teams are in action, including a clash between the Nuggets and Jazz in a matchup that would be a first-round pairing if the playoffs began today. The division's other teams in action tonight are on the road, with the Trail Blazers facing a stiff test against the Heat while the Nuggets take on the Raptors. While we wait to see how those games turn out, here's what's happening off the court around the Northwest:
- Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll will be a free agent this summer, but he feels he's found his niche in Utah, as Jared Zwerling of ESPN The Magazine details.
- Blazers GM Neil Olshey sat down with broadcaster Mike Barrett for a one-on-one that's up on the team's website (video link), and Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge provides a transcript. Olshey said he coveted Nicolas Batum when he held the Clippers GM job, and revealed that owner Paul Allen never wavered in his commitment to match the offer sheet Batum signed with the Timberwolves this summer.
- Rival executives tell Grantland's Zach Lowe that the Nuggets are "projecting calm" in advance of the trade deadline. The team seems fairly satisfied with its young core and doesn't want to add much or any payroll, so major moves are unlikely. That's in line with coach George Karl's recent comments indicating there's only a slight chance the team makes a deadline trade. Still, the most common prediction from executives around the league about Denver's playoff chances this year is that they'll go out in the second round.
- The Wolves love Nikola Pekovic and don't want to trade him, so the smart money is on the club making a smaller move, perhaps one that includes Luke Ridnour, writes Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.
Amick On Nets, Josh Smith, Gay, Grizzlies, Mavs
Sam Amick of USA Today covers topics from around the league in his A-to-Z column, and with next week's trade deadline looming, it's no surprise the latest edition is full of intriguing tidbits. The Nets and Grizzlies figure prominently, as well as Josh Smith. We'll round it all up here:
- The Nets' efforts to land Smith aren't as aggressive as recent rumors make it seem, but Amick wonders just how much owner Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to spend. Despite the billionaire's deep pockets, the team's front office is under instructions not to add more costly contracts unless they significantly improve the team's title hopes.
- Brooklyn was interested in Rudy Gay before he went to the Raptors, but the Grizzlies rejected their offer because it included Kris Humphries.
- The Grizzlies, meanwhile, were "thrilled" to acquire Ed Davis. Amick refers to him as a fourth-year player, but he's only in his third season. Nonetheless, Davis will be up for an extension this summer, and Amick notes that Memphis views him as a part of the team's future.
- Smith's representatives have reached out to other teams and given them indication that he's unlikely to re-sign with the Hawks this summer, but many front offices don't share Smith's view that he's a maximum-salary player. One such team appears to be the Mavs, who have abandoned discussions with Atlanta about trading for Smith.
- While noting the Bucks' future salary flexibility, Amick speculates that Ekpe Udoh could draw attention from other clubs as "the sort of young, defensive-minded talent on a rookie contract that teams crave."
- Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo is still anxious to trade Andrea Bargnani, but there hasn't been a lot of interest from other teams.