New York Notes: Grunwald, Adjustments, King
One day removed from the trade deadline and both New York teams find themselves in the midst of a battle for playoff positioning. The Knicks seem poised to finish with top three seed while the Nets' future remains uncertain given the unsteady play of the roster. Here's a look at the latest news and notes from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
- Knicks GM Glen Grunwald says that teams have adjusted to the Knicks offense over the course of the season, which is a major reason why New York has cooled off in recent weeks after a strong start, writes Marc Raimondi of the New York Post. “If we start to play like we did the beginning of the year offensively and the way we did defensively last year, we have the ability to compete for a champ,” Grunwald said.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN.com points out eight changes the Knicks need to make on both sides of the ball if they want to continue to chase the Heat for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Zwerling considers preventing transition as a major factor for future success as the team continues to get beat getting back to the basket.
- Nets GM Billy King denies having a conversation with team owner Mikhail Prokhorov on Brooklyn reaching the conference finals as the goal for the season, writes Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press (via Twitter). King believes the media is responsible for constructing the rumor.
Eastern Notes: Bucks, Warrick, Ohlbrecht
The calm after the deadline storm has teams reconfiguring lineups and making minor moves to fill out open roster spots for the remainder of the season or simply the next 10 days. Let's catch up around the Eastern Conference for the latest news and stories making headlines.
- The Bucks made the move to acquire J.J. Redick with the mindset of winning this season, according to ESPN.com (courtesy of the Associated Press). With a deep backcourt, Milwaukee will look to secure the seventh or eighth seed and shoot its way beyond the first round of the playoffs.
- Don't expect Hakim Warrick to be out of work long if the Magic decide to release the former Syracuse star, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Bonnell points to the Celtics as a possible landing spot to help provide depth off the bench.
- D-League big man Tim Ohlbrecht reportedly turned down a 10-day contract from the Celtics, says Sportando. The German center has spent the season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers where he has averaged 13.3 PPG and 7.3 PPG.
- Nets GM Billy King denies having had any interest in signing the newest member of the Knicks, Kenyon Martin, as the team already has enough frontcourt players at this point in the season, says Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Bryan Colangelo Talks Telfair, Bargnani, CBA
Earlier today, we rounded up post-deadline comments made by one general manager, the Thunder's Sam Presti, in the wake of yesterday's moves. Now we'll turn our focus to Toronto, where GM Bryan Colangelo spoke to reporters today about the Raptors' deadline decisions. Eric Koreen of the National Post has the key quotes.
On the Raptors acquiring Sebastian Telfair:
"We feel like we’re getting a player that gives us the necessary depth at that position. [John Lucas III] has done a great job filling in on the short term. The ability to score, the ability to man those minutes, he did an admirable job and I don’t necessarily see him getting supplanted right away. But what I do see is a guy that is capable of playing those minutes if need be and if someone were to go down with injury you’ve got a guy that has started I believe 192 games in the NBA who can come in and play this games if need be."
On trade talks involving Andrea Bargnani:
"Once the [elbow] injury occurred, his return, as late as it was in the process, as near to the trade deadline [as it was], it probably did not leave enough runway with respect to a deal being made now. That didn’t stop us from having dialogue with other teams or teams expressing interest. I believe it did affect some of the deals that we were probably discussing in advance of the injury, and even some that we were maintaining connection or dialogue over the course of the last couple months."
On revisiting a Bargnani trade this summer:
"The summer is the next potential opportunity to engage in trade discussions with respect to our entire roster. And with 27 games left in terms of us looking at where we are and how this group can come together and what the chemistry looks like. Continuity is obviously something nice to look at going forward. I think a lot of the pieces we do have in place are pieces we want to keep and hang onto and we’ll see how it all plays out."
On the impact of the CBA and increasing tax penalties:
"Of course, every team in the league is tax-averse. You do not want to be in the tax for various reasons…. Some people have said different things about the transaction we made yesterday. It not only shored up a point guard position need that we had, but it also took a $200K commitment off of the books for next year with [Hamed] Haddadi’s contract. It sounds like nothing, but $200K over the tax next year is actually a $300K tax with a $1.50-per-dollar principle for the first $5MM over. It was a $500K decision just for next season. … We made a very large transaction and have climbed into the tax for next season prior to three weeks ago. It certainly didn’t affect us in terms of a decision that was made in terms of the acquisition of Rudy Gay."
Northwest Notes: Jazz, Kirilenko, Wolves, Nuggets
So far, the responses to this morning's poll suggest that, outside of the Hawks' decision to keep Josh Smith, no team's inactivity at the deadline was more surprising than Utah's. In Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, the Jazz had a pair of productive bigs on expiring contracts, and the expectation was that at least one of the two would be moved. However, GM Dennis Lindsey told reporters, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, that he felt the club was negotiating from a position of strength, and wasn't under any pressure to make a deal.
Here's more and the Jazz and a few of their Northwest Division rivals:
- "We really didn't even have any tough decisions," Lindsey said of deadline day, according to Genessy. "When we added it up, there wasn't anything that was better than what we had."
- With the deadline behind them, Millsap and Jefferson are looking forward to finishing out the season in Utah, writes Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- Speaking to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, Andrei Kirilenko says he's enjoying everything about his time with the Timberwolves except for the team's win-loss record. The Russian forward has yet to make a decision about his player option for next season. "I’m going to wait until the offseason, right now there’s no point to make any decision," Kirilenko said. "Wait until summer, analyze the season, and see what you want to do next."
- Glen Taylor's talks with prospective owners for the Timberwolves have "slowed considerably," a source tells Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link).
- Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post discusses the Nuggets' decision to let the deadline pass without making a deal.
Mavs Notes: Deadline, Morrow, Howard, Future
The Mavericks only made one small trade at the deadline, sending Dahntay Jones to the Hawks in exchange for Anthony Morrow. However, according to owner Mark Cuban, the team was close to making a much larger splash, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com outlines.
"It was crazy," Cuban said on 103.3 FM in Dallas. "We thought we had a bunch of things done, literally a bunch of things done. We had teams get cold feet at the last minute…. Things that would have used cap room next year, would have had money next year, that were high-dollar guys, difference-maker guys."
While we consider what sort of players the Mavs might have been discussing, let's check in on a few more links from ESPNDallas.com….
- During his appearance on ESPN Radio, Cuban also suggested that the Lakers may have to think about amnestying Kobe Bryant this summer (link via MacMahon). While it's highly doubtful the Lakers would ever consider that move, clearing Kobe's $30.45MM cap hit from next year's books could take the Lakers out of the tax, saving the team a ton of money on their end-of-year bill.
- As MacMahon notes, trading for Morrow, who is friends with Dwight Howard, doesn't improve the Mavericks' chances of signing Howard this summer, since the club would have to renounce Morrow's Bird Rights to make a bid for D12.
- MacMahon also wonders whether Dallas would even appeal to Howard as a free agent destination this summer, based on the current roster.
- The Mavericks' hopes for the future are still based more on financial flexibility than the team's current collection of players, writes MacMahon in another ESPNDallas.com piece.
Sam Presti Talks Brewer, Maynor, Roster Spot
The Thunder didn't participate in any major deals at the trade deadline, but the club did make a couple minor moves, sending Eric Maynor to Portland for cap relief and a trade exception, and acquiring Ronnie Brewer from the Knicks for a future second-round pick. General manager Sam Presti spoke to Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman about those moves and the team's plans for its empty roster spot. Here are the highlights:
On the decision to trade for Brewer:
"I think the opportunity to add a player like Ronnie without dipping into our immediate player rotation was something we feel like we needed to pursue. He brings a defensive mind-set, versatility as a perimeter defender, and he comes in with over 300 games started. But more impressive to us is the fact that he’s played for some organizations that we really have a lot of respect for. In addition to that, he’s a high-character, hard-working individual that we feel like is going to fit well with our current group."
On whether the Brewer acquisition was made with LeBron James and the Heat in mind:
"Well, I think just in today’s NBA one of the things that is certainly valued is versatility. And for our team, a team that wants to continually improve defensively and establish a standard of play on both ends of the floor, we want to try to be as flexible and versatile in styles of play as possible. But we certainly aren’t looking at one particular team because what’s served us well as an organization and as a team is to always focus on the next day. And if we’re starting to look at things down the line, I think that would be inconsistent and probably inappropriate for us."
On the Maynor trade:
"Obviously Eric is someone that we think very highly of, and I think he’s going to be a very productive player in the NBA for years to come. But we also recognize that he was going to have opportunities at the end of the season as a free agent, and we had to figure out the best way to maximize that situation given that he wasn’t playing on a consistent basis with us. The [$2.34MM] trade exception essentially gives us flexibility in terms of roster building, again, to try to make additions to our core group without infringing on that group. It’s going to give us flexibilities during the draft and also as we head into free agency. We’ll try to be as creative as possible, but we’re also going to be very disciplined with it."
On the Thunder's open 15th roster spot:
"I’m going to sit down with [assistant GM] Troy [Weaver] and [head coach] Scott [Brooks] and spend some time working through that and figuring out what direction we want to go. But it’s something that we want to evaluate, and I think we will look to do something in the future."
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Sixers, Shumpert, Kleiza
The Celtics are in the market for a free agent big man, and we heard this morning that the club is considering signing D.J. White to a 10-day contract. White isn't the only player Boston has its eye on, however. According to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, Jerome Jordan, Tim Ohlbrecht, Shavlik Randolph, and Louis Amundson are among the other players being considered by the Celtics.
Here are a few more post-trade-deadline notes out of the Atlantic Division:
- 76ers GM Tony DiLeo spoke to the media about acquiring Charles Jenkins in what he calls a "no-risk" move, and said that he talked to every NBA team about potential trades before the deadline (video link via NBA.com).
- As Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets, DiLeo also said that re-signing Andrew Bynum remains "Plan A" for the Sixers, but that the team's cap flexibility allows for "Plan B"s as well.
- Knicks GM Glen Grunwald told ESPN Radio that the Knicks had "a number of inquiries" on Iman Shumpert, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
- While Nets fans may be disappointed that the club couldn't land Josh Smith yesterday, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post thinks hanging on to assets will benefit the team in the long run.
- Although a Lithuanian report suggested that injury woes could put Linas Kleiza's career in jeopardy, the forward told reporters today that's not true, and that he expects to return soon (Twitter link via Holly MacKenzie of Sportsnet).
Garnett Turned Down Trade Pitch From Paul?
At various times leading up to yesterday's trade deadline, we heard that the Celtics and Clippers were exploring a potential swap that would have sent Kevin Garnett to L.A. and perhaps Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan to Boston. There were conflicting reports yesterday about whether the two sides were revisiting talks, but in any case, no deal was consummated.
However, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, the primary roadblock to the trade wasn't necessarily an unwillingness from the Clippers or Celtics to reach an agreement — it was Garnett's unwillingness to waive his no-trade clause. Bulpett hears from a league source that Chris Paul reached out to KG and told him that if was open to joining the Clips, Paul would make it happen. However, Garnett expressed a desire to remain with the Celtics, according to Bulpett.
The Clippers had reportedly been reluctant to trade Bledsoe in any deal before being 100% sure that Paul will re-sign with the team this summer, so it's unclear if the two sides could have finalized a trade even if Garnett had approved a move. Ultimately, despite rumors that suggested the Celtics were exploring possible deals involving Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo, all three C's players remained in Boston through the deadline. The club's only move consisted of acquiring Jordan Crawford from the Wizards.
Pacific Links: Kings, Patterson, Suns, Lakers
While the Los Angeles clubs stood pat and the Suns and Warriors only made small moves at the deadline, it was the Kings that were the Pacific Division's most active team, completing a six-player trade with the Rockets on Wednesday night. We have a couple links related to Sacramento's deal, as well as the rest of the latest items out of the Pacific:
- Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee questions why the Kings didn't wait until the offseason to consider dealing Thomas Robinson, since the trade with Houston ultimately won't save the team that much money.
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee spoke to Patrick Patterson about being traded from the Rockets to the Kings.
- The Suns have been looking for an opportunity to pair Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris since the 2011 draft, and nearly gave up a first-round pick to do it at the time, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.
- Jerry Buss had plenty of time to consider the best course for the Lakers after his death, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who says that Buss' decision to pass on the team to his children suggests the former Lakers owner is still asking fans to trust his vision for the franchise.
Poll: Most Surprising Deadline Non-Deal
12 trades were completed this week, to go along with a pair of Grizzlies moves that were finalized in January. While 14 deals is above average for an NBA trading season, deadline day still felt a little disappointing, given the lack of impact moves.
Josh Smith, Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Eric Gordon, Monta Ellis, Andrea Bargnani, Kevin Garnett, and Dwight Howard were among the big-name players involved in trade rumors that didn't end up being moved. So today's poll question is this: What was the most surprising non-deal of the deadline? Whether it's a specific player not being moved or a team standing pat, make your pick below or feel free to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.