Pacers Acquire Luis Scola From Suns
2:31pm: The Suns have also confirmed that the trade is official, via their website.
2:06pm: The Pacers have announced the trade in a press release.
"I’m very, very excited to play for the Pacers," Scola said, as part of the Pacers statement. "They are one of the top three teams in the NBA with a good shot to win a championship. I think it’s a great team and this is a great opportunity. I can’t wait."
1:39pm: The Pacers and Suns have reached an agreement on a trade that sends Luis Scola to Indiana, tweets USA Today's Sam Amick. Paul Coro notes that the framework of the deal, reported earlier by Amick and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, will send Gerald Green, Miles Plumlee and Indiana's lottery-protected 2014 first-round draft pick to Phoenix in exchange for Scola (Twitter link).
The move strengthens the Pacers as they attempt to overcome the Heat, who've knocked them out of the playoffs the past two seasons. Scola will be of particular help on the offensive end, where he's a career 14.2 points-per-game scorer, and he'll improve a second-unit that lagged far behind Indiana's starting lineup last season. The Suns claimed him off amnesty waivers from the Rockets last summer, and the inexpensive bid helped faciliate the deal with Indiana. Scola will make more than $4.5MM this year, with a non-guaranteed $4.868MM in 2014/15.
Suns GM Ryan McDonough reunites with Green, whom the Celtics drafted 18th overall in 2005, when McDonough was beginning to work his way up Boston's front office chain of command. Green will make $3.5MM this year and next as part of a three-year contract he signed with the Pacers last summer, before he wound up buried on coach Frank Vogel's bench. Plumlee, the 26th overall pick in 2012, was even farther down the Pacers depth chart, appearing in more D-League games (15) than NBA contests (14) last season.
The jewel of the deal for Phoenix appears to be the pick, which will almost certainly be at the back end of the first round. Still, the Suns are in line for three first-rounders in next year's talent-rich draft, including their own, as SB Nation's Paul Flannery points out (Twitter link). Sending the 33-year-old Scola out will allow the team to develop more of its young talent, and perhaps shave a few wins from its total, giving the team a better chance at the top overall pick.
Nuggets Re-Sign Timofey Mozgov
SATURDAY, 2:02pm: The deal is official, according to the Nuggets website.
FRIDAY, 10:26am: The Nuggets and Timofey Mozgov have reached an agreement on a contract that will pay the restricted free agent $14MM over three years, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, the third year will be a team option, which likely means that salary is non-guaranteed.
Mozgov, 27, was sent to Denver by the Knicks in the blockbuster deal that landed Carmelo Anthony to New York. He has yet to log significant minutes in any of his three NBA seasons, and was behind Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee at center for the Nuggets in 2012/13. However, with Koufos having been traded to Memphis, the door is open for Mozgov to earn more playing time going forward.
The Nuggets had long been expected to re-sign Mozgov, having begun negotiations with him on a multiyear deal shortly after the free agent period got underway. According to Wojnarowski, a few sign-and-trade scenarios were discussed, but both sides were ultimately committed to working out a new agreement that kept Mozgov in Denver. The seven-footer also reportedly drew interest from the Kings and Spurs.
When I examined Mozgov's free agent stock earlier in the year, I predicted that the Russian big man might be in line for a contract similar to Robin Lopez's three-year, $15MM+ deal. Mozgov is represented by ASM Sports, as our agency database shows.
Pacers Nearing Trade For Luis Scola
1:34pm: Green, Miles Plumlee, and a protected 2014 draft pick are the parts headed to Phoenix in the proposal, Wojnarowski tweets. USA Today's Sam Amick tweets that the pick is lottery protected. Marc Stein of ESPN.com notes that the deal is still a proposal at this point, so it looks like a formal agreement has not yet been reached (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 12:56am: The "early word" is that the Pacers will send Gerald Green and draft considerations to Phoenix in exchange for Scola, Stein reports. The teams are still discussing the specifics of the picks headed Phoenix's way (Twitter links).
FRIDAY, 10:50pm: The Suns and Pacers are having "serious" talks about a trade that would ship Luis Scola to Indiana, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The teams are close to an agreement, Wojnarowski also tweets, but the deal won't involve Danny Granger, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
The Pacers have been pursuing Scola for weeks, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), though both front offices have been keeping the news quiet. The Pacers re-signed starting power forward David West this summer, and they also brought in Chris Copeland. Centers Roy Hibbert and Ian Mahinmi are on long-term deals, so there wouldn't seem to be an immediate fit for Scola, unless one of Indiana's big men is headed to Phoenix.
As Stein notes, the news originated in Scola's native Argentina, where Juan Sebastia, Scola's publicist, tweets tonight that Scola is headed to the Pacers, and that the deal will become official Saturday. Scola is set to make a little more than $4.5MM this season, with a non-guaranteed $4.868MM on the books for 2014/15. The Suns are under the cap, but the Pacers are over it, so Indiana would have to give up about $3MM in salary to make the deal work if Scola is the only player Phoenix is giving up.
The Pacers could make a straight-up acquisition of Scola work with either Mahinmi or Gerald Green, or they could aggregate the salaries of Lance Stephenson, Miles Plumlee and Orlando Johnson. West and Copeland are ineligible to be traded until the middle of next season because they signed new deals this summer.
The 33-year-old Scola has been remarkably durable in his six-year NBA career, missing just eight regular season games, all of them in 2010/11. His minutes declined somewhat last year in his first season with the Suns, who claimed him off amnesty waivers after the Rockets cut him in a cap-clearing move. He notched 12.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 26.6 minutes per game in 2012/13, with a 16.7 PER that's nearly identical to his career mark of 16.9.
Odds & Ends: Kobe, Pekovic, Goudelock, Cooley
While this season is pretty much a write-off for the Lakers, 2014 is the dream season for Kobe Bryant & Co., write Mike Bresnahan and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Much of what they can do, however, depends on the type of sacrifice that Kobe is willing to make. Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan made financial sacrifices in recent years and it remains to be seen whether Bryant is willing to do the same in order to help the Lakers build the best team possible. The L.A. Times duo has a very out of the box (and illegal) idea for Bryant: sign for the veteran's minimum in 2014/15 and ink a $19.5MM deal with the Lakers (who hold his Bird Rights) in the following year. Here's more from around the Association..
- Wolves owner Glen Taylor continues to say that he is confident a new deal with restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic will be reached, tweets Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press.
- Terms of Andrew Goudelock's deal with Russia's BC UNICS Kazan were not disclosed, but the offer is worth “considerably more” than his NBA minimum of about $1MM, a source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- Jack Cooley is weighing offers from "a half dozen" teams after strong play in summer league, a source tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (on Twitter). Cooley averaged 15 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG for the Grizzlies' summer league squad.
- The Nets' luxury tax penalties for next season bring their total monetary commitment for 2013/14 to just over $189MM, notes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. The Nets added to their total after signing Alan Anderson.
Pacers Notes: George, Granger, Scola
While a healthy Danny Granger undoubtedly makes an already stacked Indiana team even scarier, some outsiders are concerned that his presence will stunt the growth of Paul George. George, however, doesn't see things that way. “Even my second year in the league and my rookie year, we were still able to play off one another,” George told Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld. “I didn’t have as big of a role as I do now, but we still did a good job playing off one another.” Here's more out of Indiana..
- With the addition of Luis Scola, the Pacers might have the best team in the Eastern Conference, argues Tom Ziller of SBNation.com. Indiana managed to reach the conference finals and take the Heat to seven games last season despite having a weak bench and any upgrade to that unit goes a long way for them.
- Scola will definitely help the Pacers, but the offense-driven games of the veteran forward and newly-signed guard Chris Copeland give Zach Lowe of Grantland (via Twitter) some pause. The deal for Scola is expected to be finalized today.
- George, who has said that he wants to stay with the Pacers long-term, feels that talks are going well and both sides are on the same page, writes Scott Agness of NBA.com.
Bucks Close To Signing Gary Neal
The Bucks are close to finalizing a deal with free agent guard Gary Neal, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. (via Twitter). Sources tell Stein that Milwaukee took the lead after Neal's agent, David Bauman, broke off discussions with the Hawks.
The Bucks and Hawks were the leading pursuers of Neal after the Spurs withdrew their qualifying offer, which made Neal an unrestricted free agent. A deal is now expected to be completed today between Neal and Milwaukee.
Neal's one-year qualifying offer was worth about $1.12MM and would have allowed the Spurs to match any bids for him. The 28-year-old has posted nearly identical numbers in his three seasons in San Antonio, with his averages ranging from 9.5 to 9.9 PPG in 21.1 to 21.8 MPG. However, after posting a 41.9% three-point rate in each of his first two years, that mark fell to 35.5% in 2012/13.
Odds & Ends: Nash, Oden, Henderson, Cousins
Italian soccer power Inter Milan will give Steve Nash a tryout next week, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, but it's clear that even after a frustrating season with the Lakers, the two-time MVP won't be giving up on basketball anytime soon. He expressed his eagerness to return to the hardwood even as he prepared to lace up his cleats. We're only about two months away from the start of training camps as we pass along the latest from a whirlwind summer:
- Greg Oden could decide on his next team by as early as Monday, reports Steve Aschburner of NBA.com, who adds the Mavs to the list of teams that have sent contingents to Indianapolis to watch Oden work out this week. The Spurs, Pelicans, Hawks, Kings and Heat are the others on that list.
- Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson are on board with the Pelicans' pursuit of Oden, as they tell Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
- Though the Bobcats were reported to be seeking sign-and-trade options at one point in their negotiations with Gerald Henderson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that the team always planned to re-sign him. The two sides agreed to a deal tonight.
- DeMarcus Cousins and his representatives met with the Kings multiple times recently in Las Vegas, and the team is making it clear that he's a priority, a source tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).
- A lucrative, long-term extension for the volatile Cousins might not strike Kings fans as the wisest move, but SB Nation's Tom Ziller argues that, at worst, there will be plenty of teams eager to trade for Cousins if the Kings eventually want to get rid of him.
- The Mavs have been talking up their summer acquisitions, but HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram isn't nearly as optimistic, opining in his NBA PM piece that Dirk Nowitzki's supporting cast has never been weaker.
Poll: Which Team Improved The Most?
There wasn't much change at the trade deadline this year, but the summer has been one of drastic moves for many NBA teams. The Nets traded for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, Dwight Howard left the Lakers for the Rockets, and the Warriors found a way out of their luxury tax predicament that allowed them to add Andre Iguodala and still shed payroll.
There are plenty of other teams who look better than when the 2012/13 season ended. The Cavs signed Andrew Bynum to a partially guaranteed deal that hedges against further injury for the former All-Star, and they added Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the draft. The Pelicans pulled off a draft-night trade to land Jrue Holiday, and they signed Tyreke Evans to an offer sheet that was too rich for the Kings' blood. The Trail Blazers addressed their bench, their major weakness from this past season, the Pistons wooed Josh Smith to Detroit, and the moribund Bobcats used some of their plentiful room for improvement, signing Al Jefferson.
Let us know which team you think made the greatest strides forward this summer, and leave a comment to explain your vote.
Lakers Rumors: Odom, Landry, Daye
- Kevin Ding of the Orange County register hears that Lamar Odom might be warming to the idea of playing for the Lakers again. The team isn't high on him, so a reunion is unlikely, Ding tweets.
- Before news broke today of the Lakers' agreement with Elias Harris, Ding wrote that the team wanted to sign two more players this summer to partially guaranteed deals for the minimum salary. The Lakers are targeting players from its summer league roster, like Harris, and overlooked veterans (Sulia link).
- The Harris deal didn't shock Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, who believes summer league participant Marcus Landry could be the next to sign with the Lakers (Twitter link).
- The Lakers have been interested in Austin Daye, who worked out for the team this week, but Pincus gets the sense that the team wasn't enthralled with what it saw (Twitter link).
Latest On Marcus Camby
Marcus Camby scored a total of 42 points over the 24 games he played for the Knicks this past season, so that alone would make it difficult to understand why the 39-year-old is generating so much chatter less than a month into free agency. Teams appear to be focusing more on his production in 2011/12, when he averaged 9.0 rebounds in just 22.9 minutes per game. Here's what we know:
- The Bulls met with Camby on Friday, and Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears the talks are going "extremely well." He's telling teams he intends to go into coaching after he's done playing, echoing a report from earlier this month indicating he wanted to play two more years and then coach.
- Camby recently met with Rockets doctors and passed a physical, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston reports. Agent Rick Kaplan told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle a couple of days ago that the Rockets were at the "top of his list" (Twitter link).
- Multiple reports show Camby is also considering the Heat, though Miami is showing less interest in him than Houston and Chicago are, tweets Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida.