Odds & Ends: Exum, Southerland, Nuggets
The Rockets had been expected to move Omer Asik today, so it was a bit of a letdown when news broke that the team had shut down trade discussions involving the big center. Still, while Houston’s unofficial December 19th deadline may pass without an Asik trade, that doesn’t mean there are no other notes to pass along today. Here are a few items from around the league:
- Top prospect Dante Exum told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that he intends to set up visits to Indiana, North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, and Oregon. There’s a general belief that the Australian point guard will declare for the draft in 2014, but he has the option of attending an NCAA school and is still going through the recruiting process as well as meeting with NBA agents (Twitter links).
- A little more than a week after being released by the Bobcats, James Southerland has landed with the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders, the team announced today (Twitter link). The Lakers‘ affiliate will hold Southerland’s D-League rights, but the former Syracuse forward will still be free to sign with any NBA team.
- Recent reports have suggested that Asik, Pau Gasol, and Zach Randolph are going nowhere for now, but Jabari Davis of HoopsWorld looks into the possibility of the trio of Western big men being moved by the deadline.
- UCLA’s Kyle Anderson is poised to enter the 2014 NBA draft and that stance likely won’t change between now and the spring, as his father tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “There’s a chance that Kyle could play horrendous the rest of this year and be a second-round draft pick,” Kyle Anderson Sr. said. “That’s not going to change our strategy. We know that he just needs a chance to play for a team, and like all the teams he’s played for, he can help you win. His draft position is not a reason why he’s coming or staying. He’s coming out regardless. It has nothing to do with his draft position.”
- In his latest mailbag, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post discusses some Nuggets-related trade scenario.
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Rockets End Omer Asik Trade Talks
The Rockets are moving away from trade talks involving Omer Asik and won’t move him today, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports echoes that report, tweeting that the Rockets intend to hang on to Asik for now. Wojnarowski also tweets that Houston has informed agent Arn Tellem that trade talks involving his client have ended.
Houston figures to revisit trade discussions, if not this week, then at least before the NBA’s actual trade deadline on February 20th. However, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that many teams are leery of Asik’s 2014/15 balloon payment of $15MM, while Stein adds (via Twitter) that there’s a growing pessimism within the Rockets that they’ll find a trade partner.
The Rockets’ self-imposed deadline of December 19th for an Asik trade was intended to give the team the flexibility to flip players in a second deal at the trade deadline in February. However, as I explained in a piece today, there are multiple ways to circumvent the rule that restricts over-the-cap teams from trading a player within two months of acquiring him. The Rockets could theoretically complete an Asik swap in January or February and still flip any players acquired in those deals prior to the February 20th deadline, as long as the trades met certain criteria.
Before the Rockets shut down trade negotiations involving Asik, the Celtics and Sixers appeared to be the strongest contenders to land the 27-year-old. Boston was reportedly prepared to offer Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee, and a first-round pick, though the club was reluctant to make that first-rounder a 2014 pick. As for the Sixers, the Rockets were said to be targeting Spencer Hawes and a first-round pick, but there was no indication Philadelphia would have been agreeable to that package. In addition to those two clubs, the Bucks, Hawks, Cavaliers, Trail Blazers, and Pelicans were among the other teams linked to Asik within the last week. None of those teams seemed seriously in the mix as of this morning.
Although waiting until the new year to deal Asik could regain some leverage for the Rockets, there’s no guarantee of that. The seven-footer hasn’t been in the lineup recently, so his play on the court certainly hasn’t been improving his stock. Additionally, while his $15MM salary for next season is off-putting, it was somewhat balanced by the fact that he’s only earning about $5.23MM this year, despite cap hits of about $8.37MM in both years. The earlier a team acquires him, the more value that club would receive out of Asik’s reduced 2013/14 salary.
Explaining The Rockets’ Omer Asik Deadline
We’re still more than two months away from the NBA’s trade deadline, but today represents an unofficial deadline set by the Rockets, who have planned all month to trade Omer Asik by December 19th. The fact that the date comes two months and one day before the February 20th deadline isn’t coincidental. As has been written on this site and many others over the last couple weeks, dealing Asik today (or even tomorrow) would allow the players involved in that trade to be flipped to another team without restriction on February 20th.
However, this rule is more detailed than it may seem on the surface. Here’s how Larry Coon describes it in his CBA FAQ:
“[A team cannot trade a player] for two months after receiving the player in trade, if the trade aggregates the player’s salary with the salaries of other players. However, the team is free to trade the player immediately, either by himself or without aggregating his salary with other salaries. This restriction applies only to teams over the salary cap.”
In unpacking this rule, the first point worth noting is that it applies only to over-the-cap teams. The vast majority of NBA clubs, including the Rockets, are currently over the cap, but if Houston had cap space, this restriction wouldn’t even be a concern.
Secondly, anyone involved in a hypothetical Asik deal today could be flipped in another trade immediately. As Coon writes, the player must either be traded by himself or without aggregating his salary with other salaries in the second deal. So if the Rockets were to acquire Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee for Asik, Houston could theoretically send Lee out in a one-for-one trade next week.
Most of these points have been made clear leading up to the Rockets’ self-imposed December 19th deadline, but there’s one more that’s a little blurry: While teams have to wait two months after acquiring a player to aggregate his salary with other salaries in a second trade, many multiplayer deals can be completed without that actually happening. For instance, when our own Chuck Myron broke down how the Rudy Gay trade between the Raptors and Kings worked under CBA rules, he explained that from the Raptors’ perspective, the seven-player blockbuster was actually split into two smaller, parallel trades:
- Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy for Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez
- Gay for John Salmons and Chuck Hayes.
In other words, even though Gay was traded to Sacramento along with two teammates, his salary wasn’t aggregated with anyone else’s salary to make the deal work. Only Gray’s and Acy’s salaries were combined together. So if we were to pretend the Raptors had acquired Gay less than two months before sending him to Sacramento, Toronto still would have been allowed to flip him to the Kings, since the deal circumvents the restrictions related to this particular rule.
Making trades prior to December 20th will give teams maximum flexibility on February 20th, and setting their own deadline likely gives the Rockets some peace of mind, knowing the Asik situation should have some closure this week. But if GM Daryl Morey is unsatisfied with the offers on the table for his center and doesn’t finalize a deal by tomorrow, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Morey and the Rockets would still have the opportunity to acquire and flip players prior to the February 20th deadline — those deals would simply have to be constructed in a specific way.
Omer Asik Rumors: Thursday Morning
There were so many updates on the Omer Asik front yesterday that we needed three posts to round them all up, and the rumor mill doesn’t figure to slow down today. December 19th represents the Rockets‘ self-imposed deadline to move their disgruntled center, and it sounds as if the team plans to stick to that goal. Here are the latest items related to the Asik sweepstakes:
- The Sixers remain “very involved” in talks for Asik, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
- Because this season’s trade deadline is February 20th, rather than the 19th, the Rockets have been told they could move Asik tomorrow and still re-package any involved players in February swaps. However, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports, Houston is still operating as if today is the deadline, meaning the club figures to take a step back and reconsider its options if nothing is finalized by day’s end (Twitter links).
Earlier updates:
- While the Celtics are viewed as the frontrunner to land Asik, GM Danny Ainge said today on Boston sports radio that he’s been exploring deals, but doesn’t believe anything is close (link via Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston).
- According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, the Rockets are believed to have spent much of Wednesday weighing the merits of the Celtics‘ offer (Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee, and a first-round pick), while remaining engaged in talks with the Sixers and leaving the door open for other teams to join the discussion. As we heard yesterday, Houston would like to obtain Spencer Hawes and a first-rounder from Philadelphia, but it’s not clear yet if GM Sam Hinkie is willing to pay that price.
- Stein echoes yesterday’s reports in writing that the quality of the draft pick the Rockets can get from the Celtics will go a long way toward determining whether the two sides make a deal. However, most sources who spoke to Stein expressed a belief that Houston will proceed with an Asik trade today, accepting the best offer on the table.
Latest On Luol Deng
The Bulls have won just three of their last 15 games, and will face another tough challenge tonight, as they play the Thunder in Oklahoma City. Chicago’s continued struggles could increase the odds of a Luol Deng trade, but according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, GM Gar Forman has not been making calls about Deng. However, he has fielded a few inquiries from other teams.
As the Bulls continue to weigh their options when it comes to moving Deng, the likelihood of a contract extension for the All-Star forward is “almost nil,” according to Cowley, who says the two sides are about $5-6MM per year apart. That’s a significant gap, but it’s not totally surprising. Deng will probably be looking for a deal in line with his current salary of $14MM, while the Bulls would likely prefer to reduce his annual salary to something closer to $10MM, to maintain enough flexibility to sign Nikola Mirotic next summer.
Cowley writes that the scenario in which the Bulls trade Deng becomes more realistic as long as the team’s slide continues, and the 28-year-old sounds like he has braced himself for that possibility.
“I’m mature enough to understand that I can’t worry about things I can’t control,” Deng said. “If I wake up tomorrow, they call me and they tell me otherwise, then that’s what it is. I can’t control that. That’s their job, and they’ve got to do their job. That’s a decision they have to make on what they feel is best for the team.”
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Odds & Ends: Asik, Cavs, Turner, Green
Thursday is the final day the Rockets can swap Omer Asik for players they can flip at the trade deadline in February, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle hears GM Daryl Morey intends to pull off a deal before the team departs for Friday’s game at Indiana (Twitter link). The Rockets are unlikely to trade for a player better than they perceive Asik to be, Feigen writes in his latest piece on the talks, but it sounds like a trade will happen nonetheless, as conflicting reports obscure the notion of the Celtics as the front runners to land the Turkish center. Here’s more from around the league:
- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert isn’t pleased with the team’s sub-.500 start and has green-lighted GM Chris Grant to make deals, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Cleveland has “varying degrees of interest” in Evan Turner and Jeff Green, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
- Reggie Jackson will be up for an extension this summer, and the stumbling block could involve his role with the Thunder instead of financial concerns, as The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater examines. Jackson tells Slater that he wants to start.
- Luke Ridnour started all 82 games for the Wolves last year, but he’s fallen from the rotation for the Bucks this season. The 11th-year vet says the lack of playing time has been tough on him, but he isn’t worried about how it may affect his free agency this summer, observes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- In an interesting piece for SBNation.com, Tom Ziller makes the case for why a general manager’s confidence in his ability to find value anywhere in a draft will prevent “institutional tanking” from happening in the NBA.
- Speaking of tanking, it’ll be tough for the Lakers to make the playoffs, says Jeff Caplan of NBA.com, who believes they’re better off not trying to do so.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Latest On Celtics-Rockets Omer Asik Talks
10:01pm: Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe hears the Celtics and Rockets are “close” to a deal and echoes much of what we heard tonight before Bulpett reported that the talks are no longer active. It appears the teams are sending out conflicting information on the talks, perhaps in an exercise of negotiating tactics, though that’s just my speculation.
9:16pm: The Celtics proposed a deal of Bass, Lee and a protected first-rounder for Asik a week ago, but talks have been closed since then, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. While other reports have indicated the teams are currently negotiating, that’s not the case, Bulpett writes, suggesting that Celtics GM Danny Ainge isn’t budging from his offer and that the Rockets would have to sweeten their end of the deal to revive discussions. Bulpett also hears that when the Rockets brought Asik aboard in 2012, they promised him they wouldn’t sign another center to compete with him for the starting job.
8:11pm: The Celtics prefer to trade the Clippers’ 2015 first-round pick they acquired via the Doc Rivers deal, while the Rockets are seeking a 2014 first-rounder, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
7:09pm: TNT’s David Aldridge suggests the Rockets won’t close on an Asik deal tonight, meaning they’ll have to pull one off Thursday to meet their self-imposed deadline (Twitter link).
6:50pm: The Trail Blazers, believing Asik isn’t worth the risk of disrupting team chemistry, aren’t involved in talks with the Rockets, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The Blazers have “grown to love” Robin Lopez and aren’t interested in any major acquisitions for now, Haynes adds.
6:24pm: Though the Hawks don’t appear too interested in Asik, his nearly $15MM balloon payment next season wouldn’t deter the team from taking him on, Vivlamore writes in a subscription-only piece.
5:58pm: The belief that the Celtics will land Omer Asik is growing stronger as other suitors drop out of the talks, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com. It looks like the deal would involve Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and a draft pick headed to Houston in a trade that includes only the Celtics and Rockets. The two teams are debating over which pick Houston would get, Mannix adds (Twitter links). The Celtics had reportedly been reluctant to surrender their 2014 first-rounder, but it appears they’ve at least relented on the notion of draft compensation.
Lee spoke this afternoon about the possibility of getting traded, saying that he’d prefer to stay put but that he isn’t too concerned with the talk, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes (Twitter links). Lee is no stranger to Houston, having played there before the sign-and-trade that took him to Boston last year.
It’s not clear whether the Rockets would send anyone other than Asik to Boston, but Donatas Motiejunas is “desperate” for playing time, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, who points out that Motiejunas and Asik share an agent. Still, Motiejunas would prefer that he got added playing time in Houston rather than with another team, Feigen adds.
The Hawks, also reportedly an Asik suitor, were only in talks with the Rockets out of due diligence, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).
Atlantic Rumors: Celtics, Knicks, Young
The allure of running a front office and coaching a team at the same time made the Clippers more attractive to Doc Rivers, but Brad Stevens is glad he isn’t overseeing personnel decisions the way his Celtics predecessor is, as Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald notes. Stevens is content to let GM Danny Ainge handle the team’s pursuit of Omer Asik and its situation with Rajon Rondo. It’s a busy time in Boston and around the Atlantic Division, as we detail:
- ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith hears Knicks management has “had it” with the team’s assistant coaches, and while he suggests assistant Herb Williams might be the replacement if the team fires Mike Woodson, Smith argues that Woodson should keep his job. Assistant GM Allan Houston is strongly denying reports that he’s next in line to coach, Smith adds.
- Thaddeus Young, who’s been in trade rumors all season, is growing weary of dealing with the inexperience of his Sixers teammates, observes Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times. “Some of the young guys on the team just don’t know,” Young said. “When you’re dealing with them, the frustration level does get it up there because you’re not used to it. I’m used to guys who are four- and five-year veterans in this league and that can play. And then you have one- and two-year guys that come in fresh and they’re trying to make a name for themselves.”
- Amir Johnson tells Doug Smith of the Toronto Star that he wants to play with the Raptors for the rest of his career, and Smith suggests keeping Johnson might not be the worst idea for the team amid trade rumors involving the power forward.