Knicks Exploring J.R. Smith Trade Options
6:49pm: The public trade talk is intended to scare Smith into cleaning up his act, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, the club understands there isn’t a market for Smith.
5:39pm: New York began exploring potential Smith trades as long as two weeks ago, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Berger says the club is having a difficult time finding potential suitors, and Smith’s latest episode won’t help his perceived value. It sounds as if many league executives don’t look on Smith very highly; when asked about potential landing spots for the veteran guard, one GM replied to Berger, “I hear Shanghai has a spot.”
4:02pm: The Knicks have started to explore potential trade options involving J.R. Smith, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein and Ian Begley. The news comes on the heels of Smith’s latest incident, a $50K fine from the NBA for “recurring” unsportsmanlike conduct related to untying opponents’ shoes.
The Knicks have become increasingly frustrated with Smith’s on- and off-court transgressions, according to Stein and Begley, who hear from one source that the team is “fed up” with the shooting guard’s erratic behavior. Appearing on ESPN Radio in New York today, coach Mike Woodson called the latest episode in the Smith saga “unacceptable.”
“I’m not happy about this, because he was warned, he comes back and he makes the same mistake, and it’s not right,” Woodson said. “It’s just got to stop. I keep saying this every time something pops up, but it’s got to stop.”
Smith, last season’s Sixth Man of the Year, has also seen his production drop off this year. After sitting out the first five games of the season due to a drug violation, Smith has appeared in 29 contests, averaging 11.3 PPG with a .348 FG% and a 9.9 PER. The latter two marks are the worst of his 10-year career.
It’s not clear what sort of trade value, if any, Smith would have at the moment. At $5.57MM, he’s not as overpriced as some other players on the Knicks’ roster, but he’s under contract for three years, with his salary increasing to $5.98MM next season and $6.4MM on 2015/16’s player option. The 28-year-old could interest teams in need of one more scorer, but his off-court distractions and lengthy contract will limit his appeal. Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets that New York is unlikely to acquire anything worthwhile for Smith unless they sweeten the deal, and as Lowe points out, the team doesn’t have many sweeteners to offer.
Unlike most free agents who signed last summer, Smith isn’t trade-eligible until January 15th, so if the Knicks make a move, it will have to come between next Wednesday and February 20th’s trade deadline.
Atlantic Notes: Smith, Nets, Sixers, Walker
News broke today that the Knicks are trying to find a trade partner willing to take on the often controversial J.R. Smith. It doesn’t sound like it’ll be easy for the club to find a suitor, but Knicks Journal’s Keith Schlosser writes it would be “addition by subtraction” if the team is able to deal Smith, even if they don’t get any real assets in return. Schlosser notes that Tim Hardaway looks poised to take on a bigger role for the Knicks, and sending out Smith would give the rookie guard more minutes to showcase his impressive skills.
Here’s a look at the rest of tonight’s news from around the Atlantic Division:
- The Nets aren’t expected to use the disabled player exception they were granted yesterday, reports Fred Kerber of the New York Post. Kerber hears from a source that it’s “unlikely” Brooklyn ends up using the exception since for each $1MM the club would spend on adding a player, the team would end up paying $4MM in luxury taxes.
- The 76ers are not going to be relocating to New Jersey, writes Mike Sielski from the Philly Inquirer. Rumors circulated about a potential move earlier this season, and fans became nervous that the rumors may be coming to fruition when the club revealed via press release that it was set to deliver a “major announcement” tomorrow. However, sources tell Sielski that the team won’t be leaving Philadelphia anytime soon, and the announcement will simply introduce a new sponsorship deal.
- Ty Walker of the D-League’s Main Red Claws has drawn interest from a few clubs, including the 76ers. The defensive-minded center went undrafted out of Wake Forest in 2012 and received interest as a possible training camp invitee last summer. Shams Charania of RealGM has the details.
- In his latest piece for the Boston Herald, Steve Bulpett reveals that although Doc Rivers isn’t calling plays for the Celtics anymore, part of the veteran coach will always remain in Boston. “It was just hard for me. I’m not sure anyone can understand,” said Rivers on his departure from the C’s, “I fell in love with where I was at, but after the season I realized I just didn’t want to get into the whole rebuilding thing.“
Cavs Hope To Keep Luol Deng Long-Term
WEDNESDAY, 3:35pm: Asked today about re-signing, Deng said that he hopes Cleveland can be a long-term destination, but declined to go into further deal, as Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer outlines.
Deng also tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that he and his reps were never seeking $15MM annually in extension talks with the Bulls, and while he’s not upset with the organization, he’s bothered by that figure leaking (Twitter links). For what it’s worth, only one report suggested Deng was seeking $15-16MM per year, while most others pegged his desired figure in the $12-13MM neighborhood, as we noted below.
TUESDAY, 3:53pm: The Cavaliers didn’t waste any time today talking about how much they want newly-acquired Luol Deng to be a part of their future. While Deng has yet to put on a Cavs uniform, GM Chris Grant has already indicated that the goal is to keep the veteran forward around “long-term,” according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
Deng reportedly turned down a three-year, $30MM extension offer from the Bulls, but the Cavs are expected to revisit the topic of a contract extension with the 28-year-old. Still, negotiations won’t begin immediately, according to Grant, who says he wants Deng to get acclimated in Cleveland first (Twitter link via the Plain Dealer).
If the Cavs offer Deng an extension, they’ll only be able to tack on three years to his existing deal. While that could work for the team, Deng may prefer to hit the open market, where he could receive a five-year offer from Cleveland or four-year offers from rival suitors.
In his piece today evaluating the swap between the Cavs and Bulls, Grantland’s Zach Lowe noted that finding the right price point for Deng in free agency won’t be easy. Lowe suggests that the Cavs shouldn’t make a five-year offer, and should probably only go up to four years if that final season is at least partially non-guaranteed. With Deng’s Bird rights in hand though, Cleveland is now invested in finding a workable deal for the former Bull, who is said to be seeking at least $12-13MM annually.
Odds & Ends: Thunder, Nuggets, Moon, D-League
The 2017 second-round pick the Thunder acquired from the Grizzlies in this week’s three-team trade with the Celtics won’t change hands if it falls anywhere from 31 to 55, according to RealGM’s log of traded draft picks. The 2014 second-round pick from the Sixers that the Thunder also landed in the deal will be moved if it falls between 51 and 55, so there’s a good chance OKC never see either pick.
Here’s more on that trade and a few other notes from around the NBA:
- Berry Trammel and Jon Hamm go in-depth to explain in a piece for the Oklahoman why the Thunder got involved in that swap. As we suggested yesterday, the move didn’t save OKC any money or land them real draft assets, but it allowed the team to create a little more cap flexibility below the tax line. With team salary now roughly $2.29MM below the tax threshold, the Thunder may have increased their odds of using the Eric Maynor trade exception worth about $2.34MM, writes Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman.
- The Nuggets look poised to begin saving some money on Danilo Gallinari’s salary, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, who notes that an NBA insurance policy will kick in after Gallinari misses his 41st consecutive regular season game. The policy ensures that the Nuggets will only have to cover 50% of Gallinari’s base salary per game for each additional contest he misses after the 41st.
- Former NBA forward Jamario Moon announced on Twitter that he’s leaving the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders to join Olympiacos in Greece, which the team itself confirmed on Facebook a little later (translation via Sportando).
- The NBA appears to finally be on the verge of buying the Silna family – owners of the defunct Spirit of St. Louis – out of their take of TV revenue, writes Richard Sandomir of the New York Times. It’s a great read for those of you not familiar with one of the stranger business arrangements in pro sports.
- Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside conducted an interesting Q&A with D-League president Dan Reed, who expressed optimism that the league will eventually expand to 30 teams, with all 30 maintaining a single-affiliate relationship with an NBA franchise.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Eight Teams Interested In Andrew Bynum
2:26pm: The Hawks are unlikely to make a serious play for Bynum, a source tells Broussard. On the other hand, Broussard hears from a league source that Pat Riley and the Heat are expected to “go hard” after the center.
11:12am: Despite some speculation that the Nets may kick the tires in Bynum, a league source tells NetsDaily.com that Brooklyn has “no interest at all” (Twitter link).
11:00am: The Mavericks are among the teams interested in Bynum, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). As Stein notes, Dallas only has the minimum salary exception available to make an offer.
9:46am: There are eight NBA teams interested in signing Andrew Bynum when he clears waivers later this week, reports ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard (via Twitter). As we’ve heard for the last several days, the Heat and Clippers are Bynum’s top choices, but Broussard says that playing time, contending status, and salary will all factor into the big man’s decision.
While Bynum’s injury woes and off-court question marks have significantly diminished his value over the last two seasons, he has managed to stay healthy enough this year to post 8.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and a 15.4 PER in 24 games for Cleveland. If there were no red flags related to health and attitude, the 26-year-old would likely draw interest from just about every NBA team, but it sounds like at least a quarter of the NBA’s 30 clubs are still intrigued enough by his upside to inquire.
Broussard’s mention of money being a factor in Bynum’s decision is worth noting. Virtually all mid-season signings are for the minimum salary, but Bynum could be an exception to that general rule. If he’s seeking offers worth more than the minimum, teams with cap space or exceptions (mid-level and bi-annual) would presumably have an edge over teams with no financial flexibility, such as the Clippers, Knicks, and Nets.
After Bynum was released yesterday, we heard that the Clippers may not be overly interested in him, while the Hawks were said to be in the mix.
Ford On Young, Cavs, Lakers, Bulls, Draft
As usual, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford devoted half of his weekly chat to NBA talk and the other half to draft chatter. He provided a handful of interesting tidbits this week on both subjects, so let’s check in on several of the highlights….
- According to Ford, the Cavaliers flirted with acquiring Thaddeus Young from the Sixers in a deal for Andrew Bynum, but Philadelphia wanted Cleveland’s own 2014 first-rounder, which was a non-starter.
- Danny Ainge keeps saying the 2014 draft class is overrated, which Ford interprets to mean that the Celtics GM actually loves it.
- The Lakers are “living in a fantasy land” when it comes to their asking price for Pau Gasol, says Ford, adding that L.A. wanted more from the Cavs for Gasol than what the Bulls got for Luol Deng.
- Ford doesn’t think the Bulls are done dealing, noting that there have been a lot of trade whispers about Kirk Hinrich, Joakim Noah, and Carlos Boozer. I imagine Chicago would be much more inclined to part with Boozer and/or Hinrich than Noah.
- NBA execs who value advanced metrics are concerned about Julius Randle‘s lack of steals this season (one in 385 minutes). While NBA teams still like Randle a lot, no GM or scout has suggested recently to Ford that his team would take the Kentucky big man first overall.
- The Magic and Kings “really like” Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart.
- “Virtually every GM in the league is in love” with Joel Embiid, who remains in the mix for the first overall pick.
- Ford hears that a Mormon mission after this season isn’t out of the question for Jabari Parker, which prompted him to ask several GMs where they’d take the Duke forward if he declared for the draft and announced he was going on a two-year mission. Surprisingly, a few still said they’d take Parker first overall, says Ford.
Clippers Re-Sign Maalik Wayns
WEDNESDAY, 12:45pm: The Clippers have officially re-signed Wayns to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
TUESDAY, 2:12pm: After releasing him on Sunday, the Clippers are expected to re-sign Maalik Wayns, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. Stein reports that the Clips continue to assess Hedo Turkoglu, Sasha Vujacic, and other free agents, but the team will likely announce a 10-day contract for Wayns later today (Twitter links).
Wayns was waived this week so that the Clippers could avoid keeping him beyond today’s contract guarantee deadline, which would have put the team on the hook for his full-season salary. Re-adding him would give the club a full 15-man roster, but two players – Wayns and Darius Morris – would be on 10-day deals, so it wouldn’t necessarily preclude the signing of a player like Turkoglu, Vujacic, or Andrew Bynum later in the month.
Wayns, 22, has yet to appear in a regular season contest for the Clippers this season, having been sidelined after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in October.
Chris Smith Joins Erie BayHawks
12:34pm: Smith has rejoined the Erie BayHawks, dressing for the team today in its game against the Idaho Stampede.
WEDNESDAY, 8:30am: A tweet from Smith himself has raised doubts about his D-League team, since it seems to suggest he’s returning to the Erie BayHawks, as Schlosser writes.
TUESDAY, 5:15pm: It was reported earlier this week that the former Knicks reserve Chris Smith would sign with a D-League team but the exact team wasn’t revealed until moments ago by Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside. Smith will be signing a D-League contract with the L.A. D-Fenders, who are owned by the Lakers.
This will not be the first time this season Smith has seen playing time in the D-League, as the Knicks sent him down to their affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, for six games prior to waiving him.
Central Links: Bennett, Rose, Bulls, Bucks
The Bulls won their first game since trading Luol Deng, beating the Suns 92-87 last night, but the victory, Chicago’s third straight, didn’t pull the club any closer to the division-leading Pacers, who also won their third in a row. Indiana’s 13-game lead in the Central is by far the biggest margin between any division leader and second-place team in the NBA. Let’s round up a few items from out of that Central Division:
- Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wonders why the Cavaliers have yet to assign No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett to the D-League to help him develop, a topic which has been discussed among executives at this week’s D-League Showcase in Reno.
- Derrick Rose and his camp don’t have a leg to stand on if they’re unhappy with the Bulls‘ decision to trade Deng, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Publicly, team management has indicated that Rose has shown no indication of being upset with the Bulls’ direction, despite whispers that the star point guard wouldn’t be on board with a rebuilding period.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel is skeptical that the Bulls will be a serious candidate to land LeBron James this summer, but acknowledges that Chicago will likely be linked to many players leading up to free agency.
- Klay Thompson tells Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link) that he thought there was a 90% chance he’d end up being drafted by the Bucks back in 2011.
Grizzlies Opt Not To Re-Sign Seth Curry
Seth Curry lasted less than two weeks on the Grizzlies’ roster after being signed in December, his non-guaranteed contract having been waived before yesterday’s guarantee deadline. While Memphis had been considering bringing Curry back on a 10-day contract, the team has opted to pass for now, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who says Curry will rejoin the D-League’s Santa Cruz Warriors (Twitter link).
Curry, the younger brother of Stephen Curry, appeared briefly in just one game for the Grizzlies, but put up excellent numbers for Santa Cruz earlier this season, averaging 21.3 PPG and 7.8 APG in 12 contests. While Golden State’s affiliate holds his D-League rights, Curry remains free to sign with any NBA team that offers him a deal, and I expect it won’t be long before another club takes a 10-day flier on the 23-year-old.
As for the Grizzlies, it sounds like they were seriously considering bringing Curry back after releasing him over the weekend. Wojnarowski tweets that the club had Curry wait in town for three days after cutting him, only to eventually inform him that he wouldn’t be re-signed. As our updated list of roster counts shows, the Grizzlies have one open spot on their roster.