Odds & Ends: Sloan, Azubuike, Sessions, Heat
The deadline for players to be waived in order to be eligible for the playoffs with another team passed last night, and Chris Kaman, who would have been on the radar of just about every team needing a big man had he been bought out, is still with the Hornets. New Orleans "desperately" tried to trade him before last week's trade deadline, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, but didn't get a worthy offer. He'll be a free agent at season's end, and wants to sign with a contender then, Kennedy said. Here's the rest of what's shaking around the NBA:
- Guard Donald Sloan, who signed last week with the Cavs, gave reporters a little insight on his contract, as the end of this video on Cavs.com shows. His deal extends into next year, but is guaranteed only until the end of this season.
- Newest Mav Kelenna Azubuike, who drew raves from owner Mark Cuban last night, will start off with the Texas Legends, the Mavs D-League affiliate, notes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
- The Hawks expressed interest in trading for Ramon Sessions before the Cavs wound up dealing him to the Lakers, Kennedy tweets.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel answered reader questions about the Heat. Despite this week's signing of Ronny Turiaf, much of the talk still revolves around the center position.
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld rounds up the players who could sign contracts worth as much as $10MM a year as free agents this summer.
- Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters hasn't made up his mind about whether he'll enter the NBA Draft just yet, but he says the Spurs, Thunder and Jazz have called him in case he wants to give it a go, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY. He's projected to go in the middle of the first round, and could climb into the lottery, Zagoria writes.
Central Notes: Irving, Bucks, Lucas
- This article from Cleveland.com highlights Kyrie Irving's impressive performance in the fourth quarter in a recent loss to Atlanta, and follows up with a few miscellaneous Cavaliers notes.
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel writes about Scott Skiles approach to the Bucks' remaining season schedule.
- Although Derrick Rose has been battling injuries throughout the season, the Bulls have managed an 11-4 record without him. An instrumental part of that success can be credited to the emergence of John Lucas III as a solid contributor. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune digs deeper into Lucas' journey up to this point in the season.
- The Pistons completed last week's road trip with a disappointing 1-4 record, two losses which included coming up short to the Clippers in overtime and Ben Gordon missing a potential game winner in Denver. David Mayo of MLive.com writes more about Detroit's inability to finish games, as well as some thoughts from head coach Lawrence Frank.
- Tayshaun Prince is determined to turn things around in Detroit, writes Chris Tomasson of FS Florida.
Celtics Frontrunners To Sign Hollins
The Boston Herald is reporting that the Celtics are considered by league sources to be the frontrunners to land free agent center Ryan Hollins when he clears waivers.
Hollins was waived on Tuesday by the Cavaliers, and the Celtics have been rumored to be interested, especially in light of the news that Jermaine O'Neal will miss the remainder of the season.
Hollins, 27, averaged 3.7 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 24 games with the Cavaliers this season. He is in the final year of a three-year deal worth $7MM, and is making $2.4MM this season. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Odds & Ends: Kaman, Gee, Arenas
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Wednesday night:
- NBA.com's David Aldridge reports (via Twitter) that the Hornets' stated plan to finish out the season with Chris Kaman, rather than pursuing a buyout, has not changed.
- Cavaliers coach Byron Scott told the Plain-Dealer's Tom Reed (Twitter link) that the team views Alonzo Gee as a long-term piece going forward. Gee is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
- Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace told radio host Chris Vernon (Twitter link) that the seed for his signing of Gilbert Arenas was planted by a blog post that was sent to him.
Buyout Updates: Hickson, Hollins, Cook
Boris Diaw is the latest player to be bought out by his team, as he and the Bobcats parted ways today. Rumors continue to swirl about where he and other free-agents-to-be could land, with the latest report suggesting Diaw could be headed for San Antonio. Here are the most recent updates on where bought-out players could sign, and who might receive a buyout next:
- J.J. Hickson is still expected to sign with the Warriors if and when he clears waivers, tweets SI.com's Sam Amick.
- In addition to sharing a few notes on what the Cavaliers' offseason could bring, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio provides an update on Ryan Hollins in his weekly chat — the big man is drawing interest from the Celtics and Mavericks, according to Amico.
- Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star adds the Pacers to the list of potential suitors for Hollins (Twitter link).
- Brian Cook is unlikely to pursue a buyout from the Wizards, his agent tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
Cavaliers Waive Ryan Hollins
8:16 pm: The decision to part ways was mutual, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. Lloyd also characterizes the move as a buyout, meaning Hollins was motivated enough to leave the team that he was willing to give back a part of his $2.48MM salary.
11:56am: The Cavaliers have placed Ryan Hollins on waivers, the team announced today. The move reduces Cleveland's roster to 14 players.
The Cavs have been busy since Thursday's trade deadline, adding guards Donald Sloan and Manny Harris on rest-of-season contracts, and waiving Jason Kapono. The Hollins move is a little surprising — although the 27-year-old wasn't a key contributor for Cleveland, he was averaging 15+ MPG this season, and has a cap figure of $2.48MM in the final season of a three-year contract.
Hollins will join J.J. Hickson and Ronny Turiaf on the big man market as a potential target for contenders. Though he's shown flashes of promise in the past, the 7'0" center struggled this season, averaging 3.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and just 7.0 PER in his 24 games.
Cleveland will look for another big man to fill out its roster, according to the Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
Latest On J.J. Hickson
After failing to find a trade at last week's deadline, the Kings parted ways with J.J. Hickson yesterday, buying him out of the remainder of his contract. Hickson is expected to land in Golden State, but still needs to clear waivers, and may have other teams interested in him. Here's the latest on Hickson, with the newest updates up top:
- Hickson will likely pick the Warriors over the Suns because Golden State can offer him a larger role, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- As we covered earlier, the Pacers, Cavaliers, and Raptors, who all have enough cap space to easily absorb Hickson's $2.35MM salary, won't be placing waiver claims, according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
- In an interview with Cowbell Kingdom, Hickson acknowledged he's considering the Suns in addition to the Warriors: "We’re still talking and hopefully I can find the right situation for myself and then we’ll go from there."
- A Warriors exec told Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group that he's not sure why Hickson has fallen off so much, "but we want to find out."
- The Nets aren't interested in Hickson, says Fred Kerber of the New York Post.
Kyler On Arenas, Hickson, Turiaf, Fisher, Powell
In his latest NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler checks in on a few free agents and free-agents-to-be, providing updates on their potential destinations. Let's round up the highlights….
- Gilbert Arenas is expected to take a physical and finalize his deal with the Grizzlies today.
- The Pacers, Cavaliers, and Raptors, who all have enough cap space to easily absorb J.J. Hickson's $2.35MM salary, won't be placing waiver claims.
- A number of teams are interested in Ronny Turiaf but "word is" the forward will likely decide between the Celtics and Heat. Like Hickson, he doesn't figure to be claimed on waivers by clubs with cap space.
- The Lakers have extended an offer to Derek Fisher to join the team's basketball operations staff. However, it doesn't appear Fisher is ready to retire just yet. We heard earlier today that the Thunder and Heat are the favorites to land the longtime Laker.
- Josh Powell is drawing interest from the Suns and Celtics, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reported last night. I believe Powell signed in Switzerland late in February, and I haven't seen any reports that indicate he's parted ways with Neuchatel. The Swiss regular season has ended though, so perhaps Powell is lining up an NBA job for when he returns. Since he hasn't played for an NBA team this season, he can sign after March 23rd and still be eligible for the postseason.
Finnan On Sessions, Kapono, Walton, Boykins
Three games behind the surging Knicks in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, the Cavaliers have a vastly different roster than they did a week ago heading into the final stretch of the season. They'll play host Sunday afternoon to the Hawks amidst a full slate of NBA action. Let's take a look at what The News-Herald's Bob Finnan has to say about the current state of the Cavaliers in the wake of what was a busy trade deadline for the club.
- Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak is very pleased to have been able to acquire Ramon Sessions from the Cavaliers for a first-round pick projected in the mid-20s. "In terms of the draft picks, I don't think we could've found a Ramon Sessions if he were available in the 20s this year in the draft," Kupchak said.
- The Cavs' decision to cut Jason Kapono wasn't a premeditated move by the team but rather a numbers game given that the Cavs needed to find a roster spot for Manny Harris. As part of the Sessions trade, the Lakers provided the Cavs with enough money to cover the cost of waiving Kapono.
- Much of the criticism surrounding what the Cavaliers received from the Lakers stems from Luke Walton's $6.1MM contract for next year. The hefty price tag for adding a first-round pick hasn't deterred Cavs head coach Byron Scott from feeling optimistic about the team's standing heading into the draft. "I'm very excited about what we did as far as getting another first-round pick, which is very exciting for us to go along with the one we have and our two second-round picks," Scott said. "So, like I said in the short term and in the long term, it was the best thing for us to do and we feel pretty good about it."
- If the Cavs didn't resign Harris, they would have seriously considered adding Earl Boykins to the mix. Boykins, 35, was serviceable last season with the Bucks where he averaged 7.2 PPG in limited action.
Central Notes: Nocioni, Pistons, Kaman, Walton
The Bulls are the class of the Central Division and the league, topping the NBA with a 36-10 mark heading into tonight's game with the Sixers. Here's what's happening with a couple of other teams in the division trying to build toward what Chicago has now:
- Don't expect to see Andres Nocioni back with the Bulls as the team would add a shooting guard or a big man if they were to make an addition, tweets Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald. The Sixers released the forward this morning.
- According to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, the Pistons were not in the running for Patrick Mills, who is close to joining the Spurs (Twitter link). That contradicts an earlier report from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- Langlois also looks at the patient approach of Pistons GM Joe Dumars and passes along that Detroit may look to sign Chris Kaman, a Michigan native, as a free agent in the offseason.
- New Cav Luke Walton, acquired this week in the Ramon Sessions deal, said he and Lakers coach Mike Brown "weren't on the same page" in L.A., according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Nonetheless, Walton was still caught off guard by the trade. Cleveland coach Byron Scott is complimentary of Walton's skills and basketball IQ, but isn't sure what his role will be, Amico writes.