Eastern Rumors: PG-13, Celtics, Rose, Bulls
Earlier tonight, we passed along the latest notes and rumors from the Western Conference. Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- Teams around the league believe that the Pacers are simply looking to gather information on the market for Paul George rather than shopping him, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets.
- Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears that there have not been any “substantial talks” between the Celtics and the Pacers or Bulls this week.
- There’s a feeling around the league that the Knicks “would give Derrick Rose away” in a trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Facebook Live link). Rose has recently been linked to the Wolves.
- In the same segment, Wojnarowski adds that he believes the Bulls may be interested in Jahlil Okafor regardless of whether they trade Jimmy Butler. Wojnarowski added that the Sixers would need at least a first-round pick to part with Okafor while the Bulls are likely to try and offload Nikola Mirotic in an Okafor deal.
- Wojnarowski adds (same piece) that the Bulls are firmly behind coach Fred Hoiberg. The organization wants to make it work with the former college coach and if Chicago trades Butler, the franchise could put together a team that’s much younger and possibly better suited for Hoiberg’s coaching style.
- Reggie Jackson‘s trade value is at an all-time low and Wojnarowski (same piece) doesn’t envision the Pistons trading him at the deadline.
- The Hawks acquired Ersan Ilyasova earlier today and Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) hears that the team isn’t done dealing.
- The Raptors continue to offer Jared Sullinger and a draft choice to teams as they look for help on the wing, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops tweets.
Western Notes: Mavs, Kings, Wolves, Jazz
We’re less than 17 hours away from the trade deadline. While we wait to see what unfolds, check out some notes and rumors out of the Western Conference:
- Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut are rumored to be on the move and the Mavericks held both of them out of practice today, Earl K. Sneed of Fox Sports relays via Twitter. “With the trade deadline tomorrow, you can read a lot into that,” coach Rick Carlisle said.
- If the Mavericks make a deal involving Williams or Bogut, it’s likely to occur right before Thursday’s deadline, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. The team is looking for picks in the upcoming draft in exchange for their veterans.
- The Kings are likely to move someone in their backcourt, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee tweets. Voisin hears that the Pacers have interest in acquiring Arron Afflalo.
- The Jazz have had conversations with other teams regarding a Derrick Favors trade, but a source told Spencer Checketts of 1280 KZNS (Twitter link) that the team doesn’t view any offer as “even close” to being fair.
- Wolves executive/coach Tom Thibodeau said the team is still looking at trade possibilities, but as of right now, he doesn’t see any deal that makes sense for the franchise, Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press writes. “If there’s something that makes sense that can make you better, then you take a look at it. If not, I’m happy with the team we have. I like the guys we have. I like the approach we have,” Thibodeau said.
- Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Chris Paul has been medically cleared to return to the court and he may play as early as Thursday, Andrew Han of ESPN.com relays.
Latest On The Pistons, Drummond, Caldwell-Pope
The Pistons are “welcoming offers” for Andre Drummond and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, according to Mark Stein of ESPN.com. It’s likely that Drummond stays with the franchise, as he’s beloved by owner Tom Gores, but the softened stance on the big man opens up the door on a potential trade.
The Blazers had discussions with the Pistons about bringing Drummond to Portland, but those talks ended when Detriot insisted on receiving C.J. McCollum in return, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Stein notes that the Blazers view McCollum as untouchable.
Stein adds that the Raptors and Pistons have had exploratory conversations on Drummond. Detroit has also engaged in conversations with the Nets. Before DeMarcus Cousins was traded to the Pelicans, the Pistons discussed a deal with the Kings centered around a Cousins-Drummond swap.
Drummond signed a max contract with the team over the summer. Caldwell-Pope will be a restricted after the season and the team is reportedly wary about having to give the shooting guard a sizable deal. Stein notes that the team is looking for at least one first-rounder in exchange for KCP.
If the Pistons hold onto Caldwell-Pope and re-sign him to a max deal in the offseason, they would be near the luxury tax line. That’s not an attractive position to be in for a team that sits below .500. However, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy tells Vince Ellis of the Detriot Free Press that ownership has not issued any mandate to shed salary this season.
Nets Trade Bojan Bogdanovic To Wizards
7:53 PM: The trade is official, according to a Nets’ press release.
3:01 PM: The Nets and Wizards have agreed to a deal that will send Bojan Bogdanovic to Washington, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Wojnarowski had previously identified the Wizards and Kings as teams with interest in the Brooklyn sharpshooter.
In exchange for Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough, who will also head to Washington in the deal, the Nets will receive Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thornton, and the Wizards’ 2017 first-round pick, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The pick will be lottery protected, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).
Bogdanovic, who will turn 28 in April, was the 31st overall pick in the 2011 draft and eventually arrived stateside to join the Nets in 2014. The 6’8″ forward is is enjoying a career year this season, with 14.2 PPG and a .357 3PT% in 55 games so far.
Although Bogdanovic is on an expiring deal, he’ll be eligible for restricted – rather than unrestricted – free agency this summer. His matching rights will now be held by the Wizards, rather than by Brooklyn, and that has some value. The Nets know first-hand that it can be difficult to steal an RFA away from another team — the club had offer sheets for Allen Crabbe, Tyler Johnson, and Donatas Motiejunas matched in 2016.
Depending on whether the Wizards want to commit to Bogdanovic beyond the 2016/17 season, they may have to worry about re-signing two key RFAs in the summer, as Otto Porter is also on track for restricted free agency.
From the Nets’ perspective, the club gets another first-round pick in what’s expected to be a deep and talented draft. That probably makes the deal a win for GM Sean Marks, even though the Wizards’ pick currently projects to fall just 24th overall, as our reverse standings show. The Nets, of course, don’t have their own first-rounder, but they’ll also get Boston’s pick, setting them up for two selections in the 20s.
As for the financial details of the trade, the Nets had been well below the salary floor, but they’ll inch about $2.3MM closer to that mark by taking on Nicholson and Thornton, who combine to earn more than $7MM. Meanwhile, the Wizards will cut costs a little by taking on Bogdanovic ($3.57MM) and McCullough ($1.19MM). Washington should also be able to create a traded player exception in the deal worth about $2.5MM.
While Bogdanovic and Thornton are free agents at season’s end, Nicholson and McCullough are controllable through the 2018/19 season. McCullough will be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of ’19, while Nicholson has a player option for the ’19/20 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bulls Continue To Pursue Jahlil Okafor
The Bulls have been linked to Jahlil Okafor and they continue to have conversations with the Sixers about acquiring the big man, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear what Chicago is willing to give up in exchange for the former No. 3 overall pick.
The Sixers are reportedly seeking at least one first-rounder in exchange for Okafor, as I mentioned in the center’s Trade Candidate piece. The Pacers recently showed interest in Okafor after reports indicated they were willing to move their 2017 first-rounder in a trade.
Philadelphia discussed Okafor with the Pistons regarding a deal that would send Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Philly, but Detroit was uninterested in such an offer. The Sixers previously had discussions with the Pelicans before they acquired DeMarcus Cousins and the team was close to shipping Okafor to Portland before the Blazers traded for Jusuf Nurkic.
Cavaliers Notes: Shumpert, Mack, Sanders
Iman Shumpert has been the subject of trade rumors with the Wolves and Rockets among the teams showing interest, but coach Tyronn Lue believes the Cavaliers will keep him on the team, as Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com relays. “You wish you could trade and get all the people you say you can get, but it never happens. … If you hear about 200 trades, there’s probably two that happens,” Lue said.
Here’s more out of Cleveland:
- Back-up point guard isn’t as much of a need for the Cavs as it was earlier in the season, Vardon writes in the same piece. “In the playoffs you can always get away with playing [LeBron James] at the backup point guard,” Lue said. “The backup point guard situation was more so to not play Bron and [Kyrie Irving] so many minutes throughout the regular season, but, I mean we just gotta go with what we got.”
- The Cavs recently engaged in trade talks with the Jazz regarding a swap of Shelvin Mack and Jordan McRae, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Haynes adds that the discussions have stalled out.
- Lue said he was impressed with Larry Sanders, who worked out for the Cavs today, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal tweets. Lue added that the biggest question with the big man is whether he loves the game or not.
Trade Rumors: Rose, Rubio, Okafor, Caldwell-Pope
The Timberwolves have reached out to the Knicks about a possible Derrick Rose deal, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post. Rose has fallen out of favor with Knicks president Phil Jackson, who is disappointed with the veteran guard’s effort on defense. Rose is entering free agency and sources tell Berman that New York would rather move him now than give him a long-term deal. He won MVP honors in Chicago in 2011 under Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau.
The proposed deal is believed to involve Ricky Rubio, whom Thibodeau has never believed in as his long-term point guard, according to Berman. Rubio still has two years and more than $29MM left on his contract and has been the subject of trade rumors since Minnesota drafted Kris Dunn last summer.
The Knicks contacted the Wolves about Rubio at last year’s deadline, Berman writes, and have been interested in him since he entered the league in 2009 because of the recommendations of their European scout, Kevin Wilson, who is based in Barcelona.
New York also reportedly likes Minnesota’s Nemanja Bjelica and inquired about his availability as part of the Rose discussions, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).
There’s more on the trade front as Thursday’s deadline inches closer:
- The Rockets have asked about Wolves guard Shabazz Muhammad, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Wolfson doesn’t believe the teams are close to a deal.
- The Pistons refused an offer from the Sixers involving Jahlil Okafor and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, tweets Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated. Philadelphia offered to bring a third team into the trade, but Detroit still wasn’t interested. The Pistons reportedly have hesitations about giving Caldwell-Pope a maximum salary after his contract expires at the end of the season. The Sixers have been calling around the league trying to make a deal for Okafor, with the Pacers and Bulls as the most frequently mentioned potential trade partners.
- The Suns are looking for someone to take Brandon Knight‘s contract and might be a fallback option for an Okafor trade, according to Fischer (Twitter link). A former starter in Phoenix, Knight in is the midst of a disappointing season, averaging 11.0 points per game and shooting less than 40% from the field. He still has three seasons and nearly $43.9MM left on his current deal.
- The Thunder and Clippers remain in pursuit of Nuggets swingman Wilson Chandler, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Southeast Notes: Porter, Heat, Plumlee, Magic
The Wizards may not be finished dealing after a multi-player trade with the Nets this afternoon, tweets Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. Washington will continue to look for help through Thursday’s trade deadline at 3 p.m. Eastern. Today’s deal, which sent Andrew Nicholson, Marcus Thornton and this year’s first-rounder to Brooklyn in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic and Chris McCullough, clears cap space to help the Wizards re-sign Otto Porter this summer, notes David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). Nicholson, who had fallen out of the rotation in Washington, still has three seasons and nearly $20MM left on his contract.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Bogdanovic has a 15% trade kicker, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link). That amounts to $157K, which Brooklyn will pay, but his cap hit for the Wizards is now $3.73MM.
- The Heat will avoid any deadline moves that would tie up their future cap space, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. That makes them unlikely to pursue the Nuggets’ Wilson Chandler or the Nets’ Trevor Booker, who both have contracts that extend beyond this season. Jackson cites a rival GM who has spoken to Miami about a deal and believes “they seem content to stand pat.”
- Miami expects to have Josh Richardson back in the lineup for Friday’s game, according to a tweet from the team. A foot injury has kept him out of the lineup since January 8th. “He’s had a healthy approach the last 4-5 weeks to prepare,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. Justise Winslow won’t be back this season, but he is making progress from shoulder surgery, the Heat noted (Twitter link), as his sling has been removed.
- Hornets center Miles Plumlee will be out of action for at least two weeks with a right calf strain, the team posted on its website. An MRI revealed the second-degree strain, and Plumlee will be re-evaluated in 14 days. He has played just five games for Charlotte since being acquired from the Bucks in a February 2nd trade.
- Despite a 21-37 record, the Magic have no plans to tank the rest of the season, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando is currently fourth in our Reverse Standings and would have an 11.9% chance of winning the lottery. Coach Frank Vogel believes it would be a mistake to try to improve those odds by losing on purpose. “As a coach, you worry about one thing, and that’s getting a group of guys that haven’t won in five years to learn how to win,” Vogel said. “That’s more important than any one player you can add.”
Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 2/22/17
Click here to check out the transcript of today’s Hoops Rumors live chat.
Knicks Seeking First-Rounder For Kyle O’Quinn?
Ian Begley of ESPN.com reported earlier today that teams are asking the Knicks about Kyle O’Quinn in trade discussions, and according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News (Twitter link), one club that spoke to New York about O’Quinn says the Knicks are looking to get a first-round pick for the big man.
O’Quinn, who turns 27 next month, is having his best season as a pro this year in New York, averaging career highs in PPG (6.4), RPG (5.6), and FG% (.534). Although he may not be a difference-maker, O’Quinn has been a reliable part-time player for the Knicks, and is on an affordable contract — he’ll earn about $4MM annually this season and next season.
Still, while it doesn’t hurt the Knicks to ask for a first-rounder, it would be a surprise if a trade partner was willing to give up a pick of that caliber without either getting another piece from New York or ditching an unfavorable contract. Although O’Quinn’s deal is cap-friendly, he has the ability to opt out of it in 2018, so he won’t be under team control for long. He’s also not a player who would have a major role for a contender, having averaged 14.3 minutes per game in his career, and never more than 17.2 MPG in a season.
In addition to O’Quinn, other Knicks that have been mentioned this week as potential trade candidates include Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, and Courtney Lee. Carmelo Anthony appears increasingly likely to stay put.