Kings Waive Matt Barnes
2:17pm: The Kings have officially waived Barnes, per a team release.
11:26am: In order for the DeMarcus Cousins trade between the Kings and Pelicans to become official, Sacramento will have to remove a player from its roster, since the team is sending out two players and taking three back. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link), the Kings are expected to open up that roster spot by waiving Matt Barnes.
Barnes, who will turn 37 next month, signed a two-year deal with the Kings in the offseason and has appeared in 54 games for the team this season. In 25.3 minutes per contest, Barnes has recorded 7.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.8 APG.
Although Barnes’ on-court production is probably about in line with what Sacramento expected, his behavior off the court has created problems. The veteran forward was allegedly involved in an altercation at a Chelsea nightclub in early December, and was recently booked for misdemeanor assault. He’ll have to appear in a Manhattan courtroom at a later date as a result of the charge.
Waiving Barnes would leave some dead money on the Kings’ cap. In addition to his guaranteed $6.125MM salary for 2016/17, Barnes also has a 2017/18 player option worth approximately $6.4MM. Assuming Sacramento officially cuts the 14-year veteran, the team would be on the hook for that figure, though it could be stretched across multiple seasons to free up some additional cap room for ’17/18.
After completing their Cousins trade, the Kings are also viewed as likely to waive newly-acquired guard Langston Galloway, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). If Sacramento goes ahead with that move, it would open up a spot on the club’s 15-man roster. (Note: Wojnarowski has deleted his tweet, and a more recent report from The Vertical has indicated the Kings will likely keep Galloway).
Kings Target More Young Players, Picks At Deadline
1:50pm: A source has told Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that the Kings don’t have plans to trade Collison. Of course, Sacramento also insisted for most of the season that it had no plans to trade Cousins, so it’s fair to be wary, particularly since there doesn’t seem to be much reason for the club to hang onto the veteran point guard.
7:37am: Having agreed to trade DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans, the Kings likely aren’t done dealing, reports Chris Mannix of The Vertical. According to Mannix, Sacramento will be targeting additional draft picks and players on rookie contracts before Thursday’s trade deadline, with players like Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, and Arron Afflalo available.
The Cousins trade agreement signaled that a full-fledged rebuild is underway in Sacramento, so it makes sense that players like Collison, McLemore, and Afflalo would be expendable — all three could become free agents this summer. Collison, in particular, is ticketed for unrestricted free agency and should draw some interest from teams in need of point guard help. His salary ($5.229MM) is modest, and his numbers this season (13.7 PPG, 4.2 APG, .421 3PT%) have been solid. Per Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (via Twitter), executives around the league believe Collison will “definitely” be traded.
Afflalo and McLemore were said to be available a month ago, so little has changed on that front. Reports last fall suggested that Sacramento’s new coaching staff had connected with McLemore and were excited to see how he performed this season, but his playing time has been inconsistent and he hasn’t taken a real step forward in 2016/17. The former seventh overall pick, who is averaging a career-low 18.1 MPG, is eligible for restricted free agency in July.
As for Afflalo, he hasn’t exactly thrived in Sacramento this season, averaging just 7.8 PPG and shooting 42.9% in part-time action for the Kings. While those marks are well below his career averages, Afflalo has been as effective as ever from three-point range (39.0%), and his contract is manageable — he’s making $12.5MM annually this year and next year, but next season’s salary is only guaranteed for $1.5MM, so his deal could be viewed as an expiring contract of sorts.
If Sacramento goes into fire sale mode, other vets like Kosta Koufos, Anthony Tolliver, Matt Barnes, and Tyreke Evans could also be available, though that’s just my speculation.
More Notes, Reactions, Updates On Cousins Trade
In the wake of Sunday night’s DeMarcus Cousins trade agreement between the Pelicans and Kings, we rounded up several notes, reactions, and details on the deal earlier today. Updates and reactions continue to trickle in, however, so let’s round up the latest…
News/rumors:
- A source familiar with the Kings‘ thinking tells Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Kings owner Vivek Ranadive believes Buddy Hield has “Steph Curry potential,” which was a key motivator for Sacramento. Given Hield’s struggles so far to adjust to the NBA, that seems like an awfully optimistic projection.
- The Celtics never had any real interest in Cousins, league sources tell Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. According to Himmelsbach, Boston “could not overlook all the warning signs” associated with the star center. “It’s just really hard when you can’t find one basketball person [to vouch for him],” one source said.
- Although an earlier report from Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical suggested that the Kings would probably waive Langston Galloway after acquiring him, Bobby Marks of The Vertical now writes that the team is planning to hang onto Galloway, who has a $5.434MM player option for 2017/18.
- The Pelicans likely aren’t done after striking a deal for Cousins, according to Scott Kushner of The Advocate, who tweets that he expects the team to try to claim, sign, or trade for a backcourt player.
- An earlier report suggested that the Pelicans offered Tyreke Evans to the Sixers in a package for Jahlil Okafor, but Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News (Twitter link) hears from a source that Evans wasn’t a part of that trade scenario.
Reactions/analysis:
- The acquisition of Cousins is a franchise-altering move that will return the Pelicans to relevancy in the NBA landscape, writes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com.
- Michael Lee of The Vertical makes the case that the Kings‘ timing in trading Cousins – interrupting the standout center’s enjoyment of All-Star weekend – was a microcosm of how they handled his entire stint in Sacramento. Sunday represented one last night of Kings chaos for Cousins, as Ben Golliver of SI.com details.
- While the Cousins trade should mark rock bottom for the Kings, things could get even worse for the franchise before they get better, says Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.
- The Kings‘ decision to trade Cousins is the “sanest move they’ve made in years,” argues Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. “This was a definite culture move,” a source with insight into the deal told Beck. “Enough was enough.”
- Bobby Marks of The Vertical provides a full breakdown of the swap from both the Pelicans‘ and Kings‘ perspectives, with a focus on the salary cap details.
Rockets Eyeing Wilson Chandler?
As Thursday’s trade deadline approaches, the Rockets are a team worth keeping an eye on in the pursuit of Wilson Chandler, reports Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter link) adds that he got a one-word answer when he asked someone with the Rockets if Chandler would be a fit: “Yes.”
The Rockets have the fourth-best record in the NBA at 40-18, and the team appears reluctant to shake things up much. General manager Daryl Morey and MVP candidate James Harden have both made comments in recent weeks about being happy with the team chemistry this season, so no blockbuster deal is around the corner for Houston.
Still, Chandler, who is a decent three-pointer shooter and can play either forward position, would be a solid addition to the Rockets’ rotation. This season, the 29-year-old is averaging 15.6 PPG and 6.7 RPG to go along with a .454/.338/.732 shooting line.
Despite his success this year with the Nuggets, Chandler reportedly wouldn’t mind being traded and has been linked to teams like the Thunder and Clippers. A USA Today report earlier this month suggested that Chandler hasn’t formally requested a trade, but has grown frustrated by what he views as an inconsistent role in Denver.
The veteran forward downplayed that report a day later, though he admitted that he’d appreciate more consistency. Since then, Chandler’s minutes haven’t fluctuated much — he has played between 34 and 41 minutes in five of six games, with the only exception being a blowout loss in San Antonio (26 minutes).
The Nuggets are expected to be active at the deadline, but there are a number of potential trade candidates on their roster, so it remains to be seen which direction the team will go in. Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Jameer Nelson, and Emmanuel Mudiay are among the other players whose names have surfaced in trade rumors.
Trade Deadline Outlook: Central Division
In the days leading up to the February 23 trade deadline, Hoops Rumors will be taking a closer look at each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. We’ll be identifying each team as a buyer, seller, or something in between, and discussing which teams and players are most likely to be involved in deals this month. We’ve already covered the Atlantic, Northwest, Southeast, and Pacific. Today, we’re examining the Central.
Buyers:
The Cavaliers (39-16) started buying last month when they sent a first-round pick to Atlanta in a deal for Kyle Korver. Since then, however, Cleveland’s on-court performance has been up and down, and LeBron James has called for the team to add a “playmaker.” Derrick Williams‘ play has been encouraging so far, but the Cavs could still use a ball-handler and a big man, particularly with J.R. Smith and Kevin Love on the shelf. The club’s luxury tax bill will continue to rise exponentially if team salary goes up though, so GM David Griffin likely won’t be taking on any big contracts.
No other team in the Central division is within 10 games of the Cavs, but the Pacers (29-28) are in playoff position and are interested in adding to their roster. Although there is reportedly some reluctance within the organization to part with the team’s 2017 first-round pick, that selection appears to be available in the right deal as Indiana seeks an established wing or big man. Paul George will have the opportunity to opt out of his contract in 2018, so the Pacers are running out of time to prove to him that their roster is capable of seriously contending — adding an impact player this week could help.
Odds Heavily Against Carmelo Anthony Trade
The odds of the Knicks completing a trade this week involving Carmelo Anthony are very slim, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. Anthony has said he prefers to remain with the Knicks through Thursday’s trade deadline, and that remains the most likely outcome.
Anthony, one of three players in the NBA with a formal no-trade clause in his contract, has been vocal about his preference to stick with New York. There are believed to be a small handful of teams, including the Cavaliers and Clippers, that Anthony might approve — Berman notes that Los Angeles is Carmelo’s preferred destination in a trade, and a weekend report indicated that the Cavs haven’t entirely closed the door on a possible deal. However, according to Berman, the Knicks haven’t discussed any trade scenarios with those teams that are attractive enough to make them ask their star forward to waive his no-trade clause.
[RELATED: Carmelo Anthony still pondering no-trade clause]
Anthony, who participated in All-Star weekend after being named to the Eastern Conference team as a replacement for Kevin Love, was happy that trade rumors involving him appeared to be dying down and weren’t a constant topic of conversation in New Orleans.
“Leave it like that,” Anthony said, according to Berman. “Things I’m dealing with, it’s good not to hear me in the media like that. This weekend was more about focusing on this weekend, having fun and getting away from that for a couple of days. I was in the moment just focusing on being here.”
Assuming Anthony finishes the season with the Knicks, he’ll head into the summer with two years remaining on his contract with the club. The final year is an early termination option, so he’ll have the chance to opt out and become a free agent in 2018.
Notes, Reactions, Details On DeMarcus Cousins Deal
The designated veteran extension in the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement was intended to make it easier for teams to keep their superstar players, but as Nate Duncan tweets, the Kings‘ decision to trade DeMarcus Cousins exposes an unintended consequence of the new super-max deal. If a team is unsure about whether or not it wants to make that massive commitment to its star player – and feels it “has to” make that commitment if it keeps him – it could lead to a trade, as it did with the Kings and Cousins.
For most of this season, the Kings seemed prepared to offer Cousins that massive designated veteran extension this summer, but owner Vivek Ranadive began to have doubts in recent weeks, per Chris Mannix of The Vertical. According to both Mannix and Sam Amick of USA Today, Cousins’ recent one-game suspension, along with the Kings’ win over Boston in the game he missed, played a part in the team’s decision to move him.
According to Mannix, that win over the Celtics without their star center in the lineup had some members of the Kings’ organization “dreaming of what a free-flowing, post-Cousins offense could look like.” Now the team will get a chance to see what its offense looks like without Cousins on a full-time basis.
Here’s more on the NBA’s latest blockbuster deal:
- One executive tells Mannix that his team would have taken Cousins only if the Kings were “giving him away.” A GM who spoke to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com was even more bearish on Cousins, suggesting that “New Orleans was desperate” and “Sacramento is free” of the mercurial big man. Still, as Goodman notes, multiple league executives were still surprised at how little the Kings got for their star center.
- Given the underwhelming nature of the trade package the Kings received, Kristian Winfield of SBNation.com wonders where the other offers for Cousins were. According to Mannix, a handful of teams, including the Magic and Celtics, expressed “nominal interest” in Cousins, though Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald tweets that Boston wasn’t one of the clubs actively engaged with Sacramento on Sunday.
- Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com answers a few key questions about the Cousins blockbuster, noting that the 26-year-old is now eligible for approximately $30MM on a maximum salary extension. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projections for 2018/19, a designated veteran extension for Cousins with the Kings would’ve been worth about $209MM, while a five-year max contract with the Pelicans will be worth approximately $179MM.
- Elsewhere at ESPN.com (Insider link), Kevin Pelton assigns the Pelicans a grade of A-minus for the deal, while the Kings get a D.
- The Cousins deal has a significant impact on the Sixers, Derek Bodner writes at DerekBodner.com. In addition to holding swap rights on the Kings‘ 2017 first-round pick and holding the Kings’ 2019 first-rounder outright, the Sixers also now have one fewer suitor for Jahlil Okafor. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News reported late last night (via Twitter) that the Pelicans offered Tyreke Evans, their 2017 first-round pick, and another draft pick for Okafor earlier this month, though Ramona Shelburne of ESPN notes (via Twitter) that New Orleans asked for top-20 protection on the 2017 pick.
Pelicans Looking To Trade Terrence Jones
With a deal in place to acquire DeMarcus Cousins, the Pelicans are looking to move one of their current frontcourt players, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com, who tweets that the club is seeking a trade partner for a deal involving Terrence Jones. Mason Ginsberg of Bourbon Street Shots (Twitter link) hears from multiple sources that Jones has likely played his last game for New Orleans.
Jones inked a one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Pelicans last summer, and has had a decent bounce-back season in New Orleans. After averaging just 8.7 PPG and 4.2 RPG with a career-low .452 FG% during his final year in Houston, Jones has recorded 11.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and a .473 FG% for the Pelicans in 2016/17.
Although Jones has played nearly 25 minutes per game for the Pelicans this season, there won’t be nearly as many minutes to go around with Cousins joining Anthony Davis in the club’s frontcourt, rendering Jones expendable. Even though the 25-year-old isn’t under team control beyond this season, his solid production and his affordability may make him attractive to other teams.
The Pelicans aren’t under any pressure to make any additional roster moves in the wake of their trade agreement for Cousins, since they’re sending out three players in that deal and only taking two back. However, all three players being traded by New Orleans – Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, and Langston Galloway – are guards, so the team may seek a backcourt piece in exchange for Jones.
According to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, the Pelicans are also considering signing Canton Charge guard Quinn Cook to a 10-day contract. Cook was the D-League’s Rookie of the Year in 2015/16, and was named the MVP in the NBADL All-Star Game this past weekend. Amico notes that Cook previously received some interest from the Mavericks before Dallas decided to sign Yogi Ferrell.
Community Shootaround: All-Star Game Defense
The NBA All-Star Game is intended to serve as a break from the grueling season but lately the already lax exhibition has become looser than ever. In each of the past three All-Star Games both teams topped the 150-point plateau with 2015/16’s games resulting in a staggering 196-173 West victory.
This year’s game has been no different. In the first quarter of Sunday’s contest, the Eastern Conference squad broke an All-Star Game record netting 53 points, yet at half-time they still trailed 92-97.
For many NBA fans, the run-and-gun style affair is a lighthearted distraction but for just as many, the lack of defense makes the game difficult to watch. A run through past game scores indicates that the annual contest wasn’t always so high scoring, a pattern that indicates that the stars who made up the rosters of yesteryear were more likely to aggressively check their opponents.
Unlike Major League Baseball, which awards home-field advantage in the World Series to the victor of the Midsummer Classic, the NBA gives relatively* little incentive for teams to compete for the win.
Our question to readers is what style of All-Star Game they would prefer to watch? Are high-scoring matchups of interest? Is the pursuit of a 200-point performance a thrilling alternative to a scrappy, defensive-minded game? And also, should the league consider raising the stakes of the All-Star Game and rewarding the winners more significantly?
*Per Forbes, players on the winning team take home $50,000 while those on the losing team are granted $25,000.
Atlantic Notes: Ibaka, Raptors, Knicks
When the Raptors return from the All-Star Break they won’t have long to incorporate newly acquired Serge Ibaka into their lineup. Team leaders DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are well aware of the fact that they’ll have to hit the ground running, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
“With a veteran like Serge who understands fitting in and everything about the league, I don’t think it should take long,” Raptors guard DeRozan said. “It’s on us to hop out the gate and take advantage. […] It’s given us a jolt.”
The Raptors currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 33-24 record but a recent slide has pushed the club out of the No. 2 spot that they occupied for the first few months of the season. The decision to ship core guard Terrence Ross to the Magic in exchange for Ibaka raises the stakes for the franchise.
“We ain’t got time. You know that,” Lowry said. The Raptors return to action Friday.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, the Raptors are seriously pursuing a swingman now that they’ve acquired Ibaka.
- The 2016/17 campaign has been a rough one for the Knicks but Marc Berman of the New York Post has quantified it anyway in a midseason report card. Receiving the best grade of the first half of the season is Willy Hernangomez, while Phil Jackson was graded ‘F’.
- Top free agents are unlikely to consider the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday, citing Kyle Lowry as one such example. Lowry is aware of the drama between Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony and Iannazzone suggests that could be a deterrent.