Lakers Shopping Lou Williams
The Lakers are shopping Lou Williams and it’s likely they move him before the trade deadline, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype reports. Kennedy speculates that Cleveland could be a fit for the veteran. The Cavs have an open roster spot after trading Chris Andersen to the Hornets.
Williams, who will make $7MM both this season and next, is having a solid year off the bench for Los Angeles. He’s averaging 18.4 points per game while shooting 38.2% from behind the arc. He is also sporting a career-high 23.4 player efficiency rating.
The Lakers owe their first-round pick to the Sixers if it falls outside the top three. Kennedy notes that if the team deals Williams, it will have a better shot at keeping its pick.
And-Ones: BIG3, 10-Day Contracts, Dorsey
The latest batch of retired NBA players to commit to the new BIG3 League has been announced, tweets Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. Joining the new three-on-three league will be Latrell Sprewell, Isaiah Rider, Earl Boykins, Brian Cook and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.
Sprewell, 46, averaged 18.3 points per game over the course of a 13-year career and was most recently spotted sitting courtside at a Knicks game with team owner James Dolan. Rider averaged over 19 points four times over the course of six seasons between 1994 and 2000 and is now 45 years old.
Abdul-Rauf, now 47, is the oldest of the bunch but averaged north of 18.0 points per game three times during a nine-year NBA career. Once known as Chris Jackson prior to converting to Islam in 1993, Abdul-Rauf averaged 29.0 points per game in two NCAA seasons with LSU.
There’s more from around the NBA:
- Now that the Warriors have officially signed Briante Weber to a second 10-day contract, an uncommon contract mechanism has come in to play. As Danny Leroux of RealGM tweets, Weber’s contract will actually last through Golden State’s February 25th game against the Nets because 10-day contracts formally span the longer of either 10 days or three NBA games. For more about 10-day contracts, consider our glossary feature on the matter.
- Former NBA player Joey Dorsey has signed a contract to play with Best Balikesir in Turkey, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando reports. The 33-year-old last played for the Rockets during the 2014/15 campaign.
- Several NBA teams including the Nuggets, Spurs and Jazz are said to be pursuing Serbian free agent Milos Teodosic, writes Djordie Matic of Novosti (via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 29-year-old will be eligible to sign with a club when his current contract with CSKA Moscow expires on July 1.
Heat Notes: Riley, Whiteside, Wade
With just nine days left before the trade deadline, Heat president Pat Riley is running out of time to decide whether his team will be buyers or sellers. Dave Hyde of the Sun Sentinel isn’t a firm believer in the current squad and cautions against overvaluing players who’ve seen their stock rise on the heels of Miami’s recent 13-game win streak.
Hyde writes that the decision to play and develop young players is an easier one to make when buried in the standings. Now that the Heat sit just two games back of the eight-seed in the Eastern Conference, it’s harder to make that justification.
Should Riley be convinced that his team is capable of making noise in the postseason – or is perhaps one player away from doing so – then he’ll have the rest of the week and a little bit of the next one to make something happen. The executive that landed Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning isn’t afraid of making big moves, Hyde reminds us, but his biggest decision this year may very well be deciding whether or not to pursue a move at all.
There’s more from the Heat today:
- Emotions are running high in Miami after the Heat dropped their second consecutive game after reeling off 13 straight wins, writes Shandel Richardson of the Sun Sentinel. In the club’s Tuesday night loss to the Magic, center Hassan Whiteside was temporarily benched for a lack of rebounding. “When a team hasn’t lost in almost a month, guys forget what it feels like to lose a game,” Whiteside said. “I think that pain came back and it was a thing we forgot about for a while.”
- If there was ever any doubt, Riley established that winning is more important to him than having a high draft pick. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the team president said as much when he spoke with season-ticket holders following the club’s 13-game win streak.
- The Heat ultimately let Dwyane Wade walk in an effort to retain cap flexibility for this upcoming summer, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reminds readers in a mailbag, so don’t expect them to open their pocket books just for the sake of nostalgia. The team’s salary-cap resources have to be used responsibly heading forward, Winderman says.
Northwest Notes: Nurkic, Plumlee, Jazz
The deal that landed Mason Plumlee may not be the last one the Nuggets make this month, suggests Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. The reporter relays that his sources believe Denver could still move names like Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari and even second-year point guard Emmanuel Mudiay.
After years of stock piling assets, the Nuggets have emerged as a playoff contender in 2016/17. Leading the charge for the franchise has been sophomore center Nikola Jokic. With Jokic at the helm and the club finally focused on building around him, the the team is in a position to deal some valuable building blocks in an effort to fortify their new core.
Kyler suggests that the emergence of Juan Hernangomez, too, could expedite a formal regime change in Denver. The Nuggets currently sit eighth in the Western Conference.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Newly acquired Trail Blazers big man Jusuf Nurkic spoke with the media about his new home. “I think it’s the perfect place for me,” he told the media. “They need me, and I need them.” The 22-year-old also mentioned that he didn’t mind whether head coach Terry Stotts slotted him into the starting lineup or brought him off the bench.
- The Nuggets don’t anticipate having any issues working Mason Plumlee into their rotation, writes Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Head coach Mike Malone expects to seamlessly integrate the new big man, adding that Plumlee’s playmaking abilities should help the team’s offense continue to flow well when Nikola Jokic is on the bench.
- The Trail Blazers will send $2.85MM to the Nuggets as part of the Nurkic/Plumlee swap, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. That, Pincus says, explains why Denver included a first-round pick in their outgoing package. For more details of the trade, consider Mark Deeks of Give Me Sport‘s break down of the deal.
- A Utah-based analytics firm will sponsor Jazz jerseys in 2017/18, but rather than plug the company’s own logo, they’ll promote that of a charitable organization generating funds for cancer research. The 5 For The Fight patch will be on Jazz jerseys for at least the first year of the organization’s three-year commitment with the team, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Magic Trade Serge Ibaka To Raptors
4:50pm: The Magic and Raptors have each confirmed the trade as reported, making it official (Twitter links).
10:13am: The Magic and Raptors have agreed to a trade that will send Serge Ibaka to Toronto, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. According to Wojnarowski, the Magic will receive Terrence Ross and a 2017 first-round pick in the swap.
The Raptors hold a pair of first-round picks for 2017, having acquired the Clippers’ lottery-protected first-rounder in addition to their own. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Orlando will get the less favorable of those two selections. As our 2016/17 Reverse Standings show, the Raptors’ pick currently projects to land at No. 20 or 21, while the Clippers’ pick would be No. 25, though the standings remain tight.
For the Magic, it’s essentially an admission that last summer’s Ibaka trade was a misstep. At the time, Orlando parted with a package of Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova, and a lottery pick (Domantas Sabonis) for the Oklahoma City big man. Ibaka’s value has declined a little as his contract nears its end, but a package of Ross and a late first-rounder still pales in comparison to what the Magic initially gave up for the 27-year-old.
[RELATED: Magic GM Acknowledges Criticism Is ‘Warranted’]
Still, last summer’s trade was a sunk cost for GM Rob Hennigan, who had vowed to be “aggressive” in pursuing trades this month. Reports had indicated Ibaka was unlikely to re-sign with Orlando this offseason, so the Magic were at least able to add a pair of assets that will help the team beyond 2016/17. Ross is under contract at a rate of $10.5MM annually for two years beyond this season, while the player drafted with Orlando’s newly-acquired 2017 first-rounder will be under team control through at least 2020/21. Hennigan will likely continue to be active on the trade market leading up to next Thursday’s deadline.
The Magic are also able to create a modest trade exception worth $2.25MM in the deal. That’s the difference between the 2016/17 salaries for Ibaka ($12.25MM) and Ross ($10MM). That trade exception will expire one year from now.
From the Raptors’ perspective, the deal will give them the stretch four they have long coveted. Although the team has been linked to several other power forwards – including Paul Millsap, Danilo Gallinari, and Taj Gibson – Ibaka’s name has perhaps been the one most frequently connected to Toronto in trade rumors. The Raps reportedly tried to acquire Ibaka during the 2016 draft, offering up their own lottery pick in a package, but were unable to match the Magic’s offer at the time.
Although Ibaka will be a free agent this summer, the Raptors now hold his Bird rights and have every intention of trying to re-sign him, tweets Wojnarowski. With Ibaka and Kyle Lowry both in line for lucrative new long-term deals in free agency in July, it will be interesting to see if Toronto moves another contract or two off its books in order to avoid going deep into luxury tax territory. It’s also worth noting that Ibaka and Lowry share an agent in ASM’s Andy Miller.
In the shorter term, Ibaka will join a Raptors frontcourt that features Valanciunas, Patrick Patterson, and Lucas Nogueira, while Norman Powell will be the top candidate to assume a good chunk of Ross’ minutes. In addition to providing some of the rim protection and rebounding that the team lost when Bismack Biyombo departed in free agency, Ibaka will also give Toronto an outside threat on offense.
Although he didn’t shoot much from beyond the arc earlier in his career, Ibaka has developed into a reliable option from outside, making a career-high 38.8% of his long-distance attempts this season. He’s also averaging a career-high 15.1 PPG to go along with 6.8 RPG and 1.6 BPG.
The timing of the move is good for the Raptors, who have been slumping so far in 2017. After posting a losing record in January, the team is just 2-4 so far in February, and will look to regain ground on the Cavaliers, as well as the surging Celtics and Wizards.
Before the Magic and Raptors struck a deal, Ibaka was believed to be drawing interest from the Heat, among other teams. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link), other offers for Ibaka were believed to be “shockingly weak,” with the big man’s impending free agency limiting his trade value.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Warriors Re-Sign Briante Weber
FEBRUARY 14: The Warriors have officially signed Weber to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
FEBRUARY 13: The Warriors intend to re-sign Briante Weber to a second 10-day contract when his first deal with the team expires, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (via Twitter). Weber, who signed on February 4, is currently on the 10th day of his current contract, so he’ll be eligible to re-sign with Golden State on Tuesday.
Weber, 24, received a substantial guarantee ($328K) from the Heat, but didn’t make Miami’s regular season roster in the fall, landing instead with the club’s D-League affiliate. Weber made a strong case for a call-up during his time in the NBADL, averaging 16.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 7.2 APG, and 3.0 SPG in 29 games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. He was recently named the D-League’s Player of the Month for January, and drew interest from multiple NBA teams before deciding to join the Warriors.
So far, Weber has appeared briefly in three games for Golden State, logging only about 10 total minutes in those contests. All of Weber’s playing time so far has come near the end of blowout wins, but given the Warriors’ staggering +13.3 point differential, there may be more of those opportunities on tap for Weber during his second 10-day stint with the team.
Assuming Weber officially re-ups with the Warriors on Tuesday, his 10-day contract will run through the All-Star break and would expire on the night of February 23, hours after the trade deadline passes. If the Warriors have the chance to add a player to their roster via trade on deadline day, they could waive Weber a day early to create an opening.
If the Warriors ultimately decide not to retain Weber for the season at the end of his second 10-day deal, he should have no shortage of NBA options. Chris Haynes of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter) that four teams besides Golden State have recently inquired about Weber’s services.
Trade Deadline Outlook: Northwest 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. Today, we’re examining the Northwest.
Buyers:
Two Northwest teams are currently over .500, and both the Thunder (31-25) and Jazz (34-22) are in decent position to add reinforcements, though that’s certainly no lock for either team. Oklahoma City has already cashed in many of its trade assets, including a protected 2020 first-round pick sent to the Sixers for Jerami Grant earlier this season. With no trade-eligible first-round picks before 2022 and Enes Kanter on the shelf, the Thunder have limited trade options. Young players like Cameron Payne and Josh Huestis are probably their strongest realistic trade chips at the moment.
As for Utah, the Northwest leaders likely won’t want to shake up their roster too significantly — potential 2017 free agents like Gordon Hayward and George Hill would be trade candidates if they were on lottery teams, but they’re not going anywhere for the Jazz. Still, the team’s sizable chunk of cap room, depth at the point guard spot, and extra first-round picks would make it easy for the Jazz to get something done if they receive an offer they like.
Toney Douglas Likely To Stick With Grizzlies For Season
Toney Douglas‘ second 10-day contract with the Grizzlies is set to expire this weekend during the NBA’s All-Star break, so the team won’t have to make an immediate decision on whether or not to retain him. Nonetheless, all indications suggest that – barring a trade – Memphis intends to sign Douglas for the rest of the season when his current deal expires, according to Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com.
Many 10-day signees don’t see much playing time for their respective teams, but Douglas has been a regular part of the Grizzlies’ rotation since rejoining the club at the end of January. The veteran point guard, who turns 31 next month, has averaged 5.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 13 games (16.8 MPG) this season, which includes a December stint with the team. Although Douglas’ numbers, including a career-worst .359 FG%, aren’t overly impressive, Memphis has played very well with him in the lineup — the club has a 11-2 record when Douglas sees the floor.
As Wallace notes, a few weeks ago, the Grizzlies were in need of a reliable backup point guard and an athletic rim protector off the bench. If Memphis were to make a deadline deal, it would likely to be address one of those two areas, but the team likes what it has seen recently from Douglas and Brandan Wright. If the club decides it’s comfortable moving forward with Douglas and Wright filling those roles, it will likely be a quiet trade deadline in Memphis.
Douglas, whose 10-day deals have cost the Grizzlies just under $58K apiece, would count for approximately $350K on a rest-of-season contract, depending on when he officially signs it.
Latest On Magic Johnson, Lakers
After suggesting last week that he ultimately wants to “call the shots” for the Lakers, new team advisor Magic Johnson has clarified those comments, though he didn’t exactly walk them back. The Hall-of-Famer tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com that while Jim Buss is the one calling the shots in the Lakers’ front office for now, Johnson wants to be the one with the decision-making power in the future.
“When I say calling the shots, it’s more, ‘Somebody has to be the final decision-maker.’ I would love that to be me,” Johnson said. “Everybody has their input, and then somebody has to make the final call. Once we gather all the facts, I’d love to be the person making the final call.”
Although Johnson said that he doesn’t want to be the team’s general manager, he tells Shelburne that he’d welcome a role in which the Lakers’ GM reports to him.
“I’d rely on people to do that, and same persona would be the day-to-day person,” Johnson said. “Then I’d have that role where that person reports to me, and we’d talk about where we are, what we’re doing, whether that’s scouting players, whether that’s transactions, whether we’re going to extend a player. All those things.”
While Johnson admits he’s not the one calling the shots at this point, that hasn’t stopped him from talking about what he would do if he were in charge. Appearing on ESPN’s First Take, Johnson said today that he’d want Kobe Bryant to join him in the Lakers’ front office, since Bryant “understands winning.” According to Johnson, he’d ask Kobe what sort of role he’d want, and would be happy to take “whatever time he has.”
Here’s more on Johnson and his new role in Los Angeles:
- In an interview on Monday with CBS This Morning, Johnson said he thinks it will take “three to five years” to get the Lakers back into contention, as Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Of course, Buss famously made a similar pronouncement three years ago, but the Lakers now have a few more young building blocks in place than they did in 2014.
- According to Shelburne and Medina, Johnson is scheduled to meet next Monday with Buss and GM Mitch Kupchak to discuss where the Lakers’ roster stands and what’s next for the franchise.
- The Lakers have been exploring potential trade options, but are considered unlikely to make a deal this month, since the structure of the front office remains up in the air, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. League sources tell Kyler that they expect the team to stand pat unless there’s a “no-brainer” offer on the table to improve the club’s long-term outlook.
- Jovan Buha of ESPN.com spoke to Lakers head coach Luke Walton about Johnson’s potential impact on the franchise going forward.
Trail Blazers GM Talks Plumlee, Nurkic, Trades
The Trail Blazers made a move earlier this week, acquiring Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first-round pick from the Nuggets in exchange for Mason Plumlee and a 2018 second-rounder. While many pundits praised the Blazers for the deal, Plumlee’s teammates were sad to see him go, and there are questions about whether Nurkic will have any more of an impact in Portland than he did in Denver.
General manager Neil Olshey spoke to the team’s official website on Monday about the deal, explaining why he was willing to move Plumlee, what he expects from Nurkic, and what else the team might do before February 23.
Let’s round up a few highlights from the Blazers GM…
On the decision to move Plumlee:
“Mason’s impending free agency was certainly a factor. We love Mason, we’re going to miss him around here. We wouldn’t have been in the second round of the playoffs last year without him. But there are certain realities to managing our cap. We felt like we needed to get younger at the center position. We wanted more of a low-post player, someone that can defend size, strength. We found that with Jusuf.”
On the benefits of acquiring Nurkic:
“We felt like in the long run, this will pay longer dividends, having a younger guy on a rookie-scale [contract] to manage our cap with it. He gives us a different look defensively. He’s a big-time rebounder and I think he’ll make the game easier for guys like [Damian Lillard] and [C.J. McCollum] because we’ve got more presence in the paint now defensively.”
On additional trade talks:
“We’re active. … I can’t speak to any specifics. I can tell you that the league is very active right now, but what we’re most excited about is having three picks in this draft. I think we’ve done a very nice job in the draft so far, whether it’s using draft picks to acquire players – like we did with Robin Lopez or Mason Plumlee – or drafting guys like Dame and C.J. and [Allen Crabbe]. So we’re excited about the prospect of that. It’s a big-time draft, it’s got incredible depth. We’ll be excited about it in June, but we now also have those tools for the next 10 days to put into play if a player that’ll impact our win total becomes available.”
On how the Blazers’ loaded salary cap affects their outlook going forward:
“This roster was always going to be a work in progress. We have the benefit of having Paul Allen as an owner. He let us retain all of our players. It wasn’t realistic to think we could manage that cap going forward, but it put us in position to keep as much as possible [and] give ourselves a chance to compete, knowing at some point we’re going to have to make some moves.”