Grizzlies, Brandan Wright Working Toward Buyout
The Grizzlies are working toward a buyout with forward Brandan Wright, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets. The 30-year-old big man has played the last three season in Memphis but has struggled to stay on the court.
Across the 67 games that he has suited up for the club, Wright has averaged 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in just 15.3 minutes of action.
While Wright may not carry with him the clout that some of the other veterans set to hit the buyout market do, he could be a valuable addition for teams interested in frontcourt depth.
A full-fledged breakout never came for Wright but the former lottery pick has shown glimpse of impressive production in the past. He may not have lived up to the $17MM, three-year deal he inked with the Grizz back in 2015 but he can certainly help a contender for cheap if he does ultimately clear waivers.
Hawks, Marco Belinelli Reach Buyout Agreement
5:02pm: The Hawks have formally requested waivers on Belinelli, the team announced in a press release.
2:18pm: The Hawks are finalizing a buyout agreement with shooting guard Marco Belinelli, leagues sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, several contending teams are interested in Belinelli.
Belinelli, who will turn 32 next month, has been his usual productive self for the Hawks this season, averaging 11.4 PPG on .411/.372/.927 shooting in 52 games (23.3 MPG). Given Atlanta’s struggles and Belinelli’s expiring $6.6MM contract, the veteran was widely viewed a strong trade candidate leading up to Thursday’s deadline.
In fact, the Hawks even pulled Belinelli out of their lineup earlier this week as trade talks ramped up, presumably expecting him to be dealt. However, Atlanta ultimately didn’t pull the trigger on any deals. With Belinelli set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer and the Hawks preferring to give minutes to young players down the stretch, it didn’t take long for the two sides to pursue a buyout.
Assuming the Hawks and Belinelli finalize their buyout agreement and the former first-round pick reaches free agency, there should be no shortage of potential suitors. The Thunder, Pacers, Sixers, and Heat were among the teams said to have interest in Belinelli leading up to the deadline, and Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets that the Timberwolves talked to the Hawks about him too. Contenders like the Warriors, Celtics, Rockets, Cavaliers, and Raptors would also be among the bevy of possible fits.
Belinelli’s decision figures to come down to how heavily he weighs various factors, such as playing time, money, and the ability to legitimately compete for a title.
Thunder, Rockets Emerge As Suitors For Tony Allen
A week after having been shipped out of New Orleans, veteran wing Tony Allen has been waived by the Bulls. If the 36-year-old shooting guard clears waivers on Sunday, TNT’s David Aldridge says the Thunder and Rockets will be among the teams bidding for his services.
While Allen had been used marginally for the Pelicans through the first half of the season, he’s a famously effective perimeter defender, perfect for a Houston team in need of defensive depth on their second unit or a Thunder squad desperate to fill the vacancy left by Andre Roberson.
In 12.4 minutes of action for the Pelicans this season, Allen averaged 4.7 points per game. In 27.0 minutes per game during the 2016/17 campaign with the Grizzlies, however, The Grindfather put forth a respectable 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per.
Allen figures to be one of several big name players on the buyout market this season, so committing a roster spot now isn’t without its drawbacks, but Allen’s skill set will be an indisputably enticing one for team’s looking for depth on their bench.
Windhorst/Lowe On Cavs, Clips, Dinwiddie, Hood
The Cavaliers had an eventful trade deadline, trading away six players and taking back four new ones in three Thursday trades. However, it sounds as if the team was somewhat close to making an even bigger splash. Appearing today on Zach Lowe’s Lowe Post podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that there were people around the NBA who believed on Thursday morning that the Cavs and Clippers were gaining traction on a DeAndre Jordan deal.
“The reason people thought that was because there were other teams that were engaged in trade talks with pieces that would have spun off from that trade,” Windhorst explained. “So it got to the point where the Cavs and Clippers felt like they were close enough to some sort of agreement with each other that they could begin looking to bring in third teams and that’s why I know about it.”
According to Lowe, who says that the Cavaliers were never willing to send the Nets’ 2018 first-rounder to the Clippers in exchange for Jordan, talks between Clevleand and L.A. never got into “the red zone.” Still, Windhorst says that the two teams got at least “some distance down the road” before the Cavs opted to make other deals and the Clippers decided to keep Jordan.
Here’s more from Windhorst and Lowe:
- The Nets were asking for “a lot” in return for Spencer Dinwiddie, according to Lowe, who says the Cavaliers explored a trade for Dinwiddie that involved Cleveland’s own 2018 first-rounder. Such a deal would have had the added benefit of improving the value of Brooklyn’s first-rounder for the Cavs, the Nets’ asking price was too high for Cleveland.
- According to Lowe, Avery Bradley‘s asking price for his upcoming free agency is “gargantuan.” Lowe expects the Clippers guard to have to recalibrate his expectations at some point.
- Lowe doesn’t think Rodney Hood‘s deal in restricted free agency this summer will be exorbitant, speculating that the Cavaliers might be able to lock him up for something in the neighborhood of $10-12MM per year.
- Windhorst, who said last week that the Cavaliers had explored whether George Hill would be open to a buyout next year if they were to acquire him, clarified some details on that report. Since Hill was believed to be “miserable” with the Kings, per Windhorst, the Cavs looked into whether he’d be willing to reduce the guarantee on his $19MM salary for 2018/19 in order to facilitate a trade. That didn’t end up happening though.
- Windhorst and Lowe said today there has been a lot of chatter around the NBA about the Grizzlies‘ approach to the deadline. For about 36 to 48 hours, Memphis was giving the teams the impression that they were on the verge of moving Tyreke Evans, presumably in an effort to get clubs to increase their offers, according to Lowe, who says the Grizzlies may have “out-thought themselves.”
Southwest Notes: Spurs, McDermott, Rockets
It was a quiet trade deadline in San Antonio, which is nothing new for the Spurs, who rarely shake up their roster in February. The team’s inactivity on Thursday was just fine with veterans like Tony Parker, who said prior to this year’s deadline that they’d be happy if the team stood pat, counting on Kawhi Leonard to be the major late-season addition.
“I think it is always good to stay intact,” Parker said of the Spurs’ roster, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “We went to the conference finals last year, so the biggest thing for us is not a trade but to get Kawhi back.”
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Having acquired Doug McDermott from the Knicks on Thursday, the Mavericks plan to re-sign the fourth-year sharpshooter in restricted free agency this summer, sources tell Marc Berman of The New York Post. Dallas will have the right of first refusal on McDermott, allowing the team to match any offer sheet he signs.
- For the first time since he became the Rockets‘ general manager, Daryl Morey didn’t make a deadline deal this season, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle details. Morey explained that Houston simply didn’t have much to give up, with very few expendable players and no first-round pick for 2018. Still, the Rockets are likely to be active in the buyout market, according to Feigen, who says point guard figures to be an area of focus for the club.
- Spurs swingman Danny Green has new representation, per Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News, who tweets that Green has left BDA Sports and signed with Roc Nation. Green could reach unrestricted free agency as early as this summer if he turns down his $10MM player option for 2018/19.
- Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal explores why the Grizzlies chose not to trade Tyreke Evans at Thursday’s deadline.
Traded Player Exceptions Created In Deadline Deals
Before NBA teams started reaching trade agreements on Thursday, we published the latest entry in our Hoops Rumors Glossary, focusing on the traded player exception. As we explain in our breakdown, the traded player exception can allow over-the-cap teams to receive more salary than they send out in “simultaneous” trades.
The more common form of traded player exception is the one generated in a “non-simultaneous” trade, when a team send out a single player and takes back less salary – or none at all – in return. The team then has one calendar year to use that newly-created exception to acquire one or more players whose salaries fit into that exception.
For instance, the Raptors created a $11,800,000 trade exception in last July’s DeMarre Carroll trade with the Nets, meaning that on Thursday they could have acquired a player earning, say, $11MM without sending out any salary in return.
Not many teams took advantage of their outstanding trade exceptions on Thursday, but at least a couple teams appear to have completed trades with previously existing trade exceptions, or with disabled player exceptions. Nearly every trade completed on Thursday also generated at least one new trade exception, so we’ll round up those newly-created TPEs below.
With the help of tweets from cap experts Albert Nahmad and Bobby Marks, along with information from RealGM’s official transactions log, here’s a breakdown of the new TPEs, sorted by value. Not all of these exceptions have been confirmed with 100% certainty, but this is what we believe they’ll look like. These TPEs will expire if they’re not used by February 8, 2019:
- Utah Jazz: $3,708,883 (Joe Johnson to Kings)
- Portland Trail Blazers: $3,505,233 (Noah Vonleh to Bulls)
- Memphis Grizzlies: $3,028,410 (James Ennis to Pistons)
- Note: If the Grizzlies didn’t use their existing $3.4MM TPE to absorb Brice Johnson‘s salary, this TPE would instead be worth $1,697,250.
- Toronto Raptors: $2,451,225 (Bruno Caboclo to Kings)
- Utah Jazz: $2,386,864 (Rodney Hood to Cavs)
- New Orleans Pelicans: $2,300,000 (Dante Cunningham to Nets)
- Brooklyn Nets: $1,889,040 (Rashad Vaughn to Pelicans)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $1,471,382 (Dwyane Wade to Heat)
- Detroit Pistons: $1,471,382 (Willie Reed to Bulls)
- Los Angeles Lakers: $1,471,382 (Larry Nance to Cavs)
- Chicago Bulls: $1,429,818 (Jameer Nelson to Pistons)
- Detroit Pistons: $1,331,160 (Brice Johnson to Grizzlies)
- Miami Heat: $1,312,611 (Okaro White to Hawks)
- Washington Wizards: $1,312,611 (Sheldon Mac to Hawks)
- Dallas Mavericks: $1,107,552 (Devin Harris to Nuggets)
- Note: This TPE is not listed by RealGM.
Our list of outstanding traded player exceptions has been updated, and will be adjusted if necessary once we’re able to confirm all the TPEs listed above.
If you have any corrections or questions, please let us know in the comment section.
Community Shootaround: Trade Deadline Winners, Losers
The 2018 NBA trade deadline is now behind us, and it was a little busier than expected. A dozen deals were completed on Thursday, after four more trades were finalized in the 10 days prior to the deadline.
The Cavaliers stole the show on deadline day, completing three trades that sent out a total of six players and saw them land four new players: George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance. It was a fascinating roster overhaul for the Cavs, who surrendered their own 2018 first-round pick along with Isaiah Thomas, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder, Iman Shumpert, and Channing Frye, but hung onto the Nets’ 2018 first-rounder.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype spoke to several players from around the NBA to get their trade-deadline impressions, and the Cavaliers were the team mentioned most frequently. Trevor Booker called Cleveland the deadline’s “biggest winner,” while an anonymous Eastern Conference guard lauded the Cavs for acquiring several “guys who are hungry.” Multiple players pointed specifically to Hood as a player who will have an impact in Cleveland.
The Lakers also received praise from more than one player who spoke to Kennedy. L.A. only made one trade on deadline day, but it was a big one — in exchange for Clarkson and Nance, two players on multiyear contracts, the Lakers took on a pair of expiring contracts and nabbed the Cavs’ 2018 first-round pick. The move puts the team in great position to go after two star free agents in 2018 or 2019.
The Jazz, who moved Hood and Joe Johnson and landed Crowder and Rose, will also active on deadline day, as were the Heat, who reunited with old friends Wade and Luke Babbitt. The Knicks and Suns each picked up a former top-10 pick, with New York acquiring Emmanuel Mudiay and Phoenix trading for Elfrid Payton. The Pistons added bench depth in the form of James Ennis and Jameer Nelson, while the Trail Blazers got out of the tax. The Nuggets and Mavericks were among the other teams who were active.
Conversely, several potential title contenders had very quiet deadlines. The Spurs, Rockets, Warriors, and Celtics didn’t make any trades on Thursday, and the Raptors‘ only deal was a back-of-the-bench move. Some potential sellers were unexpectedly quiet too, as the Clippers hung onto Avery Bradley and DeAndre Jordan, the Grizzlies kept Tyreke Evans, and the Hawks retained Dewayne Dedmon, Marco Belinelli, and Ersan Ilyasova.
Our full 2018 trade deadline recap can be found right here.
Based on all those moves, and even a few trades from last week too, if you want to count the Blake Griffin and Nikola Mirotic swaps as deadline deals: Which teams – or players – do you think were the winners and losers of this year’s trade deadline?
As multiple 2017 blockbuster trades have shown, our early impressions of a trade can sometimes be off base (just ask the Pacers, who are very happy with Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis these days). But we’re still curious to know what you think of the latest deals from around the NBA. Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Kings Willing To Buy Out Johnson, Prefer To Keep Carter
Joe Johnson, acquired from the Jazz by the Kings in one of Thursday’s three-team trades, will “definitely” get a buyout if he wants one from Sacramento, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. However, according to Stein, the Kings would love to hang onto another veteran – Vince Carter – for the rest of the season.
There’s a sense that the Kings would be open to working with Carter on a buyout if an intriguing landing spot surfaces for him in the weeks leading up to March 1, Stein reports (via Twitter). Still, Sacramento is hoping that he elects to stick around and act as a veteran mentor to the team’s young core.
Carter is on a one-year, $8MM deal with the Kings, and has played a limited role for the club this season. In 34 games, the 41-year-old has averaged 5.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG with a shooting line of .385/.367/.667 in 16.6 minutes per contest. His locker room presence has been important though, as the Kings’ in-season goals have transitioned — the club initially hoped to compete for a playoff spot, but now is focused on developing young players.
If the Kings were to grant Carter a buyout, one scenario could involve a return to his old team in Toronto. Multiple sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca that the Raptors front office has internally discussed the possibility of signing Carter if he reaches free agency, though he’s just one of several possible targets Toronto is keeping an eye on, Grange notes.
As for Johnson, we heard shortly after Thursday’s trade that he was expected to seek a buyout from the Kings, and that Sacramento was expected to be amenable to one. The Warriors and Celtics were mentioned as a pair of early frontrunners for the veteran forward, with the Thunder cited as a potential suitor too, per Kelly Iko of ESPN 97.5 Houston (Twitter link). The Rockets would also have interest in Johnson, according to David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
There’s no deadline for teams to finalize buyouts with players, but they have to happen by March 1 in order for those players to retain their postseason eligibility. Players waived after March 1 can’t participate in the playoffs if they sign with a new team.
Bulls Waive Tony Allen
A week after acquiring him from the Pelicans, the Bulls have waived veteran guard Tony Allen, the team announced today (via Twitter). Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, Allen will become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday.
Allen, 36, appeared in 22 games this season for the Pelicans, averaging 4.7 PPG and 2.1 RPG in a very limited role (12.4 MPG). He has been sidelined since mid-December due to a fracture in his leg, though he recently told TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link) that he has been medically cleared to return to action.
The Pelicans included Allen in last week’s trade that sent Nikola Mirotic to New Orleans in order to clear some salary and open up a roster spot. The veteran was never in Chicago’s plans, but the Bulls held onto him through the trade deadline in case they were able to include him a trade and extract a tiny bit of value, as they did with Jameer Nelson. Bulls executive John Paxson said on Thursday that the club would speak to Allen’s agent to determine whether or not he’d be waived — now, it seems Chicago is giving the 14-year veteran a chance to sign with a playoff team.
While it remains to be seen whether Allen will be scooped up right away by a contender, the Thunder were said to have some interest in him. Because he’s on a one-year, minimum salary contract, Allen could be claimed off waivers by any team besides the Pelicans. If he clears waivers, his modest 2017/18 cap hit will remain on the Bulls’ books.
Colangelo: Fultz May Not Return This Season
While the Sixers are in the running for a playoff berth this year after bottoming out for multiple seasons, the status of No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz continues to cast a dark cloud over a fairly sunny season in Philadelphia. Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, 76ers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo admitted that it’s possible Fultz won’t play again in 2017/18 (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
As Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets, Colangelo’s comments don’t necessarily mean that Fultz is likely to sit out the next two months. Still, the latest update doesn’t exactly sound promising.
“There’s always a chance that he’s going to be out there soon, and there’s a chance that he’s not going to play this year,” Colangelo said, per Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia (Twitter link). “I can’t answer that question because we don’t know the answer to that.”
The rookie point guard has had to completely rebuild the muscle memory in his shooting mechanics during his absence, according to Bodner. Addressing Fultz’s current shooting range, Colangelo said today that it’s “within the paint.” The Sixers president later cut his media session short, walking away without comment after being asked when he would issue the next update on Fultz’s status (Twitter links via Bodner).
Fultz, 19, appeared in just four games this season before being shut down by the 76ers due to a scapular muscle imbalance and soreness in his right shoulder. According to Bodner, the team still isn’t sure whether that injury was caused by Fultz changing his shot, or if he changed his shot as a result of the injury.