Trade Deadline Notes: Evans, Hill, Hood, Mavericks
One of the most important deadlines on the NBA calendar is less than 24 hours away, and teams are preparing their best offers as we head for 2:00pm Central. We’ll find out soon if any more franchise-altering moves are in store for this season, but in the meantime here are some Wednesday night trade rumors:
- The Celtics remain in the running for Grizzlies guard Tyreke Evans, but there’s a sense that Memphis is getting better offers elsewhere, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. A GM from another team tells Bulpett that Boston is waiting to swoop in if talks with those other clubs fall apart. Evans’ value figures to have increased after Lou Williams agreed to an extension with the Clippers today, taking one high-scoring guard off the market.
- Multiple teams have shown interest in George Hill, but the Kings don’t want to take on bad contracts, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The Cavaliers have been the team most prominently linked to the veteran guard, but Jones says the Rockets and others have contacted Sacramento about Hill. Houston could match salaries with Ryan Anderson, but he is owed more than $41MM over the next two seasons and the Kings want to avoid cutting into their future cap space. They are seeking young players and draft picks in return for Hill.
- Teams have also called the Kings about veterans Garrett Temple, Vince Carter and Kosta Koufos, Jones adds in the same story. Both Temple ($8MM) and Koufos ($8.74MM) have player options for next season, while the 41-year-old Carter is on an expiring deal.
- Jazz swingman Rodney Hood told Shams Charania of The Vertical that he expects to be traded. “I’ve had great times in Utah, but regardless of where I’m playing, whether it’s there or somewhere else, I’m going to stay professional,” Hood said. “I’m going to stick with it. My gut feeling is that I won’t be here by the deadline. I’ve enjoyed my time here, but I’ve felt isolated the past month and I would not be surprised if I was moved.”
- The Mavericks are being offered players by teams trying to unload salary, but they aren’t getting enough incentives to make the deals worthwhile, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Sefko lists Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle of the Lakers and J.R. Smith of the Cavaliers as players who would be available if Dallas doesn’t mind committing the cap space.
- The Knicks may be in the market for more deals after sending Willy Hernangomez to the Hornets, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Kyle O’Quinn and Courtney Lee are the most likely players to be moved.
Central Notes: Pistons, S. Johnson, Dunn, Bucks
The Disabled Player Exception the Pistons received doesn’t make them more likely to complete another deal before tomorrow’s trade deadline, writes Ansar Khan of MLive. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy says tax concerns will limit the team’s ability to follow up last week’s blockbuster that brought Blake Griffin to Detroit.
“The chances of that helping us at all are very, very slim because it would take us into the [luxury] tax to begin with and we only have until March 12 to use it,” Van Gundy told reporters before tonight’s game. “I don’t expect it to be of much value, but you want to have every tool at your disposal.”
The Pistons’ DPE is valued at about $5.25MM, half the salary of Jon Leuer, who is out for the season with an ankle injury. The Griffin deal cost the team its top two scorers in Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley, but Van Gundy believes there are still enough good shooters on the roster.
There’s more news from the Central Division:
- It might take a starter and a draft pick to pry Stanley Johnson away from the Pistons, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Johnson is among the team’s best defensive players and has increased his offensive production over the past five games, averaging 15 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
- Bulls guard Kris Dunn returned to practice today for the first time since suffering a concussion after taking a hard fall in a January 17th game, writes Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. Dunn has been ruled out for Friday’s game, but is hoping to play again before the All-Star break. However, coach Fred Hoiberg warned that may not be possible. “He hasn’t done anything,” Hoiberg said. “His inactivity will prevent him from playing anytime soon. But the important thing is he was able to do some non-contact drills, he’s been on the treadmill, he’s completed the bike portion.” The Bulls are 1-7 without Dunn, who sparked a streak of success after moving into the starting lineup in December.
- The Bucks created a $1.9MM trade exception when they shipped Rashad Vaughn to the Nets on Monday, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. Milwaukee also has two other trade exceptions valued at $3,4MM and $5MM.
Nuggets, Jazz Discuss Wilson Chandler, Joe Johnson Deal
Exploratory trade talks between the Nuggets and Jazz have focused on a swap of Wilson Chandler and Joe Johnson, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
Chandler, 30, remains an important part of Denver’s rotation, although his scoring average and shooting percentages have dropped sharply. He is contributing 8.8 points per night while shooting .414 from the field and .322 from 3-point range, down from 15.7/.461/.337 a year ago. He is making a little more than $12MM this season and has a $12.8MM player option for next year.
Johnson, 36, is averaging 7.3 points in 31 games for Utah, while shooting .422 from the field and .272 from long distance. He had a $10.5MM salary this season on an expiring deal.
Hornets Notes: Walker, Graham, Cho, Hernangomez
The Hornets haven’t changed their public stance about trading Kemba Walker, according to Rick Bonnell and Brendan Marks of The Charlotte Observer. In a conference call earlier today, GM Rich Cho emphasized that the team is open to offers but isn’t actively trying to deal its leading scorer.
“We’re not shopping Kemba, but it’s our job to listen,” Cho said. “It would take something really great to move him. We love Kemba. He’s a great player, All-Star caliber. It wouldn’t surprise me if we did do something, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t do something.”
The Hornets are frequent dealers near the deadline, acquiring Courtney Lee, Josh McRoberts and Mo Williams in recent years. Team owner Michael Jordan recently said he “would not trade (Walker) for anything but an All-Star player,” but financial considerations may affect that stance. Walker has one more season left at the bargain price of $12MM and will likely be seeking a max deal in the summer of 2019.
There’s more news today out of Charlotte:
- Second-year forward Treveon Graham has been a pleasant surprise this season, but cap concerns may prevent the Hornets from keeping him in free agency, Bonnell writes in a separate story. Graham is making a little more than $1.3MM this year, but Charlotte has to be careful about any spending with more than $116MM in guaranteed money already committed for next season. “If I were a coach, Treveon Graham would be on my team every single time,” said teammate Marvin Williams. “I know [coach Steve Clifford] has a certain level of comfort with him, and we do, too, as players.”
- Cho may have concerns about his future in Charlotte if the Hornets don’t make the playoffs, Bonnell adds in a mailbag column. Former Lakers GM and North Carolina alum Mitch Kupchak has been floated as a possible replacement, and Bonnell suggests ex-Cavaliers and Hawks GM Danny Ferry and Pistons GM Jeff Bower as well.
- The Hornets are happy to take a chance on second-year center Willy Hernangomez, who was acquired today in a trade with the Knicks, according to a story on the team’s website. Hernangomez has found playing time hard to come by this season, but Charlotte is encouraged by the numbers he put up as a rookie. “We’re excited to add a player of Willy’s caliber to our team,” Cho said. “He showed last season that he can contribute when given the opportunity and we believe that the added depth he provides will benefit our frontcourt rotation.”
Jeff Hornacek Gets Vote Of Confidence From GM
Amid speculation that Jeff Hornacek’s job could be jeopardized by what appears to be another lost season, Knicks GM Scott Perry offered a vote of confidence today, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Already five games out of a playoff spot, New York suffered a crushing blow Tuesday night when star forward Kristaps Porzingis tore his left ACL. Perry says he understands the situation and plans to judge Hornacek and his staff by more than just their won-loss record.
“No, we’re not looking to make any changes,” Perry said. “We’re evaluating the entire season. Jeff and his group are working really hard with this basketball team and doing the very best they can and obviously this is an adversity for them to deal with [Kristaps Porzingis] being out, but I’m confident that they’ll be able to do a good job of keeping this team playing hard and playing together. That’s what we’ll be looking at moving forward.”
Hornacek has one season remaining on the three-year deal he signed when he was hired in 2016. He has a 54-83 record during his time in New York and hasn’t developed the Knicks into a playoff contender.
Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt, a longtime friend of team president Steve Mills, has been mentioned as a possible replacement, along with ex-Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who spent nearly seven seasons with the Knicks as a player.
In the wake of Porzingis’ injury, Hornacek plans to devote more minutes to younger players for the rest of the season.
“We’re still trying to win games,” he said. “We’re still trying to develop our guys. This is going to give them an opportunity to get some minutes and see what they can do against NBA guys. We’ve seen some of it, because they practice with us, and we see what they can do against our guys.”
Trail Blazers Won’t Trade C.J. McCollum
Although his name has appeared in a few trade rumors, the Trail Blazers have no plans to make a deal involving C.J. McCollum, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian.
A source tells Freeman that McCollum will be staying put, even though he was linked to a possible deal with the Cavaliers involving Kevin Love. Portland GM Neil Olshey has said before that he won’t trade away the fifth-year shooting guard.
“It’s a tough situation to be in,” McCollum said when asked about the trade deadline. “I always tell people … imagine you show up to work every day and there’s rumors about you being traded from your job to another job in another city. Every day. And imagine that it actually happens. But you find out the same time everybody else finds out. And you’ve got kids or you’ve got a wife, whatever the case may be. Maybe you bought a house. And now you’re traded and you have to move to another city. And it’s out of your control. Literally out of your control. So it’s a tough situation to be in, but a part of the business.”
McCollum is averaging 21.8 points per game and shooting a career best .425 from 3-point range, but the Blazers are facing a financial crunch, operating roughly $3MM above the tax line. Freeman suggests Noah Vonleh, who has fallen out of the rotation and is making a little more than $3.5MM in the final year of his rookie deal, may the most likely to be dealt.
Atlantic Notes: Porzingis, Hornacek, Monroe, Fultz
The Knicks are still reeling after losing Kristaps Porzingis for the rest of the season and possibly longer, but GM Scott Perry told Brian Hayman of Newsday that a full recovery is expected. At a news conference today, Perry confirmed that Porzingis will need surgery for a torn ACL. The team doesn’t have a timetable for when it expects Porzingis to start playing again, but Perry did offer a bit of hope for Knicks fans.
“We have tremendous confidence in our medical group here that he’s going to make more than a full recovery,” Perry said. “And so whenever that time is, when he’s back on the court, we expect him to be back at full strength and better than ever. That was our message to him. And that’s his message to us.”
The injury complicates a huge offseason decision in New York as Porzingis becomes eligible for an extension to his rookie contract. He was in the middle of his most productive year, averaging 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and a league-leading 2.4 blocks per game, so a max offer seemed inevitable. However, the injury may change the equation as the Knicks may seek to work out a smaller deal or could let the Latvian star become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Porzingis’ misfortune affects numerous aspects of the Knicks‘ organization, including the future of coach Jeff Hornacek, according to James Herbert of CBS Sports. Hornacek has one more season left on his contract, but he was hired by former team president Phil Jackson and doesn’t have a strong connection to the current regime. Hornacek is 54-83 in a season and a half in New York and may be presiding over another second-half collapse.
- Free agent center Greg Monroe will officially sign with the Celtics sometime before Thusday’s game, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. Monroe announced his plans to join the team on Friday, but there has been a delay in case the Celtics need an open roster spot for a trade before tomorrow’s deadline.
- Sixers guard Markelle Fultz did a brief interview with TNT Tuesday night, prompting a round of post-game questions for coach Brett Brown about the rookie’s condition, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He doesn’t go through everything — there are some drills that I take him out of — but he does go through a lot,” Brown said. “He does go through a large majority of the practice. It isn’t 100 percent yet, but it a very large majority of our practices.” The top pick in the 2017 draft, Fultz has appeared in just four games.
O’Connor’s Latest: Thunder, Bradley, Simmons
When we relayed the latest rumors on the Thunder‘s search for wing help on Tuesday, Avery Bradley was one player we mentioned, with a report suggesting Oklahoma City has done its due diligence on the Clippers guard. It wasn’t the first time Bradley’s name has surfaced as a potential OKC target, and multiple league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that Bradley’s name “keeps popping up” as a player of major interest to the Thunder.
As O’Connor observes, one deal that would make sense on paper and would work financially is Bradley for Alex Abrines and Terrance Ferguson. However, the Thunder are reportedly very reluctant to part with Ferguson, recognizing that they’ll need inexpensive role players for the next few years if they hope to keep their current core together.
Still, some sort of deal involving Abrines could be possible. O’Connor hears from a league executive that Clippers director of pro player personnel Johnny Rogers – who played and broadcasted in Spain – “loves” Abrines, a former Barcelona standout.
O’Connor shares a few more items of interest in his latest piece for The Ringer, so let’s round them up…
- Although the Thunder have kicked the tires on Magic swingman Jonathon Simmons, multiple sources tell O’Connor that Simmons isn’t expected to be available — at least not for what Oklahoma City would offer.
- Two front office sources have informed O’Connor that the Thunder would be among the frontrunners to sign Joe Johnson if he’s bought out by the Jazz this month.
- The Hawks have had some trouble gaining traction on deals for some of their veterans, according to O’Connor, who says that the Thunder and Pacers are among Atlanta’s potential trade partners for players like Marco Belinelli, Dewayne Dedmon, or Ersan Ilyasova. O’Connor notes that the Hawks had interest in T.J. Leaf prior to last year’s draft, but he’s skeptical that the Pacers would surrender the rookie forward for a veteran rental.
Clippers Sign Lou Williams To Contract Extension
2:55pm: Williams’ three-year extension will be worth $8MM annually, with a $1.5MM partial guarantee on the third year, per Mark Deeks of GiveMeSport (Twitter links). The partial guarantee on that final year can increase if Williams hits certain performance incentives, says Deeks. As expected, those terms will make Williams ineligible to be traded this week.
Williams’ deal is now official.
12:12pm: The Clippers and veteran guard Lou Williams have agreed to terms on a three-year contract extension, league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune first reported (via Twitter) that the Clips planned to finalize Williams’ extension before today’s practice. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski adds that the deal will include a third-year team option, while TNT’s David Aldridge suggests there’s a partial guarantee on that third year (Twitter links).
Salary details aren’t yet known, but Williams would be eligible to receive up to about $30.3MM for three new years. A person with knowledge of the negotiations told Sam Amick of USA Today earlier today that a deal may end up closer to about $8.5MM annually.
Late last night, Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst broke the news that Williams and the Clippers were making progress toward a new contract, suggesting that teams with interest in trading for the 31-year-old were becoming “increasingly resigned” to the fact that he may not be available.
A contract extension on its own doesn’t make a player ineligible to be traded, but NBA rules will prevent Williams from being dealt for the next six months if he signs an extension that adds three new years to his current contract, or includes a raise of more than 5%. It appears that Lou Will’s extension will fit that bill, which would mean he’ll stay put at Thursday’s deadline. Even if Williams retains his trade eligibility, his agreement with the Clippers looks like a signal that he’s part of the team’s long-term plans.
Long regarded as one of the NBA’s most dangerous bench scorers, Williams has taken his game to another level since joining the Clippers in last June’s Chris Paul trade with the Rockets. In 51 games (14 starts) so far this season, the former second-round pick has put up 23.3 PPG and 5.3 APG with a shooting line of .439/.380/.900. He had been in the final year of his contract, earning a $7MM salary.
The timing of the move is interesting for the Clippers, who just cleared a considerable amount of long-term salary from their books last week by sending Blake Griffin to Detroit. There had been speculation that the front office was looking to create cap room to pursue free agents in the summer of 2019, or perhaps even 2018. Williams’ new deal figures to reduce the team’s spending flexibility.
After locking up Williams, the Clippers figure to continue exploring the trade market for deals involving some of their other veterans. As Charania notes within his report, DeAndre Jordan and Avery Bradley are both viewed as trade candidates.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Heat Exploring Deals For Wing Help
The Heat are exploring the trade market for help on the wing, and they’re among the teams that have expressed interest in Hawks swingman Marco Belinelli, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. While Miami has interest in Belinelli, he’s one of several wings that the team has done due diligence on, Jackson notes.
Here’s more on the Heat, as they consider their trade options:
- Although the Heat want to add a wing player, they’re not desperate to make a deal before Thursday’s trade deadline, according to Jackson, who says he’d be surprised if the team parts with Justise Winslow for a rental.
- Despite having signed Joe Johnson when he was bought out by Brooklyn two years ago, the Heat wouldn’t be the favorites to land the veteran forward if he’s waived by the Jazz this month, says Jackson.
- The Heat were identified this week as a team that has expressed interest in DeMarre Carroll, prompting Jackson to explore whether Miami might be interested in trading Winslow and Tyler Johnson to the Nets in exchange for Carroll. It’s an interesting idea, since the Nets originally signed Johnson to his current contract, which will get much more expensive in 2018/19. Such a deal would allow the Heat to save some long-term money and would net Brooklyn another former lottery pick. However, Brian Lewis of The New York Post says the Nets have no plans to make that swap.