Sixers Trade James Ennis To Magic
4:03pm: The trade is now official, the Magic announced in a press release. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement that Ennis will add “shooting, athleticism, and toughness” to the team.
Orlando also confirmed the release of Amile Jefferson, which we noted in a separate story.
2:00pm: The Sixers have reached an agreement to trade James Ennis to the Magic in exchange for a second-round pick, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Ennis’ approval was required to complete the deal, adds Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). He has veto power over any trade because he’s on a one-year Bird restriction.
Philadelphia will receive the Lakers’ 2020 second-rounder in return, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). It would be 59th overall if L.A. remains in its current position in our Reverse Standings.
Because Orlando has a full roster, an opening must be created before the deal can be finalized. The most likely move is an early termination for Gary Clark‘s second 10-day contract, which expires tomorrow night.
The Sixers needed to clear two players off their roster after agreeing to a deal last night with the Warriors that will bring Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III in exchange for three second-round picks.
Buyout Rumors: Ellington, Jackson, Jazz
Veterans on the trading block that teams were unable to move by Thursday’s deadline could still wind up with other teams. Below are updates on some of those players:
- The Knicks will look into buying out shooting guard Wayne Ellington, Ian Begley of SNY-TV tweets. Ellington signed a two-year, $16MM contract with New York last summer but the second year is only guaranteed for $1MM. Ellington, 32, has appeared in just 24 games this season, averaging 4.0 PPG in 14.1 MPG. He’s a 37.7% career shooter from beyond the arc.
- A buyout of point guard Reggie Jackson is an option for the Pistons but is termed “premature” for the time being, Yahoo Sports’ Vince Goodwill tweets. Jackson, who is making over $18MM in the final year of his deal, has missed a good chunk of this season with a back ailment. He is close friends with Andre Drummond, who is headed to Cleveland.
- The Jazz will be one of the contenders scouring the buyout market both domestically and internationally, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. Utah explored several deals the past two days but couldn’t find one that made sense, Jones adds.
- The Cavaliers are apparently uninterested in buying out center Tristan Thompson. Get the details here.
James Dolan: I’m Not Selling Knicks
In the wake of Thursday morning reports indicating Leon Rose is expected to become the Knicks‘ next president of basketball operations, team owner James Dolan issued a statement this afternoon addressing the club’s front office search.
“We are actively looking for a new President of the New York Knicks and hope to conclude the search as quickly as possible,” Dolan said. “I am not selling, but I am determined to find the right leader for the Knicks who will ensure the long-term success of the team, just as we did with the hiring of Rangers President John Davidson.”
Dolan’s statement doesn’t mean the Knicks aren’t locked in on Rose. As Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets, it will take some time for Rose to get decertified as an agent and complete all the steps necessary for the Knicks to officially bring him aboard. He’s still on track to the run the front office — it’s just not official yet.
The more interesting part of Dolan’s statement may be the brief mention of how he’s “not selling” the team. There have been no reports circulating lately suggesting he was considering such a move, so it seems to be a response to the recent chants at Madison Square Garden. Knicks fans chanted, “Sell the team!” at Dolan near the end of a blowout loss to the Grizzlies last week.
When the Knicks removed Steve Mills from the president of basketball operations role earlier in the week, there was speculation that the serenade from fans may have played a part in Dolan’s decision to move forward with front office changes. Today’s statement doesn’t necessarily confirm that, but it seems to suggest Dolan hasn’t just brushed off those chants.
Cavs Don’t Plan On Buying Out Tristan Thompson
The Cavaliers do not plan to buy out center Tristan Thompson despite agreeing to a trade for Pistons center Andre Drummond, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets.
Thompson, who is making approximately $18.5MM this season, will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Thompson was on the trading block, with Cleveland reportedly seeking a first-round pick for the 28-year-old. Thompson’s camp was hoping he would be dealt and now finds himself in a tricky situation the last two months of the season with the addition of Drummond.
Clients of Klutch Sports – which represents Thompson – typically don’t negotiate buyouts, but he and the people around him “definitely wanted him out of Cleveland,” Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets. It’s unclear whether that desire has waned now that he wouldn’t get to take his Bird rights with him to a new destination.
Prior to adding Drummond, the Cavs were open to re-signing Thompson this summer, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The front office had internal discussions about a contract extension but Thompson’s demands were too high. The team’s brass also wanted to keep its options open for the offseason. A sign-and-trade involving Thompson this summer is a possibility, Fedor adds.
Thompson is averaging 11.9 PPG and 10.4 RPG in 31.0 MPG this season.
Magic To Waive Forward Amile Jefferson
The Magic plan to waive forward Amile Jefferson, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.
Orlando needs to open up a roster spot to make room for incoming forward James Ennis. The Magic agreed to acquire Ennis from the Sixers for a second-round pick on Thursday.
Jefferson, 26, has made 18 mostly brief appearances with the Magic this season, averaging 0.8 PPG and 1.3 RPG in 4.1 MPG. He also appeared in 12 games with Orlando last season.
Jefferson signed a two-year contract with Orlando in early November after playing for the team on a two-way deal last season. However, the second year of the minimum contract was not guaranteed. Jefferson, who was on a two-way contract with the Timberwolves for a good portion of the 2017/18 season, spent a majority of this season in the G League.
With Jefferson on his way out, it appears Orlando will retain Gary Clark for now. His second 10-day contract with the club expires on Friday night, so the club would have to re-sign him to a rest-of-season deal to keep him beyond that point.
Pistons To Waive Tim Frazier
The Pistons will waive point guard Tim Frazier so they can complete their Andre Drummond trade with the Cavaliers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Detroit is receiving Brandon Knight and John Henson in the deal, along with a second-round pick. The Pistons have a full 15-man roster, so another move is necessary before the trade can be finalized. Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press reported earlier today that Frazier would likely be the odd man out.
Frazier averaged 3.6 points and 3.4 assists in 27 games in his first season as a Piston. His minimum-salary cap hit will remain on Detroit’s books, assuming he clears waivers. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent this weekend.
Lakers Notes: Smith, Collison, Buyouts
The Lakers are expected to give free agent guard J.R. Smith a post-trade deadline audition, perhaps as soon as next week, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets (story first reported by Brandon ‘Scoop’ Robinson of Heavy.com).
Smith hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since November 19, 2018, the last of 11 games he played with the Cavaliers last season. The 34-year-old Smith has averaged 12.5 PPG in an NBA career that began during the 2004/05 season.
The Lakers remain the favorite to sign free agent point guard Darren Collison if he chooses to return to the league after retiring last summer. They’ll also be looking into the buyout market for reinforcements, Stein adds.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- The team did not make a deal prior to Thursday’s deadline and still has a full roster, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin notes in a tweet. McMenamin also relays they’ll look into signing Collison and see what develops in the buyout market.
- It’s believed that Collison’s preference is the Lakers over the Clippers, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets. Collison is expected to make a decision on whether to un-retire after the All-Star game. He doesn’t want to leave the Southern California area, meaning the Lakers or Clippers would be the main players for his services. The Nuggets and Sixers also reportedly have interest in Collison if he’s willing to move away from the area.
Clippers Won’t Retain Isaiah Thomas
The Clippers won’t be keeping Isaiah Thomas after acquiring him in today’s three-team deal with the Wizards and Knicks, reports David Aldridge of The Athletic (Twitter link). Since the deadline has now passed, we can assume that means Los Angeles will be releasing Thomas once the trade is officially complete.
Thomas, who will turn 31 on Friday, started 37 games this season for the Wizards and has had a nice bounceback year, averaging 12.2 PPG and 3.7 APG with a .409/.413/.816 shooting line in 23.1 minutes per contest. He has been a liability on defense, however — Washington recorded a dismal 120.2 defensive rating during his minutes.
Waiving Thomas would open up a second spot on the roster, since the club also traded point guard Derrick Walton to Atlanta today. Los Angeles may be targeting specific players on the buyout market – including comeback candidate Darren Collison – for those roster openings.
Assuming Thomas is cut today, teams around the NBA will have an opportunity to claim him off waivers this weekend. Since he’s on a minimum-salary deal, no cap room or trade exception would be required to place a claim.
Kings Waive Eric Mika
The Kings have terminated Eric Mika‘s 10-day contract to open a roster spot so they can complete a trade with the Hawks, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Sacramento agreed last night to send Dewayne Dedmon to Atlanta in exchange for Jabari Parker and Alex Len. Because the Kings had a full roster, another move was necessary before the deal could be finalized.
Mika, a 25-year-old power forward, got into just one game after signing his contract on February 1. He scored six points and collected seven rebounds in 19 minutes.
Sixers To Waive Trey Burke
The Sixers will waive back-up point guard Trey Burke so they can complete a trade with the Warriors, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Philadelphia agreed last night to send three second-round picks to Golden State in exchange for Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III. Because the Sixers had a full roster, two spots had to be opened before the deal could be finalized. In addition to cutting Burke, Philly is trading James Ennis to the Magic for a second-rounder.
Burke, 27, appeared in 25 games for the Sixers after signing as a free agent last summer. He averaged 5.9 points and 2.1 assists per game while sharing reserve point guard duties with Raul Neto.