Knicks Will Waive Vincent Poirier
After acquiring him in a larger three-team deal, the Knicks will be waiving former Sixers center Vincent Poirier, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
New York also will have gained a 2021 second-round pick and former Thunder swingman Terrance Ferguson from Philadelphia in the trade.
During his second NBA season, Poirier failed to crack Philadelphia’s big man rotation. This year, the 27-year-old seven-footer is averaging just 3.9 MPG across a scant 10 games, even with All-Star center Joel Embiid absent recently due to a bone bruise in his left knee.
Releasing Poirier will give New York an open roster spot, as Ian Begley of SNY observes (via Twitter). That roster spot may not stay open for long, however.
The Knicks may still be very much in the hunt for a new center on the buyout market, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports that New York’s relatively quiet maneuvering at the deadline gives them plenty of available capital. As we relayed earlier today, the team could be looking to add Cavaliers center Andre Drummond, who is reportedly working towards a buyout with Cleveland.
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Spurs Buy Out LaMarcus Aldridge
5:33pm: The amount of Aldridge’s buyout was actually $5.8MM, per Wojnarowski (via Twitter). While that’s not quite as high as Charania’s report suggested, it’s still a significant amount, considering he only had about $8.5MM left on his deal, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
4:31pm: Aldridge gave back $7.25MM in his buyout agreement with the Spurs, tweets Charania. That’s a sizeable portion of the money that was left on his $24MM expiring salary and more than players typically give up as part of a buyout.
Charania notes that the Trail Blazers will be in the mix to sign Aldridge, though he reiterates that Miami is the frontrunner.
4:08pm: The Spurs have completed their buyout with Aldridge and have placed him on waivers, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll be able to sign with a new team as of Saturday evening.
2:47pm: LaMarcus Aldridge is negotiating a buyout with the Spurs, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
San Antonio decided two weeks ago to part with the veteran big man, who is in his sixth season with the team. Aldridge lost his starting job earlier this year and saw his minutes reduced to 25.9 per game. He hasn’t played since March 1.
Aldridge will likely have to give up some of his $24MM salary to secure his freedom from the Spurs. The Heat are considered the favorites to sign Aldridge once he clears waivers, but he plans to talk with several teams before making a decision, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Trail Blazers Acquire Norman Powell From Raptors
5:07pm: The trade sending Powell to Portland is official, according to a team press release. Raptors team president Masai Ujiri lauded Powell’s contributions to Toronto in a statement.
“Norman accomplished so much with the Raptors,” Ujiri said in part. “Norman is an NBA Champion, and he has earned his place as one of the great success stories in franchise history.”
11:52am: The Raptors will send Norman Powell to the Trail Blazers in exchange for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Portland won the bidding war for Powell, who is expected to turn down an $11.6MM player option for next season and become a free agent. He will add another scoring option to a Blazers team that already has Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in the backcourt.
It was reported that roughly half the league had called Toronto to inquire about Powell, who is having a career-best season at 19.5 PPG.
The Raptors opted for financial flexibility in the deal. Hood, 28, has a $10.86MM contract for next season that is non-guaranteed until June 23. Hood’s playing time has dropped off sharply this season and he’s shooting just 29.8% from beyond the arc.
Trent is making $1.66MM and will be a restricted free agent this summer if Toronto makes a $2.12MM qualifying offer. The third-year swingman became a part-time starter this season and is averaging a career-high 15.0 PPG. He has knocked down 40.7% of his three-point attempts over the last two seasons.
Since the Raptors will have the right to match any offer Trent receives, the team should have an easier time retaining him than it would have with Powell, who will be unrestricted. Trent’s cap hold will also be just $2.12MM, as Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), allowing the Raptors to open up more cap room.
Portland generates a $1.7MM trade exception in the deal, tweets Marks. Bird rights will accompany Powell and Trent, so their new teams can go over the cap to re-sign them.
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T.J. Warren Ruled Out For Season
The Pacers have announced that small forward T.J. Warren will officially be sidelined for the rest of the 2020/21 NBA season, per a team press release.
Warren has been absent since January, when he had surgery to address a small navicular stress fracture in his left foot. Warren appeared in just four games for Indiana this season, averaging 15.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 1.3 APG.
The oft-injured forward has just one year and $12.9MM remaining on his contract after the 2020/21 season. Warren will have missed 114 of a possible 227 regular season games once this year concludes.
Now that the Pacers have waived reserve guard Jalen Lecque, they have an open roster space and $5.5MM in cap availability to attempt to replace Warren on the current roster as they gear up for a potential playoff or play-in game appearance, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
Magic Trade Nikola Vucevic To Bulls
4:37pm: The trade sending Vucevic to Chicago is official, according to a press release from the Magic.
“Anytime you trade a player like Nikola, it is a tough decision to make,” president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. “‘Vooch’ will go down as one of the best players to ever wear a Magic uniform and we can’t thank him enough for all the contributions he made to the organization, both on and off the court.”
10:05am: The Magic are trading All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and veteran forward Al-Farouq Aminu to the Bulls, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (all Twitter links).
According to Wojnarowski, Orlando will receive Wendell Carter, Otto Porter, and a pair of future first-round picks in the deal. Those picks will be the Bulls’ own 2021 and 2023 first-rounders, Woj adds (via Twitter). Both will be top-four protected, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter links).
The agreement comes as a major surprise. While Vucevic has been mentioned in some trade rumors in the weeks leading up to the deadline, he had talked about being happy with his current situation, and there was a belief that the Magic were reluctant to move their lone All-Star and shift into full-fledged retooling mode. Wojnarowski (Twitter link) had reported earlier today that Orlando was still listening to offers for the big man, but would have to receive a substantial package to pull the trigger on a deal.
The Magic apparently believe the Bulls’ offer qualifies as substantial. In addition to the future first-round picks, which are the prized assets in the return, Orlando will also receive a former lottery pick in Carter who was highly regarded coming out of Duke and is still just 21 years old. Carter has been plagued by injury issues through his first three NBA seasons and his production hasn’t really increased since his rookie year, but he’s still viewed as a player with upside.
Orlando will also gain some longer-term salary relief in the trade. While Porter is earning more ($28.5MM) this season than any of the other three players involved in the swap, his contract will expire this summer. Vucevic is owed and Aminu are owed a combined $34MM+ next season, and Vucevic is under contract for one more year beyond that, so the Magic will have much more cap flexibility going forward.
The move also signals that Aaron Gordon is even more likely to be dealt today, with the Magic headed for a reset. The odds of the team moving Evan Fournier and/or Terrence Ross figure to increase as well. As Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports tweets, Orlando will boost the odds of landing a top pick in the 2021 draft by trading away veterans — that lottery pick, combined with the return of Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz next season, could help accelerate the team’s rebuild.
The Bulls, meanwhile, weren’t among the teams listed as having significant interest in Vucevic in a report earlier this month, but decided to take a big swing and will add a second All-Star to a core headlined by Zach LaVine.
The team’s front office wanted to bring in a “productive, serious-minded veteran” to be a cornerstone in Chicago, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), and zeroed in on Vucevic, who has posted a career-high 24.5 PPG this season to go along with 11.8 RPG and 3.8 APG. His .406 3PT% is also a career-best mark.
Taking on Aminu’s multiyear contract will add some money to the Bulls’ cap in 2021, but the club was projected to have plenty of flexibility, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Vucevic’s contract is also relatively team-friendly — he’s making $26MM this season, but that number will decline to $24MM in 2021/22 and $22MM in ’22/23.
It will be interesting to see whether the Bulls have more up their sleeve before today’s deadline. The team has been taking calls to gauge Thaddeus Young‘s value, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link), and remains in the mix for Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
It will take more than just Lauri Markkanen to acquire Ball, tweets Johnson. New Orleans may want Chicago to take on an unwanted multiyear contract, such as Eric Bledsoe‘s.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Buyout Rumors: Drummond, Porter, Wall, Ellington, Nuggets
The buyout market for Andre Drummond is expected to center around the Lakers and Knicks, says Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
Reports earlier this week indicated that executives around the NBA widely view the Lakers as the favorites to land Drummond, given the team’s ability to offer him an immediate role and an opportunity to compete for a title.
However, the Knicks are an interesting wild card, since their leftover cap room would allow them to offer Drummond a multiyear contract worth eight figures annually without having to wait until the summer.
Drummond’s buyout agreement with Cleveland is in the works, while LaMarcus Aldridge‘s with the Spurs is already a done deal. Here are a few more notes and rumors on the buyout market:
- Multiple teams are keeping an eye on Otto Porter as a potential buyout candidate following the trade that will send him from Chicago to Orlando, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). However, the Magic‘s plan for now is to hang onto Porter, a source tells Haynes.
- The Rockets and John Wall aren’t discussing a buyout, league sources tell Haynes (Twitter link). Wall has two years and $91.6MM left on his contract after this season, so it would’ve been a shock if the two sides were already looking at a possible buyout.
- After retaining Wayne Ellington through the trade deadline, the Pistons have no plans to buy out the veteran sharpshooter, says Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
- Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link) expects the Nuggets to take a long look at the buyout market, especially if an appealing shooting guard becomes available.
Latest On LeBron’s Recovery Timeline
There’s more clarity on a recovery timeline for Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James as he deals with a high-ankle sprain. Shams Charania of Stadium reports (video link) that James “has an expected four-to-six week recovery period” from the time of his initial injury in a 99-94 loss against the Hawks last weekend, meaning he is about three-to-five weeks away as of this writing.
Charania adds that James’s still-ailing colleague, fellow Lakers All-Star forward Anthony Davis, is at least two weeks away from returning to the floor for Los Angeles. Davis has been sidelined for the past five weeks with a right calf strain.
When Charania initially commented on a timeline for the high-ankle injury, a more open-ended multiple-week absence was anticipated.
Prior to the injury, James had been gunning for his fifth MVP award, and his first since 2013, during a stellar year with the Lakers. James is averaging 25.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 7.9 APG, with a solid slash line of .513/.368/.703, across 41 contests during this truncated season.
The Lakers are clinging to the No. 4 seed at present in the crowded West, but have lost three straight games since LeBron went down (including the game during which he got hurt).
At 28-16, Los Angeles is currently two games ahead of the fifth-seeded Nuggets, who just ordered reinforcements during today’s trade deadline. The Lakers are six games ahead of the No. 10 seed in the West, the 22-22 Warriors.
Pacers Waive Jalen Lecque
4:10pm: The move is now official, according to a press release from the team.
4:03pm: The Pacers are waiving guard Jalen Lecque, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Indiana didn’t make any deadline deals on Thursday but the move will open up a roster spot. Lecque appeared in five games with Phoenix and only made four cameo appearances with Indiana this season.
He was sidelined by an ankle sprain in early January, then was sent to the G League bubble later that month. He averaged 14.3 PPG and 3.3 APG in 14 G League games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in Orlando.
Indiana acquired him in an offseason trade with the Thunder.
The athletic 20-year-old guard will seek a greater opportunity elsewhere.
Jusuf Nurkic Ready To Return On Friday
The Trail Blazers made a splash on Thursday by agreeing to acquire Norman Powell from the Raptors. They’ll also add another key piece in-house, as center Jusuf Nurkic is ready to return from a lengthy absence. The big man tweets he’ll be in the lineup against the Magic on Friday.
Nurkic underwent surgery on January 19 to repair a fracture in his right wrist. He suffered his latest major injury against the Pacers while attempting to block a shot. He was cleared to play this week.
The 6’11” Nurkic missed nearly the entire 2019/20 season due to a major leg injury suffered late in the previous season. He’s averaging 9.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.8 APG in 12 games (23.3 MPG) this season. He enjoyed a career year, averaged 15.6 PPG, 10.4 RPG and 3.2 APG, in 2018/19 before fracturing his left leg.
Nurkic has a partially guaranteed base salary of $12MM next season. He’s guaranteed $4MM and the Trail Blazers will have to decide whether to give him a full guarantee this summer.
Enes Kanter, who is averaging 12.1 PPG and 11.6 RPG, will return to a second-unit role with Nurkic back in action.
Cavaliers To Negotiate Buyout With Andre Drummond
The Cavaliers couldn’t find a taker for Andre Drummond before the trade deadline, so the two sides will begin talks on a buyout, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Cleveland was hoping to get at least a draft pick for the veteran center, but the right offer never came. Drummond’s $28.75MM salary was an impediment to getting a deal done, as most teams would have needed to include valuable players to match salaries. The Celtics, Knicks, Mavericks and Bulls were among the teams rumored to have interest in trading for Drummond.
Drummond is still a productive player, averaging 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds per game, but he hasn’t played since February 12 while the Cavs have been searching for a trade partner. The 27-year-old will be a restricted free agent this summer.
The Lakers are considered the favorites to sign Drummond once he clears waivers, according to a report this week.