Stein’s Latest: Rockets, Cavaliers, Blazers, Pistons
ESPN.com’s Marc Stein takes a swing at picking the All-Star starters from each conference and passes along some trade rumors in his latest column. He lists four teams that could be active with the deadline less than six weeks away:
- The Rockets‘ hopes of acquiring Mike Dunleavy Jr. fell through this week when the Hawks committed to keeping him, but Houston is still looking for another shooter. GM Daryl Morey tried to get involved when Atlanta was searching for a third team in its deal with Cleveland, and he had interest in acquiring Dunleavy when it looked like he might not report to the Hawks. Sources tell Stein that K.J. McDaniels has surpassed Corey Brewer as the Rocket most likely to be traded. McDaniels has one season left on his current deal at more than $3.3MM, while Brewer is signed for one more more season at $7.6MM.
- The Cavaliers have $4.4MM left from their Anderson Varejao trade exception, which will expire February 20th. That means a trade for a backup point guard may be just as likely as a veteran free agent signing such as Mario Chalmers, Jarrett Jack or Norris Cole.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has moved ahead of Reggie Jackson on the list of untouchable Pistons in possible trades. Caldwell-Pope is now atop that list alongside Andre Drummond. Detroit is well below .500 since Jackson returned from tendinitis in his left knee in early December. Jackson, whose 5.5 assists per game are the lowest during his time in Detroit, still has three seasons and more than $51MM left on his current deal.
- Three Trail Blazers who signed huge offseason deals will become eligible to be traded on Sunday. Keep an eye on whether Portland tries to unload some of the salary it committed to Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless and Meyers Leonard.
Dunleavy Jr. Downplays Desire For Buyout
Mike Dunleavy Jr. labelled reports that indicated he wanted a buyout from the Hawks “pretty inaccurate” and believes he’ll fit right in with the team, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports. The Hawks were hoping to find another team for the 36-year-old swingman when he was included in the deal that delivered sharpshooter Kyle Korver to the Cavaliers, Vivlamore continues. Dunleavy has since received assurances from coach Mike Budenholzer that he’ll get some playing time, though he will not immediately become part of the rotation. “I fit in as far as the way I play,” Dunleavy told Vivlamore. “I move, cut, shoot, pass. That’s the way this team is structured. It’s not a matter of what are you going to do for me or how am I going to fit in. It didn’t take much explaining.”
Hawks Notes: Millsap, Dunleavy, Williams, Wilcox
Paul Millsap is reportedly off the trade block in Atlanta, but with six weeks to go until this year’s trade deadline, several NBA.com writers and reporters remain unconvinced that the team’s decision is final. David Aldridge, Steve Aschburner, Scott Howard-Cooper, and John Schuhmann are among the scribes who believe there’s still a chance Millsap could be moved by February 23, with Howard-Cooper writing that the phrase “taken off the market” will mean nothing if a team calls the Hawks with an offer that Atlanta likes.
I would have agreed with that view of the Millsap situation after a report surfaced suggesting that the Hawks were telling other teams the big man was unavailable. Telling clubs that Millsap isn’t available is a move that could be used as leverage later, in an effort to get those same teams to improve their offers. Still, Atlanta also reportedly informed Millsap himself that he won’t be dealt, and NBA teams don’t often reverse course on that sort of promise in a matter of weeks — I’d be somewhat surprised if the Hawks move Millsap, though it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility.
Here’s more from out of Atlanta:
- Mike Dunleavy Jr., who reported to the Hawks and passed his physical earlier this week, expects to make his debut for the team on Friday, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) spoke to the other veteran acquired in last weekend’s trade by the Hawks, though Mo Williams isn’t expected to report to or play for the club. As Kennedy details, Williams is focused on coaching younger players, and doesn’t seem interested in coming out of retirement as an NBA player anytime soon.
- In the wake of a report that Wes Wilcox made a “racially charged joke” at a recent season-ticket holder event, the Hawks general manager has received an undisclosed discipline from the team, reports Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated.
- According to Spears, this is what Nzinga Shaw, the Hawks’ diversity and inclusion officer, had to say about Wilcox’s comments: “After hearing multiple sides of the story and getting multiple eyewitness accounts of what took place, I am not convinced that what we heard and read in Deadspin is a direct quote that was used. Wes, however, certainly did make his off-color statement, which included elements of describing his wife’s race. People that were in the room could make the assumption that he was using her race for the reason of the comments that followed. We certainly do not approve of this behavior and we are going to handle this manner internally.”
International Notes: Bennett, Greene, Kelly
Anthony Bennett, who was recently waived by the Nets, may head overseas to pursue his next basketball opportunity, sources tell Sam Amico of Pro Basketball Digest. Amico adds that the former No.1 overall pick is also considering the D-League as an option with an eye on signing a few 10-day contracts with NBA clubs.
Bennett flashed promise at UNLV but struggled mightily during his three stops in the NBA. Amico notes that Bennett’s poor performance during his rookie season played a role in Cleveland’s decision to fire then-GM Chris Grant during the middle of the 2013/14 campaign.
Here are a few more international updates on players with NBA ties:
- Former Kings big man Donte Greene, a 2008 first-rounder who last played in 2012, has joined Puerto Rican team Capitanes de Arecibo, according to an announcement from the club (hat tip to Sportando). Greene, who turns 29 next month, said back in August that he continues to hope for one more shot from an NBA team.
- Maccabi Kiryat Gat of Israel has released former Nets guard Tyshawn Taylor, according to international journalist David Pick (Twitter links). The team will use the roster spot to bring Josh Selby aboard. Selby, who was the No. 49 pick in the 2011 draft, previously played in Israel for Bnei Herzliya.
- Sasha Djordjevic, the coach of Bayern Munich, is recruiting Nicolas Laprovittola to play for his team, Pick reports (Twitter link). Laprovittola was waived by the Spurs last month.
- Ryan Kelly has garnered interest from Reggio Emilia, a team in Italy, but it’s unlikely he joins the club as he prefers to pursue NBA opportunities, according to Emilio Carchia of Sportando. The Hawks waived Kelly last week.
Luke Adams contributed to this post
Mike Dunleavy Reports To Hawks, Passes Physical
3:07pm: Dunleavy has passed his physical, officially completing the deal between the Cavs and Hawks, tweets Vivlamore.
JANUARY 10, 12:45pm: Dunleavy has formally reported to the Hawks to undergo his physical, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
JANUARY 9, 2:41pm: After a conversation with head coach Mike Budenholzer about his potential role in Atlanta, Mike Dunleavy Jr. has “made peace” with joining his new team, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Dunleavy will report to the Hawks on Tuesday.
Dunlevay, who was a part of the trade between the Hawks and Cavaliers that sent Kyle Korver to Cleveland, had been reluctant to report to Atlanta, preferring to negotiate a buyout that would allow him to join a contending team of his choice. On Thursday and Friday, when the Hawks and Cavs were still finalizing the deal, there were reports that Atlanta was seeking a third team to take on Dunleavy, perhaps signaling to the veteran sharpshooter that the Hawks didn’t really want him.
However, after the trade was announced, Budenholzer spoke enthusiastically about the role he envisioned for Dunleavy in Atlanta, and according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), once the 36-year-old was convinced that Budenholzer and the Hawks wanted him, there was no more talk of a buyout. There is “significant respect” between Dunleavy and Budenholzer, per Wojnarowski.
Although the situation has been resolved for now, there’s no guarantee that Dunleavy will finish out the season in Atlanta. We’re still about a month and a half away from the trade deadline, and if Dunleavy plays well for his new team, it’s possible the Hawks will flip him to another contender. The Warriors and Rockets were among the clubs believed to be keeping an eye on the situation in case Dunleavy hit the open market.
In 23 games for the Cavs this season, Dunleavy averaged career-worst marks in PPG (4.6) and FG% (.400). His current contract will pay him a guaranteed $4.84MM salary this season, with a partial guarantee of $1.66MM on his 2017/18 salary ($5.18MM).
Hawks Tell Paul Millsap He Won’t Be Traded
The Hawks have informed Paul Millsap that he won’t be dealt before February’s trade deadline, Millsap himself tells Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The news comes on the heels of a Monday report that Atlanta had started telling teams Millsap wasn’t available.
“Now everybody can stop talking about it,” Millsap said on Tuesday. “I can stop thinking about it and just focus on basketball.”
Last week, Millsap expressed a desire to remain in Atlanta with the Hawks, and that’s a stance he reiterated today, according to Youngmisuk. Although the veteran big man can opt out of his contract at season’s end, and there’s no guarantee he’ll remain a Hawk for the next several years, Millsap says he had hoped to stick with the team this season.
“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Millsap said. “For me and my team, for us to really do something, I think that all the rumors (have) got to stop. I think we are at a good place right now during the season and our main focus is basketball and winning and winning big.”
While it’s one thing for the Hawks to tell potential suitors that Millsap isn’t available, it’s another for the team to tell the player himself that he won’t be moved before next month’s deadline. Even after brushing off teams’ trade offers for Millsap, the Hawks could have revisited those discussions sometime in the next few weeks, perhaps leveraging their reluctance to deal their All-Star into a more appealing trade package. Telling Millsap that a trade won’t happen is a stronger signal that he’s not going anywhere.
The Hawks have a 21-16 record, good for first in the Southeast division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Still, the club just traded away former All-Star sharpshooter Kyle Korver, and isn’t viewed as a significant threat to make a deep postseason run. That makes Atlanta’s about-face on Millsap a little surprising, particularly since the club has some recent experience with losing a big-name free agent, having seen Al Horford walk in July. The Hawks’ decision may suggest that the team is more confident about retaining Millsap beyond this season.
Community Shootaround: Hawks’ Paul Millsap Decision
The Hawks decided today to pump the brakes on entertaining offers on all-star forward Paul Millsap. Instead, Atlanta is said to be determined to compete in the Eastern Conference, which makes sense considering the Hawks are atop the Southeast Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 21-16 record and Millsap is a significant reason why. He leads the Hawks in scoring, and is second in rebounds, assists and blocks.
Still, not many are banking on the Hawks making a deep playoff run. There were several suitors for Millsap, including teams such as the Nuggets, Kings and Raptors linked in trade rumors and talks. Evidently, any offers that were made were not enough for the Hawks to unload Millsap.
Millsap, however, has a player option for next season and can opt out and become an unrestricted free agent, a move that he is expected to make because it would fetch him a higher salary. In that sense, moving Millsap for the right deal would make sense on some level. What’s more, the Hawks had just traded Kyle Korver to the Cavs last weekend.
What do you think? Should the Hawks have removed Millsap from the market? What do you think of their recent moves? Jump into the comments section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Paul Millsap Off Trade Market
After receiving interest for a couple of weeks and forcing the rumor mill to churn with hypothetical trades, the Hawks are informing teams that Paul Millsap is no longer on the trade market, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (on Twitter). This is a sign, at least for now, that Atlanta is determined to compete in the Eastern Conference instead of unloading assets, as Wojnarowski notes (on Twitter).
The Hawks definitely contemplated the move, however, and gave it considerable thought before arriving at the belief that Millsap was ultimately too valuable to the franchise, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. This decision may have come from ownership, Vivlamore adds.
Millsap, who has a player option for next season and can opt out and become an unrestricted free agent, expressed happiness about the situation, per Vivlamore, and wanted to stay in Atlanta. Millsap has not said he will become a free agent, but that would make sense considering he would maximize his money that way.
Several teams were linked to Millsap, an All-Star forward who would be viewed as a solid addition to virtually any team. The Nuggets were interested, according to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter link), and Vivlamore reported that the Kings were a serious contender for Millsap’s services as well. Millsap was also thought to be the missing piece for the Raptors.
The decision on Millsap comes only a couple of days after the Hawks traded Kyle Korver to the Cavs this weekend in in exchange for a protected 2019 first-round draft pick and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Atlanta, however, never claimed to be moving in a rebuilding direction with the move, and judging from the way it has played, perhaps it makes sense that it shouldn’t. The Hawks are atop the Southeast Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 21-16 record and Millsap is a significant reason why. Millsap leads the Hawks in scoring, and is second in rebounds, assists and blocks.
Latest On Paul Millsap
The Hawks officially traded away one veteran player on an expiring contract this weekend, sending Kyle Korver to Cleveland in a deal that netted them a future first-round pick. Moving Paul Millsap would net an even bigger haul, but it’s not clear yet whether the Hawks are ready to trade their standout big man. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Hawks haven’t yet been aggressive in fielding offers for Millsap, though they’ve suggested to rival teams that they could be serious about moving him.
A Saturday report from ESPN’s Marc Stein indicated that Atlanta would be seeking at least one “quality” first-round pick to headline a trade package for Millsap. Stein didn’t specify how many other pieces would be required in such a deal. Meanwhile, other reports identified the Sixers, Nuggets, Raptors, Pelicans, and Kings as teams that have expressed some level of interest in Millsap. The Trail Blazers have also been “sniffing around,” per Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
In addition to those clubs, the Magic can be added to the list of potential suitors, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. While O’Connor doesn’t say that Orlando has conveyed interest in Millsap recently, he writes that GM Rob Hennigan “has a long-standing infatuation” with the three-time All-Star. A league source tells O’Connor that the Magic made a push to trade for Millsap last summer before acquiring Serge Ibaka and signing Bismack Biyombo instead.
With Ibaka and Biyombo now in the mix, along with Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon, the Magic’s frontcourt situation is crowded, making them an unusual fit for Millsap. Still, if Hennigan and the front office decides to shake things up by moving more than one of those frontcourt players, a Millsap deal would make more sense. So far, the club’s new-look frontcourt hasn’t been a success — Orlando is 16-23, good for 12th in the East.
The Hawks nearly dealt Millsap on two separate occasions in 2016. Atlanta had a deal lined up with the Nuggets at the trade deadline, but opted against trading him away. The Hawks were later prepared to deal him to the Raptors in July if Al Horford had re-signed with the team. Millsap can opt out of his current deal and become a free agent at season’s end, and he’s expected to do so, though there are conflicting reports about whether or not he has already made that decision.
Warriors, Rockets Keeping Eye On Mike Dunleavy
Although he was officially traded to the Hawks on Saturday, Mike Dunleavy Jr. currently has no plans to report to Atlanta, preferring to work out a buyout that would allow him to pick his new team. While there’s no indication yet that the two sides will work out a deal, some potential suitors for the veteran forward have emerged.
According to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com (via Twitter), the Warriors would consider Dunleavy as a potential free agent target if his contract is bought out by the Hawks. Golden State can’t offer more than the minimum salary to Dunleavy, but given the 36-year-old’s decline in production and his desire to join a contender, that would likely be enough to get something done.
Meanwhile, the Dubs would have some competition for Dunleavy’s services from the Rockets, per Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter links). A source tells Watkins that Houston made an unsuccessful bid to trade for Dunleavy a few weeks ago, and while the ESPN scribe doesn’t expect the sharpshooter to ultimately land with the Rockets, there’s some interest there. Like Golden State, Houston could only offer the minimum salary.
If Dunleavy decides not to report to the Hawks, there are a number of different directions the team could go. Fining or suspending him is one option. Working out a buyout is also a possibility. Depending on how strong the interest from teams like the Warriors and Rockets is, it’s even possible Atlanta could work out a trade, though at his current cap hit of $4.8MM+, Dunleavy has less appeal than he would on a minimum salary deal.
The deadline for Dunleavy to report to the Hawks is 4:00pm CT today, though the team could push back that deadline or agree to waive it as the two sides continue to negotiate.