Atlanta Hawks Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets Waive Joe Johnson In Apparent Buyout

February 25th, 2016 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets have waived Joe Johnson, the team announced via press release. The statement didn’t refer to it as a buyout, but the sides were in buyout talks, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier today. The 34-year-old was making almost $24.895MM in the final year of his contract and likely relinquished a portion of that in exchange for the chance to hit free agency.

“The Nets want to thank Joe for his many contributions to the team and the organization,” Nets GM Sean Marks said in the team’s statement. “Joe has been a quality professional since joining the Nets four years ago, was a valued member of three playoff teams, and provided many thrilling moments for his teammates and Nets’ fans. We wish him much success in the future.”

No team has enough cap room or any exception large enough to claim Johnson off waivers, so he’s poised to hit the open market Saturday. He’d been planning to sign with the Cavaliers in the event of a buyout, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, but Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution hears he has interest in rejoining the Hawks, the team he played for from 2005 to 2012. The Cavs and Hawks are among a group in pursuit of the 15th-year veteran that also includes the Celtics, Rockets, Heat, Thunder and Raptors, according to Stein. Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald first reported the Heat’s interest weeks ago, but Miami is unable to sign anyone prior to March 6th without crossing the luxury tax line.

The move leaves the Nets with two open roster spots. Brooklyn saved more than $1.5MM through a buyout deal with Andrea Bargnani this past weekend. Marks has been on the job for only a week, but both Bargnani and Johnson have hit waivers in that brief time. The Nets also released Deron Williams in a buyout deal this past summer under former GM Billy King.

Joe Johnson Interested In Playing For Hawks

February 25th, 2016 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

Joe Johnson has interest in joining the Hawks if he shakes free from the Nets, several sources tell Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That adds some doubt to the notion that Johnson would sign with the Cavaliers if he becomes a free agent this season, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer had heard. The Nets and Johnson have reportedly begun buyout talks, with the Hawks among a handful of teams interested in signing him.

Only three Hawks, Jeff Teague, Al Horford and Kirk Hinrich, remain from the seven seasons Johnson spent with Atlanta between 2005 and 2012, Vivlamore notes. The Hawks originally signed Johnson to the contract that pays him nearly $24.895MM this season before trading him to the Nets in the 2012 offseason. The 34-year-old would be giving up a portion of that salary in exchange for his way off the 15-42 Nets if the sides work a buyout deal, and he’d be available much more cheaply should he clear waivers, as would be expected.

Atlanta has an open roster spot and can offer Johnson a prorated portion of the room exception, which would work out to about $2MM. That’s not as much as he could get from the Thunder, who can offer about $2.4MM, but it’s more than the Cavaliers and several others can offer. The Celtics, Rockets, Heat and Raptors are also in pursuit, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who broke the story of the buyout talks between Johnson and the Nets. Johnson would have to hit waivers no later than March 1st to be eligible to play for the Hawks or any team other than Brooklyn in the postseason, and that would largely represent Johnson’s motivation to do the buyout, since the Nets have virtually no shot of making the playoffs.

Nets, Joe Johnson Start Buyout Talks

February 25th, 2016 at 9:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets and Joe Johnson have begun talks about a would-be buyout deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Johnson would reportedly sign with the Cavaliers if he becomes a free agent this season, but Stein hears that the Hawks, Celtics, Rockets, Heat, Thunder and Raptors are also pursuing him (Twitter link). Multiple reports in recent weeks have cast doubt on the idea that Johnson would engineer a buyout, which would entail him giving back part of his nearly $24.895MM salary, and Johnson has said he wouldn’t rule out re-signing with the Nets this summer, when his contract is set to expire. Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who reported the Cavs link, heard that whether a buyout happens comes down to Brooklyn’s willingness to reap financial savings at the cost of a move that would help Cleveland.

Johnson, 34, is averaging 11.8 points per game on 40.6% shooting this season, his lowest figure in either category since the 2002/03 season. Still, he’s shooting 37.1% from 3-point range, mirroring his career average. He remains in a starting role and hasn’t appeared as a reserve in any game since 2003/04, though many of the teams that would sign him would probably ask him to come off the bench.

It’s nonetheless no surprise to see Johnson attract interest from multiple suitors in spite of his declining production, as he’s still capable of delivering an offensive boost. He put up 27 points and 11 assists on February 5th in Brooklyn’s win against the Kings. That was a few days after Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald reported that Johnson would stir the Heat’s interest if he came free on the buyout market.

The Cavs and Raptors only have the prorated minimum salary of about $400K to offer, while the Thunder have the most to spend among the teams connected to him, since they have a prorated portion of the $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception, which is now worth about $2.4MM. The Hawks and Celtics have prorated portions of the room exception now worth about $2MM. The Heat can’t pay even the minimum salary on a contract for the rest of the season until March 6th without inviting repeat-offender tax penalties, while the Rockets are roughly $500K shy of the hard cap they triggered when they signed Montrezl Harrell earlier this season.

Johnson would have to hit waivers by the close of business on March 1st to be eligible to appear in the playoffs with a team other than Brooklyn, a club with no postseason hopes of its own. The Jeff Schwartz client has been in the postseason every year since missing out with the Hawks in 2007.

Southeast Notes: Bazemore, Richardson, Booker

February 24th, 2016 at 1:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The presence of Kent Bazemore was one reason why the Hawks let DeMarre Carroll walk in free agency this past summer, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and over the first half of the season, Bazemore delivered on the team’s faith in him. However, Bazemore has slumped of late, as Vivlamore details. The fourth-year veteran heads into his own free agency July 1st, the same day he turns 27, with projections for next season’s salary varying widely between the mid-level and $12MM. Celtics coach Brad Stevens was the first to call him when he last became a free agent, in 2014, notes Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. That came on the heels of Bazemore’s first significant minutes in the NBA down the stretch of the 2013/14 with the Lakers, who had acquired him via trade from the Warriors at the deadline that season, and he’s grateful for the swap, cognizant that if he was ever to carve out a substantive role for himself in the NBA, he’d have to leave Golden State, Charania writes. See more on Bazemore’s current team amid news from the Southeast Division:

Bazemore’s slump, Kyle Korver‘s advancing age and the underwhelming impact of trade acquisition Tim Hardaway are among the reasons the Hawks have regressed this season, as Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders examines. Greene also wonders how much the looming specter of Al Horford‘s free agency and the unsettled situation at point guard, where Dennis Schröder‘s performance has pushed Jeff Teague for playing time amid trade rumors involving both, have also played into the team’s decline in play. Atlanta is 31-27 after going 60-22 a year ago.
The defensive versatility of Josh Richardson, who can guard every position but center, figures to come in handy for the Heat down the stretch this season, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald wrote Monday, and that’s doubly so in the wake of Tuesday’s news that backup point guard Beno Udrih is likely done for the year. A utility role isn’t new for this year’s 40th overall pick. “I was like that in college all four years,” Richardson said, according to Navarro. “It’s not any different now.”
The Wizards may well have been better served re-signing Trevor Booker in 2014 instead of signing-and-trading for Kris Humphries instead, given the team’s change of styles since then, observes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Booker instead signed with the Jazz, while Washington traded Humphries along with DeJuan Blair and a protected first-rounder for Markieff Morris, creating a roster spot that the team is poised to fill with fellow power forward J.J. Hickson.

Southwest Notes: Dwight, Stephenson, Lee

February 24th, 2016 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

Many executives believe Dwight Howard‘s slumping productivity and recent history of injuries will keep him from receiving the max in free agency this summer, but the Rockets still see him as preferable to Al Horford or Ryan Anderson, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. Howard’s agent Dan Fegan sent word to the Bucks, Hornets and Hawks, among others, that Howard isn’t anxious to take any discounts this summer, and he didn’t indicate a willingness to opt in and push back his free agency until 2017, Amick notes, which reportedly turned off the Bucks, at least, if not other suitors. Adding to the confusion before the deadline was that Howard was giving serious thought to changing agents, Amick writes. The USA Today scribe indicates that Howard’s uncertainty regarding Fegan is in the past, though that’s not entirely clear. See more from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies didn’t specifically target Lance Stephenson, Chris Andersen and P.J. Hairston, whom they garnered via trade before the deadline, and instead took them in merely because their contracts were a fit for the sort of draft asset collection the deals afforded Memphis, writes Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal. The protected 2019 first-rounder the Grizzlies received in the Stephenson trade is more likely than not to end up in another trade at some point, Herrington opines.
There’s talk that the Grizzlies will pick up Stephenson’s $9.405MM team option for next season, according to Herrington (Twitter links), but it’s unclear if that talk is coming from the team, and the Commercial Appeal scribe dismisses it as “irrational exuberance.”
David Lee said the Mavericks have told him rebounding will be his primary task, notes Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com (on Twitter). Conversely, the cohesiveness of the Mavs helped sell the new signee on Dallas, as Sneed also notes (Twitter link). “You can see the chemistry from playing against [the Mavericks], and that’s something I want to be a part of,” Lee said.

Sixers Believe Dennis Schröder Worthy Of Max Deal

February 23rd, 2016 at 3:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers are already preparing to make Dennis Schröder a maximum-salary offer when he hits restricted free agency in 2017, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who hears from a source who expects the Sixers and Hawks to revisit talks about a Schröder trade this summer after Atlanta rejected offers from Philly before the deadline. Nik Stauskas, Ish Smith, a 2016 first-round pick and another player with an expiring contract were among those in packages the Sixers proposed to the Hawks to entice them to give up their 22-year-old backup point guard, multiple sources tell Pompey.

Atlanta was reticent to take Smith because he can walk as a free agent this summer, according to one of Pompey’s sources. The player on the expiring contract is said to be JaKarr Sampson, Pompey writes, though he wasn’t technically on an expiring deal, since his contract covered two more seasons after this one with non-guaranteed salary. Philadelphia dumped Sampson’s contract anyway to clear room for its three-way trade with the Rockets and Pistons, but by the time that swap was voided, Sampson had already signed a new deal with the Nuggets, preventing the Sixers from re-signing him as they hoped.

The 2016 first-round pick that would have gone to the Hawks in the Philadelphia offers was either the Lakers’ top-three-protected selection, Miami’s top-10-protected choice, or Oklahoma City’s top-15-protected pick, Pompey adds. The Sixers are also in control of their own selection, which is in pole position for the lottery, but apparently that wasn’t part of the talks.

The Hawks would have a chance to match any free agent offer for Schröder in 2017, though it seems, given recent trade rumors, that they’re well out in front of the decision they’d be faced with that summer, when starting point guard Jeff Teague is also set for free agency. Teague is more than five years older and would be an unrestricted free agent, so it makes sense that most of Atlanta’s trade talk reportedly centered on him instead of Schröder.

Philadelphia has played markedly better since trading for Smith on Christmas Eve, and Nerlens Noel continues to advocate for the Sixers to keep him. Still, Pompey suggests the team sees him merely as a backup, which is the role the sixth-year pro has primarily played throughout his career on the fringes of the NBA. He went unsigned for most of the offseason before the Wizards brought him to training camp on a one-year, non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary. The Pelicans snagged him off waivers from Washington before flipping him to the Sixers.

The Sixers received Stauskas, the eighth overall pick in 2014, through an offseason trade with the Kings, but he’s yet to live up to his draft position. The jewel of the would-be deal with the Hawks was clearly to have been Schröder, the 17th overall pick from 2013 who’s averaging 11.2 points in just 21.0 minutes per game. He said this fall that while he likes playing in Atlanta, he nonetheless would like to start and would look elsewhere if the Hawks don’t give him an opportunity to do so. He’s eligible to sign a rookie scale extension this summer.

Pacific Notes: Varejao, Teletovic, Booker, Karl

February 23rd, 2016 at 1:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Leandro Barbosa helped recruit fellow Brazilian Anderson Varejao to the Warriors, Varejao said, adding that his familiarity with former teammates Shaun Livingston, Marreese Speights and Luke Walton and respect for Golden State’s stars also helped persuade him to sign with the team, observes Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com. Varejao’s agency confirmed the Hawks, Spurs, Thunder and Mavericks were his other suitors, while Marc Stein of ESPN.com also heard the Clippers made an offer.

“I’m glad I came here [to Oakland], because I can tell they love each other,” Varejao said, according to Poole. “That’s what it’s about. When you want to win, you have to be like they are. Friends that have fun out there, have fun in the locker room. I’ve been here for a couple hours, but I can tell. I can tell this group, they love each other.”

See more from the Pacific Division:

Mirza Teletovic is on a one-year contract and was reportedly the subject of trade talk between the Suns and Bucks, but he said he’d like to stay in Phoenix as long as possible, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Rookie Devin Booker is the top scorer remaining on the Suns in the wake of injuries to others and the Markieff Morris trade, but while Booker manages the difficulty of having become the focal point for opposing defenses, the Suns want him to work on his defensive development, Coro writes in a separate piece. “His major, major growth opportunities are on defense,” Suns interim coach Earl Watson said. “We don’t care about offense and averaging 20 points a game. We care about defensively being accountable, getting stops, being in the right position, helping your team.”
The Kings have been unfair to George Karl, argues Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post, who believes that the coach has much too long a track record of success to put up with the turmoil in Sacramento. Still, Dempsey can’t envision Karl quitting and walking away from the money the team owes him.

And-Ones: Morris Twins, Gerald Green, Hardaway

February 22nd, 2016 at 5:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

Markieff Morris and Marcus Morris thought their close relationship with Suns owner Robert Sarver, which included invitations to Sarver’s home to work out on his basketball court, would ensure advance warning of the trade that sent Marcus to the Pistons, the twins told Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. It’s not simply a matter of the trade having separated them, Marcus insists, saying to Bucher that he also would have pulled off the deal that sent him to the Pistons if he thought, as the Suns did, that it would give them a better shot at LaMarcus Aldridge.

“Everybody thinking that we’re upset because we don’t get to play with each other,” Marcus said. “Kieff can’t deal with adversity? We’re from north Philadelphia. This isn’t adversity. This is betrayal.”

The Magic offered Channing Frye for Markieff shortly after the deal that sent Marcus to the Pistons this summer, a league source told Bucher, and the Cavaliers and Bulls were interested in Markieff, too, Bucher hears, also confirming an earlier report that the Pistons held interest in reuniting the brothers. Bucher indicates that the twins were closer with former Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby than with Suns GM Ryan McDonough, suggesting that that the reduction in Babby’s role played a part in the end of the run for the Morrises in Phoenix. See more from around the NBA:

Gerald Green said to Bucher for the same piece that the Suns told him they would re-sign him this past summer but never called his agent back. The Kenton Edelin client instead signed with the Heat, telling Bucher that he holds the Heat organization in a much higher regard than the Suns.
Some Knicks players thought the offseason trade that sent away Tim Hardaway Jr. came about because the organization wanted to avoid an odd dynamic in the locker room between Hardaway and then-coach Derek Fisher, who are rumored to have been involved with the same woman, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
Shelvin Mack recorded season highs in minutes, points and assists Sunday in his debut for the Jazz, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Quin Snyder‘s familiarity with and endorsement of the point guard and a rave review from former Hawks GM Danny Ferry helped convince the Jazz to trade for Mack on Thursday, as Genessy details in a separate piece.

Pacific Notes: Green, Varejao, Dawson

February 22nd, 2016 at 3:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers reportedly plans to try to re-sign Jeff Green this summer, and he’s glad to be reunited with his former Celtics player for several reasons. Rivers was effusive in his praise of Green to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, calling him one of the best NBA people ever (Twitter link), and he’s also a fan of what the combo forward can do on the court, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details.

“I really wanted more length,” Rivers said of his goals going into the trade deadline, according to Jones. “When you look at the teams we have to beat, we need to get longer, more athletic, and we need to increase our shooting. And I think with Jeff we did all three of those things. … I thought of all the things that were offered, he was the best available for us.”

See more from the Pacific Division:

The Hawks were among a group of interested teams otherwise composed of the Spurs, Thunder and Mavericks that fell short to the Warriors in the competition for Anderson Varejao, his agency says, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter). The Relativity Sports client is reportedly poised to sign with Golden State, which already released Jason Thompson to clear a roster spot.
The Clippers decided to sign power forward Alex Stepheson to a 10-day contract when the market didn’t bear a defensive guard, Rivers said, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
Branden Dawson, last year’s 56th overall pick, is headed to the D-League affiliate of the Magic on assignment from the Clippers, as the Clippers announced via press release. It’s the fourth time Dawson has gone to the D-League, and the Grand Rapids Drive are the third D-League team to have taken him in. The Clips are without their own affiliate.
Kings affiliate player Vince Hunter left Sacramento’s D-League team to sign with Panathinaikos of Greece, the European club announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Kings affiliate received a $45K buyout as part of the move, according to international journalist David Pick (on Twitter).

Eastern Notes: Morris, Teague, Middleton, ‘Melo

February 22nd, 2016 at 12:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

Ex-Suns coach Jeff Hornacek gave one of the most positive reviews about Markieff Morris that the Wizards encountered when they asked around the league about Markieff Morris prior to last week’s trade, sources told TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com. Wizards coach Randy Wittman said he only heard “rave reviews,” while Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley, former teammates of Morris who are now on the Wizards, told the front office that Morris wouldn’t be a problem, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post details. See more from the Eastern Conference as the ramifications of the trade deadline continue:

The Bucks reportedly had at least passing interest in Jeff Teague, but they weren’t willing to part with Khris Middleton to get a deal done, league sources told Aldridge for the same piece. Milwaukee reportedly held tight to Middleton in talks about Ricky Rubio, too. The Hawks were trying to score both a starter and a first-round pick in would-be trades involving Teague, sources told USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt last week (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, the Pelicans were the team that clung to one of their players in their talks with the Bucks, as the conversation between those teams involving Greg Monroe fell apart when New Orleans refused to give up Jrue Holiday, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
Several teams think that if the Knicks don’t make much progress in their rebuilding by the middle of July, Carmelo Anthony would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, Deveney writes in the same piece. The Knicks spoke with the Rockets about Ty Lawson before the trade deadline, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The retention of Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside this summer would almost assuredly mean the end to Luol Deng‘s time with the Heat, observes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, who writes in his mailbag column. Front office executives around the league were led to believe that Deng was available on the trade market before last week’s deadline, as USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt noted (on Twitter).