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Amico On Gay, Kings, Millsap, West, Oden

January 20th, 2013 at 8:38am CST by Chuck Myron

The latest piece from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is brimming with juicy material, so let's dive right in.

  • Even though the Grizzlies are reportedly in a "holding pattern" regarding trades, Memphis is still talking to other teams about moving Rudy Gay. The clubs engaged most heavily in those discussions are the Bobcats, Timberwolves, Suns and, more recently, Hawks. Nonetheless, a source tells Amico not to expect a Gay trade until after the All-Star break.
  • Speaking of holding patterns, that appears to be the current state of any potential Kings sale, Amico writes. Whatever happens, it's "pretty clear" this is the final season for Geoff Petrie as GM. He's in the final year of his deal, and the 64-year-old reportedly wants to retire.
  • We heard Friday about the Nets' possible interest in Paul Millsap, and Amico confirms Brooklyn, along with the Bucks and Nuggets, are among teams that could make a push for Millsap at the deadline. Most of the teams in that mix would want to offer Millsap an extension immediately upon acquiring him, since he's in the final year of his contract.  
  • Like Millsap, David West is another power forward set to hit the unrestricted free agent market, but the Pacers are confident they can re-sign him, Amico reports. That's why the team is largely ignoring trade offers for him.
  • Greg Oden hopes to sign with a team around the All-Star break or right after the trade deadline. Interested clubs include the Celtics, Heat, Mavericks and Cavaliers.
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Odds & Ends: Grizzlies, Redick, Magic

January 19th, 2013 at 7:24pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Ric Bucher of CSN Bay Area (Sulia link) hears that the trade rumor involving Rudy Gay to the Suns in exchange for Jared Dudley and Michael Beasley was leaked in order to facilitate more offers from around the league. In terms of the Grizzlies dealing Gay for luxury-tax purposes, Bucher notes that the Wizards and Warriors only have trade pieces that would relieve Memphis of the super luxury tax in two years, but not after this season. You can find more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from the Association here:

  • David Baumann of Bright House Sports Network tweets that the Celtics covet J.J. Redick as a possible trade target before February's trade deadline. 
  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel provides a primer of what the Magic front office has to think about heading into next month's deadline. He thinks that GM Rob Hennigan might want to deal for more young players and draft picks while shedding salary, adding that Redick, Glen Davis, Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, and Josh McRoberts are among the team's most tradeable assets. Lastly, Robbins thinks that Orlando is unlikely to part with Nikola Vucevic and that the team has almost no interest in dealing for Rudy Gay. 
  • Noting that Chris Johnson had been a member of Timberwolves' training camp before the season, Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press says that his familiarity with the team provided an advantage during the team's search for help at center. 
  • The recent struggles of Nuggets swingman Andre Iguodala prompted him to admit after today's practice that he's "probably behind the curve" and has had trouble finding his comfort level this season (Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post reports).  
  • HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy (Sulia link) anticipates a quiet trade deadline for the NBA considering a busy offseason that saw 31 deals involving 96 players. 
  • Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld looks at Jeff Teague, one of four players who are guaranteed to remain in Atlanta beyond this season, as a viable long-term investment for the Hawks. 
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Lou Williams Out For The Season

January 19th, 2013 at 4:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lou Williams is out for the season after tearing a ligament in his right knee, reports Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The Hawks guard suffered the injury last night against the Nets, and an MRI today revealed the tear, which the team specifies is to his ACL. Williams is in the first season of a three-year, $15.675MM deal.

The timing of the news is especially rough for Atlanta, since the NBA's deadline to apply for a disabled player exception just passed this week. Williams had fit in well as a sixth man with the Hawks, averaging 14.1 points per game with a shooting line of .422/.367/.868. His numbers were similar to the ones he put up last year with the Sixers, when he averaged a career-high 14.1 PPG. Williams had avoided major injury to this point in his career, having played in at least 61 games in each of the last six seasons.

Hawks GM Danny Ferry issued his reaction to the news, saying, "We’ll examine every and all option that can be considered and make decisions from there," as Vivlamore tweets. Atlanta has lost seven of its last nine games and sits at 22-17, in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks are over the cap, but can use a pro-rated portion of their $1.957MM bi-annual exception if they wish to sign someone for more than the minimum. 

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Hawks Remain Committed To Josh Smith

January 19th, 2013 at 1:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

For most of the season, it seemed like the Hawks and Josh Smith were satisfied with their partnership, with the team not looking to trade the eighth-year veteran and Smith strongly considering re-signing next summer with the only NBA club he's ever played for. When the Hawks issued their athletic forward a one-game suspension this week for "conduct detrimental to the team," it seemed to signal a change, as Smith's agent expressed his client's frustrations in Atlanta and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported the team had engaged in trade talks about Smith. Now, Steve Kyler hears that the Hawks are turning away those calls, and are instead looking to build around Smith (Twitter links).

Kyler also tweets that they've held that stance "this week," which could indicate their rumored participation in trade talks was limited to fielding offers and issuing rejections. Kyler notes that the Hawks may decide to entertain a trade for Smith closer to the deadline, but appear more focused on bringing in someone to help distinguish themselves in the tightly bunched upper half of the Eastern Conference (Twitter link). The HoopsWorld scribe isn't sure that the Hawks can accomplish that, and I think it might come down to whether GM Danny Ferry is willing to bite into the ample cap room the team is set to have in the summer. With only about $18.5MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next year, Atlanta could probably take on another moderately-priced multi-year contract without significantly compromising their flexibility.

The Rockets would have interest in Smith if he's available, Kyler tweets, and Berger identified them as one of the teams that would appeal to the 6'9" soon-to-be free agent. It might be difficult for them to get a deal done with Atlanta, though, since they don't have many of the expiring contracts the Hawks would probably want. The Rockets already owe a protected first-round pick to the Hawks that Atlanta acquired via the Nets in the Joe Johnson trade. 

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Stein On Heat, Bosh, Gay, Mavs, Smith

January 19th, 2013 at 11:05am CST by Zachary Links

In his Weekend Dime, Marc Stein of ESPN.com runs down his picks for this year's All-Star reserves.  On Stein's ballot, the Nets get a representative in Houston, but it's not star point guard Deron Williams, who is barely shooting 40% from the floor.  Instead, it's center Brook Lopez who has given the Nets the kind of steady offense that Williams hasn't been able to.  Here's more from Stein's column..

  • No matter how much TNT's Charles Barkley clammors for a major trade in Miami, the Heat just aren't looking for that sort of shake-up.   Sources familiar with the club say that they aren't prepared to part with Chris Bosh, not only out of fear of a major change, but because it would make things umcomfortable from a player-relations perspective to break up the star trio.
  • Sources close to the situation tell Stein that the Mavericks are not among the teams that have expressed interest in Grizzlies' Rudy Gay.  The Mavs were previously mentioned as being among the clubs interested in the forward.  Meanwhile, we learned yesterday that the Bobcats are aggressively pursuing him.
  • The "Bank of Cuban" may be reopening its doors in Dallas, but the Mavericks still want to preserve their wiggle room this offseason.  That's why even though the Mavs can offer cap relief to teams at the trade deadline, Stein doesn't expect them to take on significant contracts.  Instead, they're more likely to trade Vince Carter to a contender that could use an extra shooter, or move Brandan Wright to a team in need of another big man.  That could yield them some picks or perhaps allow them to shed even more salary.
  • While the Hawks could move Josh Smith for an impact player, Stein is skeptical that they would want to sacrifice their cap space this summer.
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Odds & Ends: Raptors, Grizzlies, Mavs, Bynum

January 18th, 2013 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to an evening slate that includes a pair of contests between Eastern Conference contenders (Hawks/Nets and Bulls/Celtics), let's check in on a few odds and ends from around the NBA….

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Wolves Rumors: Williams, Gay, Roy, Cunningham

January 18th, 2013 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reported yesterday that the Timberwolves are "heavily" shopping Derrick Williams, 2011's second overall pick. In his latest Scoops column, Wolfson shares a few more details on the T-Wolves' trade talks, plus a handful more Wolves-related notes. Let's dive in and round up the highlights….

  • Within the last week, president David Kahn has transitioned from merely taking phone calls to making them himself. According to Wolfson, Kahn was "aggressively" working the phones this week and was making some progress on a trade. Such a deal would likely involve Williams, and would net Minnesota a big, rather than a wing.
  • The T-Wolves don't have interest in Portland's J.J. Hickson or Atlanta's Josh Smith.
  • Minnesota is still weighing whether it makes sense to pursue Rudy Gay. If the Wolves were to make an offer for Gay, it would likely have to include a third team, and would involve Nikola Pekovic.
  • Brandon Roy's contract may be included in a trade at the deadline for salary purposes.
  • The Lakers recently inquired on Dante Cunningham, but Cunningham's affordable salary makes the Wolves reluctant to part with him.
  • According to Wolfson, interest in buying the T-Wolves is "as high as ever." Former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, who confirmed yesterday he has interest in buying another NBA franchise, is said to be kicking the tires on the Wolves.
  • There's no word yet on whether Andrei Kirilenko is leaning one way or the other on his $10.22MM player option for 2013/14.
  • Minnesota didn't apply for a disabled player exception for Malcolm Lee. As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors wrote on Monday, such an exception wouldn't have provided much flexibility for the club.
  • According to Wolfson, there's some speculation that the Wolves would like to take over basketball operations of their D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls. The Skyforce are currently affiliated with the Heat, Magic, and Sixers, as well as the Wolves.
  • While it's been presumed for some time that Minnesota would be among the clubs interested in Greg Oden, the team hasn't done due diligence on him so far, like some others have.
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Hawks Have Participated In Josh Smith Trade Talks

January 16th, 2013 at 4:41pm CST by Luke Adams

For most of the season, we've been hearing that Josh Smith is happy with the job Danny Ferry has done so far in Atlanta, and that he's pleased with the Hawks' direction. However, the team's recent struggles appear to be taking a toll on the veteran forward. The Hawks announced today that they've fined and suspended Smith for one game for "conduct detrimental to the team."

While Smith and Ferry talked about moving past the issue in the team's press release, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports that it may not be quite that easy. According to Berger, Smith's agent, Wallace Prather, met with Ferry to discuss what Prather described as "a lot of frustration" with Atlanta's recent play. However, Smith and his agent stopped short of making a trade request.

"I want to be clear that I'm not pushing a trade," Prather said. "This is not a trade request or anything, but there are frustrations in Atlanta."

Prather added that he does know "teams are interested" in his client, and Berger hears from rival executives that the Hawks have participated in trade talks with several clubs involving Smith. The 27-year-old is in the final year of his contract and will hit unrestricted free agency this summer, so if Atlanta feels as if Smith could walk in July, it may make sense to entertain offers him before the trade deadline.

The Grizzlies, despite looking to clear long-term salary from their books, have not contacted the Hawks about Smith, and the Mavericks haven't expressed interest either, according to Berger. However, the CBSSports.com scribe hears that both Memphis and Dallas, as well as Houston, would appeal to Smith.

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Southeast Notes: Seraphin, Hawks, Beal

January 15th, 2013 at 9:41pm CST by Alex Lee

The Bobcats were the only Southeast team in action tonight, getting torched by the Central-leading Pacers in Charlotte.  Let's take a look at what else is going on in the division on Tuesday:

  • According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst (via Twitter), Wizards big man Kevin Seraphin has changed agents, hiring Rich Paul.  Seraphin, a former first round pick, is under contract in Washington at least this year and next before the team must decide whether to extend him a qualifying offer. He was formerly represented by Bouna Ndiaye.
  • Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today offers his perspective on the job new general manager Danny Ferry has done with the Hawks.  After clearing cap space by moving Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams, much of the Hawks roster is currently playing on expiring deals.  While that can be a tough spot for a coach to be in, Larry Drew has gotten his team off to a solid start despite a recent lull.  The Hawks now have the financial flexibility to re-sign Josh Smith this summer as well as go after someone like Dwight Howard, Zillgitt writes. 
  • In a separate story for USA Today, Zillgitt concurs with much of what we heard yesterday with regard to Bradley Beal; essentially that the Wizards have no plans whatsoever of trading their rookie phenom for Rudy Gay or anyone else.  On the contrary, Zillgitt writes that Beal is settling nicely into his role as the team's closer.
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Kyler On Dwight, Hornets, Beasley, Gay, Magic

January 12th, 2013 at 3:34pm CST by Sean Highkin

Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.com answered some questions from his Twitter followers on Saturday regarding various free agency and trade rumors.

Earlier updates:

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