Rockets Tried To Trade For DeAndre Jordan
The Rockets attempted to add the Nets to their four-team trade this week, hoping to acquire center DeAndre Jordan, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reveals in an Instagram video.
Brooklyn turned down the offer and elected to hold onto the veteran center, but Wojnarowski’s report indicates two things about the Rockets. The team may not have intended to fully commit to the small-ball approach it has used since trading away Clint Capela, and owner Tilman Fertitta was apparently willing to back up his statement that moves won’t be determined by the luxury tax.
Jordan makes $9.88MM this year and is signed for the next three seasons at a total cost of about $30MM. He’s coming off the bench for the Nets and averaging 7.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per night.
Because of how the trade was structured, the Rockets had the flexibility to add up to $12MM in salary before it was finalized. Fertitta gave general manager Daryl Morey the freedom to expand the deal, Wojnarowski adds, even though it would have cemented Houston as a taxpaying team.
Woj doesn’t say what the Rockets were offering the Nets in terms of players and draft picks.
Clippers Waive Isaiah Thomas
As expected, the Clippers have waived veteran guard Isaiah Thomas, two days after acquiring him from the Wizards in a three-team trade, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The move gives L.A. two open roster spots as it prepares to compete in the buyout market. The Clippers are expected to be leading contenders, along with the Lakers, for ex-Pacers guard Darren Collison if he decides to make an NBA comeback.
Thomas was sent to L.A. as part of the Marcus Morris deal, which was announced just before Thursday’s deadline. He averaged 12.2 points and 3.7 assists per night in 40 games for Washington, starting 37 of them.
The Clippers were Thomas’s fifth team in the past three seasons as he tries to work his way back into a stable situation after a devastating hip injury. He has a $1.62MM salary on a veteran’s minimum deal, so any team that claims him off waivers wouldn’t need cap room or a trade exception.
Kings Trade Dewayne Dedmon To Hawks
FEBRUARY 6: Nearly 24 hours after it was agreed upon, the Kings and Hawks have officially announced their trade sending Dedmon and a pair of second-round picks to Atlanta in exchange for Parker and Len. Sacramento also confirmed that the team has released Eric Mika, as we relayed in a separate story.
FEBRUARY 5: Dewayne Dedmon will return to Atlanta, as the Kings have reached a deal to send their unhappy center to the Hawks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Sacramento will receive Jabari Parker and Alex Len in return, while Atlanta will get a pair of second-round picks.
The two second-round selections aren’t Sacramento’s own picks, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link), who reports that the Hawks will receive Houston’s 2020 second-rounder and Miami’s 2021 second-rounder. The Kings had been owed seven extra second-round selections through the 2025 draft, so they’ll still have a surplus of picks going forward.
Because the Kings have a full roster, they’ll have to open a spot before the deal can be completed. One possibility is an early release for Eric Mika, who signed a 10-day contract on February 1.
Dedmon was the Hawks’ starting center for the past two seasons before joining the Kings in free agency last summer on a three-year, $41MM contract. Things quickly went south in Sacramento as he lost his starting job to Richaun Holmes. He became outspoken about his lack of playing time and was fined $50K in early January for making a public trade request. Dedmon averaged 5.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 34 games with the Kings.
Sacramento adds Parker, who holds a $6.5MM player option for next season, along with Len, who has a $4.16MM expiring contract. Both are former top-five draft picks who are trying to revive their careers after disappointing starts.
Parker averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 32 games after signing with the Hawks as a free agent last summer. He was also traded at last year’s deadline, making the Kings his fourth team in the past two seasons. Len was averaging 8.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG through 40 games in his second season with Atlanta.
The deal didn’t catch Len by surprise, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. (Twitter link). When asked before tonight’s game about the trade that will bring Clint Capela to Atlanta, Len responded, “We have what like 24 hours left (until the trade deadline)? It’s going to be really interesting because we have four bigs. Something is probably going to happen now.”
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Rockets, Grizzlies Swap Jordan Bell, Bruno Caboclo
7:18pm: The trade is official, the Grizzlies and Rockets announced in a pair of press releases.
12:22pm: The Rockets have agreed to trade newly-acquired center Jordan Bell to the Grizzlies in exchange for Bruno Caboclo, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Grizzlies will receive a potential second-round pick swap as well, with Memphis having the choice to trade the least favorable of the Mavericks’ and Heat’s 2023 selections for Houston’s 2023 second-rounder as long as the Rockets’ pick isn’t No. 31 or 32, a source tells Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Bell, 25, came to Houston in the four-team trade that was completed last night. He appeared in 27 games for the Timberwolves this season, averaging 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per night.
Caboclo, 24, was in his second season in Memphis, averaging 2.8 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 22 games. He was in training camp with Houston in 2018, but was waived before the start of the season.
The Rockets have been targeted Caboclo for a while and believed they had a good chance to acquire him on the day Gary Clark was waived last month, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Both teams will generate trade exceptions for their outgoing players and add their incoming players under the minimum exception, tweets Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights. Bell is making $1,620,564 this season, while Caboclo earns $1,845,301.
Nuggets Trade Napier To Wizards For McRae
6:56pm: The Nuggets have officially announced their swap of Napier for McRae, issuing a press release to confirm the deal is done.
1:13pm: The Nuggets are trading newly-acquired point guard Shabazz Napier to the Wizards in exchange for guard Jordan McRae, reports Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
Both players have expiring contracts ($1.6MM for McRae and $1.8MM for Napier), and the Nuggets will get early Bird rights when McRae hits free agency this summer, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Napier came to Denver from Minnesota in the four-team deal that was completed last night. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.2 assists in 36 games in his first season with the Timberwolves. He provides depth at point guard if John Wall winds up missing the rest of the season.
McRae gives the Nuggets another instant-offense option off their bench to help make up for the loss of Malik Beasley. In his second season in Washington, McRae was averaging 12.8 PPG and shooting 37.7% from 3-point range through 29 games.
McRae has missed the past four games with an injured right ankle, but is expected to be ready tomorrow, tweets Mike Singer of The Athletic. McRae can handle both backcourt spots and the Nuggets gave up a player they didn’t really need, adds Nick Kosmider of The Denver Post (Twitter link).
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.
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.
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.
Deadline Rumors: Warriors, Oubre, Valentine, J. Robinson
The Warriors remain in the market for further deals after reaching agreement on a trade that sends D’Angelo Russell to Minnesota for Andrew Wiggins, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. If nothing else happens today, more roster shake-up is expected this summer.
Antony Slater of the Athletic notes that Golden State has traded six of the 14 players on its roster in the past two weeks (Twitter link). In addition to Russell, Willie Cauley-Stein, Alec Burks, Glenn Robinson III, Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans have all found new homes.
There’s more deadline-related news to pass along:
- The Suns are listening to offers for Kelly Oubre, but aren’t close to making a deal, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Post. The Magic are among the teams that have made a call to Phoenix.
- The Bulls aren’t any closer to trading Denzel Valentine, relays K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, (Twitter link).
- The Wizards are hoping to acquire Jerome Robinson from the Clippers, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. They liked Robinson in the 2018 draft, but he wound up in L.A.
- The Knicks contacted the Pacers about point guard Aaron Holiday, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. The attempt was made before Steve Mills was fired as team president, and it’s unclear if there has been any more discussion. Indiana reportedly brought up veteran forward Marcus Morris, who is headed to the Clippers, as part of the return.