Northwest Notes: Mohammed, Mudiay, Stotts
The Thunder signed Nazr Mohammed to be a team leader in the locker room, Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman writes. “He knows what’s right and what’s wrong,” Russell Westbrook said. “He definitely can keep everybody accountable and try to find ways to help us win more games.” Mohammed reached the finals with Oklahoma City’s 2012 team, backing up Kendrick Perkins at the five.
The team traded Perkins away at last year’s deadline and the team misses the center’s presence in the locker room, Tramel adds. Mohammed should provide leadership, just in a different way than Perkins did.
“Perk’s a special guy.” Mohammed said. “His voice is always going to be hard to replace because that’s just his personality. I speak in my own way. I’m definitely a vocal guy, but I’m more of a pull-a-guy-to-the-side-and-explain type of guy and only speaking to the group when necessary.”
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets believed Emmanuel Mudiay could be an elite player when they drafted him No. 7 overall last summer and although he struggled to begin the season, the point guard is starting to look the part, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “For a 19-year-old kid, to kind of go through the adversity that he was going through, he bounced back in a big way. That gives me so much hope and excitement for the future,” coach Mike Malone said.
- The Blazers embrace coach Terry Stotts and the team’s chemistry is a major reason why Portland is in the playoff hunt this season, Jason Quick of Comcast Sportsnet. Portland has a team option on Stotts for next season. “I always want to play hard for him,’’ said Ed Davis, who joined the team on a three-year, $20MM deal last offseason. “That’s one thing I can say: Everybody on this team can play for Coach, and it’s not like that on every team.”
Knicks Notes: Williams, Offseason Plans
Knicks team president Phil Jackson views Derrick Williams as part of the team’s future, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Williams has a player option worth slightly under $4.6MM for next season and the combo forward is undecided about his future with the team, Berman adds.
Here’s more from New York:
- The Knicks have struggled this season, but Pistons executive/coach Stan Van Gundy believes Jackson has New York in a good spot heading into the offseason, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. “This is their big summer, he’s positioned them well and they’ve got flexibility,” Van Gundy said.
- New York isn’t ready to throw away the season and start giving more minutes to its younger players just yet, Stefan Bondy of The Daily News writes. “If management tells me at some point in time we’re there and they want to make that change that’s something I’ll defer to them, but as a coach I’m not there yet. So I’m going to go with the guys I trust and have the experience,” coach Kurt Rambis said.
Clippers Notes: Wilcox, Pick, Stephenson
The Clippers and Bulls discussed a C.J. Wilcox for Tony Snell swap that would have also cost Los Angeles a second round pick, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports. The Magic also reached out to the team, offering point guard Shabazz Napier in exchange for Wilcox, Woike adds. The Clippers declined both deals and the team believes that the shooting guard can be a contributor down the road.
“I think [Wilcox] can play. He has a lot of guys in front of him,” executive/coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s a great kid, a high-character kid. He works hard at it and I think that’s a kid that you hang on to.”
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- Rivers didn’t hesitate to deal away the Clippers‘ 2019 first-round pick because of the protections they had agreed to place on the pick, Woike relays in the same piece. “If we’re bad enough to be a lottery team, we get the pick,” Rivers said. “That wasn’t that awful for us.”
- The Clippers had nothing but praise for Lance Stephenson, who was dealt to Memphis in the Jeff Green trade, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com writes. “He was different than what I expected from afar,” Jamal Crawford said. “You see the blowing in the ear and stuff from a distance, and you’re like, ‘Oh, man.’ But when you get him, he’s a fun-loving guy. He’s always having fun, high energy. He was great.”
- Rivers spoke highly of Stephenson as a person, but admitted he was a poor fit from a basketball standpoint, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times relays via Twitter.
Pacific Notes: Durant, Green, Rivers
The Lakers may not be a real contender to sign Kevin Durant should he decide to leave Oklahoma City in free agency due to the lack of talent on their roster, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports in a session on Fox Sports Radio (h/t to Adrian Hasenmayer of Fox Sports). Wojnarowski adds that the Warriors have Durant’s attention and they remain a threat to steal him away from the Thunder, supplementing an earlier report that the Warriors would be “significant” front-runners to sign Durant should he leave the team.
Big-name free agents, including Durant, don’t care about whether a team has high-value assets such as top draft picks or young prospects because those are not going to help a team win a championship right away. If Durant is going to leave Oklahoma City, it’s going to be for a place that can win a championship and part of his criteria will be whether the destination is good enough to beat top teams, like the Warriors, with him on it, sources tell Wojnarowski.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Executive/coach Doc Rivers believes the addition of Jeff Green gives the Clippers a fighting chance against the top teams in the Western Conference, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. “When you look at the teams we have to beat, we need to get longer, more athletic, and we need to increase our shooting,” Rivers said. “And I think with Jeff we did all three of those things.
- The Clippers could get Austin Rivers, who has been sidelined with a broken left hand, back on the court in less than two weeks, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register tweets.
- With Markieff Morris out of the picture, the Suns can finally start to build for the future, Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic argues. Bickley believes the Suns should acquire players who resonate with the community, similar to how other professional franchises in Phoenix have done.
Warriors Likely To Sign Anderson Varejao
The Warriors are the favorite to sign Anderson Varejao once he clears waivers later today, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Spurs are still being considered as well, Stein adds in a full length piece.
Golden State is currently carrying 15 players on its roster with each contract being fully guaranteed, so a subsequent move will be needed. The minimum salary for a player with Varejao’s experience is slightly under $1.5MM, and with the team in luxury tax, the cost of acquiring the big man at the minimum would roughly be $4.1MM overall, as Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area New Group tweets.
Golden State and San Antonio are not the only teams with interest in Varejao. The Thunder had interest in the center, as did the Hawks, Clippers and Mavs. The 33-year-old was waived by the Blazers after being acquired in a deadline deal. Varejao didn’t see much action for Cleveland this season, seeing only 10.0 minutes per game. He averaged 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Pistons Notes: Harris, Motiejunas, Van Gundy
Executive/coach Stan Van Gundy believes that the addition of Tobias Harris was better than any player the Pistons could have acquired on the free agent market this summer based on the 23-year-old’s talent and contract, John Niyo of The Detroit News writes.
“You’ve got to know who you are,” Van Gundy said. “We’re not at the position yet that with 30 teams having money that we’re gonna be at the top of everybody’s list that’s on the free agent market. So to be able to get good young players who are locked in is the ideal for us.”
The team considered an offer sheet for Harris last July, but since the Magic seemed inclined to match any offer, Detroit didn’t want to tie up its cap space for no reason. The Pistons decided to pursue DeMarre Carroll and Danny Green instead, but they struck out on both with Carroll signing in Toronto and Green re-signing in San Antonio.
Here’s more from Detroit:
- Pistons owner Tom Gores understood Donatas Motiejunas‘ back issues and the risk that came with acquiring him, but despite this, he gave Van Gundy the green light to make the deal, Rod Beard of The Detriot News writes. “It’s a calculated risk,” Van Gundy said. “A little more risk, maybe, than some of the other deals we’ve had, but with a very high reward.”
- GM Jeff Bower believes Brandon Jennings is going to examine his options in free agency this summer, something that played a factor in dealing him away, Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays. Bower added that Harris’ contract certainty played a role in the deal as well. Harris will make $16MM this season, $17.2MM during the 2016/17 season, $16MM in 2017/18 and $14.8MM in the final year of the deal.
Atlantic Notes: Bargnani, Fredette, Sampson
Andrea Bargnani was a disappointment for both New York-area teams, writes Peter Botte of The New York Daily News. The Nets waived the 30-year-old forward this afternoon in Sean Marks‘ first official act since taking over as GM. The move is believed to be a buyout deal, but details have not been made available. The split comes barely seven months after Brooklyn signed Bargnani to a free agent deal worth $1,362,897 this season with a $1,551,659 player option for 2016/17. He averaged 6.6 points and 13.8 minutes of playing time in 46 games off the Nets’ bench.
The Knicks paid a much higher price for Bargnani when they acquired him from Toronto in 2013. They sent this year’s first-round pick to the Raptors, along with Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, Marcus Camby and second-rounders in 2014 and 2017. Bargnani played just 71 games in two seasons with New York.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks are expected to sign Jimmer Fredette to a 10-day contract Monday, and the team will see if the 26-year-old can do more than score, Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press writes. “We’ve got to see if he can actually handle the basketball and be able to create shots for himself and create shots for others,” interim coach Kurt Rambis said.
- Sixers GM Sam Hinkie said Robert Covington, Hollis Thompson and T.J. McConnell were among the players who received interest on the trade market prior to the deadline, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays.
- Several of JaKarr Sampson‘s Sixers teammates were disappointed that he was waived to make room the trade that netted Joel Anthony and a 2017 second-round pick, Pompey writes in a separate piece. Philadelphia is expected to release Anthony, and the team hopes to re-sign Sampson if he clears waivers Sunday, according to Pompey. Sampson, a second-year swingman, is popular in the locker room and has earned a reputation as a hard-working defensive specialist. “It’s always hard to waive anybody, much less a guy that’s busted his tail to be the best player that he can be,” Hinkie said. “That’s exactly the kind of people we like to work with.”
- Even if the Raptors could have obtained a starting-caliber power forward, such as Markieff Morris or Ryan Anderson, the team wouldn’t have been any closer to contention, which made standing pat a good move, Brett Koremenos of RealGM opines.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Thunder Notes: Durant, Presti, Additions
Kevin Durant is fine with the Thunder not making a big acquisition at the deadline, Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman writes.
“I trust [GM] Sam [Presti] 100%,” Durant said prior to the deadline. “Whatever he does, I know it’s for the betterment of the organization and team. Whatever he chooses to do, I’m happy with it and I support it.”
Durant will be a free agent at the end of the 2015/16 campaign. He will certainly garner a max contract and earlier in the month, Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined Durant’s options for signing one.
Here’s more from Oklahoma City:
- The Thunder will save $9.8MM as a result of the Randy Foye trade. However, that wasn’t the primary motivation of making the deal, sources tell Royce Young of ESPN.com. Young adds that the team is doing well financially and planned to be a taxpaying team.
- Presti says it would be smart not to underestimate the impact that a rising cap will have on the league, Slater relays via Twitter. “Everyone is affected in different ways,” Presti told Slater. “It isn’t a universal issue for all thirty teams, but we have to find a way to make it work for our organizations.”
- The Thunder have an open roster spot after dealing away Steve Novak and D.J. Augustin, and they could be a major player in the buyout market, Slater writes in a separate piece. The team reportedly has interest in Anderson Varejao, whom Portland waived Thursday.
Bucks Plan To Sign Novak, Likely Waive Copeland
The Bucks plan to sign Steve Novak on Sunday or Monday once he clears waivers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Earlier today, it was reported that the Bucks were the front-runners to sign the 32-year-old. Milwaukee will likely waive Chris Copeland to create a roster spot for him, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports via Twitter.
Novak, who played his college ball at Marquette University, agreed to a buyout with the Nuggets on Friday after the team acquired him in the Randy Foye trade. Prior to the trade, Novak saw action in seven games for the Thunder, averaging just 3.4 minutes per game.
Copeland signed a $1.1MM deal with the Bucks last offseason, but hasn’t seen the court much during his time in Milwaukee. The 31-year-old is averaging 2.1 points and 0.5 assists in 6.5 minutes per game this season. He is sporting a career low 5.6 player efficiency rating.
Western Notes: Green, Cole, Collison, Suns
The Grizzlies offered Jeff Green to the Clippers earlier in the week and after Los Angeles turned them down, they expected to keep the combo forward on the roster, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter link). The Clippers then contacted the team right before the deadline to rekindle talks and the sides were able to come to an agreement, Tillery adds.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Norris Cole and Darren Collison were among the point guards available for trades before Thursday’s deadline, a league source told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Ellis heard the same about D.J. Augustin, whom the Thunder traded to the Nuggets.
- The Suns will not bring back Orlando Johnson, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes. Johnson’s 10-day contract with Phoenix expired earlier this week and the team signed Phil Pressey to a 10-day deal earlier today.
- P.J. Tucker drew interest from other teams at the deadline, but Suns GM Ryan McDonough believes that it was the right move to keep the veteran, Coro writes in a separate piece. “He’s one guy we look at as an example for how hard you should play every night and the kind of toughness and edge you should bring to the game,” McDonough said. With Markieff Morris leaving town, Tucker is now the Suns’ longest-tenured player.