Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Thunder, Lopez
Most around the league expect LaMarcus Aldridge to re-sign with the Trail Blazers this coming summer, as he said he would, but an executive from an opposing team told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that the Blazers are “very, very scared” that he’ll walk in free agency. The exec cautioned that it’s probably just “paranoid” thinking on their part, but this weekend, peppered with questions from the New York media, Aldridge praised Phil Jackson, the city of New York, and said he’d be a fit for the triangle offense, Deveney notes. The power forward has largely declined to talk specifics about his upcoming free agency since just before training camp, when he repeated his intention to re-sign with Portland. Here’s more from a busy Northwest Division:
- Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams are off-limits for the Thunder, but the team is open to trading everyone else for the right offer, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
- It’s unlikely the Nuggets trade Jameer Nelson, in spite of interest from the Wizards, Heat and Cavs, given GM Tim Connelly‘s long-held desire to have the point guard on the team, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post,
- The Nuggets would like to trade JaVale McGee more than any other player on their roster, but the team is making Gary Harris and Jusuf Nurkic untouchable for any deal, Dempsey adds in the same piece. Grantland’s Zach Lowe also reported today that Nurkic is off-limits.
- The Blazers would like to add a small forward, given Nicolas Batum‘s inconsistency this season, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes amid his weekly power rankings.
- Sources tell Kennedy they believe the Timberwolves are open to trading some of their veterans for the right return (Twitter link). Still, president of basketball operations and coach Flip Saunders has said he doesn’t intend to do any more deals.
- The Blazers and Pelicans are worth keeping an eye on as the Wolves continue to try to honor Chase Budinger‘s trade request, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
Nuggets Talk Afflalo With Thunder, Others
MONDAY, 12:12pm: Shelburne mentions the Thunder among the teams that have discussed Afflalo with the Nuggets in her latest tweet. The Kings, Bulls and Clippers are the others Shelburne names, though she cautions that none of the talks have become serious. Grantland’s Zach Lowe indicated this morning that the Nuggets are seeking multiple first-rounders for Afflalo. Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes that the Nuggets are seeking only a mid-to-late first-rounder, but that teams are hesitant to pay even that price.
WEDNESDAY, 8:59am: The Nuggets have discussed Arron Afflalo with the Blazers, Bulls and Kings, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link), who also reiterates her earlier report that Denver has heard from the Clippers and Heat about the shooting guard, too. That dispatch also had the Hornets in the Afflalo discussion, but Shelburne doesn’t mention Charlotte this time around, perhaps an indication that the Hornets have moved on in the wake of their Mo Williams acquisition. The Nuggets seek a first-round pick for Afflalo, as Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post reported earlier and as Shelburne alludes to, but even given that sort of cost to other teams, Afflalo is more likely to end up in a trade before the deadline than Wilson Chandler, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link).
Indeed, the Nuggets would prefer to move Afflalo instead of Chandler if they had to choose, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News wrote a week ago. The general belief is that Denver is also seeking a first-rounder for Chandler, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported last week and as he reiterated overnight (on Twitter), echoing another report from Dempsey that the Blazers and Clippers, also apparent Afflalo suitors, are interested.
The Bulls have all of their own first-rounders for the coming years, plus they have a first-round pick coming from the Kings as soon as this year. Portland also has all of its own first-rounders. The Kings owe their pick to Chicago but otherwise have all of their first-rounders, too, while the Heat are in a similar position, with all of their own first-rounders except one that they owe to the Sixers that could go out this year. The Clippers are in the worst position among the latest teams connected to Afflalo, owing this year’s first-round pick to the Celtics and their 2017 pick, with protections that carry through 2019, to the Bucks.
I profiled the trade candidacies of Afflalo and Chandler, but they’re not the only Nuggets liable to move between now and the February 19th deadline, as Stein names Randy Foye and Jameer Nelson trade candidates, too (Twitter link). Denver can’t aggregate Nelson’s $2.732MM salary with any other player, since the team acquired him via trade less than two months ago, but there are no such restrictions on Foye, who makes $3MM. Foye’s $3.135MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed while Nelson has a player option worth nearly $2.855MM.
Lowe’s Latest: Warriors, Garnett, Magic, Pelicans
Projections from the league and individual teams show the salary cap going from about $68MM next season to around $90MM for 2016/17 without any sort of plan for tiered increases, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. The players union rejected the league’s proposal to smooth out the projected spike in the cap, and while executive director Michele Roberts left open the possibility that the union would counter with a proposal of its own, compromise seems unlikely, according to Lowe. That’s left teams that aren’t usually attractive to free agents with the feeling that their cap flexibility is less valuable than it ever has been, Lowe hears, since just about every team will be in line to sign a max-level free agent or two after next season.
We’ve already passed along Lowe’s news about exploratory Ty Lawson talks between the Nuggets and the latest on the Raptors and Terrence Ross, but Lowe’s must-read column has more, and we’ll hit the rest of the highlights here:
- Lowe suggests the Warriors would like to try to convince Kevin Garnett to waive his no-trade clause and that they’ll see if any money-saving deals for David Lee are available.
- The Nets don’t want to make a trade just for the sake of making one, and if they do swing a deal, they’ll seek “some token future assets” and cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, Lowe writes.
- Lowe names Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson as examples of “little side pieces” the Magic will seek to trade. The Magic are open to trading Nicholson, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders heard last month that teams had been calling about Harkless but that Orlando’s asking price was high.
- The Pelicans would like an upgrade at small forward, but they won’t part with Ryan Anderson cheaply just to accomplish that goal, Lowe writes.
- Corey Brewer declined his $4.905MM player option for next season to help facilitate the trade that sent him to the Rockets, according to Lowe. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders also shows the option as having been declined on his Rockets salary page.
Celtics Engage In Exploratory Ty Lawson Talks
The Celtics and Nuggets have had exploratory conversations about a deal involving Ty Lawson, several sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe. People around the league sense that a team could pry Lawson or Kenneth Faried from the Nuggets for an especially intriguing offer, Lowe hears. The Nuggets are a hub of activity leading up to Thursday’s 2pm Central trade deadline, and Jusuf Nurkic is the only Nuggets player truly off-limits, several league sources said to Lowe. Still, Denver’s setting high prices, as the Grantland scribe suggests the Nuggets are looking for multiple first-round picks in return for each of Arron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler instead of just one for each, as previous reports indicated. He also hints that the Nuggets have spoken to the Wizards about Chandler and Afflalo, though that point isn’t entirely clear.
Boston would be an odd fit for Lawson, since the Celtics have 2014 No. 6 overall pick Marcus Smart at the point after trading Rajon Rondo, and Lowe writes that Boston won’t relinquish Smart in any deal for Lawson. Still, Lawson is tied for the league lead with a career-high 10.1 assists per game, and his salary of nearly $11.596MM would fit within Boston’s massive trade exception worth more than $12.909MM left over from the Rondo trade, so the Nuggets could offload his salary without taking anyone back. Lawson has two more seasons on his deal, worth $12.404MM in 2015/16 and $13.213MM in 2016/17.
Nuggets coach Brian Shaw has clashed with the point guard at times this season, according to Lowe, who nonetheless downplays the significance of that conflict. Denver appeared to be against the idea of putting Lawson in a deal for Brook Lopez last month, and while another report suggested Denver was willing to trade the 27-year-old, the asking price from GM Tim Connelly and company was a turn-off to would-be suitors.
Nets, Grizzlies Pursue Andray Blatche
10:58am: If Blatche were to return to China, he would be in line to receive a “substantial” raise over what he made in China this season, Windrem tweets.
10:25am: Blatche is seriously considering a lucrative contract offer to re-sign with a team in the Chinese Basketball Association, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. The big man is being pursued by several teams in China, and he may forgo a return to the NBA this season, Charania adds.
FEBRUARY 14TH, 9:12am: Nets GM Billy King indicated that a decision regarding Blatche would be made shortly, but he did not indicate if the team intended to sign the big man, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily reports. “Yeah, we’re in discussions about it,” King said. “We’ve had contact with him and hopefully we’ll make a decision soon.”
4:18pm: Several playoff-bound teams have interest in Blatche, tweets Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal.
FEBRUARY 2ND, 12:16pm: The Nets and Grizzlies are among the teams interested in signing Andray Blatche, who’s once more a free agent after his deal to play in China expired this week with the end of the Chinese season, reports Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. Miami has also shown interest in Blatche, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported in December, though it’s unclear if the Heat still want to chase him in the wake of Hassan Whiteside‘s emergence, Mazzeo writes.
That Brooklyn would be going after the 28-year-old big man is surprising after he was the only one of the team’s free agents with whom King did not meet at the start of the negotiating period in July. Nets management applauded what was reportedly a de facto suspension that then-coach Jason Kidd handed out to Blatche last season over concerns about his conditioning and preparation. Brooklyn nonetheless believes that Blatche can help at this point, tweets Reed Wallach of NetsDaily.
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace spoke openly this weekend of his willingness to gamble on inexpensive talent for the end of his roster, and Memphis signed Michael Beasley and Tyrus Thomas earlier this year. Blatche would fit the profile of the veteran power forward the team seems to be after, though Memphis just agreed to a 10-day deal with JaMychal Green, which would fill its lone open roster spot, if only temporarily. Brooklyn is only committed to 14 players.
Heat officials reportedly made preliminary inquiries about the Andy Miller client over the summer, but it appears that Miami has had longstanding concerns about Blatche’s maturity and behavior. The Heat have 14 players signed for the season plus Tyler Johnson, who’s on the fifth day of a 10-day contract. Miami has a disabled player exception of nearly $2.653MM to offer, giving the team a financial edge over the Grizzlies, who have only a sliver of their mid-level exception remaining.
However, the Nets have Blatche’s Early Bird rights, so they can sign him for a prorated portion of the $5.632MM estimated average salary. The rate of proration would give the Nets roughly $4.837MM to spend if they signed him today, with about $33K coming off that amount daily. Blatche just completed a one-year, $2MM deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers after having spent the previous two seasons in Brooklyn. He put up 31.0 points and 14.5 rebounds in 38.7 minutes per game while in China.
Paul George Targets Mid-March Return
11:12pm: The Pacers have released an official statement regarding the possibility of George returning to action in March. The team said that the decision for George to return to practice and game action remains with the Pacers’ medical staff, and the team won’t clear him to resume playing until the appropriate time.
FEBRUARY 13TH, 4:21pm: George says that he is eyeing a mid-March return to game action, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The swingman hinted that he could return as early as the March 14th contest against the Celtics, Spears adds. George had previously stated that he would like to be back by March, but also acknowledged that timeframe was unlikely. If the 24-year-old is to make the March 14th target date, this would mean that George would need to start practicing with the team at the conclusion of the All-Star break, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star tweets. This would give George approximately 12 practices to work his way into game shape, Buckner adds (Twitter link).
FEBRUARY 3RD, 12:33pm: Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said he’s taking a win-now approach and left the door open to Paul George returning to play this season after breaking his leg over the summer, as Bird spoke with reporters today (Twitter links via the team’s official account). There have been hints about the vague notion that George would return near the end of the season from his gruesome injury, but Bird’s comments marked the first occasion that a team official went on the record about the possibility that he’ll return, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (on Twitter). Still, coach Frank Vogel reiterated that he doesn’t believe George will play this season, Buckner tweets.
“If he gets healthy and they say he can play and he wants to play, we’ll let him play,” Bird said, according to the Pacers team account, pointing out that doctors told him George’s led would be healed within seven months from the injury (Twitter links). “That will be in March and we’ll go from there.”
Bird cautioned that he has “no clue” whether George will return this season, as Buckner points out in a full story, and the Hall-of-Famer is disappointed with the way his team has played even amid injuries to George and others this year, Buckner notes (Twitter link). The Pacers, who sit four and a half games out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, are seeking upgrades via trade as they attempt to make the playoffs this year, and Bird identified a shooting guard as the team’s greatest need, Buckner relays (Twitter link). Bird also indicated that he’d like add a big man, the Star scribe notes.
“We’re always looking to improve the team; there’s a lot of improvement that needs to be done,” Bird said, according to Buckner’s story. “Hopefully we can do something that makes us better. If not, we’ll stand pat and this summer do the rest of the work.”
The Pacers are gauging the value of the players on their roster as they place frequent calls to teams around the league, Bird said, according to Buckner (Twitter link). Indiana reportedly engaged in preliminary talks about Lance Stephenson, their former shooting guard, with the Hornets in December, but Pacers officials as well as current Pacers players apparently weren’t enamored with the idea of bringing him back.
A pair of key Pacers can opt for free agency this summer, and Bird said David West and Roy Hibbert hadn’t given him an indication of whether they’d exercise their player options worth $12.6MM and more than $15.5MM, respectively, Buckner tweets. Still, Bird anticipates that they’ll return, and is focused on adding youth around the team’s core this summer, as Buckner relays. (All Twitter links). The Pacers have only $36MM committed for 2015/16 against a projected $66.5MM cap, but if Hibbert and West opt in, Indiana will be on the hook for more than $64.1MM, so Bird acknowledged the direction for the offseason ahead isn’t entirely clear, Buckner points out (Twitter link).
Latest On Amar’e Stoudemire, Possible Buyout
FRIDAY, 4:27pm: Stoudemire’s representatives are still discussing a buyout with the team, but the player still hasn’t made a definitive decision about his future yet, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
11:13pm: Stoudemire’s representatives are pushing for a buyout, and the Knicks seem inclined to grant it, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report notes. New York has no interest in re-signing Stoudemire this summer, and the team prefers to use its salary-cap room to chase a younger star, Beck adds.
WEDNESDAY, 11:36am: No “real” discussions have taken place between Amar’e Stoudemire and the Knicks about a buyout, agent Happy Walters tells Marc Berman of the New York Post, adding that his client is loyal to the Knicks and won’t make a move unless Knicks owner James Dolan is on board with it. Dolan doesn’t oppose the idea, sources tell Berman, and in one buyout scenario, Stoudemire would relinquish the amount of money he would make on a prorated minimum-salary contract. The veteran big man echoed sentiments of loyalty to the Knicks in comments Tuesday, as Berman notes in a separate piece.
“I gave it all, man — my heart, my body and my soul,’’ Stoudemire said. “I truly gave it all. I’m still giving, still dedicated to the game of basketball, still dedicated to New York State and the Knicks.”
Carmelo Anthony is lobbying Stoudemire to stick around, as Berman notes. The 32-year-old Stoudemire has spoken of playing several more years and said recently that he expected he’d talk soon with the Knicks about a future with the team beyond this season. Stoudemire later said he and the Knicks would discuss the possibility of a buyout after the All-Star break. He’d have to hit waivers no later than March 1st to be eligible to play for another team in the postseason.
The Mavs are reportedly the favorites to sign Stoudemire should he buy his way off the Knicks and clear waivers, and the Clippers and Warriors would apparently have interest as well. It’s almost certain that Stoudemire would clear waivers, since no team, including the Sixers, currently has the cap space necessary to take on his salary of nearly $23.411MM. The Knicks could recoup a portion of his salary via set-off if he clears waivers and signs with any other team, though teams and players often agree to waive set-off rights in the event of a buyout. The Mavs, Clippers and Warriors are all limited to paying out no more than the minimum salary anyway, so any set-off wouldn’t amount to much.
Teams With Tax Concerns At The Trade Deadline
The luxury tax landscape has changed somewhat since the last time I looked at teams that were either in line to pay the tax or in close proximity to the $76.829MM tax threshold. Still, there were 14 teams within $5MM of tax territory at last check in early November, and there are 14 teams in that position now. A dozen of those are the same teams, with the Mavericks and Rockets having replaced the Celtics and Nuggets among them. Two of the teams that were within $5MM of the tax line in November jumped over it amid last month’s flurry of trades, with the Cavs and Thunder joining the ranks of the taxpayers.
There’s a decent chance they won’t be the only teams crossing that line. Four of the five teams closest to the threshold without having gone over have the capability of lengthy playoff runs and figure to be buyers at the deadline if they make moves. The Raptors and Rockets are less than $1MM shy of tax territory, so they’d have to be especially careful if they want to avoid becoming tax teams.
Note that the numbers listed below don’t correspond directly to team salaries. That’s because a team’s payroll is calculated somewhat differently for tax purposes than it is in relation to the salary cap. Players with zero or one year of NBA experience who are on minimum-salary deals count for as much salary as a two-year veteran making the minimum would, as far as the tax is concerned — as long as they aren’t draftees on their rookie contracts. Remember, too, that these figures are subject to change at the end of the regular season if players cash in on bonuses they were considered unlikely to achieve or fail to do so with incentive clauses they were likely to fulfill.
Above the tax line
- Nets: $91.144MM
- Knicks: $81.989MM
- Cavaliers: $81.18MM
- Clippers: $79.632MM
- Thunder: $79.098MM
Less than $5MM shy of the tax line
- Raptors: $76.096MM
- Rockets: $75.978MM
- Wizards: $75.829MM
- Pacers: $75.207MM
- Grizzlies: $74.649MM
- Mavericks: $74.516MM
- Heat: $72.795MM
- Warriors: $72.541MM
- Kings: $71.976MM
Note: The final numbers presented here are rounded to the nearest $1K. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Central Notes: Monroe, LeBron, Haywood, Allen
Stan Van Gundy insists that the Pistons won’t trade Greg Monroe, citing his hope that the big man will re-sign this summer as well as the team’s playoff chase, as Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News observes. Monroe has a de facto no-trade clause and agent David Falk has said he doesn’t want to be dealt.
“It’s not gonna happen,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t know where Greg’s head will be in the offseason, but we’re still hopeful of Greg Monroe for the long term. And with him going into free agency, you won’t get a lot, maybe a pick. I’m not gonna walk in that locker room and give up a piece like that and then tell the guys we’re trying to make the playoffs. They deserve the chance to ride this out. You never say never to anything, but I can tell you about 99.9%, Greg Monroe’s not going anywhere.”
The Lakers reportedly asked the Pistons about Monroe earlier this month, but it seems like their chance to nab him won’t come until the summer, when he’ll be an unrestricted free agent. There’s more on the Pistons amid the latest from around the Central Division:
- Van Gundy also said that he won’t trade a first-round pick but is willing to take on a short-term salary dump from another team, Wojnowski notes in the same piece.
- LeBron James expressed fondness for Madison Square Garden today while speaking to reporters for All-Star weekend, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays (Twitter link). Still, it’d be a stretch to suggest that the Cavs star, who has a player option for next season, has any interest in playing for the Knicks. “If I could have 82 regular season games anywhere they’d be at Madison Square Garden, because it’s the mecca of basketball,” James said.
- The Cavs believe Brendan Haywood is “done” as an on-court contributor, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal writes in his Final Thoughts column. Of course, Haywood continues to have value thanks to his unique contract, and the Cavs are reportedly shopping him in advance of the deadline.
- The Bulls seem like a less likely contender for Ray Allen than they had been, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com opines in his latest mailbag column.
Pacific Notes: Cousins, Karl, Thompson, West
The Kings are poised for trade deadline action after resolving their coaching situation, while in Phoenix, suitors are lining up for Goran Dragic. We’ll run through the latest news and notes from a busy Pacific Division here:
- DeMarcus Cousins praised new Kings coach George Karl to reporters at All-Star weekend in New York, saying he looked forward to working with him, tweets Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. The center has expressed exasperation with the team’s coaching turmoil.
- Karl was the right choice for the Kings, argues Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee, who also lists Scott Brooks among the names of coaches who would have been candidates for the Sacramento job if the team hadn’t hired Karl.
- Warriors coach Steve Kerr was largely responsible for halting a proposed blockbuster last summer that would have sent Klay Thompson to the Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Kerr and Warriors team consultant Jerry West talked ownership out of making the swap, which would have also sent David Lee to Minnesota and Kevin Martin to Golden State, Deveney adds. A source close the talks told Deveney that the trade was a done deal until Kerr, who took the job with the expectation of coaching Thompson, and West convinced management not to do it.
- The jealousy that the Warriors worried might develop when they gave Thompson a more lucrative extension than Stephen Curry got a few years ago hasn’t developed, and Thompson doesn’t regret agreeing to contract terms that might give him less than the max, as Deveney writes in the same piece.
- West, who made his mark as an executive with the Lakers, is confident the Lakers wouldn’t ask him back, as he said on 95.7 The Game, as station host Matt Steinmetz relays (Twitter links). West’s son, Ryan, is the Lakers’ assistant scouting director, notes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
- Trading Dragic would be a wise move because the Suns are not true title contenders, Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic argues. Bickley believes the Suns should be acquiring trade assets in order to make a future move to acquire a superstar talent rather than adding short-term pieces such as Ray Allen or Amar’e Stoudemire. If the Suns can add a first-round pick by swapping Dragic while concurrently breaking their point guard logjam, they should not hesitate, Bickley concludes.
Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.