Pistons Shop Gigi Datome
The Pistons are seeking a trade partner who’ll take on Gigi Datome, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). The second-year small forward has appeared in only one game for Detroit this season, and the Pistons sent him to the D-League today along with Spencer Dinwiddie, the team announced (on Twitter). Datome is making $1.75MM this season in the final year of a two-year deal he signed with former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars.
Detroit gave the Italian sharpshooter limited playing time as a rookie, but though he averaged only 7.0 minutes per contest, he appeared in 34 games even as he struggled with his normally reliable outside shot, going 7 for 39 from behind the arc. New coach/executive Stan Van Gundy hasn’t afforded him more than a 12-minute appearance in a loss to the Lakers in early December.
Datome went undrafted in 2009, but after developing overseas, the Grizzlies, Celtics, Bucks, Rockets, Suns and Spurs were among the teams to show interest in him before he signed with the Pistons, and former Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo apparently scouted him, too. The Pistons reportedly viewed the Heat as the most significant threat to sign him. Datome said the Pistons didn’t make him the most lucrative offer but that he inked with them because he felt they’d give him the best opportunity to play, which seems like a miscalculation at this point.
Kings Discuss Sessions-Farmar Swap
WEDNESDAY, 11:26pm: The Kings have talked about a swap of Sessions for Farmar, Jones writes in a full story. It’s unclear if those were internal discussions or if the Clippers were involved. Sacramento wants more perimeter shooting, and Farmar would help in that area, Jones adds. Sessions is the most likely King to be dealt as the team explores trades, according to Jones.
TUESDAY, 2:53pm: Jordan Farmar is a possible target for the Kings as they look to make a deal, a source tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, who also hears there’s a chance the team will send out Ramon Sessions (Twitter link). The Clippers have been talking to other teams about Farmar, as Chris Mannix of SI.com reported Monday. The Clippers appear poised to acquire Austin Rivers from the Celtics, who took him in as part of Monday’s Jeff Green trade, though the Clippers have reportedly been looking to find a third team that would provide the expiring contract the Celtics want.
Farmar, who signed with the Clippers for the full value of the biannual exception this past offseason, is reportedly displeased with his role on the Clippers, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com wrote about a month ago. He’s seeing a career-low 14.7 minutes per game after receiving 22.2 MPG with the Lakers last season, the second most playing time of his career.
His salaries for this season and next are identical to those of Sessions, who also signed for the biannual, though Farmar possesses a player option for next season while Sessions does not. They make $2.077MM this year and are set for more than $2.17MM in 2015/16. The matching salaries would be key for the Clippers if there were a Farmar-Sessions swap, since the Clips are less than $2MM shy of the hard cap they triggered in part when they signed Farmar.
Sessions is also seeing the least amount of playing time in his career, averaging 17.1 MPG. He hasn’t played since December 22nd as he’s dealt with a strained lower back.
Northwest Notes: Nelson, Robinson, Saunders
This season’s first 50-point scoring performance came from an unlikely source, as Mo Williams dropped 52 on the Pacers to help the Timberwolves to a rare victory Tuesday. The 32-year-old who’s on a one-year deal is still averaging only 12.4 points per game, even with the 52 taken into account. While we wait to see if Williams can stay hot and boost his stock, here’s more from around the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets gave Jameer Nelson assurances about minutes and style of play to help him overcome his initial hesitation to head to Denver, TNT’s David Aldridge reports (on Twitter). The Celtics shipped Nelson to the Nuggets late Tuesday in exchange for Nate Robinson.
- Robinson had tired of his sharply limited playing time prior to the trade and was at times a distracting force in the locker room for the Nuggets, according to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post. The guard, who’s reportedly reached a buyout deal with Boston, is seeking a chance to showcase his talent as he approaches free agency this summer and would prefer to sign with a contender, Dempsey writes.
- Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor hasn’t spoken with Flip Saunders about whether Saunders will coach the team again next season, as Taylor tells Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Saunders and Taylor reached a deal that’s “open-ended” in terms of length this past offseason when Saunders, who also serves as the team’s president of basketball operations, agreed to coach the team.
- Taylor recently rebuffed interest from a suitor looking to buy the Wolves, as he also tells Walters (Twitter link).
- The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson, Darnell Mayberry, Anthony Slater and Berry Tramel speculate on the future of Reggie Jackson, possible deadline moves for the Thunder, and more.
Eric Maynor Signs To Play In Italy
WEDNESDAY, 8:09am: The deal is official, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia on Twitter). It covers the rest of the season.
MONDAY, 9:05am: Five-year NBA veteran Eric Maynor has agreed to play for OpenJobMetis Varese of Italy, the Italian publication La Prealpina reports (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Maynor resisted the idea of going to the D-League, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com hears (Twitter link), and he’s instead heading overseas to recharge a career in which he was once one of the NBA’s most prominent backup point guards. The terms of the Andrew Vye client‘s Italian deal are unknown.
The 27-year-old Maynor reportedly worked out for the Pelicans earlier this season, but he hasn’t played since the Sixers waived him this past March. He signed a two-year deal worth nearly $4.123MM in the summer of 2013 with the Wizards, but he fell out of the rotation and Washington sent him to Philly in a trade deadline deal nearly a year ago. The Sixers ate the guaranteed salary on both seasons of his contract when they let him go, but they could be in line to recover a small fraction of that money via set-off rights depending on the size of his deal in Italy.
Maynor had been a vital bench player for the Thunder when he tore his right ACL three years ago this month, and Reggie Jackson seized that role in his absence. Oklahoma City traded Maynor to Portland a little more than a year after the injury, and after the Blazers declined to make the former 20th overall pick a qualifying offer, he inked with the Wizards.
Nuggets Discuss Potential Randy Foye Trades
The Nuggets are engaged in trade talks regarding Randy Foye, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes at the bottom of a story about today’s Celtics-Nuggets trade. Windhorst echoes a Monday report from ESPN colleague Ramona Shelburne indicating that the team is fielding multiple inquiries about Arron Afflalo.
Foye hasn’t played since November 23rd as he recovers from a torn ligament in his right quadricep. The 31-year-old is making $3MM this season, but he’s on a de facto expiring contract, since his $3.135MM salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed. The Celtics have been seeking expiring deals from the Clippers in return for Austin Rivers, though it would seem that if Boston had interest in Foye, the Celtics and Nuggets would have made him part of an expanded Robinson-Nelson swap.
Denver has been active of late, receiving a pair of first-round picks in last week’s deal that sent Timofey Mozgov to the Cavs and shipping Nate Robinson to Boston for Jameer Nelson earlier Tuesday evening. The Nuggets are also making a hard push to trade Wilson Chandler, as TNT’s David Aldridge reported early Tuesday. The acquisition of Nelson appears to be a move with an eye on the present, in contrast to the future-focused Mozgov deal. The Nuggets are just 17-20, but they have won four in a row and are just two games in the loss column behind the Suns, who occupy the final playoff position in the Western Conference. Nelson will presumably move into the backup point guard role that Robinson had occupied and that Foye would man at times if he were healthy. Robinson is reportedly expected to reach a buyout deal with the Celtics, and Windhorst suggests that the Cavs are among the teams interested in him should he hit free agency.
Atlantic Notes: Stoudemire, Celtics, Nets
Amar’e Stoudemire isn’t sure that he wants to remain with the Knicks amid a rebuilding effort, as he told reporters, including Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks reportedly have no plans to trade Stoudemire, who’s set for free agency at season’s end.
“It’s a very difficult situation at this point,’’ Stoudemire said. “It’s a hard decision for me to make. My loyalty has always been with New York and the Knicks. So it will be tough right now to make a decision as far as going somewhere else at this point. It’s something I have to think about. I’m sure over time I’ll sit and think about the best scenario for myself. For now, I know I’ve been through injuries throughout my career. I have to make sure I’m able to be strong enough and prepared to play for a team contending for a championship. New York is trying to rebuild. Hopefully that will be sooner than later.’’
Stoudemire laments the departure of now-Cavalier Iman Shumpert, who like Stoudemire is a client of Happy Walters, as Berman notes. Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics are receiving $1,319,236 in cash from the Grizzlies as part of the Jeff Green trade, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- Mikhail Prokhorov lost an estimated $400MM in one day in the midst of global economic trouble late last month, an attorney and adviser to Russian oligarchs tells Stefan Bondy and Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News. Russia’s economic downturn is reportedly one of the reasons that Prokhorov has reportedly put the Nets up for sale.
- An industry consultant tells Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com that he believes that the Nets will command a price akin to the $2 billion the Clippers fetched, while a consultant said to Soshnick that he isn’t sure that the Nets are as attractive as the Clippers were.
- Some believe that Andrei Kirilenko is giving up the rest of his salary this season to tend to his wife as she endures a difficult pregnancy, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. However, Pompey hears from a Brooklyn source who questioned whether that’s indeed the reason the forward hasn’t played in two months.
Kevin Love Plans To Opt In For Next Season
Kevin Love plans to opt in and remain with the Cavaliers for 2015/16, as he tells Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Love has a player option worth more than $16.744MM for next season, and though he’d stand to earn more than that if he were to sign a new contract, whether with the Cavs or any other team, it appears he’ll remain under his existing deal.
“I think that we will figure it out here, so I don’t plan on opting out or any of that,” Love said. “I plan on being here. As far as leaving my options open, I mean sure, it’s always there. At the end of the day, it’s always good to have something but no, I plan on being here.”
Many executives thought Love would test the market this summer, Haynes writes, but Love restated his long-term commitment to Cleveland. Opting in would allow Love to hit free agency in the summer of 2016, when execs assume the salary cap will surge to around $90MM. Still, Love can accomplish the same if he opts out and signs a one-year deal or a two-year deal with a player option. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal wrote this past weekend that Love was unlikely to sign a long-term deal with the Cavs this summer so that he could maximize his earnings, but not necessarily because he wanted out.
Cavs coach David Blatt made an odd statement late Sunday suggesting that Love isn’t a maximum-salary player, though Blatt backtracked and Love said he’s not upset about it. Love’s numbers are down significantly this season as he and the Cavs have struggled to mesh. Still, the 26-year-old remains a marquee talent.
A pair of reports suggested that Love had interest in joining the Lakers for next season, but Love denied that and has continually insisted that he has no desire to leave the Cavs, even amid his admiration for the Knicks franchise. He’s said in the past that he, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony have spoken about playing together. Anthony is in the first of a five-year deal with the Knicks, but Durant’s contract, which contains no option clauses, expires in the summer of 2016. That would align his free agency with Love’s if Love indeed opts in.
The absence of Love from the 2015 free agent market would clearly weaken the class, though there are still several intriguing names set to go up for grabs. Love’s teammate LeBron James has a player option for next season, too, and while he’ll almost certainly re-sign with the Cavs, it appears he won’t rule out a departure.
Love is in his seventh year in the league, so he’d be eligible for a starting salary of roughly 30% of the salary cap in his next contract. That 30% max is more than $17.695MM for this season, and that number will no doubt rise for next season, so Love figures to miss out on some significant money should he opt in.
Celtics Rumors: Picks, Bass, Thornton, Green
The Celtics stand to make at least six extra first-round draft picks in the years ahead after acquiring yet another in Monday’s Jeff Green trade. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge believes a team can never have too many picks, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald notes.
“No, because draft picks are always tradeable; players are not [always tradeable]. Draft picks are always assets,” Ainge said. “Until sometimes they’re drafted. Until they become players. Or until they become paid.”
The tear-down continues in Boston, and we’ll pass along the latest on the team’s next moves:
- There is interest around the league in Brandon Bass, but the Celtics have yet to draw any serious offers for him on the trade market, league sources tell Bulpett for the same piece.
- The C’s have talked about coming to buyout deals with Marcus Thornton, Jameer Nelson and Tayshaun Prince, but no decisions have been made, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- Boston’s concern that Green would opt out and sign with another team this summer helped fuel the deal that sent him to the Grizzlies, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com explains. Ainge parted with Green but said he believes the forward still hasn’t hit his prime, Blakely notes.
Mikhail Prokhorov Puts Nets Up For Sale
1:36pm: Broussard’s sources also corroborate the story that the Nets are for sale (Twitter link).
1:23pm: Sources confirm Soshnick’s report to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, who hears the troubled Russian economy is a catalyst (Twitter link).
1:20pm: Nets CEO Brett Yormark, GM Billy King and chief communications officer Barry Baum are denying the report that Prokhorov has put the team on the market, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
12:47pm: The Nets aren’t actively looking to sell the club, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post, who adds that nothing appears to have changed, echoing the Prokhorov spokesperson’s statement (Twitter link). Bontemps doesn’t believe there’s any chance the Nets sell before the Hawks do (Twitter link). Still, as Shelburne points out (on Twitter), the spokesperson didn’t explicitly deny Soshnick’s report.
12:29am: A spokesperson for Prokhorov said the owner remains open to listening to offers, but the spokesperson added that no sale is imminent, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links).
11:46am: Mikhail Prokhorov has put the Nets up for sale and hired the investment banking firm Evercore to help facilitate the transaction, two sources tell Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. The Nets were reportedly in talks with the Guggenheim group on what would have been essentially a merger of assets late last year, but those conversations stalled. Chris Mannix of SI.com reported during the Nets-Guggenheim talks that Prokhorov was actively looking to cash out, though other reports maintained that Prokhorov, who owns 80% of the franchise, was intent on retaining control of the club even if Guggenheim bought a piece of the team. It’s unclear at this point what, if any, role Prokhorov wants to play with the Nets going forward. The Barclays Center arena, of which Prokhorov owns 45%, isn’t part of the sale, according to Soshnick.
Nets minority owner Bruce Ratner, who owns the majority of the arena, hired Evercore last year to help with the sale of his 20% stake in the franchise, but they found no takers, as Soshnick points out. The ability to control the team through ownership of a majority stake would no doubt make the franchise more attractive, and a valuations expert tells Soshnick the franchise is worth $1.3 billion. Earlier reports indicated that the Nets and Guggenheim were working off a valuation of between $1.2 billion and $1.7 billion, while a later dispatch indicated that the Nets wanted to negotiate off of a $1.8 billion valuation.
In June, Prokhorov denied a report indicating that he was listening to offers for the club, saying he has “no interest in selling the team.” Still, another report shortly thereafter indicated that the owner had pledged to curb his team’s record spending to help Ratner find a taker for his share. Prokhorov and Ratner were reportedly seeking a $1 billion valuation at that point, and Prokhorov said he planned to take the club below the NBA’s luxury tax line by 2015/16. The Nets spent more than $190MM in payroll and luxury taxes in 2013/14, and the team was reportedly projected to have lost a league-high $144MM, both figures far outdistancing any other NBA team.
Brooklyn’s payroll is lower this year, at nearly $90.7MM, though the team would owe roughly $26MM in taxes on top of that unless the Nets further cut spending before the end of the regular season. The Nets are reportedly willing to trade Joe Johnson, Deron Williams and Brook Lopez, their three most highly paid players.
And-Ones: Cavs, Prince, Ferry, Draft, Taylor
David Blatt believes his comment questioning whether Kevin Love is a max player was “misunderstood or misconstrued” by many, but Love says he and the Cavs coach are on the same page, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group relays.
“Kevin Love for me is a player of the highest order,” Blatt said. “Whether you want to define that by max contract or any other thing, he’s one of the best players in the NBA and that’s the way we value him.”
Love can hit free agency this summer if he turns down his player option, but tonight he’ll hit the floor against the Suns and seek to help Cleveland avoid dipping below .500. There’s more on the Cavs amid the latest from around the league:
- The Cavs would be interested in Tayshaun Prince if he and the Celtics strike a buyout deal, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Cleveland apparently had interest in trading for Prince prior to Monday’s swap that sent him to Boston. Prince and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge are set to discuss the forward’s situation, and a buyout is on the table, as Chris Mannix of SI.com reported Monday.
- Al Horford would welcome Hawks GM Danny Ferry back from his leave of absence, as the center tells Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Ferry has appeared unlikely to return in the wake of racially charged comments he made about Luol Deng.
- Fringe first-round draft prospect Chris McCullough will miss the rest of the season for Syracuse after tearing the ACL in his right knee, the school announced Monday (Twitter link). The freshman power forward is No. 29 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress prospect rankings and comes in 31st with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. NBA teams saw him as a long-term project even before the injury, Givony tweets.
- Russia’s Dynamo Moscow has let go of former Nets point guard Tyshawn Taylor, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Taylor appeared in 23 games for Brooklyn last season, making three starts, but has been out of the NBA since the Pelicans waived him shortly after the Nets traded him to New Orleans nearly a year ago.