Western Notes: Wolves, Motiejunas, Gallinari
Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell would like for his team to make a signing, lamenting how “awfully thin” the Wolves are inside, but he doesn’t anticipate a move until well after Tuesday, the last day players can hit waivers and still be eligible to play in the postseason for another team, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Mitchell, who isn’t assured of his job beyond this season, said the Wolves will be patient while free agents head to playoff-bound teams, according to Zgoda.
“After the dust settles, there are going to be some guys out there we’ll want to look at,” Mitchell said. “You don’t want to do it too fast because you don’t want to fill a spot and then someone becomes available. There are only so many playoff teams and only so many roster spots.”
Minnesota has an opening in the wake of its buyout with Andre Miller, and the team has reportedly engaged in advanced discussions with Kevin Martin about a buyout, too. See more from the Western Conference.
- Donatas Motiejunas said he doesn’t resent the Rockets for trying to trade him to Detroit, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The deadline-day trade that would have sent the soon-to-be restricted free agent to the Pistons fell apart when he didn’t pass Detroit’s physical. Motiejunas played nine minutes Sunday in his first action for Houston since December 31st. “I feel good,” Motiejunas said. “This team traded me because of the first-round pick, the lottery pick. It’s a big thing. I don’t see any problems with it. They were really waiting for me to get back. I love these guys, love the team, love the fans.”
- Danilo Gallinari expects that he’ll miss the next three to four weeks with injury, as he told Davide Chinellato of La Gazzetta dello Sport (Twitter link). The leading scorer for the Nuggets had an MRI on Saturday after suffering a severely sprained right ankle in Friday’s game, notes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The team has an open roster spot.
- Steve Kerr and Draymond Green largely dismissed any idea of tension stemming from a tirade that Green delivered to Warriors coaches at halftime of Saturday’s game, notes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. The versatile frontcourt player, who’s missed his last 12 3-pointers, was upset because he felt the coaches don’t want him to shoot, according to ESPN’s Lisa Salters.
Nets Sign Sean Kilpatrick To 10-Day Pact
SUNDAY, 1:54pm: The Nets have officially signed Kilpatrick to a 10-day contract, the team announced via press release.
FRIDAY, 3:36pm: The Nets are expected to sign former Timberwolves and Nuggets shooting guard Sean Kilpatrick, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (Twitter link). Brooklyn opened two roster spots in buyout deals with Joe Johnson and Andrea Bargnani this week, so the team doesn’t need to make a corresponding move. It’s unclear whether the signing would be a 10-day arrangement or cover the rest of the season.
The 26-year-old Kilpatrick has been putting up impressive numbers for the D-League affiliate of the Sixers this year. He’s averaging 26.4 points in 38.4 minutes per game with 42.6% 3-point shooting in 28 appearances.
Kilpatrick has seen extremely limited action in the NBA thus far in his career, having made a total of 12 appearances over parts of two seasons. His NBA numbers are 4.1 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists to accompany a slash line of .366/.267/.917.
Rockets, Ty Lawson Explore Buyout
SATURDAY, 11:20am: Lawson has indicated that his preference is to finish the season in Houston, which makes a buyout arrangement unlikely at this point, Feigen tweets.
12:59pm: The Rockets want to keep Lawson and fellow buyout candidate Marcus Thornton, but they’ll do what’s necessary to upgrade the roster, tweets Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.
FRIDAY, 12:32pm: Agent Happy Walters, who represents Lawson, confirmed to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that the sides have indeed talked about a buyout. “Yes, we have discussed a few things and we are exploring, but definitely not for sure,” Walters said. The agent made similar comments to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, telling him that a discussion about a mutually beneficial arrangement has taken place (Twitter link).
11:45am: The Rockets and Ty Lawson are exploring the idea of a buyout, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Wojnarowski doesn’t specifically say whether the sides have begun talks, but presumably that’s the case. Lawson has a salary of more than $12.404MM this season, the final guaranteed year on his contract. He’d give up some of that to reach free agency, and Houston could use the savings to pursue other players coming free on the buyout market, since the Rockets currently have only $524K to spend beneath their hard cap, as Wojnarowski points out. The sides realistically have until the end of Tuesday to reach a deal, since that’s the last day players can hit waivers and still play for other teams in the postseason.
Houston can’t spend beyond that hard cap, which it triggered when it signed Montrezl Harrell to a deal that, combined with the team’s pact with K.J. McDaniels, meant the team had used more than the $3.376MM taxpayer’s limit on the mid-level exception. The Rockets are reportedly among the teams with interest in Joe Johnson, but some other suitors have significantly more to spend. A Lawson buyout would help the Rockets to a degree, though the most they could spend on any one free agent if they were to free up more room beneath the hard cap would be $914,430, since that’s all they have left on their mid-level. That number, which would decline with each passing day, would pale in comparison to the $2MM or so that other contenders for Johnson could give him.
The Rockets and Jazz reportedly engaged in talks before the deadline about a would-be swap involving Lawson and Trey Burke. Wojnarowski referred to the discussion as merely casual, though Marc Stein of ESPN.com heard the teams were serious about the idea. Wojnarowski wrote then that it seemed doubtful at the time that the Rockets would end up waiving Lawson, but Stein heard the Rockets would give strong consideration to cutting him, and the ESPN scribe today portrays the buyout talks as an inevitable consequence of the failed trade discussion (Twitter link). The Knicks were also among the teams that apparently spoke with the Rockets about trading for Lawson.
Heat To Sign Joe Johnson
5:24pm: The Heat are expected to waive a player in the immediate future which will help them remain under the tax line after inking Johnson, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays (on Twitter).
1:47pm: The Heat expect they’ll sign Joe Johnson this weekend, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (Twitter links). He’s indeed headed to Miami, barring an unforeseen turn of events, as Ethan Skolnick of The Miami Herald confirms (on Twitter). The 15th-year veteran clears waivers Saturday. So, it appears Miami is poised to cross back into tax territory. The Heat would have to wait until March 6th to sign Johnson or anyone else to a minimum salary contract without putting themselves in line to pay repeat-offender tax penalties. Miami could work a buyout with another player to avert the tax or waive someone and hope another team claims him, though those scenarios rely on the cooperation of others. Failing any such tax escape hatch, a minimum-salary deal with Johnson would cost about $125K in taxes, $265K in salary and force the team to miss out on a $2.5MM windfall that would come from the league’s payout to non-tax teams, according to Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv first identified the Heat as the front-runners for Johnson earlier today, a reversal from last week, when Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer heard Johnson would sign with the Cavs if he worked a buyout with the Nets. Johnson received that buyout Thursday, reportedly giving up about $3MM in exchange for his release. The 34-year-old also apparently had serious interest in the Hawks, but instead it looks like he’s on his way to Miami, reportedly feeling as though he’d see a more significant role there than with other teams. Johnson would prefer living in Miami over other places, too, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork heard (Twitter link). The Cavs reportedly turned into long shots for him, and Skolnick hears the Thunder and Hawks, not the Cavs, were the teams that most appealed to Johnson aside from the Heat (Twitter link).
Johnson will supplement a Heat roster decimated by injuries and cost-cutting moves that have left them with only 10 healthy players. Conflicting reports surround the matter of whether the Heat are pressuring Chris Bosh to sit out the rest of the season because of renewed blood-clot issues, while Tyler Johnson is out until at least April and Beno Udrih at least May. Heat team president Pat Riley cited the team’s dwindling point guard corps Thursday when he left the door open a crack to the idea of paying the tax, but Johnson is a wing player. He’s nonetheless the jewel of the buyout market even though his scoring average has declined for four straight years. The seven-time All-Star posted 11.8 points in 33.9 minutes per game across 57 appearances with Brooklyn this season. He’s shot 37.1% on his 3-pointers this season, matching the rate for his career, and that figures to help Miami, which is 28th in 3-pointers made.
The Heat have eyed Johnson for weeks, if not longer, as Skolnick reported earlier this month that the Heat would have interest if Johnson became available on the buyout market.
Rockets Waive Marcus Thornton
3:48pm: The Rockets have officially waived Thornton, the team announced.
2:41pm: The Rockets will waive Marcus Thornton, agent Tony Dutt tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link). The news is no surprise, as Dutt and the Rockets had been set to discuss the next step for the shooting guard who hasn’t played for Houston since the trade that was to send him to Detroit was voided Monday. The seventh-year veteran signed a one-year contract for the minimum salary in the offseason, but it’s unclear if he’s giving up any of that to secure his release. He’ll be eligible to join another team for the playoffs as long as Houston formally waives him no later than Tuesday.
Thornton averaged 10.0 points in 18.8 minutes per game for the Rockets, his first double-digit scoring average since notching 12.7 points a night with the Kings in 2012/13. He posted a career-high 18.7 points per game with Sacramento in 2011/12. The 28-year-old vented frustration in December with the up-and-down minutes he was seeing in Houston, but he still averaged more minutes than the 15.0 per game he saw last season with the Suns and Celtics.
The move will open a roster spot for the Rockets. They could wind up with two open spots if buyout talks with Ty Lawson result in a waiver. However, Joe Johnson, reportedly one of Houston’s targets, instead reportedly plans to sign with the Heat.
Dwight Howard Fires Agent Dan Fegan
Dwight Howard has left agent Dan Fegan, reports USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). The Rockets center is widely expected to turn down his player option and hit free agency this summer. The center is earning $22,359,364 for this season and the value of his option for 2016/17 is $23,282,457. Howard has been interviewing replacements for Fegan lately, tweets Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.
The Mavericks, who have close ties with Fegan, were one of the teams the Rockets spoke with about Howard before the trade deadline. Today’s news would appear to lessen the chances of Howard signing with Dallas as a free agent this summer, but that’s just my speculation. Fegan, who developed a reputation as an aggressive agent in part through his representation of Howard over the years, also counts DeMarcus Cousins, Ricky Rubio, soon-to-be free agent Courtney Lee and other notables among his clients. Kevin Martin is one of them, and the Rockets reportedly have interest in him if he works a buyout from the Timberwolves. Fegan’s profile has nonetheless taken some significant hits lately. He used to represent DeAndre Jordan, who notoriously spurned the Mavs this summer before splitting with the agent, and John Wall, who dropped him earlier this month.
Fegan and Houston were reportedly working in concert to try to find a trade partner for Howard before the deadline, but Fegan appeared to deny that, while Howard affirmed Fegan’s statement and said he didn’t ask the Rockets to trade him. Numerous teams were interested in Howard, though any deal would have been contingent on the big man agreeing to opt in for next season, something Howard wasn’t keen on, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Aside from the Mavs, Houston was in touch with the Bulls, Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Heat, Bucks and Raptors about Howard, according to multiple reports, but the market for him was apparently soft.
The 30-year-old has appeared in 47 games this season for the Rockets and is averaging 14.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 32.5 minutes per night. The big man’s numbers have suffered this season as his shots and touches are down, which is reportedly the source of some conflict between he and teammate James Harden. Both players have downplayed any reported tension.
Bryce Dejean-Jones Out For Season
Bryce Dejean-Jones will miss the rest of the season for the Pelicans after surgery this morning on his broken right wrist, the team announced. Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate reported Thursday that the former 10-day signee who’d ascended to the starting lineup would likely miss six to eight weeks, a timetable that put his return in serious jeopardy. The team re-signed him just last week to a three-year deal that includes a partial guarantee for next season.
Dejean-Jones started in 11 of the 14 appearances he made with the Pelicans after signing the first of two-day contracts January 21st. The 23-year-old shooting guard who went undrafted this past spring out of Iowa State averaged 5.6 points in 19.9 minutes per game and shot 12 for 32 from 3-point range.
Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter have also suffered season-ending injuries, while Omer Asik is out for up to two weeks, as John Reid of The Times Picayune tweeted on Tuesday. The Pelicans already have a disabled player exception worth $1,691,012 for Pondexter, and while an another such exception isn’t a possibility, the Pelicans would qualify for a 16th roster spot via hardship if doctors determine Asik is likely to be out any longer, or if another long-term injury surfaces. Coach Alvin Gentry said Eric Gordon will return from his injury Saturday, as The Associated Press notes.
Heat Favorites For Joe Johnson, Cavs Long Shots
1:40pm: The Heat expect they’ll sign Johnson this weekend, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.com (Twitter link). He clears waivers Saturday. So, it appears Miami is poised to cross back into tax territory.
1:25pm: Miami is “far and away the most likely” destination for Johnson, but he’s yet to make up his mind, a league source said to Zagoria (Twitter link).
12:02pm: The Cavaliers have become long shots for Johnson, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt hears (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 11:56am: Miami has pulled into the lead for Johnson, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link), as the longtime starter believes he’d see a more significant role with the Heat than with others, ESPN’s Chris Broussard says (Twitter link). Heat president Pat Riley expressed at least some level of openness Thursday to re-entering tax territory, though he spoke specifically about the team’s lack of point guards.
THURSDAY, 4:20pm: The Cavaliers are confident that they’re the favorites to land Joe Johnson now that he’s worked a buyout with the Nets, but the Hawks, in whom Johnson also reportedly holds interest, plan a concerted effort to lure him back to Atlanta, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (All Twitter links). The Heat are also among the teams he’s strongly considering, with the Celtics and Thunder close behind the trio of Cleveland, Atlanta and Miami, sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link). Johnson appears likely to wait a couple of days before making a decision, Stein adds. He’ll be on waivers until Saturday at 4:00pm Central time, at which point he’ll most assuredly become a free agent, since no team has the cap room or an exception large enough to claim his salary of almost $24.895MM. Johnson will give back approximately $3MM of that figure as part of the buyout deal once he clears waivers, Nets GM Sean Marks said today in an appearance on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York radio, notes Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
Johnson was reportedly planning to sign with the Cavs, but the Hawks have a financial edge, since Atlanta can offer a prorated portion of the room exception now worth about $2MM. Cleveland is limited to the prorated minimum salary, which would give Johnson approximately $400K. The cost of signing Johnson would nonetheless be greater to the Cavs than it would be to the Hawks because of Cleveland’s position as a luxury tax team. The 15th-year veteran would represent an investment of between $1.2MM and $1.3MM in combined salary and taxes for the Cavs.
Miami is in a tough position, since the Heat would slip over the tax line if they signed Johnson to any more than the minimum salary at any time before March 6th. The Heat would pay repeat-offender tax penalties of at least $2.50 for every dollar they’re over the tax line on the final day of the regular season. The Celtics, Rockets, Thunder and Raptors are all among those pursuing Johnson, according to Stein, and the Thunder have the most to give Johnson with about $2.4MM remaining on their prorated taxpayer’s mid-level exception.
The Nets clearly aren’t in the picture for Johnson at this point, but he wouldn’t dismiss the idea of re-signing with them in the summer, as he said before the buyout, and Marks didn’t rule out the possibility as he spoke on the radio today, Mazzeo tweets. “You never know what’s going to happen,” Marks said. Still, Johnson has also said he places a premium on winning, a remark that’s an auspicious sign for the Cavs in their competition with the Hawks and Heat and casts doubt on the idea of a summer reunion with Brooklyn.
Rockets, Thornton’s Reps To Meet; Buyout Coming?
The Rockets plan to meet with representatives for Marcus Thornton today to figure out the next step for the veteran shooting guard who was to have gone to Detroit in last week’s vetoed trade, a source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, who raises the specter of the Rockets placing him on waivers (Twitter link). Thornton’s agent, Tony Dutt, confirmed to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston that he’ll meet with the team to discuss their options (Twitter link). Thornton is on a one-year contract for the minimum salary. The Rockets would like to keep Thornton, as well as fellow buyout candidate Ty Lawson, but the team will do what’s necessary to upgrade the roster, Watkins adds (on Twitter).
Houston has a full 15-man roster and only about $524K to spend beneath the hard cap it triggered with the offseason signings of K.J. McDaniels and Montrezl Harrell. Buyouts for Lawson, Thornton or both would give the Rockets no more than about $900K to spend on any one free agent, leaving the team at a financial disadvantage compared to some of the other suitors for Joe Johnson. Still, he’s far from the only player available, and if the Rockets open a roster spot, they could give out a minimum salary contract even if neither Lawson nor Thornton gives back any salary.
If the Rockets are going to cut the 28-year-old Thornton, he’d no doubt prefer that they do so before the end of Tuesday, the final day he can hit waivers and retain playoff eligibility. It’s unclear if Thornton wants the Rockets to release him one way or another. He expressed frustration in December about the inconsistency of his playing time, and his minutes have continued to fluctuate. Thornton hasn’t played since the Rockets put him into the failed trade, but he scored 18 points in 23 minutes on February 2nd and put up 15 points in a 25-minute appearance against the Warriors a week later. He’s averaging 10.0 points in 18.8 minutes per contest.
Southwest Notes: Dwight, Harden, Conley, Gasol
Dwight Howard said he’s OK with his role as a secondary offensive option behind James Harden, and while Howard described his relationship with his fellow Rockets star as a work in progress, the center said he has no issues with the shooting guard, relays Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Howard made his comments before the latest rumors of discord between him and Harden surfaced.
“People will say what they want to say. There’s no need for me and him to worry about that,” Howard said. “Our job is to grow and get better as a team and get better as individuals. I think me and James had a really good talk before the [All-Star] break. We’re more on the same page than we’ve ever been. I’m always going to have his back; pretty sure he’s always going to have my back. The biggest thing, which is always true in any situation, you always have to put your ego to the side and focus on what’s best for the team. When things don’t go well, it’s easy to point to the two guys that are leaders of the team. That’s understandable. We have to take the good with the bad. We have to come together to lead this team.”
See more from the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies executive VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski expressed confidence about the team’s ability to re-sign Mike Conley, said the team thinks Marc Gasol will have recovered from his broken foot in time for training camp and explained that the team’s belief that Courtney Lee would leave via free agency led the Grizzlies to trade him. Stefanski made his comments in an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio’s “The Starting Lineup” show (transcription in three Twitter links).
- The question of whether the Grizzlies should pick up their $9.405MM team option on Lance Stephenson for next season doesn’t have an obvious answer, since he offers promise but doesn’t have a lengthy track record suggesting he’s worth that money, as Geoff Calkins, Ronald Tillery, Chris Herrington and David Williams of The Commercial Appeal debate.
- Pelicans GM Dell Demps erred when he invested in ball-dominant guards and traditional centers instead of players equipped for the modern ball-movement game while shifting focus too far away from the draft and using the back end of the roster on journeymen instead of prospects, argues Christopher Reina of RealGM.