Jason Thompson, Kyle Lowry On Trade Block
The Kings and Raptors agreed to a major seven-player trade last night, but there could be more moves coming for both teams. The Kings are trying to deal away power forward Jason Thompson, while the Raptors wouldn’t mind parting with point guard Kyle Lowry, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Sacramento has already pulled off a pair of in-season swaps, acquiring Derrick Williams and Rudy Gay. Those two will likely bump Thompson from the starting lineup. Finding a new home for Thompson won’t be easy, Stein points out, since he’s in the second season of a five-year contract for nearly $30.2MM with a 5% trade kicker.
No Raptor appears to be off-limits for a trade, aside from Jonas Valanciunas, according to a recent report. The team’s primary goal for the season now seems to be improving its draft lottery chances, making Lowry a prime trade candidate, as Stein suggests. Lowry is making $6.21MM in the final season of his deal. Greivis Vasquez, whom Toronto will receive in the swap with the Kings, could replace Lowry in the starting lineup.
Though the Kings and Raptors just hooked up on a trade, and respective GMs Pete D’Alessandro and Masai Ujiri worked together in the Nuggets front office, it doesn’t appear there are discussions between the teams involving Thompson or Lowry.
Central Rumors: Butler, Pistons, Cavs
The Pistons met the Bulls on Saturday in a game that would allow the winner to hit .500, and Detroit came away with the victory. That gives the Pistons the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, where everyone’s looking up at the Pacers, now 18-2 after a resounding win against the Spurs. Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Caron Butler would be interested in putting a group together to buy the Bucks from Herb Kohl, reports Rich Kirchen of The Business Journal. Butler also says he’d like to take an active role in managing the team, but the 33-year-old would have to retire from playing first to accomplish either objective.
- The Pistons aren’t likely to send Tony Mitchell on a D-League assignment this season, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, contradicting his report from before the season. The team feels differently about Peyton Siva, who could wind up in the D-League once Chauncey Billups and Will Bynum return from injury, Ellis adds.
- Some Cavs players haven’t been enamored with Mike Brown‘s strict coaching this season, the Plain Dealer’s Terry Pluto observes. The team gave Brown license to use a heavy hand with his four-year contract, Pluto writes.
Steve Nash Acknowledges He May Not Play Again
Steve Nash‘s tenure with the Lakers hasn’t gone nearly as he expected it to, but recently he batted down a rumor that the nerve root irritation in his back was prompting him to consider retirement. Now Nash says he isn’t ruling out the possibility that his career is over, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News observes.
“I might not be able to play anymore,” Nash said. “I might have to yo-yo it. I might be able to play the rest of the way. Honestly right now, I’m trying to see if I can play the rest of the way.”
Nash has been taking his rehab at a slow pace in an effort not to have to “yo-yo” back and forth between the active and inactive lists. A setback in his recovery could mean trouble, but he knows that if he is going to play again, he’ll have to take a risk and “dance with the devil” sooner or later.
The two-time MVP called his recent troubles “a horrible 18 months for me,” as Medina notes, though his problems started just a little more than 13 months ago, when he fractured his leg in a game against the Blazers. Nash has said that he hasn’t felt the same since that injury, and he also suffered from back and hamstring problems last season, when he missed a combined 34 regular season and playoff games.
If Nash decides to quit, and NBA doctors were to rule him medically unable to play, the Lakers could be allowed to wipe the more than $19MM remaining on his contract from their books. Still, that’s a longshot even if Nash doesn’t return. The more likely scenario if Nash retires would involve the Lakers waiving him and using the Stretch Provision to defray his cost. Nash has repeatedly expressed a desire to play out his contract, which runs through next season, and it doesn’t sound like he’s ready to give up on that yet, even if he realizes he might have to at some point.
Southeast Notes: Jefferson, Andersen, Nelson
Al Jefferson calls his decision to sign with the Bobcats a “no-brainer,” but he also tells HoopsWorld’s Bill Ingram that he thinks the Jazz will benefit from letting go of him and Hawks signee Paul Millsap.
“Most definitely, I think Derrick Favors and Enes (Kanter) are going to be big time big men in this league,” Jefferson said. “I kind of had a feeling that it really just wouldn’t make any sense basketball wise to sign back me or Paul Millsap back when you have them two young guys coming up. It was still tough to leave them. I felt like they were my little brothers, but it’s part of the business and it was the best decision for everybody.”
Jefferson had long been a fan of Kemba Walker, and says to Ingram that the former Connecticut guard was one of the Bobcats who recruited him to Charlotte. The ‘Cats are off to a 9-11 start, better than in years past, but they’re only in fourth place in the Southeast, the most competitive division in the Eastern Conference. Here’s more from those teams:
- Chris Andersen is 35, but he tells Bleacher Report’s Ethan Skolnick that he intends to play another three or four years (Twitter link). The Heat reserve thinks the two-year drug suspension that kept him away from the nightly NBA grind kept his body relatively spry.
- Trade candidate Jameer Nelson has been frustrated with playing off the ball as the Magic try rookie Victor Oladipo at point guard, but he insists that he remains no less dedicated to the only NBA team he’s ever played for, observes John Denton of Magic.com.
- The Dwight Howard trade gave Magic cornerstones Arron Afflalo, Nikola Vucevic and Maurice Harkless chances to play the sort of key roles they most likely wouldn’t have been in with their old teams, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel examines.
Injuries May Force Clippers To Make Signing
Reggie Bullock on Saturday became the latest Clippers player to go down with what could be a significant injury, and that has Doc Rivers believing the team will sign a free agent reinforcement, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports. Trainers told Bullock that he probably has a high ankle sprain, an injury that usually keeps a player out of action for about a month, according to Markazi.
“We would have to look somewhere,” Rivers said about the possibility of a signing. “Let’s hope not, but my guess is yes. I don’t know where we’re going to go. If you guys have any names, call me and let me know. I’ll be on the phone tonight with (Clippers executives) Gary (Sacks) and Gerald (Madkins) and Dave Wohl, and I’m praying they know somebody. We’ll see. You never know.”
Rivers, in addition to his role as Clippers coach, has the final say on personnel matters, and he must decide what to do now that so many players are on the shelf. Matt Barnes could miss another two weeks after having a second surgery on a torn retina in his left eye and J.J. Redick is a week into a six-to-eight-week timetable for recovery from a broken hand and torn ulnar collateral ligament. Maalik Wayns hasn’t played after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee in the preseason.
The Clippers have been monitoring Lamar Odom for months, and while Markazi believes it’s possible the team will sign him soon, he notes that it’s a move the Clippers had hoped to put off for a while longer (Twitter link). Odom reportedly won’t be ready to play until mid-January, at the earliest.
Markazi mentions Shannon Brown as a possible candidate to fill the Clippers’ open roster spot. Brown played for Clippers assistant coach Alvin Gentry on the Suns. Brown has drawn interest from several teams in the weeks since the Wizards released him following the Marcin Gortat trade shortly before opening night.
Sixers, Hawks, Bucks In Mix For Omer Asik
The Rockets prefer to trade Omer Asik to an Eastern Conference team, and the Sixers, Hawks and Bucks are three clubs that appear to be strong candidates to land the 7’0″ center, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Portland had seemed to be an aggressive suitor based on the team’s reported discussions with Houston, but the Trail Blazers are enamored with what Robin Lopez has given them, and they aren’t planning to make a run at Asik, Stein writes.
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie was with the Rockets front office when they signed Asik in 2012, and his affinity for the 27-year-old from Turkey is one reason Stein believes many around the league are mentioning Philadelphia as a viable destination for Asik. Sixers power forward Thaddeus Young could fit together with Dwight Howard, Stein points out, adding that Philly isn’t likely to be able to find a player like Asik in the 2014 draft.
The Bucks are about to start looking for trades in the wake of a disappointing 4-16 start, Stein hears, concluding that Milwaukee could be Asik’s next home. That would seem to suggest the Bucks would be willing to trade Larry Sanders, whom they signed to a four-year, $44MM extension this past offseason, but that’s just my speculation.
Houston is no doubt one of many teams eyeing Paul Millsap‘s two-year, $19MM contract as an attractive bargain, so Stein figures the Rockets and Hawks could hook up on an Asik trade. Grantland’s Zach Lowe discussed the possibility of such a swap a few weeks ago, writing that it would work well for both teams and that Hawks GM Danny Ferry might take flak from Western Conference executives for giving such a significant boost to the contending Rockets.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey is also concerned about strengthening his Western Conference competitors, and that’s why he wants to send Asik to the East. Stein doesn’t think Morey will be doctrinaire about the idea, but the ESPN scribe points out that Asik is just the sort of defensive force who could cause Dwight Howard trouble in the playoffs.
Odds & Ends: Rondo, Carmelo, Tyler, Ayres
Rajon Rondo doesn’t put much stock in the rumor that Carmelo Anthony is trying to recruit him to the Knicks, but Anthony has been privately yearning to see Rondo in orange and blue since July, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks attempted to trade Iman Shumpert for Rondo, and Newsday’s Al Iannazzone thinks it’s critical that New York continue to see if it can pry the All-Star point guard away from the Celtics or make some kind of splash, lest Anthony bolt in free agency. Here’s more on the Knicks and the rest of the NBA:
- Berman, in the same piece, also suggests the Knicks may look to re-sign camp invitee Jeremy Tyler in another week as he continues to round into form after a preseason injury.
- Unlike some free agents who were happy to leave their former teams behind, Spurs big man Jeff Ayres told Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News that he feels “no animosity” toward the Pacers and is “still really cool with all the guys on the team.”
- Kendall Marshall is off to a fast start with the D-League affiliate of the Sixers, and Michael Kaskey-Blomain of the Philadelphia Inquirer thinks the big club should consider signing last year’s 13th overall pick to an NBA contract.
- Doubts about the ability of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe to play together left some executives around the league believing the Suns would trade Dragic, but early returns show the pairing has been successful, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Joel Embiid is developing into a potential No. 1 overall pick, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, joining ESPN colleague Chad Ford on the Kansas center’s bandwagon.
- Knee troubles have sidelined Al Harrington for a good chunk of this season, but he remains involved with the Wizards. As he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post, Harrington can imagine himself coaching after he retires and has been acting as a de facto assistant in Washington while he recovers.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
California Rumors: Lakers, Lee, Fredette
Injuries to Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar have left the Lakers short on point guards, and they planned to assess the progress of Nash’s recovery in practice this week before exploring the idea of a roster move. Nash isn’t rushing his return, but another player who’s back to health might fit the bill. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni tells reporters that Kobe Bryant will see time at the point when he makes his season debut Sunday against the Raptors (Twitter link). Here’s more from the state with the most NBA teams:
- The Warriors place a high value on David Lee, and his bloated contract, worth nearly $44.4MM through 2016/17, virtually ensures the team won’t find offers worthwhile enough to trade him, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
- James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom hears from a source that there was nothing substantial to a recent report that the Raptors were talking to the Kings about acquiring Jimmer Fredette, and spoke to Fredette about being the subject of trade rumors.
- The Kings recalled Hamady N’Diaye from the D-League in time for tonight’s game against the Jazz, according to a press release. N’Diaye appeared in just one game for the Reno Bighorns during his assignment, contributing to a win over the Santa Cruz Warriors by recording seven points, seven boards, and four blocked shots.
- The Los Angeles D-Fenders, the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, announced their acquisition of former Cavs swingman Manny Harris in a trade (on Twitter). Harris was in an NBA training camp this fall with the Magic.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Poll: Is This Gasol’s Final Season With Lakers?
Pau Gasol was one of the most frequently mentioned trade candidates in 2012, but he stayed put, and such chatter has decreased considerably in 2013, even though he’s on an expiring contract this year. It doesn’t appear now as if the Lakers will part with Gasol this season, but the four-time All-Star may nonetheless be playing his final games in purple and gold.
Kobe Bryant‘s two-year, $48.5MM extension took quite a chunk out of the Lakers’ projected cap space for this summer, leaving room enough under the cap for one marquee, maximum-salary free agent along the lines of LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, but little else. The Lakers have Gasol’s Bird Rights, so they can go over the cap to re-sign him if they want, but unless Gasol agrees to a pay cut soon after free agency begins, the Lakers would have to sacrifice those Bird rights in order to clear the cap space necessary to sign another team’s superstar. Gasol could make as much as $20,250,143 next season, so that salary will remain as a cap hold on the Lakers’ books until they either re-sign him at a cheaper salary or renounce his rights.
A pay cut seems inevitable for Gasol, who’s making nearly $19.3MM this season. Just how much he’ll have to sacrifice to remain with the Lakers is a matter of debate. Gasol has said already this season that he’d love to stay with the team, a stance he reiterated recently to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. He’s said he’ll prioritize more than just money as a free agent, and he’s close with Bryant, who wrote the foreword for his new book. Still, he acknowledges there are plenty of unknowns. Gasol could sign an extension, but he and the Lakers haven’t talked about it and it seems a long shot at best. Both sides appear willing to let free agency happen, leaving open the possibility that he could play for another team.
Gasol is 33, and his best years may be behind him, but he’s still one of the best and most versatile big men in the game. The challenge for the Lakers and the Arn Tellem client appears to be settling on a fair value for his services. Let us know whether you think they’ll come to an agreement or go their separate ways before next season. Feel free to elaborate in the comments.
Trade Candidate: Omer Asik
There’s about a week between now and December 15th, the start of a five-day window in which an Omer Asik trade seems as likely as any swap ever is before it’s agreed upon. The Rockets are letting other teams know they’d like to do a deal by December 19th, since that would allow capped-out Houston to package any of the players it acquires for Asik in another swap before the February 20th trade deadline. December 15th is when most players signed this past offseason become eligible to be traded, opening up much greater flexibility for the majority of the league.
If the Rockets wait past December 19th, they could still trade whomever they get for Asik, but they couldn’t send any other players out in the deal, unless they pulled off that second trade at the same time as the Asik deal. It’s another example of Rockets GM Daryl Morey attempting to exploit an arcane rule in the collective bargaining agreement for his team’s benefit. Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who first reported that the Rockets were targeting the 19th, sees it as an attempt to prod rival teams into quickly making their best offers. In any case, it appears that suitors for Asik have a long way to go toward satiating Morey’s demands.
At least one executive from another club sees Houston’s desired return for Asik as “delusional”. Various reports suggest the Rockets are looking for two first-round picks, one first-rounder and a quality young player, a likely lottery pick, a first-rate power forward, or simply a difference-maker of any size. There’s likely a wide range of opinions around the league about Asik, who is a starting-caliber 7’0″ defensive whiz. He’s also an offensively limited player who’s been making weekly trade requests and sitting out games because of his disenchantment with his role as a bench player.
Indeed, there’s usually not nearly so much uproar over a 27-year-old who set a new career high with 10.1 points per game last season. He shot 54.1%, respectable but certainly not dazzling for a player his size, and a whopping 84.2% of his shots came from inside three feet, according to Basketball-Reference. That’s understandable, considering he connected on a woeful 28.7% of all other attempts. His 14.9 PER — about league average — was helped along by his rebounding numbers, as he hauled in 11.7 boards per contest in 2012/13, the third-best mark in the league.
Asik had a drastic defensive impact on the Rockets last season. They gave up 107.2 points per 100 possessions when he wasn’t on the floor, and 101.3 when he was, per NBA.com. That 5.9-point gap is nearly equivalent to the difference between the Pacers, the league’s stingiest team in terms of points per 100 possessions last season, and the Warriors, who finished 13th in that category. He hasn’t put up gaudy shot-blocking numbers, averaging 1.1 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game last season. He’s blocking just 0.8 shots per 36 minutes this year, a career low. He’s nonetheless an intimidating force around the rim, allowing opponents to shoot just 43.2% from point blank range, according to data from the NBA’s SportVU cameras.
That’s better than Dwight Howard, against whom opponents have shot 46.1% at the rim. The Rockets front office believes strongly in analytics, but they’ve already made their choice of centers. Howard’s max deal means he’ll be starting, and since the failure of the team’s experiment with both Howard and Asik in the starting lineup, Asik’s days in Houston have been numbered. Complicating matters is Asik’s backloaded contract, as I explained last month. He’s due a nearly $15MM balloon payment next season, even though his salary cap figure doesn’t reflect that.
Plenty of teams have drawn mention as possible destinations for Asik, like the Pelicans, Celtics and Bulls. None seem as enthusiastic as the Trail Blazers, who’ve reportedly reached out to the Rockets and begun talks. Asik would help solidify Portland, which appears ahead of schedule on its path toward contention. Still, there doesn’t seem to be a logical deal between these teams. The Blazers must convey a first-round pick to the Bobcats sometime between 2014 and 2016, meaning the earliest first-rounder Portland could surrender would be in 2018, thanks to the Stepien Rule. The Blazers have a premiere power forward in LaMarcus Aldridge, but he’s not going to be part of any such deal unless both teams are willing to drastically alter their compositions, which is unlikely to happen. Portland has intriguing young players like Thomas Robinson and C.J. McCollum, but Robinson can’t be traded back to the Rockets this year, so the Blazers probably don’t have enough to get the Rockets to part with Asik.
The most logical trade would see Asik and Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson switch places, and though that idea has been bandied about since Howard signed with Houston this summer, New Orleans isn’t biting. Other possibilities exist, but Morey may have to resort to a three- or four-team swap to find the kind of return he’s looking for. Thankfully for the Rockets, the GM is no stranger to such deals, having pulled off eight trades involving more than two teams since taking over Houston’s front office in June of 2007. It’s as tough an assignment as any that Morey’s had, especially considering that he must guard against strengthening a competitor now that his team has legitimate title aspirations, unlike years past. Find the right Asik trade, and Morey’s goal of building a championship team in Houston could be complete. Agree to the wrong one, and the Rockets will have cost themselves precious flexibility for a balance sheet clogged with two max players for the foreseeable future.