Lakers Make Bass, Young, Williams Available
Lakers veterans Brandon Bass, Nick Young and Lou Williams are available on the trade market, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. So, too, is Roy Hibbert, Stein writes, advancing an earlier report from Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that the Lakers are looking to trade the center to a likely playoff team. It’s all seemingly a recognition of the inevitable for the Lakers front office, with the team just one loss behind the Sixers in the Reverse Standings and legitimate hope of a playoff berth dashed. All except Hibbert have at least one year left on their respective contracts, as Stein points out, though Bass could hit free agency this summer if he turns down his $3.135MM player option for next season.
Bass has taken a reduced role since signing with the Lakers this past offseason, coming off the bench in all 40 appearances and averaging 18.0 minutes per game after making 43 starts and playing 23.5 minutes a night last year with the Celtics. Brad Stevens remains a fan, though he’s not quite the star target the Celtics have long been coveting.
It’s no surprise to see Young on the block, since the Lakers reportedly explored the market for him this past summer before retreating from the effort, having found no worthwhile offers. Young said he found the trade rumors “confusing” and “motivating”, and he’s seen his playing time cut drastically. The 30-year-old who’s making more than $5.219MM this season is averaging only 7.7 points in 19.1 minutes per game, his lowest numbers in either category since 2007/08, his rookie season. Young’s contract runs through 2017/18, a player option year.
The free agent acquisition of Williams helped marginalize Young in the Lakers rotation. The NBA’s reigning Sixth Man of the Year is having the best season statistically among those the team has apparently placed on the market, averaging the same 15.5 points per game he did last year. He signed a three-year, $21MM deal this past summer.
It’s unclear exactly what the Lakers want in exchange for their veterans, though presumably they’re looking for assets that could help them next season and beyond. They’re only barely above the salary cap with about $72MM in team salary, so cost-cutting is unlikely a major concern.
Who or what do you think the Lakers should target in return for their vets? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Larry Bird On Frank Vogel, Paul George, Roster
The Pacers, at 23-22 and eighth in the Eastern Conference, are underachieving, and they suffer from having too many “good players, but not great players,” president of basketball operations Larry Bird said today to Mark Montieth of Pacers.com and Conrad Brunner from 1070 The Fan. Bird planned for the team to play at a fast pace this season but acknowledges his difference in philosophy with coach Frank Vogel, who prefers a lineup with two traditional bigs and has fielded that sort of team for much of the season. The entire interview is worth a read, especially to get an idea of Bird’s affection for Myles Turner‘s game. We’ll pass along a few highlights here.
On the dichotomy between his vision for the team and Vogel’s:
“We’re halfway through the season. My philosophy is, I’ve been watching this a long time. I’d like to play faster. I thought we might be able to do it. My vision was [Paul George] would play more of the four, not all of the time, but play it more. Paul’s a good rebounder. If he played the four he’d be a better rebounder. But I understand. He’s coming off a serious leg injury. He’s going to hit spurts like he’s hit here. It’s tough sitting out a year and coming back. That’s why I wanted him at the four more [laughing], so he wouldn’t have to guard [on the perimeter]. But I understand what Frank’s saying. I understand what he feels comfortable with.”
On the team’s holes:
“It’s according to how you want to play, and I think everyone knows how I want to play. I’d like to have an athletic big and I’d like to have – whether it’s a point guard or a guy who can get us in the offense and play George [Hill] off the ball a little bit or put Monta [Ellis] on the ball – we’ve got good players, we just don’t have the big athletic guys that we like and need. I think we’ll be able to get that. Paul’s getting through this year and Myles is going to be an outstanding player and [Ian] Mahinmi has had his best year. Mahinmi is playing great. [Against the Clippers], coming off an ankle injury and missing a few days, I thought he was excellent. I thought he played hard and aggressive. We have pieces, but we have some holes and we have to fill them.”
On goals for the season:
“We’ve got to find out who we are and what we’re trying to do here. I can say we’ve got to make the playoffs, and everybody says ‘Why would you want to be the seventh or eighth seed?’ I do. I want to be in the playoffs because you build on that. You build on everything every year and it ain’t going to happen overnight. I think we need to be in the playoffs and then we can put the pieces together and fill some holes and go from there.”
And-Ones: Raptors, Holiday, Middleton, Asik, Draft
Attracting a major free agent to Toronto comes down to the team’s success on the court, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri believes, and Toronto is holding up its end of the bargain so far this year, as Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com examines. The Raptors are in second place in the Eastern Conference, thanks in part to a lineup of Kyle Lowry, Patrick Patterson, offseason signees Cory Joseph and Bismack Biyombo, and the recently extended Terrence Ross that outscores opponents by a whopping 32.6 points per 100 possessions, Arnovitz notes.
“It’s simple: Win,” Ujiri said. “If you have a good culture, you can attract free agents. We have a very unique opportunity here.”
See more on the Raptors amid the latest from around the NBA:
- Jrue Holiday has shown flashes of his peak form, and that’s perhaps partly because the Pelicans restricted his minutes earlier in the season as he recovered from a stress reaction in his right leg, writes Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate. Would-be trade suitors have been “petrified” about Holiday’s leg issues, though the Pelicans are reluctant to deal him, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote this week. “I think it helped me mentally, for one, preparing mentally to feel good,” Holiday said of the minutes restriction, since lifted. “Not to second-guess myself if I’m making a cut or doing a move, especially when it comes to the point where I’m playing back-to-back and playing a lot of minutes. And physically, I do feel really good right now.”
- The five-year, $70MM deal that Bucks leading scorer Khris Middleton signed this past offseason is the NBA’s most trade-able contract, opines Keith Smith of RealGM, while Pelicans center Omer Asik‘s five-year pact worth nearly $53MM, also signed this past summer, is the league’s least trade-able deal, Smith writes in a follow-up piece.
- LSU combo forward Ben Simmons unsurprisingly tops the latest draft rankings from Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, with Duke small forward Brandon Ingram second and Providence point guard Kris Dunn third.
- Raptors D-League power forward Ronald Roberts, who’s averaging 18.4 points in 34.4 minutes per game, tops the latest D-League prospect rankings.
Trade Candidate: Jeff Teague
The Hawks were in the midst of an undefeated month in January 2015. A year later, they’re reportedly talking with other teams about potential trades involving Jeff Teague, who was as much a part of Atlanta’s 60-win success last season as anybody. The team is having preliminary discussions on many fronts, a source told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link), and coach/executive Mike Budenholzer, speaking to Vivlamore, downplayed the idea of a trade, expressing a belief in the existing roster. However, the team was also soliciting offers for Dennis Schröder before narrowing its focus to Teague, as Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports reported, and Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com heard the Knicks are one of the teams with which the Hawks have had casual conversations about Teague. Atlanta’s front office hasn’t shopped Teague, but they’ve raised his name in conversations with other teams as they assess his market value, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports said in Wednesday’s “The Vertical” podcast (audio link, scroll to 48-minute mark).
So, the Hawks aren’t quite ready to move on from Teague, but it seems they’re seriously considering it. Teague is only 27, with a season and a half left on a bargain contract that pays him $8MM this season and next. He’d be an unlikely trade candidate if not for the presence of Schröder, five years younger and tantalizingly skilled, as Teague’s backup. The team has “major trust issues” with Schröder, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com, which seems an odd juxtaposition to the idea that they’d be willing to trade Teague. Perhaps, with Kyle Korver already showing signs of age and Al Horford apparently not a lock to return as this summer’s free agency approaches, the team is thinking about taking a risk. The Hawks want to contend this season, Lowe wrote in the same report, so it would seem the exploration of a Teague trade is, in at least some regard, an attempt to find a roster upgrade for the near term.
The central problem there is that Teague is quite possibly the best player legitimately on the market. No superstar trade candidate has emerged since the Kings backed away from the notion of trading DeMarcus Cousins, and while names like Kevin Love and Dwight Howard have been bandied about, most such talk has been speculative. Teague isn’t quite on the level of any of them, but he was an All-Star last season and is a proven commodity who’s stabilized the point guard position in his five years as a starter for the Hawks. Atlanta has made the playoffs every year of his career.
Other names reportedly in trade talks, like Kevin Martin, Eric Gordon and Rudy Gay, would give the Hawks some of the punch on the wing that they lost when DeMarre Carroll left in free agency, but none of them would seem worth sacrificing Teague for, and it’s tough to see a fit for Teague on the Timberwolves, Pelicans or Kings. The idea of a Knicks trade is also a tough one, as even though he’d solve New York’s dilemma at the point, a workable proposal that would excite the Hawks is tough to conjure. That’s why it’s no surprise that Fred Kerber of the New York Post wrote that a deal sending Teague to the Knicks is unlikely after hearing from sources who described the talks between the teams as “very preliminary.”
The Bucks and Jazz have only been the subject of speculation regarding Teague to this point, but they seem better fits. Michael Carter-Williams is averaging a career-low 11.7 points per game for Milwaukee, which has no shortage of intriguing young wing players as well as veterans O.J. Mayo and Jerryd Bayless. Bucks GM John Hammond recently expressed a belief in the team’s young players, though the contract that Teague is on was originally an offer sheet from Milwaukee, so perhaps the Bucks remain intrigued. The Jazz have Dante Exum coming back at point guard next season but little else at the position for now. Utah, like Milwaukee, has multiple wing players who combine youth with immediate production. The question is whether GM Dennis Lindsey, who was once a Spurs colleague of Budenholzer’s, would be willing to give one of them up.
The key for Atlanta appears to be finding a spark offensively. The Hawks gave up 100.7 points per 100 possessions in their 60-win regular season last year, according to NBA.com, and they’re slightly better in that regard this year, relinquishing an even 100. The difference shows up in the team’s points per 100 possessions scored. Last year, it was 106.2, and this year, it’s 103.1.
Part of that has to do with Teague. His 14.3 points per game are his fewest in four seasons, and while that’s partly the product of slightly fewer shots per game, his 41.9% field goal percentage is as low as it has been since he shot 39.6% in limited playing time as a rookie. His assists per game are down, from 7.0 last season to 5.5 this year, but his turnovers remain steady at 2.8 per contest. The plus is that he’s nailing a career best 38.7% from behind the 3-point line.
Still, it’s tough to ignore the discrepancy between how the Hawks have played with him versus the way they’ve looked with Schröder, whose NBA.com net rating of 10.1 blows away Teague’s minus 2.0. It’s a noisy stat that encompasses the time they’ve shared the floor and depends heavily on whom they’re playing with and against, but it’s a wide enough gulf to help explain why the Hawks seem to be moving toward choosing Schröder over Teague.
The Hawks weren’t at full strength when the Cavs swept them in the Eastern Conference Finals last spring, but neither was Cleveland. Atlanta is eight games in the loss column behind the Cavs this year, and it’s becoming clear that for the Hawks to legitimately challenge for the Eastern Conference title, they’ll have to improve. Seeing what they could get for Teague is a logical step toward that end, but no guarantee exists that the market will bear a deal that would amount to much more than a lateral move.
Do you think the Hawks will end up trading Teague before the deadline or keep him instead? Leave a comment to weigh in.
Pacific Notes: Myers, McDonough, Goodwin
Reigning Executive of the Year Bob Myers and Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob are persistent talent-seekers, but Myers acknowledges the value of standing pat sometimes, as the team has benefited from having done this past offseason, observes Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. The continuity is a part of the relaxed culture of togetherness that coach Steve Kerr is building, as Kawakami examines.
“You have to kind of take your ego out of it sometimes and just say, ‘Look, leave it alone. Don’t screw it up,’ “ Myers said.
Golden State nonetheless continues to look around for potential ways to tweak the roster, perhaps with another shooter for the bench, though it’s only logical for the team to do so, Kawakami adds. See more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns would like to make at least one trade before the deadline and perhaps more, GM Ryan McDonough said Wednesday in his weekly appearance on the “Burns and Gambo” show on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM radio, as Adam Green of ArizonaSports.com transcribes. “So yeah, I think we’ll be active,” McDonough also said. “We’re not going to act like everything’s OK or like we don’t need to do anything to reposition our team going forward. But will we do a deal or how many deals will we do, I couldn’t tell you at this point.”
- Injuries to Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and Ronnie Price have prompted the Suns to turn to Archie Goodwin at the point, and Goodwin is embracing the role, believing that the chance to handle the ball is a better fit for his game, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. Goodwin becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer.
- Kobe Bryant took a swipe at former Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni in giving praise to Pau Gasol this week, as Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays. Gasol has said he’s “very likely” to turn down his player option and become a free agent this summer. “I think the city of L.A. didn’t really appreciate what [Gasol] did and what we had, and so as a consequence, everybody kind of fell in line with the Mike D’Antoni rhetoric of small ball and all this other [expletive],” Bryant said. “For a guy that has two championships to be treated that way, you don’t do that, man.”
Pelicans Size Up Market For Tyreke Evans
The Pelicans are listening to trade offers for Tyreke Evans and gauging his market value, sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link). Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports wrote earlier this month that the team had discussions about trading Evans, but it wasn’t clear if the talks were internal or involved other teams.
The former Rookie of the Year has been serving as the starting point guard for New Orleans with Jrue Holiday now in a sixth man role. Evans has dealt all season with the lingering effects of an October arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, as Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate details. Still, an MRI this week was negative, with tendinitis the only issue, according to fellow Advocate scribe Brett Dawson (Twitter link).
New Orleans has also reportedly had talks with other teams involving Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson, though Gordon is expected to be out for another three to five weeks with a broken right ring finger, and it appears the team prefers to hold on to Anderson. Those two are on expiring contracts, while Evans, who’s making nearly $10.735MM this season, has one more year left on his deal. Omer Asik‘s name has also reportedly come up in talks, and Scotto wrote in December that the team had made him available to potential trade partners.
It’s been a profound disappointment of a season for the Pelicans so far, as they stand at 16-28, but they’re just three and a half games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Evans is the team’s third leading scorer at 15.2 points per game and shooting 38.8% from 3-point range this season, by far the best percentage of his career.
What should the Pelicans ask in exchange for Evans? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Central Notes: Drummond, Blatt, Longabardi
Andre Drummond‘s free-throw shooting leaves much to be desired, but he’s working on it with Pistons shooting coach Dave Hopla, and the deficiency is not nearly glaring enough to dissuade the team from giving him a maximum-salary contract in the summer, MLive’s David Mayo contends. Besides, failing to max him out would break the trust between team and player forged when they let the extension deadline pass in the fall for the benefit of cap flexibility in the offseason ahead, and the consequences of such a betrayal would be profound, Mayo argues. See more from the Central Division:
- The lack of pace with which the Cavs played under former coach David Blatt was a source of conflict between him and the front office, as even though Blatt was aware the team played better when it ran, he was unable to quicken the attack, according to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Still, members of the Cavs have told Pluto that the team could take a step back before it improves while adjusting to the new speed under Tyronn Lue.
- The Cavs formally hired Mike Longabardi as an assistant coach before Wednesday’s game, the team announced. Longabardi was one of two assistants the Suns fired a month ago. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com first reported that Longabardi would be joining the Cleveland staff as a defensive specialist.
- Mike Dunleavy will play rehab games on D-League assignment before making his return to the Bulls from back surgery, his father, Mike Dunleavy Sr., said Wednesday on SiriusXM NBA Radio, as host Justin Termine tweets.
Knicks Talked With Hawks About Jeff Teague
THURSDAY, 7:55am: “Very preliminary” is how league sources who spoke with Fred Kerber of the New York Post described the talks. Kerber indicates that a deal between the sides probably won’t happen.
1:12pm: The discussions are casual and have been going on for several days, a league source told Begley, who writes in a full story.
WEDNESDAY, 10:29am: The Knicks are among several teams to have discussed a potential Jeff Teague trade with the Hawks, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, citing league sources (Twitter links). Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports reported earlier that Atlanta was talking to teams about the point guard.
Dealing for Teague may well require some creativity from the Knicks, given a lack of assets for New York to trade, Begley asserts. It’s unclear exactly what the Hawks would want for the point guard who’s making $8MM this season and another $8MM next year, though Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote Tuesday that Atlanta wants to contend this season. A trade of Teague would presumably clear the way for Dennis Schröder to take the point guard reigns in Atlanta, which has suffered this season from the free agent defection of small forward DeMarre Carroll. Soon-to-be free agent Lance Thomas has emerged as a contributor at the three this year for New York, but it’s not known whether the Knicks are open to trading Thomas or if Atlanta has any interest in him.
Dealing for Teague without sending out anyone with a contract that includes guaranteed salary for next season would take a bite out of New York’s cap flexibility, Begley points out (on Twitter). The Knicks will already be hard-pressed to create the cap room necessary for a max offer to Kevin Durant, whom some executives believe will at least listen to the Knicks during his free agency this summer, as Begley reported earlier.
Would Teague be a fit for the Knicks? Leave a comment to tell us.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript
4:02pm: We hosted the weekly live chat.
3:00pm: The Cavs set the NBA world abuzz with their coaching change Friday, overshadowing the Josh Smith trade and Steve Kerr’s long-awaited return to the Warriors, both of which happened the same day. A broken hand, reportedly self-inflicted, for Blake Griffin has cast more doubt on the Clippers title hopes, while the Hawks, a year removed from their perfect January of last season, are apparently considering a major move. We can talk about all that and more in today’s chat.
And-Ones: Griffin, Horford, Bazemore, Walton
People who work for the Clippers are “miserable” about the embarrassment that the reported altercation between Blake Griffin and equipment manager Mathis Testi has brought upon the franchise, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes. Griffin, who’s expected to miss four to six weeks recovering from the broken hand he apparently suffered in the incident, issued a statement of apology through his verified Twitter account.
- The Hawks aren’t entirely sure that Al Horford will re-sign in free agency this summer, and they’re making it a priority to re-sign fellow soon-to-be free agent Kent Bazemore, too, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports says in the latest edition of his “The Vertical” podcast (audio link, scroll ahead to 48-minute mark). Wojnarowski and Yahoo Sports colleague Chris Mannix also elaborated on the Atlanta’s trade talks involving Jeff Teague.
- Luke Walton said that he had fun as interim Warriors head coach but acknowledged that he still has much to learn as he spoke in a radio appearance on 95.7 The Game. Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group has the partial transcription (Twitter links). “I’m not in a rush to go out and do anything different,” Walton said. “I enjoy the assistant role too … I’d love to be back again next season.”
- Matthew Dellavedova was “definitely shocked” when the Cavaliers fired David Blatt and said to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he’s sure he’ll cross paths with the coach again. “Coach Blatt was huge for me,” Dellavedova said. “He gave me a great opportunity. He really believed in me and 100% supported me. It was really great for my career, so I’m always going to be appreciative for what he did for me.” Dellavedova is set for restricted free agency at season’s end.