Atlantic Notes: Sampson, Embiid, Olynyk
Sixers coach Brett Brown would like for the team to re-sign JaKarr Sampson, whom Philadelphia waived Thursday to accommodate its three-way trade with the Pistons and Rockets, but the coach isn’t confident that Sampson will clear waivers, notes Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly (Twitter link). That jibes with a report from Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who heard from a source that the Sixers want to re-sign the small forward. GM Sam Hinkie referred to a new deal with Sampson as a possibility but also acknowledged the chance that another team claims him, as Tom Moore of Calkins Media relays (on Twitter).
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Knicks failed to upgrade their roster at this year’s trade deadline and one major reason for the franchise standing pat was team president Phil Jackson‘s refusal to part with New York’s 2018 first round pick in order to facilitate a trade, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News relays.
- The amount of time and resources that the Sixers have devoted to Joel Embiid‘s health and recovery demonstrate how important the young center is to the organization’s future plans, Brian Seltzer of NBA.com writes. “We’re obviously excited about him, and have always been excited about him, because he has rare gifts and he has a real chance to have a fantastic NBA career,” said Hinkie of Embiid. “He’s doing great on all of the things that matter for him, which is, how do you focus on every day to try and get better? We expect maybe in the last several weeks of the season, he might be more fully integrated into the team and traveling with the team and at all of our games and the like. Then, he’ll have a long summer in front of him where his rehab will continue. So far, so good. He’s done a great job. He’s been super professional.”
- The Raptors will keep an eye on the waiver wire for roster upgrades but the team isn’t expected to make a move, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca relays (via Twitter). Toronto was reportedly looking to upgrade its power forward spot leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline.
- Celtics center Kelly Olynyk could be out of action for up to a month as he deals with an injured right shoulder, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays. “It’s a little bit of separation, maybe,” Olynyk said regarding his shoulder. “Rest, recovery, treatments … it should be all right.” The big man was originally projected to miss two weeks with the malady, Blakely notes.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
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Nuggets Waive J.J. Hickson, Steve Novak
5:42pm: Both players have officially been waived, the team announced via press release.
4:39pm: The Nuggets have waived Steve Novak and J.J. Hickson, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter links). A formal announcement from the team has yet to take place. Novak is earning $3,750,001 for 2015/16 and Hickson is scheduled to make $5,613,500, amounts that the Nuggets will be on the hook for less any salary the players may have given up in buyout arrangements. Both players’ deals expire at the end of this season, so they won’t have any impact on next season’s cap number for Denver. These moves leave the Nuggets with a roster count of 13 players, two under the regular season maximum.
The 32-year-old Novak appeared in only seven games for the Thunder this season before the Thursday trade that shipped him to the Nuggets. His career numbers through 10 NBA seasons are 4.7 points and 1.3 rebounds to accompany a slash line of .438/.432/.876. He’s reportedly a candidate to join the Cavaliers assuming he clears waivers, according to a report by Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group.
Denver was reportedly shopping Hickson leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline but found no takers. Hickson and the Nuggets had subsequently agreed to work out a buyout arrangement prior to the March 1st cutoff date for players to be postseason-eligible for their new teams, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com relayed. Hickson has appeared in just three games since December 8th. He averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game across 17 appearances this season prior to that date.
Pelicans Sign Dejean-Jones To Three-Year Deal
FRIDAY, 10:06am: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. The move, coupled with the waiver of Jarnell Stokes, gives New Orleans 15 players.
THURSDAY, 8:09pm: The Pelicans are finalizing a multiyear arrangement with free agent shooting guard Bryce Dejean-Jones, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (via Twitter). It will be a three-year deal that includes a partial guarantee for next season, Charania notes. This implies that Dejean-Jones’ salary for 2017/18 will be non-guaranteed. Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate was the first to relay that New Orleans was in line to ink Dejean-Jones.
The second 10-day deal that Dejean-Jones signed with the Pelicans expired last week, leaving New Orleans no other option but to sign him for the remainder of the season if it wished to retain him, given that teams are only permitted to sign players to two 10-day contracts per season. The Lakers, Grizzlies, Jazz, Spurs and Suns also reportedly checked in on Dejean-Jones, though it is unclear if any of those teams made him a formal contract offer.
Dejean-Jones is averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game this season, having made 10 of his 26 3-point attempts. New Orleans had originally signed him in August to a deal for training camp that included a $50K partial guarantee for this season, but Dejean-Jones didn’t make the opening night roster. He appeared in nine games for Utah’s D-League affiliate before the Pelicans signed him in January to the first of his 10-day pacts.
New Orleans is using its mid-level exception to accommodate the deal, since the team is over the cap and thus otherwise limited to handing out contracts of no more than two years in length. It’ll be the fourth contract, and the second for Dejean-Jones, that the Pelicans will have crammed into their mid-level. The others are Dante Cunningham‘s three-year, $8.395MM deal, Alonzo Gee‘s two-year, $2.699MM pact, and Dejean-Jones’ preseason contract.
Sixers Waive JaKarr Sampson
11:45pm: Sampson has officially been waived, the team announced.
5:54pm: The Sixers will waive swingman JaKarr Sampson to clear a roster spot for incoming trade acquisition Joel Anthony, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). Philadelphia will be on the hook for the remainder of Sampson’s $845,059 salary for 2015/16. Sampson was under contract for next season but his salary for 2016/17 is non-guaranteed, which means there will be no impact on next season’s payroll as a result of the move.
Sampson, 22, appeared in 47 games for Philadelphia this season, including 18 starts. He is averaging 5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 14.7 minutes per appearance. His career numbers since going undrafted out of St. John’s in 2014 are 5.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists to accompany a slash line of .423/.230/.654.
Philadelphia agreed to acquire Anthony earlier today as part of a three-team trade with Detroit and Houston, which would have pushed the Sixers to 16 players on their roster, one over the regular season maximum.
Eastern Notes: Horford, Calderon, Harris
The Hawks took center Al Horford off the market at approximately 1pm today, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (Twitter links). Prospective trade partners were wary of Horford’s impending free agency, which made the offers Atlanta received less than enticing, Broussard adds. Point guard Jeff Teague was available until the final minutes of the deadline, with the Bucks and Nets expressing the most interest, the ESPN scribe notes.
Here’s the latest from the East:
- Despite their best efforts, the Raptors were unable to upgrade their power forward position prior to the NBA trade deadline today, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes. The lack of a significant deal wasn’t due to the team’s lack of effort, with Toronto checking in on virtually every player rumored to be available, but the team found the asking prices simply too steep to pull the trigger, Lewenberg adds. “There was nothing there good enough for us, we felt,” GM Masai Ujiri said. “Anything that was good enough we felt, we just didn’t want to give up the future of our team for any of the stuff that was out there.”
- Knicks point guard Jose Calderon noted that one reason his numbers have taken a hit is New York’s triangle offense, a system not conducive to gaudy stats from playmakers, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News relays. “It doesn’t matter how I play,” Calderon said. “Sometimes when you maybe get off on the wrong foot or people don’t know you as a player and expect something else. It’s tough to change those minds. So I’m pretty good with the way I am, the way I do stuff, the way I work. Like I said, if we go position by position, or player by player, I lost every battle in that situation. I’m not going to score more points than other point guards in this league. I’m a different kind of player. It’s not fun when you want to win for the Knicks and people want you out of the Knicks.”
- The Knicks may cut the playing time of rookie point guard Jerian Grant because his lack of playing experience is hurting him and the team, according to interim coach Kurt Rambis, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays.
- Courtney Lee says being dealt to the Hornets “threw him off” because he was told the previous day by the Grizzlies he wasn’t being shopped, Steve Reed of The Associated Press writes. The swingman did add that the presence of coach Steve Clifford, who was an assistant in Orlando during Lee’s rookie season, would help him adjust more quickly, Reed adds. “It helps a lot,” Lee said of Clifford. “I have a feel for him and his coaching style. He knows my capabilities and I think he’s comfortable with me in that sense. It’s just a matter of picking up the plays.”
- The Pistons did extremely well in the trade that landed them Tobias Harris, David Mayo of MLive.com opines. Detroit netted a still-improving combo forward who provides exactly what the team lacked in its frontcourt and Harris’ salary will likely look like a bargain in the coming season, Mayo adds.
Western Notes: Martin, Howard, Green
The Trail Blazers didn’t want to part with any of their young core of players at this year’s trade deadline, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes. “We went into the trade deadline trying to be opportunistic,” Portland president of basketball operations Neil Olshey told Freeman. “We wanted to gather assets. Clearly this group is really overachieving. There’s a lot of young guys that have a future and we wanted to make sure we were giving them the chance to win. We didn’t want to touch the core group of guys that have exceeded expectations. [Coach] Terry [Stotts] is comfortable with those guys, they’re doing what we need them to do on the court. But we need things in the future to continue to build the roster and that’s what we did today.”
There is a chance that the team will re-sign Tim Frazier, who was waived earlier today, Freeman adds. “Tim was a casualty. He’s been great for us,” Olshey said. “He’s great in the locker room, he’s close with our guys. We told him, ‘Look, if we don’t have an opportunity to add another player at your position, we would look at bringing you back if you clear waivers.’ I can’t speak to that right now. But at the time he was the most viable candidate to be waived to create the roster spot for Anderson Varejao.” Varejao was subsequently waived by Portland.
Here’s more from out West:
- Timberwolves GM Milt Newton said the team hasn’t discussed a potential buyout arrangement with shooting guard Kevin Martin but added that it’s a conversation that will probably come up in the near future, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune relays (on Twitter). Martin, who possesses a player option worth nearly $7.378MM for next season, was reportedly a trade deadline target of the Knicks, but the teams didn’t strike a deal. The 33-year-old has appeared in 35 games for Minnesota this season and is averaging 11.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22.6 minutes per night.
- The Grizzlies‘ players have let team management know that they don’t want newly acquired swingman Lance Stephenson waived, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey noted that the team never came close to trading center Dwight Howard, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter links). “It was going to have to take something significant to make us look at anything and even then we probably wouldn’t have,” Morey said. “Part of my job is I have to explore everything. We believe in James [Harden] and Dwight together.“
- Numerous teams were interested in Howard, but any deal was contingent on the big man agreeing to opt in next season, something Howard wasn’t keen on, relays Marc Stein of ESPN.com. “Not surprisingly, as the deadline approached, several teams called stating they had worked out the trade parameters with Houston for a Dwight deal but were not prepared to give up their assets unless Dwight agreed to opt into the last year of his contract and forgo free agency. Dwight declined,” Dan Fegan, Howard’s agent, said.
- Point guard Erick Green has officially rejoined the Reno Bighorns following the expiration of his second 10-day pact with the Jazz, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter). Reno is the D-League affiliate of the Kings.
- The Jazz have assigned big man Tibor Pleiss to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Pleiss’ fourth stint in the D-League on the season.
Central Notes: Rubio, Forman, Harris
The Bulls held off on making any major trade deadline moves because no offers significant enough to improve the team materialized, according to GM Gar Forman, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune relays. “We understand the frustrations. Up to this point, it has been a disappointing year,” Forman said. “We all realize — from ownership to the front office to the players to the coaching staff — we haven’t done as well as we thought we would do. We hold ourselves accountable that we haven’t met expectations. With that said, we certainly were not in any type of panic mode. We looked at the big picture. Obviously, the injuries that we’ve had have hurt. But that’s not the only reason. … We explored heavily and were very, very active with talks with a lot of teams. There wasn’t something we felt … significant enough to do something right now.”
Here’s the latest from the Central Division:
- The Pistons believe that Tobias Harris is still on the rise as a player and that he will be able to help the franchise in a variety of ways, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “The interesting thing is being able to look at what he was doing this season but going back to our free-agent preparation for the summer and the review of last year’s performance,” GM Jeff Bower told Langlois. “We feel that showed us a player with a variety of skills that can help a team in numerous ways. We also think that his play and the projection of his performance over the next five years is on a steady incline based on what we’re seeing and think he has a lot of room to grow as a player. We really like that this is a move that can be looked at as a long-term move as well as one that will fit with our core group of players and we’ll be able to keep them together due to contract certainty. Those are all pieces that were pretty important.”
- The protected first round pick the Cavaliers sent to the Trail Blazers as part of the Channing Frye trade will become two second round picks if it is not conveyed in 2018 or 2019, Erik Gunderson of The Columbian relays (on Twitter).
- The Bulls never attempted to trade power forward Pau Gasol, though the team did receive numerous inquiries about his availability, Forman insists, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com notes (Twitter links). Forman also indicated that the team still hopes to re-sign center Joakim Noah, who will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Friedell adds.
- Cavs GM David Griffin noted that the team had a deal in place with Frye when he was a free agent in 2014, but Cleveland couldn’t make the numbers work because it needed all of its cap space to sign LeBron James, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal tweets.
- The Bucks made several attempts to pry point guard Ricky Rubio away from the Wolves but balked when Minnesota requested shooting guard Khris Middleton in return, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (Twitter link).
Celtics, David Lee To Discuss Buyout
The Celtics and power forward David Lee will meet to discuss a potential buyout arrangement within the next two days, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays. Boston attempted to find a taker for Lee prior to today’s trade deadline, but Lee reportedly had “no value” around the league, even though his expiring deal worth $15.5MM presented an opportunity for cap relief this summer, as Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald noted.
Lee was quick to stress that he has no animosity toward the Celtics over his lack of playing time, Forsberg adds. “I’ve kind of seen the writing on the wall with what’s going on the last month,” said Lee. “But once again, this is a business. We all know that. I want to be in a place where I’m successful and where I’m wanted. The Celtics are a great group of people here. I have absolutely zero negative things to say about my coaching staff and teammates, who, obviously as you know, I get along well with. So we’ll just see how things develop over the next 24 or 48 hours here, but it’s looking like something’s most likely going to happen [with the buyout].”
“Everything doesn’t always work out the way you want it to,” Lee continued. “I’m just disappointed from the fact that I wanted to come here and make a major impact. And that didn’t happen for one reason or another. The last two places I had been before I may have been able to make that impact. It is what it is.” Lee, who has not played since January 10th, has appeared in 30 games for Boston this season and is averaging 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 15.7 minutes of action per contest.
Pacific Notes: Griffin, Wilcox, Frye
Clippers power forward Blake Griffin will face extra scrutiny for his role in an off the court incident involving a member of the team’s training staff when he returns from injury and his four-game suspension, Michael Lee of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes. Griffin has come under fire before for his physical style of play and there is a strong chance that other players will attempt to test Griffin’s response to aggressive play against him, Lee adds, though coach/executive Doc Rivers doesn’t think it will be an issue for his player. “Listen, he’s tested every night,” Rivers told Lee. “Blake gets hit, chipped more than any player in the league. He’s already been tested.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers turned down four deals that involved shooting guard C.J. Wilcox, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). The 25-year-old has only appeared in eight contests this season, averaging 0.8 points in 2.9 of action per game.
- Despite their wealth of talent, the Warriors did not receive one trade inquiry prior to today’s deadline, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times tweets.
- The Clippers passed on the chance to acquire Channing Frye from the Magic because the team preferred Jeff Green, whom it landed from Memphis in exchange for Lance Stephenson, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t want to discuss the future of Byron Scott and indicated that the coach’s status with the organization hasn’t changed, Jovan Buva of ESPN.com notes. “Byron is under contract, and until that changes, or if that changes, I’ll let you know,” Kupchak said. “Once again, I don’t want to get into a Byron discussion right now,” Kupchak continued. “So I’m not going to really answer any more questions about Byron, because I’m concerned that one question will lead to another, and if his status changes, I will let you know.“