Jazz Sign Elliot Williams To Second 10-Day Deal
The Jazz have signed Elliot Williams to a second 10-day contract, the team has announced. Williams and the team agreed to his first 10-day pact on January 7th. Teams can ink players to a maximum of two 10-day deals per season before they either have to let them go or sign them for the remainder of the season.
Williams had appeared in three games for Utah during his first 10-day deal, averaging 2.7 points and 0.7 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per contest. His slash line is .375/.500/.000. Williams is a former first round draft pick of the Trail Blazers, and was selected No.22 overall back in 2010.
Prior to joining the Jazz this season, Williams had appeared in 16 contests for Santa Cruz, Golden State’s D-League affiliate. The 25-year-old had notched 21.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 7.7 APG in 37.2 minutes per game.
Knicks Sign Galloway To 2nd 10-Day Deal
SATURDAY, 11:19am: The Knicks have officially inked Galloway to a second 10-day deal, the team announced.
FRIDAY, 6:37pm: The Knicks are apparently pleased with what they have seen thus far from Langston Galloway. New York intends to ink the player to a second 10-day deal, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Galloway was signed to his first 10-day pact on January 7th. Teams can sign players to a maximum of two 10-day deals each season.
The 23-year-old rookie is averaging 9.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 24.3 minutes per contest for the Knicks over four appearances. His shooting numbers are .361/.333/.800.
Galloway had previously appeared in 19 games for Westchester this season, averaging 16.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while logging 36.8 minutes per contest. His slash line in the D-League this season was .447/.358/.830. The 6’2″ guard was with the Knicks during the preseason after going undrafted out of St. Joseph’s.
Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag: 1/11/15-1/17/15
It’s been a busy week in the NBA with numerous deals being completed or discussed, with teams either loading up for a playoff run, or clearing cap space and stockpiling future assets. In addition to our weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we now have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our brand new weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap, or the NBA draft? Drop me a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com or @EddieScarito on Twitter. Now for this week’s inquiries:
“I haven’t looked up the salaries or anything before asking this question, but this is the main framework of the possible deal that I’m asking about. The Cavs trade Kyrie Irving to the Suns for Eric Bledsoe and Brandan Wright. Who says no?” — Z…
Well, as you said, you didn’t do the math on the salaries before asking the question — and for the record it wouldn’t work. The Cavs would be taking back approximately $9MM too much in the deal. But to stick to the purely theoretical aspects, and assuming that more inconsequential players were added to the deal, or a third team was involved for salary matching purposes, it’s the Cavs who say no to this one.
Irving is three years younger than Bledsoe, and he has produced superior numbers to Bledsoe every year that they have been in the league together. Irving is still improving as a player, and has a much higher ceiling than Bledsoe does. With the acquisition of Timofey Mozgov, Cleveland should be relatively set in the middle. Neither player is worth parting with Irving over, though adding Wright for depth would certainly be appealing to the Cavs.
One trade that I would consider if I were these teams would be dealing Tristan Thompson for Wright and a second-rounder. The money works, and Thompson would do very well in Phoenix’s system. But he’s going to be rather difficult for the Cavs to re-sign given Cleveland’s cap situation. The Suns could certainly afford to part with the pick, and Cleveland is hurting for draft picks in the wake of its dealings this season. If I could add Wright and a draft pick (or two) for Thompson, that’s a yes both ways in my book.
“If the Sixers finally land the No.1 overall pick in the draft lottery, who will they take?” — Doug R.
That’s a difficult call, Doug. Jahlil Okafor is the consensus No. 1 pick, but Philly already has Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel on its roster. If GM Sam Hinkie wants to build a cohesive team, rather than just stockpile assets, he’d likely select Emmanuel Mudiay, who is the top backcourt prospect in the draft. Although, with Hinkie, you never can tell what will happen. He could select Okafor, and then try and deal Noel or Embiid for another draft pick or two. With Michael Carter-Williams reportedly on the trading block, selecting Mudiay would make the most long term sense given the current Sixers roster.
“I am wondering what the Sacramento Kings are doing to improve their team. Ever since Michael Malone was fired, it seems like they’ve been “active” in the market to create a smokescreen over the poor decision to fire Malone. Are the Kings actually being “active”? Are they actually going to make a push to make the playoffs?? It’s very aggravating having a lot of back and forth actions occur and I don’t know what to expect from the Front Office or the team on a daily basis.” — David
Hey David. I feel your pain, and yes, the Kings seem like a bit of a mess right now as an organization. Sacramento is indeed being active, though making deals with the playoffs in mind would be ill-advised. The team is six games back (as of this writing) from the final playoff spot, and the West is truly a brutal conference. Sacramento is reportedly seeking to add a stretch four or an athletic rim protector to pair alongside DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings just made rookie Nik Stauskas available, and they would likely be willing to part with the expiring deals of Derrick Williams and Reggie Evans as well. Stauskas hasn’t worked out so far, but he’s still young and has upside, though I don’t think he’ll ever be more than an off-the-bench role player in the league. If I were GM Pete D’Alessandro, my first call would be to the Bulls to see if Taj Gibson could be had. It’s doubtful that Chicago would bite, and Sacramento would almost assuredly need to include some draft picks to make any deal, but Gibson would be a perfect fit for what the Kings need.
“If my team misses out on Emmanuel Mudiay in the draft, but needs a point guard, who should it take?” — Rob G.
It’s not a particularly strong draft for guards this year, and Mudiay is likely the only potential superstar of the lot. But there are a couple of very intriguing second-tier prospects available. The next two playmakers in my Draft Rankings are D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State) and R.J. Hunter (Georgia State). Russell is rocketing up draft boards, and though he plays shooting guard in college, scouts are projecting him as an NBA point guard. I really like Russell, though he’ll take a season or two to flourish. Hunter is another fast-riser, though in the long term I peg him as more of a sixth man than a starting-caliber player. If your team is selecting in the 20s, I’d take a flyer on Tyus Jones (Duke). Jones is a project, but this kid has all the intangibles you want from a floor general.
That’s all the space I have for this week, so thanks to everyone who submitted their inquiries. Keep on sending in your questions, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.
Clippers Notes: Rivers, Douglas-Roberts, Farmar
Austin Rivers is now a member of the Clippers and playing for his father, Doc Rivers, as a result of the recent trade. Bulls swingman Mike Dunleavy Jr. was in a similar situation years ago when he almost ended up being dealt to Los Angeles to play for his father, former coach Mike Dunleavy, something the younger Dunleavy wanted no part of, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “My concern was more with the locker room dynamic with the guys,” Dunleavy said. “It just seemed to me to be an awkward situation.“
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- Dunleavy is hopeful things will work out for the Rivers father-son tandem, but he’s far from convinced it will, Blakely adds. “I think there are only two ways it really works,” Dunleavy said. “You’re either the best player or the worst player. Those are the two extremes. Somewhere in between? That seems to me to be the greater challenge.“
- Sam Amick of USA Today tweeted that a locker room or chemistry issue led to the Clippers cutting ties with Jordan Farmar and Chris Douglas-Roberts. This drew a response via Twitter from Douglas-Roberts, who acknowledged there were chemistry issues in Los Angeles, but he denied being a negative influence in the locker room. Douglas-Roberts also tweeted his gratitude for the trade.
- Farmar was disappointed that things didn’t work out for him with the Clippers, but the player acknowledged that he and the team weren’t a great fit, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes. “I just never felt I had a real role,” Farmar said. “We talked in the offseason about what my job was going to be. The opportunity just wasn’t the same. It was never time for me to really ever get going and feel comfortable and feel like I had a place on the team.”
- When the elder Rivers contacted his son about potentially coming to L.A., Austin needed time to consider the proposition, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “The first thing I did was call my mom,” Austin Rivers said. “She’s going to have to deal with this. She was a wreck the first night. She was calling me, ‘What if this happens and what if that happens?’ I was like, ‘Mom, it’s not on anybody but me and him.’ At the end of the day, my job is to play and compete and that’s it. It’s not like in the last second of the game I’m going to have the ball in my hands. I know my role here. I know Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are the leaders.“
2015/16 Salary Rankings: Centers
Hoops Rumors is in the process of ranking the cap hit for each NBA player by position. I previously ran down the point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center salaries for the 2014/15 season. I’ve also begun looking ahead to the 2015/16 campaign with a rundown of the cap hits for the point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, and power forwards. Next on the agenda will be a look ahead at the salaries for centers already inked to deals for next season.
All told, NBA teams have committed a total of $297,475,359 in cap hits so far for next season to the men manning the block around the league. The average hit for the five spot so far for 2015/16 is an extremely robust $6,329,263 with Dwight Howard of the Rockets topping the list. Howard is due to take home an impressive $22,359,364 next season. It should be noted that the list and rankings will change greatly depending on how the free agent market develops next summer.
I also should add that teams won’t necessarily pay out every dollar listed here. There are quite a few players who have non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts. Some of those players will be sweating it out until the January 2015 deadline. That’s when teams must waive players with no specific guarantee date written into their contracts to avoid having to guarantee their salaries for the rest of that season.
Most salaries align with cap hits, but that’s not the case for players like Jeremy Lin , who’s receiving close to $15MM from the Lakers during the 2014/15 season even though his cap hit was little more than half that amount, because of the contract he signed through the Gilbert Arenas Provision. In addition, incentive clauses that a player either triggers or fails to meet can leave a player with more or less money than his cap hit reflects. Still, the purpose of this list is to show the relative pay scale by position, which is why all contracts are included in this post.
The league’s centers are listed below, in descending order of cap hit for next season:
- Dwight Howard (Rockets) $22,359,364
- Brook Lopez (Nets) $16,744,218 [Player Option]
- DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) $15,851,950
- Roy Hibbert (Pacers) $15,514,931 [Player Option]
- Joakim Noah (Bulls) $13.9MM
- Al Jefferson (Hornets) $13.5MM [Player Option]
- Nikola Pekovic (Wolves) $12.1MM
- Andrew Bogut (Warriors) $12MM
- Al Horford (Hawks) $12MM
- JaVale McGee (Nuggets) $12MM
- Nikola Vucevic (Magic) $11,250,000
- Marcin Gortat (Wizards) $11,217,391
- Larry Sanders (Bucks) $11MM
- Brendan Haywood (Cavs) $10,522,500
- Anderson Varejao (Cavs) $9,638,554
- Jordan Hill (Lakers) $9MM [Team Option]
- J.J. Hickson (Nuggets) $5,613,500
- Spencer Hawes (Clippers) $5,543,725
- Zaza Pachulia (Bucks) $5.2MM
- Chris Kaman (Blazers) $5,016,000
- Chris Andersen (Heat) $5MM
- Timofey Mozgov (Nuggets) $4,950,000 [Team Option]
- Jonas Valanciunas (Raptors) $4,660,482
- Joel Embiid (Sixers) $4,626,960
- Cody Zeller (Hornets) $4,204,200
- Ian Mahinmi (Pacers) $4MM
- Alex Len (Suns) $3,807,120
- Andre Drummond (Pistons) $3,272,091
- Meyers Leonard (Blazers) $3,075,880
- Udonis Haslem (Heat) $2,854,940
- Tyler Zeller (Celtics) $2,616,975
- Steven Adams (Thunder) $2,279,040
- Vitor Faverani (Celtics) $2,180,000
- Kelly Olynyk (Celtics) $2,165,160
- Miles Plumlee (Suns) $2,109,294
- Festus Ezeli (Warriors) $2,008,748
- DeJuan Blair (Wizards) $2MM
- Lucas Nogueira (Raptors) $1,842,000
- Jusuf Nurkic (Nuggets) $1,842,000
- Gorgui Dieng (Wolves) $1,474,440
- Mason Plumlee (Nets) $1,415,520
- Clint Capela (Rockets) $1,242,720
- Rudy Gobert (Jazz) $1,175,880
- Robert Sacre (Lakers) $981,348
- Hassan Whiteside (Heat) $981,348
- Fab Melo (waived by Grizzlies) $437,080
- Miroslav Raduljica (Waived by Clippers) $300K
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Northwest Notes: Lopez, Williams, Jackson
The Thunder were reportedly in the mix for Nets center Brook Lopez, both as part of a proposed three-way deal with Brooklyn and Charlotte and in two-way talks with Brooklyn. OKC star Kevin Durant doesn’t necessarily see the need to add Lopez’s offensive talents to the Thunder’s rotation, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman reports (Twitter link). “We put up a lot of points, that’s what we do,” Durant said. “No matter where it comes from, we score a lot. Adding a good player to your team always helps, but I like what we have here. We put up points. That’s not our problem.”
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- Any trade for Lopez would almost certainly have to include Kendrick Perkins, a move that would weaken the team this season since he is the Thunder‘s best defender, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. Oklahoma City would benefit more from this deal next season, when all of the players would begin the campaign healthy, and the team could aim higher than just sneaking into the seventh or eighth playoff spot, like it hopes to do this year, Tramel opines.
- The Jazz are still undecided as to whether or not they will sign Elliot Williams to a second 10-day contract, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). In three appearances for Utah, Williams has averaged 2.7 points in 8.7 minutes of action per game.
- The arrival of Dion Waiters has cut into the playing time of Reggie Jackson, and it has also increased the uncertainty of his future with the Thunder, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. Durant, when asked if he felt the need to help Jackson adjust to his new role, said, “We’re all professionals here, man. We know the nature of this game. This is not day care. We’re not babying anybody here. We all know that Reggie is such a good professional he knows that. He knows how to come to work every single day. And he knows that him and Dion are going to have to play together. And Dion knows that. So we’re not spending any of our energy on that type of stuff because this is a professional game. It’s a business at that as well. So, nah, we’re not going to do that.”
And-Ones: Malone, Blatche, Walker
Michael Malone‘s reputation among NBA executives remains high in spite of his firing from the Kings, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News hears. He may have to wait a while for a job, since few teams seem ripe for a coaching change, Deveney writes. The Timberwolves are one of those few, according to Deveney, and Malone has been tagging along with Minnesota as an observer at the request of coach/executive Flip Saunders, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes. Saunders, who has a deal to coach the team that’s open-ended in length and Glen Taylor haven’t spoken about whether Saunders, who also serves as the team’s president of basketball operations, will continue to coach next season. All of this doesn’t mean that Malone is in any way a candidate to become the next coach of the Wolves, as it’s simply my own dot-connecting, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. Here’s more from around the league:
- There has also been some talk linking Malone to the Cavaliers, Deveney notes. With the Cavs not meeting expectations thus far this season, rookie coach David Blatt could be the one who takes the blame, Deveney adds. Malone was an assistant in Cleveland under former coach Mike Brown, which was during LeBron James‘ first stint with the Cavs, notes Deveney. James is a fan of Malone, which certainly wouldn’t hurt Malone’s chances should Cleveland decide to make a coaching change, the Sporting News scribe adds.
- Andray Blatche, who is currently playing in China, will become a free agent in February and is drawing interest from NBA teams, Jorge Sierra of Hoops Hype reports. “Top teams in both the Eastern and Western conference playoff race have begun the recruiting and courting process,” Andy Miller, Blatche’s agent, told Sierra. Blatche appeared in 73 games for the Nets last season.
- Florida sophomore Chris Walker considered entering the 2014 NBA draft but wisely decided to return for another season in college, Chris Mannix of SI.com writes. “I needed to get stronger, and I needed to learn the game,” Walker said of his decision. “When I go to the NBA, I want to go and actually play. I don’t want to sit or play in the D-League.” Walker, who is currently ranked No. 39 by DraftExpress, could use another season in school before jumping to the pros, Mannix adds.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Trade Candidate: Andrea Bargnani
Knicks president Phil Jackson is currently orchestrating a scorched-earth cleansing of the team’s roster. He began the offseason with his ill-advised trade of Tyson Chandler to the Mavericks, and most recently, dealt away Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cavaliers as part of the ongoing tear-down. Now it would appear that the Zen Master has turned his attention to ridding the team of one of the previous regime’s biggest miscalculations — Andrea Bargnani.
Finding a taker for the 29-year-old seven-footer from Italy will be no easy task for Jackson, since Bargnani has spent much of the last two seasons in street clothes due to various injuries (hamstring, calf, and elbow). It also doesn’t help matters that Bargnani hasn’t been all that effective when he has managed to make it onto the court. He’s only made two appearances thus far this season, totaling 22 uninspiring minutes, and averaging a mere 4.5 points per game. Unless former Knicks GM Glen Grunwald suddenly gets another NBA GM position prior to the trade deadline, Jackson is unlikely to find a return for Bargnani similar to the fleecing that the Raptors pulled on New York two years ago.
The Knicks believed that adding Bargnani to their roster would help spread the floor and open up more shots and scoring opportunities for Carmelo Anthony. But Grunwald completely ignored the fact that ‘Melo was most effective when occupying the four spot, which also happens to be Bargnani’s position. Since Bargnani has never been known as a particularly competent or willing defender and rebounder, this made any notion of playing him at center alongside ‘Melo a flight of pure fancy on New York’s part. The team also apparently ignored his prior injury history, which had seen the Italian miss time during four of his first seven seasons in the league, including 46 games the year before coming to New York.
So, it can be easily argued that the Knicks received almost exactly what they should have expected from Bargnani in the trade. I still can’t fathom the logic in including a 2016 first-rounder in the deal when Toronto was motivated to move Bargnani, and the Knicks had little to no competition in their pursuit of the big man. Steve Novak, whom the Knicks sent to Toronto in the trade, could have provided essentially the same skillset for a fraction of the cost, and wouldn’t have required New York to surrender a valuable first round pick, not to mention two second-rounders.
But crying over spilled milk won’t solve the Knicks’ woes, though neither will dumping Bargnani at this point. The benefit for the team in unloading him, besides assuaging the boo birds at Madison Square Garden who never miss an opportunity to let the player and organization hear their displeasure, would be to cut down its ample luxury tax bill. Shedding his $11.5MM cap hit would certainly do just that.
However, expiring contracts don’t hold the value they once did, which makes moving Bargnani a true challenge. The Knicks would likely need to attach a number of draft picks or a player such as Tim Hardaway Jr. to any deal for Bargnani to get another team to bite, and surrendering Hardaway is something I don’t see the logic in. New York has already sacrificed enough of its future to acquire Bargnani, and compounding the problem to save a few million dollars of James Dolan’s money makes little to no sense. The Knicks are perilously low on draft picks as it is, and Anthony isn’t getting any younger, so the team needs to think about the future. But if the Knicks do decide to attach a sweetener to a deal, the only candidates likely to bite are the Celtics and the Sixers, both of whom are stockpiling draft picks at a record pace.
Even if Bargnani was completely healthy this season, which he is not, finding a taker for his expiring $11.5MM contract would be no easy task. Plus, with New York trying to clear as much cap space as humanly possible in order to pursue max contract free agents this summer, it will take an improbable alignment of the stars (and salary cap numbers) for the Knicks not to be stuck with Bargnani until the end of the season. The more likely outcome is that New York will simply end up waiving him, as has been speculated, and pray that it could recoup some of his remaining salary via set-off rights in the event Bargnani inks a deal with another team.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nets Looking To Deal Brook Lopez
10:59pm: The Nets have major concerns about acquiring Stephenson, and fear that bringing him home to New York will make his personal issues even worse, Mannix reports (Twitter link)..
10:54pm: The Thunder have joined the Hornets in agreeing to the framework of a trade, but the Nets are still undecided, Broussard tweets.
10:04pm: The proposed three team deal would include Perkins heading to the Nets, Sam Amick of USA Today reports.
9:33pm: Brooklyn’s most serious conversations regarding Lopez are with Western Conference teams, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The Lakers are interested in Lopez, but likely lack the assets to get a deal done, Wojnarowski adds.
9:23pm: Charlotte is enthusiastic about getting a deal done, but Brooklyn and Oklahoma City aren’t ready to pull the trigger yet, Broussard tweets. According to Broussard’s source, the discussions are “just talk” right now.
8:49pm: The Nets are discussing a three-way trade that would send Lopez to the Thunder, Stephenson to Brooklyn, and Jeremy Lamb and Jarrett Jack to the Hornets, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). It would take more outgoing salary for Oklahoma City to make this deal work under the salary cap, with Lopez earning approximately $15.7MM this season, and Lamb’s salary only $2.2MM. Kendrick Perkins‘ expiring contract worth $9,654,342 would seem a likely candidate to be included in any deal, though that’s merely my speculation. Such a light return for a player who was deemed the missing piece when the Hornets signed him this past offseason would signal that Charlotte is in a hurry to offload Stephenson, and the chemistry issues he reportedly brings with him.
6:24pm: The Nuggets are among the teams expressing the most interest in acquiring Lopez, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link).
6:15pm: Brooklyn is talking to several teams, but is specifically seeking information on Lance Stephenson of the Hornets, Wojnarowski tweets.
THURSDAY, 6:10pm: The Nets have accelerated trade discussions for Lopez with the intention of moving him soon, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 5:02pm: The Nets are continuing to discuss potential deals involving center Brook Lopez with other teams, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com reports (Twitter link). The Heat have recently emerged as suitors, and according to Youngmisuk, have shown strong interest in acquiring the big man from Brooklyn. Any deal involving Lopez would be complicated by his salary, which is $15,719,062 this season, and he owns a player option for 2015/16 for $16,744,218. There have been conflicting reports as to whether or not the 26-year-old will opt in next season, which could impact the trade market for the seven-footer.
Brooklyn has reportedly discussed dealing Lopez to the Thunder for Kendrick Perkins (and his expiring contract), Perry Jones, and Lance Thomas (prior to him being dealt to the Knicks), though the Nets ultimately decided they didn’t like that return for their big man. The Celtics also reportedly checked in with the Nets regarding Lopez, but this was prior to the trade that sent Rajon Rondo to Dallas, and with Boston now in full rebuilding mode, it isn’t clear if the Celtics would still be interested in acquiring the oft-injured center.
Lopez has a wealth of talent, and he can be a dominant scorer when healthy. But injuries have cut short two of his previous three seasons, and big men don’t tend to age well in today’s NBA, which makes any deal for Lopez a gamble. His numbers are certainly impressive though. In 370 career games, Lopez has averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.7 blocks. His slash line is .510/.091/.791.
Western Notes: Bullock, Rivers, Lopez
Suns GM Ryan McDonough is excited about adding Reggie Bullock to the team’s roster because of the player’s high basketball IQ, ability to play either wing spot, and for his defensive abilities, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “We’ve really liked his ability to shoot the ball with his size on the perimeter and his ability to defend NBA athletes on the wing with size,” McDonough said. “We’re confident that, with more time and repetitions, that he has the potential to be an elite shooter at the NBA level.” Phoenix had its eye on Bullock heading into the 2013 NBA draft, but the Clippers snagged him four picks ahead of the Suns wound up with Archie Goodwin as a result, Coro notes.
Here’s the latest out of the West:
- With Austin Rivers now a member of the Clippers, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com takes a look at what the player brings to Los Angeles. Kavner opines that Rivers will add youth, as well as some needed scoring and playmaking ability off of the bench for the Clippers.
- The Suns have a glut of point guards on the roster, as well as a number of players with maturity issues, a combination that may lead to the team being active on the trade market prior to February’s deadline, Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic writes.
- With the rumors of Brook Lopez potentially coming to the Thunder heating up, Jon Hamm of The Oklahoman looks at how the deal could benefit Oklahoma City, as well as the risks involved. Hamm notes that Kendrick Perkins would likely have to be included in any deal for salary matching purposes. Plus, the team could end up missing Perkins’ defense, and making the trade brings team chemistry risks with it as well.