Assessing Stocks: Indiana Pacers
Portfolio Review: Believe it or not, the Indiana Pacers stand at somewhat of a crossroads. This is a young, up-and-coming team with an incredibly deep assortment of talent at more than reasonable contracts. But right now, unless Paul George takes an early Tracy McGrady-like leap in quality of play, this is a team with a very definite ceiling.
Larry Bird has done a tremendous job of not only putting together assets, but assets that mesh well together. Furthermore, with each player, there is depth to replace them. This leaves the entire roster flexible. This is a team that is already a third or fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, but will always remain behind Miami and Chicago. Right now it has the liquid assets, the cap space, and the potential to be more. But flexibility of this magnitude is a temporary luxury in the
NBA and what the Pacers can be will determined over the next few months.
Prime Assets: Cap space and solid, young talent at every position. Indiana is not exactly a prime free agent destination, but fortunately the Pacers have enough cap flexibility and depth to put together a Carmelo Anthony-like deal without gutting their team like the New York Knicks did. The Pacers can put together a solid package with any combination of their roster.
Worthless Stock: Many NBA general managers are past the stage of offering max contracts to the likes of Michael Redd or Kenyon Martin. The remaining few already have their salary caps tied up in the likes of Joe Johnson. Danny Granger is the quintessential non-franchise player paid like a franchise player. As such, he represents one of the few Pacers hard to move. Too talented to give up for scraps, too overpaid to appeal other teams.
But then again…: Danny Granger and George Hill for Carmelo Anthony works too, should the Knicks rethink last year's trade.
Kyle Lowry Out Two To Four Weeks
The Houston Rockets suffered a blow to their playoff hopes with news that point guard Kyle Lowry will miss the next two to four weeks with a bacterial infection (hat tip to Ben Golliver of CBS Sports).
Houston currently holds the no. 8 seed in the Western Conference. So far as player movement is concerned, Goran Dragic is a nice trade chip for the Rockets and if they have any hopes of playoff contention it probably moves him off the table unless the right deal (Pau Gasol) comes along. But the Rockets will remain, as always, looking for that one elite or near elite player to tie their assortment of parts together.
Where Lowry's absence could make things interesting is for teams sitting just outside of the playoffs that might see this as an opportunity to secure a playoff seed. Any such team sitting on the fence about making a move might be compelled to pull the trigger, even if just for a rental, with Houston likely to fade.
Cavaliers Do Not Re-Sign Manny Harris
Even in an inactive trade season, the trade deadline can offer plenty of activity on the fringes of rosters. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal reported the Cavaliers will not pick up Manny Harris' contract, opting to keep their 15th and final roster spot open to maintain flexibility heading into the trade deadline.
Harris signed two 10-day contracts with the Cavaliers, so a third extension would have made his contract permanent through the rest of the season. The Cavaliers could always choose to bring Harris back after the trade deadline.
In the grand scheme of things, this is a small move in NBA terms. But it's always interesting to note what little things teams do headed into the trade deadline, from minor tweaks to their roster to make room for an incoming player, or a shift in playing time both before and after the deadline as teams audition players for the market.
Bulls, Dwight Howard An Unlikely Match
Part of the problem trading Dwight Howard is that the Orlando Magic remain largely underwhelmed with the trade offers presented by the teams on the list of Howard's preferred destinations. The Magic should be seeking a deal not unlike the ones made for Carmelo Anthony or Derron Williams a season ago. Howard is a far more impactful player than both Anthony and Williams so its understandable the Magic have a pretty high ceiling for where the market is set.
It's also understandable that, after watching the Knicks and Nets gut their respective teams, the team receiving Howard would want a long-term commitment. The problem is the teams Howard has said he would be willing to commit to do not have the assets to make the deal.
Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that the Magic's preferred trade partner remains the Chicago Bulls. The deal listed by Berger would send a combinatino of Omer Asik, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and the Charlotte Bobcats lottery-protected-through-2016 first round draft pick for Howard and Hedo Turkoglu.
A Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard pairing could make the Bulls and even more formidable duo than the Miami Heat's LeBron James and Dwyane Wade but there are several reasons preventing the Bulls and Dwight Howard from happening.
The first, as Berger points out, is that the Bulls are doing just fine without Howard and would never risk that without a long-term commitment.
The second: why would the Magic make that deal? Deng, Boozer, and Asik are all above average players. Boozer is a very good post option against certain matchups, Deng can provide a little bit of everything at a better than average level for 35-plus minutes a night, and Asik is one of the most underrated defensive players in the NBA.
But such a deal still leaves the Magic with many of the same problems, most notably lacking a perimeter player that can create shots for himself and others. Furthermore, Boozer and Deng have reached the extent of their talents and Asik is likely not too far from the ceiling of his.
Chandler Sets Friday Deadline For Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are in an advantageous position when it comes to dealing with restricted free agent Wilson Chandler. Until the summer, Chandler has no options other than Denver. The Nuggets, understandably, are taking their time to reach the best deal possible for their organization. According to HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy, Chandler has issued a deadline for the Nuggets for this Friday. Some notes from Kennedy's report:
- Chandler has been open to signing a one-year deal, which would make him an unrestricted free agent heading into the summer. The Nuggets are seeking a longer commitment. Since Chandler returned past the March 1st deadline to sign an offer sheet with other teams, the Nuggets remain his only option for playing in the NBA this season. Without competing bids, the Nuggets are the only team setting his market value.
- An artifical deadline set by Chandler essentially has two threats to back it up. He can either sit out the remainder of the season and enter restricted free agency this summer, or he can opt to head overseas until the summer.
- All indications point to Chandler wanting to remain in Denver long-term, and the Nuggets wanting him, which generally means a deal will be completed.
- Some credit must be given to the Nuggets organization for properly utilizing, or at least taking advantage of, restricted free agency. Restricted free agency was a holdover from the previous CBA designed to allow teams to keep their players without going over market value. The problem was so few teams properly used it, opting to overpay their own players before someone else theoretically could. Chandler is a great asset to have, for the right price. The Nuggets are doing a great job of holding the line to ensure they sign him for that.
Odds & Ends: Dwight Howard, Clippers, Jeremy Lin
With so much of the trade deadline activity hinging on what happens with the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard, Magic CEO Alex Martins says the team has yet to make a decision on him, reports the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins.
The Magic are taking a huge gamble on a player worth taking such a gamble on. Robbins writes that a strong possibility is Howard opting out of his contract and exploring free agency while keeping the Orlando Magic at the negotiating table with an opportunity to re-sign their franchise player.
One reason why this is dragging on so long is the notion that Howard himself seems unsure of what he wants. And on that note, a quick thought: With lessons learned from the LeBron James fallout, if Howard had made up his mind definitively about where he would like to play next year, chances are he would not string the Magic along, or else he risks alienating himself to fans as James did.
Some other notes around the league:
- The Los Angeles Clippers are still exploring trade options to replace the injured Chauncey Billups at shooting guard reports ESPN LA's Ramona Shelburne. So far the Clippers have been reluctant to part with backup point guard Eric Bledsoe, whose trade value might rise in the offseason with a draft lacking quality point guard talent.
- The New York Knicks are reeling, but head coach Mike D'Antoni still supports point guard Jeremy Lin, writes ESPN New York's Jared Zwerling. D'Antoni is correct in stating Lin needs to play a very specific way, with plenty of spacing and energy from his teammates.
The Knicks have some offseason decisions to make, one of which may be on the future of D'Antoni himself. But the crux of the matter is whether they want to build their offense around the pick and roll heavy talents of Lin, or the stagnant isolation ball Carmelo Anthony has played his entire career. - Jason Fleming of Hoops World provides five steps for fixing the Portland Trail Blazers.
Assessing Stocks: Houston Rockets
Portfolio Review: The Houston Rockets have perhaps the best point guard in the NBA that isn't quite a franchise point guard in Kyle Lowry. He is entering the prime of his career just as their second best player, Luis Scola, is exiting his. Scola, coincidentally, is just about as good as you can get at power forward without being an All-Star.
And that, in a nutshell, is the Houston Rockets. A group whose individual talents promise falls just short of stardom, and whose collective talents falls somewhere between the 7th seed and just out of the playoffs in the Western Conference.
The Rockets are a team perfectly built around a superstar that no longer exists on their roster. Over the summer they were able to replace that superstar with Pau Gasol, only to have David Stern veto the trade.
Prime Assets: Kyle Lowry has been deemed untouchable in most trade scenarios, though I would strongly take a look at a Lowry for Rajon Rondo-type deal should it present itself. Lowry is the better all-around player, but like the rest of the Rockets roster, lacks a single elite skill. Rondo has a deficient jump shot that skews his team's spacing, something the Rockets would have no trouble accommodating.
With Lowry off the table, the combination of Luis Scola and Kevin Martin were once worth Pau Gasol with a third team. Perhaps they can be again.
Worthless Stock: The only redeeming value for Hasheem Thabeet right now is a team's ability to write they acquired a former no. 2 overall pick in the press releases. He and Jonny Flynn are not toxic assets, but they're certainly not helpful either.
The Rest: The Rockets do not really do bad contracts or bad players. They just don't have very many really good ones. The question is do the Rockets consolidate some of their depth to improve slightly in talent?
Odds & Ends: Howard, Cousins, Hornets
Anytime there is a gathering of NBA general managers and reporters, rumors are sure to fly. This year Orlando offers an interesting backdrop for such discussion–the Magic's best player, Dwight Howard, is at the center of the biggest trade talks. Some news and notes from All-Star weekend:
- Calling himself Superman, Dwight Howard should be familiar with dual identities. But switching between team ambassador and the player requesting a trade is not easy task writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- Howard has already lost some of his credibility as a leader in the locker room, writes the Orlando Sentinel's Brian Schmitz. Trying to fill that void, Glen Davis?
- Schmitz also writes David Stern has no sympathy for the Orlando Magic.
- Over at Hardwood Paroxysm, our own Sean Highkin talks about Andrew Bynum, Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins, and big men in small markets.
- Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops and David Stern verbally joust over the ramifications of the Chris Paul trade.
- According to ESPN Los Angeles's Ramona Shelburne, former NBA coach Mike Dunleavy is a member of the group interested in buying the New Orleans Hornets.
Suns Notes: Nash, Morris, Draft
For Steve Nash, tomorrow's All-Star game could be his last, or simply his last representing the Phoenix Suns. A couple of Suns notes during All-Star weekend:
- While Nash might be open to a trade, retirement is something that he's not ready to consider writes the Toronto Star's Doug Smith.
- Given his level of play this season, adding another All-Star appearance, why would Nash be in a hurry to retire? Stefan Swiat of Suns.com talked to a number of All-Star weekend participants in Orlando and got their thoughts on the Suns' two-time MVP's game.
- Over at Valley of the Suns, Michael Schwartz and company debate Steve Nash's fate in Phoenix.
- If Nash is going to have any kind of future as a player with the Suns, he's going to need some help. Swiat was also able to get a number of All-Star participants to evaluate Suns rookie Markieff Morris, who is more skilled than many of his peers originally thought.
- One way or another, the Suns are going to have to find some new talent through the draft. Over at Arizona Republic, Jay Dieffenbach looks at a couple of draft prospects the Suns might be interested in.
David Stern On Kings, Hornets, Expansion, Lin
Despite the lockout, the NBA is thriving this season and all is well in the league according to David Stern in his annual All-Star press conference, which aired on NBA TV. A few notes from the press conference:
- Regarding any possible contribution the Maloofs, owners of the Sacramento Kings, would make towards a new NBA arena in Sacramento, David Stern simply replied, "life is a negotiation." Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee reports the city is looking for the Maloofs to pay $70-90MM on the proposed arena. A deadline to reach an agreement is set for March 1st.
- While the NBA has not pledged any help towards keeping the Kings in Sacramento, Stern said the NBA is in discussion with one group to purchase the New Orleans Hornets and has a second group lined in case those discussions fall through.
- While relocation remains a possibility for cities to acquire NBA teams, Stern said the NBA has no plans to expand in America. He did not, however, shoot down the possibility of expanding into Europe. Though not anytime in the immediate future.
- The best way to get an NBA team? Having a new NBA arena of course.
- Stern on Jeremy Lin: "I think it's great for the league and great for Jeremy, and my guess is that in the just concluded D-League All-Star Game, there were more scouts there than ever in the history of that game. And we're proud of the D League, and we're actually proud of the NBA system, as well."
- David Stern will not be in the NBA forever — he wants Adam Silver to take his place.