Kings Eyeing Domantas Sabonis, Discussing De’Aaron Fox
The Kings are interested in Domantas Sabonis and have recently ramped up their pursuit of the Pacers big man, a league source tells Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
According to Anderson, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, who was considered off-limits when the team talked to the Sixers in the summer about Ben Simmons, has now been included in separate trade discussions involving Sabonis and Simmons.
Sam Amick of The Athletic, who reported earlier in the month that the Kings no longer view Fox as untouchable, stated during a radio appearance on Sports 1140 KHTK (hat tip to HoopsHype) that the team is eyeing both Sabonis and Simmons, and suggested that he wouldn’t be surprised if Sacramento makes a “big-time” trade in the coming days or weeks.
“There is a fair amount of pressure for this roster to look pretty different after the deadline,” Amick said.
Multiple reports, dating back to early December, have indicated that the Pacers are open to the idea of trading one of Sabonis or Myles Turner, but wouldn’t move both players. Turner had long been considered the most likely trade candidate of the two, but his left foot injury may diminish his value leading up to the deadline, opening the door for a Sabonis deal.
The Pacers would want an All-Star caliber player in return for Sabonis, according to Anderson, who hears that the team has received offers meeting that criteria. Fox hasn’t made an All-Star team, but Anderson suggests an offer that includes the 24-year-old and at least one draft pick could pique Indiana’s interest.
As for the Simmons scenario, Amick said this week on The Athletic NBA Show that he believes the Kings are “actually pondering” the idea of acquiring both Simmons and Tobias Harris from Philadelphia (hat tip to HoopsHype).
The 76ers have reportedly explored the idea of attaching Harris to a Simmons trade, which is viewed as complicated due to the duo’s $69MM cap hit in 2021/22, as well as the $190MM+ they’re owed beyond this season. However, Amick suggests that scenario isn’t off the table for Sacramento. Marc Stein also recently reported that there’s a sense around the league the Kings could be convinced to take on Harris’ oversized contract in a Simmons deal.
In addition to Fox, players like Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III, Tristan Thompson, and – to a lesser extent – Harrison Barnes have been cited as potential trade candidates for Sacramento. Presumably, if the Kings were to make a play for Sabonis, they’d also be open to discussing current starting center Richaun Holmes.
Gabriel Deck Returns To Real Madrid
JANUARY 19: Deck has finalized an agreement with Real Madrid that will cover the rest of this season and the following two seasons, running through June 30, 2024, the team announced today in a press release.
JANUARY 17: After being waived by the Thunder earlier this month, forward Gabriel Deck is returning to Spain and rejoining Real Madrid. Reports shortly after Deck’s release indicated this was the plan, and Real Madrid head coach Pablo Laso confirmed as much on Sunday, as Eurohoops relays.
The deal hasn’t been finalized yet, but Deck is expected to sign a contract that runs through the 2023/24 season, according to multiple reports.
Deck played for Real Madrid from 2018-21, leaving the club last season to sign a contract with Oklahoma City in April. Although the 26-year-old technically received a four-year deal, only his 2020/21 salary was guaranteed, so he was always considered a long shot to play out the full contract unless he made a strong impression during his first stint in the NBA.
Deck appeared in just 10 games for the Thunder last season and seven more this season, averaging 6.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.7 APG with a .494/.211/.818 shooting line in 15.8 MPG across 17 total contests.
During his last season with Real Madrid in 2020/21, Deck recorded 10.0 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .533/.333/.862 shooting in 21 Liga ACB games (23.3 MPG), as well as 8.8 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .487/.414/.833 shooting in 31 EuroLeague appearances (24.1 MPG). He also played a key role for Argentina during the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
Discussing Deck’s impending return to Real Madrid, Laso expressed enthusiasm but added that it’s hard to glean much information from the forward’s time in the NBA.
“The only bad thing, at least from my perspective, is that Deck has just played four games since he left Madrid last April,” Laso said, per Eurohoops. “The ones at the Olympics. The others are difficult to analyze.”
Lakers’ Frank Vogel On Hot Seat
9:20pm: The Lakers have “no current plans” to fire Vogel, sources tell Brad Turner and Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. This response certainly reads less like an emphatic denial of the rumor that Vogel is on the hot seat for Los Angeles, and rather a half-hearted vote of confidence.
Turner and Woike reveal that Los Angeles GM Rob Pelinka and Rambis spoke with Vogel and assistant coach David Fizdale following the team’s 125-116 loss to the Kings last Wednesday about figuring out how to improve the team’s on-court results, their third such meeting recently.
Rambis subsequently attended a Lakers pregame coaches meeting this past Monday for the first time this season and pushed for reinserting traditional centers Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan into the team’s rotation, despite both players not inspiring much confidence in their play to this point in the 2021/22 season.
8:40am: Frank Vogel was coaching for his job on Monday vs. Utah, according to Bill Oram and Sam Amick of The Athletic, who hear from sources that there’s a real chance the Lakers‘ head coach would’ve been let go if the team’s losing streak had extended to four games last night.
Oram and Amick report that Vogel “narrowly avoided being fired” after the Lakers’ 37-point loss to Denver on Saturday and that he continues to be evaluated on a game-to-game basis, meaning he’ll likely remain firmly on the hot seat going forward. It’s not clear to what extent Monday’s victory relieved the pressure on him, The Athletic’s duo writes.
The Lakers’ decision-makers are keeping a close eye on the situation and monitoring whether Vogel still has “command of the locker room,” per Oram and Amick.
Vogel has been under pressure for much of 2021/22 campaign, with Lakers executive Kurt Rambis informing the coaching staff in the fall that there was a mandate to right the ship after an underwhelming start to the season, sources tell The Athletic.
Shortly after Rambis conveyed the front office’s message, Vogel entered the health and safety protocols and missed six games. The Lakers went 1-5 under David Fizdale and then won four straight games when Vogel returned, which seemed to bode well for his job security. However, that streak was followed by three consecutive losses, including Saturday’s embarrassing blowout in Denver.
The Lakers, projected in the preseason as the favorites to come out of the West, currently have a 22-22 record and are in play-in territory at No. 7 in the conference.
Los Angeles has had to deal with a series of injuries that have hindered the team’s forward momentum. LeBron James has missed 11 games; Anthony Davis has been unavailable for 17 games and hasn’t played since December 17; and Kendrick Nunn, who got most of the team’s taxpayer mid-level exception in the summer, has yet to make his debut.
If the Lakers continue to fall short of their expectations, Vogel would be a convenient scapegoat. Despite leading the franchise to a championship in 2020, he had just one year tacked onto his current contract when he signed an extension in the offseason, so he’s only locked up through the 2022/23 season.
Southwest Notes: Gordon, Chriss, Mavs, Pelicans, Spurs
Rockets guard Eric Gordon has been the subject of plenty of trade speculation already this season, and those rumors figure to continue heating up with the February 10 deadline just a few weeks away. However, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes, Gordon isn’t dwelling on the possibility that he could be playing for a new team next month.
“I’m not even thinking or worried about that,” Gordon said. “Things happen. Get traded or not, you’ve still got to play the game of basketball. Fortunately, I’ve been here for going on six years now, and it’s been really good. I know the situation I’m in. I’m looking to just continue to play my game and look forward to continue to thrive with this group of guys.”
A Monday report indicated that the Rockets are expected to seek a first-round pick in any Gordon trade.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Marquese Chriss‘ new two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Mavericks includes a fully guaranteed salary for 2022/23, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link).
- New Mavericks president of basketball operations Nico Harrison will be involved in some key decisions at this season’s trade deadline, but he’s hoping to get a good look at the roster at full strength before making those decisions, per Brad Towsend of The Dallas Morning News. “I think you can always improve,” Harrison said. “But as I look at our team, we haven’t been whole for a while. I’m really excited to see how [good] we are, now that we’re whole.”
- Examining the Pelicans‘ outlook for the trade deadline, Will Guillory of The Athletic contends that the team should try to acquire one more reliable perimeter player, while Christian Clark of NOLA.com makes a similar argument, writing that the team lacks consistent creators in its backcourt.
- Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia has joined the Spurs as a minority owner, as first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic and officially announced by the team. The franchise has brought in multiple minority stakeholders since Peter J. Holt took over as managing partner in June, according to Charania, who says 13 previous investors have sold off equity. Besides Gebbia, other new minority owners include Bay Area investment firm Sixth Street and Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies.
Latest On Jerami Grant
The Pistons aren’t a lock to trade Jerami Grant before the February 10 deadline, but the veteran forward may be this winter’s most popular trade candidate, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
“He’s the grand prize of this deadline,” one team strategist told Fischer. “… He fits everywhere.”
“He’s gonna have so many suitors,” an assistant general manager said. “They’re just gonna wait them all out.”
According to Fischer, the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Knicks, Jazz, Wizards, Celtics, Pacers, Timberwolves, and Kings are among the teams that have signaled some level of interest in Grant. Sources tell Bleacher Report that the Pistons are seeking multiple first-round picks, or one first-rounder along with a high-upside young player.
Fischer likens Grant’s situation this season to Aaron Gordon‘s in 2020/21, a comparison Shams Charania made when first reporting Grant’s availability in December. Like Gordon, Grant is a versatile frontcourt defender who has one-and-a-half seasons left on his contract and will be extension-eligible.
That extension eligibility will be important. Any team acquiring Grant will want assurances he’ll sign a new deal, according to Fischer, who hears from sources that the 27-year-old hopes to receive a four-year offer in the range of $112.7MM (the maximum he can get prior to 2023 free agency).
Fischer does share one complicating factor, writing that Grant wouldn’t be enthusiastic about joining a new team that doesn’t feature him as a “primary offensive option.”
Here’s more on Grant:
- A November report indicated that the Pistons may be willing to offer a package of Grant, Kelly Olynyk, Saddiq Bey, and a future first-round pick for Ben Simmons. According to Fischer, the Sixers weren’t particularly enthusiastic about that concept, but when it leaked, it alerted teams that Grant might be available, which has helped accelerate his market.
- Some people around the league view the Wizards as the favorites for Grant, says Fischer, noting that Wes Unseld Jr. coached the forward as an assistant in Denver. Sources tell Bleacher Report that Wizards center Montrezl Harrell, who is on an expiring $9.7MM contract, has been considered available via trade. Harrell could be included in any Washington offer, along with at least one of Rui Hachimura or Deni Avdija, Fischer suggests.
- Fischer classifies the Lakers and Jazz as unlikely destinations for Grant based on the limited assets those teams have to offer. He also downplays the possibility of the Celtics or Grizzlies acquiring the Pistons forward, writing that neither team is expected to seriously pursue him.
- As others have reported, the Bulls don’t appear comfortable with the idea of moving Patrick Williams in a deal for Grant, according to Fischer.
- According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, there’s a belief that the Pelicans will look to be buyers at this year’s trade deadline, and Grant is considered a possible target for them.
Lakers Notes: Davis, Nunn, Johnson, Vogel
The Lakers have cleared Anthony Davis to begin on-court, full-contact workouts, according to Dan Woike and Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Davis, who hasn’t played since December 17 due to a sprained left knee, underwent a reevaluation on Monday and team doctors determined that recent testing showed no damage to the knee.
Although Los Angeles hasn’t provided a specific timeline for Davis’ return, people with knowledge of the situation tell Woike and Turner that the big man could be back during the club’s upcoming six-game road trip. That trip will begin on Friday in Orlando and runs through Sunday, January 30.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- While the update on Davis was relatively positive, the same can’t be said of point guard Kendrick Nunn. As Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group relays, head coach Frank Vogel told reporters on Monday that Nunn’s right knee “didn’t respond well” during his ramp-up process, and his Lakers debut isn’t imminent. “Bone bruises are tricky, and his timeline is delayed,” Vogel said. “Still have no firm timeline on it, but he’s pulled back from workload until it calms down.”
- Stanley Johnson, back under contract on his third 10-day deal, scored 10 fourth-quarter points on Monday vs. Utah and played a key role in helping the Lakers snap their three-game losing streak. As Turner writes for The Los Angeles Times, Johnson’s impact and role keep growing and he’s making a strong case for a rest-of-season commitment.
- In case you missed it, Vogel is firmly on the hot seat, with the team said to be evaluating him on a game-to-game basis. In his latest Substack column, Marc Stein argues that, while Vogel isn’t blameless in Los Angeles’ up-and-down performance this season, holding him culpable for the team’s struggles is “outright laughable.”
Jazz Sign Danuel House To Second 10-Day Deal
2:14pm: The Jazz have officially announced House’s new 10-day contract.
8:14am: The Jazz intend to bring back forward Danuel House on a new 10-day contract, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). House’s first 10-day deal with the team, completed using a hardship exception, expired on Saturday night.
House began the season with the Rockets and has signed 10-day contracts with the Knicks and Jazz since being waived by Houston.
After barely playing for New York, House saw action in three games with Utah, averaging 5.3 PPG and 2.3 RPG on .417/.444/1.000 shooting in 18.0 MPG. The 28-year-old was a rotation player for the Rockets for the last few years, but was no longer in Houston’s plans as the organization pivoted toward a full-fledged rebuild.
The Jazz appear likely to re-sign House to a standard 10-day contract rather than another hardship deal. Utah still has two players – Jared Butler and Hassan Whiteside – in the health and safety protocols after Elijah Hughes exited them, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). However, the team also still has Denzel Valentine and Zylan Cheatham on active hardship contracts and wouldn’t be eligible for a third hardship addition.
On top of that, the Jazz currently only have 13 players on standard contracts. Our working assumption is that they’re required to add a 14th man very soon, since they dipped to 13 on January 4 and teams are only permitted to carry fewer than 14 players for up to two weeks at a time.
Given how many tweaks the league has made to its roster rules this season to account for COVID-related absences, it’s possible the hardship players Utah has signed in the last two weeks counted toward the team’s minimum roster count, but I don’t believe that’s the case.
House will earn $111,457 over the course of his new 10-day deal. Assuming it’s a standard 10-day contract, it will count for $95,930 against the Jazz’s cap.
Pincus’ Latest: Pacers, Mavs, Cavs, Blazers, Hawks, Avdija
As they weigh their options on the trade market in the next few weeks, the Pacers will be seeking shooting and players who fit head coach Rick Carlisle‘s system, sources tell Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.
As Pincus observes, this could make the Mavericks an intriguing trade partner for the Pacers. Reports have indicated that Dallas has interest in Myles Turner, and Carlisle may value some of his former players more than other teams would. According to Pincus, several rival executives had considered the Mavs the favorites to land Turner using a package that includes Dwight Powell as a salary-matching piece, plus either Jalen Brunson and/or Dorian Finney-Smith.
Turner’s health complicates matters, however. The Pacers’ big man is expected to be sidelined through the February 10 trade deadline due to a foot injury, which will likely temper enthusiasm among his potential suitors. Additionally, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link) that the Mavericks have recently backed off their pursuit of Turner as their defense has moved into the NBA’s top five.
While Turner may no longer be a top target, it’s still possible the Mavericks will consider moving Brunson or Finney-Smith for a roster upgrade, especially if they’re concerned about their ability to sign either player this summer, when they’ll reach unrestricted free agency. According to Pincus, there’s a sense around the league that Finney-Smith probably won’t get more than the full mid-level exception, whereas Brunson is “believed by many” to be seeking a four-year, $80MM deal.
Here’s more from Pincus:
- Rival teams don’t get the sense that the Cavaliers are making Isaac Okoro or Kevin Love readily available, Pincus says. That doesn’t mean that either player – especially Love – is untouchable, but it sounds like they’re not being actively shopped.
- There’s an expectation that the Trail Blazers will pursue deals that help them shed a few million dollars in salary to get under the luxury tax line, according to Pincus, who suggests Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic, and even Larry Nance Jr. are among Portland’s potential trade candidates. The Blazers gave up a first-round pick for Nance last summer.
- Some executives around the NBA believe the Hawks acquired a first-round pick from New York in the Cam Reddish trade in an effort to improve a potential offer for Sixers star Ben Simmons, writes Pincus. Philadelphia wasn’t interested in Reddish, Pincus adds.
- Multiple teams have interest in Wizards forward Deni Avdija, per Pincus. If Washington looks to upgrade its roster, it’s safe to assume Avdija is someone potential trade partners will ask about.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 1/18/2022
Hoops Rumors’ weekly live chat took place this afternoon. Click here to read the transcript of today’s chat.
Our next live chat will be on Tuesday, January 25 at 12:00pm CT.
Chandler Parsons Announces Retirement
Veteran forward Chandler Parsons has retired from basketball, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Parsons published an Instagram post today stating that he’s “excited for the next chapter of [his] life.”
“My entire life all I wanted to be was an NBA player,” Parsons wrote. “I didn’t even realize, or think what came with that, I just wanted to compete and play basketball at the highest level. I can proudly say, I did THAT!
“It wasn’t perfect, but it was a blast and I want to take a moment to thank every single person who helped me reach my dreams. My family, my friends, my AAU and high school program, University of Florida, thank you for preparing me and getting me ready for the journey. To the Rockets, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Hawks, thank you for believing in me and giving me an opportunity to live my dreams. To all the staff, trainers, doctors, coaches, teammates, agents, and most important the fans who supported me, THANK YOU.”
Parsons, who is 33, was the 38th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He appeared in a total of 440 regular season games for Houston, Dallas, Memphis, and Atlanta from 2011-20, averaging 12.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.7 APG on .462/.373/.713 shooting in 30.1 minutes per contest. He only saw action in 13 postseason contests, but played a key role for the Rockets and Mavericks in those games, putting up 18.1 PPG and 6.6 RPG on .437/.363/.690 shooting in 40.4 MPG.
Parsons’ best seasons came in Houston and Dallas from 2012-16 before he signed a four-year, $94MM+ contract with the Grizzlies during the 2016 offseason. Injuries subsequently derailed his career, as he appeared in just 95 total games across three seasons with Memphis.
Bad health luck continued to plague Parsons after he was traded to Atlanta — he was involved in a serious car accident in January 2020. The Hawks initially announced he had been diagnosed with a concussion and whiplash and Parsons’ lawyers later issued a statement indicating that the forward had suffered additional injuries in the accident, including disc herniation and a torn labrum.
Those injuries ultimately led to the early end of Parsons’ career, according to Charania, who says a lawsuit the 33-year-old filed in response as a result of that accident has been settled for a “substantial amount.”
It’s an unfortunate final chapter for Parsons’ playing days, but his statement on Instagram makes it sound as if he’s at peace with his decision to retire.
“It’s been a crazy last couple years and has put a lot of things in perspective,” Parsons wrote. “I’ve had so many ups and downs and thankful for every single one of them.”