Knicks Considering Martin, Amundson
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes that the Knicks have had internal discussions about possibly going after Kenyon Martin or Louis Amundson. New York's interest stems from concerns about their frontcourt depth as both Rasheed Wallace and Marcus Camby are yet to return from injuries. Although coach Mike Woodson told reporters that Wallace would be available at some point after the All-Star break, there appears to be some doubt about just how effective he'll be. As for Camby, Woodson said that he really doesn't know when the 38-year-old center will return.
With their roster currently at 15, the Knicks would have to release one of their guaranteed contracts or find a way to create a roster spot via trade in order to sign a free agent. Should the team stand pat heading up to the trade deadline, Kennedy thinks that New York will wait and see just how productive Wallace will be once he re-joins the lineup before determining whether or not they will look to sign Martin or Amundson for the remainder of the season.
We've heard that the Lakers and 76ers have also been considering Amundson, whereas Martin doesn't seem to have been drawing much interest outside of New York lately. Kennedy notes that teams will have until April 17, which marks the final day of the regular season, to sign free agents.
Heat Sign Varnardo For Remainder Of Season
FEBRUARY 4th: Varnado's deal is paying him him a prorated $473K this season and is non-guaranteed next season for nearly $789K, according to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (on Twitter).
JANUARY 30th: The Heat have officially signed Varnado for the remainder of the season, according to a team release. Varnado's represents the 14th guaranteed contract on Miami's roster, so if the Heat intend to keep an open roster spot for Greg Oden or anyone else, the team would have to release Chris Andersen when his second 10-day deal ends.
JANUARY 29th: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports that the Heat are working to finalize a deal with Jarvis Varnado for the rest season, also noting that a decision had to be made today after the 6'9 power forward completed two 10-day contracts with the team (Twitter links).
Varnado has appeared in a total of seven games this season, including five with the Celtics and two with Miami. Although the former Mississippi State standout had originally been drafted in the second round of the 2010 NBA draft by the Heat, Varnado spent nearly two years in Europe in addition to a brief stint with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League, where he averaged 14 PPG, 10 RPG, 3.9 BPG, and 30.5 MPG in 10 contests. This year marks his first set of appearances in an NBA regular season.
Heat Re-Sign Chris Andersen
WEDNESDAY, 11:25am: The Heat have officially re-signed Andersen to a second 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. Andersen's initial deal expired overnight, while his new deal is set to expire on February 8th.
TUESDAY, 9:39pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that Chris Andersen will sign another 10-day contract with the Heat on Wednesday. The 34-year-old veteran played his first game of the season with Miami last Friday, tallying two points and two rebounds in four minutes of play against the Pistons.
With Jarvis Varnado recently re-signed, the addition of Andersen will push the Heat's roster limit to the maximum of 15. Should Miami decide to keep the 10-year veteran beyond this next deal, they would have to offer him a guaranteed contract for the rest of the season.
The Heat now have a bigger sample size to evaluate Andersen's ability to contribute, as the team has six games over the span of the next ten days (compared to just three games during his first deal). Looking at his per game averages with Denver in 2011/12 (5.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 15.2 MPG), it will be interesting to see if head coach Erik Spoelstra will give the 6'10 forward more minutes to showcase himself over the next week and a half.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, Johnson, Oden
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News says that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will likely know by tomorrow about whether or not the NBA will approve their Disabled Player Exception for the injured Jordan Hill (Twitter link). With the roster currently at 14, an exception worth $1.78MM would be a very valuable asset for a team that would have otherwise only have a veteran's minimum deal or a small, pro-rated portion of their mini mid-level exception to offer free agents at this point during the season. You'll find the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links from around the NBA here:
- Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge says the team currently has no needs and will wait and see what transpires over the next few weeks to get a better feel if a move has to be made or not (Adi Joseph of USA Today reports).
- Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, who recently returned from an 11-game absence for family reasons, sounded like he wanted the team to keep Chris Johnson (LSU) and Mickael Gelabale for the rest of the season, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- Grizzlies guard Chris Johnson, whose 10-day contract is set to expire on Friday night, is making a strong case to be brought back for another deal, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. GM Chris Wallace described Johnson as a "seamless fit" so far.
- Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald doesn't think the Heat are the best fit for Greg Oden, citing that if healthy, the former number one overall pick could find more playing time and a better comfort level elsewhere. Even if the team uses its taxpayer mid-level exception to land Oden this summer, Goodman thinks that the luxury tax impact might not be worth the investment either.
- When asked directly about the possibility of playing for the Cavaliers, Oden replied: "I'm worried about the knee. That's it," later saying that it was too early for him to be thinking of a destination. Oden added that he wants to take his rehab slow, and that while he could possibly play today if he wanted to, he wants to avoid the risk of having the same setbackthat he had in Portland (Doug Lesmerises and Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer report).
Sefko On Dwight, Marion, Kaman
Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW, who believes that the Mavericks will have at least one new player after the trade deadline, engaged in a chat with his readers today and answered a number of questions about the team. Here are some of the highlights:
- Any possible deal for Dwight Howard would have to hinge on the inclusion of Shawn Marion, and adding O.J. Mayo to the discussion could give the deal some legs. Since the Nets still possess the more attractive players, Dallas would have to get a third team into the mix in order to sweeten their offer to the Lakers.
- Chris Kaman could be of worth to a team looking to shed a large contract within the next coming weeks. One hypothetical scenario would include Kaman being packaged with younger assets to the Celtics in exchange for Paul Pierce (with a third team involved). Although the Mavericks would have to bear Pierce's contract in 2013/14, they would subsequently have a good amount of cap room that summer. Sefko makes it clear that while he isn't necessarily promoting a Kaman-for-Pierce swap, he suggests that those type of deals may be available.
- Free agency remains the team's best avenue toward rebuilding, especially since they don't currently possess enough trade assets to pull off a major deal or can acquire anything that would be considered long-term help via trade. He also notes that other than Marion, the only enticing pieces on the Mavericks are the one-year contracts that might interest teams looking for financial relief.
- Sefko wonders if Rodrigue Beaubois' recent increase in playing time is meant to to boost his trade market value, or if it's because Rick Carlisle thinks he can be a viable contributor down the stretch.
- With better financial opportunities possibly waiting in the wings this summer, Elton Brand could be tough to retain once his contract expires at the end of the year.
Atlantic Links: Bynum, Carlesimo, Rondo, Raptors
Led by Jrue Holiday, the 76ers remain three games out of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Significant help in the form of another all-star caliber player could be on the way within the next several weeks, as Andrew Bynum has continued to make progress toward his goal of possibly returning to practice next week, notes Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com. The 7'0 center has been plagued by bone bruises in both knees since the start of the season. With that aside, here are more news and notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York reports that Nets GM Billy King will meet with owner Mikhail Prokhorov on Wednesday to discuss P.J. Carlesimo and the job he's done so far as the interim head coach. While Carlesimo has done an exceptional job after replacing Avery Johnson, Prokhorov is said to still be enamored with going after big names such as Phil Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy in the offseason.
- According to A. Sherrod Blakeley of CSNNE.com, Celtics guard Rajon Rondo will get a second opinion on his ACL injury from Dr. James Andrews, who is considered be arguably "the best orthopedic surgeon in the business."
- Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun lays out the Raptors' top five pressing issues as they inch closer to the deadline, calling their interest in Rudy Gay the "most likely to come to fruition" rumor, examining the return of both Andrea Bargnani and Jonas Valanciunas from injury, Terrence Ross' progression into coach Dwane Casey's crunch-time lineup, and the continued acclimation of Landry Fields. With regard to Bargnani, Ganter thinks that Casey may have to provide a significant role at the expense of Ed Davis' minutes in order to showcase the 7-footer's health.
- Eric Koreen of the National Post doesn't think that Gay is the cure-all answer for the Raptors, who still have many other important questions to answer regardless of whether they land him or not. Among those question marks involve the franchise's commitment to GM Bryan Colangelo, the need for more significant roster moves, and the struggles of point guard Kyle Lowry.
- Doc Rivers doesn't appear too concerned about his players making an adjustment without Rondo, saying that a "no-point guard system" is something that the second unit has already found success with, writes Greg Payne of ESPN Boston.
- Mike Woodson will place a higher priority on getting Knicks three point sharpshooter Steve Novak more involved in the offense, says Ian Begley of ESPN New York.
Kings/Seattle Rumors: Tuesday
We'll keep any of today's Kings/Seattle-related updates below:
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com says that even if Sacramento's legal challenges buy more time, he isn't sure it necessarily means an eventual victory against the move to Seattle (Sulia link). He also mentions that although the league would prefer to have the situation resolved by the Board of Governors meeting on April 18-19, it would be willing to carry on discussions into the summer, even if it meant having to prepare individual season schedules for Sacramento and Seattle.
- Mark Mastrov made a strong impression on local investors yesterday after explaining his vision of building a new arena and keeping the Kings in Sacramento, wrote Ryan Lillis, Dale Kasler, and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. Mayor Kevin Johnson described the meeting as a “positive step forward in our effort to keep the Kings,” while others who attended added that Mastrov has brought added confidence, optimism, and hope to the table.
- Kasler also reports that a bankruptcy trustee who controls seven percent of the Kings will bring in “special litigation counsel” to help make the claim that the team's minority owners are illegally being denied the right to match the purchase offer from Chris Hansen and the Seattle group. While the Maloofs and Hansen view this claim as a non-issue, University of New Hampshire sports law expert Michael McCann thinks that litigation may interfere with the Seattle group’s plan to have the sale approved by mid-April and could possibly delay the franchise from moving for another year at the least.
Finnan On Cavs, Varejao, Draft Targets, Speights
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald hears that Cavaliers GM Chris Grant could be looking to deal Luke Walton, Daniel Gibson, Omri Casspi (all expiring contracts), or even Marreese Speights (citing ESPN's Marc Stein) by the February trade deadline. He also shared a few more noteworthy tidbits in his NBA Notes piece:
- One reason why the team won't look to move Anderson Varejao is that he could be one of LeBron James' preferred counterparts should the current Heat star look to eventually return to Cleveland.
- Indiana's Cody Zeller, Kentucky's Nerlens Noel, and Maryland's Alex Len are among the top talented big men that the Cavs could target in June's NBA draft. Finnan adds that the addition of Marreese Speights has no bearing on the team's interest in drafting a big man during the offseason.
- Due to his ability to veto his inclusion in a trade, Speights lost his Bird Rights, which essentially prevents Cleveland from being able to exceed the cap to re-sign him. The 6'10 forward owns a $4.5MM player option for next season, but could end up pursuing a multi-year deal this summer if he plays well for the rest of the year.
Western Notes: Kobe, Ridnour, Odom
- Earlier today, HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler answered some of his followers' questions on Twitter, saying that he doesn't think the Lakers aren't looking to move Dwight Howard before the deadline, Mike D'Antoni's job isn't necessarily safe right now, and that the Grizzlies aren't currently looking to make a deal with the Celtics (All Twitter links).
- Luke Ridnour has been a productive and dependable stop gap for the Timberwolves in spite of all the injuries he's handled this year, notes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune.
- Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro wants Lamar Odom to be more aggressive on the offensive end, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Another 6'10 forward has been making waves in Los Angeles, albeit for the purple and gold. In another article, Ben Bolch examines Earl Clark's breakout year as a starter for the Lakers.
- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin tells Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune that he wants to groom Gordon Hayward into a player who can be counted on to close games.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says there's no doubt in his mind that Dirk Nowitzki will be an All-Star again, writes Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW.
- Jason Smith has played with
a reckless abandon that has earned the attention and respect from his
teammates and the Hornets coaching staff, observes John
Reid of NOLA.com. - Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post makes a case for why Warriors guard Stephen Curry was the biggest snub of this year's All-Star game.
Zgoda On Roy, Gelabale, Johnson, Trades, Kahn
Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune opined that Brandon Roy's current rehab treatment could be a way for the Timberwolves to bide time in case they need his $5MM contract in a trade near the deadline, noting that it couldn't be used in a deal if he were to retire. In the rest of tonight's column, Zgoda addressed a few more hot topics that have been brewing in Minnesota:
- He also clarifies that if the team wants to keep both Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson, they'd have to find a way to free up a roster spot as a player can only sign two 10-day contracts before his next deal becomes fully guaranteed. Dealing Louis Amundson for a future draft pick or waiving a player could also be considered.
- On the trade front, he identifies Derrick Williams as the best piece they can offer in a meaningful deal by the trade deadline unless they deem Nikola Pekovic expendable.
- To expand on Pekovic, Zgoda notes that the Montenegrin center is set to hit the free agent market this summer and could be dealt by the deadline or in an offseason sign-and-trade if management doesn't want to commit to the $12MM-$14MM that he could command on the free agent market.
- With this season being GM David Kahn's final of a four year deal, Zgoda wonders if Kahn will be considered the right fit to continue to lead the front office.
- Rick Adelman's return to the team is dependent on the continued improvement of his wife's health, which could allow him to rejoin the team as soon as this Wednesday.