Atlantic Notes: Carmelo, Smith, Celtics, Humphries
Here's the latest out of the Atlantic, where the 76ers' Sunday win extended their division lead to three games:
- Carmelo Anthony wasn't on board with the Knicks' signing of J.R. Smith, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. While Anthony's public comments indicated he was behind the move, Carmelo "was not gung-ho and was 'hurt' Knicks upper management tossed his advice out the window," according to Berman.
- WEEI.com's Paul Flannery examines how the Celtics might fill the void in the middle, following Jermaine O'Neal's wrist injury and Chris Wilcox's heart condition.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes that Kris Humphries was cryptic when asked if he'd waive his no-trade clause for the right deal: "Would you jump off a bridge? It depends how high it is. It depends on if there’s a drowning baby in the water…. Cause if you jump in the summer, the water was warm enough, you know it’s deep underneath." Humphries' point, I believe, is that his decision would vary depending on where the Nets intended to send him.
- The Nets' MarShon Brooks isn't worried about the trade deadline, as he tells Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger.
Lakers, Celtics Talked Rajon Rondo
Rajon Rondo's 24-point, 10-assist performance wasn't quite enough to beat the Lakers yesterday, but only a few days earlier, the Celtics' rivals had been talking about acquiring the point guard. According to Mike Breshanan of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers and Celtics discussed a potential Rondo trade last week, though talks didn't go far.
"Unless [the Lakers] give up [Pau] Gasol, they're not going to get a top-level point guard," a person familiar with the situation told Breshanan. Assuming Los Angeles is unwilling to move Andrew Bynum, I'd think this goes without saying. A package of Steve Blake and Metta World Peace isn't about to solve the team's point guard issues.
While a blockbuster deal is still possible, it doesn't appear likely at this point. Breshanan says a trade for the Timberwolves' Michael Beasley is more probable than any major move involving Gasol or a top point guard. With three days left until the deadline, Kobe Bryant and his Lakers teammates are looking forward to regaining some sense of certainty for the rest of the season.
"I think it will have a great effect," Bryant said. "Guys can just go out and play instead of waking up and checking their phones all the time to make sure they didn't miss a call from their agent."
Odds & Ends: Celtics, Raptors, McGee, Heat, Gasol
A look at some items from around the Association..
- The increased value of draft picks makes it unlikely that the Celtics will get what they're looking for in exchange for one of their Big Four, says Sean Grande of CSNNE.com. It's possible that a deal will get done before the deadline, but unlikely.
- Kevin Garnett has seen 16 trade deadlines come-and-go during his time in the league and isn't fixated on trade talks, writes CSNNE.com's Jessica Camerato.
- The Raptors aren't planning on making a major move at the deadline, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post. Earlier this week we learned that the Blazers have interest in Jose Calderon but finding the right deal for the point guard could be difficult.
- With the Wizards open to trading JaVale McGee, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if the Heat should make a move for him. Winderman doesn't think that Miami should risk tinkering with their chemistry by adding someone like McGee and is also wary of the club taking on Andray Blatche.
- Lakers big man Pau Gasol heard his name in trade rumors on Friday but did his best to tune them out, writes Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register.
- Ryan Ripley of Ridiculous Upside looks at five standout players in the D-League who are getting less than 28 minutes of burn per game.
Kennedy On McMillan, Allen, Bogut, Jackson
Here's the latest from Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld..
- Nate McMillan has lost the locker room in Portland, according to sources close to the situation. One source adds that there’s a growing number of players who would like to see McMillan ousted with assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff taking over as interim head coach. The Blazers have lost 11 of their last 16 games, including losses to the Wizards, Kings, and Warriors.
- The Celtics are seeking a young player and first-round draft pick in exchange for Ray Allen and that's an asking price that's likely too rich for the Clippers' blood. Even if Los Angeles was willing to meet the C's asking price, the bigger issue is that they don't have a first-round pick in this year's draft.
- If the Bucks decide to trade Andrew Bogut, they will package Stephen Jackson in the same trade. Jackson has butted heads with head coach Scott Skiles and yesterday one executive told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that he predicts no one will touch the veteran unless he is bought out by the Bucks.
Odds & Ends: Bogut, Rondo, Blatche
The talk of a 10-game night across the association has been about the health of two point guards whose absence could alter the plans of a pair of teams rumored to be among the most active nearing Thursday's trade deadline. Ricky Rubio of the Wolves tweeted that he'll receive an MRI on his left knee, which he hurt in his team's loss to the Lakers tonight. The team fears he has a torn ACL, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry of the Rockets was hospitalized with a fever and abdominal distress, HoopsWorld reports. Here's what's happening elsewhere:
- Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examines the trade candidacy of Bucks center Andrew Bogut. Bogut's agent David Bauman said there are several teams interested in talking to Bucks GM John Hammond about his client.
- Rajon Rondo appears to be conflicted about how trades might affect the chemistry of the Celtics. Rajon Rondo, who saw best friend Kendrick Perkins dealt away at the deadline last year, told Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston he doesn't care about what a trade would do to the team's chemistry this year. Yet, to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, Rondo said, "You can't get chemistry if you bring in new guys."
- Jason Kidd came close to joining a team that had just won the title when he thought about joining the Spurs in 2003, so he sympathizes with Lamar Odom, who arrived via trade to join this year's defending champs, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. For the record, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told the Galloway & Company radio show today that the uproar concerning Odom has come and gone.
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld looks at the Grizzlies' early-season acquisition of Marreese Speights from the Sixers and wonders if that will wind up being the most effective deal of the year.
- Both John Reid of the New Orleans Times Picayune and Jim Eichenhofer of Hornets.com tweeted to note the progress of Lance Thomas, who signed with New Orleans for the rest of the season last month after the team gave him two 10-day contracts.
- The Wizards are willing to move anyone on the roster not named John Wall if another team will take Andray Blatche off their hands, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
- Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group notes the Warriors' lease in Oakland is up in 2017, and checks in with the progress of potential sites for a new home in Oakland and San Francisco. Venturing a guess, Kawakami has the San Francisco site as the most likely destination at this point.
- Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld proposes the Celtics as a potential destination for JaVale McGee, for whom the Wizards are reportly listening to offers.
- The Knicks starting lineup is in flux, and Newsday's Anthony Rieber takes a look at the quick changes engineered by coach Mike D'Antoni.
- Jeremy Evans' minimum salary contract expires at season's end, so time is running out for him to prove he can do more than win a dunk contest. Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune notes how his theatrics during All-Star weekend haven't earned him any extra minutes with the Jazz.
- Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press passed along Pau Gasol's kind words about Kevin Love, two players who could be Wolves teammates if a rumored Gasol/Michael Beasley swap takes place, Richardson notes. "He's got a will and determination to go after every ball," Gasol said of Love. "Even though he's a little undersized and lost some weight, he's still a powerful player and playing at a high level. I'm definitely impressed with him."
- With Richard Hamilton and Luol Deng ailing, it's been hard for Bulls GM Gar Forman to get a true handle on how effective his team really is, writes Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times. Forman must balance the team's current needs with its capability for long-term success, Hayes says.
- Bill Simmons of Grantland.com came out with his annual trade value column today in two parts, ranking the top 50 player assets across the league. The Heat's LeBron James is No. 1, meaning he'd be the player who would command the most in any trade, though James isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
- GM Sam Presti and the Thunder provide the small-market blueprint for Cavs GM Chris Grant, writes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Ganter On Howard, Smith, Rondo
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun conducted an in-house interview of fellow writer Mike Ganter, who held forth on a number of trade-related topics. (Video link) Here's what Ganter is hearing as the deadline draws near:
- Ganter believes there's no way the Magic can get fair value for Dwight Howard, and predicts they'll hold on to the big man at the deadline.
- Josh Smith tops the list of stars likely to be dealt. Smith has wanted out of Atlanta for a while, and is irked the Hawks didn't do more to promote his case to make the All-Star team this year.
- What the Nuggets got in the Carmelo Anthony was a "once in a lifetime" haul, and teams shouldn't expect to approach that as they look to unload superstars.
- The Celtics may break up their team, but don't expect Rajon Rondo to be going anywhere.
Berger On Gasol, Rondo, Jamison, Jackson, Okafor
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has a few late-Friday afternoon updates on the trade market for us. Here are the highlights:
- Berger echoes a number of other reporters who say that, while the Lakers and Rockets are discussing Pau Gasol, no agreement has been reached yet.
- The Celtics had been fielding offers for Rajon Rondo in recent weeks, but have disengaged from those talks.
- The Trail Blazers have "made it clear" they're accepting offers for Gerald Wallace.
- Antawn Jamison's camp is intrigued by the possibility of Jamison going to the Lakers, but Los Angeles hasn't expressed any sort of serious interest in the veteran, says Berger. Even if they were interested, I can't see a way the two teams could match up, given Jamison's $15MM+ cap figure. Nonetheless, the Cavaliers are aggressively seeking future assets for Jamison.
- One executive predicts that "no one's touching" Stephen Jackson unless he's bought out by the Bucks.
- In addition to pursuing offers for Chris Kaman, the Hornets are also shopping Emeka Okafor.
- The Timberwolves are gauging interest in Wayne Ellington and Anthony Tolliver.
The Celtics’ Asking Price For Ray Allen
The Pacers could use an upgrade at two guard, and president of basketball operations Larry Bird knows his old team in Boston has a good one who might be available. But Bird told Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com that the Celtics' asking price for Ray Allen was too high for his liking.
"When [Celtics GM] Danny [Ainge] and I talked about trading for Ray, he wanted Tyler Hansbrough and a first-round pick," Bird said. "If that's the value he's putting on Ray Allen, he ain't getting it. That tells me he's in no hurry to trade him."
While the Celtics' asking price for Allen could drop before next Thursday, Bird predicted that Boston's Big Three would remain intact for the rest of this season. Allen and Kevin Garnett are earning a combined $31MM+ in the final year of their deals, so simply letting those contracts expire would clear a good chunk of cap space for the Celtics this summer.
Latest On Chris Kaman
The Hornets continue to explore possible trades for Chris Kaman, according to SI.com's Sam Amick. The Rockets, Pacers, Warriors, Heat, and Celtics are among the teams still interested in the Hornets' center.
According to Amick, the Rockets and Warriors are reluctant to make a move for Kaman until they know more about Dwight Howard's situation — both teams are interested in acquiring Howard, even without assurances that he'd be around long-term.
Even if Houston, Golden State turn their focus to Kaman, they may have trouble finding a deal that works. With new ownership not yet in place, the NBA-owned Hornets are seeking draft picks or young players, and it seems unlikely any team will meet the league's demands at this point. Rival executives have complained about the complications that come with dealing with league officials in trade negotiations, according to Amick.
While Kaman is the Hornets' most likely trade candidate, virtually anyone on the roster is available for the right long-term assets, sources tell Amick.
Bogut Drawing Interest From Several Teams
11:13am: This is the first time since drafting Bogut that the Bucks aren't immediately turning away trade inquiries, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. However, Stein says Milwaukee is insisting Jackson is included in any deal, as Woelfel hinted at earlier. The Wizards are one of the teams most interested in Bogut, Stein adds, though a source says "the price is high."
9:00am: Andrew Bogut is still on the shelf with a fractured ankle, but that hasn't stopped teams from showing interest in him. According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, a "slew of teams" have discussed the possibility of acquiring the former first overall pick, either internally or with the Bucks.
The Bucks aren't on the verge of making any moves, but have engaged in several trade talks, and appear open to dealing anyone, says Woelfel. He adds that, while Bogut has never publicly expressed a desire to be dealt out of Milwaukee, there are "whispers" that a strained relationship with coach Scott Skiles, along with the team's lack of postseason success, may have the 27-year-old thinking about a change of scenery.
Woelfel names the Magic, Hawks, Celtics, Rockets, Hornets, Wizards, Bobcats, and Warriors as clubs who have some level of interest in Bogut. Some of those teams are more realistic suitors than others, but Woefel points out that Bogut's age and contract make him a potential fit for contenders as well as lottery teams.
The Bucks have a chance to be one of the league's more active teams at the trade deadline — Milwaukee possesses obvious trade candidates such as Beno Udrih and Stephen Jackson, and a less obvious trade candidate in Ersan Ilyasova. Woelfel says that ideally Jackson's contract could be included with Bogut's if the Bucks were to consider dealing their big center, though finding a logical match for their combined $21MM+ salary could be a challenge.