Atlantic Notes: Robinson, Nets, Datome
Lakers coach Byron Scott told reporters, including Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (on Twitter), that he dislikes the Celtics so much that he wouldn’t coach them had they ever been interested. It’s been years since Scott donned a purple and gold jersey, but his hatred of Boston doesn’t seem to have died down very much. Here’s tonight’s look at the Atlantic Division..
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (via Twitter) doesn’t expect to see the recently-waived Thomas Robinson wind up with the Nets. The Nets, along with the Spurs, Suns, Heat, and Hornets, were said to be one of the teams that have checked in with the former No. 5 overall pick, but Bontemps (link) hears that Brooklyn doesn’t have interest.
- The Celtics were heavily connected to Gigi Datome a couple of years ago but told reporters today, including A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (on Twitter), that Boston never made him an offer. The C’s acquired Datome from the PIstons in last week’s Tayshaun Prince trade.
- Iman Shumpert is no longer a member of the Knicks, but he believes prospective free agents will still want to come to New York this summer, Adam Zagoria of SNY writes. “Without a doubt, I mean it’s New York and I think that the guys in their locker room are happy to be playing here,” Shump said before the Cavs beat the Knicks, 101-83.
Five Teams In Talks With Thomas Robinson
Thomas Robinson has had conversations with the Spurs, Nets, Suns, Heat and Hornets in the wake of his buyout deal with the Nuggets, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The former No. 5 overall pick went to Denver in the deadline-day trade that sent Arron Afflalo to the Blazers.
The Suns can spend the most, with more than $3.247MM in cap room. Miami has a disabled player exception worth nearly $2.653MM it can spend. The Spurs have a prorated portion of their mid-level, worth about $2.4MM, while the Hornets have their room exception, which comes to about $2MM at this point. The exceptions that San Antonio and Charlotte possess reduce in value daily. The Nets are limited to the minimum salary, which also prorates on a daily basis.
Robinson has seen his minutes decline each season after his rookie campaign, when he was traded midseason from the Kings to the Rockets. Portland acquired him when Houston sent him out in a cap-clearing move that helped the Rockets sign Dwight Howard, but at each stop, the power forward has failed to live up to his draft position. Still, he’s an efficient rebounder, averaging 4.2 boards in 12.2 minutes per game this season.
Atlantic Notes: Mudiay, Young, Thomas
Former Sixers and current SMU coach Larry Brown said that Philadelphia has taken a strong liking to Emmanuel Mudiay, who is expected to be a top 3 pick in this year’s draft, Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “[Michael Carter-Williams] was rookie of the year and I know they have been interested in Emmanuel, and I thought, man, that is a backcourt made in heaven because they are both long and athletic,” Brown said. “I want to help in any way I can because I am sure it is obvious [Mudiay] is on their radar, and when the time comes I know the kid as well as anybody and would be happy to help.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Nets GM Billy King told reporters that Brooklyn will do its best to retain newly acquired forward Thaddeus Young, who can opt out of his deal this offseason, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com tweets.
- It was Carter-Williams’ poor outside shooting that led the Sixers to trade him, Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “Shooting is an important part of the game, increasingly so,” GM Sam Hinkie said. “We talk a lot about the way teams are build. When you watch games in June, there are a lot of three’s being shot and a lot of games being won in the balance of makes and misses. All the best teams are really strong behind the line.“
- The Knicks‘ failure to make an impact deal prior to Thursday’s deadline makes team president Phil Jackson‘s offseason trade of Tyson Chandler appear much more damaging to New York, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News writes. The big man could likely have been used to pry Reggie Jackson away from the Thunder, Isola opines.
- The Celtics now have excellent depth in their backcourt thanks to the trade for Isaiah Thomas, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. Discussing how Thomas would fit in with Boston, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said, “In time I think those things will be worked out. Isaiah is a guy that can play with either one of them [Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart] and actually with Marcus’ defensive abilities you could play all three of them together. But I think that he is a primary scorer at the point guard position but he’s a terrific passer and Avery and Marcus are fantastic defenders. I think we got three terrific guards now.”
Wolves Rumors: Garnett, Wiggins, Brown
The Wolves reportedly want to re-sign Kevin Garnett for another two years when his contract expires this summer, and he’s expected to take them up on that, a source told Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Minnesota insisted on Thaddeus Young instead of a first-round pick in the Kevin Love trade, and after dealing Young for Garnett on Thursday, coach/executive Flip Saunders guaranteed that Garnett will have a greater effect on the Wolves than the first-round pick ever would have, Zgoda tweets. Saunders said he tried to engage the Nets in conversations regarding the Love trade to see if he could acquire Garnett then, but Brooklyn resisted the idea, as Zgoda also relays (on Twitter). There’s more on Garnett amid the latest from Minnesota:
- Wolves owner Glen Taylor acknowledged the return of Garnett as a player bodes well for KG’s chances of becoming a part-owner, notes Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). “It’s just that he’s a player. But I think that opens up that possibility,” Taylor said. Still, there were some hard feelings when Garnett and the Wolves parted ways in 2007, and Taylor and the star haven’t said more than hello since, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press.
- The choice Andrew Wiggins made not to sign with Klutch Sports, the agency that represents LeBron James, played a key factor in the Cavs’ decision to put him in the Love trade, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said on SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link). Wiggins is a Bill Duffy client.
- The two-year deal that Lorenzo Brown signed with the Wolves on Thursday is a minimum-salary affair that’s non-guaranteed for next season, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
Timberwolves Acquire Kevin Garnett
8:28pm: The trade is official, the Nets have announced in a press release.
3:11pm: The Wolves want to re-sign Garnett for two more seasons this summer, according to Jon Kraczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links). Garnett has known of this desire, Krawczynski adds, speculating that it factored into his decision to waive the no-trade clause.
1:44pm: Kevin Garnett has agreed to waive his no-trade clause and the Nets will trade him to the Timberwolves for Thaddeus Young, reports TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). The teams had been waiting on him to give his OK to the deal that will send him back to where his NBA career began nearly 20 years ago. ASM Sports, the agency for Garnett, has confirmed the agreement via Twitter (hat tip to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post).
The 38-year-old is earning $12MM for the season, and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the campaign. The veteran has appeared in 42 games for Brooklyn this season, and is averaging 6.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 20.3 minutes per night. Garnett’s career averages are 18.3 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 3.8 APG. His career shooting percentages are .497/.276/.790.
Garnett has said in the past that he hopes to buy the Wolves when his playing days are over. The veteran had a no-trade clause in his contract and while he was reluctant to waive it all, he eventually did leave the door open for a deal that would bring him back to Minnesota. There was also strong interest from the Clippers and coach/executive Doc Rivers, but KG was against the idea of a buyout.
Young, 26, is making $9,410,869 this season, and he has a player option worth $9,971,739 for the 2015/16 campaign. The 6’8″ forward has appeared in 48 games for Minnesota this season, and is averaging 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 33.4 minutes per game. His career numbers are 13.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.5 APG. Young’s career slash line is .495/.319/.698.
Just a few days ago, it was reported that Wolves president Flip Saunders had shown little inclination towards trading Young. Of course, the deadline has a way of changing those things. Recently, our own Chris Crouse analyzed Young as a trade candidate.
Wolves Trying To Acquire Kevin Garnett
1:31pm: The Nets believe that Garnett will OK the deal, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
12:35pm: Belief is growing that Garnett will waive his no-trade clause, but he hasn’t decided yet, as Wojnarowski hears (Twitter link).
10:23am: The Wolves have “cautious optimism” that Garnett will waive his no-trade clause, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link).
9:40am: Garnett found out about Minnesota’s interest in a reunion weeks ago, but he wasn’t on board with the idea initially, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
8:35am: Timberwolves brass and Garnett will speak today about the trade possibility, as Bontemps hears (Twitter link). Meanwhile, a source insists to Kennedy that the Nets are quite enamored with Young (Twitter link).
8:27am: Garnett still won’t do a buyout in spite of strong interest from the Clippers and coach/executive Doc Rivers, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Still, Garnett is considering “the one trade scenario,” Wojnarowski says, presumably a reference to the Wolves idea. The Nets and Wolves have had a ton of talks about Young, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Young almost wound up with the Mavericks, and a deal that was in the works fell apart when Dallas wound up with Amar’e Stoudemire, Kennedy tweets.
8:06am: The fate of any deal is largely up to Garnett to decide at this point, Stein tweets.
THURSDAY, 7:52am: The talks are “exploratory,” a source told Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press, though Stein, in the most recent update of his story, notes that sources deemed the discussions “serious.” The Wolves are still debating the merits of relinquishing Young, who’s in his prime and has played better of late, for Garnett, a 20th-year vet, the AP scribe adds. Most people around the league don’t think KG would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post, and that’s the sense in Brooklyn, too, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. It’s unclear if the former Wolves star is prepared to put aside any lingering resentment toward owner Glen Taylor about the way they parted in 2007, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune indicates.
11:56pm: Garnett has been said to be unwilling to waive his no-trade clause as recently as the last few days, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets.
WEDNESDAY, 10:52pm: The Timberwolves and Nets are in talks regarding a trade that would return Kevin Garnett to Minnesota in exchange for Thaddeus Young, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. The 19-year NBA veteran has a no-trade clause in his contract, which means that Garnett could potentially veto any deal presented to him. Garnett spent his first 12 seasons in the NBA with Minnesota, and it would be a great ending to his storied career if he retired while wearing a Timberwolves jersey. The big man has also said that he hopes to buy the Wolves when his playing days are over.
The 38-year-old is earning $12MM for the season, and will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the campaign. The veteran has appeared in 42 games for Brooklyn this season, and is averaging 6.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 20.3 minutes per night. Garnett’s career averages are 18.3 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 3.8 APG. His career shooting percentages are .497/.276/.790.
Young, 26, is making $9,410,869 this season, and he has a player option worth $9,971,739 for the 2015/16 campaign. The 6’8″ forward has appeared in 48 games for Minnesota this season, and is averaging 14.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 33.4 minutes per game. His career numbers are 13.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.5 APG. Young’s career slash line is .495/.319/.698.
Thunder Discuss Enes Kanter Deal
The Thunder have had talks about acquiring disgruntled center Enes Kanter from the Jazz as they wait to decide whether to pull the trigger on the Brook Lopez–Reggie Jackson proposal with the Nets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Oklahoma City is making a hard push for Kanter, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News, but still, a strong belief remains that the Brooklyn deal will get done, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter). It not immediately clear whether Jackson would be involved in a Kanter trade. Oklahoma City has also talked to the Pacers as the Thunder search for alternatives to the Lopez-Jackson deal, but nothing materialized with Indiana, Wojnarowski tweets.
Kanter made it clear last week that he’s frustrated with his role and wants a trade
Nets, Thunder Close To Lopez, Jackson Deal
1:21pm: Stan Van Gundy says the Pistons aren’t moving on Jarrett Jack or Heat guard Norris Cole today, according to David Mayo of MLive.com (on Twitter).
1:01pm: The Thunder are looking at a deal with another team, according to Wojnarowski, who indicates that’s the holdup on the Jackson-Lopez front (on Twitter).
12:47pm: Garnett’s decision regarding his no-trade clause won’t affect the Lopez-Jackson deal, sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The Nets are ready to make it happen and are waiting on the Thunder, Mannix says. That would seem to suggest a two-teamer is most likely, but that’s just my speculation.
12:24pm: Jackson is enthusiastic about a potential deal to the Nets, league sources tell Wojnarowski, who hints that Brooklyn’s apparent willingness to unload Jack and sign Jackson to a lucrative deal this summer are major components to that. Jackson is indeed willing to sign long-term in Brooklyn, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (on Twitter), and that was key to Brooklyn’s pursuit of the would-be trade, as Wojnarowski reported earlier (below). Both Wojnarowski, in his full piece, and Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link) have the would-be two-teamer as Lopez to the Thunder for Perkins and Jones, though Wojnarowski says a broader structure of the deal involving other teams remains in play.
12:08pm: The Pistons are a possible landing spot for Jack, sources tell Windhorst (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Detroit would be a part of the Lopez-Jackson deal.
11:42am: The Nets could send Jack to the Wizards as part of a larger deal, a league source tells Wojnarowski (Twitter link)
11:09am: Jackson’s relationship with his teammates on the Thunder has deteriorated quite a bit, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
10:43am: The fate of a Nets-Thunder deal involving Jackson and Lopez rests with the Thunder, and for now it would be just a two team arrangement, reports Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
10:40am: The Nets are one of multiple options the Thunder are looking at regarding Jackson, but a deal between Brooklyn and Oklahoma City remains close, Broussard tweets.
10:20am: Jackson’s camp believes a deal will likely get done, Amick tweets. The Timberwolves and Sixers could be included, perhaps with the Thaddeus Young-for-Kevin Garnett possibility lumped in, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Nets are again looking to flip Perkins or have him conveyed elsewhere, Windhorst tweets.
10:15am: A deal is close, but not done, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The teams are talking about deal that would see Oklahoma City relinquish Jackson, Perry Jones III and Perkins as Nets feel out Jackson’s willingness to re-sign, as Wojnarowski writes in a full story. Brooklyn is prepared to part with Jack, and the team would make Jackson the starter of Deron Williams, Wojnarowski adds. League sources once more tell Wojnarowski that it’s believed Jackson will command between $13MM and $14MM this summer. Oklahoma City and Brooklyn are exploring potential third teams to add to the deal, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
10:04am: Brooklyn “needs to” include Jarrett Jack in any Jackson-Lopez deal, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). A deal might involve Perkins and Ish Smith heading Brooklyn’s way in addition to Jackson, tweets Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
9:49am: The Nets and Thunder are having serious talks about a deal involving Brook Lopez and Reggie Jackson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski reported minutes earlier that there was a decent chance the Nets and Thunder would regather momentum toward a trade involving Lopez if the Nets become convinced they can re-sign Jackson this summer (Twitter link). The Nets and Thunder went deep into discussions on Lopez last month, but those conversations didn’t involve Jackson. The Thunder appear to have been the party with interest in striking up the Lopez talks again while the Nets have seemed hesitant.
Jackson’s agent, Aaron Mintz, recently requested that the Thunder trade his client, who’s due for restricted free agency this summer. The Kings, Bucks, Heat, Pacers, Rockets and Nuggets all appear interested in swapping for Jackson, while there are conflicting reports about whether the Celtics are pursuing him. The 24-year-old turned down an extension offer in the neighborhood of four years and $48MM this past fall, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). That was around the time teams around the league thought he’d end up commanding $13-14MM a year this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported at the time.
Lopez is due a player option worth more than $16.744MM for next season, though there are conflicting reports about whether he’d pick it up. Talks between the Nets and Thunder would have sent a package including Kendrick Perkins and Jeremy Lamb to Brooklyn, and the Nets had reportedly spoken to the Wolves about Thaddeus Young and had interest in flipping Perkins to Minnesota for him. Still, Brooklyn remained reluctant to do such a deal with Oklahoma City, apparently because it didn’t want to relinquish Lopez in what would amount to a salary dump with a package centering on Perkins, in spite of the Young discussion.
Pistons Contact Nets About Joe Johnson
THURSDAY, 9:22am: The Pistons and Nets have found no traction in the talks, a Nets team source told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Both Bondy and the Windrem, who writes in a full piece, hear there’s “nothing” going on.
WEDNESDAY, 9:55pm: Johnson confirmed that the rumors about the Nets making him available via a trade are true, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post tweets.
5:52pm: A league source has informed Robert Windrem of NetsDaily (Twitter links) that the Nets aren’t seriously considering sending Johnson to Detroit. If the Nets wished to simply dump Johnson’s salary, they could have done so back in January, Windrem adds.
4:19pm: Detroit offered the Nets a package consisting of Brandon Jennings and a number of expiring contracts for Johnson, Youngmisuk reports (Twitter link). Jennings is out for the remainder of the season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon.
TUESDAY, 3:15pm: The Pistons have engaged the Nets to ask about trading for Joe Johnson, league sources tell Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). The Nets have at the very least been willing to trade Johnson since December, and some reports indicated that they were actively seeking to move him. It’s unclear just how motivated the Pistons are to make a deal, which would require the team to give up a boatload of assets to match Johnson’s $23.181MM salary.
Charlotte has heretofore been most prominently linked to Johnson, with talks that reportedly date back to January, when Brooklyn was discussing a three-way deal with the Hornets and Oklahoma City that involved Brook Lopez. Lance Stephenson was the centerpiece of the proposal that would have sent Johnson to Charlotte, but the Nets apparently aren’t interested in Stephenson at this point. The Nets seem disinclined to make a deal unless it helps them win this year, tweets Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has shown little hesitation to make bold moves, as his release of Josh Smith in December demonstrated. Johnson isn’t the superstar his salary suggests, but he’s a productive player and Brooklyn’s leading scorer at 15.5 points per game. He makes nearly $24.895MM next season, but his contract comes off the books after that, in advance of the much anticipated summer of 2016 when the salary cap is set to spike upward to around $90MM.
Kyler’s Latest: Dragic, Deng, Garnett, Lawson
The Knicks have engaged the Suns in talks as they keep an eye on Goran Dragic, just as the Lakers have done, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The Knicks and Lakers would be on board with trading for a player whom they could otherwise just wait to sign outright in free agency this summer, like Dragic, but it doesn’t seem that either would give up major assets in any such swap. Kyler has plenty more new information with the trade deadline just two days off, and we’ll hit the highlights here:
- Miami is open to trading Luol Deng, according to Kyler, who suggests that the veteran small forward isn’t garnering the sort of interest it would take for him to be traded. Kyler also lists Norris Cole, Chris Andersen and Danny Granger as players the Heat are making available, which jibes with earlier reports on all three.
- Golden State is “more than” interested in Kevin Garnett, Kyler hears, which advances a suggestion from Grantland’s Zach Lowe on Monday that the Warriors would like to try to convince Garnett to waive his no-trade clause. The 20th-year veteran reportedly has no plans to seek a buyout.
- The Bucks are “being linked” to Ty Lawson, Kyler writes, though it’s unclear just what sort of interest is there.
- The Bulls would think about trading Tony Snell for a veteran shooting guard who fits what they’re looking for, Kyler writes. Still, while Chicago is speaking generally about doing some deals before the deadline, the team doesn’t appear to be willing to give up what it would take, according to Kyler.
- The Suns are making Gerald Green available, according to Kyler.
- Charlotte has interest in Wilson Chandler, but the Hornets would prefer to trade for Arron Afflalo, as Kyler hears. That’s the reverse of the Blazers‘ apparent preference. The Bulls are “sniffing at” both players, too, Kyler adds, nonetheless casting doubt once more on whether Chicago is willing to give up the assets necessary to swing a deal.
- Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas have come up in trade rumors, but it’s more likely that the Raptors deal someone on an expiring contract, according to Kyler, naming Landry Fields, Tyler Hansbrough and Amir Johnson as examples.
- Sources close to the Pacers tell Kyler that David West is likely to opt in with the Pacers for next season, when his contract calls for him to make $12.6MM.
- There is “a sense” that the Magic are making Ben Gordon and Luke Ridnour available, Kyler says.