Nets Mulling Another Run At Dwight Howard?
8:07pm: Tim Bontemps of the New York Post hears the Nets have no interest in going after Howard again, in spite of the earlier report.
10:10am: With the Lakers struggling and Dwight Howard frustrated, the Nets are considering making another run at the All-Star center, according to Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com (Sulia link). Rudolph reports that Nets GM Billy King has been quietly searching for a third team that could include an attractive piece that would help facilitate a trade between the Lakers and Nets.
When the Magic were attempting to find a trade partner for Howard at last year's deadline and again over the summer, the Nets topped D12's wish list. However, Orlando ultimately ended up sending Howard to another one of the clubs on a wish list that also included the Lakers and Mavericks. While Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld reported this morning that trading Howard again isn't something the Lakers are currently considering, the Nets feel like L.A. would at least think about it, for the right price, according to Rudolph.
Rudolph indicates that King was preparing an offer that would have included Brook Lopez going to the Timberwolves and Kevin Love heading to the Lakers, with a handful of smaller pieces also included in the deal. The Nets believed the Lakers would be intrigued by Love, but the plan suffered a blow when the Wolves' big man was sidelined for two months with a broken hand.
King will continue to search for a third team that could facilitate a Howard trade, but won't make landing the big man the priority that he did a year ago, according to Rudolph.
D-League Moves: Jones, Nets, Grizzlies, Rockets
We’ll track Tuesday’s D-League assignments and recalls right here, with additional moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Rockets announced today that they have re-assigned forward/center Donatas Motiejunas to the Vipers. The move will create roster space for Terrence Jones, who was recalled earlier today.
- The Nets announced that have assigned forward Tornike Shengelia and guard Tyshawn Taylor to the Springfield Armor. This will be the second stint for both players in the D-League this season. Shengelia was a practice favorite of former coach Avery Johnson.
- On the heels of their trade with the Grizzlies, the Cavaliers have recalled Kevin Jones from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Jones, who was assigned to the Canton Charge just yesterday, helped lead the team to a 78-69 victory over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, racking up 25 points and 11 boards.
- The Rockets will recall Terrence Jones from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. In his four D-League stints this season, Jones has appeared in 12 games, averaging 19.1 PPG and 9.8 RPG.
Amico On Gay, Kings, Millsap, West, Oden
The latest piece from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is brimming with juicy material, so let's dive right in.
- Even though the Grizzlies are reportedly in a "holding pattern" regarding trades, Memphis is still talking to other teams about moving Rudy Gay. The clubs engaged most heavily in those discussions are the Bobcats, Timberwolves, Suns and, more recently, Hawks. Nonetheless, a source tells Amico not to expect a Gay trade until after the All-Star break.
- Speaking of holding patterns, that appears to be the current state of any potential Kings sale, Amico writes. Whatever happens, it's "pretty clear" this is the final season for Geoff Petrie as GM. He's in the final year of his deal, and the 64-year-old reportedly wants to retire.
- We heard Friday about the Nets' possible interest in Paul Millsap, and Amico confirms Brooklyn, along with the Bucks and Nuggets, are among teams that could make a push for Millsap at the deadline. Most of the teams in that mix would want to offer Millsap an extension immediately upon acquiring him, since he's in the final year of his contract.
- Like Millsap, David West is another power forward set to hit the unrestricted free agent market, but the Pacers are confident they can re-sign him, Amico reports. That's why the team is largely ignoring trade offers for him.
- Greg Oden hopes to sign with a team around the All-Star break or right after the trade deadline. Interested clubs include the Celtics, Heat, Mavericks and Cavaliers.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Nets, Sullinger
- Knicks star Carmelo Anthony says he feels re-energized after returning to a regular diet after fasting for two weeks, writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Isola mentions that during Anthony's fast, his on-court performances had been mixed.
- With only one game this past week, the extra time off should only be of benefit to the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday. He also notes that Felton, who wants to play against Boston on Thursday, thinks that next weekend is a more realistic return date from injury.
- Although prone to injury because of his energetic and all-out style of play, Gerald Wallace says he's not changing his game (Roderick Boone of Newsday reports). Later, Boone discusses Keith Bogans success as one of the Nets' more productive role players.
- Greg Payne of ESPN Boston thinks that Jared Sullinger deserves to be selected for the NBA's Rookie-Sophomore game during All-Star Weekend and notes that head coach Doc Rivers and many of the Celtics players strongly agree.
Odds & Ends: Union, Gay, Magic, West, Adelman
It's been quite an evening in the NBA, as a third of the nine games on the docket went to overtime. It was also a rare night when both the Wizards and Bobcats recorded wins. As we wait to find out more about trade candidates and the Suns coaching situation tomorrow, here's the rest of the news from around the Association.
- A day after the release of a report detailing abuses of power by players union executive director Billy Hunter, Nets star Deron Williams called for changes from "top to bottom" in the organization, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
- HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler says the Magic aren't interested in Rudy Gay, but wouldn't be surprised to see the team get involved in a trade that sends Gay elsewhere. Orlando's $17.8MM trade exception allows Orlando to get involved as a middleman, as Kyler points out (All Twitter links).
- In a piece that looks back on the Magic's in-season trades from years past, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel argues that Nikola Vucevic has become the team's No. 1 trade chip and urges the front office to hold on to him.
- David West won't let his impending free agency distract him from his work with the Pacers, as HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy documents via Sulia.
- Wolves coach Rick Adelman won't be returning to the team anytime soon as he continues to tend to his ailing wife, GM David Kahn told reporters, including Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Assistant coach Terry Porter will continue to lead the team in Adelman's stead.
Nets Interested In Paul Millsap?
Though he'll be a unrestriced free agent this summer and has been the subject of frequent trade rumors this season, Paul Millsap isn't eager to leave the Jazz. The team has reportedly been in no rush to trade him or Al Jefferson, but when the deadline comes around, Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweets that the power forward could wind up in Brooklyn. Amico hears the Nets may make a play for the seventh-year veteran, though he cautioned that such a move shouldn't be deemed "likely" at this point.
Brooklyn's incumbent power forward, Kris Humphries, has disappointed after re-signing for two years and $24MM this past offseason, and has fallen out of the starting lineup. Earlier this season, the team was reportedly pursuing Ersan Ilyasova, who was the Nets' first choice over the summer before they re-signed Humphries. When Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors examined Humphries' trade candidacy, he noted reports that suggested the Nets were never all that high on him, so it's reasonable to expect they'd go after another power forward.
If the Nets want an upgrade, they'll probably have to do it via trade, since they're set to have no cap room in the summer. Acquiring Millsap at the deadline could be risky, as he could leave as a free agent, but trading for him would give the Nets his Bird rights, which would allow them to re-sign him despite their lack of space under the cap.
There have been conflicting reports on whether the Jazz are more likely to deal Millsap or Jefferson, both of whom are in the final year of their deals. A month ago, Hoops Rumors readers seemed split on which the Jazz would be better off trading, and a roughly equivalent number said the Jazz should trade them both.
Odds & Ends: Europe, Draft, Harden, Blatche
Recently, NBA commissioner David Stern said that he could see a franchise in Europe sometime in the next couple of decades. While the idea of a team on the other side of the pond, perhaps in England, remains a possibility, it won't happen right away, writes Oliver Holt of the Daily Mirror. “We have more intensity,” Stern said. “We play 82 games in 171 days. For us, it would not work unless we had multiple teams in Europe who could play against each other regularly…There are long-term strategic issues that mean it will not be happening any time soon. But the UK remains a very intriguing market to us.” Here's tonight's look around the league..
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com revealed his first big board for the 2013 NBA Draft and placed Kentucky's Nerlens Noel at the top of the list. Maryland center Alex Len, who some have speculated could be the No. 1 pick in the draft, checks in at No. 4 on Ford's list.
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld runs down the best moves so far as we approach the midway point of the season. The best trade acquisition of the year goes to the Rockets for the James Harden trade while the Nets get the nod for best free agent pickup for big man Andray Blatche.
- Count former NBA big man Shaquille O'Neal amongst those who is against the current "one-and-done" system in college basketball for players ascending to the pros, writes the Associated Press. If it were up to O'Neal, there would be a "three-and-done" mandate in place before college players could enter the NBA.
Lakers Rumors: Howard, Gasol, Blake, DPE
The Lakers' new game plan involves increasing Kobe Bryant's role on defense, having him guard opponents' top wing players. The approach was certainly effective last night, as the Lakers beat the Bucks by 16, and Brandon Jennings told reporters after the game that Kobe played "probably the best defense anybody's played on me since I've been in the league" (Twitter link via Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register). As the Lakers look to continue their winning ways on the court, here are the latest off-court notes on the club:
- Brook Lopez is now trade-eligible, which would suggest that trade rumors connecting Dwight Howard to the Nets may be renewed. However, Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork.com hears from a source close to Nets management that Brooklyn's interest in D12 may not be as strong as it once was: "It's not as cut and dried as it was last year, when the feeling was go ahead and pretty much gut the team for Dwight, give up a bunch of draft picks and players and take back bad contracts. That feeling isn't there anymore."
- Regardless of the Nets' interest or lack thereof, exploring trades involving Howard isn't even something that's on the table for the Lakers, says Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
- The Lakers are leaning toward keeping Pau Gasol at the trade deadline in part because they're not 100% sure Howard will remain in L.A. long-term, and they don't want to risk losing both of their All-Star bigs in a matter of months, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com has details on how Gasol and Steve Blake are recovering from their respective injuries.
- GM Mitch Kupchak confirmed to reporters, including Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, that the Lakers have requested a disabled player exception for Jordan Hill. Kupchak expects to hear back from the league within a week or so. I outlined on Monday what a DPE would mean for the team.
Atlantic Rumors: Bynum, Celtics, Carlesimo, Green
The Sixers have lost 16 of their last 22 games to fall into ninth place in the Eastern Conference, but Andrew Bynum provided a glimmer of hope Monday, telling reporters, including John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer, that he's feeling minimal pain in his knees and hopes to make his season debut around the All-Star break. While the Sixers continue to wait for their prize summer acquisition, here's the latest on their Atlantic Division rivals.
- Celtics basketball president Danny Ainge believes the five weeks or so between now and the trade deadline will be crucial, but as Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe details, Ainge is satisfied with what he's seeing from his squad, which has won five in a row. "Right now we don’t have a real need and we have players like Jason Collins and Leandro Barbosa who we really like and are hardly playing, so I don’t really see a need to bring someone else in, at least at this moment," Ainge said. "We’re happy with our roster and we’re looking for improvement but we feel like we have plenty of bodies and Chris Wilcox should be back in not too long. I don’t think there’s any need to bring in someone right now to sit on the end of our bench."
- Joe Johnson doesn't put too much stock in the interim tag on coach P.J. Carlesimo's title and regards him as the full-fledged boss of the Nets, as he tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
- Gerald Green was squeezed out of the Nets' plans this season when they used their taxpayer's midlevel exception on Mirza Teletovic instead, Bondy notes, but Green nonetheless has affection for recently fired coach Avery Johnson, who helped him resurrect his career.
- Mike Woodson has reached J.R. Smith in ways other coaches haven't, Newsday's Al Iannazzone examines.
Odds & Ends: Grizzlies, Gelabale, Van Gundy
There has been lots of trade talk surrounding the Grizzlies, particularly small forward Rudy Gay, but Jeff Caplan of NBA.com opines that this team deserves the opportunity to stay together and make a run at the title in 2013. Power forward Zach Randolph agrees with that sentiment. "That’s what happens when you get new owners," said Randolph. "Mr. [Michael] Heisley (the Grizzlies’ previous owner), he had a vision of keeping us all together. He took care of all of us to build a team and try to win a championship. Now the new owner probably wants to do something different. But it’s a business." Here's more from around the league…
- Spanish team Valencia Basket announced that they have granted Mickael Gelabale permission to travel to the U.S. to negotiate a deal in the NBA, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The forward has an NBA out in his contract with Valencia to exercise by end of January. If Gelabale doesn't find an agreement in NBA, he will return to Spain to finish out the season with Valencia.
- Former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy spoke to Chris Mannix of NBC Sports (on Twitter) about why he wouldn't be interested in the Nets' head coaching job. "I just don't think that's a place [my family] would relocate to at this point," Van Gundy explained.
- Van Gundy also expressed a similar opinion to Caplan and said that he didn't understand why the Grizzlies would move Gay right when they are accomplishing the kind of success that they've been building for (Twitter link).
- Derek Page of HoopsWorld checked in with Rockets rookie Terrence Jones and wonders if he is NBA ready at this stage. Jones has been shuttled between Houston and the D-League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers this season.
- The D-League's influence is growing bigger and bigger every year, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. Nearly 30% of the NBA's current players have had D-League experience. This season, a record 49 NBA players have been assigned a record 100 times to the D-League. For a full list of this year's assignments and recalls, check out our handy running post.