Eastern Notes: Magic, Nets, Heat, Cavs
The Magic are only two games back in the race for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference after their win against the Hawks on Saturday and forward Tobias Harris credits head coach Jacque Vaughn for the team’s improvement, writes Ken Hornack of Fox Sports Florida. “Coach got on us before the game about sharing the basketball and getting everybody else involved and being unselfish,” Harris said after he hit the game winner. “And that’s what we did, and that’s why we were able to be successful.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Nets have had their share of injuries this season but the team’s synergy is the reason they have remained in the playoff hunt, writes Roderick Boone of Newsday. Reserve big man Mason Plumlee certainly believes the team is playing well despite the hindrances. “I thought our offense looked great, man,” said Plumlee, who is averaging 16.2 minutes per game this season. “Everybody is going to talk about how well we shot it, but I thought it was because we were moving the ball, we were shooting in rhythm within the offense, and there’s a reason we shot a high percentage tonight. So hopefully we can carry that forward.” Brooklyn currently sits at eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 10-12.
- Although many of the team’s players will become trade-eligible on December 15th, the date that most offseason additions become movable, the Heat do not have many assets to improve the team, opines Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Winderman notes that trading any key player that was signed this summer would signal a failed offseason, which is something team president Pat Riley is unlikely to do. Because of this, Winderman projects Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts to remain on the roster through this season.
- GM David Griffin is looking to make a deal and the Cavs need an athletic swingman who can defend, according to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. With the team in no hurry to deal guard Dion Waiters due to his improved play over the last few weeks, Cleveland’s lack of assets may keep the team from bringing in a game-changer via trade. Finnan suggests signing Andrei Kirilenko as a possible solution since the Sixers are likely to waive him. However, the opportunity to sign the Russian forward may not exist until late in the season due to Kirilenko being absent from the league because of family issues.
Central Notes: McDermott, Mirotic, Waiters
Doug McDermott will likely be sidelined for six to eight weeks following surgery by team physicians to repair a small meniscus tear in his right knee, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago tribune (Twitter link). Before the injury, McDermott was off to a slow start to the season averaging just 3.2 points per game in 11.6 minutes per game for the Bulls.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- A series of injuries on the Bulls have created an opportunity for Nikola Mirotic and he has thrived in his increased role, writes Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald. Mirotic’s teammates are certainly noticing the stellar play of the forward. “Niko, he doesn’t know how good he is right now,” Derrick Rose said. “He can rebound, he can cut, he can pass. I don’t know what he can’t do on the floor.” Mirotic is shooting 43.9% from the field in 17.7 minutes per game during his rookie campaign.
- Cavs guard Dion Waiters chalks up his improved play to an attitude adjustment, writes Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Waiters’ role and minutes on the team have fluctuated and he was the subject of trade talks earlier this season. The up-and-down playing time clearly bothered the former fourth overall pick. “I would be mad before I even got in the game,” Waiters told Haynes. “I was mad, [but] it is what it is.” Now, Waiters is more understanding of his role in Cleveland and understands the team’s intention is to help him improve. “I was just fighting myself, man,” Waiters said. “That’s what I was doing. I just left it alone. I’m going to make the best of it. I’ve got good people in my corner who actually care for me. I’ll be good.”
- Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the most improved sophomores in the league, opines Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Coach Jason Kidd believes Antetokounmpo’s increase in free-throw attempts have been key to his success. “He’s learning how to play without having to score the ball, say shooting threes or shooting jump shots. He can live at the free-throw line. Some of the top players in this league, that’s what they do,” said Kidd. The forward has already shot 98 free-throw attempts in just 24 games this season after only shooting 202 attempts in 77 games last year.
Clippers, Grizzlies, Warriors In Hunt For Ray Allen
8:18pm: Doc Rivers said the Clippers are also interested in Allen, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Los Angeles had expressed an interest in Allen over the summer, but Rivers said in October that Allen wasn’t a candidate to join the team.
SATURDAY, 3:28pm: Allen’s agent, Jim Tanner, confirmed that their is a wide range of interest in his client around the league, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. In addition to the previously mentioned teams, the Grizzlies have also expressed interest in the veteran free agent, Charania notes.
4:00pm: Warriors GM Bob Myers told 95.7 The Game today that Golden State did reach out to Allen’s representatives, but Allen isn’t sure about what he wants to do, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group tweets.
THURSDAY, 9:01am: Ray Allen‘s name has drawn mention as the Warriors have engaged in internal discussions about their roster, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link). The Warriors have been evaluating their options regarding their backcourt, Kawakami also tweets, though it’s unclear if they’re looking at bringing in someone new or just thinking about giving more minutes to players who are already on their roster. Golden State is a league-best 19-2, so it doesn’t seem there’d be much of a rush to make changes, though the Warriors’ position as a legitimate title threat no doubt gives them a leg up with sought-after free agents.
The 39-year-old Allen has lingered on the free agent market since July as he’s mulled whether to play again or retire. The Cavs, Wizards, Bulls and Spurs were among seven teams that still reportedly had interest in signing Allen as of late last month. Multiple reports from the past few weeks have cast the Cavs as the favorites to land the league’s all-time leading three-point maker should he decide to return to the NBA, echoing similar reports since the summer and an apparent belief that Cleveland’s front office had maintained into the fall. Still, Allen and agent Jim Tanner have shot down several rumors and have consistently maintained that Allen has yet to make up his mind. A report last week indicated that Allen has let teams know that he’ll entertain offers in January and decide about his future in February.
Allen said this summer that he wanted to play for an experienced coach, and while he didn’t rule out playing for the minimum salary, he made it clear that he’s not keen on the idea. That would appear to put the Warriors at a disadvantage should they pursue him, since Steve Kerr is in his first season as a head coach and Golden State is limited to the minimum salary. Kerr is nonetheless the first rookie coach in NBA history to win 19 out of his first 21 games. The Warriors are also one of the few teams in the NBA with an open roster spot. Leandro Barbosa and Justin Holiday are on partially guaranteed deals that are de facto non-guaranteed arrangements, since both have earned in excess of the amount of their partial guarantees. Holiday has seen little playing time this season, and Barbosa, who’s averaged 13.6 minutes per game this year, didn’t see action in the second half Wednesday, Kawakami notes (on Twitter).
Sixers Acquire Andrei Kirilenko
12:40pm: The Sixers also receive cash, as Philadelphia announced in its press release. The 2018 second-rounder that the Sixers would send to Brooklyn if the teams swapped second-round picks that year would be Cleveland’s pick, the Sixers also note.
THURSDAY, 12:28pm: The trade is official, the Nets announced via press release. The Sixers get Kirilenko, Gutierrez, Brooklyn’s 2020 second-round pick and the right to swap 2018 second-rounders. The Nets receive Davies, and Brooklyn’s statement also confirms the creation of a pair of trade exceptions. The statement values them at $3.4MM and $916K, respectively, but it would appear as though they’re actually worth precisely $3,326,235 and $816,482, the equivalents of the salaries for Kirilenko and Gutierrez, respectively. The Nets can use them to trade for players with salaries of up to $100K more than those amounts any time between now and a year from today.
WEDNESDAY, 8:18pm: The Sixers and Nets have agreed to a trade that would send Andrei Kirilenko to Philadelphia, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Also heading to the Sixers is the Nets’ 2020 second round pick, the right to swap second-rounders in 2018, and cash. In return the Nets will receive Brandon Davies. The deal is expected to be finalized on Thursday, and Brooklyn is also likely to send another minor player to the Sixers as well, Wojnarowski notes in a separate tweet. That player might be Jorge Gutierrez, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily reports (Twitter link).
Philadelphia is expected to waive Kirilenko and his guaranteed salary, worth more than $3.3MM. The Nets will save themselves nearly $12MM in salary and tax payments as a result of the deal, not counting Davies’ non-guaranteed salary of $816,482. Brooklyn isn’t planning on waiving him immediately, and will give Davies a look, reports Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter links). The Nets are also working on signing a free agent wing player in addition to this trade, Bondy adds.
The 33-year-old Russian’s future is unclear, since Kirilenko has been dealing with undisclosed family issues that kept him away from the Nets, as well as clouded the trade talk surrounding him since it was unclear if he would be willing and able to report to any team that acquired him. The Jazz have been mentioned as potential suitors, though today’s signing of Patrick Christopher increased Utah’s roster count to the league-maximum fifteen players, which means the team would need to make a roster move to accommodate Kirilenko if it was still interested in his services. Wojnarowski’s article also lists the Cavs and the Clippers as teams that may be interested in signing Kirilenko.
In 12 NBA seasons, Kirilenko has averaged 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. His career slash line is .474/.310/.754. He appeared in just seven games for Brooklyn this season, logging just 0.4 points in 5.1 minutes per contest.
The 23-year-old Davies is in his second season in the NBA after going undrafted out of BYU in 2013. His career numbers are 3.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game. His shooting numbers are .417/.225/.640.
Nets, Sixers Revisit Andrei Kirilenko Talks
3:47pm: It could be months before Kirilenko will be prepared to sign a deal with another team should the Nets trade him and the Sixers waive him, Wojnarowski writes in a full story. The Nets would probably receive a player on a non-guaranteed contract if they and the Sixers were to agree to a trade, though that remains a matter of discussion, the Yahoo! Scribe adds. Wojnarowski implies that the Nets are the team that’s making the harder push to complete the deal, though that’s just my interpretation.
2:55pm: The Nets and Sixers are again trying to come to terms on a deal that would send Andrei Kirilenko to Philadelphia, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Nets would give up a second-round pick as a sweetener, Wojnarowski says in a second tweet, though it’s unclear what Philly would relinquish. The Sixers would waive Kirilenko and his guaranteed salary, worth more than $3.3MM, if they were to acquire him, Wojnarowski adds, mirroring last month’s report from Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com, who originally reported the talks. Such an exchange would save Brooklyn nearly $12MM in salary and tax payments, assuming the Nets don’t take a guaranteed salary back in return, Wojnarowski notes (Twitter link).
A family matter involving Kirilenko’s wife was to have made any deal unlikely until the February trade deadline drew closer, as Wojnarowski reported a little more than a week ago. However, Wojnarowski’s latest dispatch and another recent rumor dredging up talk that the Jazz were in play for the 33-year-old seem to indicate that there’s momentum for a deal to happen soon. The discussions with Philadelphia, which Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com originally reported last month, represent Brooklyn’s only deal in the works at the moment, Wojnarowski adds. That’s in spite of the Jazz rumor and today’s report indicating that the Nets are willing to trade Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson.
Talks between the club never truly appeared to cease, as Wojnarowski wrote earlier this month, though it appeared at that point that they no longer involved Sergey Karasev, who was involved in the discussions that Youngmisuk reported in November. Reports have indicated that the Cavs and Clippers also hold interest in Kirilenko. He received limited playing time early in the season and hasn’t appeared in a game since November 13th, though he’s returned to practice with the club after an absence of a few days, apparently to deal with the family issue. He doesn’t join the team for road trips, however. The Nets have reportedly been seeking a defensive-minded wing player for a while, so it’s somewhat odd that they would be anxious to unload Kirilenko, who’s made his mark primarily on the defensive end over the course of his career.
Clippers, Heat Showed Interest In Corey Brewer
The Clippers and Heat were among the teams that expressed interest in Corey Brewer when the Wolves were reportedly in active discussions last month about trading the swingman, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets. It’s unclear whether those teams continue to eye Brewer. The Rockets and Cavs were apparently the most serious suitors, and Houston emerged as the team most likely to acquire the 28-year-old former No. 7 overall pick before talks appeared to die down.
Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders suggested last month that Brewer was too valuable for his injury-wracked team to trade, and Brewer rumors largely ceased from that point on. Saunders hinted today that the team has gone into rebuilding mode because of the injuries, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links), though it’s unclear if that changes the dynamic involving Brewer. The Happy Walters client makes $4.703MM this season and has a player option worth $4.703MM for next season that teams interested in trading for him would strongly prefer him to waive, as Zillgitt reported last month.
The Clippers, who also apparently have some level of interest in Andrei Kirilenko, would have to be careful to match salaries with the Wolves, since they’re perilously close to their hard cap. The Heat have greater flexibility, though they’re roughly $4MM shy of the luxury tax line. Brewer’s numbers have been off this season, as I examined Monday when I looked at his trade candidacy, though I urged Saunders to move quickly toward a deal if interest remains strong.
Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Spurs, Fredette
It would be surprising for the Grizzlies to make a trade anytime soon in spite of reported interest from the Cavs in Tayshaun Prince and Kosta Koufos, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal writes in his “Pick and Pop” column. Prince has played well and removed the reasons for the Grizzlies to trade him since the start of the season, and Dion Waiters, whom the Cavs are apparently willing to give up, would be a poor fit in Memphis, Herrington believes. There’s another Grizzlies tidbit amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- The Spurs like the players they bring in to have a sense of humor, as witnessed by the continued presence of Matt Bonner, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News examines. “We look for a guy that is mature enough to laugh at himself,” coach/executive Gregg Popovich said. “You’re on the bus, you’re on the plane, and you want to be able to enjoy each other. If a kid doesn’t have a sense of humor or the ability to be self-deprecating, it doesn’t work as well.” Bonner, who re-signed this summer, is the longest-tenured Spur outside of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, McDonald notes.
- The addition of Gal Mekel to the Pelicans seems like a signal that the team is ready to move on from Jimmer Fredette, as Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune believes. Fredette, with New Orleans on a guaranteed one-year contract for the minimum salary, saw just one minute of action in Sunday’s 17-point win against the Lakers.
- The Grizzlies have recalled Jordan Adams from the D-League, the team announced. This year’s 22nd overall pick had been in the D-League since November 25th, as our log of assignments and recalls shows. The shooting guard has averaged 14.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 30.0 minutes per game across four contests for the Iowa Energy.
Cavs Eye Kosta Koufos, Dangle Dion Waiters
The Cavs have been asking the Grizzlies about their willingness to trade Kosta Koufos, whose camp has let the Grizzlies know about their dissatisfaction with the center’s playing time this year and last, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Cavs have told teams around the league that they’re willing to part with Dion Waiters if they can net a “difference-making center” in return, and Koufos would fit the profile, Stein writes. That advances an earlier report from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio, who’s heard that the Cavs have been open to moving Waiters.
The Cavs are also interested in Grizzlies small forward Tayshaun Prince, as Brian Windhorst, Stein’s ESPN.com colleague, reported last week, but it’s unclear whether Memphis is ready to tinker with its roster amid a 16-4 start. The Grizzlies reportedly tried multiple times this past summer to trade Prince, but there’s been no such chatter surrounding Koufos, even though his minutes have declined in each of the two seasons since Memphis acquired him via trade from Denver. Koufos started 81 games and averaged 22.4 minutes per contest for the Nuggets in 2012/13 and saw that playing time cut to 16.9 MPG in his first season with the Grizzlies. That figure is down to 14.1 MPG this year, and he’s seeing less time on the court than fellow backup big man Jon Leuer. Koufos is making $3MM in the final season of his contract this year, a figure that would fit into the nearly $5.286MM trade exception the Cavs possess and that Windhorst expects Cleveland to use between December 15th and January 10th.
His impending free agency makes Koufos an easier trade target than his former Nuggets teammate, Timofey Mozgov, whose affordable contract runs through 2015/16 and whom Denver appears unwilling to give up, Stein posits. Mark Termini, the agent for Koufos, negotiates contracts for the Klutch Sports Group, an agency with close ties to the Cavs.
The Cavs have reportedly sought rim protection as well as a defensive stopper on the wings in recent months, apparently having had interest in Corey Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko for their perimeter in addition to Prince. Waiters has made his mark primarily on the offensive end, and while he’d like to start, as Stein notes, he’s been coming off the bench since the second week of the season. The Sixers have reportedly held interest in Waiters, a Philadelphia native, at multiple points over the last 12 months, and the Cavs reportedly discussed him with an unknown team picking in the top 10 in the draft this past June. He’s making $4.062MM in the third year of his rookie scale contract.
Will Cherry To Play In Lithuania
SUNDAY, 2:00pm: Zalgiris Kaunas confirmed the deal via Twitter.
FRIDAY, 4:55pm: Free agent Will Cherry is finalizing a deal to join the Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter link). Cherry was waived on November 30th by the Cavs in order to clear a roster spot so that Cleveland could claim A.J. Price off waivers. Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reported earlier today that Cherry was headed overseas rather than intending to rejoin the D-League.
Pick also tweets that the deal isn’t likely to be completed until Monday, which is when Cherry would clear D-League waivers, which he is expected to do. The point guard had signed a D-League deal with the affiliate of the Cavs shortly after the Raptors let him go at the end of the preseason and before Cleveland signed him for the big club in the first week of the regular season. The Cavs affiliate rescinded its rights to Cherry so that he wouldn’t have to pay a buyout to head overseas, according to Pilato (Twitter link).
The 6’1″, 23-year-old Cherry appeared in eight games for the Cavs this year, averaging 1.9 points and logging 8.6 minutes per night. Cherry had notched 12.8 PPG and 4.0 RPG while playing 25.3 minutes per contest in five games for the Cavs Summer League team in Las Vegas. He had also played for the Cavs’ D-League affiliate last season, when he provided 11.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 4.5 APG in 30.4 MPG.
Eastern Notes: Irving, Parker, Van Gundy, Celtics
Lost amidst all the publicity surrounding the Cavs with LeBron James making his return to Cleveland was just how important it was for the team to sign Kyrie Irving to a contract extension, Terry Pluto of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. The Cavs needed Irving to be “all in” so that they could attract James and other free agents, which is why the team pushed to get Irving to re-sign for the maximum five years, Pluto adds.
Here’s the latest from the East:
- If Jabari Parker continues to develop his game, the Bucks will have landed a player whose talent is on par with Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony, two players whom Parker’s game has been compared to, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops writes. “I think Parker will end up closer to Pierce later in his career,” an Eastern Conference scout told Scotto. “I think the comparisons fit better when Anthony is playing a small four instead of the three. I think Jabari is going to have success in the league more as a small four than a three.”
- Re-signing with the Celtics is Rajon Rondo‘s free agent preference this summer, but if that scenario falls apart, then Los Angeles would move to the top of the point guard’s list, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com says in a video report.
- Pistons president and head coach Stan Van Gundy wasn’t very flattering of himself when assessing the job that he has done in Detroit thus far, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “If I were only the president, I’d fire the coach,” Van Gundy said. “Clearly I’m not doing a great job. I need to coach guys. I need to make sure we’re getting to things quicker. I need to take responsibility for things going on.” Detroit is off to a 3-16 start this season, which ranks the Pistons 14th in the Eastern Conference.
- James Young and Dwight Powell of the Celtics have been re-assigned to the Maine Red Claws, the team announced. This is the fourth D-League assignment of the season for both players. The Red Claws are scheduled to take on the Sioux Falls Skyforce this evening.