Odds & Ends: Sessions, Kings, Mavs, Hornets
On January 31st, 1979, the Cleveland Cavaliers sent Terry Furlow to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Butch Lee and a 1983 first-round pick. Both Furlow and Lee played their last NBA minutes in 1980, but that '83 draft pick ended up in the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, who used it to select Derek Harper. Harper went on to score over 16,000 points in his 16-year NBA career — nearly five times the combined career totals for Furlow and Lee.
As for January 31st, 2012, here are a few items from around the Association:
- Ramon Sessions isn't surprised to hear his name involved in trade rumors, writes Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer. The Lakers have inquired about the point guard's availability and the Cavaliers are receiving interest from other clubs as well.
- Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links) spoke with Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof who spoke highly of the jobs that GM Petrie and coach Keith Smart are doing. Last night, it was reported that the club could be looking to replace Petrie, who has been with the Kings since 1994.
- After J.J. Barea departed in the offseason, the Mavericks managed to replace him admirably and cheaply, as Jeff Caplan writes at ESPNDallas.com.
- There shouldn't be any sense of security for Hornets players, with a major roster overhaul coming this offseason, or sooner, says John DeShazier of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) checks in on the stocks of a few college players. While Anthony Davis still has a stranglehold on the top spot on Ford's draft board, the rest of the top five is in flux.
- Heat fans may have a love affair with Michael Beasley, but there probably would never have been a Big Three in Miami if Beasley had put it together during his time with the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- A few members of ESPN.com's TrueHoop network discussed Dwight Howard and other potential trade candidates.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Tuesday
There are still more than six weeks until the 2012 trade deadline, but it doesn't appear that the Dwight Howard trade rumors will slow down for a single day until we get resolution. Orlando GM Otis Smith claims he doesn't intend to make any big moves in the near future, but the Magic's play on the court has onlookers thinking D12's days in Orlando are numbered. Yesterday, Howard indicated he wouldn't mind playing with Derrick Rose, and ESPN's Ric Bucher heard Stephen Jackson would be another preferred teammate of Howard's. Here are today's updates:
- Despite Howard indicating that he would be open to playing in Chicago, Magic GM Otis Smith told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that Howard's camp has not told the Magic that he has expanded his list of preferred trade destinations beyond his original three teams: the Nets, Lakers, and Mavericks. Smith added that he does not believe that the Magic have lost bargaining power due to their recent losing streak.
- Until Howard definitively says he'd sign an extension with the Bulls, the topic is a non-starter, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Earlier today, Johnson predicted the Mavericks will be the team to land Howard.
- After running through potential Howard scenarios, ESPN.com's Larry Coon concludes that Howard probably be won't be wearing a Magic jersey after March 15th, but could be a free agent this summer.
- Howard's role of leader in the Magic clubhouse has been lost, says Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. According to Wojnarowski, everyone is resigned to the inevitable fact that Howard will be gone, sooner or later.
- J.J. Redick to Wojnarowski on the elephant in the room: "As long as [Howard]’s here, it will be a distraction because it’s all anybody talks about when they talk about our team. We don’t hear it? Of course we do."
- Ken Berger of CBSSports.com says we know how the Howard situation will eventually end, but not how bad it will get before then.
- LeBron James and Chris Bosh may have taken flak for fleeing Cleveland and Toronto respectively for South Beach, but at least they played out their contracts without asking to be traded, writes Peter Vescey of the New York Post. Vescey adds that he doesn't think the Bulls should break up their team to make a blockbuster deal for Howard.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel advises fans at Amway Center to try to forget about the Howard drama for a night and show the Magic some love on Wednesday.
2011/12 Taxpayer Mid-Level Exceptions Update
The NBA's latest Collective Bargaining Agreement introduced a new kind of mid-level exception for teams who are paying the luxury tax. Rather than the four-year contract starting at $5MM (with 4.5% raises) available to non-taxpayers, teams over the tax line can offer a "mini" MLE of up to three years, starting at $3MM (4.5% raises).
Let's check in the status of those exceptions, and see which teams can still offer a pro-rated portion of that $3MM maximum to free agents:
Available
- Spurs: Though waiving the retired Antonio McDyess reduced the Spurs' cap figure somewhat, the team still only has access to the mini mid-level exception rather than the full MLE. They could use it to attempt to sign a front-court player like Kenyon Martin, though it doesn't sound like they're overly interested in him. As close to the tax line as they are, it's possible San Antonio tries to get under it by season's end, rather than adding more salary. Here's the uninspiring list of current free agents the Spurs could be eyeing.
Used
- Celtics: They used their mini MLE on December 9th, signing Chris Wilcox to a one-year deal worth $3MM.
- Heat: They used their full mini MLE on December 9th, signing Shane Battier to a three-year deal.
- Lakers: They used their mini MLE on December 14th, signing Josh McRoberts to a two-year deal. He'll receive $3MM this season and a 4.5% raise for 2012/13.
- Mavericks: They used their mini MLE on December 12th, signing Vince Carter to a three-year deal. While Carter will receive the max ($3MM) this season, his subsequent raises are just 3%, and years two and three are only partially guaranteed.
Southwest Links: Kaman, Thomas, Green, Carter
Chris Kaman's availability has dominated headlines out of the Southwest division in recent days, as potential suitors contact the Hornets to discuss the seven-footer. Today, NBA.com's David Aldridge and SI.com's Zach Lowe each took the opportunity to run down the list of possible destinations for Kaman, concluding indepenently that the Hawks and Rockets are among the best matches. Let's check out a few more updates out of the Southwest….
- Continuing the Kaman discussion, Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com asks Warriors fans whether they'd be okay with sending Monta Ellis to the Hornets in exchange for Kaman and a first-round pick.
- The Spurs have assigned Malcolm Thomas to the D-League's Austin Toros, according to the Spurs' official Twitter account. Thomas, who was signed earlier this month, appeared in just 15 minutes over three games for San Antonio.
- Hornets head coach Monty Williams told John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he regrets not bringing back Willie Green, who ended up signing with the Hawks: "[Green] was somebody I was in contact with, and we were waiting for the right time… If I could do it over again, I’d probably would have pressed the issue more."
- Vince Carter, who signed for the mini mid-level exception introduced in the new CBA, tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that he's starting to get comfortable with the Mavericks.