Knicks Links: Carmelo, Nets, Stoudemire
One reunion between a star player and his former home court received plenty of fanfare yesterday, as Dwight Howard put up a monster 39-point, 16-rebound line in his return to Orlando. Tonight will feature another star playing his former team, as Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks face the Nuggets in Denver. Because of the 2011 lockout, the Knicks didn't travel to Denver in a shortened '11/12 season, making this time the first time Carmelo has played in Denver since being traded in February 2011.
Here are a few Wednesday morning Knicks notes, with a focus on that Carmelo trade:
- Discussing his desire to be traded to New York, Anthony tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that a number of Nuggets players at the time were on expiring contracts, and he was facing the possibility of being on a rebuilding team. "People didn't really know the business side of the situation we were in," Anthony said. "Everybody's contract was up. They had plans of going younger. People from the outside looking in didn't really get it."
- When the Nuggets and Knicks finalized the blockbuster deal, it was one of two options on the table for Denver GM Masai Ujiri. According to Spears, an offer from the Nets was also available, which included Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Troy Murphy, and three draft picks. The Nets ultimately sent a similar package to the Jazz for Deron Williams.
- Sunny Saini of ESPN Stats & Info and Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com each explore the question of who "won" the 'Melo trade between the Nuggets and Knicks. Begley reaches the same conclusion I would, arguing that both sides would likely do the deal again.
- Ian O'Connor of ESPNNewYork.com believes that, as bad as Amare Stoudemire's contract looks for the Knicks, it was a necessary evil, since it contributed significantly to the team becoming relevant again.
Western Notes: McGuire, Iguodala, Kings, Mavs
As we look forward to an eight-game evening slate that includes Dwight Howard's return to Orlando, let's round up a few of today's stories relating to Western Conference clubs….
- The Warriors elected not to sign Dominic McGuire after the trade deadline using one of their open roster spots at least in part because coach Mark Jackson didn't want McGuire taking minutes away from rookie Draymond Green, according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Sulia).
- Andre Iguodala admits to Paola Boivin of the Denver Post that his 2013/14 player option is in the back of his mind, but says he won't make a concrete decision on whether or not to exercise it until after the season.
- Despite David Stern's insistence that the Kings sale won't result in a bidding war, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the Sacramento group may be in trouble if the Seattle group "keeps pushing up the price."
- Part of the reason the Mavericks released Dominique Jones was to give him an opportunity to find playing time with another club, as GM Donnie Nelson explains to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "The playing time that Dominique probably deserves wasn’t here and available," Nelson said. "Hopefully that presents itself with another team some place."
- Darren Collison isn't complaining about coming off the bench for the Mavericks, but when he becomes a free agent this summer, he'll hit the market believing that he's capable of being a starter somewhere, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
Odds & Ends: Bulls, Gasol, Nuggets, Kings
Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- The Bulls may have the best trade package for the Lakers if they try to trade for Pau Gasol, but Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) can't really see the big man playing for coach Tom Thibodeau.
- The Nuggets roster has been shaped by the club's blockbuster Carmelo Anthony deal of 2011, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. "It was a great trade," said former NBA guard Steve Kerr. "The pieces all fit really well with a coach who is renowned for player development and up-tempo basketball… In the end, it's not as if the team was winning in the playoffs with Carmelo anyway."
- There's an eight-figure gap between the bids being put up by the Sacramento group and the Seattle group for the Kings, sources close to the situation tell Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
- The Mavericks cut guard Dominique Jones over his unwillingness to go to the D-League, but Dirk Nowitzki hopes that Jones finds new work rather quickly, according to Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram (on Sulia).
- Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Sulia) hears from sources that the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is adopting an NCAA tournament-style elimination format.
Southeast Rumors: Harrington, Bobcats, Pargo
We've had a couple interesting items come out of the Southeast Division already today, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported the Hawks nearly engaged in a three-way deal at the deadline that would have sent Josh Smith to the Celtics, while the Heat are expected to give 40-year-old Juwan Howard a second 10-day contract. There are other notable stories involving Southeast teams this evening, and we'll round up them up here:
- Magic power forward Al Harrington isn't wistful for his days with the Nuggets, as Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida notes via Twitter. "It was cool being there, but I’m not going to look back wishing I was somewhere that they don’t want me there," Harrington said.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer thinks the Bobcats, without much depth at point guard, should look in the D-League for someone to bolster that position on a 10-day contract (Twitter link). Backup Ramon Sessions is out for two to four weeks with a sprained left knee.
- If Charlotte were to sign a veteran point guard, perhaps one option could be Jannero Pargo, who spent time with the Wizards and Hawks this season. Pargo's agent insists several teams have interest in the 33-year-old, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel believes Nikola Vucevic could command $10MM on the open market right now. Though the Swiss center isn't scheduled to hit restricted free agency until 2015, Schmitz argues the Magic should start planning by saving enough room on the payroll to retain him.
- In the same report, Schmitz notes that newly acquired Magic guard Beno Udrih has no interest in playing for the Slovenian national team in the Euro championships this summer.
- The Hawks, Bobcats and Magic could all have enough cap room to sign a maximum-salary player in the offseason, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors detailed today.
Odds & Ends: Dieng, Iguodala, Howard, Kennedy
With the NCAA tournament approaching, it won't be long before we begin to receive reports on college underclassmen declaring their intent to enter this year's NBA draft. One player who may leave school early is Louisville junior Gorgui Dieng, who I profiled back in December. As Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com reports, Louisville coach Rick Pitino is nearly certain that Dieng will enter this June's draft class.
"If he is projected as a first-rounder, he is leaving," Pitino said. "And I'm almost sure he'll be taken in the first round."
Here are a few more Wednesday afternoon odds and ends:
- "Every indication" is that if Andre Iguodala opts out of his contract this season, he'll do so to lock up a long-term deal with the Nuggets, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Iguodala has a 2013/14 player option worth about $16.15MM.
- Count George Karl among those who is hoping the Kings remain in Sacramento, as Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. "I think everybody knows I'm a Seattle guy and I want basketball back in Seattle, but I don't want basketball out of Sacramento," the Nuggets coach said. "It's a politically correct answer, but it's a truthful answer on how I feel."
- Dwight Howard told reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com, that he'd thought "plenty of times" about how the season may have played out if he hadn't returned from back surgery so quickly. However, Howard doesn't regret his decision to come back early. D12 also mentioned that he has received encouragement from Phil Jackson via text messages.
- Ian Thomsen of SI.com ranks the top ten most powerful people in the NBA, with David Stern beating out LeBron James for the No. 1 spot.
- The Rio Grande Valley Vipers (the Rockets' D-League affiliate) have acquired D.J. Kennedy in a five-player trade, as Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside details. Kennedy, who had a brief NBA stint at the end of last season with the Cavaliers, had been having an excellent year for the Erie BayHawks, averaging 18.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 5.5 APG.
- ESPN.com's Chad Ford fielded exclusively draft-related questions in his usual Wednesday chat.
Nuggets Expected To Target Korver In Offseason
The Nuggets stood pat at this year's trade deadline, electing to move forward with their current roster. However, the team figures to try to add a shooter this summer, and Kyle Korver is expected to be one of Denver's top targets, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.
Dempsey compares the Nuggets' interest in Korver to the club's interest in Andre Iguodala a year ago. Although Denver was interested in Iguodala at last season's trade deadline, it wasn't until August that the Nuggets eventually worked out a deal to acquire the veteran forward.
In Korver's case, a trade won't be required, since the sharpshooter is in the final year of his contract with the Hawks. It's not clear what sort of salary the 31-year-old will command, but he's earning mid-level money ($5MM) this season, in what has been one of the best years of his career. Korver is hitting a career-high 2.8 three-pointers per game at a league-leading 46.2% rate, and has posted a career-high 14.6 PER.
Although it's too early to predict where Korver will land this summer, he indicated last week that he'd be open to signing with the Jazz, so it sounds as if he'll consider smaller-market teams as well as big-market contenders.
Northwest Notes: Fisher, Korver, Jazz, Coaches
Derek Fisher has been activated for tonight's game against the Hornets, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban likely won't be paying close attention to Fisher's debut with the Thunder. Cuban's response was sarcastic when he was asked about the veteran point guard's decision to sign with Oklahoma City two months after requesting his release from the Mavs to spend time with his family.
"His kids are older," Cuban said, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. "It’s easier to fly in and out of Oklahoma City than Dallas. I understand that. It’s a decision a parent has to make. Every parent has difficult decisions to make."
Here are a few more Wednesday afternoon items out of the Northwest Division:
- Kyle Korver is set to hit free agency this summer, and told reporters today, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, that he'll "definitely listen" if the Jazz pursue him (Twitter link).
- The Nuggets received some criticism last August for playing a part in helping the Lakers acquire Dwight Howard and build a supposed powerhouse, but Denver has come out on top in the four-team blockbuster so far, says Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.
- SI.com's Chris Mannix names Maurice Cheeks and Kaleb Canales, two former head coaches and current assistants for Northwest teams, as potential head coaches in waiting.
- Also at SI.com, Ian Thomsen speaks to LaMarcus Aldridge about the big man's evolution into a team leader with the Trail Blazers.
Northwest Notes: Jazz, Kirilenko, Wolves, Nuggets
So far, the responses to this morning's poll suggest that, outside of the Hawks' decision to keep Josh Smith, no team's inactivity at the deadline was more surprising than Utah's. In Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, the Jazz had a pair of productive bigs on expiring contracts, and the expectation was that at least one of the two would be moved. However, GM Dennis Lindsey told reporters, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, that he felt the club was negotiating from a position of strength, and wasn't under any pressure to make a deal.
Here's more and the Jazz and a few of their Northwest Division rivals:
- "We really didn't even have any tough decisions," Lindsey said of deadline day, according to Genessy. "When we added it up, there wasn't anything that was better than what we had."
- With the deadline behind them, Millsap and Jefferson are looking forward to finishing out the season in Utah, writes Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- Speaking to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, Andrei Kirilenko says he's enjoying everything about his time with the Timberwolves except for the team's win-loss record. The Russian forward has yet to make a decision about his player option for next season. "I’m going to wait until the offseason, right now there’s no point to make any decision," Kirilenko said. "Wait until summer, analyze the season, and see what you want to do next."
- Glen Taylor's talks with prospective owners for the Timberwolves have "slowed considerably," a source tells Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link).
- Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post discusses the Nuggets' decision to let the deadline pass without making a deal.
Trade Talk Roundup: Nuggets, Landry, Mavs, Shumpert
Shortly after the trade deadline passed at 3pm ET on Thursday, it was revealed that the Hawks pulled out of discussions with the Bucks on a deal for Josh Smith. This would-be blockbuster was not the only deal that was discussed but never came to fruition. Here is a roundup of other deals that were discussed but never came to pass:
- Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com writes that the Nuggets opted to stay the course rather than dealing a player such as Timofey Mozgov, whom they had been rumored to be shopping.
- Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News tweets that the Warriors explored the market for forward Carl Landry but ultimately did not find a deal they liked.
- Jeff Caplan of NBA.com tweets that the Mavericks received calls about rookies Jae Crowder and Bernard James, but ultimately decided not to deal either player.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Knicks GM Glen Grunwald never seriously considered trading Iman Shumpert, despite reports to the contrary.
Timofey Mozgov Unlikely To Be Moved
Despite a flurry of rumors related to Timofey Mozgov in the days leading up to the deadline, the Nuggets appear unlikely to deal the big man, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Most recently, we heard that the Heat had expressed interest in Mozgov, who is headed for free agency this summer. The 26-year-old has also been linked to the Timberwolves, Knicks, and Bobcats this week.