Trade Exceptions Set To Expire At Deadline
As our list of outstanding traded player exceptions shows, there are a number of trade exceptions that could be in play as this season's deadline approaches. A trade exception allows a team to absorb a salary without sending any salary out in return. For instance, with the $4.2MM exception the Grizzlies obtained when they traded Marreese Speights to Cleveland, Memphis could acquire one or more players who are earning $4.3MM this season ($4.2MM + $100K).
Trade exceptions, which cannot be combined, expire a year after they're initially acquired, so the TPEs that were created at last year's March trade deadline will expire if they go unused on or before February 21st. While the exceptions don't expire until March, teams obviously won't have the opportunity to use them during the few weeks after the deadline passes.
Most notable among those exceptions set to expire in March is the $13MM TPE the Nuggets obtained when they dealt Nene to Washington at the 2012 deadline. The Nuggets are very unlikely to use that entire exception, but it certainly gives them some added flexibility as they weigh their options over the next three weeks.
Here's the complete list of traded player exceptions that will expire if they go unused at the trade deadline:
- Denver Nuggets: $13,000,000
- Golden State Warriors: $3,294,960
- Milwaukee Bucks: $2,506,500
- Brooklyn Nets: $1,390,000
- Brooklyn Nets: $1,377,383
- Los Angeles Clippers: $1,223,166
- Memphis Grizzlies: $1,184,750
- Los Angeles Lakers: $854,389(*)
- San Antonio Spurs: $854,389
- Los Angeles Lakers: $544,340
(* This TPE was initially listed as $1,422,027 and had since been corrected.)
Warriors Unlikely To Make Move Before Deadline
The Warriors will be adding one potential impact player to their rotation for the season's second half, but he'll be returning from an injury rather than arriving via trade. According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, while Golden State is welcoming Andrew Bogut back to the lineup, it's highly unlikely that the team acquires another player via trade. One team source told Thompson that the odds of a Warriors move are "remote."
The Warriors wouldn't mind adding a big man, and Thompson mentions names like Timofey Mozgov and DeJuan Blair as potential fits. The club could also use a backup shooting guard or an athletic wing. However, acquiring anyone that fits that bill would likely require Golden State to give up a player it likes, in which case the team would prefer to stand pat.
The Warriors are also slightly above the luxury-tax threshold, so if anything compelled the team to make a move, it might be a desire to get out of tax territory. Still, Thompson believes the Warriors would have to shed a big contract like Richard Jefferson's or Andris Biedrins' to get below the tax line, which is extremely unlikely.
Even without Bogut for most of the season, the Warriors are exceeding expectations, having recorded a 28-17 record so far, good for fifth in the Western Conference.
Odds & Ends: Warriors, Splitter, Kings, Cousins
Two-time MVP Steve Nash made his first trip back to the city where he enjoyed his greatest success, but his Phoenix return has been overshadowed by the first major trade of the year. It's been quite a busy evening, with Rudy Gay heading to the Raptors, retirement talk surrounding Kevin Garnett, and another weapon in the quiver for the Lakers. Here's even more from the Association:
- Even with Andrew Bogut back, the Warriors still want to upgrade their front line and would love to trade for Timofey Mozgov or DeJuan Blair, Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reports. Still, chances of a move are "remote," a source tells Thompson.
- Barring an unreasonable offer from another team, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News believes the Spurs intend to re-sign Tiago Splitter, who'll be a restricted free agent this summer (Twitter link).
- In the tug-of-war between Sacramento and Seattle for the Kings, Jason Thompson says the California capital has the players on its side, notes Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com.
- Though he was one of the more prominent trade candidates earlier this season, DeMarcus Cousins claims he's unaware of his name having come up in trade talk, as Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe observes, passing along some revealing comments from the mercurial Kings center. "I'm a loyal guy," he said. "I'm a family-orientated guy. But not so much in this league. You've kind of got to look out for yourself most of the time and always do what's best for you."
- The Mavs could have been involved in today's three-team deal, but reportedly refused to part with Vince Carter, and that was the right move, opines Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- No team has more former lottery picks under the age of 25 than the Jazz, and that has them set up for a bright future, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News.
D-League Moves: Kevin Jones, Julyan Stone
We'll track today's D-League assignments and recalls right here, with any further moves added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- Rookie forward Kevin Jones has been re-assigned to the Canton Charge, the Cavaliers announced today in a press release. Jones didn't see any action during his recent stint with Cleveland, but has appeared in 15 NBA games so far. He has also excelled in his six contests with the Charge, averaging 23.8 PPG and 12.3 RPG.
- The Nuggets have assigned Julyan Stone to their D-League affiliate, the team announced today in a press release. Stone, who missed more than two months of the season while recovering from right hip surgery, will join Quincy Miller, the other Nugget currently playing for the D-League's Iowa Energy.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, Johnson, Oden
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News says that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will likely know by tomorrow about whether or not the NBA will approve their Disabled Player Exception for the injured Jordan Hill (Twitter link). With the roster currently at 14, an exception worth $1.78MM would be a very valuable asset for a team that would have otherwise only have a veteran's minimum deal or a small, pro-rated portion of their mini mid-level exception to offer free agents at this point during the season. You'll find the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links from around the NBA here:
- Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge says the team currently has no needs and will wait and see what transpires over the next few weeks to get a better feel if a move has to be made or not (Adi Joseph of USA Today reports).
- Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, who recently returned from an 11-game absence for family reasons, sounded like he wanted the team to keep Chris Johnson (LSU) and Mickael Gelabale for the rest of the season, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- Grizzlies guard Chris Johnson, whose 10-day contract is set to expire on Friday night, is making a strong case to be brought back for another deal, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. GM Chris Wallace described Johnson as a "seamless fit" so far.
- Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald doesn't think the Heat are the best fit for Greg Oden, citing that if healthy, the former number one overall pick could find more playing time and a better comfort level elsewhere. Even if the team uses its taxpayer mid-level exception to land Oden this summer, Goodman thinks that the luxury tax impact might not be worth the investment either.
- When asked directly about the possibility of playing for the Cavaliers, Oden replied: "I'm worried about the knee. That's it," later saying that it was too early for him to be thinking of a destination. Oden added that he wants to take his rehab slow, and that while he could possibly play today if he wanted to, he wants to avoid the risk of having the same setbackthat he had in Portland (Doug Lesmerises and Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer report).
Trade Candidate: Timofey Mozgov
There are plenty of big names rumored to be on the trade block as we approach this year's deadline, including Rudy Gay and Pau Gasol. Other players, such as Jose Calderon and J.J. Redick, are intriguing not just because of their expiring contracts, but because they could be the final piece of the puzzle for a contending team.
Timofey Mozgov, like Calderon and Redick, is on an expiring contract, but he's unlikely to be a real game-changer if he's moved at the deadline. Still, Grantland's Zach Lowe referred to the Nuggets big man as one of the league's "most available" players back in December, so that certainly makes him a trade candidate, even if he's not one of the more exciting ones out there.
Mozgov, 26, initially came to the Nuggets two years ago as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks. While Mozgov was hardly the centerpiece of that trade, he was a piece the Nuggets insisted be included, due to a belief that he could develop into a solid big man. While the Russian has shown flashes of that promise in his two seasons with the Nuggets, there just aren't enough minutes to go around anymore now that Denver's frontline includes JaVale McGee and Kosta Koufos, two young centers that have outproduced Mozgov.
Mozgov's best season came in 2011/12, when he averaged 5.4 PPG and 4.1 RPG while playing 15.6 minutes per contest. Those numbers won't turn many heads, but Mozgov's per-minute rates were solid, and he started 35 of his 44 games for the Nuggets, meaning he wasn't just playing against other teams' second-stringers. At 7'1", he should certainly have some appeal to teams in need of size in the middle, and according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post, Denver has been fielding plenty of calls about Mozgov since the beginning of the season.
One team that's been linked to Mozgov as a potential suitor is the Heat, a club that could use one more big body in the frontcourt to help Chris Bosh and its bigs shoulder the rebounding load. But as Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida pointed out earlier this month, there's not a perfect match between the two teams. Norris Cole, Miami's most appealing trade asset, doesn't fill a need for a Nuggets team that has Ty Lawson and Andre Miller at the point, and Cole's modest salary wouldn't be enough to match Mozgov's $3.14MM mark. I'm sure the Nuggets, who could use a shooter, would love to add Ray Allen ($3.09MM), but that's not the sort of price the Heat would want to pay for Mozgov.
Besides Miami, there are no particularly obvious suitors for Mozgov. The Warriors could be a fit if Andrew Bogut continues to be nagged by injuries, and the Celtics could use another big. But both teams are up against hard caps, making it difficult to add any salary, and Boston's plans have likely changed now that Rajon Rondo is out for the season. The Suns and Rockets, with cap space to absorb Mozgov's salary, could kick the tires — if they were to acquire Mozgov and liked what they saw over the season's final couple months, they'd have the first crack to re-sign him in July.
As Dempsey wrote in his previously-linked piece, Mozgov appears unlikely to remain in Denver past February 21st, simply because the Nuggets don't have room for him in their rotation. Nonetheless, it doesn't seem as if there will be a huge market for the big man. If he's moved and it's not part of a bigger deal, it's probably unrealistic to expect Denver to land much more than a second-round pick or a borderline rotation player in return.
Iguodala Wants To Stay With Nuggets
Andre Iguodala can opt out of the final year of his contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent, but the veteran forward tells Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post that he would like to remain with the Nuggets long-term. He says that he is undecided about opting out, and that decision will come down to how much he thinks he can command on the open market:
“A lot of players have done it where they’ve gave up a large bulk of their contract, say, giving up $16 million to get $60 million,” Iguodala said. “In the grand scheme of things that makes sense. But if you give up $16 million and you get $20 million (it doesn’t make sense). So it’s all about playing your cards right and seeing where you’re at. At the end of the day winning takes care of everything, so if we win here, then hopefully the organization and myself will come to an agreement and we’ll continue to build on what we have here.”
Iguodala's player option pays him $16.1MM for the 2013/14 season. He is averaging 13.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 4.5 APG in his first season with the Nuggets since being traded from Philadelphia as part of the four-team trade that sent Dwight Howard to the Lakers.
Nuggets Notes: Mozgov, Trades, Ujiri
Having gone 16-3 at the Pepsi Center so far this season, the Nuggets are in good position to gain some ground in the Western Conference standings, as their next six games will all be at home. Still, head coach George Karl doesn't want his club to take anything for granted, as he tells Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.
"We're a young team trying to become a good team — a really good team," Karl said. "I think we all think we can get there, but sometimes I think we need a lot more work than (the players) think we do."
Here's the latest out of Denver:
- Since the beginning of the year, teams have been calling the Nuggets about acquiring Timofey Mozgov, who is unlikely to be with the Nuggets past the trade deadline, says Dempsey.
- While Mozgov says that he'd like to remain in Denver, that comes with a caveat: "More than I want to stay, I want to play." With Kosta Koufos and JaVale McGee seeing most of the minutes in the middle, Mozgov is averaging a career-low 9.6 minutes per game in 24 contests.
- Although Masai Ujiri is in the last year of his three-year contract with the Nuggets, the two sides aren't expected to explore an extension for the general manager until after the season, reports Dempsey.
Northwest Notes: Olshey, Wolves, McGee, Jazz
The latest news and notes from around the Northwest Division on Sunday afternoon:
- The Blazers, who've lost five in a row, are hamstrung by their substandard bench, but GM Neil Olshey isn't planning to compromise the team's long-term cap flexibillity to improve its depth this season, The Oregonian's Jason Quick writes. Nonetheless, the GM regrets not adding bench strength over the summer.
- Yesterday's 10-day signees Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson made an instant impact for theWolves, as Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune documents.
- Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post chronicles the slow development of Nuggets center JaVale McGee, who's averaging fewer minutes than all but two other players who, like him, make at least $10MM a season. "He's got to understand that lazy and crazy isn't going to make it work," coach George Karl said. "We want solid and we want fundamental, and we want spectacular but only when it happens, not forcing the action where sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't."
- Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune is impressed with the way Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin is magaging is players' minutes.
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.