Howard To Lakers, Bynum To 76ers In 4-Team Deal
11:18am: SI.com's Sam Amick tweets that McRoberts will be heading to Orlando in the deal, rather than to Denver. Wherever McRoberts ends up, it seems the Lakers will be shipping him out to make the salary figures work.
10:55am: Coon corrects himself (via Twitter), suggesting that Bynum's and Eyenga's salaries aren't quite enough to absorb Howard's and Duhon's. Here's how it looks from the Lakers' perspective, by my calculations:
- The team's $1,422,207 traded player exception acquired via Walton can absorb Clark's $1.24MM option.
- Bynum's $16,889,000 salary and Eyenga's $1,174,080 total $18,063,080. The Lakers can take back 125% (plus $100K) of that amount: $22,678,850.
- Howard's and Duhon's salaries ($19,536,360 and $3,250,000, respectively) total $22,786,360, just barely too much for the Lakers to absorb. So in order to take on both players, Los Angeles will have to either include another player (perhaps McRoberts or Ebanks) or figure out another way to organize the deal. Assuming, of course, that all the public salary figures for these players are accurate.
We should hear shortly how the Lakers ultimately work things out, since the conference call with the league to finalize the trade is expected to begin momentarily, tweets Ken Berger.
10:26am: Cap expert Larry Coon clarifies (via Twitter) that the trade exception the Lakers acquired when they dealt Luke Walton to the Cavaliers is big enough to absorb Clark's salary, so Los Angeles wouldn't necessarily have to send out any more players in addition to Bynum and Eyenga.
10:08am: The pick heading to the Magic from the Sixers will be lottery-protected for the first two years, top-11 protected in year three, and top-eight protected in year four, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Since the Sixers have already dealt their 2013 first-rounder (lottery protected) to Miami, presumably the one going to Orlando would be for 2015, as Sam Amick of SI.com notes. If the Magic don't get a first-rounder from Philadelphia after four years, they'd get two second-round picks instead, tweets Berger.
9:32am: According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, Josh McRoberts may be headed to Denver in the four-way deal. This makes sense, since by my calculations, the Lakers would be unable to take back Howard, Duhon, and Clark without sending out another player in addition to Bynum and Eyenga.
8:49am: The first-rounder heading from the Lakers to Orlando will be the team's 2017 pick, while the first-rounder from Denver will be the lower of the club's two 2014 first-rounders, tweets TNT's David Aldridge. It's still not clear which first-round pick will be coming from the Sixers, but it figures to be 2015's, since their lottery-protected 2013 first-rounder is ticketed for Miami.
8:26am: Duhon is definitely involved in the four-way deal, as he tells Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 7:33am: According to Spears, one of the second-rounders heading to the Magic in the trade will be the Warriors' 2013 second-round pick, from the Nuggets (Twitter link). Orlando will receive one more second-rounder, to bring their total haul to five future draft picks, tweets Kennedy.
Additionally, multiple reports indicate that the conference call with the league to confirm the blockbuster deal will happen no later than about noon eastern today.
Fallout From Dwight Howard/Andrew Bynum Trade
The news of the night is the news of the year in the NBA: An agreement has been reached on a trade that sends Dwight Howard to the Lakers. Andrew Bynum is also involved, as he heads to the Sixers. Of course, both players are eligible to become unrestricted free agents next summer, so the rumor mill is unlikely to stop for either of them anytime soon. Nonetheless, it still represents a blockbuster and a major turning point for several teams in 2012/13 and beyond. Here's what writers around the league are saying:
- If the Lakers can't re-sign Howard next summer, the Mavs "will be there waiting for him," a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Howard has expressed fondness for the Mavs in the past. In the same report, Kobe Bryant is described as being "ecstatic" about the deal.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPNLosAngeles.com says Howard represents an upgrade over Bynum because of his defense, his athleticism, and his ability to fit better with Steve Nash.
- A few league executives believe there has to be something more in the deal for the Magic, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com wonders why the Magic waited so long to make a deal when the offers never improved (Sulia link). Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel isn't sure any notable free agents would be interested in signing with the depleted Magic next summer (Sulia link).
- Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News says the Sixers now have the dominant big man team president Rod Thorn and coach Doug Collins have coveted. Cooney took to Twitter to say the trade is a coup for the Sixers, who get at least one season from Bynum and cap space if he leaves.
- Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post says the Nuggets will lose some offense, but Andre Iguodala will allow them to make major strides on defense, where they've struggled in recent seasons.
- Tim Bontemps and Fred Kerber of the New York Post look at the deal from the perspective of the Nets, who were once considered frontrunners for Howard. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News says, via Twitter, that the deal demonstrates that the Magic were never too high on Brook Lopez.
- The Cavs were asked to give up a lot more for Bynum when they were a part of trade talks, says Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Sulia link).
Magic Close To Four-Team Howard Blockbuster
9:12pm: Stein says there are still unreported names in the deal, but the Magic are getting Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic, Maurice Harkless and a future first-round pick from each of the other three teams in the deal. The Sixers will get Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson. The Nuggets will get Andre Iguodala, and the Lakers will land Dwight Howard. Pau Gasol is not in the deal, Stein hears (All Twitter links).
8:59pm: A conference call has been scheduled for Friday morning with the league office to process the deal, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).
7:34pm: Berger says the most likely scenario involves the Magic getting neither Andrew Bynum nor Pau Gasol, adding credence to earlier reports that Gasol won't be a part of the deal (Twitter link).
7:29pm: Various Twitter reports indicate differing levels of confidence that the deal will get done. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com says the deal will happen "barring any last minute snag." ESPN.com colleague Ric Bucher believes the Magic and Lakers are pushing hard to complete the trade, but adds there are still many question marks. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel says the talks are serious, but cautions there are a lot of moving parts. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports "guarded optimism" about the deal.
7:11pm: The deal has "huge legs," a source tells Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com, and the teams have made progress toward its completion today, Lynam tweets.
6:55pm: A source close to Gasol says he's not in the trade, Ric Bucher of ESPN.com tweets.
6:39pm: Chris Broussard of ESPN.com hears the deal is "very close" and could take place as early as Friday morning. Broussard says that Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles also hears Gasol may not be a part of the trade. Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com tweets that there is greater confidence a Howard deal will get done than in the past. The Sixers are willing to take on Bynum even without assurances he'll re-sign next summer, according to the ESPN report.
6:23pm: Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld, in an updated version of an earlier story, says one of the variants of the deal doesn't include Gasol, and it's unclear whether it includes Al Harrington. Devin Ebanks, on a sign-and-trade, and Josh McRoberts may also be a part of the deal.
5:52pm: A source close to the talks tells HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy that reports so far have the teams right, but the deal would likely include different players if it gets done, as the Magic, Lakers, Nuggets and Sixers discuss multiple scenarios. No deal is imminent or near completion, the source says (Twitter links).
5:41pm: Sixers center Nikola Vucevic would also go to the Magic as part of the deal, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Odds & Ends: Bulls, Josh Howard, Deng, Heat
Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com (via Twitter) points out that the Bulls are specifically $758,642 below the luxury tax apron and that the league minimum salary for sophomore players is $762,195. This definitely factors into the situation of Malcolm Thomas, who put on a standout performance as a member of their summer league roster and more importantly is entering his second year in the league. Deeks still doesn't think that Chicago is willing pay the tax, adding that the team isn't in any rush to make moves that would incidentally put them over the apron. Here are more of tonight's links from around the NBA…
- Matt Moore of CBS Sports gives the Bobcats a grade of "C" for their work this offseason.
- Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com talks about the plenty of backcourt options that the Mavericks have for the upcoming season.
- Australia's David Andersen hopes that Wednesday's game against Team USA is enough to make an impression as he hopes for an opportunity to return to the NBA, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. The 6'11 forward/center played in Italy last year and was a member of the Hornets during the 2010-11 season. Andersen says he will continue to play in Europe if he doesn't receive an offer from an NBA team.
- Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops examines the top 20 remaining free agents and groups them by position.
- Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that the Jazz are expected to re-engage in talks with free agent Josh Howard soon.
- Brian Kamenetzky of ESPN LA clarifies that although the Lakers are interested in Jodie Meeks, the shooting guard isn't quite open to signing for the veteran's minimum. Also, Kamenetzky notes that while the team has placed a priority on adding a backcourt or wing player, they won't use their mini-mid level exception to overpay for a player they feel isn't worth that much. Earlier today, Brian joined his brother Andy to discuss some names in free agency that are worth considering, including Carlos Delfino, Tracy McGrady, and Terrence Williams in addition to Meeks.
Odds & Ends: Blazers, Timberwolves, McGrady
The NBA does not make a profit by sending its stars to play at the Olympics, and a move to re-direct their headline players into a rebranded World Cup of Basketball would certainly change that. While Ken Berger of CBS Sports understands the idea of pulling NBA stars out of the Olympic games in the future, he says that it should be based on the premise that "Dream Teams" have run their course, and not because it is driven by an opportunity for David Stern and NBA owners to try to make money elsewhere. With that aside, here are some of tonight's miscellaneous links…
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld mentions that Jeremy Lamb, Royce White, and Terrence Jones cannot be included in a potential Dwight Howard trade until the end of August, specifically 30 days after each of them signed their rookie deals with the Rockets on July 26 (Sulia link).
- In a series of tweets, Jason Quick of The Oregonian reports that Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey has concluded the second round of interviews and will "move on to the next phase" of the process once all four finalists are given due consideration. Although team owner Paul Allen was not involved in the interviews with Terry Stotts, Steve Clifford, Kaleb Canales, and Elston Turner, Quick assumes that Olshey will ultimately present a recommendation for hire to Allen after deliberation. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (via Twitter) pointed out that Turner's interview lasted for four-and-a-half hours today.
- When asked if the Timberwolves had more changes to make after the Olympics, GM David Kahn replied, "Maybe it’s a tweak here and there, maybe even something big, to make us even better still" (according to a tweet by Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). In a separate piece, Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press documented Kahn's thoughts on the team's new additions this offseason.
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy says that although the Bulls and Tracy McGrady have flirted in the past, it doesn't sound like a deal is close (Twitter link).
Woelfel On Bucks, Przybilla, Meeks
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times has a notebook about the Bucks' plans for the remainder of the offseason, including several players they have interest in:
- Woelfel writes that the Bucks remain interested in Joel Przybilla, as was reported earlier this week. They view him as a fit to back up Samuel Dalembert.
- The Bucks have explored the possibility of signing free-agent guard Jodie Meeks, Woelfel writes.
- Woelfel notes that the Denver Nuggets attempted to move ahead of the Bucks in June's NBA Draft to select John Henson, Milwaukee's eventual selection.
Lester Hudson Drawing Interest
Lester Hudson isn't exactly a household name, but he's appeared in 52 NBA games over the last three seasons, most recently impressing the Cavs on a pair of 10-day contracts before finishing out the 2011/12 season with the Grizzlies. Hudson remains unsigned so far this summer, but agent Tyler Glass tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link) that he feels good about Hudson finding an NBA job before training camps begin.
Glass declined to name specific teams that had expressed interest in his client, but according to Amico, the Thunder are believed to be among Hudson's potential suitors (Sulia link). Amico tweeted earlier this week that the Nuggets have some interest as well. It's unclear if either the Cavs or Grizzlies are interested in bringing Hudson back.
In 16 games in Cleveland and Memphis in 2011/12, Hudson averaged 10.9 points in 20.9 minutes per contest, recording a 13.9 PER. All those numbers were career highs for the 2009 second-rounder.
Extension Candidate: Ty Lawson
When the 2012/13 NBA season officially began on July 1st, the Clippers moved quickly to lock up All-Star forward Blake Griffin to a maximum-salary, five-year extension. To date, Griffin is the player heading into the final year of his rookie deal that has signed a contract extension, but there's no shortage of potential candidates. Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Taj Gibson, and the Thunder's much-discussed duo of James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all eligible for extensions as well. However, the next player we see receive a new deal may be a guy that was picked with just the 18th overall pick in 2009 — Ty Lawson.
Playing on a Nuggets team that features a number of young, talented players, Lawson is the next one in line for an extension. With Danilo Gallinari (four years, $42MM), Wilson Chandler (five years, $31.7MM), Arron Afflalo (five years, $36.8MM), and most recently JaVale McGee (four years, $44MM) all locked up, Lawson could receive a long-term contract that exceeds all of them.
In his three seasons so far in Denver, Lawson has progressed in exactly the way the team hoped. As his minutes increased from 20.3 per game in 2009/10 to 34.8 in 2011/12, his production increased as well, from 8.3 to 16.4 PPG and 16.4 to 19.4 PER. While Lawson had a terrific regular season this past year, he was at his best in the postseason, nearly helping to lead the Nuggets to a first-round upset over the Lakers by averaging 19.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 23.2 PER.
The Nuggets re-signed Andre Miller to a three-year deal earlier this month, and he'll provide a solid veteran presence at the point in Denver. But Lawson definitely seems to be the team's long-term answer at the position — the 24-year-old has told multiple outlets in recent weeks that he's optimistic about working out an extension with the Nuggets at some point this summer.
So what kind of deal could Lawson be looking at? A pair of beat writers recently weighed in on the subject, with Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post opining (via Twitter) that the floor for Lawson's next deal should be $11MM annually, exceeding McGee's guarantee. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link), meanwhile, tempered his expectations slightly, but conceded that the young point guard could become the Nuggets' third player to command an eight-digit annual salary.
The Nuggets' 2012/13 books won't be affected by a Lawson extension, which wouldn't take effect until 2013/14, but Denver's handful of long-term contracts means they don't have a ton of flexibility going forward. With McGee, Miller, and Anthony Randolph signed to multiyear deals, the Nuggets' '13/14 commitments total over $60MM — a figure that includes Al Harrington's $7MM+ salary, which is only partially guaranteed and could be waived or traded. Still, an eight-digit salary for Lawson would take the Nuggets well over the cap, and could even see them approaching the tax threshold, depending on their other moves.
Lawson's annual salary could also vary depending on whether the Nuggets are willing to give him a five-year deal. A team is only allowed to sign one player coming off a rookie scale contract to a five-year contract, and it's hard to see why Lawson wouldn't be that designated player for Denver. He's a better candidate than other Nuggets on rookie deals, such as Kenneth Faried and Evan Fournier, and the team is unlikely to land a lottery pick anytime soon. If the Nuggets were to offer Lawson five years rather than four, perhaps they could reduce the annual cap hit slightly, in exchange for a larger overall guarantee.
Will a core of Lawson, McGee, Gallinari, Chandler, Afflalo, Faried, Fournier, and the rest ever be enough to challenge for a title? That much is still unclear, but so far the Nuggets have done a good job of signing multiyear deals that are still fairly movable if the team decides to move in another direction. Lawson seems to be heading for a long-term contract worth around $10MM annually, and based on his development in the first three years of his NBA career, that's another deal that should never become an albatross for Denver.
Odds & Ends: Lin, Bulls, Cavs, Nuggets
The craze of Linsanity dominated the pages of Hoops Rumors for several months and extended into the offseason, where the Rockets unexpectedly managed to pry Jeremy Lin away from the Knicks. Lin admitted to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group that in some ways, the hoopla went to his head. However, Lin believes that he is now well-equipped to deal with the hype and isn't concerned about living up to it in Houston. Here's a look at tonight's news from around the Association..
- The Bulls bench has gotten a complete overhaul this summer, writes Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Chicago appears set to sign Nazr Mohammed to replace Omer Asik and reached agreement with Marco Belinelli on a one-year deal earlier this evening.
- The trade rumors surrounding a blockbuster three-way trade involving the Cavs, Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum have quieted down, and Bob Finnan of the News-Herald doesn't expect the deal to go down this summer. Meanwhile, the Magic have told rival execs that they might not trade Howard at all.
- While some clubs seem to be putting all of their eggs in the basket of landing one or two mega-stars, the Nuggets are busy building a franchise their own way, writes Zach Lowe of Sports Illustrated. GM Masai Ujiri would love to land a top-ten talent, but the team is in position to be competitive regardless. I would argue that the new-look Nets are also following a similar gameplan.
Nuggets Sign Randolph, Amnesty Andersen
FRIDAY, 6:31pm: The Nuggets have officially announced the signing in a press release on the team's website.
TUESDAY, 9:28pm: According to a report by Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post, the Nuggets have signed forward Anthony Randolph and will use their amnesty provision to cut Chris Andersen. This will be Randolph's fourth destination since being drafted by the Warriors in 2008. The 6'10 forward averaged 7.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 1.0 BPG, while shooting 47% from the field in 15.2 MPG last season for the Timberwolves. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo reports that the deal will be for $6MM over three years (Twitter link).