Odds & Ends: Draft, McCollum, Chandler, Magic
As we approach the season's final few weeks, some teams will jockey for playoff spots while clubs on the other end of the spectrum jockey for draft position. Henry Abbott of ESPN.com's TrueHoop writes today about the issue of tanking that inevitably arises at this point in the season, and what can be done to avoid it. The piece is highly recommended, and includes a fascinating tidbit on four general mangers on non-playoff teams who reportedly only put in part-time hours.
Here are a few more links from around the Association for Tuesday afternoon:
- Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum has declared his intent to enter the draft, according to a release from the University's website. McCollum won't hire an agent, so he could still withdraw by April 10th and retain his NCAA eligibility. In his first mock draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford had McCollum going early in the second round.
- Stephen Litel of HoopsWorld talked to Wilson Chandler and the Nuggets about Chandler's return from China and the team's chances of qualifying for the postseason.
- With a focus on Ryan Anderson and other upcoming free agents, Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida discusses how a player's height affects the sort of contract he signs.
- Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside updates his list of D-League players who could receive auditions from NBA teams over the remainder of the season.
- Magic GM Otis Smith sat down for a question-and-answer session with Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Odds & Ends: Butler, Heisley, Kroenke, Bayless
Much of the NBA spent the evening with concerns about Celtics swingman Mickael Pietrus, who suffered a head injury during tonight's game with the 76ers and left the arena in an ambulance. It originally appeared Pietrus would spend the night in a hospital, as ESPN's Chris Forsberg and others reported, but apparently his injury, a concussion, will allow him to return home for the night, Forsberg tweets. Here's more from around the Association:
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports that Rasual Butler, who is drawing attention from the Bulls, would have gotten a look from the Heat at the beginning of the season had they not signed Shane Battier (Twitter link).
- Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is out of the running to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, but separate groups that include Magic Johnson and Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke remain in the hunt with a decision looming as soon as next week, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- Raptors backup point guard Jerryd Bayless shined while starter Jose Calderon missed games with injury earlier this month, and Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld argues the team should bring back the restricted free agent this summer and give him a larger role.
- Despite a loss to the Raptors tonight, the Knicks have been playing markedly better since Mike Woodson took over as coach, but that doesn't mean the team had quit on former coach Mike D'Antoni, Tyson Chandler says, according to Newsday's Al Iannazzone.
- Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida tweets that the Pistons have offered retiring Ben Wallace a job for when he hangs up his sneakers, but Wallace is undecided on whether he'll take it.
Rudy Fernandez Out For Season
Rudy Fernandez will undergo surgery on his lower back and will likely miss the remainder of the season, according to the Nuggets. Fernandez has missed time this year with a lower back strain, and had the injury flare up on Monday, prompting further evaluation.
The Nuggets should still be well-stocked at the wing despite losing Fernandez, as Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com points out via Twitter. However, it could be another blow for the Spanish Olympic team, depending on Fernandez's recovery time, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Fernandez averaged 8.6 PPG on 44% shooting in 31 games for the Nuggets this season, after the team acquired him from Dallas in December. The 26-year-old is in the final year of his contract, so if the Nuggets don't expect him back this season and require a roster spot to add another player, he's a candidate to be cut. Fernandez will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Latest On Buyouts: O’Neal, Powell, Heat
Earlier tonight we took a look at last year's buyout recipients and how they've fared since. Now let's dive into some of the buyout rumblings from this evening:
- Contrary to what we heard before, Jermaine O'Neal insists he and Celtics GM Danny Ainge never had talks about a buyout, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link). O'Neal says he did what he could to get his injured left wrist back in playing shape, Dan Duggan of the Boston Herald reports, but simply couldn't avoid season-ending surgery. One of the procedures he's considering could be career ending, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- J. Michael Falgoust and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today round up the buyout candidates. There's not much new here, but they do add the Nuggets to the list of teams interested in Josh Powell, which includes the Suns and Celtics.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel shared a few Heat-related items after Miami's 99-95 comeback win over the Suns tonight. Even though Derek Fisher appears headed to the Thunder, he thinks Mike James or Anthony Carter would be better point guard pickups because of their defensive abilities. And, after an inauspicious first career start by Dexter Pittman, the need to sign another center, like Ronny Turiaf, is as pressing as ever.
Northwest Notes: Fisher, Jazz, Nene, Okur, Blazers
The Thunder are reportedly among the favorites to sign Derek Fisher for the remainder of the season, so Royce Young of Daily Thunder explores whether Fisher would be a worthwhile acquisition for Oklahoma City, eventually concluding that having him on board "probably would do a lot more good than bad." Kevin Durant seems to be in agreement, telling Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman that he'd support the move if the team signed Fisher.
While we wait to see where the veteran point guard lands, let's check out a few more items from out of the Northwest….
- The Jazz don't plan to make use of their empty roster spot to add another player this season, GM Kevin O'Connor tells Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- Nuggets president Josh Kroenke was frustrated by reports that suggested Denver signed Nene with the intention of trading him, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. "I want to squash that right now," Kroenke said. "This organization is not in a situation where we can take a $60-plus million gamble like that…. Our initial plan was to have Nene around for quite a while. It hurt me to see that [people] thought that I would view someone like that."
- Acting Trail Blazers GM Chad Buchanan said that releasing Mehmet Okur is a possibility if the team needs to clear a roster spot. Given Okur's season-long back injury, the contract will qualify for about $2MM insurance coverage (Twitter links via Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge).
- In a piece for Blazer's Edge, Jeff Kramer of Storytellers Contracts explains how the Blazers' trades last week affected their potential cap room this summer.
Nuggets Agree To Re-Sign Chandler
6:21 PM: According to Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy, Chandler's deal is officially for five years and $37MM. The remainder of this season counts as one of the five years, so they deal is realistically closer to four years and $37MM. Chandler was a restricted free agent.
5:26 PM: The Denver Nuggets have come to an multiyear contract agreement with restricted free agent Wilson Chandler, the team announced today. We saw yesterday that the sides were working to reach a deal by the end of the weekend. The specifics of the deal have yet to be released.
Chandler came to the Nuggets last year from the Knicks as part of the package that fetched superstar Carmelo Anthony. He averaged 15.3 points and 5.7 rebounds between the teams in what was his fourth season in the NBA. During the NBA lockout, the 6-foot-8 Chandler agreed to sign with the Zhejiang Guangsha Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.
Masai Ujiri, Denver's executive vice president of basketball operations, issued the following statement about the acquisition in a team press release:
"It is great to have Wilson back on our roster. It was a very unique situation signing a talented free agent in the middle of the season, and we worked extremely hard to find an agreement that was best for everyone. Wilson will be an excellent addition for the rest of this season and for years to come."
After essentially acquiring JaVale McGee for Nene (and his contract) in one of the season's bigger trade deadline deals, Chandler is another addition to an already strong and deep Nuggets' roster. Beat writer Aaron Lopez tweets that Chandler should be able to play Monday against the Mavericks.
Nuggets Waive Ronny Turiaf
The Nuggets have waived center Ronny Turiaf after receiving the former Gonzaga star from the Wizards in the Nene trade that became official on Sunday. Turiaf, was acquired along with JaVale McGee and a second-round pick in a three-team trade with the Wizards and Clippers on March 15. He played four games with the Wizards this season, averaging 1.5 PPG and 3.1 RPG.
The 29-year-old Frenchman has played for the Lakers, Warriors, Knicks and Wizards over the course of his seven-year career. Per the new collective bargaining agreement, Turiaf may not return to the Wizards until after the season. There is no word on whether the former second-round draft pick by the Lakers plans to continue his NBA career or head overseas to play in Europe.
Kennedy On Williams, Buyouts, Nets, Magic
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld chatted with readers this afternoon, and passed along a few intriguing nuggets. Here are the highlights:
- He rounded up the buyout candidates, listing Chris Kaman, Derek Fisher, Jermaine O’Neal, Shawne Williams, Boris Diaw, Marquis Daniels, Brian Cook and Ronny Turiaf.
- Kennedy says he's been told free agent-to-be Deron Williams wants to play in Dallas, he and predicts the point guard winds up with the Mavs.
- Since Dwight Howard's option only covers one more season, Kennedy wouldn't rule out the Nets pursuing D12 again next year.
- The Magic won't go after Derek Fisher if he's bought out by the Rockets, but they may try to work a sign and trade with restricted free agent Ryan Anderson this summer as they try to get creative to bring in the talent necessary to appease Howard.
Nuggets Close To Long-Term Deal With Chandler
SATURDAY, 9:34am: The Nuggets and Chandler are making progress as they negotiate a long-term deal, sources to close to the situation tell Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com. The two sides are hoping to reach an agreement this weekend and Chandler's agent, Chris Luchey, will return to Denver tonight or tomorrow morning to resume talks.
THURSDAY, 4:32pm: The Nuggets and Wilson Chandler are nearing an agreement on a long-term contract for the restricted free agent, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter). The Nuggets' trade of Nene earlier today helped the team create future cap flexibility for Chandler.
According to Stein, final parameters for the deal are still being discussed, but one scenario has Chandler earning $30MM over five years, with a team option for the fifth year.
Chandler and agent Chris Luchey had set a Friday deadline for negotiations with the Nuggets. If the two sides haven't reached a deal by then, Chandler intends to play in Italy for the rest of the season. Sitting out the season would enable the forward to be a restricted free agent again this summer, when more teams have the cap space to bid on him.
Reaction To Clippers, Nuggets, Wizards Deal
There were several components to yesterday's three-team deal between the Clippers, Nuggets and Wizards, but each team seems pleased with the centerpieces of the swap.
The Clippers are welcoming Nick Young with open arms as they plan to slide him into the starting shooting guard spot after last night's embarrassing loss to a Suns team that was without Steve Nash and Grant Hill. GM Neil Olshey had been working on the deal for 10 days but didn't expect it to happen, as he told Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.
“I was actually surprised," Olshey said. "I didn’t think there was any way we would be able to acquire a player like Nick Young for a future second round pick.”
To be precise, the Clippers sent Brian Cook to Washington as well as a 2015 second-rounder.
One part of the deal amounted to an exchange of big men, with Nene going to Washington and JaVale McGee heading to Denver. Both sides were apparently glad to get rid of them, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix (All Twitter links).
Mannix says several Nuggets were upset about Nene's contract negotiations, which dragged on past the start of the truncated training camp this year, and felt they contributed to what's been an off year for him so far. Yesterday, Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post also cited Nene's lack of readiness for the season. After signing a five-year, $65MM deal, injuries limited Nene to playing in just 28 of Denver's 43 games prior to the trade. He averaged 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds, numbers that were fairly similar to last year's 14.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG, but his 16.8 PER was significantly lower than the 20.4 he posted in 2010/11. Mannix also heard that the move was in part prompted by the play of rookie Kenneth Faried, who has taken advantage of the absense of Nene and others and averaged 10.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG in March.
The Wizards, meanwhile, were "thrilled" to get rid of McGee, Mannix notes, before having to worry about re-signing the restricted free agent in the summer. McGee reportedly said he plans to ask for $14MM a year.