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Eastern Notes: Morris, Magic, Pistons

February 21st, 2016 at 7:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The Magic could create $45MM in cap space for this summer if Orlando makes a series of moves that include waiving Ersan Ilyasova by July 1st and renouncing the free-agent cap holds on Dewayne Dedmon, Brandon Jennings, Andrew Nicholson and Jason Smith, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel details. The Magic like Ilyasova and Jennings, however, according to Robbins, so it is not a certainty that the team won’t retain them beyond this season.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • The Pistons have until 6pm Eastern on Monday to further evaluate Donatas Motiejunas’ back condition after the league granted their request for a 24-hour extension of the typical 72-hour post-trade window, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy confirmed to reporters, including Keith Langlois of NBA.com (Twitter link).
  • The Wizards acquired Markeiff Morris on Thursday because of his versatility and toughness, Washington president Ernie Grunfeld told J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Grunfeld also confirmed an earlier report from Michael that by acquiring Morris, the amount the Wizards can offer under the Disabled Player Exception they still have from waiving Martell Webster has dropped, lest the Wizards pass the luxury tax threshold. After this deal with Morris, the most the Wizards can offer through the DPE to a free agent without going over the tax is just slightly more than $1MM, according to Michael. “We feel like we needed a jolt at this time,” Grunfeld told Michael in reference to the addition of Morris.
  • Jeff Teague and Al Horford are the only remaining Hawks from Kirk Hinrich’s first tenure with the team, and both players are glad to see Hinrich return, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays.
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Central Notes: Pistons, Cavs, Bulls

February 21st, 2016 at 1:45pm CST by Will Joseph

The Pistons have asked for a 24-hour extension of the typical 72-hour trade window to further evaluate Donatas Motiejunas’ back condition, Detroit coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters, including Keith Langlois of NBA.com (Twitter link). There is a chance that the trade could be voided, but Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets the possibility of that is “small.” The Pistons’ request has not been approved yet, as David Mayo of MLive points out (on Twitter). The 72-hour window would end tonight and the extension would push that deadline to Monday night. The Pistons acquired Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton from the Rockets as part of a three-team trade Thursday involving the Sixers, despite acknowledging the risk that came with adding Motiejunas because of his persistent back issues. The Pistons have consulted with a back specialist in addition to several doctors, which has contributed to the delay, Beard tweets.

Here’s more from around the Central Division:

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Pistons Notes: Harris, Motiejunas, Van Gundy

February 21st, 2016 at 8:59am CST by ChrisCrouse

Executive/coach Stan Van Gundy believes that the addition of Tobias Harris was better than any player the Pistons could have acquired on the free agent market this summer based on the 23-year-old’s talent and contract, John Niyo of The Detroit News writes.

“You’ve got to know who you are,” Van Gundy said. “We’re not at the position yet that with 30 teams having money that we’re gonna be at the top of everybody’s list that’s on the free agent market. So to be able to get good young players who are locked in is the ideal for us.”

The team considered an offer sheet for Harris last July, but since the Magic seemed inclined to match any offer, Detroit didn’t want to tie up its cap space for no reason. The Pistons decided to pursue DeMarre Carroll and Danny Green instead, but they struck out on both with Carroll signing in Toronto and Green re-signing in San Antonio.

Here’s more from Detroit:

  • Pistons owner Tom Gores understood Donatas Motiejunas‘ back issues and the risk that came with acquiring him, but despite this, he gave Van Gundy the green light to make the deal, Rod Beard of The Detriot News writes. “It’s a calculated risk,” Van Gundy said. “A little more risk, maybe, than some of the other deals we’ve had, but with a very high reward.”
  • GM Jeff Bower believes Brandon Jennings is going to examine his options in free agency this summer, something that played a factor in dealing him away, Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays. Bower added that Harris’ contract certainty played a role in the deal as well. Harris will make $16MM this season, $17.2MM during the 2016/17 season, $16MM in 2017/18 and $14.8MM in the final year of the deal.
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Central Notes: Gasol, Bryant, Frye, Pistons

February 20th, 2016 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The final third of the season will influence Pau Gasol‘s decision on whether to stay with the Bulls, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The 35-year-old plans to opt out this summer, passing up $7,769,520 next season to take a shot at free agency. His future will largely be affected by how the injury-plagued Bulls perform in the crowded Eastern Conference race for playoff spots. “How these games play out will give me information of how I want to … or how my decision will be influenced for sure,’’ Gasol said. “How we handle this situation and if we’re able to overcome it, get more together and united and stronger or we give up or are content with it. Because that tells a lot, it tells you a lot about the character of a team and the people you are around.’’

There’s more news from the Central Division:

  • Kobe Bryant, who will play his final game in Chicago Sunday, came close to joining the Bulls in 2004, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. In the wake of the Lakers’ loss in the NBA Finals, and with relationships strained with coach Phil Jackson and teammate Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant wanted to use his free agency to get out of Los Angeles. He held a secret meeting with Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and executive John Paxson and strategized about how to get a sign-and-trade deal done with the Lakers. However, a few days later O’Neal asked for a trade, and Bryant spent 12 more years in L.A.
  • Channing Frye still hasn’t been cleared to play for Cleveland, but the organization isn’t concerned about his status, writes Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Frye, who was obtained from Orlando in a trade on Thursday, went through more medical exams today and did not accompany the Cavaliers on their trip to Oklahoma City. Coach Tyronn Lue said the franchise has “no concern at all” about Frye, who sat out the 2012/13 season with a heart condition.
  • The Pistons created a minuscule $211,795 trade exception equivalent to the difference between Joel Anthony‘s $2.5MM salary and the $2,288,205 salary for Donatas Motiejunas as a result of their trade Thursday, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Detroit took Marcus Thornton‘s salary into the minimum-salary exception.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Eastern Notes: Morris, Frye, Varejao

February 20th, 2016 at 1:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said he had no clue that Markieff Morris‘ situation in Phoenix would take the turn that it did when he acquired his twin Marcus Morris this past offseason, writes Ben Standig of CSNMidAtlantic.com. “I didn’t have any idea,” Van Gundy said. “We just knew that we liked Marcus. He was a good player, a professional guy, hard worker. We never had any problems from our end with it. I mean, Marcus was upset when it happened, upset at Phoenix, but it never had any effect on what we were doing in Detroit. He was a real professional.”

Markieff intends to approach his new situation with the Wizards the same way, Standing adds. He already has the support of Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley, both of whom relayed positive things about Morris, the scribe notes. “You know, it’s just guys that actually know me, and not on the outside looking in,” Morris said. “Guys that I’ve actually played with and been in the locker room with. Things happen. It’s in my past. All I can do is move forward and learn from it. I’m happy to do it. And getting compliments from those guys means a lot. We’re good friends, we keep in touch. They know me as a person.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Cavaliers were able to land Channing Frye on Thursday despite having less in the way of assets to offer Orlando than the Clippers, who were also interested in the stretch-four, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal notes. Los Angeles backed away from Frye because of the two years and approximately $15MM remaining on his deal, a contract that Cleveland instead views as an asset with the cap set to jump this offseason, Lloyd adds.
  • The Hawks would be wise to consider signing center Anderson Varejao, whom Portland waived after acquiring him from the Cavaliers, Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders opines. Atlanta needs a backup center with Tiago Splitter lost for the remainder of the season, and inking Varejao would carry little risk and wouldn’t impact the franchise’s cap flexibility heading into the offseason, Greene notes.
  • Despite a somewhat slow start to his NBA career, Hornets coach Steve Clifford believes Frank Kaminsky will become a solid starter in the league thanks to how hard he works off the court, Gary D’Amato of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays. “He has an NBA game right now,” said Clifford. “His biggest issue is he’s physically not strong enough to play every night against the starters. He’s worked hard in the weight room. I think in another year you’ll see him take off because of his work ethic.” The 2015 No. 9 overall pick has appeared in 53 games this season and is averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per night.
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Pistons Notes: Van Gundy, Motiejunas, Harris

February 19th, 2016 at 1:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Stan Van Gundy acknowledges the trade for Donatas Motiejunas carries more risk than other moves given his persistent back trouble and status as a soon-to-be restricted free agent, but he feels the chance of a high reward is worth it, as the Pistons coach/executive said Thursday following the trade deadline (transcription via Pistons.com). Motiejunas will have to pass a physical to validate the trade, notes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, but Van Gundy said the team believes the back issue is minor, Ellis also relays (Twitter links).

“He’s been a guy that’s been very, very high on our list for a long time,” Van Gundy said, according to the team site. “When our scouts get together and do their thing, that’s what happened at the trade deadline. Both he and Tobias [Harris] have been very, very high on our list. It just happened to be a situation with Tobias where it didn’t work out in the summer because we couldn’t pursue him because of the restricted free agent thing. And Donatas was then just coming off the injury or just had the injury.”

Van Gundy added that “we would have laughed, quite honestly” if someone told him and his staff two weeks ago that they could land both Motiejunas and Harris. See more from the Motor City.

  • The Kings were the only “real” suitor for Harris in free agency this past summer, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com, though GM Jeff Bower acknowledged the Pistons had interest in signing Harris, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
  • Motiejunas comes with some promise for the future if the Pistons re-sign him, but Thursday’s trade was more about the short term than the acquisition of Harris was, Beard contends. Still, the combination of the moves show the team’s focus on positioning itself for the future, according to Beard.
  • The Motiejunas swap wasn’t that much of a risk for the Pistons, who dealt from a position of strength that the Harris trade had given them, MLive’s David Mayo argues. The ability to snag Harris without giving up a first-rounder empowered Detroit to spend that first-rounder in Thursday’s trade, Mayo writes.
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Pistons Acquire Donatas Motiejunas

February 18th, 2016 at 11:57pm CST by Chuck Myron
NBA: Orlando Magic at Houston Rockets

Troy Taormina / USA TODAY Sports Images

8:43pm: The Pistons acquired Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton from the Rockets as part of a three-team trade involving the Sixers, the teams all announced. The Rockets received Detroit’s top-eight protected 2016 first-round pick from the Pistons and the rights to draft-and-stash player Chukwudiebere “Chu” Maduabum from the Sixers. Philadelphia gets Joel Anthony from Detroit and Denver’s 2017 second-round pick from Houston. The Sixers are likely to waive Anthony, a league source told John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link).

Motiejunas projects to be backup for Tobias Harris, whom the Pistons also recently acquired via trade, while Thornton adds depth on the wing. The Pistons paid a steep price in adding pieces to their rotation, particularly given the lingering back issues that have kept Motiejunas from appearing in a game since the calendar flipped to 2016. Still, Pistons executive/coach Stan Van Gundy has a track record of paying heavily for players he likes, as Marc Stein of ESPN tweets. Van Gundy and company will get to match offers in restricted free agency for Motiejunas this summer, while Thornton is heading to unrestricted free agency at the completion of his one-year deal.

“We’re happy to welcome Donatas and Marcus to the Pistons family,” Pistons GM Jeff Bower said. “We like Donatas’ size, his skill level and his ability to play two frontcourt positions. Marcus adds scoring punch to our bench with his ability to create his own shot and make plays.  We thank Joel Anthony for his professionalism throughout his time here and we wish him the best going forward.” 

It’s no surprise to see Motiejunas depart from Houston, as it was a lock that either he or Terrence Jones would leave the Rockets as restricted free agents this summer, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com reported earlier this week. Stein reported earlier in the day that the Pistons had offered Anthony to the Rockets in exchange for Motiejunas, but instead the Rockets end up with a lightly protected first-rounder. The protection covers the top 10 in 2017 and 2018 if it doesn’t convey with top-eight protection this year, an odd wrinkle. The deal also allows the Rockets to create a trade exception worth $2,288,205, Motiejunas’ salary for this season, and another worth $947,276 as a vestige of Thornton. Maduabum, the other asset Houston gained in the deal, was the 56th overall pick in 2011 and plays for Pyrinto Tampere in Finland, well off pro basketball’s beaten path.

Philadelphia’s end of the move has the hallmarks of GM Sam Hinkie rather than chairman of basketball operations Jerry Colangelo. The Sixers score a second-rounder and use their cap space to absorb a veteran player it seems they’d prefer not to keep. They waived JaKarr Sampson to accommodate the move, since they couldn’t trade for Anthony, even if they intended to release him, without first opening a roster spot. Anthony was fresh off re-signing with the Pistons in July on a two-year deal worth $5MM, but only the first season’s $2.5MM salary was guaranteed.

Will Joseph contributed to this post. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports first reported Motiejunas and Thornton were headed to Detroit and that the Pistons were giving up Anthony and the protected 2016 first-rounder (Twitter links). Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com revealed the protection involved with the pick (on Twitter). Wojnarowski later relayed the involvement of the Sixers (Twitter link), while Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported the second-round pick going to Philly (Twitter link). Gonzalez had news of the rights to Maduabum heading to Houston (Twitter links). RealGM provided additional draft pick detail.

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Eastern Notes: Horford, Calderon, Harris

February 18th, 2016 at 11:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks took center Al Horford off the market at approximately 1pm today, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (Twitter links). Prospective trade partners were wary of Horford’s impending free agency, which made the offers Atlanta received less than enticing, Broussard adds. Point guard Jeff Teague was available until the final minutes of the deadline, with the Bucks and Nets expressing the most interest, the ESPN scribe notes.

Here’s the latest from the East:

  • Despite their best efforts, the Raptors were unable to upgrade their power forward position prior to the NBA trade deadline today, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes. The lack of a significant deal wasn’t due to the team’s lack of effort, with Toronto checking in on virtually every player rumored to be available, but the team found the asking prices simply too steep to pull the trigger, Lewenberg adds. “There was nothing there good enough for us, we felt,” GM Masai Ujiri said. “Anything that was good enough we felt, we just didn’t want to give up the future of our team for any of the stuff that was out there.”
  • Knicks point guard Jose Calderon noted that one reason his numbers have taken a hit is New York’s triangle offense, a system not conducive to gaudy stats from playmakers, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News relays. “It doesn’t matter how I play,” Calderon said. “Sometimes when you maybe get off on the wrong foot or people don’t know you as a player and expect something else. It’s tough to change those minds. So I’m pretty good with the way I am, the way I do stuff, the way I work. Like I said, if we go position by position, or player by player, I lost every battle in that situation. I’m not going to score more points than other point guards in this league. I’m a different kind of player. It’s not fun when you want to win for the Knicks and people want you out of the Knicks.”
  • The Knicks may cut the playing time of rookie point guard Jerian Grant because his lack of playing experience is hurting him and the team, according to interim coach Kurt Rambis, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays.
  • Courtney Lee says being dealt to the Hornets “threw him off” because he was told the previous day by the Grizzlies he wasn’t being shopped, Steve Reed of The Associated Press writes. The swingman did add that the presence of coach Steve Clifford, who was an assistant in Orlando during Lee’s rookie season, would help him adjust more quickly, Reed adds. “It helps a lot,” Lee said of Clifford. “I have a feel for him and his coaching style. He knows my capabilities and I think he’s comfortable with me in that sense. It’s just a matter of picking up the plays.”
  • The Pistons did extremely well in the trade that landed them Tobias Harris, David Mayo of MLive.com opines. Detroit netted a still-improving combo forward who provides exactly what the team lacked in its frontcourt and Harris’ salary will likely look like a bargain in the coming season, Mayo adds.
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Central Notes: Rubio, Forman, Harris

February 18th, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls held off on making any major trade deadline moves because no offers significant enough to improve the team materialized, according to GM Gar Forman, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune relays. “We understand the frustrations. Up to this point, it has been a disappointing year,” Forman said. “We all realize — from ownership to the front office to the players to the coaching staff — we haven’t done as well as we thought we would do. We hold ourselves accountable that we haven’t met expectations. With that said, we certainly were not in any type of panic mode. We looked at the big picture. Obviously, the injuries that we’ve had have hurt. But that’s not the only reason. … We explored heavily and were very, very active with talks with a lot of teams. There wasn’t something we felt … significant enough to do something right now.”

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

  • The Pistons believe that Tobias Harris is still on the rise as a player and that he will be able to help the franchise in a variety of ways, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “The interesting thing is being able to look at what he was doing this season but going back to our free-agent preparation for the summer and the review of last year’s performance,” GM Jeff Bower told Langlois. “We feel that showed us a player with a variety of skills that can help a team in numerous ways. We also think that his play and the projection of his performance over the next five years is on a steady incline based on what we’re seeing and think he has a lot of room to grow as a player. We really like that this is a move that can be looked at as a long-term move as well as one that will fit with our core group of players and we’ll be able to keep them together due to contract certainty. Those are all pieces that were pretty important.”
  • The protected first round pick the Cavaliers sent to the Trail Blazers as part of the Channing Frye trade will become two second round picks if it is not conveyed in 2018 or 2019, Erik Gunderson of The Columbian relays (on Twitter).
  • The Bulls never attempted to trade power forward Pau Gasol, though the team did receive numerous inquiries about his availability, Forman insists, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com notes (Twitter links). Forman also indicated that the team still hopes to re-sign center Joakim Noah, who will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Friedell adds.
  • Cavs GM David Griffin noted that the team had a deal in place with Frye when he was a free agent in 2014, but Cleveland couldn’t make the numbers work because it needed all of its cap space to sign LeBron James, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal tweets.
  • The Bucks made several attempts to pry point guard Ricky Rubio away from the Wolves but balked when Minnesota requested shooting guard Khris Middleton in return, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reports (Twitter link).
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Eastern Rumors: Teague, Gasol, Nets

February 18th, 2016 at 1:04pm CST by Will Joseph
The Hawks have stopped trade talks involving Jeff Teague, whom the Knicks and Jazz (among others) reportedly covet, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter links). Our own Chuck Myron examined the point guard’s trade candidacy last month.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
  • The Nets never wound up interviewing Wizards senior VP of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard despite asking Washington’s permission to do so, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post.
  • Knicks GM Steve Mills spoke with the Timberwolves about Ricky Rubio, but the Knicks believe Minnesota won’t deal him, and while New York contacted the Rockets about Ty Lawson, neither dialogue is active, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.
  • The Celtics have thus far been unwilling to pay a premium for Al Horford or Dwight Howard, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
  • The Bucks have reached out to the Sixers about Kendall Marshall but haven’t made progress on that front, reports Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
  • Pau Gasol confirmed today the Bulls are in the lead to re-sign him when he opts out, as expected, this summer, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. An earlier report indicated he preferred to join forces with Marc Gasol on the Grizzlies.
  • The Pistons are still deliberating on their point guard situation, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press hears (Twitter link).
  • The Magic are expected to make a big push this summer for Horford, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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