Warriors Release Jason Thompson
MONDAY, 10:09am: The move is official, the team announced via press release.
SUNDAY, 9:00pm: The Warriors waived Jason Thompson to make room for Anderson Varejao, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Warriors will use the stretch provision, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Thompson had $2.65MM guaranteed for 2016/17, but the Warriors can stretch $883,333 over the next three seasons, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports points out via Twitter.
The Warriors acquired Thompson this past offseason in a trade from the Sixers. Thompson, whom the Kings had traded to the Sixers earlier in July, has had the worst season of his career, statistically speaking, so it is no surprise the Warriors are parting ways. A starter for most of his carer, Thompson has appeared in only 28 games and has made only one start.
It will be interesting to see if any team adds Thompson, 29, who has been in decline since the 2013/14 season. The Warriors reportedly reached an agreement with Varejao on Sunday. The Warriors had a need in the frontcourt with Festus Ezeli still out because of arthroscopic knee surgery and Andrew Bogut nursing an Achilles injury, but seemingly had no desire to play Thompson.
Western Notes: Jazz, Varejao, Lakers
The Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack because he can defend bigger guards and can handle the ball, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News relays (on Twitter). Mack is in line for playing time with Utah, Genessy tweets. “We traded for him to help us — and he is different than the other guys, so he’s going to play,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Mack averaged only 7.5 minutes in 24 games with the Hawks, but he doesn’t believe conditioning will be an issue, per Genessy (Twitter link).
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- The most significant reason why Anderson Varejao agreed to sign with the Warriors was Golden State assistant Luke Walton, a former teammate of Varejao’s, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets.
- Lakers star Kobe Bryant gave coach Byron Scott a vote of confidence days after Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak declined to comment on Scott’s future, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s been channeling his inner Zen,” Bryant said. “It’s been very tough for him. It’s been very tough. I think he’s managing it very well. He’s remaining consistent and continuing to try to bring the best out of these young guys and demanding the best from them. He’s doing the best that he can in the situation.”
- Scott said today that D’Angelo Russell will start for the rest of the season, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
- The Wolves‘ needs for this summer after not striking a deal at the deadline consist of a veteran athletic wing who can defend and shoot, another athletic big man and a scoring point guard, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.
- The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced via press release.
- The Mavs recalled Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson from their D-League affiliate, Dallas announced in an emailed press release.
Pacific Notes: Durant, Green, Rivers
The Lakers may not be a real contender to sign Kevin Durant should he decide to leave Oklahoma City in free agency due to the lack of talent on their roster, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports in a session on Fox Sports Radio (h/t to Adrian Hasenmayer of Fox Sports). Wojnarowski adds that the Warriors have Durant’s attention and they remain a threat to steal him away from the Thunder, supplementing an earlier report that the Warriors would be “significant” front-runners to sign Durant should he leave the team.
Big-name free agents, including Durant, don’t care about whether a team has high-value assets such as top draft picks or young prospects because those are not going to help a team win a championship right away. If Durant is going to leave Oklahoma City, it’s going to be for a place that can win a championship and part of his criteria will be whether the destination is good enough to beat top teams, like the Warriors, with him on it, sources tell Wojnarowski.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Executive/coach Doc Rivers believes the addition of Jeff Green gives the Clippers a fighting chance against the top teams in the Western Conference, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes. “When you look at the teams we have to beat, we need to get longer, more athletic, and we need to increase our shooting,” Rivers said. “And I think with Jeff we did all three of those things.
- The Clippers could get Austin Rivers, who has been sidelined with a broken left hand, back on the court in less than two weeks, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register tweets.
- With Markieff Morris out of the picture, the Suns can finally start to build for the future, Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic argues. Bickley believes the Suns should acquire players who resonate with the community, similar to how other professional franchises in Phoenix have done.
Warriors Likely To Sign Anderson Varejao
The Warriors are the favorite to sign Anderson Varejao once he clears waivers later today, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The Spurs are still being considered as well, Stein adds in a full length piece.
Golden State is currently carrying 15 players on its roster with each contract being fully guaranteed, so a subsequent move will be needed. The minimum salary for a player with Varejao’s experience is slightly under $1.5MM, and with the team in luxury tax, the cost of acquiring the big man at the minimum would roughly be $4.1MM overall, as Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area New Group tweets.
Golden State and San Antonio are not the only teams with interest in Varejao. The Thunder had interest in the center, as did the Hawks, Clippers and Mavs. The 33-year-old was waived by the Blazers after being acquired in a deadline deal. Varejao didn’t see much action for Cleveland this season, seeing only 10.0 minutes per game. He averaged 2.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Multiple Teams Interested In Anderson Varejao
7:45pm: The Spurs and Mavericks are also among the teams interested in Varejao, Stein writes in a full-length story. Dallas is reportedly the frontrunner to sign David Lee once he clears waivers, so it is possible that the Mavs consider Varejao a secondary option, though that is merely my speculation.
6:51pm: The Warriors are among the teams that have expressed interest in signing Varejao once he clears waivers, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
12:18pm: The Thunder have swiftly jumped into the market for Anderson Varejao, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said in an appearance with Tony Cartagena on ESPN Cleveland Radio today (audio link; scroll to seven-minute mark). Windhorst also links the Clippers and the Bulls to Varejao, though that appears to be speculative. The Trail Blazers waived Varejao on Thursday after acquiring him via trade from the Cavaliers, who can’t re-sign him for 12 months.
Oklahoma City shed $3.615MM in salary and roughly another $6MM in projected luxury tax penalties thanks to Thursday’s trade to acquire Randy Foye. The Thunder are still well over the tax threshold, but the cost of a prorated minimum-salary contract for Varejao would pale in comparison to what the team would have spent if it hadn’t pulled off the trade with the Nuggets that sent out D.J. Augustin and Steve Novak. Oklahoma City sent an undisclosed amount of cash to Denver in the swap, but it couldn’t have been more than $1.9MM.
The deal also opened a roster spot for the Thunder, so they wouldn’t have to make a corresponding move to add Varejao. The 33-year-old big man must first clear waivers before signing with any team, though that’s likely a formality, given the nearly $10MM in guaranteed salary his contract would entail for next season.
The Thunder have a prorated portion of their $3.376MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception that they could use to outbid other suitors, though doing so would cut into the money the team saved in the trade.
Pacific Notes: Griffin, Wilcox, Frye
Clippers power forward Blake Griffin will face extra scrutiny for his role in an off the court incident involving a member of the team’s training staff when he returns from injury and his four-game suspension, Michael Lee of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes. Griffin has come under fire before for his physical style of play and there is a strong chance that other players will attempt to test Griffin’s response to aggressive play against him, Lee adds, though coach/executive Doc Rivers doesn’t think it will be an issue for his player. “Listen, he’s tested every night,” Rivers told Lee. “Blake gets hit, chipped more than any player in the league. He’s already been tested.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers turned down four deals that involved shooting guard C.J. Wilcox, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). The 25-year-old has only appeared in eight contests this season, averaging 0.8 points in 2.9 of action per game.
- Despite their wealth of talent, the Warriors did not receive one trade inquiry prior to today’s deadline, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times tweets.
- The Clippers passed on the chance to acquire Channing Frye from the Magic because the team preferred Jeff Green, whom it landed from Memphis in exchange for Lance Stephenson, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t want to discuss the future of Byron Scott and indicated that the coach’s status with the organization hasn’t changed, Jovan Buva of ESPN.com notes. “Byron is under contract, and until that changes, or if that changes, I’ll let you know,” Kupchak said. “Once again, I don’t want to get into a Byron discussion right now,” Kupchak continued. “So I’m not going to really answer any more questions about Byron, because I’m concerned that one question will lead to another, and if his status changes, I will let you know.“
Western Notes: Griffin, McRae, Durant
It’s likely the Clippers hang on to Blake Griffin through at least the rest of this season, but he isn’t “untouchable” in trade talk and the Clippers are listening to offers, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Still, while the team is liable to take a more aggressive stance about trading Griffin if it finds out before the trade deadline that it has no shot at Kevin Durant this summer, the Clips would demand a huge offer just to trade him away before draft time in June, much less Thursday’s 2pm Central trade deadline, according to Lowe. Clippers executives are adamant that they don’t intend to trade their star power forward, with one of them telling Dan Woike of The Orange County Register that the team never offered Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for a package of four players, as had been reported.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Kings are seeking a major upgrade at shooting guard and are not looking for younger players who couldn’t provide significant contributions immediately, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (on Twitter). Sacramento is said to be desperate to deal away shooting guard Ben McLemore, with the Timberwolves and other teams reportedly interested in the young wing.
- The Mavericks would be interested in Wolves shooting guard Kevin Martin if he works a buyout with Minnesota, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter). Dallas would be reluctant to trade for Martin because of the fear he would pick up his player option for next season worth $7,377,500, MacMahon notes.
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said the team is looking to add a guard via a 10-day deal, but that isn’t likely to occur prior to the team’s next two contests, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
- The Warriors find themselves in a difficult position at trade deadline time as the team attempts to repeat as NBA champions while trying to set itself up for a run at Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. Golden State has to weigh its pursuit of the all-time regular season victory mark against the chance to land Durant this offseason, Kawakami notes. In order to clear enough cap room to ink Durant outright, the Warriors would need to part ways with a significant chunk of talent, which could derail the team’s chances at bringing home a title in 2015/16, Kawakami adds.
- The Suns have recalled shooting guard Jordan McRae from their D-League affiliate in Bakersfield, the team announced. McRae, who is with Phoenix on a 10-day deal, was sent to the D-League so he could participate in the league’s All-Star game, wherein he notched seven points and five assists in 14 minutes of action.
- The Kings don’t appear to want to bring George Karl back next season even though they’ve committed to him through the end of this season, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. He’ll have $6.5MM in guaranteed salary remaining on his contract once this season is done.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Morris, Kings, Gasol
The Suns want a package that includes a younger player and a first-round pick for power forward Markieff Morris, several league executives told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Phoenix has no intention of bringing back Morris next season but GM Ryan McDonough could wait until the summer to deal him if he doesn’t get the desired package, Wojnarowski continues. Phoenix already owns five first-rounders over the next three drafts, which motivates McDonough to get more than just a pick for Morris, Wojnarowski adds.
In other news around the league:
- The Kings and Magic are under internal pressure to make the playoffs and that increases the chances of those teams making a deadline deal, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac were also canvassing league officials during the All-Star break on possible GM candidates, Wojnarowski reported in his trade deadline update. Divac holds the title of GM but the team is looking for someone who has more experience working with the collective bargaining agreement to assist him, as Wojnarowski details.
- The Knicks could make a play for the Bulls’ Pau Gasol, an unrestricted free agent this summer, even though center is not a clear position of need, Marc Berman of the New York Post opines. A source told Berman that money isn’t a primary concern for Gasol, which bodes well for the Knicks. Gasol is one of Knicks president Phil Jackson’s favorite players and he would make a perfect mentor to rookie power forward Kristaps Porzingis, Berman continues. The Knicks could attempt to trade current starter Robin Lopez to open up a spot for Gasol and might also clear cap space sooner by dealing backup big man Kyle O’Quinn, whom they’ve reportedly offered around, before the trade deadline, Berman adds.
- Lakers reserve shooting guard Nick Young is hopeful of getting traded to a playoff-bound team, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The club wants to move Young, as it tried to do during last season’s trade deadline and the offseason, but has struggled to find a taker, Medina continues. Young has two years and approximately $11.1MM remaining on his contract after this season, with a player option on the final year.
- There is only a slim possibility that the Warriors will make a trade before Thursday’s deadline, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Pacific Notes: Griffin, Schlenk, Nance
Clippers president of basketball operations Doc Rivers told ESPN’s Chris Broussard that there isn’t truth to the idea that his team offered Blake Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Will Barton and Nikola Jokic, as a source who spoke with the reporter had said earlier. Broussard relayed the exchange in an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike” show (audio link; scroll to 6-minute mark), adding that the source had told him the Nuggets turned down the offer out of concern that Griffin would opt out and leave in free agency after next season. That jibes with an earlier report from Mitch Lawrence of Forbes, who indicated 10 days ago that the Clippers had engaged the Nuggets in talks about Griffin, though Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reported shortly thereafter that the Clippers had no interest in trading their star power forward, a refrain that Rivers repeated in the days that followed. See more from the Pacific Division:
- Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is known to be high on Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, writes Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee amid a piece that argues the Kings should bring in an experienced front office hand to work beneath GM Vlade Divac. Sacramento reportedly interviewed Schlenk for the lead front office role in 2013, and he was believed to be one of the candidates to fill former GM Pete D’Alessandro‘s chair in Divac’s front office this past summer.
- The Kings anticipate making a minor move at Thursday’s trade deadline, Voisin writes in the same column, speculating that such a trade could involve Marco Belinelli or Ben McLemore going out for draft picks or a wing defender.
- Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports lists Larry Nance Jr. alongside Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell among those the Lakers should refuse to trade and instead make the focal point of their rebuilding efforts.
And-Ones: Rubio, Anthony, Cousins
Ricky Rubio is “readily available,” writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, but Wolves GM Milt Newton earlier this week told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that he hadn’t fielded any offers for the point guard. Still, Newton said he would be obliged to listen if a team came calling. The Knicks are in the market for a point guard, but it’s hard to envision New York having the assets needed to acquire Rubio, Isola notes. Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press further clarifies the situation, tweeting that the Wolves are not shopping Rubio, but they won’t immediately hang up the phone if someone calls to ask.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Carmelo Anthony has said he is not looking to leave the Knicks and is not interested in waiving his no-trade clause, but Isola hears Anthony would strongly consider a trade to the Clippers (in the same piece). Isola adds that Anthony has wanted to play with Chris Paul for a while and speculates that a deal involving Blake Griffin would make sense for both teams.
- DeMarcus Cousins has been answering to trade rumors all weekend, but the Kings are not going to move him, according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports’ Pro Basketball Talk. There is little incentive to trade Cousins because he has a reasonable contract, owner Vivek Ranadive loves him and the Kings plan to open a new arena in downtown Sacramento next season, Helin adds. “First of all, I can’t control the trade [rumors] and I can’t control if I’m traded or not,” Cousins said. “But I do want to be in Sacramento, and I know everybody in Sacramento knows that.”
- Commissioner Adam Silver hinted that keeping the relative status quo in the next collective bargaining agreement would be OK with him as he spoke Saturday in his All-Star weekend press conference, according to a transcript on NBA.com. “Did we get everything we were looking for in collective bargaining last time? No,” Silver said. “But we feel it’s a fair compromise, and we feel it’s working pretty well.”
- Warriors coach and former Suns GM Steve Kerr was inspired to get into coaching because of Jeff Hornacek‘s initial success and expressed disappointment toward Hornacek’s firing, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic relays. “It’s just a jolt of NBA reality,” Kerr said. “Every coach is sort of a victim of circumstance, good or bad. So much depends on the talent that you have and the support you have and the chemistry in your organization and your locker room. Unfortunately, it’s a really, really hard thing to discover or to create. I feel very lucky to have that here because I know it doesn’t exist in most places.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.