Warriors Sign Hilton Armstrong To 10-Day Deal
The Warriors have signed Hilton Armstrong to a 10-day contract, per a team press release. The 29-year-old center entered the NBA in the 2006/07 season and has averaged 3 PPG and 2.6 RPG over his career. This will be his second stint with Golden State this year, after not playing a minute of NBA action in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 season.
In his first stretch with the Warriors, Armstrong played well in small minutes over seven games, before Goldsen State waived his non-guaranteed contract. The big man has been playing as an unrestricted free agent in the D-League since that release, averaging 12.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.8 BPG for the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Western Notes: Rockets, Nash, Brooks
Rockets GM Daryl Morey is high on the athleticism and skill of trade acquisition Jordan Hamilton, as Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle observes. “He is really a highly-regarded prospect and hasn’t had a chance to emerge,” Morey said. “That is usually the kind of guy we do really well with, catch him before they get a chance and see them flourish with us.” Hamilton averaged 6.8 PPG and 3.4 RPG per game this season for the Nuggets and started 11 games.
More from out west:
- In the same article, Creech also details that Aaron Brooks calls his decision not to exercise his veto power on the trade that sent him to the Nuggets a “leap of faith.”
- The Rockets have recalled Isaiah Canaan from the RGV Vipers in the D-League, tweeted Jason Friedman of Rockets.com. Canaan has appeared in five games for the Rockets and averaged 1.2 PPG this season.
- The Warriors have announced the assignment of Ognjen Kuzmic to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League. Kuzmic has averages of 6.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG and 21.4 MPG in nine games for Santa Cruz this season. He has appeared in 17 games for Golden State, and averaged 0.5 PPG, and 0.7 RPG.
- Steve Nash has only appeared in 10 games for the Lakers this season. With all his injury woes, GM Mitch Kupchak noted that “obviously it’s going to be a challenge” on whether Nash can return and stay on the court. The GM says that after the season it will be Nash’s decision on whether he returns for another year, and that it would be “unethical” for the team to influence him one way or another, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Because he’s played 10 games this season, Nash’s $9.7MM salary next season will remain on the Lakers’ books even if he is forced into medical retirement because of back issues.
- Sam Amick of USA Today details how the Warriors acquisition of Steve Blake will pay dividends come playoff time. Playoff success is especially vital to coach Mark Jackson who has only one year left on his contract and the pressure is believed to be building around him and the team to have a deep run, writes Amick.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Miller, Neal, Cavs, Warriors
In a radio appearance this morning with William Qualkinbush on WCCP-FM in Clemson, South Carolina, I praised the Pacers‘ acquisition of Evan Turner and deemed the inability of the Suns to find a taker for Emeka Okafor and his expiring contract a missed opportunity. There’s plenty more reaction to Thursday’s trade deadline amid our latest look around the NBA:
- The Nuggets are relieved to move on from the Andre Miller situation, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. For his part, GM Tim Connelly took the high road when discussing the 37-year-old guard. “There’s always going to be issues that pop up,” said Connelly. “There’s no villain here. Unfortunately what happened, happened. We have to have the full support of our coach. I think it’s important that everyone understands that is Brian (Shaw)‘s locker room. (Miller) was out of character. He’s a pro. I’m sure he’s excited to move on to D.C. and help that team make a playoff push.“
- Gary Neal didn’t see a whole lot of playing time with the Bucks and head coach Larry Drew acknowledged that the rapid progress of rookie Nate Wolters was partially responsible for that, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Neal will now hope to see more burn with the Bobcats.
- GM David Griffin says the Cavs will “take a swing at someone” in an effort to fill the open roster spot that Thursday’s trade created, notes Bob Finnan of The News-Journal.
- The Warriors would have more interest in Earl Clark than Glen Davis, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. Both hit waivers today and should become free agents on Sunday.
- The Hawks have recalled Jared Cunningham from the D-League, the team announced. The 24th overall pick in 2012 has made 22 appearances for the Bakersfield Jam this year and only five for Atlanta.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Pacers, Smith, Deng, Lowry
We saw plenty of trades go down before the deadline and Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders looked at the winners and losers. The Pacers top the list of winners for their acquisition of former No. 2 overall pick Evan Turner. While the Wizards and Warriors also get nods, Koutroupis says that the Lakers and Knicks should have done more. Here’s tonight’s look around the league..
- Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders has six trades that should have happened at the deadline. Among Brigham’s more interesting proposals: a hypothetical swap that would have sent Josh Smith from the Pistons to the Cavs in exchange for Luol Deng.
- Kyle Lowry wasn’t moved at the deadline today and Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun takes that as a sign that Raptors GM Masai Ujiri believes that he will re-sign him after this season.
- The trade deadline didn’t have a lot of stars changing uniforms in part because teams are zeroed in on the summer of 2015, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. “More and more you have teams that are already looking ahead to (the summer of 2015),” one GM said. “You are going to see teams really be reluctant to give out long-term deals going forward, and it is because everyone wants to keep their cap flexible to see if they can shake something out next year.”
- Josh Akognon is headed to the Delaware 87ers of the D-League, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest.
- Kobe Bryant was sad to see Steve Blake go, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
Deadline Rumors: Hill, Nelson, Bulls, Kaman
The latest from around the league as we inch closer to the deadline..
- All is quiet for the Bulls, Grizzlies, Warriors, Mavericks, and Pelicans at the moment, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
- Meanwhile, the Mavericks have interest in Lakers big man Jordan Hill but the proposal is problematic because of L.A.’s desire to move both Hill and fellow big man Chris Kaman in order to get under the luxury tax, Amick writes.
- The Kings are still shopping anyone not named DeMarcus Cousins from the Maloofs regime, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- The Magic and Wizards were discussing a deal involving Jameer Nelson before the Andre Miller deal was agreed upon, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
- The Bulls, who are $678K under tax, are comfortable standing pat, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. They believe they can stay under the threshold even with bonuses and 10-day deals.
- The Cavs were never in on Lakers big man Chris Kaman, despite reports to the contrary, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- More from Amico, who tweets that Cavs acting GM David Griffin was unwilling to give up a first-round pick and a player for Rockets big man Omer Asik. The Cavs went out and got Spencer Hawes instead.
Warriors Shop Jordan Crawford
The Warriors are dangling Jordan Crawford in trade talks, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Golden State acquired Steve Blake on Wednesday, lessening the need for the converted point guard the Warriors received via trade from Boston earlier this season.
Crawford, of course, was already traded in this calendar year when he went from the Celtics to the Warriors along with MarShon Brooks. With Brooks shipped to the Lakers yesterday, the W’s could be on the verge of shipping out their entire return from that swap just weeks after pulling the trigger.
Crawford, 25, pretty much saw his minutes cut in half when he moved from Boston to Oakland. In 14 games with the Warriors this season, Crawford has averaged 6.6 PPG and 2.2 APG in 16.5 minutes per contest. That’s less playing time than he’s seen in any of his NBA seasons to date.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Cavs Exploring Options For Luol Deng Trade
1:15pm: Cleveland’s still looking for a first-rounder for Deng, but no one will bite without assurance from Deng that he’ll re-sign this summer, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
12:54pm: The Cavs still have multiple “irons in the fire” and talks are likely to go right up to the deadline, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
11:32am: The Wizards and Cavs have discussed Trevor Ariza as part of a potential Deng deal, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, though it’s unclear if those talks are ongoing (Twitter link). The Cavs have shifted away from seeking a first-round pick for Deng and are now seeking a veteran, per Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
10:14am: There’s “no traction” with either the Wizards or Pistons on Deng, Berger tweets, but the Cavs continue to survey the market. The Cavs sought a first-round pick from the Suns for Deng, but Phoenix isn’t biting, Berger adds in a second tweet.
THURSDAY, 9:24am: The Wizards are among the teams talking to the Cavs about Deng, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who notes that Washington tried to acquire Deng from the Bulls this past summer.
WEDNESDAY, 4:24pm: Deng would be hesitant to commit to an extension with any club, and that makes a trade unlikely, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Of course, anxiety surrounding his free agency was the very reason noted earlier for why the Cavs might trade him. Wojnarowski adds the Pistons and Pacers to the list of teams that have had conversations with the Cavs about Deng, but there’s no traction toward a deal as clubs are reluctant to surrender assets for a player who can walk away this summer. Deng has expressed a willingness to at least consider re-signing with the Cavaliers, according to Wojnarowski, who adds there’s increasing doubt around the league that the Lakers will make a run at him in the offseason.
2:21pm: The Mavs have contacted the Cavs about trading for Deng, but they lack the assets to get a deal done, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports in a pair of tweets.
10:35am: Windhorst, in his full story, clarifies that the Cavs aren’t determined to trade Deng, but are gauging the market to see what they could get for him. The ESPN.com scribe identifies the Lakers and Mavs as among the teams expected to chase him in free agency this summer.
10:28am: The Cavs have made Deng available to several teams, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Still, the team is not looking to trade him, a source tells The Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
10:04am: Cleveland has spoken to the Kings and Warriors about Deng, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link). There’s been no shortage of inquiries from clubs around the league, and the Cavs are “clearly” open to hearing pitches, Amico also tweets.
9:46am: The Cavs are worried that Luol Deng won’t re-sign with them this summer, and have begun to investigate the willingness of other teams to trade for the small forward they acquired just last month, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Rival executives have expressed a belief that Cleveland should try to trade him for a top-level first-round pick in this year’s draft.
Sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com earlier this month that there was little or no chance Deng would re-sign. That story came out shortly after the Cavs replaced former GM Chris Grant with David Griffin, but before the club began its ongoing five-game winning streak.
The Bulls extracted salary relief, a pair of second-round picks, a protected first-rounder and the right to swap first-round picks with the Cavs in 2015 when they traded Deng in January, and it’s doubtful his value has changed much. Chicago sent Deng out alone in that deal, and Cleveland would have to do the same. Teams aren’t allowed to package any players with someone they acquired via trade within the last two months, though the Cavs could attach draft compensation or cash to Deng if they like.
Latest On Harrison Barnes
THURSDAY, 11:26am: The Cavs have also asked the Warriors about Barnes, but Golden State doesn’t intend to trade him, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 8:08am: The Grizzlies are going after Harrison Barnes as they seek to upgrade their small forward spot, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The Warriors are looking for a quality backup big man, but Memphis will clearly have to give up more than Kosta Koufos to acquire Barnes, Amick notes (Twitter link). The Warriors have received a deluge of calls about their second-year small forward, but they’ve been unwilling to trade him unless they can get a marquee player in return, as Amick reported last week.
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob said a week ago that the team is unlikely to trade Barnes, Klay Thompson or Stephen Curry, and the Warriors have reportedly told Barnes that he won’t be dealt, barring a blockbuster. The seventh overall pick in 2012 is averaging just 10.4 points in 29.2 minutes per game, but he’s shooting 40.9% from three-point range.
Memphis appears ready to shake up its rotation, if not its core, having begun discussions with the Wolves about shipping Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince to Minnesota for Chase Budinger and J.J. Barea. It would be tough for the Grizzlies, or any team, to construct a trade for Barnes without taking back at least one other high-salaried player, since Barnes is making only a little more than $2.9MM on his rookie scale contract. Most players making that much or less wouldn’t constitute the sort of return the Warriors are looking for. While Golden State has a trade exception worth more than $9.8MM available, absorbing that much salary without sending nearly as much out would put the team into the luxury tax.
Pacific Rumors: Warriors, Suns, Kings, Blake
The Warriors remain in the market for additional trades following Wednesday’s acquisition of Steve Blake, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns aren’t close to any deals, and it’s more likely they stand pat than make a move today, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). That counters a report from Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who says the Suns and Kings are “trying to hit a home run before the deadline” (via Twitter).
- Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee identifies Jason Thompson, Jimmer Fredette and Travis Outlaw as trade candidates as the Kings remain on the lookout for yet another swap. A second-round pick could be what it takes for other teams to land Fredette as the Kings continue to shop him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Kings would “love” to get a second-rounder in some sort of deal before the deadline, Jones notes (Twitter link).
- Blake won’t rule out return to Lakers in free agency this summer, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times observes.
- Jordan Hill dismisses the notion that he doesn’t like Mike D’Antoni, and says he’d at least like to finish the season with the Lakers, observes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- A source tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders that the Lakers are unlikely to trade Nick Young, and that the club envisions him as part of its long-term plan. Young has on multiple occasions expressed a desire to stay in purple-and-gold for the foreseeable future, Greene notes.
- The Lakers appear pretty confident they can move Jordan Hill, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, noting that the team is holding out for a second-rounder. Usually teams seeking to get out of tax territory, as the Lakers are, have to give up picks, rather than acquire them, Stein points out (Twitter link).
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro envisions the newly acquired Jason Terry playing a role on the Kings, but no one is dismissing the notion of a buyout, Howard-Cooper reports via Twitter.
- Tucked inside an earlier trade story, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports noted that Isaiah Thomas, a free agent this summer, has expressed a strong desire to stay with the Kings.
Warriors Acquire Steve Blake
The Warriors have acquired Steve Blake from the Lakers in exchange for Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks, the team announced on Wednesday evening via press release. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports confirmed the completed deal (via Twitter), while Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times was the first to report the discussions (via Twitter). Ken Berger of CBS Sports was first to confirm the inclusion of Bazemore and Brooks (via Twitter).
Blake had been enjoying a nice run in his fourth year in Los Angeles, averaging 9.5 points and 7.6 assists in 33 minutes per contest despite missing most of December with an elbow injury. As USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets, the deal has been in the works since last week, as Blake was the Warriors target once acquiring Andre Miller became unrealistic. Grantland’s Zach Lowe likes the move for Golden State, tweeting that they get a solid player for next to nothing and open up a roster spot in the process. Spelling Stephen Curry, who averages 37.7 minutes per night this season, the 33-year-old Maryland product figures to fill a role that has been vacant since Jarrett Jack left for Cleveland.
Blake was informed of the deal at the Staples Center just prior to the team’s game against the Rockets tonight and walked out in street clothes according to multiple reports. While his availability via trade was never in doubt, rumors surrounding Blake seemed less prevalant than those involving Laker teammates Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill and Chris Kaman. Bresnahan caught up with the point guard beforehand. “Real mixed emotions,” Blake said. “The hardest thing really is my family. Now I’m going to have to spend four months probably away from them.” (Twitter link)
As Berger points out, the move helps the Lakers creep closer to the luxury tax threshold. He calculates it would shave nearly $3.5MM off the bill for the Lakers in the unlikely scenario that they are done dealing (Twitter link). Meanwhile, to obtain Blake, the Warriors utilized the $4MM exception they acquired by dealing Brandon Rush to Utah this summer, tweets Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. Blake will be a free agent this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.