Kyler’s Latest: Carmelo, Magic, W’s, Kings
Lottery picks will be hard to come by at the deadline, which means there’s a strong chance that clubs, like the Sixers, with hopes of trading for one will have to settle for less, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Kyler has a lot more from around the league in his latest NBA AM piece, as we detail:
- Knicks executives have had a “very open and candid dialogue” about the notion that Carmelo Anthony could leave as a free agent this summer, but they remain confident enough in re-signing him that they’re not looking to trade him at the deadline, Kyler writes. New York appears intent on adding to its roster rather than selling off assets, Kyler observes, though the Knicks are still reluctant to include a draft pick in a deal for either Kenneth Faried or Kyle Lowry.
- The Magic are open to moving Glen Davis, but there’s essentially no market for him because of concerns about his attitude and his contract, which pays him $6.6MM next season, Kyler writes. Orlando is listening to offers for Jameer Nelson, too, but the Magic’s unwillingness to take back long-term money makes it a long shot he’ll be dealt. Nelson’s deal, which gives him $8.6MM this season, is an impediment to a deal, too, according to Kyler, even though it’s partially guaranteed for just $2MM next year. Orlando also continues to rebuff offers for Arron Afflalo.
- The Warriors are interested in acquiring players who are either on expiring contracts or relatively short-term deals, and in spite of last month’s trade for Jordan Crawford, they continue to look around for point guard help, according to Kyler. They’re also looking to acquire draft picks, Kyler adds.
- The Kings remain the front runners for Andre Miller, Kyler says, though Miller’s lack of value on the market is making Denver hesitate. The Basketball Insiders scribe also reiterates that Marcus Thornton and Jimmer Fredette are prime trade candidates for Sacramento and adds Aaron Gray to that list.
- Executives from the Magic, Wizards, Pacers and Grizzlies are downplaying their willingness to make deadline trades, but all of those teams are nonetheless on the lookout for some kind of deal between now and next Thursday.
Warriors Owner On Jackson, Thompson, Barnes
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob didn’t necessarily expect to contend for a title this year, but he did envision the team becoming a “serious competitor” for a top-four finish in the Western Conference, as he tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Golden State is in sixth place, four games back of the Clippers and Rockets, who are tied for fourth. The Warriors are just two and a half games up on ninth place Memphis. It’s left Lacob a “little disappointed,” but “not overly concerned yet,” he says. With plenty of trade rumors surrounding the Warriors, Lacob had much more to say to Kawakami, and while the entire piece is worth a read, we’ll share the highlights here:
On coach Mark Jackson:
“Of course there’s pressure on him. Just like there’s pressure on the players, there’s pressure on Mark, too. There’s on me, pressure on (GM) Bob Myers … and you know what? We should all be happy we have that pressure, because the truth is that means we’re relevant. If there’s no pressure and no expectations, that means we’re in rebuild mode and still coming. I don’t think that’s the case. We’re good. Whether we are achieving our expectations or not, we’ll look at the end of the year and see what we did. Maybe he is feeling it a little and he should be feeling pressure. That’s a good thing. I feel the pressure for this team to perform. We’ve invested a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of thinking, a lot of effort, and we’re going to continue to do so. I certainly feel pressure and some weight of expectation and I’m very happy to feel those things because it means we’ re getting somewhere.”
On how he’ll assess Jackson and others:
“I think you’re always evaluating everybody, whether it be the players, the coaches … it’s hard to know, if you don’t quite win a few games you should, is it the coach’s fault? Is it the players’ fault? It’s hard to say. I think we’ll have to look back on a body of work at the end of the season and look at that and make an evaluation. I do think our coach has done a good job; we have had some big wins, a lot of wins on the road, and that’s usually a sign of good coaching. But some things are a little disturbing; the lack of being up for some of these games at home, that’s a concern to me.”
On the team’s approach to the trade deadline:
“Very aggressive. I don’t think I would answer that differently any year. Honestly, I don’t even know how you think about it any other way. You should always be very aggressive, should always be looking to improve your team. Now it’s not clear we’ll be able to do that. There’ve been a lot of discussions, that’s what I hear around the league, but we’ll just have wait and see. We’re not going to make a move just to make a move. Certainly there are certain parts of the roster that we’d like to improve. No matter how good we are, we’d probably have that attitude. There’s no real limit on what we can do. Bob Myers has the ability, he knows, to propose anything to ownership, even if it means going into luxury tax, if means using those trade exceptions. We’ll consider all things.”
On the assertion that everyone except Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut is available for a trade:
“That specific statement has been out there. But I think we’d be very reluctant to trade any of our core pieces; we like our core. And our young core players–Curry, Klay (Thompson) and (Harrison) Barnes — a lot of teams like them because we’re getting specific trade proposals on a daily basis about those players. We are not anxious nor are we likely to make a move involving those players. Everyone wants what we have, young pieces. And we also have some important veteran players in our core and you need a mix of the two. … It’s obvious we need to get a little better, need a little more bench production and we need to jell a little more. We just haven’t quite hit our stride. Hopefully we hit that; we’ve got 30 games left to do it and make a strong run to the playoffs.”
Western Notes: Ellington, Ellis, Warriors
Here are some miscellaneous tidbits to share out of the Western Conference tonight:
- It doesn’t seem likely that the Mavericks would part with any of their rotation players in a deal right now, according to Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW. One player who does appear to be available is Wayne Ellington, who hasn’t been able to find significant playing time and is owed $2.5MM next season.
- Sefko also doesn’t believe there’s any chance that Dallas would consider trading Monta Ellis, adding that the team thinks Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki will make a good recruiting tandem this summer for prospective free agents.
- Earlier today, the Warriors announced that they assigned Kent Bazemore, MarShon Brooks, and Ognjen Kuzmic to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz.
- The out-of-town owners of the property needed for the new Kings arena are seeking a change of venue in the city’s eminent domain lawsuit, reports Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. City officials recognize that the Kings need swift access to the property and will fight the attempt to move the suit. Kasler adds that the new arena is expected to be completed in 2016; if the building doesn’t open by 2017, the NBA has the right to buy the team and move them out of Sacramento.
- Spurs guard Tony Parker told French website BMFT that he’d like to continue playing in the NBA for another six or seven years (hat tip to Michael Rehome of Project Spurs).
Harrison Barnes Drawing Plenty Of Interest
The Warriors are getting flooded with calls for Harrison Barnes but won’t deal him unless he’s part of a package for a big name, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. Despite Barnes’ struggles this year, Golden State remains extremely high on the 21-year-old forward and isn’t likely to deal him before the trade deadline (Twitter links). Last month, Zach Lowe of Grantland reported that Barnes had been garnering interest from around the league.
In January, Barnes averaged 6.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 24.5 MPG, but shot just 33.7% from the field overall. However, over his last four games this month, the North Carolina product is scoring 13.3 PPG on 48.8% shooting from the field and 54.5% from long range – much closer to his promising numbers to start the 2013/14 regular season. Earlier today, we made note from Lowe that the Warriors still aren’t ready to trade him.
Lowe’s Latest: Granger, Ariza, Turner, Warriors
The Pacers have been actively looking to deal away Danny Granger, but have had little success, and the same is true for the Wizards and their attempts to unload Trevor Ariza‘s expiring contract, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe. The Grantland scribe also seconds a report from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Washington is looking for a backup point guard. Lowe’s latest column focuses on the trade deadline, which is just nine days away, and we’ll pass along the highlights of a rumor-packed piece here:
- The Bobcats are “absolutely serious” about their pursuit of Evan Turner, Lowe writes, pointing to the connection between David Falk, who serves as Turner’s agent, and Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, a former Falk client. The Sixers are a lock to be “super active” as the deadline approaches, according to Lowe.
- Sources tell Lowe that the Warriors aren’t ready to trade Klay Thompson or Harrison Barnes, in spite of the team’s struggles.
- Executives around the league are high on Alexey Shved, but the Timberwolves probably wouldn’t be able to get a game-changer in return for him.
- The Heat are ready to waive either Roger Mason Jr. or Toney Douglas to open up a roster spot so they can acquire a player via trade or in the post-deadline buyout market.
- Lowe continues to hear that the Nuggets are making Kenneth Faried available for the right return, even as Denver consistently denies such talk.
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry isn’t enamored with the four-year, $32MM deal that the team committed to Jeff Teague when it matched his offer sheet from the Bucks this past summer.
- The Nets seem to be leaning toward not making a move at the deadline, according to Lowe.
Western Notes: Randolph, Goodwin, T’Wolves
The Suns are interested in the Zach Randolph, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com notes. With the Suns looking to be buyers at the deadline, and having Emeka Okafor‘s expiring contract, along with as many as four first-round picks in this year’s draft, they have some ammunition to acquire a significant piece to help them advance in the playoffs this year. The team had been pursing the Pau Gasol of the Lakers, but his recent injury as well as the Lakers’ insistence on receiving a high draft pick have cooled those talks. David Aldridge of NBA.com also weighed in on the possibility of the Suns trying to obtain Randolph. The Grizzlies aren’t shopping him, but that doesn’t mean the right offer couldn’t pry him loose. Randolph is averaging 17.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 2.6 APG.
More from the west:
- In the same article, Kennedy also notes that the Timberwolves would most likely be quiet on the trade front. He referenced this interview from the team’s president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, via the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. According to the article, Saunders and his staff did a study of 189 trades made over the last 10 years. Saunders stated, “Of the 189 trades, teams that were at or below .500, only 14 percent made the playoffs. With teams above .500 making a trade, only 55 percent stayed at the same position or improved.” The math on the study indicated that 45 percent of the teams making trades came out worse in the standings after making a move. The Timberwolves are currently 24-27, and according to the team’s numbers, the odds are against them making a trade.
- The Rockets announced via Twitter that they’ve recalled Robert Covington from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. Covington, who has been assigned to the D-League twice this season, will be in action for tonight’s game against the T’Wolves.
- Guard Archie Goodwin has been recalled from the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League, the Suns announced. During his second and most recent assignment with Bakersfield, Goodwin appeared in three games, averaging 24.3 PPG on 55.1 percent field goal shooting and 4.7 RPG in 29.7 minutes. The 19-year-old has played in 37 games for Phoenix this season and is averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 10.5 minutes per contest.
- This time next year, we’ll know how serious the Warriors ownership group is about winning, writes Daniel Leroux of RealGM. By then we’ll have a sense of whether the club is actually willing to pay the luxury tax and what they’ll do with coach Mark Jackson.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Mike Harris Drawing NBA Interest
Mike Harris is running roughshod over the Chinese league since signing with the Zhejiang Golden Bulls late last month, and the Kings, Lakers, Jazz and Chicago Bulls are among the teams that have inquired about the 30-year-old power forward, reports Carson Sofro of HSB Camps. Sofro tells Hoops Rumors that Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin has been in touch with Harris on a weekly basis since Utah waived him in January, shortly before his contract would have become guaranteed for the season.
Harris struck for 55 points and 17 rebounds for Zhejiang on Sunday, and he’s averaging 32.5 points and 15.5 rebounds per contest with 45% shooting from three-point range. The long-range ability is a new wrinkle to his game, since he’s largely shied away from three-pointers in parts of four seasons with NBA clubs, missing all five career attempts.
Most Chinese contracts don’t include an NBA out, but China’s season ends early, and Harris is scheduled to return to the States shortly after the All-Star break, Sofro notes.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, Suns
The Warriors and Suns clash tonight, and the winner will come away with the better record and second spot in the Pacific Division, good for the 6th playoff seed. Let’s look at some of the notes from these Pacific rivals:
- The opinion of rival executives is that the Warriors would be willing to trade any of their players other than Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut, per Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick says the Warriors have one of the most aggressive front offices in the NBA, and GM Bob Myers acknowledged the possibility of making moves with their “healthy amount of assets” in a Q&A last month.
- Curry talked to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune about the 2009 draft, where he was passed up by the Timberwolves for point guards Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn. Curry says his first choice to land was actually with the Knicks: “I wouldn’t have known what would have come to pass here or in New York, which is where I kind of had my sights set on going in the draft. I would have tried to make the best of wherever I landed.”
- Curry also said that playing alongside Ricky Rubio would have been fun, had the Timberwolves chosen him instead of Flynn: “The dynamic of that combination would have been fun, I’m sure. But it didn’t work out that way. Looking back, this is a spot here where good things definitely have happened.”
- Curry also dismissed the idea that the Timberwolves were hesitant to draft him due to his preference for a warm weather destination: “It is nice to be in the Bay Area, where it’s 65, 70 degrees today. But even in New York and the East Coast, it’s snowy and 12, 20 degrees… I had the same situation here as with Minnesota: I didn’t come work out for the Warriors, met with the GMs back then. I would have been happy to be in the league and not have been some spoiled little brat who manipulated his way into the league somehow. I would have been cool whenever I was drafted.”
- If the Suns can land a star, they’d prefer a perimeter player, per Amick’s piece. This is one reason Rudy Gay has their attention in addition to the reports of interest in post players Pau Gasol and Thaddeus Young.
Cavs Rumors: Jackson, Karl, Griffin, Brown
The Cavs are eyeing Phil Jackson and George Karl, but they’d like to see interim GM David Griffin and coach Mike Brown step up and keep their jobs, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter links). Ostensibly, Jackson, who’s said he’s done with coaching, would be a candidate for the GM job, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com suggested Thursday, while Karl would be sought for a return to the Cavs bench, where he served as coach in the 1980s. In any case, the final three months of the season are an on-the-job audition for Griffin and the “last chance saloon” for Brown, Amico writes. Here’s more on the Cavs, a day after they fired GM Chris Grant:
- Dan Gilbert’s assertion Thursday that the Cavs have what they need to be successful prompts Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal wonder why Grant took the fall for the team’s woes.
- The time to fire Grant was this past spring, not two weeks before the trade deadline, argues fellow Beacon scribe Marla Ridenour, who thinks Gilbert should shoulder responsibility for the franchise’s shortcomings.
- Grant didn’t put up results in his time in Cleveland, but the team’s playoff aspirations for this season were misplaced, SB Nation’s Tom Ziller writes.
- Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group centers his proposal for upgrading the Warriors on a pair of trade ideas involving the Cavaliers. Cleveland is in much the same desperate position Golden State was a few years ago when it acquired David Lee, Kawakami believes, suggesting Lee could serve the Cavs in a similar role as a bridge to more successful times.
Odds & Ends: Young, Bulls, Kuzmic
The Lakers‘ Nick Young will be out at least two weeks with a patella fracture, writes Zach Harper of CBS Sports.com. Young injured his left knee in last night’s game at Cleveland, and had an MRI exam today in Philadelphia. Results of the MRI show that Young has a non-displaced fracture of the patella and a bone bruise. Young joins Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant, Xavier Henry, and Jodie Meeks, amongst the ranks of the team’s injured players. Young is averaging 16.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.5 APG, in 28.8 MPG.
More from around the league:
- The Warriors have recalled Ognjen Kuzmic from the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League, according to a press release. Kuzmic was assigned to Santa Cruz on January 17th and appeared in seven games during this assignment, averaging 6.9 PPG, 11.1 RPG, in 22.9 MPG. He’s appeared in 13 games for the Warriors this season, averaging 0.6 PPG.
- With the trade deadline approaching fast, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.com looks at the contracts most likely to be moved by their teams.
- Tom Thibodeau would like the Bulls to add a “player or two” prior to the trade deadline, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. The Bulls only have 12 players on their roster currently, and Thibodeau would love to have the maximum of 15, just to provide flexibility. The team has to add at least one player by February 13th, in order to meet the league’s minimum requirement of 13 players. Mike James is the primary candidate to fill that spot.