Western Notes: Marshall, Corbin, Crawford
Sean Highkin of USA Today looks at how Kendall Marshall is doing his best to shed his “bust” status. After being traded and cut just a year after being selected with the 13th pick in the 2012 draft, Marshall has worked his way from the D-League to the Lakers, and has performed better in coach Mike D’Antoni‘s offensive system. “I think it’s been great,” says Marshall. “It fits what I do well, it helps me get guys involved, and hopefully makes the team better.” Here are some more notes from around the Western Conference:
- The fire under Tyrone Corbin‘s hot seat isn’t blazing, as league sources say that the Jazz like their coach despite the team’s struggles, per Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- League executives think that newly-acquired guard Jordan Crawford can benefit the Warriors, Amico writes. The 25-year-old is playing for his fourth team in his fourth season, and will become a restricted free agent this summer.
- The Kings are still being very active in trade talks with GMs around the league, according to ESPN Insider’s Chad Ford [subscription only].
- David Aldridge of NBA.com sees the Mavs as a potential suitor for Luol Deng, especially if the veteran forward leads the Cavs to a playoff spot before he hits free agency this summer.
Pacific Notes: Turkoglu, Gasol, Warriors
A quick look at the Pacific Division..
- Veteran big man Hedo Turkoglu sees a title opportunity with the Clippers, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “Well, if you look at it, they are a great team,” Turkoglu said. “They have a lot of great players. The way they approach the game, or their mind-set, especially after they bring in Doc [Rivers], they really wanted to win. I’ve always been playing good with great coaches and I know somehow I would get an opportunity with Doc and do what I can do in the best way.”
- Heat big man Chris Bosh feels for underappreciated Lakers center Pau Gasol, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Gasol has been mentioned frequently on the pages of Hoops Rumors and that figures to continue between now and the trade deadline if he isn’t moved before then.
- Warriors newcomers Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks are happy to be on board with a contender, writes Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group. This is the fourth time the 25-year-old Crawford has been traded, but he’s excited about his opportunity in Golden State.
Western Rumors: Randolph, Rockets, Davis
Zach Randolph has spoken many times about his affection for Memphis, and he tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that he and Marc Gasol want to continue playing together. Both have contracts that end after next season, but Randolph’s deal includes a player option for 2014/15, and Z-Bo also tells Charania that he hasn’t decided what he’ll do with that option, worth more than $16.9MM. The RealGM.com scribe has more on the offseason ahead for the Grizzlies, as we share amid our look at the Western Conference:
- The Rockets are still in the market for a floor-stretching forward, writes Chris Mannix of SI.com, who also passes along a few of James Harden‘s comments about his recruitment of Dwight Howard.
- Ed Davis didn’t reach a deal on an extension with the Grizzlies before the October 31st deadline, but he nonetheless views the negotiations as a sign the team views him as key cog, as Charania notes in the same piece. Davis admits to Charania that he feels frustration when his minutes drop, but the big man understands he falls behind Randolph and Gasol in the pecking order. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t get a deal done, but it wasn’t a big thing because I’ll be a restricted free agent in the summer,” Davis said. “Hopefully, we’ll get something done this summer and I’ll be back.”
- Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson doesn’t seem eager to make a deal before the February 20th trade deadline, observes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “You never say never, but we do like the team,” Nelson said. “With nine new faces we’re not looking for reasons to change. But that being said, if an opportunity presents itself that can take us over the top we certainly have to look at it.”
- Leandro Barbosa‘s 10-day contract with the Suns expires after tonight’s game, one he may miss with a right shoulder sprain. That could prompt Phoenix to wait until he’s healthy to give him another 10-day deal, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- The Warriors have assigned center Ognjen Kuzmic to the D-League, the team announced. It’s his third trip to Santa Cruz, but he’s only appeared in a single D-League game, scoring two points in a 16-minute stint.
How Warriors/C’s/Heat Trade Works Financially
The primary reason the Warriors dealt two first-round picks and three bloated contracts to the Jazz this summer was to clear enough room to absorb Andre Iguodala, who came from the Nuggets in that same three-way deal with Utah. Yet if it weren’t for a vestige of that trade, the Warriors wouldn’t have been able to pull off yesterday’s three-teamer with the Celtics and Heat.
Golden State had four trade exceptions at its disposal entering Wednesday. Two of them were for less than $1MM, so they were of no help in acquiring Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks. That left them with a choice of either the sizable $11.046MM exception created when the Warriors sent Richard Jefferson to the Jazz, and the other a $4MM exception for Brandon Rush, who also went to Utah. According to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, the Warriors chose to use the larger Jefferson exception (Twitter link). That makes sense, since the Warriors are more likely to find a deal that would allow them to use most or all of the $4MM Rush exception than to use the $11.046MM Jefferson exception to somehow fit an eight-figure salary onto their payroll without giving up commensurate salary.
The combined incoming salary of $3,372,499 that Golden State acquired in Wednesday’s trade is greater than 150% plus $100K of the outgoing salary of Toney Douglas, who’s making just $1.6MM this year. Ordinarily, the Warriors would have to send out another player to make the deal work, but the Jefferson exception allows them to absorb the $1,210,080 salary of Brooks by itself. That means the Warriors can treat the exchange of Douglas for Crawford as its own transaction, and Crawford’s $2,162,419 pay is less than $150% of the money Douglas makes, so it satisfies the salary-matching requirements.
The Warriors could also make the trade work if they used the Jefferson exception for Crawford and made it a one-for-one swap of Douglas-for-Brooks. That option would create a new trade exception, but it would nonetheless allow for less flexibility. The Douglas-for-Brooks swap would create a tiny exception worth $389,920, which is equal to the difference between the Douglas and Brooks salaries. That amount of money would only be enough to take on a prorated salary. Crawford’s salary would meanwhile eat up a larger portion of the Jefferson exception. Putting Brooks, who makes less than Crawford does, into the Jefferson exception leaves it at $9,835,920. That’s much more useful than creating a new exception for less than $400K, and it allows for greater flexibility than if the Jefferson exception had been reduced to $8,883,581, as would have happened if the Warriors had employed it to absorb Crawford’s salary.
There are still a couple of new exceptions that Wednesday’s trade creates for each of the other teams in the deal. Boston couldn’t absorb Joel Anthony‘s $3.8MM salary for Brooks, since it’s more than 150% plus $100K of what Brooks is making, but Crawford’s salary would fit within those bounds. That allows the Celtics to treat their unloading of Brooks as its own transaction. So, the Celtics have a $1,210,080 exception, equal to the amount of Brooks’ salary, that they can use anytime until the one-year anniversary of Wednesday’s trade.
The Heat gave up one player and received another, so the calculus is simpler for them. They receive a trade exception worth $2.2MM, the difference between the salaries for Anthony and Douglas. Like the Celtics, Miami will have up to one year to use its exception.
Executives from all three teams have said since the trade that they continue to look to make changes. That means the exceptions left over for the Warriors, and the ones that the Celtics and Heat created, could soon play a role, with the trade deadline looming next month.
ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.
Odds & Ends: Nets, Aldridge, Heat, Bogut
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov believes in the importance of positive thinking. “I still think we have a chance to be a championship if, of course, stars align,” Prokhorov said before the Nets beat the Hawks, 127-110, at O2 Arena in London today. “I think we like sport because it is really unpredictable. So it’s unpredictable, but possible.” Tim Bontemps of the New York Post has more from the Nets’ charismatic owner’s chat with reporters today. Here’s tonight’s look around the league..
- The Blazers are having fun playing together and Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (on Twitter) hears LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and Damian Lillard have discussed their plans to play together long-term. Recently, Aldridge expressed openness to signing an extension with Portland.
- Sam Amick of USA Today (video link) breaks down the three-way deal between the Warriors, Heat, and Celtics and what it means for all parties involved.
- His health history is iffy, but Andrew Bogut has been the Warriors‘ iron man this year, writes Carl Steward of the Mercury News. The big man inked a three-year, $42MM extension with Golden State back in October.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, Clippers, Okafor
There’s a compelling race going on for the top spot in the Pacific Division, and the playoff seeding priority that comes with it. The Clippers hold a one and a half game lead, but they’re without Chris Paul for about another month, and the Warriors have won 11 of 13 to move to within a game and a half of the lead. The Suns lurk three games back in the loss column, and could be a factor if they can tread water while Eric Bledsoe is out. Here’s the latest:
- The Warriors are about $2.2MM below the luxury tax threshold after adding salary in yesterday’s trade, and GM Bob Myers says ownership hasn’t given him a mandate to stay below that line, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. It would nonetheless take a “special deal” to make the team consider it, Howard-Cooper adds.
- Myers hinted that additional moves may be coming, telling reporters “Nobody is sitting back and saying, ‘Well, we’re done now. We did our jobs. Let’s see what happens,'” according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
- It’s no surprise that the Clippers chose to retain Darius Morris over fellow point guard Maalik Wayns, tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who points out that Doc Rivers likes Morris’ defense and Wayns rarely saw the floor (Twitter link).
- Former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy helped sell Rivers on the idea of acquiring J.J. Redick, as Rivers tells Markazi.
- Insurance would cover about $5.8MM of Emeka Okafor‘s $14.5MM salary for the Suns if he’s unable to return from injury this season, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- The Lakers picked the right time to bottom out since, for once, they hold their own first-round pick for a well-stocked draft class, writes Tom Ziller of SB Nation.
Warriors Acquire Crawford In Swap With C’s, Heat
THURSDAY, 10:12am: The Heat is the team sending cash to the Celtics, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, who notes that the amount is $1MM.
WEDNESDAY, 3:17pm: The Warriors and Celtics have hooked up on a three-team trade with the Heat that sends Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks to the W’s, as the teams confirmed via press release. The Warriors send Toney Douglas to Miami, which deals Joel Anthony, a first-round pick, and its 2016 second-round pick to the Celtics. Boston also receives cash in the deal, though it’s not immediately clear from whom.
The Warriors have been looking for an upgrade behind point guard Stephen Curry, and it appears they envision putting Crawford in that role. The 25-year-old has performed well in stretches as he’s manned the point for Boston in the absence of Rajon Rondo, but with Rondo set to return, it appears the Celtics found him expendable. Veteran NBA reporter Peter Vecsey tweeted overnight that Boston was close to dealing Crawford, and listed the Warriors as one of the teams with interest.
The Heat likely save $7.7MM in salary and tax penalties for this season in unloading Joel Anthony‘s deal, notes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter), with Anthony slated to make $3.8MM this season. His contract also includes a player option for the same amount next season. The first-round pick they’re sending the the Celtics is the Sixers’ lottery protected first-rounder this year, but if Philadelphia doesn’t make the playoffs this season or next, the Celtics get the Sixers 2015 and 2016 second-round picks instead, as Wojnarowski points out (Twitter link). Miami had been looking to bolster its backcourt last month when Windhorst reported that they were shopping Anthony.
The Warriors add money in the deal, but they avoid the luxury tax and don’t have to relinquish a first-round pick or one of their core pieces, as Zach Lowe of Grantland speculated yesterday that they might have to do. Crawford doesn’t carry the cachet of other guards the Warriors have pursued, like Kyle Lowry, Andre Miller and Kirk Hinrich, but he comes relatively cheaply. He’ll be a restricted free agent at season’s end. The Warriors will likely use part of the $4MM trade exception they got for Brandon Rush this summer to make the deal work.
The Celtics also slightly up their payroll, though they also continue to stockpile draft picks. The deal sets Boston up with a half dozen extra draft picks between now and 2018. Perhaps most profound from Boston’s side of the transaction is the decline in value of Brooks, the 25th overall pick in 2011. He played well as a rookie with the Nets, but was a throw-in as part of the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster this summer and appears to be an afterthought in this deal, as well.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported the deal (All Twitter links). Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group and Grantland’s Zach Lowe also tweeted details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Western Notes: Fisher, Jackson, Turkoglu
Derek Fisher is breathing a little easier today with the news that the judge, Huey Cotton, who is presiding over Billy Hunter’s wrongful termination lawsuit had dismissed most of the allegations against Fisher, and all against his former business manager, Jamie Wior, writes Ken Berger of CBS Sports.com. Hunter had alleged that the two conspired to oust him and seize control of the NBPA during and after the 2011 lockout. Cotton ruled that Hunter’s claims against Fisher regarding breach of contract and intentional interference with contractual relations may go forward, but struck 12 other allegations against the former NBPA president from the lawsuit, including defamation. The judge also ruled that Hunter must pay legal fees for Fisher and Wior related to the claims that were dismissed. The rest of Hunter’s lawsuit is cleared to continue against the NBPA.
Here’s some other notes from around the Western Conference:
- Pierre Jackson still hasn’t been able to reach a deal with the Pelicans, who hold his rights after drafting him 42nd overall in last year’s draft. Not long before Jrue Holiday was ruled out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his right tibia on January 10th, Jackson’s representatives requested and received permission to explore trade opportunities. Jackson’s agents, who also represent Holiday, met with Pelicans general manager Dell Demps this week, but Jackson still doesn’t have a contract with the team. This has Jackson and his camp disappointed, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Jackson is currently the D-League’s second-leading scorer at 29.9 PPG, and feels his production warrants some NBA playing time.
- The Warriors will be keeping MarShon Brooks, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Brooks was acquired as a part of today’s three-team trade involving Boston and Miami. An earlier tweet by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe had indicated the team might waive Brooks.
- Spurs guard Nando De Colo‘s agent denied reports that the player was attempting to return to Europe and play for Fenerbahce, as he told French newspaper L’Equipe (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). De Colo is currently averaging 2.0 PPG in limited action.
- The Clippers continue to have interest in Sasha Vujacic even as they near a deal with Hedo Turkoglu, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Fallout From Warriors/Celtics/Heat Trade
The Heat made initial inquiries about Kyle Lowry prior to today’s three-team trade with the Celtics and Warriors, but those talks with the Raptors went nowhere, Grantand’s Zach Lowe reports. Lowe predicts the Heat will cut either the newly acquired Toney Douglas or Roger Mason Jr. to open a roster spot for Andrew Bynum. Regardless, the trade is a “no-brainer” for Miami, Lowe believes. We’ve roundup up more news and reaction in the wake of today’s deal below:
- Even if the protected first-rounder the Celtics acquired turns into a pair of second-round picks after next season, the trade still provides Boston with a “small bounty,” Lowe writes in the same piece, as teams around the league are valuing second-rounders more highly.
- The departure of Joel Anthony prompts Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel to wonder if Udonis Haslem might be the next to go as the Heat continue to pursue a strategy of freeing money to keep their three stars and supplementing them with bargains.
- The Warriors are still “thrilled” to have essentially passed on Jarrett Jack in favor of Andre Iguodala this summer, even though Douglas proved ineffective as a replacement at backup point guard, forcing today’s move, notes Sam Amick of USA Today.
- Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com figures the depature of Crawford, who was developing into a serviceable point guard, strengthens the chances that the Celtics will keep Rajon Rondo long-term (Twitter link).
- Today’s trade means the Heat have cut their projected luxury tax bill by more than 50% since the start of July, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com explains (Twitter links).
- The Timberwolves weren’t among the teams interested in Jordan Crawford, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
- Crawford played point guard for the Celtics, but he’s otherwise been a shoot-first gunner, and Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group believes he’ll benefit the Warriors most as a pure scorer.
Western Notes: Miller, Aldridge, Warriors
Rudy Gay says he is happy to be in Sacramento and in a Q&A on the Kings‘ website, he said being traded along with two teammates he’s close with helped make for an easy transition. When asked what he is bringing to his new team, he responded, “People pretty much know what I can do – bring leadership, scoring and all those things I’ve been doing my whole career.” Here are some more notes from around the Western Conference:
- Andre Miller still hasn’t played for the Nuggets since his public confrontation with coach Brian Shaw, but the rift between the two isn’t as profound as it’s been portrayed to be, Shaw told reporters, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. “He’s dealing with what he needs to deal with. I’m focusing on the team and what’s best for the team right now,” Shaw said. “As I’ve said, I’m willing to coach any(body) and everybody who wants to put the team first. I have nothing but respect for him.”
- LaMarcus Aldridge seemed to want out of Portland over the summer, but he’s changed his mind and is thinking about signing an extension because the Trail Blazers have become a more successful team, he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. “[GM] Neil [Olshey] did a great job of bringing in what we needed,” Aldridge said. “He worked with me throughout the process. I’m happy. We’re winning and we look good. Look, I just want to win.”
- The Warriors D-League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors have signed Scott Machado, according to Rusty Simmons of The San Fransisco Chronicle (via Twitter), making official what Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported was forthcoming earlier today.
- Suns rookie Archie Goodwin shared his thoughts with SNYtv.com’s Adam Zagoria on prospects Willie Cauley-Stein, Andrew Harrison, Aaron Henderson, and Julius Randle, comparing the latter to Josh Smith. Goodwin believes he would have been drafted much higher than 29th last year had his Kentucky Wildcats team made an NCAA tournament run instead of losing in the first round of the NIT tournament.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.