Warriors Waive T.J. Ford
The Warriors have waived point guard T.J. Ford, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Ford, who had been playing for the Spurs, announced his retirement this week and was included for financial reasons in the deal that sent Richard Jefferson to the Warriors and Stephen Jackson to the Spurs.
Ford was on a one-year minimum-salary contract for $1,223,166. He averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 assists in 13.6 minutes as a backup for San Antonio this season. In his eight-year career, he averaged 11.2 PPG and 5.8 APG before injuries drove him to call it quits just shy of his 29th birthday.
Warriors Rumors: Ellis, Bogut, Curry
Just as the Magic and Nets played together tonight in the wake of their non-trade, the Bucks and Warriors got together in Oakland tonight a few days after their deal. Here's the latest from Golden State:
- Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports looks at how the trade may pay off for the Warriors.
- Warriors owner Joe Lacob expressed great regard for Monta Ellis, saying that it was "incredibly difficult" to trade him, but that he would have dealt either Ellis or Stephen Curry to move the franchise forward, according to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. Ellis received plenty of love from the Golden State crowd, too, tweets Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
- Curry's balky ankle will keep him out either a month or for the rest of the season, judging Lacob's comments to Simmons about the matter. “We’re going to continue to look at all of the doctors’ reports and get as much information as we can, but no one can really say for sure why this keeps occurring," Lacob said. "We need to know, though. We’ll get another opinion if we have to. If it requires shutting him down, then we’ll do it. If it doesn’t, he’ll be back playing in a month. It’s very important that he’s healthy, and we’re not going to risk further injury.”
- Andrew Bogut was ready to leave Milwaukee, telling Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that he and the Bucks experienced a mutual divorce. (Twitter link)
Spurs Close To Signing Patrick Mills
The Spurs are finalizing a contract with former Blazers guard Patrick Mills, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated tweets that it will be a two-year deal.
Amick adds via Twitter that the deal will include a player option in the second year, worth about $1MM. The Blazers renounced Mills' rights this morning, the team confirmed via Twitter.
According to a tweet from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, the Pistons also wanted to sign Mills. The Rockets were interested in the guard, too, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported earlier today. The Spurs were also reportedly interested in Derek Fisher, whom the Rockets are rumored to be buying out. San Antonio was searching for a point guard after the abrupt retirement of T.J. Ford this week, who was subsequently shipped to Golden State for financial reasons in the Stephen Jackson-Richard Jefferson deal. The Warriors have waived Ford, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Mills, a 2009 second-round pick out of St. Mary's College, averaged 5.1 points and 1.5 assists in two seasons as a backup in Portland. He signed with a Chinese team earlier this season, but has received FIBA clearance to join an NBA team.
Failed Deals: Nets, Bucks, Kaman, Pistons
Shortly after yesterday's trade deadline, we rounded up a few near-deals that didn't quite get done. Reports continue to trickle out about offers that were turned down and trades that were close, so let's cover a few more:
- Appearing on KNBR in San Francisco, Ric Bucher of ESPN.com reported that the Nets offered Brook Lopez to the Bucks for Monta Ellis shortly after Milwaukee acquired Ellis from Golden State (hat tip to RealGM.com). Unsuprisingly, the Bucks turned it down, according to Bucher.
- Bucher added that the Warriors could have acquired Chris Kaman from the Hornets in exchange for Brandon Rush, Kwame Brown's expiring contract, and a second-round pick, but chose to land Bogut instead (link via RealGM).
- The Pistons were also in on Kaman, offering the Hornets one of their big contracts along with a future first-round pick, says Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Ben Gordon is the only Piston whose contract would've worked in a one-for-one deal.
- After turning down that offer, the Hornets countered with Carl Landry for Jason Maxiell and an unprotected 2012 first-rounder, says Goodwill. The Pistons rejected that one.
Pacific Notes: Nash, Bogut, Morris
As every Pacific team except the Clippers prepares to host a game later tonight, let's check in on the latest updates out of the division:
- Steve Nash will have plenty of options in free agency this summer, but he'll "strongly consider" re-signing with the Suns, agent Bill Duffy tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Newly-acquired Andrew Bogut tells the Australian Associated Press that the Warriors are likely to hold him out of action for the rest of the season (link via NBA.com).
- Ramon Sessions is expected to be available for his new team tonight, but the Lakers have recalled Darius Morris from their D-League affiliate just in case, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Hollinger On Deadline Deals
ESPN.com's John Hollinger has posted grades for every trade that took place today. The post is only available to ESPN Insider subscribers, but here are the highlights:
- The Nuggets were smart to shed Nene's contract, even if trading for JaVale McGee is a risk.
- However, Hollinger views the Wizards' acquisition of Nene is an overreaction to McGee's contract demands.
- For the Clippers, Hollinger doesn't believe Nick Young is a perfect solution, but that he's worth the risk since they didn't have to give up any significant assets.
- Hollinger praises the Blazers' rebuilding effort in the Gerald Wallace trade, although he has reservations about the players they got back from Houston for Marcus Camby.
- He doesn't think the Nets made a smart move giving up a lottery pick for short-term help when they risk losing Deron Williams at the end of the season.
- Hollinger likes the Rockets' acquisition of Camby as a short-term pick-up to help them make a playoff run.
- The Warriors' acquisition of Richard Jefferson is counterproductive to their efforts to tank for a draft pick, Hollinger writes. However, he praises the Spurs for shedding Jefferson's contract for Stephen Jackson's shorter one.
- Hollinger questions the Cavaliers for taking on Luke Walton's expensive contract while giving up Ramon Sessions, but loves the deal for the Lakers, as Sessions is a massive upgrade at point guard over Derek Fisher and Steve Blake.
- Hollinger likes the Sam Young acquisition for the 76ers, and while he doesn't believe losing him will shift the Grizzlies' playoff hopes one way or another, he questions whether it was necessary to shed him simply for cap reasons.
- He sees the Leandro Barbosa trade as a low-risk deal for both the Raptors and Pacers, giving Indiana immediate help at shooting guard while freeing up room for other players to get more minutes in Toronto.
Deadline Notes: Warriors, Nets, Mavs
A few notes in the aftermath of the trade deadline:
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com believes that the Warriors were willing to take on Richard Jefferson's contract because they don't believe luring a free agent with cap space is a viable option at this point.
- SI.com's Chris Mannix suggests that the Nets could target Kevin Garnett and Ryan Anderson in free agency this summer.
- Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson is happy with the team he has assembled and didn't see the need to make a move, reports Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News.
Recap Of Trade Deadline Deals
Here's the complete list of trades that took place this week leading up to the trade deadline earlier today:
- On Tuesday, the Warriors sent Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.
- The Warriors then flipped Jackson to the Spurs for Richard Jefferson, T.J. Ford, and a first-round pick on Thursday.
- The Grizzlies traded Sam Young to the 76ers for the rights to former second-round pick Ricky Sanchez.
- The Pacers acquired Leandro Barbosa from the Raptors in exchange for a second-round draft pick and cash considerations.
- The Blazers entered rebuild mode by trading Gerald Wallace to the Nets for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a 2012 first-round draft pick with top-3 protection.
- Portland also sent Marcus Camby to the Rockets for Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, and a second-round pick.
- The Rockets acquired Derek Fisher from the Lakers as well as the Mavericks' 2012 first-round pick (from the Lamar Odom trade) for Jordan Hill.
- The Lakers also traded for Ramon Sessions, sending Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, and a 2012 first-round pick to the Cavaliers and also receiving Christian Eyenga. The Cavs will also have the ability to swap the Heat's 2013 pick (which they own from the LeBron James sign-and-trade) with the Lakers' pick that year.
- The Nuggets, Wizards, and Clippers agreed to a three-team deal that will send Nene, Brian Cook, and a future second-round draft pick to Washington; Nick Young to the Clippers; and JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf to Denver.
Warriors Acquire Hawks’ Second-Round Pick
The Hawks have agreed to send their 2012 second-round pick to the Warriors in exchange for cash, according to press releases sent out by both teams. The money will help offset the Hawks' luxury tax contributions, since the team was unable to get under the tax threshold by shedding salary today.
In addition to holding its own pick, Atlanta also possesses the Suns' second-round pick, so the lesser of the two selections will be conveyed to Golden State.
Spurs, Warriors Swap Jefferson, Jackson
The Spurs and Warriors have agreed to a trade that will send Richard Jefferson and T.J. Ford to Golden State and Stephen Jackson to San Antonio, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The Warriors will also receive a conditional first-round pick in the deal, according to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
Jackson, who was acquired by the Warriors earlier this week, is a favorite of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. Unlike Jefferson, who still has two years and $21MM+ remaining on his deal after this season, Jackson will be entering the final year of his contract this summer. He's set to earn just over $10MM next season.
Ford recently announced his retirement, so he was only included in the trade for financial purposes.