Cavs Suspend Andrew Bynum, Trade Possible
1:45pm: The Cavs had planned to cut Bynum’s playing time, and he expressed displeasure about that, according to Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer. The center has also been upset with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, believing they hogged the ball and didn’t look for him down low, Pluto writes. The Plain Dealer’s Mary Schmitt Boyer and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe pass along Irving’s input on Bynum. (Twitter link).
“It’s just a terrible situation internally with our team,” Irving said. “It’s just something we have to get over. Coach’s decision, came from management. That’s kind of where it stays is with management.”
1:25pm: The Cavaliers are “determined” to trade Andrew Bynum, as Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports write, adding that he’s almost certainly played his final game as a Cavalier. Wojnarowski and Spears hear that Bynum has lost his motivation to play and that the Cavs had to talk him out of quitting. The Yahoo! report also raises the notion that Bynum may seek a buyout so he can sign elsewhere. That possibility seems unlikely, since the Cavs appear ready to waive him on or before January 7th to avoid guaranteeing his full $12.25MM salary, even if they don’t find a trade partner.
Tension between the Cavs and Bynum has been building for the last month, and his lack of commitment to the team reached a tipping point in Friday’s practice, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
11:47am: After he didn’t travel with the Cavs for their game in Boston on Friday afternoon, the club announced that Andrew Bynum has been suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. This certainly isn’t how Cleveland hoped their Bynum deal would work out. Luckily for the Cavs, his deal is only partially guaranteed, and they can cut ties with him by January 7th to recoup $6MM of what he’s owed for this season.
The Cavs believe that the New jersey native has been a “disruptive” presence in the locker room and have lost hope that their partnership can be salvaged, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Teams that looked at Bynum over the offseason were equally as concerned with his motivation as his knee troubles, Wojnarowski tweets.
The Cavs will “aggressively” look to ship Bynum out of town, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. In what was perhaps a telling moment, coach Mike Brown would not respond when asked if Bynum had played his last game with Cleveland.
League sources tell Sam Amico of FOX Sports (on Twitter) that a deal will be challenging, but possible for the Cavs. The Clippers are one club that would have interest in Bynum, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today, if he’s released outright and there should be several more in that line. Bill Simmons of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that he would consider the Celtics, but the Heat and Clippers would be his preferred destinations. For Bynum to land with the latter two, he’d have to be released, and the Cavs want to trade him. The Celtics have the right combo of expiring deals and assets to get a deal done.
Even though the Nets are in need of a big man in the wake of Brook Lopez‘s injury, they are not interested in Bynum, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. With an already unstable locker room in Brooklyn, that might be for the best.
Odds & Ends: Thomas, Karasev, McGary
Isaiah Thomas’ continued improvement is likely why the Kings felt comfortable parting with Greivis Vasquez in their trade for Rudy Gay, Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling writes in an in-depth look at the Sacramento point guard. Zwerling also spoke to a source who said there have been no contract talks yet between Thomas and the Kings, but he believes the 24-year-old could land a starting salary of $5MM+. The lack of contract discussions is no surprise at this point, since Thomas isn’t eligible for an extension.
Here’s more from around the NBA:
- The Cavaliers have assigned Sergey Karasev to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. It’s the second time Karasev has been sent to the Canton Charge this season, though his first assignment lasted just one day.
- Michigan prospect Mitch McGary will have back surgery, which figures to end his season, as ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman details. McGary’s decision to return to school for his sophomore year surprised some, and looks like it may backfire. One NBA GM tells Goodman that McGary will be a “borderline first-rounder” in 2014, whereas he would’ve been a lock in 2013, and a couple more of Goodman’s NBA sources echoed that sentiment (Twitter link).
- In his NBA PM piece for HoopsWorld, Yannis Koutroupis explores whether the Thunder and Knicks ought to make a move or stand pat.
Several Teams Interested In Luol Deng
6:06pm: Sam clarifies in a pair of tweets that the teams mentioned in his story are more interested in Deng as a free agent than a trade target, since they wouldn’t want to give up assets to rent him for a half-season.
4:59pm: The Cavaliers, Mavericks, Lakers, Raptors, Spurs, Grizzlies and Nets are among the teams interested in Luol Deng, sources tell Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com. It’s not clear whether those teams are looking to trade for Deng this season or sign him in the summer, when he’ll be a free agent. The Bulls, while reportedly determined not to trade Deng, would apparently do so if they receive the right offer, and according to Sam, such an offer would involve a productive young player and a first-round pick.
Deng and the Bulls had extension talks this summer, but agent Ron Shade, who represents Deng along with Herb Rudoy, tells Sam that the Bulls never even made an extension offer to his client and says that many were “shocked” that Chicago wouldn’t do so.
“Honestly, I wanted something to be done,” Deng said. “I wanted to be here. I really felt we were going to. I don’t know how the money works. I don’t know what needed to be done. I really don’t know any of that stuff. But after the spinal tap, I went away and everything, I think I was waiting to hear from the Bulls. I was waiting to hear from [GM] Gar [Forman], and I really thought there would be weeks, maybe months of going back and forth, and trying to get it done. I felt like I’ve been here since I was 18. I’ve worked hard. They’ve seen me come in and do everything. But for whatever reason, Gar felt like it wasn’t the time yet.”
Still, Deng insists Forman “didn’t do anything wrong,” and remains open to staying with the team. The Bulls could have plenty of competition if they don’t deal him, Sam writes, believing that Deng could become the most sought-after free agent of the summer if marquee stars like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony decide not to opt out of their deals.
Central Notes: Bucks, Bulls, Datome, Cavaliers
Howard Beck of Bleacher Reports writes that Monta Ellis looks like a “changed man” this season in Dallas, and Ellis acknowledges as much, telling Beck that he was frustrated last year with the Bucks:
“I think I got into a dark place where I wasn’t myself… Some games I’d come and I could be motivated to play. And some games, it was hard, because of the type of players I was around.”
Milwaukee is playing even worse now, and as Jim Paschke noted this morning (via Twitter), half of the club’s remaining games are against Western Conference teams. That might be a blessing in disguise, since it should mean the Bucks have a good shot at the number one overall pick in the draft come June. Here are some more tidbits out of the Central Division:
- The Bulls have struggled without Derrick Rose, and there have been plenty of rumbles about the club making a big move to stir things up in Chicago. Joe Cowley from the Chicago Sun-Times dissects the team’s roster and reveals the players he believes to be the most valuable on the trade market, as well as the ones he figures would be the hardest to move.
- Luigi Datome has played relatively well in the limited action he’s seen for the Pistons so far this season, and the former Italian League star figures to see an increase in minutes, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Pistons signed the 26-year-old small forward to a two-year, $3.5MM contract this past offseason.
- Another offseason acquisition, Andrew Bynum, has been inconsistent and flat out bad at times this season for the Cavaliers. Coming off of a game where he shot 0-11 from the floor, Bob Finnan of the News-Herald believes Bynum to be one of the biggest reasons for Cleveland’s struggles. He suggests that the club relies too much on the banged up center to generate offense.
Luke Adams contributed to this post
Amico’s Latest: Lowry, Dragic, Cavs
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio leads his latest piece with news about the Bucks making Larry Sanders available in trades, but he passes along plenty more pre-Christmas rumors. Let’s dive in:
- Amico identifies the Magic and Pelicans as potential Kyle Lowry suitors and hears from one league executive who says he’d be shocked if the Raptors don’t deal the point guard by the deadline.
- A report yesterday suggested Goran Dragic is the Suns player most likely to be dealt, but Amico hears that while the Suns would listen to offers, they aren’t looking to trade him.
- The Cavs have been aggressive in their search for “an impact player” on the trade market recently, but they’re not willing to give up Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson to do so, according to Amico. The team might become more willing to include those players in trades at a later point, Amico speculates.
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro is still talking to other teams about moves that would improve his club, Amico writes, which jibes with earlier reports that suggest Sacramento remains in trade mode.
- Draft prospect P.J. Hairston could soon wind up in the D-League. The University of North Carolina recently dismissed the swingman, but many around the league think he might head to the D-League to help his draft stock. He’s currently No. 32 on the DraftExpress Top 100 Prospects list.
Ford On Randolph, Raptors, Cavs, Suns, Draft
Recent reports have downplayed the Grizzlies‘ and Raptors‘ interest in moving Zach Randolph and DeMar DeRozan, but in his latest chat, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford suggests both teams would still be open to moving their respective highest-paid players in the right deal. Here’s more from ESPN’s draft guru:
- Jonas Valanciunas and perhaps Amir Johnson are the only players the Raptors “really want to keep,” according to Ford.
- The Cavaliers are working the phones in an effort to add impact players, and are still very much trying to make the playoffs this season, says Ford.
- Ford believes that anyone on the Suns except for Eric Bledsoe could be had, suggesting that Goran Dragic, who is drawing interest from the Kings, is “the most likely to go.” I’d assume the Suns would require a pretty nice package to seriously consider moving Dragic, given how well he and Bledsoe have played together so far.
- In a 2013 re-draft, Ford would have Giannis Antetokounmpo at No. 1, followed by Victor Oladipo and Michael Carter-Williams.
- There’s no clear consensus on who will be picked first overall in 2014. According to Ford, conservative GMs will lean toward Julius Randle or Jabari Parker, while risk-taking teams will likely opt for Andrew Wiggins, Dante Exum, or Joel Embiid.
Draft Notes: Hawks, Bennett, Craft, Ross
Is your favorite team looking to deal future draft choices to make things brighter today? Not so fast. There are rules and regulations to follow. You can get yourself all caught up on the rules for dealing future picks thanks to Luke Adams’ handy guide, published last week. Here’s today’s draft links..
- It may be bad times in Brooklyn but the Nets’ troubles are giving the Hawks reason to smile, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Everyone feared that the 2013 Draft would be historically bad and the early returns support that, writes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer. “It’s very early,” ESPN.com analyst Chad Ford said of No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, “but right now, he’s looking like the worst in the past 20 years. That includes Greg Oden. Oden was injured all the time, but when he played, he at least looked like a No. 1 pick.“
- Dan Kelly of SNY.tv asks if Ohio State’s Aaron Craft and LaQuinton Ross have NBA futures. Craft figures to be the best perimeter defender in this year’s class and is currently slated to go in the second round. Ross, who stands at 6’7″ and boasts a 7’1″ wingspan, has a good build for the two-guard position and can shoot well, but his effort isn’t consistent from game to game. He’s also projected to go in the second round.
Central Notes: Pacers, Varejao, Deng
The Pacers aren’t looking for Danny Granger trades, but they wouldn’t be averse to such a move if they came across the right deal, as we passed along yesterday. Team president Larry Bird can envision re-signing both Granger and Lance Stephenson in free agency this summer, as Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star noted in his piece, but that could be a tight squeeze unless owner Herb Simon relents on his no-tax pledge, a change of heart Bird seems to hope for. Here’s more on the teams looking up at the first-place Pacers in the Central Division standings:
- The Cavs would have had to relinquish either Anderson Varejao or a first-round pick to acquire Jeff Green if they had acted as a facilitator in a rumored three-way trade, and that’s a price they were unwilling to pay, as Bob Finnan of The News-Herald notes in his weekly column. Finnan also suggests that Asik’s agent, Arn Tellem, wouldn’t have been on board with any trade that sent Omer Asik to Cleveland, where he would back up Andrew Bynum.
- Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com is convinced the Bulls will trade Luol Deng before the deadline if the right offer comes along, in spite of a report that the team is determined not to deal him. Still, Friedell admits Deng’s $14.275MM salary makes him tough to fit into a swap.
- The Bulls are giving recent signee D.J. Augustin heavy minutes, and that indicates that the team will keep him around as the backup point guard this season, Friedell writes in a separate piece.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer checks in with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who’s emerging as a contributor for the Bucks just months after Milwaukee used the 15th overall pick on the then-18-year-old small forward.
- Schmitt Boyer talks trades and other Cavs-related topics in her latest mailbag column.
Lakers Notes: Kobe, Gasol, Meeks
Kobe Bryant‘s knee injury doesn’t affect the Lakers’ short- or long-term picture, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who writes that the team wasn’t going to make the playoffs this season either way and was already locked into Kobe’s two-year extension. In his latest Lakers-centric piece, Lowe writes that he’s talked to “dozens” of GMs, execs, coaches, and scouts around the league about Kobe’s new deal, and while some acknowledge that it makes business sense, none have been willing to call it a good contract. Here’s more on the Lakers:
- While it makes sense for the Lakers to gauge Pau Gasol‘s market value, Lowe notes that there are plenty of roadblocks to finding a logical trade partner, including Pau’s $19MM+ salary and L.A.’s desire not to take on long-term money. Lowe mentions the Cavaliers, Bobcats, Suns as potential players for Gasol, though it sounds like he’s speculating about the possible fit rather than reporting any actual discussions. Ultimately, the Lakers may be better off holding on to Pau and re-signing him to a two-year contract, says Lowe.
- As he faces another six weeks of recovery time, Bryant tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that “only an idiot” would doubt his ability to return from his latest injury.
- Jodie Meeks will draw interest in free agency next summer and figures to earn a raise on this year’s $1.55MM salary if he continues to play well. However, if it’s up to him, the 26-year-old guard would “love to be a Laker for a long time,” as he says to Lang Greene of HoopsWorld.
- Faced with a scarcity of options at the point, the Lakers reached an agreement with 2012 lottery pick Kendall Marshall and made the signing official today.
Eastern Notes: Lowry, Bobcats, Cavs, Woodson
The Bulls are the only team from the East that will see any action on the hardwood tonight, but that doesn’t mean other clubs from around the conference aren’t making some noise off of the court. Let’s take a look at a few notes from around the Eastern Conference..
- The Raptors aren’t urgently trying to move Kyle Lowry, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld reports (via Twitter). This report comes as a bit of a surprise since we heard yesterday that the club was working hard to move the veteran guard. It seems likely that Lowry will be moved before the trade deadline, but how soon remains unclear.
- Nate Duncan of HoopsWorld examines the rosters of the Bobcats and Cavaliers and reveals who he thinks could be franchise players for each club.
- The Knicks have won five out of their last ten games, but Marc Stein of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Mike Woodson is still on the hot seat and being evaluated on a “game-by-game basis” by upper management. Stein notes that if the Knicks had lost to the Bucks last night, it might have marked the end of Woodson’s tenure in New York.
- Chauncey Billups has no desire to coach after his playing days, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald notes in his latest piece. He wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a front office gig, however.
- The Bucks will not attempt to deal for Omer Asik, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. It’s not completely clear, but Woelfel might be talking about a trade in the long term since we’ve heard that Asik will remain in a Rockets uniform for the time being.
- Danny Granger is returning to the Pacers’ lineup, but it’s a much different squad than the one he left, notes Candace Buckner of USA Today Sports. Buckner still sees Granger as a valuable asset to the team but suggests he will have a different role than the one he had before his injury.