Rockets Renew Push To Use Trade Exception
DECEMBER 16TH: Houston maintains its interest in Corey Brewer, as the team’s coaches are enamored with him, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Still, no deal is imminent, according to Wolfson, as the Rockets’ self-imposed Friday deadline draws near.
DECEMBER 10TH: The Rockets have once more ratcheted up the intensity of their pursuit of a trade as they seek to use a trade exception worth nearly $8.375MM, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Houston wants to make a move by December 19th, since the Rockets could flip whomever they acquired in a deal that aggregates salary before the leaguewide February 19th trade deadline, Wojnarowski writes. That jibes with last month’s report from Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, who wrote then that the team was in active talks regarding as many as a dozen players whom GM Daryl Morey and his staff were eyeing. It appeared then that the club wanted to make a move even before this coming Monday, when most offseason signees become eligible to be traded, though there’s been little chatter involving the Rockets since.
A pair of teams thought they had momentum on deals with the Rockets, but that fizzled as it appears Morey has moved on to different discussions, Wojnarowski hears. It didn’t appear as though the Rockets were prioritizing any particular position last month, but this time around the emphasis is on wings and frontcourt players, according to Wojnarowski, somewhat narrowing the field. Feigen suggested that the team was targeting an upgrade to the rotation who could be packaged with other players in return for a star at the deadline. Teams can’t make trades that aggregate the salary of a player they’ve acquired via trade within the last two months, and while there are ways to package players without aggregating their salaries, it’s easier not to have to work around that restriction.
The trade exception is left over from this summer’s unloading of Jeremy Lin to the Lakers. Houston can acquire a player, or players, whose salaries come up to as much as $100K more than the value of the exception. It doesn’t expire until next summer, even though the Rockets are anxious to use it soon. The Rockets were among the teams in pursuit of Corey Brewer last month, and while Brewer rumors have since died down, Tuesday’s suggestion from Timberwolves coach/executive Flip Saunders that his team is switching into a rebuilding mode could kick start that talk, though that’s just my speculation.
Houston’s self-imposed deadline, two months before the actual trade deadline, evokes memories of a similar target date last year when the Rockets were aggressively shopping Omer Asik. Nothing materialized on Asik last December, and Morey waited until July to ship him to New Orleans.
Beck’s Latest: Kings, Knicks, Suns, Nets, Rockets
There will be chatter aplenty between now and the February 19th trade deadline, but not all of it will truly constitute trade rumors, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck cautions. However, when multiple voices speak in unison, there’s usually a grain of truth involved, and Beck has plenty of tidbits he’s heard from a variety of sources around the league. We already passed along the news that the Pistons are putting Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings on the block, but that’s not the only item of note. We’ll pass along the rest of the highlights here and encourage you to read Beck’s full piece for more:
- The Kings head coaching job is George Karl‘s if he wants it, as both Beck and Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee hear (Twitter links). Alvin Gentry and Mark Jackson are also “prime candidates,” according to Beck, though it’s not clear if the Kings are targeting either of them. Karl said to Tom Byrne of SiriusXM NBA Radio today that, “If they’re interested in me, I’m interested in them (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first identified Karl as the front-runner for the job, which Tyrone Corbin is expected to assume on an interim basis.
- Executives around the league tell Beck that the Knicks are making all of their players except for Carmelo Anthony available, as Beck writes in his piece. A similar scenario is in place for New Orleans, where the Pelicans are open to trading everyone outside of Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson, Beck hears.
- Many executives expect the Suns to trade one of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, according to Beck.
- The Nets would probably only move one or two of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson, team sources tell Beck. The Rockets asked Brooklyn about Andrei Kirilenko before the Nets traded him to the Sixers last week, Beck also hears.
- There’s conflicting intel on the Nuggets, whom many executives view as top candidates to become sellers, while one Western Conference exec tells Beck that the Nuggets like their team and aren’t inclined to move anybody. In any case, there’s plenty of interest in Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov, executives have said to Beck.
- Many executives and scouts identified Thaddeus Young, Mo Williams and David Lee among likely trade candidates, Beck writes.
Western Notes: Howard, Daniels, Mavericks
The injury-plagued Rockets welcomed center Dwight Howard back to the court Saturday, and guard Patrick Beverley told Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle he expects a smooth transition. “I don’t see anything but good things to happen with Dwight,” Beverley said. “I’m excited. Our team is excited. Our coaching staff, they’re very excited. I know our fans are excited. We’re starting to get some healthy guys back. That’s a big key right now.”
There’s more Western Conference news:
- Rockets guard Troy Daniels has always been a sharpshooter, but Feigen writes that his shot is suffering due to a shortage of playing time. Daniels has connected on just 25.6% of his three-pointers this season as he battles for minutes. He was able to sink a pair of threes Thursday in a comeback victory over the Kings. “Nobody wants to sit on the bench and just watch your teammates,” Daniels said. “At the end of the day, it’s part of being a young guy. I’ve been learning since I’ve been sitting over there, so it was a great opportunity for me to get out there and just do what I do.”
- The Mavericks shouldn’t be taken seriously as Western Conference contenders until they start beating other contenders, opines Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. The Mavericks have an impressive 17-8 record, but Saturday’s loss to Golden State left them 0-6 against the other teams currently in the West’s top eight. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” guard Devin Harris said. “We’re beating the teams we’re supposed to, but we need to elevate the team as a whole. We need to grow as a team.”
- Despite a 5-17 start, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor can see a brighter future, writes Charley Walters of The St. Paul Pioneer Press. Minnesota is likely to miss the playoffs for the 11th straight season, but with young talent like rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, Taylor believes better days are coming. “This year, knowing that I have [coach Flip Saunders], knowing we have some really good resources, I just understand we’re going to go through part of our growing process,” Taylor said. “For some reason, I’m more accepting of it. I haven’t found myself feeling terribly sad or terribly uncomfortable. I’m more patient.”
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Bosh, Heat
The Hawks and Philips Arena have named Nzinga Shaw as the organization’s new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (CDIO), the team announced. Shaw will be responsible for developing and embedding diversity and inclusion best practices throughout the organization. “I am excited to be a member of the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena organization at such a pivotal time. My goal as the CDIO is to help our organization rebuild trust and partnership in the Atlanta community, emphasizing civility, sportsmanship, and human decency in an effort to ensure that everyone can be a fan of the team, attend home games, and so that we can serve as a model for inclusion in the NBA,” Shaw said. “More specifically, I will lead the charge of creating a strategic framework to help shift the culture so that we can create greater inclusion and engagement with all of our fans and stakeholders.”
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- In an interview with Grantland’s Zach Lowe, Chris Bosh discussed a number of topics, including the teams that were courting him before he decided to re-sign with the Heat. When Bosh was asked if the offers he received from the Rockets, Suns, Lakers, and Nuggets had interested him, Bosh said, “It was just interesting to be wanted, after all that time of bashing, bashing, bashing. You kind of bask in it just a little bit. Like, ‘Hey, I’m still valuable. I can still play this game.'”
- When Bosh was asked by Lowe about whether any other team besides Houston truly tempted him to sign with them, Bosh replied, “Yeah. They make you think for a minute. But I was interested in staying put. But at the time, it’s like, OK, wow. I never imagined this. You just think about it. But for the most part, I was focused on staying with Miami.”
- With the Heat now third-worst in the NBA in field-goal percentage defense, some outsiders have questioned coach Erik Spoelstra’s defensive philosophy, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. But one Miami player said privately that a huge problem is the inability of the team’s wing players (guards especially) to consistently prevent penetration, which then exposes the team’s lack of size on the interior. This defensive weakness on the wing is the primary reason that the Heat have been mentioned as being interested in acquiring Corey Brewer from the Wolves, who is known as a strong perimeter defender.
Clippers, Heat Showed Interest In Corey Brewer
The Clippers and Heat were among the teams that expressed interest in Corey Brewer when the Wolves were reportedly in active discussions last month about trading the swingman, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets. It’s unclear whether those teams continue to eye Brewer. The Rockets and Cavs were apparently the most serious suitors, and Houston emerged as the team most likely to acquire the 28-year-old former No. 7 overall pick before talks appeared to die down.
Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders suggested last month that Brewer was too valuable for his injury-wracked team to trade, and Brewer rumors largely ceased from that point on. Saunders hinted today that the team has gone into rebuilding mode because of the injuries, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links), though it’s unclear if that changes the dynamic involving Brewer. The Happy Walters client makes $4.703MM this season and has a player option worth $4.703MM for next season that teams interested in trading for him would strongly prefer him to waive, as Zillgitt reported last month.
The Clippers, who also apparently have some level of interest in Andrei Kirilenko, would have to be careful to match salaries with the Wolves, since they’re perilously close to their hard cap. The Heat have greater flexibility, though they’re roughly $4MM shy of the luxury tax line. Brewer’s numbers have been off this season, as I examined Monday when I looked at his trade candidacy, though I urged Saunders to move quickly toward a deal if interest remains strong.
Western Notes: Clippers, Green, Grizzlies
Chris Paul said the Clippers had a “healthy conversation” at halftime after the reserves let a big lead slip away Saturday, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. It’s a familiar pattern, although the Clippers rebounded to win by 20 points. “Early in the year, we probably would have splintered and fallen apart, but there’s going to be games like that,” Paul said. “… When that happens, you can’t try to figure out whose fault it is. You have to figure out a solution.”
There’s more from the West:
- The improvement of Draymond Green has pushed the Warriors to a league-best 17-2 start, examines Michael Wilbon of ESPNChicago.com. “He’s given us a new dimension … when your [power forward] can play pick-and-pop like that,” coach Steve Kerr said. “… He’s not the kind of guy you establish a game plan for … that you draw plays for.”
- Many rolled their eyes when the Grizzlies shipped Pau Gasol to the Lakers and received younger brother Marc Gasol in return. At the time, GM Chris Wallace took a lot of flack for the deal,Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes. “It was tough trying to explain the long term value of a center who not only is playing in Spain at that time — which, despite the international nature of the game, the local fans and media don’t really follow the ACB as they do the ACC or the SEC — but the player also played high school basketball in Memphis,” said Wallace. “He came over [from Spain] with Pau, and let’s just say a lot of people who saw him play weren’t impressed. People would come up to me and say, ‘He couldn’t play at White Station High School. He had to transfer to Lausanne. I saw him there and all he does is shoot 30-footers and he’s out of shape. No way he’s an NBA player.’ ” Years later, the deal makes much more sense from Memphis’ side.
- A string of injuries has turned rookie Nick Johnson from an afterthought into a member of the Rockets‘ rotation, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “I’m more confident,” said Johnson, who hit a game-winning layup against the Timberwolves on Friday, then helped close out a victory over the Suns on Saturday. “It’s a process, every game, every minute I’m out there I start to understand a little more.”
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Southwest Notes: Davis, Howard, Mavericks
The Pelicans are building their team around Anthony Davis in the same way the Spurs built their dynasty around Tim Duncan nearly two decades ago, writes Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated in a piece that chronicles Davis’ journey to the NBA. Jenkins notes that the team acquired Ryan Anderson in part because of how the Spurs sustained success with floor spacing.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The injury-plagued Rockets shouldn’t count on Dwight Howard returning to the court soon, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Feigen said coach Kevin McHale is pessimistic about a quick return from Howard or any of Houston’s other injured players.
- Nobody in Dallas is surprised Jason Kidd made such a quick transition from on-the-floor leader to the head coaching ranks, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle isn’t the least bit surprised with Kidd’s career moves. “Let’s face it; he was always coaching, anyway, when he was out there,” Carlisle said. “I felt like he had a very good idea coming off his playing career, as to how he felt the game should be played. And he’s coaching it that way. You’ve got to give him a lot of credit for that.”
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich continued his long-distance jousting with Knicks president Phil Jackson this week, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Jackson said in April that San Antonio didn’t qualify as a dynasty because the team hadn’t won two titles in a row. “Ooh that makes me mad,” Popovich said sarcastically when asked about the comments. Jackson made the remarks when talking about whether Carmelo Anthony would accept less money to stay in New York, similar to what Tim Duncan has done with the Spurs.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Southwest Notes: Leonard, Gasol, Rockets
Kawhi Leonard will hit restricted free agency in the summer, but Gregg Popovich isn’t moving away from his plan to make the small forward the focal point for the Spurs, as he explains to Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
“We’re trying to loosen up a bit and give him more of a green light,” Popovich said. “He’s getting more license. When you’re a young kid, you’re going to defer to Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili] and [Tony Parker]. Now it’s like, ‘To heck with those guys. The Big Three, they’re older than dirt. To [expletive] with them. You’re the Big One. You’ve got to go do your deal.’ So, we’re trying to get him to be more demonstrative in that regard.”
Popovich was speaking tongue in cheek about Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, but it’s not hard to see that he continues to view the 23-year-old Leonard as a building block. Here’s more on Leonard amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- Leonard was non-committal when Lee asked about his upcoming free agency, though it’s the Spurs who can ultimately decide if he returns, since they can match all offers. “I feel like they like me here and I’m going to come back, but we’ll see,” Leonard said, as Lee notes in the same piece. “We’re going to see this summer.”
- Zach Randolph expressed confidence during an ESPN appearance Monday that Marc Gasol will re-sign with the Grizzlies, notes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter links), but Randolph admits to USA Today’s Sam Amick that sometimes he worries that Gasol will leave. In any case, Randolph said to Amick that he talks to Gasol a bit about the summer ahead, presumably in an effort to get him to stay.
- The summer front office upheaval in Memphis that nearly saw coach Dave Joerger leave for the Wolves job didn’t prompt worry for Gasol, Amick reports in the same piece. “I was in contact with everybody [during that time],” Gasol said. “I was in contact with [owner] Robert [Pera], and I was in contact with Coach, and they told me that everything was going to be fine, and I believed them. There was no reason for me not to believe them.”
- The Rockets have recalled Clint Capela from the D-League, the team announced. This year’s 25th overall pick put up 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and an eye-popping 3.2 blocks in just 14.1 minutes per game across six contests for the D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Western Notes: Injuries, Jerrett, Johnson
The Pelicans have sustained their share of injuries this season and head coach Monty Williams is adjusting to how players are managing themselves, writes Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune. “Times have changed,” Williams says. “The way that people view the game now is totally different than the way the game was viewed back in the day. Most injuries, when I came into the league, you didn’t talk about them. It was a sign of weakness to be in the training room.” With players taking a more cautious approach with regards to their injuries, teams could shift their strategies and start valuing depth as a more precious commodity, although that is just my speculation.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Grant Jerrett has finally made his debut for the Thunder and his teammates are ecstatic to see the second-year player getting a chance to take the court, writes Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman. “I told him yesterday after the game: ‘Man, you can’t even stop smiling, boy you so happy you hit your first NBA bucket,’” Kendrick Perkins said. “But I’m happy for Grant. He’s been working hard. You always like to see a guy like Grant get a feel for the game and play a bit.” The Thunder drafted Jerrett in the second round of the 2013 draft and signed him last April for the rest of the 2013/14 season. Oklahoma City re-signed Jerrett to a four-year, minimum salary contract this offseason.
- Injuries have forced rookie Nick Johnson onto the court for the Rockets and the team expects him to be a contributor, writes Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. Starting point guard Patrick Beverley is healing from a strained hamstring and reserve point guard Isaiah Canaan left Friday’s game with a sprained ankle. “You just have to go out and play your game,” coach Kevin McHale said. “Nick Johnson cannot become someone he is not overnight because an opportunity is there. He has to be a good Nick Johnson. He has to be able to attack the basket, make plays for others and try to get to the line.”
- With new additions and several key players returning from injuries, it was wise not to panic when the Nuggets struggled early in the season, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. “Early on in the season, I thought we were a little bit too cool, a little too laid-back coming out,” said head coach Brian Shaw. “We started out 1-6. To have an 8-8 record in November, going into December after the way we started, it just goes to show if we defend and we play this way, now our slate is clean. We have something to build on.”
Wolves Sign Jeff Adrien
3:33pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
2:36pm: The Timberwolves have signed free agent forward Jeff Adrien, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Minnesota is inking Adrien using a hardship exception, notes Charania. It had previously been reported that Minnesota president Flip Saunders was considering filing for the hardship exception, and if Adrien is being brought on board, then it’s likely the team has received approval from the league to temporarily add a 16th player to its roster. Terms of the deal were not released, but it is most likely a minimum-salary arrangement.
Minnesota has lost the services of Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic, and Ronny Turiaf to injuries. Martin is out six to eight weeks after having wrist surgery, and Rubio isn’t likely to return until January at the earliest after injuring his ankle. Both Pekovic and Turiaf will both be reevaluated next week.
The 28-year-old Adrien has appeared in 136 career games, averaging 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest. He was in training camp with the Rockets this year prior to being waived, after appearing in 25 games for the Hornets last season.