Odds & Ends: Buyouts, Thunder, Williams, Camby
A few teams got a first look at their new acquisitions tonight, while others still await players to arrive and take physicals in their new cities. It's a league that's still in flux less than 36 hours after the trade deadline. Let's take a look at what's going on as everyone gets settled:
- Marquis Daniels of the Celtics and Brian Cook of the Wizards are buyout candidates, says agent Mark Bartelstein via Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports. (Twitter link)
- The Thunder have assigned forward Ryan Reid to the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, via Twitter. Oklahoma City signed the undrafted 25-year-old forward to a partially guaranteed two-year contract before the season, but he's only appeared in five games so far, scoring a total of eight points in 17 minutes. The 6'8", 232-pound Reid played 48 games with Tulsa last year, averaging 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds while posting a 14.7 PER.
- According to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld, Nets GM Billy King is confident his team can re-sign Deron Williams this summer, even though the point guard said today he will not opt in to the final season of his deal, a la Dwight Howard.
- Marcus Camby, who sees himself playing four more years, wants to finish his career with the Rockets, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- Tommy Dee of Sheridan Hoops takes a look at the NBA prospects of Cincinnati's Yancy Gates.
- ESPN's Chad Ford believes NCAA tournament hero C.J. McCollum of Lehigh is a "serious draft sleeper" (Twitter link). Ford reported a few weeks ago that scouts had McCollum pegged as a late first-round or early second-round selection (Insider only).
- J.A. Adande of ESPN looks at what we've learned from the trade deadline. The most significant takeaway is that it pays to have a Plan B, Adande says.
Odds & Ends: Nene, Celtics, Camby, Kaman, Rubio
A few odds and ends from around the league for Friday afternoon:
- Explaining yesterday's acquisition of Nene, Wizards president Ernie Grunfield cited the cost certainty of Nene's deal, noting that free agency is a "crap shoot." Michael Lee of the Washington Post has the details.
- Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, that Chris Johnson, who was waived by the Blazers yesterday, is "an absolute option" for the Celtics.
- Shawne Williams' agent hasn't been approached by the Blazers yet about a buyout for his client, though that could change soon, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- After Brendan Haywood sprained his knee in last night's game, the Mavericks will recall Sean Williams from their D-League affiliate, according to a team press release. The Mavs had assigned Williams to Austin earlier this week.
- Marcus Camby may be 38 years old and in the final year of his contract, but he's not ready for retirement yet. The Rockets big man tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he wants to play for four more years (Twitter link).
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn't think David Stern would block the Hornets from buying out Chris Kaman.
- Ricky Rubio will undergo reconstructive surgery on his left knee next Wednesday, the team announced today.
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.
Rockets Intend To Buy Out Derek Fisher
The Rockets will buy out the remainder of Derek Fisher's contract, according to Fran Blinebury of NBA.com (via Twitter). Speculation that Houston would buy out Fisher began almost immediately after the Rockets acquired him yesterday, with Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweeting earlier today to "expect [a] buyout."
Fisher's cap figure is $3.4MM this season, with a player option worth the same amount for 2012/13. The Rockets have been attempting to clear cap space for this summer, so if the Rockets and Fisher agree on a buyout, we'll see how much of next year's figure Houston can clear from its books.
If a buyout is finalized before next Friday, Fisher will be free to sign with any team in the NBA besides the Lakers. Since L.A. traded him, the veteran point guard is prohibited from rejoining the Lakers this season, under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Rockets Waive Terrence Williams
The Rockets have waived Terrence Williams, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
Williams, 24, had only appeared in three games since the start of February, and played just 23 total games for the Rockets after being acquired at last year's trade deadline. The former 11th overall pick averaged 4.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game this season.
The former Louisville Cardinal was the only one of Houston's four 2009 draft-lottery players that wasn't shipped out in a trade yesterday — Jordan Hill was sent to the Lakers, while Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet headed to Portland.
Cavaliers Sign Donald Sloan
Moving quickly to fill the point guard hole left by Ramon Sessions' departure, the Cavaliers have signed Donald Sloan to a contract for the rest of the season, according to the team. Duane Rankin of the Erie Times-News initially reported that the Cavs would sign Sloan.
"This is a result of everything I did last year up to now," Sloan said. "It's paying off…. Anything I can do to come in and help, I'm going to try to make sure I do that and a little bit more."
Sloan, 24, played for the Hawks earlier this season, then signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Hornets, but only saw action in eight games for the two teams. He had been playing for the Erie BayHawks of the D-League, averaging 22.8 PPG and 7.4 APG in eight contests for the 'Hawks.
Sloan hears from his agent that the Knicks and Rockets also had some interest in signing him.
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.
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.
Failed Deals: Beasley, Crawford, Allen, Pierce
You've read about the trades that were completed prior to the deadline, but there were also plenty of moves that didn't quite work out. Here are a few that have been reported so far:
- The Lakers had been in talks to acquire Michael Beasley in a deal that would've sent Jamal Crawford and Derek Fisher to the Timberwolves, with Dallas' first-round pick going to the Blazers, says Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (on Twitter).
- Crawford also could've gone to the Lakers, but the Blazers didn't want to take on Derek Fisher, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Before they acquired Nick Young, the Clippers talked extensively with the Rockets about trading for Courtney Lee, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
- The Clippers were also "this close" from acquiring Ray Allen, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
- The Celtics had serious talks with several teams about both Allen and Paul Pierce, but nothing came together, says Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
- Another interesting tidbit from Amick: He says the Nuggets tried to engage the Kings on Nene/DeMarcus Cousins swap about a month ago, but the Kings weren't interested (Twitter links).
- The Bucks made a "strong late push" for the Hornets' Carl Landry, but couldn't work anything out, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
- GM Otis Smith told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com that the Magic explored many deals to bring in help around Dwight Howard, but that the risk/reward factor didn't make sense (Twitter link).
Rockets Acquire Derek Fisher
The Rockets have acquired Derek Fisher from the Lakers in exchange for Jordan Hill, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Houston also receives the first-round pick in the Lakers acquired from Dallas in December's Lamar Odom trade, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
While the Lakers ended up moving both of their 2012 first-rounders in this trade and today's Ramon Sessions deal, they were able to upgrade their roster and improve their future cap situation. Fisher and Luke Walton were both under contract for multiple years, while Hill and Sessions could both come off the books at season's end.
The Rockets will explore a buyout, but could use the point guard depth for the time being with Kyle Lowry out, tweets Wojnarowski.