Broussard’s Latest: Carmelo, Rondo, Love
Most of the executives to whom ESPN Insider’s Chris Broussard has spoken believe the Bulls will make a run at Carmelo Anthony this summer. Some are “completely convinced” Chicago will go after him, Broussard writes. A rival GM thinks the team’s confidence in Nikola Mirotic‘s ability will play heavily into the team’s decision regarding Anthony. A report in recent days indicated the Bulls are among the front runners for last year’s scoring champ. Broussard has plenty more in latest piece, and we’ll round it up here:
- Rajon Rondo quickly ended extension talks with the Celtics, and the discussions didn’t even get to the numbers stage, according to Broussard, who says the point guard wants to keep his options open as he seeks a payday and a winning situation. Rondo has expressed his commitment to Boston, but the Knicks, who remain interested in trading for him, view him as the perfect complement to Anthony.
- A GM tells Broussard that it’s “a 100% certainty” that Kevin Love will sign with the Lakers after next season. Most executives who’ve spoken to the ESPN.com scribe also believe the former UCLA star is headed for the purple-and-gold.
- The Lakers might be willing to overpay Eric Bledsoe to bring him aboard via restricted free agency this summer, a source tells Broussard. Suns owner Robert Sarver has indicated he’s willing to match any offer for the point guard, so it’d be a surprise if Bledsoe wound up back in L.A.
- If the Celtics, who are looking to clear cap room, can find takers for Gerald Wallace, Jeff Green and Avery Bradley, “they’re gone,” Broussard says. It’s not a surprise that GM Danny Ainge would be quick to unload Wallace, but his apparent enthusiasm for moving Green and Bradley is noteworthy.
- The Raptors had engaged in trade talk with other clubs about DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry before their run to the top of the Atlantic Division, but Toronto is no longer looking to move DeRozan, barring an substantial offer. Broussard hears the Raptors are not high enough on Lowry to offer him a sizable contract when he hits free agency this summer, but an opposing GM thinks Toronto will hang on to Lowry through the trade deadline because of fears about alienating the fan base.
- The Pacers will only trade Danny Granger if another team “blows them away” with an offer, Broussard writes.
- Broussard detects a strong sense around the league that the Pistons are eager to trade Josh Smith.
- The Sixers would be willing to take back a little bit of salary to acquire draft picks for their veterans, according to Broussard. I assume he’s referring to long-term salary commitments rather than players on expiring deals.
- The strong play of the Grizzlies has quieted chatter surrounding Zach Randolph, Broussard reports.
- The Heat are interested in Andrew Bynum, but they’re unwilling to pay him more than the minumum salary, an executive tells Broussard. Bynum is reportedly holding out for more than that.
- GMs who spoke to Broussard identified the following players as candidates to be traded before the deadline: Andre Miller, Jameer Nelson, Emeka Okafor, Kenneth Faried, Shawn Marion, Dion Waiters, Jarrett Jack, Francisco Garcia and Arron Afflalo.
Central Notes: Stephenson, Bulls
The Bulls have continued to win a surprising amount of games after trading Luol Deng to the Cavs. Taj Gibson told reporters, including K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune, he believes they can keep winning, even as they embark on a 6-game road trip against Western Conference opponents. Here are some other notes from the Central Division:
- While Lance Stephenson won’t hint much at his pending unrestricted free agency, his parents tell Mark Montieth of Pacers.com that they are optimistic he will stay with the Pacers. The guard, enjoying a breakout season, was told by team president Larry Bird that an extension was on the way. “I listened to Larry Bird (at the press conference to announce Paul George‘s long-term contract last summer) say, ‘Lance, you’ll be sitting here with your dad.’ That’s what we believe,” Stephenson’s father says. “Until otherwise, that’s the plan. Larry Bird said that and we bought into it. We believe it, Lance believes it.”
- Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf told WGN’s Rich King on Monday that the Bulls will sign Nikola Mirotic no later than the summer of 2015, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune transcribes. The Bulls own the rights to Mirotic, who is currently playing in Spain.
- Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders thinks that the Bulls would benefit from trading for Carmelo Anthony before the trade deadline. In a hypothetical trade package, Beer likes the idea of Chicago parting with Jimmy Butler, Carlos Boozer, Tony Snell, Kirk Hinrich and two draft picks to obtain Anthony, Iman Shumpert, and Raymond Felton. “A starting five of Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah would be an awfully intriguing starting unit,” Beer explains. “Felton would serve as insurance for Rose, in case the former MVP has any hiccups in his return from injury. And once Rose is back and completely healthy, Felton would be a solid back-up point guard, and could also, at times, play alongside Rose in the same backcourt.”
Danny Granger, C.J. Miles Drawing Interest
A pair of wing players from Central Division teams are drawing interest from clubs around the league as the trade deadline approaches, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Pacers small forward Danny Granger and, to a lesser extent, Cavaliers swingman C.J. Miles have become targets.
Amico also suggests that the Pacers could pursue Kyle Lowry, though it’s not entirely clear if that news comes from his own sources or other media reports. There haven’t been any legitimate rumors linking Lowry to the Pacers of late, and it’s also unclear whether the Raptors are among the teams with interest in Granger.
Granger and Miles are on expiring deals, with Granger making slightly more than $14MM this season while Miles collects $2.225MM. It would be difficult for the Pacers to re-sign Granger and Lance Stephenson this summer, and that could fuel a desire on Indiana’s part to deal away the former All-Star, as I examined when I profiled Granger’s trade candidacy a couple of weeks ago. Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said last month that he’s not seeking a deal for Granger, but he nonetheless left open the possibility that he would consider offers from other teams. The majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in our poll this past weekend said Indiana should trade the 30-year-old.
The rumor mill has been much quieter regarding Miles, whose contract had been fully non-guaranteed before the Cavs opted to keep him beyond the leaguewide guarantee date earlier this month. Miles is averaging 10.1 points in 20.5 minutes per game with a career-high 15.7 PER this year, and he has spent most of the season as Cleveland’s starting shooting guard. Granger is meanwhile putting up some of his lowest numbers as he recovers from nearly a season and a half lost to injury. He’s in a new role as a reserve and has put up 8.6 PPG in 22.2 MPG with a 10.4 PER this year.
Poll: Should The Pacers Trade Danny Granger?
Last week, Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron examined Danny Granger as a potential trade candidate. The former All-Star missed almost all of last season with a knee injury, and his production since returning midway through this year’s campaign has been less than stellar. He’s shooting just 37% from the floor and has posted a PER of 10.7, well below his career marks in either category. His numbers might jump back up once he sees more time on the court, but his real value lies within his $14MM expiring contract. A team looking to make a splash in next summer’s free agent market might be interested in taking on Granger to create some future financial flexibility.
With Indiana set to make Lance Stephenson a “great offer” this summer, it’s possible the team might not have the funds to retain Granger next season, and trading him now would at least bring aboard some assets the club might be able to use down the road. However, the Pacers are expected to vie for a championship this season, and Granger is a veteran with playoff experience that has the ability to contribute off the bench. Last night, Sam Amick of USA Today passed along that Granger didn’t have any qualms with his new role on the team, so it’s unlikely he would be the one to push for a trade. We did hear earlier this season that Pacers President Larry Bird would be willing to listen to offers for Granger, though he wasn’t seeking any deals out himself.
So what do you think? If they can find a suitable partner, should the Pacers move Granger for a usable piece, such as a pick or a roleplayer? Or would they be more wise to hang on to him and utilize his leadership and experience in the playoffs this season? To do so would mean risking his departure this summer without getting any assets in return, but it could be beneficial to their championship dreams this year. Vote below, and post your reasoning in the comment section!
Should The Pacers Trade Danny Granger?
-
Yes 63% (570)
-
No 37% (330)
Total votes: 900
Eastern Notes: Rondo, Granger, Rose, Deng
There’s been plenty of trade speculation regarding Rajon Rondo of the Celtics, despite GM Danny Ainge saying he’s not being shopped. The team has even begun discussing a contract extension with their newly named Captain. Rondo seems to be willing to be a part of the Celtics rebuilding efforts, and is open to signing an extension, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston.com. Rondo told Forsberg, “I don’t like change much. I wouldn’t mind staying here the rest of my career. Things don’t always seem to go that way, but like I said before, it’s just a business. I wouldn’t mind extending another 10 years in Boston.” Forsberg also writes that Ainge acknowledged that it would take “star” money to retain their point guard. In a separate article, Forsberg examines the merits for both player and team to work out an extension this offseason.
Here’s some other notes from around the Eastern Conference:
- With Danny Granger relegated to a bench role in the wake of his injuries, as well as the rise to stardom of Paul George, Sam Amick of USA Today examines how Granger’s acceptance of his new role can help the Pacers thrive.
- Despite being out for the season with another knee injury, Derrick Rose was named to USA Basketball’s 28-player pool for this summer’s FIBA World Cup of Basketball in Spain and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau would be happy to see Rose play for Team USA this summer, writes Sean Highkin of USA Today. Rose is expected to be medically cleared by the summer, and Thibodeau said “If he’s healthy enough, I think it would be great for him. I know how strongly USA Basketball feels about him. If his health is there, I think it makes a lot of sense.”
- Luol Deng was traded from the Bulls to the Cavaliers on January 7th. Since that time, the Bulls have gone 7-2, and might be playing the best basketball of their season. The Bulls seem to be thriving without their former player, but Deng isn’t doing quite as well in Cleveland, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. He’s having to play “baby-sitter” on a young, but talented roster. How the team jells the rest of the season will have a direct impact on the Cavaliers chances at re-signing Deng this summer.
Central Rumors: Bulls, Green, Scola
The Bulls could take a couple of different paths regarding trade exceptions from Tuesday’s deal with the Nets. Chicago could absorb Tornike Shengelia’s $788,872 salary into the $2,025,000 exception they received in the Luol Deng trade, leaving that exception at $1,236,128 and creating a new exception worth the equivalent of Marquis Teague’s $1,074,720 salary. It seems more likely that they would leave the Deng exception alone and create a tiny $285,848 exception from the difference between Teague and Shengelia’s salaries, simply because a roughly $2MM exception is more useful than two exceptions worth about $1MM. Still, their choice remains unconfirmed. Here’s the latest from the Central:
- Gerald Green isn’t upset with the Pacers for burying him last season or trading him over the summer, and says he has no intention of ever leaving the Suns, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Luis Scola says the memories of his time with the Suns are painful, as Coro passes along in the same story. Scola nonetheless had concerns about how much of a role he’d have on the Pacers when the team traded for him this summer, observes Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Frank Vogel assured the longtime starter he’d be a major part of the team, and Scola appears content as a key player off the bench.
- The trade talk surrounding Greg Monroe is starting to bother him, as he tells Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. “It does, to be honest. We’re still trying to get things right, here,” Monroe said. “To see that stuff … I just focus on what we’re doing here. I’m here. If that changes, then I’ll move forward. If it never does, I’ll focus on playing these games and trying to win these games.”
- The Cavaliers have assigned Carrick Felix and Sergey Karasev to the D-League, the team announced. It’ll be the fourth D-League stint this year for Felix, who just returned from the Canton Charge on Tuesday, and the third for Karasev.
- No other NBA teams made an offer to Mike James, who jumped on a 10-day contract from the Bulls and harbors no ill will toward the team for waiving him earlier this season, as he tells reporters, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
Pacific Notes: Plumlee, Len, Young, Kings
Eight teams have given out at least one 10-day contract so far this season, and three of those clubs are from the Pacific Division, as our 10-Day Tracker shows. The Clippers have struck three such deals, the most of any team in the NBA, and all of them have gone to point guards as they look to make up for the absence of Chris Paul. Here’s the latest from the Pacific:
- The Suns insisted that the Pacers include Miles Plumlee in the Luis Scola trade after scouting the 25-year-old center in summer league action, and the result is what Plumlee believes is a “perfect” trade, as he tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Phoenix’s starting center says he’s grateful for his newfound playing time and harbors no ill will toward the Pacers for burying him on the bench.
- One of Plumlee’s backups is Alex Len, the fifth overall pick in the draft this past June. Len has played fewer minutes than 45 other NBA rookies, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Still, the Suns are no less optimistic about his future, as Coro explains.
- Nick Young‘s strong performance for the Lakers in place of the injured Kobe Bryant suggests he’ll command much more as a free agent than he’d make if he exercises his minimum-salary player option for next season, as Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com examines. Young took a discount to play in his native Southern California this season, but he’s expressed a desire for more financial stability on his next deal.
- Ray McCallum has rejoined the Kings after a stint in the D-League, the team announced. The point guard, whom Sacramento took 36th overall this past June, has notched 20.0 points and 4.3 assists per game in seven D-League appearances.
Central Notes: Pacers, Bucks, Pistons
The Pistons have some tough choices to make as the February trade deadline approaches, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Even though Detroit has Brandon Jennings, he’s not necessarily viewed as a long-term option at point guard and they could theoretically make a step-up at the position like they did when they swapped Brandon Knight for Jennings. More out of the Central Division..
- The Pacers currently have the best record in the NBA at 32-7, but there are still a number of questions about the team, writes, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.com. Brigham thinks that Danny Granger is more likely to stay with the team through the end of the season than be traded. In addition to wanting to see what a healthy Granger can provide, the team will need the cap space his expiring deal will provide in order to try and resign Lance Stephenson.
- The Pacers want to keep Stephenson beyond this season, but the potential luxury tax hit will be a sticking point, Brigham writes. The Pacers are afraid that his play this season may take Stephenson out of their price range this summer. The team figures to have $8MM-$9MM available to offer him this offseason, without sending them into luxury tax territory. There’s a chance that Stephenson might garner an offer in the $11MM-$12MM range. If that happens, the Pacers will have a difficult decision to make.
- The Pacers should consider taking a chance on Andrew Bynum, Brigham argues. Not only to keep him from potentially joining the Heat, but also, if he could find the form that made him an all-star, he would be a major asset for a team contending for a title.
- Gary Neal didn’t expect the Bucks to be struggling this much when he signed in the offseason, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinal. Neal stated, “I didn’t know the team would struggle in a manner of being 7-33 (so far 7-32) and I would be getting DNPs. I’m healthy. My family is healthy. It is what it is.“
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Embiid, Bynum, Kings, Petro
Many talent evaluators around the NBA wish the talented but raw Joel Embiid would stay in school for another year, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who debates the freshman Kansas center with fellow ESPN.com scribe Kevin Pelton for an Insider-only piece. NBA teams usually want to see intriguing collegians enter the draft, so the stance on Embiid is an unusual one, as Ford explains. The 19-year-old is the No. 1 prospect on Ford’s Big Board. Here’s more from the Association:
- Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star doesn’t get the sense that the Pacers will sign Bynum just to keep him away from the Heat, but Kravitz believes Indiana should take a low-risk flier on the big man regardless of where he might otherwise end up.
- An Eastern Conference scout didn’t think the trade that brought in Rudy Gay would go as well as it has for the Kings, telling Marc Stein of ESPN.com that the move has made the team “relevant again.”
- Johan Petro announced via Twitter that he’s left the Guangsha Lions of China, so it appears he’s free to sign with any team (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The 27-year-old center spent each of the past eight seasons in the NBA.
- The Bulls had next season in mind when they signed D.J. Augustin, but it’s unclear whether the team or the point guard will want to continue their relationship beyond 2013/14, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com writes in his latest mailbag column.
- Former 11th overall pick Jerome Moiso has retired, reports L’Equipe (translation via Carchia). Moiso spent five seasons in the NBA after the Celtics drafted him in 2000. He finished last season with Piratas de Quebradillas in Puerto Rico.
- Louisiana-Lafayette point guard Elfrid Payton is a fast riser in the eyes of many NBA teams, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Ford has the 6’4″ junior at No. 54 in his ESPN.com rankings, while Payton is No. 64 for Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Trade Candidate: Danny Granger
There’d be no reason for Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird to tinker with his roster if basketball were the only matter at hand. Indiana is a league-best 31-7 and has a legitimate shot to win its first NBA championship. The starting five is outscoring teams by 14.3 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com, and longtime starter Danny Granger isn’t complaining about his role as a bench player. The one-time All-Star returned last month after missing the first 25 games with a strained calf. Alas, revenue constraints on the small-market Pacers may prove the team’s greatest obstacle to sustained success.
Retaining Lance Stephenson will undoubtedly be the team’s top priority this summer, a task that proves more difficult by the day as the former second-round pick plays his way into consideration for an All-Star nod. Stephenson’s career took off last year when he went into the starting lineup to replace Granger, whose left knee trouble forced him to miss all but five games in 2012/13, a season in which Indiana came within a game of the Finals. That created the perception that Granger is expendable, particularly given his expiring contract. Bird resisted the notion of a trade this summer, and while he said last month that he isn’t seeking to trade Granger, he added that he’d consider the right deal if it came along.
The Pacers have $60,055,974 committed for next season, which doesn’t include the bulk of Luis Scola‘s partially guaranteed contract. Keeping Scola would add close to another $4MM to the books. Rival executives believe Stephenson will command $7-9MM on the market this summer, so an $8MM salary for him would leave the Pacers with roughly $3.7MM left below the $75.7MM projected luxury tax line, with three roster spots to fill. Indiana’s ownership has been adamant that it doesn’t want to pay the tax, so that doesn’t leave much room to re-sign Granger, a career 17.9 PPG scorer who’s used to eight-figure salaries, like the more than $14MM he’s making this season. The Pacers can create more room if they release Scola, meaning the choice may come down to whether they think Granger or the Argentinian power forward is the better bench piece.
Granger hasn’t done much to convince the Pacers or any other teams of his worth so far this season, but his drop-offs in per-36-minute production are to be expected given prolonged absences over the past year and a half. He’s only two seasons removed from serving as the leading scorer on a Pacers team that challenged the Heat in the second round, but even then, his scoring average had declined for the third straight year. Granger is only 30, but with his injuries and the drop-off that preceded it, he seems to have prematurely hit the downward arc of his career.
He figures to play better as the season goes on, and he could still serve as a valuable contributor off the bench for a title contender, whether it’s the Pacers or another club. I’m not sure that Bird would consider swapping him to a team that could derail his own championship hopes this season, so I’d imagine a landing spot for Granger would have to be a team that’s safely out of the running.
Granger’s expiring contract would be a valuable chip for a franchise intent on clearing cap space for next summer. The Lakers might fit that bill, but most of their players are on expiring contracts anyway, and Indiana probably wouldn’t want the mercurial Nick Young or the broken-down Steve Nash. The Mavs are seemingly always in the business of making a splash in the summer, whether they wind up doing so or not, and perhaps they could construct a deal around some of their younger players on cheaper contracts. The Pacers would no doubt want the bulk of the salary to come in the form of expirings to preserve room for Stephenson, but I’m not sure the Mavs, with hopes of sneaking into the playoffs, would give up Shawn Marion, their only $5MM+ expiring contract aside from Dirk Nowitzki. Dallas doesn’t appear eager to make a trade happen, anyway. The Hawks could accommodate many hypothetical trades, but a Granger deal isn’t one of them, since Atlanta’s largest expiring deal is Elton Brand‘s $4MM contract.
The 2014 free agent market doesn’t look as promising as it once did, meaning teams won’t be as motivated to take on a large expiring contract as they might have been. Bird could sweeten the pot with a future first-rounder, since even though this year’s pick is heading to Phoenix, Indiana has otherwise kept all of its own draft choices. Still, another team would have to offer quite an attractive prize to motivate Bird to make such a deal.
Ideally, the Pacers would find a player capable of serving as a game-changing sixth man with a price that won’t be that high for next season. Such a commodity is hard to find, but perhaps Granger himself is just the man to fit that bill. Granger’s performance over the five weeks between now and the deadline will be key. If he can shake off the rust and play like a reasonable facsimile of his former self, the Pacers are probably better off keeping him and going all-in for a title this season. If not, there’s certainly no guarantee a worthwhile deal will come along, even if Bird would be willing to take it.