Grizzlies, Clippers Swap Stephenson, Jeff Green
8:48pm: The Clippers traded Lance Stephenson and their lottery-protected 2019 first-round pick to the Grizzlies for Jeff Green, the teams announced. The pick is also lottery-protected for 2020 if it doesn’t convey in 2019, and if it doesn’t change hands in 2020, it would become a 2022 second-rounder, as the Clippers confirmed on their website.
Stephenson, 25, has largely disappointed this season and is averaging only 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 rebounds per game, the second straight season of declines for a once-promising up-and-comer. Memphis is his third team since he left the Pacers to sign with the Hornets in the summer of 2014, though Grizzlies players reportedly told management they want him to stay.
The Clippers appeared to quickly turn away from Stephenson after acquiring him from Charlotte this past summer, though coach/executive Doc Rivers vehemently denied a report that the team gauged interest in him as early as November. Stephenson was reportedly part of a proposal involving Channing Frye that the Clippers ultimately backed away from. The mercurial guard is making $9MM this year with a team option for $9.405MM next season.
In acquiring Green, who is on an expiring contract, the Clippers have a decent placeholder until Blake Griffin returns from his broken hand. Green has a $9.45MM salary for this season, so Memphis gets to create a tiny $450K trade exception for the difference between his salary and Stephenson’s. Conversely, the Clippers add an extra $787,500 to their projected tax bill.
Green was averaging 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds, and that scoring average is the second-lowest of his career. The former fifth overall pick didn’t become the solution on the wing that the Grizzlies surely hoped he’d be when they traded with Boston to acquire him last year. The latest deal involving Green reunites him with Rivers, his former Celtics coach.
This would seem like a balanced exchange if not for the pick headed to the Grizzlies. However, the Clippers are obliged to send another lottery protected first-round pick to the Raptors because of a previous trade, and the earliest the Grizzlies can see the pick the Clippers owe them is two years after the Clips convey the pick they owe the Raptors, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal explains. Toronto could get its Clippers pick as late as 2019, a scenario that would mean the Grizzlies only get a second-rounder.
Will Joseph contributed to this post. Dan Woike of The Orange County Register broke the news that Stephenson had been traded to the Grizzlies, while Zach Lowe of ESPN.com had Green going to the Clippers. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported the involvement of the first-round pick, while USA Today’s Sam Amick reported it was lottery protected (Twitter link) and TNT’s David Aldridge pegged it as a 2019 first-rounder (Twitter link).
Pacific Notes: Griffin, Wilcox, Frye
Clippers power forward Blake Griffin will face extra scrutiny for his role in an off the court incident involving a member of the team’s training staff when he returns from injury and his four-game suspension, Michael Lee of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes. Griffin has come under fire before for his physical style of play and there is a strong chance that other players will attempt to test Griffin’s response to aggressive play against him, Lee adds, though coach/executive Doc Rivers doesn’t think it will be an issue for his player. “Listen, he’s tested every night,” Rivers told Lee. “Blake gets hit, chipped more than any player in the league. He’s already been tested.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers turned down four deals that involved shooting guard C.J. Wilcox, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). The 25-year-old has only appeared in eight contests this season, averaging 0.8 points in 2.9 of action per game.
- Despite their wealth of talent, the Warriors did not receive one trade inquiry prior to today’s deadline, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times tweets.
- The Clippers passed on the chance to acquire Channing Frye from the Magic because the team preferred Jeff Green, whom it landed from Memphis in exchange for Lance Stephenson, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t want to discuss the future of Byron Scott and indicated that the coach’s status with the organization hasn’t changed, Jovan Buva of ESPN.com notes. “Byron is under contract, and until that changes, or if that changes, I’ll let you know,” Kupchak said. “Once again, I don’t want to get into a Byron discussion right now,” Kupchak continued. “So I’m not going to really answer any more questions about Byron, because I’m concerned that one question will lead to another, and if his status changes, I will let you know.“
Clippers, Magic Discuss Channing Frye Trade
11:34pm: The Clippers have yet to commit to any deal on this front, as Wojnarowski hears, and they’re expected to stand pat and sign a D-League big man instead, according to Vertical colleague Marc J. Spears (Twitter links). That gives the Cavs a strong chance to swoop in and nab Frye, Wojnarowski says.
WEDNESDAY, 8:15am: The Magic would move Stephenson elsewhere if they acquire him, sources tell TNT’s David Aldridge. That suggests the team would trade him rather than waive him.
7:37pm: The Clippers are discussing a bigger deal involving Stephenson’s contract, which has placed talks with Orlando temporarily on hold, Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links). Stephenson would be waived if acquired by the Magic, the scribe notes.
7:21pm: The Clippers would send Lance Stephenson, C.J. Wilcox and possibly a second-rounder to Orlando in return, Wojnarowski relays (Twitter links). Los Angeles is also engaged in talks with another team regarding Stephenson, which puts any trade with Orlando on hold temporarily, the Vertical scribe adds. There are also a number of teams interested in Frye, including the Cavaliers, Wojnarowski also notes (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 7:16pm: The Clippers and Magic are closing in on agreement that would send power forward Channing Frye to Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). It is unclear who or what would be heading to Orlando in return for the veteran stretch-four.
The Magic have been trying to trade Frye, according to an earlier report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who suggested the effort to find a taker for the 32-year-old would accelerate now that the team has traded Tobias Harris, Frye’s cousin, to the Pistons for Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings. Frye is making more than $8.193MM this season, with about $7.8MM coming next season and $7.4MM in 2017/18, the final year of his deal.
The 32-year-old has disappointed since Orlando signed him to a four year deal during the summer of 2014. He has appeared in 44 games this season, including 29 as a starter, and is averaging just 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per night. His career averages are 9.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist, and Frye owns a career slash line of .438/.387/.820.
And-Ones: Johnson, Celtics, Pelicans, Lee
The Cavaliers think would-be post-buyout target Joe Johnson wants to stay in Brooklyn and that he’ll seek to sign an extension with the Nets, a source told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. People around Johnson say he won’t take a buyout, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
- The Celtics are willing to trade the unprotected 2016 first-round pick they have coming their way from the Nets if it would shake Blake Griffin loose from the Clippers, sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. However, Boston wouldn’t deal the pick for either Kevin Love or Al Horford, Bulpett hears.
- The Pelicans shopped Eric Gordon and Omer Asik, but they haven’t found much interest, sources tell John Reid of The Times Picayune. New Orleans reportedly offered Gordon and Alonzo Gee to the Kings for Rudy Gay earlier this season, and the Pelicans apparently had talks with the Cavs that involved Asik after making him available in December.
- The Grizzlies shipped $542,714 cash to the Hornets as part of the Courtney Lee trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals.
- Jameer Nelson is running out of alternatives to season-ending surgery on a severely sprained left wrist, but he’ll continue to try to play for the time being after receiving an injection meant to ease the pain he’s feeling, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post details. He missed the Nuggets‘ last six games before the All-Star break.
- The Bulls were interested in Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer earlier this season, but the Rockets rebuffed their entreaties, reports Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link).
- The Pistons would love to make one more move before the trade deadline, GM Jeff Bower said today in an appearance on WDFN-AM radio, notes Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link). The team is reportedly scanning the market for veteran guards, but Bower said the Pistons are looking at the options available at every position and added that coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has confidence in Steve Blake as the team’s backup point guard, Beard also relays (on Twitter).
- The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis from the team’s D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced today. Ennis has appeared in 15 games with the Energy, averaging 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per night. He has played in 10 games for Memphis, averaging 1.3 points in 3.6 minutes.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Cavs Expected To Keep Love, Shumpert, Varejao
Despite a flurry of last-minute trade rumors, the most likely outcome is that Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert and Anderson Varejao all stay with Cleveland past the deadline, according to Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Lloyd adds that a minor deal is possible to improve the back end of the Cavs’ rotation.
That would be a blow to the Celtics’ dreams of adding Love in a rumored three-way deal with the Pelicans. It would also mean that Varejao isn’t headed to Orlando in exchange for Channing Frye, perhaps clearing the way for the Magic to ship Frye to the Clippers.
Lloyd writes that the Cavaliers want to take another shot at winning a title with Love and are reluctant to give up Shumpert, who is the team’s best perimeter defender. They have been trying for most of the season to find a taker for Varejao, who still has two years and nearly $19MM in guaranteed money remaining on his contract, but have been turned down repeatedly.
Lloyd confirms Cleveland’s interest in Frye, who spent time with Cavs GM David Griffin in Phoenix, but the writer believes other teams can put together better offers. The Cavaliers also have payroll concerns, already facing about $170MM in salary and luxury tax penalties.
Clippers Also Have Interest In Ryan Anderson
The Clippers would like to be part of the Ryan Anderson sweepstakes, tweets Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. However, L.A. is hampered in its pursuit because its next tradeable first-round draft pick isn’t until 2019.
Several teams have expressed interest in the Pelicans’ free-agent-to-be power forward, with the latest being the Cavaliers. A three-way deal that would send Kevin Love to the Celtics is also being discussed. The Heat, Kings, Wizards and Pistons have also been mentioned as suitors.
The Clippers are known to be in the market for a stretch four, and were reportedly close Tuesday to acquiring Channing Frye from the Magic. Since then, Cleveland has offered Anderson Varejao to Orlando in an attempt to get Frye, but the Magic apparently plan to reject that deal.
Southeast Notes: Splitter, Batum, Jefferson, Frye
The Hawks‘ Tiago Splitter may miss the start of next season after having surgery on his right hip, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The procedure will be performed Thursday, and Splitter estimates it will take “eight months, at least” to recover, which means he won’t be able to represent Brazil in the Summer Olympics. “I just got here this season and I wanted to help this team more” said Splitter, who was acquired from the Spurs in a July trade. “I wasn’t able to perform 100%, that’s for sure. I’ve been feeling this pain, you guys know, for some time. We tried several techniques and treatments. It ended up being I need the surgery. I hope it goes fast and I’m ready to play again.” Splitter will make $8.25MM next season on the final year of his contract.
There’s more from the Southeast Division on the eve of the trade deadline:
- Trade rumors have swirled around the Hawks as much as any team during the past month, and coach/executive Mike Budenholzer isn’t offering any hints about whether a deal for Al Horford or Jeff Teague is in the works, as Vivlamore notes in a separate piece. “We are very happy with our group,” Budenholzer said. “We feel strongly about them. I’ve been protective of them and would expect to continue to be that. You never know what can happen.”
- The Hornets will likely present Nicolas Batum with a full max offer on the first day of free agency, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, passing on a prediction from ESPN cap expert Tom Penn. It’s the only way Charlotte can keep him, Penn said (Twitter link).
- The Hornets hope to welcome back center Al Jefferson this weekend, Bonnell tweets. Jefferson hasn’t played since undergoing arthroscopic surgery after suffering a tear in the lateral meniscus of his right knee in late December.
- The Magic’s Channing Frye takes trade deadline talk in stride, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The Clippers are reportedly close to a deal that would bring the veteran power forward to L.A. “It’s not my first time being on the trading block,” Frye said. “… I was supposed to get traded at the beginning of the season. I was supposed to get traded last year.”
- Wizards center Marcin Gortat has officially chosen Todd Ramasar as his new agent, writes J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.
Pacific Notes: Griffin, Scott, Butler, Booker
Blake Griffin apologized profusely as he spoke with reporters Tuesday about what he said was “poor judgment” on his part in an incident with Clippers assistant equipment manager Matias Testi that left Griffin with a broken hand, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. Coach/executive Doc Rivers reiterated that he has no intention of trading Griffin, as Woike relays, but Rivers made no secret of the profound effect the situation has had.
“Your actions have consequences, and it doesn’t take long. You can have a bad minute or two minutes, and it changes everything,” Rivers said, as Woike notes. “And it has. This changes a lot of stuff for our team. I think that’s the lesson here.”
It’s still not completely clear when Griffin will return to play, and the Clippers have reportedly had serious talks with the Magic about acquiring fellow big man Channing Frye. See more from around the Pacific Division:
- Some within the Lakers are thinking about how Byron Scott would perform as coach if he had more talent, while others ponder just how effective his hard-line approach with the team’s young players has been, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, who writes that the team seems torn about whether to keep the coach for next season. The Lakers are committed to him through season’s end, and while he also has a guaranteed salary for next season, too, his job security beyond this spring is in jeopardy, as the Lakers haven’t been reluctant to eat coaching salaries in the recent past, Bresnahan notes.
- Caron Butler is a prime buyout candidate, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The Kings reportedly promised to trade him in December, but he’s still with Sacramento.
- It’s been a forgettable season in Phoenix, but Devin Booker, whom the Suns drafted 13th overall this past June, gives the team reason for optimism, as Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders examines.
Western Notes: Griffin, McRae, Durant
It’s likely the Clippers hang on to Blake Griffin through at least the rest of this season, but he isn’t “untouchable” in trade talk and the Clippers are listening to offers, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Still, while the team is liable to take a more aggressive stance about trading Griffin if it finds out before the trade deadline that it has no shot at Kevin Durant this summer, the Clips would demand a huge offer just to trade him away before draft time in June, much less Thursday’s 2pm Central trade deadline, according to Lowe. Clippers executives are adamant that they don’t intend to trade their star power forward, with one of them telling Dan Woike of The Orange County Register that the team never offered Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for a package of four players, as had been reported.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Kings are seeking a major upgrade at shooting guard and are not looking for younger players who couldn’t provide significant contributions immediately, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (on Twitter). Sacramento is said to be desperate to deal away shooting guard Ben McLemore, with the Timberwolves and other teams reportedly interested in the young wing.
- The Mavericks would be interested in Wolves shooting guard Kevin Martin if he works a buyout with Minnesota, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter). Dallas would be reluctant to trade for Martin because of the fear he would pick up his player option for next season worth $7,377,500, MacMahon notes.
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said the team is looking to add a guard via a 10-day deal, but that isn’t likely to occur prior to the team’s next two contests, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
- The Warriors find themselves in a difficult position at trade deadline time as the team attempts to repeat as NBA champions while trying to set itself up for a run at Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. Golden State has to weigh its pursuit of the all-time regular season victory mark against the chance to land Durant this offseason, Kawakami notes. In order to clear enough cap room to ink Durant outright, the Warriors would need to part ways with a significant chunk of talent, which could derail the team’s chances at bringing home a title in 2015/16, Kawakami adds.
- The Suns have recalled shooting guard Jordan McRae from their D-League affiliate in Bakersfield, the team announced. McRae, who is with Phoenix on a 10-day deal, was sent to the D-League so he could participate in the league’s All-Star game, wherein he notched seven points and five assists in 14 minutes of action.
- The Kings don’t appear to want to bring George Karl back next season even though they’ve committed to him through the end of this season, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. He’ll have $6.5MM in guaranteed salary remaining on his contract once this season is done.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Griffin, Morris, Johnson
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge doesn’t merely want a short-term upgrade, as he told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, leaving Bulpett to surmise that the Celtics don’t have interest in trading for a soon-to-be free agent they’re not confident they can re-sign. The front office objective isn’t merely to help the team grab a better playoff seed in the spring, Ainge said. The Celtics were indeed one of the many teams to inquire about Blake Griffin, a Western Conference source told Bulpett, adding that the Clips have no serious interest in moving him. While the Thursday trade deadline looms ever closer, here’s what else is happening in the Atlantic Division:
- Taking a patient approach and sitting out this trade deadline may be the Celtics’ best option despite their stash of draft picks, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com argues. While Boston should explore the possibility of landing a star player, it might be prudent to hold on to that stockpile of assets and make a big move during the offseason, Forsberg adds.
- With the Raptors reportedly seeking to upgrade their power forward position, the team is not interested in the Suns’ Markieff Morris, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (on Twitter). Toronto has reportedly expressed interest in Thaddeus Young, Kenneth Faried, Ryan Anderson and Morris, according to multiple reports.
- Despite reportedly being miserable with the Nets, small forward Joe Johnson has yet to approach the team about a possible buyout arrangement, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Johnson said recently that he wouldn’t dismiss the idea of a buyout from his contract with the Nets, which expires at season’s end, and the Heat, Cavs and Mavs reportedly want to make a run at him if he is released by Brooklyn.
- Former Knicks coach Derek Fisher‘s negative remarks regarding future unrestricted free agent Rajon Rondo may have contributed to his ouster in New York, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Fisher, responding to comments Rondo had made regarding the triangle offense not being a good fit or him, said, “That’s your decision on whether or not he’s elite or not. You can’t ask him, when he wasn’t very successful playing against it, whether or not he wants to play in it. That’s his opinion. That’s fine. He doesn’t play for us. We’re not concerned about his opinion about us at this point.’’ The former coach was said to be a fan of Memphis’ Mike Conley, who is also set to become a free agent this offseason, Berman notes.
- Sixers small forward Robert Covington will likely have the most trade value among Philly’s bench players because of his team-friendly contract and ability to stretch defenses with his shooting, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports opines in his deadline primer for the team.
Chuck Myron and Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.