Stein’s Latest: Gasol, Celtics, Smith, Jazz
ESPN.com's Marc Stein has posted his latest Weekend Dime column, featuring updates on several prominent players whose names have been featured in trade rumors ahead of the February 21 deadline. Here are the highlights of Stein's report:
- Stein doesn't believe the Lakers will trade Pau Gasol before the deadline, although the Raptors are making a push to acquire him with a package built around Andrea Bargnani.
- Although the Clippers have shown no indication of wanting to trade Eric Bledsoe, a swap of the third-year guard to the Celtics for Paul Pierce could make the most sense for both sides, Stein writes.
- Celtics GM Danny Ainge recognizes that Pierce and Kevin Garnett don't have the value that would likely make it worth trading then, so he may instead look to move Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, or Jeff Green to get the team under the luxury tax threshold.
- The Hawks have been gauging trade interest in Josh Smith, Stein reports. Although they are very open to moving the forward, there is hesitance because other teams don't want to risk him walking in free agency and Atlanta doesn't want to take on long-term salary.
- Executives around the league don't expect the Jazz to trade Al Jefferson, saying they will either move Paul Millsap instead or stand pat.
- Given their ownership situation, the Kings will likely not make any moves before the deadline. There has been interest in Tyreke Evans, although DeMarcus Cousins remains untouchable.
- The Trail Blazers are not looking to make any moves that will help them in the short term, preferring to preserve their flexibility.
- Teams expect the Magic to trade J.J. Redick, but executives tell Stein that GM Rob Hennigan is asking for young talent or draft picks for the veteran sharpshooter.
Trade Exceptions Set To Expire At Deadline
As our list of outstanding traded player exceptions shows, there are a number of trade exceptions that could be in play as this season's deadline approaches. A trade exception allows a team to absorb a salary without sending any salary out in return. For instance, with the $4.2MM exception the Grizzlies obtained when they traded Marreese Speights to Cleveland, Memphis could acquire one or more players who are earning $4.3MM this season ($4.2MM + $100K).
Trade exceptions, which cannot be combined, expire a year after they're initially acquired, so the TPEs that were created at last year's March trade deadline will expire if they go unused on or before February 21st. While the exceptions don't expire until March, teams obviously won't have the opportunity to use them during the few weeks after the deadline passes.
Most notable among those exceptions set to expire in March is the $13MM TPE the Nuggets obtained when they dealt Nene to Washington at the 2012 deadline. The Nuggets are very unlikely to use that entire exception, but it certainly gives them some added flexibility as they weigh their options over the next three weeks.
Here's the complete list of traded player exceptions that will expire if they go unused at the trade deadline:
- Denver Nuggets: $13,000,000
- Golden State Warriors: $3,294,960
- Milwaukee Bucks: $2,506,500
- Brooklyn Nets: $1,390,000
- Brooklyn Nets: $1,377,383
- Los Angeles Clippers: $1,223,166
- Memphis Grizzlies: $1,184,750
- Los Angeles Lakers: $854,389(*)
- San Antonio Spurs: $854,389
- Los Angeles Lakers: $544,340
(* This TPE was initially listed as $1,422,027 and had since been corrected.)
Western Notes: Bledsoe, Grizzlies, Lakers, Howard
While one Eastern Conference team lost a star for the season this weekend, a Western Conference club could be preparing to welcome one back to the court. According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, Andrew Bogut may return to action for the Warriors tonight in Toronto. Here are a few more notes out of the West:
- Before they drafted Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers tried hard to make Eric Bledsoe their point guard of the future, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, who says the Blazers offered Jamal Crawford and a first-round pick for the Clippers' backup point guard last year. "Yeah, I knew [the Trail Blazers] were calling for me," Bledsoe said. "They have a great fan base, but I wasn't too worried about it at the time."
- Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien tells Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal that Memphis isn't in a rush to make another trade, and "it's more likely than not that we do nothing." According to Tillery, the team has received a number of proposals for Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph since December, but none were viewed as fair-value offers.
- The Lakers are still waiting to find out whether they'll receive a disabled player exception after losing Jordan Hill for the season. GM Mitch Kupchak is expecting to hear from the league sometime this week, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- Appearing on 103.3 KESN-FM in Dallas, ESPN.com's Marc Stein suggests that the Mavericks have a better chance at landing Dwight Howard via free agency rather than via trade (link from the Dallas Morning News).
- For his part, Howard tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he doesn't have time to focus on free agency at this point.
Western Notes: Kobe, Ridnour, Odom
- Earlier today, HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler answered some of his followers' questions on Twitter, saying that he doesn't think the Lakers aren't looking to move Dwight Howard before the deadline, Mike D'Antoni's job isn't necessarily safe right now, and that the Grizzlies aren't currently looking to make a deal with the Celtics (All Twitter links).
- Luke Ridnour has been a productive and dependable stop gap for the Timberwolves in spite of all the injuries he's handled this year, notes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune.
- Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro wants Lamar Odom to be more aggressive on the offensive end, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Another 6'10 forward has been making waves in Los Angeles, albeit for the purple and gold. In another article, Ben Bolch examines Earl Clark's breakout year as a starter for the Lakers.
- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin tells Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune that he wants to groom Gordon Hayward into a player who can be counted on to close games.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says there's no doubt in his mind that Dirk Nowitzki will be an All-Star again, writes Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW.
- Jason Smith has played with
a reckless abandon that has earned the attention and respect from his
teammates and the Hornets coaching staff, observes John
Reid of NOLA.com. - Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post makes a case for why Warriors guard Stephen Curry was the biggest snub of this year's All-Star game.
Odds & Ends: Grizzlies, Bucks, Mike James, Suns
The Jazz were on the wrong end of one of the Lakers' better performances of the season last night, and now they have to turn around tonight and take on the Pacers, who are just one of two teams in the league giving up fewer than 90 points a game (the Grizzlies are the other). Utah, sitting seventh in the West, is only a game and a half in front of the ninth-place Rockets, and with only five players with guaranteed money on the books for next season, the Jazz will be an interesting team to watch as the trade deadline draws near.
As we await a 10-game night in the NBA, here's more from around the Association:
- The Grizzlies owe a pair of future first-round picks to other teams, and would look for at least one, and preferably two, first-rounders in any deal for Rudy Gay or Zach Randolph, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Memphis would also make such a deal with the idea of freeing up space to re-sign Tony Allen, an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- The Bucks have given assistant GM Jeff Weltman a three-year extension, matching the length of the extension GM John Hammond received this week, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Weltman has drawn interest from the Clippers and Suns about their GM jobs in recent years, Woelfel adds.
- With Mike James' second 10-day contract expiring Sunday night, Mavs owner Mark Cuban was asked whether the team would sign him for the rest of the season, and Cuban indicated that was the plan, notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "So far, so good," Cuban said of James. "No reason to think otherwise at this point."
- Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News hears that former Suns coach Alvin Gentry had player development coordinator Lindsey Hunter removed from practices on multiple occasions, and feared that Hunter, his eventual successor, was a "spy" for the front office.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel downplays the idea of Jermaine O'Neal rejoining the Heat, pointing out that the center didn't leave Miami on good terms in 2010, and opining that the Suns are unlikely to buy out his minimum-salary contract.
Lakers Notes: Howard, Trade Rumors, Hill
As the Lakers look to improve upon a 5-14 road record tonight against the Grizzlies in Memphis, we'll check in on a few of today's updates out of Lakerland….
- After complaining earlier this week about not getting enough touches, Dwight Howard apologized today, accepting responsibility for his struggles and saying he needs to work harder, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. "I've just got to go out there and dominate defensively and make it tough for teams," Howard said. "I just have to get back to doing that and not worry about the offense."
- Howard, on the return of the trade rumors that followed him everywhere last season: "I understand why they're saying that because they feel like I have an opportunity to just walk away. That is my choice at the end of the season but right now my focus is tonight and us doing something real special in L.A. We have that opportunity and we can't close the door on the opportunity that we have in front of us. We can turn this thing around."
- Bresnahan also reports that the Lakers had a sort of "clear-the-air" team meeting before today's shootaround, and that the players "went at each other a little bit." The meeting included Steve Nash saying he was open to any style of play, as long as everyone was comfortable with the system, and Kobe Bryant directly asking Howard if the All-Star center dislikes playing with him.
- According to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard, the Clippers would offer Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan for Howard. However, even if the Lakers were considering moving D12, Broussard admits it's unlikely they'd send him to their L.A. rivals.
- Jordan Hill underwent successful surgery on his left hip today and is expected to be sidelined for six months, the team announced in a press release.
- Earlier today, we looked at a few of Mitch Kupchak's comments on the team, Mike D'Antoni, and trade options.
L.A. Rumors: Howard, Jackson, Gasol, Clippers
With the Clippers taking on the Thunder tonight with the league's best record at stake, and the Lakers just trying to keep pace for the last playoff spot, it's clear the usual script has been flipped in Tinseltown. Here's the latest on a pair of clubs going in opposite directions:
- The Lakers, intent on re-signing Dwight Howard this summer, have been rejecting all trade offers for him, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, who cautions that the team's stance could change before the deadline (Twitter links). There have been conflicting reports today about whether the Nets are considering another trade push for Howard.
- Sam Smith of Bulls.com hears the Lakers' initial pursuit of Phil Jackson this season came on the suggestion of Howard's camp.
- Mike D'Antoni has been a "disaster" for the Lakers, but Matt Moore of CBSSports.com makes the case that Pau Gasol should shoulder as much, if not more, of the blame for his poor play.
- Even though the other L.A. team made flashier moves, it's the Clippers' offseason that's paying dividends so far, observes J.A. Adande of ESPN.com, who examines each of the Clips' moves one by one.
- The Clippers announced they've signed a 10-year extension to their Staples Center lease that will keep them in the building until at least 2024.
Bobcats ‘Aggressively’ Pursuing Rudy Gay
The Bobcats have shown committment to a slow rebuild after bottoming out with last year's 7-59 debacle, but according to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, they're willing to depart from that strategy for the right player. Apparently, basketball president Rod Higgins and GM Rich Cho are convinced Rudy Gay is the sort of guy for whom they'd be willing to change course, as Kyler reports the Bobcats are one of multiple teams "aggressively" pursuing the Grizzlies small forward (Twitter links).
Kyler notes the 'Cats may not have enough to offer Memphis, which makes sense, since Charlotte has only won two games since November. Still, the Grizzlies would primarily be seeking salary cap relief in any deal involving Gay, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors examined earlier this week. The Bobcats would probably have to come up with some combination of draft picks and young players, and with their own likely lottery selection as well as protected first-rounders from the Pistons and Blazers, Charlotte could offer Memphis plenty of draft help. If they're willing to part with either Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, along with perhaps Ramon Sessions or Byron Mullens and a few throw-ins to make the salaries match, that might be enough for a reasonable proposal. Gay has $53.67MM remaining on his deal, including this season, so the Bobcats and just about anyone else would have to give up at least a few key components to bring him on board, as Kyler suggests via Twitter.
Of course, the Grizzlies have no shortage of suitors for Gay. Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in an Insider-only piece, today mentioned the Wizards, Clippers, Magic and Mavs as teams with interest, and other teams have been linked to him as well over the past few weeks. Ford surmises that offers for Gay will be better as the deadline approaches, but ultimately the Grizzlies are in control. It's up to CEO Jason Levien, GM Chris Wallace and the rest of the Grizzlies retooled front office to decide whether it wants to deal with Gay's luxury tax implications now or after the season, and Gay's teammates would prefer that he stays put. The Grizzlies aren't active in talks at the moment, and unless the Bobcats or another team comes up with a truly enticing offer, the Grizzlies players may get their wish of having one more shot at the title together.
Blake Griffin Eligible For 30% Max Contract
When Blake Griffin signed a five-year extension with the Clippers last July, the contract, which begins next season, was widely reported as a $95MM deal. That number likely won't end up being quite accurate, but it gives an indication of the sort of contract the two sides agreed upon.
While Griffin and James Harden both signed "maximum-salary" contracts, Harden's extension was reported to be worth around $80MM. So why the difference between the two deals? We can assume the Clippers agreed to a max contract with Griffin that will pay him 30% of the salary cap, rather than the 25% typically permitted for players with his and Harden's experience. As Larry Coon explains in his CBA FAQ, a player is eligible to sign for that 30% rookie scale extension if he meets one of the following criteria in his first four seasons: (1) Wins a Most Valuable Player award; (2) Voted an All-Star Game starter at least twice; (3) Named to an All-NBA team at least twice.
When it was announced last night that Griffin had been voted a Western Conference All-Star starter, it was the second straight year he'd achieved that honor, officially making him eligible for the 30% max.
As for Griffin's specific salary, we won't know that until July. Maximum salaries are determined based on the NBA's BRI (basketball related income), which isn't calculated until after the season. However, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, who signed five-year rookie scale extensions that began this season, provide examples of the difference between a 30% max salary and a 25% max salary — Rose, who qualified for 30% after being named NBA MVP in 2010/11, will earn $94,314,376 on his five-year deal with the Bulls, while Westbrook's contract with the Thunder, for the standard 25%, will pay him $78,595,310.
Assuming maximum salaries continue to increase at the same rate they did this past season, Griffin's 30% max contract should earn him somewhere in the neighborhood of $100MM over his next five years with the Clippers.
Los Angeles Notes: Lakers, Kobe, Bledsoe
Both Los Angeles teams will be in action tonight on TNT, looking to extend their respective winning streaks to three games. The Clippers will be in Minnesota to face the reeling Timberwolves in the early game, while the Lakers host the Eastern-Conference-leading Heat in the late game. As we look forward to those contests, here are the latest links out of L.A.:
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak would prefer to exercise patience with the team's roster and sounds skeptical about the possibility of a trade, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. "We don't have many options," Kupchak said Wednesday. "It's not like we're going to be active or overly active in the trade market."
- Because of the early-season coaching change and the numerous injuries the team has suffered, it's not fair to say the Lakers' roster needs to blown up, according to Kupchak. "If everybody had been together and coach [Mike] D’Antoni had been here from day one and Steve Nash hadn’t gotten injured and our record still was what it is today, then that’d be a different story," Kupchak said, according to Medina. "Then you have to look in the mirror and say the team we put together is not good enough."
- Chris Paul's recent knee injury has given Eric Bledsoe the chance to start for the Clippers, providing the sort of starring-role opportunity many rival teams were hoping to see, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. The Clippers are unlikely to consider trades for Bledsoe in part due to concerns about how it would affect team chemistry, but the 23-year-old's recent boost in playing time could serve as a sort of audition for clubs that intend to pursue him down the road.
- According to Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link), Andre Miller is skeptical that Kobe Bryant will really retire when his current contract expires in 2014, as Kobe has suggested a few times.