Management Rumors: Bird, Grunfeld, Petrie
We've got plenty of rumors and notes today involving coaches, GMs, and team presidents, so let's round them all up in one place:
- Pacers president Larry Bird is set to retire at season's end, reports Peter Vecsey of the New York Post. Speaking to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, Bird denied that he'd made a decision one way or the other yet.
- Vecsey also wrote that Wizards GM Ernie Grunfeld turned down a three-year, $4.5MM extension offer, but Michael Lee of the Washington Post says that's not true. One source told Lee the report was "made up," while multiple sources said Grunfeld has not been offered an extension.
- "Word has it" that Kings president Geoff Petrie will sign a new deal soon, according to Vecsey. So far, Petrie hasn't refuted this one.
- Amidst rumors that Vinny Del Negro is on the hot seat in Los Angeles, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes that Del Negro is miscast coaching the current Clippers squad. Arnovitz cites a "profound disparity" between the pre-Chris Paul and post-Chris Paul goals for the Clippers, and argues that the team may need a new coach for its new era. For his part, Del Negro refuted reports that suggested he'd lost the team.
- Recently retired T.J. Ford will become a volunteer assistant coach for the Spurs' D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros, says Kevin Robbins of the Austin American-Statesman.
Vinny Del Negro On Hot Seat?
Grantland's Bill Simmons tweeted last night that Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro "is on super-thin, could-go-any-day ice" in Los Angeles, and a report by ESPN.com's Chris Broussard seems to corroborate that suggestion. According to Broussard, tensions are high in the Clippers' locker room, with many players believing that it's time for a change.
"Vinny has lost the team," one source told Broussard. "They don't want to play hard for him."
According to Broussard's sources, Del Negro's inconsistent rotation and his tendency to play favorites when handing out criticism are factors in the players' growing unease. After a hot start, the Clippers have gone 11-13 since Chauncey Billups' season-ending achilles injury, including 6-8 this month. Heading into tonight's action, the Clips hold just a two-game lead on ninth-place Utah.
2011/12 is the final guaranteed year on Del Negro's contract, as the Clippers hold a team option for next season.
Pacific Notes: Ebanks, Lakers, Clippers, Hill
The Pacific Division was turned upside down last night, as the division's three playoff contenders all lost, while the last-place Kings topped Memphis behind 31 points from Marcus Thornton and Jason Thompson's fourth consecutive double-double. As the Lakers, Clippers, and Suns look to get back in the win column tonight, let's round up the latest updates on the Pacific's top three squads….
- Devin Ebanks' agent David Bauman told the Los Angeles Times that his client likely won't return to the Lakers next season if Matt Barnes and Metta World Peace are still on the team and receiving most of the small forward minutes: "He'll find an opportunity where he'll have a better chance to break into a rotation." Ebanks, 22, will be eligible for restricted free agency if the Lakers extend him a qualifying offer worth $1.03MM, in which case L.A. would be able to match any offer sheet he received. Barnes' contract expires at season's end, while World Peace is an amnesty candidate.
- The ongoing changes to the Clippers' roster and rotation have affected the team's offensive output, says Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Suns forward Grant Hill wants to keep playing until he "can't go or it's not fun anymore," he tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida. The 39-year-old, who's on a one-year, $6.5MM contract, thinks he can play for at least another season or two.
Latest On Derek Fisher
After Derek Fisher and the Rockets reached an agreement on a buyout this weekend, Fisher's business manager Jamie Mior released a statement explaining the decision:
"After much discussion and expressing their desire to welcome Derek to their team this season as well as the 2012-2013 season, the Houston Rockets and Derek have negotiated a buyout. Derek's desire to win a sixth championship is what drives him and will continue to drive him as he moves forward. We thank the Houston Rockets front office for their interest, time and their absolute professionalism. There will be no further comment at this time."
While we wait to see if Fisher clears waivers this Wednesday, rumors about which teams are interested in signing him have already surfaced. Let's round up a few of them….
- ESPN.com's John Hollinger (via Twitter) notes that Fisher declining his $3.4MM option for next year means that the Rockets were essentially paid $200K to acquire a first-round pick.
- The Blazers aren't interested in Fisher, tweets Mike Tokito of The Oregonian.
- The Rockets' buyout of Fisher paid him for the rest of this season, but he opted out of all $3.4MM next year, a person with knowledge of the deal told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the Thunder are deciding whether to make a formal bid for Fisher.
- The Clippers aren't interested, says Stein.
- Fisher has strong interest in joining the Bulls or Heat, according to Stein, but it's unclear to what extent that interest is reciprocated.
- Stein adds that the Spurs have some interest, since their signing of Patrick Mills is being held up — according to Stein, the Blazers have yet to renounce Mills' rights, which is odd, since the team tweeted on Saturday that it was done.
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) cautions that there's no guarantee Fisher will play for another club this year. The veteran is weighing the option of re-joining the Lakers in a coaching or front office capacity, tweets Kyler. Fisher, of course, can't re-sign with the Lakers as a player this season.
Teams With Open Roster Spots
After the flurry of trades, signings, and releases around the league in the last week, it's gotten challenging to keep track which clubs still have the flexibility to make roster moves. To make things a little easier, here's our list of teams who currently have fewer than the maximum 15 players on their rosters, and could add a player without releasing anyone:
- 76ers: 14
- Bulls: 14. When Mike James' second 10-day contract expires, the Bulls will have two open roster spots. They also reportedly have some interest in Leon Powe.
- Clippers: 14. The Clips are still deciding whether to sign Bobby Simmons for the rest of the season with their final roster spot.
- Grizzlies: 13. Memphis is looking at Gilbert Arenas for one of its openings.
- Heat: 14. Miami could fill its final roster spot with a player who is bought out of his contract this week.
- Hornets: 13. 14th man Jeff Foote just had his 10-day contract expire.
- Jazz: 14
- Kings: 14
- Lakers: 14
- Pacers: 14
- Pistons: 14
- Raptors: 13
- Rockets: 14. Houston will open up a second roster spot when Derek Fisher clears waivers.
- Spurs: 13. San Antonio is expecting to add Patrick Mills with one of its open roster spots. Even if the Spurs finalize Mills' deal, they'll still have a pair of open spots after Eric Dawson's second 10-day deal expires.
- Suns: 13
- Warriors: 13
- Wizards: 14. 14th man Edwin Ubiles is on a 10-day contract.
Note: The Nets currently have 15 players on their roster, but will open up a spot when Jerry Smith's 10-day contract expires.
Clippers Still Deciding On Bobby Simmons
MONDAY, 8:14am: Markazi has updated his story, saying that the Clippers will take the rest of the week to decide whether to sign Simmons for the remainder of the season. Coach Vinny Del Negro initially said the team would keep the forward, but according to Markazi, it became clear after yesterday's game that the team needed more time to decide whether to commit its final roster spot to Simmons.
SUNDAY, 4:00pm: According to ESPNLA.com's Arash Markazi, the Clippers will keep forward Bobby Simmons for the rest of the season. Simmons is currently on the final day of a second 10-day contract, which he signed on March 9th.
The 2004 Most Improved Player of the Year has averaged 3.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 12 games with the Clippers this season. A nine-year veteran, he was originally called up after averaging 13.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in 21 games for the Reno Bighorns of the D-League earlier this season.
Reaction To Clippers, Nuggets, Wizards Deal
There were several components to yesterday's three-team deal between the Clippers, Nuggets and Wizards, but each team seems pleased with the centerpieces of the swap.
The Clippers are welcoming Nick Young with open arms as they plan to slide him into the starting shooting guard spot after last night's embarrassing loss to a Suns team that was without Steve Nash and Grant Hill. GM Neil Olshey had been working on the deal for 10 days but didn't expect it to happen, as he told Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld.
“I was actually surprised," Olshey said. "I didn’t think there was any way we would be able to acquire a player like Nick Young for a future second round pick.”
To be precise, the Clippers sent Brian Cook to Washington as well as a 2015 second-rounder.
One part of the deal amounted to an exchange of big men, with Nene going to Washington and JaVale McGee heading to Denver. Both sides were apparently glad to get rid of them, according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix (All Twitter links).
Mannix says several Nuggets were upset about Nene's contract negotiations, which dragged on past the start of the truncated training camp this year, and felt they contributed to what's been an off year for him so far. Yesterday, Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post also cited Nene's lack of readiness for the season. After signing a five-year, $65MM deal, injuries limited Nene to playing in just 28 of Denver's 43 games prior to the trade. He averaged 13.4 points and 7.4 rebounds, numbers that were fairly similar to last year's 14.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG, but his 16.8 PER was significantly lower than the 20.4 he posted in 2010/11. Mannix also heard that the move was in part prompted by the play of rookie Kenneth Faried, who has taken advantage of the absense of Nene and others and averaged 10.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG in March.
The Wizards, meanwhile, were "thrilled" to get rid of McGee, Mannix notes, before having to worry about re-signing the restricted free agent in the summer. McGee reportedly said he plans to ask for $14MM a year.
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.
Nuggets, Wizards, Clips Agree To Three-Way Deal
4:55pm: Lee clarifies (via Twitter) that the Hornets' pick heading to the Wizards is a 2015 selection. Lee also reports that Young was initially supposed to go to the Nuggets in the deal, but declined to surrender his Bird rights to go to Denver (Twitter link).
4:42pm: The draft pick the Clippers are sending to Washington is the second-round pick they acquired from the Hornets, so it should be an early second-rounder, tweets Michael Lee.
2:38pm: The Clippers have acquired Nick Young from the Wizards as part of a three-team trade, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, JaVale McGee is heading to Denver and Nene will go to Washington (Twitter link). Ronny Turiaf will also head to the Nuggets, with Brian Cook going to the Wizards, tweets Michael Lee of the Washington Post. The Wizards will receive a future second-round pick from the Clippers, says Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
For the Nuggets, the deal seems intended to create future cap flexibility. Ken Berger of CBS Sports hears Denver had been experiencing some "buyer's remorse" about Nene's long-term deal (Twitter link). The future cap space created could make the Nuggets more inclined to increase their offer to restricted free agent Wilson Chandler before his self-imposed Friday deadline.
The Wizards acquire what appears to be their center of the future in Nene. Presumably, amidst reports that McGee would seek $14MM annually in free agency this summer, Washington decided to acquire a big man they felt was worth that sort of commitment. Nene has four years and $52MM remaining on his contract after this season.
The Clippers, meanwhile, use the $3.8MM trade exception they received by trading Eric Gordon to absorb Young's salary. For the low cost of Cook and a second-rounder, they've added a two guard to help in a potential postseason run. Young has the ability to veto any trade he's involved in, but multiple reports have suggested he appears willing to approve this deal.
TNT's David Aldridge first tweeted that the Wizards and Nuggets were "in serious talks" about a deal involving Young, McGee, and Hilario.