Lakers Rumors: Free Agents, Gasol, Deadline
Mike Bresnahan and Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times deem the notion of LeBron James joining the Lakers unlikely, note the Lakers’ lack of interest in Carmelo Anthony, and hear that the team isn’t high on Kyle Lowry, either. The Lakers do like Luol Deng, but they don’t want to overpay him, with the focus squarely on Kevin Love and Kevin Durant in the summers of 2015 and 2016, respectively.
“I don’t think that we’ll use our cap money to patch together a team for next year. We’re looking to bring something [big] to Los Angeles,” GM Mitch Kupchak said. “May take more than one year to build, I don’t know. But because we have a lot of money this summer doesn’t mean we’ll spend it all. We’ll spend it wisely.”
Here’s more from the purple-and-gold, who made a single deadline trade despite a multitude of rumors:
- Kupchak says the Lakers will “absolutely” consider re-signing Pau Gasol this summer, as Bresnahan and Pincus note in the same piece.
- The GM wouldn’t rule out negotiating an extension with Gasol that would keep him from free agency, but Kupchak calls it unlikely, since it would limit the team’s flexibility, tweets Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.
- The Lakers wound up remaining in tax territory through the deadline in spite of opportunities to escape. Kupchak says making a move purely to cut costs, without enhancing the roster in some way, is “not acceptable” for the Lakers franchise, as Oram also passes along (Twitter link).
Odds & Ends: Pacers, Smith, Deng, Lowry
We saw plenty of trades go down before the deadline and Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders looked at the winners and losers. The Pacers top the list of winners for their acquisition of former No. 2 overall pick Evan Turner. While the Wizards and Warriors also get nods, Koutroupis says that the Lakers and Knicks should have done more. Here’s tonight’s look around the league..
- Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders has six trades that should have happened at the deadline. Among Brigham’s more interesting proposals: a hypothetical swap that would have sent Josh Smith from the Pistons to the Cavs in exchange for Luol Deng.
- Kyle Lowry wasn’t moved at the deadline today and Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun takes that as a sign that Raptors GM Masai Ujiri believes that he will re-sign him after this season.
- The trade deadline didn’t have a lot of stars changing uniforms in part because teams are zeroed in on the summer of 2015, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. “More and more you have teams that are already looking ahead to (the summer of 2015),” one GM said. “You are going to see teams really be reluctant to give out long-term deals going forward, and it is because everyone wants to keep their cap flexible to see if they can shake something out next year.”
- Josh Akognon is headed to the Delaware 87ers of the D-League, according to Gino Pilato of D-League Digest.
- Kobe Bryant was sad to see Steve Blake go, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Notes: Shumpert, Gasol, Lakers
The Knicks and the Clippers went back and forth on a deal involving Iman Shumpert, but ultimately they couldn’t come to an agreement. The final discussion between the two clubs was a deal that would have sent Darren Collison, Willie Green, and Matt Barnes to New York for Shumpert and Raymond Felton, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Meanwhile, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears that it was the Clippers and not the Knicks who backed out of the swap (Twitter link). More from L.A…
- Lakers big man Pau Gasol is “pretty confident” there will be desirable offers after the season when he’s a free agent, tweets Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. Gasol added that he’s not holding any grudges against the Lakers over being in trade rumors, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- Gasol says that he wanted to stay with the Lakers, so he’s happy to have seen the trade deadline come and go, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said that a major factor in the Steve Blake trade was freeing up playing time to evaluate Jordan Farmar and Kendall Marshall, McMenamin tweets.
Nets, Pelicans Slow Pursuit Of Jordan Hill
1:51pm: Discussions surrounding Hill are either “dying or dead,” tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
1:01pm: Brooklyn has cooled on Hill because the Lakers were seeking a “decent” second-round pick for him, and because bonuses in his contract could have added another $1MM to the Nets’ already astronomical tax bill, according to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
12:47pm: The Nets appear ready to pass on Hill, tweets David Aldridge of TNT.
11:15am: The Lakers want a pick for Hill but, meanwhile, the Nets want a pick from the Lakers for saving them $7MM+, according to Stein (via Twitter).
9:37am: New Orleans is backing off its pursuit of Hill, Wojnarowski hears (Twitter link). That would appear to make the Nets the leading contender for him.
7:40am: The Lakers are looking for a second-rounder in return for Hill, Stein tweets. Atlanta’s interest is not as strong as that of the Nets and Pelicans, Stein adds in a second tweet.
THURSDAY, 7:14am: The Nets and Pelicans appear to be in the lead for Hill, according to Shelburne (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 10:12pm: There is a strong chance that Hill is moved, per Shelburne, who adds that the Lakers may want more than just cap relief now that they have (at least) the Nets, Bobcats and Pelicans involved. In light of the Steve Blake deal, moving Hill and Kaman would allow the Lakers to hang onto Gasol and his Bird Rights (Twitter links here). Ken Berger tweets that both New Orleans and the Nets hope to use their disabled player exceptions on Hill.
8:44pm: ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne adds the Hawks to the mix of teams in on Hill as well as center Chris Kaman, with the deals being discussed in parallel (Twitter links).
5:29pm: Sean Deveney of Sporting News contests the report that the Suns are no longer a player for Hill (via Twitter). Meanwhile, Eric Pincus from the L.A. Times reminds us that the Lakers wouldn’t move Hill if they had any hope or desire to re-sign him. Hill doesn’t have the stamina for a big minute role, per Pincus, and would therefore be better suited for an energy role off the bench (Twitter links here).
3:59pm: The Suns are no longer in talks for Hill, Wojnarowski tweets.
3:42pm: Stein casts it as a two-team race between the Cavs and Nets for Hill (Twitter link).
1:44pm: The Suns, as well as the Mavs, have engaged the Lakers in talks about Hill, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).
1:12pm: It’s unlikely the Nets will acquire Hill, tweets Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck
1:00pm: The Suns may get involved as a suitor for Hill, Wojnarowski hears (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 12:43pm: The Nets have decided they’d like to go ahead and take Hill if the Lakers are willing to send him their way, but L.A. is talking to multiple teams about the power forward, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
TUESDAY, 10:30pm: Brooklyn values Hill as being worth a “second round pick and a trade exception,” according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
3:40pm: The Nets’ discussions with the Kings wouldn’t preclude the team from trading for Hill, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That suggests the deal is a greater possibility than Medina’s source indicated.
TUESDAY, 12:50pm: The deal will probably not happen, a source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who hears the Nets have cold feet about the hefty tax penalties that acquiring Hill without giving up a player would entail.
MONDAY, 10:31pm: It’s doubtful that the big man will want to re-sign with the Lakers if Mike D’Antoni is still the coach, sources tell Wojnarowski.
3:59pm: The Lakers and Nets have spoken about a deal that would send Jordan Hill to the Nets, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Brooklyn would absorb Hill’s $3.5MM salary into its $5.15MM disabled player exception granted in compensation for Brook Lopez‘s injury, Wojnarowski notes. It’s unclear precisely what the Lakers would get in return. Meanwhile, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears that the talks are very preliminary.
Hill has been indentified as one of the Lakers’ prime trade candidates in the lead-up to the February 20th deadline, along with Steve Blake, Chris Kaman, and, of course, Pau Gasol. The former lottery pick obviously doesn’t offer the same kind of frontcourt boost that Gasol would, but he’ll cost a lot less in terms of both the trade and salary. Any team acquiring Hill would be on the hook for what remains on his $3.5MM salary for 2013/14. He’ll be eligible for free agency in the summer.
Unfortunately for the Nets, their tax situation means that acquiring Hill would cost them a small fortune – $17MM by the estimation of Wojnarowski (link). Even though the deadline is in a few days, the Nets have until March 10th to use their DPE.
Hill, 26, is averaging a career-highs in points (8.5 PPG) and rebounds (7.0 RPG) in 19.5 minutes per contest.
Lakers, Sixers Discussing Chris Kaman
The Lakers and Sixers are engaged in talks about Chris Kaman, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. L.A. has been seeking second-round picks for Kaman and Jordan Hill in an effort to get under the luxury tax line, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com notes (Twitter link), and Philadelphia is well-stocked with second-rounders. There’s no indication that Hill is a part of the talks, however.
The Sixers are trying to get over the league’s minimum-salary floor, Shelburne tweets. The Kaman talks are one of multiple fronts the Sixers are working on, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Deadline Rumors: Hill, Nelson, Bulls, Kaman
The latest from around the league as we inch closer to the deadline..
- All is quiet for the Bulls, Grizzlies, Warriors, Mavericks, and Pelicans at the moment, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
- Meanwhile, the Mavericks have interest in Lakers big man Jordan Hill but the proposal is problematic because of L.A.’s desire to move both Hill and fellow big man Chris Kaman in order to get under the luxury tax, Amick writes.
- The Kings are still shopping anyone not named DeMarcus Cousins from the Maloofs regime, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- The Magic and Wizards were discussing a deal involving Jameer Nelson before the Andre Miller deal was agreed upon, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
- The Bulls, who are $678K under tax, are comfortable standing pat, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. They believe they can stay under the threshold even with bonuses and 10-day deals.
- The Cavs were never in on Lakers big man Chris Kaman, despite reports to the contrary, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- More from Amico, who tweets that Cavs acting GM David Griffin was unwilling to give up a first-round pick and a player for Rockets big man Omer Asik. The Cavs went out and got Spencer Hawes instead.
Cavs Exploring Options For Luol Deng Trade
1:15pm: Cleveland’s still looking for a first-rounder for Deng, but no one will bite without assurance from Deng that he’ll re-sign this summer, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
12:54pm: The Cavs still have multiple “irons in the fire” and talks are likely to go right up to the deadline, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
11:32am: The Wizards and Cavs have discussed Trevor Ariza as part of a potential Deng deal, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, though it’s unclear if those talks are ongoing (Twitter link). The Cavs have shifted away from seeking a first-round pick for Deng and are now seeking a veteran, per Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
10:14am: There’s “no traction” with either the Wizards or Pistons on Deng, Berger tweets, but the Cavs continue to survey the market. The Cavs sought a first-round pick from the Suns for Deng, but Phoenix isn’t biting, Berger adds in a second tweet.
THURSDAY, 9:24am: The Wizards are among the teams talking to the Cavs about Deng, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who notes that Washington tried to acquire Deng from the Bulls this past summer.
WEDNESDAY, 4:24pm: Deng would be hesitant to commit to an extension with any club, and that makes a trade unlikely, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Of course, anxiety surrounding his free agency was the very reason noted earlier for why the Cavs might trade him. Wojnarowski adds the Pistons and Pacers to the list of teams that have had conversations with the Cavs about Deng, but there’s no traction toward a deal as clubs are reluctant to surrender assets for a player who can walk away this summer. Deng has expressed a willingness to at least consider re-signing with the Cavaliers, according to Wojnarowski, who adds there’s increasing doubt around the league that the Lakers will make a run at him in the offseason.
2:21pm: The Mavs have contacted the Cavs about trading for Deng, but they lack the assets to get a deal done, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports in a pair of tweets.
10:35am: Windhorst, in his full story, clarifies that the Cavs aren’t determined to trade Deng, but are gauging the market to see what they could get for him. The ESPN.com scribe identifies the Lakers and Mavs as among the teams expected to chase him in free agency this summer.
10:28am: The Cavs have made Deng available to several teams, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Still, the team is not looking to trade him, a source tells The Plain Dealer (Twitter link).
10:04am: Cleveland has spoken to the Kings and Warriors about Deng, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link). There’s been no shortage of inquiries from clubs around the league, and the Cavs are “clearly” open to hearing pitches, Amico also tweets.
9:46am: The Cavs are worried that Luol Deng won’t re-sign with them this summer, and have begun to investigate the willingness of other teams to trade for the small forward they acquired just last month, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Rival executives have expressed a belief that Cleveland should try to trade him for a top-level first-round pick in this year’s draft.
Sources told Marc Stein of ESPN.com earlier this month that there was little or no chance Deng would re-sign. That story came out shortly after the Cavs replaced former GM Chris Grant with David Griffin, but before the club began its ongoing five-game winning streak.
The Bulls extracted salary relief, a pair of second-round picks, a protected first-rounder and the right to swap first-round picks with the Cavs in 2015 when they traded Deng in January, and it’s doubtful his value has changed much. Chicago sent Deng out alone in that deal, and Cleveland would have to do the same. Teams aren’t allowed to package any players with someone they acquired via trade within the last two months, though the Cavs could attach draft compensation or cash to Deng if they like.
Pacific Rumors: Warriors, Suns, Kings, Blake
The Warriors remain in the market for additional trades following Wednesday’s acquisition of Steve Blake, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Suns aren’t close to any deals, and it’s more likely they stand pat than make a move today, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). That counters a report from Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, who says the Suns and Kings are “trying to hit a home run before the deadline” (via Twitter).
- Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee identifies Jason Thompson, Jimmer Fredette and Travis Outlaw as trade candidates as the Kings remain on the lookout for yet another swap. A second-round pick could be what it takes for other teams to land Fredette as the Kings continue to shop him, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Kings would “love” to get a second-rounder in some sort of deal before the deadline, Jones notes (Twitter link).
- Blake won’t rule out return to Lakers in free agency this summer, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times observes.
- Jordan Hill dismisses the notion that he doesn’t like Mike D’Antoni, and says he’d at least like to finish the season with the Lakers, observes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- A source tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders that the Lakers are unlikely to trade Nick Young, and that the club envisions him as part of its long-term plan. Young has on multiple occasions expressed a desire to stay in purple-and-gold for the foreseeable future, Greene notes.
- The Lakers appear pretty confident they can move Jordan Hill, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, noting that the team is holding out for a second-rounder. Usually teams seeking to get out of tax territory, as the Lakers are, have to give up picks, rather than acquire them, Stein points out (Twitter link).
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro envisions the newly acquired Jason Terry playing a role on the Kings, but no one is dismissing the notion of a buyout, Howard-Cooper reports via Twitter.
- Tucked inside an earlier trade story, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports noted that Isaiah Thomas, a free agent this summer, has expressed a strong desire to stay with the Kings.
Warriors Acquire Steve Blake
The Warriors have acquired Steve Blake from the Lakers in exchange for Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks, the team announced on Wednesday evening via press release. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports confirmed the completed deal (via Twitter), while Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times was the first to report the discussions (via Twitter). Ken Berger of CBS Sports was first to confirm the inclusion of Bazemore and Brooks (via Twitter).
Blake had been enjoying a nice run in his fourth year in Los Angeles, averaging 9.5 points and 7.6 assists in 33 minutes per contest despite missing most of December with an elbow injury. As USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets, the deal has been in the works since last week, as Blake was the Warriors target once acquiring Andre Miller became unrealistic. Grantland’s Zach Lowe likes the move for Golden State, tweeting that they get a solid player for next to nothing and open up a roster spot in the process. Spelling Stephen Curry, who averages 37.7 minutes per night this season, the 33-year-old Maryland product figures to fill a role that has been vacant since Jarrett Jack left for Cleveland.
Blake was informed of the deal at the Staples Center just prior to the team’s game against the Rockets tonight and walked out in street clothes according to multiple reports. While his availability via trade was never in doubt, rumors surrounding Blake seemed less prevalant than those involving Laker teammates Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill and Chris Kaman. Bresnahan caught up with the point guard beforehand. “Real mixed emotions,” Blake said. “The hardest thing really is my family. Now I’m going to have to spend four months probably away from them.” (Twitter link)
As Berger points out, the move helps the Lakers creep closer to the luxury tax threshold. He calculates it would shave nearly $3.5MM off the bill for the Lakers in the unlikely scenario that they are done dealing (Twitter link). Meanwhile, to obtain Blake, the Warriors utilized the $4MM exception they acquired by dealing Brandon Rush to Utah this summer, tweets Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle. Blake will be a free agent this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Pau Gasol
2:10pm: The Gasol-to-Suns deal is “dying on the vine,” according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who hears the Suns are moving on to other talks (Twitter link).
8:50am: The Lakers, with an eye on Kevin Love, gauged the Wolves’ interest in a deal that would send Pau Gasol to Minnesota, but those talks didn’t go anywhere, a source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. There’s a growing sentiment within the Lakers that it’s more worthwhile to retain Gasol and his Bird Rights heading into the offseason than unload him by tomorrow’s trade deadline, Shelburne writes. The Lakers remain in contact with the Suns and Cavs about potential deals, but there’s been no significant progress with either team, as Shelburne notes.
The Bobcats and Lakers have reportedly been in talks about Gasol, though such a deal is unlikely, and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who broke the story, wonders if the Lakers leaked the news to prompt the Suns into more serious conversations (Twitter link). The Suns and Lakers are expected to engage once more in negotations about Gasol before the deadline.
The Lakers have been active, canvassing the market for Gasol, Jordan Hill, Steve Blake and Chris Kaman, Shelburne writes. A groin injury has kept Gasol out of action for the past six games, perhaps slowing trade chatter surrounding him, but he’s listed as questionable for tonight.
Gasol is eligible for an extension, so the Lakers could lock him up, as they’ve done with Kobe Bryant. The big man says he’s had no conversations with the team about an extension, but that doesn’t bother him, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
“Actually, it makes it easier for me,” Gasol said. “[I can] wait until that moment comes and then see what I got.”