Kupchak On D’Antoni, Kobe, Potential Trades
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News spoke with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak earlier today and discussed a number of the issues Lakerland is facing. The club currently sits at 14-21, just three games ahead of the Western Conference’s last place Jazz. Even worse, their losing roster was still an expensive one to assemble, and the team is currently slated pay around $11MM in luxury tax this offseason on top of a team salary that figures to be roughly $79MM. Still, the longtime GM seemed optimistic about the team’s future and scoffed at the concept of blowing up the roster. Let’s have a look at some of the more notable Kupchak quotations from Medina’s piece:
On Mike D’Antoni‘s performance as head coach this season:
“Six weeks ago, I thought he would’ve been candidate for coach of the year… A month and a half later, our record is what it is. I know I’ll get criticized and he’ll get criticized. But the coaches in this league can’t win without players. That’s my job. I thought we were deep enough in the backcourt. Maybe we weren’t. But you can’t win in this league without players.”
On Kobe Bryant‘s recent injury:
“His most recent injury had nothing to do with Achilles… If he had blown out his Achilles, you might think why did he come back so quickly. But you can’t do that. The knee just hyperextended and that’s very natural. It’s not a major injury. He’ll be back and better than ever.”
On whether or not any players on the roster are untouchable in trades other than Bryant:
“I don’t even want to single out one person… I’ll leave you to speculate. I think it’s pretty easy. I trust your ability to look at our roster and think this guy might not be going anywhere. If there’s an opportunity to help us win right away, or an opportunity to help us plan for next year or the year after, then we’ll look at those opportunities.”
On the importance of planning around the luxury tax:
“It is a factor in planning. It is a business. The new collective bargaining agreement is such as that you have to be careful what you allocate and where… Strategically, it’s a factor. But with Dr. Buss and present ownership, it has never been a driving force that interferes what is best for the organization in terms of providing for our TV partners, radio partners and our fans.”
On the possibility of tanking for a high draft pick:
“That’s the worst thing an owner, general manager, coach or player can even consider. I can’t imagine going into a locker room or having a closed door meeting with a coach to say I want you to lose… I can’t imagine doing that. It’s almost un American.“
Chris Smith Joins Erie BayHawks
12:34pm: Smith has rejoined the Erie BayHawks, dressing for the team today in its game against the Idaho Stampede.
WEDNESDAY, 8:30am: A tweet from Smith himself has raised doubts about his D-League team, since it seems to suggest he’s returning to the Erie BayHawks, as Schlosser writes.
TUESDAY, 5:15pm: It was reported earlier this week that the former Knicks reserve Chris Smith would sign with a D-League team but the exact team wasn’t revealed until moments ago by Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside. Smith will be signing a D-League contract with the L.A. D-Fenders, who are owned by the Lakers.
This will not be the first time this season Smith has seen playing time in the D-League, as the Knicks sent him down to their affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, for six games prior to waiving him.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Clippers, Vujacic, Suns
After waiving Shawne Williams yesterday, the Lakers don’t intend to fill that 15th roster spot anytime soon, in spite all of the team’s backcourt injuries, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. That plan could change if another player goes down, but for now shedding Williams’ salary will simply cut costs a little for the club. Bresnahan adds that Hedo Turkoglu doesn’t look like an option for the Lakers, who feel as if the forward’s skills have declined.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report defends the Lakers‘ decision not to trade Pau Gasol to the Cavs in a deal for Andrew Bynum, arguing that L.A. doesn’t have an urgent need to get out of the tax this season, since the team will almost certainly avoid the repeater penalty by dipping below the tax line in 2014/15 and 2015/16.
- For now at least, the Clippers have cooled on the idea of pursuing Sasha Vujacic, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic describes the relief and excitement experienced by Dionte Christmas when he found out yesterday that the Suns would be guaranteeing his contract for the full 2013/14 season.
- Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee has the latest details on the city of Sacramento’s efforts to secure a vital parcel of land for the development of a new Kings arena.
Possible 10-Day Contracts From The D-League
With the D-League Showcase under way in Reno, more league attention has been turned the direction of the young players outside the NBA. The Showcase alone is not the reason for the shift in focus. All of the players on NBA rosters are now guaranteed salaries for the remainder of the season, and teams are now able to sign players to 10-day contracts. Below are a few of the players that have already drawn attention around the league.
- Ike Diogu is playing well at the D-League Showcase and league sources say he could draw interest from Lakers, Clippers, Thunder and Pelicans, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter links).
- James Nunnally of the Bakersfield Jam is a D-League call-up candidate and has had meetings with the Cavs, Bulls, and Thunder at the D-League showcase in Reno, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick later tweeted the Hawks are also a team interested in Nunnally.
- James Southerland has met with at least three teams this week, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. He has played one game with the Bobcats and spent the summer with the 76ers and Warriors.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Players Whose Contracts Will Be Guaranteed
As we outlined earlier today, players on non-guaranteed contracts who aren’t released by 4:00pm central time will have their full 2013/14 salaries guaranteed. We’ll be keeping tabs in this post on players who have been informed they’ll remain on their respective teams’ rosters, with new updates added to the top of the list throughout the afternoon:
- Barring an unexpected development, the Pacers will guarantee Rasual Butler‘s contract today, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star.
Earlier updates:
- The Timberwolves don’t intend to make any roster moves today, which means the contracts for A.J. Price and Robbie Hummel should become guaranteed, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- As anticipated, the Lakers plan to keep Ryan Kelly, Xavier Henry, and Kendall Marshall, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (via Twitter).
- Ronnie Brewer‘s contract will be guaranteed for the remainder of the season by the Rockets, says Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter).
- The Bobcats will retain Jeff Adrien beyond today, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
- Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports (via Twitter) that Chris Douglas-Roberts‘ contract will become guaranteed, as the Bobcats won’t cut him today.
- Kent Bazemore is also safe, with the Warriors informing him he’ll remain on the roster, tweets Haynes.
- The Spurs have informed Malcolm Thomas that he won’t be waived, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Lakers Release Shawne Williams
The Lakers have waived Shawne Williams, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The move opens up a spot on the team’s roster, reducing it to 14 players.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles suggested yesterday that, of the Lakers’ four non-guaranteed players, Williams looked like the only real candidate to be cut loose. The 27-year-old had appeared in 32 games for the Lakers, starting 11 of them, but had seen his role reduced as of late. He averaged 5.2 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 20.2 minutes per contest for the season.
With no 15th man on board now, the Lakers could use the available roster spot to bring Williams back on a 10-day deal, or to pursue another free agent, such as Hedo Turkoglu. It doesn’t appear that the club will be opening up any additional spots on the roster, as Kendall Marshall, Ryan Kelly, and Xavier Henry all look like good bets to have their contracts guaranteed.
Fallout, Leftover Details From Deng/Bynum Trade
Late last night, the Cavaliers and Bulls struck 2014’s first deal, and arguably the most interesting swap of the ’13/14 season so far, with Chicago sending Luol Deng to Cleveland in exchange for Andrew Bynum‘s contract and several draft picks. In our story on the trade last night, we made note of a few potential ramifications of the deal, including the possibility of the Cavs re-signing Deng in July, and the effect that losing the All-Star forward will have on the Bulls’ chances of a high lottery pick. There are many other leftover details related to the trade to round up though, so let’s dive right in and tackle a few of them….
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported last night that Deng turned down a three-year, $30MM extension offer from the Bulls before the team decided to trade him. In his full piece on that news, Woj notes that Chicago was unwilling to go as high as $12-13MM over four or five seasons for the 28-year-old.
- Following up with more details on those extension talks, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link) hears there’s a chance the two sides also discussed a four-year, $40MM contract, while Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets that Deng’s reps may have been looking for a deal in the $15-16MM per year range.
- Although the Bulls will sneak below the tax threshold when they waive Bynum, that move will leave them with 12 players, one short of the league minimum. ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst points out (via Twitter) that adding a player today for the prorated veteran’s minimum would still keep the Bulls below the tax, albeit not by much. Chicago also doesn’t have to add a 13th player immediately, since teams can drop to 12 for up to two weeks at a time, so the club could retain a little flexibility by waiting, then signing players to 10-day contracts.
- More financial details from Windhorst (Twitter link): Chicago’s total payroll and tax savings add up to more than $20MM+, and the Bulls will also receive another $2-3MM when this year’s tax money is dispersed, assuming team payroll remains below the $71.748MM threshold.
- A source tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that this likely won’t be the last trade of the season for either the Bulls or the Cavs (Twitter link).
- The Cavs had been trying for “quite some time” to move the Kings‘ first-round pick, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The pick isn’t quite as valuable as Cleveland’s other first-rounders, since its protection, combined with the Kings’ recent futility, could result in it eventually becoming a second-round pick. The first-rounder is top-12 protected this year, then top-10 protected from 2015 to 2017. Lloyd adds that the Cavs tried to give the pick back to Sacramento or loosen the protection in various deals before sending it to Chicago.
- Pau Gasol and the Lakers were connected to the Cavs frequently over the last week, but L.A. remained adamant about receiving a young player or premium pick from Cleveland, which wasn’t going to happen, tweets Amico. ESPN.com’s Marc Stein adds (via Twitter) that acquiring Deng was always the Cavs’ dream scenario, which is why the team was willing to send picks to the Bulls, but not the Lakers.
- According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link), the Lakers still believe they have other ways to get under the luxury tax after not landing Bynum. In my opinion, that’ll be pretty difficult.
- In his trade story at ESPN.com, Windhorst adds the Knicks to the list of teams expected to have interest in Bynum once he clears waivers.
- The Bulls created a modest trade exception in the deal, worth the difference in Deng’s ($14,275,000) and Bynum’s ($12,250,000) salaries: $2,025,000.
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News writes that the Cavs completed this trade with Kyrie Irving‘s long-term future in mind, while ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell says that the divorce of Deng and Tom Thibodeau may lead to an adjustment period for both guys over the next few weeks.
Cavaliers Acquire Luol Deng For Bynum, Picks
The Cavaliers and Bulls have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Luol Deng to Cleveland in exchange for Andrew Bynum and draft picks, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (via Twitter). ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst confirms that the Cavs have acquired Deng (Twitter link), while team owner Dan Gilbert also tweeted confirmation of the deal, welcoming Deng to Cleveland.
According to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), the Bulls will receive a first-round pick and a pair of second-rounders from the Cavs in the swap, in addition to Bynum. The first-rounder will be the Kings’ 2014 pick, which is top-12 protected, while the second-rounders will be Portland’s 2015 and 2016 picks, according to an official release from the Cavs. The Bulls will also have the rights to swap first-rounders with the Cavs in 2015, but only if Cleveland’s pick doesn’t fall in the lottery, tweets Lloyd.
Although the Cavs will surrender a handful of draft picks in the deal, the move fills a giant need for the team, with Deng assuming a starting small forward role that has changed hands several times since LeBron James left for Miami in 2010. The Cavs also find a taker for Bynum, who had fallen out of favor in Cleveland, and was being shopped to the Lakers and Jazz, among other teams. So for now, Pau Gasol and Richard Jefferson will remain in L.A. and Utah, respectively, though both veterans are on expiring deals and could be involved in more trade rumors before February 20th’s deadline.
As for the Bulls, several recent reports had indicated that the team was reluctant to move Deng, still believing that he could be re-signed next summer. However, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), the 28-year-old turned down a three-year, $30MM extension offer from Chicago last week, which was a prelude to this trade. The deal gives the Bulls the opportunity to dip below the tax this season and to add future assets, as well as greatly increasing the odds that the club will land a prime spot in the 2014 draft lottery.
Assuming the Bulls officially waive Bynum on Tuesday, as ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell confirms they will (Twitter link), the team will shed $8.275MM in payroll by paying Bynum’s $6MM guarantee rather than Deng’s $14.275MM salary. According to ShamSports’ salary figures for Chicago, that would reduce team payroll to about $71.01MM, giving the club a little breathing room below the $71.748MM luxury tax line.
The long-term ramifications of the deal will be worth keeping an eye on over the next several months. While the Cavs’ dream scenario for the summer of 2014 is believed to revolve around bringing LeBron back to Cleveland, the team will now have a very viable alternative in Deng, with his Bird rights in hand heading into free agency.
For the Bulls, coach Tom Thibodeau may not be entirely on board with the trade, since he was considered Deng’s biggest fan. A December report also indicated that Derrick Rose wasn’t eager to go through a rebuilding process in Chicago, so it’ll be interesting to see how aggressively the team retools during the offseason, perhaps amnestying Carlos Boozer and bringing Nikola Mirotic stateside.
Meanwhile, Chicago now technically holds the rights to three 2014 first-rounders: Their own pick, the Bobcats’ pick, and the Kings’ pick. However, the latter two are heavily protected. Charlotte’s first-round pick is top-10 protected in 2014, top-eight protected in 2015, and unprotected in 2016. Sacramento’s first-rounder is top-10 protected in 2015, 2016, and 2017, after being top-12 protected this season. If the pick doesn’t change hands by 2017, Chicago would receive the Kings’ 2017 second-rounder instead.
If and when the Bulls waive Bynum, he’ll likely go unclaimed on waivers, meaning he’ll be eligible to sign with any team besides the Cavs as soon as this week. The Clippers and Heat are believed to be among his preferred destinations.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Andrew Bynum Rumors: Monday
Sunday brought several updates on the Cavaliers’ trade talks involving Andrew Bynum, but things have been quieter so far today. Although there’s still a little time for the Cavs to send Bynum to a team that plans to waive him by tomorrow’s contract guarantee deadline, the clock is ticking, and Cleveland’s window of opportunity won’t be open much longer. As we wait to hear whether Bynum will be on the move or staying put, here are Monday’s items on the former All-Star:
- Talks between the Lakers and Cavs are ongoing, with three-team possibilities still in play and the Cavs pushing for resolution by the end of the day, says Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. While some sources say a deal is close, Amico cautions that they were saying the same thing yesterday (Twitter links).
- Multiple executives not directly involved in talks for Bynum are hearing that the Kings could be involved in a potential deal as a facilitator, tweets Amico.
Earlier updates:
- The Cavaliers have yet to find a suitable offer, and while they continue to pursue a possible trade, it looks “highly unlikely” that they’ll move Bynum, says Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Assuming no deal is made, the Cavs can still save $6MM+ themselves by waiving the big man tomorrow.
- With Richard Jefferson available as a trade chip, the Jazz remain a possible trade partner for the Cavs, but Utah isn’t as involved as other clubs, a source tells Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).
- The Cavs approached the Grizzlies recently to ask about acquiring Zach Randolph, in a deal similar to the proposed Pau Gasol swap with the Lakers, tweets Amick. However, Memphis wasn’t interested, and isn’t in the mix for Bynum.
- As we heard late last night from ESPN.com’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst, talks between the Cavs and Lakers were expected to continue into Monday, though there have been no updates on those negotiations yet today.
Lakers Notes: Gasol, Roster, Williams
Noting that it wouldn’t be a normal season if Pau Gasol wasn’t at the center of several trade rumors, Kobe Bryant once again voiced his support for his longtime teammate yesterday, as he has done several times in the past.
“How much more am I supposed to support a guy, besides making a Pau flag and riding in there on a horse with Spanish-colored paint on my face like I’m the Spaniard William Wallace or something?” Bryant asked, according to Greg Beacham of The Associated Press. “I don’t know what else to do.”
As trade rumors continue to swirl around Pau, let’s round up a few more Lakers items….
- The Lakers’ trade talks involving Gasol aren’t limited to just their discussions with the Cavaliers, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes in his latest power rankings piece.
- According to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, the Lakers are still weighing whether or not to keep all 15 players on their roster beyond tomorrow, which would ensure that all 15 contracts become fully guaranteed for this season. In Shelburne’s view, Shawne Williams, who has fallen out of the rotation, is the only candidate to be released, but even he will likely remain on the roster (Twitter links).
- In a story for ESPN LA, Shelburne focuses on Gasol, who acknowledged that there’s a chance yesterday’s game was his last one as a Laker: “Yeah, it could’ve. Any game could be your last game. It’s not something you think about very often. It could be due [to] an injury or a trade, anything like that, but I’m happy with the way that I’m playing. In the last few games I’m giving it everything I have, and that’s all I can do.”