Fallout From Cavs/Grizzlies Trade
The Cavaliers and Grizzlies hooked up today for the first trade of 2013, and though it was by no means a blockbuster, it's not without significant implications. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors looked this morning at how the trade affects Rudy Gay, and the swap already set off a series of other moves. The Cavs waived Jeremy Pargo to fit the three incoming players on their roster, while Memphis signed Chris Johnson (the small forward from Dayton, not the center from LSU who's with the Timberwolves). The Grizzlies reportedly considering a handful of others for the other roster spot they have to fill to get up to the league minimum of 13 players.
There's other news in the wake of the trade this evening, and we'll round it up here:
- Amico, characterizing the deal as a clear win for the Cavs, delves into what the trade means for Cleveland, speculating that the expiring contracts of Luke Walton, Omri Casspi and Daniel Gibson could be part of the team's next deal.
Earlier updates:
- While Marreese Speights upgrades the team's corps of inside players in the short term, the first-round draft pick is what most interested the Cavs, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer. Boyer also breaks down the details of the protection attached to the pick.
- Neither Cavs GM Chris Grant nor Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace plans to step back from discussions about other deals, as both are still aggressively pursuing other trades, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com, in an Insider-only piece, examines the winners and losers of the swap, naming new Memphis owner Robert Pera the biggest winner of all for avoiding the tax this season.
Cavs Acquire Speights, Ellington From Grizzlies
The Grizzlies and Cavaliers have offically finalized a deal that sends Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby and a protected first-round draft pick to Cleveland in exchange for Jon Leuer, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Cavaliers have waived Jeremy Pargo to clear room on their roster for the incoming players.
Memphis has been at the center of a number of trade rumors this month, a result of the team's reported desire to get below the tax line. While most of those rumors have involved more expensive players like Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph, I noted last week that Speights was another candidate to be dealt, since moving his $4MM+ salary would be enough to get the Grizzlies out of the tax. That's essentially what Memphis is doing in this deal with the Cavs, moving Speights along with Ellington's $2.08MM expiring contract. Selby and Leuer are a wash, earning identical $762,195 salaries.
Cleveland has the room to absorb Ellington's and Speights' salaries under the cap, while the Grizzlies will move below the tax line for 2012/13. Memphis should also obtain a handful of trade exceptions in the transaction, worth the amount of Speights', Ellington's, and Selby's salaries — $4,200,000, $2,083,042, and $762,195 respectively.
Speights, 25, was a productive rotation piece for the Grizzlies last year after the team acquired him from the 76ers, starting 54 contests for the club and averaging 8.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG. However, he has seen a reduced role in Memphis this season, with his minutes being reduced from 22.4 per game to 14.5. Because he was playing on a one-year contract (excluding his second-year player option) following his rookie deal, the forward had the rights to veto a trade, but he agreed to be dealt to the Cavs due to that lack of playing time in Memphis, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
For the Cavaliers, Selby and Memphis' pick act as sweeteners to compensate the Cavs for taking on salary, including Speights' $4.52MM player option for 2013/14. Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld wrote yesterday that Selby, who excelled in the Summer League in July, was waiting for an opportunity to try to translate that success to the regular season. He figures to have a better chance to receive that opportunity in Cleveland.
Meanwhile, the first-rounder heading to the Cavs is protected from 1-5 and 15-30 in 2015 and 2016, before being top-five protected in 2017 and 2018 and unprotected in 2019. Like the first-rounder that was traded by the Raptors to the Rockets (and eventually to the Thunder) over the summer, the unique protection makes it a likely lottery pick.
Despite clearing Speights from next year's books, the Grizzlies still project to be likely taxpayers in 2013/14 and '14/15, so as Grantland's Zach Lowe points out (via Twitter), the club could explore more cost-cutting deals in the summer. The trade also brings the Grizzlies' roster to 11 players, two below the NBA minimum, so free agent signings will be required. Memphis is currently considering Delonte West and Bill Walker, among others.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links), Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter links), Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (all Twitter links), and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link) were all involved in breaking various details of the story.
What Grizzlies/Cavs Trade Means For Rudy Gay
The Grizzlies and Cavaliers reached an agreement on the first trade of 2013 today, a deal that will send Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Josh Selby, and a protected 2015 first-rounder to the Cavaliers in exchange for Jon Leuer. With the Grizzlies sending out about $7MM in salary and only taking back Leuer's minimum-salary deal, the move will help get the team below the tax threshold.
Now that the Grizzlies won't have to worry about being a taxpayer this season, one would assume that the Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph trade rumors would die down significantly. As Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweeted earlier today, the Grizzlies are hoping the move increases locker-room morale, with the implication being that Memphis isn't about to shake up its core. However, within the same tweet, Tillery adds that the club also hopes that the deal brings in "real offers" for Gay.
While the likelihood of a Gay trade happening by February 21st may have been reduced today, the possibility shouldn't be dismissed entirely. The Grizzlies still project as a taxpaying team for the two seasons after 2012/13, and with more punitive tax penalties on the way starting next year, I imagine that's a situation new ownership wants to avoid.
What today's Grizzlies/Cavs trade does for Memphis is allow the club to avoid shipping Gay out in a deal that's entirely designed to cut costs. Now that the team no longer has to worry about getting below the tax line this season, it has regained some leverage in further trade talks, and can focus on finding real value rather than simply dumping salary.
With no pressure to make a move this season, I would expect the Grizzlies to hang on to Gay this season and revisit their trade options in the summer. If and when that happens, perhaps a team like the Wizards, a club Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld pegged as the frontrunner for Gay this morning, will make an offer that appeals to the Grizzlies. Washington contracts like Trevor Ariza's or Emeka Okafor's could look much more appealing as trade chips next year, when they're expiring, than they do this season.
Western Notes: Gasol, Howard, Aminu, Grizzlies
Pau Gasol will be coming off the bench permanently, tweets Orange County Register reporter Kevin Ding. Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni believes his team plays better when they're small, and a starting frontline of Gasol and Dwight Howard obviously isn't small.
- ESPN analyst Magic Johnson believes the Mavericks would be wise to strike a trade for Lakers center Dwight Howard before the trade deadline instead of targeting him in free agency this summer, according to the Dallas Morning News.
- Hornets forward Al-Farouq Aminu is having a breakout season with the Hornets writes Nola.com's John Reid.
- The Memphis Commercial Appeal rationalizes why the Grizzlies need to make several moves before the trade deadline.
Odds & Ends: Andersen, Grizzlies, Lakers, Nash
Happy Martin Luther King Day to our American readers. For the NBA, the holiday means plenty of afternoon basketball, with Pacers/Grizzlies and Kings/Hornets contests already underway. As we look forward to a few more daytime games, including the Nets and Knicks playing in Madison Square Garden, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Although Chris Andersen just signed a 10-day contract with the Heat, the club would like to keep him for the rest of the season if things work out, tweets Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald.
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld hears from sources that it would probably be easier for the Grizzlies to find good value on the trade market for Zach Randolph, rather than Rudy Gay. However, Memphis isn't actively looking to move either player at this point, according to Kyler.
- Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com points out that, despite not being asked about whether the Lakers need to make a trade or signing, Kobe Bryant made an interesting comment when talking about the team's struggles: "Unless they're going to do something roster-wise, I got to continue to push through it. If this is what we're rolling with, then I can't make excuses. I got to go out there and do my job."
- Chris Smith, J.R. Smith's younger brother, would like to return to the Knicks next season once he gets healthy, as he tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Smith was expected to make the team this fall but was waived after suffering a knee injury.
- Although Steve Nash seriously considered returning to his home country and signing with the Raptors last summer, Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star argues that Nash wouldn't have been an ideal fit in Toronto.
Southwest Notes: Randolph, Rockets, Douglas, Lin
We've already heard news on Rudy Gay and Royce White this morning, and that's not the only news coming out of the Southwest Division. The latest is right here:
- Gay isn't the only high-dollar asset the Grizzlies may be looking to unload, as the team has also reportedly been gauging Zach Randolph's value. HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy hears that one possible destination for Randolph is Houston, as the Rockets would love to bring him on board (Twitter link).
- Guard Toney Douglas, who's dropped out of the Rockets rotation in favor of recent signee Patrick Beverley, plans to ask coach Kevin McHale why his minutes have disappeared once the team returns from its road trip, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. "They didn’t tell me anything," Douglas said. "I don’t know what’s the reason. I will (ask). We’ve been traveling. I’ll give it time to develop, see how it is. I just want to know the reasoning, that’s all, and I’ll feel better."
- After McHale benched three starters, including Jeremy Lin, to begin the second half last night, SB Nation's Tom Ziller delves into what's gone wrong with the Rockets point guard amid a seven-game losing streak.
- The future is bright in New Orleans, where the Hornets have begun to play better with the return of Eric Gordon, as fellow SB Nation scribe Paul Flannery chronicles.
Amico On Gay, Kings, Millsap, West, Oden
The latest piece from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is brimming with juicy material, so let's dive right in.
- Even though the Grizzlies are reportedly in a "holding pattern" regarding trades, Memphis is still talking to other teams about moving Rudy Gay. The clubs engaged most heavily in those discussions are the Bobcats, Timberwolves, Suns and, more recently, Hawks. Nonetheless, a source tells Amico not to expect a Gay trade until after the All-Star break.
- Speaking of holding patterns, that appears to be the current state of any potential Kings sale, Amico writes. Whatever happens, it's "pretty clear" this is the final season for Geoff Petrie as GM. He's in the final year of his deal, and the 64-year-old reportedly wants to retire.
- We heard Friday about the Nets' possible interest in Paul Millsap, and Amico confirms Brooklyn, along with the Bucks and Nuggets, are among teams that could make a push for Millsap at the deadline. Most of the teams in that mix would want to offer Millsap an extension immediately upon acquiring him, since he's in the final year of his contract.
- Like Millsap, David West is another power forward set to hit the unrestricted free agent market, but the Pacers are confident they can re-sign him, Amico reports. That's why the team is largely ignoring trade offers for him.
- Greg Oden hopes to sign with a team around the All-Star break or right after the trade deadline. Interested clubs include the Celtics, Heat, Mavericks and Cavaliers.
Odds & Ends: Grizzlies, Redick, Magic
Ric Bucher of CSN Bay Area (Sulia link) hears that the trade rumor involving Rudy Gay to the Suns in exchange for Jared Dudley and Michael Beasley was leaked in order to facilitate more offers from around the league. In terms of the Grizzlies dealing Gay for luxury-tax purposes, Bucher notes that the Wizards and Warriors only have trade pieces that would relieve Memphis of the super luxury tax in two years, but not after this season. You can find more of tonight's miscellaneous notes from the Association here:
- David Baumann of Bright House Sports Network tweets that the Celtics covet J.J. Redick as a possible trade target before February's trade deadline.
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel provides a primer of what the Magic front office has to think about heading into next month's deadline. He thinks that GM Rob Hennigan might want to deal for more young players and draft picks while shedding salary, adding that Redick, Glen Davis, Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, and Josh McRoberts are among the team's most tradeable assets. Lastly, Robbins thinks that Orlando is unlikely to part with Nikola Vucevic and that the team has almost no interest in dealing for Rudy Gay.
- Noting that Chris Johnson had been a member of Timberwolves' training camp before the season, Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press says that his familiarity with the team provided an advantage during the team's search for help at center.
- The recent struggles of Nuggets swingman Andre Iguodala prompted him to admit after today's practice that he's "probably behind the curve" and has had trouble finding his comfort level this season (Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post reports).
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy (Sulia link) anticipates a quiet trade deadline for the NBA considering a busy offseason that saw 31 deals involving 96 players.
- Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld looks at Jeff Teague, one of four players who are guaranteed to remain in Atlanta beyond this season, as a viable long-term investment for the Hawks.
Odds & Ends: Andersen, Knicks, Gay, Bobcats
The Birdman has likely flown across the Knicks' radar, but the club has yet to engage Chris Anderson in serious talks or bring him in for a workout, according to Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The free agent has obvious Knicks ties thanks to his time playing with J.R. Smith in Denver and his ties to GM Glen Grunwald. Here's more from around basketball on this Saturday afternoon..
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links) wonders if the Bobcats are willing to take on Rudy Gay's sizable contract. The forward will earn $17.9MM next season and $19.3MM in 2014/15. Charlotte is reportedly very interested in the Grizzlies star.
- Meanwhile, GM Rod Higgins tells Bonnell (on Twitter) that there is no limit as to what the Bobcats might try to do before the deadline.
- After their recent west coast swing, it's safe to say that this Heat roster is more than qualified to win another title as currently assembled, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
- The Raptors need to seek out talented veterans with winning experience in the opinion of Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Star (via Twitter).
- The Suns' front office is responsible for the club's woes, not former coach Alvin Gentry, opines Tom Ziller of SB Nation. I had a similar take in this morning's edition of Hoops Links.
Stein On Heat, Bosh, Gay, Mavs, Smith
In his Weekend Dime, Marc Stein of ESPN.com runs down his picks for this year's All-Star reserves. On Stein's ballot, the Nets get a representative in Houston, but it's not star point guard Deron Williams, who is barely shooting 40% from the floor. Instead, it's center Brook Lopez who has given the Nets the kind of steady offense that Williams hasn't been able to. Here's more from Stein's column..
- No matter how much TNT's Charles Barkley clammors for a major trade in Miami, the Heat just aren't looking for that sort of shake-up. Sources familiar with the club say that they aren't prepared to part with Chris Bosh, not only out of fear of a major change, but because it would make things umcomfortable from a player-relations perspective to break up the star trio.
- Sources close to the situation tell Stein that the Mavericks are not among the teams that have expressed interest in Grizzlies' Rudy Gay. The Mavs were previously mentioned as being among the clubs interested in the forward. Meanwhile, we learned yesterday that the Bobcats are aggressively pursuing him.
- The "Bank of Cuban" may be reopening its doors in Dallas, but the Mavericks still want to preserve their wiggle room this offseason. That's why even though the Mavs can offer cap relief to teams at the trade deadline, Stein doesn't expect them to take on significant contracts. Instead, they're more likely to trade Vince Carter to a contender that could use an extra shooter, or move Brandan Wright to a team in need of another big man. That could yield them some picks or perhaps allow them to shed even more salary.
- While the Hawks could move Josh Smith for an impact player, Stein is skeptical that they would want to sacrifice their cap space this summer.