Odds & Ends: Sloan, Azubuike, Sessions, Heat
The deadline for players to be waived in order to be eligible for the playoffs with another team passed last night, and Chris Kaman, who would have been on the radar of just about every team needing a big man had he been bought out, is still with the Hornets. New Orleans "desperately" tried to trade him before last week's trade deadline, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, but didn't get a worthy offer. He'll be a free agent at season's end, and wants to sign with a contender then, Kennedy said. Here's the rest of what's shaking around the NBA:
- Guard Donald Sloan, who signed last week with the Cavs, gave reporters a little insight on his contract, as the end of this video on Cavs.com shows. His deal extends into next year, but is guaranteed only until the end of this season.
- Newest Mav Kelenna Azubuike, who drew raves from owner Mark Cuban last night, will start off with the Texas Legends, the Mavs D-League affiliate, notes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
- The Hawks expressed interest in trading for Ramon Sessions before the Cavs wound up dealing him to the Lakers, Kennedy tweets.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel answered reader questions about the Heat. Despite this week's signing of Ronny Turiaf, much of the talk still revolves around the center position.
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld rounds up the players who could sign contracts worth as much as $10MM a year as free agents this summer.
- Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters hasn't made up his mind about whether he'll enter the NBA Draft just yet, but he says the Spurs, Thunder and Jazz have called him in case he wants to give it a go, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY. He's projected to go in the middle of the first round, and could climb into the lottery, Zagoria writes.
Odds & Ends: Butler, Heisley, Kroenke, Bayless
Much of the NBA spent the evening with concerns about Celtics swingman Mickael Pietrus, who suffered a head injury during tonight's game with the 76ers and left the arena in an ambulance. It originally appeared Pietrus would spend the night in a hospital, as ESPN's Chris Forsberg and others reported, but apparently his injury, a concussion, will allow him to return home for the night, Forsberg tweets. Here's more from around the Association:
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports that Rasual Butler, who is drawing attention from the Bulls, would have gotten a look from the Heat at the beginning of the season had they not signed Shane Battier (Twitter link).
- Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is out of the running to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, but separate groups that include Magic Johnson and Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke remain in the hunt with a decision looming as soon as next week, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times.
- Raptors backup point guard Jerryd Bayless shined while starter Jose Calderon missed games with injury earlier this month, and Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld argues the team should bring back the restricted free agent this summer and give him a larger role.
- Despite a loss to the Raptors tonight, the Knicks have been playing markedly better since Mike Woodson took over as coach, but that doesn't mean the team had quit on former coach Mike D'Antoni, Tyson Chandler says, according to Newsday's Al Iannazzone.
- Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida tweets that the Pistons have offered retiring Ben Wallace a job for when he hangs up his sneakers, but Wallace is undecided on whether he'll take it.
Celtics Rumors: Allen, Garnett, Pierce, Rondo
With the Celtics' Big Three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett potentially playing their last season together in Boston, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports talked to the Celtics stars about the trade deadline, the offseason, and their history. Spears also shares a few interesting trade and free agent tidbits along the way. Here are the highlights:
- The Heat are expected to make a strong push to sign Allen this summer, a source tells Spears. Miami will almost certainly be a taxpaying team next season, so the club would only have a mini mid level exception to offer the sharpshooter.
- Allen on the possibility of returning to the Celtics in free agency: "First of all, the team has to be willing to have me back. Then you have to look around to see what’s acceptable and who is capable of having me on the team and then you go from there. It’s hard to really say."
- Coach Doc Rivers wouldn't be surprised to see Allen or Garnett, who are on expiring contracts, back in Boston next year: "I think people assume they won’t be back next year. I don’t know why there is that assumption. [Garnett and Allen] are free agents, but you can sign your own free agents last time I checked…. I don’t know if we will sign them both. We may sign one. But they’ve been great for us. Our [free agents] are probably the best ones and we will have the most money."
- Rivers added that he thinks Garnett's first choice would be to return to Boston.
- According to Spears, the Celtics were seeking first-round picks in exchange for Allen or Garnett at the trade deadline. Their asking price for Pierce was "a young star," and they were also only willing to move Rajon Rondo for an elite player.
Reactions To The Ronny Turiaf Signing
On Wednesday, the Miami Heat signed center Ronny Turiaf for the remainder of the 2011/12 season. Here's a roundup of reactions to the signing from around the media:
- Fox Sports Florida's Chris Tomasson thinks Turiaf could help the Heat, who needed frontcourt depth.
- ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh points out how low-risk the signing was, and believes Turiaf is an offensive upgrade over Joel Anthony.
Heat Sign Ronny Turiaf
Ronny Turiaf has signed with the Heat, team owner Micky Arison confirmed today (via Twitter). The deal will be for the league minimum and will include a player option as an "insurance policy" for next season, tweets SI.com's Sam Amick.
The Nuggets acquired Turiaf in the trade that sent Nene to Washington and JaVale McGee to Denver. Since Turiaf was included in the deal primarily for salary-matching purposes, he was waived by the Nuggets this weekend, and reportedly drew interest from more than ten teams upon his release.
Turiaf, 29, only appeared in four games for the Wizards this season due to a broken hand, but appears to be healthy enough to return to the floor. He'll join a Heat team that has had to rely on bigs like Dexter Pittman and Mickell Gladness this season. Miami has an open roster spot and won't need to make a corresponding move.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported that Turiaf and the Heat were finalizing terms on a contract.
Latest On Buyouts: O’Neal, Powell, Heat
Earlier tonight we took a look at last year's buyout recipients and how they've fared since. Now let's dive into some of the buyout rumblings from this evening:
- Contrary to what we heard before, Jermaine O'Neal insists he and Celtics GM Danny Ainge never had talks about a buyout, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link). O'Neal says he did what he could to get his injured left wrist back in playing shape, Dan Duggan of the Boston Herald reports, but simply couldn't avoid season-ending surgery. One of the procedures he's considering could be career ending, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- J. Michael Falgoust and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today round up the buyout candidates. There's not much new here, but they do add the Nuggets to the list of teams interested in Josh Powell, which includes the Suns and Celtics.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel shared a few Heat-related items after Miami's 99-95 comeback win over the Suns tonight. Even though Derek Fisher appears headed to the Thunder, he thinks Mike James or Anthony Carter would be better point guard pickups because of their defensive abilities. And, after an inauspicious first career start by Dexter Pittman, the need to sign another center, like Ronny Turiaf, is as pressing as ever.
Pacific Notes: Hill, Wallace, Trade
Fewer than half of the NBA's 30 teams are involved in a seven-game slate tonight, but four of the five Pacific Division clubs are in action. Let's take a look at what's happening out west:
- Grant Hill, 39, thinks he can play "another year, maybe two" after this season and hopes to finish his career with the Suns, writes Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida.
- Rasheed Wallace, who has been linked to the Lakers and the Heat, will wait until after Friday to make his decision on where to sign, Tomasson tweets.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks back on last year's Suns–Magic trade, which had Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus going to Phoenix and Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark headed east. After tonight's loss to the Heat, the Suns are 51-52 since the trade, and even though Gortat has ably filled a hole at center, Schmitz believes the Magic won the deal, if only by a hair.
Odds & Ends: Draft, Bynum, Howard, Wizards, Heat
The 2012 NBA Draft is still more than three months away, but draft junkies will be happy to know ESPN.com's Chad Ford, NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper and Fox Sports Ohio's Sam Amico have released their first mock drafts of the year. Ford's Insider-only piece has Anthony Davis going first overall, followed by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Thomas Robinson, Bradley Beal, and Harrison Barnes. Howard-Cooper has Barnes, Andre Drummond, Kidd-Gilchrist, and Jared Sullinger rounding out the top five after Davis. Amico has it as Davis, Barnes, Robinson, Kidd-Gilchrist and then Drummond.
Here are a few more Tuesday afternoon links from around the NBA:
- In another draft-related item, South Florida small forward Victor Rudd has declared for the draft, according to Jeff Borzello of CBS Sports. The 6'7" junior, who isn't on the draft board of Ford, Howard-Cooper or NBADraft.net, has said he won't hire an agent yet, leaving open the possibility he'll return to school.
- The Lakers plan to exercise their team option on Andrew Bynum for next season, but Bynum wouldn't mind a longer-term commitment. The center told Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com that he'd be amenable to discussing a contract extension.
- If Dwight Howard didn't opt in to the final year of his contract, the Magic were prepared to trade him to the Nets for Brook Lopez, MarShon Brooks, Mehmet Okur's expiring contract, and first-round picks, according to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post.
- The Wizards are looking forward to taking an extended look at Edwin Ubiles, who signed a 10-day contract with the team this weekend, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. In a separate column, Lee says the Wizards have shut down Andray Blatche until he works his way into better condition. SI.com's Zach Lowe would be surprised if Washington doesn't amnesty Blatche before next season (Twitter link).
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel thinks Mike James or Anthony Carter would be better fits for the Heat than Derek Fisher.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Thunder, Heat Frontrunners For Derek Fisher
3:42pm: Fisher is in "advanced negotiations" to sign with the Thunder after he clears waivers, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Oklahoma City has the advantage over Miami because the Thunder have more financial flexibility and can offer Fisher a larger role, says Stein.
3:03pm: Sources close to Fisher expect him to sign with the Thunder if he clears waivers, according to Sam Amick of SI.com (Twitter link).
12:48pm: The Spurs are still expecting to sign Mills and don't plan to talk to Fisher, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
12:08pm: The Celtics and Bulls aren't interested in Fisher, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports (via Twitter). Berger adds that Fisher is expected to discuss "ideas and concepts" with the Spurs, Heat, and Thunder.
8:05am: The Thunder and Heat have emerged as the favorites to sign Derek Fisher, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Fisher, who was bought out by the Rockets, is expected to clear waivers tomorrow.
The Spurs are also believed to have some interest in Fisher, but San Antonio is still hopeful about completing a deal with Patrick Mills. Stein adds that signing with Chicago is something that "strongly interests" Fisher, but the Bulls are focused on signing a big man, possibly Ronny Turiaf.
According to Stein, there are a couple factors that could work in the Thunder's favor in the race for Fisher: The veteran point guard now shares an agent with Kevin Durant, and Oklahoma City has a good chance to face Fisher's old team in the Western Conference playoffs. Unlike the Heat, however, the Thunder don't have an open roster spot, so they'd need to waive someone to clear room for Fisher.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports that the Rockets allowed Fisher's agent to speak to "about six teams" during buyout negotiations to gauge interest. Knowing there were contending teams interested in bringing him aboard, the 37-year-old felt comfortable giving up the final year of his contract (Twitter links).
Kyler On Arenas, Hickson, Turiaf, Fisher, Powell
In his latest NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler checks in on a few free agents and free-agents-to-be, providing updates on their potential destinations. Let's round up the highlights….
- Gilbert Arenas is expected to take a physical and finalize his deal with the Grizzlies today.
- The Pacers, Cavaliers, and Raptors, who all have enough cap space to easily absorb J.J. Hickson's $2.35MM salary, won't be placing waiver claims.
- A number of teams are interested in Ronny Turiaf but "word is" the forward will likely decide between the Celtics and Heat. Like Hickson, he doesn't figure to be claimed on waivers by clubs with cap space.
- The Lakers have extended an offer to Derek Fisher to join the team's basketball operations staff. However, it doesn't appear Fisher is ready to retire just yet. We heard earlier today that the Thunder and Heat are the favorites to land the longtime Laker.
- Josh Powell is drawing interest from the Suns and Celtics, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reported last night. I believe Powell signed in Switzerland late in February, and I haven't seen any reports that indicate he's parted ways with Neuchatel. The Swiss regular season has ended though, so perhaps Powell is lining up an NBA job for when he returns. Since he hasn't played for an NBA team this season, he can sign after March 23rd and still be eligible for the postseason.