Kennedy On Trade Deadline Winners
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld posted a new column examining the reasoning why many teams opted to stand pat at the trade deadline rather than make any major deals. He also wrote that, although the trade deadline was relatively uneventful, it could set up an exciting summer of trades and free-agent signings.
Kennedy also ran down the teams he thought improved with deadline deals:
- Kennedy thinks J.J. Redick will be valuable to the Bucks as they push for a playoff spot.
- The Thunder added Ronnie Brewer at little cost, and Kennedy believes he will form a formidable perimeter defense tandem with Thabo Sefolosha.
- Kennedy praises Rockets GM Daryl Morey for acquiring the fifth pick in the 2012 draft, and believes Thomas Robinson will flourish in a better situation than the one he was in with the Kings.
- The Raptors picked up Sebastian Telfair, giving them a serviceable backup for Kyle Lowry at little cost, Kennedy writes, also noting that Telfair has strong relationships with several players already on the team.
- Kennedy praises the Blazers for acquiring much-needed bench help in Eric Maynor.
Bucks To Acquire Redick In Six-Player Deal
The Magic have agreed to trade J.J. Redick to the Bucks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Milwaukee will send Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih, and Tobias Harris to Orlando in the deal (Twitter link). Along with Redick, Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith are heading to Milwaukee, tweets Wojnarowski.
After a flurry of Redick rumors leading up to the deadline, the Bucks emerged as the frontrunners in the hours leading up to 2:00pm, as the Spurs, Pacers, and other suitors fell out of the running. While it initially appeared that Milwaukee was targeting Redick to replace Monta Ellis if Ellis was part of a Josh Smith trade, the club ultimately pulled the trigger on Redick anyway, meaning the sharpshooter will join a backcourt that features Ellis and Brandon Jennings.
Meanwhile, the Magic had been seeking a first-round pick in exchange for Redick, but will instead acquire a pair of young prospects in Lamb and Harris, along with Udrih's $7.37MM expiring contract, which will come off the books this summer. According to various reports, the only first-round picks Orlando was offered for Redick would have been very late in the first round. Given the value of draft picks and rookie-scale contracts in the new CBA, teams seemed reluctant to give up any picks better than that.
Hawks Backed Out Of Smith Trade With Bucks
2:47pm: The Hawks were close to reaching an agreement with the Bucks for Smith that may have included the Magic as a third team. However, Atlanta backed out of the deal at the last minute, according to ESPN.com's Chad Ford and Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game. Bucher reports (via Sulia) that the Bucks' offer would have sent Ekpe Udoh, Luc Mbah a Moute, Beno Udrih's expiring contract, and a protected first-round pick to Atlanta.
2:04pm: Neither the Bucks nor the Nets were able to finalize a deal with the Hawks for Josh Smith, who will remain in Atlanta, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. According to Windhorst (via Twitter), the Hawks decided they valued Smith too much to give him up for the offers they received.
Magic, Bucks, Hawks Talked Three-Team Trade
2:20pm: ESPN.com's Chad Ford reports (via Twitter) that the Hawks pulled out of a three-team trade that would have sent Josh Smith to Milwaukee at the last minute before the deadline.
1:55pm: The Magic are working on a three-team trade that involves J.J. Redick, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). The Bucks are also a part of the talks, Robbins reports.
We've already heard a ton of Redick updates today, but the latest rumors in our round-up suggest that the Pacers and Spurs are out of the running, while the Bucks and Sixers remain in the mix.
J.J. Redick Rumors: Thursday
Based on reports late last night, it sounds like the Magic are still on the fence about whether or not they'll trade J.J. Redick. While the team is clearly fielding offers, Orlando also seems willing to hang on to Redick for the season if no suitable proposals are made. We'll track today's Redick rumors here, with the newest items added throughout the day:
- The Pacers are out of the running for Redick, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.
- The Redick talks are coming "down to the wire" with the Pacers, Sixers, and Bucks still involved, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. The Spurs are out, according to Aldridge.
- A source involved in the Redick talks now believes there's a strong chance the sharpshooter will remain in Orlando, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Earlier updates:
Mavericks Exploring Trade For Beno Udrih
1:29pm: If Udrih isn't used as part of a larger deal, the Bucks will likely send him to Dallas for Dahntay Jones and Rodrigue Beaubois, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
8:49am: The Bucks are one of the league's most active teams leading up to today's deadline, and figure to explore larger deals right up until 2:00pm. However, if the club doesn't move Beno Udrih and his expiring contract in one of those larger trades, Milwaukee could send him to the Mavericks, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
Udrih, who is averaging just 18.4 minutes per game for the Bucks, is overpaid at $7.37MM, but that salary could make him an attractive chip for a team like the Mavs, who are looking to clear cap room for the coming summer. It's not clear if Dallas would send out lesser expiring deals in the hypothetical trade, or whether they'd move a player like Shawn Marion, who is under contract beyond this season.
Josh Smith Rumors: Thursday
We're counting down the hours until today's 2:00pm CST trade deadline, and Josh Smith still appears likely to be on the move sometime before then. In yesterday's round-up of Smith rumors, we passed along word from HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy that "source after source" indicates Smith will be dealt today. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports the same thing, writing that the Hawks are expected to trade their veteran forward for the best deal that won't hurt their long-term financial flexibility. We'll track today's Smith rumors right here, with the latest added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- The Nets are still "hanging by a thread" in the Smith talks, tweets TNT's David Aldridge. Milwaukee still appears to be the leader, Aldridge confirms.
- The Suns are essentially out of the running for Smith, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who adds that the Bucks are viewed as the favorites (Twitter link).
- The Bucks and Hawks are still "seriously engaged" in talks for Smith, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- The Rockets appear to be out of the mix for Smith, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Dwight, Cavs, Blair, Wizards, Gordon
As the hours tick down to tomorrow's 2:00pm Central trade deadline, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News is already starting to look ahead to free agency, and he writes that the Cavaliers believe they could make a longshot bid to sign Dwight Howard. That one seems hard to believe, and even Lawrence intimates that it's a little far-fetched. Still, the Cavs were reportedly in the mix for Andrew Bynum last year, and they'll have plenty of cap space this summer, so I suppose it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
In the meantime, there's more on potential deadline deals, and here's the latest:
- We've already heard that Danny Granger is staying put, and TNT's David Aldridge hears that's likely the case for Spurs big man DeJuan Blair, too (Twitter link).
- An Eastern Conference executive tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post he believes there's "very little" the Wizards can get for Jordan Crawford.
- The Wizards reportedly gave up on acquiring Josh Smith because they aren't willing to give up any of the players the Hawks would want in return, and HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy identifies John Wall, Bradley Beal and Nene as the three players the team wants to keep in any deal.
- With a deadline trade to the Warriors unlikely and his knee still not 100%, it looks like Eric Gordon will stay put with the Warriors past the deadline, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times Picayune, who hears from a source who said "nobody wants" Gordon.
- The Suns agreed to a deal to acquire Marcus Morris for a second-round pick tonight, but considered trading a first-round pick for Morris when the Rockets took him on draft night. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details.
- The Magic have been trying to unload Al Harrington's contract, but the power forward figures he's not going anywhere, since other teams are likely wary of his health, as John Denton of Magic.com tweets.
- Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times identifies Devin Harris as a trade candidate and tweets that the Wisconsin product would mind playing for the Bucks, though I think if he ends up in Milwaukee, it's more likely via free agency this summer than in a deadline deal.
Josh Smith Rumors: Wednesday
Josh Smith appears to be the big-name player most likely to be moved before tomorrow's trade deadline, and Tuesday brought plenty of updates and rumors on his potential destination. We rounded up those updates right here, and we'll track today's news here, with any new items added to the top of the page throughout the day:
- "Source after source" informs HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy that Smith will be dealt by the deadline (Twitter link).
- With the Suns apparently standing pat despite a report classifying them as the frontrunner for Smith, it looks like the Bucks are in the lead for Atlanta's athletic power forward, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. The Bucks are willing to risk losing Smith in free agency, but chances are strong that he'll re-up in Milwaukee for the right price, according to Deveney. Still, Milwaukee won't include John Henson or Larry Sanders in any deal for Smith.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio believes the Nets are the frontrunners, with Milwaukee a darkhorse (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- Smith is open to playing with the Bucks even if Monta Ellis is not around, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link).
- Despite a report previously stating that the Nets are “solely focused” on Smith, a league source says that is definitely not the case, according to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld.
- The Suns, Bucks, and Nets are currently viewed as the three most likely destinations for Smith, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- A source tells Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today that it's not inconceivable the Hawks hang on to Smith through the deadline. With a huge amount of cap space available this summer, Atlanta could still re-sign the forward to a reasonable contract if another club doesn't make him the max offer he's seeking.
Bucks Reject Nets Offer For Ersan Ilyasova
The Nets have been offering a package of Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks with frequency, as we've heard the pair linked to the Celtics for Paul Pierce and the Hawks for Josh Smith. Brooklyn also offered those players to the Bucks for Ersan Ilyasova this week, but Milwaukee turned them down, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets.
The Nets pursued Ilyasova over the summer before he re-upped with the Bucks, and they reportedly went after him earlier in the season as well. The Bucks, though, appear to want an overwhelming offer in return for their outside-shooting power forward, and it looks like Humphries and Brooks don't fit the bill.
Now that their names have been bandied about in so many rumors, there could be pressure on Brooklyn to take whatever they can get for Humphries and Brooks. HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler wonders about the awkward situation that may follow if they remain on the team past the deadline (Twitter link). Of the two, Brooks would appear the easier to move, since he's on a rookie deal. Humphries makes $12MM this year and next on a two-year contract.