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Berger On Lakers, Love, Spurs, Bulls, Miller

January 10th, 2014 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

Last month, we heard that the Nets and Rockets discussed the idea of a trade that would have sent Deron Williams to Houston and Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to Brooklyn. While it’s not clear how serious those talks were, or if they still had any legs at all, they’re probably “dead for good” after D-Will underwent multiple injections in his ankles, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Berger’s latest piece includes several other trade tidbits from around the NBA, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

  • The Lakers are seeking an athletic power forward that would fit Mike D’Antoni‘s system, but league sources tell Berger that it’s unrealistic for the team to expect to land an impact player for Pau Gasol, whose trade value has “plummeted.”
  • Rival execs are also skeptical that the Lakers would take on any long-term salary. One Eastern Conference exec even tells Berger that “everyone knows” Kevin Love wants to sign with L.A. in 2015, so if the Lakers believe they have a shot at the star forward, it’s unlikely they’d tie up their ’15 cap space and compromise their chances.
  • Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group continues to work hard to try to find deals that would get two of his clients, Asik and Donatas Motiejunas, out of Houston.
  • The Spurs have been “unusually aggressive” in pursuing roster upgrades via trades this season, which signals to rival executives that the team recognizes its window may be closing.
  • As anticipated, J.R. Smith has generated “zero” trade interest, says Berger.
  • The Bulls are receiving interest in guards Kirk Hinrich and Mike Dunleavy, according to Berger, who reiterates that the Warriors are eyeing Hinrich and the Rockets like Dunleavy.
  • The Nuggets‘ talks with the Kings about Andre Miller have not gained any further traction, writes Berger. Meanwhile, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities says (via Twitter) that Denver coach Brian Shaw wants the club to land a skilled big man in any Miller deal.
  • Team executives around the league are encouraged by a growing perception that new commissioner Adam Silver will be more open-minded than David Stern. Among the ideas gaining traction among front offices that could be considered by Silver: A 16-team playoff bracket that includes the league’s 16 best teams, not sorted by conference.
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Western Notes: Bledsoe, Love, Kaman

January 9th, 2014 at 8:31pm CST by Ryan Raroque

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton wonders if the Suns can continue to play well without Eric Bledsoe, mentioning that in the ten games Bledsoe has missed, Phoenix has gone 5-5 (Insiders only). Should the 24-year-old guard be unable to return this season, Pelton doesn’t think the Suns will have trouble finding a viable backup point guard, whether it be Leandro Barbosa (recently signed to a 10-day contract) or acquiring one with an expiring deal via trade.

Here are some more links to share out of the Western Conference tonight:

  • In the midst of mounting frustration in Minnesota, Ken Berger of CBS Sports wonders if the Timberwolves should consider trading Kevin Love before he hits free agency.
  • Lakers center Chris Kaman is still confused about his on-again/off-again role in Mike D’Antoni’s rotation, telling Mike Bresnahan and Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times: “I honestly can’t answer that question for you without telling you a lie. I really have no clue why. I’d just be making something up…I haven’t played in six games and then all of a sudden I play [Wednesday]…I really have no rhyme or reason for it. When it’s my turn, it’s my turn and when it’s not, I just sit and be positive and try to be professional about it.”
  • The city of Sacramento filed an eminent domain lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court that seeks to take control of a former downtown Macy’s department store for the development of a new sports arena, reports Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. The Kings wired $4.3MM to the city in anticipation of the city taking the eminent domain action.
  • Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune briefly mentions that at a reasonable price of $4MM this season, Brandon Rush could become one of the Jazz’s best assets leading up to the February trade deadline.
  • Doug Robinson of the Deseret News discusses how Trey Burke has been one of the lone bright spots of a “bad” 2013 NBA Draft.
  • Despite their continued struggles, the Lakers aren’t resorting to any finger-pointing, writes Janis Carr of the OC Register.
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Players Whose Contracts Will Be Guaranteed

January 7th, 2014 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

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:

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Andre Miller Rumors: Tuesday

January 7th, 2014 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s been nearly 24 hours since we heard that the Nuggets were looking to move Andre Miller within the next 48 hours, and while there’s no deal yet, there are a few updates on the Miller front. Let’s round them up:

  • The Nuggets have been telling teams at the D-League Showcase in Reno that they plan to trade Miller by the end of the week, says Sam Amick of USA Today, who adds that the Warriors remain in play for the 37-year-old.

Earlier updates:

  • The Nuggets continue to talk to teams and work toward a Miller trade, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, who tweets that nothing is imminent.
  • It sounds as if one team the Nuggets have spoken to is Minnesota. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (via Twitter) that the Nuggets and Timberwolves have had a “back and forth” about the veteran point guard. Wolfson also notes that current Nuggets GM Tim Connelly worked with Wolves president Flip Saunders and GM Milt Newton in Washington, so there’s some history there.
  • Reiterating what we heard yesterday from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Marc Berman of the New York Post says the Knicks aren’t pursuing Miller.
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Odds & Ends: Gasol, Muhammad, Burke

January 5th, 2014 at 1:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Pau Gasol has been in trade rumors for years, and he’s once more bracing for the possibility that the Lakers could ship him away, as he tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

“I’m ready for it,” Gasol said. “I can’t control what they’re going to do as a team. But I’m going to try to play as well as I can for as long as I’m here. If I’m somewhere else, I’ll try to continue to do that.”

We figure to have at least some resolution to the latest Gasol saga today, and in the meantime, here’s more from around the league:

  • With Shabazz Muhammad headed to the D-League and Trey Burke of the Jazz the reigning Western Conference Rookie of the Month, Timberwolves boss Flip Saunders says it’s still too early to judge the result of their draft night swap. The Wolves officially sent Shabazz Muhammad to the Iowa Energy today, according to a press release. Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune originally reported the move Friday.
  • Matt Moore of CBSSports.com breaks down the game of potential No. 1 pick Joel Embiid.
  • D.J. Kennedy is headed to Israel to play for Hapoel Holon, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports. The swingman was in camp with the Mavs this fall and played with Gravelines in France earlier this season. Italy’s Reggio Emilia was also reportedly interested.
  • The Grizzlies have assigned Jamaal Franklin to the D-League, the team announced. The 41st overall pick this past June has averaged just 9.2 minutes in 14 games for Memphis this year. I identified him earlier this week as a player who could see time in the D-League.
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D-League Notes: Gobert, Clark, T’Wolves

January 4th, 2014 at 10:58am CST by Zachary Links

Today’s look at the D-League..

  • The Spurs announced that they have recalled guard Nando De Colo from the Austin Toros of the D-League.  De Colo made his fifth appearance for the Toros this season Friday evening helping Austin to a 122-97 home victory over the Texas Legends finishing with 21 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.  For now, teammate Malcolm Thomas remains in Austin.
  • Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Ian Clark will be staying in L.A. following last night’s game against the Lakers because they’re both being assigned to the D-League once more, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
  • The T’Wolves are giving some thought to purchasing a D-League team, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.  “Eventually that might be something that we want to do, where we have a team where we can send (players) back and forth,” president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said.  The Wolves plan on sending Shabazz Muhammad to their shared affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa.  It’ll be their first D-League assignment since 2011/12.
  • Brandon Parker of the Washington Post wonders what kind of impact it will have on the D-League if Celtics star Rajon Rondo is sent down to rehab from injury.  Having household names rehab on a farm team would increase the D-League’s exposure and attendance.  It also, of course, would give NBA players a great way to ease back into regular action.
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D-League Notes: Muhammad, N’Diaye, De Colo

January 3rd, 2014 at 5:44pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s today’s D-League assignments and recalls..

  • The T’Wolves informed rookie Shabazz Muhammad that he’s being assigned to their D-League affiliate in Des Moines, Iowa, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.  “He can play more minutes in those four or five games down there than he might play here all year,” team president Flip Saunders said.  The 14th overall pick has played sparingly in just 11 of 32 games so far this season.  Meanwhile, Saunders says he hasn’t considered asking Robbie Hummel and rookie center Gorgui Dieng to do the same because both have been part of coach Rick Adelman‘s rotation.
  • The Kings announced that they have assigned center Hamady N’Diaye to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns.  The 7-foot Rutgers product is averaging 0.4 points (3-9 FG, 0-1 FT), 1.3 rebounds and 5.3 minutes per game in 14 appearances this season for the Kings.  He will be in the Bighorns lineup tonight when Reno faces the Santa Cruz Warriors.
  • The Spurs announced that they have assigned guard Nando De Colo and forward Malcolm Thomas to the Austin Toros of the D-League.  This will mark De Colo’s fifth assignment to the Toros this season and Thomas’ fourth.  In four games in Austin, De Colo has averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 3.25 steals in 38.8 minutes.  In his four games with the Toros, Thomas has averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.25 blocks in 30.3 minutes.
  • The Raptors announced that they have assigned guard Dwight Buycks to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League.  Buycks will continue to be included on the Raptors’ roster and will be placed on the team’s inactive list.  Buycks has appeared in 12 games for the Raptors this season recording a total of 41 points, 10 assists, 20 rebounds and six steals in 121 minutes. He posted a season-best ten points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals December 10th versus San Antonio.
  • To keep up with all of this season’s D-League assignments and recalls, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.
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Contract Details: Wayns, Curry, Price

January 3rd, 2014 at 4:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s an update on a handful of contracts from around the league, courtesy of The Score’s Mark Deeks..

  • The guarantee date on the contract of Clippers guard Maalik Wayns‘ was pushed back from December 1st after his injury, meaning that he’s still on a non-guaranteed deal. He’s unlikely to make the cut on Tuesday, January 7th when contracts become guaranteed.
  • There’s a good chance Seth Curry will be waived by the Grizzlies before Tuesday as his deal is non-guaranteed. Terms of the guard’s contract were previously unknown.
  • A.J. Price‘s deal with the Timberwolves still appears to be non-guaranteed, despite previous reports indicating that he would be locked in after December 8th. Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities tweets that Price’s Player’s Association record seems to be at odds with the T-Wolves’ PR, which says Price remains non-guaranteed. In any case, the 27-year-old may survive decision day, as point guards are in hot demand around the league.
  • The terms of Jeremy Tyler‘s deal with the Knicks (whether he is guaranteed or not) are still unknown.
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Berger On Asik, Lakers, Clippers, Lowry

January 3rd, 2014 at 3:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Word is the Rockets now expect to keep center Omer Asik past next month’s deadline and beyond, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.  Houston worked hard to find a deal last month but the market for the big man right now isn’t so great.  “Teams that are tanking don’t want him to make them better and winning teams want to steal him,” one rival GM said.  On top of that, the teams with room in 2015 can sign him anyway as a free agent on a more reasonable contract.  More from Berger’s column..

  • For now, the Lakers intend to keep Pau Gasol and ride it out with the current group.  In fact, league sources say the Lakers even inquired on Raptors guard Kyle Lowry to help patch up at the one spot, though the talks didn’t go anywhere.  Things could change, however, as the temptation to dump salary and avert a date with the dreaded repeater tax will remain given their current position
  • Doc Rivers is realizing the Clippers‘ roster has more holes than he initially thought and league sources say he’s is looking for frontcourt help on the trade market.  It would help matters if they still had Eric Bledsoe to dangle but he went in the three-team deal that yielded J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley.
  • Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are also after frontcourt help in the form of an athletic rim protector.
  • League sources say the pairing of Bledsoe and Goran Dragic in the Suns backcourt isn’t expected to be a long-term solution for the Suns.  Execs believe Dragic will opt out of his contract following the 2014/15 season, putting pressure on GM Ryan McDonough to make a trade.  Jazz standout Gordon Hayward has put his team in a similar spot as his price may prove too high for Utah when he hits restricted free agency this summer.
  • The Cavaliers and Kings have been among the most aggressive teams in pursuit of trades, league sources say.  On the heels of acquiring Rudy Gay from Toronto, the Kings are “swinging for the fences” on the trade market, one rival executive said.  Sacramento wants to shore up the point guard position, but Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro‘s true long-term target is said to be Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson.
  • In addition to the Lakers, Knicks, and Nets, the Timberwolves, Warriors, and Celtics are among the teams that have inquired about a deal with the Raptors for Lowry, league sources say.  Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is said to have multiple deals he could do for Lowry that would involve receiving an expiring contract in return or slotting him into another team’s trade exception.  For Toronto take on future salary, they’d probably demand a first-round draft choice.
  • The reception to the proposed “wheel system” to determine NBA draft placement has been mixed.  Meanwhile, it has sparked other ideas, including a straight lottery with all 14 non-playoff teams getting an equal shot at the No. 1 pick.
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Amick On Knicks, Lowry, Rondo

December 26th, 2013 at 10:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

USA Today’s Sam Amick offered his New Year’s resolutions for a handful of teams who appear badly in need of help, touching base with issues currently encompassing the Knicks, Warriors, and Timberwolves. Aside from lamenting about the Eastern Conference’s shortage of winning records, Amick provides some fascinating tidbits on what’s been going on in New York, particularly with regard to their recent pursuit of Kyle Lowry and their reported interest in Rajon Rondo. Being that Amick’s discussion of Golden State and Minnesota is more-or-less tied to point differential and strength of schedule, we’ll focus on the Knicks-related topics from his piece, and you can find the highlights below:

  • New York would be wise to consolidate all their efforts and assets toward acquiring Rondo and not Lowry, especially if they’re willing to discuss trading their already limited supply of draft picks, suggests Amick.
  • According to a person with knowledge of the Raptors’ dealings, the Knicks had first raised the idea of sending a 2018 pick to Toronto during trade discussions for Lowry. Interestingly enough, it appears that GM Steve Mills was the one who ultimately vetoed this particular approach altogether, opting to remain patient for more worthwhile pursuits.
  • Regardless of how many times Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge insists that Rondo isn’t on the trading block, the belief from rival executives remains that the star point guard can be had for the right price. With two months and change left before the NBA’s trade deadline, it doesn’t look like the rumors of New York’s pursuit of Rondo will go away anytime soon, especially if Carmelo Anthony remains part of the Knicks’ plans. Even if Rondo becomes available, the Knicks face another hurdle of being one of many teams in line looking to make a pitch to the Celtics for his services.
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