Pelicans Exploring Eric Gordon Trades
The Pelicans have been active in their pursuit of a trade involving Eric Gordon, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, who says that New Orleans has contacted several clubs about Gordon, exploring three-team scenarios as well. Grantland’s Zach Lowe adds (via Twitter) that he has heard similar rumblings.
Gordon, who was acquired by the Pelicans in the 2011 trade that sent Chris Paul to the Clippers, signed a maximum-salary offer sheet with the Suns in the summer of 2012, which the Pelicans attempted to match, protecting their asset. Since then though, Gordon has been the subject of several trade rumors and much speculation, particularly after New Orleans traded for Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans this past offseason.
According to Deveney, the Pelicans are seeking frontcourt help, with an eye on acquiring a player who could start alongside Anthony Davis. It’s not clear though whether Gordon would have much value as a trade chip. While he’s been healthy this year, starting 31 games for the Pelicans, the 25-year-old has missed significant chunks of the last couple seasons, and is also earning a sizable salary. Including this season, Gordon’s current deal pays him nearly $15MM annually in its three remaining years before expiring in 2016. According to Lowe (Twitter link), teams around the league are intrigued by Gordon, but wary of taking on his contract.
Deveney’s report surfaced around the same time that the Pelicans announced Holiday would be sidelined indefinitely due to a stress fracture in his right tibia. Without Holiday in the backcourt for the next little while, the club may be less inclined to move Gordon for a frontcourt piece.
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.
Western Notes: Pelicans, Harris, Franklin
Ryan Anderson will be out indefinitely with a herniated disk, the Pelicans announced today (link via Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com). Anderson has been mentioned in a few trade rumors, but didn’t seem likely to be moved this season. Still, if he’s expected to miss a significant amount of time, it could have an impact on New Orleans’ roster decisions before the trade deadline. The team is currently carrying 14 players, leaving one opening available.
Here’s more from the NBA’s better half:
- After indicating last night that the Thunder were researching D-League standout Manny Harris, Sam Amick of USA Today follows up by tweeting that Harris had an interview with members of OKC’s front office this week, as the team does its due diligence.
- The Grizzlies have recalled Jamaal Franklin from the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Franklin was assigned to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Sunday, and played with the team yesterday in Reno as part of the 2014 D-League Showcase.
- Dewayne Dedmon was released by the Warriors earlier this season, but Golden State still has interest in bringing him back, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, adding that Dedmon is meeting with three NBA clubs in Reno today.
Southwest Notes: Camby, Rockets, Randolph
Tonight’s look at the Southwest Division..
- Marcus Camby is working to get back to the hardwood after undergoing surgery on a torn plantar fascia and tells Mark Berman of myFOX Houston that he would like to return for the Rockets. “(My) preference is to stay home,” said Camby, who lives in Pearland, Texas.
- With the Grizzlies on the verge of acquiring Courtney Lee from the Celtics, Zach Randolph tells Michael Cohen of the Memphis Commercial Appeal that the front office’s willingness to try to improve this season’s roster is “very encouraging.”
- John Reid of The Times-Picayune wonders if the Pelicans should make a deal. Eric Gordon has been linked to trade talk but they could also dangle backup one-guards Brian Roberts and Austin Rivers. Earlier tonight, we learned that they’ve given D-League prospect Pierre Jackson the greenlight to find a trade.
Pierre Jackson Has Permission To Seek Trade
One of the D-League’s top talents could finally be on the verge of breaking through to the NBA, but it may not be with the club that holds his rights. The Pelicans have granted permission to Pierre Jackson‘s representatives to seek out a trade for their client, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Sam Amico of FOX Sports heard before the New Year that New Orleans was giving thought to moving Jackson, the 42nd pick in the 2013 draft, for “future considerations” and perhaps cash. Jackson, a 5’10″ point guard from Baylor, is averaging nearly 30 points per game and is considered by some to be the most dynamic talent in the D-League. Jackson is currently with the Trail Blazers’ affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, but only the Pelicans can bring him to the varsity squad, unless they move his rights elsewhere.
Western Notes: Garrett, Jackson, McCollum
Jazz guard Diante Garrett is trying not to think about his non-guaranteed contract and the pending decision coming up on it, tweets Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter). “I’ve just been … trying to play good so I can stay here,” said Garrett, who had ten points, four rebounds, and two dimes in last night’s contest against the Bucks. More out of the Western Conference..
- The Pelicans‘ recent release of veteran Lou Amundson is already adding early fuel to the fire that Idaho Stampede young gun Pierre Jackson may receive an NBA call-up by New Orleans in the near future, writes Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside.
- C.J. McCollum‘s D-League stint will last for just a pair of games, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com notes via Twitter, and the lottery pick is expected to make his NBA debut on Tuesday for the Trail Blazers, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- The Sacramento City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to file an eminent domain lawsuit against the owners of a parcel of land where a new arena for the Kings is to be built, report Ryan Lillis and Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee. It seems likely that a judge would rule in the city’s favor, allowing it to seize the land, if it came to that, as Lillis and Bizjak explain.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pelicans Waive Lou Amundson
The Pelicans have waived big man Lou Amundson, the team announced. The move frees up a roster spot, since New Orleans had been at the 15-man limit. His contract was non-guaranteed, so the Pelicans won’t be on the hook for the remainder of his minimum salary.
The move wasn’t unexpected, especially given comments coach Monty Williams made shortly after Amundson signed along with Josh Childress in mid-November. Williams deemed the moves “nothing to write home about” and said, “We’re just taking a look” at the veterans. New Orleans released Childress earlier this month.
It’s the third time Amundson has hit waivers in the past 11 months. He had stints with the Timberwolves, Bulls and then-Hornets last season, and spent camp with the Clippers this fall.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pelicans Might Trade Rights To Pierre Jackson
The latest piece from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio focuses on collegians, D-Leaguers and overseas players drawing heavy attention from NBA scouts, including Chris Wright, Devin Ebanks and Dylon Cormier, but it also delivers news on a player whose rights belong to an NBA team. The Pelicans are willing to trade Pierre Jackson, the 42nd pick in the draft this past June, for “future considerations” and perhaps cash. It’s not clear exactly what those future considerations would entail.
New Orleans acquired Jackson’s NBA rights from the Sixers as part of this summer’s trade for Jrue Holiday. The Las Vegas native signed this summer with ASVEL Villeurbanne of France, a team in which Tony Parker is a part-owner, but in September he parted ways with the club. Jackson wound up entering the D-League draft, and the Idaho Stampede, the affiliate of the Trail Blazers, picked him fourth overall. Still, neither the Blazers nor any NBA team aside from the Pelicans are allowed to sign him to an NBA contract.
Jackson, a 5’10” point guard from Baylor, is coming off a 41-point performance and averaging 29.0 points per game, and while his 4.8 turnovers per contest outnumber his 4.7 assists average, he’s perhaps the most “dynamic” player in the D-League, Amico writes. He’s nonetheless in a tough spot unless the Pelicans decide to sign him or trade his rights to a team that’s willing to give up assets in a trade for the chance to bring him aboard.
Grizzlies Propose Bayless-Meeks Deal To Lakers
The Grizzlies are “clearly looking to shake up their roster,” writes Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, who hears from a Lakers source that Memphis offered Jerryd Bayless in return for Jodie Meeks. Such a trade wouldn’t work under the NBA’s salary-matching rules, which would require the Lakers to put additional outgoing salary into the deal to come closer to the $3.135MM Bayless makes this season. Still, the proposal appears to indicate changes could be on the way for the disappointing 12-15 Grizzlies.
Memphis has added James Johnson and Seth Curry in recent days to bolster an injury-depleted roster that’s enduring the long-term absences of Marc Gasol and Quincy Pondexter. It appears the Grizzlies have no interest in a rumored trade that would send Zach Randolph to the Pelicans, Bucher says, though a report yesterday indicated that Memphis might be willing to move Randolph for the right offer.
The Lakers have had their own share of injury troubles, particularly among their point guards, and adding Bayless would help them shore up that position. He’s also a free agent after this season, so he wouldn’t clog up L.A.’s cap space this summer. Still, it doesn’t sound as though the Grizzlies’ proposal has gained any traction.
Amico’s Latest: Lowry, Dragic, Cavs
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio leads his latest piece with news about the Bucks making Larry Sanders available in trades, but he passes along plenty more pre-Christmas rumors. Let’s dive in:
- Amico identifies the Magic and Pelicans as potential Kyle Lowry suitors and hears from one league executive who says he’d be shocked if the Raptors don’t deal the point guard by the deadline.
- A report yesterday suggested Goran Dragic is the Suns player most likely to be dealt, but Amico hears that while the Suns would listen to offers, they aren’t looking to trade him.
- The Cavs have been aggressive in their search for “an impact player” on the trade market recently, but they’re not willing to give up Dion Waiters or Tristan Thompson to do so, according to Amico. The team might become more willing to include those players in trades at a later point, Amico speculates.
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro is still talking to other teams about moves that would improve his club, Amico writes, which jibes with earlier reports that suggest Sacramento remains in trade mode.
- Draft prospect P.J. Hairston could soon wind up in the D-League. The University of North Carolina recently dismissed the swingman, but many around the league think he might head to the D-League to help his draft stock. He’s currently No. 32 on the DraftExpress Top 100 Prospects list.