Rockets, Pacers Frontrunners For Kaman?
THURSDAY, 8:42am: A source tells Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune that the Pacers, rather than the Rockets, may actually be the leading candidates to land Kaman.
WEDNESDAY, 4:36pm: Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston tweets that, while the Rockets have discussed Kaman with the Hornets, chances of the two sides working out a deal are low.
1:54pm: The Hornets continue to shop Chris Kaman, and according to SI.com's Sam Amick, a frontrunner has emerged in the sweepstakes. The Rockets have had "extensive discussions" with New Orleans about Kaman and appear to be in the lead for the center, Amick reports.
According to Amick, no deal is close, but certain pieces have been discussed, including Hasheem Thabeet and Jordan Hill. Both former first-round picks are in the last year of their contracts, which would give the Hornets the opportunity to clear Thabeet's $5.13MM salary and Hill's $2.86MM off their books in the offseason. Houston also has plenty of other assets that could interest the Hornets, including Jonny Flynn's expiring contract and a handful of draft picks. When NBA.com's David Aldridge and SI.com's Zach Lowe examined Kaman's possible destinations this week, both concluded that the Rockets are among the best fits.
A number of clubs have been linked to Kaman since the 29-year-old asked to be traded. Of those teams, the Hawks and Warriors don't appear to be serious suitors, a source tells Amick. The 76ers are also thought to be out of the running, as we heard this morning.
Odds & Ends: Nowitzki, Noah, Heat, Wizards
This year's later-than-usual trade deadline means we shouldn't expect the same amount of February player movement we'd normally see. Still, flipping the calendar page from to January to February means we're that much closer to seeing a few deals go down. While we wait to see where Dwight Howard, Chris Kaman, and the rest of this year's trade candidates land, let's round up today's odds and ends from around the league:
- Asked about his future in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Dirk Nowitzki said he plans to play "at least two more years" in the NBA (hat tip to BallinEurope.com). I wouldn't read too much into that statement — even when Dirk's current contract with the Mavericks expires in 2014, he'll be just 36. I'd be surprised to see him retire at that point, barring a major injury or drop-off in the next couple seasons.
- Joakim Noah admitted to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that the pressure he felt after signing a $60MM contract extension with the Bulls contributed to his struggles early this season.
- The Heat have kept their expectations for the Eddy Curry experiment in check, and still may look to add another center, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sentinel. Their first choice is presumably Joel Przybilla, who will reportedly decide between the Heat and Bulls this week.
- Despite the team's struggles this season, president Ernie Grunfeld doesn't intend to abandon the Wizards' long-term strategy, as he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post.
- Chris Paul's departure has left something of a leadership void in New Orleans, writes Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
- Marcus Banks has officially joined the D-League's Idaho Stampede, tweets Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside. The eight-year NBA veteran signed with the D-League last week.
Northwest Links: Chandler, Thunder, Timberwolves
In a must-read New York Times piece, Jim Yardley discusses the relationship between the NBA and China, with a focus on Wilson Chandler's decision to sign with the Zhejiang Lions. Agent Chris Luchey was fielding offers for Chandler from Italian teams as well — offers that allowed for an opt-out if and when the lockout ended.
"We had 15 different conversations about what happens when the lockout ends," Luchey said. "I told him 100 times: 'The season is going to go. There is going to be a season.'"
Ultimately, the Nuggets' restricted free agent decided to sign in China, meaning he can't return to the NBA until the CBA season ends. When he makes it back, it sounds like he'll draw plenty of interest.
Here are the rest of this afternoon's links on the Nuggets and their Northwest division rivals:
- In a mailbag for the Denver Post, Benjamin Hochman discusses the likelihood of the Nuggets adding Chandler or Kenyon Martin later in the season.
- Russell Westbrook, who recently signed a long-term extension to remain in Oklahoma City, tells SI.com's Sam Amick that all the questions about his relationship with Kevin Durant just brought the two players closer together.
- Rick Adelman's offense makes it easy to succeed, and the Timberwolves shouldn't have any regrets about parting ways with players who struggle with it, opines Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune.
- The Timberwolves' strong play is having a significant impact on the Hornets/Clippers Chris Paul trade, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes.
Sixers Don’t Intend To Pursue Chris Kaman
Despite recent injuries to big men Spencer Hawes and Nikola Vucevic, the 76ers don't intend to pursue a trade for Chris Kaman, tweets SI.com's Zach Lowe.
Hawes' left achilles has kept him out of action for the last eight games and Vucevic hasn't played since January 21st due to a strained quad. The rookie appears to be ready to go though after suiting up Monday, and while Hawes probably won't play tonight, he doesn't seem far off. Since neither injury seems to be very serious, it's no surprise the Sixers won't try to make a play for Kaman, whose $14MM salary would make for a tricky acquisition.
With their payroll sitting about $4MM below the luxury tax line, I expect the Sixers to look into smaller moves, perhaps making use of the $2.7MM trade exception they received when they dealt Marreese Speights. Meanwhile, the Jazz, Grizzlies, Spurs, Rockets, Bobcats, Pistons, Pacers, and Cavs are among the teams thought to have some level of interest in Kaman.
Odds & Ends: Sessions, Kings, Mavs, Hornets
On January 31st, 1979, the Cleveland Cavaliers sent Terry Furlow to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Butch Lee and a 1983 first-round pick. Both Furlow and Lee played their last NBA minutes in 1980, but that '83 draft pick ended up in the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, who used it to select Derek Harper. Harper went on to score over 16,000 points in his 16-year NBA career — nearly five times the combined career totals for Furlow and Lee.
As for January 31st, 2012, here are a few items from around the Association:
- Ramon Sessions isn't surprised to hear his name involved in trade rumors, writes Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer. The Lakers have inquired about the point guard's availability and the Cavaliers are receiving interest from other clubs as well.
- Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links) spoke with Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof who spoke highly of the jobs that GM Petrie and coach Keith Smart are doing. Last night, it was reported that the club could be looking to replace Petrie, who has been with the Kings since 1994.
- After J.J. Barea departed in the offseason, the Mavericks managed to replace him admirably and cheaply, as Jeff Caplan writes at ESPNDallas.com.
- There shouldn't be any sense of security for Hornets players, with a major roster overhaul coming this offseason, or sooner, says John DeShazier of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) checks in on the stocks of a few college players. While Anthony Davis still has a stranglehold on the top spot on Ford's draft board, the rest of the top five is in flux.
- Heat fans may have a love affair with Michael Beasley, but there probably would never have been a Big Three in Miami if Beasley had put it together during his time with the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- A few members of ESPN.com's TrueHoop network discussed Dwight Howard and other potential trade candidates.
Southwest Links: Kaman, Thomas, Green, Carter
Chris Kaman's availability has dominated headlines out of the Southwest division in recent days, as potential suitors contact the Hornets to discuss the seven-footer. Today, NBA.com's David Aldridge and SI.com's Zach Lowe each took the opportunity to run down the list of possible destinations for Kaman, concluding indepenently that the Hawks and Rockets are among the best matches. Let's check out a few more updates out of the Southwest….
- Continuing the Kaman discussion, Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com asks Warriors fans whether they'd be okay with sending Monta Ellis to the Hornets in exchange for Kaman and a first-round pick.
- The Spurs have assigned Malcolm Thomas to the D-League's Austin Toros, according to the Spurs' official Twitter account. Thomas, who was signed earlier this month, appeared in just 15 minutes over three games for San Antonio.
- Hornets head coach Monty Williams told John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he regrets not bringing back Willie Green, who ended up signing with the Hawks: "[Green] was somebody I was in contact with, and we were waiting for the right time… If I could do it over again, I’d probably would have pressed the issue more."
- Vince Carter, who signed for the mini mid-level exception introduced in the new CBA, tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com that he's starting to get comfortable with the Mavericks.
Chris Kaman Drawing Trade Interest
12:49pm: The Bobcats have also inquired on Kaman, but a deal isn't likely, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
9:40am: The Rockets and Spurs are among the teams to inquire on Chris Kaman since Hornets GM Dell Demps said he intends to trade the center, reports John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. According to Reid, at least five teams have talked to the Hornets about Kaman, and Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group adds the Warriors to that list.
Kaman, who arrived in New Orleans last month as part of the package for Chris Paul, will sit out until the Hornets can work out a trade, as Demps told ESPN.com's Marc Stein last week.
"Chris has been the ultimate professional since he joined us," said Demps. "In no way is this a disciplinary action. We had discussions about extending his current contract when he first came to the Hornets, but the organization decided to go in a different direction."
According to Thompson's sources, a deal with the Warriors is unlikely. While Golden State could use Kaman to replace the injured Kwame Brown, it doesn't appear the Warriors have the pieces to match up with New Orleans. The league-owned Hornets may also find it tricky to work out a deal with division rivals like Houston and San Antonio.
The Pistons, Pacers, and Cavs have also been linked to Kaman, though Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski says New Orleans' reported asking price of draft picks, cap space, and a young player is too high for most teams (Twitter link).