Teams Projected To Be In The Tax
On deadline day, the Warriors traded a pair of minimum-salary players, Jeremy Tyler and Charles Jenkins, for essentially nothing. Sixers GM Tony DiLeo confirmed that his team not only acquired Jenkins and put heavy protection on the second-round pick sent to the Warriors, but received an amount of cash from Golden State that more than covered the youngster's salary for the rest of the season. The specific details of the Hawks trade for Tyler aren't clear, but we can probably assume Golden State included a similar amount of cash there, and that Atlanta's second-rounder included similar protection.
For the Warriors, paying a little extra money now made more sense than paying the price later, as trading Jenkins and Tyler allowed the team to get below the tax threshold ($70,307,000) and avoid becoming a taxpayer. The moves will not only save the team from making a tax payment itself at year's end, but will allow the Warriors to receive a portion of the tax payments from the clubs above the threshold.
While the Warriors chose to avoid the tax, the Bulls resigned themselves to becoming a taxpayer for the first time rather than give up a future first-round pick to get below the line. A club like the Celtics also chose to remain marginally over the threshold, while others like the Heat, Nets, and Lakers remained significantly in the tax. Here are the clubs projected to be taxpayers this year, along with their current team salaries, which could rise if they make additional signings before season's end:
- Los Angeles Lakers: $100,166,250
- Miami Heat: $83,204,612
- Brooklyn Nets: $83,147,981
- New York Knicks: $80,165,743
- Chicago Bulls: $74,061,031
- Boston Celtics: $71,371,552
Of the six teams on this list, three of them – the Lakers, Heat, and Celtics – were also taxpayers last season, putting themselves in line for the repeater tax down the road. Teams that are in the tax for four of five seasons are subject to the repeater tax, so after being taxpayers for two consecutive years, the Lakers, Heat, and Celtics will have to stay out of the tax for two of the next three seasons to avoid paying the more punitive repeater penalty in 2016.
Storytellers Contracts was used in the creation of this post.
Knicks Maintain Plans To Sign Chris Smith
A left knee injury scuttled the opportunity Chris Smith, the younger brother of J.R. Smith, had to make the Knicks out of training camp this fall, but he hasn't fallen off the team's radar. The Knicks still plan to bring Smith aboard, a source tells Keith Schlosser of Knicks Journal. His original timetable for recovery from patella tendon surgery had been three to six months, and since the injury occured in October, he could be nearing a return.
The Knicks have a full 15-man roster with the addition of Kenyon Martin on a 10-day contract, so unless they waive someone, there's no room for Smith. They could let Martin's contract lapse, but GM Glen Grunwald is hopeful Martin remains on the team through the end of the season. Schlosser points out that Smith's first post-injury stop may be the Knicks' D-League affiliate. The Knicks, who run the basketball operations for the Erie Bayhawks, could have Smith sign a D-League contract with Erie and wait until next season to bring him to the big club. Of course, the Knicks wouldn't retain his NBA rights that way, and if another NBA club wanted to negotiate with and sign Smith, it could.
The Knicks have allowed Smith to hang around the team this season and rehab his knee at the team facilities, and as Schlosser notes, he's been a fixture at the team's home games, sometimes making the trip to road games as well. The 25-year-old guard went undrafted out of Louisville this past June.
Atlantic Notes: White, Celtics, Kenyon, Sixers
The Nets were one of the most active teams in pre-deadline talk, but they were the only Atlantic Division team not to make a swap this week. The other four teams didn't exactly make waves, however, as Jordan Crawford, Sebastian Telfair and Charles Jenkins are division's only trade acquisitions. Still, they aren't the only players joining the Atlantic, and we examine that and other news from around the division:
- Paperwork related to D.J. White's release from the Chinese league is delaying his signing with the Celtics, and until he or another big-man signee contributes for the Celtics, the onus is on Chris Wilcox as the team's primary interior player off the bench. Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald has details.
- Terrence Williams spent two weeks this summer as a free agent working out with the Celtics, and those workouts convinced the team he could play point guard, writes Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.
- Replacing Ronnie Brewer with Kenyon Martin on a 10-day contract is a low-risk upgrade for the Knicks, Newsday's Al Iannazzone opines. Iannazzone also runs down a list of players who could be headed elsewhere in the offseason, including Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce of the Celtics, Amare Stoudemire of the Knicks, and Kris Humphries of the Nets.
- Interpreting Andrew Bynum's response this week to a question about whether he'd like to re-sign with the 76ers, Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com doesn't think he's too keen on returning. Moore looks at the options the Sixers have, including a sign-and-trade, if Bynum won't be around next season.
Eastern Rumors: Kenyon, Celtics, Morrow, Cavs
After all the pre-deadline rumors about Josh Smith, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo changing places, more than a few people around the NBA might have been scratching their heads when none of them were dealt. A check of the standings reveals that both the Hawks and Celtics are within reach of high playoff seeds, so perhaps both teams felt like they could make a run with their teams largely intact. Atlanta is just three games back of the Pacers, who sit in second-place, while Boston trails Indiana by five games. While we wait to see how a tightly packed East shakes out, here's the latest from the conference:
- Kenyon Martin is on a 10-day contract with the Knicks, but GM Glen Grunwald is hopeful the arrangement lasts for the rest of the season, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com documents. The veteran big man is glad months of waiting to rejoin the NBA are at an end, and he's eager to dispel criticism about his ability to fit in a team's locker room culture, Begley also writes.
- The Celtics are close to signing D.J. White, but coach Doc Rivers said the team will look for another big man as well. Greg Payne of ESPNBoston.com runs down a few likely candidates.
- Anthony Morrow, whom the Mavs acquired at the deadline for Dahntay Jones, is glad to be in Dallas, and hinted at displeasure about his time with the Hawks, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com notes via Twitter. "I feel so blessed to be here, coming from my last situation," Morrow said.
- A half dozen draft picks changed hands at the trade deadline, but all of them were second-rounders. That's why Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer thinks the Cavs were shrewd to acquire a first-rounder from the Grizzlies as part of their swap last month.
Odds & Ends: Lin, Knicks, Lillard, Bargnani
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Saturday afternoon:
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes that Jeremy Lin is thriving with the Rockets.
- Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal takes a look at the Knicks' roster's defensive weaknesses, especially defending reserve scorers.
- USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that Damian Lillard is on his radar for an invite to this summer's Team USA mini-camp.
- Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun writes that Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo still intends to take a patient approach with Andrea Bargnani.
Knicks Sign Kenyon Martin To 10-Day Contract
SATURDAY, 10:53pm: The Knicks have officially added Martin, per John Schuhmann of NBA.com (via Twitter).
THURSDAY, 4:20pm: The New York Knicks will sign veteran forward Kenyon Martin to a 10-day contract, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter). The team had cleared a roster spot earlier Thursday by moving forward Ronnie Brewer to the Thunder for a future second-round pick.
Martin, 35, last played in the NBA for the Clippers in 2011/12, averaging 5.2 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 42 games.
New York Notes: Grunwald, Adjustments, King
One day removed from the trade deadline and both New York teams find themselves in the midst of a battle for playoff positioning. The Knicks seem poised to finish with top three seed while the Nets' future remains uncertain given the unsteady play of the roster. Here's a look at the latest news and notes from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
- Knicks GM Glen Grunwald says that teams have adjusted to the Knicks offense over the course of the season, which is a major reason why New York has cooled off in recent weeks after a strong start, writes Marc Raimondi of the New York Post. “If we start to play like we did the beginning of the year offensively and the way we did defensively last year, we have the ability to compete for a champ,” Grunwald said.
- Jared Zwerling of ESPN.com points out eight changes the Knicks need to make on both sides of the ball if they want to continue to chase the Heat for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Zwerling considers preventing transition as a major factor for future success as the team continues to get beat getting back to the basket.
- Nets GM Billy King denies having a conversation with team owner Mikhail Prokhorov on Brooklyn reaching the conference finals as the goal for the season, writes Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press (via Twitter). King believes the media is responsible for constructing the rumor.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Sixers, Shumpert, Kleiza
The Celtics are in the market for a free agent big man, and we heard this morning that the club is considering signing D.J. White to a 10-day contract. White isn't the only player Boston has its eye on, however. According to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, Jerome Jordan, Tim Ohlbrecht, Shavlik Randolph, and Louis Amundson are among the other players being considered by the Celtics.
Here are a few more post-trade-deadline notes out of the Atlantic Division:
- 76ers GM Tony DiLeo spoke to the media about acquiring Charles Jenkins in what he calls a "no-risk" move, and said that he talked to every NBA team about potential trades before the deadline (video link via NBA.com).
- As Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets, DiLeo also said that re-signing Andrew Bynum remains "Plan A" for the Sixers, but that the team's cap flexibility allows for "Plan B"s as well.
- Knicks GM Glen Grunwald told ESPN Radio that the Knicks had "a number of inquiries" on Iman Shumpert, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.
- While Nets fans may be disappointed that the club couldn't land Josh Smith yesterday, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post thinks hanging on to assets will benefit the team in the long run.
- Although a Lithuanian report suggested that injury woes could put Linas Kleiza's career in jeopardy, the forward told reporters today that's not true, and that he expects to return soon (Twitter link via Holly MacKenzie of Sportsnet).
Trade Talk Roundup: Nuggets, Landry, Mavs, Shumpert
Shortly after the trade deadline passed at 3pm ET on Thursday, it was revealed that the Hawks pulled out of discussions with the Bucks on a deal for Josh Smith. This would-be blockbuster was not the only deal that was discussed but never came to fruition. Here is a roundup of other deals that were discussed but never came to pass:
- Aaron J. Lopez of Nuggets.com writes that the Nuggets opted to stay the course rather than dealing a player such as Timofey Mozgov, whom they had been rumored to be shopping.
- Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News tweets that the Warriors explored the market for forward Carl Landry but ultimately did not find a deal they liked.
- Jeff Caplan of NBA.com tweets that the Mavericks received calls about rookies Jae Crowder and Bernard James, but ultimately decided not to deal either player.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Knicks GM Glen Grunwald never seriously considered trading Iman Shumpert, despite reports to the contrary.
Recap Of Deadline Trades
A complete recap of trades that were completed before Thursday's trade deadline:
- The Houston Rockets traded Marcus Morris to the Phoenix Suns and Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, and Toney Douglas to the Sacramento Kings for Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt, and a future second-round pick.
- The Miami Heat traded Dexter Pittman and a future second-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for the rights to Ricky Sanchez and cash considerations.
- The Washington Wizards traded Jordan Crawford to the Boston Celtics for Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins.
- The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers for a trade exception and the rights to Georgios Printezis. The Blazers waived Ronnie Price to clear a roster spot for Maynor.
- The Thunder also acquired Ronnie Brewer from the New York Knicks for a future second-round pick.
- The Atlanta Hawks traded Anthony Morrow to the Dallas Mavericks for Dahntay Jones.
- The Suns traded Sebastian Telfair to the Toronto Raptors for Hamed Haddadi and a future second-round pick.
- The Orlando Magic traded J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, and Ishmael Smith to the Milwaukee Bucks for Beno Udrih, Tobias Harris, and Doron Lamb.
- In a separate deal, the Magic traded Josh McRoberts to the Charlotte Bobcats for Hakim Warrick.
- The Golden State Warriors traded Jeremy Tyler to the Hawks for a second-round pick. They also traded Charles Jenkins to the Philadelphia 76ers for an additional second-round pick.