Rockets Tried To Trade For DeAndre Jordan
The Rockets attempted to add the Nets to their four-team trade this week, hoping to acquire center DeAndre Jordan, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reveals in an Instagram video.
Brooklyn turned down the offer and elected to hold onto the veteran center, but Wojnarowski’s report indicates two things about the Rockets. The team may not have intended to fully commit to the small-ball approach it has used since trading away Clint Capela, and owner Tilman Fertitta was apparently willing to back up his statement that moves won’t be determined by the luxury tax.
Jordan makes $9.88MM this year and is signed for the next three seasons at a total cost of about $30MM. He’s coming off the bench for the Nets and averaging 7.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per night.
Because of how the trade was structured, the Rockets had the flexibility to add up to $12MM in salary before it was finalized. Fertitta gave general manager Daryl Morey the freedom to expand the deal, Wojnarowski adds, even though it would have cemented Houston as a taxpaying team.
Woj doesn’t say what the Rockets were offering the Nets in terms of players and draft picks.
Clippers Waive Isaiah Thomas
As expected, the Clippers have waived veteran guard Isaiah Thomas, two days after acquiring him from the Wizards in a three-team trade, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The move gives L.A. two open roster spots as it prepares to compete in the buyout market. The Clippers are expected to be leading contenders, along with the Lakers, for ex-Pacers guard Darren Collison if he decides to make an NBA comeback.
Thomas was sent to L.A. as part of the Marcus Morris deal, which was announced just before Thursday’s deadline. He averaged 12.2 points and 3.7 assists per night in 40 games for Washington, starting 37 of them.
The Clippers were Thomas’s fifth team in the past three seasons as he tries to work his way back into a stable situation after a devastating hip injury. He has a $1.62MM salary on a veteran’s minimum deal, so any team that claims him off waivers wouldn’t need cap room or a trade exception.
Marvin Williams Finalizes Buyout With Hornets; Plans To Join Bucks
FEBRUARY 8: Williams has finalized his buyout agreement with the Hornets, according to a team press release. As noted below, he’s on track to join the Bucks once he clears waivers on Monday. Bender will be the player released by Milwaukee to make room, as we relayed in a separate story.
FEBRUARY 7: Veteran forward Marvin Williams is nearing a buyout agreement with the Hornets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Williams is planning to sign with the Bucks once he completes the buyout and clears waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Milwaukee has a full roster and would have to waive a player to add Williams. Dragan Bender appears to be the team’s likeliest release candidate.
Williams is making just over $15MM this season in the final year of a four-year, $54.5MM contract. Williams would become a target for several contenders, according to Wojnarowski.
Williams, 33, indicated last month he might retire after the season rather than seek another contract.
“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve certainly thought about being done,” Williams said at the time. “I feel like that’s where I am right now: I could do it or I could not.”
Williams, 33, is averaging a career-low 6.7 PPG and 2.7 RPG due to reduced playing time at 19.7 MPG. He’s a capable 3-point shooter (36.2% for his career) as well as a solid perimeter defender. He had an 18-point game last month against Milwaukee but has scored just 10 points in his last four appearances.
Hornets Waive Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
1:15pm: The Hornets have officially waived Kidd-Gilchrist, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Charlotte now has two open roster spots and $5.2MM of its mid-level exception for the 2019/20 season left to spend, which the team could use to add G-League prospects, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
11:50pm: The Hornets are finalizing a buyout with forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon (Twitter link). The Mavericks have emerged as a favorite to sign Kidd-Gilchrist once he clears waivers, Wojnarowski adds.
We relayed earlier this week with the trade deadline looming that Dallas had “kicked the tires” on Kidd-Gilchrist, among others. The veteran forward was once a reliable starter for the Hornets, with whom he has spent his entire career after being the second overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.
This season, however, the 26-year-old has appeared in just 12 games and is averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.9 PPG. Kidd-Gilchrist opted in to his $13MM option over the summer and entered camp this past fall without a defined role.
As he heads for free agency this summer, Kidd-Gilchrist could set himself up for a decent payday by playing well with a contending team down the stretch.
Jimmy Butler May Not Return Until After All-Star Break
An MRI on the shoulder of Heat swingman Jimmy Butler came back clean, but there is no guarantee he will play in Miami’s upcoming three-game road trip before the All-Star break, tweets Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel.
The All-Star wing has been a revelation for the new-look Heat, leading the charge to the team’s robust 34-17 record. He is averaging 20.5 PPG and career highs of 6.8 RPG and 6.3 APG in 34.5 MPG for the Heat. Butler has been meriting MVP consideration with his efforts, according to NBA.com’s Sekou Smith.
The Heat face a fairly easy road game schedule, playing two teams with sub-.500 records: the 24-29 Trail Blazers tomorrow and the 12-40 Warriors on Monday. Miami will wrap up its road trip in Utah Wednesday against the 33-18 Jazz, who are 19-5 at home. The Heat will not play again until the 20th.
Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this article.
Magic Sign Gary Clark For Remainder Of Season
10:50am: The Magic have officially signed Clark to his new deal, according to a press release issued by the team.
8:41am: The Magic will sign forward Gary Clark for the remainder of the season, sources tell Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Clark inked a pair of 10-day deals with the Magic in recent weeks after being waived by the Rockets.
Clark, 25, has appeared in nine games for Orlando over the course of his two 10-day pacts. He has averaged 2.9 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 13.4 minutes per contest for the Magic.
After emerging as a solid rotation piece for the Rockets last season, Clark saw his minutes decrease in Houston before he was waived. Clark was one of three players on Houston’s roster without a guaranteed contract and was the most expendable at the salary guarantee deadline last month.
Timberwolves, Evan Turner Discussing Possible Buyout
After overhauling their roster at the trade deadline, the Timberwolves held a massive press conference today to officially introduce their new players. Malik Beasley, Juan Hernangomez, Jarred Vanderbilt, Omari Spellman, Jacob Evans, James Johnson, and – of course – D’Angelo Russell were are all in attendance.
However, one new Timberwolf was absent: Evan Turner. Acquired for salary-matching purposes in Minnesota’s Robert Covington trade, Turner may not be on the roster for long.
According to Darren Wolfson of SKOR North (Twitter links), Turner was in town this afternoon, but is leaving today before the Timberwolves host the Clippers on Saturday. Wolfson notes that talks were ongoing between Minnesota’s front office and Turner’s representation, with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic confirming (via Twitter) that the two sides are discussing a possible buyout.
While nothing is done yet, Turner would like the opportunity to join a contender, so he and the Wolves are exploring their options, says Krawczynski.
If he sticks around, Turner could provide short-term ball-handling help for a Timberwolves team that has traded away point guards Jeff Teague and Shabazz Napier in recent weeks. However, he’s in the final season of a four-year contract and isn’t in Minnesota’s long-term plans, so it makes sense that the Wolves would be open to ending that contract early.
A report earlier this week indicated that Turner would likely generate interest if he reaches free agency. The Celtics – his old team – were among the clubs named as potential suitors.
Warriors Sign Marquese Chriss To Two-Year Deal
2:49pm: Chriss’ new deal with the Warriors is now official, according to a press release from the club.
11:25am: The Warriors have reached an agreement to sign Marquese Chriss to a two-year deal, reports ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter).
A promotion to the 15-man roster for Chriss, who had been on a two-way contract, had been widely expected after Golden State traded more than a third of its roster at the deadline. The Warriors’ deadline deals left them with just nine players on their standard roster. The team has since reached agreements with Ky Bowman (promotion from two-way deal), Juan Toscano-Anderson (standard contract), Zach Norvell (10-day contract), and now Chriss.
A former lottery pick, Chriss earned the Warriors’ final roster spot in the preseason and has averaged 7.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 47 contests (18.6 MPG) so far this season.
He briefly reached free agency last month when Golden State waived him before his 2019/20 salary could become fully guaranteed. He returned to the club on a two-way contract within a week and now will be moved back to the standard roster. Details of his new contract aren’t yet known, but it figures to be a minimum-salary deal and probably won’t be fully guaranteed for next season.
Even after completing all their reported signings, the Warriors will still have just 13 players under contract, so another move will be required to reach the NBA-mandated minimum of 14.
With Golden State moving both Bowman and Chriss to the standard roster, the team won’t have any two-way players for the rest of the season, since the deadline to sign players to two-way contracts was January 15.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kyle O’Quinn Seeking Release From Sixers?
Sixers center Kyle O’Quinn wanted to be waived today, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). However, Philadelphia doesn’t plan to release him at this time, Pompey adds.
O’Quinn, who signed with Philadelphia as a free agent last summer, has played 22 games this season, averaging 3.5 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 10.0 minutes per contest. He has appeared in just three games since the start of January, and the return of two-way player Norvel Pelle to the NBA team figures to push him even further down the depth chart.
Having promoted Pelle today and acquired Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III on Thursday, the 76ers had to open up three roster spots. They did so by trading James Ennis and releasing Trey Burke and Jonah Bolden.
If O’Quinn wanted out, it’s somewhat surprising that Philadelphia wouldn’t have made him one of its cuts, since the veteran has a one-year, minimum-salary contract and is rarely used. But perhaps the team views him as an important depth piece, given Joel Embiid‘s injury history.
The Sixers would have to open up a roster spot in the event they want to sign a player from the buyout market, Pompey notes (via Twitter), so waiving O’Quinn could still be a possibility. If he’s released by March 1 and subsequently signs with a new team, he’d be eligible to participate in the postseason.
O’Quinn has been ruled out for Friday’s game for personal reasons, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.
Wizards GM: John Wall Not Expected Back This Season
Although John Wall has left the door open for the possibility of a return to the court before the 2019/20 season ends, Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard essentially closed that door this week, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington relays. Having mentioned that Bradley Beal‘s life will be easier when Wall returns “next year,” Sheppard was asked for a follow-up and explained that the team doesn’t expect its starting point guard back until next season.
“I think we have maintained that all along. We didn’t plan on seeing him this year,” Sheppard said. “I think that’s fair to John, to manage the expectations for him. He’s on his way, but he’s not there and he’s not close yet. He’s a lot closer than he was a year ago when the injury happened.”
Given the Wizards’ 17-32 record, it makes sense that the team will be cautious with their star point guard and give him a few extra months to get to 100%. When he spoke to Chris Miller of NBC Sports Washington about visualizing his first game back, Wall talked as if he’s targeting opening night in 2020/21.
“I’ve gotta be honest with you, if our first game isn’t in D.C. then I probably won’t play,” Wall joked. “Just to be realistic. I’m going to try to force the NBA for my first game to be at home next season.”
Let’s round up a few more Wizards notes…
- Sheppard said on Thursday that almost every playoff team in both conferences inquired on Davis Bertans, Hughes writes for NBC Sports Washington. The Wizards hung onto Bertans and will aim to re-sign him this summer. “There was never a doubt in my mind that we wanted to keep him,” Sheppard said. “But I promise you that the more you say you want to keep somebody, the more teams don’t want to believe you and they keep calling.”
- Jerome Robinson hasn’t made major strides during his first two NBA seasons, but the Wizards liked him in the 2018 draft and are confident in a player development program that has had success with other young players like Moritz Wagner, says Fred Katz of The Athletic. Washington acquired Robinson from the Clippers in one of the team’s two deadline-day deals.
- Within that same story, Katz passes along word that the Wizards haven’t discussed a possible buyout with center Ian Mahinmi, who is on an expiring contract. “We’re obviously always open to anything that makes us better. But I wouldn’t even go down that road right now,” Sheppard said of the possibility. “Ian has done a great job for us this year, and he’s been a great leader, great professional for us.”
- Katz confirms (via Twitter) that the Wizards acquired Shabazz Napier‘s contract in their trade with Denver using their disabled player exception. Washington was the only team to use a DPE at the deadline.