Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Coach K, Howard, Harkless, Rookies

February 26th, 2013 at 10:43pm CST by Sean Highkin

A roundup of the latest news and notes from around the NBA on Tuesday evening:

Mike Krzyzewski has issued a statement refuting recent reports that he will return as head coach of Team USA, reiterating that he intends to stay retired (Reuters report via the New York Times).
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes that the Mavericks should be an attractive free-agent destination for Dwight Howard this summer.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld is impressed with Maurice Harkless' recent play as he has been given a greater opportunity for minutes on the rebuilding Magic.
Sean Deveney of the Sporting News ranks the best rookies of this season, headlined by Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard.
Erik Gundersen of TrailBlazers.com chronicles the relationship between Trail Blazers guards Wesley Matthews and Eric Maynor, dating back to their rookie season together in Utah.
Amir Johnson praises Cavs big man Tristan Thompson to Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com wonders whether the Celtics could have traded for Marcus Morris from the Rockets.

Zillgitt On Wizards, Rockets, Redick, FIBA

February 26th, 2013 at 7:17pm CST by Sean Highkin

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today has a new column in which he touches on a variety of topics from around the NBA and elsewhere in the basketball world. Here are the highlights:

Wizards head coach Randy Wittman talks to Zillgitt about the difficulty of keeping the locker room engaged as Washington heads towards another losing season.
Zillgitt takes a look at the Rockets' offense, which has vaulted them into the thick of the playoff race behind the explosive play of James Harden.
Zillgitt also gives an update on the status of Royce White, who has struggled in the D-League but does not concern the Rockets organization.
The Magic received excellent value in return for J.J. Redick, Zillgitt writes. He praises the aquisition of cheap, young assets in Doron Lamb and Tobias Harris, as well as a capable veteran with an expiring contract in Beno Udrih.
Many international players in the NBA are looking ahead to FIBA's Eurobasket tournament this summer, Zillgitt writes.

Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 25th, 2013 at 10:00am CST by Luke Adams

Since the trade deadline, a pair of contenders have taken advantage of having an open roster spot, with the Knicks adding Kenyon Martin on a 10-day contract and the Thunder agreeing to sign Derek Fisher for the remainder of the season.

For New York and Oklahoma City, adding a veteran as a 15th man makes sense for depth purposes, and we may see a few more playoff contenders take the same approach as Friday's buyout deadline nears. For non-contenders, a D-League pickup or two may be more likely, as teams take a look at players who may be able to contribute beyond this season.

Clubs carrying fewer than 15 players are more likely to add free agents at this point, since they won't have to release a player on a guaranteed contract to clear space for a pickup. So with the help of our constantly-updated roster counts page, let's take a quick look at the list of teams with at least one open roster spot. The number of available spots is indicated in parentheses.

Eastern Conference:

Boston Celtics (2)
Brooklyn Nets (1)
Charlotte Bobcats (1)
Chicago Bulls (1)
Detroit Pistons (1)
Miami Heat (1)
Orlando Magic (1)

Western Conference:

Golden State Warriors (2)
Houston Rockets (1)
Los Angeles Clippers (1)
Los Angeles Lakers (1)
Memphis Grizzlies (2)
New Orleans Hornets (2)
Sacramento Kings (1)

Kyler On Hawks, Jazz, Udrih, Deadline

February 25th, 2013 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

Nearly 56% of more than 1,560 Hoops Rumors readers suggested last Friday that the Hawks' decision to keep Josh Smith was the most surprising non-move of this year's trade deadline. It wasn't for lack of trying that the Hawks retained Smith though, as Steve Kyler documents in his latest NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld. Kyler echoes a report that we heard on Thursday, indicating that Atlanta was exploring potential Smith trades right up to the 2:00pm deadline before finally deciding that the return wasn't enough. Here's more from Kyler:

Both the Hawks and Jazz, who held on to Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, decided that earning a playoff spot and deciding what to do with their free-agents-to-be at season's end made more sense than giving them up for pennies on the dollar, according to Kyler.
Kyler compares Atlanta's and Utah's trade talks to the discussions the Grizzlies were having about Rudy Gay earlier this season. Before Memphis got below the tax line by sending Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington to Cleveland, teams were lowballing the Grizzlies in talks for Gay, making proposals that were "borderline insulting," according to Kyler. It wasn't until the Grizz regained some leverage by getting below the tax that the offers for Gay improved.
The Hawks and Jazz are both expecting to have the opportunity to create upwards of $40MM in cap space this summer, which gives them plenty of flexibility to either bring back their own free agents or to facilitate sign-and-trade deals.
While Beno Udrih was viewed as a throw-in in the six-player trade that sent J.J. Redick to the Bucks, Udrih tells Kyler that he's hoping his time in Orlando is more than just a pit stop. Udrih has some history with Magic coach Jacque Vaughn, who played with him in San Antonio, and GM Rob Hennigan, who was in the Spurs' front office when the club drafted Udrih.
Kyler opines that, for as much talk as there's been about the new CBA's luxury tax penalties discouraging trading, it isn't fair to blame the tax for this year's relatively quiet deadline. I'm inclined to agree — the impact of the repeater tax in particular has been overstated, in my opinion, since not many teams are in position to be taxpayers for four years out of five. Additionally, as Kyler points out, with so many teams poised to have cap space this summer, clubs were reluctant to trade for free-agents-to-be, knowing that those players will have plenty of options and offers in July.

Central Rumors: Pistons, Redick, Bynum, Ayon

February 24th, 2013 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

A pair of Central Division teams welcomed additions to their lineups last night, as J.J. Redick made his debut for the Bucks while Danny Granger saw his first action of the season for the Pacers. If and when Derrick Rose makes his way back to the Bulls this year, the Central's playoff-bound teams will be poised to enter the postseason on an upswing. Here's more on Redick, the Bucks, and other news from the Central:

The Magic's pursuit of a first-round pick derailed talks the Pistons had about acquiring Redick, reports MLive's David Mayo. The Blazers' insistence on a first-rounder also put an end to Detroit's pursuit of J.J. Hickson, as we heard earlier, but according to Mayo, the Pistons never spoke to the Thunder about Will Bynum.
The Spanish website El Contraataque is reporting that FC Barcelona is trying to engineer a buyout of Gustavo Ayon's contract with the Bucks so that he can sign a three-year deal worth the equivalent of $2MM annually with the overseas club (translation via HoopsHype). FC Barcelona acquired his Spanish league rights in October, but shortly thereafter, Ayon's agent, Emilio Duran, said his client is content to remain in the NBA. Milwaukee holds a $1.5MM team option on Ayon for next season.
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that Kyrie Irving will be invited to a four-day tryout camp this summer in Las Vegas for Team USA's entry in the 2014 basketball World Cup.

Magic Waive Hakim Warrick

February 23rd, 2013 at 1:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have officially released Hakim Warrick, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Warrick came over in a deadline deal from the Bobcats, and USA Today's Sam Amick reported at the time that Orlando was expected to waive Warrick. The move leaves 14 players on the Magic roster, one less than the maximum, freeing the team to either bring in players on 10-day contracts or sign someone for the rest of the season.

The Magic will be on the hook for Warrick's full $4MM salary unless another team claims him off waivers, though Orlando could recoup some of that money through the set-off provision if he signs another professional contract this year. The 30-year-old power forward also has a $4MM team option on his contract for next season, but that will disappear unless he's claimed.

Warrick has been traded or released four times within the last seven months. He went from the Suns to the Hornets in July's Robin Lopez deal, and New Orleans shipped him to the Bobcats for Matt Carroll in November. Warrick and New Orleans were reportedly working on a buyout prior to that trade, but it doesn't appear as though the Magic were able to convince Warrick to take less money this time around.

Bucks To Acquire Redick In Six-Player Deal

February 21st, 2013 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have agreed to trade J.J. Redick to the Bucks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, Milwaukee will send Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih, and Tobias Harris to Orlando in the deal (Twitter link). Along with Redick, Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith are heading to Milwaukee, tweets Wojnarowski.

After a flurry of Redick rumors leading up to the deadline, the Bucks emerged as the frontrunners in the hours leading up to 2:00pm, as the Spurs, Pacers, and other suitors fell out of the running. While it initially appeared that Milwaukee was targeting Redick to replace Monta Ellis if Ellis was part of a Josh Smith trade, the club ultimately pulled the trigger on Redick anyway, meaning the sharpshooter will join a backcourt that features Ellis and Brandon Jennings.

Meanwhile, the Magic had been seeking a first-round pick in exchange for Redick, but will instead acquire a pair of young prospects in Lamb and Harris, along with Udrih's $7.37MM expiring contract, which will come off the books this summer. According to various reports, the only first-round picks Orlando was offered for Redick would have been very late in the first round. Given the value of draft picks and rookie-scale contracts in the new CBA, teams seemed reluctant to give up any picks better than that.

Magic, Bucks, Hawks Talked Three-Team Trade

February 21st, 2013 at 2:20pm CST by Luke Adams

2:20pm: ESPN.com's Chad Ford reports (via Twitter) that the Hawks pulled out of a three-team trade that would have sent Josh Smith to Milwaukee at the last minute before the deadline.

1:55pm: The Magic are working on a three-team trade that involves J.J. Redick, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). The Bucks are also a part of the talks, Robbins reports.

We've already heard a ton of Redick updates today, but the latest rumors in our round-up suggest that the Pacers and Spurs are out of the running, while the Bucks and Sixers remain in the mix.

Magic, Bobcats To Swap McRoberts, Warrick

February 21st, 2013 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic and Bobcats have agreed to a trade that will send Josh McRoberts to Charlotte and Hakim Warrick to Orlando, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). The Magic are expected to waive Warrick after the deal becomes official, according to Sam Amick of SI.com (Twitter link). It's the second time Warrick has been dealt this season, as the Hornets traded him for Matt Carroll in November.

The Hornets and Warrick had been working on a buyout before the early-season trade, and it appears that's what the Magic will pursue as well. Warrick making $4MM this season, with a team option for $4MM that's likely to disappear unless another club claims him off waivers. McRoberts is making $3.135MM this season in the final year of an expiring deal, so the deal lines up well for salary-matching purposes.

Warrick was averaging 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 17.9 minutes per game with the Bobcats this season, and made 14 starts, but has appeared in only one game this month, as a reserve. McRoberts has put up 3.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG in 16.7 MPG this year for Orlando after coming over in the Dwight Howard blockbuster. The 6'10" power forward has shown versatility this season, guarding multiple positions, but he has seen his minutes cut recently as well, getting 14.8 MPG this month after seeing 21.4 MPG in January.

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.

J.J. Redick Rumors: Thursday

February 21st, 2013 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Based on reports late last night, it sounds like the Magic are still on the fence about whether or not they'll trade J.J. Redick. While the team is clearly fielding offers, Orlando also seems willing to hang on to Redick for the season if no suitable proposals are made. We'll track today's Redick rumors here, with the newest items added throughout the day:

The Pacers are out of the running for Redick, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.
The Redick talks are coming "down to the wire" with the Pacers, Sixers, and Bucks still involved, tweets David Aldridge of TNT. The Spurs are out, according to Aldridge.
A source involved in the Redick talks now believes there's a strong chance the sharpshooter will remain in Orlando, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

Earlier updates: