Deveney’s Latest: Tucker, Favors, Gallinari, Anthony
P.J. Tucker‘s expiring, affordable contract makes him the player most likely to be dealt before today’s trade deadline, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. The Suns are holding out for a first-round pick for the veteran small forward, even if it’s a future first-rounder that they can use down the road as an asset, Deveney continues. The Jazz, Celtics, Clippers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Hawks and Bulls have all shown interest in Tucker, giving the Suns hope they can get a first-round pick for him, Deveney adds.
Deveney touched on a number of other players who could be wearing a different uniform by the end of the day:
- Luxury-tax concerns have the Jazz exploring the market for power forward Derrick Favors. Rudy Gobert‘s extension kicks in next season and Utah is hopeful of re-signing Gordon Hayward in the likelihood he opts out of the final year of his current contract this summer. That makes Favors expendable but his nagging knee injury has tempered the market for him.
- Danilo Gallinari is drawing more interest on the market than fellow Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler. Denver is seeking a first-rounder for either player but Gallinari’s ability to opt out of his contract after the season makes it more difficult for the Nuggets to get value for him.
- Carmelo Anthony is likely to stay put unless Knicks president Phil Jackson can revive talks with the Clippers. Jackson is also trying to deal free agents he signed last summer — Courtney Lee and Joakim Noah — for draft picks.
- The Hawks, Hornets and Bucks have shown interest in point guard Darren Collison as the Kings continue their latest rebuild in the wake of the DeMarcus Cousins blockbuster.
- The Bulls, Pacers and possibly the Mavericks are still in play as potential suitors for Sixers power forward Jahlil Okafor but Philadelphia is not determined to move him unless it gets the right package.
- The Mavericks are hopeful of getting a first-rounder for either Andrew Bogut or Deron Williams but may be willing to settle for a couple of second-rounders.
Suns Finding Little Traction For Knight, Other Vets
- Today’s big decision for the Raptors will be whether to give up a future first-round pick – likely attached to Jared Sullinger‘s expiring deal – for Suns forward P.J. Tucker, says ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link). Sportsnet’s Michael Grange (via Twitter) gets the sense that Toronto would strongly prefer to keep its pick in a loaded 2017 draft. Still, the Raps are fond of Tucker, tweets Doug Smith of The Toronto Star.
- According to Stein (via Twitter), the Suns continue to explore the market for deals involving Brandon Knight and other veteran players, including Tyson Chandler. However, the team has “struggled all week” to find traction for that sort of trade.
Suns Express Interest In Mindaugas Kuzminskas
The Suns have expressed some interest in trading for Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, reports Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Kuzminskas has averaged 14.6 MPG in 47 contests in his rookie season in New York, chipping in 6.0 PPG and 1.9 RPG. He’s under contract next season at a rate of about $3MM before he becomes eligible for restricted free agency in 2018.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 2/22/17
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls:
- The Grizzlies have assigned Wade Baldwin and Jarell Martin to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, according to a team’s website.
- The Mavericks have recalled A.J. Hammons from the Texas Legends, according to a team press release.
- The Jazz have assigned Joel Bolomboy to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s website.
- The Suns have assigned Derrick Jones to their D-League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, per the team’s Twitter feed.
- The Spurs have assigned Bryn Forbes to the Austin Spurs, according to the team’s website.
- Maurice Ndour and Marshall Plumlee have been assigned to the Westchester Knicks, per New York’s Twitter feed.
Trade Rumors: Rose, Rubio, Okafor, Caldwell-Pope
The Timberwolves have reached out to the Knicks about a possible Derrick Rose deal, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post. Rose has fallen out of favor with Knicks president Phil Jackson, who is disappointed with the veteran guard’s effort on defense. Rose is entering free agency and sources tell Berman that New York would rather move him now than give him a long-term deal. He won MVP honors in Chicago in 2011 under Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau.
The proposed deal is believed to involve Ricky Rubio, whom Thibodeau has never believed in as his long-term point guard, according to Berman. Rubio still has two years and more than $29MM left on his contract and has been the subject of trade rumors since Minnesota drafted Kris Dunn last summer.
The Knicks contacted the Wolves about Rubio at last year’s deadline, Berman writes, and have been interested in him since he entered the league in 2009 because of the recommendations of their European scout, Kevin Wilson, who is based in Barcelona.
New York also reportedly likes Minnesota’s Nemanja Bjelica and inquired about his availability as part of the Rose discussions, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).
There’s more on the trade front as Thursday’s deadline inches closer:
- The Rockets have asked about Wolves guard Shabazz Muhammad, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Wolfson doesn’t believe the teams are close to a deal.
- The Pistons refused an offer from the Sixers involving Jahlil Okafor and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, tweets Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated. Philadelphia offered to bring a third team into the trade, but Detroit still wasn’t interested. The Pistons reportedly have hesitations about giving Caldwell-Pope a maximum salary after his contract expires at the end of the season. The Sixers have been calling around the league trying to make a deal for Okafor, with the Pacers and Bulls as the most frequently mentioned potential trade partners.
- The Suns are looking for someone to take Brandon Knight‘s contract and might be a fallback option for an Okafor trade, according to Fischer (Twitter link). A former starter in Phoenix, Knight in is the midst of a disappointing season, averaging 11.0 points per game and shooting less than 40% from the field. He still has three seasons and nearly $43.9MM left on his current deal.
- The Thunder and Clippers remain in pursuit of Nuggets swingman Wilson Chandler, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
Wizards, Jazz, Others Interested In P.J. Tucker
P.J. Tucker‘s name has been coming up in trade rumors for over a month now, and with less than 48 hours to go until the deadline, the Suns swingman appears to be receiving interest from several potential suitors. Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) identifies the Raptors, Wizards, Clippers, Hawks, Celtics, and Jazz as teams eyeing Tucker.
Several of those teams have already been linked to Tucker in recent weeks. The Clippers and Hawks were among the teams initially named as suitors in January, along with Chicago, Cleveland, and Minnesota. More recently, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News wrote that the Celtics have “deep interest” in Tucker, and ESPN’s Zach Lowe said that the Raptors were a team to watch.
The inclusion of the Wizards and Jazz in Scotto’s report appears to be new, though both teams are known to be in the market for modest upgrades to their respective rotations. Both Washington and Utah are believed to have interest in Lou Williams, a far more lethal scorer than Tucker, who is known more for his defense.
Tucker is on an affordable contract, earning just $5.3MM this season, but he’ll also become an unrestricted free agent this summer, so it remains to be seen how much value the Suns will be able to extract for a rental player.
More DeMarcus Cousins Trade Fallout, Reactions
A player of DeMarcus Cousins‘ caliber doesn’t get moved often, so it’s no surprise that there are plenty of notes, reactions, and details to round up after the deal got done. On Monday, we published a pair of posts that covered some of the fallout from the deal. We’ve got more to cover today, so let’s dive in…
- In a piece for The Ringer, Kevin O’Connor examines the ripple effect of the Cousins trade and explains why Vivek Ranadive‘s fondness for Buddy Hield resulted in a deal with the Pelicans. A source tells O’Connor that the Suns were willing to offer multiple first-round picks – including one or both of their selections from the Heat – and that the Nuggets were believed to be willing to part with anyone except Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray for Cousins.
- Pursuing Cousins was a last-ditch attempt by Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak to save their jobs with the Lakers, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter). Amick adds that Buss “really wanted” Cousins, though Kupchak handled the talks with Sacramento. Those discussions came to an end when L.A. was unwilling to include Brandon Ingram.
- Cousins got emotional last night as he tried to say goodbye to Sacramento (Twitter video link via Carmichael Dave of KHTK Sports 1140). Cousins told Sean Cunningham of ABC10 (Twitter link) today that he’ll always love the city, and plans to remain a presence in the community. According to Cunningham (via Twitter), Cousins also said today that he still hasn’t talked to Kings GM Vlade Divac — it sounds like that may not happen.
- The Pelicans have now paired two Kentucky stars in their frontcourt, but don’t expect John Calipari to make the move to the NBA to coach Cousins and Anthony Davis. Appearing on The Dan Patrick Show this week, Calipari was asked in jest if he might end up in New Orleans, and the Kentucky head coach shot down the idea, saying that’s it’s “not happening” (link via The Detroit News).
Brandon Knight On Magic's Radar?
- It doesn’t appear that the Magic and Pistons have any traction on a Reggie Jackson swap at this point, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Kyler notes that things could change by Thursday, but the latest round of Jackson rumors had the Pistons in talks with the Timberwolves and Knicks. While they’re not on the verge of anything with Jackson, the Magic are on the lookout for a point guard upgrade, Kyler tweets, adding that Suns guard Brandon Knight is on Orlando’s radar to a lesser extent.
Jazz Testing Market For Favors; Suns Interested
FEBRUARY 21, 9:03am: The Suns have expressed interest in discussing a Favors deal with the Jazz, per Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah isn’t considered overly likely to part with the power forward, however, as Jones writes.
FEBRUARY 20, 9:10pm: The Jazz have tested the market for Derrick Favors over the past several weeks, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. However, it’s unclear how serious Utah is about moving the former No. 3 overall pick.
Lowe adds that the franchise is “all-in” to keep Gordon Hayward and it doesn’t want to weaken the team this season since it’s in good position to make the playoffs. The scribe adds that the team could be testing the market for Favors now to set up a trade around the draft.
The Jazz currently have roughly $13MM in cap room, but they have several players in line for raises next season. Rudy Gobert‘s massive extension becomes effective this summer and George Hill will join Hayward as a free agent. If the team can re-sign both Hill and Hayward, it may need to shed salary elsewhere.
Favors doesn’t play many minutes alongside Gobert, a player who is clearly in the team’s long-term plans. The 25-year-old power forward is having a middling season by his standards, averaging just 9.2 points per game while sporting a 15.3 player efficiency rating.
Lowe’s Latest: Clippers, Raptors, Wizards, Suns
The Clippers are trying to acquire a small forward without giving up one of their four core players and ESPN’s Zach Lowe reports that Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford aren’t drawing much interest from opposing teams. The franchise called the Wizards trying to bring Otto Porter to Los Angeles, but Washington was disinterested in engaging in trade talks.
A package of Rivers, Crawford, and a “distant” first-rounder won’t be enough to pry Wilson Chandler from the Nuggets, Lowe reports. Denver is seeking a lottery-protected first-round pick and swap rights on another pick for Chandler or Danilo Gallinari. The Nuggets intend to compete for the eighth seed in the Western Conference and they believe they can do it without one of their veteran small forwards.
Here’s more from Lowe’s latest piece:
- The Raptors would like to add another rotation player, sources tell Lowe. The Raptors currently have 15 players under contract, but they could waive Jared Sullinger should they need an open roster spot. Lowe adds that any deal that sends out a high-priced veteran is not likely to occur until the offseason.
- The Wizards are also eager to add a rotation player. The team has been linked to Lou Williams and it has explored trading a protected first-rounder in exchange for him. Lowe believes that’s too much value for Washington to give up and opines that two second-round picks may be able to get a deal completed.
- The Suns are listening to offers on most of their veterans and Lowe writes that P.J. Tucker is the player who is most likely to be traded. The scribe names the Clippers and Raptors as teams to watch.
- The Bucks are willing to listen to offers for anyone besides Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, Thon Maker and Khris Middleton. Lowe adds that the Wolves have expressed interest in Tony Snell.
- Jahlil Okafor was close to being acquired by the Blazers before the team traded for Jusuf Nurkic. Lowe adds that the Sixers did not hold Okafor out of two contests to simply drive up his price.
- The two-way contracts for players who play in the NBA as well as the D-League could increase the value of second-round picks going forward, Lowe speculates. The scribe adds that front offices are still examining the new CBA and it could cause some teams to wait until after the season to make major deals.