Suns Rumors

Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag: 1/11/15-1/17/15

January 17th, 2015 at 10:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s been a busy week in the NBA with numerous deals being completed or discussed, with teams either loading up for a playoff run, or clearing cap space and stockpiling future assets. In addition to our weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we now have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our brand new weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap, or the NBA draft? Drop me a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com or @EddieScarito on Twitter. Now for this week’s inquiries:

“I haven’t looked up the salaries or anything before asking this question, but this is the main framework of the possible deal that I’m asking about. The Cavs trade Kyrie Irving to the Suns for Eric Bledsoe and Brandan Wright. Who says no?” — Z…

Well, as you said, you didn’t do the math on the salaries before asking the question — and for the record it wouldn’t work. The Cavs would be taking back approximately $9MM too much in the deal. But to stick to the purely theoretical aspects, and assuming that more inconsequential players were added to the deal, or a third team was involved for salary matching purposes, it’s the Cavs who say no to this one.

Irving is three years younger than Bledsoe, and he has produced superior numbers to Bledsoe every year that they have been in the league together. Irving is still improving as a player, and has a much higher ceiling than Bledsoe does. With the acquisition of Timofey Mozgov, Cleveland should be relatively set in the middle. Neither player is worth parting with Irving over, though adding Wright for depth would certainly be appealing to the Cavs.

One trade that I would consider if I were these teams would be dealing Tristan Thompson for Wright and a second-rounder. The money works, and Thompson would do very well in Phoenix’s system. But he’s going to be rather difficult for the Cavs to re-sign given Cleveland’s cap situation. The Suns could certainly afford to part with the pick, and Cleveland is hurting for draft picks in the wake of its dealings this season. If I could add Wright and a draft pick (or two) for Thompson, that’s a yes both ways in my book.

“If the Sixers finally land the No.1 overall pick in the draft lottery, who will they take?” — Doug R.

That’s a difficult call, Doug. Jahlil Okafor is the consensus No. 1 pick, but Philly already has Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel on its roster. If GM Sam Hinkie wants to build a cohesive team, rather than just stockpile assets, he’d likely select Emmanuel Mudiay, who is the top backcourt prospect in the draft. Although, with Hinkie, you never can tell what will happen. He could select Okafor, and then try and deal Noel or Embiid for another draft pick or two. With Michael Carter-Williams reportedly on the trading block, selecting Mudiay would make the most long term sense given the current Sixers roster.

“I am wondering what the Sacramento Kings are doing to improve their team. Ever since Michael Malone was fired, it seems like they’ve been “active” in the market to create a smokescreen over the poor decision to fire Malone. Are the Kings actually being “active”? Are they actually going to make a push to make the playoffs?? It’s very aggravating having a lot of back and forth actions occur and I don’t know what to expect from the Front Office or the team on a daily basis.” — David

Hey David. I feel your pain, and yes, the Kings seem like a bit of a mess right now as an organization. Sacramento is indeed being active, though making deals with the playoffs in mind would be ill-advised. The team is six games back (as of this writing) from the final playoff spot, and the West is truly a brutal conference. Sacramento is reportedly seeking to add a stretch four or an athletic rim protector to pair alongside DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings just made rookie Nik Stauskas available, and they would likely be willing to part with the expiring deals of Derrick Williams and Reggie Evans as well. Stauskas hasn’t worked out so far, but he’s still young and has upside, though I don’t think he’ll ever be more than an off-the-bench role player in the league. If I were GM Pete D’Alessandro, my first call would be to the Bulls to see if Taj Gibson could be had. It’s doubtful that Chicago would bite, and Sacramento would almost assuredly need to include some draft picks to make any deal, but Gibson would be a perfect fit for what the Kings need.

“If my team misses out on Emmanuel Mudiay in the draft, but needs a point guard, who should it take?” — Rob G.

It’s not a particularly strong draft for guards this year, and Mudiay is likely the only potential superstar of the lot. But there are a couple of very intriguing second-tier prospects available. The next two playmakers in my Draft Rankings are D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State) and R.J. Hunter (Georgia State). Russell is rocketing up draft boards, and though he plays shooting guard in college, scouts are projecting him as an NBA point guard. I really like Russell, though he’ll take a season or two to flourish. Hunter is another fast-riser, though in the long term I peg him as more of a sixth man than a starting-caliber player. If your team is selecting in the 20s, I’d take a flyer on Tyus Jones (Duke). Jones is a project, but this kid has all the intangibles you want from a floor general.

That’s all the space I have for this week, so thanks to everyone who submitted their inquiries. Keep on sending in your questions, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.

How Three Celtics Trades Worked Financially

January 16th, 2015 at 1:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge knows how to maximize trade exceptions. I examined that last month in the wake of the Rajon Rondo trade, in which Ainge and the Celtics used existing trade exceptions to facilitate the creation of a new one worth more than $12.9MM that’s the league’s largest. A couple of the three trades the Celtics swung this week presented opportunities to use that exception, but there were alternatives.

The Celtics had six trade exceptions at their disposal before Monday’s Jeff Green trade, including a new $5MM exception the team picked up when it shipped Brandan Wright to Phoenix on Friday. However, only two of those exceptions were large enough to absorb either of the players Boston took back in exchange for Green. The Rondo exception would have accommodated both Tayshaun Prince‘s salary of almost $7.708MM and Austin Rivers‘ pay of nearly $2.44MM, allowing the Celtics to create an exception equivalent to Green’s $9.2MM salary. That route had some intrigue. It would take up much of the Rondo exception, reducing it to $2,761,385. That amount, while not the powerful eight-figure exception that the Celtics originally created in the Rondo trade, would still be useful. A Green exception would be lucrative, if not quite as valuable as the Rondo exception would be if kept intact, and it would expire January 12th, 2016, whereas the Rondo exception runs out nearly a month earlier, on December 18th, 2015. Making an exception equivalent to Green’s salary would give the Celtics more time to work the phones after December 15th, 2015, the date when most players who’ll be signed this coming offseason will become eligible for inclusion in trades. It would also allow the C’s to wait until players hit waivers in advance of the leaguewide guarantee date next January 10th.

However, it appears as though the Celtics have left the Rondo exception alone. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reported the $625,280 exception the C’s created in the Jameer Nelson–Nate Robinson trade, which took place the day after the Green deal, but there’s been no word of a Green exception. That signals that the Celtics simply used salary matching to make the trade work. They were allowed to take in up to 150% of Green’s salary plus $100K, which would come to $13.9MM, and the total of Prince’s and Rivers’ salaries comes to less than $10.148MM, well within those bounds. The C’s wouldn’t end up with an exception, since they gave up less salary than they received in the exchange, but they wouldn’t use an exception, either.

The choices were simpler for the other teams in that deal, neither of which had an existing trade exception. The Grizzlies created a trade exception worth $3,146,068, the equivalent of Quincy Pondexter‘s salary, as Pincus reported. That’s because Prince’s salary was large enough by itself to accommodate the absorption of both Green and Russ Smith, since Green’s salary on top of the $507,336 that Smith makes comes to less than 150% of Prince’s salary plus $100K. That means Memphis and GM Chris Wallace could unload Pondexter to New Orleans by himself without having to match any salaries, and that gave rise to the trade exception.

The Pelicans had a similar scenario at play when they created their $507,336 trade exception, an asset that Pincus also reported. Pondexter’s salary was less than 150% of Rivers’ salary plus $100K, so that could stand as its own swap, leaving GM Dell Demps to send Smith’s salary to Memphis by itself.

The Celtics had another chance to use the Rondo and Wright exceptions in the swap that sent Nelson to the Nuggets for Robinson, but that wouldn’t have done much for them. Taking Robinson’s $2,106,720 salary into one of those exceptions would have reduced its value. The creation of a $2.732MM exception equivalent to the full value of Prince’s salary would essentially mean the Celtics had broken one larger exception into two smaller ones, both of which would add up to nearly the same amount as the lucrative one they had in the first place. Teams can’t combine trade exceptions when they pull off deals, so it would result in a net loss of flexibility. So, Ainge and the Celtics chose instead to match salaries, which resulted in a $625,280 trade exception worth the difference between Nelson’s salary and Robinson’s, as Pincus reported, since Boston gave up more salary than it received in the one-for-one exchange. Denver took back more than it relinquished, so the Nuggets couldn’t have created an exception unless they raided the $4.65MM exception they had just created in the Timofey Mozgov trade. GM Tim Connelly and company apparently passed on doing so, likely for the same reasons that the Celtics decided against using the Rondo or Wright exceptions to take in Robinson’s salary.

Ainge didn’t have to pour too much energy into coming up with a solution for the exceptions in his next trade, which was Thursday’s three-team deal that sent Rivers to the Clippers. Shavlik Randolph and Chris Douglas-Roberts are both on contracts their original teams signed using the minimum-salary exception, and the Celtics, too, get to use the minimum-salary exception to take them in. That leaves Boston’s existing trade exceptions untouched and allows them to make a new trade exception worth $2,439,840, the equivalent of Rivers’ salary. The Celtics are the only team coming away with a trade exception in this three-team affair with the Clippers and Suns. Phoenix is under the salary cap, so exceptions aren’t a factor. The Clippers didn’t have a trade exception large enough to absorb Rivers, the only player they acquired in the deal, so they had to match salaries to bring him in. The Clips are a taxpaying team, so they couldn’t take on more than 125% plus 100K of what they gave up. Rivers’ salary is greater than the cap hits for Bullock and Douglas-Roberts, but the difference is within those bounds, so the trade is kosher.

Western Notes: Bullock, Rivers, Lopez

January 15th, 2015 at 10:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns GM Ryan McDonough is excited about adding Reggie Bullock to the team’s roster because of the player’s high basketball IQ, ability to play either wing spot, and for his defensive abilities, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “We’ve really liked his ability to shoot the ball with his size on the perimeter and his ability to defend NBA athletes on the wing with size,” McDonough said. “We’re confident that, with more time and repetitions, that he has the potential to be an elite shooter at the NBA level.” Phoenix had its eye on Bullock heading into the 2013 NBA draft, but the Clippers snagged him four picks ahead of the Suns wound up with Archie Goodwin as a result, Coro notes.

Here’s the latest out of the West:

With Austin Rivers now a member of the Clippers, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com takes a look at what the player brings to Los Angeles. Kavner opines that Rivers will add youth, as well as some needed scoring and playmaking ability off of the bench for the Clippers.
The Suns have a glut of point guards on the roster, as well as a number of players with maturity issues, a combination that may lead to the team being active on the trade market prior to February’s deadline, Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic writes.
With the rumors of Brook Lopez potentially coming to the Thunder heating up, Jon Hamm of The Oklahoman looks at how the deal could benefit Oklahoma City, as well as the risks involved. Hamm notes that Kendrick Perkins would likely have to be included in any deal for salary matching purposes. Plus, the team could end up missing Perkins’ defense, and making the trade brings team chemistry risks with it as well.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Kuzmic, Barbosa

January 15th, 2015 at 7:06pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns‘ three point guard attack has resulted in the team playing at an increased pace on offense, which was one of the team’s goals heading into this season, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “They’re so unique,” Clippers president of basketball operations Doc Rivers said. “They do have three point guards or, I don’t know, three two-guards. They want to score. It’s not like they’re running a point guard-oriented offense where the one guy is coming down, setting everyone up and directing everybody. They’re playing at a pace and spreading the floor so I think that’s a little bit easier. It’s still hard, my guess, for all of them because they’re all used to having the ball. They seem to have figured it out. They sure don’t have a problem scoring.”

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The Warriors have assigned Ognjen Kuzmic to the Santa Cruz Warriors, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This will be Kuzmic’s fifth trip to the D-League of the season.
Leandro Barbosa‘s impact for the Warriors has been about more than his on court production, as the veteran has been an invaluable source of leadership for the team, Carl Steward of The Bay Area News Group writes. “He’s been a solid voice in this locker room,” Stephen Curry said. “I know he has been good for me. Sometimes he’ll call a play in my ear when he’s on the sideline, and when he comes in, he always has some idea about how we can keep the flow going. But even with the experience he brings, all that would kind of be for nothing if he didn’t have the attitude that he has, being a positive guy regardless of the situation.“
Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders looks at the journey of Kings forward Eric Moreland, and how he made it into the NBA after being passed over in the 2014 NBA draft. Moreland will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a labral tear in his left shoulder.

Clippers To Acquire Austin Rivers

January 15th, 2015 at 11:51am CST by Eddie Scarito

4:23pm: Markazi now says the Clippers will indeed send a 2017 second-rounder Boston’s way, adding that the Clips tried hard not to give up the pick (Twitter link).

3:25pm: The Clippers aren’t giving up a second-rounder, according to Markazi (Twitter link), which conflicts with Murphy’s report.

3:08pm: The Celtics will receive a 2017 second-round pick from the Clippers, and Boston will waive Douglas-Roberts once he comes in via the trade, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter links).

2:50pm: Douglas-Roberts is also headed to Boston in the deal, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). That would be enough salary coming off the Clippers’ books to make the trade legal, though it would still leave the Clips closer to the hard cap than they had been.

2:40pm: Shavlik Randolph is heading from the Suns to the Celtics, Bullock is going to the Suns, and Rivers is going to the Clippers, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Coro hinted at a potential Bullock-Randolph exchange a few minutes earlier (on Twitter). Randolph is on an expiring contract with a salary worth nearly $1.228MM. The Clippers would need to give up more than Bullock’s salary of nearly $1.201MM to take back Rivers, who makes $2.44MM, so it appears there’s still more to be worked out. The Clippers, a tax team, can’t take back more than 125% plus $100K of what they give up via trade, and they must stay under their hard cap.

1:42pm: Bullock is back in play for the Suns, Coro tweets.

1:14pm: One of the teams involved nixed the idea of Bullock going to the Suns, though the matter might be revisited, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

12:50pm: Farmar will not be heading to the Celtics in the deal, Murphy tweets.

12:43pm: The Celtics have told Austin Rivers that the trade will be finalized today, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).

12:36pm: The Suns are drawing increasing mention as the likely third team in the deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The involvement of Phoenix, which is under the cap, would allow the Celtics not to have to take back any salary for Rivers, Stein points out, and that would also let the Celtics create a trade exception. The belief is that the Suns covet Bullock, though the Clippers would prefer not to surrender him, according to Stein. In any case, Rivers still hasn’t reported to Boston, though that’s with the permission of the Celtics, who’ve promised him that they’ll send him to the Clippers, and that remains the plan (All Twitter links).

THURSDAY, 9:08am: The Clippers appear to be making progress toward finalizing the trade, and it’ll probably involve some combination of Farmar, Douglas-Roberts and Bullock, a league source tells Bolch. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge still insists there’s a chance Rivers remains with Boston, as he said this morning in a radio appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub with Rich Shertenlieb and Fred Toucher, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (Twitter link). It nonetheless appears that the deal remains on track, Rohrbach adds. The Celtics and Clippers are still looking for a third team, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.

12:54pm: Chris Douglas-Roberts is a “strong candidate” to be dealt, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, noting that Douglas-Roberts is on an expiring contract. The small forward has a one-year deal for the minimum salary.

WEDNESDAY, 11:20am: The belief has been that the Clippers have been talking to the Suns about taking on salary the Clippers would need to unload to complete the Rivers deal, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. It’s unclear if the Clippers would prefer to bring Phoenix into the Rivers trade to make it a three-team swap or make separate transactions.

TUESDAY, 11:01pm: The Celtics aren’t done reshaping their roster after all of their recent trades. Boston will reportedly ship Austin Rivers to the Clippers, but the move will have to wait until Boston can clear roster space for two expiring contracts, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald reports (Twitter links). The Celtics will also nab themselves a second round draft pick in the deal, Bulpett adds. Boston currently has 15 players on its roster, including the newly acquired Nate Robinson.

To clear the required roster spots, the Celtics are reportedly likely to attempt to reach buyout arrangements with Robinson and Tayshaun Prince. As for whom the Celtics would need to clear room for, assuming the roster spots they needed to clear were for players they would receive from Los Angeles, both Reggie Bullock and Jordan Farmar have been mentioned as potential trade candidates. However, Farmar doesn’t necessarily qualify as a player with an expiring deal, since he has a player option for 2015/16 worth $2,170,465.

Rivers will join his father, Doc Rivers, in Los Angeles. The elder Rivers was reportedly concerned about the perception that would surround a father trading for and coaching his son, but Clippers GM Dave Wohl and assistant coaches Lawrence Frank and Mike Woodson have reportedly encouraged Doc to forgo his concerns and make the deal.

The younger Rivers has never quite lived up to having been selected No. 10 overall by New Orleans back in 2012, and he could benefit from a change of scenery. He’s in the last year of his rookie deal, and he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Rivers’ career numbers are 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 165 total contests. His career slash line is .390/.332/.631.

Farmar, who signed with the Clippers for the full value of the biannual exception this past offseason, is reportedly displeased with his role on the Clippers, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com wrote about a month ago. He’s currently logging a career-low 14.7 minutes per game. Bullock, 23, is averaging 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 10.5 minutes per game over 25 appearances for Los Angeles this season. His shooting numbers are .426/.385/.800.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

D-League Notes: Goodwin, Smith, Jerrett

January 14th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The D-League has become an integral part of the NBA’s process of developing younger players, as well as a source for locating hidden gems to bolster rosters during the course of the season. You can easily stay on top of which players are coming and going from the D-League all season by checking out our 2014/15 D-League Assignments, Recalls tracker, which is updated daily. You can also find this page anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.”

Here are the latest D-League moves:

The Warriors have recalled Ognjen Kuzmic from the Santa Cruz Warriors, their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. This completes Kuzmic’s fourth stint of the season with Santa Cruz.
Russ Smith was recalled from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League, the Grizzlies announced in a press release. Smith was in the midst his third D-League assignment of the season for the Pelicans when he was included in the trade for Jeff Green.
The Thunder have recalled Grant Jerrett from the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. This was Jerrett’s seventh jaunt of the season to the D-League.
Archie Goodwin has been assigned to the Bakersfield Jam, the Suns’ D-League affiliate,the team has announced. This is Goodwin’s second trip to the D-League this season.

Pacific Notes: Rivers, Bryant, Wright, Kerr

January 11th, 2015 at 10:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers coach Doc Rivers isn’t sure if he is permitted to talk to his son about joining the team, writes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. Austin Rivers is expected to be moved from Memphis to Boston Monday as part of a three-team deal. Rumors emerged that the Celtics don’t want to keep Rivers and could be shipping him to the Clippers, although a third team may be needed to facilitate the deal. “I maybe should call the league,” Doc Rivers said. “It may be tampering. Listen, if it got to that point, yeah, we would talk, clearly.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Lakers coach Byron Scott said he played Kobe Bryant too many minutes early in the season and dropped a hint about shutting Bryant down for the rest of the year, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Bryant has missed six of the team’s last 11 games, but Scott said any decision will be made gradually. “I keep thinking about game-to-game right now,” he said. “So I haven’t gotten to that point. Maybe after the All-Star break, maybe we will start talking about something like that if necessary.”
New Suns center Brandan Wright impressed the opposition coach in Sunday’s double overtime loss to Memphis, reports Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Wright had seven points and two rebounds in 15 minutes of action in his first game since Friday’s trade from the Celtics, but the Grizzlies’ Dave Joerger sees him as a perfect fit. “He plays off the ball as well as anybody in the league, being able to get into pick-and-rolls and then separate and get out of pick-and-rolls,” Joerger said. “What you do on that deal is then you either have dunks or you create long close-outs of two guys who are very willing and capable of making perimeter shots. Then if you have to run out too fast, whew. You just keep chasing your tail.”
The Warriors‘ Steve Kerr is coaching the best team in the NBA, but he could have been with the worst, writes Fred Kerber of The New York Post. Kerr admits he had a verbal commitment to join the Knicks before opting for Golden State. “I told [Knicks president Phil Jackson] that I was going to come as long as we could work a contract out,” Kerr said. “And we didn’t ever work a contract out.”

Pacific Notes: Rivers, Clippers, Wright, Warriors

January 10th, 2015 at 10:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

There’s a real possibility that Austin Rivers might be joining his father with the Clippers, reports Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “I think this team could handle that,” said L.A. coach Doc Rivers. “He’s a downhill guard, which is something we need.” Austin Rivers is likely to be dealt from New Orleans to Boston in a three-team trade on Monday. The Celtics are rumored to be moving him after the deal, and the Clippers have emerged as a potential landing spot. One obstacle is compensation, as Los Angeles would have to give up approximately $1.8MM in a deal for Rivers. A possibility is guard Jordan Farmar, who makes $2.1MM this year. But he has a player option for the same amount next season, and the Celtics are reluctant to accept any salary beyond this year.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Clippers had interest in Boston’s Jeff Green but decided the price was too high, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. He reports that L.A. could have gotten Green for Matt Barnes, Jamal Crawford and a first round pick, probably in 2019, but the Clippers didn’t want to part with that much. Instead, Green appears headed to Memphis as part of the Rivers deal.
When Brandan Wright joined his new Suns teammates in Memphis Saturday, he talked like he plans to stay a long time, reports Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Wright, who has an expiring $5MM contract, was traded from Boston to Phoenix on Friday. “Everyone on this team is still growing,” he said. “This thing is going in the right direction. It’s a great fit for me and this is a place I can thrive at.”
The Warriors are going to have to accept the luxury tax as part of the price of success, opines Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group. Golden State has the best record in the NBA, but keeping its current roster together will be costly. In line for the biggest raise is Draymond Green, who is making just $915,243 this season and is headed toward restricted free agency this summer.

Southwest Notes: Green, Wright, Shved, Spurs

January 10th, 2015 at 9:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jeff Green is a worthwhile gamble for the Grizzlies, claims Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal. Memphis is expected to acquire Green from the Celtics in a three-team deal that’s on track to become official when the NBA office reopens Monday. Citing an unidentified scout who calls Green a “a high-end complementary player,” Calkins contends that’s just what the Grizzlies need to match up with the elite teams in the West. “If the trade does happen, getting a guy like [Green] would obviously help us, and we all know that,” said Memphis guard Mike Conley. “We’re trying to keep up just as much as everyone else.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks could regret their decision to part with Brandan Wright, opines Tom Ziller of SB Nation. The young center was sent to Boston as part of the Rajon Rondo deal, but on Friday the Celtics shipped him to the Suns. Not only does that strengthen a potential playoff foe for the Mavericks, it puts him in a winning environment and makes him less likely to return to Dallas when he becomes a free agent in July.
Alexey Shved, who came to the Rockets in a December 19th trade involving the Wolves and Sixers, returned from a left ankle sprain Saturday and should get some playing time, reports Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. Coach Kevin McHale is already a fan of the Russian guard. “He has great vision, he has great height, he really drives to pass,” McHale said. “He is a pass-first guy. We will try to find a way to fit him into our rotation.”
Stan Van Gundy is looking to the Spurs as a model as he tries to build a winner in Detroit, reports David Mayo of MLive. The Pistons’ coach/president has long been a fan of the way the defending champs conduct their business. “There’s all kinds of things that you can learn from this organization,” Van Gundy said. “The hard thing is trying to actually execute and do what they’ve done. It’s not like they’ve got a secret formula that no one else can follow. They’ve just done it better than everybody else.”

Suns Acquire Brandan Wright

January 9th, 2015 at 5:57pm CST by Eddie Scarito

5:57pm: The Suns have officially waived Mitchell, the team announced in its press release.

5:27: The trade is official, the Celtics have announced in a press release.

5:07pm: The Suns will waive Tony Mitchell in order to clear a roster spot for Wright, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link).

4:39pm: The Suns are set to acquire center Brandan Wright from the Celtics, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). Phoenix will be sending Boston the first-round pick that it owns from Minnesota, Wojnarowski adds. The pick is top 12 protected this season, and top 12 protected in 2015/16, and if it does not convey by the 2016 NBA draft, then the pick will turn into two second-rounders. Boston will also create a $5MM trade exception in the deal, an amount equivalent to Wright’s salary. Phoenix currently has 15 players on its roster, so a corresponding move will need to be made prior to completing the deal.

Wright was the centerpiece player in the trade with Dallas for Rajon Rondo, though Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge had recently informed Wright that he was on the trading block. Trading the 27-year-old big man out of North Carolina is the latest step in Ainge’s rebuilding plan in Boston, and the team is obviously valuing the future over the present with its moves this season.

In 320 career games, Wright has averaged 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game. His career slash line is .609/.000/.685.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Load More Posts