Eastern Notes: Bobcats, Cheeks, Beasley
Bobcats owner Michael Jordan tells Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report that, so far, he’s very pleased with the job that coach Steve Clifford has done. “I’ve been impressed with several aspects of his coaching,” MJ said. “Steve has come in and quickly established an identity and a style of play for our team—hard-working, defensive-minded, playing inside-out basketball.” Here’s more out of the East..
- Pistons players were caught off-guard by the dismissal of coach Maurice Cheeks, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Chauncey Billups didn’t have anything bad to say about Cheeks but he’s hopeful that the move will help the club turn things around this season. “I don’t know if Mo’s the problem, but I do think [John Loyer] is more offensive-minded as far as details and small things.”
- Heat forward Michael Beasley didn’t leave the Suns on the greatest terms but he’s still excited for Tuesday’s return to Phoenix, writes Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report.
- Newly signed swingman Chris Johnson should bring energy and talent to a Celtics team in need of both, writes Chris Forsberg ESPN Boston.com.
Western Notes: Randolph, Goodwin, T’Wolves
The Suns are interested in the Zach Randolph, as Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com notes. With the Suns looking to be buyers at the deadline, and having Emeka Okafor‘s expiring contract, along with as many as four first-round picks in this year’s draft, they have some ammunition to acquire a significant piece to help them advance in the playoffs this year. The team had been pursing the Pau Gasol of the Lakers, but his recent injury as well as the Lakers’ insistence on receiving a high draft pick have cooled those talks. David Aldridge of NBA.com also weighed in on the possibility of the Suns trying to obtain Randolph. The Grizzlies aren’t shopping him, but that doesn’t mean the right offer couldn’t pry him loose. Randolph is averaging 17.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, and 2.6 APG.
More from the west:
- In the same article, Kennedy also notes that the Timberwolves would most likely be quiet on the trade front. He referenced this interview from the team’s president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, via the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. According to the article, Saunders and his staff did a study of 189 trades made over the last 10 years. Saunders stated, “Of the 189 trades, teams that were at or below .500, only 14 percent made the playoffs. With teams above .500 making a trade, only 55 percent stayed at the same position or improved.” The math on the study indicated that 45 percent of the teams making trades came out worse in the standings after making a move. The Timberwolves are currently 24-27, and according to the team’s numbers, the odds are against them making a trade.
- The Rockets announced via Twitter that they’ve recalled Robert Covington from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. Covington, who has been assigned to the D-League twice this season, will be in action for tonight’s game against the T’Wolves.
- Guard Archie Goodwin has been recalled from the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League, the Suns announced. During his second and most recent assignment with Bakersfield, Goodwin appeared in three games, averaging 24.3 PPG on 55.1 percent field goal shooting and 4.7 RPG in 29.7 minutes. The 19-year-old has played in 37 games for Phoenix this season and is averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG in 10.5 minutes per contest.
- This time next year, we’ll know how serious the Warriors ownership group is about winning, writes Daniel Leroux of RealGM. By then we’ll have a sense of whether the club is actually willing to pay the luxury tax and what they’ll do with coach Mark Jackson.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Trade Deadline, Roberson, Smart
Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders.com looks at three teams that will definitely be buyers at this years trade deadline. The Suns could look to add a big man, such as Josh Smith, Greg Monroe, Omer Asik, or Carlos Boozer. Acquiring a quality big could push the Suns into the second round of the playoffs, according to Ingram. The Knicks will try to add another star quality player to add alongside Carmelo Anthony, and aren’t likely to deal Anthony despite all the speculation. Ingram believes a point guard, such as Rajon Rondo or Kyle Lowry will be their primary target. He also thinks they will attempt to deal Amar’e Stoudemire to the Celtics. Lastly, he writes that the Bobcats will be looking to upgrade their wing position, and could deal Ben Gordon or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to facilitate a deal.
More from around the league:
- The Thunder have recalled Andre Roberson from the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League, the team announced via a press release. During his most recent assignment, Roberson averaged 20.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.5 minutes per contest. In 21 NBA games with the big club in Oklahoma City, the power forward has averaged 1.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 7.2 MPG.
- Former NBA player Johan Petro is set to sign a deal early next week to play in France, according to Matthieu Marot of Le Populaire du Centre (Twitter link; translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). A report yesterday indicated he was close to an agreement. Petro last saw action in the NBA during the 2012/13 season, when he averaged 3.6 PPG in 31 games for the Hawks.
- Last night’s incident in which Marcus Smart shoved a fan is unlikely to result in his draft stock falling, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Smart would have been a top-3 pick if he had entered last year’s draft, but shooting woes and a wealth of talent in this year’s draft have him as the second or third-ranked point guard, behind Dante Exum and possibly Tyler Ennis. Recent mock drafts have him being taken in the 6-10 range now, writes Zagoria. Smart is averaging 17.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 4.3 APG, while shooting 42% from the field and 28% from 3-point range.
Western Notes: Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Gasol
The Grizzlies are looking to upgrade their small forward spot via trade, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. Tayshaun Prince is starting for them there, having easily the worst shooting season of his career and contributing to Memphis’s lack of spacing issue offensively. Here’s more from around the West:
- Flip Saunders, Timberwolves president of basketball operations, says that he isn’t hearing anything “imminent” on Minnesota’s trade front, per Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Saunders says the hype surrounding upcoming drafts is a barrier to transactions, “Either everyone wants to keep their picks or if you want to trade players, people are trying to get your pick and people aren’t as apt to do something like that — not only this year, but next year, too.”
- Saunders also downplayed the importance of trades in general, citing research the Timberwolves have conducted on 189 trades over the last 10 seasons. Only 14 percent of teams trading with a .500 or worse winning percentage go on to make the playoffs, and only 55 percent of teams with winning records have held or improved their record after trading over that period. “When you look, I think a lot of time teams make trades to satisfy fans, to make them look like they are really trying to do something to make their team better. And I think sometimes teams make trades to make it look to their owners like they are working.” Hard to disagree with him there.
- The Lakers couldn’t convince the Suns to send a first round pick in return for Pau Gasol during recent trade talks, per Mitch Lawrence of The New York Daily News. Although a deal wasn’t reached and Gasol is missing time with a groin injury, Lawrence says the teams are expected to pick trade talks back up.
- Terry Stotts is having a strong season as coach of the Trail Blazers, but team sources say he could improve his locker room standing by strengthening his relationship with star LaMarcus Aldridge, according to the same Lawrence article. Stotts’ contract is up this year, and he hasn’t had any extension talks with the team.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, Suns
The Warriors and Suns clash tonight, and the winner will come away with the better record and second spot in the Pacific Division, good for the 6th playoff seed. Let’s look at some of the notes from these Pacific rivals:
- The opinion of rival executives is that the Warriors would be willing to trade any of their players other than Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut, per Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick says the Warriors have one of the most aggressive front offices in the NBA, and GM Bob Myers acknowledged the possibility of making moves with their “healthy amount of assets” in a Q&A last month.
- Curry talked to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune about the 2009 draft, where he was passed up by the Timberwolves for point guards Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn. Curry says his first choice to land was actually with the Knicks: “I wouldn’t have known what would have come to pass here or in New York, which is where I kind of had my sights set on going in the draft. I would have tried to make the best of wherever I landed.”
- Curry also said that playing alongside Ricky Rubio would have been fun, had the Timberwolves chosen him instead of Flynn: “The dynamic of that combination would have been fun, I’m sure. But it didn’t work out that way. Looking back, this is a spot here where good things definitely have happened.”
- Curry also dismissed the idea that the Timberwolves were hesitant to draft him due to his preference for a warm weather destination: “It is nice to be in the Bay Area, where it’s 65, 70 degrees today. But even in New York and the East Coast, it’s snowy and 12, 20 degrees… I had the same situation here as with Minnesota: I didn’t come work out for the Warriors, met with the GMs back then. I would have been happy to be in the league and not have been some spoiled little brat who manipulated his way into the league somehow. I would have been cool whenever I was drafted.”
- If the Suns can land a star, they’d prefer a perimeter player, per Amick’s piece. This is one reason Rudy Gay has their attention in addition to the reports of interest in post players Pau Gasol and Thaddeus Young.
Amick On Expected Buyers, Sellers At Deadline
In his most recent column, Sam Amick of USA Today passed on a lot of information gathered from six NBA executives speaking anonymously regarding what he thinks will be a “very active swapping season.” Talk includes teams from around the league looking to win now or bolster rebuilding efforts. The entire article is worth the read, but here is a brief roundup:
- The Knicks “have decided to think big” as the deadline approaches, and believe that the Celtics‘ Rajon Rondo is more available than Boston general manager Danny Ainge is letting on. Trading Carmelo Anthony is not being given serious consideration, despite all the speculation surrounding his willingness to re-sign this summer.
- Rival executives think that if Ainge were to make any Rondo move, he would wait until just before the deadline to do so.
- The Pelicans are thought to be willing to trade Eric Gordon, although moving the two-year, $29MM left on his contract would be a challenge.
- If the Suns don’t acquire Pau Gasol, Thaddeus Young is another possible trade target before the deadline. It’s also believed that Phoenix would have strong interest in Rudy Gay this off season should he opt out of his player option.
- The Spurs and Bobcats were mentioned by an executive as possible destinations for the Sixers‘ Evan Turner, either through a trade this season or when he becomes a restricted free agent this summer.
- It’s more likely that the Pistons move players with expiring deals (Rodney Stuckey, Charlie Villanueva or Jonas Jerebko, for instance) than for them to part with Greg Monroe before the deadline.
- The Timberwolves have great urgency to make the playoffs and keep Kevin Love content, and are thought to be willing to part with J.J. Barea, Dante Cunningham, and Alexey Shved for a deal that would help them avoid finishing another season outside the playoffs.
- While the Grizzlies‘ Zach Randolph hasn’t said whether he will opt out of his contract this summer, he has indicated that he wants to remain with Memphis. For their part, the Grizzlies don’t appear to be shopping him. The Suns inquired about the power forward, but were told he wasn’t available.
- The Magic aren’t eager to move Arron Afflalo, and it would likely take a proven player in addition to any draft picks to pry him away from Orlando.
Western Rumors: Clippers, Aldridge, Gay
Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com examine the chances that the Clippers could wind up with LeBron James this summer, calling them “perhaps the most serious competitor” the Heat will face for the four-time MVP. The Clippers aren’t set to have cap space, but Miami had to pull off some last-minute moves to open up room for their free agent haul in 2010, and a source close to James tells the ESPN.com scribes that James will consider teams without cap room. It would require the Heat to cooperate, and league executives believe they’d ask for Blake Griffin as part of a sign-and-trade, according to Windhorst and Shelburne. While we wait to see if that scenario plays out, here’s more from the West:
- LaMarcus Aldridge says he’ll make “winning and happiness and making sure my worth is valued” his priorities in his next contract negotiations, and tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that he wants to wait until summer to talk about an extension. That’s the same timetable Blazers owner Paul Allen said he’ll take shortly after Aldridge revealed he’d be open to an extension.
- Rudy Gay tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com that he isn’t leaning one way or another about whether to exercise his player option this summer, but he says he appreciates the on-court freedom the Kings have given him since December’s trade.
- The Suns have assigned Archie Goodwin to the D-League, the team announced. The rookie performed well on his first trip to the Bakersfield Jam late last month, averaging 29.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in a pair of games.
- Andre Roberson is back from yesterday’s assignment to the D-League, the Thunder announced. The power forward put up 20 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday for the Tulsa 66ers.
Latest On Suns, Lakers, Pau Gasol
8:10pm: The Lakers don’t believe that the talks with the Suns about Gasol are over, and discussions with Phoenix and other teams are expected to continue through February 20, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles.
7:49pm: The Suns have halted talks with the Lakers regarding Gasol because L.A. reportedly wants too much in return, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. Of the four first-round picks that Phoenix could possibly own this year, the Lakers were said to have been pushing for either the pick owed from Minnesota (top 13-protected) or Washington (top 12-protected. The other two draft choices the Suns have at their disposal include their own (currently projected at 22nd overall) and Indiana’s (now 30th).
Talks could resume before the February 20 deadline, but there needs to be a compromise on which first round pick the Lakers would receive in a Gasol deal, tweets Bresnahan.
8:13am: The Lakers and Suns spoke again Monday about the idea of a swap of Pau Gasol for Emeka Okafor, but the Suns want to see how Gasol’s recovery from a strained groin progresses before furthering the talks, report Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Spanish center is set to miss the next three games. If such a trade were to happen, it wouldn’t take the Lakers completely out of tax territory, so they’d insist on receiving draft picks or young players along with Okafor.
Still, the Lakers don’t feel they absolutely must avoid the tax this season, and even if they decide to do so, they believe trading Gasol isn’t their only path out of tax territory, as Shelburne and Stein write. That’s been their belief since last month, when they were involved in negotiations with the Cavs about trading for Andrew Bynum. The Lakers and Cavs have stayed in touch about Gasol in the time since, but there’s nothing imminent on that front, according to the ESPN report. The Lakers expect the market for Gasol to improve closer to the deadline, but they’re all right with holding on to him and retaining the flexibility that his nearly $19.3MM expiring contract will give them in the summer.
The Suns are willing to trade multiple 2014 first-round picks for a star player, but they realize such a talent is unlikely to become available before the deadline, Shelburne and Stein note. Thus, Gasol intrigues Phoenix, since he’s a veteran who could help the team’s playoff drive without cutting into this summer’s cap space.
Odds & Ends: Gasol, Pelicans, Buyers/Sellers
Earlier today, we heard that the Suns’ interest in continuing talks with the Lakers about a potential Pau Gasol deal hinges on the 7’1 Spaniard’s recovery from a strained groin injury. With news from InsideSoCal.com’s Mark Medina that Gasol’s rehab will keep him out of action for at least another two weeks, this most likely creates another hurdle in trying to complete a potential deal.
Here’s plenty more from around the Association:
- Kevin Ding of the Bleacher Report (via Twitter) says that because of the injury, Gasol may or may not have played his final game for the Lakers. One certainty, however, is that the Lakers are now more motivated to deal him than before.
- The Pelicans have been “extremely active” in trade talks over the past few days, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s unclear exactly what sort of deals they’re working on, but they announced last night that center Jason Smith is lost for the season, and they’ve reportedly been seeking a trade for a big man.
- Regardless of whether or not Andrew Bynum can produce for the Pacers, the decision to bring him aboard represents a pledge from team management to the players that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win a championship, says Jared Zwerling of the Bleacher Report.
- In the same piece, Zwerling lists several teams who could be among the league’s buyers and sellers at the trade deadline this season, labeling the 76ers, Jazz, Bucks, Lakers and Bulls are potential sellers, while the Bobcats, Warriors, Knicks, Nets, Cavaliers, Wizards, Suns, Mavericks, and Pistons are potential buyers. According to one executive, the Timberwolves and Nuggets could fall into either group depending on what transpires in the next week or so.
- Cedevita of Croatia has waived Josh Selby after the former Grizzlies guard suffered an injury, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. Selby played 10 games in the NBA last season.
- The NBDL’s Texas Legends’ close proximity to their NBA-affiliate Mavericks has made it easy for both to enjoy a highly active partnership as far as developing the Mavs’ young players, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. Frisco, Texas – where the Legends are based – is located about 30 miles north of downtown Dallas, conveniently allowing the Mavs an option to send someone to play for the Legends one night and then head back for NBA practice the next day.
- The 76ers announced that they’ve assigned big man Arnett Moultrie and guard Lorenzo Brown to the Delaware 87ers (Twitter link).
- The Hawks have sent guard Jared Cunningham to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBDL, according to a team press release earlier this afternoon.
- The Celtics announced that center Vitor Faverani was assigned to their D-League affiliate Maine Red Claws earlier today.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Suns, Nets, Celtics, Ariza
The Suns are exploring their trade options with Emeka Okafor‘s expiring contract, but if they use it to bring in Pau Gasol or another player via trade, Jeff Hornacek insists it won’t be someone who’ll disrupt the locker room, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic observes.
“Our guys have great chemistry,” Hornacek said. “If they ever do anything to bring a guy in here, that guy is going to have to figure out what makes us good chemistry-wise, and he’s going to have to fit in. That’s like every team.”
Here’s more from around the league, with two weeks and two days to go until the trade deadline:
- Nets GM Billy King isn’t looking to trade injured Brook Lopez, but he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe that he’s open to deals that would bring draft picks to Brooklyn.
- The Celtics are high on Chris Johnson, though Boston’s proximity to the tax line may keep the team from re-signing him for the season when his second 10-day deal expires Thursday night, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines.
- Trevor Ariza is performing well in a contract year, and the Wizards will probably make a strong push to re-sign him, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com heard a couple of weeks ago that the Bucks are unlikely to pull off a major deadline trade, but in his latest Insider-only “Tank Rank” piece, he says they’d like to acquire a young player or a first-round draft pick in exchange for their veterans.
- In the same piece, Ford suggests the Magic are making Jameer Nelson and Glen Davis available.
- Draft prospect Dante Exum would prefer to play for the Lakers, and Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders wonders if agent Rob Pelinka would try to use the threat of Exum playing next season overseas to dissuade other teams from drafting him.
- The city of San Francisco received a signed petition that proposes a vote on regulations that would erect a hurdle to the Warriors‘ plans for an arena in the city. The San Jose Mercury News has the details.