Western Rumors: Nuggets, Turkoglu, Spurs
There’s a chance, albeit a slim one, that Andre Miller will return to the Nuggets’ lineup before the team finds a trade for him, a source tells Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Miller has not rejoined the team since being suspended for a confrontation with coach Brian Shaw last week, and while the Nuggets continue to explore deals, they’ve been unsuccessful so far. One stumbling block has been the Kings‘ insistence on including Travis Outlaw in any such swap, as USA Today’s Sam Amick wrote earlier this evening. As we wait to find out when, or if, a Miller trade will happen, here’s more on the Nuggets and the rest of the Western Conference:
- Hedo Turkoglu impressed during his workout with the Clippers today and the team is interested in signing him, Doc Rivers told reporters, including Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). Still, Rivers didn’t say when a signing might happen. Rivers is wary of change, as the coach also said in noting his reticence to consider Andrew Bynum, Markazi tweets.
- Gregg Popovich explains that the “scary” effect midseason trades can have on team chemistry generally helps dissuade the Spurs from making such moves, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News observes. The Spurs are reportedly taking an “unusually aggressive” approach to trade talks this season.
- The insurance on Danilo Gallinari‘s contract will pay the Nuggets 80% of his salary for any games he misses over the remainder of the season, Dempsey notes, amending his earlier report that said the insurance would cover 50%. The team will save about $99K per game.
- Ricky Rubio was supposed to represent one of the Timberwolves’ notable draft successes in recent years, but his lack of development is making 2009’s haul, which included Jonny Flynn, look even worse, opines Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Clippers Rumors: Barbosa, Turkoglu, Roster
The Clippers currently have 13 guaranteed contracts on their books, but no open roster spots, since they’ve signed two players to 10-day deals. As our 10-day contract tracker shows, the pacts for Darius Morris and Maalik Wayns were finalized on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, meaning they’ll both expire by next weekend. It’s not clear yet whether the Clips have bigger plans for those final two roster spots, but there have been a few rumblings about possible options, so let’s round them up….
- Before he signed a 10-day contract with the Suns, Leandro Barbosa also had the opportunity to sign with the Clippers, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Presumably, signing Barbosa on a 10-day deal would have been an alternative to adding Morris or Wayns for the Clips.
- Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweeted earlier this afternoon that Hedo Turkoglu had arrived at the Clippers’ practice facility to work out for the team. We heard on Monday that Turkoglu, having been waived by the Magic, would audition for the Clips.
- In a piece for ESPN Los Angeles, Arash Markazi examined Turkoglu, Andrew Bynum, and Sasha Vujacic as possible targets for the Clippers, with Doc Rivers‘ thoughts on the club’s options.
Clippers Re-Sign Maalik Wayns
WEDNESDAY, 12:45pm: The Clippers have officially re-signed Wayns to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release.
TUESDAY, 2:12pm: After releasing him on Sunday, the Clippers are expected to re-sign Maalik Wayns, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein. Stein reports that the Clips continue to assess Hedo Turkoglu, Sasha Vujacic, and other free agents, but the team will likely announce a 10-day contract for Wayns later today (Twitter links).
Wayns was waived this week so that the Clippers could avoid keeping him beyond today’s contract guarantee deadline, which would have put the team on the hook for his full-season salary. Re-adding him would give the club a full 15-man roster, but two players – Wayns and Darius Morris – would be on 10-day deals, so it wouldn’t necessarily preclude the signing of a player like Turkoglu, Vujacic, or Andrew Bynum later in the month.
Wayns, 22, has yet to appear in a regular season contest for the Clippers this season, having been sidelined after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in October.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Clippers, Vujacic, Suns
After waiving Shawne Williams yesterday, the Lakers don’t intend to fill that 15th roster spot anytime soon, in spite all of the team’s backcourt injuries, writes Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. That plan could change if another player goes down, but for now shedding Williams’ salary will simply cut costs a little for the club. Bresnahan adds that Hedo Turkoglu doesn’t look like an option for the Lakers, who feel as if the forward’s skills have declined.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report defends the Lakers‘ decision not to trade Pau Gasol to the Cavs in a deal for Andrew Bynum, arguing that L.A. doesn’t have an urgent need to get out of the tax this season, since the team will almost certainly avoid the repeater penalty by dipping below the tax line in 2014/15 and 2015/16.
- For now at least, the Clippers have cooled on the idea of pursuing Sasha Vujacic, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
- Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic describes the relief and excitement experienced by Dionte Christmas when he found out yesterday that the Suns would be guaranteeing his contract for the full 2013/14 season.
- Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee has the latest details on the city of Sacramento’s efforts to secure a vital parcel of land for the development of a new Kings arena.
Hedo Turkoglu To Work Out For Clippers
8:38pm: Clippers coach Doc Rivers acknowledged that the club is interested in signing Hedo Turkoglu and said tonight’s signing of Darius Morris doesn’t affect their pursuit, tweets Markazi.
2:02pm: The Clippers have interest in Turkoglu, but haven’t had him in for a workout yet, tweets ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi. Based on Baumann’s earlier tweet, it sounds as if that could happen later today.
1:37pm: Hedo Turkoglu has cleared waivers, meaning he’s free to sign with any NBA team, and it looks like he hasn’t wasted much time trying to find a new home. According to David Baumann of 740 The Game in Orlando, Turkoglu hopes to land with a contender, and will work out for the Clippers today (Twitter links).
Turkoglu, 34, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since February 2013, having reached an agreement with the Magic not to join the squad this season despite being under contract. We heard last week that the veteran forward still “badly” wanted the chance to earn NBA minutes, and the Magic afforded him that opportunity when they released him on Friday.
As for the Clippers, they’re expected to be without star point guard Chris Paul for the next several weeks. While Turkoglu isn’t a guard, he’s capable of running an offense as a point forward, which could interest the Clips. The club released Maalik Wayns yesterday, so there’s an open roster spot to add a player on a 10-day contract or a rest-of-season deal.
It’s not clear yet how many teams will be in the mix for Turkolgu, but the former first-round pick could also draw interest from another L.A. team — a weekend report indicated the Lakers might consider adding Turkoglu.
Lakers Might Emerge As Hedo Turkoglu Suitor
The Lakers look to be a team that could have interest in acquiring the recently waived Hedo Turkoglu, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld over at Sulia. We heard earlier that the Lakers reached out to the Magic about the veteran forward before the 34-year-old was waived yesterday. The club reportedly might have interest in signing Turkoglu once he clears waivers.
Kennedy suggests the move would be logical for Los Angeles. The Lakers have been ravaged by backcourt injuries this year, and although he’s not a guard, Turkoglu was often relied upon to run the offense in Orlando as a point forward. The recently signed Kendall Marshall has played well in his short time in LA, and a versatile Turkoglu would provide even more depth for the team that’s currently without Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Jordan Farmar, and Steve Blake.
Turkoglu last saw action in 2012/13, when he struggled mightily for the Magic. In 11 contests and 17 minutes per game, he averaged 2.9 PPG and shot 26% from the floor. Despite his recent struggles, the small forward has had varying levels of success throughout the course of his career and could prove to be a valuable pickup for a team desperately seeking depth.
Latest On Hedo Turkoglu
The Magic decided to waive Hedo Turkoglu today after failing to find a trade that would net them either a young player or a draft pick, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins also confirms that the Magic couldn’t convince the 34-year-old to accept a buyout and reduce his salary. The Magic fielded calls from both the Lakers and the Hawks about Turkoglu, a source told USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt, but neither was appetizing for the Magic. The deal with the Lakers would have resulted in more salary long term, and the Hawks proposal had no value, the source said.
Turkoglu is generating interest from several NBA teams, according to Can Pelister of Super Basket, a media outlet based in Turkoglu’s native Turkey (Twitter link). The small forward’s appeal apparently doesn’t carry over to the international market, since a Euroleague team has rejected Turkoglu’s entreaties, Pelister adds. It’s not clear how serious Turkoglu might be about joining a team overseas anyway, since a report earlier this week indicated that he’s intent on remaining in the NBA.
Turkoglu tweeted today that Orlando will always be his “second home,” and had plenty of kind words for the Magic and their fans, as Robbins conveys, so while a return to the Magic is out of the question, it seems he’s doing his best not to burn any NBA bridges. He’ll make $6MM from his partially guaranteed contract this season, but he’ll likely have to scrap for minimum-salary opportunities going forward if he is to find NBA work again.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Magic Waive Hedo Turkoglu
4:03pm: The Magic officially announced that Turkoglu has been waived.
12:30pm: The Magic will waive Hedo Turkoglu today at 4pm CT, according to John Denton of NBA.com (on Twitter). The move has been long expected for the veteran, who is on a $12MM contract that is only partially guaranteed for $6MM.
There was some speculation that Turkoglu could serve as a trade chip for the Magic, not unlike Andrew Bynum and the Cavs. However, unlike the Cavs, the Magic were mostly unwilling to take on salary in a trade and, of course, Turkoglu offers much less upside than Bynum.
According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the 34-year-old badly wants to return to the NBA and prove himself once again. Back in the fall, the Wolves were said to have interest in Turkoglu if he was cut loose by Orlando. If the interest is still there and the former offensive standout wants to come aboard, Minnesota can cut Robbie Hummel loose to make room. Hummel’s contract doesn’t become guaranteed until January 10th (next Friday).
The small forward, who turns 35 in March, played in only eleven games last season because of injury and a 10-game suspension that stemmed from a positive test for methenolone. He’s spent seven and a half seasons with the Magic over two separate stints. Across 13 seasons with the Kings, Spurs, Magic, Raptors, and Suns, the native of Turkey owns averages of 11.9 PPG and 4.2 RPG with a 42.6% field goal percentage. He also boasts a career 38.1% rate of success from downtown and if he can find his stroke once again, he could find himself with multiple suitors in the New Year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Hedo Turkoglu
As the Cavaliers call “virtually every team in the league” to gauge interest in Andrew Bynum‘s pseudo-expiring contract, ESPN.com’s Marc Stein reminds us that the Magic hold a similar trade chip in Hedo Turkoglu. Like Bynum, Turkoglu is on a $12MM contract that is currently only partially guaranteed for $6MM. His salary would become fully guaranteed if he’s not released on or before next Tuesday.
While the two players’ salaries may be similar, there are a few differences in the two situations, as Stein writes. Besides the fact that Bynum, two years removed from an All-Star appearance, has more upside, the Cavs also appear much more willing to take on salary in any trade. Depending on how much time Kyrie Irving misses with his knee injury, the Cavs still seem interested in pushing for a playoff spot, while the Magic would be less inclined to pursue a short-team piece earning significantly more than Turkoglu, such as Pau Gasol.
As for Turkoglu himself, even though he and the Magic mutually agreed he wouldn’t join the squad this year, he continues to work out on his own and remains committed to contributing to an NBA team. According to Stein, the veteran forward “badly wants the chance” to earn minutes somewhere once his situation is resolved. Assuming the Magic can’t find a trade partner within the next few days and waive Turkoglu by Tuesday, the 34-year-old will seek out a new team upon clearing waivers, Stein tweets.
Western Notes: Wolves, Bogut, Blazers, D12
Let’s round up a few Friday items out of the Western Conference….
- The Timberwolves have internally discussed the possibility of signing Hedo Turkoglu if he’s waived or bought out by the Magic, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). However, Wolfson adds that it sounds more like due diligence than anything serious.
- Andrew Bogut exited the Warriors‘ game today in China early with back spasms, but head coach Mark Jackson said he’s not concerned, and that Bogut wanted to check back in (Twitter link via LetsGoWarriors.com). While it doesn’t sound like an issue that should significantly impact extension negotiations between the two sides, it may give the team some pause.
- After shoring up their bench this offseason, this incarnation of the Trail Blazers is “officially on the clock,” writes Kevin Arnovitz in an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com. As GM Neil Olshey acknowledges, whether or not the Blazers have a successful season will dictate whether the club stays its current course or aggressively attempts to retool the roster.
- Dwight Howard spoke to Sam Amick of USA Today at length about his decision to sign with the Rockets this summer, and a Dark Knight Rises scene that inspired him.