Wolves Rumors: Williams, Gay, Roy, Cunningham
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reported yesterday that the Timberwolves are "heavily" shopping Derrick Williams, 2011's second overall pick. In his latest Scoops column, Wolfson shares a few more details on the T-Wolves' trade talks, plus a handful more Wolves-related notes. Let's dive in and round up the highlights….
- Within the last week, president David Kahn has transitioned from merely taking phone calls to making them himself. According to Wolfson, Kahn was "aggressively" working the phones this week and was making some progress on a trade. Such a deal would likely involve Williams, and would net Minnesota a big, rather than a wing.
- The T-Wolves don't have interest in Portland's J.J. Hickson or Atlanta's Josh Smith.
- Minnesota is still weighing whether it makes sense to pursue Rudy Gay. If the Wolves were to make an offer for Gay, it would likely have to include a third team, and would involve Nikola Pekovic.
- Brandon Roy's contract may be included in a trade at the deadline for salary purposes.
- The Lakers recently inquired on Dante Cunningham, but Cunningham's affordable salary makes the Wolves reluctant to part with him.
- According to Wolfson, interest in buying the T-Wolves is "as high as ever." Former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley, who confirmed yesterday he has interest in buying another NBA franchise, is said to be kicking the tires on the Wolves.
- There's no word yet on whether Andrei Kirilenko is leaning one way or the other on his $10.22MM player option for 2013/14.
- Minnesota didn't apply for a disabled player exception for Malcolm Lee. As Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors wrote on Monday, such an exception wouldn't have provided much flexibility for the club.
- According to Wolfson, there's some speculation that the Wolves would like to take over basketball operations of their D-League affiliate in Sioux Falls. The Skyforce are currently affiliated with the Heat, Magic, and Sixers, as well as the Wolves.
- While it's been presumed for some time that Minnesota would be among the clubs interested in Greg Oden, the team hasn't done due diligence on him so far, like some others have.
J.J. Hickson Drawing Trade Interest
A handful of teams have expressed exploratory interest in Trail Blazers power forward/center J.J Hickson, a source close to the situation tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. However, these clubs haven't made contact witb GM Neil Olshey. Instead, they've been reaching out to Hickson's agent Andy Miller, according to the source.
Teams are checking in with Miller first because Hickson is a Bird Rights player on a one-year, $4MM deal and he has the power to veto any trade that is proposed. The big man will lose his Bird Rights if he signs off on any deal, meaning that it would have to be the right team and situation for him to give the green light.
For his part, Hickson sounds enthusiastic about what the next few weeks might hold, regardless of how it shakes out.
“Yeah, I'll be lying if I said it wasn't an exciting time in my life,” Hickson said. “It's also exciting to play on this team that everybody counted us out at the start. We're making a lot of noise in the Western Conference. I'm trying to make this playoff run if I'm here after the trade deadline. Obviously, I'll be happy either way because I can veto any trade.”'
The 24-year-old has played well thus far in 2012/13, averaging 12.2 PPG and a career-high 11.0 RPG in 29.4 minutes per contest. Now that he has played at a high level for 39 games this season versus a strong 19 games to close out last season, his stock is higher than it was when he hit the open market last summer.
Northwest Notes: Trail Blazers, Porter, Hickson
The Portland Tribune's Kerry Eggers makes the case that Trail Blazers players LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum should both make the Western Conference All-Star game.
- As he serves as head coach of the Timberwolves while Rick Adelman is on leave for personal reasons, Terry Porter wants to have a similar job full-time, writes TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.
- The Oregonian's John Canzano writes that the Trail Blazers have an interesting decision to make with regards to whether or not they should trade center J.J. Hickson.
Odds & Ends: Williams, Warriors, Magic, Roy
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Wednesday evening:
- Jazz guard Mo Williams is expected to miss six weeks following thumb surgery. It will be interesting to keep an eye on what roster moves Utah makes to account for his absence.
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News examines several reasons the Warriors are having such a successful season.
- John Mitchell of Philly.com writes that former Sixers big man Nikola Vucevic is beginning to realize his potential with the Magic.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the path Ishmael Smith followed that led to his signing with the Magic.
- Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Brandon Roy is practicing with the Timberwolves but it is still unknown when he will return to the court.
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes that J.J. Hickson's stellar recent play has been a nice surprise for the Trail Blazers.
Western Notes: Jazz, Howard, Hickson, Beasley
The Clippers saw their 17-game winning streak finally come to an end last night in Denver, and now sit percentage points behind the Thunder in the Western Conference standings. Still, ESPN.com's Chad Ford gives the Clips the slight edge over OKC as the best team in the West at the moment. Here are a few more Western Conference notes from Ford's chat and from a variety of other writers:
- Responding to questions about trade candidates like DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Love, Ford suggests the Timberwolves should trade Love sooner rather than later (though there's no indication they will), and says the Jazz wouldn't be a logical suitor for Cousins, since Utah isn't the sort of team that would take that risk.
- Elsewhere in his chat, Ford questions whether it's a lock that Dwight Howard will sign a long-term deal with the Lakers, noting that D12 "still pines for Brooklyn." Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld also wrote last night (via Sulia) that it's hard to see a long-term marriage between Howard and the Lakers working. I still think L.A. is the overwhelming favorite to sign Howard, but it's not necessarily the sure thing it seemed to be at one point.
- J.J. Hickson is an early candidate for Comeback Player of the Year, according to Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld. Hickson, who is playing on a one-year deal and could be a coveted free agent next summer, tells Raskin that he's not sure exactly what his future holds: "I don’t know. All I can do is control what I can control and that’s play the game of basketball and the rest will work itself out."
- When Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined some of long-term deals signed last offseason that haven't worked out so far, he didn't mention Michael Beasley's three-year, $18MM contract with the Suns. But as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes, Beasley has "bottomed out" in Phoenix.
- Newly-signed James Anderson talks to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle about what he hopes to bring to the Rockets.
- Having been recalled by the Mavericks from the D-League earlier this week, Jared Cunningham tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that his time with the Texas Legends was "good for me."
Odds & Ends: LeBron, Balkman, Magic, Millsap
The teams with the best records in the NBA are hosting the only two games on the schedule tonight, as the 21-6 Thunder, facing the Mavericks, will look to bounce back from a Christmas Day loss, while the 22-6 Clippers set sights on their 15th straight win with the Celtics in town. As we look forward to those contests, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA:
- While many people around the NBA believe that LeBron James is considering an eventual return to the Cavaliers, SI.com's Ian Thomsen doesn't think that would necessarily be the best move for LeBron's career.
- Ex-Knick Renaldo Balkman appears on his way to play in the Philippines in the new year, according to agent Sheryl Reyes (link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks back on 12 months of drastic change for the Magic.
- Within his preview of a few 2013 NBA storylines, Tom Ziller of SBNation.com focuses on the big decisions coming in Los Angeles and David Stern's last full year as NBA commissioner.
- Michael Scotto of RealGM.com talks to Paul Millsap about his contract situation, and speculates about possible suitors for the power forward next summer in free agency.
- Russell Westbrook's five-year extension kicks in this season, and The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson argues that his ability to overcome lapses is the key to the future for the Thunder.
- Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game takes to Sulia to explore why GMs like the Rockets' Daryl Morey receive more praise than less media-friendly GMs with comparable track records like David Kahn of the Timberwolves.
- Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com warns Trail Blazers fans not to get too attached to J.J. Hickson, suggesting the team's best move may involve moving him before the trade deadline. We rounded up a few rumors relating to Hickson and the Blazers this morning.
Blazers Rumors: Aldridge, Matthews, Hickson
A home win last night over the Kings ensured that the Trail Blazers surpassed the Jazz and Timberwolves in the Western standings, making them the eighth seed in the conference. It's still very early in the season, but Portland has outperformed most expectations so far, and now the team will have to decide whether its performance will affect the way it approaches roster moves as the trade deadline approaches. Jason Quick of the Oregonian has the latest updates on that front, so let's round up the highlights….
- After a veteran reporter told Quick that he'd heard the Blazers are shopping LaMarcus Aldridge, the Oregonian scribe asked Blazers GM Neil Olshey directly whether that was the case. "It was as if I had told Olshey the best joke he had ever heard," says Quick, who adds that the Blazers haven't made a single call about Aldridge, though they did field one exploratory inquiry from another team.
- Olshey has identified a handful of core players in Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Damian Lillard, and Wesley Matthews, and it would be a huge surprise if any of those guys were moved. "The players on our roster who are no-brainers are not going anywhere," Olshey said, referring to that core.
- Of those four players, Matthews represents the most likely candidate to be dealt, but the Blazers GM has come to value the guard more than his stats suggest and wants him around during the rebuild, making a trade very unlikely.
- The Blazers may still make a move before February 21st, but it's unlikely to be a deal that "moves the needle."
- Quick speculates that Portland's top trade candidate could be J.J. Hickson, who has been outperforming his one-year, $4MM contract so far. The Blazers may want to get something in return for him before he hits free agency next July.
- Portland is expected to pursue a center and shooting guard in free agency or the draft next summer, when the team should be working with eight figures in cap space.
Blazers Links: Lillard, Price, Barton, Hickson
Now that Damian Lillard has gotten a taste of what the NBA is like, the Trail Blazers' rookie point guard told CSNNW.com about his experiences so far and what he's learned after a few preseason games. Here are a few more links out of Portland tonight:
- Mike Tokito of The Oregonian writes that although Will Barton returned to practice, Ronnie Price could possibly sidelined until the season opener after injuring his ankle against Phoenix on Friday. Tokito adds that J.J. Hickson returned to practice, but is still feeling the effects of the bruised left ribs he suffered against the Lakers on Wednesday. Lastly, he said that coach Terry Stotts doesn't anticipate any roster cuts before next Sunday.
- Will Barton spoke with CSNNW.com about his return.
- In this video, Stotts elaborated on possible lineup changes with Barton and Hickson now active.
- During a post-practice interview, Meyers Leonard offered some thoughts on the aspect of his game he deems the strongest, and what he needs to work on.
Blazers Notes: Barton, Jeffries, Center, Cuts
The latest updates out of Portland from Trail Blazers training camp on Friday evening:
- Rookie guard Will Barton tells CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes that he will continue to sit out team practices until his sore hamstring is completely healed.
- Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge reports that Jared Jeffries underwent the cutting-edge orthokine treatment popularized by Kobe Bryant and baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
- Head coach Terry Stotts tells The Oregonian's Joe Freeman that he will not name a starting center in the immediate future, preferring to create competition in training camp between Meyers Leonard, J.J. Hickson, and Joel Freeland.
- Freeman also reports that Stotts will not begin making cuts to the training-camp roster for another couple of weeks.
Trail Blazers Sign J.J. Hickson
FRIDAY, 2:53pm: The Trail Blazers have officially signed Hickson, the team announced today (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 8:48pm: A source tells Sam Amick of SI.com that Hickson's deal is worth about $4MM, which is pretty close to what he would have made with his qualifying offer (Twitter link). That would be something of an about-face for the Blazers, possibly triggered by Indiana's apparent willingness to either match an offer sheet or re-sign Roy Hibbert.
8:03pm: J.J. Hickson and the Blazers have agreed to a one-year deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The team elected not to give Hickson a qualifying offer which would have been close to $4.4MM, making him an unrestricted free agent, so presumably the deal is for less than that amount.