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Pacific Notes: Morris, Kobe, Nash, Thompson

September 17th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Suns free agent signee Tyson Chandler is optimistic that the team and Markieff Morris can resolve their differences, having gone through a tenuous time himself years ago when New Orleans traded him to the Thunder only to have Oklahoma City nix the deal, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. Phoenix doesn’t intend to fulfill the trade demand that Morris has made, Coro writes, which jibes with his report from earlier and what Grantland’s Zach Lowe heard, even though Morris reportedly plans on greeting the Suns front office with silence and coach Jeff Hornacek with only one-word answers if they bring him to camp.

“It’s not about them,” Chandler said to Coro about Suns executives. “That’s no offense to Ryan [McDonough], the GM, or the owner. Players play for players and the coaches. You’ve got a bond. Management has nothing to do with anything that goes on when you’re on the court. That’s just my thoughts. I’m not saying this for anything against Keef either. He’s a man and he has to go through his own process. But he can be special and I know he will. I feel like all this stuff will be forgotten once we kick off and we’re having success.”

See more from the Pacific Division:

The Lakers announced a nine-month recovery timetable when Kobe Bryant had surgery to repair his torn right rotator cuff in January, which would have made his return in time for camp a close call, but he’s been medically cleared for all basketball activities, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding hears.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr is high on what Steve Nash can bring as a part-time player development consultant for the team, though he cautioned in an interview with Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that the deal to hire him for that role isn’t official. Kerr added that he won’t ask Nash to return to play, as the Mavs reportedly considered doing. “In Phoenix we grew very close and he’s probably the smartest basketball player I’ve ever been around in my life, not only the way he played but the way he prepared and trained and thought about the game,” Kerr said to Kawakami. “I just felt like if we could just get him to help out, just be around our guys occasionally and develop relationships, spend some time on the floor with them occasionally, it’d be a big help.”
Kerr expressed his desire for continuity, though he does envision a role for trade acquisition Jason Thompson, as he said to Kawakami for the same piece. The coach was also quick to point to his fondness to James Michael McAdoo, who has only a partially guaranteed deal with the Warriors.

Kings Notes: Thompson, Cousins, Arena

August 7th, 2015 at 1:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jason Thompson says he was “in shock” a week ago when the Sixers, the team he grew up watching in nearby New Jersey, traded him to the Warriors before he ever played a game in a Philly uniform, as the power forward tells Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group. Thompson, whom the Kings had traded to the Sixers earlier in July, added that he’s glad to join a championship team after playing for seven coaches in seven years, none of whom guided the Kings to the playoffs. Still, Thompson, who’s kept a house in Sacramento, isn’t without his sentiments for the only NBA team he’s ever suited up for.

“I built a lot of relationships there with the fans, and they were real loyal to a guy coming out of New Jersey and they welcomed me with open arms,” Thompson said to Steward. “There are a lot of memories. I wish they were better memories with wins and stuff, but I’m sure, going to play in Sac twice, there are going to be a lot of emotions.”

Thompson is under contract for two more seasons, though his 2016/17 salary is partially guaranteed. See more from California’s capital:

DeMarcus Cousins, coach George Karl, vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac and assistant GM Mike Bratz “talked openly about everything” during a meeting in Las Vegas this week, Divac said on The Grant Napear Show on CBS Sports 1140 in Sacramento, notes Jason Wise of Kings.com. Discord marked the Kings earlier this summer, when Karl reportedly pushed for the team to trade Cousins.
Three Sacramento residents have agreed to dismiss their lawsuit against the city government’s funding of a new Kings arena, enabling the city to start paying its share toward construction, which is already in progress, reports Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee. A judge gave the city a favorable ruling two weeks ago, and the challenge didn’t appear to pose a serious threat to the arena project.

Warriors, Sixers Swap Thompson, Wallace

July 31st, 2015 at 4:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

4:36pm: Philadelphia receives the right to swap the lesser of the 2016 first-round picks coming their way from the Heat and the Thunder for Golden State’s 2016 first-round pick, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

4:05pm: The Warriors have acquired Jason Thompson from the Sixers in exchange for Gerald Wallace, both teams announced via press release. Cash and draft considerations are also going to Philadelphia in the move. It’s a money-saving deal for Golden State, which sends Wallace’s $10,105,855 salary into Philadelphia’s cap space, with Thompson’s $6,908,685 salary going back in return, and with the Warriors poised to pay the luxury tax this season, the move saves the Warriors from tax penalties of as much as two and a half times the difference between their salaries. It also creates a trade exception worth $3,197,170 for Golden State.

“We’re very happy to add Jason to our roster,” Warriors GM Bob Myers said. “He has a proven track record in this league and adds considerably to our team’s depth, which was a big key to our success last season and will be moving forward.”

Thompson will ostensibly fill the reserve power forward role that David Lee played last year for the champs, who sent Lee to the Celtics in the deal that brought in Wallace. The 29-year-old Thompson has chiefly been a starter during his seven years in the NBA, all of which came with Sacramento before the trade earlier this month that sent him to Philly, but he probably won’t mind a reduced role on a team with a legitimate shot to win another title. Thompson has never appeared in a playoff game.

It was somewhat surprising when reports emerged following Golden State’s agreement on the Lee trade that the Warriors intended to keep Wallace rather than release him and use the stretch provision to spread his salary and lower their tax bill. Thus, it makes sense to see them make another deal that sends Wallace away and takes a chunk out of their team salary. The Warriors were scheduled to pay Lee $15,493,680 this coming season, so they’ve reduced their obligation by more than 50% with the pair of trades. The estimated tax bill for the Warriors drops from $24MM to $16MM with today’s trade, according to former Nets executive Bobby Marks (Twitter link). It had been $38.1MM before the Lee trade, Marks adds. Lee signed his deal prior to the adoption of the current collective bargaining agreement, so he’s ineligible for the stretch provision.

Thompson’s contract runs through 2016/17 with $2.6MM partially guaranteed on a salary of $7,010,378 that season, Marks points out (Twitter link). That salary becomes fully guaranteed if he doesn’t hit waivers by June 26th, 2016, as Marks also notes.

The Sixers receive yet more draft assets and draw closer to the $63MM salary floor. They held more than $20MM in cap flexibility prior to the trade, and they still have about $17.5MM they can spend, not counting their non-guaranteed deals, giving them flexibility to absorb other contracts via trade. They could also float a bloated offer sheet to Norris Cole, in whom they reportedly have interest, or to Tristan Thompson. Philadelphia clears salary from its 2016/17 books, since Wallace is on an expiring contract.

Who do you think got the better end of this trade? Leave a comment to weigh in.

Sixers Acquire Stauskas, Landry, Thompson

July 10th, 2015 at 6:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

6:35pm: The Sixers and Kings have issued press releases announcing the trade is official. Philly gets Stauskas, Landry, Thompson, Sacramento’s 2018 first-round pick and the right to swap first-rounders in 2016 and 2017. Sacramento gets the rights to Gudaitis and Mitrovic.

“Jason, Carl and Nik are all tremendous professionals and we’re grateful for their contributions,” Kings president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac said in Sacramento’s statement. “Jason leaves an indelible mark in Sacramento as the team’s alltime leader in games played, but he was also a champion in the community. Carl and Nik were well regarded as teammates and respected stewards of the organization during their time as Kings. We wish them all great success in the future.”

JULY 10TH, 11:48am: Neither team has made an official announcement, though the RealGM transactions log and salary cap expert Larry Coon (Twitter links) indicate the trade has indeed taken place. Sacramento creates trade exceptions equivalent to the salaries of Stauskas, Landry and Thompson, but those are poised to disappear once the team formalizes its free agent signings.

JULY 3RD, 11:35am: Executives around the league are talking about the notion that the Kings might back out of the deal now that they’ve missed on Ellis and Matthews, though none of those execs truly expect Sacramento to pull out, reports Jake Fischer of SI Now (Twitter link).

JULY 2ND, 8:54am: A future second-round pick is also going to Sacramento, Wojnarowski writes in his full story. The Sixers receive Sacramento’s 2018 first-round pick and the right to swap first-rounders with the Kings in 2016 and 2017, a league source tells USA Today’s Derek Bodner (Twitter link). The overseas assets that the Kings receive are the rights to Arturas Gudaitis and Luka Mitrovic, the 47th and 60th picks, respectively, in last week’s draft, ESPN’s Pablo Torre tweets. Gudaitis just signed a two-year deal with an option for a third year with Lietuvos Rytas of Lithuania, the team announced (translation via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). The Sixers are interested in keeping Landry, Thompson and Stauskas rather than waiving any of them, a source said to Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (on Twitter).

10:56pm: The Sixers will receive a protected first round pick from the Kings, and swap rights with Sacramento in the first round of two other drafts, Zach Lowe of Grantland tweets.

JULY 1ST, 10:17pm: The Sixers and Kings have agreed to a deal that would send Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, and Nik Stauskas to Philadelphia, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). Philadelphia is expected to send Sacramento the rights to overseas players in return, notes Wojnarowski (on Twitter), though it is unclear which players will be involved.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

The deal is a salary dump for Sacramento, tweets Wojnarowski, with the Kings clearing room for pursuing free agents. Thompson is set to earn $6,431,250 in 2015/16, Landry $6.5MM, and Stauskas $2,869,440. Sacramento is clearing the decks for a pursuit of point guard Rajon Rondo, swingman Wesley Matthews, and possibly Monta Ellis, the Yahoo! scribe adds (via Twitter ).

Stauskas, 21, is the prize here for the Sixers, who were willing to absorb the contracts of Thompson and Landry to acquire him, Wojnarowski tweets. The young shooting guard failed to impress in Sacramento after being selected with the No. 8 overall pick back in the 2014 NBA Draft. In 73 appearances during his rookie campaign, Stauskas averaged 4.4 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, with a slash line of .365/.322/.859. He should have every opportunity to develop on a young Sixers team badly in need of shooters.

Thompson still has two years remaining on his deal, though his salary of $6,825,000 for the 2016/17 campaign is partially guaranteed for just $2.65MM. In 81 contests last season, the 28-year-old averaged 6.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 24.6 minutes per game. Landry, 31, also has two years remaining on his contract, though both seasons are fully guaranteed. He logged 70 appearances last season for the Kings, posting 7.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 0.4 APG in 15.0 minutes per night.

Atlantic Notes: Williams, Ridnour, Sixers

July 6th, 2015 at 7:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lou Williams was surprised the Raptors did not make him an offer, he revealed in a Q&A session with Basketball Insiders’ Alex Kennedy. Williams, who agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract with the Lakers on Sunday, thought the Raptors would make a spirited attempt to re-sign him. Instead, they chose to shake up with their roster by reaching agreements with DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph and Bismack Biyombo. “Just to speak candidly, it caught me by surprise that we didn’t get something done. I made it clear that I wanted to be there and I thought, with the type of year that I had, the feeling would be mutual,” Williams told Kennedy. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t. I think they wanted to go in a different direction and become more of a defensive-minded team. With the way that the playoffs ended, I think it left a sour taste in management’s mouth and they went out and picked up defensive players.”

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

While Joseph will be the second Canadian, along with retired Jamaal Magloire, to play for the Raptors during the regular season, that wasn’t the reason why they were so enamored with him, Doug Smith of the Toronto Sun writes. Joseph, who agreed on a four-year, $30MM contract to leave the Spurs, has impressed the Raptors’ brass for years with his toughness and defensive prowess, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise the club targeted him, Smith adds.
Luke Ridnour said that he expects the Raptors to waive him before his $2.75MM salary becomes guaranteed Friday and confirmed that he’s still contemplating retirement as he spoke with TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The 34-year-old point guard also dished to Aldridge about what it was like to have his contract traded four times in one week.
The Sixers fleeced the Kings in the unofficial but agreed upon trade that sent Nik Stauskas, Jason Thompson and Carl Landry to Philadelphia, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer opines. Stauskas fills a backcourt need and the team can eventually decline a team option on his contract if the second-year shooting guard doesn’t pan out, Pompey continues. Landry and Thompson can become role models and mentors for their young frontcourt lottery picks — Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, Pompey adds. With that trade, the Sixers will likely have less roster movement than the past two seasons when 48 players saw action, Pompey concludes.

Thompson Wants Trade, Kings Shop Stauskas

February 15th, 2015 at 11:11pm CST by Zachary Links

11:11pm: The Kings have been offering a package that includes Nik Stauskas to see what it could fetch them, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Kennedy gets the impression that the Kings want to make a splashy move. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News indicated last week that the Kings were shopping Stauskas.

10:49pm: The camp for Kings forward Jason Thompson would like to get him traded before Thursday’s deadline, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). That feeling is probably reciprocated by the Kings, who have reportedly been shopping him.

Thompson, a Rider product and New Jersey native, appears to have regressed sharply in recent seasons. This season, the big man has averaged just 5.6 PPG with 6.3 RPG in 24.7 minutes per contest. In terms of PER, Thompson’s most efficient year came in 2011/12 when he averaged a decent but not exceptional 16.4 PER.

Thompson is earning $6.037MM this season and he’s scheduled to make a combined $13.25MM in the next two seasons. Needless to say, finding a suitable return for Thompson will not be an easy task.

Kings Interested In Jackson, Jerebko, Nuggets

February 13th, 2015 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings have turned their focus to trades this week now that George Karl has agreed to take over as coach, and they’ve spoken with the Nuggets and held preliminary talks with the Thunder about Reggie Jackson and Pistons about Jonas Jerebko, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Deveney’s report suggests the Kings and Nuggets have talked about Arron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler, which, in the case of Afflalo, would affirm a report from earlier this week via Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Sacramento is shopping Nik Stauskas, Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson, Deveney writes, which jibes with a report from Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders on Williams but changes the narrative on Stauskas and Thompson, whom the team previously seemed only to have made available.

In any case, the Nuggets would like athletic players who fit Karl’s up-tempo style, and have been “as active as anyone” and are “pushing hard” to do a deal, one GM tells Deveney. Specifically, the Kings continue to seek an upgrade at power forward who can shoot from the outside, and they’d also like to add more shooting at other positions, Deveney writes. The Sporting News scribe speculates that the team might have interest in Ersan Ilyasova and suggests the Bucks would like to deal the stretch four, given his deal, which gives him $7.9MM this season, another $7.9MM next year, and is partially guaranteed for $400K the following season.

Denver is reportedly seeking first-round picks for Afflalo and Chandler, though Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote Thursday that the Nuggets are apparently looking for a better return for Chandler than for Afflalo and that some believe Chandler is one of the few Nuggets the team isn’t shopping. The two have similar salaries for this season and next, but while Afflalo has a player option on his $7.5MM for 2015/16, Chandler’s nearly $7.172MM for next year is only partially guaranteed for $2MM.

Stein’s report also noted that GMs around the league believe Jackson is one of the three biggest names likely to be dealt before the deadline, and the Heat have apparently joined the Knicks among the teams with interest. The Pistons would like to deal Jerebko for a point guard, as Deveney wrote recently, but the Heat’s insistence that Detroit take Danny Granger after the Pistons offered Jerebko for Norris Cole stopped a potential deal there, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Stauskas, the eighth overall pick in the 2014 draft, is seeing only 13.6 minutes per game this season behind Ben McLemore, a lottery pick from 2013. Thompson is the incumbent starter at power forward for Sacramento, but he’s struggled to live up to a deal that pays him between $6MM and $7MM each season through 2016/17, when his salary is partially guaranteed for $2.65MM. He doesn’t fit the mold of the stretch four the Kings want, as Deveney points out.

Kings Willing To Trade Nik Stauskas

January 15th, 2015 at 3:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Sacramento desperately wanting to upgrade its frontcourt, the Kings are now willing to discuss including their 2014 first round pick Nik Stauskas in a trade, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports. Sacramento wants to pair star center DeMarcus Cousins alongside a frontline player who would complement his skills, Berger notes. The team is seeking either a stretch four or an above-the-rim defender in any deal involving Stauskas, Berger adds.

The Kings have fielded numerous calls about the 21-year-old, who has seen limited playing time in his rookie season thanks to the improving play of the Kings’ 2013 first-rounder, Ben McLemore, Berger reports. Sacramento has thus far declined to deal Stauskas, whom the team selected with the No. 8 overall pick last June. The Nets were reportedly requesting the rookie out of Michigan during their trade talks involving Deron Williams possibly heading west to join Sacramento, but were rebuffed.

Sacramento has forwards Derrick Williams and Reggie Evans, both of whom are on expiring deals, to include in any trade, notes Berger, though there has been no indication that the Kings wish to deal either player just yet. Including either player could allow Sacramento to acquire a player whose salary is in the $10MM-$11MM range, the CBS Sports scribe adds. Jason Thompson is also available to be had in any deal, though Berger notes that any trade involving Thompson is likely to be a separate transaction. The Kings also desire to obtain a wing defender, but that is currently a secondary priority.

In 38 appearances this season, Stauskas is averaging 3.6 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 14.1 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers are .331/.272/.815.

Bucher’s Latest: Kings, Pelicans, Cavs

January 9th, 2015 at 1:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s no secret that the Nets trio of Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson are available on the trade market, and they’re among a long list of players that GMs say teams are open to trading as the February 19th deadline approaches, according Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher. Jeff Green, Brandan Wright, Lance Stephenson, Greg Monroe, Brandon Jennings, Goran Dragic, Nik Stauskas, Ben McLemore, Jason Thompson, Arron Afflalo and most of the other Nuggets are also on that list, with Bucher, in many cases, confirming earlier reports. Still, Bucher hears plenty of new rumbles, as he passes along in his piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive unilaterally made the decision to fire former coach Michael Malone, sources tell Bucher, even though GM Pete D’Alessandro claimed the decision as his own. Most of the Kings organization was pleased with the direction the team was headed in and believed the team was overachieving, though there were doubts that Malone was the long-term solution, Bucher writes.
Ranadive wanted to make a splash with Malone’s successor, but Kings front office executives prevailed upon him to keep Tyrone Corbin as head coach, according to Bucher. Ranadive would relish the chance to turn the screws on the Warriors, of whom he used to be a part-owner, by hiring Mark Jackson, the ex-Warriors coach, a source tells Bucher, who nonetheless believes that the team won’t hire Jackson during this season.
Talk “circulating around the league” suggests that Pelicans owner Tom Benson is eyeing former Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and former Mavs and Nets coach Avery Johnson if he decides to make changes, Bucher writes. Still, Pelicans sources tell Bucher that the club hasn’t contacted either Dumars or Johnson, and that there are no signs that Benson is definitively displeased with either GM Dell Demps or coach Monty Williams.
Several executives from around the league don’t believe the pair of trades the Cavs made this week assure the team of any more than a second-round appearance, according to Bucher. One exec tells Bucher that the Cavs “overinflated” the market with what they gave up for Timofey Mozgov.

Nets, Kings Discuss Deron Williams Deal

December 30th, 2014 at 11:55am CST by Chuck Myron

DECEMBER 30TH: The Nets also expressed interest in acquiring Nik Stauskas as part of a deal, but the Kings were reluctant to give him up, reports Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.

2:27pm: The talks aren’t completely dead, Broussard cautions in a full story, and a source tells the ESPN scribe that he expects the teams to continue their conversation until the February 19th trade deadline.

DECEMBER 23RD, 10:57am: The conversation between the Kings and Nets is “virtually dead,” since Plumlee, and not Williams, was Sacramento’s primary target and Brooklyn is unwilling to give up Plumlee, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

DECEMBER 20TH, 8:24pm: Talks aren’t ongoing for now, according to Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link). The Kings made the initial inquiry, according to Raskin and Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game (Twitter link). Still, the discussion is liable to pick back up, since the Nets are listening to all offers, Raskin tweets, adding that Brooklyn considers none of its players untradeable, an assertion that would seem to conflict with the other reports indicating that Plumlee is off-limits. Sources “emphatically” told Tim Bontemps of the New York Post that Plumlee isn’t going anywhere, however.

5:49pm: The Nets and Kings are in trade talks about Deron Williams, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who cautions that no deal is imminent. A source confirms the talks to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, who nonetheless hears that the sides aren’t at all close to a deal that this point (Twitter link). The discussion involves Darren Collison, Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson from Sacramento’s side, according to Wojnarowski. The Kings would like for Mason Plumlee to be a part of any transaction, and that’s a stumbling block from the Nets’ perspective, Wojnarowski adds. Plumlee is virtually untouchable as far as Brooklyn is concerned, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck tweets, and the same is true of Sergey Karasev and Bojan Bogdanovic, as NetsDaily’s Robert Windrem hears (Twitter link). The Kings are high on Collison and hesitant to give him up, but the Nets want to have a point guard to replace Williams should they give him up, as the Yahoo scribe details.

The relationship between Deron Williams and the Nets has chilled over the past two years, and there’s mutual appeal to parting ways, sources tell Wojnarowski. Conversely, Williams and Kings coach Tyrone Corbin have a relationship that’s persisted since their years together in Utah, where Corbin was an assistant coach while Williams played with the Jazz. The Kings are thrilled with Collison so far this season, Wojnarowski writes. Still, they’ve poked around for an upgrade at point guard since signing Collison over the summer, having asked the Timberwolves about Ricky Rubio before Rubio signed his extension with Minnesota in October, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). The Kings maintained interest in Rajon Rondo, though the Celtics’ demands for him were reportedly too high for Sacramento’s liking.

The Nets have had talks about moving Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson of late as they appear ready to make major changes. They also looked into the idea of trading for Lance Stephenson and spoke to Boston about Rondo before he went to the Mavs, according to earlier reports.

Deron Williams’ salary of more than $19.754MM for this season and the two additional years that remain on his contract make him tough to move, especially considering the decline in his performance since he signed the maximum-salary deal as the marquee free agent in the 2012 market. He averaged 20.1 points and 8.7 assists the season before he signed the max contract and is putting up 15.6 PPG and 6.8 APG this season. Those numbers are similar to the 15.6 PPG and 6.1 APG that Collison is putting up for the Kings this year, as Windrem notes (on Twitter). Collison makes about $4.798MM this season, less than Derrick Williams and his salary of more than $6.331MM and Thompson, who’s getting almost $6.038MM.