Pacific Links: Kings, Patterson, Suns, Lakers
While the Los Angeles clubs stood pat and the Suns and Warriors only made small moves at the deadline, it was the Kings that were the Pacific Division's most active team, completing a six-player trade with the Rockets on Wednesday night. We have a couple links related to Sacramento's deal, as well as the rest of the latest items out of the Pacific:
- Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee questions why the Kings didn't wait until the offseason to consider dealing Thomas Robinson, since the trade with Houston ultimately won't save the team that much money.
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee spoke to Patrick Patterson about being traded from the Rockets to the Kings.
- The Suns have been looking for an opportunity to pair Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris since the 2011 draft, and nearly gave up a first-round pick to do it at the time, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes.
- Jerry Buss had plenty of time to consider the best course for the Lakers after his death, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who says that Buss' decision to pass on the team to his children suggests the former Lakers owner is still asking fans to trust his vision for the franchise.
Recap Of Deadline Trades
A complete recap of trades that were completed before Thursday's trade deadline:
- The Houston Rockets traded Marcus Morris to the Phoenix Suns and Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, and Toney Douglas to the Sacramento Kings for Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt, and a future second-round pick.
- The Miami Heat traded Dexter Pittman and a future second-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for the rights to Ricky Sanchez and cash considerations.
- The Washington Wizards traded Jordan Crawford to the Boston Celtics for Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins.
- The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers for a trade exception and the rights to Georgios Printezis. The Blazers waived Ronnie Price to clear a roster spot for Maynor.
- The Thunder also acquired Ronnie Brewer from the New York Knicks for a future second-round pick.
- The Atlanta Hawks traded Anthony Morrow to the Dallas Mavericks for Dahntay Jones.
- The Suns traded Sebastian Telfair to the Toronto Raptors for Hamed Haddadi and a future second-round pick.
- The Orlando Magic traded J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, and Ishmael Smith to the Milwaukee Bucks for Beno Udrih, Tobias Harris, and Doron Lamb.
- In a separate deal, the Magic traded Josh McRoberts to the Charlotte Bobcats for Hakim Warrick.
- The Golden State Warriors traded Jeremy Tyler to the Hawks for a second-round pick. They also traded Charles Jenkins to the Philadelphia 76ers for an additional second-round pick.
Rockets Send Morris To Suns, Get Kings’ Robinson
The Rockets have finalized a pair of deals they agreed upon Wednesday night, sending Marcus Morris to the Suns for a second-round pick and trading Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas and $1MM to the Kings for Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt. The second-rounder heading to Houston is Phoenix's own 2013 selection. The Suns, who were at the roster limit of 15 players going into the trade, waived Luke Zeller to make room for Morris.
Houston was reportedly deciding between a pair of deals for Morris, whom the Rockets held out of their win against Oklahoma City on Wednesday. With Houston's top two power forwards gone, it looks like a pair of rookies, in Robinson and Terrence Jones, will man the position as the team fights to hold on to the final playoff spot in the West. One of the motivations to trade Morris was to free up time for Jones, according to HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler.
As Grantland's Zach Lowe points out via Twitter, the pair of moves will save Houston approximately $1.6MM for next season if they decline their option on Garcia. Lowe surmised earlier that Houston would look to cut between $1.5MM and $2MM to clear room for a max deal to land Dwight Howard, who'll be a free agent this summer. The Rockets also get the No. 5 overall pick from this past June's draft in Robinson, who's seen just 15.9 minutes per game as a reserve for the Kings this year. Nonetheless, Robinson is grabbing 4.7 rebounds in his limited action, which would extrapolate to 10.6 rebounds per 36 minutes.
Sacramento had appeared unlikely to make a deal as their ownership situation remains in limbo, but they flipped Robinson for two expiring deals and Patterson, who will enter the final season of his rookie contract next year. The move was all about cost-cutting and not something the Kings current management wished to do, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Chris Hansen/Howard Ballmer group from Seattle that has a deal in place to buy the Kings was briefed on the trade before it went down, according to fellow Yahoo! Sports scribe Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). It's unclear exactly where the directive to make the trade came from, though SB Nation's Tom Ziller indicated Wednesday night that co-owner Gavin Maloof and Geoff Petrie are the driving forces in the Kings front office at the moment.
The Suns considered trading a first-round pick for Morris when the Rockets drafted him 14th overall in 2011, but wound up nabbing him for a second-rounder, currently projected to be the 35th overall selection. Now the power forward will reunite with his twin brother, Markieff Morris, whom the Suns took 13th overall in 2011. With the next pick that year, the Rockets drafted Marcus.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (All Twitter links) initially broke the news of both trades. Sam Amick of USA Today (All Twitter links) and TNT's David Aldridge (Twitter link) contributed additional details.
Odds & Ends: Dwight, Cavs, Blair, Wizards, Gordon
As the hours tick down to tomorrow's 2:00pm Central trade deadline, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News is already starting to look ahead to free agency, and he writes that the Cavaliers believe they could make a longshot bid to sign Dwight Howard. That one seems hard to believe, and even Lawrence intimates that it's a little far-fetched. Still, the Cavs were reportedly in the mix for Andrew Bynum last year, and they'll have plenty of cap space this summer, so I suppose it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility.
In the meantime, there's more on potential deadline deals, and here's the latest:
- We've already heard that Danny Granger is staying put, and TNT's David Aldridge hears that's likely the case for Spurs big man DeJuan Blair, too (Twitter link).
- An Eastern Conference executive tells Michael Lee of The Washington Post he believes there's "very little" the Wizards can get for Jordan Crawford.
- The Wizards reportedly gave up on acquiring Josh Smith because they aren't willing to give up any of the players the Hawks would want in return, and HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy identifies John Wall, Bradley Beal and Nene as the three players the team wants to keep in any deal.
- With a deadline trade to the Warriors unlikely and his knee still not 100%, it looks like Eric Gordon will stay put with the Warriors past the deadline, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times Picayune, who hears from a source who said "nobody wants" Gordon.
- The Suns agreed to a deal to acquire Marcus Morris for a second-round pick tonight, but considered trading a first-round pick for Morris when the Rockets took him on draft night. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has the details.
- The Magic have been trying to unload Al Harrington's contract, but the power forward figures he's not going anywhere, since other teams are likely wary of his health, as John Denton of Magic.com tweets.
- Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times identifies Devin Harris as a trade candidate and tweets that the Wisconsin product would mind playing for the Bucks, though I think if he ends up in Milwaukee, it's more likely via free agency this summer than in a deadline deal.
Western Notes: Kings, Garnett, Mavs, Wolves
Most around the league are surprised by the Kings' involvement in a cost-cutting deal that sent away Thomas Robinson, the fifth pick of this past June's draft this evening, Grantland's Zach Lowe hears (Twitter link). It's just the fifth time a team has traded a top five pick in his rookie season, ESPN Stats and Info tweets. The Kings weren't expected to be involved in any deals as their ownership situation is resolved, but ultimately they didn't hesitate to jump in at the last moment. Here's more on that trade and from around the West as the hours tick down until tomorrow's 2:00pm Central time deadline:
- If Kevin Garnett is traded, it will be to the Clippers or not at all, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes.
- The Mavs are making Brandan Wright, Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones available in return for draft picks, but won't compromise future cap space, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (All Twitter links).
- J.J. Barea, Luke Ridnour and Derrick Williams are all available from the Wolves, Berger also tweets.
- Marcus Morris is averaging 18.4 minutes per game this month for the Rockets, and he was seeking more before the trade that sent him to the Suns, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
- There's a decent chance the Blazers get involved in serious trade talks, but it would likely be about smaller moves, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune sums up what looks to be a quiet deadline for the Jazz, who aren't interested in trading for anyone on a long-term deal unless they get a core player in return.
Rockets Trading Marcus Morris?
The Rockets are deciding between a pair of deals, and that's why they've made Marcus Morris inactive for tonight's game, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Grantland's Zach Lowe speculates that whatever deal Houston makes will cut $1.5MM-$2MM from next year's cap figure so the team can fit in a max deal for soon-to-be free agent Dwight Howard (Twitter links). Rockets coach Kevin McHale said earlier today he'd be "shocked" if the team made a deadline move, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle wrote, but when Feigen asked McHale this evening why Morris was inactive, the coach said, "Talk to Daryl," in reference to GM Daryl Morey (Twitter link).
HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler hears Morris is being traded to make room for Terrence Jones, whom we heard this morning the team is open to moving. A deal that would send Jones out is unlikely unless it brings back a major piece, according to Kyler.
If a deal goes down, it would be the sixth straight year that Morey and the Rockets have made a deadline move. Houston is currently 29-26 and in the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. It would be somewhat surprising to see them open up space for a rookie like Jones as they compete for a postseason berth. Lowe believes that, in addition to cap space, the Rockets are looking for a deal that makes them better in the short term than not.
Kyler On Hawks, Jazz, Calderon, Rockets, Varejao
With this season's deadline still three months away, the trade market likely won't be too active for at least a few more weeks. However, as Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes, things could start to pick up on December 15th, when most players who signed over the summer are eligible to be dealt. Kyler looks at a few specific trade candidates in his latest piece, so let's round up the highlights….
- Josh Smith, Paul Millsap, and Al Jefferson are a few players in the final year of their contracts whose respective teams aren't planning to deal. However, the Hawks and Jazz could reconsider their stances as the deadline approaches, if there's an increasing concern that those players will leave in free agency.
- While there's no urgency in Toronto to move Jose Calderon, the Raptors are expected to explore deals. Kyler suggests that small forwards like Omri Casspi and Wilson Chandler are worth keeping an eye on as potential Raptors targets, adding that Chandler isn't in the Nuggets' long-term plan.
- The Rockets likely aren't done dealing, with players like Daequan Cook, Toney Douglas, and Marcus Morris among the team's possible trade candidates.
- DeJuan Blair continues to be available, but the Spurs are still seeking a first-round pick, and it's unclear if any team would pay that price for a player that could sign elsewhere at season's end.
- Anderson Varejao isn't likely to be moved, but if the Cavaliers were to consider a deal, it would have to include Luke Walton and his $6.09MM salary.
- Similarly, if the Kings explored a Tyreke Evans trade, Sacramento would want to include either John Salmons or Francisco Garcia.
- The Timberwolves would be open to moving Derrick Williams if they could land a good veteran player for him.
- Kyler also names Hedo Turkoglu, Tayshaun Prince, Tyrus Thomas, and Wesley Johnson as trade candidates, though all those players could be tough to move due to their salaries.
Rockets To Exercise Options On Patterson, Morris
12:27pm: Agent Tony Dutt tells Berman that the Rockets will also exercise the option for his client, Marcus Morris (Twitter link).
12:01pm: McCants has received word that the Rockets officially picked up Patterson's option, tweets Berman.
11:55am: Rockets GM Daryl Morey has informed Patrick Patterson's agent, Odell McCants, that Houston will be exercising its 2013/14 option on Patterson, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. The fourth-year option will pay Patterson about $3.11MM in '13/14.
In addition to Patterson's option, the Rockets still have decisions to make this week on two more players for 2013/14. Cole Aldrich has a team option worth about $3.25MM, while Marcus Morris has a third-year option worth about $1.99MM. Houston initially had five pending option decisions, but the team waived JaJuan Johnson and Lazar Hayward, choosing not only to turn down next year's options on both players, but removing from the roster immediately.
To keep tabs on all the offseason's 2013/14 option decisions, check out Hoops Rumors' tracker.
Southwest Notes: Morris, Martin, Hornets, Vazquez
Here are some notes from around the Southwest Division.
- Hornets owner Tom Benson addressed his team for the first time since purchasing the organization, saying he's all about winning writes the Times Picayune's John Reid.
- Marcus Morris told reporters today that even though his rookie season with the Rockets was a disappointment in terms of a lack of playing time, he approaches this year with an unrelenting work ethic, writes the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen.
- Given the team's offseason reconstruction, Kevin Martin is a little surprised to still be a member of the Rockets franchise, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen.
- Hornets.com writer Jim Eichenhofer writes that Greivis Vasquez's third season in the league will be his first with a normal beginning.
Rockets Reconstruct Trade Offer For Howard
11:35am: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that he doesn't believe last year's rookies (Morris, Parsons) and this year's three draftees (Lamb, White, Jones) are all a part of the Rockets' offer, but that many of them could be involved.
7:43am: In an effort to convince the Magic to deal Dwight Howard directly to Houston, the Rockets are in the process of reconstructing their trade proposal for the star center, according to an ESPN.com report by Marc Stein and Chad Ford. Stein and Ford write that the Rockets are looking to clear the necessary cap space to absorb at least three additional contracts in addition to Howard's, from a group that includes Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Duhon, Glen Davis, and Jason Richardson.