Pacific Notes: Hill, Wallace, Trade
Fewer than half of the NBA's 30 teams are involved in a seven-game slate tonight, but four of the five Pacific Division clubs are in action. Let's take a look at what's happening out west:
- Grant Hill, 39, thinks he can play "another year, maybe two" after this season and hopes to finish his career with the Suns, writes Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida.
- Rasheed Wallace, who has been linked to the Lakers and the Heat, will wait until after Friday to make his decision on where to sign, Tomasson tweets.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel looks back on last year's Suns–Magic trade, which had Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus going to Phoenix and Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark headed east. After tonight's loss to the Heat, the Suns are 51-52 since the trade, and even though Gortat has ably filled a hole at center, Schmitz believes the Magic won the deal, if only by a hair.
Heat Notes: Wallace, Kaman, Diaw, Randolph
The latest surrounding the Miami Heat in the leadup to the March 15 trade deadline:
- Fox Sports Florida's Chris Tomasson wonders whether the Heat would be wise to pursue Rasheed Wallace. Wallace, who last played in 2010, has hinted at coming out of retirement for a while, and was most recently linked to the Lakers.
- The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman touches on a handful of potential acquisitions in his mailbag column, most notably Chris Kaman. Winderman doesn't believe the Heat have the assets to pull off a Kaman deal that David Stern would approve, especially in light of the blocked Chris Paul trade to the Lakers in December.
- Winderman thinks the Heat could do worse than to pick up Boris Diaw for the minimum in the event that the Bobcats buy the veteran big man out.
- According to Ben Golliver of Blazers Edge (via Twitter), forward Shavlik Randolph recently worked out with the Heat. Randolph last appeared in the NBA with Miami in 2010, and is currently playing in Puerto Rico.
Latest On Rasheed Wallace
Before the All-Star Game, a CSNNE.com story suggested Rasheed Wallace would come out of retirement and play for the Lakers. It appears that report was a little premature. Still, Wallace is indeed considering a return to the NBA, and recently worked out for the Heat, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.
According to Tomasson's source, Wallace hasn't decided yet whether or not he wants to play, and is keeping mum on the subject for now since he "doesn't want to cause a lot of hoopla" if he stays retired. If the Heat were interested in adding him, however, Wallace would consider it (Twitter links).
As for the rumored Wallace-to-the-Lakers move that never materialized, I have to think there was something there, particularly since the team never publicly shot it down. But clearly the two sides weren't as close to an agreement as was believed. CSNNE's A. Sherrod Blakely covered Wallace on the Pistons for years, so perhaps he heard from the big man's camp that he planned to sign with Los Angeles, while the Lakers themselves were still undecided on how to use their open roster spot — that's just a guess though.
Odds & Ends: Howard, Wallace, Lopez, Ellis
While everyone is busy discussing possible deals that would ship Dwight Howard out of Orlando, Magic GM Otis Smith is probably thinking of trades that will bring in talent to convince his franchise piece that staying is the best option for everybody. With a roster full of bad contracts and young assets not worth enough to bring back immediate value, this could ultimately pose as an impossible task. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel takes a crack at it anyway, offering a few ideas that could get the team some enticing players, such as Monta Ellis and Amare Stoudemire.
Here's a look across the league at some other rumors that are being batted around:
- Matt Steinmentz of CSNBayArea.com gives his views on the rumored deal between Golden State and New Jersey centered around Brook Lopez and Monta Ellis. He argues from the Warriors viewpoint that giving up your best player for a center who does not rebound wouldn't be a smart decision. Especially since they already have David Lee, a big man who's able to face up with the ball, just like Lopez.
- The New York Times NBA blog, Off The Dribble, takes a stab at analyzing how effective Rasheed Wallace could be if Los Angeles did in fact sign him to come aboard for the rest of 2012. The consensus feeling is that if Wallace does in fact come back, defense would be the one thing in his game he's guaranteed to bring with him. Meanwhile, the Lakers still need someone small and athletic to create off the dribble and defend the pick and roll.
- The next super team may be in Dallas, but only if they can fit everyone in at an appropriate financial number. Zach Lowe of SI.com's The Point Forward gives a brilliant breakdown of what the Mavericks would have to do, exactly, if they wanted to lock up both Dwight Howard and Deron Williams this summer. In the end, it's not as easy as it seems.
- In his preview piece for tonight's game between Boston and Cleveland, Sam Amico from Fox Sports Ohio writes that a Jermaine O'Neal for Michael Beasley trade has been making the rounds lately. In terms of salary and production the deal makes moderate sense, but if you're Minnesota there must be more you could get back than a hobbled big man. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently wrote about Beasley as a possible trade candidate.
Rasheed Wallace Plans To Sign With Lakers
Over a year and a half since he last played in an NBA game, Rasheed Wallace will come out of retirement and sign with the Lakers, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Wallace played for the Celtics in 2009/10, but had the rest of his contract bought out by the team and retired that summer. While the 37-year-old hasn't played since Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals, he was said to be contemplating a comeback earlier this season.
The Lakers, with 14 players on their roster, won't have to make a move to clear a spot for Wallace. There had been speculation that the team could sign Gilbert Arenas using that roster spot, but the Lakers didn't make a move after watching Arenas work out in L.A. As for Wallace, Blakely hears from sources that a renewed conditioning regimen has the veteran big man looking better than he has "in years." Still, as a rival executive tells Blakely, Wallace will merely provide bench depth for the Lakers — adding him doesn't necessarily mean the team is more inclined to move Pau Gasol.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported in early February that the Lakers may have some interest in Wallace if Kenyon Martin signed elsewhere. Martin, of course, ended up in Los Angeles, but signed with the Clippers, not the Lakers.
Kenyon Martin Decision Expected This Week
Kenyon Martin is expected to make a decision on where he'll sign by this weekend, reports Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports. Spears mentions that the Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Spurs, Hawks, and Knicks have expressed interest in adding Martin, though it's not clear if Martin's choices are limited to those teams or if others could get involved. For his part, the former first overall pick would like to sign with a winning team that can offer him consistent minutes.
Martin signed with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China during the lockout, but reached an agreement on a buyout in December. Although the 34-year-old was bought out before the American season got underway, he can't officially sign with an NBA team until the Flying Tigers' season ends, which could happen as soon as February 16th. If the Tigers make the CBA postseason, however, Martin would be in for a longer wait. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com points out (via Twitter) that Xinjiang is currently a half-game out of the playoff race.
While the Clippers, Spurs, Hawks, and Knicks all retain some form of exception they could put toward Martin, none of those teams appear to have the full MLE, a pro-rated portion of $5MM, available. Still, they can offer more than the Lakers or Heat, who have already used their mini MLEs, as I outlined yesterday. The Lakers acquired an $8.9MM trade exception when they dealt Lamar Odom to Dallas, but it can't be used on a free agent signing. If Martin were to sign with the Lakers or Heat, it would have to be for the veteran's minimum.
If Martin decides to sign elsewhere, the Lakers may have some interest in Rasheed Wallace, according to Spears. Wallace, who officially retired in 2010, is said to be considering a comeback.