Odds & Ends: Exum, Nuggets, Cavs, Pistons
The return of Slovenian native Sasha Vujacic to the NBA today, on a 10-day contract with the Clippers, gives the league 93 players born outside the U.S., and they hail from a record 39 different countries, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The globalization of the game doesn’t figure to let up soon, as there’s news on the top overseas draft prospect amid today’s look around the NBA:
- Dante Exum wants to mimic Kobe Bryant‘s successful leap from high school to the pros, and that’s what led him to hire Bryant’s agent Rob Pelinka, the Australian point guard prospect tells Jon Tuxworth of The Canberra Times. Exum shares more about his decision to enter this year’s draft and his hopes for instant playing time once he’s in the league.
- The Nuggets, Cavs, Pistons and Grizzlies would all like to swing deals by the deadline, as TNT’s David Aldridge writes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times categorizes nine Bulls trade candidates, and says the team won’t part with Taj Gibson unless it’s certain that a star player will sign with Chicago in free agency this summer. The Lakers, Wizards and Bobcats have reportedly inquired about Gibson.
- Raymond Felton has changed agents, dropping Tony Dutt of Dutt Sports Services Inc. to join Wasserman Media Group, as Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal reports in a subscription-only piece. Thad Foucher and Makhtar N’Diaye will handle representation for Felton, who can’t opt out of his deal with the Knicks until the summer of 2015.
- Von Wafer has signed to play for Russia’s Krasny Oktyabr Volgograd, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Enea Trapani). The six-year NBA veteran has also played in China and for the D-League’s Bakersfield Jam this season.
Kyle Lowry Rumors: Friday
An overnight report suggested that Knicks owner James Dolan had blocked a potential acquisition of Kyle Lowry, but Marc Berman of the New York Post provides another possible explanation for talks between the Knicks and Raptors breaking down. We have more details on that below, along with the rest of the day’s Lowry-related updates:
- The Nets have “zero intention of surrendering Bogdanovic or a first-rounder for Lowry, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, who can’t envision Brooklyn landing the point guard, given Toronto’s insistence on a first-round pick and a young asset. The Nets are enamored with Bogdanovic and don’t have many first-rounders to trade (All Twitter links).
Earlier updates:
- Sam Amick of USA Today hears from two people with knowledge of the Nets‘ dealings that the team won’t acquire Lowry if the Raptors insist on getting a 2020 first-rounder from Brooklyn. As for the Warriors, Amick says that as of late Friday, they view the asking price for Lowry as too high and appear to be moving on.
- Raptors GM Masai Ujiri was in Turkey yesterday and saw Bogdanovic in action, according to Halil Can Pelister SuperBasket.org (Twitter link). Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun notes (via Twitter) that the trip had been prearranged, so it’s not necessarily a signal that the Raps are serious about a deal with the Nets.
- Wojnarowski’s latest update on the Lowry talks is consistent with Frank Isola’s report, indicating that Dolan bailed on a deal that would have sent Felton, World Peace, and a 2018 first-rounder to Toronto. The Knicks‘ front office would like to re-enter negotiations, and is working to convince Dolan to ignore public criticism, but it’s unclear if the Knicks would put that same offer on the table or whether they’d need to upgrade it.
- The Nets and Raptors have exchanged ideas on packages that include Mirza Teletovic, Tyshawn Taylor, and Bojan Bogdanovic, according to Wojnarowski. Jason Terry has also been discussed for salary-matching purposes, but the Nets so far seem unwilling to include Mason Plumlee or a future first-round pick.
- The Warriors have also remained involved in Lowry talks, says Wojnarowski.
- Lowry told reporters, including Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun, that he anticipates being moved at some point, but has never asked the Raptors for a trade.
- According to Berman, after the Knicks thought they had a deal in place, Toronto’s asking price went up. Rather than accepting Raymond Felton, Metta World Peace, and a 2018 first-round pick, Toronto wants to include Tim Hardaway Jr. in place of World Peace, says Berman.
- Within Berman’s piece, he notes that Felton isn’t giving too much thought to the latest reports. “I laughed at that trade stuff,’’ Felton said. “I don’t talk about. I’ve been in the league for nine years. That stuff is going to happen when you have a good season. I have nothing to do with it. I don’t deal with it. That’s why we have general managers.”
- As the Knicks‘ front office works with Dolan to regroup on the Lowry front, the Nets are gaining traction as a possible destination for the Raptors‘ point guard, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Wojnarowski adds in a second tweet that Toronto continues to talk to several teams about Lowry, so nothing is imminent.
Latest On Kyle Lowry
8:36pm: According to Wojnarowski, Knicks owner James Dolan is sensitive to the public perception that GM Masai Ujiri “bamboozled” him in the Carmelo Anthony trade, and the chance of getting criticized for giving up too much in a deal for Lowry has become a hurdle in these talks. Toronto is said to be discussing deals for Lowry with an ever-growing list of teams.
Wojnarwoski adds that New York doesn’t want to include either Shumpert or Hardaway Jr. in discussions (they reportedly refused a proposal involving the former along with Felton), and without Shumpert or a draft pick going to Toronto, there isn’t any traction to a deal. Also, the Knicks are believed to still be hesitant about trading a future first round draft choice to the Raptors, and there seems to be doubt over how long they’ll keep that option on the table.
As for the Nets’ interest, Wojnarowski says the team isn’t willing to include either a 2020 first-round pick or one of its young players – including Mason Plumlee – in a trade package.
4:03pm: Toronto is insisting on a first-rounder from the Knicks in part because taking on Felton would leave the Raptors with more long-term money, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Felton’s deal runs through 2015/16, which is a player option year, while Lowry is on an expiring contract. The Knicks would like to save Iman Shumpert and Tim Hardaway Jr. for another deal, Stein adds (Twitter links). The Raptors are seeking two out of three assets from the Knicks: Shumpert, Hardaway, or a first-rounder, Stein tweets.
3:46pm: The Knicks are refusing to give up a first-round pick, and that’s gumming up the talks between the two teams, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
3:24pm: The Nets represent the strongest competition to the Knicks for Kyle Lowry among an “ever-growing list of teams” going after the Raptors point guard, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. New York’s latest offer includes Metta World Peace and a 2018 first-round draft pick to go with Raymond Felton, according to Wojnarowski, who indicates that the Knicks are wavering on their willingness to include the pick.
The Raptors are reportedly asking for a quality young player or a first-round pick, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who says the price could be too high for Brooklyn’s tastes (Twitter link). Still, Brooklyn’s interest is legitimate, Mannix writes, and Wojnarowski hears the Raptors are investigating Bojan Bogdanovic, a former second-round pick whose rights the Nets hold.
Lowry is apparently interested in heading to New York, and Wojnarowski says he’s spent most of the season hoping for a trade out of Toronto. The Warriors are another team with interest in Lowry, but the odds that the Warriors land him are “very very slim,” according to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, who doesn’t think Golden State has much to offer the Raptors (Twitter links). Lowry has fans in the Timberwolves front office, but the team doesn’t have enough assets or financial flexibility, and isn’t in the mix for the point guard, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter).
The Knicks can’t trade World Peace until Sunday, since he signed a contract this past offseason. The Raptors would probably buy him out of his two-year, approximately $3.5MM deal if they traded for him, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Raptors, Knicks Working On Kyle Lowry Trade
2:47pm: The Raptors are sticking to their asking price of a quality young player or a first-round pick in return for Lowry, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com, tweeting that negotiations could take a while. Lowry has plenty of interest in playing for the Knicks, but Felton’s injury doesn’t help the chances of the Knicks landing Toronto’s point guard, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post, who says several teams including the Raptors have inquired about Hardaway.
1:56pm: The chances that Shumpert is part the deal are slim, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, who says the Raptors aren’t high on him and the Knicks prefer to keep him for now (on Twitter).
1:39pm: Shumpert’s name has come up in discussions between the Raptors and Knicks, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. In his piece on rumors around the league, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report wrote that Shumpert, along with Felton, would “most likely” be part of a deal for Lowry.
1:04pm: Isola can’t envision Hardaway being part of the deal, citing owner James Dolan’s affection for the rookie (Twitter link).
12:53pm: The Nets and Warriors are also interested in Lowry, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, while Stein says the Knicks may be forced to put Tim Hardaway Jr. into the deal (Twitter links).
12:47pm: The Raptors are trying to elicit more offers for Lowry, and that’s why they’re leaking the news of their talks with the Knicks, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
12:38pm: Kyle Lowry has been mentioned prominently among Raptors who could be on the move as GM Masai Ujiri aggressively reshapes the team, and he’s at the center of trade talks between Toronto and the Knicks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The trade would likely feature Raymond Felton and at least one other Knick heading north of the border unless a third team jumps in, Stein also notes (on Twitter).
The Knicks had interest in trading with the Nuggets for Andre Miller, but they’ve shifted their focus to Lowry, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The Raptors are looking for a first-round pick in the deal, Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck notes (via Twitter), but the earliest first-rounder the Knicks can deal away is their 2018 pick.
Lowry is among nine Raptors with an expiring contract, as I examined earlier today, and his $6.21MM salary might make him an attractive target for teams looking for a starting point guard. The Knicks will miss Felton for the next two to three weeks as he recovers from a strained hamstring, as Newsday’s Al Iannazzone tweets. While that’s certainly not a long-term absence, New York may feel as though a quick fix is necessary to avoid falling further behind in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are 6-15, but that’s just two and a half games out of a playoff spot, given the struggles of so many Eastern teams this year.
The teams hooked up on the Andrea Bargnani trade over the summer, though that happened while former Knicks GM Glen Grunwald was still in charge in New York. New Knicks GM Steve Mills has yet to make a major move since taking over shortly before the season.
A one-for-one swap of Lowry and Felton, who’s making about $3.6MM, wouldn’t work under salary-matching rules. The Knicks would have to include about $1.5MM more in outgoing salary. They could accomplish that by throwing Iman Shumpert into the deal, and while Shumpert has been at the centerpiece of most of the trade chatter involving the Knicks this year, it’s not clear whether he’s a part of these talks.
Atlantic Notes: Woodson, 76ers, Wallace
Iman Shumpert met with Knicks head coach Mike Woodson before last night’s win in Atlanta to address the recent flurry of trade rumors involving him and was told he should be flattered that other teams are interested, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Berman later adds that Shumpert hasn’t necessarily been on Woodson’s good side since the Las Vegas Summer League, specifically when the third-year guard left the team after one game to go to China for a tour with Adidas.
Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division tonight:
- When asked if there was an ideal type of point guard for Carmelo Anthony to play alongside, Woodson bluntly responded with, “Raymond Felton” (Chris Herring of the Wall-Street Journal via Twitter).
- After observing the 76ers strong start, Philly.com’s Michael Kaskey-Blomain wonders if now would be an opportune time to trade Evan Turner.
- With former Daryl Morey-protégé Sam Hinkie running the Sixers’ front office, Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead compares Philadelphia’s rebuilding project with the Rockets’ three-year journey from being part of the “NBA middle” to becoming an expected title contender. With prospects such as Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel, and what could potentially be two lottery picks in a loaded 2014 draft (Philadelphia is currently owed a top-five protected pick from the Pelicans), McIntyre suggests that Hinkie has plenty of assets available to possibly enter trade discussions for a big name down the line.
- Celtics forward Gerald Wallace told Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer that he may not be as durable as he once was: “I understand my situation…don’t think I could play 35-40 minutes a night for 82 games anymore” (Twitter link).
- Jared Sullinger adamantly downplayed the idea of tanking this season in Boston: “(The media was) talking about the lottery. We didn’t even think about that,…We don’t care about that. We want to win, we want to make the playoffs, and we want to make a run. At the end of the day, that was something that you talked about, not us…we definitely wanted to shut (them) up. Definitely” (Jimmy Golen of Boston.com)
- NBA.com’s Marc D’Amico discusses the Celtics’ struggles with consistency so far.
Eastern Notes: Wade, George, 76ers
Heat superstar Dwyane Wade, like teammate LeBron James, can potentially opt out next summer and become a free agent, but told reporters on Thursday that there really isn't much to make of it right now and made it clear about where he stood: "Everyone knows where I want to be…That's what it's all about to me, is making sure we focus on this season, winning this championship…I want to be in Miami and I have nothing else to talk about. So there won't be (any) exciting news over here" (Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). Wade also touches upon his health and is excited about the addition of center Greg Oden. Here's more out of the Eastern Conference tonight:
- Pacers' swingman Paul George is ready to lead Indiana as the team's "No. 1 guy" (Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star).
- Despite the thought that the 76ers could trade Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner, or Spencer Hawes if the right deal presents itself, newly hired head coach Brett Brown raved about what each of them can bring to the court for him (Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer).
- Knicks head coach Mike Woodson specifically mentioned Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, and Carmelo Anthony when asked about his starting five for next season, but was non-committal when asked if third-year guard Iman Shumpert would be included in that group at shooting guard, notes ESPN New York's Ian Begley. With that being said, Begley suggests that Woodson may look to continue starting Pablo Prigioni alongside Felton while sliding Shumpert to small forward and offers more thoughts on the rest of the team's rotation.
- ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg rounds up a few predictions from the Celtics blogging community on how the 2013-14 season will play out, and the majority appears to imagine a finish anywhere in or between the ninth and twelfth seeds in the Eastern Conference.
- John Schuhmann of NBA.com thinks the Wizards are primed for a playoff run this year.
Odds & Ends: Billups, Cavs, Felton
Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida spoke with the Clippers' Chauncey Billups, who said the Pistons might have won consecutive titles after their surprise victory over the Lakers in 2004, if they had drafted more wisely in the acclaimed 2003 draft, in which they picked second.
Pistons general manager Joe Dumars famously drafted Darko Milicic with their second pick (LeBron James was number one, obviously), and bypassed future stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Milicic was a bust, and doesn't want to return to the NBA after leaving the Celtics in November of last year.
Despite pushing the Spurs to a game 7 in 2005, and making six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals dating from 2002 to 2008, those early- and mid-2000s Pistons teams never again won the title. Said Billups (Sulia link):
“If he had drafted either Melo or Bosh, I think maybe that whole team would still be together. We probably would have more championships down the road. But this is the NBA and things happen. But, of course, I always think about that.’’
Dumars took a risk drafting the Serbian Milicic that year, and that's what every general manager is fretting about right now as we come up on the last four days before the 2013 draft. Here's what else is happening around the league before Thursday's action-packed night.
- While speaking with Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, Raymond Felton said this Knicks team "can win a championship."
- The Nets' new coach Jason Kidd is said to be close to offering Pistons assistant Roy Rogers a place on his new staff in Brooklyn, reports Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter). Discussions with Lawrence Frank continue.
- The former fourth pick out of Iowa State in the 2000 draft, Marcus Fizer, is attempting a comeback, writes Rusty Simmons in the San Francisco Chronicle.
- St. Joseph's shot-blocker C.J. Aiken won't work out for the Sixers on Monday, but will instead work out with the Pistons for the second time that day, reveals Tom Moore of Phillyburbs.com via Aiken's agent Stephen Pina. Aiken isn't expected to be drafted.
- Rumors of trade talks between the Mavs and Cavs involving Shawn Marion may be exaggerated, writes Jodie Valade at the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Also at the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Terry Pluto writes that if the Cavs select a big man with the top pick in Thursday's draft, it will be Alex Len, and Mary Schmitt Boyer explains why Cavs general manager Chris Grant likes to keep people guessing, but may go in a more traditional direction this year.
- Jeff Schultz at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the pain that ex-Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer is feeling after San Antonio lost the NBA Finals to the Heat on Thursday will have to wait as he prepares for his first draft as the Hawks' head coach.
- The Bucks are again stuck with a mid-tier pick in this year's draft, selecting 15th, after a first round playoff exit to the eventual champion Heat. They had the same pick in 2010, when they snagged shot-blocking sensation Larry Sanders, writes Charles F. Gardner Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Gardner spoke with the Bucks' general manager John Hammond about the team's now-familiar draft territory.
- The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell published a trifecta of pieces on the Bobcats' draft and free agency future today. On the draft, Bonnell writes that the lottery could offer the Bobcats a huge payoff, but the Bobcats also have the money to add a free agent — they just have to find the right one.
- Bonnell also explains how the Bobcats have 16 months to reverse the downward trajectory of their franchise before reforming as the Hornets once again.
- Observer columnist Tom Sorenson is a bit more optimistic about the team's future, writing that with the return of the Hornets in the 2014/15 season, the Hornets/Bobcats will make the postseason.
Atlantic Notes: Bargnani, Pietrus, Celtics, Felton
Following blowout losses in Golden State and Denver, the Knicks' current five-game road trip managed to get even worse when Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler left last night's game against the Nuggets with knee injuries. While Chandler downplayed the severity of his left knee contusion and could play tonight, Anthony will head back to New York to get his troublesome right knee drained. Here's more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star says with "99.9% certainty" that amnestying Andrea Bargnani this summer isn't something that's even been discussed at the highest level of the Raptors' front office.
- The Raptors were widely panned when they inked Landry Fields to an expensive three-year deal last summer, but as Stephen Brotherson of HoopsWorld writes, Fields has played his best ball of the season in recent weeks and can still be an important part of the team going forward.
- Mickael Pietrus, currently on the Raptors' roster, still hasn't gotten over not being able to return to the Celtics this season, as he tells Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. "You never know, hopefully I’ll be back," Pietrus said.
- Tom Layman of the Boston Herald spoke to D.J. White and Shavlik Randolph about trying to make enough of an impression that the Celtics will re-sign them when their respective 10-day contracts expire.
- With the Knicks scheduled to play in Portland tonight, Raymond Felton had plenty of comments to make about the 2011/12 he spent with the Trail Blazers, as Marc Berman of the New York Post and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News document. Felton called it an "unfair situation" and said he wished he never asked for the trade that sent him from the Nuggets to the Blazers.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Collins, Knicks, Celtics
We've already had plenty of news out of the Atlantic Division today, as the Knicks announced Rasheed Wallace will undergo surgery and miss the rest of the regular season, while the Sixers look to bounce back from Doug Collins' post-game rant last night. We have a few more Atlantic-related links to pass along though, so let's round them up below:
- Collins is "clearly a very good coach," but when it comes to the Sixers' roster construction and performance, he shouldn't be shifting the blame elsewhere, writes Zach Lowe of Grantland.
- Shaun Powell of Sports on Earth believes it would be very risky for the Sixers to offer Andrew Bynum more than a two-year contract in free agency this summer.
- In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton revisits the Knicks' summer decision to bring in Raymond Felton rather than re-signing Jeremy Lin. While Felton got off to a hot start in New York, the fact that Lin may have already pulled even suggests the current Rocket will be the better long-term choice, writes Pelton.
- Yesterday, we passed along the key quotes from Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck's WEEI appearance, in which he suggested that Boston had discussed several major deals leading up to the trade deadline. Grousbeck made a number of other interesting comments on WEEI though, including his thoughts on the new CBA and on retiring Paul Pierce's and Kevin Garnett's numbers. Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com has the details.
- In his latest mailbag for ESPNBoston.com, Forsberg also fielded questions relating to the Celtics' non-moves and 10-day signings, among other topics.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Barbosa, Brooks
As a heavy slate of NBA basketball games are already underway on this Saturday evening, here's a closer look at the Atlantic Division.
- ESPNNY.com's Jared Zwerling talks about a lot of Knicks related things, including the health of point guard Raymond Felton and the chances head coach Mike Woodson has at coaching the Eastern Conference All-Star team in Houston later this month.
- With Rajon Rondo out for the rest of the season, Celtics guard Leandro Barbosa now has the opportunity step in and fill a ball-handling/scoring void that the team seriously needs, writes ESPNBoston.com's Greg Payne.
- Nets guard MarShon Brooks is looking to increase his playing time, writes Newsday's Roderick Boone.