Point Guard Rumors: Calderon, Telfair, Mavs
With free agent rumors coming in fast, we have enough updates on point guards alone to dedicate a whole post to the position. Here's the latest:
- Chris Broussard of ESPN.com hears the Pistons are intent on bringing back Jose Calderon (Twitter link), though an earlier report indicated that the team is unwilling to exceed a deal worth $7MM a year to re-sign him.
- Sebastian Telfair has drawn interest from the Knicks, Nets, Heat, and Thunder, sources tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (Twitter link).
- Finding a starting point guard remains a top priority for the Mavericks, who hope to have Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel compete for backup minutes, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News suggests keeping an eye on Greivis Vasquez, though he's more of a secondary option for the Mavs, since the Pelicans may not be inclined to trade him even with Jrue Holiday on board.
- The Jazz, who had plenty of free agents come off their roster last night, were no doubt busy, but they did reach out to Jamaal Tinsley, tweets Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune.
- Nemanja Nedovic, who says he's ready to come stateside next season if the Warriors want him, was "shocked" when Golden State drafted him. He had worked out for the Pistons, Cavaliers, Hawks, Knicks, and Bucks, but not the Warriors, prior to the draft (Twitter links via Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle and Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group).
- The Sixers didn't extend a qualifying offer to Charles Jenkins, making him an unrestricted free agent, notes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Scola, Grizzlies, Kobe, Telfair
It's been a relatively quiet day as far as NBA rumors and transactions go, but a year ago today, things were heating up in anticipation of a later-than-usual March 15th trade deadline. No deals were consummated on the 14th, but the Bucks and Warriors had finalized a five-player blockbuster the day before, and plenty of rumors were swirling in advance of a deadline day that saw nine more trades completed. We won't be seeing any trades happen on March 14th this year, but while we wait to see if the evening brings any more minor deals or major rumors, let's round up a few odds and ends….
- Luis Scola experienced an emotional, bittersweet return to Houston last night, eight months after being amnestied by the Rockets, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details.
- Although trading Rudy Gay was viewed as a financially-motivated decision by the Grizzlies, ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh (Insider link) examines the team's performance since the deal and concludes that moving Gay may have been "addition by subtraction."
- At ESPNLosAngeles.com, Arash Markazi and Mark Saxon debate what Kobe Bryant's career holds after his current contract expires in 2014.
- Ian Thomsen of SI.com talks to Sebastian Telfair about his evolution from a hyped-up lottery pick to a solid NBA role player.
- Former NBA veterans Melvin Ely and Andres Nocioni are among the players tracked down in Max Ogden's latest "Where Are They Now?" piece for Sheridan Hoops.
Bryan Colangelo Talks Telfair, Bargnani, CBA
Earlier today, we rounded up post-deadline comments made by one general manager, the Thunder's Sam Presti, in the wake of yesterday's moves. Now we'll turn our focus to Toronto, where GM Bryan Colangelo spoke to reporters today about the Raptors' deadline decisions. Eric Koreen of the National Post has the key quotes.
On the Raptors acquiring Sebastian Telfair:
"We feel like we’re getting a player that gives us the necessary depth at that position. [John Lucas III] has done a great job filling in on the short term. The ability to score, the ability to man those minutes, he did an admirable job and I don’t necessarily see him getting supplanted right away. But what I do see is a guy that is capable of playing those minutes if need be and if someone were to go down with injury you’ve got a guy that has started I believe 192 games in the NBA who can come in and play this games if need be."
On trade talks involving Andrea Bargnani:
"Once the [elbow] injury occurred, his return, as late as it was in the process, as near to the trade deadline [as it was], it probably did not leave enough runway with respect to a deal being made now. That didn’t stop us from having dialogue with other teams or teams expressing interest. I believe it did affect some of the deals that we were probably discussing in advance of the injury, and even some that we were maintaining connection or dialogue over the course of the last couple months."
On revisiting a Bargnani trade this summer:
"The summer is the next potential opportunity to engage in trade discussions with respect to our entire roster. And with 27 games left in terms of us looking at where we are and how this group can come together and what the chemistry looks like. Continuity is obviously something nice to look at going forward. I think a lot of the pieces we do have in place are pieces we want to keep and hang onto and we’ll see how it all plays out."
On the impact of the CBA and increasing tax penalties:
"Of course, every team in the league is tax-averse. You do not want to be in the tax for various reasons…. Some people have said different things about the transaction we made yesterday. It not only shored up a point guard position need that we had, but it also took a $200K commitment off of the books for next year with [Hamed] Haddadi’s contract. It sounds like nothing, but $200K over the tax next year is actually a $300K tax with a $1.50-per-dollar principle for the first $5MM over. It was a $500K decision just for next season. … We made a very large transaction and have climbed into the tax for next season prior to three weeks ago. It certainly didn’t affect us in terms of a decision that was made in terms of the acquisition of Rudy Gay."
Kennedy On Trade Deadline Winners
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld posted a new column examining the reasoning why many teams opted to stand pat at the trade deadline rather than make any major deals. He also wrote that, although the trade deadline was relatively uneventful, it could set up an exciting summer of trades and free-agent signings.
Kennedy also ran down the teams he thought improved with deadline deals:
- Kennedy thinks J.J. Redick will be valuable to the Bucks as they push for a playoff spot.
- The Thunder added Ronnie Brewer at little cost, and Kennedy believes he will form a formidable perimeter defense tandem with Thabo Sefolosha.
- Kennedy praises Rockets GM Daryl Morey for acquiring the fifth pick in the 2012 draft, and believes Thomas Robinson will flourish in a better situation than the one he was in with the Kings.
- The Raptors picked up Sebastian Telfair, giving them a serviceable backup for Kyle Lowry at little cost, Kennedy writes, also noting that Telfair has strong relationships with several players already on the team.
- Kennedy praises the Blazers for acquiring much-needed bench help in Eric Maynor.
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.
Raptors, Suns To Swap Haddadi, Telfair
1:33pm: The second-round pick headed to Phoenix will either be the Raptors' or Kings' 2014 pick, whichever is lower, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
1:03pm: The Raptors and Suns have agreed to a deal that will send Sebastian Telfair to Toronto and Hamed Haddadi to Phoenix, reports ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (via Twitter). According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter), the Suns will also acquire a second-round pick in the trade, as ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported earlier today.
Since trading Jose Calderon to the Pistons in the deal that landed them Rudy Gay, the Raptors had been exploring avenues for adding another point guard, having reportedly targeted Eric Maynor and Luke Ridnour along with Telfair. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported this morning that the Raptors had emerged as the frontrunners for Telfair, who had a cheaper salary and trade cost than Toronto's other options.
In addition to landing a protected second-rounder from the Raptors, the Suns will also cut costs a little, as Haddadi is earning just $1.3MM compared to Telfair's $1.57MM. The move also lets the team create playing time for rookie point guard Kendall Marshall, which was Phoenix's initial motivation for exploring a Telfair trade.
Raptors Frontrunners To Land Sebastian Telfair
10:44am: If the Suns and Raptors reach an agreement, it's likely to come in the final hour before the deadline, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein, who says that Telfair would likely be swapped for Hamed Haddadi and a second-round pick.
8:34am: NBA fans may not breathlessly be discussing the Sebastian Telfair sweepstakes, but according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the Raptors have emerged as the frontrunners to land Telfair.
We heard earlier this week that the Suns were looking to move Telfair in order to create playing time for rookie point guard Kendall Marshall. The club's efforts to trade Telfair likely intensified after Phoenix agreed to acquire Marcus Morris — with 15 players already on the roster, the team will need to trade or release a player to clear room for the newest Sun.
The Suns' need to move or let go of a player should create leverage for the Raptors, who have been eyeing a number of backup point guards on the trade market. However, because Telfair makes more than the minimum salary, the Raps would have to send out a little salary of their own to make a deal work financially. Doug Smith of the Toronto Star suggested today that trading Alan Anderson in a deal for a backup point guard is a possibility for Toronto.
Kyler’s Latest: Suns, Redick, Lakers, Novak, Blair
With less than six hours until today's trade deadline, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld explores a few of the latest rumors in his NBA AM piece. Here are the highlights:
- Besides Jermaine O'Neal, Sebastian Telfair is another candidate to be a roster casualty once the Suns finalize their acquisition of Marcus Morris, says Kyler. If Phoenix trades either player for virtually nothing, the Grizzlies, who have seven trade exceptions and a need to add a 13th man to their roster, could get involved.
- As they explore J.J. Redick deals, the Magic continue to seek a high-level first-round pick or a package that includes a young player and second-round picks. Several teams have questioned whether it's worth meeting that asking price for what could be a 30-game rental of Redick, according to Kyler.
- If the Lakers make a trade, it's expected to be one that reduces their luxury-tax bill rather than one that drastically changes the roster.
- In addition to shopping Ronnie Brewer, the Knicks have also made Steve Novak available. The duo isn't drawing a whole lot of interest though.
- The Hawks are a potential destination for DeJuan Blair, particularly if Atlanta finalizes a Josh Smith trade.
Odds & Ends: Repeater Tax, Bobcats, T-Wolves
Yahoo's Marc J. Spears says (via Twitter) that trade talk has been quiet, as teams are waiting to see what happens with Josh Smith first. One major factor which undeniably has affected discussions around this time has been the looming "repeater tax," which Adrian Wojnarowski tweets is the reason why most teams have been reluctant to take back long-term deals at the deadline. We'll round up the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links below:
- In addressing the biggest issues for the Lakers moving forward, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times puts the chances of Dwight Howard re-signing next season at 25%. If Howard stays, Bresnahan thinks the Lakers could possibly amnesty Pau Gasol. If Dwight chooses to leave, Bresnahan opines that L.A. would likely keep Gasol and amnesty Metta World Peace.
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune directs attention to Luke Ridnour and the Timberwolves' multiple first-round picks as their most attractive pieces in trying to acquire a legitimately-sized shooting guard.
- According to Wojnarowski, the Bobcats have been trying to find takers for Gerald Henderson and are looking for a first-round pick in return.
- John Reid of NOLA.com hears that the Hornets would be interested in trading Eric Gordon to the Warriors in any package that includes Klay Thompson, although Golden State is said to be reluctant in parting ways with the second-year guard right now. Reid notes Gordon has the power to veto any trade, and while he showed a strong interest in signing with Phoenix over the summer, the Hornets are prohibited from dealing him to the Suns.
- With no first-round picks or salary cap space to use, Tim Kawakami of Mercury News believes that the Warriors aren't looking or aren't likely to make a deal soon.
- ESPN's Chris Broussard reports that Derrick Rose appeared good enough to return to in-game action judging by the way he looked during 5-on-5 practice, according to eyewitnesses (Twitter link). On the same token, head coach Tom Thibodeau told ESPN Chicago earlier today that Rose might not make his return this season.
- Paul Coro of AZCentral.com says that Sebastian Telfair and Jermaine O'Neal could be sent to title contenders in minor deals, and that Telfair would be the most likely candidate to be moved.
- While there aren't any concrete trade connections between Oklahoma City and the following list of players, Royce Young of Daily Thunder names five reasonable targets for the Thunder: Luc Mbah a Moute, J.J. Barea, Luke Ridnour, Darren Collison, and Rodney Stuckey.
Raptors Eyeing Telfair, Ridnour, Maynor
As we heard earlier, ESPN's Chris Broussard reports that the Raptors are in the market for a point guard and have been in talks with the Suns about moving Sebastian Telfair (Twitter link). Additionally, this ESPN report (which credits Broussard and Marc Stein) says that Toronto also has interest in Timberwolves' guard Luke Ridnour and Eric Maynor of the Thunder.
Since dealing Jose Calderon, the Raptors' point guard rotation has consisted of Kyle Lowry and John Lucas III. While Lucas has been productive as of late (scoring in double figures in the team's last four games), his assist numbers have been low enough to understand why Toronto could be looking to add a pure playmaker off the bench.