- The Raptors haven’t had much luck in their efforts to trade Jonas Valanciunas, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News details. According to Deveney, discussions with the Kings, Suns, Hornets, Trail Blazers, Hawks, and others “did not get very far.” Now that they’ve dumped some salary by moving DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph, it’s not clear if the Raptors are still attempting to move Valanciunas.
Carmelo Anthony has been open to a trade to the Cavs or Rockets, though it was recently reported that he’s focused on joining Houston over any other destination. The Rockets also have interest in such a pairing but they aren’t the only team that would like to bring Melo aboard.
We learned this weekend, that the Blazers have interest in Anthony. Portland feels that it can compete with nearly any team in the Western Conference should Melo come to town. Apparently, the team’s star shooting guard agrees. C.J. McCollum posted a picture of Anthony in a Blazers jersey on his Instagram earlier today, signaling his support for an Anthony deal.
Anthony hasn’t made any public statements since the report of Portland’s interest in him. The Blazers have never been included in any reported short list of teams for which he was willing to waive his no-trade clause.
Yet, for the sake of tonight’s community shootaround, let’s assume Anthony is willing to accept a deal to Portland. Should the Blazers make a deal for the 10-time All-Star and if so, what should they give up in return?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
The Knicks had hoped that the Blazers would help facilitate a Carmelo Anthony deal between New York and Houston, but Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports that Portland is only interested in a deal if it brings Anthony to its team.
The Blazers believe a deal for Anthony would push the team to compete with any non-Warriors Western Conference squad due to their talent and depth. As a result, the organization isn’t interested in helping New York send Anthony to another team in its conference.
Portland currently isn’t on Anthony’s short list of teams in which he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause for. It was previously reported that the 10-time All-Star would be open to a trade to the Rockets and Cavs, though we learned earlier today that he may be focused joining Houston.
The Trail Blazers have officially signed rookie big men Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan to their first NBA contracts, according to a pair of press releases issued by the team.
Portland entered last month’s draft with three first-round picks, but packaged the 15th and 20th overall selections to acquire the No. 10 overall pick, which the team used to snag Collins. The Blazers held onto their other first-rounder, No. 26 overall, and selected Swanigan with that pick.
As our chart of rookie scale salaries for 2017/18 shows, Collins will be in line for a first-year salary of $3.06MM and a four-year total of $16.33MM, while Swanigan will earn a more modest $1.47MM salary this season and $8.9MM over four years.
While their investments in Collins and Swanigan are fairly modest compared to most other players on their roster, every dollar will count this year for the Blazers, who already had nearly $133MM in guaranteed salaries on their books before locking up their first-rounders. If Portland is unable to move contracts in a trade, Collins’ and Swanigan’s deals will increase the team’s projected tax penalties for 2017/18.
There’s a near-unanimous view around the league that Paul George will sign with the Lakers next summer despite Friday’s trade to the Thunder, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Lowe states that the chances of George heading to L.A. are about 75%, and the Celtics and Cavaliers had that in mind as they were working to obtain him.
The Lakers also subscribe to that view, which is why they weren’t willing to part with Brandon Ingram or Lonzo Ball to get George from the Pacers now. Lowe adds that Indiana didn’t have any interest in former Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell, who was subsequently dealt to the Nets.
The ESPN writer shares more information about Friday’s major deal:
- The Celtics wanted to see if they could land Gordon Hayward in free agency before completing a trade for George. They were reluctant to deal two starters in exchange for George without knowing whether they were getting Hayward.
- Boston’s last offer for George didn’t include Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, the 2018 Nets pick or the Lakers/Kings pick that Boston received from Philadelphia. There were reports that the Celtics offered Indiana three picks at some point, but Lowe believes those were a combination of Boston’s future selections and protected 2019 first-rounders from the Grizzlies and Clippers. All of those draft choices could have fallen into the 20s, Lowe notes, and the Pacers wanted something more likely to be in the top 10.
- A three-way trade involving the Pacers, Cavaliers and Nuggets was discussed on Friday. The deal would have sent George to Cleveland, Kevin Love to Denver and Gary Harris, Trey Lyles and a protected first-rounder to Indiana. Lowe describes the Cavaliers, Nuggets and Celtics as “stunned” when news broke that George was headed to Oklahoma City.
- The Trail Blazers tried to get George on draft night, offering a package that included several picks and at least one player, but the Pacers turned it down.
After weeks of negotiations and rumors involving Paul George, the Pacers surprised NBA insiders and fans alike by agreeing to trade the All-Star forward to the Thunder tonight in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Shock waves are still echoing from the deal that upstaged the first night of free agency:
- Even today, the Celtics believed they were in a good position to acquire George, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. The Celtics made several attempts to work out a deal with Indiana, a source tells Himmelsbach, including an offer at the February deadline that entailed this year’s first-round pick from the Nets, which wound up No. 1 overall, along with three future first-rounders. Boston was confident that two years of playoffs with George would have been enough to change his mind about joining the Lakers. Talks resumed just before the draft, and the Celtics’ offer was changed to three starters and two first-rounders, but not this year’s pick from the Nets or next year’s from the Lakers. The offer evolved into two starters and three picks, but it wasn’t enough to convince the Pacers.
- Thunder GM Sam Presti had quietly been trying to acquire George for several weeks, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com. The Pacers wanted players and picks, which Oklahoma City didn’t have, and Presti wasn’t able to find a third team willing to facilitate the deal. However, Indiana’s asking price dropped Friday and Presti was ready to pounce. One danger to the deal, Young notes, is that George and Russell Westbrook can both become free agents next summer and both hail from southern California, creating the possibility that George may try to recruit his new teammate to join him on the Lakers.
- There was “genuine surprise” in Boston that the Pacers accepted Oklahoma City’s deal, tweets Chris Mannix of The Vertical. The Celtics believed their offer gave Indiana a better path toward rebuilding.
- The Thunder had nothing to lose in gambling on George, claims Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. They had to show Westbrook that he has a chance to win a title before his option decision next year. Bontemps says the deal instantly makes OKC one of the top four teams in the West next season along with the Warriors, Rockets and Spurs.
- The Trail Blazers made a strong play for George this week, according to Jason Quick of CSNNW (Twitter link). Portland submitted an offer on Monday that Quick contends was better than what the Pacers accepted from the Thunder.
- Patience helped Oklahoma City seal the trade, assesses David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). He notes that Presti didn’t pressure the Pacers to make the deal, but he knew they were fond of both Oladipo and Sabonis. Aldridge adds that George’s departure to the Western Conference instead of Cleveland lessens the pressure on Boston to make a panic move in response (Twitter link).
- The trade leaves Oklahoma City with about $108MM in guaranteed contracts for next season, tweets Bobby Marks of The Vertical. That figure is roughly $9MM over the salary cap and $8MM under the luxury tax.
- The Rockets will pay the Trail Blazers $100K for Tim Quarterman.
The Festus Ezeli era in Portland is over. In a move that was long expected, the Trail Blazers have officially waived Ezeli, the team announced today (via Twitter).
Ezeli, 27, signed a two-year deal worth about $15MM with the Blazers last summer, with Portland envisioning him as a rotation player who could provide rebounding and rim protection. However, Ezeli’s troublesome left knee kept him out of action in the preseason and then the regular season as well — the veteran center ultimately underwent a season-ending procedure in March.
Although Ezeli’s contract was for two years, most of his $7.73MM salary for 2017/18 was non-guaranteed, and would have become guaranteed if he remained on Portland’s roster beyond June 30. The Blazers will now be on the hook for just $1MM of next season’s salary.
Ezeli will become an unrestricted free agent once he clears waivers, though it remains to be seen whether he’ll be back on the court to start the 2017/18 season. His knee surgery, which reportedly involved a cadaver donor, didn’t exactly sound like a routine procedure, but hopefully he’s able to resume his playing career.
The Trail Blazers have traded Tim Quarterman to the Rockets in exchange for cash considerations, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). It’s Houston’s third reported trade agreement of the day.
Quarterman, an undrafted free agent who signed with Portland out of LSU last offseason, played sparingly in his NBA rookie season, appearing in 16 games for the Trail Blazers and averaging 1.9 PPG (in 5.0 MPG).
The Rockets appear to be aggressively attempting to acquire players who can be included in Houston’s blockbuster deal with the Clippers for Chris Paul. Based on the terms initially reported, the Rockets aren’t sending out enough salary in that trade, but the team can acquire players using its cap room and flip them again right away in another deal.
Assuming the Rockets intend to use Quarterman and DeAndre Liggins along with Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley, and Sam Dekker in the Paul trade and complete the move before the new league year begins on Saturday morning, they’ll still need to find about $1.589MM in additional salary to include in the deal.
The Trail Blazers are in a tough spot heading into this year’s free agency period, with more than $133MM in guaranteed salaries on their 2017/18 cap, not to mention cap holds for a pair of first-round picks. However, as Joe Freeman of The Oregonian details, Neil Olshey continues to explore ways to make his team better, even if his financial flexibility is virtually non-existent.
“We’re never content with the roster,” said the Trail Blazers’ president of basketball operations. “Every day we wake up looking to find ways to improve the roster, to accelerate what we’ve been trying to do the last couple of years and make the team more competitive. We’re incredibly pleased with what we were able to accomplish in the draft with both of these guys and they are going to contribute. But until we get to October and training camp starts, the roster always is in a state of flux and we’re always looking to upgrade and we’re always looking to accelerate what we’ve been trying to build the last couple of years.”
While Olshey doesn’t intend to stand pat in July, he also cautioned against pursuing “quick fixes,” stressing that the Trail Blazers front office wants to build a team capable of long-term success, rather than pushing all its chips into the middle.
- Jusuf Nurkic continues to recover from a broken leg, but the Trail Blazers expect him to be healthy and ready to go by the time training camp begins in September, writes Mike Richman of The Oregonian. As Richman notes, the franchise is also counting on Ed Davis (torn labrum) and Allen Crabbe (foot surgery) to be back for training camp.