California Rumors: Lakers, Lee, Fredette
Injuries to Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar have left the Lakers short on point guards, and they planned to assess the progress of Nash’s recovery in practice this week before exploring the idea of a roster move. Nash isn’t rushing his return, but another player who’s back to health might fit the bill. Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni tells reporters that Kobe Bryant will see time at the point when he makes his season debut Sunday against the Raptors (Twitter link). Here’s more from the state with the most NBA teams:
- The Warriors place a high value on David Lee, and his bloated contract, worth nearly $44.4MM through 2016/17, virtually ensures the team won’t find offers worthwhile enough to trade him, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
- James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom hears from a source that there was nothing substantial to a recent report that the Raptors were talking to the Kings about acquiring Jimmer Fredette, and spoke to Fredette about being the subject of trade rumors.
- The Kings recalled Hamady N’Diaye from the D-League in time for tonight’s game against the Jazz, according to a press release. N’Diaye appeared in just one game for the Reno Bighorns during his assignment, contributing to a win over the Santa Cruz Warriors by recording seven points, seven boards, and four blocked shots.
- The Los Angeles D-Fenders, the D-League affiliate of the Lakers, announced their acquisition of former Cavs swingman Manny Harris in a trade (on Twitter). Harris was in an NBA training camp this fall with the Magic.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Bryant, Rose, Crawford, Hawes
Kobe Bryant took to Facebook to announce he will make his long awaited season debut this Sunday, rejoining the Lakers to face the Raptors in Los Angeles. Bryant has been sidelined since last April but that didn’t stop him from signing a controversial $48.5MM extension late in November. Here are a couple more tidbits from Friday afternoon:
- Recently injured Bulls superstar Derrick Rose has yet to decide whether or not he will play for Team USA in the 2014 FIBA World Cup. “I haven’t really thought about it,” Rose said. “That would be a good idea, but if I’m not ready, there’s no need.” The Bulls have said they would support him playing in the FIBA World Cup if it aided in his rehabilitation process. K.C. Johnson from the Chicago Tribune has the details.
- Trading Jordan Crawford represents an alternative to dealing away Rajon Rondo if the Celtics are adamant about deflating this season’s record and pursuing a high draft pick, as Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com examines in an Insider piece.
- Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News figures Spencer Hawes will see $8MM in annual salary on his next contract if he maintains his performance from the first month of the season.
- Kenny Kadji has inked a deal to play in Germany with the New Yorker Phantoms, notes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Kadji went undrafted out of the University of Miami and failed to make the Cavaliers‘ opening day roster out of training camp.
- Dale Kasler from the Sacramento Bee has the latest on the Kings’ project for a new arena. City officials will vote on whether or not to suspend bid requirements for the arena, saying competitive-bid procedures will impede the current construction schedule. Kasler points out that if the construction falls behind more than one year, the NBA reserves the right to relocate the Kings from Sacramento.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
D-League Moves: Westbrook, N’Diaye, Hawks
Let’s take a look at today’s D-League moves from around the NBA:
- Charlie Westbrook has been claimed by the Heat‘s D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. We heard Wednesday night that Westbrook had entered the D-League’s waiver process.
- Kings center Hamady N’Diaye has been assigned to the club’s D-League affiliate in Reno, the team announced today in an official press release. Ndiaye has played 52 minutes in nine games for Sacramento his season.
- The Hawks have swapped out two shooting guards today, assigning John Jenkins to the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League while subsequently recalling Jared Cunningham. A press release earlier today revealed the pair of moves.
D’Alessandro Q&A: Trades, Iguodala, Rebuilding
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro participated in a live Q&A session with fans and touched on a number of subjects, ranging from the team’s short term trade plans to D’Alessandro’s assessment of Sacramento’s rebuilding process. You can check out the full transcript over at NBA.com, but here are a few highlights from the conversation:
On whether or not the Kings will make any more trades:
“Wow, hard-hitting questions here… Obviously as a GM I will always try to be candid with fans about the things we are doing. I can say this, we will continue to be aggressive to get this thing going in the right direction. The fans of Sacramento deserve a competitive team.”
On the failed attempt to lure Andre Iguodala to Sacramento this offseason:
“We took an aggressive approach this summer to acquire high-level talent, and we will continue to do so in our quest to build a championship team.”
On the Kings’ desire to become a contender:
“We’re going to do everything we can to get there as quickly as we can. We won’t put a timetable on it but we won’t be satisfied until we get there.“
Kings, Raptors In Talks On Jimmer Fredette Deal?
11:14am: Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee hears conflicting information, and suggests that no talks are ongoing. Still, the connection between Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro, who worked together in the Nuggets front office, should lead to plenty of rumors, Jones points out (All Twitter links).
10:43am: The Kings and Raptors are discussing a swap of Jimmer Fredette for Aaron Gray, tweets Kevin Bryant of Canada.com. The one-to-one deal would be a near even match of salaries, and it could take place before December 15th, since neither player signed new contracts in the offseason.
Fredette has been a frequent trade candidate, and Sacramento’s decision to decline its 2014/15 team option on him means he’s on an expiring contract, perhaps lifting his value. Gray is also in the last year of his deal. Fredette, the 10th overall pick in 2011, has appeared in just six games so far for the Kings, averaging 12.2 minutes per contest. Gray has seen even less playing time, appearing for a total of 20 minutes this season.
The Kings were reportedly taking an aggressive posture in trade talks as of last month, and they’ve already pulled off one deal, acquiring Derrick Williams for Luc Mbah a Moute. Hoops Rumors readers identified Fredette as the second most logical trade candidate, though I’m not sure if many would endorse a trade for so little in return. Gray is the 49th overall pick from the 2007 draft, and apart from having managed to stay in the league each season since, he doesn’t have much to offer in exchange for a former lottery pick. Perhaps there’s more to this deal, even though the salaries match. Both teams are interested in a swap, but there’s nothing imminent at this point, Bryant notes (Twitter link).
Pacific Notes: Williams, Kings, Lakers
Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee characterizes the Kings’ move for Derrick Williams as “playing a hunch” – a hope that a new situation will help the former second-overall pick tap into his potential. With the franchise in rebuilding mode, Voisin writes that outside of DeMarcus Cousins, Ben McLemore, and Isaiah Thomas, pretty much everyone else is up for grabs on the trading block. Here’s more out of the Pacific Division tonight:
- Mark Deeks of the Score evaluates the Williams-Luc Mbah a Moute swap for both Sacramento and Minnesota. Keeping Williams’ potential in mind, Deeks writes that the Kings took a gamble that was nearly “impossible to pass up,” whereas the Timberwolves appeared to have created a logjam at the wing with Dante Cunningham‘s minutes to account for as well as the eventual return of Chase Budinger.
- According to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni “hated” that Elias Harris had to be cut today. Both Bresnahan and Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News report that the team isn’t expected to fill in their 15th roster spot anytime soon (Twitter links).
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel says the Lakers dropped the ball in sacrificing future financial flexibility in order to reward Kobe Bryant with a generous extension. The Los Angeles Times relayed a handful of fan reactions this afternoon regarding the deal, and most didn’t seem to be enthused either.
Western Notes: Blazers, Williams, Allen
Let’s round up a few of the day’s items out of the Western Conference….
- Owner Paul Allen says GM Neil Olshey did a “great job” bolstering the Trail Blazers‘ bench this offseason, and tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that the club’s play has exceeded his expectations so far.
- Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press spoke to Derrick Williams about the opportunity to get a fresh, pressure-free start with the Kings.
- Grizzlies guard Tony Allen is a player the Celtics shouldn’t have let get away, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Although he left Boston for Memphis in 2010, Allen had no desire to sign with anyone except the Grizzlies when he hit free agency again this past summer, as he tells Washburn.
Western Notes: Wolves, Thunder, Mavs, Kings
Following up on comments he made yesterday about trading Derrick Williams to the Kings, Timberwolves president Flip Saunders acknowledged that the deal could end up looking very short-sighted, but said he still felt comfortable pulling the trigger.
“You have to look and see: What is the value where you’re at?” Saunders said, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. “What’s the value going to be in two months? What’s the value going to be at trading deadline? What’s it going to be next year?I just didn’t foresee Derrick being able to play much. And if a guy’s not playing, usually your value is not going to go up.”
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Thunder GM Sam Presti is prioritizing longevity and sustainability when it comes to roster-building and culture-building in Oklahoma City, as Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman details.
- David Kahn‘s drafting of Williams in 2011 was understandable, since the forward was viewed as the consensus No. 2 pick at the time. But this week’s trade is the acknowledgment of another failure for the Timberwolves franchise and for the Kahn era, writes Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune.
- Chatting with Mavericks fans on Tuesday, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News discussed the possibility of moving Shawn Marion, Jordan Farmar as a potential trade target, and why a playoff berth could help the Mavs in free agency.
- After averaging 22.0 PPG in his first three contests with the Reno Bighorns, Ray McCallum has been recalled from the D-League by the Kings, the team announced today in a press release.
- Current Pacers assistant Nate McMillan spoke extensively to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com about his time as head coach of the Trail Blazers, including his regrets about how he handled Nicolas Batum.
California Rumors: Kobe, Odom, Kings
The Kings are the only California-based team beneath .500, and after completing their trade with the Timberwolves today, they’re still trying to make moves and improve. Here’s more on them and a couple of their in-state rivals:
- Kobe Bryant says his two-year extension will “probably” be his final contract, as Bill Oram of the Orange County Register notes via Twitter. Bryant had been leaning toward retirement after the 2013/14 season before tearing his Achilles last spring, but admits that the injury pushed him to extend his career, Oram writes in a subscription-only piece.
- Clippers coach Doc Rivers says he’ll stay in touch with Lamar Odom, and the two could sit down for a meeting later this week, tweets Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. A source tells HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy that Odom has been “extremely positive” about his recent workouts and expects to sign soon.
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro tells Kennedy, for the same piece, that he sees newly acquired forward Derrick Williams as a “matchup problem” for other teams and is confident a fresh start can help the former No. 2 overall pick reach his potential.
Fallout From Wolves/Kings Trade
The Timberwolves and Kings finalized a trade today that sent Luc Mbah a Moute to Minnesota straight up for 2011’s second overall pick, Derrick Williams. Because Williams is making a little more money this year than Mbah a Moute, the Wolves obtained a trade exception worth $428,576, which will almost certainly go unused. While that TPE may not be noteworthy, a few of today’s quotes out of Minnesota and Sacramento were, so let’s round them up….
- Sources tell Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld that the acquisition of D-Will isn’t the only trade the Kings have discussed. According to Kyler, there’s a belief that the Kings have “one or two more deals up their sleeves.”
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro cited Williams’ untapped potential in explaining to Sam Amick of USA Today why the team decided to acquire him. D’Alessandro adds within the same piece that he feels like the Kings owe it to their fans to be aggressive in exploring roster moves.
- Wolves president Flip Saunders tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link) that Minnesota talked about acquiring Mbah a Moute over the summer when the team put together the deal that sent Luke Ridnour to the Bucks.
- Reports yesterday indicated that Mbah a Moute would have to undergo a physical before the swap become official, due to concerns about knee issues. However, according to Saunders, that physical has yet to happen — the Wolves were confident enough in their research that they were comfortable completing the deal without it (Twitter link via Zgoda).
- More from Flip: Asked about the possibility of sending Shabazz Muhammad and/or Robbie Hummel to the D-League, Saunders said the notion that they won’t see any playing time with the Wolves isn’t necessarily true (Twitter link via Zgoda).
- Interestingly, while Saunders suggested to Zgoda (Twitter link) that he and Rick Adelman concluded Williams couldn’t play small forward in the Wolves’ system, D’Alessandro says the initial plan for D-Will in Sacramento is to start him at the three (Twitter link via Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld).
- Alexey Shved was rumored to be available as well, but he hopes to remain with the Wolves, as he tells Phil Ervin of FOX Sports North.