Pacific Rumors: Dwight, Magic, Hill, Kings
Dwight Howard's father made news yesterday, weighing in on his son's upcoming free agency and the way he gets along with Mike D'Antoni and Kobe Bryant, among other topics. The younger Howard declined to address Dwight Sr.'s remarks, and Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game is not surprised. Bucher says the relationship between Howard and son is a rocky one, and that Dwight Sr. has given several inaccurate off-the-record stories about his son to reporters over the years (Sulia link). It hasn't been easy to separate fact and fiction with the seemingly mercurial Howard over the past two years of his NBA career, but we're sure to hear plenty more about him between now and the day he inks his next contract this summer.
In the meantime, there's more about D12 and other Pacific Division figures right here:
- Howard never wanted to go to L.A., according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, who hears the Magic were threatening to trade him to the Lakers if he didn't decline the early-termination option on his contract at last year's trade deadline.
- Though Grant Hill is not ruling out a return to the Clippers, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel is convinced this is the final season for the 40-year-old, based on Hill's comments to him this week.
- If Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson can work with Mark Mastrov and Ron Burkle to mount a credible bid for the Kings, the league will be facing an unprecedented showdown between two cities seeking the franchise, observes Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
- Fellow Bee scribe Mark Glover examines some of the 20 local investors who've committed $1MM apiece to become minority owners if the Kings stay in Sacramento.
Pacific Notes: Hill, Frye, Kings, Lakers
Whether or not the Lakers have what it takes to come close to fulfilling their promise this season, they've already outstripped all expectations for drama. Tonight was no exception, as they bounced back from last night's blowout loss, erasing a 20-point deficit in Charlotte to defeat the Bobcats. The win assures they'll finish better than .500 on their seven-game road trip, which finishes up Sunday with a visit to the defending champion Heat. We've got more on the Lakers and their Pacific brethren right here:
- Clippers reserve Grant Hill has been hinting at retirement, but told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida "there's definitely a chance" he returns for the final season of his deal next year.
- USA Today's Sam Amick checks in one of Hill's former Suns teammates, Channing Frye. The sharpshooting big man said he's 95% sure he'll be able to make it back next season from the heart ailment that's kept him out all of this year.
- A hearing has been scheduled for later this month in a lawsuit brought by a Seattle longshoremen's union that contends the arena plan at the centerpiece of a potential Kings move violates Washington state environmental laws. The suit seeks to nullify the agreement on the building between local governments and investor Chris Hansen. Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee have the details.
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post examines the conflicting goals of Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.
Western Notes: Burks, Carter, Lakers, Kings
Let's check out a few afternoon links related to Western Conference clubs….
- In his report about Luke Ridnour's availability, Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops mentioned Alec Burks as a player the Timberwolves have discussed with the Jazz. However, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that Burks has been given some sort of assurance that he won't be moved in a deal for Ridnour.
- A league source tells NBA.com's Jeff Caplan it's a "long shot" that the Mavericks will decide to trade Vince Carter in the next two weeks.
- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni expects to meet with GM Mitch Kupchak soon to discuss the team's roster, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- Dwight Howard is growing tired of people questioning his shoulder injury, telling reporters, including Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com, that his career and future would be at stake if he tries to play through it.
- Although he said last July when he signed an offer sheet with the Suns that his heart was in Phoenix, Eric Gordon is happy to still be a member of the Hornets, as he tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. "Whether I was here or there, I would’ve been fine with it," Gordon said. "It was nothing over the top that I wanted to be here or there."
- Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty is very pleased that commissioner David Stern seems to be suggesting the NBA's Board of Governors will be taking a holistic approach when evaluating Seattle's and Sacramento's bid for the Kings.
Seattle Group Officially Files Intent To Move Kings
The investors who have a deal with the Maloof brothers to buy the Kings have officially filed with the league to move the team to Seattle, reports Tim Booth of The Associated Press. The group, led by Chris Hansen and Howard Ballmer, had been expected to do so before the March 1 deadline, but the news, delivered by commissioner David Stern, makes it official. Stern called Hansen and Ballmer's bid "very strong" in his comments to reporters in Minneapolis assembled before tonight's Timberwolves-Spurs game.
Hansen and Ballmer reached an agreement last month to buy a 65% stake in the Kings, investing $340MM of the $525MM value of the franchise. That value, a 75% jump from the value Forbes magazine determined last year, was set as part of the agreement. The city of Sacramento and mayor Kevin Johnson have been scrambling to put forth a counter offer, having found 20 local investors to pledge $1MM, with rumors that Ron Burkle and Mark Mastrov have interest in teaming up to spearhead the bid.
The Sacramento group is expected to make its case before the league at the board of governors meeting in April, so no resolution on the future of the Kings appears likely until then.
Odds & Ends: HGH, Kings, Gelabale, NBPA
On this day in 2008, the Shaquille O'Neal era began in Phoenix, when the Heat and Suns finalized a deal that sent O'Neal to the Suns in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. February 6th also represents Hoops Rumors' anniversary, as we launched our site a year ago today. Whether you've been with us from the beginning or just visited for the first time today, we'd like to thank you for reading, and we hope you'll stick with us longer than the O'Neal era lasted in Phoenix.
Here are this afternoon's odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Commissioner David Stern told WCCO radio in Minnesota that he expects the NBA to introduce blood testing for HGH by next season, according to Ben Golliver of SI.com.
- Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson hopes to have a detailed plan to attempt to keep the Kings in Sacramento in place by the end of the month, according to Ryan Lillis and Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee.
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich acknowledged that French forward Mickael Gelabale, currently with the Timberwolves, is a player that's interested San Antonio in the past. "He's somebody we thought about a lot over the last couple of years," Popovich said. "We just never really had a position there" (Twitter links via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News).
- Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld takes a look at trade possibilities for Western Conference clubs, identifying which players on each team are most likely to be on the move.
- Israel's Elizur Ashkelon has signed former NBA veteran Jarvis Hayes, according to the team's website (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Hayes, who last played for the Nets in 2009/10, was drafted 10th overall in 2003.
- The recently-formed five-man interim NBPA executive committee has hired the law firm of Orrick Herrington as advisors, tweets Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal.
Kings/Seattle Links: Tuesday
There haven't been many concrete updates on the status of the Kings sale lately, as a Sacramento group appears to still be putting together a counter-offer. But rumors, rumblings, and speculation continue to trickle in, so we'll round up today's links related to Sacramento, Seattle, and the Kings right here:
- If a Ron Burkle/Mark Mastrov-led group can finalize an ownership group whose bid for the Kings values the franchise at over $525MM, Sacramento should have a fighting chance to keep the team, writes Steve Kyler of Hoops World.
- According to Kyler, Sacramento's counter-offer would have to include more than just a big-money bid — the group would have to present a concrete plan for ways to increase team revenues in Sacramento, since a move to Seattle is expected to yield major corporate advertisers and a big TV deal.
- Tom Ziller of SBNation.com looks back at the SuperSonics' move to Oklahoma City, noting that Clay Bennett had more time and fewer roadblocks than Chris Hansen does, and was still tied up in legal proceedings for a few months. If the "right of first refusal" issue becomes a real factor, things could get messy, says Ziller.
- Ziller argues that David Stern's best move is to open up a discussion about keeping the Kings in Sacramento and creating a new expansion team in Seattle.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Gasol, Suns, Dudley
The Chris Paul-less Clippers are in action tonight against the Wizards and it's evident that they miss their star point guard. Eric Bledsoe is doing an admirable job in the starting one-guard spot and has 17 points off of 7-12 shooting through three quarters, but the Clippers are neck-and-neck in Washington. Here's more out of the Pacific..
- If the Lakers want to get out of the graduated tax for next season, then dealing Pau Gasol this year makes sense, but Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (on Sulia) writes that they can hang on to him for the second half, pay this year's tax, and then move him this summer. Earlier today, GM Mitch Kupchak made comments that seemed to imply that the big man will be staying put.
- More from Pincus (on Twitter) who opines that if the Lakers wanted to sign players like Delonte West and Kenyon Martin, they would have done it long ago when players were hurt.
- We haven't heard a lot of chatter surrounding the Suns' Jared Dudley, but he would make a great deal of sense as a trade candidate for Phoenix, writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. It's obviously a lost season for the Suns and Dudley could be valuable for a playoff team looking for a perimeter threat. The Sixers would be one such team that could use his services.
- Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson made a mistake by setting a self-imposed deadline for unveiling an ownership group for the Kings and not meeting it, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (via Sulia). In a recent press conference, Johnson said that he had a number of minority investors lined up but he has yet to reveal the big money behind a group to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle.
Amico On Josh Smith, Cavs, Blatche, Granger
Water-cooler conversation this morning may be dominated by talk of Super Bowl XLVII, but at Hoops Rumors, we're still focused on the NBA, including the latest trade rumors from around the league. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio has a few updates on players and teams that could be in the mix as the February 21st deadline approaches, so let's round up the highlights from his piece….
- Amico names the Mavericks, Bobcats, Rockets, Hornets, and Kings as potential suitors for Josh Smith. Many recent reports have suggested the Kings likely won't be too active at the deadline, but Amico notes that expiring contracts typically appeal to new ownership groups.
- Cavaliers GM Chris Grant wouldn't mind making another move before the deadline. Nothing concrete is in the works yet, but Grant is still working with some cap space and a few expiring contracts (Luke Walton, Daniel Gibson, Omri Casspi).
- Amico hears from multiple sources that the Nets have made Andray Blatche available in hopes of landing a draft pick. The Trail Blazers may have some interest, according to Amico.
- The Rockets are keeping a "keen eye" on Danny Granger, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury. The Pacers aren't actively shopping Granger, but could be more open to moving him given the emergence of Paul George.
- The Mavericks figure to be more active in trade talks as the deadline nears, as plenty of clubs are interested in Chris Kaman's expiring contract.
Kyler On Gay, Magic, Smith
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.com took questions from his followers on his Twitter account on Saturday morning, covering the Raptors' acquisition of Rudy Gay along with other topics.
- Until they see how Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan play together, the Raptors plan to keep both on the roster.
- Bryan Colangelo's next move should be to get out of Andrea Bargnani's contract, Kyler writes.
- The Grizzlies offered Gay to the Magic for J.J. Redick, and were rejected.
- The Magic would be willing to trade any player on their roster for the right price, Kyler writes, although they value players like Maurice Harkless very highly.
- The Hawks would prefer to keep Josh Smith, but they are exploring their options before the trade deadline.
- Kyler thinks everybody on the Mavericks is available at the trade deadline, with the exception of Dirk Nowitzki.
- The Celtics are very active in trade talks, but don't have many assets to offer.
- Given the Kings' ownership situation, Kyler doubts they move Tyreke Evans or any other player before the deadline.
- Kyler doesn't think the Jazz will trade Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson unless they can preserve flexibility.
Stein’s Latest: Gasol, Celtics, Smith, Jazz
ESPN.com's Marc Stein has posted his latest Weekend Dime column, featuring updates on several prominent players whose names have been featured in trade rumors ahead of the February 21 deadline. Here are the highlights of Stein's report:
- Stein doesn't believe the Lakers will trade Pau Gasol before the deadline, although the Raptors are making a push to acquire him with a package built around Andrea Bargnani.
- Although the Clippers have shown no indication of wanting to trade Eric Bledsoe, a swap of the third-year guard to the Celtics for Paul Pierce could make the most sense for both sides, Stein writes.
- Celtics GM Danny Ainge recognizes that Pierce and Kevin Garnett don't have the value that would likely make it worth trading then, so he may instead look to move Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, or Jeff Green to get the team under the luxury tax threshold.
- The Hawks have been gauging trade interest in Josh Smith, Stein reports. Although they are very open to moving the forward, there is hesitance because other teams don't want to risk him walking in free agency and Atlanta doesn't want to take on long-term salary.
- Executives around the league don't expect the Jazz to trade Al Jefferson, saying they will either move Paul Millsap instead or stand pat.
- Given their ownership situation, the Kings will likely not make any moves before the deadline. There has been interest in Tyreke Evans, although DeMarcus Cousins remains untouchable.
- The Trail Blazers are not looking to make any moves that will help them in the short term, preferring to preserve their flexibility.
- Teams expect the Magic to trade J.J. Redick, but executives tell Stein that GM Rob Hennigan is asking for young talent or draft picks for the veteran sharpshooter.