Western Notes: Warriors, Mekel, Leonard
Golden State stood pat at the trade deadline, but Warriors consultant and part-owner Jerry West, who has plenty of say on personnel, thinks the team still needs to make some kind of move, as he told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
“I think for sure we need to have a piece. For sure,” West said. “And I think as we get further into the year, I think if you watch how teams are going to particularly concentrate on our backcourt, we need more shooting and people who can make shots consistently. I think in games that we flounder in is when our guards are not able to go out there and score 45 to 60 points on any given night. … There’s going to be a bull’s-eye on those two guys’ backs.”
West made his remarks the day after the team signed James McAdoo for the season, filling the last open roster spot. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Former Pelicans and Mavs point guard Gal Mekel is close to a deal with Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links). The GM of the Russian team is confident that Mekel will sign the deal, which would have an NBA escape clause, Pick adds. Mekel had been holding out hope for an NBA deal since his brief stint with New Orleans in December, but he recently appeared to be losing patience.
- It’s been a rough year for Kawhi Leonard, Spurs president/coach Gregg Popovich said, with the reigning Finals MVP suffering through injury woes and a shooting slump as restricted free agency looms this summer, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News explores. He’s nonetheless averaging career highs virtually across the board and, as McDonald writes, he remains eminently valuable to the Spurs.
- Amar’e Stoudemire is having an instant effect on the Mavericks, notes Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPNDallas.com. The Mavs signed the ex-Knick last week, and it’s a prorated minimum-salary deal that goes until season’s end, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders shows (Twitter link).
- The Kings have hired Vance Walberg as an assistant coach, the team announced. Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group first reported that the move would be expected if Sacramento hired George Karl as head coach. Of course, the Kings did indeed hire Karl last week. Walberg is leaving the Sixers staff for his new job.
Nets To Sign Thomas Robinson To 10-Day Deal
1:49pm: Robinson has agreed to sign a 10-day contract, though the Nets are expected to eventually sign him for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski reports in a full story.
1:26pm: Nets officials changed their minds about Robinson this weekend after they were initially uninterested in signing him, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter link).
12:57pm: Robinson confirmed the agreement to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders, as Kennedy relays in a pair of tweets.
12:47pm: The Nets and Thomas Robinson have agreed to a deal that will see the big man join the team after he clears waivers from the Nuggets, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Denver released him Sunday after agreeing to a buyout deal, so he’s poised to clear waivers Tuesday. It’s something of a surprise to see Brooklyn end up with the former No. 5 overall pick, since a report late Sunday indicated that the Nets weren’t interested. That ran counter to an earlier dispatch from Shams Charania of RealGM that said Brooklyn, along with the Spurs, Suns, Heat and Hornets, had engaged in talks with Robinson.
Brooklyn has an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is required. The Nets are limited to paying the Tony Dutt client no more than the prorated minimum salary, which is less than the other teams reportedly in discussions could offer, as I explained. Still, it’s not a shock to see him settle for the minimum, as he’s struggled to live up to his lofty draft position, and Brooklyn is poised to become his fourth team in fewer than three NBA seasons. The Blazers declined their team option on the fourth year of his rookie scale contract before trading him to Denver at the deadline on Thursday.
Robinson was one of three prospects the Nets were particularly enamored with when they traded their 2012 lottery pick to Portland, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). That pick came in sixth, which the Blazers used to select Damian Lillard, so Brooklyn wouldn’t have had a chance to nab Robinson, since the Kings took him fifth. Since then, Robinson has displayed proficiency on the boards, hauling in 11.7 per 36 minutes for his NBA career, but he’s otherwise failed to make much of an impact.
Five Teams In Talks With Thomas Robinson
Thomas Robinson has had conversations with the Spurs, Nets, Suns, Heat and Hornets in the wake of his buyout deal with the Nuggets, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The former No. 5 overall pick went to Denver in the deadline-day trade that sent Arron Afflalo to the Blazers.
The Suns can spend the most, with more than $3.247MM in cap room. Miami has a disabled player exception worth nearly $2.653MM it can spend. The Spurs have a prorated portion of their mid-level, worth about $2.4MM, while the Hornets have their room exception, which comes to about $2MM at this point. The exceptions that San Antonio and Charlotte possess reduce in value daily. The Nets are limited to the minimum salary, which also prorates on a daily basis.
Robinson has seen his minutes decline each season after his rookie campaign, when he was traded midseason from the Kings to the Rockets. Portland acquired him when Houston sent him out in a cap-clearing move that helped the Rockets sign Dwight Howard, but at each stop, the power forward has failed to live up to his draft position. Still, he’s an efficient rebounder, averaging 4.2 boards in 12.2 minutes per game this season.
And-Ones: Wolves, Augustin, D-League
With the trade deadline passed the Timberwolves‘ focus is now on seeing which players fit into their long-term plans, Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune writes. “It’s an evaluation time for some of these guys, for where they’re at,” president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said. “But also for what they have to work on, once the season ends and they start getting ready for next year, what they need to do to become solid rotational players. So it’s a little of both.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Grizzlies didn’t need to be make a deal prior to the trade deadline according to coach Dave Joerger, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays (subscription required). “We’re pretty happy with where we are,” Joerger said. “What we could possibly add I don’t think is better than what we have here.”
- Toronto GM Masaj Ujiri said that the Raptors had “productive talks” with NBA D-League officials during the All-Star break about the team getting its D-League affiliate, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets.
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks is excited for what point guard D.J. Augustin can bring to the team, Nick Gallo of NBA.com writes. “I like the toughness that he brings to the table,” Brooks said. “Every night he’s had to battle to be in the position that he’s in. He’s making a nice career for himself. He’s a great shooter. He can run the team. He looks to make plays for others. He’s a pesky defender. He’s a great pickup for us.” Augustin arrived in OKC as part of the deal with Detroit and Utah that sent Reggie Jackson to the Pistons.
- The Magic have recalled Devyn Marble from the the Erie BayHawks, their D-League affiliate, John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com reports (Twitter link). This was Marble’s third D-League assignment of the season.
- San Antonio has re-assigned Kyle Anderson to the Austin Spurs, the team announced. In two treks to the D-League this season, Anderson has appeared in 10 games, averaging 22.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 41.0 minutes per contest.
Western Notes: Bryant, Anderson, Prigioni
The Lakers don’t intend to focus on building around the aging Kobe Bryant, and won’t mortgage their future to give Bryant one final shot at a championship, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register writes. “To jeopardize the next five or seven years,” GM Mitch Kupchak said, “To bring in old veterans that make a lot of money, just to win one more year, because that’s Kobe’s last year or could be his last year, I’m not sure that fits into doing it the right way.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Spurs have recalled Kyle Anderson from their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. In two trips to Austin this season, Anderson has appeared in 10 games, averaging 22.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.10 blocks in 41.0 minutes per contest.
- The Timberwolves used a tiny portion of their mid-level exception rather than the minimum-salary exception to sign Lorenzo Brown to his two-year deal, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Brown makes $283,367 this season and a non-guaranteed minimum salary next year, as Pincus shows on his salary page for the Wolves.
- There’s a very good chance that Pablo Prigioni, who was acquired by the Rockets on Thursday, will play in Spain next season, a league source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. Prigioni is under contract for 2015/16, but only $290K of his $1,734,572 salary for next season is guaranteed, making him a candidate to be waived or reach a buyout arrangement, though that is merely my speculation.
- The Suns‘ deadline deals were made in an effort to improve the team’s chemistry, Matt Petersen of NBA.com notes. “This is a team sport,” Suns GM Ryan McDonough said. “We’re looking for team-first guys. This isn’t singles tennis. The guys who will be here are the guys who will buy in and play the right way. Those that don’t will be gone.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Execs Losing Faith That Ray Allen Will Sign
There is a growing feeling among GMs and league executives who are interested in signing Ray Allen that the veteran guard won’t play this season, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Allen has been mulling a comeback all season, but neither he, nor his agent Jim Tanner, have made any definitive statements that the player would return to the hardwood during the 2014/15 campaign, Wojnarowski adds. It was rumored that the 39-year-old sharpshooter was going to make a choice regarding his future shortly after the All-Star break.
Allen has been working out, but not at a pace that would allow him a quick transition into NBA playing shape, sources tell Wojnarowski. There’s still time for Allen to make a decision to return, but as one GM told the Yahoo! Sports scribe, “It’s getting late in the game for this to happen.”
The Grizzlies are one team that’s maintained an interest in Allen, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece. Other teams that have been reportedly linked to the veteran include the Warriors, Wizards, Cavs, Spurs, Heat and Hawks.
Spurs Sign Reggie Williams For Rest Of Season
FRIDAY, 1:52pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
THURSDAY, 3:47pm: The Spurs have reached an agreement with guard Reggie Williams on a deal for him to remain in San Antonio for the remainder of the season, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). Williams recently completed his second 10-day contract with the Spurs.
The 28-year-old Williams was with the Heat on a training camp deal earlier this season, but he failed to make the opening night roster and then caught on with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, last month. When initially signed by San Antonio, Williams had taken the place of JaMychal Green, with whom the Spurs failed to reach agreement on a new deal after his initial 10-day arrangement had expired.
In three appearances for the Spurs this season, Williams has averaged 0.7 points in 3.7 minutes of action per game. His career numbers are 8.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. Williams’ career slash line is .459/.368/.745.
Western Notes: Chandler, Afflalo, Thompson
The Trail Blazers have been pursuing Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler for weeks and remain the team most interested in trading for him, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Portland wants to add a scorer off its bench, Dempsey adds, and Chandler would fit that description. Chandler, who is making $6.76MM this season, is averaging 13.9 points in 31.7 minutes per game for the Nuggets.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Blazers are also interested in Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo, and have the most assets among his pursuers to make a trade happen, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Clippers and Heat, among other teams, are also interested in Afflalo, but don’t have the assets to pull off a deal, Wojnarowski continues. Afflalo is making $7.5MM this season and has a player option for the same amount next season.
- Enes Kanter could command a contract in excess of $10MM per season as a restricted free agent this summer and the Jazz center wants to protect his Bird rights if he’s dealt, Wojnarowski reports in the same piece. Kanter reportedly turned down a four-year, $32MM offer from Utah last fall. The Jazz are only willing to trade Kanter if they receive a quality young player and a first-round pick before Thursday’s deadline, Wojnarowski continues. In lieu of a trade, Jazz management and Kanter’s representative Max Ergul have been trying to resolve Kanter’s disappointment over his playing time peacefully, Wojnarowski adds.
- The decision to sign Klay Thompson to an extension this past fall was relatively easy, but committing money to players is always a nerve-wracking proposition, Warriors GM Bob Myers tells Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group. Kawakami, in that piece and in another, delves into a Warriors front office that thrives on collaboration, with Myers and co-owner Joe Lacob the primary decision-makers who receive tons of spirited input. Assistant GMs Travis Schlenk and Kirk Lacob, consultant Jerry West and coach Steve Kerr have a say on every move from D-League transactions on up, as Kawakami reveals.
- Marc Gasol will not rule out returning to the Grizzlies regardless of how they do in the postseason, Sam Amick of USA Today writes. Gasol will be an unrestricted free agent after the season and the Grizzlies have an edge through the CBA because they can offer him a five-year deal while other suitors can only offer four. The Knicks, Lakers and Spurs are among the teams who will pursue Gasol, Amick adds.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Austin Daye Joins Magic’s D-League Team
7:32pm: Daye will play for the D-League affiliate of the Magic, which claimed him off D-League waivers, the team announced.
FEBRUARY 11TH, 8:42pm: Daye has indeed signed an agreement to join the NBA D-League, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old will be subject to the D-League’s waiver process to determine which affiliate he will suit up for.
FEBRUARY 2ND, 10:58am: Sixth-year NBA veteran Austin Daye is expected to sign with the D-League, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Daye became a free agent late last month shortly after the Spurs waived him. The small forward will go through the D-League waiver system once he signs to determine which team he’ll play with, since he’s never signed a D-League contract before. Daye will remain free to sign with any NBA team regardless of the D-League squad he ends up with.
Daye, the No. 15 pick from the 2009 draft, has played one D-League game before, with that experience coming last year while he was on assignment from the Spurs. The 26-year-old was seeing slightly more NBA playing time for San Antonio this season than he did last year, and he even made four starts, but the Spurs cleared him out to sign JaMychal Green to a 10-day contract. San Antonio inked Reggie Williams when it didn’t reach agreement on a second deal with Green.
The Pistons drafted Daye out of Gonzaga and traded him to the Grizzlies in the middle of his fourth season, shortly before his rookie scale contract was to expire. He signed a two-year deal for the minimum salary with the Raptors the following summer, but Toronto shipped him to the Spurs at the deadline. San Antonio decided this past offseason to keep him past the date in June that his salary for this season would become fully guaranteed, but the Spurs ultimately decided to eat about half of that money when they let him go last month.
Knicks Waive Amar’e Stoudemire In Buyout Deal
12:33pm: The Knicks have waived Stoudemire, the team announced via press release, making the buyout deal official. It’s still unknown just how much Stoudemire gave back.
“Amar’e’s period as a Knickerbocker has come to pass, at his request. His time here should be marked by recognizing his effort – it was 100%,” Knicks team president Phil Jackson said in the statement. “As we move forward in structuring this team, we will look for players that exhibit his desire to win.”
The Knicks are left with 14 players on their roster. GM Steve Mills said in the team’s release that he and Stoudemire had developed a “long-term friendship” that would remain in place as they parted ways, and Stoudemire, in his quote as part of the statement, expressed gratitude to the organization, saying, “Once a Knick, always a Knick.”
MONDAY, 7:35am: The Blazers aren’t in the mix, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com hears (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 11:15pm: The Clippers, Blazers, Suns, and Raptors are expected to pursue Stoudemire, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
11:04pm: Stein (link) adds the Cavs to the list of teams that are not actively pursuing the veteran.
11:00pm: The Grizzlies and Warriors are not pushing to sign Stoudemire, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
10:40pm: The Clippers and Mavericks have strong interest in Stoudemire but the Spurs are a dark horse “with [a] level of intrigue,” according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
10:12pm: The Knicks and Amar’e Stoudemire reached a buyout agreement on Sunday night, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). The big man’s camp has been discussing a buyout with the club for quite some time.
Stoudemire, 32, is in the final year of a massive five-year contract worth nearly $99.744MM that pays him almost $23.411MM this season. The veteran has averaged 12.0 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 36 games (14 starts) for the blue and orange this season. Stoudemire has a rather respectable 19.7 PER on the year and his 6.8 boards per game is a good improvement over his averages from the previous two campaigns.
Even though he has not found individual success with the Knicks, STAT was said to be conflicted about the idea of a buyout. Still, Stoudemire’s reps were pushing for a deal and the Knicks had no intention of re-signing him this summer as they look to push their resources towards younger talent.
“All possibilities at this point are still open,” Stoudemire said of his own buyout possibility. “The door is still open for that. But at the same time, I am with the Knicks now. I got to stay optimistic about things and what we are doing here. I can’t really focus on the future because it’s not here. We still have a couple weeks left before it’s all said and done. It’s a decision I have to make with my family to figure out the best scenario for the near future.”
The Mavs are reportedly the favorites to sign Stoudemire should he buy his way off the Knicks and clear waivers. Of course, with a $23MM+ salary, Stoudemire would be a mortal lock to pass through waivers unclaimed. Besides Dallas, the Clippers and Warriors are said to be interested as well. Marc Berman of the New York Post recently wrote that it’s “quite possible” that Stoudemire would return to the Suns this summer and speculated that the Magic would have interest in the central Florida native this summer, though it’s not clear what the interest level would be from either team if Stoudemire were to reach free agency mid-season.