Spurs, Warriors Swap Jefferson, Jackson
The Spurs and Warriors have agreed to a trade that will send Richard Jefferson and T.J. Ford to Golden State and Stephen Jackson to San Antonio, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The Warriors will also receive a conditional first-round pick in the deal, according to Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
Jackson, who was acquired by the Warriors earlier this week, is a favorite of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. Unlike Jefferson, who still has two years and $21MM+ remaining on his deal after this season, Jackson will be entering the final year of his contract this summer. He's set to earn just over $10MM next season.
Ford recently announced his retirement, so he was only included in the trade for financial purposes.
Spurs, Warriors Discussing Jefferson, Jackson
1:20pm: A first-round pick figures to be shipped to Golden State in the proposed deal, tweets Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group.
1:13pm: Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports classifies the discussions involving Jefferson and Jackson as "advanced" (Twitter link). TNT's David Aldridge also says an agreement is close, and points out that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has always liked Jackson (Twitter link).
12:58pm: The Spurs and Warriors are discussing a potential trade centered around swapping Richard Jefferson for Stephen Jackson, tweets Ric Bucher of ESPN.com.
Neither player has a particularly appealing contract — Jefferson has two years (second-year player option) and $21MM+ remaining on his deal after this season, while Jackson is under contract for $10MM+ next season. The Warriors acquired S-Jax just two days ago from the Bucks.
Josh Howard, C.J. Miles Drawing Interest
4:34pm: Howard is likely to remain with the Jazz through the deadline, tweets Brian T. Smith.
11:38am: As of this morning, the chances of Miles being dealt to the Timberwolves appeared very slim, according to Brian T. Smith (via Twitter). Miles heading to New Jersey for Petro and a first-rounder is a possibility, tweets Stefan Bondy.
7:53am: Josh Howard and C.J. Miles, whose contracts expire at season's end, have both expressed interest in re-signing with the Jazz this summer. However, it looks as if there's a chance neither player will even finish the season in Utah.
On the heels of last night's report that the Jazz are discussing a three-team trade with the Spurs and Timberwolves that would ship both Howard and Miles out of town, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that the Jazz are shopping Miles. The T-Wolves and Nets are among the teams that have shown interest, according to Kennedy. New Jersey has interest in Miles' expiring contract as a way of clearing summer cap space to make a run at top free agents, and Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld says the Nets have discussed Anthony Morrow and Johan Petro with the Jazz. Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News hears such a deal could involve a Nets first-round pick (Twitter link).
Pincus says the Clippers may have some interest in Miles, who could fit into one of the team's traded player exceptions, but L.A. probably won't part with Eric Bledsoe or a first-round pick. Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune, who reported last month that Miles could be had, says the former second-rounder, who turns 25 this weekend, may be easier to move in a package deal (Twitter link).
Meanwhile, besides the Spurs, the Lakers, Knicks, and Celtics have also expressed interest in acquiring Howard, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Of those four interested clubs, only the Knicks are below the luxury tax line, so Howard and his $2.15MM salary would be an affordable addition. The Jazz don't necessarily want to make a deal though, according to Spears.
Bobcats Discussing Several Deals For Boris Diaw
Boris Diaw's expiring contract has become one of the more intriguing assets on the trade market this week, and the Bobcats are discussing "several deals" involving Diaw, tweets Ken Berger of CBS Sports.
The Nets, Spurs, and Timberwolves have been linked to Diaw, whose $9MM cap figure will come off the books at season's end. Given how valuable that number could be for teams looking to create cap space, it makes sense for the Bobcats to consider deals that could net the team draft picks.
If Dwight Howard officially waives his early termination option for 2012/13 and remains with the Magic, I'd imagine the Nets' pursuit of Diaw would become much less urgent.
Broussard On Pierce, Brooks, Curry, McGee, Daye
ESPN.com's Chris Broussard has a ton of trade rumors in today's Insider-only piece. You can read his major update on Dwight Howard here, but let's dive into the rest of his rumors….
- The Celtics offered Paul Pierce to the Blazers, though Broussard isn't sure who else would've been involved in the deal. Portland wasn't interested in Boston's proposal.
- The Clippers are reluctant to trade Eric Bledsoe for Jamal Crawford because they believe Crawford will opt out of his contract at season's end, and Bledsoe will have more value at draft time, since there won't be many point guards available.
- Ramon Sessions is unlikely to be moved unless the Cavaliers can get a first-round pick. Cleveland would try to trade for Jonny Flynn if they moved Sessions, though the Spurs have also expressed interest in Flynn.
- The Cavs are also in talks with the Hornets about swapping Antawn Jamison for Emeka Okafor and a first-round pick.
- Aaron Brooks is drawing interest from the Blazers and Kings, though the Suns hope to re-sign him. When Brooks returns from China, he can only sign with Phoenix. If he doesn't sign anywhere this season, he becomes a restricted free agent again this summer.
- A second-round pick is likely all it would take for the Hornets to move Chris Kaman.
- The Warriors preferred to deal Stephen Curry rather than Monta Ellis, but Curry's ongoing ankle issues hurt his trade value.
- Broussard hears JaVale McGee will be seeking a contract worth $14MM annually this summer. Good luck with that, JaVale.
- Wilson Chandler is seeking a deal starting at $7MM, which the Nuggets feel is too high, since that amount won't be prorated this season — Denver would prefer to start around $5MM.
- The Pistons are shopping Austin Daye "all day every day" but not many teams are biting.
- The Grizzlies would like to move Sam Young to get below the luxury tax line.
Spurs, Jazz, Timberwolves Discussing Trade
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports that the Spurs, Jazz, and Timberwolves are in talks that would see Josh Howard go to San Antonio, C.J. Miles and Jamaal Tinsley to Minnesota, and Wayne Ellington along with Danny Green to Utah.
He also writes that while no deal is imminent, talks are ongoing and it is likely that draft picks and more players are added to the deal.
Odds & Ends: Spurs, Diaw, Kaman, Morris
- The Spurs may be looking into the trade market for a point guard, according to Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld.
- Tony Parker spoke about his desire for Boris Diaw to join him in San Antonio should he be granted a buyout from the Bobcats. Interestingly enough, Parker referred to the Knicks as another team that is interested in Diaw.
- Center Chris Kaman says he feels comfortable with his role in New Orleans and would hope to stay with the Hornets, writes Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune.
- Lakers rookie Darius Morris suffered a bruised wrist during a game in the D-League and will be day-to-day, says Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. (Twitter link)
- Greg Oden appears to be preparing to move on from the Trail Blazers. According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, a source close to the situation has said that Oden is in the process of selling his home in Portland and has no intention of returning to the team next season.
T.J. Ford Announces Retirement
11:54am: Ford announced his decision via Twitter: "It's official " I Retire from the NBA " as of today."
10:49am: Following a neck injury that forced him out of action last Wednesday, T.J. Ford has decided to take an indefinite leave of absence while he contemplates retirement, according to a statement from the Spurs. According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter links), Ford himself says his career is over.
"After last Wednesday, I felt being on the floor and being in that position one too many times," Ford said. "I feel like that was enough for me…. That was the last basketball game you’ll see me play.
"It’s tough because I know I can still play," Ford added. "If I had to play today, I could play. The tests came back negative. I just felt mentally and physically, my body has taken enough."
Ford, 28, has been limited to 102 games in the last three seasons, including just 14 this year, due to various injuries. Although Ford's most recent injury was diagnosed as just a neck stinger, the incident was particularly scary given the point guard's history of neck and spine issues.
Ford has played for the Bucks, Raptors, Pacers, and Spurs over the course of his nine-year NBA career, with averages of 11.2 points and 5.8 assists in 429 career games. If 2011/12 ends up being his final season, he'll have earned about $43MM in the NBA, according to Basketball-Reference.
Odds & Ends: Timberwolves, CBA, Lakers
- Stephen Litel of HoopsWorld examines the impact the Ricky Rubio injury will have on the rest of the Timberwolves' personnel, and speculates, as we did earlier, that this may precipitate a Michael Beasley trade.
- The TrueHoop Network on ESPN.com discussed the how Rubio's injury affects Minnesota's involvement in the trade market, and the consensus appears to be that the Timberwolves will be able to make do with Ridnour and Barea in the meantime.
- NBA.com's John Schuhmann looks at the effect the new collective bargaining agreement is having on trade talks. The more punitive tax that is set to kick in during the 2013/14 season, restrictions on cap exceptions, and limits on sign-and-trades and max contracts are forcing GMs to adjust how they value players in trades.
- Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer believes that the value of the expiring contract has depreciated because of the new CBA.
- During a road trip that included disappointing losses to the Pistons and Wizards, the Lakers cancelled practice on Thursday and held a meeting between the coaches and players instead. The main message from the assistant coaches to the players appeared to be a request to "curtail external chatter," according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- HoopsWorld's Derek Page chatted with fans this afternoon and discussed a variety of ideas, including the suggestion that Chris Kaman would be a nice consolation prize for the Mavericks should they fail to land Dwight Howard.
- The Spurs have rarely engaged in deadline deals over the last 16 years, but Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation thinks that the team could be willing to shop their first round pick this time around if the right deal comes along.
- Although the Pistons are just four games out of the eighth seed, Lawrence Frank does not want to pay attention to the standings and would rather focus on taking things day by day, according to David Mayo of MLive.com.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel quotes Erik Spoelstra by saying that the Heat do not have any personnel moves pending after deciding not to renew the contract of Mickell Gladness. (Twitter link)
Minor Moves: Lee, Joseph, Wright
We'll keep tabs on today's international and D-League-related transactions of note here:
- Malcolm Lee has been recalled from Sioux Falls by the Timberwolves, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Lee, who has yet to make his NBA debut, was assigned to Minnesota's D-League affiliate for the second time last Wednesday.
- The Spurs have recalled Cory Joseph from their D-League affiliate in Austin, tweets Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Joseph, who was assigned to the Toros less than a week ago, returns to San Antonio following T.J. Ford's neck injury.
- Former NBA veteran Antoine Wright has joined the D-League in hopes of returning to the NBA, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Wright, a 15th overall pick in 2005, played for the Nets, Mavericks, Raptors, and Kings, last appearing in the NBA in November 2010. The 28-year-old averaged 5.4 PPG in 297 career games.