Bulls Exploring Boozer Trade For Bargnani
FRIDAY, 7:58am: The discussions between the Raptors and Bulls happened over a week ago, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, who says talks were initiated by the Bulls. Talks aren't currently active, but could be revisited by the Raps and could also expand to include Nate Robinson and John Lucas III.
Both Johnson and Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times suggest a deal is unlikely, since Toronto would be reluctant to take on Boozer's contract. According to Johnson, the Bulls are also not likely to amnesty Boozer this summer, assuming they hang on to him through February 21st.
THURSDAY, 5:09pm: The Bulls are looking into a potential trade with the Raptors that would send big man Carlos Boozer to Toronto in exchange for Andrea Bargnani, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. More pieces will need to be added to any prospective deal as Boozer makes $5MM more than Bargnani this season.
While the Bulls could seemingly save money with the deal, the Raptors do not have an expiring contract to send to Chicago, thus making financial flexibility less likely for the Bulls. Conversely, the addition of Boozer to the Toronto roster would likely put the Raptors well into the luxury tax for next season. If traded, neither player would be eligible to be amnestied by their new team as an amnesty candidate must be on his pre-lockout team under a pre-lockout contract.
Boozer, 31, would provide the Raptors with a strong post presence as he's averaged 15.7 PPG and 9.6 RPG in 45 appearances. Toronto originally had interest in acquiring Pau Gasol from the Lakers until the Spaniard injured his foot earlier this week.
Bargnani, 27, offers the Bulls perimeter shooting that the team believes it so desperately lacks. The former overall number one pick has averaged 15.9 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 22 games this season.
Rudy Gay Talks Trade, Grizzlies, Raptors
The new-look Raptors have played well since adding Rudy Gay, cruising to a convincing win over the Clippers on Friday night before playing the Heat close until the final few minutes of Sunday's game. The Raptors will take on the Celtics tonight, a day after Gay appeared on The Fan 590 in Toronto to discuss the move from Memphis to Toronto. Brad Gagnon of Sports Radio Interviews passes along a few highlights from Gay's conversation with Tim and Sid….
On his initial reaction when he heard about the trade:
"I was excited for a new start. I’ve known a lot of these guys here and I’ve been a fan of DeMar’s for a long time. I like the fact that he’s gotten better and better every year. So it was cool. It was a new start for me."
On whether he expected to stay in Memphis after the Grizzlies sent Marreese Speights and Wayne Ellington to the Cavaliers:
"I did, but I wasn’t sure. As soon as they changed the ownership it was kind of like you didn’t know what was going to happen. And that’s no way to run a business, if you’re asking me. But I’m just happy I’m here now and I’m not really going to elaborate too much on what they do."
On the possibility of the Raptors becoming a contender:
"With the kind of leadership we have here, and ownership… I think this would be a great place for free agents — and with the kind of moves they’re making here, also with trades."
On how many pieces the Raps need to add to become a consistent playoff team:
"I say one — one piece. I think honestly we can get there with this team but I think we could really make noise if we have one more piece. It doesn’t take a lot, because everybody’s going to pick up their game and everybody’s gonna come prepared to try to win."
Odds & Ends: Celts, Garnett, Gay, Wolves, Draft
Here are some additional odds and ends from around the Association late Tuesday night:
- Via CSN NE, Dan Shaughnessy and Gary Tanguay debate whether or not the Celtics should move Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett. Shaughnessy seems to think that, with this core's championship hopes all but dashed, the Celtics have no reason not to move one of their stars.
- CSN NE's A. Sherrod Blakely offers much of what we've already heard on Garnett within this story, adding that trade rumors hardly affect a team with the experience that the Celtics have. Armed with a no trade clause, Blakely says convincing Garnett to agree to a deal would be a "monumental task" for any team.
- Fortunate to have several friends on the Raptors — most notably Kyle Lowry — Rudy Gay will have the freedom to do more in Toronto than he's recently had in Memphis, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld.
- With Minnesota and San Antonio slated to play Wednesday, Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes that the Wolves — now with six international players on their roster — have followed in the Spurs' footsteps with regard to their personnel strategy.
- Chad Ford and Eamonn Brennan of ESPN debate which college point guard is the best pro prospect. While both concede that Michigan's Trey Burke is the nation's best point guard, the analysts project Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State and Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse as better fits for the pro game.
Spears On Mozgov, Josh Smith, Rondo, Gay
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has been busy today, publishing a piece on Lindsey Hunter's adjustment to the head coaching job in Phoenix as well as posting Yahoo!'s weekly power rankings, which features the Spurs in the No. 1 spot once again. Spears' power rankings also feature a few tidbits of note, which we'll round up right here:
- The Nuggets are getting plenty of calls about Timofey Mozgov, but aren't under any financial pressure to make a deal. They'll probably only move Mozgov for a "too-good-to-be-true offer," says Spears.
- While there's still plenty of speculation that the Hawks could trade Josh Smith, interested teams have been keeping any talks very quiet.
- A surgery date for Rajon Rondo's ACL still hasn't been set, as Rondo could seek opinions from as many as three doctors.
- A source close to Rudy Gay tells Spears that the newest Raptor was happy about leaving the Grizzlies and should be a very good fit in Toronto — not only in the team's up-tempo offense, but in the city as well.
Atlantic Notes: Blatche, Sullinger, Collins, Raps
Rajon Rondo's season-ending ACL injury was expected to leave an opening for the ninth-seeded 76ers to make a move in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers have held up their end of the bargain so far, winning three of their last four games, but the Celtics have been playing well without their All-Star point guard, winning four in a row. With Boston off tonight, the Sixers will look to gain a half-game in the standings by handing the Magic their 10th straight loss. Here are a few other updates out of the Atlantic:
- A pair of sources tell NetsDaily (Twitter link) that there's no truth to an earlier report about the Nets making Andray Blatche available.
- Agent David Falk says the Celtics recognized that his client, Jared Sullinger, would eventually require surgery on his back, but that the team and player were hoping it could be delayed until the summer. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe has the details.
- ESPN.com's 5-on-5 panelists, including Sean Highkin of Hoops Rumors, put forth a number of hypothetical deals for trade candidates. Among their proposals are suggestions for how the Celtics could maximize their return on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
- The efforts of Jason Collins, who signed with the Celtics last summer on a one-year, minimum-salary deal, aren't going unnoticed, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star believes it makes sense for the Raptors to explore trading Alan Anderson for a backup point guard.
Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Garnett, Pierce, Oden, Gay
We've heard speculation about the Celtics potentially breaking up their core for a long time now, but it's starting to sound more and more like a real possibility. Earlier today, we learned that the Clippers have reached out to the Celtics about trading for Kevin Garnett, and they could certainly put together an attractive offer for Danny Ainge & Co. KG, however, is one of four players in the Association with a no-trade clause in his contract, so he'd have to give the green light to any deal that would give him a non-green uniform. More on the C's and the rest of the Atlantic..
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld asks if it's time for the Celtics to trade Paul Pierce. While there are good arguments for selling on Pierce before the deadline, Brotherston argues that it would be easier to find trading partners able to work deals around Jeff Green ($8.4MM), Brandon Bass ($6MM), Courtney Lee ($5MM), or Jason Terry ($5MM).
- The Celtics met with Greg Oden yesterday, but coach Doc Rivers says that he isn't dwelling on whether they will sign the big man, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. "I said hi to him," Rivers said. "We reminisced about high school days when I watched him in AAU. But other than that, I thought far more about the guys we're playing (today) than next year."
- Now that he's a member of the Raptors, forward Rudy Gay has been reunited with former teammate Kyle Lowry, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. Gay put up 29 points against the Heat earlier today but it wasn't enough as Toronto lost 100-85 at home.
Eastern Rumors: Josh Smith, Lowry, Lucas, Bulls
It doesn't look like anything will derail a trip to the postseason for the teams currently in the top seven of the Eastern Conference, but with Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger both lost for the year, the Celtics appear more vulnerable than their three-game lead for the eighth spot would suggest. The Sixers, who could get Andrew Bynum back soon, are ninth, and the Pistons and Raptors, a pair of teams that could get a boost from this week's trade, are next in line. Here's more from the East:
- Though other reports have contradicted Alex Kennedy's recent dispatch that the Suns have interest in Josh Smith, the HoopsWorld scribe stands by his story, and says the Rockets and Bobcats have had exploratory talks with the Hawks as well (Twitter links).
- While Marc Stein of ESPN.com has heard the suggestion that the Raptors might have intended to get rid of Kyle Lowry as well as Jose Calderon, he doesn't see that happening now, especially given the close friendship between Lowry and new acquisiton Rudy Gay.
- The Raptors signed John Lucas III last summer with the idea that he would slide into the rotation if a Calderon trade went down, Stein points out. Lucas responded with 17 points in less than 19 minutes during last night's upset of the Clippers.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times wonders about the possibility LeBron James could sign with the Bulls in 2014, when the team is set to have plenty of cap space to accomodate King James and others.
- Cowley also notes that Bulls GM Gar Forman is likely to sign free agents primarily to one-year contracts this summer, just as he did in 2012, as last year's free agent tracker shows.
- HoopsWorld's Joel Brigham provides an update on Bynum, Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, and other key injured players due back around the All-Star break, speculating that their returns might make it less likely that their teams participate in trade deadline deals.
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.
Amick And Zillgitt On Smith, Gasol, Gay Trade
Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today have posted a new column in which they take turns speculating on which marquee player will be the next to be traded, and also react to the Rudy Gay trade:
- Amick writes that it's well-known around the league that Josh Smith is unhappy in Atlanta and that the team is open to trading him. He wants a max deal, and new Hawks GM Danny Ferry wants to take a more financially responsible approach to building his roster.
- Zillgitt thinks that, despite reports to the contrary, the Lakers could move Pau Gasol before the deadline. He points to the Celtics as a possible destination, writing that they need size following Jared Sullinger's injury.
- Both Amick and Zillgitt think positively of the Raptors' acquisition of Gay. Zillgitt adds that the move was a financially smart move for the Grizzlies, and likes the fit of Tayshaun Prince on their roster. He also praises the acquisition of Jose Calderon for the Pistons.
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.