Sixers Waive Earl Clark
10:33am: Philadelphia has officially waived Clark, the team has announced.
7:53am: The Sixers are waiving newly acquired Earl Clark, tweets Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The club has yet to officially announce the move, but the Sixers have to cut someone to get down to 15 players after yesterday’s trio of trades.
Clark came to the team from the Cavaliers along with Henry Sims in the deal that sent Spencer Hawes to Cleveland. The 26-year-old appears destined for free agency just months after signing a two-year, $8.5MM contract this past summer with the Cavs. It’s unlikely any team will claim him off waivers, since the 6’10” forward has underwhelmed this season, averaging just 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game.
His $4.25MM salary is guaranteed for this season, so it will remain on Philadelphia’s books, barring a waiver claim. The deal is non-guaranteed for 2014/15. The Kevin Bradbury client inked with Cleveland after a career year with the Lakers in which he showed glimpses of the promise that made him the 14th overall pick in 2009. He notched 11.9 PPG and 9.0 RPG in 32.9 MPG over a 22-game stretch in 2012/13.
Hawks Release Cartier Martin
FRIDAY, 8:00am: Atlanta has yet to officially announce the move, but Martin’s deal was set to expire at the end of the day Thursday, so he is no longer with the Hawks, one way or another.
THURSDAY, 5:05pm: The Hawks will release Cartier Martin ahead of the expiration of his 10-day deal to make room for the newly-acquired Antawn Jamison, tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Though Vivlamore says the team will waive Martin, he won’t actually go on waivers. Teams can terminate 10-day contracts at any point, and when that happens, the player becomes a free agent immediately.
Atlanta acquired Jamison earlier today along with cash considerations from the Clippers. The 37-year-old veteran may not be staying in Atlanta for long, however, as the Hawks are thinking about buying him out.
Martin, 29, has seen time in 31 games this season for the Hawks, averaging 6.7 PPG and 2.0 RPG in 17.1 minutes per contest. His 10-day contract was to expire at the end of tonight anyway, and since the Hawks don’t have a game, the early termination of his deal is of little effect.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Clippers Send Byron Mullens To Sixers
The 76ers announced that they have acquired center Byron Mullens and a 2018 second-round pick in exchange for a protected second-round pick in the 2014 draft.
Philadelphia was discussing Chris Kaman with the Lakers shortly before the deadline, but it appears the Sixers opted to instead acquire a big man with skills similar to Spencer Hawes, whom they agreed to send to the Cavs earlier today.
The Clippers have successfully pulled off two deals at the buzzer with Mullens and Jamison changing uniforms. Mullens, who was once regarded as the top talent in the 2009 draft class, is headed to his to his fourth team in five years. The big man has averaged just 2.5 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 6.2 minutes per game this season. Even when he was seeing significant playing time with the Bobcats, Mullens never had a PER above 13.0.
Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) first reported that Mullens was on his way to the 76ers. Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times added details (via Twitter).
Pacers Waive Orlando Johnson
Within tonight’s press release welcoming Evan Turner to the organization, the Pacers announced that they have waived Orlando Johnson. Indiana had to cut someone loose in order to make the trade work.
Johnson, a second-year player out of California-Santa Barbara, was a draft-night acquisition in 2012. He was originally drafted by the Kings with the 36th overall pick in that draft. In 38 games for Indiana this season, Johnson averaged 2.4 PPG and 1.3 RPG in nine minutes per contest. He also saw a stint with the D-League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
“Orlando is a great kid,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “We appreciate everything he’s done for us and hope he has a long and successful career.”
Pacers Acquire Evan Turner
The Pacers issued a press release to officially announce that they have acquired Evan Turner from the 76ers. The deal sends Danny Granger and a future second round draft pick to Philly for Turner and forward Lavoy Allen. The future second-round pick will be the Warriors’ 2015 selection, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
Philadelphia and Indiana teamed up to complete the most significant deadline trade of them all. Indiana spent most of the season merely open to dealing Granger without actively seeking deals, but that appeared to change last week. Still, the Pacers were looking to be “blown away” by an offer and hadn’t found a suitable exchange as of this morning. That clearly changed when Turner entered the mix, and the former No. 2 overall pick figures to give Indiana a significant leg up in the race for the NBA title.
Turner has played his most significant role to date in the final season of his rookie scale contract, averaging a career-high 17.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in 34.9 minutes per game. He figures to get a raise this summer on his $6.68MM salary, but perhaps not a hefty one, as Philadelphia wasn’t planning to tender a qualifying offer worth more than $8.7MM that would have allowed the Sixers to match offers this summer. That helped push Turner into trade discussions. Indiana will now have the ability to decide on that qualifying offer this summer, when it faces a tight squeeze underneath the luxury tax to retain unrestricted free agent Lance Stephenson.
The Sixers were holding out for a 2014 first-round pick for Turner, as well as Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young, but didn’t find any such offers. They agreed to send Hawes to the Cavs for Earl Clark and Henry Sims, but hung on to Young. Still, Granger is a decent consolation prize, and Philadelphia, flush with cap room, can take on his bloated expiring contract, worth slightly more than $14MM.
Granger led the Pacers in scoring for five straight seasons from 2007/08 through 2011/12, but injury cost him all but five games last year, and he’s been unable to return to form this season in a reserve role. Still, he’s just 30 years old, and with plenty of shots to go around in Philadelphia, he has an opportunity to strengthen his market value for this summer.
Turner was a hot commodity in trade talks, with the Pistons, Suns, Clippers, Hawks, Bobcats, Mavs, Timberwolves and Spurs all linked to him at one point or another. Teams were nonetheless wary of giving up other players or picks for Turner, figuring they could sign him as an unrestricted free agent this summer if Philly passed on his qualifying offer. Depending on how it shakes out with the Pacers, those clubs might not have a chance at him in the offseason.
Allen makes $3.06MM in the final season of a two-year contract he signed with the Sixers after a surprisingly productive rookie season. He’s averaged 5.2 points in 18.8 minutes per game this year, but he doesn’t figure to have much of a role on the Pacers. He, like Turner, would become a restricted free agent in the summer if Indiana makes him a qualifying offer, but that seems unlikely, since that offer would be for $3.825MM.
I profiled Turner and Granger as trade candidates earlier this season.
Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links) first reported the trade. Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link) and Jason Wolf of The News Journal (Twitter link) added details.
Spurs, Raptors Swap De Colo, Daye
The Spurs and Raptors have announced their swap of Nando De Colo for Austin Daye. De Colo has been on frequent D-League assignments this year, having ceded playing time at backup point guard to Patty Mills and Cory Joseph. Daye has been even less of a factor for the Raptors, appearing for just 33 minutes total after signing a two-year minimum-salary deal this summer. 
De Colo, a 2009 second-round pick of the Spurs, finally signed with the team on a two-year deal in 2012. The contract gives him slightly more than the minimum, and he’s making $1.463MM this year. He’ll be a restricted free agent at season’s end.
Daye’s pact is partially guaranteed for $250K next season. He was the 15th overall pick the same year the Spurs drafted De Colo, but he never panned out in three and a half seasons with the Pistons, who traded him to the Grizzlies as part of the three-way Rudy Gay trade in January 2013.
Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first tweeted news of the deal.
Clippers Trade Antawn Jamison To Hawks
The Hawks announced that they have acquired Antawn Jamison and cash considerations from the Clippers in exchange for the draft rights to Cenk Akyol. Sending Jamison to Atlanta saves Los Angeles $884,293 toward its tax bill.
The 37-year-old has been averaging 3.8 PPG and 2.5 RPG in a career-low 11.3 minutes per game this season for Los Angeles. For his career, the veteran has averaged 18.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG across 16 NBA campaigns.
We learned earlier this week that the Clippers were dangling Jamison and others for frontcourt help. Jamison signed a one-year, minimum salary deal with the Clippers over the summer and despite his impressive resume, he hasn’t had the kind of impact that Doc Rivers & Co. were hoping for. Meanwhile, Jamison may not be staying it Atlanta for long as the club is said to be considering a buyout for the veteran forward.
Akyol, a 6’7″ forward, was the Hawks’ second-round draft pick in 2005 but has never appeared in the NBA and now plays in the Turkish Basketball League. It’s extremely unlikely that he’ll wind up in the NBA.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com first reported the deal. Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) added details.
Nuggets, Rockets Swap Hamilton, Brooks
The Nuggets announced that their deal sending Jordan Hamilton to Houston in exchange for Aaron Brooks is now official. It initially appeared Hamilton would be on his way to the Knicks, but it turns out he won’t have to travel quite as far.
Brooks, who had the option of declining the deal, fills Denver’s need for a point guard. Meanwhile, the swap makes it seven straight deadline in which Rockets GM Daryl Morey has swung a deal.
Brooks will likely see more playing time in Denver than he did in Houston, where he was stuck behind Patrick Beverley and Jeremy Lin. The Nuggets have been looking for a backup to Ty Lawson ever Andre Miller and coach Brian Shaw got in a public spat around New Year’s, prompting Denver to send Miller home. Denver agreed to trade Miller to the Wizards in a three-team arrangement today.
The Nuggets’ decision to send Hamilton to Houston instead of the Knicks appears to have stymied New York’s efforts to trade Beno Udrih, whom Denver would have received, since the Knicks had no other suitors left for the veteran point guard, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. All the interest in Hamilton is somewhat surprising, though the 23-year-old has made 11 starts for a banged-up Denver team this year, averaging career highs in an assortment of categories in his first significant playing time after mostly riding the pine during his first two NBA seasons. The small forward is nonetheless shooting just 39%.
Hamilton and Brooks will both be unrestricted free agents at season’s end. Denver elected to decline its 2014/15 option on Hamilton’s rookie scale contract before the season. Hamilton is making about $1.17MM, while Brooks gets the minimum salary.
Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Shams Charania of RealGM.com first tweeted news of the deal.
Wizards Acquire Andre Miller In Three-Team Deal
The Wizards have acquired disgruntled Nuggets guard Andre Miller in a three-team trade involving the Sixers. Washington gets Miller, the Nuggets receive Jan Vesely, and Philly receives Eric Maynor plus two second-round picks. The Sixers will receive the Nuggets’ 2016 second-round pick and the Pelicans’ 2015 second-round selection.
Miller, 37, is earning a $5MM salary and makes $4.625MM next year in the final year of his deal, but that’s only partially guaranteed for $2MM as long as he’s waived before July. Before his clash with Denver coach Brian Shaw, Miller was averaging 5.9 PPG and 3.3 APG in 19 minutes per contest. Heading into this season, Miller boasted career averages of 13.8 PPG and 7.1 APG in 33.4 minutes per game.
Maynor, the former VCU hero, now joins his fifth team in four years. Washington inked the guard to a two-year deal worth the bi-annual exception with a player option for year two over the summer.
Vesely, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2011 draft, has averaged just 3.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG over the course of his NBA career. Washington declined its $4.2MM option on the big man for the 2014/15 season so he’ll be a free agent after the season is through.
The future-minded 76ers now have a whopping nine second round picks in the second round of this year’s draft.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter) first reported that Miller was Washington-bound. Additional details came from CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger and Sam Amick of USA Today (both links go to Twitter).
Bobcats Acquire Gary Neal
The Bobcats announced that they have acquired Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour from the Bucks in exchange for Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien. Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter) first reported the agreement.
“We are excited to add a pair of quality players to our backcourt,” Bobcats president Rod Higgins said. “Gary is an exceptional shooter and Luke is a veteran point guard who can help us off the bench. They both have significant postseason experience so they know how to get where we’re trying to go. We look forward to adding them to our rotation. We also want to thank Ramon and Jeff for their contributions and professionalism and wish them the best of luck.”
Charlotte was attempting to talk Milwaukee into the idea that taking Sessions would make it easier for the Bucks to trade Ridnour, and apparently they agreed, simply deciding to fold Ridnour into this deal.
An earlier report suggested Caron Butler and Ben Gordon could be involved in the deal, but that wasn’t the case. The Suns, Kings, Wolves and Thunder were among the teams in the mix for Neal this week, but Charlotte emerged as the most serious suitor today.
Ridnour, a free agent at season’s end, makes $4.42MM, while Neal earns $3.25MM this season and gets the same pay next year. Sessions is on a $5MM expiring deal while Adrien makes the minimum.
Zach Links contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.