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Mavs Acquire Rajon Rondo

December 18th, 2014 at 8:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Mavericks have acquired Rajon Rondo from the Celtics, the teams announced in a pair of press releases. Also heading to Dallas in the swap is Dwight Powell. Boston receives Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, the Mavs’ 2015 first-rounder if it falls anywhere from No. 4 to No. 14, as well as a 2016 second-round pick. If Dallas doesn’t send out the first-round pick in 2015, it’ll be top-seven protected from 2016 through 2020. The Celtics create a trade exception worth $12,909,090, the equivalent of Rondo’s salary. To accommodate the transaction, which otherwise would have left the Celtics with 15 players, the Celtics waived Vitor Faverani. The unbalanced deal leaves the Mavs with an open roster spot.

“We would like to thank Rajon for everything that he has done for the Celtics organization and the success we have experienced during his tenure with us,” Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in the team’s statement.

This deal came together rather quickly after a report revealed last night that Ainge was willing to deal Rondo. Numerous teams, including the Lakers, Rockets, Knicks, Kings, and Pacers showed immediate interest, though Ainge was said to be looking to deal Rondo to a Western Conference team if at all possible.

With Rondo set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and 2014 first-rounder Marcus Smart showing quite a bit of promise, trading Rondo instead of running the risk of losing him for nothing became Ainge’s best option. The Celtics had been hesitant to commit to the idea of a maximum-salary deal for Rondo, something he will likely be seeking in free agency. Rondo and his representatives have reportedly told the Mavericks that the Bill Duffy client would be inclined to sign a new deal with the team this summer, something that was likely a priority for Dallas before the team agreed to the swap.

The trade marks the end of Rondo’s eight-plus seasons in Boston, and signals that the Celtics are heading into a rebuilding phase rather than trying to retool and find another star player to pair alongside the 28-year-old guard out of Kentucky. Rondo’s career averages, all with the Celtics, are 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 1.9 steals. His career slash line is .473/.252/.614.

In adding Wright, the Celtics address one of their biggest weaknesses, which is interior defense. The 27-year-old big man is averaging 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game this season. His career numbers are 7.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 1.0 blocks per contest. His career shooting numbers are .610/.000/.686. Wright, who is making $5MM this season, will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Losing the 6’10” Wright leaves Dallas dangerously thin behind Tyson Chandler, which will be a concern going forward, and it could require the Mavs to make another roster move to correct the problem.

Crowder is a 24-year-old wing who is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. In a little over two seasons in the league, the former Cavs second-rounder has averaged 4.6 PPG and 2.3 RPG. His slash line is .411/.331/.710. He’ll likely compete with rookie James Young for playing time. There could be more minutes available if Ainge decides to deal Jeff Green, as he is reportedly contemplating, though Ainge has issued a denial about shopping him.

The 32-year-old Nelson has been nursing a strained shoulder this season, but has still appeared in 23 contests, all as a starter. He is making $2,732,000 this season and has a player option for 2015/16 for $2,854,940. It remains to be seen if he’ll assume the starting duties in Boston or if the team will hand over the reigns to Smart, whom they drafted with the No. 6 overall pick in this year’s NBA draft. Nelson’s career numbers are 12.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 5.3 APG. His career slash line is .441/.374/.817.

Receiving the 6’11” Powell isn’t likely to solidify the Mavs’ depth in the frontcourt. He is signed through next season, but his $845,059 salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed. In five games this season, the rookie is averaging 1.8 points in 1.8 minutes per game. Powell has spent more time in the D-League this year than with the big club in Dallas.

Faverani hadn’t appeared in a game this season, as he is still recovering from offseason surgery on his knee. The 26-year-old big man from Brazil is still at least a month away from being able to practice, and even further away from being ready for game action. In 37 career appearances, all with the Celtics, Faverani has averaged 4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest. Faverani’s $2.09MM salary for this season will stick on Boston’s books, but the Celtics avoid paying his non-guaranteed salary of $2.18MM for next year.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images. Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) first reported the deal. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports added that Powell would head to Dallas and that the Celtics would waive Faverani, as well as details about the protection on the first-rounder headed to Boston (All Twitter links). Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders noted that the Celtics would be able to create a trade exception (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: Kings, Malone, Price

December 15th, 2014 at 6:48pm CST by Alex Lee

With the Suns, Lakers and Clippers in action tonight, let’s take a look at some news and notes coming out of the league’s Pacific division on Monday:

Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro told reporters, including Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, that it was his call to fire Michael Malone and that the decision was made over philosophical differences rather than wins and losses (Twitter link).
While those differences are easy to point to as the main reason the Kings moved on from Malone, Scott Howard-Cooper writes that the most obvious takeaway from the situation in Sacramento is that the team should never have brought him back for this season in the first place.
Malone’s firing is just the latest testament to the lack of job security enjoyed by the majority of NBA head coaches, writes Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report, who adds that unrealistic expectations from ownership tends to be a common driver to early coaching exits.
The Lakers guaranteed half of the contract of Ronnie Price today, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Price is now guaranteed $658,405 of his $1.3MM deal, with the remaining portion to be locked in if the point guard is still on the team come January 10th. It was only a few weeks ago that Price seemed to be on the chopping block, but the veteran has since supplanted Jeremy Lin as the team’s starting point guard.

Kings Fire Mike Malone, Eye George Karl

December 15th, 2014 at 4:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:54pm: The Kings have formally announced that they’ve fired Malone and installed Corbin as head coach, though there’s no mention of the word “interim” regarding Corbin in the team’s statement.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the franchise moving forward,” D’Alessandro said. “Michael made significant contributions to the organization on many levels and helped foster cultural changes that positively impacted our team. We’re thankful for the commitment he exhibited during his time in Sacramento and wish him and his family the very best in the future.”

4:19pm: The team hasn’t issued a formal announcement of the move, but D’Alessandro confirmed that Corbin has replaced Malone as he spoke to reporters in an impromptu press conference that the team is streaming on its website. D’Alessandro refused to answer whether Corbin would hold the job for the rest of the season, as USA Today’s Sam Amick notes (on Twitter).

8:30am: The Kings told coach Michael Malone on Sunday night that they’ve decided to fire him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin will assume the head coaching job on an interim basis and is likely to serve in that capacity for the rest of the season, Wojnarowski writes, though the team has yet to make any formal announcement of a coaching change. Many around the league strongly believe that Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro will pursue George Karl, with whom he worked in Denver, but any such move probably wouldn’t take place until the offseason, Wojnarowski hears. Still, Corbin is expected to be replaced eventually, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.

The timing of the news is shocking, coming as it does with DeMarcus Cousins having missed the past nine games with viral meningitis. The Kings (11-13) were 9-6 before Cousins fell ill, and had wins over the Spurs, Clippers and Bulls during that stretch, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com points out (Twitter link).

Still, tension between Malone and the Kings brass has been building for the past year, as Wojnarowski details. D’Alessandro and owner Vivek Ranadive want a faster style of play, Wojnarowski writes, as does consultant Chris Mullin, tweets Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Mullin, who holds the title of advisor to the chairman, is an influential force within the front office, Amick notes. Management was disappointed with Malone’s player development, game plans and adjustments, a source tells fellow Yahoo! Sports scribe Marc J. Spears (Twitter link). Malone and D’Alessandro didn’t communicate much over the offseason, Amick hears. The front office interviewed candidates for the lead assistant coaching job, but it was Malone who decided to hire Corbin for that role, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that Malone doesn’t believe Corbin attempted to undermine him.

Malone let Ranadive know he was no fan of the Kings’ pursuit of Josh Smith this summer, Wojnarowski reports. Still, Ranadive, who was involved in those talks with the Pistons, and D’Alessandro forged ahead, though Detroit wasn’t biting, as Wojnarowski adds on Twitter.

Karl, who’s been out of coaching since his tenure with the Nuggets ended in the summer of 2013, just weeks after he won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, is a major fan of Cousins, and the Nuggets attempted to trade for the center during Karl’s time there, The Bee’s Jason Jones tweets.

Wojnarowski identifies Vinny Del Negro as another possible candidate for the job, while Mullin and Mark Jackson are tight, as Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group points out (on Twitter). Still, it’s unclear if the Kings are seriously considering either Del Negro or Jackson.

Ranadive’s first move after assuming ownership of the team in 2013 was to hire Malone, as Jones notes via Twitter, even before D’Alessandro or Mullin came aboard, in a departure from normal convention in which the coach is hired after the management team. Malone, who had been an assistant under Jackson in Golden State before he joined Sacramento, has gone 39-67 in his time with the Kings. Sacramento had given the well-regarded assistant his first NBA coaching job. He’s in the second season of a four-year deal worth approximately $9MM, though the final season is a team option that hasn’t yet been exercised, Amick notes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Sixers Waive Ronald Roberts

December 15th, 2014 at 11:38am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 11:38am: The move is official, the team announced as it confirmed the signing of Furkan Aldemir.

SUNDAY, 4:09pm: The Sixers will waive Ronald Roberts to make room for the newly signed Furkan Aldemir, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). It was a brief stay in the City of Brotherly Love for Roberts, who was signed just two days ago.

Roberts, 23, spent training camp with the team in October after going undrafted out of St. Joseph’s this past June. Philadelphia gave the Adam Pensack client a partial guarantee of $35K when it signed him for camp and retained his D-League rights after waiving him before opening night. It’s unclear if there was any guaranteed salary involved with Roberts’ latest deal.

The 6’8″ power forward put up 17.5 points and 11.8 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game for the D-League affiliate of the Sixers so far this season. He did not see the floor for the Sixers’ varsity squad, however. With Roberts out and Aldemir in, the 76ers’ roster remains at 15.

Sixers Sign Furkan Aldemir

December 15th, 2014 at 11:35am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 11:35am: The deal is official, team spokesperson Michael Preston announced (on Twitter).

SUNDAY, 3:18pm: Furkan Aldemir has agreed to a four-year deal in the $12MM range with the Sixers, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The first two years of Aldemir’s deal will be guaranteed. David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link) reported earlier today that the big man received his visa, allowing him to officially make his transfer to the Sixers.

The Sixers first reached agreement with the draft-and-stash prospect back in November. Since then, however, there have been a series of roadblocks and hurdles that delayed the union between Aldemir and Philadelphia. Now, however, Aldemir ostensibly has obtained FIBA clearance and the blessing of his Turkish club, Galatasaray, paving the way for him to pursue his NBA dream.

The Sixers obtained the NBA rights to the 6’9″ power forward in the 2013 Royce White trade with the Rockets. Aldemir, said to be a decent rebounder, reportedly wasn’t being paid in a timely fashion for his hard work as Galatasaray was behind on paying off his three-year, $5.3MM deal. The 23-year-old has played exclusively overseas since entering the draft in 2012, when the Clippers made him the 53rd overall pick before sending him to the Rockets the next day.

The deal marks one of the first attempts that Philadelphia has made to cash in on its store of overseas talent that includes the rights to No. 12 overall pick Dario Saric and two other 2014 draftees. As Hoops Rumors’ roster counts show, the 76ers are at the maximum of 15 and will have to make room for Aldemir before adding him to the roster. Aldemir is represented by agent Misko Raznatovic.

Quincy Miller Signs With D-League

December 12th, 2014 at 3:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

FRIDAY, 3:03pm: The affiliate of the Kings has been awarded Miller off waivers, a source tells Pilato (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 3:34pm: The Reno Bighorns, the Kings’ D-League affiliate, have issued a waiver claim for Miller, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link). The player is not expected to fall past them, Pilato adds.

WEDNESDAY. 8:13pm: Free agent forward Quincy Miller has signed a contract with the NBA D-League, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. Miller will be subject to the D-League waiver system, so it’s not yet clear which D-League team he’ll play for. Miller’s agent, Jared Karnes, confirmed to Charania that Miller was entering the D-League with the hope he’ll earn a call-up to the NBA.

Miller worked out for the Lakers last month and was one of the candidates considered to earn a roster spot on an injury-riddled Los Angeles squad. The 22-year-old was in training camp with the Nuggets before being waived back in October.

In two NBA seasons, Miller has averaged 4.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.5 assists. His career slash line is .366/.316/.702.

Sixers Sign Ronald Roberts Jr., Waive Gutierrez

December 12th, 2014 at 2:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers have signed Ronald Roberts Jr. and waived Jorge Gutierrez, team spokesperson Michael Preston announced via Twitter. Philadelphia had acquired Gutierrez as part of the Andrei Kirilenko trade Thursday, though coach Brett Brown hinted today that the point guard’s situation with the team was “fluid.” Kirilenko nonetheless remains on the Sixers roster in spite of reports from prior to the trade indicating that Philadelphia intended to let him go, as the Sixers are apparently interested in keeping him as a potential trade chip for later this season. Gutierrez had a $25K partial guarantee on his contract, but he’d already earned more than that his season, so the portion of his minimum salary that he’d collected so far this season will remain on Philly’s books. It’s unclear what sort of contract Roberts is getting.

Roberts, 23, is well-known to the Sixers, having spent training camp with the team in October after going undrafted out of St. Joseph’s this past June. Philadelphia gave the Adam Pensack client a partial guarantee of $35K when it signed him for camp and retained his D-League rights after waiving him before opening night. The 6’8″ power forward has put up 17.5 points and 11.8 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game for the D-League affiliate of the Sixers so far this season.

Gutierrez inked a pair of 10-day contracts late last season with the Nets before signing a contract that covered the rest of the season with a non-guaranteed salary for 2014/15 tacked on. Gutierrez earned his partial guarantee when the Nets declined to waive him before training camp, but he saw only 4.4 MPG in 10 appearances this season, much less playing time than the 16.3 MPG he saw in 15 games with Brooklyn last season.

Philly’s roster count remains at 15 players in the wake of today’s move. The team is as flexible as ever, with only nine fully guaranteed contracts.

Nets Sign Darius Morris

December 11th, 2014 at 2:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets have signed Darius Morris, the team announced. The point guard had been a free agent since shortly after the Blazers waived him at the end of the preseason. Multiple reports had indicated that the Nets had a player they were ready to sign once the completion of today’s Andrei Kirilenko trade opened a roster spot, so it appears that was Morris. It’s a non-guaranteed deal for the minimum salary, reports Reed Wallach of NetsDaily (Twitter link). It’s not clear whether it runs only for this season or if it includes 2015/16 as well, but the Nets are limited to using only the minimum-salary exception to sign players, so the deal for Morris can’t cover more than two seasons.

The 23-year-old Morris has been on an NBA regular season roster every season since the Lakers drafted him 41st overall out of the University of Michigan in 2011. He started 17 games for the Lakers in 2012/13, but he averaged only 14.2 minutes per game over the course of that season, one in which the team sent him on multiple D-League assignments. The Brian Dyke client saw 16.1 MPG over a 12-game stretch with the Sixers last year, but Philadelphia let him go less than a month into the season, and he later surfaced on 10-day contracts with the Clippers and Grizzlies.

The addition of Morris restores Brooklyn to a full 15-man roster, though only 11 of the team’s contracts are fully guaranteed. Brandon Davies, acquired in the Kirilenko trade, is on a non-guaranteed pact, while Cory Jefferson and Jerome Jordan are on partially guaranteed arrangements that are de facto non-guaranteed deals, since they’ve already earned more than the amounts of their guarantees.

Sixers Waive Malcolm Lee

December 11th, 2014 at 12:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers have waived Malcolm Lee, the team announced in the same press release in which it confirmed its acquisition of Andrei Kirilenko. The move is a bit surprising, since reports indicated that Philadelphia would instead waive Kirilenko upon the completion of the trade. However, John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com reported late Wednesday that the Sixers had interest in keeping Kirilenko in hopes of using him in a subsequent trade near the deadline. Lee, whom the Sixers re-signed just last week, is instead the roster casualty as Philadelphia needed to cut a player to accommodate its trade with Brooklyn. The Sixers, who had been carrying the maximum 15 players prior to the trade, acquired two players and gave up one in that move, so the team had to let go of someone.

Lee was on a four-year non-guaranteed contract with a team option on the fourth year, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The 24-year-old shooting guard appeared in just one game for a total of two minutes during his latest stint with the Sixers, missing his only shot attempt. He was with Philadelphia during the preseason and received a $50K partial guarantee on his initial contract, one the Sixers waived before opening night. Lee was the 43rd overall pick in the 2011 draft and spent the following two seasons in Minnesota, but he was without an NBA contract last season when he sat out following a series of injuries.

Philadelphia remains at 15 players after today’s moves. Nine have fully guaranteed deals, while another three are on partially guaranteed contracts, leaving plenty of flexibility for more in-season movement, one of the staples of GM Sam Hinkie‘s tenure.

Sixers Acquire Andrei Kirilenko

December 11th, 2014 at 12:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

12:40pm: The Sixers also receive cash, as Philadelphia announced in its press release. The 2018 second-rounder that the Sixers would send to Brooklyn if the teams swapped second-round picks that year would be Cleveland’s pick, the Sixers also note.

THURSDAY, 12:28pm: The trade is official, the Nets announced via press release. The Sixers get Kirilenko, Gutierrez, Brooklyn’s 2020 second-round pick and the right to swap 2018 second-rounders. The Nets receive Davies, and Brooklyn’s statement also confirms the creation of a pair of trade exceptions. The statement values them at $3.4MM and $916K, respectively, but it would appear as though they’re actually worth precisely $3,326,235 and $816,482, the equivalents of the salaries for Kirilenko and Gutierrez, respectively. The Nets can use them to trade for players with salaries of up to $100K more than those amounts any time between now and a year from today.

WEDNESDAY, 8:18pm: The Sixers and Nets have agreed to a trade that would send Andrei Kirilenko to Philadelphia, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Also heading to the Sixers is the Nets’ 2020 second round pick, the right to swap second-rounders in 2018, and cash. In return the Nets will receive Brandon Davies. The deal is expected to be finalized on Thursday, and Brooklyn is also likely to send another minor player to the Sixers as well, Wojnarowski notes in a separate tweet. That player might be Jorge Gutierrez, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily reports (Twitter link).

Philadelphia is expected to waive Kirilenko and his guaranteed salary, worth more than $3.3MM. The Nets will save themselves nearly $12MM in salary and tax payments as a result of the deal, not counting Davies’ non-guaranteed salary of $816,482. Brooklyn isn’t planning on waiving him immediately, and will give Davies a look, reports Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter links). The Nets are also working on signing a free agent wing player in addition to this trade, Bondy adds.

The 33-year-old Russian’s future is unclear, since Kirilenko has been dealing with undisclosed family issues that kept him away from the Nets, as well as clouded the trade talk surrounding him since it was unclear if he would be willing and able to report to any team that acquired him. The Jazz have been mentioned as potential suitors, though today’s signing of Patrick Christopher increased Utah’s roster count to the league-maximum fifteen players, which means the team would need to make a roster move to accommodate Kirilenko if it was still interested in his services. Wojnarowski’s article also lists the Cavs and the Clippers as teams that may be interested in signing Kirilenko.

In 12 NBA seasons, Kirilenko has averaged 11.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. His career slash line is .474/.310/.754. He appeared in just seven games for Brooklyn this season, logging just 0.4 points in 5.1 minutes per contest.

The 23-year-old Davies is in his second season in the NBA after going undrafted out of BYU in 2013. His career numbers are 3.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game. His shooting numbers are .417/.225/.640.