Celtics Waive Nate Robinson In Buyout Deal
6:43pm: The Celtics have officially waived Robinson, the team has announced.
THURSDAY, 3:40pm: Boston has placed Robinson on waivers, according to Shams Charania of RealGM, though the team has yet to make any official announcement (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 9:09am: The Celtics and trade acquisition Nate Robinson have completed a deal on a buyout that will allow the guard to hit free agency, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported that Boston intended to reach a buyout with Robinson soon after the swap. The guard is making nearly $2.107MM this season on an expiring contract, but it’s not immediately clear how much he’s giving up.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports suggested the Clippers as a possible suitor for Robinson should he clear waivers, noting that the Clips had spoken with the Nuggets about trading for Robinson before the Celtics traded for him. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com identified the Cavs as a potential team in the mix for Robinson, too.
Boston has reportedly been trying to clear room on its roster for a pair of expiring contracts to accommodate the team’s deal to send Austin Rivers to the Clippers. The C’s have been carrying 15 players, so dropping Robinson would open up one spot, and dealing Rivers away would allow them to take back a pair of players.
The 30-year-old Robinson, who went to the 2010 Finals with the Celtics during his first stint with the team, wouldn’t have been a strong fit with the rebuilding program that’s since taken hold in Boston. He’s averaging career lows in points and minutes per game so far, though he’s played in 33 of Denver 37 games so far and started once in place of Ty Lawson.
Clippers Acquire Austin Rivers
The Clippers have acquired Austin Rivers in a three-team trade with the Celtics and Suns, as Boston, Los Angeles and Phoenix have officially announced. In addition to Rivers heading to Los Angeles, the Celtics will receive Shavlik Randolph from Phoenix and Chris Douglas-Roberts and a 2017 second-round pick from the Clippers, and the Suns will get Reggie Bullock from Los Angeles. Boston intends to waive Douglas-Roberts, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter links). The Celtics will also be able to create a trade exception worth $2.4MM.
After much back and forth between the Clippers and the Celtics, Rivers will join his father, Doc Rivers, in Los Angeles. The elder Rivers was reportedly concerned about the perception that would surround a father trading for and coaching his son, but Clippers GM Dave Wohl and assistant coaches Lawrence Frank and Mike Woodson have reportedly encouraged Doc to forgo his concerns and make the deal.
The younger Rivers has never quite lived up to having been selected No. 10 overall by New Orleans back in 2012, and he could benefit from a change of scenery. He’s in the last year of his rookie deal, and he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Rivers’ career numbers are 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 165 total contests. His career slash line is .390/.332/.631.
In Randolph, Boston receives a 6’10”, 31-year-old forward with career averages of 2.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and a career slash line of .455/.200/.544 over 141 games. Randolph, who previously played for the Celtics at the end of the 2012/13 season, is earning $1,227,985 in the final year of his deal.
The inclusion of Bullock in the deal was apparently one of the sticking points with getting the deal done, tweeted Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, but the Clippers obviously relented in order to consummate the trade. The 23-year-old swingman should fit in well in Phoenix’s system and could see an increase in playing time with the Suns. Bullock is averaging 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 10.5 minutes per game over 25 appearances for Los Angeles this season. His shooting numbers are .426/.385/.800. He is making $1,200,720 this season, and is in line to receive $1,252,440 in 2015/16. His rookie scale contract includes a team option of $2,255,644 for the 2016/17 campaign.
Douglas-Roberts, 28, is making $915,243 this season, so Boston won’t be on the hook for much in the way of salary after it waives the veteran swingman. In 12 appearances this season, he has averaged 1.6 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per game. His shooting numbers are .238/.143/1.000.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald first reported the trade, Shams Charania of RealGM first reported the inclusion of Randolph and Bullock, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reported the inclusion of Douglas-Roberts, and Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald first noted that the Celtics would acquire a second round draft pick.
Jazz Sign Elijah Millsap To Second 10-Day Deal
The Jazz have signed Elijah Millsap to a second 10-day contract, the team announced. The first one expired Wednesday night. Utah will have to make a decision about whether to keep the 27-year-old for the rest of the season or let him go once his newest deal expires, since NBA teams can only ink any one player to two 10-day deals per season. Still, it would be quite a surprise if the Jazz don’t keep him for the balance of 2014/15, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News believes (Twitter link).
The Daniel Hazan client saw plenty of action during his first 10 days with Utah, averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game across five contests. He’d been playing with the D-League affiliate of the Suns prior to joining the Jazz, and he was with the Bucks during the preseason. The younger brother of former Jazz forward Paul Millsap spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors in September as he embarked on his quest to make an NBA roster.
The signing brings Utah’s roster back to 15 players. Fellow Jazz 10-day signee Elliot Williams is under his contract until the end of Friday.
Clippers To Acquire Austin Rivers
4:23pm: Markazi now says the Clippers will indeed send a 2017 second-rounder Boston’s way, adding that the Clips tried hard not to give up the pick (Twitter link).
3:25pm: The Clippers aren’t giving up a second-rounder, according to Markazi (Twitter link), which conflicts with Murphy’s report.
3:08pm: The Celtics will receive a 2017 second-round pick from the Clippers, and Boston will waive Douglas-Roberts once he comes in via the trade, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter links).
2:50pm: Douglas-Roberts is also headed to Boston in the deal, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). That would be enough salary coming off the Clippers’ books to make the trade legal, though it would still leave the Clips closer to the hard cap than they had been.
2:40pm: Shavlik Randolph is heading from the Suns to the Celtics, Bullock is going to the Suns, and Rivers is going to the Clippers, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Coro hinted at a potential Bullock-Randolph exchange a few minutes earlier (on Twitter). Randolph is on an expiring contract with a salary worth nearly $1.228MM. The Clippers would need to give up more than Bullock’s salary of nearly $1.201MM to take back Rivers, who makes $2.44MM, so it appears there’s still more to be worked out. The Clippers, a tax team, can’t take back more than 125% plus $100K of what they give up via trade, and they must stay under their hard cap.
1:42pm: Bullock is back in play for the Suns, Coro tweets.
1:14pm: One of the teams involved nixed the idea of Bullock going to the Suns, though the matter might be revisited, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
12:50pm: Farmar will not be heading to the Celtics in the deal, Murphy tweets.
12:43pm: The Celtics have told Austin Rivers that the trade will be finalized today, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
12:36pm: The Suns are drawing increasing mention as the likely third team in the deal, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The involvement of Phoenix, which is under the cap, would allow the Celtics not to have to take back any salary for Rivers, Stein points out, and that would also let the Celtics create a trade exception. The belief is that the Suns covet Bullock, though the Clippers would prefer not to surrender him, according to Stein. In any case, Rivers still hasn’t reported to Boston, though that’s with the permission of the Celtics, who’ve promised him that they’ll send him to the Clippers, and that remains the plan (All Twitter links).
THURSDAY, 9:08am: The Clippers appear to be making progress toward finalizing the trade, and it’ll probably involve some combination of Farmar, Douglas-Roberts and Bullock, a league source tells Bolch. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge still insists there’s a chance Rivers remains with Boston, as he said this morning in a radio appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub with Rich Shertenlieb and Fred Toucher, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (Twitter link). It nonetheless appears that the deal remains on track, Rohrbach adds. The Celtics and Clippers are still looking for a third team, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.
12:54pm: Chris Douglas-Roberts is a “strong candidate” to be dealt, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, noting that Douglas-Roberts is on an expiring contract. The small forward has a one-year deal for the minimum salary.
WEDNESDAY, 11:20am: The belief has been that the Clippers have been talking to the Suns about taking on salary the Clippers would need to unload to complete the Rivers deal, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. It’s unclear if the Clippers would prefer to bring Phoenix into the Rivers trade to make it a three-team swap or make separate transactions.
TUESDAY, 11:01pm: The Celtics aren’t done reshaping their roster after all of their recent trades. Boston will reportedly ship Austin Rivers to the Clippers, but the move will have to wait until Boston can clear roster space for two expiring contracts, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald reports (Twitter links). The Celtics will also nab themselves a second round draft pick in the deal, Bulpett adds. Boston currently has 15 players on its roster, including the newly acquired Nate Robinson.
To clear the required roster spots, the Celtics are reportedly likely to attempt to reach buyout arrangements with Robinson and Tayshaun Prince. As for whom the Celtics would need to clear room for, assuming the roster spots they needed to clear were for players they would receive from Los Angeles, both Reggie Bullock and Jordan Farmar have been mentioned as potential trade candidates. However, Farmar doesn’t necessarily qualify as a player with an expiring deal, since he has a player option for 2015/16 worth $2,170,465.
Rivers will join his father, Doc Rivers, in Los Angeles. The elder Rivers was reportedly concerned about the perception that would surround a father trading for and coaching his son, but Clippers GM Dave Wohl and assistant coaches Lawrence Frank and Mike Woodson have reportedly encouraged Doc to forgo his concerns and make the deal.
The younger Rivers has never quite lived up to having been selected No. 10 overall by New Orleans back in 2012, and he could benefit from a change of scenery. He’s in the last year of his rookie deal, and he’s set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Rivers’ career numbers are 6.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 165 total contests. His career slash line is .390/.332/.631.
Farmar, who signed with the Clippers for the full value of the biannual exception this past offseason, is reportedly displeased with his role on the Clippers, as Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com wrote about a month ago. He’s currently logging a career-low 14.7 minutes per game. Bullock, 23, is averaging 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 10.5 minutes per game over 25 appearances for Los Angeles this season. His shooting numbers are .426/.385/.800.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Clippers Sign Dahntay Jones To 10-Day Pact
5:20pm: The deal is official, the Clippers have announced.
8:32am: The Clippers have decided to sign Dahntay Jones to a 10-day contract instead of Darius Miller, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski reported earlier that the Clips would sign Miller to a 10-day deal, but the team changed its mind, as the Yahoo! scribe writes in his latest dispatch. It’s simply a matter of the team liking Jones a bit better, tweets Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, and the 30 points that Jones put up Tuesday for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League surely didn’t hurt.
Jones is expected to join the Clippers for tonight’s game against the Blazers, according to Woike (on Twitter), so unless the team is ready to formalize its deal to acquire Austin Rivers from the Celtics, it doesn’t appear as though the Jones signing is contingent on the completion of the trade. The Clippers already have an open roster spot to accommodate Jones.
The Jazz brought the 10-year veteran Jones to training camp this past fall, but they released him before the start of the regular season. The 34-year-old went without a deal last season, save for a preseason stint with the Bulls, and he last appeared in an NBA regular season game with the Hawks in 2012/13. He’s averaged 14.4 points in 29.3 minutes per game with 38.5% three-point shooting for the D-League Mad Ants this year.
Pelicans Sign Nate Wolters To 10-Day Contract
WEDNESDAY, 9:20am: The signing is official, the team announced via press release.
TUESDAY, 7:25pm: Wolters has agreed to a 10-day contract with the Pelicans and is on his way to join the team in Detroit, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link).
5:58pm: The Pelicans are targeting free agent Nate Wolters for a 10-day contract, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Wolters cleared waivers today after being waived by the Bucks earlier this week. The point guard was released by Milwaukee to clear a roster slot for Kenyon Martin, who was inked to a 10-day pact of his own.
New Orleans currently has two open roster spots, so no corresponding move will need to be made to add Wolters to the team. The Pelicans had also been considering signing Mike James or Gal Mekel prior to Wolters becoming available, Stein adds in a separate tweet.
The 23-year-old Wolters appeared in 11 contests for the Bucks this season, averaging 2.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. His shooting numbers were .433/.269/.638.
Celtics Acquire Nate Robinson
8:18pm: The trade is official, both the Celtics and the Nuggets have announced. Judging by Denver GM Tim Connelly‘s statement in the press release, the Nuggets intend to keep Nelson. “We are excited to add a player of Jameer’s caliber to our roster,” said Connelly. “We have no doubt that his experience and veteran leadership will be of value to our team.”
5:05pm: The Celtics are close to acquiring guard Nate Robinson from the Nuggets, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Boston will be sending Jameer Nelson to Denver in return, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Nelson had been acquired from Dallas in the deal for Rajon Rondo, but didn’t fit into Boston’s long-term plans. Robinson is expected to reach a buyout arrangement with the Celtics, Spears adds (Twitter links). The Nuggets will not be sending any draft picks to the Celtics in this deal, Spears also notes.
Robinson, the diminutive point guard out of Washington University, is a potential candidate to be signed by the Clippers if he is released, Wojnarowski tweets. Denver had discussed a deal with Los Angeles for Robinson in recent weeks, though no arrangement could be agreed upon, Wojnarowski notes. Robinson is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and is making $2,106,720 this season.
The Clippers had also been reported to be in pursuit of new Celtic Austin Rivers and continue to try to acquire him even in the wake of this deal for Boston, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Los Angeles has reportedly engaged in talks to send out Jordan Farmar, so a separate deal for Rivers could still be possible. The Clippers are also looking to unload Reggie Bullock to clear cap space under their hard cap, Pincus reports (Twitter link).
In 33 games for the Nuggets this season, Robinson has averaged 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 14.1 minutes per contest. His career numbers over nine seasons in the league are 11.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 3.0 APG. His career slash line is .424/.360/.796.
Nelson, 32, was also reportedly in talks to reach a buyout arrangement with he Celtics, since he was unhappy with his playing time since arriving in Beantown. In 680 career games Nelson has averaged 12.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists. His slash line is .439/.372/.816.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
No Deal For Clippers, Darius Miller
WEDNESDAY, 8:32am: The team decided against signing Miller and will instead ink Dahntay Jones instead, Wojnarowski reports.
TUESDAY, 4:56pm: The Clippers will sign Darius Miller to a 10-day contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Los Angeles currently has 14 players on its roster, so no corresponding move will need to be made to accommodate the addition of Miller. Miller had previously appeared in five contests with the Pelicans earlier this season, but was waived back in November.
The Clippers have been mentioned to be interested in signing Nate Robinson, should he reach a buyout with the Celtics in the wake of him being dealt from Denver for Jameer Nelson. This could make Miller’s stay in Los Angeles a brief one, though with the team possibly looking to deal Reggie Bullock and Jordan Farmar, the Clippers’ roster could change markedly over the next few days.
Miller’s career averages are 3.1 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in a total of 102 NBA appearances. His slash line is .420/.351/.841.
Andre Dawkins To Play For Heat’s D-League Team
Andre Dawkins has signed with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the D-League affliate of the Heat, according to the team’s website. The Duke product signed with Miami back in September but was waived last week.
Dawkins previously played eight games with the Skyforce while on assignment from the team. The shooting guard averaged 23.5 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game while in Sioux Falls.
In the NBA, Dawkins hasn’t really had the opportunity to capture success. He played in four games for the Heat and shot 1-6 from the field; all of his shots being three-pointers.
Grizzlies Acquire Jeff Green In Three-Team Trade
3:16pm: It’s a 2017 first-rounder headed from Memphis to Boston that’s top-10 protected, reports Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). If the Grizzlies don’t convey it in 2017, it’s top-12 protected for 2018, top-eight protected for 2019, top-six protected for 2020, and unprotected for 2021.
10:33am: The Grizzlies acquired forward Jeff Green from the Celtics in a three-team trade that also includes the Pelicans, the teams announced in three separate press releases (Grizzlies, Celtics, Pelicans), Memphis had drawn close to acquiring the high-scoring Green Friday. In addition to Green, the Grizzlies land Russ Smith from New Orleans. Boston acquires Tayshaun Prince and a protected first-round pick from Memphis in exchange for Green, and they also receive Austin Rivers from New Orleans. The Grizzlies send Quincy Pondexter to the Pelicans along with a 2015 second-round selection. This trade will help further Boston’s rebuilding process, which has already seen the team deal Rajon Rondo to the Mavs and Brandan Wright to the Suns.
Green has one season left on his current deal, but was reported to be considering turning down his $9.2MM player option for 2015/16 in order to test free agency and secure a long-term contract. He’ll add some scoring punch to Memphis’ offense, something the Grizzlies have been seeking. In 33 games this season, the 28-year-old Green has averaged 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 33.1 minutes per game. His career numbers over six seasons are 14.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.6 APG, with a slash line of .440/.340/.788.
Smith, a rookie out of Louisville, has appeared in just six contests for the Pelicans this season after being selected 47th overall in last June’s draft. By contrast, Prince, who’s leaving Memphis, is a 12-year NBA veteran who appeared in 25 contests for the Grizzlies. The 34-year-old’s large expiring contract is likely what appealed to the Celtics, who are clearly looking toward building for the future rather than contending in the present.
The 26-year-old Pondexter has appeared in 30 games for the Grizzlies this season, including two as a starter. His season averages are 4.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.9 assists. He still has three years remaining on his contract and is scheduled to make $3,382,023 in 2015/16, $3,617,978 in 2016/17, and $3,853,931 in the deal’s final season. The sharpshooting swingman out of Washington missed almost all of 2013/14 with a stress fracture in his foot and suffered an MCL sprain in 2012/13 that cost him a good chunk of that season as well.
“The New Orleans Pelicans are thrilled to welcome back a high character person like Quincy Pondexter to our organization,” Pelicans GM Dell Demps said in the team’s statement. “Quincy is a two-way player, a multi-position defender that will add toughness along with an offensive skill set that we anticipate will help the Pelicans win games.
Rivers heads to Boston, where his father, Doc Rivers, enjoyed remarkable success as the Celtics coach before heading out west in 2013. However, there have been indications that the former 10th overall pick’s stay in Boston will be relatively short, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the the Clippers, for whom Doc Rivers serves as coach and head of basketball operations, are interested in acquiring the young shooting guard.
“It was difficult to trade Austin Rivers and Russ Smith,” Demps said. “Russ was only with the team for a short time while Austin is an intense competitor that is continuing to improve. We will miss Austin and Russ on and off the court. We thank Austin and Russ for their contributions and wish them success in the future.”
Los Angeles GM Dave Wohl and assistant coaches Lawrence Frank and Mike Woodson have encouraged Doc Rivers to try to trade for his son Austin, even if the move might be publicly viewed as family favoritism, Wojnarowski writes. Rivers will become a free agent after this season, since New Orleans declined his third-year player option back in October.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) reported that the sides had come to an agreement, though Wojnarowski maintained that there were still moving parts and later reported the final structure of the deal. The pair added numerous details along the way, and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, John Reid of The Times Picayune, and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today also reported details.