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Trade Candidate Series

By | at February 15, 2013 11:13 am

This season's trade deadline is just six days away, and while the NBA's focus may be on All-Star weekend, we can expect plenty of GMs and executives to be discussing potential deals in between events in Houston this weekend.

In preparation for the deadline, we've profiled a number of players we believe are candidates to be traded, examining the likelihood of a deal, a team's motives for making a move, and potential suitors. Our trade candidate series, which links to all of our pieces to date, can be found at any time under "Hoops Rumors Features" on the right sidebar.

So far, Jose Calderon is the only player from our list to be dealt, and a number of would-be trade candidates, such as Pau Gasol, Anderson Varejao, and Leandro Barbosa, have suffered serious injuries, greatly reducing the possibility of a deal. Still, it'd be surprising if at least a couple more of our trade candidates aren't on the move in the next few days. Whether it's a lower profile player like DeJuan Blair or Timofey Mozgov, a bad contract like Carlos Boozer, Kris Humphries, or Andrea Bargnani, or a star like Josh Smith remains to be seen.

As you prepare for next Thursday's deadline and await the next big rumor, be sure to check out our trade candidate series for a primer on players who could be wearing different uniforms in a week.

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Update On 10-Day Contracts

By | at February 12, 2013 8:44 am

Trade rumors are dominating NBA headlines these days, but not every team is looking to the trade market to add reinforcements. Some clubs have made minor additions by way of 10-day contracts, or used those deals to get a look at a handful of different players.

Because teams can't sign the same player to more than two 10-day deals, some players have received what amounts to a 20-day trial run with a team before being inked for the rest of the year, while others haven't been brought back after their initial 10-day contract.

Using Hoops Rumors' 10-day contract tracker, here's a look at the teams and players that have taken advantage of 10-day deals so far this season:

One 10-day contract:

Two 10-day contracts:

Two 10-day contracts, followed by rest-of-season contract:

Many of the players signed to one or more 10-day contracts this season have made little impact — guys like Josh Harrellson and Damion James barely saw the floor during their brief stints with their respective teams, and Jarvis Varnado is inactive most nights, despite signing with the Heat for the season.

Still, a handful of the players on these lists have been key contributors for their clubs. Mickael Gelabale is averaging 6.9 PPG and 3.1 RPG with a .569 FG% for the T-Wolves, while Chris Andersen has become a part of Miami's rotation, averaging 3.8 PPG and 3.9 RPG. Jeremy Pargo has also looked good early on with the 76ers, scoring double-digit points in his first two games with the team.

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Underachieving Players Making $10MM+

By | at February 9, 2013 4:56 pm

Yesterday, we heard about a Bobcats proposal that would send Ben Gordon to the Nets for Kris Humphries. That came on the heels of news that the Bulls and Raptors have talked about a potential trade involving Carlos Boozer and Andrea Bargnani. In both scenarios, the teams would be swapping players who make eight-figure salaries. By and large, none of the four have proven a worthwhile investment.

Such is often the case as teams have to figure out the best way to deal with the strain on their salary caps. Sometimes, those clubs find a trade partner, whether it's someone who wants to swap one overpaid guy for another, or a team that's willing to absorb a large expiring deal to create flexibility in the future. On occasion, a player whose salary is too hefty for one team fits just fine on another, as with Toronto's acquisition of Rudy Gay from the Grizzlies.  

With the trade deadline approaching, here's a rundown of other players making $10MM or more this season who aren't delivering commensurate production. The list doesn't include Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, and Andrew Bynum, who haven't played this year because of injury. Each player's 2012/13 averages in points, rebounds and assists per game, along with his salary for this season, are in parentheses.

  • JaVale McGee, Nuggets (10.1 PPG/4.8 RPG/0.4 APG; $10MM): McGee makes the most of his limited time on the floor, posting a 21.7 PER in 18.6 minutes per game. Still, four years and $44MM is a lot for a part-time player, and the Nuggets aren't averse to trading someone they just signed long-term, as they did last year when they acquired McGee for Nene.
  • Corey Maggette, Pistons (5.3/1.4/1.1; $10.924MM): He and Jose Calderon represent close to $22MM worth of expiring contracts Detroit could package in a deal. The Pistons would reportedly rather use their upcoming cap space to improve via trades than to pursue free agents.
  • Richard Jefferson, Warriors (4.0/1.6/0.7; $10.164MM): He was deadline fodder last year, and with an $11MM player option for next season, Golden State probably wouldn't mind sending him packing two years in a row. Still, the Warriors seem content to sit back and see what they've got now that Andrew Bogut is back.
  • DeAndre Jordan, Clippers (9.2/7.3/0.4; $10.533MM): He's scoring at a career-best rate, but the Clippers are paying more than $1MM for each point per game he averages, which could make L.A. anxious to part ways.
  • Pau Gasol, Lakers (13.4/8.0/3.6; $19MM): His struggles have been well-documented, but the Lakers would probably have a hard time finding takers for a $19MM-a-year guy who could be on the shelf for the rest of the regular season.
  • Eric Gordon, Hornets (17.0/1.5/2.8; $13.669MM): Friday was just the 26th game Gordon has played in his two seasons as a Hornet, and he's yet to display the 22.3 PPG form he displayed in his final year with the Clippers. Both Gordon and New Orleans appear open to a trade.
  • Amare Stoudemire, Knicks (14.1/4.6/0.4; $19.949MM): He's a bench player who's due more than $65MM between this year and 2015, when his contract is up. The Knicks would surely love to find a taker, but they'd be lucky to do so.
  • Hedo Turkoglu, Magic (2.9/2.4/2.1; $11.816MM): Orlando has been trying to dump Turkoglu since before the Dwight Howard trade, but may have more luck this year, with only half of next season's $12MM guaranteed.
  • Stephen Jackson, Spurs (6.7/3.0/1.4; $10.06MM): His numbers are approaching career-worst levels across the board. The Spurs may be content to let his contract expire at the end of the year, but if another team can take him off their hands in exchange for a guy who can better aid San Antonio's title chances this season, the Spurs might just do it. 
  • Emeka Okafor, Wizards (8.8/8.6/1.2; $13.49MM): He's averaging career lows in points and minutes, but his per-36-minute rebounding rate this season is his all-time best, and he has an above-average 16.3 PER. That probably still isn't enough to get another team to take him on for the nearly $28MM he's owed this year and next.
  • Nene, Wizards (12.7/6.7/2.8; $13MM): He was traded in the first season of a five-year, $65MM last year, so anything can happen. But he's only just now back to regularly seeing more than 30 minutes a game after dealing with plantar fasciitis, and the timing doesn't seem right for a deal.

ShamSports was used in the creation of this post.

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Hoops Rumors On Facebook/Twitter/RSS

By | at February 8, 2013 4:54 pm

With the 2013 trade deadline less than two weeks away, Hoops Rumors figures to be very busy this month. There are a number of different ways you can follow us to keep tabs on the latest NBA news and rumors leading up to the deadline and throughout the year.

You can Like us on Facebook, and receive headlines and links for all our posts via your Facebook account. You can also follow us on Twitter to have all our posts and updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. And our RSS feed is located here, if you'd like to follow us using your RSS reader of choice.

If you prefer to receive updates only on roster moves such as signings, cuts, and trades, you can follow our transactions-only feeds via RSS and Twitter.

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Agents Want Don Fehr As Next Union Chief

By | at February 4, 2013 5:55 pm

As NBA players prepare to make a decision on union chief Billy Hunter's future at All-Star weekend, several influential agents already are privately discussing longtime sports union leader Don Fehr as a possible successor, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.  Fehr is currently the executive director of the NHL Players Association and the agents who want to hire him have enough juice to sway a significant portion of the union membership.

Fehr declined comment when reached and a person familiar with his thinking said that the hockey union chief is happy in his job and "has no plans to leave his position."  However, sources say his deal gives either side the option to terminate it with 60 days notice.

"He is somebody who would be formidable," an agent said of Fehr, who would be charged with hammering out the next CBA before July of 2017. "He would go tooth-and-nail on everything."

In his column for NBA.com, David Aldridge suggested that sports attorney David Cornwell, longtime NFLPA general counsel Dick Berthelsen, and Wizards director of player development Ed Tapscott should be considered as possible replacements for Hunter. 

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Team Facebook/Twitter/RSS

By | at February 4, 2013 3:50 pm

If you want to keep tabs on all of Hoops Rumors' stories and updates, you can follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or subscribe to our feed through your RSS reader of choice. However, if you prefer to only receive news about your favorite NBA team, we have you covered. Below are links to our Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds for all 30 teams.

Atlantic

Central

Southeast

Southwest

Northwest

Pacific

Transactions only: Twitter / RSS

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2012 Trade Deadline: One Year Later

By | at February 2, 2013 4:09 pm

We've had an early start to the NBA's midseason swap meet this year, as Rudy Gay went to the Raptors as part of a three-team deal in a rare January trade of significance. Before we get wrapped up in this year's movement, let's look back at the activity that took place in the days before last year's March 15th trade deadline. With the advantage of a year (or almost 11 months, to be precise) of hindsight, we'll judge the deals accordingly. Feel free to give your own take on the trades by leaving a comment. 

The Warriors traded Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.

  • This one can't really be judged until Andrew Bogut is back on the floor at full health, though he notched 12 points and eight rebounds in less than 24 minutes during his first game back this week. The Bucks' new backcourt hasn't been a rousing success, and coach Scott Skiles is gone, but the deal was apparently sufficient enough for GM John Hammond and assistant GM Jeff Weltman to receive three-year extensions. The Warriors flipped Jackson to the Spurs, and have gotten only four games out of Bogut. First-year winner: Bucks

The Warriors traded Jackson to the Spurs for Richard Jefferson, T.J. Ford and a first-round pick.

  • Jackson experienced a renaissance in San Antonio, while Ford had retired before the trade and was included merely to make the salaries match. The Warriors turned the first-rounder into Festus Ezeli, who was starting in place of Bogut, and Jefferson has re-entered the rotation of late. Jackson's numbers are down this season, with a PER of 9.0 that nearly matches the number from his forgettable stint in Milwaukee. Two contributors are better than one. First-year winner: Warriors

The Grizzlies traded Sam Young to the 76ers for the rights to former second-round draft pick Ricky Sanchez.

  • One of many salary dumps the Grizzlies have participated in over the past year. Young played only 135 total minutes for the Sixers before leaving in free agency, while Sanchez doesn't seem likely to land in the States anytime soon. Since it saved the Grizzlies from paying the tax and Young probably couldn't have helped them get any farther in the playoffs, the move was worth it. First-year winner: Grizzlies

The Raptors traded Leandro Barbosa to the Pacers for a second-round pick and cash.

  • Toronto was well under the cap and didn't really need the short-term financial help. The Pacers had plenty of cap room to accomodate Barbosa's expiring contract, but he didn't play particularly well with Indiana. The Brazilian Blur recorded a 13.4 PER, which would have been his lowest since 2004/05 if it were a full-season figure. That might explain why it took so long for him to find a home in free agency this season. The Raptors used the pick on Tomislav Zubcic, who's playing overseas. First-year winner: Push

The Blazers traded Gerald Wallace to the Nets for  Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and a first-round draft pick.

  • The pick turned out to be Rookie of the Year candidate Damian Lillard, making this move a steal for Portland. There's no telling if the Nets would have taken Lillard in the draft, and perhaps doing so would have led to the departure of Deron Williams. The trade might not have hurt Brooklyn as much in the short term as it's helped the Blazers, who wound up with a quality point guard on a rookie contract and opened up the small forward spot for Nicolas Batum, who's having his best season. First-year winner: Blazers

The Blazers traded Marcus Camby to the Rockets for Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, and a second-round pick.

  • This deal was of significantly less importance than Portland's other move. Camby was remarkably efficient for Houston in his stint there last season, posting a 19.6 PER, but he couldn't get them into the playoffs, and the Rockets flipped him to the Knicks for a pair of second-round draft picks and players who are no longer on the roster. The Blazers let Flynn and Thabeet go and used the draft pick on Will Barton, on whom the jury's still out. First-year winner: Rockets 

The Lakers traded Derek Fisher and a first-round draft pick to the Rockets for Jordan Hill.

  • This one looked like a wash for both teams for much of last season. The Rockets bought out Fisher, allowing him to go to the Thunder, while Hill languished on the bench for the Lakers. That changed when Hill emerged in a huge Lakers comeback against the Thunder, and he became L.A.'s first big man off the bench for the playoffs. Hill re-signed with the Lakers in the summer, but he's out for the season with a hip injury. The Rockets used that draft pick as part of the James Harden trade. First-year winner: Rockets (but only because Hill is hurt)

The Lakers traded Luke Walton, Jason Kapono and a 2012 first-round pick to the Cavs, along with the ability for the Cavs to switch first-round picks in 2013, for Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga.

  • This trade was all about an upgrade at point guard for L.A., and cap space and future considerations for Cleveland. Sessions' shortcomings were exposed in the playoffs against the Thunder, leading the Lakers to pursue Steve Nash in the summer. The Cavs parlayed the Lakers' 2012 first-rounder in a deal for 17th pick Tyler Zeller, and with L.A.'s surprising struggles this year, they could be in line for another draft choice in the middle of the first round. This deadline swap did get Walton's $6.1MM salary for this season of L.A.'s books, and Eyenga was used as fodder in the Dwight Howard blockbuster, but Cleveland got more of what it wanted. First-year winner: Cavs

In a three-team trade, the Nuggets sent Nene to the Wizards for JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf. The Wizards sent Nick Young to the Clippers for Brian Cook and a 2015 second-round pick.

  • This essentially was a pair of two-team deals, the most notable of which was Denver's surprising reversal of course on Nene, who had just signed a five-year, $65MM deal with the Nuggets before the season began. Though McGee, whom Denver signed to another costly deal this summer, averages only 18.8 minutes per game, he's still played more total minutes this season than the oft-injured Nene. None of the other players involved in the transaction remain with the teams that acquired them last year, including Young, whose 9.9 PER during his stint with the Clippers was well below his 12.8 career average. First-year winner: Nuggets
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Hoops Rumors Features

By | at January 24, 2013 9:47 am

Hoops Rumors passes along the latest news and rumors on NBA player movement 365 days a year, but those aren't the only updates you'll see on the site. On our right sidebar, you'll find a number of additional features and featured posts. Here's a rundown of a few of them:

  • Our Free Agent Tracker gives you the opportunity to look back on this summer's free agent signings, with data sortable by team, position, contract years, and contract amount. For a quick look at which players remain unsigned, you can check out our list of 2012/13 free agents.
  • We also have free agent lists for both next summer, and the summer of 2014, which will continue to be modified as needed.
  • Throughout the season, we'll be keeping tabs on roster counts for each NBA team, the year's D-League assignments and recalls, and all the trades consummated in-season.
  • Our tentative 2013 draft order tracks this season's "reverse standings," allowing for an early look at what next June's draft order might look like.
  • Using our 10-day contract tracker, you can find any 10-day contract signed since 2007, sorting by player, team, year, and other variables.
  • Our Trade Candidate series has returned for the 2012/13 season, with Marcin Gortat and J.J. Redick among the latest trade candidates to be put under the microscope.
  • On Thursdays at 4:00pm CT, I answer readers' questions in a live chat. You can check out transcripts of our past live discussions here.
  • Our list of outstanding traded player exceptions is updated whenever a trade exception is created, is used, or expires.
  • We're also tracking teams' amnesty provisions — using our complete list, you can check to see which clubs have used the amnesty clause and which will carry it into next summer.
  • The Hoops Rumors glossary helps explain some of the more complex concepts in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement.
  • Zach Links rounds up the best of the blogosphere every Saturday in his weekly Hoops Links feature.
  • If you're looking to catch up on a few days worth of content, our Week in Review posts round up the week's news and rumors, while our Hoops Rumors Originals posts recap the site's original content for the week. Both round-ups are published every Sunday.
  • Be sure to check out the Featured Posts section on the right sidebar for more original pieces from the Hoops Rumors writing team. Recently, we examined the money the Rockets owe to players no longer on the roster, listed the players who remain ineligible to be traded, and took an in-depth look at the SEEDS Academy and the development of basketball in Africa.
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Forbes Releases NBA Franchise Valuations

By | at January 23, 2013 11:26 am

Forbes has unveiled its annual franchise valuations for all 30 NBA teams, with the Knicks and Lakers predictably topping the list. According to Forbes, both teams are worth more than $1 billion, the first NBA franchises to reach the 10-digit mark. Overall, the average NBA team is worth $509MM, up an impressive 30% from a year ago. Here's the complete list of Forbes' franchise values:

  1. New York Knicks: $1.1 billion
  2. Los Angeles Lakers: $1 billion
  3. Chicago Bulls: $800MM
  4. Boston Celtics: $730MM
  5. Dallas Mavericks: $685MM
  6. Miami Heat: $625MM
  7. Houston Rockets: $568MM
  8. Golden State Warriors: $555MM
  9. Brooklyn Nets: $530MM
  10. San Antonio Spurs: $527MM
  11. Sacramento Kings: $525MM
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder: $475MM
  13. Phoenix Suns: $474MM
  14. Orlando Magic: $470MM
  15. Portland Trail Blazers: $457MM
  16. Cleveland Cavaliers: $434MM
  17. Utah Jazz: $432MM
  18. Los Angeles Clippers: $430MM
  19. Denver Nuggets: $427MM
  20. Philadelphia 76ers: $418MM
  21. Toronto Raptors: $405MM
  22. Detroit Pistons: $400MM
  23. Washington Wizards: $397MM
  24. Indiana Pacers: $383MM
  25. Memphis Grizzlies: $377MM
  26. Minnesota Timberwolves: $364MM
  27. New Orleans Hornets: $340MM
  28. Atlanta Hawks: $316MM
  29. Charlotte Bobcats: $315MM
  30. Milwaukee Bucks: $312MM
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Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors

By | at January 21, 2013 10:01 am

As we've outlined before, there are a number of different ways to follow Hoops Rumors via Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. If you don't want to follow all the site's updates, you can follow team-specific or transaction-only Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Although we don't have Facebook pages or Twitter feeds for specific players, you can also easily follow all our updates on your favorite player.

If, for instance, you want to keep track of all the latest news and rumors on Rudy Gay as trade winds swirl around him and the Grizzlies, you can visit this page. If you're interested in whether the Suns may consider dealing Marcin Gortat to your favorite team, all Gortat-related updates are located here.

Every player we've written about has his own rumors page. You can find your player of choice by using our search box (located in the right sidebar); by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post where he's discussed; or, by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, Gay's page is located at hoopsrumors.com/rudy-gay.

In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags we use at the bottom of posts. Early updates on the 2013 NBA draft, for instance, can be found on its rumors page. If you want to check out the latest updates on the possible sale of the Kings to Chris Hansen's Seattle investment group, those are all available here.

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