Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Jazz, Varejao, Lakers

February 21st, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by Will Joseph

The Jazz acquired Shelvin Mack because he can defend bigger guards and can handle the ball, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News relays (on Twitter). Mack is in line for playing time with Utah, Genessy tweets. “We traded for him to help us — and he is different than the other guys, so he’s going to play,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Mack averaged only 7.5 minutes in 24 games with the Hawks, but he doesn’t believe conditioning will be an issue, per Genessy (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The most significant reason why Anderson Varejao agreed to sign with the Warriors was Golden State assistant Luke Walton, a former teammate of Varejao’s, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets.
Lakers star Kobe Bryant gave coach Byron Scott a vote of confidence days after Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak declined to comment on Scott’s future, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com relays. “I think he’s been channeling his inner Zen,” Bryant said. “It’s been very tough for him. It’s been very tough. I think he’s managing it very well. He’s remaining consistent and continuing to try to bring the best out of these young guys and demanding the best from them. He’s doing the best that he can in the situation.”
Scott said today that D’Angelo Russell will start for the rest of the season, Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
The Wolves‘ needs for this summer after not striking a deal at the deadline consist of a veteran athletic wing who can defend and shoot, another athletic big man and a scoring point guard, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes.
The Thunder recalled Mitch McGary from the D-League, the team announced via press release.
The Mavs recalled Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson from their D-League affiliate, Dallas announced in an emailed press release.

Western Notes: Morris, Ayres, Stephenson

February 19th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns GM Ryan McDonough believes the trade that sent Markieff Morris to the Wizards will allow both sides to have a new start, Bob Baum of The Associated Press relays. “I think Markieff will play well in Washington but I think for all parties involved it was time for a fresh start,” McDonough said. “I think this trade hopefully will bring a breath of fresh air into our organization.” The executive also noted that he was extremely pleased with the protected first rounder Phoenix acquired from Washington in the swap, Baum adds. “We feel good about it,” McDonough continued. “Anytime you’re able to acquire a draft pick that has a chance to be late lottery or mid-first round for a player that probably wasn’t fitting in as well as he could have, we view that as a positive outcome for the franchise.”

Here’s more from out West:

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is intrigued with deadline acquisition Lance Stephenson and believes the swingman is still growing as a player, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays. “Lance is a guy who got a significant free agent contract from Charlotte based on how well he played in Indiana two years ago,” Wallace said. “He is a very tough, versatile player who can handle the ball and guard multiple positions. He’s got every reason to be very motivated and help us. He was one of the best shooters coming into the [2010] draft. He’s a young guy who the book hasn’t been written on.”
The Clippers acquired Jeff Green with the intention of using his Bird rights to re-sign him in the offseason, and Green, while saying that he’s still adjusting in the immediate wake of Thursday’s trade, can envision a long-term fit in L.A., observes Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter links).
The Rockets have assigned rookie combo forward Sam Dekker to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Dekker’s second trek to Rio Grande Valley, though he was injured during his first stint with the Vipers and he did not see any game action as a result.
The Thunder have assigned Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the center’s sixth stint with the Blue on the season.
Center Jeff Ayres, whose second 10-day deal with the Clippers expired last week, has rejoined the the Idaho Stampede, the Jazz’s D-League affiliate, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Hawks Acquire Kirk Hinrich In Three-Team Deal

February 18th, 2016 at 11:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jennifer Stewart / USA Today Sports Images

4:16pm: The Bulls traded Kirk Hinrich to the Hawks as part of a three-team swap that also involved the Jazz, all three teams announced. Chicago, in its first trade since July 2014, gets Justin Holiday from the Hawks and Denver’s unprotected 2018 second-round pick from the Jazz, who acquired it from the Nuggets in 2013. Utah receives Shelvin Mack from the Hawks.

Hinrich returns to Atlanta, where he spent a season and a half as part of the two-year hiatus in his Bulls career from 2010-12. The 35-year-old is in his 13th NBA season and his 11th with Chicago. However, he’d never had such a limited role, with his minutes only at 15.9 per game this season, by far a career low. Any playing time he gets in Atlanta figures to come at the wing instead of the point guard spot, since the Hawks held on to Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder in spite of rumors about both, and Teague in particular.

Atlanta did end up dealing away Mack, its third-string point guard, who, like Hinrich, is playing the fewest minutes he’s ever seen in his career at 7.5 a game. The 25-year-old Mack, a fifth-year veteran, becomes the most experienced point guard for the Jazz, who’ve de-emphasized the position in the wake of the offseason injury to Dante Exum that wiped out his season. Utah’s reported talks about swapping point guards Ty Lawson and Trey Burke fell through. Mack has a non-guaranteed salary of more than $2.433MM for next season.

Holiday, the other player the Hawks gave up, picked up a championship with the Warriors last summer and shortly thereafter signed a two-year fully guaranteed deal for the minimum salary with Atlanta. His minutes are down slightly but his shot attempts and scoring are off markedly from last year’s numbers. The primary benefit for Chicago, aside from the pick, is the financial savings, as the Bulls subtract the $1,907,664 difference between Hinrich’s and Holiday’s salaries from their payroll. That also clears the Bulls of nearly $2.9MM in projected luxury tax penalties. The deal allows Chicago to create a trade exception equivalent to Hinrich’s $2,854,940 salary.

Atlanta gets to create a trade exception worth the equivalent of Holiday’s $947,276 salary, since Mack’s $2,433,333 pay is a close match with Hinrich’s, even though a 15% trade kicker that Chicago is paying Hinrich gives him a slight bump on his salary. The Jazz remain under the cap, using a slice of the roughly $7.6MM in cap room they had entering deadline day to take in Mack’s salary.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com broke the news that Hinrich was headed to Atlanta (Twitter link), while Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported the Jazz were getting Mack and giving up a second-round pick (Twitter link). K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune relayed that Holiday was going to the Bulls and that all the pieces were part of the same three-teamer, rather than separate deals (Twitter link). Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution pegged the second-round pick going to Chicago as Denver’s 2018 second-rounder. RealGM shows that the pick carries no protection.

Western Notes: Martin, Howard, Green

February 18th, 2016 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Trail Blazers didn’t want to part with any of their young core of players at this year’s trade deadline, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes. “We went into the trade deadline trying to be opportunistic,” Portland president of basketball operations Neil Olshey told Freeman. “We wanted to gather assets. Clearly this group is really overachieving. There’s a lot of young guys that have a future and we wanted to make sure we were giving them the chance to win. We didn’t want to touch the core group of guys that have exceeded expectations. [Coach] Terry [Stotts] is comfortable with those guys, they’re doing what we need them to do on the court. But we need things in the future to continue to build the roster and that’s what we did today.”

There is a chance that the team will re-sign Tim Frazier, who was waived earlier today, Freeman adds. “Tim was a casualty. He’s been great for us,” Olshey said. “He’s great in the locker room, he’s close with our guys. We told him, ‘Look, if we don’t have an opportunity to add another player at your position, we would look at bringing you back if you clear waivers.’ I can’t speak to that right now. But at the time he was the most viable candidate to be waived to create the roster spot for Anderson Varejao.” Varejao was subsequently waived by Portland.

Here’s more from out West:

Timberwolves GM Milt Newton said the team hasn’t discussed a potential buyout arrangement with shooting guard Kevin Martin but added that it’s a conversation that will probably come up in the near future, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune relays (on Twitter). Martin, who possesses a player option worth nearly $7.378MM for next season, was reportedly a trade deadline target of the Knicks, but the teams didn’t strike a deal. The 33-year-old has appeared in 35 games for Minnesota this season and is averaging 11.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22.6 minutes per night.
The Grizzlies‘ players have let team management know that they don’t want newly acquired swingman Lance Stephenson waived, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey noted that the team never came close to trading center Dwight Howard, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter links). “It was going to have to take something significant to make us look at anything and even then we probably wouldn’t have,” Morey said. “Part of my job is I have to explore everything. We believe in James [Harden] and Dwight together.“
Numerous teams were interested in Howard, but any deal was contingent on the big man agreeing to opt in next season, something Howard wasn’t keen on, relays Marc Stein of ESPN.com. “Not surprisingly, as the deadline approached, several teams called stating they had worked out the trade parameters with Houston for a Dwight deal but were not prepared to give up their assets unless Dwight agreed to opt into the last year of his contract and forgo free agency. Dwight declined,” Dan Fegan, Howard’s agent, said.
Point guard Erick Green has officially rejoined the Reno Bighorns following the expiration of his second 10-day pact with the Jazz, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter). Reno is the D-League affiliate of the Kings.
The Jazz have assigned big man Tibor Pleiss to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Pleiss’ fourth stint in the D-League on the season.

Jazz To Acquire Shelvin Mack

February 18th, 2016 at 12:01pm CST by Will Joseph

The Jazz are set to acquire Shelvin Mack from the Hawks in exchange for a second round draft pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets. The move is part of a three-team trade involving the Bulls. More details here.

The Jazz are still trying to add a point guard in the wake of their failed talks with the Rockets about Ty Lawson, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported earlier today (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com added that Mack was one name Utah looked into (on Twitter).

The Hawks re-signed Mack in August 2014 to a three-year deal worth $7.3MM. Mack, 25, is averaging 3.9 points and 1.6 assists per game while making 24 appearances.

Rockets, Jazz End Talks On Ty Lawson, Trey Burke

February 18th, 2016 at 10:29am CST by Arthur Hill

10:29am: The talks are over, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, who indicates the discussion was only casual anyway (Twitter link). Wojnarowski also casts doubt on the idea the Rockets will waive Lawson.

7:47am: The Rockets would give considerable thought to waiving Lawson if they don’t trade him to Utah, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

THURSDAY: 7:01am: The talks are serious, with the Jazz having committed to send Burke away, and the growing sense around the league is that Utah is ready to accept Houston’s offer, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). However, Andy Larsen of KSL.com hears the teams are trending in the direction of not getting a deal done (Twitter link).

7:42pm: Utah is looking at deals for several other veteran point guards as well as Lawson, according to Stein.

6:38pm: The Jazz have been interested in acquiring Lawson for a few weeks, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Burke would be headed to Houston in return as part of a proposal the teams are discussing, but his salary is just short of $2.66MM — nearly $10MM less than Lawson — so other players would have to be included to make the deal work, Jones says (Twitter links). Burke is signed through the 2016/17 season, when he will make nearly $3.39MM.

WEDNESDAY, 5:35pm: The Rockets are looking to Utah in their quest to find a taker for point guard Ty Lawson, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Lawson has reportedly been on the market since at least December, while the Jazz have been down a point guard with Dante Exum missing the season after undergoing left knee surgery last summer. A slow market left Houston expecting to hang on to Lawson through the deadline, as USA Today’s Sam Amick reported last month, but it appears the team is making a renewed effort to find a new home for him.

Lawson was expected to add spark to Houston’s offense after being acquired in an offseason deal with the Nuggets. He opened the season as the team’s starting point guard, but proved to be a poor fit and was demoted to the bench after coach Kevin McHale was fired in November. Lawson is averaging just 6.3 points and 3.6 assists in 48 games.

Utah passed on a chance to deal for Lawson last summer, tweets Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. He believes any deal made now would have to include more than Lawson. The seventh-year point guard has a salary of more than $12.4MM this season, so it won’t be easy for the Jazz to match without giving up something significant. A combination of Trey Burke and Joe Ingles or Burke and Tibor Pleiss would work, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Lawson is due to make more than $13.2MM next season, but that salary is non-guaranteed.

If a trade goes through, it would be an unusual deal for two teams locked in a tight battle for a playoff spot. The Jazz entered the All-Star break leading the Rockets by half a game for eighth place in the West.

Northwest Notes: Martin, Cheeks, Pleiss, Burke

February 17th, 2016 at 6:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Martin is hoping the Wolves will trade him to a winning team before Thursday’s deadline, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. A source said Martin would like to see the deal done as a reward for his “professionalism and mentoring of young teammates.” The 12th-year shooting guard is making $7.085MM this year and has a player option worth nearly $7.38MM for next season.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks will be out of action for about six weeks after undergoing hip surgery, the team announced today. Mark Daigneault, head coach of the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, will take Cheeks’ place, while OKC Blue assistant Jarell Christian will coach that team for the rest of the season.
The Jazz recalled center Tibor Pleiss from the D-League today, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. However, the move was just so Pleiss could attend practice, and he was sent back down later in the day.
Jazz point guard Trey Burke, who is rumored to be in a proposal that would send him to Houston in exchange for Ty Lawson, works better as a backup than a starter, according to Bobby Marks of the Vertical on Yahoo Sports. In his guide to the trade deadline for Utah, Marks says the Jazz have been missing a floor leader in the absence of Dante Exum, who is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery last summer. Marks advises the Jazz to hang onto Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and rookie Trey Lyles as they push for a playoff spot.
Randy Rigby will retire as president of the Jazz at the end of the season and will be replaced by Steve Starks, Genessy tweets. “I am excited about the future of the Jazz and my continued involvement as an adviser,” said Rigby, who has been with the organization since 1986.
The Nuggets may be able to get a second-round pick for J.J. Hickson, Marks writes in his trade deadline guide for Denver. Hickson has fallen out of the team’s rotation and has been on the market for weeks. Marks credits the Denver front office with being on the right track for rebuilding and says the team should consider moving either the Rockets’ or Blazers’ first-round picks, which are both conditional, in exchange for a future pick or veteran player.

Pelicans, Others In Talks With Bryce Dejean-Jones

February 17th, 2016 at 2:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:12pm: The Lakers, Grizzlies, Jazz, Spurs and Suns have contacted Dejean-Jones, though they haven’t necessarily made offers, Kushner tweets.

FEBRUARY 17TH, 12:56pm: New Orleans is waiting until after the trade deadline, Kushner writes. Dejean-Jones would prefer to stay with the Pelicans instead of jumping to another team, according to Kushner, who indicates that he nonetheless wants guaranteed salary that stretches beyond this season. Dejean-Jones is seeking a two- or three-year deal, as Kushner has also reported.

FEBRUARY 11TH, 11:15am: The Pelicans are in talks with Bryce Dejean-Jones about a deal that would bring him back to the team for the rest of the season, and the rookie shooting guard is having conversations with other teams, too, reports Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate (Twitter link). The second 10-day deal that Dejean-Jones signed with the Pelicans expired overnight, and while other NBA teams can sign him to 10-day contracts this year, New Orleans can no longer do so.

The 23-year-old started in eight of his 11 appearances for the banged-up Pelicans, who are missing Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans because of injuries. Gordon is due back shortly as he recovers from the broken right ring finger he suffered last month, but conflicting reports exist about whether Evans will miss the balance of the season. Quincy Pondexter’s left knee forced him out for the season in January.

Dejean-Jones is averaging 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game, having made 10 of 26 3-point attempts. His connection with the Pelicans dates to the summer league this past July, shortly after he went undrafted out of Iowa State. New Orleans signed him in August to a deal for training camp that included a $50K partial guarantee, but he didn’t make the opening night roster. He appeared in nine games for the D-League affiliate of the Jazz before the Pelicans signed him in January to the first of his 10-day pacts.

The Pelicans already have 14 players under contract through at least the end of the season, so re-signing Dejean-Jones would leave the team without a flexible roster spot. New Orleans has one more game before the All-Star break, tonight at Oklahoma City, and its next game isn’t until February 19th, one day after the trade deadline.

Northwest Notes: Rubio, Martin, Foye, Green

February 17th, 2016 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Bucks coach Jason Kidd, who holds sway over the team’s personnel decisions, has a longstanding admiration for Ricky Rubio, and while the Timberwolves haven’t been looking for Rubio trades, they’re likely to do so this summer, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Other recent reports have indicated that Rubio is currently on the block, though Minnesota doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to deal him for the time being, judging by Wojnarowski’s reporting. See more from Minnesota amid the latest from around the Northwest Division:

Timberwolves shooting guard Kevin Martin is unlikely to end up in a trade unless he turns down his player option, worth nearly $7.378MM for next season, league sources told Wojnarowski for the same piece. Martin probably won’t do that, since he’d have a tough time making up that money on the free agent market this summer.
Randy Foye‘s eminently positive locker room presence appeals to the Nuggets, who won’t be quick to give him up, according to Wojnarowski. The Heat reportedly have interest, and Wojnarowski suggests others do as well.
Erick Green, whose second 10-day contract with the Jazz expired Sunday, will return to the D-League affiliate of the Kings, a league source tells Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link).
Joey Dorsey, whom the Nuggets acquired in the Ty Lawson trade this past summer and later waived in a buyout, has left Turkey’s Galatasaray and will sign with Barcelona of Spain, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter links).

Southeast Notes: Jennings, Hezonja, Teague

February 16th, 2016 at 9:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks should think twice before agreeing to a deal that would bring Dwight Howard to Atlanta, Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. The Hawks would almost certainly take a step back this season as a result of the trade, with Howard being a difficult player to integrate into the offense at such a late stage in the season, Bradley opines. The scribe also cites Howard’s limitations as a passer and his declining physical skills as reasons the Hawks should take a pass, not to mention the big man’s ability to opt out of his deal this summer and become an unrestricted free agent. Howard is reportedly interested in joining the Hawks, but Atlanta has also spoken with the Hornets regarding the 30-year-old center.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

The Magic don’t intend to trade any other members of their nucleus prior to the trade deadline unless they are absolutely blown away by an offer, GM Rob Hennigan told Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando dealt away combo forward Tobias Harris to the Pistons earlier today in exchange for point guard Brandon Jennings and power forward Ersan Ilyasova.
Jennings had hoped to be traded to the Knicks rather than the Magic, sources close to the point guard tell Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net. New York was eyeing the veteran point guard as it looks to upgrade its point guard spot, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
Magic rookie swingman Mario Hezonja has parted ways with the Wasserman Media Group, international journalist David Pick reports (via Twitter). Hezonja is in the first year of his rookie scale deal, so any move is likely endorsement related, though that is merely my speculation.
The Jazz have inquired about Hawks point guard Jeff Teague, Spencer Checketts of 97.5 The Zone relays (on Twitter). The talks were stalled when Atlanta requested Rodney Hood and a draft pick in return, Checketts adds.
The Hornets traded P.J. Hairston to the Grizzlies because they had grown tired of dealing with his antics, a league source tells Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
The Heat were able to create a trade exception worth $2,145,060 as a result of the three-team swap with Memphis and Charlotte earlier today, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (via Twitter).