Northwest Notes: T’Wolves, Jazz, Nuggets
Last night in Minnesota, the Timberwolves cruised to a 115-86 victory over the Hornets behind a season high 18 points from Dante Cunningham. However, the T’Wolves are eight games under .500 and are 2-8 in their last ten outings. Could a move be on the horizon? Here’s more on that and other news out of the Northwest Division..
- All is quiet on the Timberwolves for the time being but the front office will reassess things after their current six-game homestand, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Recently, club president David Kahn stopped short of calling Nikola Pekovic “untouchable” as he did with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love, but he did say that he hopes the big man will be part of the club for “years to come”.
- With the trade deadline right around the corner, Jazz head scout David Fredman attended Saturday night’s aforementioned T’Wolves–Hornets game, according to Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter).
- A lack of playing time has turned Timofey Mozgov into a trade candidate, but Nuggets coach George Karl wishes he could find more minutes for the soon-to-be restricted free agent, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post.
Kyler On Gay, Magic, Smith
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.com took questions from his followers on his Twitter account on Saturday morning, covering the Raptors' acquisition of Rudy Gay along with other topics.
- Until they see how Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan play together, the Raptors plan to keep both on the roster.
- Bryan Colangelo's next move should be to get out of Andrea Bargnani's contract, Kyler writes.
- The Grizzlies offered Gay to the Magic for J.J. Redick, and were rejected.
- The Magic would be willing to trade any player on their roster for the right price, Kyler writes, although they value players like Maurice Harkless very highly.
- The Hawks would prefer to keep Josh Smith, but they are exploring their options before the trade deadline.
- Kyler thinks everybody on the Mavericks is available at the trade deadline, with the exception of Dirk Nowitzki.
- The Celtics are very active in trade talks, but don't have many assets to offer.
- Given the Kings' ownership situation, Kyler doubts they move Tyreke Evans or any other player before the deadline.
- Kyler doesn't think the Jazz will trade Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson unless they can preserve flexibility.
Stein’s Latest: Gasol, Celtics, Smith, Jazz
ESPN.com's Marc Stein has posted his latest Weekend Dime column, featuring updates on several prominent players whose names have been featured in trade rumors ahead of the February 21 deadline. Here are the highlights of Stein's report:
- Stein doesn't believe the Lakers will trade Pau Gasol before the deadline, although the Raptors are making a push to acquire him with a package built around Andrea Bargnani.
- Although the Clippers have shown no indication of wanting to trade Eric Bledsoe, a swap of the third-year guard to the Celtics for Paul Pierce could make the most sense for both sides, Stein writes.
- Celtics GM Danny Ainge recognizes that Pierce and Kevin Garnett don't have the value that would likely make it worth trading then, so he may instead look to move Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, or Jeff Green to get the team under the luxury tax threshold.
- The Hawks have been gauging trade interest in Josh Smith, Stein reports. Although they are very open to moving the forward, there is hesitance because other teams don't want to risk him walking in free agency and Atlanta doesn't want to take on long-term salary.
- Executives around the league don't expect the Jazz to trade Al Jefferson, saying they will either move Paul Millsap instead or stand pat.
- Given their ownership situation, the Kings will likely not make any moves before the deadline. There has been interest in Tyreke Evans, although DeMarcus Cousins remains untouchable.
- The Trail Blazers are not looking to make any moves that will help them in the short term, preferring to preserve their flexibility.
- Teams expect the Magic to trade J.J. Redick, but executives tell Stein that GM Rob Hennigan is asking for young talent or draft picks for the veteran sharpshooter.
Odds & Ends: Warriors, Splitter, Kings, Cousins
Two-time MVP Steve Nash made his first trip back to the city where he enjoyed his greatest success, but his Phoenix return has been overshadowed by the first major trade of the year. It's been quite a busy evening, with Rudy Gay heading to the Raptors, retirement talk surrounding Kevin Garnett, and another weapon in the quiver for the Lakers. Here's even more from the Association:
- Even with Andrew Bogut back, the Warriors still want to upgrade their front line and would love to trade for Timofey Mozgov or DeJuan Blair, Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group reports. Still, chances of a move are "remote," a source tells Thompson.
- Barring an unreasonable offer from another team, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News believes the Spurs intend to re-sign Tiago Splitter, who'll be a restricted free agent this summer (Twitter link).
- In the tug-of-war between Sacramento and Seattle for the Kings, Jason Thompson says the California capital has the players on its side, notes Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com.
- Though he was one of the more prominent trade candidates earlier this season, DeMarcus Cousins claims he's unaware of his name having come up in trade talk, as Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe observes, passing along some revealing comments from the mercurial Kings center. "I'm a loyal guy," he said. "I'm a family-orientated guy. But not so much in this league. You've kind of got to look out for yourself most of the time and always do what's best for you."
- The Mavs could have been involved in today's three-team deal, but reportedly refused to part with Vince Carter, and that was the right move, opines Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- No team has more former lottery picks under the age of 25 than the Jazz, and that has them set up for a bright future, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News.
Odds & Ends: Lakers, Johnson, Oden
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News says that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will likely know by tomorrow about whether or not the NBA will approve their Disabled Player Exception for the injured Jordan Hill (Twitter link). With the roster currently at 14, an exception worth $1.78MM would be a very valuable asset for a team that would have otherwise only have a veteran's minimum deal or a small, pro-rated portion of their mini mid-level exception to offer free agents at this point during the season. You'll find the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links from around the NBA here:
- Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge says the team currently has no needs and will wait and see what transpires over the next few weeks to get a better feel if a move has to be made or not (Adi Joseph of USA Today reports).
- Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, who recently returned from an 11-game absence for family reasons, sounded like he wanted the team to keep Chris Johnson (LSU) and Mickael Gelabale for the rest of the season, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- Grizzlies guard Chris Johnson, whose 10-day contract is set to expire on Friday night, is making a strong case to be brought back for another deal, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. GM Chris Wallace described Johnson as a "seamless fit" so far.
- Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald doesn't think the Heat are the best fit for Greg Oden, citing that if healthy, the former number one overall pick could find more playing time and a better comfort level elsewhere. Even if the team uses its taxpayer mid-level exception to land Oden this summer, Goodman thinks that the luxury tax impact might not be worth the investment either.
- When asked directly about the possibility of playing for the Cavaliers, Oden replied: "I'm worried about the knee. That's it," later saying that it was too early for him to be thinking of a destination. Oden added that he wants to take his rehab slow, and that while he could possibly play today if he wanted to, he wants to avoid the risk of having the same setbackthat he had in Portland (Doug Lesmerises and Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer report).
Berger’s Latest: Lakers, Lowry, Gay, Suns, Seattle
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has a new column in which he examines the Lakers' options at the trading deadline. Berger attributes at least some of Dwight Howard's struggles this season to having only had a limited amount of time playing in the pick-and-roll with Steve Nash, and suggests that standing pat could be an option. He goes into further depth about the Lakers' options as well as some other topics from around the NBA as the deadline approaches.
- The Jazz, Raptors, Hawks, and Timberwolves are among the teams Berger says have interest in trading for Pau Gasol, although none of them have an ideal set of pieces to make a deal with the Lakers.
- Berger doesn't believe the Lakers will trade Howard because they have a lot of leverage to keep him in the form of a bigger contract they can offer him than any competitor.
- Kyle Lowry may be on the trade market, as people within the Raptors organization are not pleased with him. Berger lists the Mavericks and Hawks as two teams that could be interested in trading for him.
- Although talk has cooled in recent weeks, Berger hears from executives around the league that the Grizzlies are still open to trading Rudy Gay, either before the trade deadline or during the summer.
- Suns GM Lance Blanks and president Lon Babby could have their job security depend on Lindsey Hunter's success as interim head coach over the rest of the season.
- A bankruptcy lawyer is claiming that Kings minority owners should be given an opportunity to match the offer the Maloof family accepted to sell the team to the Chris Hansen-led Seattle ownership group.
Western Notes: Jazz, Lakers, Pelicans, Suns
Kyrie Irving, Paul George and Jrue Holiday (all Eastern Conference players) all have become the first players born in the 1990s to make an NBA All-Star Game. Here's what's happening right now in the Western Conference.
- The Jazz and the Lakers are headed in different directions in the standings even though Los Angeles boasts a vastly more talented roster than Utah, writes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
- There's much more to the story of why the Benson family elected to change the name of New Orleans' professional basketball team from the Hornets to the Pelicans, says Henry Abbott of ESPN.com.
- Suns GM Lance Blanks faces a franchise in turmoil after making a head coaching change that saw the departure of two assistant coaches, writes Sam Amick of USA TODAY Sports. "In this business, you can't wiggle your nose and manufacture success, or rub rocks together. You've got to roll up your sleeves and do the things that are necessary to be successful."
Northwest Notes: McCants, T’Wolves, Thunder
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that former Timberwolves first-round pick Rashad McCants might be on his way back to the D-League's Texas Legends. The 28-year-old, who averaged nearly 20 PPG in China this year, played for the Mavericks affiliate in their debut season. Here's more on the T'Wolves and the rest of the Northwest..
- The Thunder will pursue small forward Pete Mickeal when his contract with FC Barcelona is over, according to a report from TuBasket.com passed along by HoopsHype. Mickeal was drafted by Dallas in the second-round of the 2000 Draft but was waived that summer.
- The T'Wolves were in on Australian center Aron Baynes early on before the Spurs scooped him up, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. San Antonio won out thanks to their personal connections with the big man in conjunction with their offer of a guaranteed deal.
- The Raja Bell saga has gone on for months in Utah but his reps are hopeful that a settlement can be struck at some point, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. The Jazz and Bell haven't made much progress on a buyout over the last month.
Northwest Notes: Olshey, Wolves, McGee, Jazz
The latest news and notes from around the Northwest Division on Sunday afternoon:
- The Blazers, who've lost five in a row, are hamstrung by their substandard bench, but GM Neil Olshey isn't planning to compromise the team's long-term cap flexibillity to improve its depth this season, The Oregonian's Jason Quick writes. Nonetheless, the GM regrets not adding bench strength over the summer.
- Yesterday's 10-day signees Mickael Gelabale and Chris Johnson made an instant impact for theWolves, as Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune documents.
- Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post chronicles the slow development of Nuggets center JaVale McGee, who's averaging fewer minutes than all but two other players who, like him, make at least $10MM a season. "He's got to understand that lazy and crazy isn't going to make it work," coach George Karl said. "We want solid and we want fundamental, and we want spectacular but only when it happens, not forcing the action where sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't."
- Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune is impressed with the way Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin is magaging is players' minutes.
Amico On Gay, Kings, Millsap, West, Oden
The latest piece from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio is brimming with juicy material, so let's dive right in.
- Even though the Grizzlies are reportedly in a "holding pattern" regarding trades, Memphis is still talking to other teams about moving Rudy Gay. The clubs engaged most heavily in those discussions are the Bobcats, Timberwolves, Suns and, more recently, Hawks. Nonetheless, a source tells Amico not to expect a Gay trade until after the All-Star break.
- Speaking of holding patterns, that appears to be the current state of any potential Kings sale, Amico writes. Whatever happens, it's "pretty clear" this is the final season for Geoff Petrie as GM. He's in the final year of his deal, and the 64-year-old reportedly wants to retire.
- We heard Friday about the Nets' possible interest in Paul Millsap, and Amico confirms Brooklyn, along with the Bucks and Nuggets, are among teams that could make a push for Millsap at the deadline. Most of the teams in that mix would want to offer Millsap an extension immediately upon acquiring him, since he's in the final year of his contract.
- Like Millsap, David West is another power forward set to hit the unrestricted free agent market, but the Pacers are confident they can re-sign him, Amico reports. That's why the team is largely ignoring trade offers for him.
- Greg Oden hopes to sign with a team around the All-Star break or right after the trade deadline. Interested clubs include the Celtics, Heat, Mavericks and Cavaliers.