Free Agent Notes: White, Bell, Fisher
- Doc Rivers says the Celtics are close to signing D.J. White to a deal in hopes of providing depth off the bench as a big man, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (on Twitter). The team would like to bring in one more frontcourt player to add to the roster.
- The Lakers remain hopeful the Jazz buy out the remainder of Raja Bell's contract so that the veteran can sign with Los Angeles, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). The 36-year-old shooting guard would be counted on to provide strong defense and long-distance shooting.
- Derek Fisher remains another option available for the Lakers as the long-time veteran is eager to return to the court, writes Kennedy (on Twitter). Fisher continues to work out regularly in Las Vegas and has stayed in close contact with Kobe Bryant since being traded to the Rockets last season.
Northwest Notes: Jazz, Kirilenko, Wolves, Nuggets
So far, the responses to this morning's poll suggest that, outside of the Hawks' decision to keep Josh Smith, no team's inactivity at the deadline was more surprising than Utah's. In Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, the Jazz had a pair of productive bigs on expiring contracts, and the expectation was that at least one of the two would be moved. However, GM Dennis Lindsey told reporters, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, that he felt the club was negotiating from a position of strength, and wasn't under any pressure to make a deal.
Here's more and the Jazz and a few of their Northwest Division rivals:
- "We really didn't even have any tough decisions," Lindsey said of deadline day, according to Genessy. "When we added it up, there wasn't anything that was better than what we had."
- With the deadline behind them, Millsap and Jefferson are looking forward to finishing out the season in Utah, writes Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- Speaking to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, Andrei Kirilenko says he's enjoying everything about his time with the Timberwolves except for the team's win-loss record. The Russian forward has yet to make a decision about his player option for next season. "I’m going to wait until the offseason, right now there’s no point to make any decision," Kirilenko said. "Wait until summer, analyze the season, and see what you want to do next."
- Glen Taylor's talks with prospective owners for the Timberwolves have "slowed considerably," a source tells Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link).
- Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post discusses the Nuggets' decision to let the deadline pass without making a deal.
Free Agent Rumors: Celtics, Oden, Amundson, Bell
With the trade deadline officially behind us, the next important date on the NBA's calendar arrives on March 1st. If a player who has been on an NBA roster this season is released after that date, he'll be ineligible to be on the postseason roster for any new team he joins. So we could see a number of players agreeing to buyouts and hitting free agency in the next week. Here are a few of the latest rumblings related to free agency:
- Danny Ainge expects the Celtics to add a free agent big man soon, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- After the Heat opened up a roster spot by trading Dexter Pittman today, Miami re-emerged as a potential destination for Greg Oden, as agent Mike Conley tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida. "We're going to get him down there for a visit," Conley said of Miami.
- Tomasson adds within the same piece that free agent big man Louis Amundson would "love" an opportunity to sign with the Heat.
- The Cavaliers are still kicking the tires on Oden as well, and have had him in for a couple visits, GM Chris Grant told reporters today (Twitter link via Bob Finnan of the News-Herald).
- Now that the Jazz can no longer trade Raja Bell, the club may revisit a buyout. If the two sides reach an agreement, the Lakers would have interest in signing Bell, reports Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
Western Notes: Kings, Garnett, Mavs, Wolves
Most around the league are surprised by the Kings' involvement in a cost-cutting deal that sent away Thomas Robinson, the fifth pick of this past June's draft this evening, Grantland's Zach Lowe hears (Twitter link). It's just the fifth time a team has traded a top five pick in his rookie season, ESPN Stats and Info tweets. The Kings weren't expected to be involved in any deals as their ownership situation is resolved, but ultimately they didn't hesitate to jump in at the last moment. Here's more on that trade and from around the West as the hours tick down until tomorrow's 2:00pm Central time deadline:
- If Kevin Garnett is traded, it will be to the Clippers or not at all, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes.
- The Mavs are making Brandan Wright, Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones available in return for draft picks, but won't compromise future cap space, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (All Twitter links).
- J.J. Barea, Luke Ridnour and Derrick Williams are all available from the Wolves, Berger also tweets.
- Marcus Morris is averaging 18.4 minutes per game this month for the Rockets, and he was seeking more before the trade that sent him to the Suns, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
- There's a decent chance the Blazers get involved in serious trade talks, but it would likely be about smaller moves, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune sums up what looks to be a quiet deadline for the Jazz, who aren't interested in trading for anyone on a long-term deal unless they get a core player in return.
Clippers, Jazz Unlikely To Make Deals
The Clippers and Jazz have been two of the teams most frequently linked to trade talk, with L.A. reportedly involved in the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes while Utah figures out what to do with all of its expiring contracts. They've even been tied together in a rumored Paul Millsap/Eric Bledsoe deal. Still, Marc Stein of ESPN.com is hearing "mostly standing-pat rumbles" when inquiring about both teams (Twitter link). TNT's David Aldridge echoes that sentiment as far as the Clippers are concerned (Twitter link). On top of that, Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said today that the team doesn't expect to make any deals, notes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Tax concerns appear to be complicating talks for both teams, Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets. They're both right under the $70.307MM tax line. Lowe's math has both teams a little bit closer to the line than my figures from this weekend, but either way it makes it difficult for those teams to swing trades, likely necessitating them to take back less salary in any deal — something that would have an especially chilling effect on any moves for the Clippers, since they'd probably be looking to add to their team, and Lowe has them at about $150K beneath the tax line.
Just today, we've heard about the Jazz's talks with the Wolves about Paul Millsap and L.A.'s brief call to the Hawks about Josh Smith. Stein cautions that much can change in the next 20 or so hours before the trade deadline, but as of now, it looks like the Jazz and Clippers will move past the deadline with their teams intact.
Jazz Talked To Wolves About Paul Millsap
With less than 24 hours until the trade deadline, one of the biggest questions around the NBA is what the Jazz will do with Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. Both players are candidates to be dealt, but Utah may ultimately decide to move one of the two, or keep both guys for the rest of the season.
While we haven't heard anything today on the Jefferson front, ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reports (via Twitter) that the Jazz have engaged in talks with the Timberwolves involving Millsap. Derrick Williams' name has come up in those discussions, according to Broussard.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reported today that Williams remains very available as Minnesota explores potential trades. While the Wolves are focused primarily on wing help, the team was also linked to Timofey Mozgov, so it makes sense that Minnesota could also have some interest in Millsap.
In Wolfson's report, he suggested that the Wolves viewed Mozgov as a better value as a free-agent-to-be than Nikola Pekovic, who the club isn't sure is worth $11MM annually. If the T-Wolves were to pursue Millsap, presumably the idea would be to obtain a potential alternative to Pekovic in free agency this summer.
Broussard On Gordon, Ellis, Rondo, Crawford
- The Hornets have made Eric Gordon available for a trade, but Broussard anticipates a lack of interest considering doubts about his health moving forward. The notion that New Orleans is willing to listen to offers for Gordon shouldn't come as a surprise, as we heard a similar report earlier this month.
- The Celtics are willing to move Rajon Rondo in the right deal. The Wizards have been actively shopping Jordan Crawford.
- A list of players who are currently on the trade market: Nets forward Kris Humphries, 76ers guard Evan Turner, Bobcats guards Ben Gordon and Gerald Henderson, Spurs' DeJuan Blair, Raptors big man Andrea Bargnani, Jazz big men Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, Magic guard J.J. Redick, and Timberwolves forward Derrick Williams (All Twitter links).
Spurs Won’t Look To Acquire Smith, Jefferson
Ric Bucher of Comcast Sports says that the Spurs won't be looking to deal for Josh Smith or Al Jefferson before the deadline (Sulia link).
San Antonio's interest in Smith dwindled after the team decided that the Hawks' star wouldn't be a good fit with the team's 'DNA,' whereas the supposed interest in Jefferson wasn't very serious considering their salary-cap situation. The Jazz forward is making $15MM in the final year of his deal, and at age 28 would likely be looking for the most lucrative contract of his career this summer.
Berger On Bledsoe, Celtics, Bulls, Warriors, Maynor
In his latest piece for CBSSports.com, Ken Berger echoes a rumor we've heard recently, writing that concerns about increasing luxury-tax penalties may make teams reluctant to deal this week. While there may be something to that idea, I'd be surprised if we don't end up seeing a handful of trades consummated by Thursday afternoon at 2:00pm CST. And Berger also shares the latest on a few possibilities, so let's round up the highlights from his column:
- The Clippers are willing to listen on Eric Bledsoe inquiries, but are reluctant to move him as long as there's even the slightest doubt that Chris Paul will re-sign this summer.
- Talks between the Clippers and Celtics involving Kevin Garnett are dormant for now. Rival execs believe that Danny Ainge recognizes that if he trades Garnett, he'll probably have to trade Paul Pierce as well, and vice versa. If the C's don't blow things up, moving Jason Terry to get under the luxury tax will also be a consideration.
- Other teams who could attempt to get under the luxury tax: The Bulls, by moving Richard Hamilton, and the Warriors, who could try to deal a couple of minimum-salary players like Jeremy Tyler, Kent Bazemore, or Charles Jenkins.
- Bergers suggests that Eric Maynor, who we heard is being shopped by the Thunder, could be a fit for the Jazz, but Utah is "consumed with the dilemma" of whether to trade Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap. I'm sure if Oklahoma City approached the Jazz with an offer, they'd listen, but it doesn't sound like a priority for Utah at the moment.
- The Timberwolves are aggressively shopping draft picks in an attempt to acquire wing help. We heard a similar report from Adrian Wojnarowski last night.
Wojnarowski On Wolves, Smith, Nets, Bell
Here's the latest news from around the league courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski with all links going to Twitter..
- The Wolves have been aggressive in offering multiple first-round picks for established talent, according to league sources (Twitter link). We've heard some trade buzz around Minnesota in recent weeks, but it has mostly concerned guard Luke Ridnour.
- The Celtics are on several fronts, including discussions on Josh Smith, Wojnarowski tweets. They've got plenty of competition, however, as the Nets are solely focused on making a deal for Smith, despite being linked to a few other big names in recent weeks.
- Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni has remained intrigued with bringing exiled Jazz guard Raja Bell to Lakers, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Jazz would be delighted to put a bow on their saga with the disgruntled guard.
- League GMs believe that the Hawks, Bucks, and Suns will make significant moves before the trade deadline.
- The Trail Blazers are still willing to move J.J. Hickson, but haven't found an appealing offer yet.
- Teams trying to trade for J.J. Redick of the Magic are surveying the cost of re-signing him this summer, Wojnarowski tweets. If Bucks move a starting guard, he'll be a major target for them.