Bucks Looking To Move Drew Gooden
4:22pm: The Cavaliers and Jazz are among the many teams not interested in Gooden, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter). However, Amico adds that the Bucks are "sure trying to move him."
11:26am: After averaging more than 26 minutes per game in 2011/12, Drew Gooden has been removed entirely from the Bucks' rotation this season, failing to appear in any of the team's first 11 games. According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, "scuttlebutt around the league" suggests that the Bucks are looking to trade Gooden.
Gooden was fairly productive for Milwaukee last season, recording averages of 13.7 PPG and 6.5 RPG to go along with an 18.8 PER. It's not clear why the 31-year-old has fallen out of favor, but forwards like Tobias Harris and Larry Sanders have seen big bumps in playing time so far this season to make up for Gooden's lack of minutes.
Moving Gooden will be no easy task for the Bucks, particularly with the frequent DNPs doing nothing to improve his stock. The Kansas product is under contract through 2014/15 at an annual cost of about $6.69MM, which figures to make it difficult for Milwaukee to find value on the trade market. For what it's worth, the Bucks have yet to use their amnesty provision, and Gooden is one of only two players on the team still eligible to be amnestied.
Odds & Ends: Saric, Draft, Murphy, Collins, Lakers
Let's check out a few items from around the Association as we prepare for an eight-game evening slate….
- Although we heard on Friday that Dario Saric's contract in Croatia wouldn't have an NBA out until 2014, Saric confirmed today that his new deal will include an NBA out after every season. Saric, who ranks 16th on DraftExpress.com's big board for 2013, indicated that he'd declare for the draft next season if he receives a top-10 guarantee, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes.
- NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper notes (on Twitter) that one NBA executive has Saric in his current top 10, but that he's hardly a lock, and plenty can change between now and next June.
- In an Insider piece at ESPN.com, Jay Bilas and Chad Ford debate which college prospect is the early favorite to be picked first overall next June, and discuss a few more draft topics.
- Kevin Murphy, who was assigned to the D-League today, will be with the Reno Bighorns for at least five games, according to Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey (Twitter link via Jody Genessy of the Deseret News).
- Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops fills out a hypothetical roster made up of the NBA's worst contracts.
- Mardy Collins, who played in parts of four seasons for the Knicks and Clippers after being drafted 29th overall in 2006, has reached an agreement to play for Israel's Maccabi Ashdod, reports David Pick of Sportando.
- Lakers offseason acquisitions Jodie Meeks and Antawn Jamison have begun to thrive under new coach Mike D'Antoni, says Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Medina adds that there's still no set timetable for Steve Nash's return.
Jazz Assign Kevin Murphy To D-League
MONDAY, 11:48am: The Jazz have officially assigned Murphy to the Bighorns, Jody Genessy of the Deseret News confirms (via Twitter).
SATURDAY, 4:25pm: The Jazz will send rookie Kevin Murphy to the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, on Monday as long as the twisted ankle that knocked Mo Williams out of last night's game with the Kings is not too severe, tweets Jody Genessey of the Deseret News. The assignment would be Utah's first of the season.
The Jazz drafted Murphy, a 6'6" swingman from Tennessee Tech, with the 47th overall pick in the draft. He signed a minimum-salary contract that's partially guaranteed for $200K this year and fully non-guaranteed for 2013/14.
Murphy has played just nine minutes in three games for the Jazz thus far, and Utah's backcourt just got more crowded with last night's return of Earl Watson from injury. When the move becomes official, we'll add it to our list of D-League assignments and recalls from the entire league.
Western Notes: Lakers Assistants, Maynor, Watson
Comcast's Ric Bucher tweets that the Lakers are expected to keep their coaching staff intact, as many of the players have personal favorites among the current assistants. A few days ago, head coach Mike D'Antoni spoke favorably of the coaches that had carried over after Mike Brown's firing, telling ESPN LA: "They're good coaches. I know almost all of them anyway. They work extremely hard. We are in a lot. I just felt like, 'They're here, they're good, why change it?" The list includes former interim-head coach Bernie Bickerstaff, Steve Clifford, Chuck Person, and most notably Eddie Jordan, who had been originally hired by Brown to install the Princeton offense. Here's the rest of what we're hearing out of the Western Conference tonight:
- Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK focuses on the struggles of Eric Maynor and wonders if it will open up an opportunity for the Thunder's Reggie Jackson at back-up point guard.
- Jazz point guard Earl Watson told reporters that he's been feeling more comfortable and is getting his rhythm back after returning from a seven month recovery following knee surgery (Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune reports). Head coach Tyrone Corbin remains focused on limiting Watson's minutes accordingly.
- In this video from CSNNW.com, Damian Lillard acknowledged that there are "multiple leaders" on the Trail Blazers when asked if he considered himself the leader of the team.
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes about how the Spurs have been able to adapt to the league as their core players have gotten older.
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times has taken notice of the Lakers' increased production from their second unit led by the emergence of Antawn Jamison.
- While Kelvin Sampson and several Rockets players offered their condolences to Kevin McHale after the tragic passing of his daughter during today's practice, Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets also took note that McHale had been constantly in touch with the team over the last several weeks to check on them and offer his guidance.
- Yannis Koutroupis of Hoopsworld discusses the promise that Donatas Motiejunas has been showing in the with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and writes that Rockets GM Daryl Morey has to make a decision on whether or not the rookie big man is ready to be a contributor in Houston.
Northwest Rumors: Budinger, Papanikolaou, Jazz
We've been hearing plenty about the Lakers' possible interest in Raja Bell today, but he remains on the Jazz roster even though he's been estranged from the team all season. Tonight, Utah welcomed back another player they hadn't used this year, as Earl Watson made his return from a right knee injury he suffered in the middle of last season. One of the Jazz's division rivals could be without a key offseason acquisition longer than they originally thought, and we've got more on that as well as the rest of the night's news from the Northwest.
- Wolves coach Rick Adelman indicated Chase Budinger will be out longer than the initial projection of three months, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). "He tells me he'll be back in March, so we'll see," Adelman said.
- There's a "very good chance" the Blazers, who acquired the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou from the Knicks in the Raymond Felton deal, will bring the 6'8" power forward to Portland next year, reports Jason Quick of The Oregonian. Quick notes that Papanikolaou is leading the Euroleague in three-point percentage (Twitter links).
- The Jazz are taking more three-pointers than they have in the last 10 years, thanks in large part to offseason signees Randy Foye, Marvin Williams and Mo Williams, observes Jody Genessey of the Deseret News. It's also because of the improved perimeter game of impending free agent Paul Millsap, Genessey points out.
Pacific Rumors: Landry, Lakers, Bell, Barnes
All five Pacific Division teams are in action tonight, and four of the five are squaring off against opponents with records of .500 or better, including the Lakers, who have an opportunity to bounce back from an ugly loss to the Kings with a victory against the Grizzlies. The Suns figure to have the easiest go of it tonight, with a game against the Hornets, but that's certainly no guarantee for a rebuilding Phoenix squad. Here's more from the West Coast:
- Carl Landry is glad to have the stability of the two-year deal he signed with the Warriors this summer, as he tells HoopsWorld. The deal includes a player option for next season, so perhaps this is an early hint that Landry plans to opt in, though that's merely my speculation.
- Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times breaks down potential trade candidates for a Lakers deal involving Raja Bell, and says via Twitter that the team won't cut Robert Sacre to fit Bell on the roster.
- The Lakers' decision on Bell will come down to whether they believe he's an upgrade over offseason signee Jodie Meeks, opines Ben Golliver of SI.com.
- ESPN.com's Chris Palmer thinks the Lakers made a mistake letting Matt Barnes sign with the Clippers, and ESPNLosAngeles.com colleague Arash Markazi believes Barnes would be a better fit in purple and gold under Mike D'Antoni than he was with Mike Brown (Twitter links).
Lakers Showing Interest In Raja Bell
6:39pm: Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles hears the Lakers haven't had any official discussions with Bell yet (Twitter link).
12:44pm: With Mike D'Antoni now at the helm in Los Angeles, the Lakers are exhibiting interest in a player that used to play for D'Antoni in Phoenix. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Lakers are displaying "renewed interest" in Jazz forward Raja Bell. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and Kobe Bryant have also been "strong advocates" of Bell this summer, according to Wojnarowski.
Bell, who is in the final year of his contract, was asked not to report to the Jazz this season, and the two sides have made attempts to negotiate a buyout. While a trade would also be a possibility, Bell's $3.48MM salary makes it difficult to find a taker, particularly given Utah's lack of leverage.
Even if the Jazz were to reach a buyout agreement with Bell, there's no guarantee the Lakers would be willing to add him on a minimum salary, according to Wojnarowski. Los Angeles would have to cut a player to clear a spot, then add more salary and a larger tax hit to a roster that's already worth $100MM. Although Wojnarowski suggests the Lakers would have to pay the salary for whichever player they'd cut, it's worth noting that Robert Sacre and Darius Johnson-Odom are on non-guaranteed deals, so the team could save itself some money by releasing one of them.
Regardless, for now, Bell remains under contract with the Jazz. According to Wojnarowski, the Lakers aren't the only team to show some interest in the 36-year-old either — the Bulls have also kicked the tires.
Jazz Rumors: Millsap, Jefferson, Favors
In an age of small-ball, the Jazz have been going the opposite direction, fielding a starting lineup of three big men in their last two games. Coach Tyrone Corbin has shifted Paul Millsap to small forward to accomodate Derrick Favors at the four spot, and though Millsap and Favors struggled offensively in a close win against the Wizards, the Jazz have won both games since making the change. When asked whether he likes playing small forward, Millsap said, "I don't have a problem with it," and Ian Thomson of SI.com interprets that to mean next summer's free agent isn't willing to sign with a team that envisions him as a three for the long term. Thomson has much more on the Jazz, and we'll break it down here.
- Given the team's frontcourt logjam, GM Dennis Lindsey is non-committal about the idea of retaining both Millsap and Al Jefferson in free agency. "The possibilities are always there," he said. "Is it realistic? We'll find out in time."
- The Jazz won't deal Millsap at the deadline unless they get "an explosive perimeter scorer" or a "dynamic young point guard," Thomson opines, speculating that they will let Jefferson walk this summer.
- It would be mutually beneficial for Millsap to re-sign the Jazz, Thomson believes, adding that he could see the 6'10" Favors blossoming at center, based on his work ethic.
Northwest Notes: Wolves Injuries, Blazers, Williams
The latest news and notes from the Northwest Division on Tuesday night:
- J.J. Barea and Nikola Pekovic are both expected to play for the Timberwolves on Wednesday, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
- Wolves coach Rick Adleman told Ray Richardson of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that doctors cleaned debris out of the knee of Brandon Roy.
- Joe Freeman of the Oregonian sheds some light on Blazers coach Terry Stotts' attempt to juggle the minutes of rookies Victor Claver, Joel Freeland, and Will Barton.
- Freeman also notes that so far, Nicolas Batum is living up to the four-year, $44MM contract he signed this summer.
- Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that Mo Williams is proving to be a perfect fit on the Jazz' roster.
Kyler On Hawks, Jazz, Calderon, Rockets, Varejao
With this season's deadline still three months away, the trade market likely won't be too active for at least a few more weeks. However, as Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes, things could start to pick up on December 15th, when most players who signed over the summer are eligible to be dealt. Kyler looks at a few specific trade candidates in his latest piece, so let's round up the highlights….
- Josh Smith, Paul Millsap, and Al Jefferson are a few players in the final year of their contracts whose respective teams aren't planning to deal. However, the Hawks and Jazz could reconsider their stances as the deadline approaches, if there's an increasing concern that those players will leave in free agency.
- While there's no urgency in Toronto to move Jose Calderon, the Raptors are expected to explore deals. Kyler suggests that small forwards like Omri Casspi and Wilson Chandler are worth keeping an eye on as potential Raptors targets, adding that Chandler isn't in the Nuggets' long-term plan.
- The Rockets likely aren't done dealing, with players like Daequan Cook, Toney Douglas, and Marcus Morris among the team's possible trade candidates.
- DeJuan Blair continues to be available, but the Spurs are still seeking a first-round pick, and it's unclear if any team would pay that price for a player that could sign elsewhere at season's end.
- Anderson Varejao isn't likely to be moved, but if the Cavaliers were to consider a deal, it would have to include Luke Walton and his $6.09MM salary.
- Similarly, if the Kings explored a Tyreke Evans trade, Sacramento would want to include either John Salmons or Francisco Garcia.
- The Timberwolves would be open to moving Derrick Williams if they could land a good veteran player for him.
- Kyler also names Hedo Turkoglu, Tayshaun Prince, Tyrus Thomas, and Wesley Johnson as trade candidates, though all those players could be tough to move due to their salaries.