Western Notes: Brooks, Fortson, Jazz
With a busy Monday chock full of games set to get underway, let's take a look around the Western Conference to catch up on the latest news and happenings.
- Stefan Swiat of Suns.com says Suns general manager Lance Blanks took a flight to China on Monday to check in on CBA All-Star point guard Aaron Brooks. The former Oregon star has thrived in China as he has led his squad to the CBA Finals thanks to his 21.9 PPG and 4.7 APG. Adding a hot Brooks for the stretch run may be enough for the Suns to clinch a playoff spot with the team currently one game behind the Rockets for the eighth seed.
- The Rockets are set to sign guard Courtney Fortson for the remainder of the season with a team option for next year, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. Fortson, 23, signed a 10-day contract with the team on March 18th after being cut by the Clippers in late January. The rookie out of Arkansas is currently averaging 2.8 PPG and 1.2 RPG in five games with the Rockets.
- Lang Greene of HoopsWorld writes many Jazz players are relieved that the trade deadline has passed given the uncertainty surrounding the front office's plans for developing the roster. Since the deadline, the Jazz have won six of their last seven games, putting the team in the playoff mix as the current seventh seed in the Western Conference.
Odds & Ends: Bell, Cavs, Nocioni, Macklin
On this date in 1990, the Bulls re-signed sharpshooter Craig Hodges, who backed up Michael Jordan on Chicago's first two championship teams, in addition to winning three straight three-point contests at the All-Star Game. Here's what's happening around the league tonight:
- Jazz guard Raja Bell's bothersome left knee could require microfracture surgery that would end his season, according to Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. Apparently one doctor has recommended microfracture, but Bell has sought a second opinion, the results of which are due Monday (All four Twitter links).
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio shared a number of observations following the Cavs' 108-83 loss to the Suns today, including his thoughts on the team's needs in the draft. Even though they could use a center and a shooting guard, Amico believes the team should pursue the most explosive scorers at any position. The Cavs will have a pair of first-round picks this year thanks to the Ramon Sessions trade.
- Andres Nocioni, who signed to play in Spain this week, received offers from two playoff teams, but none of them would make any promises about playing time, he writes in Spanish on a blog on ESPNDeportes.com (translation courtesy HoopsHype).
- Pistons big man Vernon Macklin, a second-round pick in last year's draft, has been impressive in the D-League, notes Brendan Savage of MLive.com. The 6'10", 227-pound University of Florida product is averaging 17.2 rebounds a game. Still, the Pistons plan on leaving him with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants for another five games, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
- Jonathan Givony of Draft Express gives his best guesses about who will be a part of this year's Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, an annual showcase for seniors coming out of college.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel mentions Anthony Carter as a candidate for the Heat should the team look to sign a point guard in the wake of its loss to the Thunder tonight (Twitter link).
Odds & Ends: Sloan, Azubuike, Sessions, Heat
The deadline for players to be waived in order to be eligible for the playoffs with another team passed last night, and Chris Kaman, who would have been on the radar of just about every team needing a big man had he been bought out, is still with the Hornets. New Orleans "desperately" tried to trade him before last week's trade deadline, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, but didn't get a worthy offer. He'll be a free agent at season's end, and wants to sign with a contender then, Kennedy said. Here's the rest of what's shaking around the NBA:
- Guard Donald Sloan, who signed last week with the Cavs, gave reporters a little insight on his contract, as the end of this video on Cavs.com shows. His deal extends into next year, but is guaranteed only until the end of this season.
- Newest Mav Kelenna Azubuike, who drew raves from owner Mark Cuban last night, will start off with the Texas Legends, the Mavs D-League affiliate, notes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News.
- The Hawks expressed interest in trading for Ramon Sessions before the Cavs wound up dealing him to the Lakers, Kennedy tweets.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel answered reader questions about the Heat. Despite this week's signing of Ronny Turiaf, much of the talk still revolves around the center position.
- Jason Fleming of HoopsWorld rounds up the players who could sign contracts worth as much as $10MM a year as free agents this summer.
- Syracuse sophomore guard Dion Waiters hasn't made up his mind about whether he'll enter the NBA Draft just yet, but he says the Spurs, Thunder and Jazz have called him in case he wants to give it a go, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY. He's projected to go in the middle of the first round, and could climb into the lottery, Zagoria writes.
Josh Howard To Undergo Knee Surgery
WEDNESDAY, 10:23am: After receiving a second opinion on his knee, Howard will likely undergo surgery today, says Smith. He still hopes to be back by the end of the regular season, or at least for the playoffs, if the Jazz qualify (all Twitter links).
TUESDAY, 7:17pm: Howard says not to count him out just yet. He'll get a second opinion on his knee tomorrow, and believes he'll be out no longer than four to six weeks, Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune reports. That would get him back for the last week of the regular season at the earliest. The Jazz, however, still expect him to miss the rest of the year, Smith tweets.
6:45pm: GM Kevin O'Connor says the Jazz still don't intend to add a player, even with Howard out, according to Smith (Twitter link).
4:37pm: Josh Howard will undergo season-ending surgery on his left knee, according to Jazz radio announcer David Locke (via Twitter). Howard underwent an MRI on Monday that showed a chip in the knee, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune. Smith adds more detail in this story, including that Howard had recently said he'll give the Jazz "full consideration" as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Howard signed a one-year deal worth $2.15MM with the Jazz prior to the season, after spending the first nine seasons of his NBA career with the Mavericks and Wizards. In 41 games for Utah, the 31-year-old averaged 8.7 PPG and 3.7 RPG in 23.4 MPG. Howard had started every game since the All-Star break.
Utah GM Kevin O'Connor said earlier today that the Jazz didn't intend to use their open roster spot to add a player this season. Perhaps that stance will be reconsidered with Howard out for the year.
Northwest Notes: Fisher, Jazz, Nene, Okur, Blazers
The Thunder are reportedly among the favorites to sign Derek Fisher for the remainder of the season, so Royce Young of Daily Thunder explores whether Fisher would be a worthwhile acquisition for Oklahoma City, eventually concluding that having him on board "probably would do a lot more good than bad." Kevin Durant seems to be in agreement, telling Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman that he'd support the move if the team signed Fisher.
While we wait to see where the veteran point guard lands, let's check out a few more items from out of the Northwest….
- The Jazz don't plan to make use of their empty roster spot to add another player this season, GM Kevin O'Connor tells Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- Nuggets president Josh Kroenke was frustrated by reports that suggested Denver signed Nene with the intention of trading him, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. "I want to squash that right now," Kroenke said. "This organization is not in a situation where we can take a $60-plus million gamble like that…. Our initial plan was to have Nene around for quite a while. It hurt me to see that [people] thought that I would view someone like that."
- Acting Trail Blazers GM Chad Buchanan said that releasing Mehmet Okur is a possibility if the team needs to clear a roster spot. Given Okur's season-long back injury, the contract will qualify for about $2MM insurance coverage (Twitter links via Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge).
- In a piece for Blazer's Edge, Jeff Kramer of Storytellers Contracts explains how the Blazers' trades last week affected their potential cap room this summer.
Warriors In Talks To Keep First-Round Pick
The Warriors have acquired a first-round pick and two second-rounders for the upcoming draft, but they may be without either of their own selections. Golden State's first-rounder is ticketed for Utah unless it falls in the top seven.
The Warriors currently have the league's ninth-worst record, though there's still plenty of time for the standings to fluctuate. Still, Golden State doesn't want to have to rely on a losing streak to retain its lottery pick. According to co-owner Joe Lacob, the team has been in discussions with the Jazz to keep its first-rounder. While the trade deadline has passed and no moves can be made until after the season, Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group hears that GM Larry Riley has been "working for months" to secure the Warriors a lottery pick.
A source tells Thompson that Golden State wouldn't want to move any of its core players to re-acquire its lottery pick, preferring to use its three 2012 picks to facilitate a trade. Considering the highest of those picks, San Antonio's first-rounder, will likely fall no in the mid-to-late-20s, I can't imagine the Jazz being enthusiastic about such a deal. But we'll see what comes of the talks.
In addition to the Spurs' first-rounder, the Warriors have also added second-round picks from the Nets and Hawks.
Teams With Open Roster Spots
After the flurry of trades, signings, and releases around the league in the last week, it's gotten challenging to keep track which clubs still have the flexibility to make roster moves. To make things a little easier, here's our list of teams who currently have fewer than the maximum 15 players on their rosters, and could add a player without releasing anyone:
- 76ers: 14
- Bulls: 14. When Mike James' second 10-day contract expires, the Bulls will have two open roster spots. They also reportedly have some interest in Leon Powe.
- Clippers: 14. The Clips are still deciding whether to sign Bobby Simmons for the rest of the season with their final roster spot.
- Grizzlies: 13. Memphis is looking at Gilbert Arenas for one of its openings.
- Heat: 14. Miami could fill its final roster spot with a player who is bought out of his contract this week.
- Hornets: 13. 14th man Jeff Foote just had his 10-day contract expire.
- Jazz: 14
- Kings: 14
- Lakers: 14
- Pacers: 14
- Pistons: 14
- Raptors: 13
- Rockets: 14. Houston will open up a second roster spot when Derek Fisher clears waivers.
- Spurs: 13. San Antonio is expecting to add Patrick Mills with one of its open roster spots. Even if the Spurs finalize Mills' deal, they'll still have a pair of open spots after Eric Dawson's second 10-day deal expires.
- Suns: 13
- Warriors: 13
- Wizards: 14. 14th man Edwin Ubiles is on a 10-day contract.
Note: The Nets currently have 15 players on their roster, but will open up a spot when Jerry Smith's 10-day contract expires.
Buyout Rumors: Jamison, Bell, Diaw, Kaman
With the trade deadline behind us, the next deadline to look forward to is next Friday. Players must be bought out or must clear waivers by March 23rd if they hope to change teams and be eligible to play in the postseason. A number of trade candidates who weren't moved could now become buyout candidates, so let's take a look at the latest rumors on a few of those players:
- The Cavaliers have no plans to buy out the remainder of Antawn Jamison's contract, according to Tom Reed of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Raja Bell won't attempt to negotiate a contract buyout with the Jazz, reports Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- The Bobcats "want [Boris] Diaw gone yesterday" and are involved in buyout talks, says Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.
- While GM Dell Demps didn't entirely rule out a buyout for Chris Kaman, he said last night that it was very unlikely. I expect if the Hornets weren't owned by the league, the situation would be different, but the NBA probably doesn't want Kaman going to a team where he could potentially have an impact on the Finals.
- The Blazers don't plan to buy out Raymond Felton, as we covered earlier.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, Jazz, Thunder
The most pressing news out of the Northwest Division tonight surrounds the three-team deal apparently in the works between the Lakers and two Northwest teams: the Blazers and Timberwolves. It continues to be held up by the Blazers, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), who are seeking a draft pick. Here's more from around the division:
- The Blazers took an embarrassing 42-point loss to the Knicks tonight, and John Canzano of The Oregonian thinks the problems can be traced to the front-office turmoil of the past few years.
- The Thunder like the view from the top, and unlike last year, when they acquired Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed, they aren't likely to make any deals before the deadline, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. As a result, the team has largely avoided the distractions that other teams encounter this time of year, coach Scott Brooks told fellow Oklahoman writer John Rohde.
- The Jazz are in contention for a playoff spot, but it will be better for them in the long run to make a deal before the deadline, even if it's a short-term negative, opines Patrick Kinahan on NBA.com.
Nets Latest: Williams, Howard, Miles
9:43pm: Deron Williams sounds pleased with the Nets, telling reporters, including Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record, that he has a much better relationship with team executives than he did in Utah. He also praised the greater endorsement opportunities he's received, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News notes, which could be a subtle hint directed at Dwight Howard.
6:16pm: The Nets are unwilling to trade Deron Williams, writes Alex Raskin of HoopsWorld. They're not sure of the assets they could get in return, and feel like they can make some offseason moves to strengthen the club and entice the point guard to stay.
5:24pm: The future of Deron Williams in New Jersey is not necessarily tied to Dwight Howard, tweets Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. With D12 apparently staying in Orlando for at least one more season, it throws a wrench into plans the Nets had of putting Williams and Howard together when they move to Brooklyn next year. The Mavs, too, have had eyes on combining Williams and Howard.
Williams will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. As we surmised earlier, the chances of Williams remaining with New Jersey have taken a hit with today's Howard news. The Nets now may look to deal Williams to get some kind of return in case he leaves the team after the season.
The Nets are also continuing to pursue C.J. Miles of the Jazz, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. (Twitter link). The Jazz have been rumored to be looking to move Miles, a free agent at seasons end.