And-Ones: Draft, Jackson, J.R. Smith, Blair
The league office proposed a new lottery system for as soon as next season that would more evenly distribute the odds that non-playoff teams would have of ending up with the No. 1 overall pick, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. The proposal to the competition committee, which would cut the worst team’s chance from 25% to 11%, was the dominant subject of talk about lottery reform at league meetings this week, but it’s nonetheless one of many the NBA has considered, Lowe cautions. There’s more draft-related fodder among the latest from around the league:
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com unveiled his top 100 top prospects list and mock draft for 2015 in a pair of subscription-only pieces. His top three players are Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Karl Towns, Jr. Mudiay’s recent decision to withdraw from college basketball and play overseas shouldn’t much affect his draft stock, according to Ford.
- Phil Jackson doubts that Jerry Buss, as has been reported, made the final decision to pass Jackson over to hire Mike D’Antoni as Lakers coach in 2012, as the Zen Master writes in an update to his latest book with Hugh Delehanty, as excerpted in the New York Daily News. Jackson also says that he spoke to the Nets, Raptors and Suns about jobs in the wake of Lakers’ choice.
- J.R. Smith appeared on ESPN’s First Take Thursday, telling the hosts that he wouldn’t blame the Knicks if they traded him (transcription via Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com). “No. Absolutely not,” Smith said. “The way I was playing, I was playing like a person who didn’t want to be there. Not looking as focused as a person should be in that situation that we were, in the trenches. I wouldn’t blame them at all.”
- DeJuan Blair went into Washington’s $2,016,000 trade exception left over from when the team traded Eric Maynor at the deadline, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. Previous reports had indicated that the Wizards would absorb Blair into their new $8,579,089 trade exception created through Trevor Ariza‘s sign-and-trade to Houston, but it appears the team will instead preserve that exception. Just how much of the Maynor exception Blair will take up remains to be seen, since the precise amount of Blair first-year salary has yet to be reported.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Southeast Notes: Jones, Seraphin, Boozer
Despite expressing interest in a return to the Heat, James Jones just couldn’t pass up the chance to play with LeBron James again. Although it’s not clear whether or not Miami had intentions of bringing Jones back for the 2014/15 season, as Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald details, there’s no doubt LeBron’s return to the Cavs influenced Jones’ decision to hook up with Cleveland. Here’s the latest out of the Southeast..
- The Wizards elected to let Kevin Seraphin hit restricted free agency this summer, but Washington wouldn’t be against bringing the big man back at a price lower than the $3.89MM his qualifying offer would have been worth, reports J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (on Twitter).
- The salary in the first year of Trevor Ariza’s new contract is $8,579,089, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports, so that’s the value of the trade exception the Wizards create from the sign-and-trade that sent Ariza to the Rockets. Washington is using part of that trade exception to accommodate this evening’s sign-and-trade acquisition of DeJuan Blair. The precise amount of the exception that the Blair trade uses won’t be known until Blair’s first-year salary figure is reported.
- The Hornets aren’t interested in placing a bid on the recently amnestied Carlos Boozer, reveals Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (via Twitter). Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors had predicted as much earlier today when the club agreed to terms with Lance Stephenson.
- Andrew Perna of RealGM grades the Hornets‘ acquisition of Stephenson, praising Charlotte and criticizing the Pacers’ decision to let the shooting guard walk after the Heat seemingly lost a step this summer.
Chuck Myron and Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Wizards Acquire DeJuan Blair Via Sign-And-Trade
9:23pm: The deal has been completed, the Wizards announced. Washington will receive Blair from the Mavs in exchange for the rights to Emir Preldzic, a 2009 second-round pick.
5:55pm: Blair’s contract will be for three years and $6MM, with a team option on the final year, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
WEDNESDAY, 12:51pm: The teams are on track to finalize the deal today, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It remains unclear what Dallas would receive in the transaction, but presumably it wouldn’t involve any guaranteed salary.
SUNDAY, 10:25pm: The Wizards and Mavs are in advanced discussions on a potential sign-and-trade that would send DeJuan Blair to Washington, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Wizards have strong interest in the big man and are in talks to see if a sign-and-trade is possible before the Mavs are forced to renounce him (link).
Blair, who was used inconsistently by the Spurs and hardly at all in the postseason, signed with the Mavericks last summer on a one-year deal. In 15.6 minutes per contest, Blair averaged 6.4 PPG and 4.7 RPG for Dallas last season. For his career, Blair has averaged 7.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 18.2 minutes per night.
Eastern Rumors: Boozer, Blair, Durant
Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report details how the Heat’s maneuvers to accommodate the Big Three back in 2010 are now proving costly with the departure of LeBron James. The Heat’s 2015 first round pick–given to the Cavs as part of James’ sign-and-trade to Miami–is still owed to Cleveland, and Miami is still paying Mike Miller‘s amnestied contract while the sharpshooter is on the verge of re-teaming with LeBron in another city. Here’s more from the East:
- The Hawks, reportedly one of the favorites to place a bid on Carlos Boozer, took a step in that direction, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders confirms the team has officially slipped beneath the cap (Twitter link).
- The Mavs promised DeJuan Blair that they would try to sign-and-trade him to give him a financial boost, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, and indeed it appears Dallas is close to sending him to the Wizards via sign-and-trade,
- The Wizards will bring University of Maryland women’s assistant coach David Atkins as an assistant coach for player development, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. A handful of rival executives see it as a sign that Washington has begun to position itself to make a run at Durant, a D.C. native, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link), since Atkins was one of Kevin Durant‘s high school coaches, fellow ESPN scribe Mark Stein notes (on Twitter).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Stephenson, Miller, Knicks
Some Pacers players attempted to persuade the team to sweeten its offers to Lance Stephenson, but the front office resisted, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Stephenson agreed early this morning to bolt for the Hornets, and as his new three-year, $27.5MM deal quickly came together, the Pacers never received the opportunity to match Charlotte’s offer, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star writes. There’s more on his deal amid the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- The Mavs made a three-year $20MM offer to Stephenson, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). The new Hornets two-guard would have joined the Mavs instead if the Rockets hadn’t passed on matching the Mavs’ offer sheet to Chandler Parsons, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.
- The Pacers made two different five-year offers to Stephenson, but he rejected them both, favoring a shorter arrangement, agent Alberto Ebanks tells Buckner (Twitter link). Indiana wasn’t willing to go shorter than five years, Broussard writes in his piece.
- The Nuggets had a three-year, $12MM offer on the table for Mike Miller, but he passed it up for two years and $5.5MM with the Cavs thanks to persistent entreaties from LeBron James, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com details.
- Knicks president Phil Jackson thinks the team has too many guards, and he may end up waiving Wayne Ellington, whom New York acquired in the Tyson Chandler trade, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- The Jazz almost doubled the average annual value of the deal that the Wizards were willing to give Trevor Booker, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
- The Hawks held on to Pero Antic through Tuesday, meaning his non-guaranteed salary for 2014/15 has become fully guaranteed for $1.25MM. The same is true for Kyle O’Quinn, whose minimum salary with the Magic went from non-guaranteed to fully guaranteed when Orlando kept him Tuesday.
And-Ones: Rondo, Warriors, Drew
Here are a few miscellaneous links to pass along from tonight:
- The Celtics would rather risk keeping Rajon Rondo until he becomes a free agent next summer than take a deal without a “major player” that chiefly provides salary cap relief, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald hears. There’s been no talk between the Rockets and Celtics involving Rondo, as Bulpett also writes.
- The Warriors could possibly carve out a maximum salary slot for Kevin Durant in 2016 without breaking up their current core, explains Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group.
- Former Bucks head coach Larry Drew is in discussions to join David Blatt’s coaching staff on the Cavaliers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- There’s a strong sentiment within the Bucks organization to keep Ersan Ilyasova rather than trade him, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.
- Even though Jason Terry wants a buyout, the Kings currently have no plans to acquiesce, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Garrett Temple is expected to receive a deal soon to stay with the Wizards; however, Al Harrington – who still plans to play in the NBA for the 2014/15 season – is yet to receive an offer from Washington (Twitter links from J. Michael of CSNWashington.com).
- The Grizzlies didn’t consider waiving Nick Calathes before his contract became guaranteed today, a source tells Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Rockets, Pelicans, Wizards Swap Ariza, Asik, Ely
2:19pm: The deal is official, the Pelicans have announced. New Orleans is folding Scotty Hopson into the trade after acquiring him over the weekend, marking the third trade for Hopson’s non-guaranteed contract in less than a week. So, It’s Asik, Casspi and $1.5MM to the Pelicans, Ariza, Gee, Hopson and a protected 2015 first-round pick to the Rockets, and Ely to the Wizards.
TUESDAY, 10:23am: The NBA has given its approval for the trade, and a formal announcement is forthcoming, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune (Twitter link).
SUNDAY, 7:55pm: Ely will not be retained by the Wizards, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
5:59pm: Ariza will go to Houston on a three-way deal, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter). The Pelicans will get Omer Asik, Omri Casspi, and $1.5MM from the Rockets. Houston will get Ariza from Washington, Alonzo Gee, and a protected 2015 first-round choice from New Orleans. The Wizards will take on the non-guaranteed contract of Melvin Ely from New Orleans while receiving a $8.5MM trade exception (link).
Of course, Asik was already headed to the Pelicans in exchange for the 2015 first-rounder. Now, the deal has been expanded to help facilitate the Ariza sign-and-trade. Gee, meanwhile, has now been traded twice inside of a week.
5:08pm: The Rockets will acquire Trevor Ariza in a sign-and-trade deal with the Wizards, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The Wizards will get a $8.5MM trade exception by making the deal, but it’s not clear what they’ll be sending to Houston in the trade.
The Rockets and Ariza agreed on a four-year, $32MM deal yesterday. A number of teams were rumored to be interested in the sharpshooter’s services, but the Rockets came out on top. Ariza will try and help fill the void at small forward for Houston now that Chandler Parsons is Dallas-bound.
Ariza’s contract is structured on a declining scale, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. He will earn $8.6MM this season, and $8.2MM, $7.8MM, $7.4MM, in the following years. Ariza could have served as a stretch four alongside Dwight Howard if Parsons was retained, but he’ll now line up at his natural position.
In 77 games with the Wizards last season, the Rob Pelinka client averaged 14.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per night. He shot 40.7% from beyond the arc, well above his career mark of 34.7%. Ariza, 29, played in Houston during the 2009/10 season.
While Ariza is a nice addition, it goes without saying that this wasn’t the summer the Rockets had in mind.
Eastern Notes: Boozer, Garnett, Bradley
With the reported agreement to sign Pau Gasol and the potential stateside arrival of their 2011 draft pick Nikola Mirotic, the Bulls will likely amnesty Carlos Boozer, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Chicago has until the July 16th amnesty deadline to decide on Boozer’s fate. Johnson also notes that the team is still in talks to re-sign veteran point guard Kirk Hinrich.
More from the east:
- Paul Pierce‘s agreement to sign with the Wizards won’t affect Kevin Garnett‘s decision on whether or not to return for his 20th season, and the Nets are expecting Garnett to play for them next year, tweets Tim Bontemps of The New York Post.
- With the Nets trying to cut back on payroll, it would be surprising to see the franchise release Marquis Teague, tweets Bontemps. Teague’s salary of $1,120,920 for next season is fully guaranteed, and the Nets have a team option of $2,023,261 for the 2015/16 season.
- Avery Bradley‘s four-year, $32MM deal with the Celtics is expected to be finalized shortly, reports Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Miller, Deng, Ariza
With Carmelo Anthony set to re-sign with the Knicks, New York can now focus on setting up a supporting cast to play alongside him. One name they’re interested in re-signing is Toure’ Murry, tweets Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal. Here’s more from around the East:
- Phil Jackson is said to be willing to include Iman Shumpert as part of a deal to dump the contracts of Amar’e Stoudemire, Andrea Bargnani, or J.R. Smith, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- There is a gap between what the Cavs can offer and what Mike Miller is seeking, but not enough to end their talks, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- In contrast to an earlier report of the Hornets interest in Lance Stephenson, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets that Charlotte has shown no such signs.
- The Heat are now open to bringing free agent Mario Chalmers back at the right price, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinal. Miami drafted point guard Shabazz Napier, and was reportedly looking to sign-and-trade Chalmers before LeBron James elected to take his talents away from South Beach.
- The Hawks have re-engaged talks with Luol Deng, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. We heard earlier that the two sides had reached an impasse on salary for the veteran small forward.
- Kent Bazemore was in contract discussions with the Lakers when he agreed to join the Hawks, but Atlanta’s urgency precluded Los Angeles from re-signing the guard on their time table, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Trevor Ariza received the same offer from the Wizards as he agreed to with the Rockets, but the difference in taxes between Washington and Houston will save him approximately $3MM, tweets Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
- Ariza asked for an annual salary of $10MM to stay with the Wizards, sources tell J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Michael says that Washington declined to meet Ariza’s demands in order to maintain cap space in 2016, when Kevin Durant will become a free agent.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Wizards, Trade Exceptions, Booker
The NBA issued a memo this week establishing that teams that trade coaches or other non-playing personnel are not allowed to make any other trades for one calendar year or until the coach or executive’s contract would have expired, whichever is earlier, notes Mark Deeks of ShamSports. The memo also issues guidelines that make it more difficult for teams to dump salary in trades, as Deeks explains.
More from around the league:
- Trade exceptions for four teams expired at the end of Thursday, the largest of which was one the Warriors held that was worth more than $9.8MM, as we noted earlier. The Clippers watched one worth more than $2.6MM expire, the Nuggets lost one worth nearly $2.4MM, and the Raptors saw one worth more than $1.2MM extinguished.
- The Wizards are waiting on Houston’s move in regards to Chandler Parsons offer sheet which will impact the Rockets‘ pursuit of free agent Trevor Ariza, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- The Wizards continue to push for a deal with Trevor Ariza, but he wants to hear from the Mavs before moving forward with Washington, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets.
- The Knicks have continued to show interest in Wizards free agent power forward Trevor Booker, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- The Cavaliers are in talks with free agent center Chris Andersen, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.