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Month: October 2024

Nets Rumors: Marks, Bargnani, Brown, Prokhorov

February 20th, 2016 at 9:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sean Marks made his first transaction as GM of the Nets today, parting ways with Andrea Bargnani in what is believed to be a buyout deal. Today’s move creates an open roster spot that Marks has the option to fill. With a 15-40 record, a flawed roster, an interim coach and no first-round picks for two of the next three drafts, Marks recognized the huge task ahead when he was officially hired by the Nets on Thursday.

There’s more news tonight about Marks and his plans for the future in Brooklyn:

  • The new GM wants to pattern the Nets organization after what he saw as an assistant coach and later an assistant GM in San Antonio, according to Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and GM R.C. Buford are recognized as among the best in the business, and Marks thinks he can pass on the knowledge he learned from them. “The relationship that Pop and R.C. had together, nothing was done without the other not knowing,” Marks said. “So that’s important. It’s inclusive, it’s a partnership. That’s what I’ll be looking for not only in a head coach, but the relationship that I have with ownership and the relationship that I have with all my staff.”
  • Interim coach Tony Brown will probably retain that role through the end of the season, Mahoney writes in the same story. Brown is 5-13 since taking over for Lionel Hollins. Marks hopes to hire a permanent coach in the next few months.
  • Defense will be the main criteria in hiring a new coach, tweets Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily. “Whoever we bring in here is gonna play team basketball,” Marks said, “and whoever the coach is will have a defensive mindset.”
  • Dmitry Razumov, chairman of the Nets’ board of directors, told Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post that the organization held official interviews with eight GM candidates, but Marks’ San Antonio background was “too persuasive” (Twitter link).
  • Marks and owner Mikhail Prokhorov have agreed to expand the entire Nets’ staff, including the scouting department, writes Laura Albanese of Newsday. Marks wants to hire some of his own personnel, and the expansion should happen over the next two to four months. Marks noted Prokhorov’s investments in a new training facility and a new D-League affiliate and said the owner “is willing to spend the money in the right places.’’
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Central Notes: Gasol, Bryant, Frye, Pistons

February 20th, 2016 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The final third of the season will influence Pau Gasol‘s decision on whether to stay with the Bulls, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The 35-year-old plans to opt out this summer, passing up $7,769,520 next season to take a shot at free agency. His future will largely be affected by how the injury-plagued Bulls perform in the crowded Eastern Conference race for playoff spots. “How these games play out will give me information of how I want to … or how my decision will be influenced for sure,’’ Gasol said. “How we handle this situation and if we’re able to overcome it, get more together and united and stronger or we give up or are content with it. Because that tells a lot, it tells you a lot about the character of a team and the people you are around.’’

There’s more news from the Central Division:

  • Kobe Bryant, who will play his final game in Chicago Sunday, came close to joining the Bulls in 2004, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. In the wake of the Lakers’ loss in the NBA Finals, and with relationships strained with coach Phil Jackson and teammate Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant wanted to use his free agency to get out of Los Angeles. He held a secret meeting with Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and executive John Paxson and strategized about how to get a sign-and-trade deal done with the Lakers. However, a few days later O’Neal asked for a trade, and Bryant spent 12 more years in L.A.
  • Channing Frye still hasn’t been cleared to play for Cleveland, but the organization isn’t concerned about his status, writes Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Frye, who was obtained from Orlando in a trade on Thursday, went through more medical exams today and did not accompany the Cavaliers on their trip to Oklahoma City. Coach Tyronn Lue said the franchise has “no concern at all” about Frye, who sat out the 2012/13 season with a heart condition.
  • The Pistons created a minuscule $211,795 trade exception equivalent to the difference between Joel Anthony‘s $2.5MM salary and the $2,288,205 salary for Donatas Motiejunas as a result of their trade Thursday, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Detroit took Marcus Thornton‘s salary into the minimum-salary exception.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Southeast Notes: Magic, Jennings, Morris, Hinrich

February 20th, 2016 at 7:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic scored an impressive $8,193,029 trade exception, equivalent to Channing Frye‘s salary, from Thursday’s trade with the Cavs, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Orlando is poised to have enough cap room to sign two players to maximum-salary contracts this summer, so it’s likely that the team renounces that exception in July, but the Frye exception could still come in handy for trades around draft time. The Magic could choose to remain technically over the cap by keeping the cap holds for their own free agents and using sign-and-trades to bring in outside free agent targets. That would allow them to keep the sizable Frye exception until it expires next February, but sign-and-trades are inherently more difficult to pull off than conventional signings.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Magic coach Scott Skiles has been monitoring the progress of Brandon Jennings for years, writes John Denton of NBA.com. Orlando added depth to its backcourt this week by picking up Jennings in a trade with the Pistons. Skiles has been keeping an eye on the seventh-year guard, whom he coached for three and a half years in Milwaukee, and said Jennings “was playing the best basketball of his career’’ before the Achilles injury in January of 2015 that kept him out of action for about a year.
  • New Wizard Markieff Morris already feels at home in Washington, relays Keely Diven of CSNMidAtlantic. The power forward was traded Thursday from the Suns after a rocky season in Phoenix. He said reuniting with Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley, who were his teammates on the 2011/12 Suns, made the transition easy.
  • Kirk Hinrich was caught off guard by a trade right before Thursday’s deadline that sent him from the Bulls to the Hawks, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This is the second stint in Atlanta for Hinrich, who was also traded there by the Wizards in 2011. “I was shocked but after it settled in I’m excited for the opportunity, whatever it may be,” Hinrich said of his latest trade. “I just didn’t see it coming. I’m in Cleveland doing my game-day routine and I got the phone call. I was a little surprised.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Atlantic Notes: Bargnani, Fredette, Sampson

February 20th, 2016 at 6:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Andrea Bargnani was a disappointment for both New York-area teams, writes Peter Botte of The New York Daily News. The Nets waived the 30-year-old forward this afternoon in Sean Marks‘ first official act since taking over as GM. The move is believed to be a buyout deal, but details have not been made available. The split comes barely seven months after Brooklyn signed Bargnani to a free agent deal worth $1,362,897 this season with a $1,551,659 player option for 2016/17. He averaged 6.6 points and 13.8 minutes of playing time in 46 games off the Nets’ bench.

The Knicks paid a much higher price for Bargnani when they acquired him from Toronto in 2013. They sent this year’s first-round pick to the Raptors, along with Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, Marcus Camby and second-rounders in 2014 and 2017. Bargnani played just 71 games in two seasons with New York.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Knicks are expected to sign Jimmer Fredette to a 10-day contract Monday, and the team will see if the 26-year-old can do more than score, Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press writes. “We’ve got to see if he can actually handle the basketball and be able to create shots for himself and create shots for others,” interim coach Kurt Rambis said.
  • Sixers GM Sam Hinkie said Robert Covington, Hollis Thompson and T.J. McConnell were among the players who received interest on the trade market prior to the deadline, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays.
  • Several of JaKarr Sampson‘s Sixers teammates were disappointed that he was waived to make room the trade that netted Joel Anthony and a 2017 second-round pick, Pompey writes in a separate piece. Philadelphia is expected to release Anthony, and the team hopes to re-sign Sampson if he clears waivers Sunday, according to Pompey. Sampson, a second-year swingman, is popular in the locker room and has earned a reputation as a hard-working defensive specialist. “It’s always hard to waive anybody, much less a guy that’s busted his tail to be the best player that he can be,” Hinkie said. “That’s exactly the kind of people we like to work with.”
  • Even if the Raptors could have obtained a starting-caliber power forward, such as Markieff Morris or Ryan Anderson, the team wouldn’t have been any closer to contention, which made standing pat a good move, Brett Koremenos of RealGM opines.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

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Thunder Notes: Durant, Presti, Additions

February 20th, 2016 at 5:18pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kevin Durant is fine with the Thunder not making a big acquisition at the deadline, Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman writes.

“I trust [GM] Sam [Presti] 100%,” Durant said prior to the deadline. “Whatever he does, I know it’s for the betterment of the organization and team. Whatever he chooses to do, I’m happy with it and I support it.”

Durant will be a free agent at the end of the 2015/16 campaign. He will certainly garner a max contract and earlier in the month, Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined Durant’s options for signing one.

Here’s more from Oklahoma City:

  • The Thunder will save $9.8MM as a result of the Randy Foye trade. However, that wasn’t the primary motivation of making the deal, sources tell Royce Young of ESPN.com. Young adds that the team is doing well financially and planned to be a taxpaying team.
  • Presti says it would be smart not to underestimate the impact that a rising cap will have on the league, Slater relays via Twitter. “Everyone is affected in different ways,” Presti told Slater. “It isn’t a universal issue for all thirty teams, but we have to find a way to make it work for our organizations.”
  • The Thunder have an open roster spot after dealing away Steve Novak and D.J. Augustin, and they could be a major player in the buyout market, Slater writes in a separate piece. The team reportedly has interest in Anderson Varejao, whom Portland waived Thursday.
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Nets Waive Bargnani In Apparent Buyout Deal

February 20th, 2016 at 3:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets have waived Andrea Bargnani, the team announced via press release. The sides were in buyout talks, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier today, so it would seem the former No. 1 overall pick has agreed to give back part of his salary. Bargnani signed a two-year, minimum salary contract this past summer that was to give him $1,362,897 this season with a player option worth $1,551,659 for next year.

The sides have appeared headed for a buyout for the past few days, with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reporting this week that a buyout was almost certain to happen if the Nets didn’t trade Bargnani by Thursday’s deadline. The 30-year-old Bargnani’s 6.6 points and 13.8 minutes per game are career lows by a wide margin, though he recorded a season-high 25 minutes in an 18-point performance against the Pistons less than three weeks ago, on February 1st.

He’ll be postseason-eligible for any team he might sign with if he clears waivers. He’s also a candidate for a waiver claim, since all 29 teams are eligible to snag him, as Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports points out (on Twitter).

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Bucks Plan To Sign Novak, Likely Waive Copeland

February 20th, 2016 at 3:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Bucks plan to sign Steve Novak on Sunday or Monday once he clears waivers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Earlier today, it was reported that the Bucks were the front-runners to sign the 32-year-old. Milwaukee will likely waive Chris Copeland to create a roster spot for him, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reports via Twitter.

Novak, who played his college ball at Marquette University, agreed to a buyout with the Nuggets on Friday after the team acquired him in the Randy Foye trade. Prior to the trade, Novak saw action in seven games for the Thunder, averaging just 3.4 minutes per game.

Copeland signed a $1.1MM deal with the Bucks last offseason, but hasn’t seen the court much during his time in Milwaukee. The 31-year-old is averaging 2.1 points and 0.5 assists in 6.5 minutes per game this season. He is sporting a career low 5.6 player efficiency rating.

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Clippers Sign Alex Stepheson To 10-Day Deal

February 20th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 3:25pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

THURSDAY, 3:49pm: The Clippers plan to sign Alex Stepheson to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Stepheson, the D-League’s leading rebounder, was with the Grizzlies in training camp this past fall but didn’t make the opening night roster.

Stepheson has appeared in 31 contests this season for the Iowa Energy, Memphis’ D-League affiliate, notching averages of 15.9 points, 13.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 34.2 minutes per night. His shooting line is .579/.000/.486.

The 28-year old will help provide frontcourt depth with Blake Griffin out indefinitely, though it remains unclear how much he will be needed after Los Angeles reportedly added Jeff Green via trade earlier today.

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Western Notes: Green, Cole, Collison, Suns

February 20th, 2016 at 2:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Grizzlies offered Jeff Green to the Clippers earlier in the week and after Los Angeles turned them down, they expected to keep the combo forward on the roster, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal reports (Twitter link). The Clippers then contacted the team right before the deadline to rekindle talks and the sides were able to come to an agreement, Tillery adds.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

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Nets, Andrea Bargnani Start Buyout Talks

February 20th, 2016 at 1:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets and Andrea Bargnani have begun negotiations on a buyout, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s no surprise, as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports earlier this week identified the former No. 1 overall pick among those almost certain to end up doing buyouts if they weren’t traded by Thursday’s deadline. Bargnani is in the first season of a two-year contract for the minimum salary that includes a player option for next year, so the buyout talks have implications that are liable to affect Brooklyn’s cap flexibility for the summer ahead.

The 30-year-old Bargnani missed Friday’s game with an illness and today’s practice because of personal reasons, notes Brian Lewis of the New York Post (Twitter link). He was also out for the final two games before the All-Star break. The Nets have given him only 13.8 minutes per game, a career low by a wide margin, and with 6.6 points per outing, he’s in line to finish a season with a scoring average in the single digits for the first time.

The Leon Rose client essentially has until March 1st to strike a buyout deal. That’s the final day a player can hit waivers and retain eligibility to appear in the playoffs with another team. His nine-year veteran’s minimum salary for this season is $1,362,897, with $1,551,659 scheduled to come his way next season. The Nets have about $45MM in guaranteed salary on the books for 2016/17, not including Bargnani’s option. The cap for next season is estimated to come in at between $89MM and $95MM.

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