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Wizards Ask About Anderson, Tucker, Booker

February 10th, 2016 at 1:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards have inquired about Ryan Anderson, P.J. Tucker and Trevor Booker as they search for help at power forward, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who writes in his NBA AM piece. Washington hasn’t gained much traction in talks thus far, Kyler cautions, having heard that the team believes the serious talk will take place during the All-Star break. The Wizards have been disappointing this season, sitting one game in the loss column behind the eighth-place Pistons in the Eastern Conference, but they’re unlikely to break up their core, Kyler writes.

Multiple reports within the last month have indicated that the Pelicans are more willing to trade other players than they are with Anderson, and coach Alvin Gentry has said he’s unlikely to end up in a deal, even though NBA executives reportedly believed, at least as of January, that if the Pelicans were to make a trade this season, Anderson would be in it. Stretch fours appeal to Washington, according to Kyler, and Anderson, a career 38% 3-point shooter, fits that bill. New Orleans reportedly made Anderson available earlier this season, but the team wasn’t anxious to trade him, as Kyler reported, later noting that the Rockets “kicked the tires” on him. New Orleans apparently had talks with the Suns about Markieff Morris that involved Anderson. Reports conflict on whether New Orleans turned down an offer from the Kings of Rudy Gay for Anderson

Tucker has consistently been attracting interest on the trade market, with the Raptors among those eyeing him, multiple reports have said. The Suns were reportedly holding off on trade discussions involving him as of last month, waiting to gauge their postseason hopes, but Phoenix has fallen 12 games behind the eighth-place Rockets. He’d be an undersized option at the four, since he’s 6’6″ and primarily plays small forward, but Washington has used 6’7″ Jared Dudley extensively at power forward this season. Tucker, unlike Anderson and Booker, has one more year left on his contract, but it’s only partially guaranteed for $1.5MM, so it wouldn’t take a significant chunk out of Washington’s cap flexibility for the summer ahead.

Rumors about Booker have been sparse, even though he’s on an expiring contract with the Jazz that gives him $4.775MM this season. Washington’s interest in Booker is somewhat curious, even though he spent his first four NBA seasons there, since the Wizards elected not to tender a qualifying offer to him when he was eligible for restricted free agency in 2014.

What should the Wizards do at the deadline? Leave a comment to share your ideas.

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Eastern Notes: Wade, Whiteside, Knicks, Zeller

February 10th, 2016 at 12:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwyane Wade doesn’t want as much tumult to surround his free agency this coming summer as happened last year, when a stream of rumors emanated from his reported willingness to leave Miami and apparent insistence on more than the Heat wanted to pay him, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Ultimately, the sides settled on a one-year, $20MM deal. Wade insisted to Jackson this week that he wasn’t willing to test the market last year and isn’t looking to do so this year.

“The whole free agency thing, I didn’t want to be in it last summer; I don’t want to be in it this summer,” he said. “I don’t want to be on the market at all. … I’m not curious at all. I want to get to it [with the Heat]. I want to be able to sign my deal and move on and not have to deal with any rumors, any free agency, any this, any that. This is where I want to end my career. So we’ll figure it out.”

Regardless of what happened this past offseason, a renewed trust exists in the Heat’s relationship with Wade, Jackson writes. Wade, who’s not expected to end up with $20MM again for next season, will represent a cap hold of as much as $30MM this summer until he signs. See more from South Beach amid news from the Eastern Conference:

  • Coach Erik Spoelstra was furious with soon-to-be free agent Hassan Whiteside after the flagrant foul that forced his ejection from Tuesday’s game, one that will likely result in a one-game suspension from the league, observes Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Wade and Chris Bosh said that while they support the mercurial center, Whiteside ultimately has to keep his emotions in check, as Lieser details. The ejection is Whiteside’s first of the year, but he’s “taken a step back,” Bosh said, nonetheless adding that he still trusts him, Lieser notes.
  • Any chance the Knicks had to land Kevin Durant was lessened when they fired coach Derek Fisher, a former Durant teammate, but the team has been told that hiring Scott Brooks, Durant’s old Thunder coach, would influence New York’s pursuit of the top 2016 free agent, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Presumably, that means adding Brooks would help the team land Durant. Knicks president Phil Jackson has hinted at a willingness to hire a non-triangle coach, but he’s made it clear he would prefer someone who runs his favored offense, Begley notes, and Brooks doesn’t appear to be a candidate at this point.
  • The resurgence of soon-to-be restricted free agent Tyler Zeller of late gives the Celtics added flexibility as the trade deadline approaches, posits Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
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How Much Players Have Earned On 10-Days

February 10th, 2016 at 11:46am CST by Chuck Myron

The cost of 10-day contracts is often overlooked. That’s in large measure because the financial outlay is so small compared to the multimillion-dollar salaries common in the NBA. Almost every 10-day deal is for the minimum salary, and they’re prorated down to 10/170ths of the full-season minimum. The most any player could make on a standard 10-day contract this season would be $88,187, and that’s only if the player is a veteran of 10 or more years. Players can sign as many as two 10-day contracts with a single team, and more if they end up with different teams, but while the money adds up, it doesn’t amount to much. The most any player has earned on 10-day contracts so far is the roughly $160K that Ryan Hollins has pulled down on two 10-day deals with Memphis.

Those contracts only cost the Grizzlies a total of $111,444, since the league reimburses teams for amounts that exceed the prorated two-year veteran’s minimum. Still, rookie and one-year vets are cheaper 10-day investments, and it’s no surprise that many of them are among the players who’ve received 10-day contracts so far this season.

One rookie, Jordan McRae, is on a 10-day deal that pays him an unusual amount. He’s making $37,065 instead of the standard $30,888 on the second of his two 10-day pacts with Phoenix because it’s actually a 12-day contract. All 10-day contracts have to cover at least three games, and the All-Star break necessitates a longer deal.

Here’s a look at what every player on a 10-day contract has earned this season:

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Austin Rivers To Miss 4 To 6 Weeks

February 10th, 2016 at 10:41am CST by Arthur Hill

WEDNESDAY, 10:41am: The Clippers are optimistic that Rivers will be back at the early end of the timetable because he doesn’t need surgery on the hand, coach/executive Doc Rivers said, according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

SUNDAY, 9:17am: Rivers’ left hand is fractured, Dan Woike of the OC Register confirms (Twitter link). Woike added that Rivers will be further evaluated on Monday.

SATURDAY, 10:14pm: Clippers combo guard Austin Rivers will be sidelined four to six weeks with a broken left hand, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Rivers suffered what the team called a hand contusion during Wednesday’s game and was a game-time decision for Friday’s contest before being held out.

“I went into the lane, and something, either an elbow or something, hit me just dead in the middle of my hand,” Rivers told Rowan Kavner of NBA.com. “I just got a bad bone bruise, swelling around it.”

The Rivers injury is the latest blow to a team that is already missing star forward Blake Griffin with a broken hand. Rivers has averaged 8.1 points in 46 games this season, mostly in a back-up role. His loss could mean more playing time for Lance Stephenson, who has struggled for minutes until recently.

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Heat Interested In Casspi, Kings Like Tyler Johnson

February 10th, 2016 at 10:16am CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat have explored trading for Omri Casspi as they seek to upgrade their 3-point shooting, while the Kings are interested in Tyler Johnson, even though he’s out for at least two months and perhaps the rest of the season with a torn left rotator cuff, reports Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald. Miami has been aggressive in seeking to trade a player at the end of its bench, particularly Chris Andersen and Jarnell Stokes, in an effort to avoid tax penalties, fellow Herald scribe Barry Jackson hears, though the team acknowledges that offloading Stokes, who makes the minimum, is more likely than with Anderson and his $5MM salary, Jackson adds.

It’s unclear if the Heat and Kings have discussed proposals, though a Casspi-Johnson exchange would have to include more salary going from Miami to Sacramento, since Casspi’s salary of more than $2.836MM exceeds the minimum salary that Johnson has. Even the addition of Stokes’ minimum salary wouldn’t quite be enough to make a legal deal. Conversely, a trade that sends Andersen to the Kings for Casspi wouldn’t work because it would represent too much salary headed to Sacramento.

Regardless, Casspi is knocking down a career-high 42.2% of his 3-point looks this season, the first on his two-year, $5.8MM contract, so he’d no doubt help a Miami team that’s 26th in 3-pointers made. Johnson was one of the Heat’s most accurate long-range shooters before going out with injury, nailing 38.6% of his attempts. He’s a native of Mountain View, California, and he went to Fresno State, both of which are close to Sacramento. Johnson, who turns 24 in May, is set to become a restricted free agent at season’s end, but he’s subject to the Gilbert Arenas Provision, which would make it more difficult for a team to poach him in free agency.

The Heat have reportedly been trying to trade Andersen off and on for months but evidently haven’t found a trading partner. Stokes has only totaled 14 minutes at the NBA level compared to nearly 500 in the D-League since coming over from the Grizzlies in the Mario Chalmers trade. Miami is approximately $5.5MM above the $84.74MM luxury tax threshold and faces repeat-offender tax penalties if it can’t duck under the line by the last day of the regular season, though next week’s trade deadline represents the team’s last realistic opportunity to do so.

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Raptors Eye Thaddeus Young, Kenneth Faried?

February 10th, 2016 at 9:33am CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors are looking for power forwards, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, who’s heard the team attached to Thaddeus Young, Kenneth Faried and Markieff Morris, as Windhorst said on TSN 1050 radio in Toronto (audio link; scroll to 6:30 mark) and as Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game transcribes. Fellow ESPN scribe Marc Stein identified Toronto’s interest in Morris earlier this month, as we detailed at the time. The salary structure of the Raptors would make it tough for the team to deal anyone from its existing roster, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca pointed out, but the team has an extra first-round pick for each of the next two drafts, and GM Masai Ujiri has signaled that he wants to trade at least one of those picks at some point, if not before next week’s trade deadline. Still, Toronto doesn’t have the cap room or trade exception to absorb either Young, Faried or Morris without relinquishing salary.

Young seems as though he’d be tough to wrangle from Brooklyn. Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov wants to keep Young and Brook Lopez, believing the team can surround them with free agents in the summer and quickly return to contention, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck (Twitter links). Nets CEO Brett Yormark recently mentioned Young as one of the team’s building blocks. The ninth-year veteran who re-signed with the Nets this past summer on a four-year, $50MM deal is averaging a career-best 9.1 rebounds per game.

Faried isn’t on the trade block, either, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post recently wrote, nonetheless adding that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Nuggets moved him for an overwhelming offer. Faried and the Nuggets appeared to share mutual doubts about each other as of this past spring, with the power forward reportedly a significant contributor to the downfall of former coach Brian Shaw, but such chatter has largely disappeared this season under new coach Michael Malone. Faried’s contributions have been steady so far this year, and his 55.3% field goal percentage is his best since he shot 58.6% as a rookie. He’s in the first year of a four-year, $50MM extension.

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Magic, Hawks Talk Victor Oladipo, Jeff Teague Swap

February 10th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic and Hawks have spoken about a potential trade involving Victor Oladipo and Jeff Teague, a league source said to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Orlando is also among the teams interested in Al Horford, though nothing significant exists on that front yet, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Magic are reportedly open to just about any proposal that would add experience to their team, while the Hawks have apparently been talking to several teams about Teague and want an equal exchange of talent that helps them get younger. Oladipo, 23, is four years younger than Teague is.

A trade involving Oladipo and Teague would require the Magic to throw in at least a minimum-salary player to make the salaries match, since Teague’s $8MM pay is more than 150% plus $100K of the nearly $5.193MM that Oladipo is making on his rookie scale contract this year. Oladipo, who’s eligible an extension this summer, returned to the starting lineup for the Magic last month after coach Scott Skiles benched him in late November. Most of the numbers for the former No. 2 overall pick are holding steady, apart from his scoring average, which has dipped to 14.3 points per game from 17.9 last season in large measure because he’s seeing only 12.5 shots per game after taking 15.1 a night last year.

Teague has been playing well of late and is nailing a career-high 40.9% of his 3-point looks, a key number for a Magic squad that has spacing issues. However, his assists are down to 5.4 per game, his fewest since 2011/12, and that doesn’t correspond to any significant increase in ball distribution from backup Dennis Schroder, whose assists per game are up only slightly, to 4.5 from 4.1 last season. It’s unclear how the Magic would reckon with Teague and fellow point guard Elfrid Payton on the same roster.

Plenty of other teams have been linked to Teague. The Pacers have dangled George Hill in talks with Atlanta involving Teague, as Kevin Arnovitz and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported Monday. The Knicks have reportedly engaged in preliminary discussions with Atlanta about Teague, though it appears those talks didn’t go anywhere. The Celtics have reportedly contacted the Hawks about Teague and Horford, and while it doesn’t look like the Jazz have reached out, it seems Utah has at least considered the possibility of a run at the Atlanta point guard.

Arnovitz and Windhorst first identified the Magic as a potential suitor for Teague and also hinted that they had interest in Horford, a soon-to-be free agent whom the Hawks aren’t entirely sure is worthy of a five-year max contract, as the ESPN scribes detailed. Orlando reportedly has at least some degree of willingness to trade Tobias Harris, who is six years younger than Horford, but it’s unclear if Horford and Harris have come up in the discussion between Atlanta and Orlando.

Which team would benefit the most from a swap involving Teague and Oladipo? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 2/9/16

February 10th, 2016 at 12:00am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Magic are open to trade offers that would add useful veterans to their roster, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. One player who isn’t currently being shopped is small forward Tobias Harris, but Orlando isn’t discouraging teams from making their best offers for him, Stein relayed. Magic GM Rob Hennigan recently cited the youthfulness of the team’s roster for its recent struggles, though Magic players said before the season that age wouldn’t be used as an excuse. The team has been struggling and is battling to remain on the fringes of the playoff race.

Harris, who’s mere months removed from re-signing with the Magic for four years and $64MM, has seen his role in the offense reduced under new coach Scott Skiles. His scoring is down to 13.7 points a night from his career-high mark of 17.1 last season despite a nearly identical field goal percentage. However, the 23-year-old has seen a dip in his long-range accuracy this season, only connecting on 31.1% of his three-pointers this year after posting a mark of 36.4% a season ago.

This bring me to today’s topic: Should the Magic trade Tobias Harris? 

The Magic could certainly use a roster shakeup, though dealing away a solid two-way talent like Harris is a risky move. Harris’ contract is reasonable and will likely look like a bargain after the free agent frenzy that is likely to occur this summer. It’s unknown just what Harris’ trade market would be, but it’s only reasonable to assume some past suitors still hold some interest. The Kings reportedly had a max offer sheet lined up for Harris before he re-signed with Orlando. Detroit and Boston were reported to be the leading contenders for him heading into free agency, while his hometown Knicks were also reportedly planning to make a run at him. The Lakers, Sixers and Hawks were all linked to Harris as well.

So take to the comments section to weigh in on whether or not the Magic should look to deal Harris. But don’t stop there. If you think Orlando should make a move, who and/or what would be a reasonable return? Extra brownie points will be given for salary-cap accurate trade proposals. If you don’t think Harris should be dealt, what changes should the franchise look to make by the trade deadline? We look forward to what you have to say.

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And-Ones: Silver, Martin, Motiejunas

February 9th, 2016 at 10:44pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Commissioner Adam Silver says that he loves the parity that exists in the NBA right now and believes it is good that smaller market teams are able to compete with larger ones for free agents, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today relays. “What we’re seeing now is that players are moving to markets that have cap room and players are moving to markets where they see opportunities to play,” Silver said. “It’s not a function of market size these days. It’s a function of the management of the team and the opportunity in that market. That’s what you want for a league.”

Silver is concerned at how this summer’s anticipated cap spike will change the league’s dynamic, Zillgitt notes. “It will be disruptive and having been around the league for a long time, I only know it’s going to be disruptive in ways that we can’t even predict,” Silver said. “It’s not the way we modeled the CBA going into the last collective-bargaining agreement. We thought we would have more regular increases from year to year [in the salary cap]. You like to have a system where planning is rewarded and management is rewarded. Now, with all this unexpected cap room, teams that should not have had that kind of room [to spend] of course will have it.”

Both the National Basketball Players Association and the league can opt out of the current CBA by December 15th, and Silver noted, “clearly we’re operating under the premise that if we can’t get a new deal negotiated by then, they are likely to opt out. That puts a lot of pressure on both sides to work over the next 10 months, which is a long time, to get an extension done,” the USA Today scribe adds. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Grizzlies have recalled power forward Jarell Martin from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Martin has averaged 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in 30.6 minutes in seven games during his five assignments to Iowa this season.
  • The Pistons have recalled Spencer Dinwiddie from their D-League affiliate, Keith Langlois of NBA.com tweets. The move was made so Detroit’s team doctors could examine the point guard’s sprained ankle, Langlois adds.
  • The Rockets have recalled swingman K.J. McDaniels and power forward Donatas Motiejunas from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
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Eastern Notes: Dudley, Joseph, Dellavedova

February 9th, 2016 at 9:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jared Dudley has been with a new team each of the last three seasons and the combo forward believes that he needs continuity to be the best player he can be, Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders relays. “I’m a rhythm player,” Dudley told Brigham. “My game revolves around system, team, unselfishness. Obviously I’ve had to be healthy, though, and continue to adjust to playing a new position at power forward this year and last year. I had a great situation in Milwaukee, but I had to go between being a starter and a bench player back and forth.” Dudley, an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, noted that he is happy being a member of the Wizards, but did acknowledge the uncertainty that the future brings for veteran players, Brigham adds. “I’ve now come to the realization that you’ve got to rent instead of buying a home,” Dudley continued. “I don’t know where I’ll be 15 years from now. I don’t know what my job is going to be, but I’ve got time, and I’m happy where I am for now.”

Dudley could be on the move once again as the Cavs are reportedly interested in his services. Here’s more from the East:

  • If the Heat look to make a deal in advance of the trade deadline, the expiring contract of Chris Andersen could be used to help the team pull off a deal, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes in his deadline primer for Miami. The Vertical scribe also notes that the franchise could save itself approximately $2.3MM in luxury tax penalties by dealing away rookie Jarnell Stokes, who has spent the bulk of the season in the D-League. Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors examined Andersen as a trade candidate before the season.
  • The Raptors‘ luxury tax situation will likely prevent the team from making any significant moves prior to next week’s trade deadline, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca opines. To obtain an impact player, Toronto would likely have to part with either Cory Joseph or Patrick Patterson, both of whom have been solid contributors this season, to make a deal work under the luxury tax threshold, Lewenberg writes. The TSN scribe argues that it wouldn’t improve the team enough to make it worthwhile to part with either player in a trade during the season.
  • Injured Cavaliers point guard Matthew Dellavedova is unlikely to return to action until after the All-Star break, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal relays. The long layoff may be a boon to the point guard, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, Lloyd notes. “I would like that,” coach Tyronn Lue said regarding Dellavedova having extra time to heal. “I’m not sure Delly would like that. That’s the smartest thing to do, just come back, get seven or eight days off, and then come back fresh. He should be healthy by then. That’s the smartest thing to do.”
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