The Rockets will improve their luxury tax situation if the proposed trade of Carmelo Anthony to the Bulls goes through, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes. Houston started the day with a projected luxury tax bill of $13.9MM but will see that number drop to $12.4MM if the trade becomes official. It will also create a $1.5MM trade exception and open up a roster spot. Big man Kenneth Faried, signed earlier in the day, will earn $917,271 with the Rockets incurring a $683,661 cap hit.
We have more from around the Southwest Division:
- Dennis Smith Jr.’s decision to rejoin Mavericks on Tuesday was mostly about damage control and protecting his future value, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Smith realized after talking to coach Rick Carlisle it was in his best interests to return, rather than the club making up excuses about him being ill, MacMahon said. It’s unlikely that the Mavs will find a palatable deal before the deadline but those talks can be revisited and new suitors could emerge during the offseason if he finishes strong, MacMahon adds (Twitter links).
- Wesley Matthews has heard the trade chatter about getting thrown into a potential deal involving Smith but he’s handling it professionally, as he explained to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. Matthews has an expiring $18.6MM contract and the Mavs are reportedly searching for deals with his contract as bait. “I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me,” Matthews said. “No one’s supposed to feel sorry for me. I didn’t get into this business with people feeling sorry for me. No one felt sorry for me when I wasn’t drafted. No one felt sorry for me when I tore my Achilles. … There’s bigger things than trade rumors and hater fans and all that [expletive]. That’s never going to affect me.”
- Anthony Davis‘ finger injury is a body blow to an already scuffling franchise, Scott Kushner of the Baton Rouge Advocate writes. The Pelicans face a tough stretch of games heading into the trade deadline despite beating Memphis by 20 points on Monday. They remain below the .500 mark and are in danger of falling completely out of the playoff picture with Davis expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a left finger sprain.
Pel’s fell-out of the playoff picture before the season started – boogie and rondo was their window of opportunity.
If their window was based on two guys who left for 1 year deals it wasnt that great a window
sure is when a small market team has contract killers committed (26M) to solomon hill, etwaune moore, and wesly johnson. nevermind 26m jrue holiday = 52M = closed window
DSJ is a real disappointment, as much as he hasn’t proved anything on the court yet, average rookie season at best, regressed big time this year, he behaves like a diva. SMH.
This guy might not last a long time in the league.
He either seems to be getting some really poor advice from his ‘inner circle’, or he’s a head case. Maybe a little bit of both.
Is DSJ’s first two years much different from D’Angelo Russell’s? High draft pick, poor decision maker, questionable shot taker, immature. Lakers could not move him quickly enough, but look at him now, leading a surprising Nets team towards a playoff spot.
Russell said being dealt humbled him, and he needed to make these changes to have a long career in the NBA. DSJ, you may want to look at how Russell got here as a game plan for your career moving forward.
Not a great comparison. Russell has never completely relied on his athleticism. Russell has always been the more skilled of the 2.