- Hawks draft-and-stash prospect Isaia Cordinier will undergo season-ending knee surgery, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando writes. The 2016 second-round pick has been struggling with tendinitis since at least the summer.
The Hawks are looking to acquire a high second-round pick in exchange for either guard Marco Belinelli or forward Ersan Ilyasova, league sources tell Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported earlier this week that Belinellii and Ilyasova are among the Hawks veterans who are expendable as the team looks to stockpile more draft picks and young players.
While the Hawks are well out of the playoff race in the East, both Belinelli and Ilyasova have been their usual productive selves this season. Belinelli has matched his career high in scoring with 11.8 PPG so far, converting 38.6% of his three-point attempts. Ilyasova has also been effective from long-range, posting a .400 3PT% to go along with 11.2 PPG.
Neither player has an exorbitant salary, making them attractive trade pieces for contenders in need of another rotation piece. However, both veterans would likely be rentals for any team acquiring them — Belinelli is on a $6.6MM expiring contract, while Ilyasova is earning $6MM before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency in July.
Scotto likens the Hawks’ situation to the Suns shopping P.J. Tucker at last season’s deadline. Tucker, who was in the final year of his contract, was sent to a contender in Toronto, with the Raptors surrendering a pair of second-round picks for him. Like last year’s Suns, who acquired Jared Sullinger‘s expiring salary in that Tucker deal, the Hawks wouldn’t want to take back any undesirable multiyear contracts.
Of course, if Atlanta wants to land a high second-round pick for Belinelli or Ilyasova, working something out with a playoff team may be tricky. For instance, would-be contenders like the Timberwolves and Thunder hold their own second-rounders, but those picks figure to fall in the 50s, or at least the late-40s. The Sixers, who hold multiple 2018 second-round picks, including the Nets’ selection, are among the clubs that might make more sense as potential trade partners for Atlanta, given the Hawks’ asking price.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy addressed trade rumors surrounding his team during a session with reporters today. Detroit is among several teams linked to Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic as the Pistons try to remain in the playoff race with a roster weakened by injuries.
“We have a roster spot available and there’s people calling,” Van Gundy said in comments tweeted by Rod Beard of The Detroit News. “We’re just seeing if there’s anything that makes sense for us. When you’re down a starting point guard, there’s not a lot of people shopping their starting point guard to you.” (Twitter link).
Reggie Jackson is out until at least the All-Star break with a sprained right ankle. Forward Jon Leuer hasn’t played since October 31 because of a sprained left ankle and may be headed for surgery. After a fast start, the Pistons have fallen into a sixth-place tie in the East at 21-18 and are barely holding on to a playoff spot.
“We’ve got [Leuer] down and [Jackson] down,” Van Gundy added. “There’s a lot of need and we’re looking around. We don’t have anything going on right now, but we’re looking around for people to fill holes.”
There’s more today out of Detroit:
- The Pistons have plenty of options to target before the February 8 deadline, writes Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype. He lists Orlando’s Evan Fournier, Brooklyn’s Joe Harris, Miami’s Wayne Ellington, Dallas’ Wesley Matthews and Atlanta’s Kent Bazemore as players to watch.
- Pistons center Eric Moreland has a bit of security for the first time in his career, notes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Moreland had his $1,739,333 contract guaranteed this week, providing him with some stability after four years of trying to earn a steady NBA job. Moreland went undrafted out of Oregon State in 2014 and signed with the Kings, but played just 11 games at the NBA level in two seasons. He signed a partially guaranteed three-year deal with the Pistons over the offseason, but says he hasn’t been focused on this week’s guarantee deadline. “I play the same way, money or no money,” he said. “I don’t even play basketball for money. I just want to go out there and keep learning. This is my first year playing. I can’t get involved in that. That’s just not my mentality. I’m not trying to survive like that.”
Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon returned to the active roster on Monday evening against the Clippers, Jeff Siegel of Peachtreehoops.com reports. Dedmon missed 19 games with a left tibia stress reaction, which was expected to sideline him 3-6 weeks. Atlanta has been the league’s third-worst defensive club since the Dedmon injury in late November, Siegel notes. Dedmon, who played for the Spurs last season, signed a two-year, $12.3MM deal with the Hawks in July. He holds a player option for next season.
Shooting guards and small forwards are in high demand as the trade deadline approaches, and there simply aren’t that many quality wings expected to be available, Adrian Wojnarowski writes in his latest report for ESPN.com. As Wojnarowski details, the Pistons, Knicks, Pelicans, and Trail Blazers are just a few of the many teams looking for upgrades on the wing.
DeMarre Carroll (Nets), Alec Burks (Jazz), Kent Bazemore (Hawks), and Evan Fournier (Magic) are among the veterans attracting some interest on the trade market, according to Wojnarowski, who notes that the Pistons pursued a deal for Fournier. Such a trade would be hard to pull off without including Reggie Jackson‘s contract, so nothing’s imminent at this point, but the Pistons continue to be aggressive on the trade market, a reflection of Stan Van Gundy‘s desire to win now, says Wojnarowski.
As for the Pelicans, they also remain active in trade talks despite their limited assets, according to Wojnarowski, who notes that Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca have negative value and won’t be movable without New Orleans attaching a draft pick or two. If the Pelicans can’t trade for a wing, they’ll have to count on getting Solomon Hill back healthy for the home stretch of the season.
Here’s more from Woj:
- The Lakers have “made it clear” that Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and Larry Nance Jr. are available in trades, reports Wojnarowski. The club had been planning on waiting until after the season to try to move Clarkson, but there may be a mutual desire to get something done on that front sooner rather than later.
- Bazemore, Ersan Ilyasova, and Marco Belinelli are expendable in Atlanta, where the Hawks are focused on unloading veterans and stockpiling more young players and draft picks, per Wojnarowski.
- The Bulls still plan to trade Nikola Mirotic after January 15, assuming he OK’s a deal. According to Wojnarowski, Mirotic is somewhat intrigued by the Jazz and their head coach Quin Snyder, who has a reputation for maximizing offensive talent.
- It’s possible their outlooks could change by the trade deadline, but the Thunder and Pelicans currently have no plans to trade Paul George or DeMarcus Cousins, respectively. Both players can become unrestricted free agents this July.
- We passed along more rumors from Woj in full stories earlier today, providing the latest on DeAndre Jordan and examining the Grizzlies‘ asking price for Tyreke Evans.
Per a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Hawks are expected to guarantee the contracts of Isaiah Taylor and Tyler Cavanaugh before tomorrow’s guarantee deadline. Combined, that adds up to almost $2.0MM in guaranteed money that Atlanta could have saved by waiving the two players.
Taylor, a second-year guard out of Texas, played in seven total games for Houston last season as a rookie before signing with the Hawks in October. He has averaged 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in 31 games so far this season primarily as a backup to Dennis Schroder.
Cavanaugh, an undrafted rookie big man out of George Washington, signed a two-way contract with the Hawks in November before ultimately having his contract converted to a standard NBA deal last month. In 26 games played so far this season, he has averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
- The Hawks have recalled DeAndre’ Bembry from their G League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. The forward averaged 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in three starts with the Erie BayHawks.
- The Hawks appear open to listening to inquiries on Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore, but their current asking prices are probably too high to work anything out, reports Kyler.
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Nicolas Brussino, who was waived by the Hawks December 8, has signed with CB Gran Canaria in Spain, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
The 24-year-old swingman appeared in just four games for Atlanta, which claimed him off waivers after the Mavericks released him in July. He played 54 games for Dallas last season as a rookie, averaging 9.6 minutes and 2.8 points.
Brussino is a member of the Argentinian national team and won a silver medal at this year’s FIBA AmeriCup, where he earned a spot on the all-tournament squad.
Here are the G-League transactions from around the NBA today:
- The Hawks have recalled guard Tyler Dorsey and big man Mike Muscala from the organization’s G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, the team announced in a press release. Dorsey has appeared in 10 games for the Hawks this season while Muscala has played in nine contests.
- The Wolves announced that the 18th overall pick from this year’s NBA Draft, Justin Patton, has been recalled from the team’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves (via Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune). Patton had been sidelined with a broken left foot to start a season before starting a G League assignment earlier this month. Patton, 20, appeared in six games with Iowa.
- The Magic have recalled center Khem Birch from their G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, the team announced (via Twitter). Birch, 25, has appeared briefly in four games for Orlando this season.