- Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins and Nuggets forward Torrey Craig have each signed with CAA Basketball for representation, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link). Craig had previously been represented by Tony Dutt, while Wiggins had been operating without an agent.
- Mike Singer of The Denver Post looks into whether the Nuggets should be trying to make a trade, what sort of move would make the most sense for the team, and what obstacles might stand in the way of a potential deal.
Over the course of the 2019/20 NBA season, up until February’s trade deadline, we’re keeping an eye on potential trade candidates from around the NBA, monitoring their value and exploring the likelihood that they’ll be moved. Each of these looks at possible trade candidates focuses on a specific division, as we zero in on three players from that division.
The Northwest Division is primed for a potentially eventful 2020 trade deadline. The Thunder have veterans to shop. The Timberwolves want a point guard. The Nuggets have the pieces to put together a package for an impact player. And the Jazz and Trail Blazers may be looking to shake things up after up-and-down starts.
As we wait to see what these teams have in mind, let’s take a closer look at three more potential trade candidates from around the Northwest:
Malik Beasley, SG
Denver Nuggets
$2.7MM cap hit; RFA in 2020
Beasley enjoyed a breakout season in 2018/19, boosting his scoring average from 3.2 PPG to 11.3 PPG and posting an impressive .474/.402/.848 shooting line as a key member of the Nuggets’ rotation. After failing to come to terms on an extension with the club this fall, he has struggled out of the gate in 2019/20 and is no longer receiving consistent minutes on a deep Denver squad.
For teams in need of outside shooting help, Beasley – who is still making 41.1% of his outside attempts this season – may look like a tantalizing buy-low target. He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer, so any team that wants to keep him beyond this season should have no problem doing so, assuming he doesn’t receive an exorbitant offer sheet next July.
The Nuggets are in a position where it might make sense to consolidate their depth in a trade package if the right impact player is available. Such a deal, which could also open up some additional playing time for promising young forward Michael Porter Jr., may very well involve Beasley.
Danilo Gallinari, F
Oklahoma City Thunder
$22.6MM cap hit; UFA in 2020
Gallinari is one of the NBA’s most obvious trade candidates this winter, and the only reason he wasn’t included in our initial look at the Northwest last month is because the Thunder have an even more obvious trade candidate in Chris Paul.
Moving Gallinari appears more realistic than dealing CP3, since Gallinari’s cap hit isn’t quite as exorbitant and his contract is expiring. The challenge for Oklahoma City will be finding a trade partner in need of a scoring forward that has the contract(s) necessary to salary-match and a first-round pick – or a promising young prospect – to spare.
Portland, with Kent Bazemore‘s and Hassan Whiteside‘s expiring contracts, initially looked like an ideal fit, but the Trail Blazers have been talking as if they’re looking ahead to future seasons rather than just focusing on this one, so Gallinari might not be near the top of their wish list. If that’s the case, we’ll see if OKC can find another team in position to make a deal work.
Dante Exum, G
Utah Jazz
$9.6MM cap hit; $9.6MM guaranteed salary in 2020/21; UFA in 2021
The Jazz have showed remarkable patience with Exum since selecting him fifth overall in the 2014 draft, but the Australian guard doesn’t really seem any closer to being an impact player than he was five years ago. Utah hasn’t given up on him yet, but at this point a change of scenery might be the best thing for the 24-year-old, especially if another team still believes in his upside.
Because his contract has another guaranteed year beyond 2019/20, Exum probably doesn’t have positive trade value, but he’d make a good salary-matching piece if the Jazz try to make a roster upgrade — the only other mid-level type contract on the team’s books belongs to Joe Ingles, who can’t and won’t be traded this season.
I’d expect Exum to finish the season in Utah, but he’s worth keeping an eye on because of his cap hit.
Revisit the rest of our 2019/20 Trade Candidate series right here.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Grizzlies, who have no plans to buy out Andre Iguodala, also haven’t adjusted their asking price on the trade market for the veteran forward, according to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. Having acquired a first-round pick along with Iguodala in July, the Grizzlies are hoping to secure a second first-round pick when they flip the 35-year-old.
“They haven’t budged,” a league executive told Deveney. “Maybe they will as the date gets closer, but they’ve made clear, they’re not interested in a buyout with Andre and they’re looking for a first-rounder. Teams have been trying. They haven’t let go of that. But that tells you they know they’ll be able to get something and won’t have to buy him out.”
Acquiring a first-round pick for Iguodala’s $17MM expiring contract seems ambitious unless the Grizzlies are willing to take on some unwanted multiyear money, but there’s no harm in trying. The former Finals MVP is currently away from the team, and any potential trade partner with interest would be eyeing him for a potential playoff run, so Memphis can afford to be patient.
While I’d be surprised if the Grizzlies get a first-rounder for Iguodala, it seems as if the club should be able to land a second-rounder or two. The Mavericks, who control one of 2020’s most valuable second-round picks and could match Iguodala’s salary using Courtney Lee‘s expiring contract, still look to me like the best fit, but Deveney identifies the Bucks, Nuggets, and Jazz as a few other possible suitors.
I explained earlier today why several contending teams – including the Lakers – will have a tough time putting together a trade package for a player like Iguodala.
When David Aldridge of The Athletic polled NBA executives in November on Andre Iguodala‘s eventual landing spot, the responses were nearly unanimous. Nearly every exec who spoke to Aldridge predicted that Iguodala would ultimately end up with the Lakers.
However, with the Grizzlies standing firm on their stance that they intend to trade Iguodala rather than buy him out, it’s hard to envision a scenario in which those execs will be proven right.
As we explain in our glossary entry on the NBA’s trade rules, in order to take back Iguodala’s $17,185,185 salary, the Lakers would have to send out $12,185,185 in outgoing salary. The Lakers have three players earning more than that amount on their own: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Danny Green. It seems safe to assume none of those players will be included in a deal for Iguodala.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s $8.09MM cap charge could be a good starting point in putting together a package for Iguodala, but Caldwell-Pope is one of three Lakers who has a de facto no-trade clause after re-signing with the team this past offseason — JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo are the others. There’s probably no good reason for any of those players to approve a trade from the 24-4 Lakers to the 10-18 Grizzlies.
So what’s left? Even if the Lakers were to package all their next-biggest contracts, including Avery Bradley ($4.77MM), DeMarcus Cousins ($3.5MM), and Quinn Cook ($3MM), they’d have to include at least four players just to reach the threshold to take back Iguodala’s salary. That would mean either asking the Grizzlies to waive three players or getting other teams involved, neither of which presents a particularly realistic path to a deal.
The Lakers are perhaps the most striking example of how a lack of expendable contracts in the mid-level range ($8-12MM) may limit teams’ trade options this winter. But they’re hardly the only example.
Consider the Celtics. They only have three players earning between $5MM and $32.7MM in 2019/20. Those three players are Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, and I wouldn’t expect the team to seriously consider moving any of them. For the C’s, acquiring a player in the $15-20MM range would mean packaging together at least three players earning $5MM or less, and three-for-one or four-for-one deals aren’t easy to pull off during the season.
The Sixers are in this group too. They have just two players with ’19/20 cap hits between $4.77MM and $27.5MM — Josh Richardson ($10.12MM) and Ben Simmons ($8.11MM). Trading Simmons probably isn’t a consideration anyway, but doing so would be virtually impossible due to the poison pill provision attached to his newly-signed extension. If Philadelphia wants to put together a trade package without including Richardson, it would likely mean starting with Mike Scott ($4.77MM) and Zhaire Smith ($3.06MM), which will limit the team’s ability to take on a bigger contract.
The Rockets had this quandary in mind when they signed Nene to an incentive-packed contract that bumped his cap hit to $10MM, despite a guarantee of just $2.56MM. The team essentially tried to create an expendable mid-level trade chip out of thin air, but the NBA thwarted the plan, ruling that Nene would only count for $2.56MM for matching purposes. As a result, Houston’s only contracts worth more than $3.54MM belong to the team’s five most important players, and one of them (Eric Gordon at $14.06MM) can’t be traded at all this season because he recently signed an extension.
The Clippers have one potentially expendable mid-level deal, but Maurice Harkless ($11.01MM) has been a pretty effective rotation player for the team this season, so L.A. would only move him for a clear upgrade. The Jazz and Raptors each have one contract in the mid-level range that could be used to build a trade package, but Dante Exum ($9.6MM) and Norman Powell ($10.12MM) both have multiple years left on their deals, complicating their value.
For certain trade targets, this dearth of expendable mid-level contracts among contenders won’t matter — there’s a viable path to match the salary of a player like Jae Crowder ($7.82MM) or even Robert Covington ($11.3MM) with some of those smaller deals.
Still, the salary-matching factor is one that shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to pricier trade candidates like Iguodala or Danilo Gallinari ($22.62MM). Every team except the Hawks is currently over the cap, so every team with title aspirations is subject to those salary-matching rules, which are even more restrictive on taxpaying teams.
At this point, contenders with movable contracts in the $10-15MM range, such as the Mavericks (Courtney Lee, $12.76MM), Heat (multiple players), and Nuggets (multiple players) appear better positioned to make certain deals to improve their rosters at the deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- The Nuggets have assigned forward Jarred Vanderbilt to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team tweets.
Malik Beasley hasn’t seen consistent minutes for the Nuggets lately, but head coach Mike Malone insists that the current rotation decisions are not set in stone.
“I think our players understand the importance of staying ready because I’m going to go back to Malik,” Malone said (via Mike Singer of The Denver Post). “Malik could play 25 minutes tomorrow night and help us win the game.
“By no means is anybody written off, we believe in all of our players, but it’s my job when we’re struggling to find something that maybe gives us a better chance.”
Here’s more from Denver:
- Michael Porter Jr. won’t improve without playing meaningful minutes regularly and Singer (separate piece) examines whether the Nuggets should make a trade to free up playing time for the second-year wing. Beasley and Juan Hernangomez are both restricted free agents this summer, so perhaps trading one of two makes sense.
- Nick Kosmider of The Athletic breaks down why the Nuggets are taking it slow with Bol Bol, who is on a two-way contract with the club. Denver wants to see Bol play within a system. Through his first 154 minutes in the G League, the rookie center hasn’t had one assist, which is something that seems problematic given Malone’s free-flowing game plan.
- The Nuggets don’t have a G League team, though they do have an interesting agreement with the Windy City Bulls with regard to their two-way center, Kosmider relays in the same piece. The franchise mandates that Bol receives a certain amount of minutes per game when the big man is with Chicago’s G League squad.
Within his early breakdown of the 2019/20 trade market, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes that the Nuggets may make young role players like Malik Beasley and Juan Hernangomez available, especially if they can include them in a package that nets them an impact player.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic explores five questions that could shape this season’s trade deadline, such as just how serious the Nuggets and Mavericks are about their short-term chances to contend.
Approximately 120 players around the NBA became trade-eligible on Sunday, signaling the unofficial start of the NBA’s 2019/20 trade season. To celebrate the occasion, Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe hosted an ESPN special to survey the trade market, discussing which teams are most likely to make moves and which players are most likely to be dealt.
Here are several of the highlights from that discussion between Woj and Lowe:
Western Conference:
- The Warriors may field trade inquiries on D’Angelo Russell leading up to February’s trade deadline, but they’re unlikely to actively shop him and probably won’t move him before the 2020 offseason, according to Wojnarowski (video link).
- Wojnarowski believes the Mavericks would like to acquire a standout center to complement Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis (video link). He cites Montrezl Harrell as one player who might fit that bill, though Dallas would have to wait for the Clippers‘ big man to reach free agency.
- The Nuggets essentially view Michael Porter Jr. as “untouchable,” says Wojnarowski (video link).
- Wojnarowski and Lowe expect contenders to keep a close eye on Pelicans guards Jrue Holiday and J.J. Redick as the deadline nears (video link). According to Woj, Holiday loves New Orleans, but it’s not clear how patient he’ll be with the team’s rebuilding process.
- Woj and Lowe note that the Clippers pursued Marcus Morris in free agency and could have interest in him again on the trade market. Lowe wouldn’t be surprised if the club tries to see what it can get using a package of Maurice Harkless, Patrick Patterson, and its first-round pick (video link).
- Wojnarowski views 2019/20 as a pivotal year for the Rockets, adding that GM Daryl Morey seems to have given up trying to find a way to trade for Grizzlies wing Andre Iguodala after exploring multi-team scenarios earlier in the year (video link).
Eastern Conference:
- Wojnarowski thinks the best the Cavaliers can realistically expect in a Kevin Love trade is a protected first-round pick, an expiring salary, and another throw-in player (video link). Woj adds that it seems as if Love is “ready to go,” having lost patience with the rebuild in Cleveland.
- Count the Raptors and Heat among teams that will be reluctant to make any moves that compromise their 2021 cap flexibility (video links). According to Wojnarowski, Toronto wants to re-sign Fred VanVleet this summer, but continues to eye Giannis Antetokounmpo for ’21. As for the Heat, they seem less likely to trade young players for veterans than they have been in the past.
- Pistons owner Tom Gores “loves” Andre Drummond, but the club will soon have to have a serious conversation about whether to go all-in on the veteran center or whether to try to shop him, per Woj (video link).
- Lowe thinks players like Timberwolves forward Robert Covington and J.J. Redick will be on the Bucks‘ radar if they’re available, adding that Milwaukee appears willing to go over the tax line for the right deal (video link).
Carmelo Anthony made his long-awaited return to the hardwood by signing a contract with the Trail Blazers last month, but the 10-time NBA All-Star revealed that he was open to traveling down a different road if the opportunity presented itself: Going back to Denver.
“I was open to it,” Anthony said about potentially signing with the Nuggets, as relayed by Mike Singer of the Denver Post. “We talked about it. People in my circle were like, ‘Go back to Denver.’ If it was that easy I probably would’ve done it. A lot of things came into play when it comes to that, kind of out of my control at that time, the timing was off. Similar to Portland, the timing has always just been off. All of the sudden that window of opportunity was there.”
Anthony spent his first seven-and-a-half seasons with the Nuggets organization, having been drafted by the team No. 3 overall back in 2003. He helped change the outlook of the franchise during his stint and established himself as one of the league’s most elite players during that time, averaging more than 25 points per game in five of those seasons.
“I don’t think I can ever stop appreciating not just the organization but the city as a whole,” Anthony said of Denver. “We were at a point in time where it was a shift, the team had just only won 17 games prior to when we came in. We kind of started or created a different culture here. The uniforms changed, we changed the colors of the uniform, the vibe in Denver was different, the aura in the city, the energy was different. We were a part of that change.”
Anthony has since moved on and recently had his contract guaranteed by Portland for the remainder of the season, emphasizing his desire to compete with the Blazers for a playoff spot this spring. In 12 games with the team, Anthony has averaged 16.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 31.6 minutes per contest. The Blazers were 5-9 before signing him and have gone 5-7 since.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division tonight:
- People close to Thunder general manager Sam Presti believe his relationship with owner Clay Bennett is respectful enough that Presti could leave the organization before his contract expires if he wants to, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Presti and other prominent executives such as Raptors president Masai Ujiri have been linked to the Knicks in rumors throughout the year, especially with league observers beginning to question the job security of current Knicks president Steve Mills.
- Thunder guard Chris Paul has served as a mentor to Darius Bazley this season, helping the 19-year-old adjust to his first season in the league, Olivia Panchal of DailyThunder.com writes. “It’s been great because [Paul] teaches you so much,” Bazley said. “Even though we were just playing one-on-one, he was stopping and just saying you can do this or you can do that. It just helps because [he] gives you advice on and off the court.”
- Nick Kosmider of The Athletic examines the Nuggets’ situation with the trade deadline less than two months away, detailing how the team has plenty of depth to offer in deals and could seek draft compensation in return. Denver sports a competitive team geared around All-Star center Nikola Jokic, recording a 17-8 record through 25 games.
The NBA G League will have a franchise based in Mexico City beginning in 2020/21, the league announced on Thursday night in a press release. According to the NBA’s announcement, the professional team Capitanes, which is currently part of Mexico’s Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP), will join the G League next season, making it the 29th NBAGL franchise.
“Bringing an NBA G League team to Mexico City is a historic milestone for the NBA which demonstrates our commitment to basketball fans in Mexico and across Latin America,” commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As the first G League franchise based outside of the U.S. and Canada, we look forward to welcoming Capitanes to the NBA family.”
An expansion G League franchise can take some time to establish. For instance, the Pelicans‘ new NBAGL team, announced in October 2018, won’t relocate to Birmingham, Alabama until 2022/23 and is playing in Erie in the interim. By bringing aboard a franchise like Capitanes that has an existing infrastructure – including a home arena and an ownership group – the NBA will be able to expedite the process, allowing the team to make the transition to the G League next fall.
Capitanes will continue to play its home games at Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera, an arena that holds about 5,000 fans, and will spend at least the next five years in the G League. Unlike the G League’s other 28 teams, Capitanes won’t be affiliated with a specific NBA franchise, per Eric Gomez of ESPN. It’s unclear if it will still be an option for players on assignment from the Trail Blazers or Nuggets, the two NBA teams without NBAGL affiliates.
“The assumption is Portland and Denver will be adding teams over time,” Silver said on Thursday.
The news of the G League expanding to Mexico City comes almost exactly a year after Silver indicated that he was optimistic about establishing an NBAGL team in Mexico. At the time, the NBA commissioner said he was confident that the league would be “planting its flag in Mexico” soon.