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Western Notes: Wolves, Motiejunas, Gallinari

February 29th, 2016 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell would like for his team to make a signing, lamenting how “awfully thin” the Wolves are inside, but he doesn’t anticipate a move until well after Tuesday, the last day players can hit waivers and still be eligible to play in the postseason for another team, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Mitchell, who isn’t assured of his job beyond this season, said the Wolves will be patient while free agents head to playoff-bound teams, according to Zgoda.

“After the dust settles, there are going to be some guys out there we’ll want to look at,” Mitchell said. “You don’t want to do it too fast because you don’t want to fill a spot and then someone becomes available. There are only so many playoff teams and only so many roster spots.”

Minnesota has an opening in the wake of its buyout with Andre Miller, and the team has reportedly engaged in advanced discussions with Kevin Martin about a buyout, too. See more from the Western Conference.

  • Donatas Motiejunas said he doesn’t resent the Rockets for trying to trade him to Detroit, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The deadline-day trade that would have sent the soon-to-be restricted free agent to the Pistons fell apart when he didn’t pass Detroit’s physical. Motiejunas played nine minutes Sunday in his first action for Houston since December 31st. “I feel good,” Motiejunas said. “This team traded me because of the first-round pick, the lottery pick. It’s a big thing. I don’t see any problems with it. They were really waiting for me to get back. I love these guys, love the team, love the fans.”
  • Danilo Gallinari expects that he’ll miss the next three to four weeks with injury, as he told Davide Chinellato of La Gazzetta dello Sport (Twitter link). The leading scorer for the Nuggets had an MRI on Saturday after suffering a severely sprained right ankle in Friday’s game, notes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The team has an open roster spot.
  • Steve Kerr and Draymond Green largely dismissed any idea of tension stemming from a tirade that Green delivered to Warriors coaches at halftime of Saturday’s game, notes Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. The versatile frontcourt player, who’s missed his last 12 3-pointers, was upset because he felt the coaches don’t want him to shoot, according to ESPN’s Lisa Salters.
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Northwest Notes: Miller, Novak, Hickson

February 28th, 2016 at 2:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Timberwolves‘ willingness to agree to a buyout with Andre Miller demonstrates the team’s commitment to developing its younger players, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Parting ways with Miller now slides Tyus Jones up the depth chart where he will act as the primary backup to Ricky Rubio, Zgoda notes. “At this point where we are, it’s about giving these guys the opportunity to grow and develop,” interim coach Sam Mitchell said. “We’re never going to get where we need to go until these young guys learn how to play in certain situations.”

While he will miss Miller’s veteran presence, the coach agreed with the move to waive the playmaker, Zgoda adds. “Absolutely. Andre has been great. He was great for me. I think he helped Ricky out a lot, and I think he has helped Zach LaVine and Tyus a lot. At this point of the season, he has a chance to sign with a great team like San Antonio that’s going to have a chance to win a championship. I’m happy for Andre,” Mitchell told Zgoda.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • J.J. Hickson relinquished $396,242 of his 2015/16 salary to secure his buyout from the Nuggets, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter). Denver is still on the hook for $5,217,258 in salary to the power forward, who signed with the Wizards for the remainder of the season after clearing waivers.
  • The Nuggets also agreed to a buyout arrangement with Steve Novak, who parted with $416,886 of this season’s salary as part of the transaction, Pincus tweets. As a result, the franchise’s cap hit for the combo forward is $3,333,115. Upon clearing waivers Novak signed with the Bucks for the remainder of the campaign.
  • The Trail Blazers have surprised the league with their stellar play of late, as many predicted the franchise would be lottery-bound in 2015/16 after losing LaMarcus Aldridge to the Spurs via free agency last July. The team may lack star power beyond Lillard, but it makes up for that with excellent locker room chemistry, Jason Quick of CSNNW.com relays. “How much we like each other, how much time we spend around each other, that shows you a team that is really together,” Lillard said. “It is a unit, and that makes up for us not being Cleveland. It makes up for us not having LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love. We are a group. We have each other’s back.’’
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Northwest Notes: Martin, Sampson, Thunder

February 27th, 2016 at 10:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Wolves will probably reach a buyout agreement with shooting guard Kevin Martin before Tuesday, according to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. The Spurs were reported earlier today as the front-runner to land Martin if a buyout occurs. However, San Antonio already has a full roster and is expected to sign point guard Andre Miller, who was waived by Minnesota on Thursday, so it’s uncertain how that will affect their pursuit of Martin.

The Wolves already have one open roster spot with the loss of Miller. It’s not cleaer whether he or Martin will be replaced, but coach Sam Mitchell said injuries to Nemanja Bjelica, Kevin Garnett and Nikola Pekovic have created a need for an extra big man.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • Getting used to the altitude is the biggest adjustment for JaKarr Sampson as he settles in with the Nuggets, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The Nuggets signed Sampson on Monday after Philadelphia waived him to make room for Joel Anthony in a three-way trade with the Pistons and Rockets that was later voided. “I’m blessed to be here,” Sampson said. “I think it’s a great situation for me. There’s a lot of young talent here. They are a great, young team. I feel like it’s a real good situation for me.”
  • Sampson could find himself in the starting lineup in the wake of Danilo Gallinari‘s ankle injury, Dempsey writes in a separate story. That’s a possibility if coach Michael Malone wants to keep his bench rotation intact. Otherwise, Will Barton could get the starting nod.
  • The Thunder recalled forwards Josh Huestis and Mitch McGary from Oklahoma City Blue of the D-League, the team announced today. Huestis has played 16 games for the Blue, averaging 11.8 points and 5.9 rebounds. McGary has appeared in 15 games for the D-League team, averaging 14.4 points and 9.1 rebounds.
  • Former Blazer Tim Frazier has joined the D-League’s Maine Red Claws as a returning player, tweets Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor. Portland waived Frazier on February 18th when it traded for Anderson Varejao, though Varejao was subsequently waived as well.
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Northwest Notes: Favors, Malone, Pleiss

February 24th, 2016 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Tuesday morning marked the five year anniversary of the trade that sent Deron Williams to the Nets and landed Derrick Favors in Utah, a place the power forward initially wasn’t thrilled to be headed to, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. But despite his initial concerns, Favors is content playing for the Jazz, Genessy adds. “Welcome to the NBA, basically. That’s my memory,” Favors said. “Coming from New Jersey, being 19 coming all the way over to Utah, a place I’d never been before. It was different, but I grew up, got used to it and I like it here. I’ve matured a lot. Obviously I’m not 19 anymore. My game changed a lot. I’ve changed as a person. Five years ago seems like forever.“ The 24-year-old still has two more seasons remaining on his contract after this one, so his loyalty to the Jazz won’t be put to the test until the summer of 2018, when he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Jazz are pleased with the development of center Tibor Pleiss and credit his four stints in the D-League this season for his improvement, Genessy notes in the same piece. “He’s getting an opportunity to play. Whatever his play looks like in my mind is what’s being accomplished is just those minutes,” coach Quin Snyder said. “Look at his line, his numbers. He’s fouling less, been more productive. Really, if you watch him, he looks more comfortable and that’s the primary thing.” The 26-year-old has appeared in 15 games for Idaho this season and has averaged 12.6 points and 9.8 rebounds for the Stampede.
  • The Nuggets are a much more stable team with Michael Malone as head coach, and his no-nonsense demeanor and desire to avoid discord separates him from former Denver coach George Karl, who has had numerous issues since taking over as coach of the Kings, Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post writes. Malone, whom Sacramento was fired last season, has observed Karl’s difficulties getting along with Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, a player with whom Malone had reached a common ground, Kiszla adds. “I was real with him, I was honest with him, I coached him, I disciplined him, I held him accountable. I never tried to be his buddy. I never tried to coach around him,” Malone said of his relationship with Cousins. “And, at the end of the day, I am a competitor. I hate to lose. At the end of the day, DeMarcus is a competitor. He hates to lose. We had that in common.“
  • One of the reasons that the Blazers are in the playoff hunt this season is the play of shooting guard C.J. McCollum, whose emergence is not a surprise to Portland’s front office, Ian Thomsen of NBA.com writes. “Damian [Lillard] and C.J. are our two best players,” GM Neil Olshey said. “They are our two best passers, our two best shooters and our two best scorers. The irony is, if C.J. doesn’t get hurt in camp as a rookie, then we were having this conversation two years ago. He was that good.“
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Wizards, J.J. Hickson In Advanced Talks

February 24th, 2016 at 11:10am CST by Eddie Scarito

WEDNESDAY, 11:10am: The expectation is that a signing will take place on Thursday, Castillo writes, noting that Hickson has to pass a physical before joining the Wizards.

4:36pm: The contract would be a prorated minimum salary arrangement that covers the remainder of this season, Charania writes in a full-length story.

4:30pm: Hickson and the Wizards are indeed engaged in contract talks, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets, though the scribe notes that no agreement is expected to be formalized today.

TUESDAY, 4:18pm: The Wizards are in advanced contract discussions with free agent power forward J.J. Hickson, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (Twitter link). The exact terms of the proposed deal are unknown but Charania notes that it would be for the remainder of the 2015/16 season. Washington currently has 14 players on its roster, so no additional move would be required to sign Hickson.

Hickson was waived by the Nuggets on Friday after Denver was reportedly shopping him leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline but found no takers. The power forward was scheduled to make $5,613,500 this season, an amount that the Nuggets will be on the hook for less any salary Hickson may have given up in a buyout arrangement.

The 27-year-old appeared in 20 games for Denver this season averaging 6.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 15.3 minutes per contest. Hickson’s career numbers through eight NBA seasons are 9.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists to accompany a shooting line of .505/.000/.622.

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Pistons, NBA Void Donatas Motiejunas Trade

February 22nd, 2016 at 3:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:06pm: The Pistons confirmed the voiding of the trade, via press release.

“Standard with all trades, medical clearance on all players involved is required for completion. Medical clearance was not given on all players and the trade is being rescinded,” Bower said in Detroit’s statement. “In view of privacy considerations relating to medical information, we will have no further comment.”

1:15pm: The Pistons and the NBA are in the process of voiding the three-team Donatas Motiejunas trade, sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The power forward didn’t pass Detroit’s physical, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski notes (on Twitter), so the deal between the Pistons, Rockets and Sixers is off. Motiejunas, Marcus Thornton and Denver’s 2017 second-round pick will return to the Rockets, the Pistons will get back Joel Anthony and their top-eight protected 2016 first-round pick, while the Sixers will once more have the rights draft-and-stash player Chukwudiebere “Chu” Maduabum. The Sixers released JaKarr Sampson to facilitate the trade, but they won’t get him back, since he’s agreed to a two-year deal with the Nuggets.

Houston had slipped beneath the luxury tax line with the trade, according to The Vertical’s Bobby Marks, so today’s news has negative financial consequences for the Rockets, who are again in line to be taxpayers. The threat that the trade might fall apart grew over the weekend when the Pistons asked for and received an extra 24 hours to examine Motiejunas, who has dealt with lingering back trouble after undergoing surgery in April. The 25-year-old has appeared in only 14 games this season.

The Pistons had latitude to seek a change to the terms of the trade, including the protection attached to the first-rounder that was to go to Houston, according to Marks (Twitter link), but instead it appears they’ve decided, with the NBA’s blessing, to nix it altogether. Rescinding the trade will leave the Pistons and Sixers with one open roster spot apiece while the Rockets will go from two open roster spots to a full 15-man roster. Houston was reportedly among the teams interested in signing veteran rebounder Reggie Evans but now would have to cut somebody to do so.

Teams typically have 72 hours to administer physicals to the players they receive via trade, so it’s possible for deals to fall apart even after clubs formally announce them, even though it’s rare. The Thunder’s doctors didn’t like what they saw when they evaluated Tyson Chandler in 2009, leading the NBA to void Oklahoma City’s trade with the Hornets that year. Pistons GM Jeff Bower was the Hornets GM then, so he’s now seen voided trades from opposite perspectives.

The death of the trade is a boost to Anthony’s job prospects, since the Sixers were reportedly poised to waive him once the deal was ratified. Still, it’s perhaps a financial loss for him, since he could have latched on elsewhere for a salary that would have gone on top of the $2.5MM he’s seeing this year on his existing contract.

Conversely, it can’t help the earning potential for Motiejunas, who’s set for restricted free agency in the summer. It was a lock that either Motiejunas or fellow soon-to-be restricted free agent Terrence Jones would leave the Rockets this summer, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com wrote before the trade agreement last week.

The voiding of the trade scraps the pair of trade exceptions, worth $2,288,205 and $947,276, respectively, that the Rockets were able to create. It also kills off a $211,795 trade exception for the Pistons, though that one would have been virtually unusable anyway.

Which team do you think suffers the most because the trade is getting voided? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Nuggets Sign JaKarr Sampson

February 22nd, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:14pm: The signing is official, the team announced, confirming that it’s a multiyear arrangement (Twitter link). USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets that it contains a partial guarantee for next season, which conflicts with Charania’s report.

10:48am: The contract will be guaranteed for the rest of this season by rule, but it’ll be non-guaranteed for next season, Charania writes in a full piece that also includes confirmation of the deal from agent Seth Cohen.

10:03am: The Nuggets and former Sixers combo forward JaKarr Sampson are finalizing a two-year contract, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Sixers had wanted to re-sign him after releasing him Thursday to make room for their three-way trade with Houston and Detroit, one that’s held up as the Pistons continue to evaluate the health of Donatas Motiejunas. Detroit is sending Joel Anthony to Philadelphia as part of the swap, and Philadelphia offloaded Sampson to make room for Anthony, whom the Sixers reportedly intend to waive once the trade is finalized.

Denver has two open roster spots after having released J.J. Hickson and Steve Novak on Friday, so the Nuggets don’t have to make a corresponding move to add Sampson. It’ll likely be a minimum-salary contract, since that’s all Denver could give unless Hickson and Novak gave back large portions of their respective salaries in their buyout deals. Sampson was making the minimum salary, worth $845,059 to him as a one-year veteran, on his contract with Philadelphia. Assuming his new deal is also worth the minimum, it’ll be pro-rated, and thus too small for Philly to reap any savings via set-off. So, Sampson is poised to receive whatever the Nuggets give him on top of his full $845,059 from the Sixers.

Sampson, 22, is in his second NBA season after going undrafted out of St. John’s in 2014 and winning a spot on the Sixers despite a four-year contract that originally contained only $50K in guaranteed salary. He started 32 games as a rookie and 18 this season, with a career scoring average of 5.2 points per game. His numbers are virtually identical this year to those from last year, except his 3-point shooting. He made 24.4% on 127 total attempts last season, a woeful performance that’s led him to much fewer shots behind the arc this year, as he’s attempted only 34 and made just six.

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Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Thunder, Wolves

February 21st, 2016 at 2:56pm CST by Will Joseph

D.J. Augustin proved to have the ability to learn on the fly in his Nuggets debut on Friday and will have to continue to play well because he is the primary backup at point guard, behind Emmanuel Mudiay, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post writes. Augustin had eight points, six assists and three steals in 19 minutes as the reserve point guard Friday despite dealing with a hectic 24 hours, Dempsey details. Nuggets point guard Jameer Nelson remains out with a wrist injury and there is no clear timetable for his return. The Nuggets acquired Augustin from the Thunder Thursday in exchange for Randy Foye.

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

  • Speaking of Foye, his addition to the Thunder doesn’t seem to move the needle much, but his versatility as a back-up shooting guard and capable point guard gives Oklahoma City another option off the bench, at the very least, Royce Young of ESPN.com explains.
  • That trade, which involved the Thunder moving Steve Novak as well, helps the franchise from a financial perspective, as Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman details. The Thunder saved about $9.8MM when adding the remaining $1.3MM on Novak’s contract and the $8.5MM taken off the Thunder’s luxury tax bill by clearing him off the books, Slater relays.
  • Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell deserves to lead the team beyond this season because of the way Minnesota improved heading into the All-Star break, Sid Hartman of The Star Tribune argues. There remains a lot of hope for the second half of the season for the Wolves because their young players have started to mesh well together under Mitchell’s guidance, Hartman adds.
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Western Notes: Lee, Davis, Stepheson, Nuggets

February 20th, 2016 at 10:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks will need more than just David Lee to start moving in the right direction, contends Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Dallas is considered a heavy favorite to sign Lee once he clears waivers at 3 pm Central Time on Sunday, and Sefko says the Mavericks are believed to have a deal ready to present to him. Lee, who was waived Friday by the Celtics after falling out of their rotation, hasn’t played since January 10th. Sefko warns that Lee has lost some of the skills that made him a two-time All-Star and says other players will have to step up their games to keep the Mavericks from falling out of the playoff picture.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

  • Jeremy Evans and Justin Anderson have been sent to the Mavericks‘ D-League affiliate, the team announced today. Evans has played in 29 games for Dallas, averaging 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds, while Anderson has been in 34 games, averaging 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds.
  • Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry laughed at a report that the organization had trade talks with the Celtics about Anthony Davis, writes John Reid of The Times-Picayune. New Orleans gave Davis an extension last summer that will amount to the richest contract in league history, five years at $145MM.
  • Alex Stepheson, who signed a 10-day contract with the Clippers earlier today, can’t wait to play in his first NBA game, according to Robert Morales of The Long Beach Press-Telegram. The 28-year-old was the D-League’s leading rebounder with the Iowa Energy, the affiliate of the Grizzlies. “I’m excited,” Stepheson said. “I’m a little bit nervous. I think basketball-wise, I kind of know what I can do and can’t do, so I don’t think I’m going to be too nervous on the basketball court. Just being out there playing for the Clippers and stuff like that, man, it’s pretty big.”
  • The Nuggets created a tiny trade exception worth $135K from Thursday’s trade, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s of such diminutive value that it’s virtually unusable, but nonetheless, it comes via the difference between Randy Foye‘s $3.135MM salary and D.J. Augustin‘s $3MM pay. Denver took Steve Novak‘s $3,750,001 salary into its disabled player exception for Wilson Chandler, as I noted here and as Pincus confirms (on Twitter). The disabled player exception is thus extinguished, Pincus adds.
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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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