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Rockets Trade Stauskas, Baldwin To Pacers

February 7th, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:00pm: The Pacers have officially completed their trade with the Rockets, acquiring Stauskas, Baldwin, Milwaukee’s 2021 second-round pick and the rights to Maarty Leunen for cash considerations, the team announced.

Indiana also waived Anigbogu to make the agreement official.

1:05pm: The Pacers are waiving second-year center Ike Anigbogu to make room for their incoming players, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

12:16pm: A day after acquiring Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin, the Rockets have reached an agreement to send them to the Pacers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Houston will also ship a second-round pick to Indiana, Woj adds, and the Pacers plan to waive both players (Twitter link).

The Pacers only have one roster opening, so they will have to get rid of someone before they can take on Stauskas and Baldwin, notes Keith Smith of Real GM (Twitter link). The Rockets are making the deal for tax purposes, so it’s unlikely they will be getting anyone in return.

A flurry of trades over the past two days has put Houston $634K under the luxury tax, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The Rockets are down to 12 players, two below the league minimum, but are expected to be active on the buyout market. They will have two weeks to get their roster back to at least 14. Owner Tilman Fertitta has been saying that he wanted to get under the tax this season to avoid repeater penalties in the future, relays Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Indiana will drop down to 13 players once if it follows through with plans to waive Stauskas and Baldwin and will also have two weeks to get back to the 14-player minimum.

The Rockets acquired both players last night in a three-team deal that also brought them Iman Shumpert. Houston had to take both players from the Cavaliers to help Cleveland stay below the luxury tax. This is the third trade in four days for Stauskas and Baldwin, who were also sent from the Trail Blazers to the Cavs in the Rodney Hood swap.

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Rockets Trade James Ennis To Sixers

February 7th, 2019 at 9:49pm CST by Luke Adams

9:49pm: The trade between the Rockets and Sixers centered around Ennis is official, both teams announced in press releases. Houston traded Ennis to Philadelphia in exchange for the rights to swap the Rockets’ 2021 second-round pick for the Sixers’ 2021 second-rounder.

The 76ers also confirmed the release of Richardson, who was acquired in a separate deal with Toronto this week.

11:45am: The Sixers will waive Richardson to open up room for Ennis, tweets Derek Bodner of The Athletic.

11:11am: The Rockets and Sixers have reached an agreement on a trade that will send James Ennis to Philadelphia, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). According to Charania, Houston will receive the right to swap 2021 second-round picks with the 76ers (Twitter link).

The Rockets signed Ennis to a two-year, minimum salary contract during the 2018 offseason in the hopes that he could help fill the void on the wing created when the team lost Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in free agency.

The 28-year-old Ennis battled some injuries during his time with the Rockets, but was a solid contributor in the 39 games he played. In 23.6 minutes per contest, he averaged 7.4 PPG on .500/.373/.714 shooting. However, with Iman Shumpert set to arrive in Houston as a result of a three-team trade with Sacramento and Cleveland, it appears the Rockets are willing to move on from Ennis.

The Sixers, meanwhile, will add a solid bench piece at a low cost after sacrificing some depth in their acquisition of Jimmy Butler earlier in the season. It’s unclear how much playing time Ennis will get in Philadelphia, but I’d expect him to see minutes for the second unit in a three-and-D role.

The 76ers will be able to add Ennis to their roster without sending out any salary, since he’s on a minimum deal, though they’ll need to make a corresponding move to open up a roster spot. Malachi Richardson and Justin Patton look like the most expendable pieces on the roster.

As for the Rockets, they started the week at 14 players and had been poised to take on an extra man in their deal with the Kings and Cavs. Moving Ennis will get them back to 14 and will slightly reduce their projected luxury tax bill. They’ll also create a modest trade exception worth Ennis’ salary ($1,621,415).

The exact details on the pick swap rights aren’t yet known — the Rockets may simply get the chance to swap out their pick for the Sixers’ selection during the 2021 second round, but Philadelphia also holds ’21 second-rounders from Denver and New York, so it could be more complicated than that.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/7/19

February 7th, 2019 at 9:15pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Thursday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

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Wesley Matthews Bought Out By Knicks, Plans To Sign With Pacers

February 7th, 2019 at 4:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

4:14pm: The Knicks have officially waived Wesley Matthews, the team announced on social media.

2:28pm: Matthews will be bought out by the Knicks later today and intends to sign with the Pacers once he clears waivers, tweets Charania.

2:03pm: Shooting guard Wesley Matthews is expected to reach a buyout agreement with the Knicks, and the Pacers are the frontrunners to sign Matthews once he clears waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Matthews is also expected to draw interest from the Warriors and Rockets and possibly other contenders, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link).

The Knicks are expected to retain veteran enter DeAndre Jordan, rather than buy him out. Stein adds. Jordan, who like Matthews will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, was also acquired in the blockbuster deal that shipped star big man Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks.

The Knicks have already been working on a buyout with disgruntled center Enes Kanter and that could be finalized as early as today, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Matthews and Kanter both have expiring $18.6MM contracts. Jordan is making $22.9MM.

Matthews, who is averaging 13.1 PPG and shooting 38% on his 3-point attempts, would be a natural fit for Indiana as it seeks to replenish its backcourt in the wake of Victor Oladipo‘s season-ending injury.

New York’s desire to keep Jordan is mainly due to his willingness to mentor their young bigs, especially rookie center Mitchell Robinson.

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Moves Designed To Retain Flexibility

February 7th, 2019 at 3:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets’ latest moves prior to the trade deadline were mainly designed to open up a roster spot and find another piece on the buyout market, GM Daryl Morey told the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen (Twitter link). The Rockets also wanted to “create flexibility now and down the road,” Morey said.

The Rockets were involved in a three-way deal with the Kings and Cavaliers in which they shipped out Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss and acquired Iman Shumpert, Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin. They soon traded Stauskas and Baldwin to the Pacers and dealt James Ennis to the Sixers without receiving any players in return.

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Trade/Buyout Rumors: Kaminsky, Vonleh, Kanter, More

February 7th, 2019 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets are still “pushing hard” for a taker for Frank Kaminsky and there are indications that teams are interested, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. The fourth-year center will be a restricted free agent this summer and doesn’t appear to be in Charlotte’s long-range plans.

The ninth selection in the 2015 draft, Kaminsky has only appeared in 24 games under new coach James Borrego and is averaging 5.5/2.5/1.1 in about 11 minutes per night. He has fallen completely out of the rotation over the past two months, playing just 41 minutes in Charlotte’s last 23 games.

There’s more to pass along as the deadline gets closer:

  • The Nuggets have expressed interest in acquiring Noah Vonleh from the Knicks, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN. Vonleh has been productive in New York since signing a minimum contract, averaging 8.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per night, mostly as a starter. He will be a free agent this summer. Denver has a pair of trade exceptions that Vonleh would fit into and is about $7MM under the luxury tax.
  • While Enes Kanter probably won’t be traded today, he’s expected to reach the buyout market, and rival executives believe the Celtics will be among the teams with interest in him, sources tell Begley (Twitter link).
  • Elsewhere on the buyout market front, Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) adds the Pacers to the list of clubs that will have interest in Wesley Matthews if and when he’s bought out.
  • The Rockets, another team with potential interest in Matthews, still intend to be active on the buyout market after sneaking under the luxury tax threshold today, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

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Shumpert To Rockets, Burks to Kings In 3-Team Trade

February 7th, 2019 at 11:33am CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 7, 11:33am: The trade is now official, the Cavaliers confirmed in a press release. Here are the full details:

  • Cavaliers acquire Knight, Chriss, the Rockets’ 2019 first-round pick, and the Rockets 2022 second-round pick.
  • Rockets acquire Shumpert, Stauskas, Baldwin, and the Bucks’ 2021 second-round pick (from Cleveland).
  • Kings acquire Burks and lesser of the Rockets’ and Warriors’ 2020 second-round picks.

FEBRUARY 7, 7:21am: The draft pick the Kings are receiving from Houston in the deal will be the lesser of the Rockets’ and Warriors’ second-rounders in 2020, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports California.

FEBRUARY 6, 8:10pm: The Cavaliers will also receive a lottery-protected 2019 first-round pick from the Rockets, relays Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who states that the front office is “thrilled” by what it was able to get in return for Burks.

7:25pm: The Kings, Rockets and Cavaliers have agreed to a three-team deal that will send Iman Shumpert to Houston, Alec Burks and a second-round pick to Sacramento and Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight to Cleveland, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

The Rockets will also receive Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin from the Cavs, adds ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Both guards were acquired Sunday when Cleveland shipped Rodney Hood to Portland. Houston hasn’t decided whether to keep both players for the rest of the season, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Because they were just acquired, Stauskas and Baldwin can’t be aggregated in the same trade, so the Cavaliers and Rockets will have to make two separate deals, tweets Keith Smith of Real GM. Burks will be traded for Knight, while Chriss’ $3.2MM salary will be absorbed with the TPE that Cleveland created by sending Hood to the Trail Blazers.

The Cavaliers had to include both guards to remain below the luxury tax, Bobby Marks posts on ESPN Now. They created a $1.5MM trade exception for each player and are now $1.2MM under the tax. Knight carries cap hits of $14.6MM for this season and $15.6MM for 2019/20, while Chriss has a $3.2MM expiring deal. Cleveland is dangerously close to tax territory for next season, Marks adds, hovering about $10MM below without accounting for a projected top five draft pick.

Houston will save $6.3MM in projected tax payments and bring its bill down to $6.1MM, Marks notes in a separate post. The total could drop even lower depending on what happens with $1.5MM in bonuses for Clint Capela, who is sidelined after thumb surgery. The Rockets will inherit Shumpert’s Bird rights and will sit about $4MM above the tax threshold with the addition of the three players.

The Rockets had been seeking veteran wing help and were hoping to unload the contracts of Knight and Chriss after acquiring them from Phoenix over the summer in a deal to unload Ryan Anderson‘s hefty salary. Shumpert has an $11MM expiring contract. Burks also has an expiring deal worth a little more than $11.5MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Forbes Releases 2019 NBA Franchise Valuations

February 6th, 2019 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

A year ago, when Forbes released its annual NBA franchise valuations, the Knicks were reeling from the news that Kristaps Porzingis has suffered a torn ACL, but still earned the top spot on Forbes’ list of the league’s most valuable teams.

This time around, Knicks fans are reeling from the trade that sent Porzingis to Dallas. Once again though, the franchise is still considered the most valuable of any of the NBA’s 30 clubs, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen and Mike Ozanian of Forbes.

For the first time, all 30 NBA teams have a perceived worth of $1.2 billion or more, per Forbes’ annual report. While all 30 teams’ valuations cracked the $1 billion threshold for the first time last year, 10 franchises were below $1.2 billion.

The league-wide average of $1.9 billion per team in 2019 is also a new record, with franchise valuations up 13% in total over last year’s figures. NBA franchise values have once again tripled over the last five years, according to Badenhausen and Ozanian.

Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:

  1. New York Knicks: $4 billion
  2. Los Angeles Lakers: $3.7 billion
  3. Golden State Warriors: $3.5 billion
  4. Chicago Bulls: $2.9 billion
  5. Boston Celtics: $2.8 billion
  6. Brooklyn Nets: $2.35 billion
  7. Houston Rockets: $2.3 billion
  8. Dallas Mavericks: $2.25 billion
  9. Los Angeles Clippers: $2.2 billion
  10. Miami Heat: $1.75 billion
  11. Toronto Raptors: $1.675 billion
  12. Philadelphia 76ers: $1.65 billion
  13. San Antonio Spurs: $1.625 billion
  14. Portland Trail Blazers: $1.6 billion
  15. Sacramento Kings: $1.575 billion
  16. Washington Wizards: $1.55 billion
  17. Phoenix Suns: $1.5 billion
  18. Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.475 billion
  19. Utah Jazz: $1.425 billion
  20. Indiana Pacers: $1.4 billion
  21. Denver Nuggets: $1.375 billion
  22. Milwaukee Bucks: $1.35 billion
  23. Orlando Magic: $1.325 billion
  24. Atlanta Hawks: $1.3 billion
  25. Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.275 billion
  26. Detroit Pistons: $1.27 billion
  27. Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.26 billion
  28. Charlotte Hornets: $1.25 billion
  29. New Orleans Pelicans: $1.22 billion
  30. Memphis Grizzlies: $1.2 billion

The Sixers are this year’s big riser, moving from 21st on the 2018 list to 12th in 2019. Conversely, the Cavaliers fell the most. After losing LeBron James, Cleveland was the only franchise to see its valuation dip from year to year, as it decreased from $1.325 billion (15th) in 2018 to $1.275 billion (25th) in 2019.

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Rockets, Cavs Remain Engaged On Alec Burks

February 6th, 2019 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

As of Tuesday night, the Rockets and Cavaliers remained engaged in trade discussions involving Cleveland guard Alec Burks, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. The hypothetical deal would send Brandon Knight and a first-round pick to the Cavs, Lloyd notes.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported last week that Houston and Cleveland had talked about a trade involving Burks, Knight, and a first-rounder, but suggested at the time that those discussions had “quieted.” Based on Lloyd’s account, it sounds like neither club has closed the door on a deal quite yet.

Burks, 27, has enjoyed a solid bounce-back season after being traded from Utah to Cleveland earlier this season. In 34 games (28 starts) as a Cavalier, the former 12th overall pick – who will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end – has averaged 11.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 2.9 APG on .400/.378/.806 shooting.

Trading for Burks would cost the Rockets their 2019 first-round pick, but it would create extra financial breathing room for 2019/20 by clearing Knight’s salary. Houston will have ongoing tax concerns moving forward and would like to move Knight’s contract if possible.

The Cavs, having already traded Kyle Korver, George Hill, and Rodney Hood, are looking to get what they can for their veteran assets, but a Burks trade wouldn’t be popular in the locker room, Lloyd writes. According to Lloyd, Burks has “built up equity” among Cleveland’s veterans since arriving from Utah and some would like to see him stick around long-term, though that appears unlikely.

As Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reiterated earlier today, the Rockets are also dangling Knight, a first-round pick, and Marquese Chriss in talks with the Grizzlies, presumably for JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple. If Houston prefers that potential deal with Memphis, perhaps the club views a Burks acquisition as a Plan B.

The Thunder are also said to have interest in Burks, per O’Connor.

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O’Connor’s Latest: Gasol, Conley, OKC, Prince, More

February 6th, 2019 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

As we relayed earlier today, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer hears that the Hornets‘ offer for Grizzlies center Marc Gasol is Bismack Biyombo, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and a protected first-round pick. That would be an underwhelming return for Gasol, but there hasn’t been much league-wide interest in the 34-year-old, O’Connor writes.

The Kings and Pistons were among the teams potentially in the mix for Gasol, according to O’Connor, but Memphis didn’t have any interest in Detroit center Andre Drummond and Sacramento was unwilling to part with promising young wing Bogdan Bogdanovic, whom the Grizzlies wanted.

The Raptors reportedly explored a potential Gasol deal, initially attempting to come up with an individual trade for one Grizzlies veteran before turning it into a package for both Gasol and Mike Conley, O’Connor writes. However, those talks didn’t advance and league sources tell The Ringer that it’s unlikely Toronto ends up with Gasol or Conley.

Elsewhere on the Conley front, the Jazz continue to make a strong push, with an offer that includes Ricky Rubio, Derrick Favors, and a first-round pick, per O’Connor. The sense around the NBA is that the Grizzlies won’t settle for a modest return for Conley, which is something we heard in relation to the Pistons’ offer earlier today.

O’Connor’s latest piece for The Ringer features several more trade-related tidbits, so we’ll round them up here…

  • The Thunder are believed to be among the teams with interest in Cavaliers guard Alec Burks, league sources tell O’Connor. However, Burks wouldn’t fit into OKC’s $10.88MM trade exception. The Thunder, along with the Sixers and Trail Blazers, have expressed interest in Hawks wing Taurean Prince, O’Connor adds.
  • Following up on his report from last week about the Rockets and Grizzlies discussing a Brandon Knight trade, O’Connor suggests that Marquese Chriss and a first-round pick would also go to Memphis in that proposed deal. Houston would be targeting JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple in the swap, though it remains in the discussion stage for now.
  • The Kings have made calls about veteran forwards Harrison Barnes (Mavericks) and Otto Porter (Wizards) but have found no traction on a Porter deal, writes O’Connor.
  • While DeAndre Jordan looks like an obvious trade candidate, it wouldn’t be a major surprise if the Knicks keep him around as a potential recruiter for Kevin Durant, according to O’Connor, who notes that Durant and Jordan are good friends. Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News wrote about this subject on Tuesday.
  • League sources don’t expect the Celtics to do anything at the deadline with Terry Rozier, since he could serve as potential Kyrie Irving insurance or a sign-and-trade sweetener for Anthony Davis in the offseason, says O’Connor.
  • According to O’Connor, the Pacers remain open to moving one of their two veteran point guards, Cory Joseph or Darren Collison. Both players are on expiring contracts.
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