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Southeast Notes: Bey, R. Jackson, Mykhailiuk, Bamba

February 11th, 2023 at 7:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Hawks believe they improved their rotation at the deadline, assuming one of their deals goes through, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team is still waiting to find out if it will add Saddiq Bey, who was acquired from the Pistons in a four-team trade that’s still pending after Gary Payton II failed his physical with the Warriors. Golden State has until Sunday night to make a final decision.

Atlanta, which also added Bruno Fernando and Garrison Mathews in a separate trade with Houston, believes Bey can be part of its long-term future. The 23-year-old can play either forward spot and would add another dimension to the offense with his outside shooting.

“He was a starter for Detroit a couple years ago and this season, and some of last season he started to come off the bench,” Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said. “But he’s a guy who can put the ball in the basket, who can help spread the floor for you.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Reggie Jackson and the Hornets have reached an agreement that he doesn’t have to report to the team, tweets Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer. Boone adds that buyout talks are ongoing with Jackson, who was acquired from the Clippers on Thursday. The Suns and Nuggets are believed to be among the teams with the greatest interest in Jackson once he hits the open market.
Svi Mykhailiuk, whom the Hornets landed from the Knicks in a four-team trade, told reporters before Saturday’s game that he originally believed he was heading to the Trail Blazers in the deal, Boone relays (via Twitter). Mykhailiuk’s agent informed him about an hour before the deadline that he was going to Charlotte.
The Magic have more roster and salary cap flexibility after sending center Mohamed Bamba to the Lakers on Thursday, notes Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando selected Bamba with the sixth pick in the 2018 draft, but he fell out of the rotation and didn’t appear to have a future with the team. Bamba began the season as the primary backup to Wendell Carter Jr., but Moritz Wagner has taken over that role. The Magic wanted to ship Bamba to a team where he’s likely to play more often and were happy to get a future second-round pick in return, according to Price, who hears from league sources that the Clippers, Raptors and Celtics also expressed interest.

Russell Westbrook Will Take Time To Consider Next Move

February 11th, 2023 at 5:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Russell Westbrook‘s decision on his NBA future may not happen until the All-Star break, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Lakers sent Westbrook to the Jazz on Thursday as part of a three-team trade. Sources tell Wojnarowski that CEO Danny Ainge, general manager Justin Zanik and coach Will Hardy have informed Westbrook that he’s welcome to report to the team and finish the season in Utah. However, the Jazz are planning to prioritize their younger players, so there’s no guarantee that Westbrook will see regular playing time.

The 34-year-old guard is considered a strong buyout candidate, but he’ll have to give up part of the pro-rated money remaining on his $47MM+ salary for that to happen. In order to be eligible for the playoffs with another team, Westbrook would have to complete a buyout with Utah by March 1.

There are three scenarios in play for Westbrook, Wojnarowski adds. He can pursue buyout talks, he can report to the team and accept whatever role the coaching staff gives him, or he can stay home and collect the rest of this season’s salary.

Wojnarowski hears that the Bulls, Clippers and Heat are among several teams interested in Westbrook if he becomes a free agent. Chicago is coached by Billy Donovan, Westbrook’s former coach in Oklahoma City; L.A. has prominent veterans pushing for Westbrook’s addition; and Miami wasn’t able to find point guard help before the trade deadline.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 11th, 2023 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Thursday’s trade deadline, several rosters around the NBA remain in flux. Some players will be waived or bought out in the coming days, while others will sign with new teams as free agents, either on 10-day contracts or rest-of-season deals.

With that in mind, we’re doing a Saturday afternoon check-in on open roster spots across the league. Given how much action we expect on the transaction wire in the coming days, it may not take long for this list to become outdated, but this is a snapshot of where things stand as of 1:00 pm Central time on February 11.

With the help of our roster counts page, which will continue to be updated for the rest of the season to account for each new transaction, here are the teams that currently have open roster spots:

Teams with two open roster spots:

Milwaukee Bucks
New York Knicks
Phoenix Suns

These three teams all sent out more players than they received in trade-deadline deals and are carrying just 13 players apiece on standard contracts.

Technically, NBA teams are required to carry a minimum of 14 players on standard contracts, but they’re allowed to dip to 13 for up to two weeks at a time, so these clubs will have until February 23 to fill at least one of their two openings.

Teams with one open roster spot:

Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
- Note: The Hornets are reportedly likely to buy out Reggie Jackson, which would open up a second roster spot.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Miami Heat
- Note: The Heat’s 14th roster spot is occupied by Jamaree Bouyea, who is on a 10-day contract, so they’ll open up a second roster spot when his deal expires during the All-Star break.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- Note: The Thunder have a full 15-man roster, but one of their two-way contract slots is open.
Philadelphia 76ers
Utah Jazz

We’re still waiting to see which players are officially bought out, but more roster spots will open when those moves are completed. For instance, the Magic currently have a full 15-man roster, but would create two openings if they finalize buyouts for both Terrence Ross and Patrick Beverley — they’re said to be in talks with both players.

The Jazz would open up a second spot on their 15-man roster if they buy out Russell Westbrook.

The Rockets and Pacers currently have full 15-man rosters, but will create openings by officially waiving John Wall and Serge Ibaka, respectively. However, the expectation is that they’ll re-sign Boban Marjanovic and James Johnson, respectively, to fill those newly opened spots.

The Wizards are in a similar situation — they’re reportedly working on a buyout with Will Barton, but the expectation is that they’d use their 15th roster spot in that scenario to promote Jordan Goodwin from his two-way deal. That would create a two-way opening for the team.

Finally, while the Mavericks and Pistons technically have full rosters at this time, each team’s 15th man (Chris Silva for Dallas, Stanley Umude for Detroit) is in a 10-day contract, so they’re both in good position to open up a spot if they need it.

And-Ones: Taxpayers, Cap Room, Traded Cash, Sims, Lue, More

February 11th, 2023 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

Prior to the trade deadline, 10 NBA teams projected to be taxpayers this season and the 20 non-taxpayers were each projected to receive $17.2MM as a result of those tax penalties, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

However, one of those 10 taxpayers – the Sixers – ducked below the tax line with a deadline deal, and the Nets‘ Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving trades reduced Brooklyn’s projected end-of-season tax bill by approximately $100MM, Marks notes. As a result of those changes, among others, the luxury tax distribution at the end of the season will now be split among 21 teams and will be worth a projected $14.5MM, based on current team salaries, says Marks.

Danny Leroux of The Athletic also considers the financial impact of a busy trade deadline week, though he’s looking ahead to the offseason, breaking down which teams project to have the most cap room in the summer of 2023.

Leroux anticipates there will be eight teams with the ability to generate significant cap space, ranging from the Rockets at $61MM to the Pacers at $28MM. The Spurs ($40-48MM), Jazz ($31-45MM), Magic ($22-58MM), Hornets ($27-37MM), Thunder ($31MM), and Pistons ($30MM) are also in position to operate under the cap, Leroux writes. The range in projections for some of those teams is related to decisions on options and non-guaranteed salaries.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report has the details on the cash that changed hands at the trade deadline. In a series of tweets, Pincus reports that the Lakers sent $2MM to Magic in the Mohamed Bamba trade, the Suns sent $1MM to the Thunder in the Darius Bazley trade, the Clippers sent $1MM to the Hornets in the Mason Plumlee trade, and the Nets sent $1.36MM to the Pacers in the four-team Durant blockbuster.
Who will be available on the buyout market in the coming weeks? John Hollinger of The Athletic lists and ranks 32 buyout candidates (or players who have already been cut), starting with veteran guards Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson.
Circling back to a pair of pre-deadline stories: Knicks center Jericho Sims has committed to take part in this year’s dunk contest after Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe dropped out, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). And Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue will replace Suns head coach Monty Williams as an assistant on Steve Kerr‘s Team USA coaching staff, per a press release.
Disney CEO Bob Iger said this week that his company doesn’t plan to sell ESPN, according to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic, who adds that Iger expressed a desire for ESPN to retain NBA rights when the league negotiates its next media deal.

Clippers’ George, Morris Advocate For Adding Westbrook

February 11th, 2023 at 7:53am CST by Luke Adams

If Russell Westbrook becomes available via a buyout, veteran forwards Paul George and Marcus Morris would like to see the Clippers sign him, they said on Friday night, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

The Clippers, who have an open spot on their 15-man roster, traded away two veteran point guards – John Wall and Reggie Jackson – in deadline deals, leaving the club somewhat thin at the position. George said he thinks Westbrook would be an ideal fit.

“I mean if there’s, you know, somebody out there — Russell,” George said, per Youngmisuk. “If it makes sense and obviously it goes with our team, we’re all for it. You know, we need a point guard. But you know, (at) the same (time), I think we’re good as well. If nothing happened, we got enough in this locker room to be able to make it work.

“But it would definitely improve our team if we had that traditional point guard to kind of get us in things and make the game easy. So hopefully Russell sees this and we figure something out.”

Asked what Kawhi Leonard thinks of the idea of adding Westbrook, George said his star teammate “likes it.” Told that George was openly talking about wanting Westbrook, Morris also threw his support behind the suggestion.

“I’m campaigning, too, for him then,” said Morris, who went on to suggest that Westbrook didn’t get a chance to be himself with the Lakers. “… We accept him open arms, man. Let him be himself. We need the personality, we need the veteran. He’s been in the playoffs a lot of times, been to the championship. I want him to come. I think that you can’t kill a wounded dog. You give him an opportunity to come back, it could be dangerous.”

Westbrook technically remains a member of the Jazz for the time being, and general manager Justin Zanik said on Friday that no decisions have been made about his future yet.

Still, while Zanik suggested that Westbrook seems open to finishing the season in Utah, the retooling Jazz would likely prefer to focus on playing their youngsters, as well as veterans who will be under contract beyond this season. As for Westbrook, he might rather join a team closer to title contention. A previous report stated that he has interest in the Clippers and Heat. The Bulls, led by Westbrook’s former head coach Billy Donovan, have been mentioned as a possible suitor too.

Although Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has expressed some interest in adding a traditional point guard and a few of the Clippers’ key players are enthusiastic about Westbrook, there has been some skepticism that the team’s front office would be on board with the idea of adding the former MVP, per Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times and Mark Medina of NBA.com (Twitter link). President of basketball operations Lawrence Frank noted after the deadline that some contenders don’t have classic point guards in their rotations, as Youngmisuk writes.

“You play through your best players,” Frank said. “If there was a point guard who could be in our top eight or nine, you know we looked at those guys. … We need someone that won’t be played off the floor defensively, someone who can share the ball responsibilities but not be so ball dominant. You know the ball is going to be in Kawhi and PG’s hands about 60 percent of the time, so it’s a delicate balance. So, I think regardless of ‘point guard’ or not, they got to be able to shoot, because you know in the playoffs the stars are not going to have all that type of space.”

If the Jazz and Westbrook do reach a buyout agreement, he would likely give back the portion of his $47MM+ salary that he expects to receive from a new team.

Three-point shooting (29.6%) and turnovers (3.5 per game) continued to be an issue for Westbrook this season in Los Angeles, he’s still a talented scorer and play-maker, with the ability to get into the paint. He averaged 15.9 PPG, 7.5 APG, and 6.2 RPG in 52 gams (28.7 MPG) as the Lakers’ sixth man.

Westbrook, Beverley Could Be Buyout Targets

February 10th, 2023 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers still do not have a traditional point guard after making multiple deals but they could look to the buyout market to fill that need, according to Law Murray of The Athletic. Russell Westbrook or Patrick Beverley, who have very different skill sets, are candidates to fill their open roster spot if and when they’re waived and become free agents.

Buyout Rumors: Green, Westbrook, Bulls, Beverley, Ibaka, Heat, Sixers, Grizzlies

February 10th, 2023 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

After Rockets general manager Rafael Stone confirmed in a Friday press conference that Houston will simply waive John Wall, with no buyout required, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link) that Danny Green would welcome a similar arrangement.

Both Wall and Green were acquired by Houston as salary-matching chips in the team’s Eric Gordon trade on Thursday. It’s unclear if Green would be willing to give up money as part of a buyout agreement.

If Green does become a free agent, teams like the Celtics and Cavaliers would be among those with interest, according to Wojnarowski. Woj also mentions “Los Angeles” as a potential Green suitor, though it’s unclear if he means the Lakers, the Clippers, or both — they each have an open spot on their 15-man roster.

Here’s more on the NBA’s buyout market:

Jazz general manager Justin Zanik told reporters on Friday that no decisions have been made yet on Russell Westbrook‘s future and that the veteran guard is open to the idea of playing for Utah to finish the season, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Westbrook is considered a strong candidate to be bought out.
Wojnarowski said today on NBA Today (YouTube link) that if Westbrook does become available, the Bulls are a team to watch as a potential frontrunner. Head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said today that the team plans to “look at” the buyout market, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The Clippers have also been linked to Westbrook, but Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times says the Clips aren’t expected to be overly active in the buyout market, adding that insiders around the league are skeptical about Westbrook landing with L.A.
The Magic and Patrick Beverley are working on a contract buyout, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Magic said on Thursday that they weren’t requiring Beverley to report to the team, so that news comes as no surprise.
Big man Serge Ibaka, who will be waived by Indiana, has some interest in joining the Heat, but it’s unclear if that interest is mutual, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
The Sixers and Grizzlies will take decidedly different approaches to the buyout market. Sixers executive Daryl Morey said today that moving under the tax line at the trade deadline sets up the team to potentially pursue “multiple” targets on the buyout market, per Kyle Neuback of PhillyVoice.com. Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman, on the other hand, said he doesn’t envision his team looking at the buyout market, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Lowe’s Latest: Durant, Grizzlies, Anunoby, Pelicans, Warriors, Clippers

February 10th, 2023 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of the Nets‘ Kevin Durant trade agreement with the Suns, reports indicated that Brooklyn only really negotiated with Phoenix rather than canvassing the NBA to generate a bidding war. The Nets likely already knew what teams were willing to offer after discussing Durant deals for nearly two months in the offseason, and liked the combination of players and picks the Suns were willing to offer.

According to Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link), another team that was prepared to put a strong package of draft picks on the table for Durant was the Grizzlies. Sources tell Lowe that the Nets were aware since July that Memphis was willing to trade every available draft pick and swap of its own for Durant (it’s unclear if that offer would’ve included Golden State’s lightly protected 2024 first-round pick or just the Grizzlies’ own first-rounders).

However, the Suns’ inclusion of Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson helped tip the scales in their favor. Sources around the league have said that the Grizzlies have kept Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. entirely off-limits in any trade talks, according to Lowe, so the players in Memphis’ offer wouldn’t have been as valuable as the ones in the deal Brooklyn ultimately accepted.

Here’s more from Lowe:

After mentioning on his podcast that the Grizzlies and Pacers each offered three first-round picks for Raptors forward OG Anunoby, Lowe says the Pelicans – another presumed suitor – didn’t hold any serious talks with Toronto about him. As Lowe reiterates, the Raptors were seeking a high-level player or prospect in an Anunoby deal; Will Guillory of The Athletic says New Orleans didn’t show much interest in discussing Dyson Daniels or Trey Murphy in trade talks.
The Warriors also engaged with the Raptors about Anunoby, Lowe confirms, but he says the two teams don’t appear to have gotten all that close to an agreement. Golden State likely would have had to include Jonathan Kuminga as the centerpiece of its offer, sources tell ESPN.
The Clippers never ended up having any serious trade talks for D’Angelo Russell or Kyle Lowry, and the Mike Conley bidding was out of their price range, Lowe says. They also got nowhere close on Fred VanVleet, since the Raptors would have wanted Terance Mann and possibly more draft equity than L.A. could’ve offered, Lowe adds.

Trade Deadline Leftovers: VanVleet, Anunoby, Siakam, Bridges, Bulls, Knicks, More

February 10th, 2023 at 6:50am CST by Luke Adams

After agreeing to acquire Jakob Poeltl from San Antonio, the Raptors didn’t make any additional deadline-day moves, but it wasn’t for a lack of options.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter video link via The Rally), the Bucks were among the teams expressing interest in Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet in advance of the deadline. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) hears that those talks included Grayson Allen and a future first-round pick. Grange adds that the Clippers talked about Luke Kennard and Brandon Boston Jr. in their VanVleet discussions with the Raptors, but weren’t willing to include a first-rounder.

As for OG Anunoby, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on the latest episode of his Lowe Post podcast that the Grizzlies and Pacers were comfortable including three first-round picks in their offers for the Raptors forward, but Toronto was prioritizing young players over future draft picks and neither package included the kind of players they were seeking (hat tip to RealGM).

According to Lowe, the Pacers’ offer also included Houston’s 2023 second-round pick, which Indiana would control if it lands at No. 31 or 32 (it’d be at No. 31 if the season ended today). However, it’s probably safe to assume that two of the first-rounders the Pacers were willing to give up were Boston’s and Cleveland’s 2023 picks, which figure to fall pretty late in the first round.

Lowe also stated on his podcast (hat tip to RealGM) that the Nets briefly pursued Raptors forward Pascal Siakam between their Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant trades, in the hopes of convincing Durant to stay in Brooklyn.

“I think (the Nets) told (Durant), ‘Hey man, in the summer, we can get some big names. There are going to be some big names who might ask out. We are going to collect stuff to give ourselves a shot at it,'” Lowe said. “… They tried to get Pascal Siakam now in the intervening 96 hours because KD made it known he likes Pascal Siakam. He thought he would be a good fit.”

Here are a few more trade deadline leftovers from around the NBA:

After the Nets agreed to acquire Mikal Bridges in the Durant blockbuster, Bridges drew considerable trade interest from rival clubs, Zach Lowe stated on his Lowe Post podcast (hat tip to RealGM). “I know of one team – and I’ve confirmed this – I know of one team who offered four first-round picks for Mikal Bridges,” Lowe said. “Now, I know of at least three first round picks. I think the fourth one may have had some protections or something, but I’m pretty sure that was a thing.”
The Bulls, who didn’t make a deadline deal, received inquiries on Alex Caruso and Coby White, but never seriously considered moving Caruso and got “underwhelming” offers for White, says K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Johnson also talked to a source who downplayed the discussions Chicago had with the Knicks about Zach LaVine, characterizing them as “preliminary.” Another source who spoke to Johnson insisted those talks didn’t happen at all, but didn’t rule out the possibility that such a scenario could be discussed in the offseason, depending on how the rest of 2022/23 plays out.
Spurs big man Zach Collins garnered some deadline-week interest, according to LJ Ellis of SpursTalk, who says from a league source that the Sixers, Nuggets, and Bucks inquired on Collins. Ellis also hears that San Antonio shopped Keita Bates-Diop in search of a second-round pick, but the forward ended up staying put.
If the 2023 first-round pick the Knicks sent to the Trail Blazers as part of the Josh Hart trade lands in the lottery, New York will instead send Portland the following picks, per Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link): The Pistons’ 2024 second-rounder, either the Timberwolves’ or Knicks’ 2026 second-rounder (whichever is least favorable), and the Knicks’ own 2027 and 2028 second-rounders.
John Hollinger of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the Grizzlies acquired a minor pick swap in the Luke Kennard trade with the Clippers. Memphis now has the ability to swap a 2026 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable of the Celtics’, Heat’s, and Pacers’ picks) for the Clippers’ 2026 second-rounder.

Clippers Trade Jackson, Second-Rounder To Hornets For Plumlee

February 9th, 2023 at 11:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

11:11pm: The trade is now official, according to a press release from the Clippers.

“Mason will help fortify our center position with his energy and playmaking ability,” president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said in a statement. “He is an impressive passer with great vision. Our team will enjoy playing with him.”

As we relayed in a separate story, Jackson is expected to be bought out by the Hornets.

1:46pm: The Clippers will get the veteran center they’ve been seeking by acquiring Mason Plumlee from the Hornets, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Point guard Reggie Jackson will head to Charlotte in return, and the Hornets will also receive the Clippers’ 2028 second-round pick, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

Plumlee is making $9.08MM in the final year of his contract. He has been the Hornets’ starting center over the past two seasons.

Despite being 32 years old, Plumlee is posting career highs in most statistical categories, including points (12.2), rebounds (9.7), assists (3.7), FG% (66.9) and minutes per game (28.5) in 56 games this year. The Clippers are undersized off their bench and have been looking for a reliable big man to back up Ivica Zubac.

Jackson had been a focus of the Clippers’ offense since he arrived in L.A. three years ago, but he has seen his role reduced recently. The 32-year-old has an expiring contract worth $11.2MM.

Through 52 games (38 starts, 25.7 minutes) with the Clippers in 2022/23, Jackson was averaging 10.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists.