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NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Southwest Division

January 18th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Over the course of the 2018/19 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.

Southwest trade candidates like Dennis Smith, Wesley Matthews, and Carmelo Anthony have been in the news lately, but we’ve discussed them in previous installments of our Trade Candidate series. Today, we’ll be focusing on a few players who haven’t necessarily been at the center of recent trade rumors, but still could very well be on the move by February 7.

Here’s our latest look at a few possible trade candidates from the Southwest…

Brandon Knight, G
Houston Rockets
$14.63MM cap hit; $15.64MM guaranteed salary in 2019/20; UFA in 2020

Knight has essentially been on the trade block since the Rockets acquired him from Phoenix during the offseason, with a December report suggesting that Houston is dangling Knight in trade talks for a wing.

Knight’s appeal as a trade chip from Houston’s perspective is obvious. Of the team’s six players earning more than $4MM this season, he’s the only one who isn’t a key contributor. His $14.63MM salary is ideal for matching purposes, and getting his $15.64MM salary for 2019/20 off the books could help the Rockets avoid another big tax penalty next season.

Of course, Knight’s appeal to other teams will be… limited. While he has returned from the ACL tear that sidelined him for over a year, he continues to be bothered by knee issues and hasn’t looked good for Houston in the 12 games he has played (3.0 PPG on .234/.156/.818 shooting). If a team agrees to take on Knight’s contract in exchange for a solid rotation player, that team will almost certainly be receiving the Rockets’ 2019 first-round pick as well.

Julius Randle, F/C
New Orleans Pelicans
$8.64MM cap hit; $9.07MM player option for 2019/20

Like the Rockets, the Pelicans are exploring upgrades on the wing and will likely try to attach a first-round pick to an overpriced veteran (Solomon Hill) to accommodate a deal. Still, even though that’s New Orleans’ most obvious trade package, it’s not the team’s only option.

Depending on what sort of player the club is pursuing, making Randle available could make sense. On the surface, trading him doesn’t seem prudent — he’s had a terrific year (20.1 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.9 APG), and is one of a handful of reliable pieces on a Pelicans team that lacks depth.

Still, he’ll likely be a free agent at season’s end, and there’s no guarantee the Pelicans will be able to re-sign him. It’s also unclear if he’ll be able to play at the same time Anthony Davis and Nikola Mirotic in the postseason, assuming New Orleans makes it — that lineup would be awfully big and wouldn’t match up well against many of the team’s potential opponents.

As such, I think the Pelicans could explore flipping Randle for one or two players who could help the team in the short term, especially if one of those players is a wing who would fit better alongside Davis and Mirotic. New Orleans showed last spring that it can win with that frontcourt duo, so Randle looks to me like the most expendable of the club’s top four or five players.

JaMychal Green, F
Memphis Grizzlies
$7.67MM cap hit; UFA in 2019

It seems hard to believe that the Grizzlies were, briefly, the No. 1 seed in the West less than two months ago. The club now ranks 14th in the conference and while head coach J.B. Bickerstaff says the postseason is still the goal, it seems irresponsible for the club to continue acting as a buyer.

A full-fledged fire sale is probably unrealistic too, since it would be an abrupt change of direction for the franchise in the span of a few weeks. But, as Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian recently wrote, some smaller-scale “strategic” selling seems possible.

If Memphis takes that route, Green would be an obvious candidate to be dealt. The veteran power forward is in the final year of a mid-level type contract and is putting up career-high numbers in several categories (10.8 PPG, .512 FG%, .397 3PT%). Moving him would also clear a path for the Grizzlies to feature promising rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. in a more prominent role down the stretch.

Green is unlikely to inspire a bidding war, but teams in need of one more frontcourt piece should have some interest if the Grizzlies make him available.

Previously:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

18 Trade Exceptions To Expire Within Next Month

January 18th, 2019 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

As NBA teams consider their trade options before the February 7 deadline, it’s worth keeping in mind that two-thirds of the league’s clubs hold traded player exceptions. These traded player exceptions allow over-the-cap clubs to acquire a player – or multiple players – whose salary fits within the TPE without having to send out any salary in return.

Traded player exceptions can’t be combined with another salary or exception and often aren’t worth much, so most of them ultimately go unused. Still, they can come in handy every now and then, particularly for under-the-tax clubs that don’t mind adding a little more money to their books.

Last season, a total of 16 trades were completed between January 29 and February 8, resulting in 18 outstanding trade exceptions that will expire between January 29 and February 8 of this year.

Here are those traded player exceptions, listed in order of value, with the expiration date noted in parentheses for each TPE:

Detroit Pistons: $7,000,000 (1/29)
Utah Jazz: $3,708,883 (2/8)
Portland Trail Blazers: $3,505,233 (2/8)
Toronto Raptors: $2,451,225 (2/8)
Utah Jazz: $2,386,864 (2/8)
New Orleans Pelicans: $2,300,000 (2/8)
Milwaukee Bucks: $1,889,040 (2/5)
Memphis Grizzlies: $1,697,250 (2/8)
Los Angeles Clippers: $1,471,382 (1/29)
New Orleans Pelicans: $1,471,382 (2/1)
Cleveland Cavaliers: $1,471,382 (2/8)
Detroit Pistons: $1,471,382 (2/8)
New York Knicks: $1,435,750 (2/7)
New Orleans Pelicans: $1,429,818 (2/1)
Detroit Pistons: $1,331,160 (2/8)
Los Angeles Clippers: $1,331,160 (1/29)
Miami Heat: $1,312,611 (2/8)
Washington Wizards: $1,312,611 (2/8)

For the full list of traded player exceptions currently available, including three Nuggets TPEs ranging in value from $5.9MM to $13.7MM, click here.

Grizzlies Notes: Gasol, Wallace, Future

January 18th, 2019 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

After getting off to a 15-9 start this season, the Grizzlies have lost 16 of their last 20 games and have slipped all the way to 14th in the Western Conference, leading to speculation that the team might consider trading longtime center Marc Gasol.

While Gasol didn’t have much to say about those rumors this week, he was a little more forthcoming when asked about the direction and future of the Grizzlies, And, as Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal details, the veteran big man sounded uncertain about what’s next in Memphis.

“I don’t think we know exactly where the future is headed right now,” Gasol said. “Obviously, you’re a player, so you need to play and you need to win games. You cannot get caught up in what’s the future of the franchise. What are they going to do? What’s this guy going to do? You can’t do that because then you forget about what’s the most important thing to do and even though no player likes to be in that situation, you have to deal with it. It’s the way it goes. It’s just the nature of the beast. There’s nothing you can do.”

Within his column, Giannotto argues that the Grizzlies shouldn’t trade Gasol at this season’s deadline, since that sort of franchise-altering decision should be made by the general manager who will be overseeing the club for the next several years. Giannotto is unconvinced that Chris Wallace should be that GM — in Giannotto’s view, Wallace’s group “bungled the transition away from the Core Four” and has exacerbated Memphis’ issues by “whiffing on and needlessly trading away draft picks.”

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian took an informative, in-depth look at the Gasol question looming over the franchise, breaking down the pros and cons for moving the center and exploring what sort of return the team could expect in a trade.
Despite the Grizzlies’ slump, head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said this week that there has been “no sign of punting” on the 2018/19 season, per David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “There’s been no sign from the front office saying we’re not committed to trying to win basketball games,” Bickerstaff said. The Grizzlies’ coach added that “nothing is off the table” when it comes to experimenting with different lineup combinations to try to kick-start the club.
Matt John of Basketball Insiders explains why it may be more difficult than it seems for the Grizzlies to launch a rebuild.

Grizzlies Want 2019 First-Round Pick To Convey To Celtics

January 16th, 2019 at 10:55pm CST by clarkcrum

Coming into tonight’s action, the Grizzlies were in second-to-last place in the Western Conference standings, but only four games back of the eighth seed and a playoff berth. And while the playoffs are certainly always a goal for a team not in rebuilding mode, Memphis has another important reason for not embracing the tank.

Per Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian, a secondary but equally important goal for the Grizzlies this season is to ensure that their 2019 first-round pick is conveyed to the Celtics. As we relayed yesterday, the 2019 draft class is viewed as fairly average, and if the Grizzlies keep this year’s pick (protected 1-8), they’ll just owe Boston a future first-rounder with fewer protections (1-6 in 2020 and unprotected in 2021).

If the Grizzlies do keep their pick this summer, they could certainly get lucky, move up in the lottery, and draft one of the consensus top picks such as Duke teammates Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, or Cam Reddish. But the odds of this are low. For instance, the eighth-worst team (i.e. the best the Grizzlies could finish and not have their pick convey) only has a 21.1% chance of getting a top-3 pick.

And even if the Grizzlies were to embrace the tank, the worst three teams (which the Grizzlies would be hard-pressed to become given the Cavs, Bulls, Suns, and Knicks’ issues) each still only have a 40.1% chance at a top-3 pick. So either way (finishing worst to eighth-worst), it’s more likely than not that Memphis wouldn’t get a difference maker in this year’s draft, explaining why the front office would rather the pick convey this summer and ensure the team has its 2020 first-round pick.

Ivan Rabb Recalled From Hustle

January 16th, 2019 at 9:47pm CST by clarkcrum

The Grizzlies have recalled big man Ivan Rabb from their G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, per an official tweet from the team. In 51 career games in Memphis, Rabb has averaged 4.7 points in 11.9 minutes per game.

Grizzlies Applied For Disabled Player Exception

January 16th, 2019 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

January 15 was the final day for NBA teams to apply for a disabled player exception for the 2018/19 season, and before that deadline passed, the Grizzlies submitted a request for a DPE, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Athletic.

If a player is seriously injured, his team can request a disabled player exception to replace him. In order for the exception to be granted, an NBA-designated physician must determine that the player is “substantially more likely than not” to be sidelined through at least June 15. In the Grizzlies’ case, it’s Dillon Brooks who is expected to be out until the summer.

If granted, the disabled player exception allows a club to add a replacement player for 50% of the injured player’s salary, or for the amount of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, whichever is lesser. Brooks’ salary is $1,378,242, so assuming Memphis receives a DPE for him, it will be worth a very modest $689,121.

A disabled player exception can be used to sign a free agent, claim a player off waivers, or acquire a player in a trade. Because it’s designed to replace an injured player for a single season, a DPE can only be used to sign or acquire a player on a rest-of-season contract. The deadline to use it is March 11.

Disabled player exceptions generally go unused, and that will likely be the case for Memphis too, especially given the team’s proximity to the luxury tax line. Still, it doesn’t hurt to apply for the exception, as the club has an open spot on its 15-man roster.

The Grizzlies don’t have their mid-level exception or bi-annual exception available, so even a small disabled player exception could come in handy — the minimum salary exception is declining in value every day due to proration, meaning $689K may actually be worth more than the minimum, depending on when it’s offered and how many years of experience the player has.

Memphis is the third team to apply for a disabled player exception this month, joining the Wizards (John Wall) and Mavericks (J.J. Barea).

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/15/19

January 15th, 2019 at 10:15pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s NBA G League assignment and recalls from across the league:

The Grizzlies have assigned Ivan Rabb to the Memphis Hustle, the team’s G League affiliate, according to the team’s Twitter feed. The No. 35 overall pick in the 2017 draft has seen action in 15 NBA games this season, scoring 40 points over 90 minutes.

Grizzlies Sign Julian Washburn, Cut Jarnell Stokes

January 15th, 2019 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

1:27pm: The Grizzlies have officially signed Washburn to a two-way contract and released Stokes, the club announced today in a press release.

12:57pm: The Grizzlies are among the teams making a change to their two-way players in advance of today’s deadline. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), the club is signing small forward Julian Washburn from out of the G League to a two-way contract. Jarnell Stokes will be released to open up a roster spot, tweets Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com.

Washburn, 27, has signed a pair of camp contracts with the Spurs – one in 2015 and one in 2018 – but has never appeared in a regular season NBA game. The 6’8″ forward has been a regular start this season for the Austin Spurs, however, recording 10.6 PPG and 4.7 RPG on .444/.371/.789 shooting in 23 G League contests (31.7 MPG).

Washburn is unlikely to see a whole lot of playing time in Memphis, but he’ll provide the team with some depth, serving as a potential three-and-D option on the wing. The Grizzlies recently lost Dillon Brooks for the season and Kyle Anderson for two to four weeks due to injuries, so they could use a player like Washburn more than a big man like Stokes.

Grizzlies Notes: Gasol, Trade Deadline, Draft Pick

January 15th, 2019 at 10:07am CST by Luke Adams

The Grizzlies‘ slide down the standings continued on Monday night, as a loss in Houston dropped Memphis’ record to 19-24. The Grizzlies now rank 14th in the Western Conference, four games back of the eighth-seeded Jazz.

The standings in the West are still bunched up enough that even a brief hot stretch could put the club back in the playoff picture. But with so many teams now between them and the top eight, the odds of a Grizzlies postseason push appear to be dwindling by the day. Especially since their next three games come against Milwaukee, Boston, and Toronto.

Given the Grizzlies’ spot in the standings, they’ll face some tough decisions in the coming weeks as the February 7 trade deadline approaches. Here are a few of the latest notes and rumors out of Memphis:

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link), there’s a growing belief around the NBA that Marc Gasol will opt for free agency this summer, rather than exercising his $25.6MM player option. A $25.6MM salary will be hard to replicate for a 34-year-old free agent, so Gasol shouldn’t be considered a lock to opt out. Still, Stein wonders if the Grizzlies could explore trading Gasol at the deadline rather than risk losing him for nothing in the offseason.
In a recent article for The Daily Memphian, Chris Herrington expressed skepticism that the Grizzlies would seriously consider dealing Gasol this season. However, Herrington also believes that the acquisition of Justin Holiday will probably be the last move Memphis makes as a buyer this season. While Herrington doesn’t expect a full-fledged fire sale, he writes that some “smaller, strategic selling” seems realistic.
If the Grizzlies’ playoff chances keep slipping, it could make sense for the team to embrace the tank and try to keep its first-round pick, which is top-eight protected. However, that may not be the best approach for the franchise, as David Cobb of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explains. The 2019 draft class is viewed as fairly average after the top four or five players, and if the Grizzlies keep this year’s pick, they’ll just owe Boston a future first-rounder with fewer protections.

Kyle Anderson Out 2-to-4 Weeks With Ankle Sprain

January 13th, 2019 at 4:18pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

The Grizzlies have revealed that Kyle Anderson will miss at least 2-to-4 weeks with a grade two left ankle sprain. The team’s PR department sent out a tweet detailing the injury and timetable.

Anderson was one of the main free agency additions for the Grizzlies and had started 38 of the team’s 41 games this season while playing nearly 30 minutes per contest. Anderson joined Memphis as a restricted free agent during the 2018 offseason when the Spurs decided not to match the Grizzlies’ four-year, $37.2MM offer sheet.

Anderson has averaged 7.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this season. The Grizzlies have struggled in recent weeks, having fallen out of the playoff picture and down toward the bottom of the Western Conference.