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L.A. Notes: Buss, Scott, Stephenson

February 22nd, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers owner Jeanie Buss further clarified her interpretation of the timeline for a return to contention that her brother, Lakers executive VP of basketball operations Jim Buss, imposed on himself in 2014. Jim Buss said he would step down if the team wasn’t back in contention within three years, and since then, it’s become clear that this has implications for GM Mitch Kupchak too, writes Sam Amick of USA Today, who spoke with Jeanie Buss in a podcast.

“I think that [Jim] was very sure of himself when he promised that timeline, and I think that he has everything he needs to fulfill that promise of getting the team back competitive,” Jeanie Buss said. “And when I say competitive, it’s competing for the Western Conference Finals, which would mean at least second round [of the playoffs] – if not more. … They have earned the right to take the time that they’ve needed to put together what they want to have out on the court, and if they can’t do that then we have to reexamine how things are going.”

Kupchak makes most of the Lakers player personnel decisions with plenty of latitude from Jim Buss, who has the final say over basketball operations, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). See more on both teams from L.A.:

  • Jeanie Buss told Amick she thinks she’s spoken with Byron Scott “maybe three times” since the Lakers hired him as coach in 2014 but said that she’s nonetheless supportive of him. Scott’s employment beyond the end of the season appears to be in jeopardy.
  • The Lakers are fond of Lou Williams, Brandon Bass and their contracts, Pincus tweets. They were reportedly available on the trade market before the deadline.
  • Lance Stephenson was an awkward fit on the court for the Clippers, but he had a strong desire to fix that and was starting to make progress on that front before the trade that sent him to Memphis, notes Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. The Clippers would seek to re-sign him this summer if the Grizzlies turn down his team option for next season, one Clippers staffer told Woike.
  • Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers didn’t hesitate to give up the lottery-protected 2019 first-rounder that’s going to Memphis as part of the Jeff Green/Stephenson swap, notes Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times. “That one wasn’t a tough one because the way we looked at it was it’s protected,” Rivers said, “so if we’re bad enough to be a lottery team we get the pick. That wasn’t that awful for us.”
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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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Clippers Sign Alex Stepheson To 10-Day Deal

February 20th, 2016 at 3:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

SATURDAY, 3:25pm: The signing is official, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

THURSDAY, 3:49pm: The Clippers plan to sign Alex Stepheson to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Stepheson, the D-League’s leading rebounder, was with the Grizzlies in training camp this past fall but didn’t make the opening night roster.

Stepheson has appeared in 31 contests this season for the Iowa Energy, Memphis’ D-League affiliate, notching averages of 15.9 points, 13.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 34.2 minutes per night. His shooting line is .579/.000/.486.

The 28-year old will help provide frontcourt depth with Blake Griffin out indefinitely, though it remains unclear how much he will be needed after Los Angeles reportedly added Jeff Green via trade earlier today.

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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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Western Notes: Morris, Ayres, Stephenson

February 19th, 2016 at 8:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns GM Ryan McDonough believes the trade that sent Markieff Morris to the Wizards will allow both sides to have a new start, Bob Baum of The Associated Press relays. “I think Markieff will play well in Washington but I think for all parties involved it was time for a fresh start,” McDonough said. “I think this trade hopefully will bring a breath of fresh air into our organization.” The executive also noted that he was extremely pleased with the protected first rounder Phoenix acquired from Washington in the swap, Baum adds. “We feel good about it,” McDonough continued. “Anytime you’re able to acquire a draft pick that has a chance to be late lottery or mid-first round for a player that probably wasn’t fitting in as well as he could have, we view that as a positive outcome for the franchise.”

Here’s more from out West:

  • Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is intrigued with deadline acquisition Lance Stephenson and believes the swingman is still growing as a player, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays. “Lance is a guy who got a significant free agent contract from Charlotte based on how well he played in Indiana two years ago,” Wallace said. “He is a very tough, versatile player who can handle the ball and guard multiple positions. He’s got every reason to be very motivated and help us. He was one of the best shooters coming into the [2010] draft. He’s a young guy who the book hasn’t been written on.”
  • The Clippers acquired Jeff Green with the intention of using his Bird rights to re-sign him in the offseason, and Green, while saying that he’s still adjusting in the immediate wake of Thursday’s trade, can envision a long-term fit in L.A., observes Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter links).
  • The Rockets have assigned rookie combo forward Sam Dekker to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Dekker’s second trek to Rio Grande Valley, though he was injured during his first stint with the Vipers and he did not see any game action as a result.
  • The Thunder have assigned Mitch McGary to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be the center’s sixth stint with the Blue on the season.
  • Center Jeff Ayres, whose second 10-day deal with the Clippers expired last week, has rejoined the the Idaho Stampede, the Jazz’s D-League affiliate, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Grizzlies, Clippers Swap Stephenson, Jeff Green

February 18th, 2016 at 11:58pm CST by Chuck Myron
Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA TODAY Sports Images

Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA TODAY Sports Images

8:48pm: The Clippers traded Lance Stephenson and their lottery-protected 2019 first-round pick to the Grizzlies for Jeff Green, the teams announced. The pick is also lottery-protected for 2020 if it doesn’t convey in 2019, and if it doesn’t change hands in 2020, it would become a 2022 second-rounder, as the Clippers confirmed on their website.

Stephenson, 25, has largely disappointed this season and is averaging only 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 rebounds per game, the second straight season of declines for a once-promising up-and-comer. Memphis is his third team since he left the Pacers to sign with the Hornets in the summer of 2014, though Grizzlies players reportedly told management they want him to stay.

The Clippers appeared to quickly turn away from Stephenson after acquiring him from Charlotte this past summer, though coach/executive Doc Rivers vehemently denied a report that the team gauged interest in him as early as November. Stephenson was reportedly part of a proposal involving Channing Frye that the Clippers ultimately backed away from. The mercurial guard is making $9MM this year with a team option for $9.405MM next season.

In acquiring Green, who is on an expiring contract, the Clippers have a decent placeholder until Blake Griffin returns from his broken hand. Green has a $9.45MM salary for this season, so Memphis gets to create a tiny $450K trade exception for the difference between his salary and Stephenson’s. Conversely, the Clippers add an extra $787,500 to their projected tax bill.

Green was averaging 12.2 points and 4.5 rebounds, and that scoring average is the second-lowest of his career. The former fifth overall pick didn’t become the solution on the wing that the Grizzlies surely hoped he’d be when they traded with Boston to acquire him last year. The latest deal involving Green reunites him with Rivers, his former Celtics coach.

This would seem like a balanced exchange if not for the pick headed to the Grizzlies. However, the Clippers are obliged to send another lottery protected first-round pick to the Raptors because of a previous trade, and the earliest the Grizzlies can see the pick the Clippers owe them is two years after the Clips convey the pick they owe the Raptors, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal explains. Toronto could get its Clippers pick as late as 2019, a scenario that would mean the Grizzlies only get a second-rounder.

Will Joseph contributed to this post. Dan Woike of The Orange County Register broke the news that Stephenson had been traded to the Grizzlies, while Zach Lowe of ESPN.com had Green going to the Clippers. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported the involvement of the first-round pick, while USA Today’s Sam Amick reported it was lottery protected (Twitter link) and TNT’s David Aldridge pegged it as a 2019 first-rounder (Twitter link).

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Eastern Notes: Horford, Calderon, Harris

February 18th, 2016 at 11:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks took center Al Horford off the market at approximately 1pm today, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com relays (Twitter links). Prospective trade partners were wary of Horford’s impending free agency, which made the offers Atlanta received less than enticing, Broussard adds. Point guard Jeff Teague was available until the final minutes of the deadline, with the Bucks and Nets expressing the most interest, the ESPN scribe notes.

Here’s the latest from the East:

  • Despite their best efforts, the Raptors were unable to upgrade their power forward position prior to the NBA trade deadline today, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes. The lack of a significant deal wasn’t due to the team’s lack of effort, with Toronto checking in on virtually every player rumored to be available, but the team found the asking prices simply too steep to pull the trigger, Lewenberg adds. “There was nothing there good enough for us, we felt,” GM Masai Ujiri said. “Anything that was good enough we felt, we just didn’t want to give up the future of our team for any of the stuff that was out there.”
  • Knicks point guard Jose Calderon noted that one reason his numbers have taken a hit is New York’s triangle offense, a system not conducive to gaudy stats from playmakers, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News relays. “It doesn’t matter how I play,” Calderon said. “Sometimes when you maybe get off on the wrong foot or people don’t know you as a player and expect something else. It’s tough to change those minds. So I’m pretty good with the way I am, the way I do stuff, the way I work. Like I said, if we go position by position, or player by player, I lost every battle in that situation. I’m not going to score more points than other point guards in this league. I’m a different kind of player. It’s not fun when you want to win for the Knicks and people want you out of the Knicks.”
  • The Knicks may cut the playing time of rookie point guard Jerian Grant because his lack of playing experience is hurting him and the team, according to interim coach Kurt Rambis, Marc Berman of The New York Post relays.
  • Courtney Lee says being dealt to the Hornets “threw him off” because he was told the previous day by the Grizzlies he wasn’t being shopped, Steve Reed of The Associated Press writes. The swingman did add that the presence of coach Steve Clifford, who was an assistant in Orlando during Lee’s rookie season, would help him adjust more quickly, Reed adds. “It helps a lot,” Lee said of Clifford. “I have a feel for him and his coaching style. He knows my capabilities and I think he’s comfortable with me in that sense. It’s just a matter of picking up the plays.”
  • The Pistons did extremely well in the trade that landed them Tobias Harris, David Mayo of MLive.com opines. Detroit netted a still-improving combo forward who provides exactly what the team lacked in its frontcourt and Harris’ salary will likely look like a bargain in the coming season, Mayo adds.
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Western Notes: Martin, Howard, Green

February 18th, 2016 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Trail Blazers didn’t want to part with any of their young core of players at this year’s trade deadline, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian writes. “We went into the trade deadline trying to be opportunistic,” Portland president of basketball operations Neil Olshey told Freeman. “We wanted to gather assets. Clearly this group is really overachieving. There’s a lot of young guys that have a future and we wanted to make sure we were giving them the chance to win. We didn’t want to touch the core group of guys that have exceeded expectations. [Coach] Terry [Stotts] is comfortable with those guys, they’re doing what we need them to do on the court. But we need things in the future to continue to build the roster and that’s what we did today.”

There is a chance that the team will re-sign Tim Frazier, who was waived earlier today, Freeman adds. “Tim was a casualty. He’s been great for us,” Olshey said. “He’s great in the locker room, he’s close with our guys. We told him, ‘Look, if we don’t have an opportunity to add another player at your position, we would look at bringing you back if you clear waivers.’ I can’t speak to that right now. But at the time he was the most viable candidate to be waived to create the roster spot for Anderson Varejao.” Varejao was subsequently waived by Portland.

Here’s more from out West:

  • Timberwolves GM Milt Newton said the team hasn’t discussed a potential buyout arrangement with shooting guard Kevin Martin but added that it’s a conversation that will probably come up in the near future, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune relays (on Twitter). Martin, who possesses a player option worth nearly $7.378MM for next season, was reportedly a trade deadline target of the Knicks, but the teams didn’t strike a deal. The 33-year-old has appeared in 35 games for Minnesota this season and is averaging 11.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22.6 minutes per night.
  • The Grizzlies‘ players have let team management know that they don’t want newly acquired swingman Lance Stephenson waived, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweets.
  • Rockets GM Daryl Morey noted that the team never came close to trading center Dwight Howard, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter links). “It was going to have to take something significant to make us look at anything and even then we probably wouldn’t have,” Morey said. “Part of my job is I have to explore everything. We believe in James [Harden] and Dwight together.“
  • Numerous teams were interested in Howard, but any deal was contingent on the big man agreeing to opt in next season, something Howard wasn’t keen on, relays Marc Stein of ESPN.com. “Not surprisingly, as the deadline approached, several teams called stating they had worked out the trade parameters with Houston for a Dwight deal but were not prepared to give up their assets unless Dwight agreed to opt into the last year of his contract and forgo free agency. Dwight declined,” Dan Fegan, Howard’s agent, said.
  • Point guard Erick Green has officially rejoined the Reno Bighorns following the expiration of his second 10-day pact with the Jazz, Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter). Reno is the D-League affiliate of the Kings.
  • The Jazz have assigned big man Tibor Pleiss to the Idaho Stampede, their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This will be Pleiss’ fourth stint in the D-League on the season.
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Pacific Notes: Griffin, Wilcox, Frye

February 18th, 2016 at 7:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Clippers power forward Blake Griffin will face extra scrutiny for his role in an off the court incident involving a member of the team’s training staff when he returns from injury and his four-game suspension, Michael Lee of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes. Griffin has come under fire before for his physical style of play and there is a strong chance that other players will attempt to test Griffin’s response to aggressive play against him, Lee adds, though coach/executive Doc Rivers doesn’t think it will be an issue for his player. “Listen, he’s tested every night,” Rivers told Lee. “Blake gets hit, chipped more than any player in the league. He’s already been tested.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Clippers turned down four deals that involved shooting guard C.J. Wilcox, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). The 25-year-old has only appeared in eight contests this season, averaging 0.8 points in 2.9 of action per game.
  • Despite their wealth of talent, the Warriors did not receive one trade inquiry prior to today’s deadline, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times tweets.
  • The Clippers passed on the chance to acquire Channing Frye from the Magic because the team preferred Jeff Green, whom it landed from Memphis in exchange for Lance Stephenson, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
  • Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak doesn’t want to discuss the future of Byron Scott and indicated that the coach’s status with the organization hasn’t changed, Jovan Buva of ESPN.com notes. “Byron is under contract, and until that changes, or if that changes, I’ll let you know,” Kupchak said. “Once again, I don’t want to get into a Byron discussion right now,” Kupchak continued. “So I’m not going to really answer any more questions about Byron, because I’m concerned that one question will lead to another, and if his status changes, I will let you know.“
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Western Rumors: Anderson, Rockets, Lakers

February 18th, 2016 at 2:02pm CST by Will Joseph

The price New Orleans has set for Ryan Anderson is “exorbitant,” tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The Cavs were one of several teams linked to having interest in acquiring Anderson, who is set to be a free agent this summer. Anderson is expected to attract a salary starting at $16MM-$18MM when he hits the market this summer. It’s interesting to note how much the Pelicans are asking for Anderson because they aren’t even sure if they can keep him beyond this season.

Here is more trade deadline news from the Western Conference:

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