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Odds & Ends: Wade, Colangelo, Deng

March 3rd, 2014 at 3:19pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Heat seem to be chief in Dwyane Wade‘s mind as he eyes his early termination option this summer, but the decision won’t necessarily be straightforward, as he tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who shared Wade’s thoughts in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com.

“Well, I want to be here,” Wade said. “I think that’s always the things I’ve always said and I’ve always expressed. And after that, I want to win. I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m starting over and I’m rebuilding. I want to win. And I want to be on a team that has an opportunity to do that, and feel like I’m a big part of that. This is where I want to be. But as players, [having] options is good. Because you don’t know what is to happen or what is to come. So for us, I think we’re in a great situation. Guys have options as players, and they can exercise those options. Who knows what that means? But right now, for us, we’re on a very good team. We enjoy each other. We enjoy this city and we enjoy playing for this organization, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

Here’s more from Aldridge’s piece and other news from around the league:

  • Bryan Colangelo spoke with Aldridge and attempted to walk back his comments from Friday in which he said he tried to tank as GM of the Raptors in 2011/12.
  • The Pacers reportedly spoke with the Cavs about Luol Deng before the trade deadline, but Andrew Perna of RealGM hears Indiana had no interest in the soon-to-be free agent (Twitter link).
  • The Rockets have recalled Troy Daniels from the D-League, the team announced via Twitter. Daniels had been with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers before the Rockets signed him last month. Houston immediately assigned him back there after inking the deal, which is for the minimum salary, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes in an update to the team’s salary page.
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Eastern Rumors: Jackson, Riley, Muscala

March 3rd, 2014 at 9:39am CST by Chuck Myron

The Eastern Conference’s glut of struggling teams means the worst clubs in the Western Conference have an advantage as they jockey for lottery position, explains Tom Ziller of SB Nation. East teams don’t have to play as many heavies as their Western Conference counterparts do, leading to more wins and fewer ping-pong balls. That helps perpetuate the East’s mediocrity year after year, Ziller writes. Here’s more from the NBA’s weaker side:

  • Phil Jackson tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he remains an “unpaid adviser” to Pistons owner Tom Gores. Jackson, who reiterates that he doesn’t want to coach again, helped the team with its search for former coach Maurice Cheeks, who was fired a couple of weeks ago.
  • Another championship coach is feeling no urge to get back to the sidelines, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel observes. “I’m six years out of coaching right now,” Heat president Pat Riley said. “Look at me, man, I’m full of vitality to have some fun. Six years ago, when I was coaching, I would wake up 5:00 a.m. and it was dark and I was depressed. Not anymore.”
  • The contract that Mike Muscala signed with the Hawks last week is a four-year pact for the minimum salary, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals. This year is fully guaranteed and next season is partially guaranteed for $408K, but the deal otherwise contains no guaranteed salary, Pincus tweets. There’s a team option on the final year.
  • Gerald Wallace expressed his displeasure with winding up on a rebuilding Celtics team when the Nets traded him to Boston this summer, but the veteran says he enjoyed his first year in green, as he tells Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. “I just hope the fans didn’t take offense to me saying I didn’t want to be here as me not wanting to be a part of the organization,” said Wallace, who’s out for the season with a knee injury. “My main thing was the rebuilding process, I didn’t want to go through a whole rebuilding process where you have to start all over 13 years into my career.”
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Eastern Rumors: Butler, Sixers, Jimmer

March 2nd, 2014 at 8:45pm CST by Zachary Links

Heat president Pat Riley says that he made a play for Caron Butler but ultimately things didn’t work out.  “We reached out to him. But he was very definitive with what he wanted. I don’t think it’s something we could have promised…We’re pretty deep. When you got James Jones and Udonis Haslem, Rashard Lewis in those positions, they’re waiting,” said Riley, according to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links).  More out of the East..

  • Within today’s article, Winderman has more from his talk with Riley, including a chat about the future of the Big Three and Dwyane Wade‘s recent emergence.
  • Brett Brown knew that this would be a rough season, but the rookie 76ers coach admits that he really didn’t realize how difficult things would be, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “To say I knew it was going to be like this is false,” said Brown.  Philly is 15-44 and has lost 13 consecutive games after Saturday night’s home loss to the Wizards.
  • Coach Mike Woodson says the Knicks didn’t consider guard Jimmer Fredette before he hooked on with the Bulls, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
  • Sam Smith of Bulls.com gives his early impressions of new Bulls guard Jimmer Fredette.  The guard spoke to the media about his time in Sacramento and what he hoped to do now that he’s in Chicago.
  • Thanks to the state of the Celtics roster, new callup Chris Babb could see even more burn than he could have possibly envisioned, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Babb, who came up from the Maine Red Claws, says he was caught off-guard by his promotion.
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Eastern Notes: Iverson, Anthony, Thibodeau

March 1st, 2014 at 10:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The big news of the night was the Sixers officially retiring Allen Iverson‘s #3 during a halftime ceremony at tonight’s contest with the Wizards. Iverson had officially announced his retirement back in October. He averaged 26.7 PPG and 6.2 APG in 914 career regular-season games, and scored 29.7 PPG in 71 career playoff games. Iverson, who also saw action with the Nuggets, Pistons, and Grizzlies, was an 11-time All-Star, a four-time scoring champion, a three-time member of the All-NBA First Team, and won the MVP award in 2001. Congrats go out to A.I..

More from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Gary Neal is overjoyed at the trade that sent him to the Bobcats, writes Dan McCarney of MySanAntonio.com. Neal told McCarney that he got on the first available plane out of the city, as he wasn’t fond of how he was utilized in Milwaukee, nor about the direction of the franchise. Neal stated, “I’m excited to be playing meaningful basketball again. After three years of being with the Spurs, with every possession of every game counting I’m just glad to being back to that. I’m a little too old for the tanking situation.”
  • Jay Yeomans of the Deseret News analyzes how Jimmer Fredette fits in with the Bulls, who he is rumored to have reached an agreement with earlier today.
  • With free-agency right around the corner, Carmelo Anthony must be taking notice of how much has gone wrong with the Knicks, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.
  • If ‘Melo is really committed to winning, then he should follow the example of Miami’s “Big-Three”, writes Moke Hamilton of SNY.tv. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh all took less to fit in under the salary cap, and Anthony should consider that before signing his next contract, opines Hamilton. It will be the only way for him to bring other star players to New York.
  • The Knicks might attempt to acquire Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau after the season if they let go of Mike Woodson. Marc Berman of the New York Post looks at why the Knicks should try, the probability of the Bulls letting him go, and what it might cost.
  • Tom Moore of Calkins Media looks at what Sixers GM Sam Hinkie can do with the five second-round picks the team has in this year’s draft.
  • Metta World Peace has interest in joining the Pistons, according to his brother, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Caron Butler Signs With Thunder

March 1st, 2014 at 7:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder have signed Caron Butler, the team announced. The Raymond Brothers client spurns the Heat, who had been co-favorites with Oklahoma City. The Bulls, Spurs and Rockets were also in contention for the 12th-year veteran. The deal covers the rest of the season, and perhaps there’s a player option for 2014/15, as Glen Davis recently reNBA: Milwaukee Bucks at Orlando Magicceived from the Clippers.

“We are pleased to welcome Caron Butler to the Thunder organization and to Oklahoma City,” GM Sam Presti said. “Caron represents what we look for in a Thunder player and will positively impact our team. His toughness. hard-nosed defense, resiliency and highly regarded professionalism will only enhance our depth and bring additional versatility to the roster.”

Oklahoma City had reportedly been seeking a two-way wing player before the trade deadline, and were willing to give up their own 2014 first-round pick to acquire Iman Shumpert from the Knicks. New York turned the Thunder down, and while Butler isn’t quite the defensive presence that Shumpert is, the Thunder appear to be better off, particularly since they’ll get to keep their draft pick and they’re likely making only a minimum-salary investment. Oklahoma City had been carrying just 13 players, so the team didn’t have to make a corresponding move.

Butler, who turns 34 in March, has been enduring one of his worst shooting seasons, connecting on just 38.7% of his shots. He’s still making 36.1% of his three-point attempts, and he averaged 11.0 points in 24.1 minutes per game for Milwaukee, which is close to his native Racine, Wisconsin. Butler’s homecoming this season to the league-worst Bucks was no fairy tale, and the team made him a part of trade talks before agreeing to a buyout this week. It’s unclear how much of this season’s $8MM salary he gave up to pry his way out his contract, which was set to end this summer.

The two-time All-Star goes from the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings to the top of the West with Oklahoma City, which figures to make Butler the backup to Kevin Durant and use them together in small-ball lineups. The early end of OKC’s pursuit of Danny Granger, who wound up picking the Clippers late Thursday night, reportedly led executives around the league to believe the Thunder were confident about their ability to land Butler. Miami had seemed like a natural fit, since the Heat made Butler the 10th overall pick in the 2002 draft, and he played his first two seasons with the team, developing a close relationship with Dwyane Wade, the godfather of one of Butler’s daughters.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported the agreement, noting that it covered the rest of the season.

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Odds & Ends: Nowitzki, Colangelo, Fredette

February 28th, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rockets GM Daryl Morey said today that he asked Mark Cuban about acquiring Dirk Nowitzki this summer out of fears the Warriors would keep Dwight Howard from coming to Houston, according to ESPN (Twitter link). Cuban didn’t realize Howard hadn’t committed to the Rockets, and interpreted the proposal as a taunt over the Mavs‘ failed pursuit of Howard. Morey made his remarks at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, and we’ve got more from that meeting of the minds as we pass along the latest from the NBA:

  • Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo admitted that he attempted to tank a few seasons ago, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Presumably, that happened during his Raptors tenure.
  • Jimmer Fredette piqued the interest of the Celtics, but it “wasn’t a good fit for either side,” as president of basketball operations Danny Ainge told reporters today, including Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
  • The Timberwolves have no interest in Fredette for “myriad reasons,” according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).
  • Some within the Lakers organization wanted to retain Pau Gasol through the trade deadline to keep his Bird Rights, but Gasol writes in his blog that L.A.’s financial advantage to re-sign him won’t play into his decision (translation via HoopsHype). The 7-footer says he wants to go where he can help a team win a title, but he’s not ruling out a return to the Lakers.
  • Caron Butler‘s role on the Heat would have been similar to the one Mike Miller played in recent years, and part of his decision to instead join the Thunder centered on the chance for more playing time, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel (Twitter links).
  • The top half of the lottery picks in this year’s draft will be a star-studded bunch, but there are still other potential franchise-changing players in the mix, writes Zach Harper of CBSSports.com, who examines five potential steals.
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Heat Stars Not Planning Hometown Discounts?

February 28th, 2014 at 8:26am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade aren’t going to be “sacrificing millions for the good of the team,” a source tells Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. All three have early termination options on their contracts that they can exercise at season’s end, and it appears they’ll seek the highest paydays possible after signing for less than the maximum salaries they all could have commanded in 2010.

James would no doubt become the most sought-after free agent on the market if he opts out, though he’s given no indication about whether he’ll do so, nor has he suggested that any team would be the favorite to sign him. Similarly, no such hints have come from Bosh, who should also warrant maximum-salary offers if he were to become a free agent, or Wade, whose age (32) and knee troubles would make him the least desirable of the three.

All three could make the most money over the next two seasons by remaining under their current deals, which run though 2015/16. James and Bosh are set to make $20.59MM each in 2014/15, with Wade slated for $20.164MM. If they opt out, the maximum that James and Bosh could make as a starting salary in a new deal, whether with Miami or another club, would be $20,020,875, or 105% of their current salaries. The max for Wade would be $19,606,650. It’s conceivable that the NBA’s maximum salary could rise high enough to make it somewhat more lucrative for all three to sign new contracts, but that won’t be determined until after the July Moratorium, past the deadline for the trio of stars to decide on their early termination options.

Still, they could guarantee themselves a greater sum of money over the long-term if they opted out and signed new four- or five-year contracts. The Heat stars took less than the max in 2010 to join up, with Wade, then still in the prime of his career, making the largest sacrifice. James, Wade and Bosh were all clients of the Creative Artists Agency at the time, but James has since left to join longtime friend Rich Paul of the Klutch Sports Group. If the three stars opt in and rejoin the Heat next season, each has another opportunity to get out of their respective deals via player option in the summer of 2015.

Miami has Bird Rights with all three, allowing the team to exceed the salary cap to re-sign them. The issue for the Heat, as it has been over the past few years, would be figuring out how to maintain a championship-caliber roster around their stars, particularly if Wade’s health continues to decline. The Heat have recently convinced several others to take discounts, but they’ve nonetheless paid the luxury tax the past two seasons, and are set to do so again. The tax penalties will become much greater next season, when repeat offender tax rates kick in.

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Bucks Waive Caron Butler In Buyout Deal

February 27th, 2014 at 4:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:43pm: The Bucks have officially waived Butler, the team announced. There’s no mention of a buyout arrangement in the statement, but presumably that’s what took place. He’s set to become a free agent on Saturday.

3:56pm: A source tells Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel that Butler’s parting of ways with the Bucks is official, and Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com hears he’ll be placed on waivers today (Twitter links). Still, there’s been no official announcement from the team.

8:01am: Caron Butler and the Bucks have reached agreement on a buyout, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who casts the Thunder and Heat as the favorites to sign the small forward once he clears waivers. The Bulls and Spurs are also in the running, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). Butler will hit waivers once Milwaukee makes the move official, and presumably will become a free agent 48 hours later.

The Heat appeared to be the front runners for their former lottery pick when news broke earlier this week that Butler and the Bucks were talking about a buyout, but it appears they have strong competition from Oklahoma City. The Spurs have also previously been linked to Butler, but the Bulls appear to be a newcomer to the pursuit.

The 33-year-old Butler was in trade chatter leading up to the deadline, and while one report indicated the Bucks would be reluctant to give up the Wisconsin native, another suggested the team was ready to part ways, either via trade or buyout. Milwaukee acquired Butler in a trade with the Suns in the offseason, though he never played for Phoenix, which traded for him earlier in the summer in a deal with the Clippers. Butler’s expiring contract calls for him to make $8MM this season, though it’s unclear how much of that the Raymond Brothers client is giving up in the buyout.

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Buyout Rumors: Bulls, Granger, Butler

February 27th, 2014 at 12:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls don’t believe adding a 13th guaranteed contract at this point will push the team into the luxury tax, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. I examined last month how the team’s proximity to the tax could affect its roster, and Mark Deeks of ShamSports did the same, noting how a bonus for Taj Gibson could push the team over the tax line. Deeks tweeted recently that the Bulls couldn’t sign anyone for the rest of the season until April 3rd, but judging from reports linking them to Jimmer Fredette, Danny Granger and Caron Butler, it appears they don’t have to wait that long. Here’s more on a bustling post-deadline market:

  • Granger is having phone conversations today with the Spurs, Heat, Rockets, Clippers and Bulls, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Those are the teams that TNT’s David Aldridge identified Wednesday as Granger’s preferred destinations.
  • Deeks clarifies that the Bulls can sign two players for the rest of the season today and stay out of the tax if they’re confident Gibson won’t make an All-Defensive Team and trigger the bonus clause in his contract. If they wanted to play it safe in case Gibson does earn such an honor, they’d have to wait until April 3rd to hand out any contract for the rest of the season (Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

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Sixers Reach Buyout Deal With Danny Granger

February 26th, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:38pm: Granger’s representatives were present at the Clippers/Rockets game to meet with Los Angeles officials, per Shelburne (Twitter link). Shelburne adds that the Rockets’ push to sign Granger could have something to do with the appearance.

5:05pm: Stein and ESPN.com colleague Ramona Shelburne suggest in their full story that the Clippers are the favorites, and add that Granger is seeking a championship contender as well as playing time.

4:09pm: The Sixers and Danny Granger have reached agreement on a buyout, the team has announced, and Philadelphia has placed the 30-year-old on waivers. David Aldridge of NBA.com first reported the news. The Clippers have emerged as front runners for Granger, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Aldridge names the Clippers, Rockets, Bulls, Heat and Spurs as Granger’s preferred destinations, reiterating his report from earlier today. Marc Stein of ESPN.com casts it as a battle between the Clippers and the Spurs (Twitter link).

“Given Danny’s future goals and his desire to pursue them, we worked to fulfill his requests and have come to a resolution that we feel is mutually beneficial to both Danny and our organization,” Sixers GM Sam Hinkie said in a statement. “We wish Danny the best in the next phase of his career.”

The Pacers traded Granger to the Sixers at the deadline, but Granger was upset upon hearing the news. The Sixers hesitated as they pondered retaining the former All-Star for a possible sign-and-trade in the summer, but they wound up acquiescing to his desires. It’s not clear how much money Granger is forfeiting from his more than $14MM salary.

The Creative Artists Agency client figures to be the prize of the buyout market, even though one GM told Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that he thinks the ninth-year veteran is “done” after injuries that have plagued him the last two seasons. Chris Mannix of SI.com reiterates Stein’s report that the Spurs and Clippers are the front runners, having heard that from executives with other clubs (Twitter link).

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