Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag 2/1/15-2/7/15
In addition to our weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have added a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap, or the NBA draft? Drop me a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com or @EddieScarito on Twitter. Now for this week’s inquiries:
“With Hassan Whiteside tearing it up in Miami, do the Heat still look to try and acquire Brook Lopez?” — Robert R.
Well Robert, first off, there has been conflicting information regarding the Heat’s interest in trading for Lopez. Pat Riley had come out last week and denied reports of a proposed deal that would have sent Chris Andersen, Norris Cole and Josh McRoberts to the Nets for Lopez. Granted, Riley publicly denying a trade proposal doesn’t mean it didn’t occur, and both Cole and McRoberts have been mentioned as trade candidates, so there is probably some level of truth to Miami taking a shot at Lopez.
As for Whiteside, he is certainly making a name for himself lately, and he’s become the main reason to watch the Heat play this season. I’m still not 100% sold on Whiteside being a long-term dominant big man in the league. His sample size this season is far too small to accurately predict his future performance, and it seems unlikely that he would be able to maintain the same energy and momentum that he is currently providing. But Whiteside is certainly stating his case to factor into the Heat’s future plans with performances like his 24 point, 20 rebound explosion versus Minnesota on Wednesday night.
But if the price was reasonable, then sure, I could see the Heat pulling the trigger on a deal to nab Lopez. But with Whiteside performing as well as he is, and his non-guaranteed salary for 2015/16 only $981,348, it would be unlikely that Miami would still actively pursue Lopez. I like what Lopez can bring to a team, but his limited defense, ball-stopping ways on offense, and his injury history make Lopez too big a risk at this point. Plus, there’s no guarantee that he would remain with the Heat past this season if they acquired him. Lopez hasn’t publicly stated his intentions regarding his $16,744,218 player option for 2015/16. If I’m the Heat, I avoid Lopez and stick with Whiteside. But keep in mind that Whiteside could be rather expensive to keep after next season when he hits free agency. As thankful as he may be to the Heat for giving him the opportunity to show his stuff, I would be very surprised if he gave Miami a discount on his next deal. Whiteside’s path to the NBA is a true journeyman’s tale, and he’ll likely look to cash in big when he has the opportunity.
“The Suns seem to have taken a step back since last season. Do they hold onto their three point guards (Eric Bledsoe, Isaiah Thomas, and Goran Dragic)? If not, who is the most likely to be traded?” — Bradley
Technically, the Suns have four point guards on their roster. Don’t forget about Tyler Ennis, whose potential I’m still rather high on. But on to your question. I don’t see Phoenix moving Thomas, Dragic, or Bledsoe before the deadline. Phoenix seems to be rather fond of its three point guard set, and there isn’t a major demand for big money point men currently. There are a number of teams in need of help at the one spot right now thanks to injuries, but I don’t see any of them making a serious play for Phoenix’s guys. Most of the teams needing a floor general are seeking backup-type players on team-friendly contracts, which doesn’t quite describe the Suns’ trio.
However, the one major caveat here is if GM Ryan McDonough gets the sense that Dragic isn’t going to re-sign with the team, then it’s entirely possible that he gets moved for the right return. There will be quite a few teams that will take a run at signing Dragic this summer, and since he can also play shooting guard full-time, that increases the potential market for the player. My gut feeling is that Phoenix will hold onto him, as well as Thomas and Bledsoe, for the remainder of the season. I do believe that the Suns will try and make some significant changes this offseason, and I can’t shake the feeling that Dragic will head elsewhere this summer. But for now, unless McDonough is blown away by an offer, which would likely require a star-caliber player to be included, I don’t see Phoenix making a major deal in the next two weeks.
“Where does Greg Monroe end up next season? Any chance he could return to Detroit?” — Kyle M.
There’s always a chance that Monroe could return to Detroit, but it’s unlikely. If he wanted to remain in Motown he would have simply signed an extension with the team instead of playing for Detroit’s $5.48MM qualifying offer and risking an injury that could harm his future earnings. With the team’s improved play since jettisoning Josh Smith, things may have changed, but I still don’t see Monroe wearing a Pistons jersey next season.
As for where Monroe is likely to end up, my money is on him going to the Knicks. New York will have plenty of cap space to throw around, and Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge are unlikely to leave their current teams, which will leave Phil Jackson desperate to make an impact move with his wealth of available cap space. Monroe would immediately upgrade the Knicks’ roster, as well as be a nice complement to Carmelo Anthony. Plus, the Knicks are one of the teams likely to overpay for Monroe, which never hurts a franchise’s chances of landing a player. If New York doesn’t nab Monroe, my second choice for his destination would be the Rockets.
“The East seems to be wide open right now as far as the playoffs are concerned. Which Eastern Conference team do you think will make the biggest splash on the trade market before the deadline?” — Zeke
This has been an odd season in relation to roster moves thus far, which makes the next two weeks extremely difficult to predict. With the East as open as it is regarding the playoffs, there should be quite a few teams that will be looking to add an impact player or two before the deadline with the hopes of snagging a playoff spot. The two Eastern Conference teams that are poised to have the biggest potential impact on the trade front are Brooklyn and Charlotte.
The Hornets will still likely look to trade Lance Stephenson, and I believe they will do everything within their power to cut ties with the mercurial swingman. The problem for Charlotte is that teams around the league are leery about adding Stephenson to their respective locker rooms, which is something that the Hornets should have considered prior to signing him. Sometimes you get exactly what you expect, and Stephenson has lived up to the reputation he made for himself in Indiana thus far. On the right team, Stephenson could be the missing piece for a playoff run. But only a team with a strong locker room could maximize what Stephenson has to offer, while avoiding the pitfalls his attitude and personality bring with him.
But it’s the Nets who could make the biggest splash prior to the deadline. With the team reportedly looking to deal Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and Lopez, that is a significant amount of talent and salary in play. While it’s doubtful that Brooklyn would nab a true star player in return, dealing any one of those players would not only change the identity of the Nets. Each of those players, if healthy, could be game-changing acquisitions for teams willing to take on cap hits of that magnitude.
That’s all the space that I have for this week. Thanks to all those who sent in their questions. I’ll be back next Saturday to answer a whole new batch. So fire away and keep filling up my inbox with your inquiries.
Southeast Notes: Vaughn, Heat, Walker
A number of coaches around the NBA have taken issue with the way in which the Magic fired former coach Jacque Vaughn, Chris Mannix of SI.com writes. Said one NBA coach, “We get hired to eventually get fired. But what they did to Jacque was disrespectful.” The main complaint about the team’s handling of Vaughn relates to how the franchise left Vaughn to face a daily barrage of questions regarding his job status instead of either simply pulling the plug on him sooner, or giving Vaughn a public endorsement to ease the media scrutiny, Mannix adds.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Heat team president Pat Riley and his staff want to bolster their roster at the deadline but lack the assets to make a deal, Grantland’s Zach Lowe writes. Still, that would seem to indicate that the club doesn’t intend to be a seller, though that is merely my speculation.
- Kemba Walker is expected to miss approximately five more weeks while recovering from knee surgery, but the Hornets‘ point guard says that he won’t rush his recovery and risk re-injuring himself, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “Right now I’m taking things slow. I want to be 100% when I come back,” Walker said. “I started riding the bike two days ago. As the weeks go by, I’ll do more and more.”
- After enduring the previous two rebuilding seasons, Magic GM Rob Hennigan and CEO Alex Martins both expected greater improvement and player progress than the team displayed this season, which is what ultimately led to Vaughn being fired, John Denton of NBA.com writes. “We went into the season wanting to see some progress and see some growth and we just didn’t feel like we were seeing the kind of growth that we wanted to see,’’ said Hennigan. “That led us to this point. We find ourselves in a little bit of a rut right now. We’ll call it what it is, but I’ll always say that it’s a road bump and not a road block. We will get through this, but it doesn’t make it any easier when you have to make the type of decision that we made the other day.’’
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Central Notes: George, Cavs, Tolliver
Paul George would like to be back by March, a timeframe that Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird hinted at earlier this week, but George indicated that it’s nonetheless unlikely as he spoke today with reporters, including Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (three Twitter links). He’s targeting March 1st to be back in full practices with the team and said that if Indiana still has a shot at the playoffs later this season, it’d help sway him to return if he’s on the fence, as Buckner notes (three Twitter links). The Pacers are three and a half games out of the playoffs, but they’d have to pass four teams to get there. Here’s more on their Central Division rivals:
- Executives around the league wondered if teams in the East would more aggressively try to make deals that would help them fill the void atop the conference as the Cavaliers failed to live up to expectations earlier this season, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com hears. Now, with the Cavs having won 11 in a row and the trade deadline two weeks away, Berger wonders if those teams will abandon that strategy. The Pacers are nonetheless in “win-now mode,” Bird said this week.
- The Cavs have assigned Joe Harris to the D-League, the team announced. It’s D-League stint No. 5 for the 33rd overall pick in the 2014 draft, and all of those assignments have taken place since January 20th.
- Anthony Tolliver fondly recalled his time with the Warriors when MLive’s Brendan Savage asked the well-traveled eighth-year NBA veteran to name his favorite stop aside from the Pistons, with whom he’s under team control through next season. Tolliver also said that Miami, where he played for the Heat during the 2009 preseason, is his favorite NBA city, responding to another question from Savage.
Eastern Notes: Whiteside, Cavs, Barac
Heat center Hassan Whiteside had worked out for the Wolves back in 2012 after being released by the Kings. But Minnesota chose not to sign the big man, who is having a breakout season in Miami, due to reported maturity issues, something that Whiteside has overcome, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald writes. “He fell through the cracks as much as anything because of whether it was people questioned his work ethic, they questioned him off the court in some situations and they questioned his discipline,” Minnesota’s president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said. “He has matured. Sometimes young players, when he came out he rose so fast at Marshall, sometimes what happens is they’re not ready for that, they’re not ready for the NBA and everything that comes with it, and they think once they’re there everything is going to fall into place. So, I think more than anything he has matured and he has paid dues.”
Here’s more from the East:
- LeBron James said that he would be willing to come off of the bench if it would help the Cavs continue to win, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. “It’s about a team and how we all fit together, how the five guys on the court fit together, how the eight guys or 10 guys on the bench all help the guys that are on the floor and so on and so on,” James said. “So, sacrifice is the biggest word in team sports, but it’s not about saying it. It’s about doing it, as well. It’s about living it.“
- Cavs coach David Blatt downplayed Kevin Love‘s recent struggles and called attention to the contributions Love provides that don’t make it into the box score, McMenamin adds. “I think Kevin is very much in the flow of the game and is playing both ends of the court,” Blatt said. “The last thing I really worry about with Kevin Love is if he is going to score. He’s a proven scorer in this league and a proven high-level scorer. And he’s helping the team win. He’s playing to win and that’s really what both concerns me and what impresses me about him, is he’s been willing to do whatever it takes to help us win and that’s what we want.“
- Pacers draft-and-stash prospect Stanko Barac, whom the team was reportedly looking to sign to a deal, won’t be able to leave Cedevita Zagreb until this summer, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype.com reports. Barac’s contract doesn’t contain a NBA out clause, which will prevent the 7’2″ Croatian from joining Indiana this season, Sierra notes.
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Hornets, Magic
The Hawks‘ depth took a hit with the injury to Thabo Sefolosha, and one of Atlanta’s primary concerns with making any deal to compensate for his loss is disrupting the team’s excellent chemistry, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. “For us to be open to improving the group and adding more depth, with Thabo healthy or without Thabo healthy or without Thabo having this injury, it’s kind of the same mindset,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We really like our group. You are hesitant to do anything. There is a little more opportunity for a six-to-eight week window but I don’t think it changes much if at all.”
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets couldn’t wait any longer for Jannero Pargo‘s injured back to heal, which is what prompted the team to waive the veteran in order to make room for the signing of Elliot Williams, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “He still wasn’t close to being able to play,” coach Steve Clifford said of the decision to waive Pargo. “We were playing with fire out there if Brian Roberts goes down. Lance Stephenson and Gary Neal are doing a great job, but you’ve got to have a point guard.”
- Heat assistant GM Adam Simon had been the key figure within Miami’s organization keeping up with Hassan Whiteside before the team signed the big man in November, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com.
- If the Magic had managed just five more wins during the first half of the season, it’s likely that coach Jacque Vaughn‘s job wouldn’t be in jeopardy, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel writes. Schmitz speculates that if Orlando had 20 wins, the franchise would be in the playoff hunt in the weaker Eastern Conference, and Vaughn’s employment situation would have been more stable as a result.
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Whiteside, Barac
Pacers draft-and-stash prospect Stanko Barac is finally seeking an NBA deal, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM. The 28-year-old has been playing overseas since becoming the 39th overall pick in 2007, and while he recently signed with Croatia’s Cedevita through the end of this season, he’d like to come stateside, Charania adds. The Pacers have kept an eye on him, but nothing is imminent, the RealGM scribe cautions. Indiana tried to sign him to a lucrative deal years ago to no avail, and there’s interest in him from other NBA teams, according to Charania, but it’s unclear whether any team wants to trade for his rights at this point. He’s one of two draft rights held players that the Pacers have, as Mark Porcaro’s Hoops Rumors database shows.
Here’s more from the East:
- Phil Jackson indicated to Harvey Araton of The New York Times that the Knicks won’t necessarily chase star free agents this summer, and Marc Berman of The New York Post writes that there’s been a “feeling within the league” that New York will instead target multiple second-tier free agents. Berman names Paul Millsap, Wesley Matthews, Draymond Green, Goran Dragic, Tobias Harris and Greg Monroe as members of that second tier, and while some of them, like Monroe and Harris, have indeed been identified in other reports as Knicks targets, it’s unclear if Jackson is actually eyeing all of those players.
- Elton Brand spoke with Luol Deng about the Danny Ferry controversy before re-signing with the Hawks, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post writes. “He said, ‘I don’t understand why it’s in the report, but I forgive Danny and I’m ready to move on,’ ” Brand said of Deng. “So that helped me. As a team, we felt like that’s a management issue. That was up there. We still got to play, we still got to get our fans back.”
- If Hassan Whiteside continues to show he’s a quality starting center, it will significantly impact what the Heat do and how they allocate their cap space over the next few years, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. Whiteside will be an unrestricted free agent n the summer of 2016. If he keeps this up, Jackson writes that Miami will likely consider moving Josh McRoberts‘ hefty deal that pays him $5.8MM in 2016/17 and $6.02MM in 2017/18 (player option).
Chuck Myron and Zach Links contributed to this post.
Amico On Nets, Lawson, Williams, Kings
With the NBA trade deadline just over two weeks away, many GMs from around the league are certain to be burning up their phone plan minutes while trying to improve their teams for a playoff run, or for others, trying to clear as much cap space as possible for the summer’s free agent signing period. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio ran down a number of rumors from around the league. Here are some of the highlights:
- The Nets have been seeking trade partners for Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson, and Deron Williams, but they are looking to receive assets in return, and not to just dump salary in the deal, Amico notes. “I’ve talked to Brook about it, I’ve talked to Joe, I’ve talked to Deron,” Brooklyn GM Billy King said. “The players all know it’s part of the business, but we’re not looking just to get rid of these guys just because they’re saying they’re gonna do that. We’re exploring things that make sense as people call, but we’re not going to be making a trade to make a trade. That’s foolish.“
- Brooklyn had originally spoken with the Kings regarding a possible deal for Williams over a month ago, but those discussions have since died out, Amico adds. The Nets had also discussed a trade with the Hornets involving Johnson and Lance Stephenson.
- The Nuggets appear to be willing to trade point guard Ty Lawson, but Denver’s asking price is currently high enough that it is scaring away inquiring teams, the FOX Sports scribe notes.
- The Timberwolves are willing to deal Mo Williams, and the Kings are interested, Amico hears. Other teams reportedly interested in the veteran guard are the Pistons, Heat, Cavs, and Clippers.
- Barring a sudden turnaround in Sacramento, the odds are against Tyrone Corbin being retained as coach for next season, Amico notes. In addition to Kings executive Chris Mullin being a potential replacement, both Tyronn Lue and Larry Drew will be considered candidates as well, Amico adds.
Eastern Notes: Lowry, Pistons, Heat, Kidd
DeMar DeRozan stayed in touch with Kyle Lowry this summer but didn’t try to pressure him into re-signing with the Raptors, and the soft-sell approach worked, as the point guard tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Lowry confirms that the Rockets met with him on the first day of free agency but suggests that the Heat only made contact via email, as Lowry also says to Aldridge. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Pistons GM Jeff Bower looked into trade possibilities as the team sought a point guard, but no amenable deal emerged that would have allowed Detroit to acquire a player on an expiring contract, as president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy told reporters today. Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press has the details. Detroit, which temporarily filled its vacancy with a 10-day deal for John Lucas III today, reportedly had interest in Norris Cole, who’s on an expiring deal, but the team evidently couldn’t work out a deal for him.
- Lucas is willing to stick around if the Pistons want him beyond his 10-day contract, though he acknowledges that the team has made no promises for after the 10 days, as Ellis observes in the same piece.
- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called 10-day signee Tyler Johnson “the model of player development” today, as Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald tweets, leading Goodman to wonder if the club has long-term plans for the guard. Miami can’t sign Johnson to anymore 10-day deals this season after this one expires at the end of Saturday, so a season-long commitment would be required if he’s to remain with the Heat.
- Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders makes the case that Jason Kidd should be a leading candidate for Coach of the Year thanks to the job he has done in his first year with the Bucks. Kidd is no stranger to surprising turnarounds as a player, since he helped take the Nets from a 26-56 team in 2000/01 to the Eastern Conference title in 2001/02 upon his arrival. We’re only just past the midway point of the season, but Hamilton has Kidd as his top coach of the 2014/15 season, ahead of Steve Kerr and Mike Budenholzer.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Nuggets Offer Hickson, McGee For Lopez
12:11pm: The Nets and Nuggets haven’t spoken about Lopez in a week, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
MONDAY, 7:47am: Denver’s offer included one of the 2015 first-round picks the team received in return for Timofey Mozgov last month, sources tell Stein, who writes in a full piece. The Mozgov trade gives Denver the rights to Oklahoma City’s first-round pick this year if it’s No. 19 or lower and Memphis’ first-rounder if it’s anywhere from No. 6 to No. 14.
FRIDAY, 11:20pm: The Nuggets are continuing to attempt to pry Brook Lopez away from the Nets, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Denver has been offering Brooklyn a package of JaVale McGee and J.J. Hickson for Lopez, a deal that the Nets have firmly refused, Stein adds. Chris Mannix of SI.com had reported earlier today that the Nuggets were pursuing Lopez, but were unwilling to part with Ty Lawson, Kenneth Faried, Jusuf Nurkic or Wilson Chandler in a trade. Denver had reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Lopez earlier this month as well.
Denver’s proposed swap would work under the salary cap rules without requiring any additional players to be included. Hickson is making $5,381,750 for this season and is set to earn $5,613,500 in 2015/16. McGee’s 2014/15 salary is $11.25MM, and he is due $12MM for the following season. On the Nets side of the would-be deal, Lopez is earning $15,019,762 this year, and has a player option for 2015/16 for $16,744,218.
The oft-injured McGee has only appeared in 15 games this season for the Nuggets. He is averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per contest. His career numbers are 8.5 PPG and 5.6 RPG. His slash line is .542/.200/.586 in 374 career games. The 29-year-old Hickson has appeared in 39 games for Denver, including five as a starter. He is logging 8.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. His shooting numbers for the season are .494/.000/.618.
Lopez has been the subject of numerous trade rumors the past few weeks. The Thunder, Hornets and the Nets were reportedly close to a three-way deal for the center, but the Nets decided that they didn’t want Lance Stephenson in return. The Heat were also noted to have made a bid for Lopez, offering Brooklyn a proposal that reportedly included Chris Andersen, Norris Cole and Josh McRoberts. The organization appears to be undecided on whether or not to keep Lopez, but it will likely take a more enticing package than Denver had offered in McGee and Hickson for Brooklyn to budge, though that is just my speculation.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Young, Celtics, Heat
The Pistons are still searching for a third point guard after the season ending injury to Brandon Jennings, but with about two and a half weeks until the trade deadline, the team wants to remain as flexible as possible just in case it can find a trade partner, writes David Mayo of Mlive.com. “We could do two 10-days, and then if nothing materializes, we’ve got a guy who’s been with us for three weeks,” team president Stan Van Gundy said. “And if something does, then we make a move. That’s part of the timing issue.” Mayo identifies Norris Cole of the Heat as a potential trade target that makes sense. The Pistons were one of the teams interested in Cole, and our own Chuck Myron examined the point guard as a trade candidate earlier in the week.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Celtics on Saturday assigned James Young to their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, according to the team’s twitter feed. Young has already appeared in eight games for the Red Claws, averaging 22.4 points per game while shooting 47.9% from three point range.
- Going into the season, the Celtics didn’t expect to contend for a playoff berth, but president of basketball operations Danny Ainge would love to make the playoffs as long as the team keeps improving, writes Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation. “I would love to see our team in the playoffs, but I don’t want to see us back into the playoffs with a really bad record and not even have a fighting chance. If our team can keep getting better by developing, if we can make some deals at the trade deadline that put us in position to actually get into the playoffs and have a chance to win a playoff series, I think that would be a lot of fun,” Ainge said. Boston is unlikely to make any moves that sacrifice the future in order to climb up the standings this season.
- The Heat, with a record of 20-26, remain a good bet to make the playoffs thanks to the improved play of Hassan Whiteside, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. Winderman argues that Whiteside has nearly become irreplaceable for Miami and with Dwyane Wade‘s recent injury, the center may take on an even bigger role. The 25-year-old has 15.3 points, 17.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks in just 29.8 minutes per game over his last three contests.