Blazers GM, Aldridge Reps Discuss Possible Trade
Blazers GM Neil Olshey met Sunday in Las Vegas with members of LaMarcus Aldridge's camp who suggested several trade scenarios, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The source described the meeting as productive, with both sides focused on the best outcome for all involved. Still, Haynes hears the team is in no hurry to trade the All-Star power forward, particularly if there isn't a fair deal available. Olshey and company don't want a package of draft picks in return, according to Haynes.
The Bulls, Timberwolves, Clippers, Hawks and Pelicans have declined to include Joakim Noah, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Al Horford and Anthony Davis, respectively, in any deal for Aldridge, Haynes hears. Aldridge has told Haynes and others that he has not requested a trade, and Haynes has confirmed that he hasn't done so. Still, Aldridge isn't opposed to a trade, just as he'd be OK with returning to Portland, as Haynes writes, echoing his report from last month.
A strong performance from Aldridge this season could help Olshey find the deal he wants next summer, when Aldridge will be down to one more year on his contract. The 28-year-old Arn Tellem client will make $14.628MM this season and $15.756MM in 2014/15.
Wolves Rumors: Pekovic, Prince, Henderson
As I explained last Friday, the Timberwolves have done a good job this summer managing the cap, allowing the team to add Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer, and Ronny Turiaf, while locking up Chase Budinger. However, the offseason can't truly be viewed as a success until the T-Wolves re-sign free agent big man Nikola Pekovic. Here's the latest on that front, along with a few more noteworthy items out of Minnesota:
- A source close to Pekovic tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that there has been no movement in negotiations with the Wolves. Minnesota still has an offer on the table, believed to be for four years and $50MM, and persumably Pekovic's camp feels comfortable that the offer isn't going anywhere.
- Timberwolves president Flip Saunders still intends to hire a general manager and VP of basketball operations. According to Wolfson, two candidates we've heard mentioned before remain in play: Rob Babcock and Milt Newton. Wolfson's report suggests two candidates will be hired (or promoted), rather than one exec filling both roles.
- While a Wolves source says a three-year, $21MM deal for Andrei Kirilenko was at least briefly discussed, a source close to Kirilenko tells Wolfson that there was never an offer on the table to bring the forward back to Minnesota.
- Before they signed Brewer, the Wolves had a chance to acquire Tayshaun Prince from the Grizzlies, but passed, given Prince's price tag, according to Wolfson.
- The T-Wolves had "heavy interest" in Gerald Henderson prior to agreeing to terms with Martin.
- The Wolves like O.J. Mayo, but determined he wouldn't be a good fit with Ricky Rubio, since the team wanted to add a two guard who didn't need the ball in his hands a whole lot, says Wolfson. Minnesota also pursued J.J. Redick before landing Martin, but couldn't negotiate a sign-and-trade as beneficial as the Clippers' deal.
- Reps for Nate Robinson and Delonte West called the Wolves to see if the club has interest in either player, but the answer appears to be no, writes Wolfson.
- After being selected 58th overall in the 2012 draft, Robbie Hummel spent last season playing in Spain, but now that he's back with the Wolves' Summer League squad, he's eager to show that he's deserving of the team's final open roster spot, as he tells Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. "That’s the ultimate goal," Hummel said. "It always has been my dream to play in the NBA. I’m thankful for this opportunity and want to show I belong."
Northwest Notes: Wolves, Brewer, Nuggets, Gasol
Here's the latest out of the Northwest Division..
- Pau Gasol or Rajon Rondo could be possibilities for the Nuggets if the Lakers or Celtics decide to really blow things up, writes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. The Nuggets are armed with a trade exception of nearly $10MM from the Andre Iguodala trade and have added flexibility to pull of a deal.
- Corey Brewer is back with the Timberwolves, but this time around he sees a much different team, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. “There are a lot of good players there, and there’s a chance to win. The first time, we didn’t have a chance to win. What better than to come back and have a chance to win where I started? If we stay healthy, we’ll be in the playoffs," said the Florida product.
- More from Zgoda's conversation with Brewer (via Twitter), who tells him that the Bucks, Hawks and Kings also pursued him but of the four clubs, he liked the Wolves' roster the most and the direction the team was going.
Odds & Ends: Mavs, Harris, Kirilenko, Thibodeau
The past two summers haven't gone as planned for the Mavericks, but there's still no need to panic and trade Dirk Nowitzki, as Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram argues. LeBreton is confident the additions of Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon will help the team. Here's more on the Mavs, along with other news from the Association:
- A toe injury scuttled the deal between the Mavs and Devin Harris, but both team and player still have interest in coming to another agreement at some point in the offseason, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- HoopsWorld's Joel Brigham looks at several affordable role players left on the free agent market, including Samuel Dalembert, who appears close to a deal with the Mavs.
- The Wolves' decision to replace David Kahn with Flip Saunders atop their front office played a role in Andrei Kirilenko's decision to opt out of his $10.2MM contract with Minnesota, the Nets signee tells Pavel Osipov of Sport-Express (translation via Alexander Chernykh of Rush'n Hoops; hat tip to NetsDaily).
- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau might not be pleased with the team's decision to let go of close friend and assistant coach Ron Adams, but Thibs' says his relationship with GM Gar Forman is fine, notes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel answers reader questions and wonders whether Heat president Pat Riley's statement that he won't use the amnesty clause is brinksmanship designed to up the trade value of Mike Miller and Joel Anthony.
- A respected longtime NBA executive tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that Jahlil Okafor is the most skilled high school center he's ever scouted (Twitter link). Okafor is 17 years old, so he won't be draft-eligible until 2015.
- Lester Connor and Chris Farr are joining the Nuggets coaching staff, the Denver Post’s Chris Dempsey tweets.
Spencer Lund contributed to this post.
Timberwolves Sign Gorgui Dieng
The Timberwolves have signed Gorgui Dieng to a rookie-scale contract, according to the teams official PR Twitter account. (Twitter link). An official release will come shortly.
The rookie Dieng was selected 21st overall in June's draft as part of the deal sending 14th pick, Shabazz Muhammad, and Dieng to the Jazz in exchange for 9th pick, Trey Burke. Dieng's likely first year salary, according to our salary chart, will be $1,352,640.
The 6'10" 240 pound center from Senegal, was initially ruled ineligible to play for the Louisville Cardinals, but after they appealed the NCAA's decision, it was reversed and he helped them win the 2013 NCAA championship.
Northwest Notes: McCollum, Thunder, ‘Wolves
The Blazers' first round draft choice C.J. McCollum has impressed at Las Vegas' Summer League tonight, going 6-for-10 from the field for 15 points in the first half. CSNNW.com's Chris Haynes spoke with the Blazers' ROY last season, Damian Lillard, about teaming with McCollum in the back-court next season.
Lillard was happy the Blazers selected him, since they've been friends for a long time (Twitter link). Haynes tweets further praise for McCollum and alludes to a possible ROY nod.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld mimics Haynes' reports with his own tweet on the Lilliard-McCollum friendship, and 95.7 The Game's Ric Bucher applauds McCollum's steady hand during his first Summer League action in Vegas (Twitter link).
Here are a few more notes on the Blazers as well as the Thunder and Timberwolves:
- Joe Freeman of the Oregonian spoke with new Blazers center Robin Lopez who told him he’s a little atypical for the NBA.
- Freeman also has an update, via Twitter, on the leg injury suffered by rookie Victor Claver in his first Vegas Summer League game. It appears to be a quad contusion per Freeman's Tweet.
- Rookie Steven Adams was really impressed with the Thunder’s coaching staff last week, tweets the Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry
- CBSSports.com’s Royce Young on why the Thunder seem to have taken a step back by not making many moves this offseason.
- The Minnesota Star-Tribune’s Jerry Zgoda tweets that Corey Brewer’s Timberwolves’ recruitment was impressive. When majority owner Glen Taylor called, said Brewer, "I was like, 'Ok, they really do want me.'"
- Zgoda also writes that despite Brewer returning to the 'Wolves, they don't look anything like they did when Brewer sat on the bench after being drafted by them in 2007.
- Jim Souhan of the Star-Tribune opines that new GM Flip Saunders has set them up for success after all his moves this summer.
- Chase Budinger told Bruce Brothers of the Pioneer Press that the 'Wolves will be "very good."
Odds & Ends: Nets, Celtics, Mavs, Barea
The Nets and Celtics had agreed last month to the framework of a trade that involved Paul Pierce, but not Kevin Garnett, writes Howard Beck of The New York Times. Then, Brooklyn GM Billy King asked Boston counterpart Danny Ainge whether Garnett would be available, too, and the deal began to morph into the nine-player swap that was finalized today. Here's more on an ever-changing NBA landscape:
- The Mavs lost a pair of guards to injury, but they aren't interested in a trade that would bring back J.J. Barea, tweets Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities.
- According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), it's
worth keeping an eye on Jordanian forward Zaid Abbas, who may be NBA-bound next
month. Amick adds in a second tweet that Abbas is holding off on signing with a
Chinese team due to optimism about potential NBA workouts in August. - The Rockets hold the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou after acquiring him as part of the Thomas Robinson trade, but the Bucks are among other NBA teams with interest in the 6'9" Greek small forward who "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link).
- With Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Omri Casspi all joining other teams, the Cavaliers renounced their rights to the trio today, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Cavs did the same with Luke Walton, who remains a free agent.
Western Notes: World Peace, Kings, Young, Pek
Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni told Marc Berman of the New York Post that the team's decision to amnesty Metta World Peace was purely financial.
"Obviously it’s a byproduct of the CBA," D’Antoni said. "As a person and player, I couldn’t find anyone better. He’s great. I enjoyed coaching him. I hope he finds something great. He deserves it. It’s not the coaches. It’s management. They have to manage the cap."
The former Ron Artest probably won't be heading back to Sacramento, with the Kings not planning to place a bid through amnesty waivers, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (on Twitter). While World Peace contemplates a future with another L.A. team, the Lakers have turned their attention elsewhere, and we cover that and other news out of the Western Conference:
- Nick Young's minimum-salary pact with the Lakers is only for one year, but GM Mitch Kupchak suggested that the 28-year-old is a part of the team's long-term plans, as Dave McMenamin passes along (Twitter link). "Although it's a short contract, we hope he would be here for a very long time," Kupchak said.
- Talks between the Wolves and Nikola Pekovic are still going on, but they're moving slowly, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, who figures they'll drag on into next week, at least. President of basketball ops Flip Saunders characterizes the negotiations as "progressing," Zgoda observes in another tweet.
- Saunders also indicated that the Wolves aren't planning another major move this summer. "What you see is what you get," he said, as Zgoda notes via Twitter.
- The Warriors' ambitions of opening a San Francisco arena by 2017 seemed far-fetched in the beginning, and it's becoming clear that the building won't be ready until 2018 at the earliest, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group details.
Atlantic Rumors: Nets, Kirilenko, Kenyon, Knicks
GM Billy King says there's nothing untoward about the Nets discount signing of Andrei Kirilenko, despite whispers about under-the-table dealings, as Newsday's Roderick Boone reports.
"I can’t control what people think, what they say," King said. "I think some of the same things were said when Miami got the Big 3 together or guys have moved around. When things happen, people are surprised. My conscience is clean. I know in dealing with [Kirilenko's agent] Marc Fleisher and getting this deal done, I can’t control what people think."
There's more on Kirilenko's decision and other Atlantic Division rumblings, as we detail:
- King said Kirilenko rejected the Nets' pursuit earlier this month, but the forward had changed his mind by the time King checked in with him again, Boone notes in the same piece.
- The Knicks are eyeing free agent Kenyon Martin as they look for a backup big man, and Martin is keeping the Knicks in mind, guard Iman Shumpert tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Wolves assistant Bill Bayno and Rockets assistant Jesse Mermuys are set to join Dwane Casey's staff with the Raptors, as Eric Koreen of the National Post passes along.
- Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie held forth on all things Sixers in his interview with HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram, affirming that ownership is on board with the drastic changes he's making to the team.
- The Sixers' acquisition of Nerlens Noel for Jrue Holiday, Hinkie's first major move, became official today, as did the Celtics/Nets blockbuster. Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press examines Brooklyn's high-priced gamble.
Timberwolves Sign Shabazz Muhammad
The Timberwolves have officially signed 14th overall pick Shabazz Muhammad, team president Flip Saunders told reporters, including Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). Muhammad was the first of two players selected by the T-Wolves in the first round last month.
Muhammad, a UCLA product, will be in line for a first-year salary worth about $1.89MM, as our chart of rookie salaries shows. There's no word yet on an agreement with Gorgui Dieng, who the Wolves selected 21st overall.