- Solomon Hill is one of the Pelicans‘ highest-paid players, but he isn’t seeing many minutes this season for the club, despite being healthy. Scott Kushner of The Advocate explores Hill’s role in New Orleans – or lack thereof – and what’s in store for him going forward.
Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Pelicans have assigned undrafted rookie forward Kenrich Williams to the G League, the team announced today (via Twitter). New Orleans is one of just three NBA clubs that doesn’t have its own G League squad, so Williams will join New York’s affiliate, the Westchester Knicks.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he would discuss holding a future All-Star Game in the city of Detroit with Arn Tellem, the vice-chairman of the Pistons, Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News reports. The Pistons are playing their second season at Little Caesars Arena, which is also the home of the NHL’s Red Wings. “I’m sure we’ll be talking about it,” Silver said during a business trip to the city. The state of Michigan hasn’t seen an All-Star Game since 1979, when it was held in the Pontiac Silverdome. The Pistons’ former home, The Palace of Auburn Hills, never hosted the event.
We have more news from around the basketball world:
- Former Heat and Cavaliers big man Okaro White is close to signing with Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to a Eurobasket.com report which was relayed by Sam Amico. White appeared in six games with Miami last season after seeing action in 35 games with the Heat the previous season. The Cavaliers signed him to 10-day contracts last season but he didn’t play. He was waived by Cleveland in August and then by the Spurs in October after joining them for training camp.
- The G League’s Austin Spurs acquired the returning rights to guard John Holland and a 2019 second-round pick from the Canton Charge, the Cavs’ affiliate, in exchange for small forward Jaron Blossomgame, according to a press release from the G League club. Holland had a two-way contract with the Cavaliers last season and played 24 games, posting an average of 2.3 PPG in 7.3 MPG. Holland appeared in one game this season with the Cavaliers before being waived on November 9th. Blossomgame, the Spurs’ second-round pick in 2017, spent the last two seasons with Austin but has yet to make his NBA debut.
- The Warriors, Sixers, Lakers and Pelicans are the most likely landing spots for Carmelo Anthony once he’s waived by the Rockets, Matt Eppers of USA Today opines. Anthony could help each of those teams to varying degrees, mainly as a second-unit player.
Sixers managing partner and owner Josh Harris is both determined and optimistic that Jimmy Butler will remain with the team beyond this season, as he told USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt and The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Butler trade was made to give the franchise a third star alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid and become a serious championship contender. It wouldn’t have happened unless the Sixers were convinced they could keep Butler, who can opt out of his contract this summer, in the long run.
“We’ve been saying since the summer we’ve been looking for another star and we felt we needed another shooter, a three-and-D wing, someone like Jimmy,” Harris told Zillgitt. “They’re hard to find at this elite level. We know who we have to get through to win the East. It’s obvious who it is. We think this is a piece we needed.”
While Butler became a major distraction around the Timberwolves, he’s been a model citizen since joining the Sixers. And Philadelphia anticipates that its gamble will pay off in the long run in the form of a multi-year contract.
“Our goal is to have elite talent under contract for a long time,” Harris told Charania. “That’s what we’re interested in.”
Both reporters offered insights into the trade discussions involving Butler. The Sixers eventually agreed to deal Dario Saric, Robert Covington, Jerryd Bayless and a future second-rounder for Butler and throw-in Justin Patton.
- The Timberwolves initially asked for another starter in addition to the trio the Sixers dealt, according to Zillgitt.
- Minnesota narrowed its offers to three teams, with the Pelicans and Rockets being the other finalists, according to Charania. New Orleans dangled forward Nikola Mirotic and a first-round pick, while Houston was willing to part with guard Eric Gordon and two first-rounders.
- The Sixers initially offered draft picks and other large contracts, Harris told Charania. Markelle Fultz was discussed in the Butler talks.
- Other suitors, such as the Lakers, wanted to wait until the December 15th date when signed free agents could be included in a deal for Butler, Charania added.
The Pelicans have confirmed in a press release that point guard Elfrid Payton will undergo surgery to repair his broken left pinky finger, and have provided a recovery timeline. According to the team, Payton is expected to be sidelined for about six weeks.
[RELATED: Elfrid Payton to undergo surgery on broken finger]
Payton, who signed a one-year, $3MM deal with the Pelicans over the offseason, looked like a bargain in the early going, helping lead his new team to four straight wins to open the season. In those four games, he averaged 14.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 7.0 APG with a .511/.429/.636 shooting line in 32.0 MPG.
However, Payton left his fifth game early with an ankle sprain, missed New Orleans’ next nine games, then played just eight minutes in his return to action before breaking his finger. The Pelicans are just 5-7 in the games that Payton has missed or departed early.
With Payton sidelined, Jrue Holiday will see more time at the point, with Ian Clark, Tim Frazier, and Frank Jackson also in the mix. The Pelicans have liked to play Holiday off the ball over the last couple years, so it will be interesting to see if the team makes an effort to add another ball-handler in Payton’s absence. New Orleans doesn’t currently have an open roster spot, though one of the club’s two-way slots is available.
If Payton is able to get back on the court exactly six weeks from today, he’d be on track to return on December 31 against Minnesota, having missed 21 more games.
Few players have made a bigger impact on their teams this season than Anthony Davis, whose Pelicans have a +10.7 net rating when he’s on the court and a -13.7 rating when he sits. However, Davis could use some help, so Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer devotes his latest article to exploring a number of potential trade options for New Orleans, providing a handful of interesting tidbits along the way.
Let’s dive in and round up the highlights…
- There are “whispers” that the Pelicans have interest in Wizards forward Otto Porter, according to O’Connor, who believes that Porter could thrive in New Orleans’ up-tempo offense and would fill a major need for the team. While there’s no indication that the two teams have engaged in trade discussions, O’Connor suggests that a package along the lines of Solomon Hill, Julius Randle, and a first-round pick might work.
- Following up on a report suggesting that the Pelicans offered Nikola Mirotic and a first-round pick to the Timberwolves for Jimmy Butler, O’Connor writes that E’Twaun Moore was included in a version of New Orleans’ offer for Butler. Sources tell O’Connor that the Pels declined to make Jrue Holiday available in those trade talks, and also resisted offering an unprotected 2022 first-round pick.
- O’Connor identifies Kent Bazemore, Wesley Matthews, James Johnson, Trevor Ariza, and DeMarre Carroll as some other wings and forwards who could be of interest to New Orleans, and who may end up being available. The Pelicans made a play for Bazemore in the offseason, O’Connor notes.
- Scott Kushner of The Advocate recently argued that the Pelicans could use another playmaker, even when Elfrid Payton is healthy. O’Connor makes a similar point, observing that New Orleans had interest in Jeremy Lin before he signed with the Nets in 2016. Lin could be a trade candidate to watch, according to O’Connor, who points to Milos Teodosic (Clippers) and T.J. McConnell (Sixers) as others to keep an eye on.
Pelicans guard Elfrid Payton will have surgery next week after breaking his left pinky finger in Friday night’s game, tweets Scott Kushner of The Advocate. A timetable for his return won’t be set until after the operation, adds Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link).
New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry confirmed the planned procedure today in a pre-game meeting with reporters.
Payton suffered the injury in the first quarter of his first game back in the lineup after returning from a sprained right ankle that sidelined him for nine games. He was diagnosed with a fractured finger and didn’t return.
Signed as a free agent over the summer, Payton has been limited to six games with the Pelicans, but has been productive when he has been on the court. Even with Friday’s brief action, he is averaging 9.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per night.
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.
Only one Southwest team currently ranks in the top eight in the West, and it’s the last club that many of us would’ve predicted to make the postseason coming into the season (the Grizzlies). Still, the Rockets, Spurs, Pelicans, and Mavericks remain in the playoff hunt, meaning it may be a while before we get a clear sense of which clubs in this division will be buyers and which will be sellers.
Here’s our early-season look at a few possible trade candidates from the Southwest…
Wesley Matthews, G/F
Dallas Mavericks
$18.62MM cap hit; unrestricted free agent in 2019
Matthews’ potential availability will hinge on how the Mavericks perform as a team over the next couple months. The veteran wing was considered a trade candidate last season, but the Mavs – knowing he’d be a key part of their lineup if they made a postseason push in 2019 – placed a high price tag on him.
With Matthews’ contract set to expire at the end of this season, Dallas will have less incentive to hang onto the 32-year-old if this season goes south. With 16.2 PPG and a .382 3PT% so far this season, Matthews looks a little more like the player he was in Portland, and he’d have value to a contender.
Matthews’ cap charge will be the most significant roadblock if the Mavs explore the trade market — it will be hard to find a team that can match his salary without including a multiyear contract or two. Dallas’ willingness to take on multiyear money would likely hinge on how much that player could help them going forward — or the value of the other assets included in such a deal.
Solomon Hill, F
New Orleans Pelicans
$12.25MM cap hit; guaranteed $12.79MM salary for 2019/20
With Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday leading their frontcourt and backcourt, respectively, the Pelicans‘ primary hole is on the wing, where they could badly use a versatile three-and-D swingman. Hill, who hasn’t evolved into that player, may have the contract necessary to bring back that sort of piece on the trade market.
With two years left on his deal, Hill matches up well with someone like Courtney Lee, who has a similar contract. His salary could also be put toward matching that of a higher-paid player like Kent Bazemore, who is earning about $18MM.
The Pelicans have shown a willingness to trade their first-round picks frequently in recent years, and it seems likely they’ll be open to doing so again this year, as they look to convince Davis they’re capable of contending. Attaching that first-rounder to Hill could net the Pelicans a reliable contributor in a deal similar to last year’s swap of Omer Asik and a first-round pick for Nikola Mirotic.
Marquese Chriss, F/C
Houston Rockets
$3.21MM cap hit; unrestricted free agent in 2019
Like the Pelicans, the Rockets could use another wing or two, and they also have an expendable player (Brandon Knight) with about two years and $30MM left on his contract, which could be used in a deal. Rather than essentially making the same case for Knight as a trade candidate that we just did for Hill, let’s focus instead on another Houston trade candidate: Chriss.
A former eighth overall pick, Chriss has seen his stock crater over the last couple years. The Suns gave up on him, the Rockets have barely played him, and Houston also turned down his fourth-year option for 2019/20, setting him up to be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
Chriss’ situation is reminiscent of Jahlil Okafor‘s a year ago. In Okafor’s case, the Nets took a flier on him, acquiring him from Philadelphia in a December deal. If there’s a team out there willing to take a chance on Chriss in a similar trade – perhaps surrendering a veteran that would help the Rockets more in the short term – I don’t think Houston would hesitate to make a move.
Previously:
- NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Central (10/25)
- NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Atlantic (10/31)
- NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Southeast (11/6)
- NBA Trade Candidate Watch: Northwest (11/8)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
In his first comments since the Jimmy Butler trade became official, Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau addressed the organization’s decision to deal its superstar.
Speaking to reporters, including ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Thibodeau said that Minnesota pondered several offers for Butler. The Timberwolves felt the return from Philadelphia was the best of the bunch and that’s when the decision was made.
“We knew we had to be patient,” Thibodeau said. “We felt we had a few offers that were good. So once we got offers to the point where we felt good about what the offers were, we thought this was the best one for us. So we executed.”
After nearly two months of trade rumors and drama, the Timberwolves dealt Butler and center Justin Patton to Philadelphia for a package of Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a 2022 second-round pick.
As we relayed earlier today, Minnesota considered trade packages from the Rockets and Pelicans before accepting the Sixers’ offer. The Nets were also reportedly involved in discussions but were not a serious suitor for the four-time All-Star.
A report over the weekend indicated that the Timberwolves had three trade offers on the table for Jimmy Butler before ultimately deciding to pull the trigger on a Sixers package headlined by Robert Covington and Dario Saric. In their latest report for The Athletic, Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic provide some details on the other two offers Minnesota was considering, which came from the Rockets and Pelicans.
According to Charania and Krawczynski, the Rockets – who had previously offered four first-round picks attached to Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss – adjusted their proposal to make it more appealing to Tom Thibodeau, who remains in win-now mode. Houston’s offer featured Eric Gordon, Nene, and two first-round picks, sources told The Athletic. It’s not clear what sort of protections would have been on those first-rounders, or whether any other pieces were involved.
As for the Pelicans, they weren’t mentioned often over the last couple months as a serious suitor for Butler, but they were engaged in talks with Minnesota at the end of the process. Charania and Krawczynski report that New Orleans’ package was headlined by Nikola Mirotic and an unprotected first-round pick. Again, it’s unclear what other pieces would have been included in such a deal — Mirotic’s salary wouldn’t have been enough to match Butler’s on its own.
The full report from Charania and Krawczynski is excellent, providing a timeline of the Butler saga from mid-September right up until today. It’s worth checking out in full if you have a subscription to The Athletic.
Here are a few more highlights from the piece:
- Friday’s game was viewed as a fork in the road for both the Timberwolves and Butler. We previously heard that Thibodeau and GM Scott Layden decided after that game that Butler had played his last game for the team — it sounds like Butler had made up his mind too. According to Charania and Krawczynski, the 29-year-old had decided to begin sitting out indefinitely after that game if Minnesota didn’t trade him.
- Thibodeau subsequently told his staff after Friday’s game that they had to move Butler, sources tell The Athletic. In fact, the Timberwolves nearly held the All-NBA swingman out of Friday’s game because they already had traction on a potential deal.
- The Heat‘s original offer for Butler included Goran Dragic, Justise Winslow, and a draft pick, per Charania and Krawczynski. Miami later extended Winslow and put Josh Richardson into an offer. However, when a deal involving Richardson fell apart, the Heat pulled him off the table and never included him in another offer.