- Pelicans star Anthony Davis played in the second half of a back-to-back set with the team on Saturday, recording 14 points and 16 rebounds in nearly 34 minutes of action. Davis and the team agreed that his minutes would be reduced as he returns from injury, along with the fact that both sides will consult on which ends of back-to-backs Davis will play the rest of the season, according to ESPN.com. Davis formally requested a trade from the Pelicans through agent Rich Paul last month, but the team still held onto him past the Feb. 7 trading deadline.
The Knicks were surprised to discover how much Kristaps Porzingis‘ trade value had dropped when they started shopping him, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post. Some of that was because of the ACL injury that has sidelined him for a year with still no clear date for a return. But some executives also expressed reservations about “where his mind was at and his actual skill set,’’ a source tells Berman.
The Knicks had three criteria in any trade for Porzingis: a good young prospect, which they got in Dennis Smith Jr.; enough expiring contracts to offer two max deals in free agency, which Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan provided; and future first-round picks. Of eight to 10 offers that were available, the Dallas deal was the best one that checked all three boxes.
But New York could have gotten much more if it had traded Porzingis prior to the 2017 draft, when former team president Phil Jackson first raised the idea. Berman reports that the Celtics offered a package of young assets, while the Suns were willing to part with Devin Booker along with a draft pick swap that could have brought Lauri Markkanen to the Knicks.
There’s more this morning from New York City:
- Signing two elite free agents is just one way the Knicks can take advantage of their cap space, Berman notes in the same story. They could also use that money to absorb Anthony Davis‘ $27MM salary in a potential trade with the Pelicans. New York attempted to convince New Orleans GM Dell Demps to accept Porzingis as part of a package for Davis rather than wait for a trade this summer, a source close to Demps tells Berman, but the Pelicans didn’t believe Porzingis would be willing to re-sign in a smaller market. Berman states that the Knicks will become a serious contender for Davis if they land a top-two pick on lottery night.
- A lack of interest in their available players led to the Knicks being quiet on deadline day, Berman adds. Virtually no one wanted to take on Enes Kanter‘s $18.6MM contract when a buyout was expected; offers for Frank Ntilikina “underwhelmed;” Damyean Dotson sparked some inquiries, but not enough for New York to act; and few teams made offers for Noah Vonleh.
- G League callup Kadeem Allen continues to impress, Berman and Howie Kussoy write in a separate story. Allen, who signed a two-way contract with the Knicks last month, played in his seventh straight game last night and produced career highs with 14 points and six assists. “He’s a tough little runt. I love him. I really do. He fits my personality,” coach David Fizdale said. “He’s a grimy kid. He’s really worked his way to where he’s at. He keeps getting better and better.”
Chatter surrounding the Pelicans sitting Anthony Davis for the rest of the season resulted in the league informing the franchise that there would be consequences if the All-Star doesn’t play, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The NBA referenced the rules put in place two seasons ago restricting teams from resting healthy players. The Pelicans were told the fine would be $100K for every game that Davis sat.
New Orleans’ front office met with Davis after the trade deadline passed to discuss the plan for the rest of the season. Davis expressed his desire to play as many games as possible as the season winds down. The team decided it would act “ethically” and give Davis the role he had prior to his latest injury with a few caveats.
Davis will not play in back-to-backs and it’s possible that his minutes could be reduced. Davis will get to choose which end of the back-to-back he will play for the remainder of the season, sources tell Windhorst. After tonight’s tilt with Minnesota, the team has 26 games remaining.
Here’s more from New Orleans:
- Will the Celtics offer Jayson Tatum to the Pelicans in exchange for Davis over the summer? Sean Deveney of Sporting News confirms previous reports indicating while Boston has made no promises, the Pelicans were left with the impression that Tatum will be on the table in future trade talks.
- The Celtics were upset about the news of Kyrie Irving‘s level of interest in New York as they feel the story was planted by Davis’ agent in an attempt to deter the team from being comfortable with promising a haul to the Pelicans for Davis. “It was cheap and underhanded,” a source tells Deveney.
- The Pelicans are expected to watch Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. closely over the remainder of the season, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes. Lowe contends that the Knicks will need the Pelicans to increase their interest in at least one of their prospects if they don’t land the No. 1 pick and are going to have a chance at trading for Davis this summer.
- Jrue Holiday has no interest in being on a lottery-bound team and if the Pelicans eventually trade Davis, his level of content will depend on what comes back in the trade, Lowe adds in the same piece.
The Raptors were close to acquiring Nikola Mirotic, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports on his podcast. The power forward would have been part of a three-team trade with the Pelicans and Magic in the proposed framework. Toronto didn’t have the expiring contracts that New Orleans was seeking and Mirotic was instead sent to the Bucks.
Toronto shifted its focus back to Marc Gasol and acquired the big man from Memphis in exchange for Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles, and a 2024 second-round pick.
The Hornets came close to acquiring Gasol before some “last-minute haggling,” ESPN’s Zach Lowe writes. Charlotte had a lottery-protected first-round pick on the table for most of the week leading up to the deadline. Lowe passes along more deals that were discussed behind the scenes. Here are the highlights from his latest piece:
- The Sixers offered two second-rounders to the Pelicans for Mirotic and prior to trading for Tobias Harris, Philadelphia and New Orleans discussed a Markelle Fultz-Mirotic swap. Fultz was dealt to the Magic for Jonathon Simmons and a pair of picks.
- The Hornets pursued a deal for Harrison Barnes, dangling a first-round pick to the Mavericks, Lowe adds in the same piece. Dallas would have had to take back long-term money in the potential deal, something that it wasn’t willing to do.
- The Nets and Grizzlies briefly discussed sending Allen Crabbe to Memphis along with a first-round pick (Denver’s 2019 selection) in exchange for Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green, sources tell Lowe. Tax concerns led Memphis to shy away from acquiring Crabbe, who will take home approximately $19MM next season.
- Several teams attempted to pry Andrew Wiggins from the Wolves without giving up much in return. Minnesota was uninterested in giving Wiggins away.
- Kris Dunn was available at the deadline but the Bulls weren’t looking to deal Zach LaVine. Lowe writes that Chicago may have only considered trading LaVine if it received an overwhelming offer, something that was unlikely to occur.
The NBA confirmed today that 2019’s trade deadline set and matched some records. The 14 trades completed on Thursday were the most made on a deadline day in the last 30 years, and the 19 teams involved in those swaps was tied for the most over that same period.
In total, 34 players were involved in those 14 trades — and that doesn’t even count the eight deals completed during the week leading up to the deadline, as we detailed last night.
Needless to say, there has been plenty of roster upheaval around the NBA, so we’re going to use this space to take a look at all 30 teams’ roster situations to see exactly where they stand. Does your favorite team have a full roster? Or is their roster somehow only two-thirds full? Looking at you, Raptors.
Here’s a breakdown of all 30 clubs’ roster situations at the time of this post’s publication (more moves will be made in the coming days or even hours that won’t be noted here, so keep that in mind):
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks entered the week with 15 players, but had to waive Daniel Hamilton to clear a spot to acquire Jabari Bird. They subsequently traded Tyler Dorsey for Shelvin Mack, then waived both Bird and Mack.
They currently have 13 players on their roster, leaving two open spots. They’ll have two weeks to get back to the league-mandated minimum of 14 players.
Boston Celtics
After carrying 15 players all season, the Celtics traded Jabari Bird to create an open roster spot. They’ll explore the buyout market for candidates to fill that opening.
Brooklyn Nets
The Nets entered the week with 14 players on standard contracts and one (Mitch Creek) on a 10-day deal. Creek’s contract was terminated a few days early to make room for Greg Monroe, who was waived after being acquired from Toronto.
Brooklyn now has 14 players under contract and could opt to re-add Creek (albeit on a full-season contract), sign another player, or leave that spot empty for now.
Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets had a quiet week and continue to carry 14 players, leaving one open roster spot.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls created an open spot on their roster by trading Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker for Otto Porter, and are now carrying 14 players.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers acquired two players – Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin – for Rodney Hood, which required them to terminate Kobi Simmons‘ 10-day contract early to stay at 15 players.
Subsequently, Cleveland flipped Stauskas and Baldwin to Houston in exchange for Marquese Chriss and Brandon Knight, with Alec Burks heading to Sacramento in that three-team deal. The 3-for-2 move left the Cavs with 14 players and an open roster spot.
Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks, already at 15 players, acquired two veterans – Zach Randolph and Justin Jackson – in exchange for Harrison Barnes, and had to waive Salah Mejri to make the deal work.
They’re currently at 15 players, but will be releasing Randolph very soon to create an open roster spot.
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets didn’t make any moves this week and continue to carry a full 15-man roster.
Detroit Pistons
Both of the Pistons‘ trades this week were 1-for-1 swaps in terms of players, with Thon Maker and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk replacing Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson.
However, with the team closing in on a deal for Wayne Ellington, someone will need to be waived to stay at the 15-man limit. That player will reportedly be Henry Ellenson.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors didn’t make any moves this week and still have 14 players under contract, leaving an opening for potential buyout targets.
FEBRUARY 8: While Davis will return to the court for the Pelicans, he’s expected to play in fewer – if any – back-to-backs, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who adds (via Twitter) that AD’s season average of 37.0 minutes per game also figures to decline going forward.
FEBRUARY 7: Despite considering shutting Anthony Davis down for the rest of the season, the Pelicans will allow Davis to return to the regular rotation, general manager Dell Demps said today in a statement.
“Anthony Davis will play the remainder of the 2018-19 season for the New Orleans Pelicans,” Demps said. “A number of factors contributed to this decision. Ultimately, Anthony made it clear to us that he wants to play and he gives our team the best opportunity to win games.
“Moreover, the Pelicans want to preserve the integrity of the game and align our organization with NBA policies,” Demps continued. “We believe Anthony playing upholds the values that are in the best interest of the NBA and its fans. We look forward to seeing Anthony in a Pelicans uniform again soon.”
New Orleans opted to keep Davis, who formally requested a trade from the team last month, past the NBA’s trading deadline today.
Davis was recently cleared by the team’s medical staff and sought a return to the lineup earlier in the week, but was rebuffed by Pelicans management as the team was seeking potential deals, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The Pelicans next play at home against the Timberwolves on Friday, with the team not including Davis on its injury report.
Davis, 25, has averaged 29.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game this season with New Orleans, shooting 51% from the floor and 33% from 3-point range in 41 contests.
The Bucks‘ trade for Nikola Mirotic was made sweeter by the fact that the Sixers were in the hunt for the Pelicans‘ power forward before New Orleans opted to send him to Milwaukee, writes ESPN’s Zach Lowe in his post-deadline round-up.
According to Lowe, the Sixers offered a pair of second-round picks in their offer for Mirotic, which the Bucks bested by surrendering four second-rounders. Before the 76ers acquired Tobias Harris, they also discussed the general framework of a Mirotic/Markelle Fultz swap with the Pelicans, according to Lowe, who notes that it’s unclear whether those talks would have gotten serious if Philadelphia hadn’t completed its blockbuster deal for Harris.
Lowe’s article is packed with several more tidbits on the trade deadline, so we’ll round up the highlights here:
- The Hornets came close to acquiring Marc Gasol from the Grizzlies for a package that would have included a lottery-protected pick, but the deal fell apart over “last-minute haggling” on the price, sources tell Lowe. Charlotte also pursued Harrison Barnes, but any offer that included a first-round pick would have also included multiyear salary the Mavericks didn’t want, Lowe reports.
- Before the Grizzlies sent JaMychal Green and Garrett Temple to the Clippers, Memphis discussed a deal involving the duo for the Nets, according to Lowe, who says the return would’ve featured Allen Crabbe and Denver’s first-round pick. The Grizzlies, who had tax concerns, settled instead on L.A.’s offer, which didn’t include a draft pick.
- At least one of the offers the Wizards received for Otto Porter featured a low first-round pick, but it would have been meant taking on multiyear money, per Lowe.
- Kris Dunn probably could have been had at the deadline, but the Bulls likely wouldn’t have listened to inquiries on Zach LaVine unless someone had “overwhelmed” them, Lowe writes.
- The Magic told teams in recent weeks that they wouldn’t part for Terrence Ross for anything less than a first-round pick, sources tell Lowe. Orlando ultimately kept Ross on its roster.
- Jrue Holiday is a player worth keeping an eye on if and when the Pelicans eventually trade Anthony Davis. Sources tell Lowe that Holiday wants a chance to compete in the playoffs and is waiting to see what New Orleans gets in return for Davis.
FEBRUARY 8: Morris was officially released on Thursday night, RealGM’s NBA transactions log confirms. While the Pelicans didn’t formally announce the transaction, Morris had to be cut in order to accommodate the Nikola Mirotic trade, which saw New Orleans acquire two players for one.
FEBRUARY 7: The Pelicans plan to waive forward Markieff Morris, who’s currently dealing with a neck injury, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
New Orleans acquired Morris and a 2023 second-round pick in a trade with Washington this week, sending away forward Wesley Johnson. Morris is dealing with Transient Cervical Neuropraxia and began experiencing discomfort in his neck and upper back last month. Morris is expected to seek a second opinion on his injury, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
The Wizards originally put a six-week timetable on Morris at the start of his injury, which was diagnosed during the first week of January.
Morris, an eight-year veteran, mostly spent the past four seasons as Washington’s starting power forward and established himself as a valuable 3-and-D talent. He joins Enes Kanter, Zach Randolph, Marcin Gortat, Wayne Ellington and others as players who are now available in free agency.
Before getting injured, Morris was averaging 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds on 44% shooting, starting in 15 of 34 contests on the season.
7:36pm: The three-team trade involving the Pelicans, Bucks, and Pistons is now official, according to press releases issued by New Orleans and Milwaukee. Milwaukee gets Mirotic, Detroit gets Maker, and New Orleans acquires two players and four draft picks, as detailed below.
11:57am: The Bucks are adding another shooter to their frontcourt, having reached an agreement to acquire Nikola Mirotic from the Pelicans, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe (Twitter link).
New Orleans will receive Jason Smith‘s expiring contract along with Stanley Johnson in exchange for Mirotic, Woj reports (via Twitter). According to Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter), the Pelicans will also receive four second-round picks as part of the deal.
A source tells Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link) that two of those selections will be the Wizards’ 2020 and 2021 second-rounders, while Tim Bontemps of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Denver’s 2019 second-rounder and the Bucks’ 2020 second-rounder are also in the package.
Milwaukee just reached an agreement on Wednesday to acquire Johnson from the Pistons in exchange for Thon Maker, but that deal has yet to be completed. the Bucks wouldn’t be permitted to aggregate Johnson’s salary with another player’s contract for two months after acquiring him, so it looks the two deals will be turned into one three-team trade, which helps explain why Detroit and Milwaukee haven’t finalized their agreement yet.
For the Bucks, this deal represents an impressive response to the Sixers’ acquisition of Tobias Harris on Wednesday. While Mirotic isn’t as dynamic a player as Harris, he should fit in very nicely in Mike Budenholzer‘s system, which already features a pair of sharpshooting big men in Brook Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova.
Mirotic, who will turn 28 next Monday, has been limited by injuries so far this season, but has been his usual productive self when he’s on the court, averaging 16.7 PPG and 8.3 RPG with a .447/.368/.842 shooting line in 28.9 MPG.
Mirotic is on an expiring contract, so the Bucks can add him to a list of free-agents-to-be that also includes Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez, and Malcolm Brogdon (restricted). Milwaukee will presumably attempt to retain as many of those players as possible in the offseason.
As for the Pelicans, their return for Mirotic won’t match the first-round pick they gave up for him a year ago, but they won’t take on any future salary, and one or two of those second-round picks could fall in the 30s.
They’ll also get a chance to take a look at Johnson, a former lottery pick who will be up for restricted free agency this summer. While the young wing never really blossomed into a reliable rotation player in Detroit, he still has some upside as a versatile defender, though he’d have to improve his shooting numbers to improve his value.
The Pelicans will have to open up a roster spot with another trade or cut in order to finalize the deal. The Bucks, on the other hand, will create an opening on their roster, though they’re now less than $1MM away from the luxury tax line, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Pelicans will hang onto All-NBA big man Anthony Davis through the trade deadline, agent Rich Paul tells Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The news sets up the Davis trade talks to be the hottest NBA story of the summer, with several teams expected to make offers. It will be celebrated most in Boston, where the Celtics have been to unable to engage the Pelicans in negotiations for Davis because of Rose Rule restrictions. Those will be lifted once Kyrie Irving opts out of his current deal, and Boston is expected to aggressively pursue Davis with a package of draft picks and young players.
It’s not good news for the Lakers, who lose the advantage of trying to deal for Davis without the Celtics involved. L.A. has offered various packages centered around young talent and future first-rounders, but wasn’t able to make any traction with the Pelicans’ front office, which believes the Lakers’ best offers will still be on the table this summer.
The Knicks and Clippers, who made trades in the past week that could enable them to offer two max deals in free agency, may also pursue Davis in hopes of forming the next superteam. They are both on his list of preferred locations, along with the Lakers and Bucks.
A more immediate concern is how much Davis will play over the next two months and whether it will become a distraction for the Pelicans. Although Davis recently received medical clearance after being sidelined with a fractured left index finger, New Orleans has been holding him out of a lineup to avoid further injury in case a trade was finalized before the deadline. Now that the deadline has passed, Davis wants to get back on the court, and it’s not clear whether Pelicans management will be on board.
New Orleans will be a long shot to make the playoffs, no matter how well Davis plays for the rest of the season. At 24-31, the Pelicans are six games out of the eighth spot in the West and just traded one of their top talents, sending Nikola Mirotic to the Bucks.
Arthur Hill contributed to this story.