Oklahoma City Thunder Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Texas Notes: Howard, Foye, Powell, Anderson

February 19th, 2016 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks and Bulls were among the teams the Rockets spoke to about Dwight Howard in the days leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, reiterating earlier reports that Houston talked with the Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Heat and Bucks. The Rockets held out for one “frontline player” and a first-round pick in return, sources told Stein, though it’s not entirely clear whether he means “frontline” as in “frontcourt” or as in “of importance.” GM Daryl Morey provided a hint, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays.

“It was going to have to take something significant to make us look at anything and even then we probably wouldn’t have,” Morey said in part.

Morey also said that he believes in the combo of Howard and James Harden and was never close to trading Howard, Feigen notes, but according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, the Rockets understand that Howard and Harden are simply a poor fit on the court. The Rockets and other teams had considerable differences about what a Howard trade would look like, even though executives around the league believe Howard is a better scorer than his numbers in Houston show, Mannix writes. See more from the Texas Triangle:

The Mavericks had some level of interest in Randy Foye before the Nuggets traded him to the Thunder instead Thursday, but the Mavs weren’t going to offer either Devin Harris or Raymond Felton for him, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
The Mavs are always looking for another shooter, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, according to Sefko, who indicates in the same piece that the team wouldn’t mind signing a big man, either, as the post-deadline buyout market develops.
Teams offered picks likely to fall in the middle of the first-round to the Mavs for Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson, a source tells Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Presumably that means each of them would have netted that sort of pick individually, and not the two of them as a package.
Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News wouldn’t be surprised to see the Spurs replace former assistant GM Sean Marks with Spurs D-League GM Brian Pauga, also noting that ex-Spurs executive Danny Ferry has been hanging around the team of late (Twitter links). Young made his remarks on the evening before the Nets hired Marks as their GM.

Thunder, Nuggets Swap Augustin, Novak, Foye

February 18th, 2016 at 11:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

November 6, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Randy Foye (4) dribbles the basketball during the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Nuggets 119-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports Images

8:52pm: The Thunder have acquired Randy Foye from the Nuggets, sending D.J. Augustin, Steve Novak, two second-round picks and cash to Denver, the teams announced, confirming the original report from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The second-rounders the Nuggets get are Oklahoma City’s 2016 second-rounder and Charlotte’s bottom-five protected 2016 selection, according to RealGM. Oklahoma City confirms the receipt of a trade exception, which will be worth $3,750,001, the equivalent of Novak’s salary.

It appears to be quite a haul for Foye, who is making $3.135MM on an expiring contract. Foye was said to be available as of mid-December, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported then, and that made sense considering his role had increasingly shrunk with Denver. Foye is averaging career lows in points and minutes per game while shooting a career worst 29.6% from 3-point range, well beneath his career mark of 37.0%. The move to add Foye brings a veteran to the Thunder’s bench, at the very least.

Novak, despite not being used much, proved to be a decent trade chip. The 10th-year veteran is on an expiring contract, and he and the Nuggets will reportedly discuss a buyout. Denver tried to arrange another deal to flip him before the deadline, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter).

Augustin, who’s making $3MM in the final season of his contract, will likely serve as a backup to Emmanuel Mudiay for the Nuggets, with Jameer Nelson battling a potentially season-ending wrist injury. Through 34 appearances with the Thunder this season, Augustin has averaged 4.2 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 15 minutes per game.

The deal saves Oklahoma City an estimated $9.8MM in combined luxury taxes and salary, notes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Denver used the $5,224,719 disabled player exception it received for Wilson Chandler to accommodate the uneven exchange of salaries.

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Thunder, Nuggets Discuss Randy Foye Trade

February 18th, 2016 at 11:49am CST by Will Joseph

The Thunder and Nuggets are in advanced talks on a trade involving Randy Foye, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports (on Twitter). Wojnarowski reported yesterday that Foye’s eminently positive locker room presence appeals to the Nuggets, so it will be interesting to see what it takes to acquire him.

Foye is making $3.135MM on an expiring contract. Foye was said to be available as of mid-December, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported then. His role has increasingly shrunk with Denver. Foye has also been linked to the Heat.

Cavaliers Interested In Ryan Anderson

February 17th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:27pm: The Wizards have talked with the Pelicans about acquiring Anderson, but prefer to pursue Kevin Durant rather than pay Anderson in free agency, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Anderson is expected to attract a salary starting at $16MM-$18MM when he hits the market this summer, and Washington would rather chase Durant without having to worry about Anderson.

Wojnarowski also reports that the Pistons and Pelicans had “serious talks” about Anderson before Detroit opted to trade for Tobias Harris on Tuesday. Detroit was interested in a larger deal with the Magic that included Evan Fournier, but Orlando wanted to keep him.

3:39pm: The Cavaliers are talking to the Pelicans about power forward Ryan Anderson, tweets Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. He adds that a three-team deal that includes Kevin Love is still possible. Cleveland has “strong interest” in acquiring Anderson, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.

The Pelicans are motivated to move Anderson because they aren’t sure if they can keep him once he enters free agency this summer. New Orleans expects Anderson to receive an offer with a starting salary in the neighborhood of $16MM-$18MM. The Heat, Kings, Wizards and Pistons are among the teams rumored to have interest in Anderson, although Detroit may have pulled out after Tuesday’s trade for Tobias Harris.

If Love is included in a deal, it will end a tumultuous season and a half with the Cavaliers. After being acquired from Minnesota in a 2014 trade, Love was supposed to be part of a new Big Three in Cleveland, but the fit was never as smooth as expected. He posted scoring and rebounding totals that were far behind his numbers with the Wolves.

Anderson, an eight-year veteran stretch forward, is averaging 16.7 points and 5.9 rebounds in 51 games with New Orleans. His salary is $8.5MM this season, while Love is making $19.5MM in the second season of a five-year max deal, so if they’re both involved in the same trade, some work will need to be done to match salaries.

Northwest Notes: Martin, Cheeks, Pleiss, Burke

February 17th, 2016 at 6:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Martin is hoping the Wolves will trade him to a winning team before Thursday’s deadline, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. A source said Martin would like to see the deal done as a reward for his “professionalism and mentoring of young teammates.” The 12th-year shooting guard is making $7.085MM this year and has a player option worth nearly $7.38MM for next season.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks will be out of action for about six weeks after undergoing hip surgery, the team announced today. Mark Daigneault, head coach of the Thunder’s D-League affiliate, will take Cheeks’ place, while OKC Blue assistant Jarell Christian will coach that team for the rest of the season.
The Jazz recalled center Tibor Pleiss from the D-League today, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. However, the move was just so Pleiss could attend practice, and he was sent back down later in the day.
Jazz point guard Trey Burke, who is rumored to be in a proposal that would send him to Houston in exchange for Ty Lawson, works better as a backup than a starter, according to Bobby Marks of the Vertical on Yahoo Sports. In his guide to the trade deadline for Utah, Marks says the Jazz have been missing a floor leader in the absence of Dante Exum, who is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery last summer. Marks advises the Jazz to hang onto Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and rookie Trey Lyles as they push for a playoff spot.
Randy Rigby will retire as president of the Jazz at the end of the season and will be replaced by Steve Starks, Genessy tweets. “I am excited about the future of the Jazz and my continued involvement as an adviser,” said Rigby, who has been with the organization since 1986.
The Nuggets may be able to get a second-round pick for J.J. Hickson, Marks writes in his trade deadline guide for Denver. Hickson has fallen out of the team’s rotation and has been on the market for weeks. Marks credits the Denver front office with being on the right track for rebuilding and says the team should consider moving either the Rockets’ or Blazers’ first-round picks, which are both conditional, in exchange for a future pick or veteran player.

Central Notes: Augustin, Carter-Williams, Harris

February 16th, 2016 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons are a bit thin in their backcourt after today’s trade of Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova to the Magic in exchange for combo forward Tobias Harris, Dan Feldman of NBCSports.com writes. As a result of the trade Detroit is now combing the market for a veteran guard it can add to its rotation, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (via Twitter). Some potential targets for the Pistons include Thunder point guard D.J. Augustin, Kings playmaker Darren Collison and Mo Williams of the Cavaliers, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press notes (Twitter links).

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

Bucks point guard Michael Carter-Williams has been told by the team that he will not be traded prior to Thursday’s deadline, Marc J. Spears of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets. The 24-year-old, who is said to be “undeniably gettable,” was also told the same thing by the Sixers last season prior to being shipped to Milwaukee, Spears notes, so he’s likely to take any assurances with a grain of salt.
Cavs superstar LeBron James believes he and his teammates need to tune out outside distractions and criticism and focus on the task at hand if the team is to make strides during the second half of the season, Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal writes. “There’s so much talk about what we should be, we should do this, we shouldn’t do that. The only thing that matters is what we come together and talk about and how we prepare every single night and our coaching staff putting us in position to win,” James told Ridenour.
The Pistons are excited by the athleticism and versatility that Harris will provide them, David Mayo of MLive relays.
Orlando likely could have netted a better return if it had waited to deal Harris until this summer, Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post opines in his examination of the Harris/Jennings/Ilyasova trade. The scribe notes that the trade was a big win for the Pistons, who now possess a solid core of players who are 25 years of age or younger to build around, and though Orlando did receive the veterans it craved, unless this deal was the first in a series of trades, it failed to improve the Magic as a team, Bontemps concludes.

Northwest Notes: Miller, Durant, Blazers

February 14th, 2016 at 1:58pm CST by Will Joseph

There is one team inquiring about Wolves veteran point guard Andre Miller, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears (on Twitter). While it is unclear which team that is, Wolfson rules out the Kings, despite Sacramento coach George Karl‘s relationship with Miller. At 39 years old, Miller has played sparingly this season and likely would not return much for the Wolves. It is reasonable to think Miller would be part of a bigger package for that reason, but I speculate the Wolves are motivated to move Miller to allow rookie Tyus Jones to play more.

Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Steve Novak is a potential trade chip for the Thunder because of his expiring contract, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports writes in one of his latest deadline primers. Expiring contracts, however, are not as valuable as they have been in previous years because of the salary cap’s expected rise, as Marks points out.
That’s another reason why the Thunder would much rather prefer to have Kevin Durant than the expected $19MM in cap space this summer if Durant signs elsewhere and team decides against bringing back restricted free agent Dion Waiters, Marks adds in the same piece.
Speaking of Durant, Draymond Green told Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (audio link) that although the star players are friends, Green will not be trying to recruit Durant to sign with the Warriors this summer during the rest of All-Star weekend (h/t Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman).
With close to $20MM in cap space, the Blazers are in position to take on contracts with the goal of obtaining a future pick or significant asset and thus should be viewed as a sleeper team at the deadline, Marks writes in his look at Portland.

Heat Rumors: Whiteside, Wade, James, Bosh

February 14th, 2016 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

There will be plenty of shooters on the trade market this week, but the Heat may have to give up center Hassan Whiteside if they want a more complete player, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Three-point shooting has been a problem in Miami all season, and Winderman lists the Thunder’s Steve Novak and Anthony Morrow, the Kings’ Omri Casspi and the Nets’ Wayne Ellington as possibilities if the Heat want an inexpensive solution. But he points out that coach Erik Spoelstra rarely relies on one-dimensional shooters, and says the Miami front office may be looking for something more. With Marc Gasol out indefinitely, the Grizzlies might have interest in Whiteside, even though he is only months away from free agency, Winderman posits. Whiteside and filler [such as Chris Andersen] could bring back Courtney Lee, Winderman speculates, while throwing in some more salary could be enough to land Jeff Green.

There’s more news out of Miami:

There is an increased feeling in the front office that trading Whiteside might be the best move for the franchise, Winderman writes in the same story, but he adds that Whiteside’s representatives aren’t expecting a deal.
Even before Whiteside made waves with his nationally televised ejection this week, Heat officials were having doubts about signing him long-term, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Miami expects Whiteside’s next contract to start at $17MM or more, and there are questions within the organization about whether that’s a wise investment. Jackson cited two sources who say the team is considering a Whiteside trade.
A reunion with LeBron James in the All-Star Game — the first time they have been teammates since James left the Heat in 2014 — is bringing back memories for Dwyane Wade, writes Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Miami’s Big Three was almost completely back together, but Chris Bosh had to pull out of tonight’s game with a strained right calf. Wade said the roster upheaval in Miami has changed the atmosphere in the locker room. “We all can deal with each other’s success and failures and family things a lot differently than what we deal with now with younger teammates that grew up watching us play like fans,” he said. “It was cool playing with our peers, guys that we came into the league with. That’s a totally different relationship.”

Latest On Carmelo Anthony

February 14th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Denials continue regarding the rumor that broke Friday of a proposed three-team deal that would send Carmelo Anthony to Cleveland, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Berman cites two league sources who told him the Knicks haven’t talked to either the Cavaliers or Celtics about the trade, which would have shipped Kevin Love to Boston and a package of players and draft picks to New York.

Anthony, who said Saturday that he wouldn’t waive his no-trade cause to make the deal possible, attracted attention earlier this weekend with comments that “it won’t sit well with me” if the Knicks miss the playoffs for a third straight season. He plans to eventually talk with his representatives from Creative Artists Agency about his future in New York, but on Saturday Anthony expressed a desire to stay in the city.

“Doing it in New York is better than doing it any place in the world,’’ Anthony said. “One in New York is better than multiple somewhere else. That was the reason I wanted to come to New York. That’s the reason I’m in New York. It just bothers me when I start hearing all these trade rumors. Nobody has talked to me. I don’t know where it comes from. Sometimes it gets to you. As a player you get tired of hearing something all the time.”

There’s more Anthony-related news as Thursday’s trade deadline draws closer:

In addition to the no-trade clause, Anthony’s contract contains a 15% trade kicker, which means the Knicks would pay a heavy price if they deal him away. “That was something my agent really talked about,’’ he told Berman. “Knowing how few people had that, that was a big part of signing that contract. It’s security at the end of the day. You never know what could possibly happen or what it can do. All players would want that.”
Anthony is still hoping to find another star willing to join the Knicks, Berman writes in the same piece. One possibility is the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, whom New York plans to target this summer with an estimated $19MM in cap room. Anthony said talk about star players joining forces is common around the league. “I say why not come with me,’’ he said. “When I say playing with stars, that’s conversations. Everybody has those conversations. Guys that are in my circle have those conversations. On the Olympic team, guys have those conversations — 90% of the time it never happens. The Miami thing came into fruition, but it took a lot. That’s just dreams and wishes.’’
All parts of the proposed deal aren’t dead, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News, who broke the story Friday. Isola writes that the Celtics and Cavaliers have talked about a trade sending Love to Boston, and Anthony’s name was included as part of “very preliminary discussions.” Anthony would prefer to stay with the Knicks for now because he has a good relationship with owner James Dolan and he wants to keep his family in New York, which was a factor when he re-signed with the franchise in 2014.
If Anthony ever does decide a trade is in his best interest, the Cavaliers remain a possibility, along with the Celtics and Clippers, according to Isola. Anthony owns a house in Los Angeles and has a friendship with Chris Paul.

Western Notes: Cousins, Trades, Thunder

February 13th, 2016 at 11:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t believe he’s in the best situation with the Kings, Ken Berger of CBS Sports writes. “I prefer to be in a perfect situation,” Cousins deadpanned, “but that’ll never happen.” The center described the perfect situation as one where everyone is happy before reiterating that it just won’t happen. “There’s nothing in life that’s perfect,” the 25-year-old said. Cousins will be an unrestricted free agent following the 2017/18 campaign.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Oklahoma City has a pair of trade exceptions that are set to expire at the trade deadline Thursday, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman notes in a piece that analyzes the Thunder’s trade assets. The team has a $2.2MM trade exception from last year’s Reggie Jackson trade and a trade exception worth roughly $861K from last season’s Ish Smith deal.
If the Rockets look to make drastic changes, Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer would be realistic trade targets for Oklahoma City, Horne opines in the same piece. The scribe also names Courtney Lee and P.J. Tucker among the players on the market who would be good fits for the Thunder.
The Thunder shouldn’t be making trades to try to bridge the gap between them and Golden State, and they especially shouldn’t consider dealing away Serge Ibaka, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman argues.