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Southeast Notes: Williams, Reddish, Zeller, Magic

March 31st, 2021 at 9:35am CST by Luke Adams

Having announced last week on Instagram that he contemplated retirement after being traded to the Hawks, Lou Williams expanded on that subject during his Tuesday media availability, explaining that it “hurts” to have been traded by the Clippers.

“I had a lot of investment there. We had some success,” Williams said, per Paul Newberry of The Associated Press. “We were gearing up for another deep run, a championship run. That was my mentality. I thought I would finish the season there.

“… (But) I don’t want to look back and say I retired prematurely, be asking myself what could have been or what I could’ve done. This is an opportunity to finish out the season with this team (Atlanta) and go from there.”

Williams was cleared to play on Tuesday night, but didn’t take the court. Having just met most of his teammates, he wanted to take a game to get his bearings before entering the fray, Newberry writes.

“I want to get an understanding of how they play,” Williams said. “See their sets, get a feel for their rotations, understand how this group of guys mesh, see where I might fit. It would be unfair to this group of guys to just throw me out there.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Hawks provided a minor update on Cam Reddish (Achilles) on Tuesday night, announcing in a press release that he has increased his lower limb weight room work and will add limited low level impact work. Reddish isn’t close to returning and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
After falling out of the Hornets‘ starting lineup and seeing his minutes dip, Cody Zeller resolved to try to earn back those minutes rather than sulking, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “My high school coach used to say, ‘If you want to play more, play better,'” said Zeller, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds in just 24 minutes on Tuesday. The big man has assured head coach James Borrego that he’ll remain engaged regardless of how much playing time he gets, Bonnell adds.
With the Magic in position to get a high lottery pick in this year’s draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic identifies Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, and Jalen Green as the top prospects the team should target if given the opportunity. Evan Mobley has positional overlap with Wendell Carter and Mohamed Bamba, but he and Jonathan Kuminga would both be good fallback options too if Orlando gets a top-five pick and those first three prospects aren’t available, Vecenie says.

Fischer’s Latest: Mavs, Fournier, Rockets, Drummond, Gasol

March 30th, 2021 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks ended up making just one relatively modest move at the trade deadline, acquiring J.J. Redick and Nicolo Melli in a trade with New Orleans. However, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, that deal may have been a fail-safe option for Dallas as the team explored other options leading up to last Thursday afternoon.

As Fischer explains, the Mavericks also explored a trade that would have sent James Johnson and two second-round pick to Orlando in a package for Evan Fournier. The Magic ultimately chose a similar offer from Boston that allowed them to create a $17MM+ trade exception instead of taking back a matching salary like Johnson’s.

The Mavericks also spoke to the Rockets about Victor Oladipo, sources tell Fischer, but those talks didn’t gain momentum.

Here’s more from Fischer:

During the James Harden trade talks earlier in the year, the Rockets never projected much interest in hanging onto Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert as part of that deal, Fischer says. Houston didn’t view Allen as a long-term frontcourt fit alongside Christian Wood and wanted to roll the dice on Oladipo recapturing his All-NBA form, a gamble that didn’t work out.
Fischer lists the Raptors, Bulls, Mavericks, Clippers, Celtics, Heat, Hornets, Nets, Knicks, and Lakers as teams that showed some level of interest in Cavaliers center Andre Drummond before he was bought out, but none of those clubs could ultimately put together a package that matched the big man’s $28.75MM salary and also appealed to Cleveland. After he was bought out, Drummond was intrigued by the Celtics and spoke to Boston point guard (and fellow UConn alum) Kemba Walker, but ultimately decided to sign with the Lakers.
With Drummond now in Los Angeles, some executives are wondering whether the Lakers will consider buying out Marc Gasol, per Fischer. “When they get fully healthy, it’s gonna be a logjam,” one assistant GM said, referring to a frontcourt that also features big men Anthony Davis and Montrezl Harrell, along with power forwards LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma. It’s worth noting Gasol has a second guaranteed year on his contract, though it’s only worth the minimum.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

March 30th, 2021 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

A total of 46 players were traded on deadline day last Thursday, and more have been waived and signed since then, resulting in major roster upheaval around the NBA.

With the dust settling a little, it’s worth checking in on which teams across the league now have open roster spots, and which clubs will need to fill at least one of those openings soon in order to meet the minimum roster requirements.

Let’s dive in…

Teams with two open spots on their 15-man rosters:

Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Miami Heat
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Portland Trail Blazers
Toronto Raptors

The NBA allows team to carry fewer than 14 players on standard (or 10-day) contracts for up to two weeks at a time. So these clubs are allowed to have just 13 for now, but will soon need to add a 14th, either with a 10-day signing or a rest-of-season addition.

The Warriors, Heat, Trail Blazers, and Raptors all dipped below 14 players on deadline day (March 25), so they’ll all have until next Thursday (April 8) to get back up to the required roster minimum. The Knicks will have even longer, since they just waived Terrance Ferguson and Vincent Poirier on Sunday — they’ll have to add a 14th man by April 11.

The Pelicans and Clippers, meanwhile, reduced their roster counts to 13 players on March 20 and March 22, respectively, so they’ll need to make their moves sooner. New Orleans will have to add a player by this weekend at the latest, while the Clippers will do so by next Monday.

The Pels are right up against the luxury tax line, so they’ll likely sign someone to a 10-day contract. The Clippers have enough breathing room below their hard cap to complete a rest-of-season signing if they so choose.

Teams with one open spot on their 15-man rosters:

Cleveland Cavaliers
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Orlando Magic

A report last Thursday indicated that the Pacers were signing Oshae Brissett, but they still have completed that 10-day deal, so they have an open roster spot for now. The Bucks technically have two open roster spots as of this writing, but are expected to sign Jeff Teague to fill one of them as soon as today.

The Lakers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, and Magic all have 14 players on standard, rest-of-season contracts, with no obligation to fill their 15th spots anytime soon. The Cavaliers currently have 14th man Quinn Cook on a 10-day contract. When his deal expires on Wednesday night, the team will dip to 13 players and will have two weeks to re-add a 14th.

Teams with open two-way contract slots:

Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers

The Thunder opened up one of their two-way slots when they promoted Moses Brown to the standard roster over the weekend. I’d expect them and the Timberwolves to be more interested in filling their open two-way spots than the Suns and Trail Blazers. Oklahoma City and Minnesota are lottery teams and could benefit from a look at one more young player, while Phoenix and Portland are playoff clubs that have shown no desire to add a second two-way player all season long.

Also worth mentioning:

Brooklyn Nets
Detroit Pistons
San Antonio Spurs

The Nets, Spurs, and Pistons currently have full 15-man rosters, but won’t for much longer, as all three teams have players on 10-day contracts. Alize Johnson‘s deal with Brooklyn runs through Wednesday, while Cameron Reynolds‘ with San Antonio runs through Sunday and Tyler Cook‘s with Detroit expires after next Tuesday.

Note: Our full roster count breakdown can be found right here.

Nikola Vucevic Has Emotional Message For Orlando

March 28th, 2021 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Before making his debut with the Bulls Saturday night, Nikola Vucevic offered an emotional message to Orlando, where he spent the past nine years, relays Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “Obviously, it meant a lot to me,” the All-Star center said. “Like I said, I came there as a kid and left as a man. I guess you guys know the answer with my reaction. Leaving that place after so many years obviously was hard.” Vucevic said he knew the Magic were shopping him and he wasn’t surprised when the deal with Chicago was announced.

Magic Waive Jeff Teague

March 27th, 2021 at 11:10am CST by marksuleymanov

The Magic have waived veteran point guard Jeff Teague, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Orlando acquired Teague as part of the Evan Fournier trade at the trade deadline and had reportedly informed the veteran he would be let go.

Teague, 32, signed with Boston as a free agent over the summer but did not play well during his brief stint in Beantown. In 34 games (five starts), Teague averaged just 6.9 PPG and 2.1 APG while shooting 41.5% from the field, his lowest single-season total since his rookie campaign.

A former All-Star, Teague was at one time a reliable scorer and playmaker for the Hawks but he has failed to replicate his prior success since leaving Atlanta following the 2015/16 season.

Teague is still a veteran presence with postseason experience so he figures to draw interest from at least a few teams as a depth piece for the remainder of the season.

For his career, Teague has averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.6 APG and 2.3 RPG in 805 games for the Hawks, Pacers, Timberwolves and Celtics.

Magic President Jeff Weltman Talks Trade Deadline, Future

March 27th, 2021 at 9:48am CST by marksuleymanov

As the 2020/21 NBA trade deadline came and went this past Thursday, no team saw the complexion of its roster change more than the Magic. Orlando traded three of its best players in Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic, ending weeks of reports and speculation about those players’ futures.

The Magic acquired a slew of draft picks and some promising young players with upside but it made clear the team was entering a rebuilding phase. In an exclusive interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Magic president Jeff Weltman explained the thinking behind Orlando’s flurry of moves entering the deadline.

Weltman spoke glowingly of the players traded but emphasized the organization believes the moves were made with the best long-term plan in mind. Check out some highlights from Weltman’s comments below:

On why the Magic went in the direction of trading so many key players:

“I think it’s hard to separate the trades. We picked a new path. We picked a new direction. Vooch, as our best player, had to be a part of that decision. All of those guys are good players, and they’ve been good players for our organization and good people. But if we were going to strike out on a good path, we needed to make those moves.”

On what led to Aaron Gordon’s trade request:

“In the storm of losses and injuries and everything that our team has been facing, I think Aaron’s frustration got the best of him. He’s a very good player, and he’s a very good person. But I just think that, as many passionate, competitive people do, he kind of wears his emotions on his sleeve sometimes. I think his frustration got the best of him.”

On how head coach Steve Clifford will handle the roster overhaul:

“I have the utmost confidence that all of his coaching abilities and talents will be applied to the new direction of the team. I can tell you right now he’s working to figure out, ‘How do I organize this team so our guys can be in a position to look good?’ That’s Steve Clifford’s number-one priority, and it always is, whether we’re playing in a playoff game or we’re playing in the first game of a new rebuilding team. Steve’s going to do what he does. He’s great at it. And I don’t think these trades have any implications otherwise.”

On whether the Magic are set for the future based off Thursday’s transactions:

“I do believe that this does raise our ceiling. If you look at the way teams are historically built, generally teams that win the title are populated by elite-level players who are acquired through elite-level draft picks. So it raises the ceiling in that respect. It also raises the ceiling that we now have multiple draft picks and cap flexibility, which will better arm us to make a swing-for-the-fences trade.”

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Vucevic, Heat, Pacers, Wizards

March 26th, 2021 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams

One of the NBA’s most reliable trade-deadline traditions is hearing after the fact which big-name players the Celtics came close to acquiring. Although Boston was active at this year’s deadline, adding Evan Fournier in one deal and moving Daniel Theis in another, the team didn’t let that annual tradition fall by the wayside.

League sources tell Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe that the Celtics were a finalist in the Nikola Vucevic sweepstakes, having included multiple first-round picks in their offer to Orlando before the big man was sent to Chicago.

Additionally, Himmelsbach reports that the Celtics offered a first-round pick and a young player (believed to be Aaron Nesmith) to Orlando for Aaron Gordon, and were prepared to increase that offer, but the Magic accepted Denver’s offer before Boston had a chance to do so.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Another post-deadline tradition? Teams insisting they didn’t offer players whose names were repeatedly mentioned in trade rumors. The Heat did that today, issuing a statement stating that they never offered Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Precious Achiuwa in any deals. “They were asked for, but an offer was never made,” the team said, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. While the Heat’s reluctance to part with Herro was widely reported, at least one of Robinson or Achiuwa – and perhaps both – would’ve had to be included in any viable package for Kyle Lowry, so saying they were “never offered” is likely just a matter of semantics.
Although they were the subject of several trade rumors prior to the deadline, the Pacers were one of the few teams to stand pat. According to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required), that inactivity can be attributed in large part to the team’s belief in Caris LeVert. Indiana, encouraged by the early returns, is satisfied letting LeVert get back up to speed and seeing how he meshes with the club’s current core.
Addressing the Wizards‘ acquisition of Daniel Gafford, general manager Tommy Sheppard cited the youngster’s shot-blocking ability and athleticism, as Ava Wallace of The Washington Post relays.

Jeff Weltman Discusses Magic’s Deadline-Day Trades

March 26th, 2021 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking today to reporters following an eventful trade deadline, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said that he believed the team could be a top-four seed in the East entering the season.

That may sound bullish, but considering the 22-21 Hornets currently rank fourth in the conference, it certainly wouldn’t have been out of the question. However, after a 6-2 start, injuries decimated Orlando’s roster, ultimately forcing a change of direction (Twitter link via Keith Smith of RealGM).

As Weltman explained today, the Magic still considered trying to make win-now moves to improve this year’s roster, but when they realized that there would be more buyers than sellers, that helped guide their direction (Twitter links via Smith). The club also had to come to terms with the fact that it didn’t have a championship-level roster and had no clear path to get there with the existing core, Smith tweets.

Orlando ended up moving Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, and Aaron Gordon in three separate deals on Thursday. Without those veterans on the roster, the 15-29 Magic, who already have the fourth-worst record in the NBA, are in position to nab a high pick in the 2021 NBA draft, which Weltman acknowledged.

“You win with stars in this league. We’re in position to add talent through the draft” he said, per Smith (Twitter link). “We’re not focusing on that too much because it’s not something we have full control over. But we’re in a good position for this year’s draft.”

Here’s more from Weltman on the Magic:

According to Weltman, the Nuggets were initially hesitant to include R.J. Hampton in their offer for Gordon, but those talks gained traction once Denver relented (Twitter link via Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel). “I can’t tell you how excited we are about him,” Weltman said, adding that he believes Hampton can play alongside Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony (Twitter link via Smith).
Asked if he felt the Magic got a strong enough return for Vucevic, Weltman replied, “Obviously we thought we got enough, because we did the deal.” He also pointed out that the Magic were on the receiving end of the only three first-round picks that changed hands on Thursday, and said the team has received “glowing reports” on Wendell Carter (Twitter links via Smith).
Although the Magic valued Fournier’s Bird rights, they felt as if it didn’t make sense to trade Vucevic and Gordon while hanging onto Fournier, and decided to take the best offer available, per Weltman (Twitter link via Smith).

Celtics Trade for Evan Fournier

March 26th, 2021 at 12:27am CST by Arthur Hill

12:27am: The Fournier trade is now official, according to an announcement from the Magic (via Twitter).

9:07pm: The draft picks headed to Orlando in the trade are the Celtics’ own 2027 second-rounder and whichever pick is the least favorable of the Celtics’ and Grizzlies’ 2025 second-rounders, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).

2:36pm: The Celtics will also send Jeff Teague to Orlando in their trade for Fournier, according to Josh Robbins and Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Since Teague is on a minimum-salary contract, the value of the Magic’s $17MM+ trade exception generated by moving Fournier will remain the same.

Teague has been told he doesn’t have to report to Orlando and will be released by the Magic, Robbins adds.

10:34am: The Celtics are finalizing a deal to land shooting guard Evan Fournier from the Magic in exchange for two second-round picks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Since it appears Boston isn’t sending any sizeable salaries to Orlando in return, the Celtics will use part of their $28.6MM trade exception to take on Fournier’s expiring contract.

Fournier carries a $17.15MM cap hit that will be adjusted to $17.45MM once the deal is complete, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The increase involves bonuses, as Fournier has incentives for reaching the second round of the playoffs and the conference finals, which are both now considered likely since the Celtics did so last season.

Boston doesn’t have a roster opening, so another move will be necessary before the trade can be finalized. Marks adds that the deal puts the Celtics $1.6MM over the luxury tax, so Boston could include a low-priced contract in the trade to address both issues.

The Magic would create a $17.15MM trade exception if they’re not acquiring any players in the deal (or if they only take on a minimum-salary contract).

Fournier, 28, is in his ninth NBA season and his seventh with the Magic. He’s averaging a career-best 19.7 points per game and shooting 38.8% from three-point range in advance of unrestricted free agency.

The Celtics were previously said to be in serious contention to land Aaron Gordon from Orlando in addition to Fournier, but Gordon is reportedly headed to Denver.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Southeast Notes: Anthony, Heat Arena, Monk, Riley

March 25th, 2021 at 11:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Injured Magic rookie point guard Cole Anthony, recovering from a rib fracture suffered on February 9, has been progressing in his rehab, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.

Magic head coach Steve Clifford addressed: Anthony’s improvement: “He’s able to be on the court more now. He can’t do any contact. The rib isn’t totally healed, so he’ll have to do another MRI before he’s ready for contact but he is able to do, like work out with the ball, shooting, ball handling, things on the court that he wasn’t able to do a week ago.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The cryptocurrency exchange FTX has purchased naming rights for the Heat‘s home court, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The current American Airlines Arena will soon be rebranded. FTX will pay $2MM per year for the moniker.
The Hornets face interesting decisions this summer on 2021 restricted free agents Devonte’ Graham and Malik Monk. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer wonders if Charlotte should prioritize retaining Monk, who has been on a tear of late, in the offseason. Bonnell notes that, in terms of each player’s potential fit alongside future of the franchise LaMelo Ball, Monk can be reliably slotted both alongside Ball and as a legitimate backup point guard option. The Hornets may need to let at least one of Graham or Monk walk to seek out a free agent upgrade at the center position.
Heat team president Pat Riley discussed Miami’s new veteran additions, and why his team opted to retain its promising youth, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. The Heat added shooting guard Victor Oladipo, recently a two-time All-Star, plus forwards Trevor Ariza and Nemanja Bjelica, without giving up intriguing young players Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, both of whom many assumed could be moved. “They can become truly great,” Riley said. “I hate to have that come back to [bite] us if we move them… We’re happy with both of them. They’re both [going through a shooting slump]. They’ll come out of it.” Riley was also excited for Oladipo’s diverse offensive game and his defensive promise: “He’s not just a shooter. He can really defend.”