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Western Notes: Griffin, McRae, Durant

February 16th, 2016 at 10:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

It’s likely the Clippers hang on to Blake Griffin through at least the rest of this season, but he isn’t “untouchable” in trade talk and the Clippers are listening to offers, writes Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Still, while the team is liable to take a more aggressive stance about trading Griffin if it finds out before the trade deadline that it has no shot at Kevin Durant this summer, the Clips would demand a huge offer just to trade him away before draft time in June, much less Thursday’s 2pm Central trade deadline, according to Lowe. Clippers executives are adamant that they don’t intend to trade their star power forward, with one of them telling Dan Woike of The Orange County Register that the team never offered Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for a package of four players, as had been reported.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

  • The Kings are seeking a major upgrade at shooting guard and are not looking for younger players who couldn’t provide significant contributions immediately, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (on Twitter). Sacramento is said to be desperate to deal away shooting guard Ben McLemore, with the Timberwolves and other teams reportedly interested in the young wing.
  • The Mavericks would be interested in Wolves shooting guard Kevin Martin if he works a buyout with Minnesota, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter). Dallas would be reluctant to trade for Martin because of the fear he would pick up his player option for next season worth $7,377,500, MacMahon notes.
  • Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers said the team is looking to add a guard via a 10-day deal, but that isn’t likely to occur prior to the team’s next two contests, Dan Woike of The Orange County Register tweets.
  • The Warriors find themselves in a difficult position at trade deadline time as the team attempts to repeat as NBA champions while trying to set itself up for a run at Durant, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. Golden State has to weigh its pursuit of the all-time regular season victory mark against the chance to land Durant this offseason, Kawakami notes. In order to clear enough cap room to ink Durant outright, the Warriors would need to part ways with a significant chunk of talent, which could derail the team’s chances at bringing home a title in 2015/16, Kawakami adds.
  • The Suns have recalled shooting guard Jordan McRae from their D-League affiliate in Bakersfield, the team announced. McRae, who is with Phoenix on a 10-day deal, was sent to the D-League so he could participate in the league’s All-Star game, wherein he notched seven points and five assists in 14 minutes of action.
  • The Kings don’t appear to want to bring George Karl back next season even though they’ve committed to him through the end of this season, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. He’ll have $6.5MM in guaranteed salary remaining on his contract once this season is done.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Atlantic Notes: Griffin, Morris, Johnson

February 16th, 2016 at 6:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge doesn’t merely want a short-term upgrade, as he told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, leaving Bulpett to surmise that the Celtics don’t have interest in trading for a soon-to-be free agent they’re not confident they can re-sign. The front office objective isn’t merely to help the team grab a better playoff seed in the spring, Ainge said. The Celtics were indeed one of the many teams to inquire about Blake Griffin, a Western Conference source told Bulpett, adding that the Clips have no serious interest in moving him. While the Thursday trade deadline looms ever closer, here’s what else is happening in the Atlantic Division:

  • Taking a patient approach and sitting out this trade deadline may be the Celtics’ best option despite their stash of draft picks, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com argues. While Boston should explore the possibility of landing a star player, it might be prudent to hold on to that stockpile of assets and make a big move during the offseason, Forsberg adds.
  • With the Raptors reportedly seeking to upgrade their power forward position, the team is not interested in the Suns’ Markieff Morris, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports relays (on Twitter). Toronto has reportedly expressed interest in Thaddeus Young, Kenneth Faried, Ryan Anderson and Morris, according to multiple reports.
  • Despite reportedly being miserable with the Nets, small forward Joe Johnson has yet to approach the team about a possible buyout arrangement, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Johnson said recently that he wouldn’t dismiss the idea of a buyout from his contract with the Nets, which expires at season’s end, and the Heat, Cavs and Mavs reportedly want to make a run at him if he is released by Brooklyn.
  • Former Knicks coach Derek Fisher‘s negative remarks regarding future unrestricted free agent Rajon Rondo may have contributed to his ouster in New York, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Fisher, responding to comments Rondo had made regarding the triangle offense not being a good fit or him, said, “That’s your decision on whether or not he’s elite or not. You can’t ask him, when he wasn’t very successful playing against it, whether or not he wants to play in it. That’s his opinion. That’s fine. He doesn’t play for us. We’re not concerned about his opinion about us at this point.’’ The former coach was said to be a fan of Memphis’ Mike Conley, who is also set to become a free agent this offseason, Berman notes.
  • Sixers small forward Robert Covington will likely have the most trade value among Philly’s bench players because of his team-friendly contract and ability to stretch defenses with his shooting, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports opines in his deadline primer for the team.

Chuck Myron and Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

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Pacific Notes: Griffin, Schlenk, Nance

February 15th, 2016 at 10:31am CST by Chuck Myron

Clippers president of basketball operations Doc Rivers told ESPN’s Chris Broussard that there isn’t truth to the idea that his team offered Blake Griffin and Lance Stephenson to the Nuggets for Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Will Barton and Nikola Jokic, as a source who spoke with the reporter had said earlier. Broussard relayed the exchange in an appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Mike & Mike” show (audio link; scroll to 6-minute mark), adding that the source had told him the Nuggets turned down the offer out of concern that Griffin would opt out and leave in free agency after next season. That jibes with an earlier report from Mitch Lawrence of Forbes, who indicated 10 days ago that the Clippers had engaged the Nuggets in talks about Griffin, though Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times reported shortly thereafter that the Clippers had no interest in trading their star power forward, a refrain that Rivers repeated in the days that followed. See more from the Pacific Division:

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And-Ones: Rubio, Anthony, Cousins

February 14th, 2016 at 9:25pm CST by Will Joseph

Ricky Rubio is “readily available,” writes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, but Wolves GM Milt Newton earlier this week told Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities that he hadn’t fielded any offers for the point guard. Still, Newton said he would be obliged to listen if a team came calling. The Knicks are in the market for a point guard, but it’s hard to envision New York having the assets needed to acquire Rubio, Isola notes. Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press further clarifies the situation, tweeting that the Wolves are not shopping Rubio, but they won’t immediately hang up the phone if someone calls to ask.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Carmelo Anthony has said he is not looking to leave the Knicks and is not interested in waiving his no-trade clause, but Isola hears Anthony would strongly consider a trade to the Clippers (in the same piece). Isola adds that Anthony has wanted to play with Chris Paul for a while and speculates that a deal involving Blake Griffin would make sense for both teams.
  • DeMarcus Cousins has been answering to trade rumors all weekend, but the Kings are not going to move him, according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports’ Pro Basketball Talk. There is little incentive to trade Cousins because he has a reasonable contract, owner Vivek Ranadive loves him and the Kings plan to open a new arena in downtown Sacramento next season, Helin adds. “First of all, I can’t control the trade [rumors] and I can’t control if I’m traded or not,” Cousins said. “But I do want to be in Sacramento, and I know everybody in Sacramento knows that.”
  • Commissioner Adam Silver hinted that keeping the relative status quo in the next collective bargaining agreement would be OK with him as he spoke Saturday in his All-Star weekend press conference, according to a transcript on NBA.com. “Did we get everything we were looking for in collective bargaining last time? No,” Silver said. “But we feel it’s a fair compromise, and we feel it’s working pretty well.”
  • Warriors coach and former Suns GM Steve Kerr was inspired to get into coaching because of Jeff Hornacek‘s initial success and expressed disappointment toward Hornacek’s firing, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic relays. “It’s just a jolt of NBA reality,” Kerr said. “Every coach is sort of a victim of circumstance, good or bad. So much depends on the talent that you have and the support you have and the chemistry in your organization and your locker room. Unfortunately, it’s a really, really hard thing to discover or to create. I feel very lucky to have that here because I know it doesn’t exist in most places.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Pacific Notes: Morris, Griffin, Randle

February 11th, 2016 at 6:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Suns will try to trade Markieff Morris before the deadline, but the team isn’t facing immediate pressure, at least in terms of Morris’ contract, to deal him away this season, observes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Morris, who’s under contract for three seasons after this one, hinted at a willingness to stay in Phoenix for the rest of 2015/16 in his comments after Wednesday’s game about his shoving incident with Archie Goodwin, according to Coro. “That’s my little brother and we’re going to move forward,” Morris said of the incident. “There’s no hard feelings. It was a tough loss but we’re going to regroup and get back after this break and do some things.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Virtually every team in the league has checked in with the Clippers regarding the availability of power forward Blake Griffin, but Los Angeles has rebuffed all of them and has no intention on softening its stance against dealing the star, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News notes.
  • Lakers coach Byron Scott is pleased with how power forward Julius Randle is maturing as a player and a person, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “He’s been fantastic,” Scott said of Randle. “He’s not going overboard as far as trying to go too fast. He’s picking his moments and he’s rebounded the hell out of the ball.”
  • Luke Walton is more than likely going to remain a Warriors assistant for the remainder of the season despite the young coach being linked to virtually every available coaching post, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes. The scribe cites Walton’s loyalty, the team’s unwillingness to tamper with its winning formula and the low probability that Walton would jump to a team that presses him to make a move in the middle of the season as reasons why he believes the coach will finish 2015/16 in Golden State.
  • The Suns assigned shooting guard Jordan McRae to their D-League affiliate, Coro tweets. McRae, whom Phoenix inked to a second 10-day deal Monday, is with Bakersfield so he can participate in the D-League All-Star game this weekend, Coro adds.
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Southeast Notes: Griffin, Harris, Teague

February 10th, 2016 at 4:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Magic were one of several teams to reach out to the Clippers about trading for Blake Griffin, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who writes in his NBA AM piece. They didn’t get very far, but a serious discussion nonetheless took place about the idea of sending three Magic players, including Tobias Harris, to L.A., sources told Kyler. The Sixers and Nuggets also reportedly spoke with the Clippers, who nonetheless aren’t interested in trading their star power forward, at least this season.

Here’s the latest from  the Southeast Division:

  • Orlando has reportedly expressed some degree of willingness to trade Harris, but the team would have to be blown away to pull the trigger on any deal involving the combo forward, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN relays (on Twitter). Harris re-signed with the Magic for four years and $64MM in July.
  • The Sixers have contacted the Hawks to gauge the availability of point guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Philadelphia hasn’t made a trade offer yet and appears unlikely to make a serious push for either playmaker, according to Pompey’s sources. The players on the Sixers with the highest trade value are Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, but the team doesn’t want to deal either big man away until the health status of Joel Embiid is clearer, which isn’t likely to be until the offseason, Pompey adds.
  • The consensus among the teams that have contacted the Hawks regarding Teague and Al Horford is that any deal involving the duo would likely be a deadline day one, Chris Mannix of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports tweets. Atlanta’s asking price for either player is extremely high, which complicates any potential trade, Mannix adds.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Pacific Notes: Karl, Griffin, Cousins, Watson

February 9th, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The fast pace of the Kings under George Karl has perturbed players and management, and concerns exist over the effect of the two-time cancer survivor’s health on his ability to coach, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. It’s hard for players to hear Karl, who endured neck and throat cancer while with the Nuggets, over the din of NBA arenas, Amick writes. Owner Vivek Ranadive reportedly hired Karl in part to run an up-tempo offense, so it’s odd to see pace become an issue. Still, the Kings have apparently committed to keeping Karl, in spite of reports that they planned to fire him.

“If they let George do his job and coach this team like he’s done in the past, they will get what they are both always seeking, respectability as a team and organization,” Karl’s agent, Warren Legarie, said in a statement to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

See more on the always-entertaining Kings amid the latest from the Pacific Division:

  • Blake Griffin has been suspended for four games without pay and fined him the equivalent of a fifth game check for reportedly hitting assistant equipment manager Mathias Testi, an incident that left Griffin with a broken right hand, as Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reported and the Clippers shortly thereafter confirmed (Twitter links). It’s officially a team suspension, Amick reports (Twitter link), so the Clippers won’t reap any tax savings as they would have if it were an NBA suspension. The team suspension also allows the Clippers some leeway in determining whether it’ll start before or after Griffin is fully recovered from his hand injury, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times points out (on Twitter), though the team has no plan to do so, Woike relays (via Twitter).
  • The Kings still aren’t seriously considering any DeMarcus Cousins trade before the deadline, but they’re expected to decide soon whether to use the months after the deadline to “lay the groundwork” for a later trade of the star big man, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. That process could take a while, Deveney writes, pointing to Minnesota’s months-long effort to find a suitable Kevin Love deal in 2014.
  • Interim Suns coach Earl Watson spent only one season with the Spurs organization, as a D-League coach last year, but San Antonio’s philosophy has a clear influence on the style he’s bringing to Phoenix, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
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Western Notes: Griffin, Kings, Durant

February 7th, 2016 at 8:14pm CST by Will Joseph

Blake Griffin wouldn’t necessarily welcome a trade that would bring him to his hometown of Oklahoma City, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports. The possibility hasn’t been discussed within Griffin’s camp, but for Griffin, playing in Oklahoma City would be akin to playing in New York City because of the attention he would receive, Berger adds. The Clippers reportedly wouldn’t hesitate to swap Griffin for Kevin Durant. The Clippers will also reportedly strongly consider dealing Griffin this summer if they don’t make a deep playoff run. There have been rumors that the Clippers may think about dealing Griffin in the wake of an incident with an equipment manager that the team reportedly believes could keep him out of action for two months. However, Clippers executive/coach Doc Rivers said Griffin will remain with the team.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

  • George Karl‘s camp expects him to remain coach of the Kings at least until the All-Star break, Sam Amick of USA Today Sports reports (on Twitter). The Kings’ final game before the break is Tuesday. It is worth noting that Rajon Rondo is particularly fond of Karl, but that may not matter, Amick tweets. The Kings are reportedly mulling whether to fire Karl.
  • Durant told reporters recently that it’s tough for him not to think about his upcoming free agency, Michael Singer of USA Today Sports relays. “There’s a lot of uncertainty going on, because I haven’t really thought that far,” Durant said. “But I’m just trying to focus on playing basketball. Once that times comes, I’ll make that decision. I’ll sit down and talk to my closest friends and family and figure it out. But right now I’m just trying to be the best basketball player I can be every single day. I have to be at a high level, an elite level every day, at practice, shootarounds and games, and that’s a tough task so I can’t focus on anything else other than that.”
  • Staying healthy is better than any move the Mavs could make at the trade deadline, opines Bobby Marks of The Vertical in the Dallas installment of his deadline guide series.
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Nuggets Rumors: Hickson, Barton, Lauvergne

February 6th, 2016 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

J.J. Hickson has handled trade rumors and reduced playing time in the best possible way, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. The Nuggets have been shopping the 27-year-old center/forward, who has been with the team since signing as a free agent in 2013. Hickson, who has fallen out of the rotation, is making nearly $5.614MM this season in the final year of an expiring contract. Coach Michael Malone has acknowledged the difficult situation that Hickson is in and complimented him for approaching it professionally and keeping himself ready to play.

Dempsey lists several other Nuggets who are attracting interest as the February 18th trade deadline nears:

  • Denver is getting numerous inquiries about Will Barton but doesn’t seem interested in making a deal. The 25-year-old shooting guard has taken a step forward this season, averaging 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Dempsey says the Nuggets know they have a “gem” in Barton, who is signed through the 2017/18 season.
  • The Nuggets began getting calls on second-year center Joffrey Lauvergne before the season started. Denver turned down those offers, and Dempsey believes the team will keep Lauvergne, in spite of a report that the Nuggets are seeking a late first-round pick for him. The Post scribe acknowledges that it’s not a certainty the Nuggets will hang on to the big man, but Malone has stated more than once that he considers Lauvergne part of the future, Dempsey notes. Lauvergne, who was the 55th pick in 2013, is also signed through 2017/18.
  • Kenneth Faried isn’t on the trade block, but Dempsey believes a “too good to be true” offer might change the Nuggets’ minds. The 26-year-old power forward has three years and nearly $39MM left after this season on the extension he signed in 2014.
  • The Nuggets were mentioned in Blake Griffin trade rumors last week, but Dempsey doesn’t think the Clippers will be dealing their star forward this season. He says L.A. has a “win now” philosophy, but that could change with another playoff disappointment. If that happens, the Nuggets would still be interested in Griffin this summer.
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Pacific Notes: Karl, Griffin, Russell

February 6th, 2016 at 6:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rumors are again swirling of a possible coaching change in Sacramento, but firing George Karl now might not be the Kings‘ best move, contends Sam Amick of USA Today. The columnist warns that an immediate change could make it difficult for the team to conduct a thorough search for Karl’s replacement. He adds that Sacramento has been looking at former Thunder coach Scott Brooks, ex-Bulls mentor Tom Thibodeau and former Warriors coach Mark Jackson for a while.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

  • The Kings should get rid of Karl right away because they have barely improved despite raising their talent level, argues Tom Ziller of SB Nation. Sacramento is just 21-29 and falling out of the playoff picture even though it signed Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli and Caron Butler in free agency and drafted Willie Cauley-Stein sixth overall. Ziller also slams Karl for trying to get rid of DeMarcus Cousins, for having an up-tempo game plan that doesn’t fit the team’s talent and for having a poor defensive team.
  • Clippers coach Doc Rivers didn’t waste words when asked about Blake Griffin‘s future in L.A., tweets Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times. “Blake’s ours,” Rivers said, “and he’s going to stay ours.” There have been rumors that the Clippers may consider dealing Griffin in the wake of an incident with an equipment manager that the team reportedly believes could keep him out of action for two months.
  • Lakers coach Byron Scott has been trying to make rookie D’Angelo Russell feel like he’s earning his minutes, according to Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. In what he says was an effort to keep Russell’s ego under control, Scott pulled him and Julius Randle from the starting lineup on December 7th. “I didn’t want him to just feel, ‘This is who I am. I should be starting on the Lakers because I’m the second pick,’” Scott said. “No, you’re starting because you work hard and you earn it.”
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