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Rudy Gay Rumors: Monday

January 14th, 2013 at 5:10pm CST by Luke Adams

When we asked on Saturday where you think Rudy Gay will finish the season, votes were fairly split, with many of you suggesting he'd stay in Memphis or that the Raptors were one of the top candidates to acquire him. With five and a half weeks still remaining before the trade deadline, we have a few Gay updates to pass along, including one related to those Raps, so let's dive right in….

The Grizzlies have tabled the idea of trading Gay for now, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. One source indicates that the offers for Gay will probably get worse toward the trade deadline, and believes the team would be better off waiting until after the season to make another push to trade him.

Earlier updates:

Agent Mark Bartelstein tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post that he has spoken to both the Wizards and Grizzlies and that his client Bradley Beal has not been offered in any potential Gay deal. "The Wizards have made it very clear that they are not moving Brad Beal," said Bartelstein.
The Grizzlies have spoken to every team in the league over the last month or so, but haven't shown an inclination to simply give away players like Gay for financial purposes, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Gay is likely to remain in Memphis through season's end, unless the team receives a no-brainer proposal, according to Tillery.
Although Tillery writes that the Wizards may be open to including Bradley Beal in a package for Gay, Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets that, based on what he has heard, he'd be shocked if Washington moved Beal for Gay.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post confirms that the Wizards have had conversations with the Grizzlies about what it would take to acquire Gay, and hears from one source that they're "pushing for" the forward. However, Lee indicates that a Washington offer would likely include any of the team's recent first-round picks besides Beal and John Wall.
The Raptors' chances of acquiring Gay are dwindling fast, according to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, who says the asking price is too high for Toronto. Smith hears that Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas came up in conversations, which didn't interest the Raps. The Star scribe estimates there's only a 5% chance that more serious discussions occur between the two teams.

Wizards Turned Down Trade For James Harden

December 11th, 2012 at 8:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wizards owner Ted Leonsis didn't want to commit a five-year maximum-salary contract to James Harden, so the team turned down an offer of Harden for Bradley Beal and Chris Singleton, according to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. One Wizards official, who disputes that such a proposal was ever on the table, said the Thunder were also seeking an established player of the caliber the Wizards don't possess, Lee adds.

The Thunder reportedly had interest in trading up to take Beal right before the draft, but didn't want to part with Harden. Lee notes that the proposal including Harden was made two months after the draft, when the Wizards made Beal the third overall pick. An NBA executive pointed out to Lee that teams are much more reticent to give up recently drafted players than they are draft picks.

The revelation of this would-be deal surely isn't welcome news for Wizards fans, who've watched their team stumble to a 2-15 start. As Lee details, the Wizards would likely have become a taxpaying team if they had committed a max deal to Harden as the Rockets did after the Thunder traded him to Houston on the eve of the season. With stiffer tax penalties kicking in by 2014, it makes it easier to understand why Leonsis put the brakes on a Harden trade, but with John Wall's value seemingly declining each day he misses with a left patella injury, it's worth wondering if the team might have been better off committing to Harden and letting Wall walk as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2014.

Beal is off to a slow start, shooting just 34.9% in his first 17 NBA games, and Singleton, the 18th pick in 2011, is averaging just 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game this year, so the Thunder appear to be much better off with the package they got from the Rockets that's centered around Kevin Martin. I'd have to think there's some legitimacy to the statement by the Wizards executive who said the Thunder were looking for something more in a deal with Washington. And the Rockets are assuredly glad they wound up with Harden, who's averaging 24.7 points, 5.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game this year, all career highs.

Odds & Ends: Bobcats, Nash, Beal, Lakers

November 17th, 2012 at 10:27pm CST by Michael Pina

Here's a look around the NBA this Saturday evening.

The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell wonders if the Bobcats can get anything of value for DeSagana Diop's expiring contract.
Steve Nash and Dwight Howard are teammates with the Lakers, but both of them could easily have ended up in New York with separate teams, writes Howard Beck of the New York Times.
NBA.com's Jeff Caplan has a piece on Wizards rookie shooting guard Bradley Beal, who currently leads his struggling team in scoring.
A quick recap of the Bernie Bickerstaff era as head coach of the Lakers, from ESPNLA.com's Dave McMenamin.
With James Harden flourishing as a starter with the Rockets, the Oklahoman's John Rohde wonders who will win the Sixth Man of the Year award this season.

Southeast Notes: Smith, Livingston, Beal, Wade

November 17th, 2012 at 12:34pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of Southeast teams will be in action tonight, with the Wizards aiming to finally record their first win of the season against the Jazz while the Heat look to extend their division lead in Phoenix. As we wait for the start of those games, let's round up a few notes out of the Southeast….

Following up on yesterday's Marc Stein report that indicated the Hawks have no interest in trading Josh Smith, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld agrees, suggesting in a series of tweets that it's far more likely that Smith will re-sign in Atlanta next summer.
Wizards head coach Randy Wittman pushed for Washington to sign Shaun Livingston when he became available, reports Michael Lee of the Washington Post. According to Lee, Livingston attracted interest from a few other teams, but chose the Wizards because they provide the opportunity to play in a familiar system.
Bradley Beal spoke to Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld about the expectations he places upon himself in his first season with the Wizards.
Of the three Heat stars with an early termination option available in the summer of 2014, Dwyane Wade is probably the least likely to opt out, opines Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Poll: Most Impressive Rookie

November 2nd, 2012 at 5:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

Through three days of the NBA season, most of the heavily hyped rookies have made their debuts. In particular, five have had standout first games as pros: New Orleans' No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis, Washington's No. 3 overall pick Bradley Beal, Cleveland's No. 4 overall pick Dion Waiters, Portland's No. 6 overall pick Damian Lillard, and Toronto's Jonas Valanciunas, drafted in 2011. Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist makes his debut tonight.

Which of the five rookies who have made an impact so far have impressed you the most?

Western Notes: Harden, Grizzlies, Mavs, Seattle

October 29th, 2012 at 2:02pm CST by Luke Adams

In dealing James Harden to the Rockets, the Thunder ensured that the gold medalist will likely remain in the Western Conference for years to come. In his weekly Morning Tip piece at NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge notes that while that may come as a surprise, there weren't many logical fits with Eastern Conference clubs.

The Thunder liked Bradley Beal, but the Wizards weren't interested in dealing the third overall pick. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, meanwhile, tweets that the Magic had some pieces that could have enticed Oklahoma City, but Orlando probably wouldn't have given Harden the max. The Magic ended up not getting involved in the Harden sweepstakes, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

Here are a few more Monday afternoon updates from around the Western Conference, with just over 24 hours until the NBA regular season gets underway:

Within his NBA.com column, Aldridge reports that the final sale price of the Grizzlies to Robert Pera's ownership group was $377MM.
Wayne Ellington remains unlikely to be extended by the Grizzlies before Wednesday, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com wonders if carrying so many players in contract years could blow up for the Mavericks.
NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper spoke to Seattle mayor Mike McGinn about the possibility of the NBA returning to his city. McGinn said that he's rooting for Sacramento to keep the Kings, since he knows what it feels like to lose a team, but is still hopeful about professional basketball coming back to Seattle.
Nuggets center JaVale McGee is going to have to learn how to deal with the burden of having a big contract and the attention that brings, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
The Lakers and Clippers both head into the 2012/13 season hoping that revamped benches will help them contend for a title, says Jill Painter of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com believes that, even without Harden, the Thunder are the team to beat in the Western Conference.
Luke Zeller's contract includes a $50K guarantee, so if he opens the season with the Suns, that doesn't mean he'll be with the team all year, says Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter links).

Warriors, Jazz, Others Discussed James Harden

October 29th, 2012 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

10:56am: Suns president Lon Babby confirmed to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that Phoenix had been engaged with the Thunder in trade talks for Harden, though he says that no proposal ever gained serious traction.

"We were engaged in discussions on numerous occasions," Babby said. "We most recently met in person when we played them [on October 19th]. At the end of the day, there wasn’t a deal that was workable for both sides."

8:53am: According to Zach Lowe of Grantland.com, Thunder GM Sam Presti had at least "semi-serious" trade conversations involving James Harden with a number of teams before eventually accepting the Rockets' offer. Lowe says the Warriors, Jazz, Wizards, and Raptors were among the teams that Presti spoke to before sending Harden to Houston. We heard yesterday that the Suns also pursued a trade for Harden.

The Thunder were seeking a sure-thing player who was still in the first year or two of his rookie deal, according to Lowe. That means Presti figures to have inquired on players like Klay Thompson, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Bradley Beal, and Jonas Valanciunas. Lowe adds that the Thunder GM likely started the process by reaching out to the Hornets about Anthony Davis, though I imagine that conversation didn't last too long.

Here are a few more Harden-related links, as reactions continue to pour in on one of the year's most surprising trades:

Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman reports that the Thunder made a last-ditch offer to Harden on Friday, proposing a four-year, $53MM extension. The team gave him a one-hour window to accept it, telling him that if he turned it down, he'd be traded to Houston. According to Tramel's sources, Harden said he needed three days to make a decision, but because the Rockets wanted time to negotiate an extension before Wednesday's deadline, Presti stuck to the one-hour window.
The pieces the Thunder acquired for Harden are the same sort of assets the team used to initially build itself into a perennial contender, opines Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
Members of the Spurs, a team the Thunder eliminated from the playoffs earlier this year, were surprised by the deal, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes. "It's kind of weird to look at OKC and think of them without their Big Three," Danny Green said. "Things are different. Obviously they're still going to be a good team."

Amico On Mavs, Clippers, Hornets, Bobcats

October 7th, 2012 at 5:51pm CST by Sean Highkin

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio has posted some thoughts from the weekend's preseason action, including impressions of players that have changed teams this offseason:

Amico was impressed with the Dallas debuts of Chris Kaman and O.J. Mayo, both of whom signed with the Mavs this summer.
Out of the several veterans the Clippers signed this offseason, Amico says that Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes made positive first impressions, while Lamar Odom looked considerably less impressive.
Amico writes that Hornets rookies Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers had good performances in their preseason debuts.
Second overall pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and third overall pick Bradley Beal had strong showings in the Bobcats' victory over the Wizards, Amico writes.
New Bobcats acquisitions Ben Gordon and Ramon Sessions also had strong performances off the bench, writes Amico.

Odds & Ends: Bynum, Seattle, Suns, Beal

October 7th, 2012 at 4:40pm CST by Michael Pina

Here are a few pieces of news from around the league.

Philly.com's John Mitchell writes that the fact that players on the Sixers think Andrew Bynum is better than Dwight Howard is good for the team's future.
David Stern says "if everything works perfectly" that the city of Seattle should have an NBA team and new stadium within five years, according to the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn. (Sulia link)
When the Suns acquired several players from last year's Rockets roster, they also took on the team's offensive strategy, writes AZCentral.com's Paul Coro.
The Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones has a piece detailing rookie Thomas Robinson's possible role at the small forward position.
Wizards rookie guard Bradley Beal isn't nervous for his preseason debut against fellow rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, writes the Washington Post's Michael Lee.
DeseretNews.com's Randy Hollis writes about newly signed guard Randy Foye, and how he's fitting in nicely with the Jazz.
The Hawks are in search of a consistent small forward to fill in the void left by Marvin Williams, writes HoopsWorld.com's Lang Greene.
The Chicago Sun-Times' Seth Gruen has a nice feature on Bulls second year forward Jimmy Butler, and how he's ready to fill in for the departed Ronnie Brewer.
ESPNNewYork's Jared Zwerling on Timberwolves forward Andrei Kirilenko, and why he didn't sign with the Nets.
Injuries throughout the league could be a huge positive for would-be D-League players fighting for roster spots on NBA teams, writes Gino Pilato on Ridiculous Upside.
Stephen Brotherston from Hoopsworld.com writes that Cavaliers forward Jon Leuer is searching for a spot in the team's starting rotation.

Wizards Sign Bradley Beal

July 8th, 2012 at 6:19pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Wizards have officially signed Bradley Beal, the third-overall selection of this year's NBA Draft. Michael Lee of The Washington Post reports that the 19-year-old shooting guard is guaranteed around $7MM over the first two years of his contract, with two consecutive team options in his third and fourth year.