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Odds & Ends: Webster, Wright, Pachulia

March 30th, 2013 at 6:20pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In his Weekend Dime piece, ESPN's Marc Stein writes that one of the main reasons for the Wizards dealing Jordan Crawford for Leandro Barbosa's expiring contract – despite Barbosa being out from a season ending injury – was to create more flexibility to increase their chances of retaining Martell Webster this summer. The former Seattle Prep star is arguably having his best pro season in Washington this year, putting up career bests in scoring (11.7), free throw percentage (86.4%), field goal percentage (45.4%), and three-point percentage (43.3%) in 29.3 MPG. Here are a few more tidbits from around the league tonight:

  • Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago (via Twitter) expects Mavericks big man Brandan Wright to be an under-the-radar commodity this summer as an unrestricted free agent.
  • Hawks center Zaza Pachulia – projected to be out six months after season ending surgery next week – says that he hasn't thought about his future and adds, "I'm still part of this team until July 31," tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.  
  • Derek Page of HoopsWorld held his weekly chat with readers this afternoon, discussing how Nerlens Noel and Cody Zeller are his top overall draft prospects and that the Mavericks won't rebuild until Dirk Nowitzki is finished playing, among other topics.  
  • Looking back at the summer of 2010, former Suns GM Steve Kerr says that he, along with Phoenix brass and their medical staff, agreed that a large financial commitment to Amare Stoudemire would not have been prudent considering the possible health issues down the line (Frank Isola of the New York Daily News). 
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Odds & Ends: Redick, Kobe, Lottery Odds

March 16th, 2013 at 10:29pm CST by Ryan Raroque

J.J. Redick spent nearly six and a half seasons with the Magic before being dealt to the Bucks right before the trade deadline. According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, Redick says that he never felt any ill-will toward the Magic organization during the process and completely understands why they traded him: "Based on Arron (Afflalo) being there and who’s in the draft this year and where the Magic are likely to pick, there’s no way they would commit anything to me long-term — not just me, but just anybody in my situation. From a business standpoint, from a cap-building and rebuilding standpoint, it wouldn’t make sense. I get that. That’s fine." 

 You can find more of what we've gathered up from the Association tonight below:  

  • Mark Medina of the LA Daily News (via Twitter) provides a brief update of Lakers star Kobe Bryant's injury status, saying that his ankle sprain is considered serious enough to deem his return indefinite. 
  • Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets that the draft lottery odds will be affected on a nightly basis moving forward, as eight teams have between 22-24 wins. Most notably, those teams could be choosing as high as third or as low as tenth depending on how their season ends. 
  • Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW thinks that Brandan Wright's dependable play could very well make him a keeper for the Mavericks for the long-term.   
  • Marco Belinelli has relished his time in Chicago so far, and the Bulls shooting guard – once viewed as Kyle Korver's replacement as a perimeter shooter – has worked hard to remove the stereotype that he's just a one-dimensional player (Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports). 
  • Shaun Livingston has been the beneficiary of heavy playing time for Cavaliers coach Byron Scott, who has looked to the 6'7 point guard to fill in for the injured Kyrie Irving, observes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer.
  • Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel catches up with former Bucks forward Tobias Harris, who appears to be thriving in a significant role with the Magic. 
  • Perry Jones III credits the Thunder veterans for preparing him before he filled in for the injured Hasheem Thabeet on Friday, says Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK. Coach Scott Brooks made note of the rookie's eight-point, five rebound performance, and despite saying that there currently isn't any room in the rotation, the Baylor product has "a very bright future" with the team. 

 

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Mavs Rumors: Open Roster Spot, Wright, Beaubois

March 10th, 2013 at 11:56am CST by Chuck Myron

Lost in the noise surrounding the Lakers’ ascent in the Western Conference standings has been a similar Lazarus act by the Mavericks. Dallas is just three games back of the eighth-place Jazz and four and a half behind the Rockets, who occupy the seventh spot in the West. The Mavs made a surprise move yesterday, waiving Dominique Jones, and we have more on the aftershocks from that transaction, along with some early offseason speculation:

  • The Mavs will probably fill their open roster spot with a player from the D-League, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, who hears the team is likely to sign someone today or Monday.
  • Reserve center Brandan Wright is one of many soon-to-be unrestricted free agents on the Mavs, but he’d like to return to Dallas for next season, notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  • Like Jones, fellow Mavs guard Rodrigue Beaubois hasn’t seen much playing time this season, but Price thinks Beaubois’ ability to remain on the bench without complaint is one reason he’s still around. Even so, Price would be surprised to the Mavs re-sign Beaubois this summer (Twitter links).
  • Dirk Nowitzki believes Jones could blossom elsewhere in the NBA, as Price documents. “He never really got a real shot at it,’‘ Nowitzki said of his teammate on the Mavs 2011 championship team. “I like his athleticism, I like what he brought, it just wasn’t a good situation to be in.”
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Stein’s Latest: Josh Smith, Bucks, Mavs, Rockets

March 9th, 2013 at 12:21am CST by Chuck Myron

As rumors fly long past the NBA's trade deadline, Marc Stein of ESPN.com checks in with a Weekend Dime that's heavy on items about Josh Smith, as well as plenty of news about the Rockets. There's even a link between Smith and Houston, so let's dig in. 

  • The Bucks came closest to acquiring Smith at the deadline, as a source tells Stein that Atlanta's talks with the Sixers were never as serious as they were with Milwaukee. 
  • Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier today that the Hawks nearly sent Smith to the Celtics, but Stein hears Atlanta's brass shared the concerns of many NBA teams that C's basketball president Danny Ainge would get cold feet about dealing one of his stars. Paul Pierce would have been sent to the Mavs in the rumored Smith-to-Boston trade.
  • The Hawks preferred to send Smith to the Western Conference, but were rebuffed by the Mavs, who refused to add a draft pick to a package that already included Vince Carter, Chris Kaman, Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright and Dahntay Jones. Many of those Mavericks were also part of the proposed three-way trade with the Celtics.
  • If the Rockets don't land top target Dwight Howard this summer, they'll turn their attention to Smith and Andrew Bynum next, sources tell Stein.
  • Aaron Brooks forfeited just under $3.4MM in his buyout from the Kings, Stein hears. Brooks was set to make $3.396MM next season on a player option, so presumably the buyout simply entailed him declining that option.
  • I took a look in January at all the former Rockets the team still has on the payroll, a list that's since grown even longer, as Stein notes. Houston has waived or bought out 10 players this season, all of whom are still on the team's cap.
  • Stein catches up with Thomas Robinson, who was surprised when the Kings drafted him last year and "shocked" when they traded him to the Rockets at the deadline.
  • There's a schism in thought around the league about whether Monta Ellis is leaning toward staying with the Bucks next season or exercising his early-termination option to hit free agency this summer. 
  • Samuel Dalembert is hitting free agency no matter what, but echoing his report before the trade deadline that Milwaukee was no longer trying to move Dalembert, Stein says the Bucks have some interest in re-signing the Haitian center.
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Celtics Nearly Traded Pierce In Deal For Josh Smith

March 8th, 2013 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Celtics stood relatively pat at last month's trade deadline, the team very nearly agreed to a blockbuster deal that would have sent Paul Pierce to Dallas, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski reports that the Celtics, Mavericks, and Hawks discussed a three-way trade that would have seen Boston acquire Josh Smith. However, the Hawks wanted a first-round pick in the deal, which the C's were unwilling to include.

According to Wojnarowski, the package that would have gone to the Hawks from the Mavericks featured Dahntay Jones, Jae Crowder, and Brandan Wright, along with the ability to swap picks in the 2013 draft. Based on Wojnarowski's report, it appears Atlanta was on board with the pieces coming from Dallas, but required one more sweetener from Boston, and the C's didn't relent.

The failed deal makes sense from Atlanta's perspective, since the club was looking to acquire some combination of young talent, expiring contracts, and draft picks in exchange for Smith. From the Celtics' perspective, Danny Ainge presumably felt that Smith was a player in his prime that the team could attempt to re-sign and keep for the long-term, though the GM wasn't willing to pay an exorbitant price to land him.

As for the Mavericks, they would have received another All-Star caliber veteran to pair with Dirk Nowitzki, but both players are in their mid-30s, and keeping Pierce next season would have eaten up the majority of the club's 2013/14 cap space. I feel like there must be a detail missing from the package that would have gone to Atlanta, since the Jones/Crowder/Wright trio earns significantly less than Pierce this season, meaning more salary would have to be included to make the deal work under CBA rules. Perhaps Shawn Marion, who has a $9.07MM player option for '13/14, was also in the proposal, which would have allowed Dallas to retain some financial flexibility in the summer. That's just my speculation though. Including Chris Kaman's expiring contract would also have worked for salary-matching purposes.

After being unable to finalize this deal, all three involved teams made smaller moves. The Celtics acquired Jordan Crawford from the Wizards, the Hawks acquired Jeremy Tyler from the Warriors, and the Mavericks and Hawks swapped Jones and Anthony Morrow.

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Western Notes: Kings, Garnett, Mavs, Wolves

February 20th, 2013 at 9:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most around the league are surprised by the Kings' involvement in a cost-cutting deal that sent away Thomas Robinson, the fifth pick of this past June's draft this evening, Grantland's Zach Lowe hears (Twitter link). It's just the fifth time a team has traded a top five pick in his rookie season, ESPN Stats and Info tweets. The Kings weren't expected to be involved in any deals as their ownership situation is resolved, but ultimately they didn't hesitate to jump in at the last moment. Here's more on that trade and from around the West as the hours tick down until tomorrow's 2:00pm Central time deadline:

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Southwest Notes: Llull, Lamb, Spurs, Wright

September 6th, 2012 at 11:10am CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after the London Olympics, in which Sergio Llull helped lead Spain to a silver medal, we heard that the Rockets' 2009 draft pick was hoping to stay long-term with Real Madrid, who had reportedly offered him a six-year extension. Now, it appears that Llull has agreed to that extension. The translation of this report from Encestando.es is rough, but the outlet suggests that Llull has agreed to a contract to keep him with Real Madrid through 2018. It's not clear whether there would be any NBA outs in the deal, but it certainly seems that Llull won't be playing in Houston anytime soon.

Here are the rest of the morning's notes out of the Southwest Division:

  • Jason Friedman of Rockets.com talked to Rockets first-round pick Jeremy Lamb about his expectations for the coming season and what aspects of his game he's working on at the moment.
  • While Andray Blatche's deal with the Nets isn't finalized yet, the Spurs are definitely out of the running for the big man. Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News notes that the Spurs' frontcourt is looking "just a wee bit thin" heading into the season.
  • The Spurs officially announced the hiring of former Jazz assistant Scott Layden as the club's assistant general manager yesterday. The Jazz, meanwhile, are close to finding a replacement for Layden, according to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.
  • In a piece for Mavs.com, Earl K. Sneed wonders how high Brandan Wright's ceiling is. Another strong year for Wright could put the former lottery pick in strong position when he hits free agency next summer.
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Southwest Notes: Wright, Grizzlies, Jordan

August 14th, 2012 at 6:25pm CST by Alex Lee

When the "Dwightmare" was in full swing, perhaps no division in the NBA seemed a more likely landing spot for Dwight Howard than the Southwest.  The Rockets made no secret about their relentless pursuit of the former Defensive Player of the Year, a position that general manager Daryl Morey has continued to embrace even with Howard now in purple and gold.  The Mavericks were in the same boat, clearing out cap space last offseason in preparation of their pursuit of multiple free agent superstars.  Both teams struck out and for now, the only team in the division that appears to have significantly improved is the Hornets.  Lets take a look at some other links from the Southwest division:

  • Last week we took a look at some of the issues holding up the Grizzlies' ownership transition from current owner Michael Heisley to tech industry billionaire Robert Pera.  Matt Moore hits on many of the same points in a post today, pulling out several quotes from a piece in the Sporting News.  It looks like there may be more than just stock price obstacles in this deal for Pera.
  • Jeff Caplan from ESPN Dallas analyzes how Brandan Wright will fit in with the Mavericks this season in what is a contract year for the center.  Caplan said that Wright's athleticism was an asset on offense for Dallas, but that wiry 7-footer was a liability on the defensive end.  With a salary less than $1MM, the Mavericks will live with his ups and downs, but Wright is only 24 and it will be interesting to see how he performs approaching free agency and with veteran Chris Kaman eating up most of the minutes in the middle in Dallas.
  • After being shipped from New York to Houston in the Marcus Camby deal, Jerome Jordan was promptly cut by the Rockets.  Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld caught up with Jordan, now an unrestricted free agent, in Los Angeles where the Tulsa product is working out in hopes of landing a back-up role. 
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Mavs To Retain Brandan Wright

June 23rd, 2012 at 3:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs will bring back center Brandan Wright next season, reports Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com. Donnie Nelson, the team's president of basketball operations, described the move as a "formality." Wright is slated to make the minimum salary of $992,680. 

Read more

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Odds & Ends: Rondo, Rockets, Blazers, Mavericks

March 4th, 2012 at 6:15pm CST by Ryan Raroque
After an overtime thriller between New York and Boston and the Heat being held to its second-lowest point total all season against the Lakers, here are some of the topics floating around the league. 
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