We already heard from new Blazers' general manager Neil Olshey tonight, who implied that he all but has his mind made up that the man to fill Portland's coaching vacancy should be interim head coach Kaleb Canales. Portland is one of multiple franchises that needs to make decisions coaching and front office decisions this offseason. Let's look at some of those latest rumors as well as a couple more notes from around the league on this Tuesday night:
Courtney Lee will be a restricted free agent this summer, but he'd "love to stay" with the Rockets, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
“Houston is always going to be my first choice," Lee said. "It’s up to those guys, if I get an offer, whether they match it or if they just come out and give me an offer.”
The Rockets acquired the former first-round pick as part of a four-way trade before the 2010/11 season, and used the 6'5", 200-pound shooting guard primarily as a backup until starter Kevin Martin got hurt midway through this season. Lee has averaged 14.2 PPG in 25 games as a starter this year, well above his career mark of 10.0 PPG.
A few teams, including the Pacers, Bulls and Clippers, were reportedly interested in trading for Lee this season, but the Rockets' price was too high. Houston's qualifying offer on Lee is $3.22MM, but he figures to command significantly more than that. The Pacers, in particular, will have plenty of cap room if they are still interested in pursuing him, and other teams in need of a shooting guard, like the Timberwolves, could get involved. The Rockets will have tough decisions to make on Lee and fellow free agent Goran Dragic. Both entered the season as backup guards, but emerged as starters and played well in the second half of the season.
HoopsWorld's Derek Page has compiled a column about the futures of several prominent NBA players featuring input from other writers:
- Alex Kennedy thinks the Magic will once again attempt to acquire a player via trade or free agency to appease Dwight Howard, although the possibility is still open for him to be dealt.
- Lang Greene says the Hawks should give serious consideration to moving Josh Smith this summer, as his trade value will be high and he is unhappy in Atlanta.
- Eric Pincus finds it unlikely that Pau Gasol has a long-term future with the Lakers, due to the luxury-tax implications of keeping him.
- Bill Ingram thinks the emergence of Courtney Lee will make it easier for the Rockets to move Kevin Martin for the right price.
- Page believes Shawn Marion's contract makes him relatively easy for the Mavericks to trade, but with Howard off the market, it's not as necessary for the purpose of clearing cap space.
You've read about the trades that were completed prior to the deadline, but there were also plenty of moves that didn't quite work out. Here are a few that have been reported so far:
- The Lakers had been in talks to acquire Michael Beasley in a deal that would've sent Jamal Crawford and Derek Fisher to the Timberwolves, with Dallas' first-round pick going to the Blazers, says Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (on Twitter).
- Crawford also could've gone to the Lakers, but the Blazers didn't want to take on Derek Fisher, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Before they acquired Nick Young, the Clippers talked extensively with the Rockets about trading for Courtney Lee, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
- The Clippers were also "this close" from acquiring Ray Allen, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
- The Celtics had serious talks with several teams about both Allen and Paul Pierce, but nothing came together, says Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
- Another interesting tidbit from Amick: He says the Nuggets tried to engage the Kings on Nene/DeMarcus Cousins swap about a month ago, but the Kings weren't interested (Twitter links).
- The Bucks made a "strong late push" for the Hornets' Carl Landry, but couldn't work anything out, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
- GM Otis Smith told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com that the Magic explored many deals to bring in help around Dwight Howard, but that the risk/reward factor didn't make sense (Twitter link).
In his NBA AM piece for HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler reported that Dwight Howard is highly unlikely to change his mind again, but that the Magic seem to have a deal they'd do with the Nets if Howard waffles once more. You can follow all of today's Howard updates here, and check out the rest of Kyler's morning notes below:
- The Rockets are discussing more than half their roster in trades, having offered around Terrence Williams, Jonny Flynn, Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola, Hasheem Thabeet and Courtney Lee. According to Kyler, Houston would trade any combination of those players to acquire Chris Kaman.
- The Bulls want Lee, but aren't likely to meet the Rockets' asking price, which would mean parting with Taj Gibson or Omer Asik. The Pacers and Timberwolves are also eyeing Lee.
- Houston has a standing offer out to the Lakers for Pau Gasol, but it doesn't include Kyle Lowry, so nothing is expected to happen there.
- If the Blazers' three-team deal with the Timberwolves and Lakers involving Jamal Crawford falls through, Portland may have a backup trade in place with the Pacers.
- The Magic won't be able to make a move for Josh Smith, which isn't a surprise. One league source tells Kyler the Hawks want an All-Star frontcourt player in exchange for Smith, so a deal is very unlikely.
Tick, tock. Just hours to go before tomorrow's 2:00pm trade deadline. No deals went down today, but there's been no shortage of news. Here are the latest tidbits on trades and other NBA action:
- Marc J. Spears reports the Wizards are actively trying to trade JaVale McGee, but a GM says Washington is "asking for the world" in return. (Twitter link) Tom Ziller of SB Nation adds detail.
- Alex Kennedy tweets that the price also appears to be too high for Courtney Lee, whom the Rockets are trying to move.
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News passes along a nugget about the Celtics in a larger roundup, reporting that the team would be willing to trade Avery Bradley for a big man. Perhaps that's the player they have in mind in a potential deal for J.J. Hickson.
- With the NCAA tournament getting in full swing tomorrow, ESPN's Chad Ford breaks down the top NBA draft prospects in the Midwest Region. He's also looked at the East and the South, with the West sure to come next. (Insider only)
- Adam Zagoria of SNY looks at likely lottery picks Andre Drummond and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as they gear up for the postseason.
- In a basketball-baseball crossover story, Warriors co-owner Peter Guber has joined forces with Magic Johnson in a bid to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a Bloomberg News report by Scott Soshnick.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld passed along a few goodies on Twitter, so let's take a look (all Twitter links, of course):
- The Magic are one of multiple teams trying to get the Hawks to change their minds about keeping Josh Smith, even though it's a long shot. One potential scenario would have the Magic sending Jason Richardson to the Wolves and Ryan Anderson to the Hawks while Michael Beasley would go to Atlanta. Ownership would be reluctant to do that deal because they believe Smith is worth twice that price. David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets that no such talks between the Magic and Hawks have taken place.
- The rumored three-team trade involving the Lakers, Wolves and Blazers is just one of the options the Wolves have.
- The Bulls are eyeing Courtney Lee, and would look to Raja Bell as a fallback.
- Kyler is much more confident about the Mavs' chances of landing Deron Williams now that Dwight Howard is close to committing to the Magic for next season.
Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld hears from a source close to Kevin Martin that the shooting guard is tired of the inconsistent and unexplained rotation choices for the Rockets. Although he's close with Courtney Lee, Martin is frustrated about losing playing time to his Rockets teammate — Martin has played less than 20 minutes in each of Houston's last three games.
According to Ingram, the "word out of Houston" has Lee as the more likely trade candidate than Martin, since the Rockets prefer the 29-year-old. The Bulls, Clippers, Pacers, and Timberwolves are among the teams thought to have some level of interest in Lee, so the Rockets figure to receive plenty of inquiries before Thursday's trade deadline.
Sam Amick of SI.com noted yesterday that a number of Rockets might welcome a trade, and Ingram suggests that some Houston players are "rapidly tiring" of coach Kevin McHale and GM Daryl Morey. The Rockets' situation bears watching in the next couple days, since a roster overhaul isn't out of the question.
The Pacers "continue to have a great deal of interest" in acquiring a shooting guard, according to Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. However, Indiana isn't inclined to break up the core of its roster to bring in a two guard.
O.J. Mayo was nearly traded to Indiana at last year's deadline, and the Pacers maintain interest in him, but the Grizzlies don't appear likely to move the USC product this season. If Memphis makes a deal, it will likely be a smaller move designed to get the team below the luxury tax line.
According to Ingram, the Pacers also have some interest in Courtney Lee, whose agent would like to relocate his client to a team where he might sign an extension. The Rockets, who should clear a good deal of cap space this summer, don't appear to have much interest in bringing back most of their players on expiring contracts, including Lee. Still, Houston figures to ask for a young player or a draft pick for Lee, a price Indiana may not want to pay.
The Pacers have a huge amount of cap space they could use to facilitate a deal, but with no obligation to spend to reach a salary floor, Indiana won't make a trade just for the sake of it. For what it's worth, Danny Granger and other Pacers players don't believe the team needs to make a deal, as Granger told Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld.
Sam Amick of SI.com has a few updates on this week's trade candidates, so let's dive in….
- Brandon Jennings could be had "for the right price." Long considered a franchise cornerstone, Jennings irked some Bucks officials with his comments last month about exploring free agency.
- Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle hears from Warriors sources that reports of Golden State's interest in Andrew Bogut are "nothing more than hype." However, sources tell Amick that the team's interest is real. The Wizards also inquired on Bogut, but talks went nowhere, says Amick. The Rockets aren't thought to be involved on the Bucks' center.
- Amick goes on to say that the Bucks feel this may not be the best time to get full value for Bogut, considering he's still on the shelf for a few weeks with a fractured ankle.
- The Blazers may be active this week, but they don't intend to move Nicolas Batum, who they are determined to keep long-term.
- Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, Jonny Flynn, and Terrence Williams are among the Rockets who would "likely welcome a trade," according to Amick. Goran Dragic is also a trade candidate, since he's not expected to be re-signed this summer. Though I'd imagine Houston will be more inclined to keep Dragic with Kyle Lowry's return date up in the air.