Earl Clark Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Four Teams Finalize Dwight Howard Blockbuster

August 10th, 2012 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

1:34pm: Ken Berger of CBS Sports has tweeted a number of the details on the traded draft picks in the deal. We've updated the list below to reflect the protection on those picks.

12:19pm: The Magic, Lakers, Nuggets, and 76ers have completed their trade call with the league office, making Dwight Howard a Los Angeles Laker, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The Magic officially announced the transaction in a press release this afternoon.

The details of the massive four-team swap can be found in our post from yesterday that tracked updates as they came in. But here's a quick recap of how the deal looks from each team's perspective based on what's been reported so far, with players' 2012/13 salaries in parentheses. If anything changes when the teams make their official announcements, we'll update this post to reflect that.

Orlando Magic
Acquire: Arron Afflalo ($7,750,000), Al Harrington ($6,687,400), Josh McRoberts ($3,135,000), Maurice Harkless ($1,731,960), Nikola Vucevic ($1,719,480), Christian Eyenga ($1,174,080), protected 2014 first-round pick from Nuggets¹, protected 2015 first-round pick from Sixers², protected 2017 first-round pick from Lakers³, Warriors' 2013 second-round pick from Nuggets, conditional 2015 second-round pick from Lakers⁴
Trade: Dwight Howard ($19,536,360), Jason Richardson ($5,799,625), Chris Duhon ($3,250,000), Earl Clark ($1,240,000)

The Magic also create a trade exception worth about $17.8MM in the deal, as outlined here.

Denver Nuggets
Acquire: Andre Iguodala ($14,968,250)
Trade: Arron Afflalo ($7,750,000), Al Harrington ($6,687,400), protected 2014 first-round pick from Nuggets¹, Warriors' 2013 second-round pick

Philadelphia 76ers
Acquire: Andrew Bynum ($16,889,000), Jason Richardson ($5,799,625)
Trade: Andre Iguodala ($14,968,250), Maurice Harkless ($1,731,960), Nikola Vucevic ($1,719,480), protected 2015 first-round pick²

Los Angeles Lakers
Acquire: Dwight Howard ($19,536,360), Chris Duhon ($3,250,000), Earl Clark ($1,240,000)
Trade: Andrew Bynum ($16,889,000), Josh McRoberts ($3,135,000), Christian Eyenga ($1,174,080), protected 2017 first-round pick³, conditional 2015 second-round pick⁴

¹The lesser of the Nuggets' and Knicks' first-rounders.
²Top-14 protected in 2015, 2016, top-11 in 2017, top-8 in 2018; if the pick still hasn't been conveyed after four years, the Magic will receive 2018 and 2019 second-rounders instead of a first-rounder. The pick cannot be conveyed until the Sixers meet their draft pick obligations to the Heat, which could delay the Magic from getting a first-round pick until 2017.
³Top-5 protected in 2017 and 2018, unprotected in 2019. The pick cannot be conveyed until the Lakers meet their draft pick obligations to the Suns, which would prevent the Magic from getting a first-round pick if the Lakers fail to make the playoffs the next three years. If that takes place, the Magic will receive 2017 and 2018 second-rounders instead.
⁴Top-40 protected; if the pick isn't conveyed in 2015, the Magic will not receive it.

More Reactions To The 4-Way Howard Blockbuster

August 10th, 2012 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

On a day when Team USA's semifinal game against Argentina was expected to dominate the headlines, the Olympics have taken a back seat to an epic four-way trade that will see three 2012 All-Stars changing hands. In a deal that's expected to be officially agreed upon later today, the Lakers will acquire Dwight Howard, the Sixers will land Andrew Bynum, and the Nuggets will get Andre Iguodala, while the Magic acquire a package of players and picks. We already examined some of the reactions to the agreement last night, but the links continue to pour in, so let's round up a few more….

According to Wojnarowski, the Rockets' offer for Howard included recent first-rounders, future lottery and unprotected first-round picks, and the opportunity to move bad contracts and gain cap space (Twitter links). I've maintained for a while that Houston's looked like Orlando's most logical trade partner, and none of the details about the Rockets' offer make me think otherwise.
In response to John Hollinger's tweet linked below, Brian Schmitz stresses, via Twitter, that the Howard deal ran through Hennigan first, before progressing to Martins and the DeVos family.

Earlier updates:

ESPN.com's John Hollinger tweets that it was likely Magic CEO Alex Martins, rather than GM Rob Hennigan, that ran the Howard deal.
In an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Hollinger says he likes the four-way trade for three teams, but really can't understand it from the Magic's perspective.
Sam Amick of SI.com argues that it's unfair to criticize the Magic for the deal yet, since there's a major "wait-and-see" aspect to their haul.
With everyone wondering whether the Magic could have acquired more from the Nets a month ago, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets Brooklyn's final offer for Howard: Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries (on a one-year, $9.6MM guarantee), MarShon Brooks, and four unprotected first-round picks for Howard, Jason Richardson, Chris Duhon, and Earl Clark.
Bynum had been open to re-signing with the Lakers, but was also very receptive to signing with a team where he could earn more touches, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. Acquiring Bynum and his Bird Rights makes the Sixers the overwhelming favorites to retain him long-term, as I suggested earlier this week.
The Howard trade is the latest bitter pill for the Mavericks' front office to swallow, writes Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
National NBA fans may consider the Dwightmare to be over, but Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel says Howard's departure could haunt Magic fans for years.

Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday

July 9th, 2012 at 3:30pm CST by Luke Adams

It may not be many more days until our long national Dwightmare is over. Yesterday's reports on Howard suggested talks involving the Magic, Nets, and Cavaliers were getting serious, and that Orlando plans to make "one last sweep" around the league before deciding whether to accept the Nets' offer. While we wait to see if anything is agreed upon today, here are the latest rumblings on the Howard front:

Chad Ford's ESPN.com report includes some more slight tweaks to the framework described below. Ford adds Chris Duhon to the list of players headed to the Nets, suggests the Magic would receive one fewer first-rounder (a total of three instead of four), and says the Cavs would receive $3MM in cash.
Ford's report, along with tweets from the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, suggest that the Cavs and Clippers still aren't entirely on board. The Plain Dealer tweets that talk of a deal getting close is premature, while Berger says the Clips haven't agreed to anything yet and are one of several potential fourth-team facilitators in the mix (Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

Earl Clark Exercises Player Option With Magic

July 1st, 2012 at 12:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

SUNDAY, 12:53pm: Clark changed his mind on his option and informed the Magic on Friday that he has decided to opt in, according to Alex Kennedy (Twitter links). The move will put him on Orlando's books for $1.24MM next season.

THURSDAY, 2:08pm: Magic backup big man Earl Clark is declining his $1.24MM option for next season and will become an unrestricted free agent, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports, via Twitter. Clark signed a two-year, $2.4MM deal before the season that included the option. The Magic acquired Clark, a former 14th overall pick by the Suns, at midseason in 2010/11, but he's seen little playing time.

Southeast Notes: Clark, Miller, Hawks, Bobcats

June 22nd, 2012 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Southeast Division came into existence just eight years ago, in 2004, so it's no surprise that the Heat are the division's only NBA champion its inception, winning their second title last night. But Miami isn't the only franchise in the Southeast with an NBA Finals victory in its history. Before Washington's team was the Southeast's Wizards, it was the Central Division's Bullets, winning an NBA title in 1977/78. The Wizards introduced new acquisitions Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza at a press conference today, and they weren't the only Southeast club in the news — let's round up a few more Friday notes out of the division….

Magic Rumors: Nelson, Ewing, Clark, Foyle

May 9th, 2012 at 9:06pm CST by Luke Adams

With an unusual and drama-filled season finally in the books, the Magic look ahead to an offseason that could be just as eventful. As one NBA GM told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, "You can take all of those stories from December and January and February and cut them out and paste them into May and June and July."

With the futures of Dwight Howard, Stan Van Gundy, and others up in the air, here's the latest out of Orlando….

9:06pm:

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel examines the dilemma facing Jameer Nelson, who has three days to decide on his option for next season.
Stan Van Gundy believes assistant Patrick Ewing is ready to take on a head coaching job, Robbins reports in the same piece.
Robbins passes along another note about Earl Clark, who said he hasn't thought about his $1.24MM option for next season, but added, "I definitely want to be here. I don't want to be anywhere else."