Jameer Nelson

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Nelson, Butler

Earlier today, I joined Zach Burke, Craig Smoak, and Q on 1660 ESPN Radio in Central Texas to talk LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, the latest on the Mavericks and Rockets, and much more.  If you missed out, you can listen to the interview here.  Here’s more from around the league..

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Nets, Hollins, Nelson

Celtics 2013 second round pick Colton Iverson is back from Turkey and confident that he’ll make the C’s roster, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.  “I knew when I got drafted last year that there was a pretty good chance I would have to go overseas,” said Iverson. “I was here working, trying to impress, and do everything possible to help the team. I knew there was a slim chance just with the roster. I think this year there is a little bit better chance and I know the opportunity is all mine for the taking. I think if I just come out and show what I can do in summer league and the next couple days here, I will really help myself. So I’m coming along with a different mindset that it’s mine for the taking and it’s all up to me.”  Here’s more from around the NBA..

  • Everything is quiet on the Nets/Lionel Hollins front at the moment, but signs are pointing toward an agreement, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.  Brooklyn has no immediate plans to interview anyone else for the position.
  • Nets GM Billy King told WFAN that Jameer Nelson is “on the list” of potential free agents that Brooklyn could target, tweets Andy Vasquez of the Bergen Record.
  • Mark Jackson was rumored to be a possible coaching candidate for the Nets, but he’s not under serious consideration now, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
  • New Warriors guard Shaun Livingston told David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter) that his departure from the Nets was a “long time coming” and admitted that the team’s limitations in how much money they could offer was a factor.  He went on to say that Jason Kidd‘s bizarre exit from Brooklyn wasn’t a major factor from him but also “didn’t help matters” (link).
  • Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com runs down five potential free agent targets for the Knicks, including Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill, and Andrew Bynum.

Central Notes: Kidd, Frye, Stephenson, Nelson

Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry apologized to the fired Larry Drew over the Jason Kidd saga, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.  I’m sure that made everything all better.  Here’s the latest from the Central Division..

  • One free agent target for the Cavs is expected to be Channing Frye, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Pluto also expects the Cavs to bring back unrestricted free agent Spencer Hawes.
  • Several sources have indicated to Candace Buckner of the Indy Star (on Twitter) that the Pacers will give Lance Stephenson the star treatment as they try to convince him to re-sign.  The Pacers have even produced a movie in his honor to be shown once free agency officially kicks off at midnight ET.
  • John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com (on Twitter) fully expects Pistons president and coach Stan Van Gundy to reach out to Jameer Nelson in free agency.  Both have tremendous respect for one another.  With homes in Orlando and Philadelphia, Denton (link) expects him to consider teams close to those places like the Heat, Nets, Knicks, 76ers, and Wizards.
  • Nelson is prioritizing winning and wants to sign with a contender, tweets Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
  • If forward Nikola Mirotic is done with his team in Spain and headed this week to meet with the Bulls, that’s news to the team, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.  According to one source, Chicago was not informed that Mirotic had grown disenchanted with Real Madrid and was ready to join them, as one international report indicated.

Magic Waive Jameer Nelson

The Magic have waived Jameer Nelson, the team announced via press release, confirming a report from Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The team was facing a July 15th deadline to either waive him or guarantee his full $8MM salary. His $2MM partial guarantee for next season will remain on Orlando’s books.

Robbins suggests the move is a precursor to a pursuit of experienced players in free agency, perhaps speeding up Orlando’s slow-moving rebuild. The Magic waived Doron Lamb earlier today, traded Arron Afflalo last week, and are reportedly looking to rid themselves of Jason Maxiell, paving the way to plenty of cap flexibility.

The team’s acquisition of rookie point guard Elfrid Payton on draft night Thursday seemed a harbinger of Nelson’s departure. Nelson had nonetheless maintained his role of starting point guard even with the team experimenting with Victor Oladipo at the point last season. The 32-year-old has spent his entire 10-year NBA career with the Magic, and had been the last remaining player from the 2009 Finals team.

Nelson averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 assists against 2.4 turnovers in 32.0 minutes per game last season. The Steve Mountain client seems like a decent fit for the taxpayer’s mid-level exception of $3.278MM, or perhaps more if he’s willing to sign a short-term deal.

And-Ones: Nelson, Embiid, Parker, Wiggins

Jameer Nelson‘s agent tells David Baumann of 810 CBS Sports Orlando that his client has made clear his desire to remain with the Magic next season (Twitter link). Nelson’s partially guaranteed $8MM contract will become fully guaranteed if he isn’t waived before July 15. More from around the league:

  • Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports released a new mock draft, slotting Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker, and Andrew Wiggins in the top three respective spots in what is becoming the consensus order at the top of the draft, at least for the time being.
  • Three NBA scouts gave Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio their opinions on Embiid, Parker, and Wiggins, and believe the trio will wind up making each team selecting in the top-three very happy. “It’s like having three No. 1 (overall) picks in one draft,” one of the scouts told Amico.
  • NBA scouts and executives raved to Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe about Parker’s potential, telling Holmes that the small forward is the safest pick in the draft, with a game comparable to Carmelo Anthony.

Bobcats Rumors: Afflalo, Nelson, McRoberts

The Bobcats have been eliminated from the playoffs, and soon the name “Bobcats” won’t exist around the NBA at all, with Charlotte set to announce the official changeover to the “Hornets” nickname. The team’s focus is squarely on its first season in teal-and-purple now that the significant step forward that 2013/14 represented for the club is done. Here’s the latest:

  • Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson of the Magic will likely be among Charlotte’s trade targets, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, pointing to their ties to Bobcats coach Steve Clifford, who worked with them when he was an assistant coach in Orlando.
  • Josh McRoberts remains undecided about his nearly $2.8MM player option and says he wants to remain in Charlotte long-term, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links), though Stein writes that he’s “widely expected” to decline it. Charlotte would “naturally” want to re-sign him in that case, Stein adds. Clifford expressed his support for McRoberts after Monday’s game, as Bonnell observes (on Twitter).
  • Charlotte will probably target a dependable small forward in free agency or via trade, Stein writes.

Deadline Rumors: Hill, Nelson, Bulls, Kaman

The latest from around the league as we inch closer to the deadline..

  • All is quiet for the Bulls, Grizzlies, Warriors, Mavericks, and Pelicans at the moment, according to Sam Amick of USA Today.
  • Meanwhile, the Mavericks have interest in Lakers big man Jordan Hill but the proposal is problematic because of L.A.’s desire to move both Hill and fellow big man Chris Kaman in order to get under the luxury tax, Amick writes.
  • The Kings are still shopping anyone not named DeMarcus Cousins from the Maloofs regime, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
  • The Magic and Wizards were discussing a deal involving Jameer Nelson before the Andre Miller deal was agreed upon, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
  • The Bulls, who are $678K under tax, are comfortable standing pat, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.  They believe they can stay under the threshold even with bonuses and 10-day deals.
  • The Cavs were never in on Lakers big man Chris Kaman, despite reports to the contrary, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
  • More from Amico, who tweets that Cavs acting GM David Griffin was unwilling to give up a first-round pick and a player for Rockets big man Omer Asik.  The Cavs went out and got Spencer Hawes instead.

Wolves To Target Jameer Nelson?

There’s a chance the Wolves would prefer to trade for Jameer Nelson rather than Andre Miller if Minnesota pulls off its rumored trade with the Grizzlies, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported Monday that the Wolves would only trade for Miller if they shipped out J.J. Barea, who’s a part of the Grizzlies proposal, but perhaps Minnesota now sees Nelson as a superior option. Nelson, along with Glen Davis, appears to be the focus of Orlando’s trade efforts, although the Magic have made little progress with either.

Nelson says the Magic haven’t given him any indication that they’re trading him, and he’s eager to stay in Orlando. He’s making $8.6MM this season as the Magic’s highest-paid player, but only $2MM of his $8MM for next year is guaranteed. Miller is cheaper for this season, making $5MM, but he’s likewise only partially guaranteed for $2MM next season.

Nelson, 32, has been markedly more productive than the 37-year-old Miller this season. Nelson has notched 12.9 points and 6.7 assists per game as Orlando’s starter. Miller put up just 5.9 PPG and 3.3 APG in a backup role before the Nuggets sent him home around New Year’s Day following a public spat with coach Brian Shaw. Either of them would figure to back up Ricky Rubio in Minnesota.

Ford’s Latest: Magic, Cavs, Bobcats

Victor Oladipo may be the only Magic player unavailable for a trade, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who adds that the team is looking for multiple first-round picks or young players for Arron Afflalo. Ford believes Orlando will indeed find a taker for Afflalo, but that’s in contrast to a report from Sam Amick of USA Today indicating the Magic aren’t that eager to trade him and aren’t hearing from any team with strong interest (Twitter link). The Magic’s price is much lower for Glen Davis and Jameer Nelson, Ford writes, and while Amick tweets that the Magic is focusing most of its trade attention on those two, Orlando hasn’t gotten anywhere with either of them yet, Amick says.

Ford has much more in his latest Insider-only piece, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

  • The Cavs and Bobcats appear to be the only teams capable of trading away a 2014 lottery pick that would actually do so, according to Ford. If the Cavs are determined to make a playoff push, they’ll offer Dion Waiters and their 2014 first-round pick in search of veteran help, Ford writes.
  • There’s nothing major happening on the Ersan Ilyasova front, Ford hears, naming Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour as the Bucks most likely to be traded. Milwaukee is reluctant to let go of Caron Butler, who’s a native of nearby Racine, Ford adds.
  • The Sixers want “significantly” more than just a first-round pick for Thaddeus Young, which has been dissuading some teams from trading for him, Ford writes.
  • Jeff Green and Brandon Bass are the names that come up most frequently in trade discussions involving the Celtics, according to Ford.
  • Several GMs tell Ford that the Lakers appear willing to discuss any player on their roster short of Kobe Bryant.
  • Everyone outside of DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay and Isaiah Thomas is available from the Kings, with Marcus Thornton, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry and Jimmer Fredette the primary bait, Ford writes.
  • It’s unlikely the Jazz trade Gordon Hayward, Ford says, naming Marvin Williams as the team’s most likely trade candidate.
  • Teams are looking to acquire a package of both Greg Monroe and Rodney Stuckey, but the Pistons remain unwilling to deal Monroe, as multiple GMs tell Ford.

Eastern Notes: Heat, Nelson, Sixers

This Thursday’s trade deadline is an important date for many teams in the league. The right moves can not only help a franchise in their quest to make the playoffs this season, but also influence what a team can do in the off-season personnel wise. But it’s nine days later that is a potentially even more significant date for the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. March 1st is the date that players have to be waived by in order to be eligible for another team’s playoff roster, a date informally known as the buyout deadline. Winderman believes that since the Heat don’t have much to offer other teams in potential deals, the team will be more active in looking to pick up a player who has been waived, similar to them picking up Chris Andersen last year. Winderman also opines that any deadline moves the Heat might make would be salary dumps with avoiding luxury tax penalties in mind. Potential waiver candidates to keep an eye on are Caron Butler, Keith Bogans, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, and Chris Kaman, according to the article.

More from the east:

  • Despite the team being in re-building mode, veteran guard Jameer Nelson remains committed to the team, and wants to be a member of the Magic for his entire career, writes Jared Zwerling of The Bleacher Report. Nelson, who is a free-agent after the season says his first choice is to re-sign with Orlando.
  • The Sixers‘ focus leading up to the trade deadline is to acquire as many draft picks as they can, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The franchise wants to move Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, and Thaddeus Young for future compensation, but that’s not a given, since the team has been impressed with how the trio have developed this season. With the most cap space in the league, Pompey says that the Sixers would consider adding an expiring contract from a team looking to dump salary, but that would only be if a draft pick was included. The holdup is that the team wants first-rounders, preferably lottery picks, which teams are reluctant to part with. According to the article, the Sixers should be one of the most active teams this week, but will probably have to wait until the final hours before the deadline to accomplish anything.
  • Knicks fans are already talking about the summer of 2015 and the team’s potential free agent targets. One of those mentioned was LaMarcus Aldridge, but he might not be a fit if the team holds onto Carmelo Anthony, tweets Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Anthony and the Knicks have been much more effective when ‘Melo is at power forward, which would make the pairing difficult. Anthony could switch back to small forward, but he has expressed that his preference is to stay at the four.