J.J. Barea

Cavs Acquire Three In Swap With Jazz

7:21pm: The Cavaliers have officially announced the deal, per a team press release.

7:16pm: Out of the three players heading to Cleveland, Minnesota actually had some interest in Murphy after he was waived by the Bulls last season, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

7:03pm: The pick that Utah will receive in the deal will be a 2015 second rounder from Cleveland, tweets Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune.

6:21pm: According to one Cavs source, Cleveland likes Lucas, Thomas, and Murphy and doesn’t necessarily view them as stepping stones to a bigger deal, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.

6:00pm: The Jazz are expected to trade the non-guaranteed contracts of John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas, and Erik Murphy to the Cavaliers for Carrick Felix, a future second rounder, and $1MM, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Felix’s contract is guaranteed for $816K in 2014/15, whereas Lucas III, Thomas, and Murphy combined for roughly $3.3MM in non-guaranteed deals for the upcoming season. Wojnarowski adds that Cleveland had been looking to make this type of deal recently in order to help facilitate a trade for Timberwolves star Kevin Love (Twitter links).

Minnesota has been determined to unload Kevin Martin and J.J. Barea in a deal involving Love, says Wojnarowski, who also notes that the Cavs would have to find a third team in order to make it work. Nonetheless, whether Lucas, Thomas, and Murphy’s contracts are used to bring the former UCLA big man to Ohio or are included in a separate trade, this deal at the very least has given Cleveland some “buying power” (Twitter links).

Bulls, Cavs Angling For Love, Nuggets In Mix

4:57pm: A source who spoke to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times disputes that the Bulls are once more pushing to trade for Love.

4:08pm: The general belief is that the Wolves asked for Joakim Noah when they held preliminary talks about Love with the Bulls prior to the draft last month, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. Presumably, Chicago rebuffed Minnesota on that point.

3:40pm: Dieng’s name hasn’t come up in talks with Cleveland, and neither has Martin’s, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Krawczynski cautions that Martin’s name was indeed a part of talks with the Warriors earlier in the offseason (Twitter links).

2:44pm: Gorgui Dieng‘s name has also come up in talks between the Cavs and Wolves, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).

2:11pm: Cleveland’s search for non-guaranteed contracts are in fact in an effort to sweeten their offer for Love, Wojnarowski writes in a full story, as they would provide cap relief for Minnesota once waived. The Cavs are also dangling future first-round picks in search of an experienced center, sources tell Wojnarowski, though it’s unclear if that, too, is related to Love. Wojnarowski is among the reporters contending that the Cavs are willing to put Wiggins in the deal, a point of frequent debate.

The Nuggets also remain in play for Love, according to Wojnarowski, and their package is Minnesota’s favorite outside of Cleveland’s and Golden State’s, if the Warriors were to relent and offer Klay Thompson. Denver reportedly offered multiple packages in June, but it’s unclear what the Nuggets have on the table now. The Wolves are insisting that teams take on J.J. Barea as part of any Love trade, and possibly Kevin Martin, too, Wojnarowski adds.

1:15pm: The Wolves also like Bulls rookie Doug McDermott, but their priority remains acquiring Wiggins if possible, Wolfson tweets.

12:57pm: The Bulls are indeed making another push to get involved in the Love sweepstakes, report Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The general belief is that the Wolves would seek Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and other assets from Chicago, according to Stein and Windhorst. The Bulls and Warriors were seemingly Love’s top two destinations when he made a push to be traded in May, but Chicago put any pursuit of him on the backburner while it chased Carmelo Anthony.

Still, the Cavs remain in the lead for Love and are increasingly optimistic that they can find a package that will work for the Wolves, Stein and Windhorst write. Their offer would center around Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a first-round pick, Stein and Windhorst hear, echoing a report last week from fellow ESPN scribe Chris Broussard and perhaps signaling a renewed willingness from Cleveland to part with Wiggins.

11:09am: The notion of including Andrew Wiggins in a trade for Kevin Love appears to be a matter the Cavs have tabled for now, but Cleveland remains in daily contact with the Wolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. The Wolves are ready to pull off a deal, but the Cavs are reticent to trade future first-round picks, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times hears (Twitter link). Minnesota is interested in the protected 2015 first-round picks the Cavs have coming from the Heat and Grizzlies, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

The Bulls could find themselves in position to acquire Love, especially given the presence of Nikola Mirotic on the roster, if the Cavs won’t give up the picks the Wolves want, sources also tell Woelfel (Twitter link). As Mirotic was finalizing his buyout from Real Madrid of Spain, he reportedly wanted the Bulls to assure him that he wouldn’t be traded, though it’s unclear if Chicago ever addressed that issue.

The Cavs are on the prowl for non-guaranteed contracts that they can flip and use as trade ballast in subsequent deals, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). Cleveland remains under the cap, so it isn’t subject to a two-month waiting period that would prevent it from immediately aggregating salary it received via trade in another swap. It appears as though the Cavs are going after these contracts at least in part to help build their portfolio for a Love trade, though that’s just my speculation.

Draft Rumors: Cavs, Wolves, Afflalo, Jazz, Sixers

The Cavs had been favoring Jabari Parker, but his poor performance in a workout for the team coupled with a stirring audition from Andrew Wiggins has left Cleveland torn with just two days to go before the draft, according to Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com. The time left before Thursday night’s draft figures to be full of back-and-forth, with uncertainty seemingly surrounding all 60 picks. Here’s the latest:

  • The Wolves are willing to give up J.J. Barea, Corey Brewer, Alexey Shved and the No. 13 pick in an effort to either land a higher draft pick or a veteran, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The Bulls have their eyes on the 13th pick, according to Kyler.
  • The Hornets, who have a longstanding interest in Arron Afflalo, are on board with surrendering the No. 9 pick and a player for the Magic shooting guard, Kyler writes in the same piece.
  • The Jazz are targeting Wiggins as they attempt to move up rather than Parker, and they’re actively shopping pick No. 23, according to Kyler.
  • The Sixers‘ reason for seeking a third top-10 pick is so they would still be able to emerge with two top-10 picks from the draft if they package the third and 10th selections to move up, sources tell Kyler.
  • The Kings have three deals in the works involving the No. 8 pick, according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com.
  • The Bucks are not actively shopping John Henson, in spite of heavy interest from other teams, but they are open to the idea of trading him for a lottery pick, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
  • Milwaukee is listening to offers for the No. 2 overall pick, though Bucks GM John Hammond said today that “it would take something very special,” to prompt him to give it up, tweets Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • It’s “highly unlikely” that the Blazers, who are without a pick in either round on Thursday, end up trading for one, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears (Twitter link).

Latest On Kevin Love

9:24pm: A Warriors source disputes the idea that Thompson has been made available in trade talks for Love, tweets Kawakami.

7:49pm: Denver’s latest offer includes Faried, Chandler, and the 11th pick in exchange for Love and Martin, sources tell ESPN’s Chris Broussard (via Twitter).

6:23pm: Unless Minnesota’s best deal hinges on next week’s draft, Saunders can afford to let the situation play itself out, opines Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).

5:30pm: There are still several teams in pursuit of Love who don’t believe that Saunders is in deal-making mode just yet, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

5:17pm: Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune is willing to bet that in addition to Lee and Thompson, Saunders would want a third piece – possibly Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green – as compensation for taking on the remaining two years of Lee’s contract.

5:08pm:  The Warriors aren’t very eager include a future first-round pick in a deal for Love, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

3:44pm: The latest proposal from Minnesota to Golden State involves Lee, Thompson and a future first-rounder in return for Love and Martin, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, but no deal is close, Wojnarowski tweets. A source tells Holmes that Thompson was always available in a deal for Love (Twitter link)

2:44pm: Saunders made it clear today that he won’t trade the No. 13 pick, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears that the presence of Klay Thompson in talks came via a counterproposal from the Wolves, with the Warriors having yet to respond to that offer.

2:15pm: The Wolves wouldn’t take back just Lee and Thompson in the proposal that Broussard mentioned, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who suspects that the Warriors leaked the proposal.

2:09pm: The Wolves and Warriors are talking about a deal that would send Love, Kevin Martin, J.J. Barea and the 13th pick to Golden State for Thompson and David Lee, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 1:30pm: The Warriors have seemingly had a change of heart and are making Thompson available to the Wolves in a potential Love trade, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Celtics are meanwhile recalibrating their offer to meet Minnesota’s demands as the Wolves seek draft picks as well as a “player of substance” in return for the star power forward, Bulpett reports.

WEDNESDAY, 9:55pm: The Nuggets are offering a package for Love that includes Faried, Wilson Chandler and another player that they would acquire — possibly Orlando’s Arron Afflalo — according to Bulpett’s latest update (via Twitter).

12:24pm: The Warriors, Bulls and Nuggets are the top three contenders for Love, tweets Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe. Presumably, they’re in order from most likely to least likely.

12:19pm: A source in Minnesota told Chad Ford of ESPN.com on Monday that the Celtics were the favorites for Love, as Ford writes in his chat with readers, advancing his report from earlier this week that Boston’s offer was likely to be the strongest that Minnesota would receive. That runs directly counter to Bulpett’s story and the earlier dispatch from Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com that say that the Wolves are uninterested in what Boston has to offer. Ford also seconds last month’s report that the Warriors are not willing to include Klay Thompson in their offer.

11:55am: The Nuggets and Warriors have made better offers for Kevin Love than the Celtics have, a source tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, casting Denver as the latest team to enter the race for the Wolves power forward. It’s unclear just what sort of package that Denver is talking about, but the Nuggets have the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft and several mid-price veterans, as well as the up-and-coming Kenneth Faried, who’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. The Wolves are meanwhile optimistic that they can strike a “more than acceptable deal” with the Warriors, regardless of whether Klay Thompson is involved.

Boston is willing to discuss several scenarios involving players and draft picks, but Minnesota isn’t enamored with any of the team’s offers, Bulpett hears, echoing an earlier report that the Wolves find the C’s an unappealing trade partner. The Celtics are reportedly dangling their picks at Nos. 6 and 17 in this year’s draft, future first-rounders, and young players already under contract. The Wolves, who pick 13th, would be unmoved by the opportunity to pick sixth, feeling like they can get a player of equal value later in the first round, according to Bulpett, who suggests the involvement of a third team is Boston’s best hope of landing Love. The idea would be to find veterans to send to Minnesota, Bulpett writes, seeming to confirm speculation that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would prefer experienced players in a deal for his star.

Love is under team control for one more season, but he can opt out an hit free agency next summer, and several reports have made it clear he doesn’t envision re-signing with Minnesota. The Bulls, Suns, Lakers, Rockets, Kings, Knicks, Lakers, Wizards and Cavs are other clubs that have been linked to Love in recent weeks, and surely just about every team in the league would want him if he became available to them. One report cast Sacramento as the favorite, though that’s in dispute. Bulpett seems to give the Nuggets a more realistic shot of trading for Love than others, but it there are surely doubts that Denver, never a destination spot for free agents, will be able to retain him in free agency. Perhaps the Nuggets are willing to acquire him without an assurance he’d stay, just as the Kings reportedly are, though that’s just my speculation.

And-Ones: Lakers, Jackson, Bulls, ‘Melo

The Lakers are privately concerned about the quality of the free agent market this summer, and they’re worried about the prospect of a third straight season outside of the title picture next year, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. Stein’s note comes within a piece in which he and other ESPN.com writers examine the early-termination option decisions facing LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Most of them believe the quartet of stars, all of whom are in the top 10 of our Free Agent Power Rankings, will indeed become free agents. While we look forward to the summer, here’s the latest from around the league:

  • Phil Jackson “went out of his way” to clarify in an interview with Sam Amick of USA Today that Joe Dumars made the decision last summer to hire Maurice Cheeks as Pistons coach, Amick writes. Jackson served as a consultant during the team’s coaching search last year, and Amick wonders if the Pistons would make a play to replace Dumars with Jackson, who reportedly has an offer to join the Knicks front office.
  • The Bulls haven’t begun to seriously crunch the numbers for a pursuit of Carmelo Anthony, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, downplaying the idea that Chicago is gearing up to chase the Knicks star.
  • League sources tell Berger that Nikola Mirotic will be seeking salaries worth $3-4MM from the Bulls this summer, as Berger writes in the same piece. That’s a surprise, since an earlier report indicated that Mirotic would probably ask for significantly more than the mid-level exception, worth a starting salary of $5.305MM next season.
  • The Wolves were in deadline talks about trading J.J. Barea, but they aren’t so eager to get rid of him that they’d waive him this summer and use the stretch provision on his more than $4.5MM salary for next season, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cites.

Western Notes: Clippers, Granger, White

After years of futility and being seen as a less than desirable location to play, the Clippers have officially become a draw for players, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. With the recent signing of Glen Davis and the team possibly inking Danny Granger, it definitely is a departure from the past. The fact that a veteran player in pursuit of a championship ring would consider signing a minimum deal to join the Clippers over teams like the Spurs and the Heat is yet another example of how far the Clippers have come as both contenders on the court and in the minds of players as a destination franchise, opines Markazi. Doc Rivers, weighing in on the matter, said, “I don’t know if we’re going to make it THE destination, but we want it to be one of them. That’s our goal. Bringing in Big Baby when he could have gone to a lot of other places was a good thing. Darren Collison could have gone to a lot of other places and came here. At the end of the day we just have to keep being a good basketball team and the rest of the stuff will follow. I think the key to this is showing that we have a shot and we’re a good team. Players follow that. They’ll go anywhere for that.”

More from the west:

  • Speaking of Granger, he is expected to make a decision on Friday, and the Clippers are his likely destination, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
  • In a video for the Journal Times, Gery Woelfel says the Jazz were considering Nate Wolters for the 21st overall pick last summer. Wolters wound up going 38th overall and has been a mainstay for the Bucks this season.
  • The Kings have been entertaining the idea of signing Royce White to a 10-day contract. Tom Ziller of SB Nation details the reasons why this pairing could work out, and also looks at some possibilities for why the Sixers traded for him this past summer.
  • Rockets center Greg Smith is going to have surgery on his knee, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. It is unknown if and when he will return to the court this season.
  • A scout claims the Timberwolves tried to trade J.J. Barea at the deadline because team executives want Ricky Rubio finishing games, writes Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). The scout also weighs in on why he thinks Rubio is overrated as a player.

Wolves Interested In Jarrett Jack

1:58pm: The Minnesota deal doesn’t appear to be happening, Amick tweets.

1:54pm: It sounds like the Wolves and Cavs haven’t been able to agree on a deal involving Jack, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com.  It’s unknown if the Cavs have other discussions going at this time.

1:14pm: A Jack-for-Barea deal is “not likely,” a source tells Spears (on Twitter).

1:09pm: A source confirmed to the Plain Dealer (via Twitter) that the Wolves and Cavs have discussed a deal with Jack and J.J. Barea, but Jack having two years left versus the one on Barea’s deal has proven to be problematic.

1:06pm: The best chance the Cavs had of moving Jack was to Kings for Jason Thompson, but Cleveland balked at taking back salary, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

12:02pm: The Timberwolves, falling short on getting Andre Miller, are reaching out to Cavs to try and get Jack, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com.

11:59am: The previously reported Jack-for-Thompson deal is on life support, writes Sam Amick of USA Today.  The initial report indicated that the Cavs wanted a third team to send Thompson to, and apparently they’re finding that extraordinarily difficult.  Putting all the pieces together, it sounds like Jack is staying put.

11:31am: With less than three hours from the deadline, a deal involving Jack seems considerably less likely, sources tell Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter).

7:58am: The Cavs probably won’t end up dealing Jack, a source tells the Plain Dealer (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 10:59pm: The Cavs are unlikely to send Jack to Sacramento unless they find a third team to take the Kings’ Jason Thompson, reports ESPN’s Marc Stein, putting Cleveland in an all too familiar scenario. A deal that would have had Jack leaving Cleveland stalled earlier this week when the Cavs couldn’t find a destination for Jason Terry. (Twitter links)

3:17pm: The Nets are hesitant to take on Jack because of his lengthy deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who says it’s unlikely that the Cavs and Nets would pull off a trade.

11:19am: The Cavs and Kings have spoken about including Jason Thompson or Marcus Thornton in a Jack deal, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.

10:56am: The talks involving the Nets and Cavs are “not on the front burner,” according to Bob Finnan of The News-Herald (Sulia link).

9:59am: The Wizards are looking for a backup point guard, but they’re not in on talks for Jack, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

TUESDAY, 8:59am: The Kings are also in on the Jack talks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s not entirely clear if they’re competing with the Nets for the guard’s services, or if they’re willing to absorb Terry in a deal that sends Jack to Brooklyn.

MONDAY, 4:38pm: The Nets are looking to replenish their draft-pick stock in the swap, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

3:44pm: The Cavs and Nets have indeed engaged in discussions about a trade involving Jack and Terry, report Youngmisuk and ESPN.com colleague Marc Stein. The Cavs would prefer to find a third team to take on Terry, according to the report.

2:23pm: The Nets are eyeing guard Jarrett Jack, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com, who hears that there’s a chance Brooklyn swaps Jason Terry for Jack. It’s unclear how strong the odds are of that, or if the Cavs are interested in Terry.

Jack is in the first season of a four-year, $25.2MM contract that pays him $6.3MM each season, while Terry will make about $5.625MM this year and slightly more than $5.85MM next season in the final year of his deal. The difference between their salaries would be compounded for the Nets, who are well into the tax. New Cavs GM David Griffin would be parting with one of predecessor Chris Grant‘s key offseason additions if Cleveland surrenders Jack, who hasn’t had the same impact for the Cavs as he had last year with Golden State.

Jack, 30, is shooting a career-worst 39.7% this season, and his 8.5 points per game is his lowest scoring average since he was a rookie. Terry, whom the Nets acquired from the Celtics in the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster, is plumbing even farther depths. The 36-year-old is posting new lows in scoring, rebounding, assists, field goal percentage and minutes.  If Jack is dealt to Brooklyn, it’ll be his seventh team in nine NBA seasons.

Nuggets, Wizards In Serious Andre Miller Talks

11:35am: The Wizards and Nuggets are close to a deal involving Miller, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

11:15am: The Nuggets and Wizards are engaged in “serious talks” about a deal that would send Andre Miller to Washington for Eric Maynor and Jan Vesely, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Wolves have fallen off the pace in the Miller sweepstakes, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities notes that they want to trade J.J. Barea to another team before taking on Miller (Twitter link).

There would probably need to be a third team involved, since the Nuggets don’t want to take Maynor, according to Marc J. Spears and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter links).

The veteran guard left the club earlier this year and apparently has no interest in returning to them this season.  The 37-year-old isn’t the player he once was, but he has proven to be one of the most durable players in the league.  The guard is probably a bit overpaid at a $5MM salary and makes $4.625MM next year in the final year of his deal, but that’s only partially guaranteed for $2MM as long as he’s waived before July.

Wolves, Grizzlies Discussing Budinger, Barea

12:26pm: A source involved in the talks tells Berger that the proposal is “dead,” though others are holding out hope for revival. Some members of the Memphis camp suspect the Timberwolves are using these discussions to further their chances for a different deal, according to Amick (Twitter links).

12:13pm: The Grizzlies are “very unlikely” to yield on Allen, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

11:12am: The Wolves are eager to swap Barea, but they’re somewhat reluctant to move Budinger, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).

11:01am: There’s no way Wolves executive Flip Saunders will make the trade without Allen as part of it, Wolfson tweets.

10:50am: The teams are “nowhere close to a deal,” according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who seconds what Wojnarowski is hearing about the Grizzlies’ reluctance to include Allen (Twitter link). Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities nonetheless hears the clubs are making progress, as he notes on Twitter.

10:45am: The Wolves are insisting that Allen be included along with Prince in a deal for Budinger and Barea, but the Grizzlies are resisting at the moment, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

WEDNESDAY, 10:23am: The Grizzlies and Wolves have gained momentum toward a deal involving Prince and Allen, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Presumably, Budinger and Barea are also still a part of the talks.

MONDAY, 7:04pm: The Grizzlies are discussing a deal with the Timberwolves centered on forward Chase Budinger and guard J.J. Barea, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.  Memphis wants to include forward Tayshaun Prince into the package and the deal could be expanded to include guard Tony Allen, though components of a proposed deal are still fluid.

Memphis has been trying to unload Prince and his cumbersome contract, sources tell Wojnarowski.  The forward is earning $7.2MM this season and will make $7.7MM in 2014/15. on his contract.  Meanwhile, Wolves GM Flip Saunders is believed to want to add defensive toughness to his roster, and that would make Allen a natural fit.

Budinger, 25, missed much of the early season recovering from knee surgery, and has averaged 6.0 PPG in 17.7 minutes per game this season.  Barea, 29, is averaging 8.7 PPG in 18 minutes per contest this season.  The Wolves badly want to make the playoffs this season with Kevin Love’s free agency on the horizon and they have reportedly been open to moving the diminutive guard in order to help make that happen.

Allen has been sidelined since early January with a fracture in his left hand.  In his 27 games this season, Allen has averaged 10.2 PPG off of 49.3% shooting from the floor.

Wolves Have Interest In Andre Miller

TUESDAY, 2:00pm: The Wolves would be Miller’s top choice for a trade destination, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who notes that it’s probably not a factor in Denver’s thinking. The Nuggets still aren’t making progress on a Miller trade, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

MONDAY, 9:05pm: The Timberwolves are among the clubs that have expressed interest in Nuggets guard Andre Miller, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  The Wolves would only acquire Miller if they find another home for guard J.J. Barea, however.

A straight-up swap of the two probably isn’t in the cards as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter) believes that such a deal has already been proposed.  The Nuggets, unsurprisingly, rebuffed the Wolves’ offer.

The veteran guard left the club earlier this year and apparently has no interest in returning to them this season.  The 37-year-old isn’t the player he once was, but he has proven to be one of the most durable players in the league.  Our own Chuck Myron recently looked at Miller as a trade candidate.