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Southwest Rumors: Mavs Trade Talk, Davis, Spurs

February 15th, 2016 at 7:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks are not looking to making a major move, which all but rules out a potential blockbuster scenario for James Harden or Dwight Howard, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. It doesn’t make sense that the Rockets would deal one of their stars to an in-state team within their division, Sefko argues, plus the Mavs have few tradeable assets. Even if they manage to pull off such a deal, it would not push them past the Warriors or Spurs, so they’d be better off holding onto and developing young players like forwards Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson, Sefko continues. However, Dallas could make a smaller move for another shooter or an athletic big man, and the team would also be interested in bringing in either Kevin Martin or Joe Johnson if those veteran shooting guards reach buyout agreements with their respective clubs, Sefko adds. A closer look at some of the Mavs’ potential trade targets can be found here in a Morning News sidebar.

In other news around the Southwest Division:

The Pelicans will run any potential moves by their superstar Anthony Davis before pulling the trigger, Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate writes. The All-Star power forward told Dawson that he will be asked for his input if New Orleans’ front office gets into any serious trade discussions. “I trust our organization,” Davis said. “Whatever they decide to do, of course they’re going to make sure I’m involved with it. I don’t go out [and say], ‘Let’s do this; let’s do that.’ I try to let them handle that and they come to me, and we all sit down collectively and try to figure out what’s the best move.”
The Spurs have used their D-League affiliate in Austin as a means to develop several players in recent seasons, as Melissa Rohlin of the San Antonio Express-News examines. Point guards Ray McCallum and Cory Joseph, shooting guard Jonathon Simmons and small forward Kyle Anderson are examples of players who have improved their games via their D-League experiences under the tutelage of Austin coach Ken McDonald, Rohlin adds.

Cavaliers Rumors: Mozgov, Trades, James, Lue

February 14th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The odds are against the Cavaliers re-signing center Timofey Mozgov in free agency if they aren’t able to trade him, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Pluto cites Cleveland’s salary cap issues and Mozgov’s declining performance as reasons that he might be moved. In addition, Mozgov suffered through early-season knee problems and doesn’t fit the faster-paced system favored by coach Tyronn Lue. With Anderson Varejao, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and Sasha Kaun all on the roster, there may not be room for Mozgov beyond this season.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

Cavaliers GM David Griffin is seeking another “wing player,” Pluto writes in the same story. Griffin’s priority is defense, although he would like to find someone who can shoot as well. Pluto mentions the Hawks’ Thabo Sefolosha and the Kings’ Ben McLemore as possibilities, adding that Cleveland may also have interest in Joe Johnson if he gets bought out by the Nets. Pluto’s Plain Dealer colleague Chris Haynes reported that the Cavs would jump at the chance to sign Johnson for the minimum if he works a buyout.
Kobe Bryant‘s farewell tour has LeBron James thinking about the inevitable end of his basketball career, according to Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal. The 13-year veteran isn’t sure if he wants a farewell tour like Bryant’s, but he indicated that he would like to leave the league while he’s still among its best players. “All the respective greats try to play at the highest level they can,” James said. “I’m going to give it my all obviously until I can’t. One thing I won’t be, I don’t ever believe or think that I’ll be an embarrassment to my fans or my family.”
Lue said unusual circumstances have contributed to make the midseason coaching change in Cleveland more difficult than it might have been, Ridenour writes in a separate story. Lue is considered a villain in Israel after being chosen to replace David Blatt on the Cavaliers’ bench, and he is belittled by some people for being selected as an All-Star Game coach with so little experience. “I’ve been able to block it out, but it’s still tough,” Lue said. “You’ve been in this league for 18 years and people who know you and your family know that you’re not that way. It’s tough for people to talk about you in that sense. But it’s OK, I can get over it.”

Cavs Interested In McLemore, Ariza, Joe Johnson

February 11th, 2016 at 1:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers are one of multiple Eastern Conference teams with strong interest in Ben McLemore, league sources tell Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland would quickly snap up Joe Johnson if he works a buyout with the Nets, Haynes also hears from league sources, though it doesn’t look like he’s one of the Cavs’ trade targets. Trevor Ariza is also on Cleveland’s radar, Haynes adds, as are Kyle Korver and Jared Dudley, as previous reports indicated, but it’s highly unlikely Cleveland ends up with one of those three, according to Haynes, who paints McLemore as the more obtainable target.

The Kings have so far resisted offers for the shooting guard, Haynes writes, but it’s widely known around the league that agents are pushing to get their players out of Sacramento amid organizational turmoil there, Haynes also reports. Trade candidate Rudy Gay wouldn’t mind a deal that ships him out of town, but the Kings haven’t found any offers for him that pass muster, Haynes hears.

Cleveland isn’t connected to Gay, but it’s a matter of when, not if, the Cavs will make a move of some sort, according to Haynes. The Cavs have been seeking a three-and-D wing player and have been linked to multiple names, including Omer Asik, who’s a center, and Tyreke Evans, who has an injury that threatens to wipe out the rest of his season. They’ve reportedly explored trading Timofey Mozgov, having met with rejection on that front from the Kings and also engaging in talks with the Pelicans that didn’t bear fruit.

Johnson said recently that he wouldn’t dismiss the idea of a buyout from his contract with the Nets, which expires at season’s end, and the Heat, like the Cavs, reportedly want to make a run at him if he shakes free from Brooklyn. One source close to Johnson told Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders that Johnson is “miserable” with the Nets and would welcome a change. His nearly $24.895MM would make a trade difficult, so a buyout appears a more feasible route.

Heat Eye Joe Johnson For Post-Buyout Market

February 2nd, 2016 at 2:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Joe Johnson would stir the interest of the Heat if he buys his way off the Nets, Ethan Skolnick of the Miami Herald hears (Twitter link). Johnson said today that he doesn’t know whether he’ll negotiate a buyout but didn’t rule out the idea and added that he’ll have a talk with agent Jeff Schwartz in the next week, as the swingman told reporters, including Andy Vasquez of The Record. The 34-year-old Johnson is making close to $24.895MM, a difficult salary to fit in a trade, and it doesn’t appear as though the Heat see him as a trade target.

The Heat are without combo guard Tyler Johnson, who’s scheduled to undergo rotator cuff surgery this week, for at least two months, and they don’t have an open roster spot to make an addition. Miami could always waive a player and risk eating his salary, but that would be a risky proposition financially. The Heat are faced with either clearing about $5.5MM in salary, likely via trade, or paying repeat-offender luxury tax penalties at season’s end.

Midseason signees usually end up with the prorated minimum salary, though particularly attractive buyout candidates sometimes command more. The Heat have about $2.85MM on their taxpayer’s mid-level exception to spend, but doing so would impose a further financial burden. Johnson is averaging 11.3 points per game, his fewest since the 2002/03 season, and shooting a career-worst 39% from the field, but he put up 13.5 points a night and shot 48.5% in January. Johnson has said multiple times this season that he’ll prioritize finding a winning team when he next hits free agency, and the Heat, at No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, would seemingly fit that bill.

Would Johnson help the Heat? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Joe Johnson Not Dismissing Buyout Idea

February 2nd, 2016 at 12:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

Joe Johnson said today that he doesn’t know whether he’ll ask for a buyout from the Nets but added that he plans to talk with his agent in the next week, notes Andy Vasquez of The Record (Twitter links). The new Jeff Schwartz client said when reports asked whether he would request a trade that his situation isn’t ideal but that he’s not “forcing anything,” according to Vasquez. Johnson is pulling in the league’s second-largest salary this season, nearly $24.895MM, making any trade cumbersome to pull off, but the prospect of a buyout has been the subject of frequent speculation. However, no indication existed at the time of the team’s coaching change last month that the 34-year-old wanted a buyout, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported.

Such a move would entail Johnson giving up a portion of his salary, so he has financial incentive to stay put even though he said in December that he’ll prioritize winning when he next becomes a free agent, which is currently slated to happen at season’s end. The 15th-year veteran reiterated today that he plans to look for a winner in free agency and added that he wants to play two or three more seasons after this one, Vasquez relays (Twitter links).

“A winning situation. It’s not going to be to no highest bidder or nothing like that, I just want to make sure the situation’s right for me,” Johnson said.

Still, the swingman didn’t rule out the possibility that he’d re-sign with the Nets, according to Vasquez (on Twitter). Johnson expressed confusion in September about why Deron Williams bought his way off the Nets this past summer, saying, “It’s not that bad here.” That was before the Nets embarked on what’s been a miserable 2015/16 season so far, as the team is 12-37 so far and without its first-round picks for 2016 or 2018. Brooklyn made the playoffs in all three of the previous seasons that Johnson was a part of the team.

It would be difficult for the Nets to negotiate a buyout at this point, since they don’t have a GM, as Vasquez points out (Twitter link). Assistant GM Frank Zanin is running the front office while the Nets conduct a search, reportedly with the hopes of making a hire before the February 18th trade deadline. Johnson and the team essentially have until March 1st to negotiate a buyout, since that’s the last day that a player can be waived and be eligible to take part in the postseason with another team.

Should Johnson push for a buyout or stay put, collect his checks, and wait to hit free agency in the summer? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

And-Ones: Snyder, Wiggins, Parsons

January 28th, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jazz coach Quin Snyder isn’t focused on trade talk regarding his team and is instead concentrating on winning games, Jody Genessy of The Deseret Times relays (Twitter links). “I really like our group so much, so it’s easy for me to stay focused on the present,” Snyder told Genessy. The coach also noted that he’s “not in that world” where trade talk occurs, Genessy adds. “I’m more concerned about the guys we have,” the coach relayed. Utah has been “poking around” the trade market for a point guard recently, according to a recent report by Zach Lowe of ESPN.com.

Here’s more from around the league:

Wolves camp cut Nick Wiggins, who is the older brother of Andrew Wiggins, has signed with the Canterbury Rams of Australia’s National Basketball League for the remainder of the season, the team has announced (h/t to Sportando). Wiggins had been playing for the Raptors‘ D-League affiliate and averaged 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10 appearances before the team waived him about a month ago.
Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons can opt out of his current deal at the end of the season and become an unrestricted free agent, a move that Parsons is likely to make. Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link) predicts that Parsons will end up re-signing with Dallas on a four-year, approximately $80MM deal. The value of Parsons’ player option for 2016/17 is $16.023MM.
Joe Johnson has looked like a rejuvenated player under Nets interim coach Tony Brown, Brian Lewis of The New York Post notes. “I enjoy the game of basketball, period,” Johnson said. “In the heat of the battle, in the game, we have our frustrations in the moment; but I enjoy playing. I love the game. I hate to lose, but unfortunately we’re in a tough situation. We’ve got to play, and make do with what we’ve got. If we put it all out there on the line, we can live with the results.’’

Atlantic Notes: Crowder, Johnson, Nets, Porzingis

January 18th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jae Crowder has developed into a productive player on both ends of the court since being sent to the Celtics as part of the Rajon Rondo trade, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Crowder has stepped into more of a featured role in Boston and has responded by making the league’s top 10 in both offensive and defensive plus-minus rating. “He’s gotten better virtually every game,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. “It’s no surprise. We loved him here. We got [Dwight] Powell back in the deal. Powell’s a good young player, too. It’s a trade that’s going to work out well for us. Probably better for them because they got some draft picks, too.”

There’s more tonight from the Atlantic Division:

Joe Johnson‘s resurgence could make him an attractive addition for a contending team, but a deal probably won’t happen, according to NetsDaily. The reason is Johnson’s salary — nearly $25MM on an expiring contract — which means the Nets would have to take multiple players in return, with at least one probably extending into next season or beyond. That would take a bite out of Brooklyn’s estimated $40MM to $45MM in cap space, which owner Mikhail Prokhorov is counting on for a “small reset.” “They have to pray to God they can get some free agents next year,” said an unidentified league source, “overpay some guys on one- to two-year deals like Sacramento did, and hope it works out better than it is there. There’s no other way.”
The Nets may want to clear out some of their bench players for next season, but don’t count on that happening either, tweets NetsDaily. Thomas Robinson, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington and Andrea Bargnani all have player options for 2016/17.
Sixers coach Brett Brown has joined the growing fan base of Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Porzingis posted his 16th double-double in today’s victory over the Sixers. “I think he’s going to be really special,” Brown said. “We all look at his height. I look at his competitiveness. He plays hard and appears to really love the game.”

Nets Rumors: Johnson, Brown, Thibodeau

January 17th, 2016 at 10:53am CST by Arthur Hill

Free-agent-to-be Joe Johnson has been the closest thing to a bright spot for the Nets, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The veteran forward has been shooting 53% from 3-point range over Brooklyn’s past nine contests and has raised his scoring average from 10.5 points per game to 14.7. It was reported earlier this week that Johnson hasn’t expressed interest in taking a buyout from the Nets, and a salary of nearly $25MM may limit his trade prospects. “I don’t think it’s any different from when it was earlier in the season,” Johnson said. “I’m just playing. Obviously I’m making shots, probably a bit more poised now that I’m not trying to force a shot. I’m just taking what the defense gives me.”

There’s more news out of Brooklyn:

After a week on the job, interim coach Tony Brown is already expressing frustration with the team’s lack of effort, Lewis writes in a separate piece. Brown addressed the problem after Saturday’s game with the Hawks, in which Brooklyn lost by 28 points after being tied midway through the third quarter. “What I told them is I want to see a little bit more fight,’’ the coach said. “When you get into adversity, things are not going your way, it’s easy to not do as much. We’ve got some guys not playing their best basketball, but they have to fight their way out of these situations.”
Tom Thibodeau would probably want a say in personnel if he becomes the next coach of the Nets, opines Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Smith says former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy has stressed to Thibodeau the importance of having control over personnel, similar to the situation that Stan Van Gundy has with the Pistons or that Doc Rivers has with the Clippers. A report on Friday indicated the Nets are strongly interested in hiring Thibodeau, and Smith writes that the former Bulls coach is eager to land his next job.
More than five years of free spending and short-sighted moves encouraged by owner Mikhail Prokhorov have led to the Nets’ dire situation, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.

Nets Notes: Johnson, Prokhorov, Calipari, Bargnani

January 11th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Joe Johnson didn’t know about the Nets’ firing of Lionel Hollins until he found out about it on TV, Johnson said today to reporters, including Andy Vasquez of The Record (Twitter link). Still, no indications existed as of late Sunday that the former All-Star has any interest in a buyout from the team, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Owner Mikhail Prokhorov said today that he began to consider the firing of Hollins and reassignment of GM Billy King a month and a half ago, notes Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com, and Prokhorov added that when he finally made the call, it was a “very easy” decision, notes Andrew Keh of The New York Times. See more on the changes in Brooklyn:

Prokhorov, who pledged a more active role with the Nets, said he plans to meet with every candidate for the team’s vacancies, as Brian Fleurantin of NetsDaily relays in within a transcript of the owner’s press conference today.
The owner also reiterated that he has no plans to sell the team, cited a desire for chemistry between the next GM and coach, and said, curiously, that, “I’m sure for the next season, we’ll be, I hope, [a] championship contender,” Fleurantin notes.
Nets CEO Brett Yormark told WFAN radio today that he hasn’t spoken with John Calipari about rejoining the team “yet,” observes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). Yormark has reportedly wanted to make a strong pitch to Calipari, though the CEO is apparently not heavily involved in the team’s search.
Italian team Olimpia Milano plans a run at Andrea Bargnani, a native of Italy, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Milano would love to somehow acquire him by January 28th, when the Eurocup’s transfer window closes, but that’s highly unlikely, and a move during the summer, when Bargnani can opt out of his contract with the Nets, is more realistic, Carchia notes.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson To Miss 3 Months

December 28th, 2015 at 11:38am CST by Eddie Scarito

DECEMBER 28th, 11:38am: In an article he penned for Sportsblog.com, Hollis-Jefferson indicated that he will remain out of action until after the All-Star break. “Physically, I’m feeling better. Each day I’m getting one step closer to fully walking and doing things on my own. It’s looking like I’ll be able to get back on the court after All-Star break, probably around the beginning of March,” wrote Hollis-Jefferson.

DECEMBER 9th, 11:36am: Nets team doctor Martin O’Malley estimates it will take Hollis-Jefferson eight to 10 weeks to return to the court, as O’Malley said in a statement the team sent out as part of a press release announcing that Hollis-Jefferson underwent surgery this morning. The procedure was to repair a fracture of the posterior talus in his right ankle, O’Malley also said.

DECEMBER 8th, 5:55pm: Nets rookie swingman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson suffered a non-displaced fracture of the posterior talus in his right ankle during practice on Sunday and he is scheduled for surgery later this week, Andy Vasquez of The Record notes (Twitter link). A timetable for the player’s return will be provided after the procedure is completed, though coach Lionel Hollins indicated Hollis-Jefferson would be out for approximately 10 weeks during his pregame press briefing this evening, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter).

This news is certainly unwelcome for Brooklyn, whose 5-15 start has called into question Hollins’ job security, though the team quickly shot down the reports that it was seeking a replacement for the coach. Hollis-Jefferson’s averages of 5.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game aren’t eye-popping, but the rookie has shown excellent promise and tremendous energy during his limited court time thus far. While Hollis-Jefferson’s continued presence over the coming months wasn’t likely going to improve the team’s winning percentage dramatically, any loss of development time for the young player will certainly impact the team down the line given its distinct lack of draft picks over the next few seasons.

The absence of the 20-year-old will likely mean increased minutes for Bojan Bogdanovic, who is averaging 8.1 points on 43.1% shooting this season. Bogdanovic has been rumored to be on the trading block, though other reports have disputed that. The loss of Hollis-Jefferson could also impact the status of Joe Johnson, whom an ESPN.com panel opined was a prime candidate to reach a buyout arrangement with the Nets this season. With Brooklyn’s depth at the wing now compromised, it could quash any potential moves involving Johnson or Bogdanovic for the time being, though that is merely my speculation.