Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

John Salmons

Masai Ujiri On Lowry, Casey, Hayes

February 17th, 2014 at 12:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri‘s phone isn’t making much noise, but he’s not turning it off, either. Ujiri tells Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun that he’ll be listening to trade offers that come in between now and Thursday’s deadline. The Raptors are 28-24, good for third place in the Eastern Conference, but the team’s performance hasn’t altered Ujiri’s timetable for putting the club in title contention, Ganter notes. Ujiri also spoke with Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, and we’ll pass along the best of both pieces here:

On whether he’s open to trading Kyle Lowry or any other player:

“I hate to comment about any player in that way, but I think we are not good enough so you have to keep it open. That’s the honest answer. These guys have done pretty good. I know we’ve won a couple of games but we haven’t done anything yet. We’ll keep trying to grow.”

On coach Dwane Casey, whom Ujiri says has done “an excellent job”:

“When we talked about it with Casey when I came on, it was something like where I said we are going to assess the whole season and for me, my evaluation was not wins and losses at all. For me, you almost put a coach under pressure where he’s trying to do things. It wasn’t only the growth of the players. It was the growth of the coaches and the growth of us working together as a front office … I don’t just mean, ‘How did Terrence (Ross) grow or Jonas (Valanciunas) grow?’. How did we all grow working together? How are we all growing together? How do we interact, how do we communicate with front office, coaches, players? That’s our job here. We’re not always going to agree but we have to find a way to communicate and make a decision on things.”

On whether he sensed the December trade that shipped Rudy Gay to the Kings would be so beneficial to the Raptors:

“When we did the trade, we honestly didn’t know which way it would go so we were preparing for either way. Obviously, you do background, you check on attitude, you check on good teammate, you check on off-the-court habits and that stuff. Even some of that information, you can only get so much that’s accurate and so much that’s not but we tried to just do our homework, due diligence like everyone does. You bring in someone like (Greivis) Vasquez who can maybe (play) as a starter in the pinch. I think (Patrick) Patterson is a young big in the league and you’re intrigued by some of the little things he does. I think (John) Salmons is older but brings a steady calm and, you know what? Chuck Hayes? I didn’t know what Chuck Hayes had left but (as) a post-defender and leader and anchor type in pinch minutes on defense, I think he’s shown us he can be (of) some help.”

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Knicks, Salmons, Bobcats

December 12th, 2013 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks were bent on injecting youth into their team, and they brought Josh Powell and Ike Diogu to camp with no intention of retaining them for opening night, no matter how well the two veterans played in preseason, a source tells Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. For now, New York seems engaged in a pursuit of Kyle Lowry as it tries to unload Raymond Felton, who made Ben Golliver of SI.com‘s “All-Atrocious Team.” Here’s more from around the league:

  • New Raptors small forward John Salmons is a “prime candidate” to be dealt again before the trade deadline, writes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, pointing to his de-facto expiring contract. No Raptors appear off-limits for a trade.
  • The Bobcats released James Southerland on Wednesday, but not because the organization was disappointed with him, notes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. “He was brought in as a developmental player. We like him a lot,” coach Steve Clifford said. “Nothing he did he could have done better. We just needed someone more ready to play.” Charlotte signed veteran Chris Douglas-Roberts to replace Southerland.
  • Pau Gasol hinted that there’s a chance he could sign an extension with the Lakers, during his recent interview with Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. The possibility of an in-season agreement has seemed like a long shot.
  • A Prim Capital investor was found guilty of obstructing a grand jury investigation into the firm’s ties to the players union, reports Nate Raymond of Reuters. The son of former union executive director Billy Hunter has served as a Prim executive.
  • Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports profiles freelance trainer Rob McClanaghan, who works with some of the NBA’s top players and has exerted influence on front office decision-making.
  • Mark Deeks of ShamSports examines several free agents and D-Leaguers who could be on the radar of NBA teams in a piece for the Score, calling Drew Gooden perhaps the most talented among available big men. Deeks looked at guards on Wednesday.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Kings Acquire Rudy Gay

December 9th, 2013 at 3:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The Kings have officially acquired Rudy Gay from the Raptors along with Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy, Toronto announced via press release. Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes are headed north of the border. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports originally reported last night that the swap would take place (Twitter links).

“We thank Rudy, Aaron and Quincy for their time here. They were great professionals and strong community ambassadors of the Raptors,” Toronto GM Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “The trade gives us good flexibility and more certainty as we plan for our future.”

The Kings plan on using Gay as a stretch-four and see Gay and the recently-acquired Derrick Williams as being capable of guarding either forward position, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets.  With Williams and Gay, the Kings are buying low on two notable names that have depreciated in the eyes of many evaluators.

“We’re excited to welcome these additions to our team,” Sacramento GM Pete D’Alessandro said, according to a release from the Kings. “In Rudy we’ve acquired one of the league’s proven scorers while Aaron and Quincy provide size and depth in our frontcourt. We also appreciate the contributions and efforts that John, Chuck, Greivis and Patrick made to the Kings organization. We all wish them the very best moving forward.”

Gay, 27, boasts career averages of 18.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG, but newer metrics such as PER have shown that his efficiency leaves much to be desired.  It’s not just fans and front office execs that have taken notice, either.  After a November game in which the small forward took 37 shots and scored 29 points, LeBron James remarked that he would put up 60 points “easy” if he attempted such a gaudy number of shots.

While the Kings gain at athletic wing in Gay, the Raptors free up a good amount of money for 2015 and gain a couple of interesting pieces along the way as well.  As for the financial part of things, the only guaranteed 2015 money that came back in the deal is Hayes’ $5.9MM contract.  Beyond that, they can clear $14.5MM by declining options/qualifying offers for Vasquez, Salmons, and Patterson.

Last month, it was reported that Ujiri was exploring trade options for Gay and others with Jonas Valanciunas, 2011′s fifth overall pick, the only real untouchable of the bunch.  Gay was the team’s most obvious chip since he’s still capable of being a top scorer for a team and could be a rental since he has a player option for 2014/15 that he could turn down in favor of a longer deal.  With a $17.89MM salary, however, finding a home for Gay hasn’t been easy.  Gay’s player option for 2014/15 is worth $19.2MM.

Vasquez, 27 in January, took a major step forward with the Pelicans last season when he put up career best averages of 13.9 PPG and 9 APG.  Today’s news means that Vasquez has now worn three different jerseys in this calendar year – the guard came to Sacramento in July as a part of the three-way Tyreke Evans deal.  While Vasquez has fans in the Kings front office, they clearly felt that this was a trade they had to make to get a dominant wing.  It also has the added benefit of clearing up the Kings’ backcourt logjam.

Patterson, 24, is also in his third career trade with today’s deal.  The power forward has had an up-and-down career through Houston and Sacramento and hasn’t been off to a blazing start this season.  Patterson is putting up just 6.9 PPG and 5.8 RPG while shooting 41% from the floor.

Salmons, 33, has been seeing almost 25 minutes per contest with the Kings this season but is putting up some of his weakest per 36 minutes averages of his career.  Only $1MM of Salmons’ $7MM salary in 2014/15 is guaranteed and it’s a safe bet that he’ll be let go.  Acy, 23, hasn’t seen much burn this season, playing 8.7 minutes per contest across seven games.

More than three-quarters of Hoops Rumors readers said that they expected Gay to be traded before the deadline.  It certainly helped that Ujiri and D’Alessandro have a history after working together in Denver.  By trading Andrea Bargnani and Gay, Ujiri has cleared ~$20MM off of the books next season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Pacific Notes: Salmons, Bogut, Marshall

October 2nd, 2013 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's check in on a few Wednesday items out of the Pacific Division….

  • John Salmons, who had been an amnesty candidate this summer, wasn't sure he'd back with the Kings, as he tells Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. "A little bit," Salmons said, when asked if he was surprised to be back. "I can't lie about that… I'm good with being here, but I am a little surprised."
  • Andrew Bogut, who hopes to play a full 82-game slate for the Warriors this season, would also like to stay with the team beyond 2014, as he tells Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. Bogut admitted that there hadn't been extension talks with the team yet, but suggested he'd welcome them: "I like the organization, I like the direction, I like the owners, I love the coaches, I love the players."
  • The next few weeks will be crucial for Kendall Marshall's future, according to Bob Young of the Arizona Republic, who writes that the Suns may decline the 2014/15 option on Marshall if they don't see enough from him during camp and the preseason.
  • Eric Bledsoe of the Suns and Marcus Thornton of the Kings are among the players on Zach Lowe's All-Intriguing team in his latest piece for Grantland.com.

Read more

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Brooks, Evans, Wallace, Clippers

September 30th, 2013 at 11:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

MarShon Brooks requested a trade from the Nets last spring, a source tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, and the team accomodated him, throwing him into the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett blockbuster in place of Reggie Evans, who was in an early version of the deal. The result pleased Evans and Garnett, who said the Nets' decision to keep their rebounder extraordinaire was even more important than landing free agent Andrei Kirilenko. There's still more fallout from that Nets-Celtics trade as training camps open around the Association:

  • Gerald Wallace admits he was "in shock" when he found out Brooklyn traded him to the Celtics, but he's pleased to be in Boston and says he's OK with spending the twilight of his career on a team that isn't a title contender, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com.
  • Brandon Davies, whose contract is partially guaranteed for $50K, and Lou Amundson, who's on a non-guaranteed deal, are the Clippers training camp invitees most likely to make the opening-night roster, a source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
  • The Clippers announced a number of front office moves today, and added Brendan O'Conner to the coaching staff, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (on Sulia).
  • Suns center Channing Frye missed all of 2012/13 with a heart ailment, but with training camp ushering in the final season of his contract, the sharpshooter has been medically cleared to play, as Matt Petersen of Suns.com details.
  • Manu Ginobili wasn't sure the Spurs wanted him back when he hit free agency this summer, but a brief meeting with GM R.C. Buford convinced the veteran swingman that the team still values him highly, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.
  • John Salmons didn't enter the offseason expecting that he'd remain with the Kings, but he says team officials assured him over the summer that he's still in their plans, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes via Twitter.

Read more

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Notes: Larkin, Kings, Miller, Robinson

July 16th, 2013 at 9:23pm CST by Alex Lee

The Mavericks announced, via press release, that first-round pick Shane Larkin underwent surgery today to repair a broken ankle he suffered last week in summer league action.  The recovery time for the surgery is approximately three months, putting Larkin's return right around the beginning of the regular season.  The team is reportedly in talks with Devin Harris again after nixing their original agreement with the point guard last week. 

Here's more out of the Western Conference:

  • The Kings will not use the amnesty provision before tonight's deadline, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.  Sacramento, one of seven teams that can still use the clause, will apparently retain the amnesty eligible John Salmons.  The team holds a player option on Salmons for the 2014/15 season.
  • In a separate tweet, Jones adds that the Kings are unlikely to make any additions that necessitate guaranteed money unless they're first able to unload money. 
  • Should Mike Miller clear the amnesty waiver process, the Clippers should have interest in the veteran sharpshooter, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.  Washburn cites Miller's time in Orlando under new Clips head coach Doc Rivers as the main reason for the match.  Miller was waived by the Heat today, and teams with cap space now have 48 hours to claim him on waivers.
  • The Nuggets have named Arturas Karnisovas as their assistant GM, according to a press release from the team issued earlier today.  Karnisovas, a native Lithuanian, was most recently the director of scouting for the Rockets under Houston GM Daryl Morey. 
  • It's only been about a year since Thomas Robinson was selected No. 5 by the Kings, but the Blazers forward has already been traded twice.  Robinson, drafted into a bad situation in Sacramento and then a casualty of the Dwight Howard signing in Houston, says he feels disrespected as a result of the trades and is determined to get his career on track in Portland, writes Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge, who itemizes some quotes from Robinson from a couple of publications. 
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Pacific Notes: Kings, Salmons, Lakers, Scalabrine

July 9th, 2013 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up a few Tuesday morning items out of the Pacific Division….

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Pacific Notes: Robinson, Salmons, Lakers, Clips

February 27th, 2013 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Tempers flared near the end of the Pacers' 108-97 win against the Warriors last night, as Roy Hibbert, David Lee, Stephen Curry, and others exchanged shoves and came close to spilling into the stands. While Hibbert figures to be the prime candidate for a suspension, the Warriors are also awaiting word from the league to hear whether they'll lose any of their players for a game or two. In the meantime, here are a few more notes from around the Pacific Division:

  • According to Thomas Robinson's former teammate Tyreke Evans, 2012's fifth overall pick was frustrated with his role with the Kings and will benefit from a change of scenery. "[Robinson] is going to be pretty good," Evans told Lang Greene of HoopsWorld. "He’s young and got a lot of talent. He was a little frustrated here, but the same thing [happened] with Derrick Favors. He was in New Jersey frustrated, went to Utah and now he’s playing good."
  • Robinson wasn't the only player frustrated in Sacramento. John Salmons tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that he's not pleased with his reduced role with the Kings, but that he's "not going to be a distraction or complain about it."
  • Appearing on CBS Radio, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak admitted that management has been impatient with some of its decisions in recent years, in hopes of making one more championship run before Jerry Buss passed away (link via Royce Young of CBSSports.com). The firing of coach Mike Brown five games into the season may have been one of those decisions, Kupchak acknowledged.
  • Jamal Crawford's tweet yesterday, in which he expressed a desire to remain with the Clippers for the rest of his career, is another sign of the team's changing culture led by Chris Paul, writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Kyler On Hawks, Jazz, Calderon, Rockets, Varejao

November 19th, 2012 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

With this season's deadline still three months away, the trade market likely won't be too active for at least a few more weeks. However, as Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld writes, things could start to pick up on December 15th, when most players who signed over the summer are eligible to be dealt. Kyler looks at a few specific trade candidates in his latest piece, so let's round up the highlights….

  • Josh Smith, Paul Millsap, and Al Jefferson are a few players in the final year of their contracts whose respective teams aren't planning to deal. However, the Hawks and Jazz could reconsider their stances as the deadline approaches, if there's an increasing concern that those players will leave in free agency.
  • While there's no urgency in Toronto to move Jose Calderon, the Raptors are expected to explore deals. Kyler suggests that small forwards like Omri Casspi and Wilson Chandler are worth keeping an eye on as potential Raptors targets, adding that Chandler isn't in the Nuggets' long-term plan.
  • The Rockets likely aren't done dealing, with players like Daequan Cook, Toney Douglas, and Marcus Morris among the team's possible trade candidates.
  • DeJuan Blair continues to be available, but the Spurs are still seeking a first-round pick, and it's unclear if any team would pay that price for a player that could sign elsewhere at season's end.
  • Anderson Varejao isn't likely to be moved, but if the Cavaliers were to consider a deal, it would have to include Luke Walton and his $6.09MM salary.
  • Similarly, if the Kings explored a Tyreke Evans trade, Sacramento would want to include either John Salmons or Francisco Garcia.
  • The Timberwolves would be open to moving Derrick Williams if they could land a good veteran player for him.
  • Kyler also names Hedo Turkoglu, Tayshaun Prince, Tyrus Thomas, and Wesley Johnson as trade candidates, though all those players could be tough to move due to their salaries.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Hibbert, Amnesty, Hawks, Draft

May 15th, 2012 at 12:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The final series of the second round finally gets underway tonight, when the Clippers face the Spurs in San Antonio. While we wait for that game, and the Pacers/Heat contest before it, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA….

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0