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Buyout Rumors: Green, Westbrook, Bulls, Beverley, Ibaka, Heat, Sixers, Grizzlies

February 10th, 2023 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

After Rockets general manager Rafael Stone confirmed in a Friday press conference that Houston will simply waive John Wall, with no buyout required, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link) that Danny Green would welcome a similar arrangement.

Both Wall and Green were acquired by Houston as salary-matching chips in the team’s Eric Gordon trade on Thursday. It’s unclear if Green would be willing to give up money as part of a buyout agreement.

If Green does become a free agent, teams like the Celtics and Cavaliers would be among those with interest, according to Wojnarowski. Woj also mentions “Los Angeles” as a potential Green suitor, though it’s unclear if he means the Lakers, the Clippers, or both — they each have an open spot on their 15-man roster.

Here’s more on the NBA’s buyout market:

Jazz general manager Justin Zanik told reporters on Friday that no decisions have been made yet on Russell Westbrook‘s future and that the veteran guard is open to the idea of playing for Utah to finish the season, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Westbrook is considered a strong candidate to be bought out.
Wojnarowski said today on NBA Today (YouTube link) that if Westbrook does become available, the Bulls are a team to watch as a potential frontrunner. Head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said today that the team plans to “look at” the buyout market, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The Clippers have also been linked to Westbrook, but Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times says the Clips aren’t expected to be overly active in the buyout market, adding that insiders around the league are skeptical about Westbrook landing with L.A.
The Magic and Patrick Beverley are working on a contract buyout, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Magic said on Thursday that they weren’t requiring Beverley to report to the team, so that news comes as no surprise.
Big man Serge Ibaka, who will be waived by Indiana, has some interest in joining the Heat, but it’s unclear if that interest is mutual, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
The Sixers and Grizzlies will take decidedly different approaches to the buyout market. Sixers executive Daryl Morey said today that moving under the tax line at the trade deadline sets up the team to potentially pursue “multiple” targets on the buyout market, per Kyle Neuback of PhillyVoice.com. Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman, on the other hand, said he doesn’t envision his team looking at the buyout market, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Eric Gordon To Clippers, Luke Kennard To Grizzlies In Three-Team Trade

February 9th, 2023 at 10:22pm CST by Rory Maher

10:22pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Rockets, Grizzlies, and Clippers.

As first reported by Kelly Iko of The Athletic and confirmed by the Rockets, the swap rights Houston got in the deal are top-six protected. So in the unlikely event that the Thunder’s and Clippers’ picks both land in the top six, the Rockets won’t be able to swap the Bucks’ first-rounder for the least favorable of those two picks.

The Rockets also confirmed that they’ve waived Boban Marjanovic to accommodate the extra incoming player in the deal. They’re expected to re-sign him once he clears waivers and Wall is released.

Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) has the details on the three second-round picks the Clippers acquired from the Grizzlies. They are as follows:

The Raptors’ 2024 second-round pick.
Either the Pacers’ 2024 second-round pick or the least favorable of the Cavaliers’ and Jazz’s 2024 second-round picks (whichever is most favorable).
The Grizzlies’ 2027 second-round pick.

1:20pm: The Clippers have reached an agreement to acquire veteran wing Eric Gordon from the Rockets, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania, the move will be part of a three-team deal that sends Luke Kennard to the Grizzlies, with Clippers guard John Wall headed back to Houston (Twitter links). The Rockets plan to waive Wall, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

Danny Green will be sent from Memphis to Houston in the trade, according to Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the Clippers are getting three second-round picks from the Grizzlies. The Rockets will also acquire the right to swap this year’s Bucks first-round pick with the Clippers’ first-rounder (or the Thunder’s first-rounder, if the Clippers pick is earlier in the draft), tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

It’s an interesting trade from all sides. The Clippers have needed a guard who could drive and shoot from outside while playing decent defense, and Gordon fits that bill when he’s playing well. Gordon has been in trade rumors for years, and now he’s headed back to the Clippers, who drafted him seventh overall back in 2008.

While the Clippers took a risk by potentially losing their own first-round pick, they’ll still be guaranteed to receive the Bucks’ first-rounder and will also get three second-rounders from Memphis, which isn’t bad at all considering they arguably got the best player in the trade. Gordon, 34, makes $19.57MM this season, but his $20.92MM salary for 2023/24 is non-guaranteed.

The Rockets had long been looking for a first-round pick for Gordon, and they’re essentially swapping Milwaukee’s potential late first-round pick (it would be 28th right now) for one with higher upside — the Clippers’ would be 18th right now. The Bucks (37-17) are currently six games ahead of the Clippers (31-27), but there’s still 20-plus games remaining for both teams.

Green has been one of the NBA’s best 3-and-D wings for the better part of a decade, winning three championships with the Spurs, Raptors and Lakers. He holds a 39.9% career mark from behind the arc, but he’s 35 years old and just made his season debut this month after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in last year’s playoffs. Green will be a free agent this summer.

Wall temporarily heading back to Houston after his troubled tenure with the Rockets is an ironic twist, as he’ll be waived by the same team that bought him out in the offseason — that’s how he signed with L.A. in the first place. He didn’t find much success with the Clippers, posting a poor shooting slash line of .408/.303/.681 for a team hoping to contend.

The Grizzlies rank just 24th in the league in 3-point percentage and get one of the league’s best shooters in the 26-year-old Kennard, who holds a career mark of 42.7% on 3s, including 44.7% this season. He is not a strong defensive player, but he’s a decent complementary play-maker.

Dealing away three second-rounders for a player who is nine years younger and on a reasonable long-term contract that will pay him about $45.2MM through 2025 (the final year is a team option) makes sense. Green is a very good, albeit streaker shooter, but Kennard is elite in that regard.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Trade Rumors: Poeltl, Wall, Durant, Pistons

February 8th, 2023 at 11:10pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Spurs are sending their “strongest signals” so far that they intend to trade center Jakob Poeltl before Thursday’s deadline, tweets Marc Stein. The organization’s attitude toward a potential deal seems to have changed over the past 24 hours, Stein adds, giving hope to teams interested in acquiring potentially the best center on the market.

The Celtics and Raptors have been frequently mentioned as possible landing spots for Poeltl, and Stein reported earlier today that the Wizards have expressed strong interest as well. The 27-year-old will be a free agent this summer, but San Antonio has plenty of cap room available if it decides to keep him.

The Raptors and Spurs have discussed a deal involving Thaddeus Young and draft assets in exchange for Poeltl, according to Stein (Twitter link). The Spurs played in Toronto tonight, so Poeltl faced questions about the possibility of being traded there, tweets Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express News.

“I just try to focus on the here and now,” Poeltl said. “There is a lot of noise, and I try to keep it out as much as possible and just try to focus on these games.”

There’s more on the trade front:

It appears John Wall‘s time with the Clippers will end soon, whether he’s traded on Thursday or not, Stein adds (Twitter link). A source tells Stein that L.A. will pursue a buyout deal with Wall if it can’t find a taker by the deadline, echoing a report from Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times earlier this week. Wall has appeared in just 34 games and hasn’t played since January 13 because of an abdominal injury.
Nearly every contending team has called the Nets to check on Kevin Durant‘s availability, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. There has been speculation that Durant might want out after Kyrie Irving was traded to Dallas, but Brooklyn’s front office is telling everyone that it plans to hold on to Durant.
The Pistons have been active in trade talks, but they’re not committed to moving Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks or Saddiq Bey before the deadline, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. The Knicks, Bucks and Lakers have expressed the most interest in Bogdanovic, but they don’t appear to be offering the draft assets that Detroit wants. Edwards suggests the Pistons might try to use the expiring contracts of Cory Joseph, Nerlens Noel and Hamidou Diallo — worth about $19MM combined — to pick up a player under contract beyond this season.

Clippers May Seek Buyout With John Wall If He’s Not Traded

February 4th, 2023 at 6:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers are attempting to trade point guard John Wall and may consider a buyout if they can’t find a deal, multiple sources tell Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.

Wall, 32, signed with L.A. in July after reaching a buyout with Houston. His two-year contract includes a $6.479MM salary for this season and a $6.8MM team option for 2023/24.

After sitting out all of last season, Wall was playing fairly regularly before suffering an abdominal injury on January 13. He has missed the past 11 games, and Greif hears there are concerns about his fit with the Clippers for the remainder of the season.

Wall has averaged 11.4 points, 5.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 34 games, but he’s shooting just 40% from the field and 27% on pull-up jumpers. Wall also has a team-low minus-9.2 net rating, which measures the point differential between when he’s on the court and not.

Wall still doesn’t have a target date to return from his injury, although Greif notes that he was able to participate in a full-court scrimmage with coaches and some of his teammates this week. Wall wouldn’t comment directly on trade rumors, telling Greif that he’s concentrating on things he can control.

“This period for the whole league is interesting, trying to see if any trades happen, getting to see if teams stay healthy and stuff like that, so you kind of just all playing it by ear,” Wall said. “Kind of like, if you be here just try to figure out what your role is, and if you’re not here, then you got to try to find a new situation, like what the new situation might be and stuff like that. I’m just trying to focus on trying to get back and play. Just let everything else happen the way it’s going to happen.”

The Wall rumors come as the Clippers continue to search for point guard help before Thursday’s trade deadline. Greif identifies Toronto’s Fred VanVleet as the team’s number one target, and notes that Miami’s Kyle Lowry, Utah’s Mike Conley and Charlotte’s Terry Rozier have also been linked to L.A. in trade rumors. Greif doesn’t consider the Clippers to be a potential landing spot for Kyrie Irving, who submitted a trade request to the Nets on Friday.

Lakers, Mavs, Suns Among Possible Kyrie Irving Suitors

February 3rd, 2023 at 3:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers and Mavericks are among the teams expected to talk to the Nets before next Thursday’s trade deadline about a possible deal involving Kyrie Irving, according to veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Twitter link).

In addition to the Lakers and Mavs, the Suns have emerged as a potential suitor for Irving, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times tweets that there has also been some buzz in league circles about the Heat being a team to watch.

Irving has reportedly requested a trade out of Brooklyn.

There are a handful of reasons why the list of obvious matches for Irving isn’t lengthy. His history of mercurial behavior and inconsistent availability will scare many teams away, as will the fact that he’s an unrestricted free agent at season’s end — some suitors will be reluctant to give up much for a player who might be a rental, while others may not welcome the idea of having to negotiate a new contract with the 30-year-old. Additionally, Irving’s $36.9MM cap hit is sizable and wouldn’t be easy for certain clubs to match.

Still, Irving remains an elite talent on the court, having averaged 27.1 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 5.1 RPG on a sparkling .486/.374/.883 shooting line in 40 games (37.0 MPG) for Brooklyn this season, so it’s safe to assume Sean Marks and the Nets’ front office will get some inquiries.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Irving hasn’t given the Nets a list of preferred landing spots, but his interest in the Lakers has carried over from the 2022 offseason.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, have had interest in Irving in the past, though they’ve been reluctant to give up a substantial haul of assets for the All-Star guard, tweets Wojnarowski. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon observes (via Twitter) that Mavs president of basketball operations Nico Harrison (a former Nike executive) and head coach Jason Kidd have long-standing relationships with Irving, and Dallas badly wants a co-star for Luka Doncic.

As for the Suns, they’re viewed as one of the only teams capable of making a deal with the Nets that could leave both teams as contenders, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

When Irving explored the possibility of changing teams last summer, the Lakers, Mavericks, and Heat were said to be on his wish list, along with the Clippers, Knicks, and Sixers. New York and Philadelphia don’t look like logical fits for Kyrie at this point, but L.A.’s other team could be worth keeping an eye on.

There haven’t been any reports linking Irving to the Clippers so far, but they’ve reportedly expressed interest in some other point guards and have been “proactive” in gauging John Wall‘s trade market, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.

Pacific Notes: Smith, Davis, Wall, Clippers

January 22nd, 2023 at 9:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jalen Smith holds no ill will against the Suns, the team that picked him in the lottery in 2020, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic reports. Smith was dealt last February to the Pacers after never emerging as a regular rotation player in Phoenix.

“My time here was fun,” Smith said of the Suns. “I had no bad blood here. Obviously, I didn’t play much, but at the end of the day, I was around a great group of guys. Hall of Fame guys. Being able to be a part of that championship run team.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Anthony Davis “looked phenomenal” going through a full contact scrimmage on Saturday, according to Lakers coach Darvin Ham, Lakers sideline reporter Mike Trudell tweets. Davis scrimmaged against the ‘stay ready’ group, which included coaching staffers and low-minute players. Davis has been out since Dec. 16 due to a foot injury.
Clippers guard John Wall calls his time with the Rockets organization “beyond trash” after what he experienced there, Alex Kennedy of Basketball News relays. Wall described in detail his two years in Houston on the “Run Your Race” podcast. Wall sat out last season after the Rockets told him he would have a limited role. “The coach (Stephen Silas) was like, ‘Man, you don’t deserve that, you should be a starter, but this is what they want to do,'” Wall said. “Well, I’m not doing that. I said I’ll rehab, I’ll work out every day, I’ll stick around the team, I’ll come to meetings, I’ll fly with ya’ll and I’ll mentor the guys. So, that’s what I’m doing. Then, it got to the point where they were like, ‘Don’t come around.’ They didn’t want me around.”
The Clippers have won their last two games and coach Tyronn Lue believes they can go on an extended run if their defense improves, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times writes. “Offensively, we know we’re going to be able to score the basketball,” Lue said. “That’s very encouraging. Just now defensively we have to do a better job of locking in and understanding our principles.”

Western Notes: Wall, Rockets, Kessler, Gordon

January 18th, 2023 at 8:04am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the Run Your Race podcast (YouTube link), Clippers point guard John Wall revisited his tenure with the Rockets, suggesting that the team went into tanking mode after trading James Harden during Wall’s first year in Houston. According to Wall, the culture during his stint with the club was so lax that he had to tell his young teammates not to get accustomed to how little was expected of them.

“I always talked to Jalen Green, Kevin Porter, K.J. (Kenyon Martin Jr.), I’m like, ‘Don’t get adjusted to this losing s–t, this is not how the league is,'” Wall said. “But at the same time, I had to tell them, like, ‘This s–t y’all are getting away with over here, if you go to any other team, you’d be out of the f—ing league. You wouldn’t play.’ I’m trying to explain that to them because they think it’s sweet. But I’m like, ‘If you ever get traded and go somewhere else, you going to be like, ‘This motherf—er was right.””

Wall also reiterated his disappointment with how his second year in Houston played out, when he sat out for the entire season. Wall said he would have been fine playing for the rebuilding club and mentoring its young players, but wasn’t comfortable with the team asking him to accept a limited bench role of no more than 10 or 15 minutes per night when he felt as if the Rockets’ prospects were being handed starting jobs instead of earning them.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Kelly Iko and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic rank the Rockets‘ players in terms of value, agreeing that Jalen Green and Jabari Smith are in the top tier and Tari Eason and Alperen Sengun are in the second. However, the two authors disagree on the order within those tiers, as Iko favors Green and Eason while Vecenie prefers Smith and Sengun.
Jazz rookie Walker Kessler had his best game of the season on Monday against the team that drafted him, racking up 20 points and 21 rebounds in a one-point win over Minnesota. As Tony Jones of The Athletic observes, it was the latest instance of Kessler showing why Utah lobbied to have him included in the Rudy Gobert blockbuster over the summer and why the Timberwolves initially resisted his inclusion after having just drafted the young center.
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon has been the second-best player for the top team in the Western Conference so far this season and is building a strong case for an All-Star spot with his two-way play, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. “For us to be the team that wanted to win at a high level, we had to have a much greater buy-in and commitment (on defense). And Aaron definitely fits that bill,” head coach Michael Malone said. “He guards the other team’s best player almost every night. And he never shies away from a challenge. … We wouldn’t be where we’re at at the halfway point without Aaron Gordon’s play, his attitude, and his team-first mentality.”

Charania’s Latest: Hawks, C. Grant, Collins, Wall, A. Davis

January 17th, 2023 at 12:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hawks are in serious talks to hire former Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant as a senior adviser in their front office, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Charania’s colleague Sam Amick previously reported that Atlanta was considering adding a veteran executive to a relatively inexperienced group headed by general manager Landry Fields. Grant certainly fits that bill, having begun working for NBA teams back in 1996, when he was hired by these same Hawks.

By the end of Grant’s initial tenure in Atlanta, he had been promoted to vice president of basketball operations and assistant GM. He was hired away from the Hawks by the Cavaliers in 2005 and worked under Danny Ferry until 2010, when he became Cleveland’s GM, a position he held until 2014. In recent years, Grant has worked in the Spurs’ scouting department.

Here’s more from Charania:

The Jazz have been the team most engaged as of late in trade talks for Hawks big man John Collins, according to Charania, who says the Wizards have also been among the clubs expressing interest in Collins.
Charania confirms that the Clippers are in the market for a more experienced center to back up starter Ivica Zubac. L.A. has been willing to discuss point guard John Wall as the team explores the trade market, Charania adds.
Following up on a report he shared on FanDuel TV, Charania says Lakers star Anthony Davis is aiming to return to action in early February, likely a handful of games before the All-Star break. Los Angeles has seven contests between Feb. 1-15 prior to All-Star weekend.
In case you missed it, we also passed along some of Charania’s latest reporting in a series of earlier stories.

John Wall To Miss At Least Two Weeks With Abdominal Strain

January 15th, 2023 at 12:44pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Clippers have announced that reserve point guard John Wall has suffered an abdominal strain, per Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

Turner adds that Wall is set to be reassessed in two weeks, meaning at minimum he will be out for that long.

Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets that, in the interval, Reggie Jackson will step in to replace Wall as the team’s primary backup point guard.

Wall, 32, had been playing competently through his 34 healthy games with L.A., though his shooting numbers were somewhat inefficient. He’s averaging 11.4 PPG on .408/.303/.681 shooting in 22.2 MPG. Wall is also dishing out 5.2 APG and grabbing 2.7 RPG.

Wall has been open recently about the challenges he has faced in dealing with a minutes limit and modifying his workout regimen since joining the Clippers.

In additional Clippers injury news, Turner tweets that starting power forward Marcus Morris has incurred a left calf contusion and is considered day-to-day. Through 41 games this season, Morris holds averages of 13.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, and 1.7 APG. The 6’8″ big man boasts a slash line of .441/.382/.803.

Pacific Notes: Wall, Trade Deadline, Williams, Brown

January 14th, 2023 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers guard John Wall gave himself a “low C” when asked to rate his comeback season after 34 games, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Wall’s shooting percentages are close to what they were when he last played regularly — although his turnover rate is a concern — and he’s confident that things will improve.

“The season will get better for me,” Wall said. “It’s tough being on a minute restriction. It’s tough like, trying to figure out guys, figure out what roles you’re going to be. Still frustrated by not getting a lot of, no calls, it ain’t going to never change, I feel like. I think it’s always an excuse. I think we just trying to figure out as a team and as a group and try to get better game by game.”

The Clippers had Wall adjust his workout routine, which featured frequent weightlifting while he was idle with the Rockets last season. Coach Tyronn Lue also made a change to Wall’s playing style that has him taking more catch-and-shoot jumpers, rather than the pull-up variety he preferred when he was an All-Star in Washington.

“Just getting him used to playing that style of basketball when he’s been playing a different way his whole career,” Lue said. “It’s kind of tough, but he’s been doing a good job.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Mirjam Swanson of The Orange County Register has suggestions for both L.A. teams ahead of the trade deadline. She believes the Lakers should be aggressive in finding another shooter — either Bojan Bogdanovic from the Pistons or Doug McDermott or Josh Richardson from the Spurs, while the Clippers should target a big man with energy, such as the Pacers center Myles Turner, Hawks forward John Collins or Jazz center Kelly Olynyk.
Suns coach Monty Williams refused to get into a war of words with Jae Crowder, who said the coaching staff didn’t appreciate what he brought to the team, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Crowder has sat out the entire season so far while Phoenix searches for a trade. “The thing that I’ve been consistent with is the stuff that goes on here, stays here,” Williams said. “I’m not one to use the media to get a point across. It’s just not my way. It’s not how we do business.
Kings coach Mike Brown is campaigning for De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to be named All-Stars, saying “shame on the whole process” if they aren’t included, per Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. “Hopefully sooner than later, these guys will start getting the appropriate love from around the league that they deserve,” Brown said. “Starting with the media, because the media has a lot of influence.”