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Odds & Ends: Gasol, Suns, Bulls, Mirotic

February 14th, 2014 at 3:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

At least three NBA GMs won’t be in New Orleans for All-Star weekend, as technology has changed the way deadline deals take shape, observes Ian Thomsen of SI.com. Thomsen’s piece is a revelatory examination of what goes on in the hidden world of NBA executives, and it’s worth a read. We’ll pass along another tidbit from it here among our look at the league’s latest:

Executives think Pau Gasol is the most significant player with a strong chance to be dealt, Thomsen writes. The likehihood of a Gasol deal has grown as the Lakers have dropped further from contention, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes, identifying Chris Kaman, Jordan Hill and Steve Blake as other prime trade candidates on the Lakers.
Sam Smith of Bulls.com hears the Suns, who’ve been pursuing Gasol and his expiring contract, aren’t looking for short-term help and would prefer to trade for a player who can be a mainstay for years to come.
Smith also says that the Bulls are targeting veterans and buyout candidates rather than D-Leaguers for their 13th roster spot, suggesting Marcus Camby as a possibility, though it’s unclear if the Bulls truly have interest in signing the 39-year-old big man.
An NBA executive thinks that if Nikola Mirotic were eligible for this year’s draft, he’d be a top-three pick, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Jameer Nelson says the Magic haven’t indicated to him they have any plans to trade him, and, according to Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling, he has no plans to test free agency this summer. Of course, Nelson might not have a choice, since the Magic can save $6MM of his $8MM salary for next season if they waive him on or before July 15th.
Adam Silver isn’t quite sure why players would be opposed to the idea of raising the age limit to 20, which he supports, as the commissioner tells Sam Amick of USA Today. Silver also suggests that allowing teams an extra year to scout prospects will help clubs with high draft picks make the right choice more often, leading to more leaguewide parity.

Western Notes: Harris, Blake, Babbitt

February 4th, 2014 at 8:24pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Earlier today, the Lakers notified guard Manny Harris that they do not plan to retain him beyond his second 10-day contract, tweets Bill Oram of the OC Register. We noted yesterday that L.A. wasn’t expected to keep Harris on board with a trio of the team’s point guards returning to the lineup.

Aside from a sensational 18-point, 6-for-9 shooting performance against the Knicks a little over a week ago, Harris’ numbers have been underwhelming through his eight game stint for the most part, averaging 6.8 PPG on 33.9% shooting overall and 29.4% from long distance in 19.9 MPG. However, as we speak, the 6’5 guard is leading the Lakers with 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting at halftime against the Timberwolves tonight, and although he might not be on the team tomorrow, Harris is putting together a compelling audition for potential suitors.

Here are some more links to share out of the Western Conference tonight:

In response to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders’ tweet that the Lakers would look to shed another $3MM in the form of Jordan Hill, Steve Blake, or Chris Kaman in a potential Pau Gasol deal, fellow Basketball Insiders writer Eric Pincus (via Twitter) says that L.A. would actually like to keep Blake beyond this season.
Despite Russian-based team Nizhny Novgorod’s initial plan to hold Luke Babbitt to his contractual obligations and prevent him from signing with an NBA team, Pelicans GM Dell Demps managed to negotiate a buyout agreement that took two weeks to get finalized, reports John Reid of NOLA.com. New Orleans head coach Monty Williams is hopeful that Babbitt can be a contributor right away: “We thought having some more depth at our wing spot and there’s a chance he can play some four (power forward) because of his ability to shoot the ball..He’s a young player who had some success in Portland and played really well overseas. We kept our eye on him and have been trying to get it done for a couple of weeks, maybe a little bit longer. Finally it happened for us.”
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle shared his thoughts with Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW on current Grizzlies guard and former Mavs draft pick Nick Calathes, who is expected to start in place of the injured Mike Conley when the two teams meet Wednesday night. Dallas reportedly dealt Calathes in order to create a roster spot for Gal Mekel: “They’re similar players…We went that direction and at that point it made no sense to hold onto Calathes’ rights. They both have gotten much better since they got into the NBA. I’m happy for Nick. And we like Gal. It wouldn’t make any sense to have both of them here.”
So far, the 2013/14 season may not have always been ideal as one would hope for Samuel Dalembert, who on separate occasions this season has been called out by Carlisle for lack of conditioning and being undisciplined on the court. In another piece for SportsDayDFW, Sefko notes that with his recent 18-point, eight rebound, and 7-for-8 shooting performance against the Cavaliers, the 32-year-old center is slowly regaining the trust from everyone on the team, including Carlisle, who doesn’t appear to have any choice at this point but to ride Dalembert as much as he can.

Odds & Ends: Salaries, Rondo, Hickson

January 13th, 2014 at 2:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA’s highest paid players used to dominate the list of the top earners in team sports, but no longer. Eight Major League Baseball players have deals that give them average annual salaries within the top 10 among all athletes in North American team sports, according to Liz Mullen and David Broughton of the SportsBusiness Journal (subscription only). Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony are the other two on that list. It’s a reversal from 2000, when eight NBA players were among the top 10 on those rankings, while two baseball players took up the other spots.

“The NBA players union has failed to protect the rights of the top players in the league,” agent Arn Tellem said. “Collective bargaining has proved totally ineffectual.”

It might help matters if the National Basketball Players Association were able to fill its vacant executive director position. They missed out on another target for the post when Blazers president Larry Miller turned them down, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reported this weekend. While we wait to see who they wind up with, here’s more from the NBA:

Celtics GM Danny Ainge has consistently batted down Rajon Rondo trade rumors, but there’s an “increasing belief” around the league that Ainge will seek to trade the point guard for multiple assets, as Chad Ford writes in his “tank rank” piece for ESPN Insider.
J.J. Hickson is leaving agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports and will soon hire a new representative, tweets Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post.
ASVEL Villeurbanne of France has released former Clippers and Jazz point guard Travis Leslie, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
If Jordan Hill plays in 11 more games this year and averages at least 14.1 minutes per contest over the season, he’ll trigger an incentive clause worth $63,600, notes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Hill is averaging 20.2 MPG so far.

Pacific Notes: Jackson, Henry, Hill

November 14th, 2013 at 8:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

When asked about already losing to the Clippers, Spurs, and Grizzlies – three teams considered to be among the league’s elite, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson was straightforward: “Are those three elite? Then, we’re in the discussion…We’re a very good team that has continued to develop, continued to grow…I certainly like my team, when we’re at our best” (hat tip to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle for the Twitter links).

Here are more miscellaneous tidbits to pass along out of the Pacific Division:

Xavier Henry‘s breakout performance thus far is remarkable considering that his NBA career may have been hanging in the balance only several months ago. Hoopsworld’s Yannis Koutroupis gathered the former lottery pick’s thoughts on playing for the Lakers and how he’s handled his early success this season.
Jordan Hill not only provides badly-needed toughness but has played a pivotal role in helping the Lakers win four out of their first ten games, writes Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
Bill Dwyre, also of the L.A. Times, suggests that Matt Barnes‘ ejection from last night’s game may have provided the impetus for turning the Clippers’ defense in the right direction. Eric Patten of Clippers.com writes that the team’s brilliant second half last night was proof that strides are being made on the defensive end.

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Jazz, Marbury, Draft, Frank

March 18th, 2013 at 2:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

SBNation's Tom Ziller looks at Basketball-Reference statistics to examine players who've significantly outperformed their contracts this season. Not surprisingly, Chandler Parsons, in the middle of a four-year, $3.63MM contract that runs through 2015, rates highly. Many of the other players Ziller mentions are either minimum-salary signees or former first-round picks still on their rookie-scale deals. There's more on a few players who could be the next to sign rookie contracts and other news from around the Association, as we share here:

Jordan Hill was expected to be out for the season with a hip injury, but doctors have told him there's a slim chance he could return in late April or early May, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Either way, the Lakers will get to keep the $1.78MM disabled player exception the league granted them, even though they don't intend to use it.
The Jazz haven't decided whether to re-sign Travis Leslie, whose 10-day contract expires Wednesday night, but coach Tyrone Corbin likes what he's seen so far from the swingman, notes Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Stephon Marbury, who played for the Chinese league's Beijing Ducks this season, will serve as an assistant coach for Beijing's entry in the China National Games this year, reports Jon Pastuszek of NiuBBall.com.
HoopsWorld and Chris Mannix of SI.com examine key NBA draft prospects in the NCAA tournament. Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld checks in with a list of prospects on teams likely to make early tournament exits.
Coach Lawrence Frank is back with the Pistons after missing the past six games to be with his wife, who's recovering from "major surgery," as MLive's David Mayo details.
John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes the Sixers should go after Al Jefferson rather than Andrew Bynum in free agency this summer, though it might take an inflated contract to make it happen. Yesterday, I argued a max deal could be in play for Jefferson.

Lakers Won’t Use Disabled Player Exception

March 11th, 2013 at 10:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Back in January, the Lakers picked up a disabled player exception for power forward Jordan Hill, who underwent surgery on his left hip. However, a team source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times that the club plans to let their $1.78MM exception expire without being used.

The Lakers didn't use the exception prior to the February 21st trade deadline but they still had the option of using it to sign a free agent. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak has repeatedly suggested they will stay put with their current 14-player roster and their push to get an exception for Hill was believed to be a precautionary move from the get-go. Los Angeles' payroll already stands at a hefty $100MM for 2012/13.

Lakers Get Disabled Player Exception For Hill

January 30th, 2013 at 5:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

The league has granted the Lakers their request for a disabled player exception for power forward Jordan Hill, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. It will be worth $1.78MM, or half of Hill’s salary for this season. The Lakers aren’t likely to use the exception, as Medina notes via Twitter, but it does give them one more way to acquire help down the stretch in case they need it.

L.A. already had a prorated portion of their midlevel exception remaining, worth about $1.235MM at this point, so now they possess multiple tools other than the midlevel exception to bring someone aboard. They can add $100K to the disabled player exception to acquire a player via trade. The Lakers have 14 players on their roster, so a spot is open.

Odds & Ends: Lakers, Johnson, Oden

January 29th, 2013 at 11:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News says that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will likely know by tomorrow about whether or not the NBA will approve their Disabled Player Exception for the injured Jordan Hill (Twitter link). With the roster currently at 14, an exception worth $1.78MM would be a very valuable asset for a team that would have otherwise only have a veteran's minimum deal or a small, pro-rated portion of their mini mid-level exception to offer free agents at this point during the season. You'll find the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links from around the NBA here:

Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge says the team currently has no needs and will wait and see what transpires over the next few weeks to get a better feel if a move has to be made or not (Adi Joseph of USA Today reports).
Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman, who recently returned from an 11-game absence for family reasons, sounded like he wanted the team to keep Chris Johnson (LSU) and Mickael Gelabale for the rest of the season, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
Grizzlies guard Chris Johnson, whose 10-day contract is set to expire on Friday night, is making a strong case to be brought back for another deal, writes Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. GM Chris Wallace described Johnson as a "seamless fit" so far.
Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald doesn't think the Heat are the best fit for Greg Oden, citing that if healthy, the former number one overall pick could find more playing time and a better comfort level elsewhere. Even if the team uses its taxpayer mid-level exception to land Oden this summer, Goodman thinks that the luxury tax impact might not be worth the investment either.
When asked directly about the possibility of playing for the Cavaliers, Oden replied: "I'm worried about the knee. That's it," later saying that it was too early for him to be thinking of a destination. Oden added that he wants to take his rehab slow, and that while he could possibly play today if he wanted to, he wants to avoid the risk of having the same setbackthat he had in Portland (Doug Lesmerises and Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer report).

Lakers Notes: Howard, Trade Rumors, Hill

January 23rd, 2013 at 4:24pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Lakers look to improve upon a 5-14 road record tonight against the Grizzlies in Memphis, we'll check in on a few of today's updates out of Lakerland….

After complaining earlier this week about not getting enough touches, Dwight Howard apologized today, accepting responsibility for his struggles and saying he needs to work harder, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. "I've just got to go out there and dominate defensively and make it tough for teams," Howard said. "I just have to get back to doing that and not worry about the offense."
Howard, on the return of the trade rumors that followed him everywhere last season: "I understand why they're saying that because they feel like I have an opportunity to just walk away. That is my choice at the end of the season but right now my focus is tonight and us doing something real special in L.A. We have that opportunity and we can't close the door on the opportunity that we have in front of us. We can turn this thing around."
Bresnahan also reports that the Lakers had a sort of "clear-the-air" team meeting before today's shootaround, and that the players "went at each other a little bit." The meeting included Steve Nash saying he was open to any style of play, as long as everyone was comfortable with the system, and Kobe Bryant directly asking Howard if the All-Star center dislikes playing with him.
According to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard, the Clippers would offer Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan for Howard. However, even if the Lakers were considering moving D12, Broussard admits it's unlikely they'd send him to their L.A. rivals.
Jordan Hill underwent successful surgery on his left hip today and is expected to be sidelined for six months, the team announced in a press release.
Earlier today, we looked at a few of Mitch Kupchak's comments on the team, Mike D'Antoni, and trade options.

Lakers May Apply For Disabled Player Exception

January 14th, 2013 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

With Jordan Hill expected to miss the regular season, the Lakers may apply for a disabled player exception, GM Mitch Kupchak tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Such an exception would give the team approximately an extra $1.78MM to sign or trade for a player.

Mike Trudell of Lakers.com reported on Friday that Hill would undergo hip surgery and miss the rest of the season, a significant blow for a Lakers frontcourt that was already banged up. Having released Darius Johnson-Odom last week before his contract became guaranteed, the Lakers have an open roster spot, so the team could add a player without waiving Hill or anyone else.

As Hoops Rumors' glossary outlines, a disabled player exception is worth either half of the disabled player's salary or the amount of the mid-level exception, whichever is lesser. Since Hill is earning $3,563,600 this season, a DPE would be worth $1,781,800. The Lakers have had more than $1.5MM remaining on their mid-level exception all season, and haven't seemed eager to spend that money, so it seems unlikely that the team would need the DPE. However, as Kupchak points out, it could be worth having just in case.

"There's no downside into looking into it," Kupchak said. "But as far as doing it, I don't know."

Unlike the mid-level exception, a disabled player exception can be used to acquire a player via trade, which would give the Lakers some added flexibility. If L.A. obtains a DPE for Hill, the team could trade for a player earning a salary of $1,881,800 or less, without any outgoing salary involved.

The deadline to apply for a disabled player exception is January 15th, so the Lakers will have until tomorrow to make a decision.