Kendrick Perkins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Aldridge’s Latest: Thunder, Lopez, Jackson

February 23rd, 2015 at 2:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Thunder aren’t making moves simply out of fear that Kevin Durant will jump ship in 2016 and Russell Westbrook will follow suit the next year, a league source tells TNT’s David Aldridge for his Morning Tip column on NBA.com. Still, it’s been an active season for GM Sam Presti, who went over the tax line to acquire Dion Waiters and stayed above it after Thursday’s swap that sent out Reggie Jackson and brought in Enes Kanter. Aldridge has much more in his column, and we’ll hit the highlights, many of which are Thunder-related:

The Thunder let the Nets know they wouldn’t do the proposed Jackson/Brook Lopez trade just 15 minutes before the deadline, Aldridge reports. The Nets likely would have dealt Jarrett Jack to the Wizards if they’d done that deal, Aldridge adds.
The concern that Arron Afflalo would turn down his player option and hit the open market dissuaded the Thunder from trading for him, as Aldridge explains.
The Rockets preferred Goran Dragic to Jackson and the Celtics weren’t willing to trade young players for the then-Thunder guard, Aldridge writes.
The Thunder didn’t have plans to re-sign Kendrick Perkins in the summer even before they traded him at the deadline, according to Aldridge.

Jazz, Kendrick Perkins Agree To Buyout Deal

February 21st, 2015 at 3:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:53pm: Perkins has officially been waived, the Jazz announced.

3:27pm: A buyout arrangement has been reached, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Perkins intends to sign with the Cavaliers if he clears waivers, which he is expected to do, Wojnarowski adds.

1:48pm: Perkins has narrowed his choices to the Cavs and the Clippers, and the big man is expected to make his decision on Sunday, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media Group reports (Twitter link).

10:51am: The Clippers are not out of the running for Perkins, but are considered long shots to sign him, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports (Twitter link).

SATURDAY, 10:28am: The Cavaliers have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Perkins if he is indeed waived by Utah, Wojnarowski reports. The Bulls, Rockets, and Hawks are also in the mix for the big man, Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal tweets.

FRIDAY, 9:24am: Perkins is interested in playing for the Mavs, Wojnarowski writes, but the team doesn’t share that interest, as Cuban said (below). Conflict in the past with Joakim Noah wouldn’t keep Perkins from joining the Bulls, a source tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

11:25pm: Mark Cuban said that Dallas is set in its frontcourt, and that the Mavs would not be interested in Perkins if he is waived, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman tweets.

10:18pm: The Bulls and the Cavs are the frontrunners to sign Perkins when and if he clears waivers, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports (Twitter link).

6:08pm: The Mavericks have also expressed interest in Perkins, should he be waived, Wojnarowski tweets.

THURSDAY, 3:55pm: The Jazz and Kendrick Perkins are headed for a buyout, reports Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Utah agreed to take on his expiring contract, worth more than $9.654MM, as part of a three-way deal with the Pistons and Thunder. The Cavs and Clippers are teams to watch should Perkins indeed hit free agency in the coming days, Young says, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports calls those teams strong contenders to sign him (on Twitter). The Bulls will be very much in the mix for Perkins, too, Wojnarowski also tweets.

The 30-year-old Perkins is making $9.654MM this season on an expiring contract, and it’s not immediately clear how much he would give up in a buyout. He was much-maligned throughout his tenure in Oklahoma City after having been hailed as key to the Celtics’ 2008 championship and subsequent run to the Finals in 2010. He had a PER of 15.0 in 2009/10, but he never had a double-digit PER for the Thunder after a trade sent him there in the middle of the 2010/11 season.

His name was part of a proposal that would have sent him to the Nets for Brook Lopez, but that trade didn’t pan out. In any case, he’s an odd fit for Utah, a team focused on the future, so a quick parting of ways makes sense. The Jazz will have to waive him no later than March 1st for him to be eligible to play for another team in the postseason.

Central Notes: James, Perkins, Marshall

February 21st, 2015 at 10:26am CST by Will Joseph

LeBron James believes the Cavaliers, who were silent as the trade passed, can win a championship with their current roster, Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. James’ stance presents a different view than the one he had previously offered in his summer essay announcing his return to Cleveland and when speaking to reporters during the holidays, Lloyd notes. The Cavs, who entered the All-Star break having won 14 of their last 16 games, have remade their roster since James last made those statements, having acquired J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov. “Obviously health is a huge thing. Clicking at the right time,” James said. “The team that’s clicking at the right time, is healthy at the right time, can make a huge push. I believe we can make a push to win one. Does it guarantee that? Of course not, we still gotta go out and play. But this roster can challenge any team out there.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

The Bulls, who did not make a deal at the trade deadline and have a vacant roster spot, will monitor the buyout market between now and March 1st, which is the deadline for free agent signees to be eligible for the playoffs, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune notes. The Bulls appear to be interested in center Kendrick Perkins, who was dealt on Thursday from the Thunder to the Jazz, Johnson writes. Utah is reportedly considering a buyout arrangement with the veteran big man. Johnson also added that Chicago would be interested in guard Gary Neal, if his contract were to be bought out by the Timberwolves.
Any roster addition made for the stretch run for the Bulls will be a veteran insurance player who is comfortable sitting on the bench, Jon Greenberg of ESPNChicago.com notes.
The Bucks were reluctant to part with Kendall Marshall, who was traded to the Suns along with Brandon Knight on Thursday, but Milwaukee wanted to free up a roster spot, Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets.

Pistons Acquire Reggie Jackson

February 19th, 2015 at 7:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:13pm: The release on the Thunder’s website indicates that the Thunder received Detroit’s unprotected 2019 second-round pick, too.

6:34pm: The Jazz have formally announced that the deal is official. The Pistons and Thunder have also confirmed the trade in press releases. Utah has acquired Jerrett, the rights to Pleiss, Perkins, and a future first-round pick from Oklahoma City, as well as a 2017 second-round pick from the Pistons. The Thunder will receive Kanter and Novak from Utah, and Augustin and Singler from the Pistons, while Detroit garners Jackson.

4:06pm: The Jazz are getting Jerrett, a protected first-round pick from the Thunder and a second-rounder from the Pistons in addition to Kanter and the rights to Pleiss, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

3:49pm: Several picks are changing hands in the deal as well, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, suggesting that a significant chunk of the draft considerations are heading Utah’s way (Twitter link).

3:33pm: The Thunder dealt for Kanter with the intention of re-signing him this summer, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

3:25pm: Grant Jerrett is headed out in the deal, too, according to Mayberry, though he doesn’t specify which team he’s going to (Twitter link). The Thunder are expected to waive Ish Smith to accommodate all the moves, Mayberry adds.

2:49pm: The Thunder will send the draft rights to center Tibor Pleiss to the Jazz, according to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman (on Twitter).

2:44pm: Guard D.J. Augustin is headed from the Pistons to OKC in the deal, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). The former No. 9 overall pick averaged 10.6 PPG and 4.98 APG in 23.8 minutes per game for the Pistons this season.

2:15pm: Steve Novak is heading from the Jazz to the Thunder in the deal, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter). Jody Genessy of The Deseret News (on Twitter) first reported that Novak would be included in the three-way swap.

1:56pm: It’s now a three-way deal, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter links). The Jazz will send Enes Kanter to OKC, the Thunder will ship Kendrick Perkins to Utah, and Detroit will send Kyle Singler to OKC.

Talks with the Jazz about Kanter picked up today as OKC weighed the pros and cons of the Nets’ Brook Lopez/Jackson proposal. For his part, Kanter made it clear last week that he’s frustrated with his role and wants a trade. In 49 games this season, Kanter has averaged 13.8 PPG and 7.8 RPG – both career-highs, in 27.1 minutes per contest. For his career, the former No. 3 overall pick has put up 9.3 PPG and 5.9 RPG across four seasons in Utah.

Perkins, 30, is now slated to join the third franchise in his NBA career. The big man has been playing mostly in a reserve role this season, averaging 4.0 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 19.2 minutes per contest. In total, Perkins has put up 5.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG over the course of 12 seasons with the Celtics and Thunder.

1:50pm: The Thunder have traded Jackson to the Pistons, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

1:34pm: The Pistons are making a strong run at Reggie Jackson, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jackson appeared to be Brooklyn-bound earlier today, but it’s not clear if that deal will be consummated.

The Thunder and the Nets were discussing the framework of a deal that would involve Brook Lopez going to OKC and Jackson going to Brooklyn. However, the Thunder pumped the breaks a bit on the talks when they started looking at a deal with another team. Given that Detroit is enthusiastic about landing Jackson, the PIstons might be the party putting a spoke in that wheel.

Jackson’s agent, Aaron Mintz, recently requested that the Thunder trade his client, who’s due for restricted free agency this summer. The Kings, Bucks, Heat, Pacers, Rockets and Nuggets also registered their interest in Jackson, while there are conflicting reports about whether the Celtics are pursuing him.

The 24-year-old turned down an extension offer in the neighborhood of four years and $48MM this past fall, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). That was around the time teams around the league thought he’d end up commanding $13-14MM a year this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported at the time.

Nets, Thunder Close To Lopez, Jackson Deal

February 19th, 2015 at 1:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:21pm: Stan Van Gundy says the Pistons aren’t moving on Jarrett Jack or Heat guard Norris Cole today, according to David Mayo of MLive.com (on Twitter).

1:01pm: The Thunder are looking at a deal with another team, according to Wojnarowski, who indicates that’s the holdup on the Jackson-Lopez front (on Twitter).

12:47pm: Garnett’s decision regarding his no-trade clause won’t affect the Lopez-Jackson deal, sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The Nets are ready to make it happen and are waiting on the Thunder, Mannix says. That would seem to suggest a two-teamer is most likely, but that’s just my speculation.

12:24pm: Jackson is enthusiastic about a potential deal to the Nets, league sources tell Wojnarowski, who hints that Brooklyn’s apparent willingness to unload Jack and sign Jackson to a lucrative deal this summer are major components to that. Jackson is indeed willing to sign long-term in Brooklyn, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (on Twitter), and that was key to Brooklyn’s pursuit of the would-be trade, as Wojnarowski reported earlier (below). Both Wojnarowski, in his full piece, and Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link) have the would-be two-teamer as Lopez to the Thunder for Perkins and Jones, though Wojnarowski says a broader structure of the deal involving other teams remains in play.

12:08pm: The Pistons are a possible landing spot for Jack, sources tell Windhorst (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Detroit would be a part of the Lopez-Jackson deal.

11:42am: The Nets could send Jack to the Wizards as part of a larger deal, a league source tells Wojnarowski (Twitter link)

11:09am: Jackson’s relationship with his teammates on the Thunder has deteriorated quite a bit, according to Royce Young of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

10:43am: The fate of a Nets-Thunder deal involving Jackson and Lopez rests with the Thunder, and for now it would be just a two team arrangement, reports Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

10:40am: The Nets are one of multiple options the Thunder are looking at regarding Jackson, but a deal between Brooklyn and Oklahoma City remains close, Broussard tweets.

10:20am: Jackson’s camp believes a deal will likely get done, Amick tweets. The Timberwolves and Sixers could be included, perhaps with the Thaddeus Young-for-Kevin Garnett possibility lumped in, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Nets are again looking to flip Perkins or have him conveyed elsewhere, Windhorst tweets.

10:15am: A deal is close, but not done, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). The teams are talking about deal that would see Oklahoma City relinquish Jackson, Perry Jones III and Perkins as Nets feel out Jackson’s willingness to re-sign, as Wojnarowski writes in a full story. Brooklyn is prepared to part with Jack, and the team would make Jackson the starter of Deron Williams, Wojnarowski adds. League sources once more tell Wojnarowski that it’s believed Jackson will command between $13MM and $14MM this summer. Oklahoma City and Brooklyn are exploring potential third teams to add to the deal, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

10:04am: Brooklyn “needs to” include Jarrett Jack in any Jackson-Lopez deal, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). A deal might involve Perkins and Ish Smith heading Brooklyn’s way in addition to Jackson, tweets Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.

9:49am: The Nets and Thunder are having serious talks about a deal involving Brook Lopez and Reggie Jackson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Wojnarowski reported minutes earlier that there was a decent chance the Nets and Thunder would regather momentum toward a trade involving Lopez if the Nets become convinced they can re-sign Jackson this summer (Twitter link). The Nets and Thunder went deep into discussions on Lopez last month, but those conversations didn’t involve Jackson. The Thunder appear to have been the party with interest in striking up the Lopez talks again while the Nets have seemed hesitant.

Jackson’s agent, Aaron Mintz, recently requested that the Thunder trade his client, who’s due for restricted free agency this summer. The Kings, Bucks, Heat, Pacers, Rockets and Nuggets all appear interested in swapping for Jackson, while there are conflicting reports about whether the Celtics are pursuing him. The 24-year-old turned down an extension offer in the neighborhood of four years and $48MM this past fall, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link). That was around the time teams around the league thought he’d end up commanding $13-14MM a year this summer, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported at the time.

Lopez is due a player option worth more than $16.744MM for next season, though there are conflicting reports about whether he’d pick it up. Talks between the Nets and Thunder would have sent a package including Kendrick Perkins and Jeremy Lamb to Brooklyn, and the Nets had reportedly spoken to the Wolves about Thaddeus Young and had interest in flipping Perkins to Minnesota for him. Still, Brooklyn remained reluctant to do such a deal with Oklahoma City, apparently because it didn’t want to relinquish Lopez in what would amount to a salary dump with a package centering on Perkins, in spite of the Young discussion.

Western Notes: Gasol, Perkins, Bryant

January 28th, 2015 at 9:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Pau Gasol is glad to be free of the constant trade rumors that surrounded him in his final years with the Lakers, and he hints that the Lakers won’t be among Marc Gasol‘s preferred destinations in free agency this summer, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes. “Marc wants to win a championship,” Pau said. “That’s what he’s looking for. That’s what’s most important to him. I don’t know if you think the Lakers will be in a position to win a championship next year or not. But he knows what he’ll be looking for as a free agent—or maybe he’ll stay in Memphis because they have built a very good team already there with some very good pieces. He’ll know what he wants, and he will be ready to make his decision.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Kendrick Perkins believes that he’s done nothing but help the Thunder improve as a team during his time in Oklahoma City, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. “I just have to come out and make sure I do my job,” Perkins said. “I try not to look ahead to free agency. I just try to go out there and compete night in and night out. But ever since I’ve got to Oklahoma City, I feel like I haven’t did anything but help the organization get to where they want to be. The organization has helped me also. So this is a family. If I’m here next year or not, if I leave, I’m going to miss everyone here because we’re like family.” Perkins and his expiring contract were reportedly part of the recent trade talks involving Brook Lopez.
With Kobe Bryant lost for the remainder of the season, Lakers coach Byron Scott said that the team’s future plans regarding Bryant won’t be known until the summer, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “I got to wait until August until we have a good idea of what we’ve brought in and who we bring back,” Scott said. “Then, we go from there.”
Scott expects the Lakers‘ star to return to action as soon as is humanly possible, and for Bryant to still be active in recruiting free agents this summer, Holmes notes. “But I think the biggest thing with Kobe, as long as [the media is] saying that he’s done, he’s going to come back,” Scott said. “I think he proved his point this year that he still has a lot left in the tank. He’s still one of the best players in the league.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Lopez, Kidd, Robinson

January 22nd, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets weren’t as close to trading Brook Lopez to the Thunder as they seemed, a league source tells Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, adding that Brooklyn simply didn’t want Lance Stephenson, who would have come from Charlotte in a three-way proposal, or Kendrick Perkins. Still, a Lopez trade remains a possibility, Bucher writes, and the Nuggets are expected to make another run at him, according to Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post, just as they did when they reportedly spoke about a package with JaVale McGee as the centerpiece. There’s more on the Nets amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

“High ranking sources” in the Nets organization dispute to Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News that Mikhail Prokhorov wants to sell his majority interest in the club, but those same sources tell Abramson that it’s not out of the question that Prokhorov will give up the team.
The management for Jason Kidd‘s ownership stake in the Nets has asked the NBA for more time to find a buyer, reports Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg.com. Kidd owns one-sixth of 1% of the Nets, Soshnick notes, but he’s required to divest himself of that share, worth $2.5MM based on the Forbes valuation of the franchise, since he’s now coaching the Bucks instead.
Nate Robinson gave up $689K of this season’s salary of nearly $2.107MM in his buyout agreement with the Celtics, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Knicks and Sixers both have dreadful records this season, but only in Philadelphia’s case is that according to any sort of plan, as Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines.

Northwest Notes: Lopez, Williams, Jackson

January 16th, 2015 at 9:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Thunder were reportedly in the mix for Nets center Brook Lopez, both as part of a proposed three-way deal with Brooklyn and Charlotte and in two-way talks with Brooklyn. OKC star Kevin Durant doesn’t necessarily see the need to add Lopez’s offensive talents to the Thunder’s rotation, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman reports (Twitter link). “We put up a lot of points, that’s what we do,” Durant said. “No matter where it comes from, we score a lot. Adding a good player to your team always helps, but I like what we have here. We put up points. That’s not our problem.”

Here’s more from the Northwest Division:

Any trade for Lopez would almost certainly have to include Kendrick Perkins, a move that would weaken the team this season since he is the Thunder‘s best defender, Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman writes. Oklahoma City would benefit more from this deal next season, when all of the players would begin the campaign healthy, and the team could aim higher than just sneaking into the seventh or eighth playoff spot, like it hopes to do this year, Tramel opines.
The Jazz are still undecided as to whether or not they will sign Elliot Williams to a second 10-day contract, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). In three appearances for Utah, Williams has averaged 2.7 points in 8.7 minutes of action per game.
The arrival of Dion Waiters has cut into the playing time of Reggie Jackson, and it has also increased the uncertainty of his future with the Thunder, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. Durant, when asked if he felt the need to help Jackson adjust to his new role, said, “We’re all professionals here, man. We know the nature of this game. This is not day care. We’re not babying anybody here. We all know that Reggie is such a good professional he knows that. He knows how to come to work every single day. And he knows that him and Dion are going to have to play together. And Dion knows that. So we’re not spending any of our energy on that type of stuff because this is a professional game. It’s a business at that as well. So, nah, we’re not going to do that.”

Latest On Brook Lopez Trade Talks

January 16th, 2015 at 2:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:01pm: The Nets want to build more consensus within their organization before they move ahead with any trade, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (All Twitter links). Youngmisuk suggests a split still exists over Stephenson but says Lopez talks are liable to restart at any point.

1:07pm: The Nets still want to move Lopez soon, and the Heat remain part of the talks surrounding the center, as Wojnarowski reveals in a full story.

12:51pm: Brooklyn isn’t prepared to simply dump salary, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter). The two-team proposal involving the Thunder would have been essentially a salary dump, as Broussard wrote earlier (below).

12:34pm: The Nets are “standing pat” on Lopez discussions for now, a Nets source tells Wojnarowski, saying that there’s nothing on the market that they find appealing (Twitter links).

12:26pm: The Rockets are also looking into Lopez, Wojnarowski tweets.

10:36am: The Thunder and the Nets are making progress on their two-team talks, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter). Lamb would go along with Perkins to Brooklyn for Lopez, Wojnarowski says, though Oklahoma City would need to add yet more salary to make it work, since the Thunder are above the tax line and can’t take in more than 125% plus $100K of the salary they give up.

9:49am: It was unwillingness on the part of the Nets to take on Stephenson that has Brooklyn considering a two-way deal with the Thunder instead of the three-teamer with the Hornets and Thunder, Wojnarowski tweets.

9:32am: The Nets continue to talk to the Thunder about a swap involving Lopez and Perkins in what would be a virtual “salary dump” for Brooklyn, according to Broussard (Twitter links).

9:05am: It was indeed the Nets who pulled away from the talks with Charlotte and Oklahoma City, but it’s still likely Brooklyn will trade Lopez, Bonnell writes in a full story.

8:44am: The potential deal between the Thunder, Hornets and Nets is “dead” for the time being, a source tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Reed Wallach of NetsDaily hears there are a lot of deals in play for the Nets (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 8:00am: The Nets are trying to change some of the players involved in talks with the Thunder and Hornets as Brooklyn continues to resist closing on a deal, Broussard tweets. The rumors have upset Lopez, as a friend of Lopez tells Robert Windrem of Nets Daily (Twitter link). The NetsDaily scribe writes in a full story that league sources say Stephenson’s absence from the Hornets’ lineup has been because of a poor relationship with coach Steve Clifford, and not a groin injury as the team claims.

THURSDAY, 11:57pm: It’d be a surprise if the Nets, Thunder and Hornets don’t come to a deal that sends Brook Lopez to Oklahoma City, numerous league sources tell Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), who hears from one source who says such a trade is likely to happen, as Bonnell writes in a full story. The Thunder and Hornets have reportedly agreed to a framework of a trade that would involve Lopez going to the Thunder, Lance Stephenson and Kendrick Perkins going to the Nets, and Jarrett Jack and Jeremy Lamb going to the Hornets. Charlotte would also receive Grant Jerrett in that arrangement, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, though the Nets appear to be holding out as other teams pursue Lopez.

The Nuggets have spoken about a package involving JaVale McGee, but the Nets aren’t high on Denver’s injury-prone big man, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Heat came forward with a proposal involving Chris Andersen, Norris Cole and Josh McRoberts, sources tell Wojnarowski. The Hornets would like to acquire Lopez for themselves, but Brooklyn prefers to send him to the Western Conference, Wojnarowski also hears. The Lakers are also reportedly interested in Lopez.

The Nets were reluctant to take on Stephenson last month, and while the front office remains cautious about him, as other teams around the league believe, Brooklyn’s ownership supports the idea of trading for him, as Wojnarowski details. Brooklyn’s talks involving Deron Williams haven’t found much footing, according to Wojnarowski. The team would like to rid itself of two of Lopez, Williams and Joe Johnson by the trade deadline, and the Nets have indicated to other teams that they want to make a Lopez deal by the weekend.

The Hornets have been “desperate” to trade Stephenson, according to Wojnarowski, though a month ago it appeared Charlotte had put an end to talks, at least temporarily. Still, there’s a strong belief that the shooting guard, a Brooklyn native, will end up back in his hometown, a move he’s hoped to make at some point, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.

Nets, Wolves Discuss Thaddeus Young

January 16th, 2015 at 11:48am CST by Chuck Myron

11:48am: The Nets and Wolves have spoken about Young in recent weeks and the talks have included discussion about three-way deals that would deliver Young to Brooklyn, reports Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter).

11:37am: The Nets would have strong interest in trying to flip Kendrick Perkins for Thaddeus Young if they acquire Perkins in a Brook Lopez deal with the Thunder, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Timberwolves are willing to part with Young as they rebuild, Stein adds. The Nets and Thunder are reportedly making progress in talks that would send Lopez to Oklahoma City in exchange for Perkins, Jeremy Lamb and more.

League rules would prohibit Brooklyn from aggregating Perkins’ salary in a subsequent swap at any point through the trade deadline, but the Nets could send him out by himself. Perkins’ salary of more than $9.654MM this season would be within the matching bounds in a one-for-one exchange for Young, who makes nearly $9.414MM this year.

The Wolves insisted on Young instead of receiving Miami’s 2015 protected first-round pick from the Cavs as part of the Kevin Love trade, but Minnesota’s hopes for a playoff berth have largely vanished amid a hail of injuries and a 6-31 record. Young, who holds a player option worth almost $9.972MM this year, has compiled a career-worst 13.5 PER this season.

Perkins is on an expiring contract, and his minutes are down a tick this season, the third straight year he’s averaged fewer minutes per game. Steven Adams has replaced the 30-year-old in Oklahoma City’s starting lineup this year.