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Latest On Kevin Martin

February 18th, 2015 at 9:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:24pm: Martin is happy in Minnesota, and out of the teams reported to be eyeing him, Martin would only be interested in playing for Dallas, Amick tweets.

8:29pm: The Rockets and Wizards are also interested in Martin, Sam Amick of USA Today reports (Twitter links). It’s also highly unlikely that the Wolves agree to a buyout with Martin if he remains on the roster past the trade deadline, Amick adds. The Mavs are also a team that likes Martin, Amick confirms.

3:50pm: Teams are still inquiring about Martin, but the feeling is growing that he will remain with the Wolves past the deadline, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link).

2:32pm: The Bulls and Kings among teams with interest in Kevin Martin, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in his chat with readers, though he adds that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Timberwolves hang on to him. Ford also lists the Wizards as a team eyeing Martin, though there were conflicting reports about their level of interest earlier this month. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports heard that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders has little interest in parting with Martin, though Ken Berger of CBSSports.com seemingly refuted that and put Martin on a list of players that teams are attempting to trade. Martin would be headed for a buyout if a trade doesn’t happen, according to Berger, but rival executives are surprised at the notion that Minnesota would consider a buyout, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

The Mavericks are another team that’s been linked to Martin, though it’s unclear if they truly have interest in trading for him. He’s making almost $6.793MM this season and $7.085MM next year, with a player option worth almost $7.738MM for 2016/17, so his contract figures to dissuade teams on the fence about pursuing before the deadline. The same clubs would figure to have greater interest in Martin should he buy his way off the Wolves and become available more cheaply, though that’s just my speculation.

Saunders said after making a pair of trades last week that he didn’t expect to be active again in advance of the deadline. The Wolves haven’t given the impression that they want to part with Martin, according to John Krawczynski of The Associated Press. The 32-year-old shooting guard is Minnesota’s leading scorer this season at 20.2 points per game.

Berger’s Latest: Jackson, Kings, Nuggets, Lee

February 17th, 2015 at 11:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Reporters make a habit of emptying their notebooks as the deadline draws near, when rumors that would normally make headlines wind up buried beneath the deluge of news. We already passed along highlights from a jam-packed piece that Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports authored tonight, and we’ll do the same with a dispatch from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who’s also heard plenty:

Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group provides some clarity on Lee, saying that the Warriors have always been willing to trade him for assets of value but that the team almost certainly won’t find what it’s looking for on the market. Golden State isn’t likely to simply give away the veteran, a favorite of co-owner Joe Lacob, unless it’s forced to in the offseason, Kawakami adds (All Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

Teams around the league expect the Thunder to trade Reggie Jackson before Thursday’s 2pm Central time trade deadline, Berger writes, indicating that they believe tax concerns would be the catalyst for Oklahoma City to make a deal.
Sacramento is intent on making an upgrade at the deadline in an effort to please DeMarcus Cousins, sources tell Berger, who identifies Arron Afflalo as the team’s No. 1 target. The Kings are dangling Nik Stauskas to the Nuggets as they seek Afflalo, to the puzzlement of some executives from other teams, Berger hears. The Kings continue to dangle Stauskas to other teams as well, according to Berger.
The Nuggets are in “full-on firesale mode,” and, notwithstanding Sacramento’s focus on Afflalo, Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler are the players on Denver’s roster who are drawing the most interest from other teams, Berger writes.
Berger indicates that the Warriors are trying to trade David Lee, which conflicts with an earlier report that the team would like to keep him through the season to avoid disrupting chemistry. The CBSSports.com columnist also includes Kevin Martin on a list of players that teams are trying to trade, but Flip Saunders is reportedly showing little interest in doing so. Martin would be destined for a buyout if the Wolves don’t trade him, Berger hears.
Milwaukee has fielded offers for Brandon Knight, but the Bucks aren’t biting, sources tell Berger.
The Wizards are more likely to sign a free agent who would fill their desire for backcourt help than to make a trade, the CBSSports.com scribe hears.
The Clippers are still the front-runners for Tayshaun Prince should he and the Celtics do a buyout deal, according to Berger, who adds that Boston is trying to trade Brandon Bass.

Wojnarowski’s Latest: Prince, Clippers, Nelson

February 17th, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Thursday’s NBA trade deadline creeping ever closer, things are going to heat up rather quickly. The reports that the Suns are looking to trade Goran Dragic are likely just the beginning of what should be an interesting couple of days around the NBA. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relayed some of the latest deadline rumors from around the league:

The Celtics are continuing to try to include Tayshaun Prince in a trade package, but if unable to find a taker, the team will work out a buyout arrangement after the deadline, Wojnarowski notes.
After missing out on Amar’e Stoudemire, who is reportedly on his way to Dallas once he clears waivers, the Clippers’ best chance to improve their roster will be to sign a free agent, Wojnarowski opines. Los Angeles may attempt to sign Prince if he is waived by Boston, Wojnarowski adds. The Blazers are also interested in Prince, the Yahoo! scribe relays.
The Clippers have dangled Jamal Crawford in an effort to acquire a first round draft pick that the team could use to nab the Nuggets‘ Wilson Chandler or Arron Afflalo, the Yahoo! scribe adds. Los Angeles continues to show interest in the Suns‘ Gerald Green as well, Wojnarowski reports.
Los Angeles had scouted Lance Stephenson recently, but the Clippers never engaged in discussions with the Hornets regarding the mercurial guard, Wojnarowski relays.
There are several teams around the league that are hoping Jameer Nelson reaches a buyout arrangement with the Nuggets, Wojnarowski notes. Denver currently has no plans to cut the veteran point guard loose, adds the Yahoo! scribe.
Wolves president Flip Saunders has shown little inclination that he wishes to deal Kevin Martin and Thaddeus Young, Wojnarowski relays.
Teams that miss out on acquiring Afflalo may take a look at nabbing the Wolves‘ Chase Budinger, Wojnarowski writes. While teams like Budinger’s ability to spread the floor, his $5MM player option is a deterrent for some interested franchises, the Yahoo! scribe adds.

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Karl, Thompson, West

February 13th, 2015 at 12:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings are poised for trade deadline action after resolving their coaching situation, while in Phoenix, suitors are lining up for Goran Dragic. We’ll run through the latest news and notes from a busy Pacific Division here:

DeMarcus Cousins praised new Kings coach George Karl to reporters at All-Star weekend in New York, saying he looked forward to working with him, tweets Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. The center has expressed exasperation with the team’s coaching turmoil.
Karl was the right choice for the Kings, argues Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee, who also lists Scott Brooks among the names of coaches who would have been candidates for the Sacramento job if the team hadn’t hired Karl.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was largely responsible for halting a proposed blockbuster last summer that would have sent Klay Thompson to the Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Kerr and Warriors team consultant Jerry West talked ownership out of making the swap, which would have also sent David Lee to Minnesota and Kevin Martin to Golden State, Deveney adds. A source close the talks told Deveney that the trade was a done deal until Kerr, who took the job with the expectation of coaching Thompson, and West convinced management not to do it.
The jealousy that the Warriors worried might develop when they gave Thompson a more lucrative extension than Stephen Curry got a few years ago hasn’t developed, and Thompson doesn’t regret agreeing to contract terms that might give him less than the max, as Deveney writes in the same piece.
West, who made his mark as an executive with the Lakers, is confident the Lakers wouldn’t ask him back, as he said on 95.7 The Game, as station host Matt Steinmetz relays (Twitter links). West’s son, Ryan, is the Lakers’ assistant scouting director, notes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
Trading Dragic would be a wise move because the Suns are not true title contenders, Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic argues. Bickley believes the Suns should be acquiring trade assets in order to make a future move to acquire a superstar talent rather than adding short-term pieces such as Ray Allen or Amar’e Stoudemire. If the Suns can add a first-round pick by swapping Dragic while concurrently breaking their point guard logjam, they should not hesitate, Bickley concludes.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.

Wolves Notes: Exceptions, Deadline, Payne

February 10th, 2015 at 4:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wolves had a few options regarding trade exceptions and their pair of swaps today. It’s likely that they created an exception worth Troy Daniels‘ $816,482 salary, and they had to have dipped into either their $6,308,194 exception left over from the Kevin Love trade or their $4,702,500 exception from the Corey Brewer trade. It’s unclear whether they absorbed Gary Neal‘s $3.25MM salary into one of those exceptions and created a new exception worth Mo Williams‘ $3.75MM salary, or simply matched salaries for Neal and Williams, creating a $500K exception. If they made an exception worth Williams’ full salary, they could have used that to absorb Adreian Payne‘s $1,855,320 rookie scale salary, but if they only made an exception worth $500K in the Williams trade, they would have had to take Payne into either the Love exception or Brewer exception.

Here’s more on the Wolves in the aftermath of their busy day:

President of basketball operations and coach Flip Saunders said he doesn’t expect to be active again between now and the trade deadline, as he told reporters, including Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Twitter link). Thaddeus Young, Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger have all been in trade rumors of late.
Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press reiterated that he still doesn’t believe the team will move Martin (Twitter link), adding that he doesn’t think it’s likely the team will add a point guard, either.
Saunders also told reporters that he found it a tough choice between Zach LaVine and Payne when the Timberwolves drafted at No. 13 overall this past June, as the Wolves’ Twitter account notes. The team now has both after drafting LaVine and trading for Payne.
Although losing more games to get better odds in the 2015 lottery seems like the team’s best route, winning some games might be in the Wolves’ best interest, opines Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune. Scoggins cites the need to show the fan base that the franchise is building toward something as reason not to pursue a tanking strategy. Minnesota won three games in a row before Monday’s loss to the Hawks.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

Mavs, Wizards Eye Kevin Martin?

February 9th, 2015 at 3:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:53pm: The Wizards regard Will Bynum as their chief target aside from Ray Allen, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com, so it doesn’t appear as though Martin is a high priority for them.

MONDAY, 10:35am: There’s “nothing there yet” regarding the Mavericks and Martin, a source tells Wolfson (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 2:33pm: Washington hasn’t discussed Martin to this point, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears (Twitter link).

9:10am: The Mavericks and Wizards are “among the possibilities” for Kevin Martin, as Chris Mannix of SI.com writes within his Open Floor column, calling the Timberwolves shooting guard a “player to keep an eye on” as the February 19th trade deadline approaches. Still, a source told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News about a week ago that there’s “almost zero chance” the Wolves swing any deals because of the long-term salary commitments involved with many of their veterans. Martin, who makes nearly $6.793MM this season, is under contract through 2016/17, a season for which he has a player option worth almost $7.378MM.

Despite those salaries, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press wrote last week that he didn’t get the sense that the Wolves wanted to trade the 11th-year veteran. Martin has played in only 14 games this season, including a 37-point performance against the Knicks in which he broke his right (shooting) wrist. He returned to action just last week after an absence of more than two months because of the wrist, and he scored 30 points in Minnesota’s last game, a victory over the Heat. The 32-year-old is averaging 20.5 points per game so far this year, which would represent his first season with a scoring average of better than 20.0 PPG since 2010/11.

Neither the Mavs nor the Wizards have a trade exception large enough to absorb Martin, and both teams are fairly close to the tax threshold, so they’d have to send out matching salary. Washington has the additional burden of a hard cap. The only expiring contract the Wizards have that’s greater than the minimum salary and doesn’t require the player’s consent for a trade is the team’s deal with Andre Miller, who makes $4.625MM this season and has recently fallen out of the rotation. The expiring contracts for the Mavs are all minimum-salary deals, except the ones for Tyson Chandler and Rajon Rondo, players the team will almost certainly keep.

Timberwolves Open To Trading Mo Williams

February 9th, 2015 at 3:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:07pm: Charlotte and Minnesota talked about a deal that would send Williams and Troy Daniels to the Hornets, but that conversation stalled within the past few days, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

FEBRUARY 9TH, 1:10pm: The Hornets are also a likely suitor for Williams, Wolfson tweets, adding that while he believes the Wolves will trade Williams, no deal is close.

JANUARY 30TH, 3:18pm: The Cavs, Clippers and Heat are among the teams to watch regarding Williams, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 Twin Cities, adding that there’s a “small chance” that the Pistons become involved (Twitter link). The return Minnesota would receive for Williams would be “minimal,” Wolfson also says.

11:49am: Rival teams believe the Wolves are making Mo Williams available to potential trade partners willing to relinquish a draft pick, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Williams is indeed available, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (on Twitter). Still, a source told Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that there’s “almost zero chance” that Minnesota makes any deal this season, given the limited market for its veterans, as Deveney wrote earlier this morning.

The source who spoke with Deveney referred to the long-term financial commitments to some of those vets as stumbling blocks, but Williams is on a $3.75MM deal that only covers this season. Many executives and scouts who spoke with Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck for a December report identified Williams and teammate Thaddeus Young as likely trade candidates. Young has a player option worth almost $9.972MM for next season, and Krawczynski doesn’t get the sense that the Timberwolves want to trade Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic or perhaps Young, as the AP scribe wrote in his tweet.

Williams, a 12th-year veteran, has been starting in place of the injured Ricky Rubio, though the team does have lottery pick Zach LaVine and 10-day signee Lorenzo Brown in reserve. Williams’ 6.4 assists per game are his most since the 2010/11 season, and his 12.5 points per game represent a bounceback from his 9.7 PPG scoring average for the Blazers last season, the first time he hadn’t averaged double figures in points since his rookie year. Still, the now 32-year-old Williams wanted to return to Portland this past summer, and there was reportedly mutual interest in a deal with the Mavs before they signed Jameer Nelson instead.

Wolves Try To Honor Budinger’s Trade Request

January 30th, 2015 at 10:27am CST by Chuck Myron

Chase Budinger‘s representatives have let the Timberwolves know that he’d like to play elsewhere, and the Wolves have been trying to trade him to teams around the league, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Budinger isn’t demanding a trade, sources caution to Deveney, but in any case, there’s “almost zero chance” the Wolves find a taker for Budinger or any other players before the deadline, a source tells Deveney. That’s because of the financial commitments that extend beyond the season for Budinger, Kevin Martin and Thaddeus Young, Deveney writes, adding that it’s nonetheless likely that the Wolves will trade Budinger after the season, when his contract will be easier to swallow.

Timberwolves coach/executive Flip Saunders denied that the team was shopping Budinger in October amid a flurry of rumors. There were conflicting reports about whether the Rockets had interest at that point, but regardless, Houston’s acquisition of Corey Brewer from the Wolves last month eliminated the team’s need for Budinger, according to Deveney. The Sporting News scribe reported in October that the Blazers had some interest, but Deveney says now that no substantive talks ever took place with Portland. The Pacers also apparently had interest before the season, and the Pistons reportedly inquired about the sixth-year small forward around that same time, with Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities pegging Detroit as the “team to watch” regarding Budinger in October.

Budinger, 26, is averaging career lows in points per game, minutes per game and shooting percentage. The BDA Sports Management client is making $5MM this season with an identical $5MM player option for next season. Young, about whom the Wolves and Nets have reportedly spoken, has a salary of almost $9.411MM this year and a player option of close to $9.972MM for 2015/16. Martin is making nearly $6.793MM this year, and his contract runs through 2016/17, which is a player option year.

And-Ones: Martin, Mavs, Ledo, Ennis

November 24th, 2014 at 10:05pm CST by Charlie Adams

Kevin Martin will undergo surgery tomorrow after breaking his wrist during a 37-point performance against the Knicks last week, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (on Twitter). The operation will knock the sharp shooting guard out for six to eight weeks, according to Wolfson, further depleting a Wolves‘ team that’s struggled to stay healthy this season. While Minnesota plans for Martin’s forthcoming absence, we’ll round up the latest from around the NBA..

The Mavs have been impressed with the recent work put in by Ricky Ledo, tweets Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. Ledo, a second-year guard, was recalled from his two game D-League assignment earlier today after averaging 12.5 points per night for the Texas Legends.
Tyler Ennis is working to find out how he fits on the Suns’ guard-heavy roster, as Lori Ewing of the Candian Press examines. Despite struggling to find consistent minutes in Phoenix, the coaches have been high on the court vision and play-making abilities demonstrated by the rookie guard, Ewing notes.
Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders provides a rundown of trade candidates in the Eastern Conference. Taylor opines that the Hornets’ slow start to the season might mean they try to acquire a veteran talent by shipping out a young piece like Noah Vonleh or P.J. Hairston.

Western Notes: Kobe, Thunder, Martin

November 21st, 2014 at 2:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kobe Bryant rejects the notion that he should have taken a drastic discount the way Dirk Nowitzki did this summer, as Bryant told reporters, including Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Bryant is making $23.5MM this season, the first of a two-year, $48.5MM extension, while Nowitzki will draw only slightly more than $7.947MM.

“It’s the popular thing to do,” Bryant said of players taking pay cuts. “The player takes less, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I think it’s a big coup for the owners to put players in situations where public perception puts pressure on them to take less money. Because if you don’t, then you get criticized for it. It’s absolutely brilliant, but I’m not going for it. I know the new head of the players association [Michele Roberts] ain’t going for it, either.”

Bryant could be making nearly $32.738MM this season if he took the maximum salary in the extension he signed last year, and he said today that he thinks he gave up enough to help the Lakers become a contender again, MacMahon notes. There’s more on the Black Mamba amid the latest from the Western Conference:

Bryant dropped another hint in his chat with reporters today that he doesn’t plan on playing past the expiration of his contract in 2016, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link).
GM Sam Presti exuded confidence a few weeks ago that the Thunder could survive their time without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but people within the Thunder’s basketball operations department “are on edge more than ever before,” The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry writes.
The Wolves haven’t decided whether Kevin Martin needs surgery on his broken right wrist, but it’d likely be the fastest way for him to return to the court, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Zgoda speculates that it would take four to six weeks for him to come back if he goes under the knife, but the Tribune scribe points out that Martin missed more than two months after surgery to his left (non-shooting) wrist in 2009.