JULY 11, 5:46pm: The deal is now official, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune.
JULY 2, 6:10pm: The Hawks and Jazz have agreed to deal Marvin Williams for Devin Harris, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. It's the second deal of the day for new Hawks GM Danny Ferry, who agreed to ship Joe Johnson to the Nets earlier.
Earlier today, we heard from ESPN.com's Chris Broussard that the Nuggets and Warriors had discussed the possibility of a trade that would send the No. 7 pick to Denver and Wilson Chandler to Golden State. Broussard is back with more Warriors info this afternoon, tweeting that the team is eyeing other small forwards besides Chandler, including Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala, and Marvin Williams. No deals are imminent, according to Broussard, but the Warriors are a good bet to be active either today or tomorrow. Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group has a few more Warriors items, so let's check those out:
The final series of the second round finally gets underway tonight, when the Clippers face the Spurs in San Antonio. While we wait for that game, and the Pacers/Heat contest before it, let's round up a few odds and ends from around the NBA….
The Cavaliers are officially in the mix for the playoff push as the squad sits two games behind the Knicks for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. They'll look to make it three in a row when they host the Rockets later this evening. Let's take a look at the latest from The News-Herald's Bob Finnan to see what the Cavaliers plan on doing between now and the trade deadline:
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio talked Cavaliers and trade rumors in a chat today, sharing some noteworthy items along the way. Here are a few of the highlights:
The Sixers continue to control the Atlantic Division, and Jeremy Lin is still amazing Knicks fans, but most of the talk around the division this week has centered around the Celtics and what they'll do with Rajon Rondo their aging "big three." Here's more on them as well as the other playoff contenders on the Eastern seaboard.
Last week, rumors circulated around Atlanta forward Marvin Williams and his reported request to be traded. While the report was squashed shortly after it came out, the rumor coincidentely happens to be backed by the lowest workload Williams has seen since 2007. In other words, even if Williams didn’t request a trade, now might be an appropriate time for him to do so.
Williams is playing the fewest minutes per game of his entire career (10 fewer minutes per game than he did in the 2009 season) which is incredible given the injury issues Atlanta has seen in their frontcourt this year. If he is in fact unhappy with his role in the Hawks’ offense, he may have a logical reason. Despite the team losing Jamal Crawford to free agency before the season—a player who never met a shot he didn’t want to marry—the 25-year-old veteran’s field goal attempts are the lowest they’ve been since he was a 19-year-old rookie. All this while finally showing some serious improvement in his three-point shot. Williams is taking more threes per 36 minutes than at any point in his career, and making a personal best 43.2% of them.
Atlanta is over the cap, but barely under the luxury tax, so if they were lucky enough to find a potential suitor for Williams’ services (his contract isn’t attractive), it wouldn’t be with the intention of bringing back any increase in salary.
One possible deal that could either work out for both teams (and players), or leave everyone hardly noticing a trade was made at all, would be Marvin Williams to Washington for the talented, yet oft-maligned Andray Blatche. Both players have worn out their welcome with the franchises that drafted them, and both could see an uptick in production when placed in a new situation. Atlanta still needs depth in their frontcourt; pairing Blatche with Josh Smith and a healthy Al Horford next year could make the team’s weakness a strength.
The move would also allow Washington to amnesty Rashard Lewis—Williams could slide in as the long-term replacement—and not have to overpay players just to meet the minimum salary line. He’s never been an elite defender or potent offensive threat, but if placed in a new situation, surrounded by young athletes, Marvin Williams could have a large impact on basketball games.
Blatche is owed approximately 6.6MM more in guaranteed money over the course of their respective contracts, but Atlanta would save $2.2MM over the next two years. It’s a risky deal, but an interesting one.
The Cavaliers have also reportedly shown interest in Williams’ services. One possible deal could be Williams for Ramon Sessions and either center Ryan Hollins or forward Christian Eyenga.
The Cavs hit the All-Star break in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, at 13-18 and a game and a half back of the slumping Celtics. Here's what's buzzing with the team as it chases its first post-LeBron James playoff berth:
Upon hearing about Chris Broussard's report that suggested Marvin Williams wanted out of Atlanta, Williams "vehemently denied" asking for a trade, tweets Arthur Triche of the Hawks. The 25-year-old told Triche, "You know that's not me."
Broussard technically didn't report that Williams had requested a trade, writing that the Hawks forward "wants out because he wants to play somewhere where he'll have an increased role offensively." It may be a matter of semantics, but it's possible Williams is telling the truth and Broussard's report is accurate — the former second overall pick could be unhappy with his role, but not to the point where he's formally asked to be traded.
A former Tar Heel, Williams has played for the Hawks since 2005 and is playing a career-low 24.2 MPG this season. The lack of playing time has also reduced his points per game to 9.6, his lowest mark since he was a 19-year-old rookie, though his average per 36 minutes is consistent with his career rate. Williams is under contract through next season, with an early termination option for 2013/14.