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Dwight Howard Rumors: Wednesday

February 29th, 2012 at 6:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Orlando's roster could have an entirely new look a month from now, and Magic players are all aware of that fact. Nonetheless, as they tell Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, their goal for the second half will be to avoid being weighed down by off-court distractions and focus on playing good basketball. Here's the latest on Dwight Howard, who figures to dominate Orlando's on- and off-court headlines in the coming weeks:

Add the Hawks to the list of potential Howard suitors. Marcus Thompson, while looking for Warriors rumors for the Bay Area News Group, tweets that Atlanta is offering Joe Johnson and Al Horford to the Magic for D12. Howard grew up in Atlanta and went to high school at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy. Thompson notes that Howard and Hawks forward Josh Smith are friends.
Howard wants the Magic to pursue Steve Nash, and would consider staying at least another year in Orlando if the team can acquire Nash and re-sign him, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Of course, given the Suns' current stance on their point guard, such an acquisition would be a challenge.
An Eastern Conference executive tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that he thinks if Howard is dealt by March 15th, it will be to the Nets, but the longer the saga drags on, the better the Mavericks' odds become. While the Knicks and Clippers aren't on Howard's list of preferred destinations, Broussard says D12 would consider both teams, though neither has engaged the Magic in trade talks.
The Warriors say they're not interested in trading Monta Ellis unless he's part of a package for Howard, sources tells Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link).
We covered some Howard-related links in our notes on the Warriors earlier this morning, as Golden State remains in the hunt for the Magic superstar. SI.com's Zach Lowe confirms the Warriors would be willing to acquire Howard without assurances he'd sign long-term or even opt into the final year of his contract next season. This seems a little crazy to me, but as Lowe points out, Golden State will likely have to break up its core at some point to become a legit title contender anyway. I suppose if the Warriors were able to deal David Lee along with Ellis and others, even just renting Dwight would create a ton of cap flexibility for future seasons. Still, I don't think it's a likely scenario.

Broussard On Gasol, Rondo, Ellis, Beasley, Kaman

February 29th, 2012 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to providing an update on the Dwight Howard sweepstakes, Chris Broussard shares rumors about a handful of big-name trade candidates in his latest Insider-only ESPN.com column. Let's dive in….

The Rockets still have interest in Pau Gasol but want to build around Kyle Lowry rather than include him in any Gasol deal. The Timberwolves haven't talked to the Lakers in months about Gasol, while the Bulls have shown some interest in the Spaniard.
Sources tell Broussard that the Celtics have determined they're not title contenders this year and would prefer to move Rajon Rondo rather than deal with the "headaches" he brings.
Broussard hears that if Monta Ellis were traded, the Warriors guard would like to join the Lakers, Bulls, or Magic (alongside Dwight Howard), but none of those scenarios appear realistic.
The Timberwolves offered Michael Beasley to the Lakers in exchange for the higher of L.A.'s two first-round picks, but were turned down. The Lakers are torn on Beasley — because L.A. is over the tax line, the team would be adding more than just Beasley's $6.26MM cap figure. I imagine they'd also prefer to use their trade exception to acquire a point guard.
The Hornets' asking price for Chris Kaman has dropped since earlier in the season. They're seeking a draft pick, even just a second-rounder, for the center.
LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum are "virtually untouchable" but the Blazers would talk about anyone else on their roster, particularly Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace.

Warriors Notes: Lopez, Ellis, Howard, Granger

February 29th, 2012 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors' second half got off to a rough start in Indiana last night, as Golden State fell behind by 31 points through three quarters en route to a 102-78 loss. As the Warriors look to regroup tonight in Atlanta, here are a few morning updates on the club:

According to both Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle and Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link), Warriors sources don't put much stock in the Monta Ellis/Brook Lopez rumor that surfaced this week. Thompson says the Warriors would want more than Lopez for Ellis.
That Lopez/Ellis rumor originally came up as part of a three-way deal that also involved Orlando and Dwight Howard. However, the Warriors are still more interested in pursuing Howard themselves than accomodating a trade that sends him to the Nets. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News runs through all the stars that would need to align for the Warriors to realistically make a play for Howard.
The Warriors must have a lot of confidence that they can convince Howard to re-sign with the team if they acquire him, tweets SI.com's Chris Mannix.
While the Warriors are still interested in Danny Granger, the Pacers won't deal him, says Thompson (via Twitter).

Odds & Ends: Howard, Wallace, Lopez, Ellis

February 28th, 2012 at 5:55pm CST by Michael Pina

While everyone is busy discussing possible deals that would ship Dwight Howard out of Orlando, Magic GM Otis Smith is probably thinking of trades that will bring in talent to convince his franchise piece that staying is the best option for everybody. With a roster full of bad contracts and young assets not worth enough to bring back immediate value, this could ultimately pose as an impossible task. Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel takes a crack at it anyway, offering a few ideas that could get the team some enticing players, such as Monta Ellis and Amare Stoudemire.

Here's a look across the league at some other rumors that are being batted around:

Matt Steinmentz of CSNBayArea.com gives his views on the rumored deal between Golden State and New Jersey centered around Brook Lopez and Monta Ellis. He argues from the Warriors viewpoint that giving up your best player for a center who does not rebound wouldn't be a smart decision. Especially since they already have David Lee, a big man who's able to face up with the ball, just like Lopez.
The New York Times NBA blog, Off The Dribble, takes a stab at analyzing how effective Rasheed Wallace could be if Los Angeles did in fact sign him to come aboard for the rest of 2012. The consensus feeling is that if Wallace does in fact come back, defense would be the one thing in his game he's guaranteed to bring with him. Meanwhile, the Lakers still need someone small and athletic to create off the dribble and defend the pick and roll.
The next super team may be in Dallas, but only if they can fit everyone in at an appropriate financial number. Zach Lowe of SI.com's The Point Forward gives a brilliant breakdown of what the Mavericks would have to do, exactly, if they wanted to lock up both Dwight Howard and Deron Williams this summer. In the end, it's not as easy as it seems.
In his preview piece for tonight's game between Boston and Cleveland, Sam Amico from Fox Sports Ohio writes that a Jermaine O'Neal for Michael Beasley trade has been making the rounds lately. In terms of salary and production the deal makes moderate sense, but if you're Minnesota there must be more you could get back than a hobbled big man. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently wrote about Beasley as a possible trade candidate.

Brook Lopez Rumors: Tuesday

February 28th, 2012 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

Playing against Dwight Howard and the Magic in the Nets' last game before the All-Star break, Brook Lopez scored 15 points, grabbed four boards, and blocked a pair of shots. While the performance wasn't exceptional, and wasn't enough to help New Jersey avoid a loss, it was a good step forward for Lopez in just his second game back from foot surgery. Here are today's Lopez-related items, as he prepares to return to action in Dallas tonight:

The Magic don't have a ton of interest in Lopez in a Howard trade, but he's inexpensive and even decent big men are hard to find, says Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links).
There are "renewed rumblings" about the Warriors landing Lopez in a multi-team Howard trade, according to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post. This scenario, which Vecsey suggests would include Monta Ellis going to Orlando, sounds like a real long-shot to me.

Kyler On Rondo, Diaw, Mavs, Ellis, Scola

February 28th, 2012 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

Over at HoopsWorld, Steve Kyler kicks off a quick look at trade possibilities for all 30 teams, running alphabetically from Atlanta through Houston. Let's check out a few of Kyler's notes….

The general belief is that Rajon Rondo will remain a Celtic past March 15th unless Boston is blown away by an offer.
Bobcats sources say the team has received inquiries on Boris Diaw, who has an expiring contract worth $9MM.
Sources close to the Mavericks say the team views Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones as "possible sweeteners" in an offseason sign-and-trade deal for Dwight Howard or Deron Williams.
If the Warriors decide to move Monta Ellis, any deal may have to include a contract like David Lee's or Andris Biedrins' as well. According to Kyler's sources, the Warriors offered Ellis to the 76ers for Andre Iguodala at the start of the season.
Concerns about Luis Scola's knees may make it tough for the Rockets to find full value for him on the trade market.
For more on the ten teams covered in Kyler's piece, check out our Assessing Stocks series, which, coincidentally, has covered the same ten clubs.

The Asking Price For Monta Ellis

February 23rd, 2012 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Warriors working actively to find a trade they like before the deadline, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News decided to explore what sort of package Golden State could be seeking for Monta Ellis, one of the team's prime trade chips.

According to Kawakami, the Timberwolves and Warriors discussed a trade last June, with the Timberwolves offering Michael Beasley and Nikola Pekovic for Ellis, while the Warriors wanted to expand the deal to land Minnesota's top draft pick as well. As Kawakami points out, Minnesota wouldn't make such an offer now, with Pekovic having taken a huge step forward this season (17.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG in February), but at the time, each side thought the other was asking for too much.

Ellis' 2011/12 numbers have been as good as ever – his 19.4 PER would be a career high – so there's no reason to think the Warriors have dropped their asking price since June. Golden State is thought to be seeking a young star in return for Ellis, and Kawakami hears the team doesn't want to trade the 26-year-old for just cap relief.

But is there a team out there who would part with a young star for Ellis? As talented as he is, the former second-round pick is an undersized two guard who isn't particularly strong on defense, and is owed $11MM per season through 2013/14. I can't think of many teams who would be willing and able to meet the Warriors' asking price, and I can't see the Warriors lowering their demands much, given Ellis' scoring prowess. Unless something changes over the next few weeks, I think we should expect Ellis to remain in Golden State past March 15th.

Assessing Stocks: Golden State Warriors

February 19th, 2012 at 9:42pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Portfolio Review: The ownership and coaching staff has changed, but so much has remained the same for the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are in the basketball equivalent of hell, which is ninth seed purgatory. They are not quite good enough to be in the playoffs, and not bad enough to get top level talent through the draft.

The backcourt is the team's strength between Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson, but they also represent the best trade assets the team has going forward. Word is the Warriors are interested in Dwight Howard still. While it's doubtful they land him, it shows they are willing to blow things up for the right price. They need to. Even if it means taking a step or two back to start pushing forward again.

Prime Assets: The easy answer is Ellis, though the answer is not as easy as it was at the beginning of the season. Curry's ankle woes are a little concerning, and help obscure the Ellis vs. Curry debate a little.

Ellis is the Warriors' best player. Still, there are legitimate questions to how far a team can go with an undersized, high usage shooting guard not named Allen Iverson. If Ellis is your team's best player, what is the ceiling for your team? Ellis for draft picks or a frontcourt piece could work (the Utah Jazz, for example, have a plethora of big men and lack a dynamic perimeter threat). If the trade picks up an asset and drops the Warriors out of the middle of the first round and into a top ten pick over the next couple of years, it might even prove to benefit the team.

Worthless Stock: Andris Biedrins. Big, mobile big men are always going to have some value. But one on a big contract whose career is currently stalled by a phobia of free throw attempts?

The Rest: Curry should only be available for a near elite talent or top ten pick in this draft. For the former, given that Curry is on his rookie contract, he would probably have to be packaged with David Lee. Thompson could be a solid third guard on a good team eventually and merits holding onto. Dorell Wright might fetch a good first round pick for a potential playoff team, but is young, cheap, and understands his role well enough to be part of the answer going forward.

Pacific Notes: Ellis, Kings, Suns, Williams, Blake

February 16th, 2012 at 9:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Seattle mayor Mike McGinn is reportedly set to unveil details of Christopher Hansen's proposal for a new sports arena later this afternoon. However, while Seattle is making strides toward returning to the NBA, it will likely need to relocate another franchise to do so. The Kings are the most likely candidates to be relocated, so let's check in on the progress on Sacramento's new arena, along with some other notes out of the Pacific….

The Suns hosted a free agent work out today, with Michael Finley and Jermaine Taylor in attendance, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
It has become clear that Monta Ellis is expendable in Golden State, writes Monte Poole of the Bay Area News Group. Poole says that rookie guard Klay Thompson has been getting more playing time as it becomes clear to the Warriors that they will continue to struggle if Ellis remains their best player.
Sacramento is seeking a contribution of about $85MM toward a new arena from the Maloofs, according to a report from the Sacramento Bee. It's not yet known whether the NBA, negotiating on the Kings' behalf, will agree.
Suns owner Robert Sarver and president of basketball operations Lon Babby are confident the team can become competitive again in the near future, writes Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic. The team still doesn't plan to trade Steve Nash unless he asks out, and isn't interested in a full-scale "blow-up" since that process would mean not contending for several years.
Reports last week suggested Mo Williams was unsatisfied with his role for the Clippers, but Williams told Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld that's not the case.
Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News wonders if the Lakers' point-guard issues could be solved in part by Steve Blake rather than a free agent signing or trade acquisition.