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Trade Rumors: Celtics, George, Parker, Beverley

June 29th, 2017 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Celtics are reportedly still hoping to pull off a trade for Paul George after the new league year begins, Boston considers the Pacers‘ current demand for George unrealistic, per Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter links). Murphy notes that the C’s are currently waiting to hear back from Indiana president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard.

According to Murphy, the Pacers’ most recent demand in talks with the Celtics included the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick and the Lakers’ protected 2018 pick, plus at least one starting player. As we noted earlier today, Boston is willing to put multiple picks and players in an offer for George, but wants to retain its most valuable draft assets, such as those two aforementioned picks.

Let’s round up a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA…

  • Jabari Parker‘s latest ACL injury has complicated the Bucks‘ ability to potentially improve their roster this offseason, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who says that Milwaukee had been considering including Parker in trades at the deadline in February. “His name definitely came up, and it was obvious they’d have a steep price, but they were willing to talk about him,” one league executive tells Deveney.
  • The Cavaliers have been eyeing Patrick Beverley for “quite some time,” but a source familiar with the team’s thinking tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com that the veteran point guard probably isn’t going anywhere now that he’s a member of the Clippers. According to McMenamin, L.A. likes Beverley and might not be willing to deal him after landing him in Wednesday’s Chris Paul blockbuster, even if Cleveland could offer a solid package.
  • One challenge the Timberwolves‘ front office faces if it wants to move Ricky Rubio comes in the form of owner Glen Taylor, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Wolfson tweets that every Wolves trade goes through Taylor, who “loves” Rubio.
  • Executives around the NBA have questions about the way the Paul deal between the Rockets and Clippers went down, though an Eastern Conference exec says that no one’s going to “rat anybody out” when it comes to tampering. Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times has the details and the quotes.
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Clippers Trade Chris Paul To Rockets

June 28th, 2017 at 4:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Reversing his decision to head to the free agent market, Chris Paul has opted into the final year of his contract as part of a trade. The Clippers have sent Paul to the Rockets in exchange for a massive trade package, Houston confirmed today in a press release. The Clippers will receive the following pieces in the deal:Chris Paul vertical

“Since winning back-to-back championships, the pursuit of a third title has remained the ultimate goal for our franchise,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said in a statement. “We feel that combining two of the league’s greatest players in James Harden and Chris Paul, operating in Coach [Mike] D’Antoni’s system, gives us a championship caliber team that will compete at the highest level for years to come.”

The move is a bombshell, particularly since Paul had been expected to reach free agency this weekend — a report last week indicated that he had made the decision to opt out of his contract. However, CP3 had yet to formally file the paperwork to exercise that early termination option. Instead, he’ll waive the ETO, which will allow him to play out the final year of his deal and become eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2018, unless he signs an extension with Houston before next July. Paul is currently set to earn $24,268,959 in 2017/18.

According to Wojnarowski, the Clippers and Rockets reached an agreement after Paul informed L.A. that he intended to sign with Houston in free agency. From the Clippers’ perspective, the trade with Houston is a way to recoup some value for the star point guard and avoid losing him for nothing. Meanwhile, the Rockets will no longer have to worry about trying to dump a salary or two in order to create enough room for a maximum salary slot for Paul.

The Rockets, who were reported on Tuesday to be a “serious” threat in the Paul sweepstakes, have now secured their man before the free agent period even gets underway. The club’s star-studded backcourt will create an intriguing dynamic, since Harden is coming off an MVP-caliber season in which he served as Houston’s primary ball-handler. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Paul and Harden were “determined” to play together, so the duo is presumably unconcerned about how the ball-handling duties will be shared going forward.

It will be interesting to see if Rockets president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has anything else up his sleeve for the team in July. According to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, the club is still on the lookout for a third star to complement Paul and Harden. Houston was reportedly involved in Paul George trade talks, though the club surrendered some valuable assets in today’s move, so it’s not clear whether Morey still has enough pieces to interest the Pacers.

With Paul now headed to Houston, the Spurs – who were rumored to be a contender for Paul – will have to look elsewhere if they intend to sign a marquee free agent point guard. Teams around the NBA hoping to re-sign their own star point guards, such as the Pelicans (Jrue Holiday) and Raptors (Kyle Lowry), may also be breathing a little easier, since the Rockets were viewed as a team capable of shaking up the point guard market.

As for the Clippers, it’s not clear yet if today’s deal will be the first domino to fall in a full-fledged rebuilding process for the club, or merely a retooling of the roster. In Beverley and Williams, the Clips will acquire a pair of effective and affordable veteran guards who figure to step into key roles right away. Dekker is more of a wild card, but the 23-year-old big man flashed some upside in a rotational role for the Rockets last season, as did Harrell.

Paul’s departure also figures to be a factor in Blake Griffin‘s impending free agency. Unlike Paul, Griffin has formally exercised his ETO with the Clippers, so he’s on track to become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday. Given the reported tension between Paul and Griffin over the years, it’s possible that the trade of CP3 makes Griffin more likely to re-sign — Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (Twitter link) spoke to several league executives who speculated as much.

[RELATED: Clippers confident about re-signing Blake Griffin]

Because the combined salaries of Beverley, Dekker, and Williams – the package reported initially for the Clippers – weren’t enough for the Rockets to land Paul, Houston spent most of the day acquiring players with non-guaranteed salaries from other teams to include in the deal. Liggins and Hilliard will be flipped to the Clippers, but Tim Quarterman, Shawn Long, and Ryan Kelly, who were all traded to Houston earlier today, won’t be part of this transactions — Houston instead included Harrell and Wiltjer.

I explained the math from the Rockets’ perspective earlier today. By structuring the deal as they did, the Rockets will remain over the cap and will have the mid-level exception ($8.4MM) and bi-annual exception ($3.3MM) available to pursue free agents when the new league year begins.

The Clippers waived retiring forward Paul Pierce in order to adhere to the NBA’s offseason roster limit of 20 players.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links) broke news of the trade. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle and Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times were among those who reported key details along the way.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Rockets A Serious Threat For Chris Paul?

June 28th, 2017 at 12:16am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have emerged as an “increasingly serious” threat in the Chris Paul sweepstakes, league sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein is the second ESPN reporter this week to make such a claim — Chris Haynes said on Monday that he has heard Houston has a “serious chance” to land Paul.

According to Stein, MVP finalist James Harden has been advocating for the Rockets to go after Paul, having made his interest in playing alongside the veteran point guard clear to both the team and to CP3 himself.

As Stein notes, the Rockets would have to make some cost-cutting moves in order to clear the cap space necessary to make a real run at Paul. Ryan Anderson, Patrick Beverley, and Lou Williams are among the players believed to be on the trade block, with ESPN’s report suggesting that Houston is focused on finding a taker for Anderson’s salary, which will be worth nearly $20MM in 2017/18.

Despite the classification of the Rockets as a “serious” suitor for Paul, I’m skeptical of the fit. Houston excelled this past season playing a fast-paced style with Harden running the point. Paul has generally played at a much slower pace, and incorporating him into the offense would mean taking the ball out of Harden’s hands. Additionally, I think the Rockets would probably have to attach at least one valuable asset – such as a future first-round pick – to Anderson’s contract in order to gain any traction in trade talks.

Still, according to Stein, the Clippers continue to worry that Paul could bolt in free agency, and view Houston and San Antonio as legitimate threats. We heard earlier today that CP3’s camp sat down with the Clippers on Tuesday to discuss the point guard’s future. The two sides plan to meet again a few days from now.

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Green, Gobert Headline 2016/17 NBA All-Defensive Teams

June 26th, 2017 at 12:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2016/17 season, and Defensive Player of the Year finalists Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert, and Kawhi Leonard all earned a place on the First Team. Green led the way with 99 First Team votes, while Gobert received 97 votes for a spot on the First Team.

Here are the full rosters for the NBA’s All-Defensive teams:

First Team:

Second Team:

Avery Bradley (Celtics), Klay Thompson (Warriors), and John Wall (Wizards) were among the other players receiving votes who just missed out on an All-Defensive spot.

As Bobby Marks of The Vertical observes (via Twitter), Gobert’s cap hit for the 2017/18 season will now increase by $500K to $21.9MM based on his spot on the All-Defensive First Team.

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Jazz Rumors: Beverley, Rubio, Draft, Favors

June 22nd, 2017 at 4:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz continued this afternoon to engage in talks for Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune, who notes (via Twitter) that Utah also has another point guard on its radar.

It’s possible that other point guard is Timberwolves veteran Ricky Rubio. Jody Genessy of The Deseret News reports that Utah has explored the possibility of acquiring Rubio in a trade. However, Genessy acknowledges that there’s no traction on that front for now.

Here are several more Jazz-related rumors:

  • According to Genessey, the Jazz continue to be “very active” in trade talks as they explore the possibility of moving up in the draft. Utah currently has the 24th and 30th overall picks, but wouldn’t mind moving up into the 12-17 range to grab a shooter, sources tell The Deseret News.
  • The Jazz aren’t shopping Derrick Favors, who is entering the final year of his contract, but he is receiving “a lot of interest” from teams, says Genessy. Although Utah would prefer to keep Favors, he’s not entirely off-limits.
  • The Jazz still feel “pretty comfortable” that Gordon Hayward will remain with the team after opting out, but the club doesn’t know for sure, which is complicating offseason planning, writes Genessy.
  • Utah has increased its international budget, making a draft-and-stash prospect a possibility for one of the club’s picks tonights, per Genessy. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated tweets that the Jazz, Spurs, and Nets are all keeping a close eye on international big man Isaiah Hartenstein, who will likely be picked in the 20s tonight.
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Jazz Inquire About Patrick Beverley

June 21st, 2017 at 1:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz are among 12 teams that have contacted the Rockets about starting guard Patrick Beverley, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.

Sources tell Jones that Utah GM Dennis Lindsey is searching for a veteran point guard. Incumbent starter George Hill is a free agent and may not return to the team next season, although Jones hears that the Jazz will try to keep Hill even if they acquire Beverley.

While it may be trickier for the Jazz to land Beverley after July 1, the team would have plenty of flexibility to acquire him before the new league year begins. As our salary cap snapshot for Utah shows, the Jazz finished the season more than $13MM+ below the cap, which is more than enough room to accommodate Beverley’s $6MM salary. That cap room would disappear after July 1 due to pricey free agent cap holds.

The Rockets are reportedly trying to move Beverley, along with Ryan Anderson and Lou Williams to create cap space for a maximum offer to a top-level free agent.

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Rockets Actively Shopping Patrick Beverley?

June 20th, 2017 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets are actively shopping point guard Patrick Beverley in search of a deal, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. It’s possible that Houston will complete a trade involving Beverley before or during Thursday’s draft, per Deveney.

Deveney reports that Beverley has been open to being traded, and consulted with the Rockets about a possible offseason move. Although it’s not clear why Beverley might welcome a trade, he did see his role in Houston change a little this past season as James Harden assumed the point guard reins. Beverley’s 14.1% usage rate was a career low, though Deveney says the veteran guard liked playing for Mike D’Antoni.

[RELATED: Rockets plan to offer James Harden extension]

Beverley, who will turn 29 next month, was his usual reliable self for the Rockets in 2016/17, chipping in 9.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.5 SPG along with solid three-point shooting (.382 3PT%). His defensive ability also allowed the Rockets to have him guard the most dangerous backcourt threat on opposing teams, taking some pressure off Harden.

In addition to producing on both ends of the court, Beverley is currently a bargain. He’ll earn just $5.51MM in 2017/18 and $5.03MM in ’18/19 before becoming an unrestricted free agent. If the Rockets want to move him, they should have no shortage of potential trade partners.

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League Dishes Out Pair Of $25K Fines

April 23rd, 2017 at 3:55pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The NBA handed out two $25K fines, one to Rajon Rondo and one to Patrick Beverley, for separate incidents over the weekend.

Beverley got into a verbal altercation with Stuart Scaramucci, who is the son of Thunder minority owner Jay Scaramucci, after Game 3 of the Rockets-Thunder playoff series, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com details. Beverley fell near the younger Scaramucci during the game and immediately got up and started to complain about him to officials. The point guard said that Scaramucci was screaming obscenities and waved a clapper in his face while he was on the ground.

“If the NBA won’t or help protect players in situations with fans, I’m okay with the hazing, I’m okay with the boos, I’m okay with the other fans rooting for their team but I’m not okay with the blatant disrespect,” Beverley said (via ESPN’s Calvin Walkins). “…I’m not comfortable with that.

“So if the NBA won’t protect the players in that manner, I feel the need as a man, as a grown man who has children, who has morals, stand up for the right thing. I have to protect myself and I felt like I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. I felt like I addressed him and (said), ‘At the end of the day this is a basketball game this is a game, I’m a grown man, your a grown man, let’s keep it professional.’ Just like that. There’s no need for plant disrespect, and that’s all.”

Rondo was fined for something completely different. He wasn’t able to play in the Bulls’ Game 3 loss to the Celtics, but he was sitting courtside with his team. During the game, Rondo extended his leg and it appeared that he was attempting to trip Jae Crowder. After the game, he said he was not trying to trip anyone.

“When you tear an ACL, your legs get stiff on you every once in a while,” Rondo said (via ESPN’s Nick Friedell). “I stretched my leg out. I also do that throughout the game. I guess he was so deep into our bench, it looked maybe whatever may have happened.”

Crowder’s teammate, Gerald Green wouldn’t completely discount Rondo’s excuse.

“He may have had to stretch his leg out. I don’t know,” Green said. “I ain’t no snitch, so I don’t know. That’s not something I grew up being a part of. Where I’m from, they know snitches get stitches. So I don’t know.”

As a reminder, the money which the league generates from fines goes to charities chosen by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association. The NBPA has its own foundation and half of the money goes to that charity, while the NBA’s half goes to it NBA Cares community partners. Some of those partners included the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, UNICEF and Share Our Strength, according to Ahiza Garcia of CNN Money.

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Eastern Notes: Bulls, Okafor, Ainge, Lopez, Hawks

February 23rd, 2017 at 3:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

Before making today’s deal with Oklahoma City, the Bulls tried to obtain point guard Patrick Beverley from the Rockets, tweets Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago. Chicago reached out to Houston on Wednesday with an offer of Taj Gibson and Isaiah Canaan in exchange for Beverley, but the Rockets turned it down.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference on an active deadline day:

  • The Sixers didn’t trade center Jahlil Okafor, but it wasn’t because they didn’t try, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). He says Philadelphia made a strong effort to unload Okafor but was unable to find equal value so close to the deadline.
  • The Celtics were rumored to be seeking Jimmy Butler and Paul George, but decided to stand pat. GM Danny Ainge explained the conservative approach to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). “We had a lot of conversations,” Ainge said. “There were things we could do to improve our team, but nothing that was good enough to do.” The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski claims that Boston was willing to make both of the Nets‘ first-round picks available (Twitter link).
  • Nets GM Sean Marks didn’t indicate if he tried to trade Brook Lopez, tweets Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. “Brook’s here and we’re happy he’s here,” Marks said when asked about the veteran center. “He’s been the face of this franchise for a long time.”
  • After shipping Mike Scott to the Suns, the Hawks have two open roster spots, notes Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Twitter link). The team will focus on the buyout market and possibly D-League callups.
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Patrick Beverley Drawing Interest, Unlikely To Be Dealt

February 22nd, 2017 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley is receiving interest on the trade market, reports Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, who says that that the Bulls, Knicks, and Cavaliers are the primary suitors for Beverley. However, Watkins adds that Beverley would prefer to remain in Houston, and the team currently has no plans to move him (Twitter link).

Having agreed to acquire Lou Williams from the Lakers, the Rockets now have a little more depth in their backcourt, and with James Harden handling point guard duties for the club, perhaps rival teams saw an opportunity to pry Beverley away. However, the Rockets front office and coaches strongly value what Beverley brings to the club, as Watkins writes.

Beverley is a hard-nosed defender on a team known more for its offensive prowess. The 28-year-old also has a very favorable contract. After earning $6MM this season, he’ll make approximately $5.5MM next season and only about $5MM in 2018/19.

Earlier today, we learned that the Rockets have some interest in Iman Shumpert, and the Cavaliers would want Beverley in a deal involving Shumpert, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). It’s not clear what Chicago or New York would be willing to offer for the veteran guard.

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