Samuel Dalembert Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs, Knicks, Thunder Complete Three-Way Deal

January 5th, 2015 at 9:56pm CST by Zachary Links

9:56pm: The Thunder, Cavs, and Knicks all announced the deal via press release.

“Dion Waiters is a player that we’ve tracked and liked since his time at Syracuse, in the NBA, and with USA Basketball. Dion provides another proven scorer that positively impacts our roster and adds depth and flexibility,” said Presti in OKC’s release. “We have a lot of respect for his toughness and competitiveness, and believe that he is a physical playmaker who will enhance the versatility of our team. We are excited to welcome Dion to Oklahoma City and the Thunder organization.”

The Thunder’s draft pick being conveyed is protected 1-18 in 2015 and 1-15 in 2016 and 2017, respectively, according to the release from the Thunder. Should the pick not convey during this period, Oklahoma City would send the Cavs its second round draft picks in 2018 and 2019.

The Knicks’ release also makes it official that Dalembert has been waived.

8:26pm: The Knicks will receive Thomas, Amundson, and Kirk in the deal but will only keep Thomas, according to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). The Knicks will also waive Dalembert.

The Cavs are sending their 2019 second-round pick to the Knicks, sources tell Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The duo hears that team officials spoke with LeBron James about his willingness to play alongside Smith before executing the deal.

Even though the deal weakens the Knicks in the short-term, Beck (link) hears that the Knicks are not giving up on the season. The Knicks plan on making more moves between now and the February trade deadline.

At present, it appears that the deal will have Waiters going to the Thunder, Shumpert and Smith going to the Cavs, and Thomas, Amundson, and Kirk going to the Knicks. In addition, the Cavs will receive a future first-round pick from the Thunder and the Knicks will get the Cavs’ 2019 second-round choice.

Waiters has been the subject of trade talks for some time and the Cavs were reportedly telling teams around the league that they’d be willing to part with him. Cleveland wanted Grizzlies big man Kosta Koufos, who would fit the bill as the “difference-making center” they were after, but they have found another deal in this proposed three-way swap. Waiters, 23, has averaged 10.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.7 RPG – all career lows – through 33 games this season. The former No. 4 overall pick was reportedly being shopped in August as well, but the Cavs couldn’t find a suitable deal. Waiters might not be the most complete player in the NBA, but he is a scoring threat and should add lots of punch for OKC off of the bench.

The Knicks wanted to trade Smith more than anyone else, according to a December report from ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard. In fact, the Knicks have been huddling up internally for some time to figure out how they could move the polarizing guard. There hasn’t been much trade buzz surrounding Smith in recent weeks, but the Knicks were able to find a taker in tonight’s three-team blockbuster. The 29-year-old New Jersey native is averaging 10.9 PPG, 3.4 APG, and 2.4 RPG this season. The scoring output is his lowest since his sophomore season in 2005/06. His PER rating of 11.7 – a career low – tells a more complete story of his struggles this season. Thanks to his 15% trade kicker, Smith will collect on something of a belated Christmas bonus.

Shumpert, 24, has been a mainstay on Hoops Rumors and on the back pages of the New York tabloids for the last two seasons. The Knicks might not have been intent on moving Shumpert, but by including him they were able to move both his salary and Smith’s without taking much back. The combo guard is averaging 9.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 3.3 APG in 26 minutes per contest this season. Shump is also headed towards restricted free agency this offseason and the Knicks, ostensibly, weren’t going to make a big play to retain him.

The Knicks didn’t add much in terms of assets, but they have greatly improved their financial situation by moving Smith’s substantial contract. The guard is making nearly $6MM this season and he holds a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for 2015/16. It’s possible that the shooting guard could turn down the option in order to seek a more lucrative multi-year deal, but that’s not a risk that Phil Jackson & Co. were willing to take. Beyond the financial benefit of moving Smith’s deal, the Knicks are also moving a player who might not be a wonderful locker room presence.

Knicks To Waive Samuel Dalembert?

January 5th, 2015 at 4:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

4:45pm: The Knicks are actively trying to trade Dalembert prior to Wednesday to avoid facing the decision to retain or waive him on that day, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

8:48am: With the Knicks’ season in a seemingly hopeless freefall, having lost 11 games in a row, and their record currently sitting at a dismal 5-31 overall, the team is considering numerous options for altering its roster. One change that could happen by this Wednesday is the team possibly waiving center Samuel Dalembert, Marc Berman of The New York Post reports.

This coming Saturday, January 10th, is the NBA’s leaguewide contract guarantee date. All players with non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts still on team rosters on that date will have the remainder of their salaries guaranteed for the season. But in order for any franchise to clear undesirable or unwanted contracts off of its books, players will need to clear waivers in advance of this deadline. This means that any players, including Dalembert, would need to be placed on waivers by no later than 4:00pm Central time this Wednesday, January 7th. This would allow the requisite two days that players remain on waivers to pass prior to Saturday’s deadline.

The reason that Dalembert’s name has come up as a possibility to be waived is that only $1.98MM of his $4.05MM contract is guaranteed, Berman notes. So New York can save itself a cool $2.07MM by releasing the big man prior to the cutoff date. Waiving Dalembert would open up a roster spot for the Knicks to add a younger D-League player or sign a veteran who was waived by another team, Berman adds. One such player that the Knicks are possibly looking to sign to a 10-day contract is D-League point guard Langston Galloway, though New York is already painfully thin in the frontcourt, something releasing Dalembert and signing Galloway would not rectify.

New York is considering every option currently, Berman reports, which means that the Knicks could retain Dalembert and try to acquire an asset by trading him to a club looking to add a defensive big man for a playoff push, the New York Post scribe adds. There are numerous teams that are desperate to add a rim protecting big man, including Cleveland, Dallas, and Miami, though I’m merely speculating on their potential interest in Dalembert.

Dalembert certainly hasn’t been setting the league on fire with his performance for the Knicks, who were hoping that he could help replace the defensive presence of Tyson Chandler, whom the Knicks traded to Dallas prior to the season, in a deal which netted them Dalembert. In 32 appearances, including 21 as a starter, Dalembert has averaged an underwhelming 4.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 17.0 minutes per game. He hasn’t fit well into the triangle offense that the Knicks are attempting to implement, though judging by the team’s record, he’s hardly the only one.

For his part, Dalembert is currently in the dark about what the Knicks’ plans for him are, Berman notes. “Maybe you know more than me,’’ Dalembert said. “I love it here. I love the team we have. Unfortunately we’re going through what we’re going through right now. It’s a great organization. I would love for my career to finish here, but it’s business. A lot of times it’s beyond your control. I’ll still see how it goes and enjoy the time.’’

Team president Phil Jackson could soon decide the best thing for the Knicks’ long-term future is playing their younger players, which could also affect Amar’e Stoudemire ’s status, Berman also notes. Stoudemire missed his fifth straight game on Sunday night, and he could also eventually be waived to open up a roster spot, Berman opines. There is no immediate deadline to do so for Stoudemire, since the remainder of his $23,410,968 salary for this season is fully-guaranteed, though March 1st is the final date that players can be waived and be eligible to play in the postseason for another team.

Anderson Varejao Suffers Torn Achilles

December 24th, 2014 at 11:17am CST by Chuck Myron

Tests revealed that Anderson Varejao has suffered a torn Achilles tendon, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The injury to his left leg is indeed expected to knock him out for the rest of the season, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. All signs were pointing to the injury having been a torn Achilles, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio heard shortly before the news broke (Twitter link). An MRI this morning revealed the tear, as Wojnarowski notes in a full story. The 32-year-old couldn’t put any weight on the leg when he exited Tuesday’s game after the injury occured.

It’s a tough blow for the Cavs, who guaranteed his nearly $9.705MM salary for this season when they signed him to a three-year extension in the fall. Cleveland can apply to the NBA for a disabled player exception worth 50% of his salary, or more than $4.582MM. The Cavs had inquired about the possibility of signing Josh Smith before Varejao went down, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group (Twitter link), but that was chiefly a matter of the team doing its due diligence, Haynes cautions. The Knicks are making Samuel Dalembert available, according to Wojnarowski, but his acquisition would be a “last resort” for the Cavs, Wojnarowski tweets.

Cleveland has been in talks with the Celtics in recent days about Boston’s willingness to participate in a trade as a third team, as Windhorst and ESPN colleague Marc Stein wrote overnight. The Cavs have long been looking for a rim-protector, and they appear poised to intensify that search now that they’ll be without their only starting-caliber center.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Knicks, Dalembert

June 26th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Zachary Links

Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe spoke to rival execs who offered up anonymous advice for Celtics GM Danny Ainge heading into tonight’s draft. “You’ve got to get Love,” said one Western Conference scout. “You could argue or suggest that you roll the dice on Andrew Wiggins being an All-Pro or Joel Embiid being the next dominant center, but you can’t argue that anybody at 6 and 17 will be better than what Kevin Love, barring injury, will be for a minimum of the next 10 years. You’re basically dealing for one of the conservatively 10 best players in basketball. You can’t turn that down.” Meanwhile, another exec says Boston should hold on to their two first-round choices. Here’s more from around the league..

Marc Berman of the New York Post (on Twitter) hears that the Knicks have no intention of waiving Samuel Dalembert to turn their taxpayer mini midlevel exception to a full mid-level exception of $5MM. The Knicks like the shot blocker and want him on the roster this season.
It’s hard to get read on how far Dario Saric will fall, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Several lottery teams liked him before he signed his deal in Turkey and one exec thinks that the Celtics at No. 17 is his floor.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com wonders if the Tyson Chandler deal can help the Knicks hold on to Carmelo Anthony.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (on Twitter) opines that the Celtics won’t land Love today as they have a better shot of getting a deal done in-season.
The Knicks acquired a $3,637,073 trade exception equal to the salary of Raymond Felton in Wednesday’s trade with the Mavericks. Meanwhile, the Mavs get a trade exception worth $1,536,960 from Shane Larkin’s salary.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Knicks, Mavs Swap Chandler, Calderon

June 25th, 2014 at 7:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:02pm: The Knicks have officially announced the deal. The only picks changing hands are the two second-rounders for this year moving from Dallas to New York.

4:50pm: The Knicks and Mavs have reached agreement on their rumored trade, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal sends Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to Dallas in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, picks Nos. 34 and 51 in Thursday’s draft, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports detailed in earlier reports. It’s unclear if future second-round draft consideration will also head New York’s way.

The Mavs had planned a summer pursuit of Chandler, the center on their 2011 title team, three years after letting him go. Knicks president Phil Jackson seemed to dismiss the notion that he told Felton to expect to be traded, but other reports have indicated the Knicks were in the market for an upgrade at the point, which Calderon provides. Felton slumped this past season, and this week he agreed this week to plead guilty to a felony gun charge in a plea agreement that will allow him to avoid jail time.

The deal removes some of New York’s flexibility for the summer of 2015, since Calderon’s contract calls for him to make in excess of $7.4MM in 2015/16 and more than $7.7MM in 2016/17. J.R. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for 2015/16, but the Knicks otherwise don’t have commitments for that season. The trade would allow Dallas more cap flexibility for that summer, since Chandler’s contract is up after next season and Felton’s player option for 2015/16 is about $3.95MM.

Dalembert’s approximately $3.867MM salary is partially guaranteed for $1.8MM next season. He also has a 15% trade kicker on his deal that the Mavs would be responsible for paying. Chandler would receive $500K from the Knicks thanks to a trade kicker in his deal.

Knicks Trying To Move Dalembert, Larkin

June 25th, 2014 at 5:55pm CST by Cray Allred

The Knicks are trying to move Samuel Dalembert and Shane Larkin after agreeing to acquire both in a trade with the Mavs today, tweets Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal. New York is receiving both players alongside Jose Calderon, Wayne Ellington and both of Dallas’s second round draft picks in the first deal.

Herring doesn’t identify any teams New York is targeting with the duo. The Knicks have been seeking a first round pick, as well as cap flexibility for the 2015/16 season. Both Dalembert’s and Larkin’s contracts can come off the books by then, so presumably New York would be seeking a draft pick and not a player out of the pair, although that’s just my speculation. The Knicks could package both players and/or one or both of their newly acquired second-rounders to try and break into the first round.

There is the possibility that the Knicks/Mavs trade signals a shift from the aforementioned strategy in New York, however. Calderon is an upgrade at point guard whose contract will carry into the 2016/17 season, and Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (video link) suggests that the move could be the first of many to turn the Knicks into a playoff team in 2014/15. In that case, a deal from president Phil Jackson could target win-now type pieces.

Larkin was selected No. 18 overall in the 2013 draft, and spent time playing point guard between Dallas and their D-League affiliate throughout the season. He averaged 10.2 MPG in 48 NBA contests. Dalembert has played with different teams in each of the last four seasons, and the center appears on his way to play for his fifth team in five years.

Mavs, Knicks Close To Chandler, Calderon Deal

June 25th, 2014 at 4:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:04pm: The 51st overall pick in Thursday’s draft would go to the Knicks, too, Wojnarowski tweets.

4:01pm: The Mavs would also send the 34th overall pick in Thursday’s draft to New York, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter).

3:58pm: The deal will be finalized today, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

3:36pm: The teams are on the verge of an agreement, Stein writes in his full story. Wayne Ellington and future second-round draft considerations would also go to New York, Stein adds. The deal could be finalized before July 1st with the inclusion of Ellington, who allows it to meet salary-matching requirements.

3:19pm: The Mavs and Knicks are in advanced discussions on a trade that would send Raymond Felton and Tyson Chandler to Dallas in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert and Shane Larkin, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Dallas would have to give up additional players in order for the trade to become official before July 1st, though it seems likely the teams envision completing the trade after the July moratorium, when it wouldn’t send the Mavs over the luxury tax line and trigger stiffer salary-matching constraints.

Such a proposal in its current form would allow the Knicks to clear a significant amount of salary, though it probably wouldn’t be enough to clear cap room if Carmelo Anthony re-signs. It would similarly crimp the Mavs’ pursuit of Anthony and other top-tier free agents, though it seems reasonable to suspect there may be other players involved.

Dallas has coveted Chandler, whom the team gave up in 2011 after he helped the Mavs to their only NBA title. Knicks president Phil Jackson denied a report that he told Felton to expect a trade this summer, but the point guard is coming off a subpar season and agreed this week to plead guilty to a felony gun charge in a plea agreement that will allow him to avoid jail time. Other reports have linked the Knicks to soon-to-be free agent point guards.

The deal would remove some of New York’s flexibility for the summer of 2015, since Calderon’s deal has him making more than $7.4MM in 2015/16 and more than $7.7MM in 2016/17. Still, it would be the only guaranteed salary on the books for New York past this season, though J.R. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM. Similarly, the move would allow Dallas more cap flexibility for that summer, since Chandler’s contract is up after next season and Felton’s player option for 2015/16 is about $3.95MM.

Dalembert’s approximately $3.867MM salary is partially guaranteed for $1.8MM next season. He also has a 15% trade kicker on his deal that the Mavs would be responsible for paying. Chandler would receive $500K from the Knicks thanks to a trade kicker in his deal.

Mavs To Retain Samuel Dalembert

April 1st, 2014 at 11:48am CST by Chuck Myron

Samuel Dalembert‘s contract with the Mavs is only guaranteed for $1.8MM of its full value of nearly $3.9MM for next season, but Dallas doesn’t intend to waive him and pocket the savings, GM Donnie Nelson tells Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Dalembert will “absolutely” return for 2014/15, Nelson says, though the exec admits that the team signed him because there were few other palatable options after Dwight Howard and others went elsewhere.

“It was like the prom and we were the last two ones standing by the wall,” Nelson joked. “Well, you want to do this thing or not?”

There’s plenty of time for the Mavs to change their minds about Dalembert, whose contract won’t become fully guaranteed until January 7th, 2015. For the time being, it appears Dallas is content to enter the summer with the 6’11” center on their books at full price. The Mavs still have plenty of flexibility, as Dalembert’s entire salary would push their commitments only slightly above $30MM. Still, that figure doesn’t count a new contract for Dirk Nowitzki, whose deal is up at season’s end.

The Mavericks had reportedly discussed the notion of trading for Dalembert for years before signing him, believing he’d be an effective complement to Nowitzki, so Nelson’s suggestion that the team signed Dalembert merely as a last resort conflicts with that. The 32-year-old Dalembert has played just 20.3 minutes per game this season for the Mavs, but owner Mark Cuban recently called him the “steal” of last year’s free agent class.

Western Notes: Love, Papanikolaou, Jazz

March 28th, 2014 at 7:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There are rumors circulating that the Lakers will attempt to use this year’s high lottery pick to assemble the sort of trade package that finally convinces the Timberwolves to part with Kevin Love and end the uncertainty that hangs over this franchise even before the 25-year-old enters the final year of his contract, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Many in NBA circles believe that Love will eventually end up in Los Angeles, either via trade or free agency. He grew up in California, attended UCLA and his father, Stan, played for the Lakers, notes Stein.

Texas Notes: Spurs, Parsons, Cuban

February 11th, 2014 at 8:30pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here’s what we’ve rounded up out of Texas tonight:

It’s unlikely that the Spurs can find a trade solution that would be worth tampering with their depth and chemistry, opines Dan McCarney of Spurs Nation. Though San Antonio recently hasn’t been at full strength, McCarney thinks the smartest option would be to wait until the team becomes fully healthy and give them an opportunity to recapture their form from last year’s postseason.
The Rockets are faced with two scenarios with regard to Chandler Parsons‘ contract status; they either can choose to decline is $964K team option for 2014/15 and let him hit restricted free agency this summer, or exercise that option, pay him that aforementioned amount next season, and let him reach unrestricted free agency. Houston would be best suited to delay his free agent payday another year, argues SB Nation’s Tom Ziller, who adds that the worst case scenario would involve Parsons playing 2014/15 on a cheap contract.
Compared to all of the starting centers that have been paired with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas, Samuel Dalembert has been the best bargain for the Mavericks as far as numbers are concerned, explains Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. Things might not have gotten off to the right start for Dalembert this year, but the 32-year-old center is averaging 12.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and shooting nearly 69% from the field over his last five games.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had some kind words for Mavs owner Mark Cuban, who was partly known for butting heads with former commissioner David Stern on more than one occasion: “There has been some public stuff around the edges between Mark and the league…but Mark’s input has been hugely beneficial to the league in so many areas the public will never hear about” (Darren Rovell of ESPN.com).
Silver had more to say about Cuban: “Mark epitomizes the new generation of owner who is all-in to his franchise and is involved in every aspect of the team…It’s not necessary that that be the model for others, but we welcome it. While you won’t hear this from many owners directly, Mark has attracted many of the new generation owners to the league.”