Samuel Dalembert

Mavs Target Samuel Dalembert, Brandan Wright

JULY 11th 11:49pm: Dalembert spent all day with the Mavs on Thursday, tweets ESPN's Marc Stein, and the sides are currently still in negotiations.  Stein also tweets that he's told the newly signed Jose Calderon was part of the Mavs contingent attempting to woo Dalembert to Dallas. 

JULY 10th 8:17pm: Dalembert will meet with the Mavs on Thursday in Dallas, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

JULY 10th 6:06pm: Wright texted Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com today to tell him that "Dallas is the clear-cut leader" for his services. Wright added that his agent, Jim Tanner, has begun to discuss a deal with the team.

JULY 10th 5:30pm: The Mavs are in the mix for Andrew Bynum, but he's not the only center who's drawing the team's attention. The team is in "serious discussions" with Brandan Wright, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, while Samuel Dalembert figures to be the Mavs' prime target should their pursuit of Bynum fall short, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Dalembert's upside clearly isn't what Bynum's is, but since it sounds like Bynum hasn't received any offers that include more than $6MM guaranteed, they could be in the same price range. Dalembert made $6,698,565 last season in the final year of a two-year, $13.7MM contract, but he's probably in line for a paycut after limited playing time with the Bucks.

It's not clear whether the Mavs' interest in Wright is tied to Bynum or Dalembert, but the team should be most familiar with him after he spent the past two seasons in Dallas. He put up career highs in points (8.5), rebounds (4.1), and minutes per game 18.0 this past season, prompting a handful of teams to join the Mavs as suitors, including the Hawks, Magic, Pistons, Raptors and Knicks. The Knicks have just a portion of the mini mid-level exception left, and Wright appears to be out of their price range, so it seems he'll command a nice raise from his $993K minimum salary of 2012/13.

Odds & Ends: Dalembert, Copeland, Barea, Nets

It's been another busy night in the Association, let's get caught up with the latest bits of news from around the league..

  • Samuel Dalembert is getting interest from ten teams and surprisingly, the Bucks aren't among them, tweets Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.  Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports that the Blazers are among the interested teams.
  • The Pacers continue to pursue Knicks guard Chris Copeland and Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that they have an offer on the table for the restricted free agent.
  • In an interview with El Nuevo Dia (translated by HoopsHype), Wolves guard J.J. Barea said that he won't ask for a trade, but would love to play for Nets coach Jason Kidd.
  • All indications are that fan favorite Brian Scalabrine is likely to join the Warriors coaching staff as an assistant, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link).
  • Carlos Delfino received interest from a team in China last week, one source told HoopsHype (link), but the interest wasn't mutual.  Delfino was recently cut loose by the Rockets.
  • The Grizzlies informed assistant coaches Henry Bibby and Mitchell Anderson that they won’t be retained, according to Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (on Twitter).

Kyler’s Latest: Howard, Hawks, Mozgov, Biedrins

Having already examined free-agents-to-be on postseason teams at each of the other four positions, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld turns his attention to the playoff centers heading for free agency this summer. Here are a few highlights from his piece:

  • The Lakers will be able to offer Dwight Howard over $30MM more than any other team, as I outlined here, but that doesn't mean he's a sure bet to be back. As Kyler notes, money and market are usually deciding factors, but L.A. will have to convince Howard that he won't be signing up for five more years as bad as 2012/13.
  • Zaza Pachulia will be recovering from a partially torn Achilles, raising significant questions about his next contract. The Hawks are unlikely to bring him back for more than the minimum, according to Kyler.
  • With Pachulia out in Atlanta, Johan Petro has improved his stock recently and could be in line for a new deal with the Hawks, particularly if the team strikes out on higher-profile targets.
  • Despite a report suggesting the Nuggets will extend a qualifying offer to Timofey Mozgov, Kyler is skeptical that Denver will really make such an offer (one year for nearly $4MM), since Mozgov could accept it. A two-year deal from another team is the most likely scenario for Mozgov, in Kyler's view. There has been enough reported interest for Mozgov that it wouldn't surprise me if the Nuggets retained him and considered him a trade asset going forward.
  • Kyler hears from sources that when Samuel Dalembert worked out for the Heat prior to the 2011/12 season, the team decided he had put on too much weight, and passed. As such, it's probably unlikely that Dalembert ends up in Miami this offseason.
  • Although Andris Biedrins is viewed as a lock to opt in to the final year of his contract, worth $9MM, Kyler wonders if the Warriors could convince him to opt out if it meant adding an extra year to his deal. For instance, the team could re-sign him to a two-year, $10MM pact to reduce his cap hit for 2013/14. I'd be surprised to see that happen though.

Eastern Notes: Dalembert, Adetokunbo, Cavs

We rounded up a few Western Conference notes earlier today, so let's head east and check in on the other conference….

  • Although Samuel Dalembert has expressed some interest in signing with the Heat this summer, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn't see Dalembert as more than a "fallback option" for Miami. Winderman isn't sure whether Dalembert would fit the Heat's culture, and thinks any interest from Miami would come later in free agency, if at all.
  • The Pistons are expected to scout Greek prospect Giannis Adetokunbo for the first time this weekend, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Hopefully they'll have better luck than scouts for the Spurs, Heat, Hawks, and Grizzlies — Sportando contributor David Pick reports they failed to secure game passes to watch Adetokunbo today and were refused credentials. Representatives from the Cavs and Jazz did get in, however (Twitter links).
  • New Cavs head coach Mike Brown has a long list of potential assistant candidates, and will begin getting in touch with them next week, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
  • John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines the merits of hiring Brian Shaw for the Sixers, noting that as of earlier this week, the team had yet to set up any interviews with potential coaching candidates.

Samuel Dalembert Has Interest In Heat

Samuel Dalembert didn't play in the Bucks' first playoff game against the Heat yesterday, and has only appeared in one game all month. If he does see action during Milwaukee's first round series though, he may be auditioning for his next team. The free-agent-to-be told Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that "the Heat will definitely be an option" when he searches for a new contract this summer.

"I love that option," Dalembert said of Miami's proximity to Haiti, where he was born. "That’s an option to move back and forth… I have a lot of family (in South Florida) and we have a lot of concentrated Haitian population here."

The Heat have had interest in Dalembert in the past, having explored signing him for their $3MM mini mid-level exception prior to the 2011/12 season. The big man had reservations about signing for that amount, and eventually landed a two-year, $13MM+ deal with the Bucks, while the Heat used their MLE on Shane Battier.

Whether or not Miami will pursue Dalembert again this summer remains to be seen, and could depend on whether the team decides to re-sign Chris Andersen, as Tomasson notes. As for Dalembert, he'll be looking for a chance to compete for a championship, and the Heat are a good bet to start next season as title favorites once again.

"It’s up to them and seeing what’s going to be out there," Dalembert said. "But at this point you want to be with a contending team. You don’t want to go backwards, so you want to chase that promised land."

Stein’s Latest: Josh Smith, Bucks, Mavs, Rockets

As rumors fly long past the NBA's trade deadline, Marc Stein of ESPN.com checks in with a Weekend Dime that's heavy on items about Josh Smith, as well as plenty of news about the Rockets. There's even a link between Smith and Houston, so let's dig in. 

  • The Bucks came closest to acquiring Smith at the deadline, as a source tells Stein that Atlanta's talks with the Sixers were never as serious as they were with Milwaukee
  • Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported earlier today that the Hawks nearly sent Smith to the Celtics, but Stein hears Atlanta's brass shared the concerns of many NBA teams that C's basketball president Danny Ainge would get cold feet about dealing one of his stars. Paul Pierce would have been sent to the Mavs in the rumored Smith-to-Boston trade.
  • The Hawks preferred to send Smith to the Western Conference, but were rebuffed by the Mavs, who refused to add a draft pick to a package that already included Vince Carter, Chris Kaman, Jae Crowder, Brandan Wright and Dahntay Jones. Many of those Mavericks were also part of the proposed three-way trade with the Celtics.
  • If the Rockets don't land top target Dwight Howard this summer, they'll turn their attention to Smith and Andrew Bynum next, sources tell Stein.
  • Aaron Brooks forfeited just under $3.4MM in his buyout from the Kings, Stein hears. Brooks was set to make $3.396MM next season on a player option, so presumably the buyout simply entailed him declining that option.
  • I took a look in January at all the former Rockets the team still has on the payroll, a list that's since grown even longer, as Stein notes. Houston has waived or bought out 10 players this season, all of whom are still on the team's cap.
  • Stein catches up with Thomas Robinson, who was surprised when the Kings drafted him last year and "shocked" when they traded him to the Rockets at the deadline.
  • There's a schism in thought around the league about whether Monta Ellis is leaning toward staying with the Bucks next season or exercising his early-termination option to hit free agency this summer. 
  • Samuel Dalembert is hitting free agency no matter what, but echoing his report before the trade deadline that Milwaukee was no longer trying to move Dalembert, Stein says the Bucks have some interest in re-signing the Haitian center.

Bucks Will Not Buy Out Dalembert

The Milwaukee Bucks will not buy out center Samuel Dalembert, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (via Twitter). Milwaukee tried to move the veteran center before last week's trade deadline with no success, leading to some speculation that they would buy him out to clear minutes for young big men John Henson, Larry Sanders, and Ekpe Udoh.

Dalembert, 31, is averaging 7.0 PPG and 5.8 RPG in the final year of a two-year contract he signed before the 2011/12 season. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Bucks Rumors: Redick, Udoh, Jennings, Dalembert

The Bucks are reportedly one of the teams most determined to make a deal before Thursday's trade deadline, and today has has brought more rumblings from out of Milwaukee, so let's dive right in and check out the latest….

  • Although the Bucks like J.J. Redick, the Magic aren't enamored with anything Milwaukee has offered so far, according to Sam Amick of Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
  • Yesterday's report on trade talks between the two teams suggested that Orlando had extended an offer of Redick for Luc Mbah a Moute and a first-round pick, but Amick and Zillgitt seem to suggest that offer may have come from the Bucks' side. The Magic don't like Mbah a Moute's contract, according to the USA Today report.
  • Ekpe Udoh is also drawing interest around the NBA, according to the USA Today duo.

Earlier updates:

  • Brandon Jennings appears to have moved alongside Larry Sanders and John Henson as the players the Bucks consider "untouchable," according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
  • The Mavericks had been the team most interested in Jennings, but they'd been pessimistic all along about their chances, knowing that the fourth-year guard is the closest thing Milwaukee has to a face of the franchise since the team traded Andrew Bogut a year ago, says Stein.
  • Although Samuel Dalembert was once considered one of the players most likely to be moved this season, the Bucks appear more inclined to keep him (and his expiring contract) after his solid recent play filling in for Sanders, according to Stein.
  • Stein also covers the latest on the Bucks' talks with the Hawks regarding Josh Smith, which we've recapped in our post dedicated to today's Smith rumors.

Sefko On Jennings, Dwight, Dalembert

Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW doesn't think the Mavericks will engage in any trades before Thursday, saying that the team's biggest issue – namely their rebounding deficiencies – will have to improve with the personnel they already have. He also participated in a chat with fans about trade deadline rumblings, and you can read some of the highlights here: 

  • Sefko says that the Mavs won't have much luck if they want to go after Brandon Jennings, being that his asking price would be too high for them to reach. 
  • Dallas hasn't been turned off by the way Dwight Howard's tenure has gone in Los Angeles, and Sefko thinks the Mavericks' chances of landing him over the summer notably improve if the Lakers fail to make the playoffs. 
  • Bucks center Samuel Dalembert would make sense as a trade target, but Milwaukee's price tag may be too high, especially if they want a young player in exchange. 
  • Sefko puts the Mavericks' chances of making a deal at 25%. 
  • While talking about the draft may be a little premature, Dallas would be wise to target a guard or a swingman once the NBA Draft comes along in June, says Sefko.

Bucks Pursuing Josh Smith, Shopping Everybody?

Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times has some updates in his latest notebook column on where the Milwaukee Bucks stand in several trade discussions leading up to Thursday's deadline:

  • The Bucks are considering making an offer to the Hawks for Josh Smith, writes Woelfel. Smith has been most openly courted by the Nets and Celtics, with Brooklyn reportledly offering MarShon Brooks and Kris Humphries and Boston offering Jeff Green and Brandon Bass. However, Woelfel believes that the Bucks' package could be equally attractive if they include Monta Ellis or Brandon Jennings. They could also make Ersan Ilyasova available in a package for Smith.
  • Woelfel writes that the Bucks are open to trading anyone on their roster and no one is off limits, although Ellis and Samuel Dalembert are the two players GM John Hammond would most like to move. Woelfel points to Beno Udrih and Mike Dunleavy as two other potentially attractive assets with expiring contracts.
  • Woelfel contradicts a previous report by ESPN on the status of Jennings, writing that the Bucks never made him a formal offer of a contract extension before the October deadline. Jennings is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer.
  • Forward Drew Gooden is no stranger to the trade deadline, Woelfel writes. The 11-year veteran has been traded five times during the season in his career.