Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Shannon Brown

Western Notes: Brown, Green, Morey, Ebanks

October 26th, 2013 at 4:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

Shannon Brown remains on the Wizards roster for now following last night’s trade, though the team is expected to let him go. He isn’t a lock to clear waivers, but if he does, HoopsWorld’s Steve Kyler hears he’d like to sign with the Lakers (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that several teams are interested, and Brown has yet to make up his mind. Fellow ESPN.com scribe Ramona Shelburne isn’t sure the Lakers will be too inclined to pick up Brown, since they already have 15 players under contract (Twitter link). Here’s more from the West:

  • After being bounced among seven NBA teams and two international stops by age 27, Gerald Green is OK with waiting for his turn to get minutes in the Suns‘ rotation, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.  Green, who came to Phoenix in the Luis Scola deal, is one of three small forwards on the team, but he should see more time at two-guard now that Brown is elsewhere.
  • Rockets GM Daryl Morey paid no attention to rumors that his job was on the line in recent years, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. “I heard second hand those rumblings, and it never made sense to me,” Morey said. “Maybe because I knew Mr. Alexander had a lot of faith in what we were doing and was really an architect in a lot of the strategy, so we were executing on a plan and the owner knew it. I think that, yeah, if we hadn’t been able to turn the corner like we hoped, then at some point he probably says, ‘Hey, I’ve got to change horses,’ and that’s fine. That’s his right. I wouldn’t have been bothered. But he had a lot of belief in us, and I don’t forget that.”
  • Former Lakers forward Devin Ebanks was among the players the Mavs cut this week, and he has committed to play with the the Texas Legends, the D-League affiliate of Dallas, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo (Twitter link).
  • Bob Myers was an agent before he became GM of the Warriors, and that experience shows in his masterful negotiations on extensions for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Curry, writes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group. We had plenty more on Bogut’s extension in a post earlier today.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Reaction To Suns/Wizards Trade

October 25th, 2013 at 11:10pm CST by Chuck Myron

Marcin Gortat took to Twitter to share his reaction to the trade that sent him from the Suns to the Wizards today, writing that he’s glad the deal happened before the season instead of in the middle of it. He also tweeted that he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward the Phoenix brass, calling Ryan McDonough “an amazing GM” for the Suns, and he expressed his excitement about playing with Nene. The man known as The Polish Hammer isn’t the only one with an opinion on the deal, and we’ve got more insight here:

  • J. Michael of CSNWashington.com calls the trade a win for both teams, and believes the three others headed to the Wizards in this deal — Kendall Marshall, Malcolm Lee and, in particular, Shannon Brown — could be claimed on waivers when Washington cuts them, as expected. If another team claims them, it would take their salaries off the Wizards’ books.
  • The pressure is on the Wizards to make the playoffs, and the trade makes the need for a postseason berth even more dire for GM Ernie Grunfeld and coach Randy Wittman, according to USA Today’s Adi Joseph, who thinks there was a touch of desperation involved.
  • TNT’s David Aldridge disagrees that the Wizards made the deal out of desperation, calling it “a classic NBA trade” involving one team with playoff hopes and another one robbing the present to invest in the future.
  • Miles Plumlee‘s development makes the loss of Gortat easier to stomach, McDonough told reporters, including Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. “Miles Plumlee’s progress is a big reason we did this trade,” McDonough said. “Miles was a big part of the deal we did with Indiana (also getting Gerald Green and a pick for Luis Scola). Our coaching staff has been very pleased with Miles. He’s improved ever since he left Duke and a lot in the short time he’s been with us.”
  • There have been trade rumors swirling around Gortat since last season, but McDonough said the team wasn’t especially anxious to move him, as Coro notes in the same piece. “We think he’s an above-average center and it took a great deal to do it,” the GM said, adding that “the way we build the next great Suns team is through the draft.”
  • There are fears that Suns acquisition Emeka Okafor will miss the entire season, as we noted earlier.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Wizards Acquire Marcin Gortat From Suns

October 25th, 2013 at 6:02pm CST by Luke Adams

6:02pm: The Wizards have officially announced the trade on their website. The Suns have also made an announcement via their site.

5:23pm: TNT’s David Aldridge’s tweets more about the protection on the first-round pick the Wizards are sending to Phoenix: If it falls inside the top 12 for 2014, it’ll be top-10 protected from 2015 through 2019, and unprotected after that.

4:24pm: The Wizards will acquire Marcin Gortat from the Suns, according to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (via Twitter). Stein reports that Emeka Okafor will head to Phoenix in the deal, while Shannon Brown and Kendall Marshall will join Gortat en route to Washington (Twitter link).

Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com fills in a couple more details, tweeting that the Suns will acquire a protected 2014 first-rounder, while Malcolm Lee will also head to Washington. According to Goodman (via Twitter), the first-round pick acquired by Phoenix will be top-12 protected in ’14. The Suns now hold the Pacers’, Wolves’, and Wizards’ first-round picks, in addition to their own.

For the Wizards, the move will provide more scoring punch in the frontcourt, not to mention a healthier center — Okafor is out indefinitely with a herniated disc, whereas Gortat can be plugged into the lineup immediately. Brown, Marshall and Lee appear to be salary throw-ins, as Michael Lee of the Washington Post tweets that they aren’t expected to stick in Washington.

By reaching an agreement before the season begins, the Wizards will be able to complete the four-for-one trade without waiving three players already on their roster. Once Washington finalizes the deal, it will have 18 players on guaranteed contracts, three of which will need to be dropped before opening night, and it looks like the three extra players in this swap are the prime candidates.

All five players involved in the trade are essentially on expiring contracts. Only Marshall has years on his deal beyond 2013/14, but the final two years on his contract are team options, which the Wizards could decline if they so choose.

For the Suns, the deal clears up their roster logjam. Phoenix had 17 players with full or partial guarantees, but now will be carrying just 14 players, giving the club the option of adding another free agent.

The salaries going in both directions nearly match up exactly, so neither team gains a significant amount of cap relief in the deal, but the Wizards should save about $370K in the move. Considering the team had less than $1MM in breathing room before hitting the tax line, that extra flexibility could come in handy by season’s end. Washington also should create a small trade exception in the transaction which, by my calculations, will be worth about $1.25MM.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Western Links: Brown, Mavericks, Clippers

June 29th, 2013 at 9:39pm CST by Spencer Lund

The deadline for the Suns to waive Shannon Brown in order to pay half of his $3.5MM salary for the 2013/14 season has passed, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter). Brown was re-signed to a two-year deal worth $7MM with excess Suns' cap room in July of 2012.

The Suns could waive Brown and only eat half of his $3.5MM contract if they did so before whichever occurred first: 36 hours after 11:59 pm the day of the 2013 NBA Draft, or June 30th. That first deadline has passed, so now the Suns are on the hook for the full amount.

Here are some more notes on the Western Conference, including Kobe Bryant's thoughts on Dwight Howard's free agency:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Pacific Notes: Kings, Suns, Brown, Lakers, Kobe

April 15th, 2013 at 8:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's a look at the latest out of the Pacific..

  • The Sacramento group hoping to purchase the Kings got reinforcements today when venture capitalist Naren Gupta and tech entrepreneur Andy Miller came aboard, writes Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis, and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee.  Primary investor Vivek Ranadive laid out an ambitious vision for the club to transform it into a "global brand", but offered little in the way of details on their actual purchase offer for the team.  Earlier today, we looked at the latest in the Kings ownership battle.
  • Shannon Brown is less-than-thrilled with his bench role in Phoenix, writes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.  Brown said that the upside of it all is that he's saving his body for next season, a year in which the Suns have him under contract but only $1.75MM of his $3.5MM deal is guaranteed.
  • Larry Coon of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) explains how the Lakers can use the CBA to their advantage in the wake of Kobe Bryant's injury.  While GM Mitch Kupchak says that using the amnesty clause on Bryant isn't something that's being discussed, Coon says it's something that will be considered if he will be sidelined for most or all of the 2013/14 season.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Suns Not Pursuing Josh Smith

February 1st, 2013 at 7:49am CST by Sean Highkin

FRIDAY, 7:49am: According to John Gambadoro of 620 KTAR in Phoenix (Twitter link), the Suns have "zero" interest in trading for Smith. Gambadoro adds in a second tweet that the Suns have not even had a conversation with the Hawks about Smith.

THURSDAY, 5:02pm: Having missed out on Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon, the Phoenix Suns are making an effort to trade for Josh Smith, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reports. Kennedy writes that the Suns are intent on acquiring a max-level star to make into a cornerstone of their franchise, and have had preliminary discussions with the Hawks regarding possible trade packages.

Kennedy reports that a Suns package would likely be based around center Marcin Gortat, as well some combination of the expiring contracts of Jermaine O'Neal, Wesley Johnson, Shannon Brown, and Sebastian Telfair. Luis Scola could be involved as well, although since he was claimed off amnesty waivers, any deal including him would have to be a sign-and-trade made after July 1. The Suns also own multiple first-round picks, including their own, one from Minnesota, and two they received from the Lakers in last summer's Steve Nash trade.

In the past week, speculation is growing around the league that Smith's tenure with the Hawks may be coming to a close. Executives believe that he does not intend to re-sign with Atlanta this summer, when he will be an unrestricted free agent.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Suns Sign Shannon Brown

July 25th, 2012 at 3:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 3:33pm: Brown has officially signed his contract with the Suns, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

FRIDAY, 5:08pm: Shannon Brown has agreed to re-sign with the Suns, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link), confirming an earlier report by Vince Marotta of Arizona Sports. The deal is for $7MM over two seasons, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports that only half of his second-year salary is guaranteed (Twitter link).

Earlier this week we passed along a report from Gary Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times that Brown was close to signing with a mystery team. He speculated that the team might have been the Bucks, but it appears it was Phoenix all along. Brown said in May that he was interested in returning to the team, but wanted a multiyear deal. He wound up getting two seasons after signing a one-year, $3.5MM deal with the team last year.

Brown averaged 11.0 points on 42.0% shooting last season, compiling a 13.6 PER and starting 19 games. That was enough to keep Brown's salary at the same rate for next season and give him at least a bit of the long-term security he wanted, while allowing the Suns to maintain the flexibility to go after a major free agent next offseason.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Suns Rumors: Brown, Lee, Harden, Mayo, Lopez

July 19th, 2012 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Phoenix may have lost star point guard Steve Nash, but don't expect the team to bottom out this season, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. The Suns have managed to add a few long-term pieces to the roster, including Goran Dragic, Luis Scola, and Michael Beasley, while maintaining spending flexibility for next summer. Let's round up a few Thursday afternoon Suns notes from Coro's piece and elsewhere….

  • Having inked the aforementioned players, the Suns appear to be putting the brakes on major signings for the rest of the offseason. It's possible they bring back Shannon Brown, but unlikely they seriously pursue Courtney Lee, according to Coro.
  • Signing Brown to a short, affordable deal would keep the team's cap flexible enough to make a run at James Harden or another big-name free agent next summer, says Coro.
  • The Suns passed on O.J. Mayo due to "price and a questionable fit," according to Coro.
  • Coro adds that teams have made "unappetizing" sign-and-trade proposals to the Suns for restricted free agent Robin Lopez, who is still seeking an offer sheet.
  • Coach Alvin Gentry tells Mark Nugent of HoopsWorld that he isn't worried about the Suns' roster undergoing changes, and that he'll just focus on getting the best out of the players he has.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Shannon Brown Close To Signing?

July 17th, 2012 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter), Shannon Brown is close to signing a contract with an unknown team. Woelfel notes that the Bucks have been eyeing Brown, who has also drawn interest from the Suns. I wouldn't be surprised to see Brown re-sign with the Suns, after the team fell short in its pursuit of O.J. Mayo.

Brown, 26, has played for five NBA teams in his six-year career, most notably appearing in every regular season game for the Lakers in 2009/10 and 2010/11. For the Suns last season, he started 19 of 59 games, setting or matching career highs in PPG (11.0), MPG (23.7), and PER (13.6).

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Calderon, Suns, Magic, Howard

July 15th, 2012 at 10:54pm CST by Alex Lee

Ever since the Raptors' acquisition of Kyle Lowry, there has been a steady flow of rumors revolving around Jose Calderon's future, or lack thereof, in Toronto.  Calderon, who will run the point for Spain's Olympic team later this month in London, has already expressed his discontent with the thought of being relegated to back up duties, but according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, he may not have a choice. 

Wolstat caught up with Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo who said, “We have had a few more trade inquiries regarding Jose (but) the scenario doesn’t seem to present itself to a trade today, but we’ll continue to monitor that and just try to determine whether it’s going to work in the long run.”  Colangelo also implied that amnestying Calderon is not in the plans.

Here are some more updates from around the league on Sunday night:

Read more

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts