Shawne Williams has officially exercised his player option for next season and will remain under contract with the Trail Blazers for another year, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Haynes first reported in April that Williams would pick up his 2012/13 option, worth about $3.14MM.
Blazers forward Shawne Williams, rehabbing from surgery to repair a broken left foot, will exercise his $3.135MM option for next season as expected, Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports. Portland acquired the 6'9", 225-pound forward from the Nets at the trade deadline after he signed a two-year deal with New Jersey in December.
The Blazers tried to buy him out shortly after acquiring him, but he rebuffed their attempts. Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors said then that the chances he'd turn down the option were "close to zero." The move eats into the Blazers' cap space for the offseason, but with Jamal Crawford expected to decline his $5.23MM option, the team should still have plenty of room to pursue free agents. They should have only about $32MM committed for next season, though that doesn't count cap holds set aside for what could be a pair of first-round draft picks.
Williams, making $3MM this year, went down in February and hasn't played at all for Portland after averaging 4.5 PPG on 28.6% shooting in 25 games for the Nets. The 17th pick in the 2006 draft had resurrected a foundering career last season with the Knicks, when he connected on 40.1% of his three-point attempts, but couldn't duplicate that success this year, making just 24.1% of his three-pointers.
Considered a candidate to be bought out when he was acquired from the Nets at the trade deadline, Shawne Williams won't accept a buyout from the Trail Blazers, agent Happy Walters tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
"We talked about the possibility of a buyout, but we decided it just wouldn't make sense for us," Walters told Haynes. "Shawne is continuing to rehab right now and he's excited to be a Blazer."
Williams is sidelined for the season with a left foot injury and has a player option for $3.1MM for next season, so it's easy to see why a buyout wouldn't appeal to him. Generally, buyouts give players a chance to sign with a contender and make up a portion of the money they'd be giving up, but Williams obviously wouldn't be signing elsewhere this season. He also isn't on an expiring contract, like many bought-out players are. However, according to Walters, he and his client are still undecided about next year's player option.
"It will depend on the coach and the GM situation," said Walters. "We have time to make up our mind, but we'll wait and see what happens with those situations first."
While the agent and player are being diplomatic, I think the chances of Williams turning down the option are close to zero. Coming off a season that saw him underperforming even before the injury, Williams won't find a better deal on the open market, and would likely be more receptive to a buyout if he thought he might opt out of his final year anyway.
Trail Blazers acting GM Chad Buchanan spoke today about a number of topics, and Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge shared the key quotes via Twitter. Here's a round-up:
- Within 45 minutes of the Gerald Wallace trade, teams began calling to express interest in the Nets' first-round pick that Buchanan nabbed in the deal.
- Shawne Williams, who was acquired in that trade with the Nets, is a buyout candidate, but the Blazers are "not necessarily committed to buying him out," says Buchanan. Williams, who is sidelined with a foot injury, has a player option for next season.
- Blazers management consulted LaMarcus Aldridge before replacing Nate McMillan with Kaleb Canales. Aldridge fully endorsed Canales.
- If the Blazers had been able to trade a point guard and free up a roster spot, they would have re-signed Patrick Mills. It appears Mills is heading to San Antonio instead.
A few odds and ends from around the league for Friday afternoon:
- Explaining yesterday's acquisition of Nene, Wizards president Ernie Grunfield cited the cost certainty of Nene's deal, noting that free agency is a "crap shoot." Michael Lee of the Washington Post has the details.
- Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, that Chris Johnson, who was waived by the Blazers yesterday, is "an absolute option" for the Celtics.
- Shawne Williams' agent hasn't been approached by the Blazers yet about a buyout for his client, though that could change soon, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- After Brendan Haywood sprained his knee in last night's game, the Mavericks will recall Sean Williams from their D-League affiliate, according to a team press release. The Mavs had assigned Williams to Austin earlier this week.
- Marcus Camby may be 38 years old and in the final year of his contract, but he's not ready for retirement yet. The Rockets big man tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he wants to play for four more years (Twitter link).
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel doesn't think David Stern would block the Hornets from buying out Chris Kaman.
- Ricky Rubio will undergo reconstructive surgery on his left knee next Wednesday, the team announced today.
Here's the complete list of trades that took place this week leading up to the trade deadline earlier today:
- On Tuesday, the Warriors sent Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson.
- The Warriors then flipped Jackson to the Spurs for Richard Jefferson, T.J. Ford, and a first-round pick on Thursday.
- The Grizzlies traded Sam Young to the 76ers for the rights to former second-round pick Ricky Sanchez.
- The Pacers acquired Leandro Barbosa from the Raptors in exchange for a second-round draft pick and cash considerations.
- The Blazers entered rebuild mode by trading Gerald Wallace to the Nets for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a 2012 first-round draft pick with top-3 protection.
- Portland also sent Marcus Camby to the Rockets for Jonny Flynn, Hasheem Thabeet, and a second-round pick.
- The Rockets acquired Derek Fisher from the Lakers as well as the Mavericks' 2012 first-round pick (from the Lamar Odom trade) for Jordan Hill.
- The Lakers also traded for Ramon Sessions, sending Luke Walton, Jason Kapono, and a 2012 first-round pick to the Cavaliers and also receiving Christian Eyenga. The Cavs will also have the ability to swap the Heat's 2013 pick (which they own from the LeBron James sign-and-trade) with the Lakers' pick that year.
- The Nuggets, Wizards, and Clippers agreed to a three-team deal that will send Nene, Brian Cook, and a future second-round draft pick to Washington; Nick Young to the Clippers; and JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf to Denver.
After completing a pair of two-for-one trades today, the Blazers found themselves over the maximum roster size by two players. To clear roster spots for the new additions, it appears the team will waive Greg Oden and Chris Johnson. Joe Freeman of The Oregonian tweets the Oden scoop, while Johnson's wife first broke the news on her husband on her Twitter account, tweeting "C just got released :(" (hat tip to Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge).
In addition to those moves, the Blazers are also working on a possible buyout for newly-acquired forward Shawne Williams, tweets Freeman.
Oden, the former first overall pick, was sidelined by health issues again this season, having undergone season-ending knee surgery. Johnson, meanwhile, has seen limited action in 20 games with the Blazers this year, averaging 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds in less than five minutes per contest.
The Blazers and Nets have reached an agreement on a trade that will send Gerald Wallace to New Jersey, reports TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter). The Blazers will receive Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a top-three protected 2012 pick. Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported the two sides were close, confirms the agreement (via Twitter).
After finding out Dwight Howard would not be available via free agency this summer, the Nets quickly turned to trades that would add help for Deron Williams. The price for Wallace seems awfully high though — while the Nets were able to move Okur's expiring $10.89MM contract and avoid Williams exercising his $3.1MM option for next season, the first-round pick seems to be the Nets' own selection. While New Jersey will retain the pick if it lands in the top three, it's very possible that the Blazers will receive a top-ten pick in what's expected to be a strong draft. The Nets currently have the sixth-worst record in the league (15-29).
Wallace has a $9.5MM player option for next season, which I assume the Nets will want him to exercise. Perhaps the two sides could even agree to void the player option in favor of working out a longer-team deal with a reduced 2012/13 cap figure. Even with Wallace on the books for next year, the team should have a decent amount of cap space to re-sign Brook Lopez and perhaps sign another free agent to entice Williams to stay.
12:11pm: The pick that would be going to the Blazers in this proposed swap would only be top-three protected, says Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
11:48am: The discussed trade would send Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a protected first-round pick to the Blazers, tweets Wojnarowski. Such a deal would save the Nets money this year and potentially clear out more cap space for next year, which explains the first-round pick that would be going to Portland.
11:28am: The Trail Blazers and Nets are engaged in "advanced talks" on a deal that would send Gerald Wallace to New Jersey, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). A deal is close, adds Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Newsday's Al Iannazzone tweeted earlier today that the Nets were eyeing Wallace.
Wallace, 29, has a player option worth $9.5MM for next season, so perhaps the Nets would want him to make a decision on that option in the event of a trade. Turning it down would mean increased summer cap space for the Nets.
Nets forward Shawne Williams underwent left foot surgery today to repair a fracture and remove bone fragments, the team confirmed (via Twitter). Williams will miss the remainder of the 2011/12 season and will be ready for training camp in 2012/13 (Twitter link).
Williams, who turned 26 last week, had a disappointing season for the Nets, averaging just 4.5 PPG on 28.6% shooting in the 25 games he played. The 2006 first-round pick holds a $3.135MM player option for next season which he'll certainly exercise.
Williams is the latest Net to be ruled out for the season due to health issues. Damion James and Keith Bogans had already suffered season-ending injuries, while Brook Lopez and Mehmet Okur are among the other Nets to miss significant time this year.