Trevor Ariza Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers Focused On Adding Wing Players

July 6th, 2016 at 11:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers are on track to lose a pair of contributors when the July moratorium ends tomorrow, with Timofey Mozgov headed to the Lakers and Matthew Dellavedova ticketed for Milwaukee. Still, while the Cavs haven’t agreed to deals with any free agents of their own yet, the team is scouring the trade and free agent market looking for ways to fortify its roster. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Cleveland is looking to add at least one athletic, shooting wing player.

While there may still be a few players on the free agent market who fit that bill, the Cavs don’t have much spending flexibility, and would likely only be able offer their $2.9MM room exception or a minimum-salary contract. The trade market may make more sense for Cleveland, and according to Broussard, the club had interest in acquiring Trevor Ariza. However, the Rockets weren’t looking to move Ariza at this time.

As our list of outstanding trade exceptions shows, the Cavaliers still hold a handful of TPEs that could be used to accommodate deals. The most intriguing one is the $9,638,554 exception Cleveland created at the 2016 trade deadline. Using that trade exception, the Cavs could acquire a player whose salary fits into that amount without sending out any salary of their own. Ariza, for instance, could be absorbed into that TPE, since he’s making just $7,806,971 this season.

The Cavaliers could also send out their own players to make a trade work, but the franchise isn’t all that interested in significantly shaking up a roster that’s coming off a championship. If Cleveland did need to send out salary to accommodate a larger acquisition, Iman Shumpert ($9,662,922) and Channing Frye ($7,806,971) would probably be candidates to be moved.

Rockets Shop Beverley, McDaniels, Ariza

June 23rd, 2016 at 12:51pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets have been calling around the league to gauge the trade interest in Patrick Beverley, K.J. McDaniels and Trevor Ariza, Jake Fischer of Liberty Ballers reports (Twitter links). Houston has already contacted the Sixers and offered a package including Ariza and Beverley for Nerlens Noel, Fischer adds. It’s unclear what the Rockets are seeking from other teams in any deal, though, with the team lacking a first round pick in tonight’s NBA Draft, nabbing a first-rounder is a likely possibility.

Beverley, 27, has three more years and approximately $18MM remaining on his current deal. The point guard made 71 appearances this season, averaging 9.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 28.7 minutes per outing to accompany a shooting line of .434/.400/.682.

Ariza, 30, appeared in 81 games in 2015/16, all starts. He averaged 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 35.3 minutes and owned a slash line of .416/.371/.783. The forward has two years and approximately $15.2MM remaining on his contract.

McDaniels appeared in just 37 games for Houston this season. The 23-year-old, who has two years and approximately $6.8MM remaining on his deal, averaged 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds in just 6.4 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .403/.280/.800.

Southwest Notes: Dekker, Parsons, Anderson

March 7th, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s mostly been a lost season for Sam Dekker, the 18th overall pick in last year’s draft who spent months on the shelf because of back surgery, notes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. The Rockets clearly could have used a greater contribution than the six minutes in three games he’s seen so far, and the inability to deliver more has left Dekker with regrets, as Brigham details.

“There are times where, I’m not going to lie about it, you can get really down on yourself when there’s long stretches where you’re not seeing the court. That’s been new to me. I’ve always played,” Dekker said. “But I’ve found myself really leaning on my vets, and that’s helped a lot. Trevor [Ariza], for one, has been great to me. He talks me through things, knows when I’m down, knows what I need to hear, and seeing a guy who works that hard makes me want to get back in the gym. It keeps me motivated. I know I’m going to have a long career in this league. I just have to stay positive.”

See more on the Rockets amid news from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons wouldn’t rule out going back to the Rockets in free agency this summer, as he said on the “Channel 33” podcast (audio link; transcription via HoopsHype). The Mavericks small forward is almost certain to turn down his player option, and Houston is expected to pursue him, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “Houston was home for me for three years,” Parsons said. “I definitely would never count that option out. I have great memories there. They have a great crowd, a great city to live in … I have nothing but respect and love for them. I would never count that out.”
Ryan Anderson said he hasn’t talked to Pelicans management about his free agency and has yet to develop a feel for how it will go, notes Justin Verrier of ESPN.com. Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry has left him on the bench for key stretches of late, but Anderson indicated that he doesn’t lament that as much as the lack of opportunity to play with a fully healthy Pelicans team during his time in New Orleans, as Verrier chronicles.
Gentry regretted a Wednesday comment that the Pelicans are out of the playoffs, but after two more losses Thursday and Saturday, he acknowledges it’s time to shift focus, as Verrier notes in a separate piece. “At this stage, like I said, it would be a miracle almost for us to make the playoffs,” Gentry said. “We really have to start looking at developing a culture and how we’re gonna play in the future and figuring out guys on this team, how they fit into the system and if they’re going to be able to fit in a system.”

And-Ones: Johnson, Celtics, Pelicans, Lee

February 18th, 2016 at 12:00am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers think would-be post-buyout target Joe Johnson wants to stay in Brooklyn and that he’ll seek to sign an extension with the Nets, a source told Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. People around Johnson say he won’t take a buyout, tweets Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.

There’s more from around the basketball world as the trade deadline approaches:

The Celtics are willing to trade the unprotected 2016 first-round pick they have coming their way from the Nets if it would shake Blake Griffin loose from the Clippers, sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. However, Boston wouldn’t deal the pick for either Kevin Love or Al Horford, Bulpett hears.
The Pelicans shopped Eric Gordon and Omer Asik, but they haven’t found much interest, sources tell John Reid of The Times Picayune. New Orleans reportedly offered Gordon and Alonzo Gee to the Kings for Rudy Gay earlier this season, and the Pelicans apparently had talks with the Cavs that involved Asik after making him available in December.
The Grizzlies shipped $542,714 cash to the Hornets as part of the Courtney Lee trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reveals.
Jameer Nelson is running out of alternatives to season-ending surgery on a severely sprained left wrist, but he’ll continue to try to play for the time being after receiving an injection meant to ease the pain he’s feeling, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post details. He missed the Nuggets‘ last six games before the All-Star break.
The Bulls were interested in Trevor Ariza and Corey Brewer earlier this season, but the Rockets rebuffed their entreaties, reports Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link).
The Pistons would love to make one more move before the trade deadline, GM Jeff Bower said today in an appearance on WDFN-AM radio, notes Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link). The team is reportedly scanning the market for veteran guards, but Bower said the Pistons are looking at the options available at every position and added that coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has confidence in Steve Blake as the team’s backup point guard, Beard also relays (on Twitter).
The Grizzlies recalled James Ennis from the team’s D-League affiliate in Iowa, the team announced today. Ennis has appeared in 15 games with the Energy, averaging 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per night. He has played in 10 games for Memphis, averaging 1.3 points in 3.6 minutes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Cavs Interested In McLemore, Ariza, Joe Johnson

February 11th, 2016 at 1:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavaliers are one of multiple Eastern Conference teams with strong interest in Ben McLemore, league sources tell Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Cleveland would quickly snap up Joe Johnson if he works a buyout with the Nets, Haynes also hears from league sources, though it doesn’t look like he’s one of the Cavs’ trade targets. Trevor Ariza is also on Cleveland’s radar, Haynes adds, as are Kyle Korver and Jared Dudley, as previous reports indicated, but it’s highly unlikely Cleveland ends up with one of those three, according to Haynes, who paints McLemore as the more obtainable target.

The Kings have so far resisted offers for the shooting guard, Haynes writes, but it’s widely known around the league that agents are pushing to get their players out of Sacramento amid organizational turmoil there, Haynes also reports. Trade candidate Rudy Gay wouldn’t mind a deal that ships him out of town, but the Kings haven’t found any offers for him that pass muster, Haynes hears.

Cleveland isn’t connected to Gay, but it’s a matter of when, not if, the Cavs will make a move of some sort, according to Haynes. The Cavs have been seeking a three-and-D wing player and have been linked to multiple names, including Omer Asik, who’s a center, and Tyreke Evans, who has an injury that threatens to wipe out the rest of his season. They’ve reportedly explored trading Timofey Mozgov, having met with rejection on that front from the Kings and also engaging in talks with the Pelicans that didn’t bear fruit.

Johnson said recently that he wouldn’t dismiss the idea of a buyout from his contract with the Nets, which expires at season’s end, and the Heat, like the Cavs, reportedly want to make a run at him if he shakes free from Brooklyn. One source close to Johnson told Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders that Johnson is “miserable” with the Nets and would welcome a change. His nearly $24.895MM would make a trade difficult, so a buyout appears a more feasible route.

Eastern Notes: Wizards, Canaan, Nets

July 16th, 2015 at 9:53pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards let the remaining $2,252,089 of their Trevor Ariza trade exception expire Wednesday. The exception, gained when Washington signed-and-traded Ariza to the Rockets, was originally worth $8,579,089. The Wizards used most of that initial amount to acquire Kris Humphries and Ramon Sessions in separate deals. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Markel Brown added another $50K in partially guaranteed money, now totaling $150K, to his $845,059 contract for the 2015/16 season when he remained on the Nets‘ roster through Wednesday, as the schedule of salary guarantee dates shows.
As a result of remaining on the Sixers‘ roster through Wednesday, Isaiah Canaan‘s 2015/16 salary of $947,276 became fully-guaranteed.
Quincy Miller picked up a $50K partial guarantee on his $981,348 salary this season with the Nets, courtesy of him sticking on the Nets‘ roster through Wednesday.
Forbes magazine estimated the value of the Nets to be $1.5 billion, which is a higher figure than the team’s internal valuation, which is $1.3 billion, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily relays (via Twitter).
Heat small forward James Ennis said that the combination of Miami’s packed frontcourt and his non-guaranteed deal has placed a significant amount of stress on him, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets. The 25-year-old made 62 appearances for the Heat last season, averaging 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 17.0 minutes per game.
Tobias Harris‘ four-year deal with the Magic will pay him $16MM this coming season, $17.2MM in 2016/17, $16MM in the third year, and $14.8MM during the 2018/19 campaign, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Ellis, Rockets, Leonard

April 7th, 2015 at 10:53pm CST by Will Joseph

Monta Ellis, who has a player option for the 2015/16 season, has “contract numbers for next year in his head” and he’s “very replaceable,” Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News writes in a chat. Ellis has seen a decline in points per game, assists per game and field goal percentage since the All-Star break. Still, he’s a proven scorer who can carry a team on any given night. If he opts out of the final season of his contract, his Early Bird rights allow the Mavericks to make an offer with a starting salary of up to $14.63MM. If Rajon Rondo flees via free agency, locking up Ellis would be a decent fallback plan. If the Mavs kept Rondo, Sefko adds he would be stunned if Ellis also wound up back with the team as well.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

A more experienced and mature roster seems to be making a difference for the Rockets as they head into the playoffs, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. In the offseason, the Rockets added Jason Terry and Trevor Ariza. Then, Corey Brewer, Josh Smith and Pablo Prigioni were each acquired during the season and have added strong work ethic and sound basketball knowledge, Creech notes.
Kawhi Leonard, who is set to be a restricted free agent this summer, continues to get overlooked as a star, but with him back in the lineup after the All-Star Break, the Spurs are playing very similar to the way they did last season, which, of course, bodes well for a deep playoff run, Ben Golliver of SI.com writes. San Antonio is 27-10 since Leonard returned from a hand injury in mid-January.

And-Ones: Jennings, Wizards, Jerebko

February 26th, 2015 at 10:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Brandon Jennings might not have been thrilled the Pistons traded for another point guard but after meeting with coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy, he understands why the move was made, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. Jennings, who suffered a season-ending torn left Achilles tendon January 24th at Milwaukee, could wind up sharing time with recently-acquired Reggie Jackson next season if Jackson signs with the club as a restricted free agent, Mayo continues. Jennings, who has one year and approximately $8.34MM remaining on his contract, will be tough to trade this summer as he tries to return from the injury, Mayo adds.

In other news around the league:

The Wizards indeed used part of their Trevor Ariza trade exception to absorb Ramon Sessions‘ salary in last week’s trade, allowing them to create a new $4.625MM trade exception equivalent to Andre Miller‘s salary, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). There had been conflicting estimates about how the Wizards handled the exceptions, as I noted earlier this week. The Ariza exception is now worth $2,252,089.
The Pacers, Knicks and Lakers are eyeing 28-year-old Lithuanian shooting guard Mantas Kalnietis, with Indiana showing the most interest, agent Tadas Bulotas tells Lithuania’s Sport 1 (YouTube link; transcription via TalkBasket.net). Kalnietis went undrafted in 2008, so no NBA team holds his rights.
Jonas Jerebko, who is in the final year of a four-year, $18MM deal he signed with the Pistons in December 2011, believes his time with the Celtics is an opportunity to showcase his true potential, reports Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. After spending his first five-plus NBA seasons with the Pistons, Jerebko was traded with Luigi Datome to Boston last week in exchange for Tayshaun Prince.
Monty Williams is acting like a coach with his job on the line even though he has a year left on his contract, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reveals. The Pelicans coach has been forced to deal with injuries to his star player, Anthony Davis, but he is still under heavy pressure to win because of a frustrated fan base, Reid adds.

Will Joseph and Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Wizards, Napier, D-League

December 30th, 2014 at 5:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One major factor contributing to the Wizards‘ success this season is their excellent team chemistry, Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle writes. Trevor Ariza was one of the team’s veteran leaders last season, but when he signed a free agent deal with the Rockets this past summer Washington acted quickly to replace that void by signing Paul Pierce, Creech notes. “You always have a contingency plan for that and that’s what we did,” coach Randy Wittman said. “Nothing ever really surprises you anymore in this league. It was a situation where we would have loved to have Trevor stay. We wanted to make sure we didn’t lose anything in that area with a guy like Trevor. We are trying to move on. We have Paul who has come in here and really moved into that spot.”

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

The Hawks have assigned John Jenkins to the Idaho Stampede, the team announced in a press release. Jenkins is headed to Idaho as part of the flexible assignment rule since Atlanta is without a one-to-one partnership with a D-League team. In one previous stint in the D-League Jenkins appeared in five games, averaging 19.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 23.8 minutes.
Adreian Payne has been assigned to the Austin Spurs, the Hawks have announced. This will be Payne’s fourth trek to the D-League this season, and in 11 games Payne has logged 13.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 28.4 minutes per contest.
The Heat have assigned Shabazz Napier to the Sioux Falls Skyforce, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. Napier has appeared in 25 games with the Heat this season, averaging 5.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 21.0 minutes while shooting 42.5 percent from the field. This will be Napier’s second sojourn of the season to the D-League.

And-Ones: Mudiay, Gordon, Parsons

November 22nd, 2014 at 2:43pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Emmanuel Mudiay, a surefire lottery pick in next year’s NBA draft, has denied reports that he’ll leave China prior to the end of the CBA season in order to boost his draft stock, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports. Unnamed NBA sources were quoted as saying that Mudiay could opt to leave China early to keep his draft stock high if he’s playing well there, which would keep an aura of mystique around him similar to what surrounded Dante Exum last year, notes Zagoria. “This is all rumors, it’s completely false,” Mudiay said. “The media are the ones that like to come out with these things, but it’s not the reality.” Mudiay is currently projected as the No. 2 overall pick next year by Draft Express.

Here’s more from around the league:

In his weekly mailbag column, Nakia Hogan of The Times-Picayune addressed the possibility of the Pelicans dealing Eric Gordon. New Orleans still views Gordon as a key piece of the team and value continuity as they try to build a contender around Anthony Davis, notes Hogan. But Hogan also adds the caveat that if a deal came about that would make the franchise immediately better and help their future cap situation, then moving Gordon would be considered.
Hogan also believes that New Orleans should think twice about considering a deal for the Nets‘ Andrei Kirilenko, despite the Pelicans‘ need for depth at small forward. The Times-Picayune scribe cites Kirilenko’s possible off the court issues, as well as his ineffectiveness when he has played this season, as reasons New Orleans should pass on the Russian veteran.
In advance of Chandler Parsons‘ first visit to Houston since signing with the Mavs, the Rockets James Harden went on record saying the team was better off with Trevor Ariza, who replaced Parsons in Houston, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reports. “His [Ariza’s] leadership, his defensive abilities, his shot-making — all three of those things are something that we were lacking last year,” said Harden. “[Ariza] brings that ability to the table this year.” The Rockets’ significant improvement on the defensive end certainly lends credence to Harden’s statement, notes MacMahon, with Houston lowering their points allowed per 100 possessions to 94.3, down from last season’s number of 103.1.