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Western Notes: Wright, Asik, Crowder, Lin

July 1st, 2015 at 9:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In the wake of losing free agent big man Tyson Chandler to the Suns, the Mavericks reached out to center Brandan Wright, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com tweets. Wright, whom the team dealt as part of the package to acquire Rajon Rondo from the Celtics last season, agreed to a three year, $18MM deal with the Grizzlies earlier this evening. Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Pelicans are in discussions with free agent Omer Asik about the center re-signing with the team, John Reid of The Times Picayune tweets. Blazers‘ free agent big man Robin Lopez doesn’t appear to be an option for New Orleans at this point, Reid adds.
The Mavericks are intent on adding depth at point guard this offseason, and were one of the first teams to reach out to free agent Jeremy Lin, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter). Dallas has also touched base with Patrick Beverley, J.J. Barea, and Nick Calathes, Tim MacMahon tweets.
The Clippers and Mavericks are among the teams that have expressed interest in free agent point guard C.J. Watson, Kennedy relays (Twitter link).
The Mavericks and the Celtics are the frontrunners to sign free agent swingman Jae Crowder, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (via Twitter).
The Pelicans and Mavs have both been in contact with free agent forward Richard Jefferson, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays (on Twitter).
The Rockets are intent on re-signing Corey Brewer, and Houston was the first team to contact the swingman when the free agent signing period commenced, Kennedy tweets.
The Pelicans, Rockets, and Knicks have expressed interest in unrestricted free agent center Kendrick Perkins, Royce Young of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link).
Denver’s top priorities in free agency are to re-sign Jameer Nelson and Will Barton, according to Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. The Nuggets are strong contenders for Nelson, and the general expectation is that they’ll keep Barton, as Dempsey details. The team would also like to re-sign Darrell Arthur but expects the Pistons, among others, to make a run at him, Dempsey writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Barton, Buycks, Blazers

June 23rd, 2015 at 10:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nuggets have tendered Will Barton a qualifying offer worth $1,181,348, making the guard a restricted free agent this offseason, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The move was expected since both sides have previously expressed a desire for the player to return to Denver next season. The 24-year-old saw sparse playing time with the Blazers over his first two and a half seasons in the league, but the deadline trade that sent him to Denver this February provided him with more opportunities to get on the court. He averaged 11.0 points in 24.4 minutes per game over 28 appearances for the Nuggets.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Warriors are exploring options regarding trading up from the No. 30 overall pick in the draft, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. Which player the team could be targeting with such a move is unknown, Howard-Cooper adds.
The chances that the Lakers will select Duke big man Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 overall pick have increased since last week, Chad Ford of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). Ford pegged the odds at 70% last Friday, and now has them at 80% that Los Angeles nabs Okafor on Thursday night.
The Lakers have informed free agent guard Dwight Buycks that they are interested in re-signing him for next season, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. Buycks, who inked a single 10-day deal with the team this past season, was reportedly set to be signed for the remainder of the 2014/15 campaign before a hand injury knocked him out for the remainder of the team’s contests.
The Blazers will work out UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn on Wednesday, reports Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times.
Woelfel adds the Warriors to the list of teams that have worked out UNLV big man Christian Wood.
Working out for Portland today were Darion Atkins (Virginia), Javonte Green (Radford), Charles Jackson (Tennessee Tech), Jordan Railey (Washington State), Satnam Singh (India), and Gary Bell Jr. (Gonzaga), the Blazers announced.
Virginia swingman Justin Anderson is scheduled to work out for the Grizzlies on Wednesday, Chris Vernon of ESPN 92.9 FM relays (Twitter links). Vernon also dispels the notion that Memphis made a draft promise to LSU big man Jarell Martin, and says that Martin shut down scheduling any further workouts for other reasons.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Nuggets, Will Barton Share Interest In New Deal

May 7th, 2015 at 11:58am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nuggets would like Will Barton to return, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post, and the shooting guard whose contract is up this summer tells Dempsey that he wants to be back in Denver, too, reiterating his earlier remarks. The team is expected to tender the $1,181,348 qualifying offer necessary to match any competing bids for him, according to Dempsey, who indicates that Denver and the Brian Elfus client are likely to wind up with a multiyear deal.

Barton saw sparse playing time with the Blazers over his first two and a half seasons in the league, but the deadline trade that sent him to Denver this February landed him on a rebuilding team with plenty of minutes to go around. He averaged 11.0 points on 9.0 shot attempts in 24.4 minutes per game over 28 appearances for the Nuggets, compiling a better-than-average 15.9 PER during that stretch.

I identified the 24-year-old among several players eligible for restricted free agency this summer with relatively even chances of being tendered a qualifying offer, but it appears the team is much higher on the former 40th overall pick than I figured. Barton struggles from the outside, having shot only 28.4% from three-point range in Denver and 23.0% for his career, but Dempsey observes that he helped the Nuggets play an up-tempo game, the sort of style the team seems to want its next head coach to implement. Interim coach Melvin Hunt had praise for Barton, but Hunt’s chances of remaining in his job for next season are unclear.

Wilson Chandler‘s partial guarantee of $2MM has jumped to a full guarantee of nearly $7.172MM, as Dempsey notes in a separate piece, so the Nuggets have about $53MM in commitments for next season, not counting a player option of nearly $2.855MM for Jameer Nelson. It remains to be seen what a new deal for Barton, who made the minimum this year, and the Nuggets would look like, but extending the qualifying offer to up his cap hold by a mere $200K would do little to impinge upon the team’s flexibility against a projected $67.1MM cap.

Northwest Notes: Gallinari, Barton, Wolves

March 24th, 2015 at 9:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt is encouraged by the recent strong play of Danilo Gallinari as the player continues to make his way back from injury, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. “He could become better, he could become a smarter player,” Hunt said. “Athleticism can be honed. I’m just thankful for him to have time. He may not be the same, but a lot of the great players, when they come back from injury, they add something, they’ll subtract something, they’ll emphasize something. He’s no different. He knows what his weapon is, his ability to shoot the ball. But he’s putting together a nice little package of drives, finding other guys — and he’s an underrated passer. Gallo is going to figure out ways to reinvent himself. I’m not worried about Gallo at all.”

Here’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Will Barton is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, but the swingman has no desire to leave the Nuggets, Dempey writes in a separate article. “No doubt,” Barton said. “I think we can build something here. We have a lot of good talent, a good organization, coaching staff is good. I can see us building and having a strong future here. We can grow together.” Barton was acquired by Denver in a deadline trade, and he has averaged 12.2 points and 4.4 rebounds since joining the Nuggets.
Hunt believes that Barton possesses the skills to be a productive player in the NBA for years, Dempsey adds. “For sure,” Hunt said. “He has an NBA skill: play hard. As long as he has that, the other things are gravy. In his short time with us, we’ve seen him make threes, we’ve seen him have spectacular dunks, we’ve seen him have big blocked shots, we’ve seen him get a technical because he was just angry. He’s shown that he has a lot of things in his toolkit.”
The Timberwolves, despite their 16-54 record, aren’t considering tanking for a better draft spot, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets. Team owner Glen Taylor was at the forefront this preseason in the push for new plans to discourage tanking, Krawczynski notes.

Northwest Notes: Garnett, Barton, Nelson

February 25th, 2015 at 1:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kevin Garnett called the Timberwolves the only team for which he would have waived his no-trade clause this year, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes amid his story on Garnett’s welcome-home press conference Tuesday. The 20th-year veteran also indicated his belief that he can overcome any hard feelings toward Wolves owner Glen Taylor that stem from Garnett’s parting with the franchise in 2007.

“You know what, throughout time, I’ve understood that you have to forgive and forget,” Garnett said. “I obviously won’t forget certain things, but it’s time to move on. … Glen and I always had an understanding. I wouldn’t have come back if the relationship was to the point where it’s not reachable. I’m looking forward to this opportunity and I’m embracing this change.”

Taylor was absent from the press conference, but it was a simple scheduling conflict, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Here’s more on a few Northwest Division players who recently relocated:

Will Barton relishes his increased minutes since the deadline trade that sent him from Portland to Denver, and Brian Shaw is impressed with the shooting guard who reminds the Nuggets coach of Corey Brewer, as Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post relays. Barton is poised for restricted free agency this summer.
Jameer Nelson likes being in Denver and playing for a Nuggets team that he believes wants him around after he was part of two trades in less than a month, as he tells Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders. Several teams had reportedly hoped that he and Denver would do a buyout deal, but Denver would apparently like to keep him not just for this season but for next year, too. Nelson has a player option worth nearly $2.855MM.
Arron Afflalo‘s relationship with Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey predates last week’s trade that sent Afflalo to Portland, and the shooting guard already had ties to some of his new Blazer teammates, too, as fellow Basketball Insiders scribe Alex Kennedy points out. Afflalo also has a player option for next season, worth $7.75MM.

Blazers Acquire Arron Afflalo

February 19th, 2015 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

1:17pm: Denver has followed with a press release announcing the deal, too. There’s no mention of a separate second-rounder changing hands, apart from the two second-rounders that would go to the Nuggets if the protected first-rounder doesn’t convey.

1:05pm: The Blazers announced that the deal is now official.

“Arron is a proven winner with playoff experience who will be easily integrated into our culture,” Blazers GM Neil Olshey said. “He possesses a skill set that compliments our style of play on both ends of the floor and will make an immediate impact as we continue our playoff push. Alonzo is an elite athlete and defender who adds a unique element to our perimeter. We thank Thomas, Will and Victor for their contributions to the team and wish them all the best for the future.”

10:33am: The Nuggets and Blazers have struck a deal that will send Arron Afflalo to Portland, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Will Barton, Victor Claver, Thomas Robinson, a future lottery-protected first-round pick and a second-round pick go to the Nuggets, who also give up Alonzo Gee, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The first-rounder headed Denver’s way is for 2016, and is again lottery protected in 2017 if it doesn’t convey that year, Wojnarowski tweets, adding that if it doesn’t get to Denver in 2017, it becomes two future second-round picks.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported this week that the Blazers appeared the front-runners for Afflalo and that the Nuggets appeared poised to receive the first-rounder they sought for him. It appeared some other teams tried to make a late run at him but fell short.

Afflalo, 29, has been averaging 14.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 33 minutes per contest this season. Meanwhile, the guard’s below average 11.7 PER rating is his worst in several years. However, Afflalo is only a year and change removed from his time in Orlando where he was regarded as one of the league’s brighter two guards under the age of 30. For his career, Afflalo has averaged 11.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG for the Pistons, Magic, and Nuggets. In total, he has shot 38.4% from downtown.

The Blazers, at 36-17, are currently tied for third place in the Western Conference with the Rockets.

Nuggets Notes: Chandler, Clippers, Kings

February 19th, 2015 at 12:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Nuggets are creating some $18MM in trade exceptions from their pair of deals today, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes, so it appears they’re using some of their existing trade exceptions to accommodate Thomas Robinson, Will Barton and Victor Claver in the Arron Afflalo deal. That would allow Denver to create a $7.5MM exception for Afflalo. With JaVale McGee headed out to the Sixers with apparently no players coming back, the Nuggets stand to be able to make another exception worth $11.25MM, the equivalent of McGee’s salary. Trade exceptions can’t be combined, but those would nonetheless be powerful weapons. Of course, neither of the trades are official yet, so details could change. In the meantime, here’s more on the busy Nuggets:

The Celtics took the Nuggets’ temperature on a few deals this week, but Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (on Twitter) hears that the inquiries were more “probing” than anything. Needless to say, those talks didn’t get far.
Now that Barton is officially with the Nuggets, the feeling is that he could last with Denver as both he and GM Tim Connelly are Baltimore guys, Jabari Young of Comcast SportsNet Northwest tweets.
The Nuggets are unlikely to move Wilson Chandler today, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). The Blazers and Clippers were the main teams in the mix for him but they’re both out of the running for different reasons. The Blazers already got Arron Afflalo and the Clippers don’t have the assets necessary to pull something off.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) heard that the Nuggets were seeking two first-round choices for Chandler.
Chandler made a change in representation and he will now be represented by Roc Nation NBA agents Rich Kleiman & Joe Branch, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (on Twitter). To keep up on everyone’s representation, check out Hoops Rumors’ Agency Database.
Several teams, including the Kings, are waiting to see if Denver’s asking price for players drops, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. Mannix also identified the Blazers as a team waiting to see if the sticker price would drop, but that was before the Afflalo deal.
The Kings were interested in Afflalo, but Denver’s asking price of a first-round pick and a good young player kept them at a distance, league sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

And-Ones: Buyouts, Dragic, Stauskas, Magic

February 12th, 2015 at 10:53am CST by Chuck Myron

Andrea Bargnani, Brandon Bass, Marcus Thornton, Andrei Kirilenko, Willie Green, Randy Foye and Darrell Arthur are all likely buyout candidates if they’re not traded before the deadline, league sources tell Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Beck also mentions Tayshaun Prince, who’ll probably strike a buyout deal with the Celtics if he’s not traded, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reported last month. The Bleacher Report scribe also reiterates that Kevin Garnett isn’t seeking a buyout, seconding an earlier report from Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com. Here’s more from around the NBA:

The Suns want a first-round pick if they’re to give up Goran Dragic in a trade, as Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times hears (Twitter link). Woelfel suggests that opposing teams will be willing to pay that price and believes the Rockets, who’ve reportedly tried to trade for Dragic this season, will consider going after him again.
There are rumors connecting the Bucks to Kings rookie Nik Stauskas, according to Woelfel (Twitter link). Still, it’s unclear if there’s truly interest from Milwaukee’s end.
James Borrego says the Magic haven’t told him whether or not he’ll be the head coach for the rest of the season, and he takes it as a signal that he’ll remain in place, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. The timing of the situation and the Magic’s track record don’t suggest they’ll make a move before season’s end, though “it’s widely believed” the team will eventually replace Borrego with a proven coaching veteran, Schmitz writes. Rumored coaching candidate Scott Skiles indeed has interest in the job, but the Magic’s players seem to be supporting Borrego, Schmitz adds.
Blazers GM Neil Olshey is exploring possible trades to help shore up the team’s depth, The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman writes, noting that Thomas Robinson and Will Barton seem unsure if they’ll remain on the team past the deadline. Olshey declared earlier this week that he wouldn’t trade any of the team’s starters and also talked up the value of his bench players in an interview during a game broadcast, as Mike Richman of The Oregonian transcribes.
Former Mavs guard Dominique Jones is drawing renewed NBA interest following an impressive showing in China, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Jones, who last played in the league in 2012/13, averaged an eye-popping 36.8 points per game over 41 appearances in China this season.

Western Notes: Bledsoe, Jazz, Barton, Scott

July 26th, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Charlie Adams

Eric Bledsoe made his first public comments regarding his free agency status to Fox TV Birmingham, saying he feels the Suns are “using rules against me” (hat tip to Jude LaCava of Fox 10 Phoenix, Twitter link), Bledsoe’s remark further indicates a seemingly sour feeling between the two camps. Here’s a look at the latest from all three of the Western Conference’s divisions:

The Jazz are set to hire Patrick Beilein to work as an assistant coach on Quin Snyder‘s staff, reveals Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Beilein is the son of University of Michigan head coach John Beilein.
Will Barton‘s $900K deal with the Blazers is now fully guaranteed, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Portland had until July 25th to waive Barton without being on the hook for his entire salary but chose to keep the combo guard on their roster.
Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders recaps the path that the Lakers took en route to negotiating terms with Byron Scott on a head coaching gig. Davis also examines how Scott’s coaching style might mesh with the current state of Los Angeles’ roster.
While former Mavs forward Shawn Marion would like to secure a deal with a team for the upcoming season, he doesn’t want to force the issue and land in an undesirable situation, passes along Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “If I see something really comfortable, then I’ll do it,” Marion told Sefko. “Right now, I’m just staying with my [newborn] son and relaxing. It’s only July, man. We got two more months. We’ll just wait and see how it works out.”

Western Notes: Lakers, Blazers, Jazz

May 16th, 2014 at 9:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak says the team might look to acquire an additional first-round pick in this year’s NBA Draft, reports Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Kupchak said, “We may look to get a pick some other way because we have guys we interviewed who aren’t going to be gone before the second round, but they’ll be around after [our current pick]. You only get so many assets in this league. Draft picks are an asset. There’s cap room, draft picks and players. Those are assets you can use to rebuild a team.”