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Pacific Notes: Payton, Papagiannis, Green, Suns

February 11th, 2018 at 4:50pm CST by marksuleymanov

Elfrid Payton‘s stint with the Magic ended on Thursday and by Saturday, he was putting up a solid performance in his Suns debut. The former lottery pick posted 19 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in the Suns’ 123-113 loss to the Nuggets. Payton’s performance drew rave reviews from his teammates and coaches, NBA.com’s Cody Cunningham writes.

“I thought he was good,” Suns head coach Jay Triano said. “It was different, the pace of play was better, getting the ball up and down the court, getting into the lane when he needed to, and making passes. He made the guys on the floor with him better.”

Payton, 23, has been viewed a disappointment through his first four NBA seasons after being the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. However, given his age and upside, Payton drew interest from several teams prior to the deadline.

Check out other Pacific Division notes:

  • The agent of now-former Kings center Georgios Papagiannis, Marios Olympios, was critical of the team’s decision to waive the 20-year-old, Aris Barkas of Euro Hoops writes. “He (Papagiannis) never got a chance by the Kings,” Olympios said on the Greek radio station Sport FM, Barkas writes. “He had a double-double every time he played in the G-League. He had to travel for two and a half hour everytime he was assigned to Reno and still he performed. There are many details that prove that he never got a real chance”.
  • Warriors forward Draymond Green was fined $50,000 for directing inappropriate and offensive language toward a game official, the NBA announced on its website. The incident occurred during the Warriors’ loss to the Thunder this past Tuesday.
  • The Suns received $1.5MM back in the buyout of new Celtics center Greg Monroe, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad.
  • After a blockbuster trade with the Cavaliers on Thursday, the Lakers freed up a ton of cap space that could be used to lure two premiere free agents to Los Angeles this summer. Mark Heisler of the Orange County Register writes that the organization’s moves have put it in position to be relevant again.
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2017/18 Buyout Market Summary

February 9th, 2018 at 10:51pm CST by Austin Kent

With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, much attention is being paid to what is expected to be several weeks of busy buyout market activity. The last day that a player can be waived from their current team and still be eligible to play in the postseason with a new team is March 1.

Below are a series of lists breaking down the veterans who have already been bought out – or simply waived – by their respective teams since the trade deadline, along with those who are expected to be, and several more who really ought to be considered possible buyout candidates even if no reports have come out explicitly stating as much.

As the weeks unfold, we may see new names surface as buyout candidates, in such cases (and whenever a player is formally bought out) we’ll update the list.

Potential buyout candidates:

Expected to be bought out or released:

  • None

Veterans who have been bought out or released:

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Windhorst/Lowe On Cavs, Clips, Dinwiddie, Hood

February 9th, 2018 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers had an eventful trade deadline, trading away six players and taking back four new ones in three Thursday trades. However, it sounds as if the team was somewhat close to making an even bigger splash. Appearing today on Zach Lowe’s Lowe Post podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that there were people around the NBA who believed on Thursday morning that the Cavs and Clippers were gaining traction on a DeAndre Jordan deal.

“The reason people thought that was because there were other teams that were engaged in trade talks with pieces that would have spun off from that trade,” Windhorst explained. “So it got to the point where the Cavs and Clippers felt like they were close enough to some sort of agreement with each other that they could begin looking to bring in third teams and that’s why I know about it.”

According to Lowe, who says that the Cavaliers were never willing to send the Nets’ 2018 first-rounder to the Clippers in exchange for Jordan, talks between Clevleand and L.A. never got into “the red zone.” Still, Windhorst says that the two teams got at least “some distance down the road” before the Cavs opted to make other deals and the Clippers decided to keep Jordan.

Here’s more from Windhorst and Lowe:

  • The Nets were asking for “a lot” in return for Spencer Dinwiddie, according to Lowe, who says the Cavaliers explored a trade for Dinwiddie that involved Cleveland’s own 2018 first-rounder. Such a deal would have had the added benefit of improving the value of Brooklyn’s first-rounder for the Cavs, the Nets’ asking price was too high for Cleveland.
  • According to Lowe, Avery Bradley‘s asking price for his upcoming free agency is “gargantuan.” Lowe expects the Clippers guard to have to recalibrate his expectations at some point.
  • Lowe doesn’t think Rodney Hood‘s deal in restricted free agency this summer will be exorbitant, speculating that the Cavaliers might be able to lock him up for something in the neighborhood of $10-12MM per year.
  • Windhorst, who said last week that the Cavaliers had explored whether George Hill would be open to a buyout next year if they were to acquire him, clarified some details on that report. Since Hill was believed to be “miserable” with the Kings, per Windhorst, the Cavs looked into whether he’d be willing to reduce the guarantee on his $19MM salary for 2018/19 in order to facilitate a trade. That didn’t end up happening though.
  • Windhorst and Lowe said today there has been a lot of chatter around the NBA about the Grizzlies‘ approach to the deadline. For about 36 to 48 hours, Memphis was giving the teams the impression that they were on the verge of moving Tyreke Evans, presumably in an effort to get clubs to increase their offers, according to Lowe, who says the Grizzlies may have “out-thought themselves.”
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Kings Willing To Buy Out Johnson, Prefer To Keep Carter

February 9th, 2018 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

Joe Johnson, acquired from the Jazz by the Kings in one of Thursday’s three-team trades, will “definitely” get a buyout if he wants one from Sacramento, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. However, according to Stein, the Kings would love to hang onto another veteran – Vince Carter – for the rest of the season.

There’s a sense that the Kings would be open to working with Carter on a buyout if an intriguing landing spot surfaces for him in the weeks leading up to March 1, Stein reports (via Twitter). Still, Sacramento is hoping that he elects to stick around and act as a veteran mentor to the team’s young core.

Carter is on a one-year, $8MM deal with the Kings, and has played a limited role for the club this season. In 34 games, the 41-year-old has averaged 5.0 PPG and 2.1 RPG with a shooting line of .385/.367/.667 in 16.6 minutes per contest. His locker room presence has been important though, as the Kings’ in-season goals have transitioned — the club initially hoped to compete for a playoff spot, but now is focused on developing young players.

If the Kings were to grant Carter a buyout, one scenario could involve a return to his old team in Toronto. Multiple sources tell Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca that the Raptors front office has internally discussed the possibility of signing Carter if he reaches free agency, though he’s just one of several possible targets Toronto is keeping an eye on, Grange notes.

As for Johnson, we heard shortly after Thursday’s trade that he was expected to seek a buyout from the Kings, and that Sacramento was expected to be amenable to one. The Warriors and Celtics were mentioned as a pair of early frontrunners for the veteran forward, with the Thunder cited as a potential suitor too, per Kelly Iko of ESPN 97.5 Houston (Twitter link). The Rockets would also have interest in Johnson, according to David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).

There’s no deadline for teams to finalize buyouts with players, but they have to happen by March 1 in order for those players to retain their postseason eligibility. Players waived after March 1 can’t participate in the playoffs if they sign with a new team.

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Kings, Raptors Swap Malachi Richardson, Bruno Caboclo

February 8th, 2018 at 9:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:29pm: The Kings have officially acquired Caboclo for Richardson, the team announced in a press release.

4:51pm: The Kings have changed course and will now keep Caboclo on their roster, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 Sacramento. The Kings are waiving Georgios Papagiannis to clear the roster spot necessary for their other trade.

1:04pm: The Kings plan to release Caboclo once the trade is complete, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.

Sacramento will still owe him the rest of his $2.45MM salary for this season, but the Kings need to open a roster spot to complete a deal with Cleveland and Utah that brings in Iman Shumpert and Joe Johnson while sending out George Hill. Sacramento also gets rid of the nearly $1.6MM Richardson is owed next season, along with future options on his rookie contract.

12:32pm: The Raptors and Kings are finalizing a deal to swap Bruno Caboclo for Malachi Richardson, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

A first-round pick in 2016, Richardson has been somewhat of a disappointment in Sacramento after being acquired in a draft-night trade. He has played just 47 games in a season and a half and is averaging 3.5 points while shooting .365 from the field and .299 from 3-point range.

Toronto also had high hopes for Caboclo when it made him the 20th pick in the 2014 draft, but he has spent almost his entire career in the G League. He has played just 25 games at the NBA level, including two this season.

The Raptors save close $1MM in the deal, which was made to provide more flexibility in the buyout market, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.

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Kings Waive Georgios Papagiannis

February 8th, 2018 at 8:54pm CST by Luke Adams

8:54pm: Now that the Kings’ three-team trade with the Cavs and Jazz is complete, Papagiannis’ release has been made official as well, the team confirmed in a press release.

4:03pm: After exploring the trade market and not finding a deal, the Kings intend to waive former lottery pick Georgios Papagiannis, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Papagiannis, a 7’1″ center, was selected by the Kings with the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft after the team traded down from No. 8.  It was a surprising pick at the time, and Papagiannis’ play in his first season and a half in the NBA didn’t exactly vindicate Sacramento’s choice.

In 38 career contests, Papagiannis has averaged 4.2 PPG and 3.2 RPG. The big man appears to have taken a step back this season, having seen his FG% dip to just .415. Of course, the sample size is small — Papagiannis has averaged just 7.4 minutes per game in 16 contests.

Any team with interest in claiming Papagiannis off waivers would need cap room or an exception to absorb his $2,301,360 salary for this season. He also has a guaranteed $2,400,480 salary for 2018/19, with a $3,430,286 team option for 2019/20.

The Kings already parted with one 2016 first-round pick earlier today, agreeing to send Malachi Richardson to Toronto in a trade with the Raptors. Sacramento acquired Bruno Caboclo in that deal and was reportedly set to waive him to clear the room necessary to take on two players for George Hill in another trade. With Papagiannis now on his way out, it’s not clear if the Kings will still waive Caboclo too. (Update: They don’t plan to.)

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Cavs Acquire Rodney Hood, George Hill In Three-Team Trade

February 8th, 2018 at 7:57pm CST by Luke Adams

7:57pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from the Jazz and Cavaliers. The terms of the deal are as follows:"<strong

1:41pm: ESPN’s Brian Windhorst adds more details on this complex three-team deal, tweeting that the Kings will receive $2.1MM from the Cavs and $1.1MM from the Jazz. Utah will have the option of swapping second-round picks in 2024 with the Cavs. Cleveland also acquired the draft rights to Arturas Gudaitis from the Kings and surrendered the draft rights to Dimitrios Agravanis.

12:03pm: A busy day in Cleveland continues, as the Cavaliers have agreed to acquire Rodney Hood from the Jazz in a three-team trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The Cavs will also receive George Hill from Sacramento in the deal, with the Jazz acquiring Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose.

The Kings will get Joe Johnson and Iman Shumpert, per Woj (Twitter link). TNT’s David Aldridge tweets that Sacramento will also acquire a future draft pick and cash considerations, with Sam Amick of USA Today providing some details (via Twitter), reporting that the pick will be Miami’s 2020 second-rounder from Cleveland. The Kings will also get a little over $3MM in cash, Amick adds.

The move, which comes on the heels of the Cavs reaching a deal with the Lakers for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr., further reshapes a Cleveland roster that will look a whole lot different by the end of the day than it did at the start of it.

By surrendering Crowder, Rose, and Shumpert in exchange for Hood and Hill, the Cavaliers will take on about $4MM in extra salary, and far more than that in projected tax payments. However, the cost of the deal may be worth it for the on-court impact, as Crowder, Rose, and Shumpert have all underperformed and/or battled injuries this season.

Hood will give the Cavs a young, perimeter scorer who has fought through some injuries of his own, but has enjoyed a career year when he’s been on the court. In 39 games, the 25-year-old has averaged 16.8 PPG on .424/.389/.876 shooting. As for Hill, the veteran point guard has struggled mightily in Sacramento this season, but has historically been a good shooter (.454/.384/.800 career shooting line) and a solid defender. His ability to play off the ball should make him a good fit to play alongside LeBron James.

Hood will be a restricted free agent this summer, while Hill remains under contract for two more years beyond this one. He’ll earn $19MM in 2018/19, and has a $18MM salary in 2019/20 that only features a very small partial guarantee.

From Utah’s perspective, the trade will allow them to get out from under Johnson’s $10.5MM salary — the veteran forward was viewed as a buyout candidate if he had remained on the roster through the deadline, and will likely remain a buyout candidate in Sacramento. The Jazz had to give up Hood as part of the deal, but he had been mentioned frequently in trade rumors in recent weeks and no longer appeared to be part of the club’s long-term plans.

In exchange, Utah will acquire Crowder, who has a reputation as a solid three-and-D wing on a team-friendly contract despite his struggles this season, and Rose, who may not be in the team’s plans. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets that the Jazz will likely release Rose.

As for the Kings, they’ll get out from under Hill’s expensive multiyear deal, acquiring Johnson’s expiring contract as well as Shumpert, who has a $10.3MM+ player option for next season. The deal creates nearly $9MM in 2018/19 cap flexibility for the Kings, and also nets them that aforementioned 2020 pick and some cash. Sacramento had committed to playing its young players over its veterans down the stretch this season, so Hill’s playing time had been sporadic.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Warriors, Celtics Considered Favorites For Joe Johnson

February 8th, 2018 at 2:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors and Celtics will be the favorites to sign Joe Johnson if he receives a buyout from the Kings, tweets Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports. Johnson, who was acquired from the Jazz in a three-team trade this afternoon, is expected to ask for a buyout and Mannix believes Sacramento will grant him one.

Johnson is making a little more than $10.5MM in the final season of a two-year contract. With about a third of the season remaining, it will be interesting to see how much money he is willing to give up to join a contender. This is a familiar position for Johnson, who agreed to a buyout with the Nets two years ago and signed with the Heat for a playoff run.

Either Boston or Golden State would have to open up room for the roster before signing Johnson. The Celtics are at 14 players right now, but are expected to sign free agent center Greg Monroe before tonight’s game.

Johnson missed part of the season with a wrist injury, but has averaged 7.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 32 games. He offers both versatility and playoff experience and will receive plenty of offers once the buyout is complete.

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Trade Deadline Rumors: Carroll, Kings, Lakers, C’s

February 8th, 2018 at 1:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets and Pacers have considered a deal that would send DeMarre Carroll to Indiana in exchange for Al Jefferson, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The deal would be a way for Brooklyn to clear money for next season, as Carroll is owed $15.4MM, while Jefferson has a $10MM salary that’s only partially guaranteed.

Carroll, who was traded to the Nets over the summer, is averaging career highs in scoring (13.2), rebounds (6.4) and assists (1.9). Jefferson has settled into a reserve role since coming to Indiana two years ago and is averaging 6.7 points and 3.9 assists in 26 games.

There’s more to report as the trade deadline draws closer:

  • The Kings are willing to move second-year center Georgios Papagiannis if they need to open a roster spot to complete a larger trade, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (Twitter link). However, Sacramento has since agreed to trade Malachi Richardson in a deal that seems designed to open up a roster spot.
  • With Devin Booker and Tyler Ulis both battling injuries, the Suns may be interested in a minor deal for point guard help, tweets Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Josh Gray is the only healthy option currently on the roster.
  • The Lakers appear to be done with major deals after acquiring Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye from the Cavaliers, relays Bill Oram of the SoCalNewsGroup (Twitter link). Oram adds that a minor trade could still be in the works.
  • The Celtics remain engaged on several trade fronts, but continue to be reluctant to include a first-round pick in a deal, sources tell Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
  • The Cavaliers weren’t able to gain any traction with the Hornets on a Kemba Walker trade before pulling the trigger on a series of separate deals, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Hornets Michael Jordan places a high value on Walker and won’t move him cheaply, Woj adds. Jordan said in a recent interview that he wouldn’t part with Walker “for anything but an All-Star player.”

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Trade Deadline Notes: Evans, Hill, Hood, Mavericks

February 7th, 2018 at 11:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

One of the most important deadlines on the NBA calendar is less than 24 hours away, and teams are preparing their best offers as we head for 2:00pm Central. We’ll find out soon if any more franchise-altering moves are in store for this season, but in the meantime here are some Wednesday night trade rumors:

  • The Celtics remain in the running for Grizzlies guard Tyreke Evans, but there’s a sense that Memphis is getting better offers elsewhere, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. A GM from another team tells Bulpett that Boston is waiting to swoop in if talks with those other clubs fall apart. Evans’ value figures to have increased after Lou Williams agreed to an extension with the Clippers today, taking one high-scoring guard off the market.
  • Multiple teams have shown interest in George Hill, but the Kings don’t want to take on bad contracts, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The Cavaliers have been the team most prominently linked to the veteran guard, but Jones says the Rockets and others have contacted Sacramento about Hill. Houston could match salaries with Ryan Anderson, but he is owed more than $41MM over the next two seasons and the Kings want to avoid cutting into their future cap space. They are seeking young players and draft picks in return for Hill.
  • Teams have also called the Kings about veterans Garrett Temple, Vince Carter and Kosta Koufos, Jones adds in the same story. Both Temple ($8MM) and Koufos ($8.74MM) have player options for next season, while the 41-year-old Carter is on an expiring deal.
  • Jazz swingman Rodney Hood told Shams Charania of The Vertical that he expects to be traded. “I’ve had great times in Utah, but regardless of where I’m playing, whether it’s there or somewhere else, I’m going to stay professional,” Hood said. “I’m going to stick with it. My gut feeling is that I won’t be here by the deadline. I’ve enjoyed my time here, but I’ve felt isolated the past month and I would not be surprised if I was moved.” 
  • The Mavericks are being offered players by teams trying to unload salary, but they aren’t getting enough incentives to make the deals worthwhile, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Sefko lists Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle of the Lakers and J.R. Smith of the Cavaliers as players who would be available if Dallas doesn’t mind committing the cap space.
  • The Knicks may be in the market for more deals after sending Willy Hernangomez to the Hornets, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Kyle O’Quinn and Courtney Lee are the most likely players to be moved.
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