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DeMarre Carroll Reaches Buyout, Looks To Join Rockets

February 17th, 2020 at 5:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Forward DeMarre Carroll has reached a buyout with the Spurs, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. He intends to sign with the Rockets once he clears waivers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

The news is not surprising, considering that Carroll had racked up 15 straight DNP-CDs and publicly expressed frustration with his lack of playing time. However, it’s still unusual for a team to agree to buy out a player with multiple years left on his contract.

Carroll agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract with the Spurs in a sign-and-trade from Brooklyn last summer.

Carroll is owed $2.3MM for the remainder of the season, $6.65MM next season and $1.35MM in guaranteed money for 2021/22, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Even with the buyout, San Antonio will incur a cap hit through the life of the contract.

The 33-year-old did not join the Spurs when they began their eight-game rodeo trip on February 2, as the club looked into moving him by the February 6 trade deadline.

Carroll holds career averages of 9.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 35.9% from deep. With the Spurs, he averaged just 9.0 MPG and appeared in only 15 games. Carroll appeared in 67 games with the Nets last season and averaged 11.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 25.4 MPG.

Carroll’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, negotiated the buyout.

Carroll could play both forward positions in Houston’s small ball lineup. The Rockets have two open roster spots and need to add at least one player, so Carroll could fulfill that obligation.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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DeMarre Carroll, Frustrated In San Antonio, Hopeful For New Opportunity

February 16th, 2020 at 3:13pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Spurs forward DeMarre Carroll is making no secret of his frustration with his role in San Antonio, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Carroll has 15 straight DNP-CDs and counting,

Carroll agreed to a three-year, $21MM contract with the club in a sign-and-trade from Brooklyn this summer. The Spurs are only on the hook for $1.35MM in the final season of his deal (2021/22).

The 33-year-old was not with the Spurs when they started their eight-game rodeo trip on February 2, as the club looked into moving him by the February 6 trade deadline, per Orsborn. Before things had reached this point, Carroll was already vocal about his reduced role.

Carroll, known as a prototypical three-and-D forward who can play either position, holds career averages of 9.0 PPG and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 35.9% from deep on 3.2 attempts a night. Those numbers have cratered this season with the Spurs, where he is averaging just nine minutes a night and has appeared in only 15 games.

“I felt like San Antonio was going to be a great place for me, for my talents,” Carroll said of his frustrating tenure with the Spurs this season. “But it didn’t work out.”

Due to the length of Carroll’s current contract, a buyout that satisfies both sides may be difficult to achieve — an offseason trade may be more realistic. Carroll was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of his buyout, suggesting his agent Mark Bartelstein is at least exploring the idea.

“He is handling that,” Carroll said. “[He] and [Spurs general manager] Brian (Wright) and all of them. I don’t know what direction we are going to go. But at the end of the day, at 33, I don’t want to waste my talents just sitting at the end of the bench, knowing I could help a team produce.”

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Forbes Releases 2020 NBA Franchise Valuations

February 11th, 2020 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have had a miserable 12 months, finishing the 2018/19 season with a league-worst 17 wins, missing out on their top free agent targets, and then firing head coach David Fizdale and president of basketball operations Steve Mills during the 2019/20 season.

None of that seems to have had a noticeable impact on the team’s market value though. Once again, the franchise is considered the most valuable of any of the NBA’s 30 clubs, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes. The Lakers and Warriors aren’t far behind, having both surpassed the $4 billion mark for the first time this year.

For the first time, all 30 NBA teams have a perceived worth of $1.3 billion or more, per Forbes’ annual report. Every team’s value increased by at least 6% since Forbes put out their 2019 valuations last February, with a handful of franchises jumping by 20% or more.

The NBA-wide average of $2.12 billion per team in 2020 is also a new record — that league-wide average surpassed the $2 billion mark for the first time. NBA franchise values are up almost sixfold over the last decade, according to Badenhausen.

Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:

  1. New York Knicks: $4.6 billion
  2. Los Angeles Lakers: $4.4 billion
  3. Golden State Warriors: $4.3 billion
  4. Chicago Bulls: $3.2 billion
  5. Boston Celtics: $3.1 billion
  6. Los Angeles Clippers: $2.6 billion
  7. Brooklyn Nets: $2.5 billion
  8. Houston Rockets: $2.475 billion
  9. Dallas Mavericks: $2.4 billion
  10. Toronto Raptors: $2.1 billion
  11. Philadelphia 76ers: $2 billion
  12. Miami Heat: $1.95 billion
  13. Portland Trail Blazers: $1.85 billion
  14. San Antonio Spurs: $1.8 billion
  15. Sacramento Kings: $1.775 billion
  16. Washington Wizards: $1.75 billion
  17. Phoenix Suns: $1.625 billion
  18. Denver Nuggets: $1.6 billion
  19. Milwaukee Bucks: $1.58 billion
  20. Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.575 billion
  21. Utah Jazz: $1.55 billion
  22. Indiana Pacers: $1.525 billion
  23. Atlanta Hawks: $1.52 billion
  24. Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.51 billion
  25. Charlotte Hornets: $1.5 billion
  26. Detroit Pistons: $1.45 billion
  27. Orlando Magic: $1.43 billion
  28. Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.375 billion
  29. New Orleans Pelicans: $1.35 billion
  30. Memphis Grizzlies: $1.3 billion

The Raptors are among this year’s big “winners,” with their value rising 25%, from $1.675 billion a year ago to $2.1 billion this year following their first NBA championship. The Clippers also had a noteworthy bump, moving from ninth place on Forbes’ list to sixth after landing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George last summer.

Although every franchise’s value increased, the Nets had the smallest jump, just 6%. The Magic‘s modest 8% increase resulted in the team slipping from 23rd on last year’s list to 27th this year.

It’s worth noting that when a franchise has been sold in recent years, the price often exceeds Forbes’ valuation, so these figures are just estimates.

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USA Basketball Announces 44 Finalists For 2020 Olympic Roster

February 10th, 2020 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has formally announced a preliminary group of 44 players who are candidates to be part of the program’s roster for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The final roster will only consist of 12 players, so most of these finalists won’t actually play for Team USA at the Olympics. Some will likely withdraw from consideration, while others simply won’t make the final cut. However, these players have all expressed interest in being involved in the process.

“This is the first step in USA Basketball identifying the 12 players who will represent the United States as members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team in Tokyo,” said USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo.

“… Over the course of the remainder of the NBA season we’ll continue to monitor all of the athletes. Selecting the 12-man USA roster will obviously be an extremely challenging and difficult process, and we will again attempt to select the very best team possible to represent our country and who we hope will be successful in our difficult mission of repeating as Olympic champions for a fourth consecutive Olympics.”

Although the U.S. men’s team has won three consecutive Olympic gold medals, the program had a disappointing showing at last year’s World Cup, finishing in seventh place. Team USA will be looking for a bounce-back performance in Tokyo this summer, with many players from that World Cup squad among the 44 finalists announced today.

Here’s the full list of players who are candidates to play for Team USA at the 2020 Olympics:

  1. Bam Adebayo (Heat)
  2. LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs)
  3. Harrison Barnes (Kings)
  4. Bradley Beal (Wizards)
  5. Devin Booker (Suns)
  6. Malcolm Brogdon (Pacers)
  7. Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
  8. Jimmy Butler (Heat)
  9. Mike Conley (Jazz)
  10. Stephen Curry (Warriors)
  11. Anthony Davis (Lakers)
  12. DeMar DeRozan (Spurs)
  13. Andre Drummond (Cavaliers)
  14. Kevin Durant (Nets)
  15. Paul George (Clippers)
  16. Draymond Green (Warriors)
  17. James Harden (Rockets)
  18. Montrezl Harrell (Clippers)
  19. Joe Harris (Nets)
  20. Tobias Harris (76ers)
  21. Gordon Hayward (Celtics)
  22. Dwight Howard (Lakers)
  23. Brandon Ingram (Pelicans)
  24. Kyrie Irving (Nets)
  25. LeBron James (Lakers)
  26. Kyle Kuzma (Lakers)
  27. Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
  28. Damian Lillard (Blazers)
  29. Brook Lopez (Bucks)
  30. Kevin Love (Cavaliers)
  31. Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
  32. JaVale McGee (Lakers)
  33. Khris Middleton (Bucks)
  34. Donovan Mitchell (Jazz)
  35. Victor Oladipo (Pacers)
  36. Chris Paul (Thunder)
  37. Mason Plumlee (Nuggets)
  38. Marcus Smart (Celtics)
  39. Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
  40. Klay Thompson (Warriors)
  41. Myles Turner (Pacers)
  42. Kemba Walker (Celtics)
  43. Russell Westbrook (Rockets)
  44. Derrick White (Spurs)
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Southwest Notes: Holiday, Covington, Doncic, Lyles

February 9th, 2020 at 2:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Pelicans shooting guard Jrue Holiday was excited to remain in New Orleans through the trade deadline this season, as he explained to The Athletic’s William Guillory. The 29-year-old Holiday, considered one of the best defensive guards in the league, is on the third year of a fairly reasonable five-year, $126MM contract.

Holiday held appeal for several contending teams looking to shore up their backcourt ahead of a playoff push, including the Heat and Nuggets. The Pelicans themselves are just 4.5 games out of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. With 2019 No. 1 draft pick  Zion Williamson finally debuting on January 22, New Orleans valued Holiday too much to make a deal just yet.

“I feel like what we’re doing here is something promising,” Holiday told Guillory of his season with the new-look Pelicans. “Obviously with the new management and the new guys coming in, we’re fairly young but we’re all very, very hungry. What we have here, we can build together.”

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

  • New Rockets forward Robert Covington and his very reasonable four-year, $47MM contract took him from overlooked role player to highly coveted glue guy very quickly ahead of this season’s trade deadline, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details.
  • Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is optimistic that All-Star guard Luka Doncic will return to the court ahead of the All-Star break, according to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). “That’s not definite, but that’s the hope,” Carlisle said.
  • The future of Spurs bench big man Trey Lyles in San Antonio is appraised by the San Antonio Express-News’ Jeff McDonald. Lyles is averaging a robust 5.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in just 18 minutes per game for the club. He has suited up 51 games, including 41 starts. The 6’9″ Kentucky alum signed a two-year, $11MM contract with San Antonio this summer. Only $1MM of his $5.5MM salary next year is guaranteed.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/7/20

February 7th, 2020 at 9:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are Friday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:

  • The Wizards assigned forward Admiral Schofield to the Capital City Go-Go for a practice and then recalled him and center Anzejs Pasecniks, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter links). Both were available for the team’s home game against Dallas on Friday.
  • The Kings assigned center Eric Mika to their affiliate in Stockton, according to the G League transactions log. The former BYU standout has appeared in just one NBA game this season.
  • The Spurs assigned big man Chimezie Metu and swingman Keldon Johnson to their Austin affiliate, according to G League log. Metu, a second-year power forward, has appeared in 15 games with San Antonio this season while Johnson’s, a first-round pick last June, has appeared in four NBA games.
  • The Celtics assigned rookie guard Carsen Edwards to the Maine Red Claws, according to the G League log. The point guard has played 31 games with Boston this season.
  • The Suns assigned Jalen Lecque to their North Arizona affiliate, according to the G League log. The rookie point man has seen action in three NBA games.
  • The Warriors recalled forward Alen Smailagić from their Santa Cruz affiliate, according to a team press release. The rookie forward has appeared in nine games for Golden State, averaging 4.7 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 10.3 MPG.
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Trade Deadline Notes: Bucks, Raptors, C’s, Heat, Thunder, More

February 6th, 2020 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2:00pm CT trade deadline has now passed, but word of last-minute deals can sometimes trickle in after the buzzer. That won’t be the case for the Raptors and Bucks though, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, who reports (via Twitter) that the Eastern Conference’s top two teams didn’t make a move today.

Here are more deadline updates:

  • It was a fairly quiet deadline for many of the top Eastern teams. The Celtics didn’t make a trade either, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). And the Pacers also stood pat, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
  • The Heat were active earlier in the day, finalizing a trade to acquire Andre Iguodala. However, the team didn’t expand that deal to include Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald confirms (via Twitter). As Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald explains (via Twitter), the Heat’s extension talks with Gallinari were more of a hang-up than the trade talks with the Thunder, given Miami’s desire to keep its cap clear for 2021.
  • The Thunder, having held onto Gallinari, didn’t make any deadline deals, tweets Wojnarowski.
  • The Jazz stood pat today as well, tweets Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune. So did the Spurs, says Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
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Knicks Rumors: Russell, Morris, Trier, Caruso, Ujiri

February 5th, 2020 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks continue to pursue Warriors point guard D’Angelo Russell with the trade deadline 24 hours away, according to Newsday’s Steve Popper and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links).

Reports earlier in the week had revealed the Knicks’ interest in Russell. However, those stories were published prior to Steve Mills‘ ouster from the front office, so it wasn’t clear if the remaining group – led by interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry – would continue to go after the fifth-year guard.

While today’s reports confirm that the Knicks remain interested in Russell, Charania hears that New York’s proposed package haven’t been enough to close the gap and meet Golden State’s asking price.

As we noted last night when we checked in on the Timberwolves’ pursuit of Russell, the Warriors were said to be seeking at least one of Minnesota’s own unprotected first-round picks — preferably in 2021, which is expected to be a strong draft than 2020. The Wolves were reportedly dangling Brooklyn’s lottery-protected 2020 first-round selection and their own protected ’20 first-rounder as part of their offer.

Presumably, the Warriors will be seeking at least one unprotected Knicks first-rounder in talks with New York. However, there’s no consensus within the Knicks’ front office on the team’s willingness to give up first-rounders to land D-Lo, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Newsday’s Steve Popper (Twitter link) is hearing that Marcus Morris will be moved before the deadline. Marc Stein of The New York Times conveys a similar sentiment, tweeting that the Knicks know they can trade Morris and now it’s just a matter of where.
  • In addition to touching base about Kyle Kuzma, the Knicks and Lakers have also discussed Allonzo Trier and Alex Caruso, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Those talks took place before Mills’ ouster and didn’t advance, sources tell Begley.
  • According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, Knicks owner James Dolan would like to move fairly quickly on the team’s front office search, possibly so there’s a new president in place for a head coaching search in the spring.
  • An in-season search would reduce the likelihood of the Knicks landing Raptors president Masai Ujiri, Berman notes. However, a source suggests to Berman that might be okay with Dolan, who values loyalty and may not want to push Ujiri to break his contract in Toronto. Dolan may also been wary of Ujiri using the Knicks for leverage in extension talks with the Raptors, the source tells Berman.
  • Within a separate SNY.tv article examining possible front office targets for the Knicks, Begley writes that R.C. Buford (Spurs) and Kevin Pritchard (Pacers) aren’t realistic options. Both executives are on long-term deals and Buford has a CEO title in San Antonio.
  • Recently hired by the Knicks as a brand consultant, Steve Stoute is a “prominent voice” within the organization right now, according to Popper (Twitter link), who says Stoute is involved in the front office search.
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Trade Rumors: Clippers, Herro, LaVine, Poeltl, More

February 4th, 2020 at 5:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Chris Mannix of SI.com is among the latest reporters to weigh in this week on the Clippers‘ search for a center. According to Mannix, Los Angeles’ coaching staff has some concerns about the team’s rebounding. We heard on Monday that the Clips are also wary of facing star centers like Rudy Gobert or Nikola Jokic in the postseason.

Sources tell Mannix that there’s some interest within the Clippers’ front office in Tristan Thompson, whom the Cavaliers have put on the trade block. Mannix also names disgruntled Kings big man Dewayne Dedmon as a possible target, though he cautions that Dedmon wouldn’t be a preferred option for L.A.

The Clippers have Maurice Harkless‘ $11MM+ expiring contract available to use as a salary-matching piece for a trade target earning an eight-figure salary, but the team will have to be careful about how it fires that bullet. Acquiring a pricey center like Thompson or Dedmon using Harkless’ deal could take the team out of the market for a wing in the same salary range, such as Marcus Morris or Robert Covington.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

  • The Heat have told teams that Tyler Herro is unavailable at this time, according to Mannix. If Miami wants to do something major, Herro would likely be the first player a potential trade partner asks about, but the Heat have no interest in moving him.
  • The Bulls have received some trade feelers for Zach LaVine, but a source tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link) that the 24-year-old is “off-limits.” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Zach Lowe said essentially the same thing on a podcast this week.
  • Teams are calling the Spurs to ask about Jakob Poeltl, but the asking price is believed to be too high, tweets Jabari Young of CNBC. Poeltl will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, so it’s possible San Antonio will lower its price by Thursday if the big man isn’t in the team’s long-term plans.
  • Nuggets power forward Juan Hernangomez is among the players of interest for the Rockets, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Denver is reportedly seeking a second-round pick for Hernangomez.
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Jazz Rumors: Trade Market, Davis, Carroll, Conley

February 4th, 2020 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz probably won’t do anything too drastic at this week’s trade deadline, but they’d like to “upgrade around the margins” if possible, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic. Having already dealt Dante Exum and a pair of second-round picks for Jordan Clarkson, Utah no longer has as many expendable assets that could be included in a trade, but would “jump” at any opportunity to improve its roster, says Jones.

One player who could be on the block is Ed Davis. As Jones points out, things haven’t worked out for Davis in Utah so far — he’s averaged a career-worst 1.3 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 25 games (10.7 MPG). The veteran center would like to play more and the Jazz are open to moving him, according to Jones. However, if they can’t find a trade they like, the two sides figure to move forward together, since a buyout isn’t a realistic option due to the big man’s guaranteed $5MM+ salary for 2020/21.

Here’s more from Jones on the Jazz:

  • Utah’s front office has at least “superficially” discussed the idea of targeting veteran forward DeMarre Carroll, who is on the trade block in San Antonio. Jones notes that there’s uncertainty about how much Carroll has left in the tank, given his down year with the Spurs.
  • Sources tell The Athletic that the Jazz don’t want to move any “core” players. That group includes Mike Conley, who is unlikely to be discussed at all in trade talks this week, according to Jones.
  • If the Jazz don’t end up doing anything by the trade deadline, they’d like to be active on the buyout market, Jones writes.
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