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Clippers Trade Tobias Harris To Sixers

February 6th, 2019 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

12:02pm: The Sixers and Clippers have both issued press releases officially announcing the trade.

“We are in the unique position to contend now and we think this trade positions us well for the postseason,” Sixers GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “Tobias is one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA and possesses an innate ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor, while Boban and Mike provide valuable skillsets, size and depth to our team. All three players bring high character to our locker room and we are excited about their fit alongside Joel, Ben, Jimmy and our entire roster.”

7:10am: The Sixers and Clippers have agreed on a six-player deal that will send Tobias Harris to Philadelphia, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN writes. In exchange, Los Angeles will bring back rookie Landry Shamet, two first-round picks and a number of other resources. Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that the two sides had reached a deal.

In total, Philadelphia will acquire Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott while Los Angeles adds Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Philadelphia’s own 2020 first-rounder, Miami’s unprotected 2021 first-rounder, and a pair of future second-rounders. The two second-round picks will be the Pistons’ 2021 and 2023 selections, per Rich Hofmann of The Athletic (Twitter link).

As for the Sixers’ 2020 first-round pick, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports (via Twitter) that it will be lottery protected for three seasons, and would turn into a pair of second-round picks for 2023 and 2024 if it hasn’t conveyed after those three years.

It’s a massive swing by the 76ers, who appear to be going all-in on their current group after years of rebuilding. In Harris, they acquire a 26-year-old forward who is having the best year of his career. In 55 games for the Clippers, he averaged 20.9 PPG and 7.9 RPG with a shooting line of .496/.434/.877. All of those numbers are career highs.

Harris will join a starting lineup that already features Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, and J.J. Redick, giving the Sixers arguably the most talented starting five in the East. Meanwhile, Scott and Marjanovic will help replace some of the frontcourt depth Philadelphia has sacrificed by trading Chandler, Muscala, Dario Saric, and Robert Covington this season.

Harris is on an expiring contract and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but the Sixers intend to be “aggressive” in re-signing him to a new deal, sources tell Wojnarowski. The plan in Philadelphia is to secure the team’s Big 4 of Embiid, Butler, Simmons, and Harris long-term, regardless of luxury tax concerns, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link).

Of course, as Lowe observes in a follow-up tweet, having both Butler’s and Harris’ Bird Rights in free agency this offseason will give the Sixers some leverage negotiating with each player. If the franchise ultimately does re-sign both players and gives Simmons a maximum-salary extension, the Big 4 would likely cost approximately $120MM by the 2020/21 season, Bobby Marks of ESPN observes.

As for the Clippers’ side of the deal, while Harris had been great for the team since coming over in last year’s Blake Griffin blockbuster, he isn’t at the top of the organization’s wish list for 2019 free agency. As such, the club was comfortable giving up his Bird Rights in exchange for long-term assets.

By acquiring Shamet and two more first-round picks, including an unprotected 2021 Heat selection that could end up being pretty valuable, the Clippers have added more strong trade assets that could be used in pursuit of a star down the road.

Although the Clippers were one of the clubs on Anthony Davis‘ reported four-team wish list, L.A.’s front office didn’t make this trade with the primary objective to go after Davis, league sources tell Wojnarowski. Still, if the Clips pursue a player like AD or another star this week or in the offseason, their new assets will probably be more intriguing to a rebuilding team than Harris would have been.

Harris ($14.8MM), Marjanovic ($7MM), and Scott ($4.32MM) are all on expiring contracts, as are Chandler ($12.8MM) and Muscala ($5MM). However, the Clippers will actually add a little money to their books for 2019/20 by taking on Shamet, who is on his rookie contract and will earn just under $2MM in 2019/20.

Even after that modest addition to their cap, the Clippers will be in a good position to create the space necessary for at least one maximum-salary player in July. According to Marks, the Clippers should have about $37MM in room, and could increase that number to $49MM by waiving Avery Bradley. If they could find a taker for Danilo Gallinari, that figure would further increase to $70.7MM, which should be enough for two max slots.

The ramifications of this blockbuster deal on both conferences could be significant. In the West, the Clippers currently hold the No. 8 seed at 30-25, but the Kings and Lakers remain in hot pursuit of a playoff spot. Without Harris, the Clips’ playoff chances will dip, which in turn will reduce their odds of hanging onto their 2019 first-round pick — that selection is owed to the Celtics, but is lottery protected.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, there’s a clear group of four teams at the top of the postseason race, with the Sixers joining the Bucks, Raptors, and Celtics. It will be interesting to see whether any of those other contenders respond with moves of their own before Thursday’s deadline.

In his analysis of the trade, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps notes that Milwaukee may have already made its most significant move, acquiring George Hill earlier in the season, and Boston may save its assets for an offseason run at Davis. That leaves the Raptors as the most intriguing wild card over the next couple days. Toronto has been aggressive on several fronts, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.

Finally, one more cap-related note on this swap: The Clippers have multiple options for how to structure the deal, but one approach would see them create a $9.8MM traded player exception. Philadelphia won’t be able to generate a new TPE in the trade.

Austin Kent contributed to this story.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bucks, Pistons Agree To Stanley Johnson, Thon Maker Trade

February 6th, 2019 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

Update: This trade agreement has been rolled into a second deal between the Bucks and Pelicans to make it a three-team trade. You can read the full story here.

The Bucks and Pistons are in the process of finalizing a trade that will send forward Stanley Johnson to Milwaukee and big man Thon Maker to Detroit, a league source tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the deal has been agreed to in principle.

The move will see two Central Division teams swap a pair of former lottery picks that had fallen out of their clubs’ long-term plans. It’s a straight-up, one-for-one trade with no additional players or draft assets, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic.

Johnson, the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft, seemed set to assume a larger role for the Pistons in 2018/19 after starting 50 games last season. However, the 22-year-old has taken a step back, averaging 20.0 minutes per game after playing 27.4 MPG in 2017/18. His shooting numbers have also failed to improve over the course of his career. His .381 FG% and .282 3PT% this season are about in line with his career rates.

Because he’s in his fourth NBA season, Johnson will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer, but he was unlikely to receive a qualifying offer from the Pistons, as Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press notes (via Twitter). The Bucks will get the opportunity to audition him as a three-and-D wing down the stretch in 2018/19 before deciding this summer whether they want to try to keep him around for a little longer.

As for Maker, the 10th overall pick from 2016’s draft has also seen his role reduced this season. The 7’1″ center, who will turn 22 later this month, appeared in 35 games for Milwaukee, averaging 4.7 PPG and 2.7 RPG in just 11.7 minutes per game. Given Maker’s limited playing time, his agent asked the Bucks to trade him to a team that would give him a greater opportunity.

Maker will get that opportunity in Detroit, where he’ll reunite with former Bucks assistant Sean Sweeney, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps observes (via Twitter). The Pistons aren’t exactly stacked with a deep and talented frontcourt behind Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, so Maker should get the chance to battle the likes of Zaza Pachulia and Jon Leuer for minutes in Dwane Casey‘s rotation. He also remains under contract for one more year before reaching restricted free agency in 2020.

Maker is earning a salary of about $2.8MM in 2018/19, while Johnson’s cap hit is $3.94MM. Trade rules allow for that modest difference in salaries, which will benefit the Pistons — as a result of this deal and their trade sending Reggie Bullock to the Lakers, they’ve created an extra $2MM+ in breathing room below the luxury tax line, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes.

The Pistons will also generate a small trade exception worth the difference in the two players’ salaries ($1,140,682).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cavs Trade Rodney Hood To Blazers For Stauskas, Baldwin, Picks

February 4th, 2019 at 9:37am CST by JD Shaw

FEBRUARY 4: The trade is now official, according to press releases issued by the Blazers and Cavs. According to Cleveland’s announcement, the two picks included in the deal are Portland’s own 2021 and 2023 second-rounders. The Cavs also confirmed they waived Simmons from his 10-day contract to clear the necessary roster spot.

“Rodney is an accomplished NBA player that brings versatility, shot making and depth to our perimeter and will fit seamlessly into our culture and style of play,” Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey said in a statement.

FEBRUARY 3: The Cavaliers are trading guard Rodney Hood to the Trail Blazers for Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin and two future second-round picks, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.

The Cavs must release one player to make the trade work, with 10-day contract guard Kobi Simmons being a potential candidate. Cleveland will continue to explore the market for Alec Burks, who could be on deck for a trade, Wojnarowski adds. J.R. Smith also remains on the roster several weeks after he and the team mutually agreed to part ways.

Hood, 26, had to approve of the trade because he signed a one-year qualifying offer last offseason, as noted by Wojnarowski. He was enthusiastic enough about joining the Blazers to waive his Bird Rights, now focused on helping Portland advance as the postseason nears.

For Portland, Hood is expected to provide bench scoring behind the likes of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, currently holding per-game averages of 12.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists. He’ll be a free agent on July 1. The Blazers (fourth in the West at 32-20) also freed up a roster spot with the agreement.

Stauskas and Baldwin join the Cavaliers as two younger guards who will enter unrestricted free agency this July. Baldwin struggled shooting the ball (30% from the floor and 22% from 3-point range) in limited minutes with the Blazers this year, while Stauskas has shot a career-best 42% from the floor and pedestrian 34% from deep on the season.

With the trade, Cleveland has essentially turned Hood, Kyle Korver, George Hill and Sam Dekker into one first-round pick and six second-round picks for the future, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. The first round pick is protected in 2021.

The NBA’s annual trading deadline falls on Thursday, February 7 this year. Today’s deal between the Cavaliers and Blazers is the 10th different trade of the 2018/19 season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nets Sign Mitch Creek To Second 10-Day Deal

February 4th, 2019 at 8:34am CST by Luke Adams

After his 10-day contract with the Nets expired overnight, Australian forward Mitch Creek has re-signed with the club on a second 10-day deal, Brooklyn announced this morning in a press release.

The new pact will keep Creek under contract through February 13, at which point the Nets will have to decide whether to re-sign him for the season or let him go. A player can sign no more than two 10-day contracts with the same team in a given league year.

Creek, 26, arrived stateside in 2018 after spending most of his professional career with the Adelaide 36ers in Australia. He played for the Mavericks in Summer League, the Nets in the preseason, and the G League’s Long Island Nets for most of the 2018/19 campaign until signing with Brooklyn on January 25.

While Creek didn’t see much action during his first 10 days in the NBA, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.7 RPG in three games (6.7 MPG), the Nets apparently liked what they saw. Brooklyn will have him fill the club’s 15th and final roster spot for at least the next week and a half.

Caboclo Gets Second 10-Day Contract With Grizzlies

February 3rd, 2019 at 8:46am CST by Arthur Hill

The Grizzlies have given Bruno Caboclo another 10-day contract, the team announced on Twitter.

The 23-year-old forward is averaging 6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds in five games with Memphis while playing 23 minutes per night. The Grizzlies needed to add wing depth because of injuries to Chandler Parsons, Dillon Brooks, and Kyle Anderson.

Caboclo had been with the Rockets’ G League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley before receiving the 10-day contracts. Memphis will have to decide whether to waive him or sign him for the rest of the season when this deal expires on February 12.

For a complete list of this year’s 10-day contracts, including which deals remain active, check out our tracker.

Bulls Acquire Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Waive Carmelo Anthony

February 1st, 2019 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

1:03pm: The Bulls have issued a press release confirming that they’ve sent a heavily protected 2020 second-round pick to the Thunder in exchange for Luwawu-Cabarrot and cash. The team has also officially waived Anthony, lining him up to clear waivers on Sunday.

Chicago plans to hang onto Luwawu-Cabarrot, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).

12:39pm: The Bulls and Thunder are in the process of finalizing a trade that will send Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot and cash considerations to Chicago, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Chicago currently has a full 15-man roster, so the club will need to trade or waive a player to finalize the deal. It sounds like that player will be Carmelo Anthony, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Anthony had remained in limbo after being sent from Houston to Chicago in a trade last month, but appears set to become a free agent, assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers. The Lakers remain a “real possibility” for Carmelo, Woj adds (via Twitter).

The trade itself between the Bulls and Thunder appears financially motivated. Oklahoma City will be on the hook for a huge tax bill at season’s end, so clearing TLC’s $1,544,951 salary will save the franchise exponentially more than that in tax penalties. ESPN’s Bobby Marks pegs the tax savings at $7.3MM.

As for the Bulls, they’ll likely receive enough cash from the Thunder to cover more than Luwawu-Cabarrot’s remaining salary, so they’re essentially being paid to use a spot on their 15-man roster — the deal is similar to the financially–motivated swaps Chicago made with the Rockets earlier in the season. It’s not clear if the Bulls will hang onto TLC, an unrestricted free agent in 2019, for the rest of the season or if they’ll replace him with another player after trading for him.

The 24th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Luwawu-Cabarrot hasn’t developed into a reliable NBA rotation piece. In 142 career games (14.9 MPG) for Philadelphia and Oklahoma City, he has averaged 5.5 PPG and 1.7 RPG with a .385/.317/.829 shooting line.

The Thunder will dip to 13 players as a result of the deal and will have two weeks to add a 14th man to their roster. By signing a player – or player(s) – to a 10-day contract or a prorated rest-of-season deal, the club will save some money on its year-end tax bill. I explained this concept last week when I identified Luwawu-Cabarrot as a potential trade candidate.

Meanwhile, the Bulls will use part of the $2.73MM trade exception they generated earlier this season in the Justin Holiday trade in order to absorb Luwawu-Cabarrot’s salary, Marks notes. The Thunder, in turn, will create a TPE worth TLC’s salary ($1,544,951).

Mavericks Waive Ray Spalding

January 31st, 2019 at 5:30pm CST by JD Shaw

The Mavericks waived forward Ray Spalding after agreeing to a trade with New York on Thursday, the team announced in a press release. He’ll clear waivers and become a free agent on Saturday, assuming no team places a claim.

Having acquired four players, including Kristaps Porzingis, in a blockbuster deal with the Knicks, the Mavs only sent out three players in the swap, meaning the club had to waive a player to avoid exceeding the 15-player max. Spadling was ultimately the odd man out.

Spalding appeared in just one game with Dallas and was selected with the No. 56 pick in 2018. His rights were traded to Dallas from Philadelphia on draft night, with the 21-year-old now set to enter unrestricted free agency during his rookie season.

Spalding, who spent four seasons at Louisville, has spent most of the 2018/19 season with the Texas Legends — G League affiliate of the Mavericks. He’s held per-game averages of 15.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 29 games with Texas on the year.

Knicks Trade Kristaps Porzingis To Mavericks

January 31st, 2019 at 5:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks have traded Kristaps Porzingis, Courtney Lee, Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Mavericks for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two first-round picks, both teams announced in press releases Thursday.

News of this deal comes just shortly after word broke that Porzingis had met with Knicks management to express frustration with the direction of the organization, leaving the team with the impression that he wanted to be moved. While Porzingis’ preference to be dealt may have jump-started these talks, it didn’t take the Knicks long to find a potential deal they liked, suggesting that they may not have been fully invested in the relationship either.

“As is standard for this time of year, we were exploring various options on potential trades,” Knicks general manager Scott Perry said in a statement. “Considering the uncertainty regarding Kristaps’ free agent status and his request today to be traded, we made a trade that we are confident improves the franchise.”

From the Knicks’ perspective, moving on from Porzingis by attaching two unwanted multi-year contracts to him creates some tantalizing free agent possibilities for the franchise. By replacing Porzingis’ cap hold ($17.09MM), Hardaway’s salary ($18.15MM), and Lee’s salary ($12.76MM) with Smith’s modest $4.46MM salary on the 2019/20 books, the Knicks will reduce their commitments by approximately $43.5MM, which should open up enough cap room for two maximum-salary free agents.

The Knicks’ only players with guaranteed contracts for 2019/20 are Smith, Frank Ntilikina, Kevin Knox, and Mitchell Robinson. Armed with those youngsters and a likely top-five pick, New York will enter free agency with the ability to potentially land two free agents from a group that includes Kevin Durant, Kemba Walker, Kyrie Irving, and others.

Besides creating substantial cap flexibility, the Knicks will acquire Smith, a second-year guard who wasn’t happy with his role in Dallas. The ninth overall pick in the 2017 draft, DSJ saw his responsibilities dialed back due to Luka Doncic‘s emergence this season. Smith has still built upon some of last year’s numbers, averaging 12.9 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.0 RPG with a .440/.344/.695 shooting line. He now appears poised to take over point guard duties in New York, a year after the team passed on him to draft Ntilikina.

New York also acquired a 2021 unprotected first-round pick and 2023 protected first-round pick (1-10) in the trade agreement, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ian Begley reported.

“We feel like we did the right thing,” Knicks president Steve Mills said, according to Begley. “When you try to think about how you want to build your team for the long term, you don’t want to commit a max (contract) to a player who clearly says to you he doesn’t want to be here.”

Jordan and Matthews, who are on pricey expiring deals, likely don’t have a future in New York. Rival executives expect the Knicks to explore the trade market over the next week for potential deals involving those veterans, according to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter link). Both Fischer and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) suggest that Jordan and Matthews will be intriguing buyout candidates if they’re not flipped by the Knicks.

Perry emphasized in a conference call Thursday that both Jordan and Matthews could have a positive impact on their young players for the remainder of the season, as relayed by Begley. This, of course, is provided they aren’t traded or bought out from their current deals. This statement drew a questioning response on social media from Knicks center Enes Kanter, another candidate to be traded by the deadline.

Meanwhile, the deal represents a huge swing for the Mavericks, who will pair Porzingis with Doncic with an eye toward keeping both players in Dallas for years to come. By taking on the multiyear contracts for Hardaway and Lee in exchange for Jordan and Matthews, Dallas will almost certainly give up its chance to create cap room in 2019, but will be on track to open up significant space in 2020, while Doncic is still on his rookie contract. Porzingis posted a clip of him shaking hands with Doncic after the trade became official, clearly excited for his new partnership in Dallas.

An All-Star a year ago, Porzingis averaged 22.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 2.4 BPG with a .439/.395/.793 shooting line in 48 games in 2017/18, displaying franchise-player potential. However, a torn ACL ended his season early and has sidelined him for the entire 2018/19 campaign so far. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer, at which point he could sign his one-year qualifying offer, sign an offer sheet with another team, or negotiate a new deal directly with the Mavs.

Dallas also created a $12.9MM trade exception in the agreement, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

Additionally, Marks notes (via Twitter) that the two teams will have to account for Hardaway’s 15% trade bonus, which is currently worth $3.75MM. Assuming THJ doesn’t waive it, his cap hits will increase by $1.875MM annually for this season and next, and the Knicks will have to pay the bonus money.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wizards Sign John Jenkins To 10-Day Deal

January 31st, 2019 at 1:09pm CST by Austin Kent

JANUARY 31: The Wizards have officially signed Jenkins to a 10-day contract, the club announced today in a press release.

JANUARY 30: The Wizards are finalizing a 10-day deal with guard John Jenkins, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. Jenkins last saw NBA action with the Suns during the 2016/17 season.

The 27-year-old journeyman has previously played with the Mavs and Hawks in addition to Phoenix, averaging 5.1 points per game through 145 big league contests and eight starts.

Since 2017, Jenkins has bounced around the G League and Spain. In 19 games with the Westchester Knicks this season, he averaged an impressive 24.8 PPG on .473/.431/.928 shooting.

The former first-rounder will now look to demonstrate an ability to pitch in for a short-handed Wizards club from on the perimeter, competing mostly with two-way guard Jordan McRae for opportunities behind starter Bradley Beal. Jenkins is expected to take over the roster spot vacated by Gary Payton II, whose 10-day deal has expired. The Wizards have one additional opening on their 15-man roster.

Wolves Sign Isaiah Canaan To 10-Day Deal

January 30th, 2019 at 3:20pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Jan. 30: The Wolves have officially inked Canaan to a 10-day deal, the team’s media department announced in a press release.

Jan. 29: The Timberwolves will sign Isaiah Canaan to a 10-day deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’s expected to be available for Wednesday’s tilt vs. the Grizzlies.

Minnesota is down a few players with Tyus Jones (ankle) and Jeff Teague (foot) out with injuries. Derrick Rose has joined them on the sidelines for the past two games with an ankle injury of his own, leaving Jerryd Bayless as the only experienced point guard healthy enough to suit up.

Canaan spent time with the Suns in each of the past two seasons, playing 19 games during the 2017/18 season before being waived, and 19 games this season before the team waived him again. In total, he’s played in 224 NBA games over the past six seasons, averaging 8.4 points and 1.9 assists per contest.