Tag: Trade deadline

Report: Rockets eye potential Thompson, Kidd-Gilchrist buyouts

Per Kelly Iko, Houston is monitoring Cleveland big man Tristan Thompson and Charlotte forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as buyout targets.

A potential deal by Thursday’s NBA trade deadline for the likes of Minnesota forward Robert Covington isn’t the only item on the agenda of Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey this week.

According to The Athletic‘s Kelly Iko, the Rockets are also monitoring the upcoming buyout market, with Cleveland big man Tristan Thompson and Charlotte forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist among their targets.

Iko writes:

Assuming the Rockets trade Capela and aren’t able to land a serviceable replacement center over the next 72 hours, Tristan Thompson is someone they’d like to acquire in a buyout. Thompson’s skillset is very similar to what Capela brings to the table, and Thompson has championship experience. …

Another name to monitor in the assumption he gets a buyout is Charlotte’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist — Houston has liked him for some time. His three-point shot is still horrendous (.294), although his last four games has seen an uptick (.429 at home).

Both players are in the final year of their respective contracts.

The Rockets are reportedly seeking a wing player and replacement center if they trade Clint Capela, but it remains to be seen if they could get both in the same transaction. If they are not able to, the buyout market could be a plausible solution to the other need.

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Most buyouts do not occur until after the NBA’s annual trade deadline, since teams would prefer to trade those players and receive value in return for them, if at all possible.

However, once the deadline passes, many rebuilding teams — which Cleveland (13-38) and Charlotte (16-34) definitely are — will engage in buyout talks with veterans on expiring contracts. It’s usually a means of doing a favor to the player and/or his agent by letting the player enter free agency and join a team better positioned to win that season.

Because the trade deadline has passed and the player is on an expiring contract, it’s possible (if not likely) that the player could leave the team for no compensation in summer free agency — which means there’s not much downside to his team to let him go now.

If anything, some rebuilding teams might even see a further incentive for a buyout, since sending away a veteran could open up more playing time for younger players, earn goodwill with influential agents, and perhaps also give the team better odds at a higher pick in the upcoming NBA Draft (by losing more games, thanks to the veteran not playing).

Now 28 years old, the 6-foot-9 Thompson is averaging 11.9 points (50.8% shooting) and 10.4 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game with the Cavs this season. He could potentially replace some of the rebounding void if Houston deals Capela, who ranks fourth in the NBA with 13.8 rebounds per game. Thompson was drafted No. 4 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Kidd-Gilchrist is best known for his wing defense. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft is averaging 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per game with the Hornets.

The NBA’s 2019-20 trade deadline arrives at 2 p.m. Central time on Thursday, and buyout negotiations around the league with veterans who are not dealt should begin shortly thereafter.

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Best-case scenario for Oklahoma City at the trade deadline

With the trade deadline looming, the best-case scenario for Sam Presti to move some of OKC’s largest pieces in order to continue rebuilding.

The Oklahoma City Thunder finds itself in a very interesting situation just ahead of the trade deadline.

The team is playing significantly better than expected. They’re 30-20 heading into their February schedule after going 12-5 in the month of January and sitting securely in the seventh spot in the Western Conference standings.

Considering the Thunder was projected to win just 31.5 games before the season started, however it turns out, 2019-20 has to be considered a huge success.

But where does Sam Presti take the organization from here?

The logical move would be for Presti to continue down the path of rebuilding that he set into motion when he traded away Paul George and Russell Westbrook over the summer.

The good news for Presti here is that in bringing in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he secured the key piece for the future of the franchise. Gilgeous-Alexander has shown significant improvement from year one to year two, essentially ensuring that a rebuild wouldn’t consist of a complete bottoming out.

Oklahoma City has multiple players available to be traded, and there has been considerable conversation surrounding both Danilo Gallinari and Steven Adams.

At this point, it reasonable to believe that although the Thunder has made Chris Paul available as well, because of his $44.2 million player option that he has been adamant about refusing to waive, he will stay in OKC throughout the rest of the season.

As recently as Monday, there were reports indicating that the Miami Heat were interested in Gallinari and that the Atlanta Hawks “have had talks” with the Thunder about Steven Adams.

A best-case scenario for Oklahoma City, as noted by Kellen Becoats of Forbes, is that “OKC sells off some of its assets—Danilo Gallinari chief among them—to get a bright young player to bolster Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s abilities”.

Because Oklahoma City is pretty much guaranteed a postseason spot regardless of what they do, it would make sense for Presti to move some of their bigger pieces. Not just from a playing perspective, but also a financial one.

Steven Adams is owed $55.2 million over the next two seasons while Danilo Gallinari is making $22.6 million in the final year of his current contract.

Nick Crain of Forbes points out that “trading some of these larger contracts could get them (Oklahoma City) below the luxury tax line and open up cap space for free agency this summer”.

Presti has built a reputation as pragmatic GM. He’s not afraid to make significant moves, but he’s not prepared to jeopardize the future of the franchise.

The question for Presti himself is, if he does decide to commit to a rebuild, will he be in Oklahoma City long enough to see it come to fruition?

He’s been reported to be a top candidate for the Knicks front office and with James Dolan firing team president Steve Mills on Tuesday, Presti may find himself being courted by the Knicks if Dolan can’t lure Masai Ujiri away from the Raptors.

Rockets reportedly offered Clint Capela to Nets for Prince, Allen

Though the bid for Taurean Prince and Jarrett Allen was declined, it sheds more light on what Rockets GM Daryl Morey hopes to do this week.

As part of ongoing trade talks with starting center Clint Capela, the Houston Rockets reportedly offered Capela to the Brooklyn Nets for a package led by big man Jarrett Allen and small forward Taurean Prince.

According to The Ringer‘s Kevin O’Connor, the Nets declined the offer:

Atlanta, Boston, and Brooklyn are among the teams that Houston has approached for the center. League sources say the Rockets offered Capela to the Nets for a package that included Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince, which Brooklyn declined.

The 6-foot-7 Prince averages 12.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in 29.9 minutes per game, and he’s well regarded for his perimeter defense — which is clearly something the Rockets are searching for this week. The 25-year-old is also a career 37.3% shooter from 3-point range.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-11 Allen averages 11.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in 27.2 minutes per game as Brooklyn’s starting center.

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Allen is just 21 years old and could have further upside in the years ahead, which may have played a role in Brooklyn’s choice to decline the offer.

Elsewhere in the story, O’Connor confirms Minnesota forward Robert Covington as a continued target for GM Daryl Morey and the Rockets in potential three-way trades leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline.

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O’Connor also reports that Houston has recently spoken with Atlanta about just a two-way trade for Capela, though specific players from the Hawks’ side in those talks were not identified.

Though the Brooklyn proposal wasn’t accepted, what it suggests is a potential reallocation of resources from the Rockets’ perspective. Making more than $16 million per season, Capela is Houston’s third-highest paid player, trailing only former MVPs James Harden and Russell Westbrook.

But despite the salary, the Rockets (31-18) are 9-1 in the 10 games that Capela has missed this season ⁠— including 3-0 in the past week with a smaller lineup with P.J. Tucker at center. Those smaller lineups offer more floor spacing for Westbrook and Harden, allowing them to attack the basket since defenses have to respect 3-point shooters at all positions.

In a separate The Ringer article, Dan Devine makes the statistical case for why the Rockets are considering moving on from Capela:

As the Rockets offense became more predicated on floor spacing and one-on-one play, it became less oriented around the two-man game. [About] 21% of their possessions were finished by a pick-and-roll participant last season, and that’s down to 15.5% this season, with Houston ranking last in the league in percentage of plays finished by pick-and-roll ball handlers and roll men. As the Rockets have moved away from his bread-and-butter play, Capela’s production on it has waned, too: He’s gone from the 91st percentile in points scored per pick-and-roll possession finished two seasons ago, to the 65th percentile last season, to the 50th percentile this season.

If you’re not a pick-and-roll-heavy team anymore, maybe having a nonshooting pick-and-roll center, especially one who’s not a no-doubt-about-it elite finisher in that role, just isn’t as valuable as it used to be.

The Rockets average 117.3 points per 100 possessions when the 25-year-old Capela isn’t on the floor this season, which for the full 2019-20 season would be the best offense in the entire NBA. With the 6-foot-10 big man on the court, the Rockets average 110.3 points per 100 possessions.

They are slightly worse defensively without Capela, who ranks fourth in the NBA with an average of 13.8 rebounds per game, but not nearly to the extent of their improvement on offense.

Thus, the Rockets are seeking both a wing player (Prince) and a viable center (Allen) in their moves leading up to Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. While they may want to finish games with a smaller floor-spacing lineup, especially in select matchups, there are also advantages to having a traditional size presence that can offer rim protection and rebounding.

But rather than having so many eggs solely in Capela’s basket, from a salary perspective, Morey seemingly wants to redistribute those funds to give the Rockets more flexibility with their lineups.

The trade deadline arrives at 2 p.m. Houston time on Thursday.

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With trade deadline looming, Alec Burks drops 30 vs. Wizards in Golden State 125-117 road win

Alec Burks 30-point scoring effort leads the Warriors to their first back-to-back road wins of the 2019-20 season.

Winning has been a limited occurrence for the Golden State Warriors in the 2019-20 season, even more, narrow has been their ability to win in bunches. However, during the Warriors five-game east coast road trip, Golden State has netted two-straight wins for only the second time this season.

The Warriors went wire-to-wire in Washington, winning 125-117. Golden State sealed back-to-back road wins for the first time in the 2019-20 season.

The Warriors were without their leading scorer D’Angelo Russell, but a veteran swingman stepped up to carry Golden State. Alex Burks tallied 30 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, adding five 3-pointers. Washington was Burks’s second 30-point scoring night on the season for Golden State.

Behind Burks, Glenn Robinson III and Draymond Green filled the gaps. Robinson III added 22 points while Green cracked another near triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

The Warriors travel to face the Nets in the final game of their road trip for homecoming night for Russell, who spent two seasons in Brooklyn. A win in Brooklyn will seal a winning road-trip for Golden State before heading back to San Francisco.

Sharing the rock

Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors racked up 39 total assists behind Draymond Green’s game-high 16. The Warriors doubled-down against the Washington Wizards, dropping 31 dimes.

The Warriors ball movement set up several open looks for the Warriors, resulting in scoring from up and down the roster. Six different members of Golden State scored in double figures in Washington, on 49.4 % shooting from the field.

Real deal Bradley Beal

Since being snubbed from the 2020 All-Star game, Bradley Beal has been on a warpath throughout the NBA. Beal has netted 34 or more points in Washington’s last six games, registering three wins in that span.

Against Golden State, the former Florida Gator didn’t slow down, tallying 43 points on 15-of-30 shooting. Beal added three 3-pointers and six assists, but it wasn’t enough against the Warriors

Reports: Rockets target Covington, Iguodala; Celtics in on Capela

Per ESPN, Robert Covington and Andre Iguodala are among the targets for the Rockets, who have spoken to teams about moving Clint Capela.

With the NBA’s 2019-20 trade deadline just three days away, the Boston Celtics are the latest team to reportedly show interest in Houston Rockets center Clint Capela, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Other teams that had previously been identified as Capela suitors include the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings.

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The Rockets are said to be seeking a wing player in their moves, as well as a fill-in center to help replace Capela’s size. In Wojnarowski’s tweets on Monday afternoon, he identified Robert Covington in Minnesota and Andre Iguodala in Memphis as potential targets. Both could be attainable for Houston, given Capela’s outgoing salary of over $16 million.

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Since it wouldn’t seem that the Timberwolves with Karl-Anthony Towns and the Grizzlies with Jonas Valanciunas need a center such as Capela, that is likely why Rockets GM Daryl Morey is looking for third-team partners such as the Hawks, Kings, or Celtics.

The draft compensation from one of those teams for Capela could then be flipped to a team such as Minnesota or Memphis.

Both Covington and Iguodala, who are best known for their wing defense, have been rumored Houston targets for months.

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At just 25 years old, the 6-foot-10 Capela is averaging 13.9 points (62.9% shooting), 13.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 32.8 minutes per game this season. His per-game rebounding total is fourth in the league.

Capela is also under contract for three more seasons after the current 2019-20 campaign. That, combined with his age, makes him a plausible fit for both contenders and rebuilding teams, since he wouldn’t be a threat to leave his new destination in free agency until 2023.

As for Houston, with Capela missing several games of late with a minor heel injury, the Rockets have started usual power forward P.J. Tucker at center while inserting Danuel House Jr. to Tucker’s vacated spot.

They’re 3-0 in that recent small-ball stretch, including wins over two likely Western Conference playoff teams in Utah and Dallas.

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Overall, Houston is 9-1 (.900) in the 10 games that Capela has missed due to injury or illness this season. In the one loss, both All-Star guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook did not play.

Led by head coach Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets seem to be prioritizing maximum floor spacing for Harden and Westbrook with potential 3-point shooters at most or all positions, even if it costs them size.

The Rockets have one more game before Thursday’s trade deadline, which arrives at 2 p.m. Central time in Houston.

That next game comes Tuesday night at home versus Charlotte, with Capela again expected to sit out due to his heel injury.

Report: Atlanta ‘has had talks’ with OKC about trade for Steven Adams

Adams is due to make $55.3 million over the next two seasons. He’s the player with the second-highest salary on the Thunder this year.

Steven Adams continues to draw attention from teams around the league as the Feb. 6 trade deadline approaches.

The Thunder big man still has two years left on his contract and has the second-highest salary on the team this season at $25.8 million. He’s due to make $27.5 million in 2020-21, the final year on his current deal.

With a rebuild still believed to be on the horizon, Adams is one of the players that Oklahoma City has made available, and according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Atlanta Hawks might be ramping up their interest in trading for the seventh-year center.

Atlanta has been interested in acquiring a starting level center and has talked with Houston about Capela and Oklahoma City about Steven Adams, league sources said.

The Hawks’ interest in Adams has reportedly gone up ever since talks with the Detroit Pistons regarding Andre Drummond deteriorated over the last several weeks.

Adams has spent his entire career in Oklahoma City after being drafted by the organization in 2013.

His point production is the lowest it’s been since the 2015-16 season when he averaged just 8.0 points per game, but Adams has been hampered by nagging injuries this year.

When is his on the court, Adams is completing 60% of his shots, an increase over last year that can be linked to the Thunder’s acquisition of Chris Paul in the offseason. Paul has long been considered one of the best passers in the game and Adams is clearly benefitting from playing alongside him.

Prior to Paul, Adams also played alongside one of the league’s best in Russell Westbrook, and it’s because of that dynamic that Ashish Mathur of Clutch Points believes Adams would be a solid addition in Atlanta.

Adams figures to mesh well with Hawks point guard Trae Young, who is one of the best passers in the NBA. Adams flourished playing with Westbrook, so odds are he would do the same with Young.

Previous reports have indicated that the Thunder’s asking price for Adams was “too high”, with Sean Deveney of Heavy.com revealing that sources told him OKC was “seeking a draft pick, a young player and salary relief” in return for Adams.

If a deal with the Hawks were to be made for Adams, Jordan Greer of Sporting News points out there are several players Atlanta could use to make the money work, including Chandler Parsons, Evan Turner, or Allen Crabbe in addition to a first-round pick.

Report: Miami has ‘expressed interest’ in Danilo Gallinari

According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Miami Heat have expressed interest in Danilo Gallinari ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.

Over the next three days, it seems like everyone for Oklahoma City might be in play as the clock ticks down on the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

The Thunder has been one of the more interesting cases this season. They were thought to be one of the big sellers, but their surprising success has put a lynchpin in their rebuilding process, if even only for the moment.

That’s not to say that OKC hasn’t made players available. They have. The team has made it known that Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, and Steven Adams are among the players on the trading block.

But so far, the only deal that has been made was sending Justin Patton and cash to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Isaiah Roby.

Gallinari has been linked to a number of teams in terms of potential trades, and according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, Miami can be added to the list of possible destinations.

Both Miami and Denver will look other places for help, too; the Heat are among teams who have expressed interest in Danilo Gallinari, for instance, sources say.

Gallinari is second on the Thunder in scoring this season, averaging 19.2 points per game and shooting 44.1% from the floor. Though his 3-point percentage is down slightly from a year ago, he’s been a crucial part of the Oklahoma City offense, providing a stretch-four option that has opened the floor for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder.

Lowe also points out that “this summer’s cap crunch also might give the Thunder some leverage in the sign-and-trade market with Gallinari”, who is in the final year of his contract and making $22.6 million this season.

Other teams that have reportedly been interested in Gallinari including the Philadelphia 76ers, the Dallas Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns, and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Report: Rockets engaged in trade talks involving center Clint Capela

Per a Sunday report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets are engaged in trade talks involving starting center Clint Capela.

For the third time in under a week, the Houston Rockets won Sunday with starting center Clint Capela out due to a heel injury.

It appears that undersized lineup, which offers added floor spacing with 3-point shooters at all five positions, might not be a passing fad.

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According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets were engaged Sunday with multiple Eastern Conference teams — including Atlanta — in trade talks regarding their 25-year-old big man. The NBA’s trade deadline comes at 2 p.m. Central time on this Thursday, Feb. 6.

While the Rockets and GM Daryl Morey might not can get the object of their desires from a trade with a rebuilding team, it seems they’re interested in repackaging a draft asset for Capela from a team such as the Hawks in another deal for the type of wing player they reportedly crave.

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At just 25 years old, Capela is averaging 13.9 points (62.9% shooting), 13.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 32.8 minutes per game this season. His per-game rebounding total is fourth in the league.

Capela is also under contract for three more seasons after the current 2019-20 campaign. That, combined with his age, makes him a potential fit for both contenders and rebuilding teams, since he wouldn’t be a threat to leave his new destination in free agency until 2023.

As far as the Rockets are concerned, head coach Mike D’Antoni seems to believe in the model of floor spacing for superstar guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook, even if it costs them size and rebounding.

Over Capela’s last three absences, the Rockets have started usual power forward P.J. Tucker at center while inserting Danuel House Jr. to Tucker’s vacated spot. They’re 3-0 in those games, including wins over two probable Western Conference playoff teams in Utah and Dallas.

Capela is currently day-to-day with a nagging right heel contusion, but it isn’t the type of long-term injury that could derail trade talks.

The Rockets (31-18), who are intent on contending for the NBA title this season with a pair of former MVPs in Harden and Westbrook, have one more game to be played before Thursday’s trade deadline.

That comes Tuesday night, when the Charlotte Hornets (16-33) visit Houston. At this juncture, be it for injury reasons, trade talks, or both, it would seem unlikely for Capela to play in that game. The 2020 deadline then arrives less than 48 hours later on Thursday afternoon.

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Report: NBA execs ‘could see’ Sam Presti moving Andre Roberson

Roberson has not played in a game for OKC since rupturing his left patellar tendon on Jan. 27, 2018. He moved his rehab to LA in December.

There have been a lot of questions surrounding Andre Roberson for the past two seasons.

Most of them about when he might be able to play again.

But it sounds like the conversation is starting to change to where he might play again. And according to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, there’s talk around the league that it might not be in Oklahoma City.

At the start of the season, it was anticipated that general manager Sam Presti would be prepared to flip both center Steven Adams and forward Danilo Gallinari for future assets, but with the Thunder unexpectedly entrenched as a playoff team, rival executives could see Presti limiting his activity to moving Andre Roberson and his expiring $10.7 million contract, primarily for cap relief with the Thunder currently edging over the luxury tax threshold.

This isn’t the first time that Roberson’s name has come up in conjunction with the possibility of a trade.

In a January report, Erik Gee of Sports Illustrated said that ESPN’s Bobby Marks had tapped Roberson as a player to “keep an eye on” as the trade deadline neared. Gee called the idea “intriguing”.

The thought behind trading Roberson is someone might be willing to take him off (Sam) Presti’s hands because of his expiring contract if the Thunder were willing to part with a first-round pick. Not having to pay the rest of Roberson’s 10.7 million dollar contract could allow the Thunder to be buyers at the trade deadline.

The question would likely be how difficult is it to move a player that hasn’t played in more than two years? Especially when there’s no indication that he’ll play again any time soon.

Roberson just passed the two-year anniversary of the day he ruptured his left patellar tendon. Though he’s been believed to be close to full-strength several times, he has yet to return and moved his rehab to Los Angeles in December.

If Bucher is correct in that Presti would limit his activity to trying to move Roberson, it would indicate that at least for now, the rebuild is at a standstill. And that the organization is going to go with what got them to this point in the season, and hope that it’s enough to carry them to the playoffs.

Report: Knicks ‘high’ on Thunder guard Dennis Schroder

Schroder is third on the team in scoring this season at 19.1 points per game and is shooting a career-high 47.2% from the floor.

Oklahoma City’s three point guard lineup is a large part of why the Thunder has been so successful this season.

OKC went 12-5 in the month of January and are in the midst of a seven-game road-winning streak, the second-longest in franchise history.

The situation in Oklahoma City couldn’t be more different than the situation in New York.

The Knicks are, well, still the Knicks.

They were 13-36 coming into Saturday, fresh off a fourth-quarter brawl in a blowout home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night.

The way it stands, the New York Knicks are in need of a lot of things, and a new general manager is rumored to be one of them.

According to Stefan Bondy of New York Daily News, another one of those things is a point guard. And the Knicks have reportedly got their sights set on one from Oklahoma City.

One thing to keep in mind: the Knicks are looking for a point guard and, according to a source, are high on OKC’s Dennis Schroder.

Schroder has been excellent in his sixth-man role for the Thunder this season.

He’s third on the team in scoring (barely), averaging 19.1 points while playing starter’s time, spending 31.1 minutes per game on the court.

He is shooting a career-best 47.2% from the floor and has raised his 3-point percentage to 38.8%, up from 34.1% a year ago.

Playing the point wouldn’t be something new for Schroder either.

As noted by Ashish Mathur of Clutch Points, “the German floor general has experience as a starter in the NBA, as he was the starting point guard for the Atlanta Hawks before the Thunder acquired him from Atlanta.”

From 2016 through 2018, Schroder started a total of 145 games at point guard for the Hawks.

Contractually, Schroder is making $15.5 million both this year and next year. The 2020-21 season is the last on his current contract before he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2021.