Sheridan: Five Potential Trades That Make Sense

23 Comments

We are 48 hours away from the NBA trade deadline. Deals are being discussed, deals are going to happen, and deals are going to fall through.

Happens every year.

What makes this year different is the new collective bargaining agreement, with harsher luxury tax penalties on the horizon beginning with the 2013-14 season. The luxury tax line is going to act as a hard cap for all but the wealthiest owners – like guys who own gold mines in Siberia.

So expect to hear a lot of financial gobbledygook on Thursday night and Friday morning as NBA executives explain the moves they made.

Pages: 1 2 3

Sheridan: Bryant ambivalent on Howard’s future with Lakers

15 Comments

HOUSTON — If you watched the All-Star game, you gained an appreciation for Kobe Bryant’s defensive determination.

If you stood 3 feet away from him and spoke to him afterward, as I did, you gained a clearer understanding of where he stands on the whole question of what the Lakers should do with Dwight Howard.

And if you read a little into his quotes, you get the feeling that Bryant wouldn’t be surprised in the least, or even bothered, if the Lakers decide to trade the big man before the deadline Thursday afternoon.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do. At this point, it doesn’t matter,”  Bryant said after putting on a signature defensive performance against LeBron James in the West’s 143-138 victory over the East Sunday night in the 2013 NBA All-Star game.

Pages: 1 2

SH Blog: Dwight Howard = Unearned Arrogance

6 Comments

Nobody likes a naysayer. Until, of course, it becomes apparent that yes was the wrong answer.

Dwight Howard should have never strong-armed his way to Los Angeles. And not to mince words, the Lakers were not wrong to have pursued Howard. But they should now strongly pursue other options.

Pages: 1 2

Perkins: Magic is good enough to be third-best in East

Leave a comment

Infamous "Pull my finger" Sports Illustrated cover

MIAMI – Two days ago Dwight Howard was in the visitor’s locker room at Miami’s AmericanAirlines Arena. It was pre-game and the media had just entered. Howard, wearing only his underwear, farted loudly. Twice. Then he laughed. And almost everybody, players and media, laughed along with him. (D-12′s flatulent tendencies have been chronicled before.)

Now, that’s leadership.

But it’s not enough leadership to propel Orlando to the title. For that, Howard needs help.

So let’s credit the Orlando Magic for keeping Howard, the most dominant center in the NBA.

Now, let’s see what the Magic does. Howard is a leader (as we clearly see from the above example) but he can’t do it alone. And right now, in a sense, he’s alone on the Orlando Magic. They’re good, but still not quite good enough. Howard needs more help. The Magic can’t throw a 1-2 punch at opponents without a 2.

But here’s the thing, I’m not sure who, or what, fixes the problem this season. It’s pretty much all on Howard unless someone – Hedo Turkoglu, Ryan Anderson, Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson –steps out of character and leads a Magical playoff run.

And from where things stand right now, meaning Miami and Chicago seem as though they’ll remain intact, Orlando faces the same problem next season.

Coach Stan Van Gundy identified the problem after Monday’s humiliating 85-59 loss at Chicago.

“When you play the way we played tonight,” he said, “this is a team-wide thing.”

He’s right. Orlando’s issues are team-wide.

Orlando’s offense is pretty good, but it could use someone who can create his own shot, put the ball on the floor, make decisions, and is hard to defend. Once upon a time that was Turkoglu. He handled the ball late in games, could dish, and hit that late-game dagger. Orlando, which is fourth in three-point shooting (.382) and 24th in points per game (93.6), needs that missing dimension, something it had when it went to the Finals in 2009.

Orlando’s defense is good, but another perimeter defender wouldn’t hurt, maybe someone to try to limit Miami’s Dwyane Wade-LeBron James combination, or someone to throw out there against Chicago’s Derrick Rose-Rip (Whenever He Gets Healthy) Hamilton duo. Once upon a time that was Mickael Pietrus.

Coaching? Yeah, it could probably be better in some areas, too. At least that’s what Van Gundy said.

The point is, Orlando is in a tough spot right now because there’s no move/acquisition the Magic can make to cure their ailment this season. They’re stuck with what they’ve got.

That doesn’t mean the Magic should give up. They’re a good team, and they’ve been that way for years. But you get the idea with that statement. Orlando, the third-best team in the East, needs something to get it over the top, push it over the edge, make it a special team. They need more on-court, lead-by-example leadership.

Orlando has needed that for years. And it could happen next year, but it looks grim for this year.

Being the third-best team in the Eastern Conference is good, but it often means you don’t get to the conference finals. That’s falling far short of the goal for a team such as Orlando, which has four consecutive 50-win seasons and went to the Finals three years ago.

Atlanta showed it in last season’s playoffs. Let Dwight gets his, and focus on everybody else. It worked. The Hawks beat the Magic in six games. None of the guys aside from Howard did much.

For a further snapshot of Orlando’s problems, look at the offensive inconsistency the last two games. The Magic’s 85-59 loss at Chicago on Monday? It was a franchise record for the Bulls, the fewest points Chicago has ever allowed.

Orlando preceded that with Sunday’s 91-81 loss at Miami.

“Our problem with them is our offense,” Van Gundy said about the Heat. “It’s not all us, their defense is terrific, but I think we have an idea of what we need to do playing against them. We just didn’t get it done.”

All too often that happens for the Magic – they don’t get it done against the good teams, or the title-contending teams.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra thinks Orlando is ready right now.

“They’re definitely a title contender,” he said before Sunday’s game.

Van Gundy, a close friend of Spoelstra’s, bristled.

“He’s only saying that because they play us tonight,” he said dismissively.

Perhaps. But let’s face facts: unless something unexpected happens, Orlando will be just good enough to lose to Miami or Chicago in this year’s playoffs.

Magic general manager Otis Smith, who has never been shy about making a deal, has until next year’s trade deadline to add a significant piece to the Magic’s core, or else Dwight Howard will create another stink.

Chris Perkins is a regular contributor to SheridanHoops.com, covering the NBA and the Miami Heat. His columns regularly appear every Tuesday. Follow him on Twitter.

 

 

Trade Talk: Team-by-team

9 Comments

Thursday’s 3 p.m. EST trade deadline has com and gone, and here is what went down for each of the 30 NBA teams.

As a courtesy to your eyes, all trades that were made are in boldface.

ATLANTA HAWKS — Hawks co-owner Bruce Levenson told the Associated Press that there are no plans to trade Josh Smith, who said the talk was just rumors. On another front, Kirk Hinrich said he would like to stay put at the deadline for a change. In a minor deal, the Hawks sold a second-round pick (the worse of their own or the Suns’ ) to Golden State.

celtics small logoBOSTON CELTICSWhile the Rajon Rondo rumors have disappeared, Ray Allen’s name became more prominent in trade chatter. Unlike Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, Allen has an expiring contract, which makes him far more attractive – on top of the fact that he can still play. If the Celtics make a move, look for them to try to get back a big man, because Jermaine O’Neal remains sidelined and Chris Wilcox now has a heart issue. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo tweeted that Celtics want a good young player and a 1st round pick for Allen. Danny Ainge said this morning there is a 50-50 chance a small deal gets done.

bobcats small logoCHARLOTTE BOBCATS From Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer: There as interest in Boris Diaw’s expiring contract, but every proposal involved taking on additional salary for next season. Team president Rod Higgins said there was “no was they’d accept an older player past his prime with an $8-9 million number” just to say they made a trade. Diaw is now a primary buyout candidate. Has to be done by March 23 to get him on a playoff roster.

bulls small logoCHICAGO BULLSPau Gasol remained in play, although not under the original parameters because the Lakers have no interest in Carlos Boozer’s weighty deal. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that Chicago was trying to involve a third team in a way that would route a player the Lakers desire to Los Angeles. It would be a risky move for the league’s best team, which does need another dependable scorer to keep the pressure off Derrick Rose.

cavs small logoCLEVELAND CAVALIERS Spare part Ramon Sessions was moved with Christian Eyenga to the Lakers for Luke Walton, Jason Kapono and their 2012 first-round pick, reported ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. The Cavs can stay in the playoff hunt without Sessions, but not without Antawn Jamison, whose huge expiring deal makes him very attractive.

mavs small logoDALLAS MAVERICKS — Owner Mark Cuban said the defending champions would not be players at the trading deadline, but Jason Terry says he will believe it when he sees it. With Dwight Howard’s decision to remain with the Magic, they now become a suitor for Deron Williams if he remains with the Nets and then opts out of his contract and becomes an unrestricted free agent. Then they can go after Dwight Howard a year later.

nuggets small logoDENVER NUGGETS — After owner Josh Kroenke said that the Nuggets were positioned to stand pat, they did just the opposite. In a three-team deal first reported by Michael Lee of the Washington Post, Nene, Brian Cook and a draft pick are going to the Wizards, Nick Young is going to the Clippers and JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf go to Denver.

pistons small logoDETROIT PISTONS — While the Pistons appear to have many players they would like to move elsewhere, coach Lawrence Frank told the Detroit Free Press that there is nothing percolating. Shaun Powell of NBA.com floated Tayshaun Prince’s name as a possible stretch run pickup, but that seems unlikely given his new contract.

warriors small logoGOLDEN STATE WARRIORS — What, the Monta Ellis deal wasn’t enough? No, it wasn’t. Golden State  traded the recently acquired Stephen Jackson to San Antonio for Richard Jeffersonaccording to Marc Spears of Yahoo.  Sam Amick of SI.com said the Warriors looked into the availability of Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans, who is becoming one of those someone-else-can-extend-him guys

rockets small logoHOUSTON ROCKETSAcquiring Marcus Camby from Portland for Hasheem Thabeet and Johnny Flynn, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo, and acquired Derek Fisher and a first-round pick (Dallas’) from the Lakers for Jordan Hill, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen. Kevin Martin had told the Houston Chronicle he wouldn’t exactly be averse to moving on. Sidelined point guard Kyle Lowry was mentioned in a possible deal for Pau Gasol. GM Daryl Morey has made six trades during the past five deadlines.

pacers small logoINDIANA PACERSThey are getting Leandro Barbosa from Toronto in exchange for a second-round pick and cash. This eats up more than half of the Pacers’ cap space, meaning they no longer have the capability to absorb Chris Kaman’s contract without giving up anything more than a draft pick in return.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS–More scoring is coming their way in the form of Nick Young, who was dealt from the Wizards in a three-team trade in whiuch Brian Cook went from the Clips to the Wizards, along with Nene. The Nuggets get back JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf. Michael Lee of the Washington Post broke that one.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS — Well, they got their point guard, nabbing Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga from the Cavaliers for Luke Walton and their 2012 first-round pick, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported, with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reporting that Jason Kapono is in the deal, too.The Lakers also get the right to swap 2013 first-rounders with Cleveland’s pick from Miami. In a separate deal, Derek Fisher was sent to Houston for Jordan Hill, the Houston Chronicle reported. There were rumors around Michael Beasley, who fit into the $8.9 trade exception but required a No. 1 pick. Pau Gasol is staying put, and Andrew Bynum didn’t think he was going anywhere.

grizzlies small logoMEMPHIS GRIZZLIESSam Young is being traded to Philadelphia for the rights to 2005 second-round pick Ricky Sanchez, who is playing in Argentina. Young was not in the Grizzlies’ rotation and requested a trade. This all from Ron Tillery of the Commercial-Appeal, who notes Memphis might be adding Gilbert Arenas an have discussed signing Eddie House.

heat small logoMIAMI HEAT — They are just 3-3 in their last six games, and the Sun-Sentinel’s Ira Winderman notes that not adding another key piece has not been for lack of trying. But Winderman, not prone to hyperbole, also points out that releasing Mikael Gladness creates a roster spot that can be used on a player getting a buyout between now and March 23.

bucks small logo

MILWAUKEE BUCKS — The deal for Monta Ellis looks like a steal, trading two big contracts who weren’t even playing for a 25-point scorer, a big with upside and $7 million cap clearance this summer. But what it really did was take Brandon Jennings off the market.

wolves small logo

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES — Michael Beasley was generating a ton of interest. Hoopsworld has mentioned a potential deal with Houston, and RealGM has one with Orlando, with the exchange with the Magic being Jason Richardson. “I’m just  pawn in this game,” Beasley said. “If I gotta go, it’s just business.”

nets small logoNEW JERSEY NETS — With the news that Dwight Howard is staying in Orlando, they are trying to fill in around Deron Williams. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! reports the Nets have sent Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and a 2012 first-round pick (top 3 protected) to Portland for Gerald Wallace. But they still need to know: Does Williams still plan to opt-out and then immediately re-sign for $100 million over five years? Or are the Nets at risk of losing him as an unrestricted free agent?

Hornets small logoNEW ORLEANS HORNETS — Chris Kaman and his $14 million expiring contract remained their most movable piece, and he drew interest from the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers. The Hornets also have been trying to trade center Emeka Okafor, and they have listened to offers for starting small forward Trevor Ariza, according to John Reid of the Times-Picayune.

knicks small logoNEW YORK KNICKS — They stood pat. Notably, before he resigned, coach Mike D’Antoni asked owner Jim Dolan if he would be open to trading Carmelo Anthony before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trading deadline, according to Howard Beck of the New York Times. When Dolan said no, D’Antoni offered to resign.

thunder small logoOKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER — They have stubbed their toes at home twice in the last week, losing to Cleveland and to Houston (in a remarkable collapse). But they are still in front in the West, and it was unlikely that they would make the sort of splash they did with Kendrick Perkins a year ago.

magic small logoORLANDO MAGICDwight Howard is staying, deciding to waive his Early Termination Option and apologizing to the fans in Orlando for putting through this emotional roller-coaster ride. The question for today is whether GM Otis Smith can make a deal that improves the pieces around Howard. If the Nets felt they were going to lose Deron Williams, he would have been available to the highest bidder. It turns out that is not what New Jersey was thinking.

sixers small logoPHILADELPHIA 76ERS — Picked up Sam Young from the Memphis Grizzlies for the rights to 2005 second-round draft pick Ricky Sanchez. A low-risk move, surprising only in that the teams made another deal with each other after the Grizzlies fleeced Marreese Speights from Philadelphia earlier this season.

suns small logoPHOENIX SUNS — The Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro believes the Suns will not do anything that impacts their long-term plans, which includes maintaining a flexible salary cap this summer. Coro indicated that the temptation of the playoffs will not change their minds.

blazers small logoPORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS — The dynamite came out. Nate McMillan was reportedly fired as head coach, and Yahoo was the first to report the Blazers have sent Gerald Wallace to New Jersey for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and a 2012 first-round pick that is merely top-three protected. Also,  Marcus Camby is going to the Rockets for Haseem Thabeet and Johnny Flynn, Marc Spears of Yahoo reported. Sounds as though Greg Oden will be waived to create roster space. Ever heard of Kaleb Canales? He is the new coach.

kings small logoSACRAMENTO KINGS — Evans remained, and although they have a handful of contracts they would have liked to unload (John Salmons, Cisco Garcia, Travis Outlaw), and have the cap room to be a facilitator in another deal, they were oddly quiet.

spurs small logoSAN ANTONIO SPURS — They are getting Stephen Jackson from the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Richard Jefferson, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports. David Aldridge of NBA.com says the Spurs are throwing in a conditional first-round pick. The Spurs get out from the $21 million owed to Jefferson, who was an amnesty candidate in the preseason but has been playing pretty well, and get back a volatile ex-Spur who has been around the block with Gregg Popovich before.

raptors small logo

TORONTO RAPTORSLeandro Barbosa is headed to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a second-round pick. Also, Anthony Carter has been waived. This from Toronto Star beat writer Doug Smith on Bryan Colangelo: “The art of the deal is something (Bryan Colangelo) is quite fond of and I know he’ll at least be exploring stuff to get involved with. He can’t help himself, we always joke, and it’s a bit true. However, even with Jose (Calderon) out and the struggles that will mean and with a team absorbing losses at a rapid rate, Bryan needs to spend this week taking a series of deep breaths and wondering what next season might look like with Valanciunas, a free agent or two, the core guys he’s got now and another high draft pick.”

jazz small logoUTAH JAZZFrom Brian Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune: A reported deal would see the Jazz ship small forward C.J. Miles to Minnesota had little to no chance of happening as of Wednesday morning, a source close to Miles said. A possible Jazz deal with New Jersey involving Miles could have some weight, though. The New York Daily News’ Stefan Bondy reported Wednesday the Jazz were attempting to unload Raja Bell and Miles, with the Nets possibly offering a future first-round draft pick, center Johan Petro and/or shooter Anthony Morrow. Utah still has a $10.9 million trade exception from the Mehmet Okur deal.

wizards small logoWASHINGTON WIZARDSBeat writer Michael Lee of the Washington Post broke the big three-team trade: JaVale McGee and Ronny Turiaf to the Nuggets, Nick Young to the Clippers, and Nene, Brian Cook and a draft pick to the Clippers. After giving a max deal to Nene, it is odd they are trading him for a player who will be a restricted free agent this summer. Mr. McGee is going to get papered, as they say in The Association.