A fire sale could be poised to begin in Brooklyn, with former All-Stars Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez all available in trade discussions, according to multiple media reports on Tuesday.
On the surface, the Nets’ situation isn’t dire. Even at 8-11, they’d still be in the Eastern Conference Playoffs if the postseason started today. And they’re just a week removed from an impressive 95-93 win over the defending champion Spurs, led by 17 points and nine assists from Williams and 16 points and 16 rebounds from Lopez.
That said, the long-term implications are more troubling. Lopez, who makes over $15 million this season, has feuded with head coach Lionel Hollins and has a player option for free agency next summer, potentially allowing the seven-foot center to leave Brooklyn without any compensation.
Similarly, Johnson ripped his teammates earlier this year for “selfish” play.
With Johnson and Williams, though, the problems are more on the financial side. Johnson’s contract runs through 2015-16 at over $48 million guaranteed, while Williams’ deal extends all the way through 2017 at over $63 million guaranteed. Those are lofty figures for guards distinctly in the good-but-not-great tier (Williams has a PER of 17.7; Johnson at 15.8).
Even so, ESPN‘s Marc Stein reports that Nets aren’t abandoning their “win-now mentality”. Despite the apparent need for more flexibility, the Nets aren’t merely looking to dump salary, Stein writes.
Brooklyn’s hope, sources said, is eventually to construct a deal or two that bring back sufficient talent that enables the Nets remain a playoff team.
It’s a noble goal in theory. But it seems unrealistic to think Brooklyn could move Johnson or Williams, at their contracts, for players of significant talent unless those players possess similarly untenable deals. If that’s the case, the Nets still wouldn’t have the flexibility to bring in the help they clearly need. Remember, as it stands now, the Nets aren’t set to have salary-cap room until July 2016 at the earliest.
It’s important to remember that Brooklyn does remain a lucrative destination for free agents. Because of that, the Nets may not have to “tank” and acquire high lottery picks to rebuild, as so many other franchises do. With their market, the potential is there for the Nets to simply retool in free agency.
But right now, the massive deals owed to Lopez, Johnson and Williams are holding them back and preventing them from becoming a true market player. If the Nets are going to reconfigure themselves into a contender anytime soon, lowering the cap figure should be the top priority in any major trades.
DWIGHT HOWARD GOES THROUGH FULL PRACTICE, NEARS RETURN
Dwight Howard went through most of Kevin McHale’s practice drills on Tuesday, potentially putting Houston’s franchise center in line to return this week from an absence now at nine games and counting.
Howard strained his right knee in Houston’s Nov. 17 loss in Memphis and had plasma rich replacement therapy (PRP) on the knee later that week. If you remember, that’s the same cutting-edge procedure used by Kobe Bryant on his knee back in 2013.
The Rockets have impressively kept winning without Howard, going 7-2 in his latest absence while holding down the No. 2 spot in the West at 16-4.
But with injuries starting to mount, the Rockets could use their big man back. Rookie forward Kostas Papanikolaou sprained his MCL last Friday in Minnesota and is out at least two weeks. Second-year point guard Isaiah Canaan remains out with a sprained ankle, and starting power forward Terrence Jones is out indefinitely with a leg-nerve problem that has sidelined him since the season’s first week.
Even James Harden, who has played at an MVP level on both ends of the floor for Houston, is now weighed down by back spasms (he shot 5-of-21 while laboring through a 100-95 win over Phoenix on Saturday) and is questionable for Houston’s next game.
That next game, by the way? That comes in the form of a major showdown Wednesday night, on the road against the top-seeded, 18-2 Golden State Warriors. If the Rockets have any hopes of springing a road upset, having both Howard and Harden on the floor would seem to be essential.
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE NBA
Carlos Boozer isn’t happy with his recent demotion to the Lakers’ bench. Head coach Byron Scott doesn’t particularly care.
“He’s not the coach,” Scott told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday. “It’s my opinion.”
“I didn’t need to necessarily talk to Jeremy [Lin]. He came to me,” Scott said. “So, no, I don’t feel I need to clear the air.”
Lin, like Boozer, was demoted to the Lakers’ bench over the weekend as the club searches for more defense in its starting lineup. While Lin met with Scott and told reporters it was a tough situation, Boozer did not discuss the situaton with Scott and he did not speak to reporters after Sunday’s game. He also made them wait more than 45 minutes a day later.
When Boozer finally did speak on Monday, he said he disagreed with Scott’s decision.
“That’s just his opinion,” Boozer said. “I have a different opinion. I’ll keep it to myself.”
Scott said Boozer “played OK” against New Orleans on Sunday, but he certainly didn’t seem to regret his lineup changes.
“I thought Ed [Davis] and Ronnie [Price] and that starting unit got exactly what we talked about in that first half especially, where the guys were much, much better on that defensive end of that floor,” Scott said. “From Day 1, we’ve talked about that. That’s got to be our M.O.”
Despite the allegedly-improved defense, the Lakers still lost at home to the Pelicans, 104-87, and fell to 5-16 on the season. They return to action Tuesday night, when they host the 11-10 Kings.
Speaking of that Rockets-Warriors matchup, Golden State big man Andrew Bogut is also questionable to play because of right knee tendinitis.
Bogut left Monday night’s 102-86 win in Minnesota — the 13th in a row for the Warriors — early in the first quarter. Both he and head coach Steve Kerr said after the game that they didn’t believe the injury to be serious.
It would certainly be a noteworthy absence. According to the NBA’s analytics, Bogut has surpassed Roy Hibbert as the league’s best rim protector. Howard, incidentally, ranks second.
Power forward David Lee also remains out for the Warriors with a strained left hamstring.
The NBA fined Utah center Enes Kanter $25,000 on Tuesday for throwing his mouthpiece into the stands in Sacramento on Monday night.
With 4:34 left in the third quarter of Utah’s eventual loss, Kanter was whistled for a travel and vehemently disagreed with the call, slamming the ball down and then flinging his mouthpiece into the crowd.
The act earned Kanter a technical foul at the time.
The man who caught the mouthpiece (see below) seemed to be oddly happy about his catch, though he was not allowed to keep it.
Enes Kanter was mad about a call and tossed his mouth guard into the stands. This man caught it. It was taken back. pic.twitter.com/9KuBuPE5Pd
— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) December 9, 2014
Kanter and the Jazz will host the Spurs in their return to action on Tuesday night. No word on if he’ll provide the home crowd with comparable souvenirs.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.
Title is misleading of course. There is no Firesale. Its just Billy King listening to offers, like many coaches do at this time of season. Proky is still willing to spend more money than any NBA owner, for the right pieces. Nets still will be going after Kevin Durant, with Jay-Z as his Rep. They need a good foundation in place for the year after next.
What may be true, however, is that Lionel Hollins isn’t too pleased with Brook Lopez’ play, as everyone thinks he’s capable of much more on defense and rebounding, as well as passing. He can opt out in July, and I fully expect him to be moved before the trade deadline, hopefully with a nice defensive center in return. Lopez still had the best touch of any center in the NBA. Problem is that he likes to think that is enough, as long as he puts up point totals. On top of that, Brook is as fragile as they come, after not missing a single game during his first 3 seasons (he’s never been the same after getting Mono (after kissing a girl he should not have, LOL). I’d love to trade Brook for twin Robin, but the salaries don’t match.
This all begin with the dispute between Kirilenko and Hollins. The national media is ignorant of the significance of this dispute and its compounded by the fact that there is a legitimate personal matter, that the media won’t discuss (too sensitive). AK47’s wife is pregnant (I’d guess 7 months), and there may be some complications (just a guess, based on comments on her Instagram site). Its public, and Masha is an open person, but most of it is in Russian. Not sure how it relates to Hollins not willing to play Kirilenko in games. He’s played a total of 35 min. over 7 games this season. AK says he’s healthy, so its understandable that he’s quite pissed and would ask to be traded. AK is STILL one of the best defensive forwards in the NBA, and even on offense he knows his limitations, and focuses on creating chaos as he drives to the basket, for either an assist, a foul, or an easy basket.
This dispute reminds me of the dispute between Jason Kidd and Asst. Coach Lawrence Frank last season. Billy King tried to referee and settle the dispute, but failed. Nets went along with Kidd’s wishes. Again, there is evidence of the same between AK & Hollins, as AK was at practice again, and then he wasn’t. In that case, once again King may go along with the coach, and try to bring back a large trade exception, in order to improve team. It’s sad, because if only Hollins would play Kirilenko, he’d find him to be one of the top 4 or 5 on the team, and the best defensive player (Nets are weak at backup SF) and with Brook out, at backup PF, so healthy Kirilenko is EXACTLY what the Nets need. If AK is traded to Philly, and then waved, the Cavs will get themselves one Huge Bargain, that will likely make them the best team in the NBA, as long as he stays healthy. The Cavs coach Loves AK, and coached him for many years in Russia. All AK wants is a chance to play and prove he can contribute. Hollins will look like the most stubborn coach in the NBA.
Regarding DWill and Joe Johnson, Joe is in a slump these days, possibly due to a guilty conscience after calling out his teammates. No way he gets traded at a bargain price. He will get out of his slump and could put a team in the drivers seat for post-season. DWill is back to his old form, except for vertical leap. Its not clear if those extra vertical inches will return. He does have his explosiveness, but he’s never been a loud cheering voice for the team, that Paul Pierce was last season.