With the NBA trade deadline quickly approaching – Thursday, to be exact – teams around the league are scrambling to see what changes they can make to improve their rosters for now and/or the future.
Goran Dragic, of course, has been dominating the conversation since it was reported on Tuesday that he wants out of Phoenix. The team has agreed to meet his wishes, and although the point guard has a wishlist in terms of where he wants to end up via trade, the Suns aren’t necessarily going to use that list exclusively. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports has details:
The Phoenix Suns are operating under the belief that guard Goran Dragic could be persuaded to accept a five-year contract elsewhere, thus are pursuing trades with asset-rich teams outside of his preferred list of destinations, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
For Dragic, the Suns are pursuing packages that include a young player with significant potential and a first-round draft pick or two first-round picks, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
The Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings have been initially aggressive in talks to obtain Dragic, who will be a free agent in July. Suns general manager Ryan McDonough seems determined to find a team willing to gamble on the ability to offer Dragic the most years and guaranteed money in July free agency, league sources said.
So why is Dragic so adamant on moving on with his career from the Suns? He provided some clarity in this piece from Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic:
“I don’t trust them anymore,” Dragic said following Wednesday’s practice session. “It happens too many times. Two, three times.
“They give promises, OK. It’s hard. But at the same time, I wish them all the best. They were great to me the past five years. I’m always going to have a good memory about Phoenix fans and the city. I just hit that point of my career that it’s better for me and my family to move on.”
“I don’t feel comfortable with my situation,” he said, adding, “It’s just different. Standing in the corner, it’s not my game. I see that we’re not going the right direction. That’s why I take action and try to put myself in a better position.”
Even if the Suns traded Thomas, Dragic’s mind is set on leaving Phoenix in July free agency.
The frustration is understandable. Dragic has shown in the past that he is good enough to be the best guard in the backcourt of a team. It was interesting enough when he had to share the workload when the team acquired Eric Bledsoe last season. To have to share the load with Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas? It’s clear that Dragic wants to become a bigger commodity in the league, but that was never going to happen with the Suns, and the decline in his play this season compared to last season is the perfect evidence of that.
That’s not the only news, though, as plenty of relevant names have popped up (as they always do around this time of the year) for potential trade possibilities. See below for the most updated information.
TRADE RUMORS AROUND THE LEAGUE:
– Some interesting things have brewed rather suddenly for the Denver Nuggets. Apparently, the team has had enough of Ty Lawson and are looking to deal him to truly start over. Chris Broussard of ESPN has more:
Sources say Denver trying to move Ty Lawson and that Nuggets coach Brian Shaw wants his old Indiana pupil George Hill as replacement
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) February 19, 2015
That’s quite a contrast from what was reported on Tuesday. As for the desire to acquire George Hill, he is a solid player, but the idea of starting over with him as the point guard (he’s not really a point guard) sounds like a suspect plan at best. As for Lawson, he added some fuel to the story when it was reported that he missed practice after All-Star break. Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post has the story:
Nuggets guard Ty Lawson was a no-show to Wednesday’s practice, the team’s first after the longest all-star break in NBA history. Lawson was coming from Las Vegas, where the day before he posted a picture of himself on Facebook. Nuggets coach Brian Shaw was not happy with the unexcused absence. “We had a week off or nine days between games, and you expect everybody to be here,” Shaw said. “It disrupts the planning of everything, in terms of you count on somebody in practice. But he’s not here so we had to go without him.” Lawson failing to show is the latest in a string of incidents that have upset management in the past two years. He had a domestic incident in the summer of 2013, a case that was eventually dropped. He missed a team breakfast meeting late last season and was held out of the starting lineup. In January he was arrested on suspicion of DUI. “When we had the coaches meetings this morning, all of the other guys came in and did their shooting,” Shaw said. “And we (the coaches) came up right at the start of practice at 11 o’clock and that was the first that I noticed that he wasn’t there.”
Clearly, Brian Shaw is less than pleased with the ways of Lawson. – Speaking of the Nuggets, Arron Afflalo has been coveted in recent days, and the Portland Trail Blazers may be close to acquiring the shooting guard, according to Marc Stein of ESPN:
Last three teams I’ve spoken to convinced Denver WILL get first-round pick it wants for Arron Afflalo and think it’s coming from Portland — Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 18, 2015
While Portland is a strong candidate, the Nuggets are still listening to plenty of other offers, from Woj:
Denver sifting offers on Arron Afflalo tonight, w/ some “late-chargers” thickening plot, sources tell Yahoo. Blazers still strongly in mix.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 19, 2015
– Here’s a rather bizarre story: Minnesota is reportedly trying to work a deal with bring Kevin Garnett back to his original team, from Stein of ESPN:
Going online now: ESPN sources say Wolves making late push before trade deadline to bring home Wolves legend Kevin Garnett in trade w/Nets — Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 19, 2015
Why the Timberwolves would give up anything for a player who is probably going to retire after this season is beyond me. As for the rumors about buying out Kevin Martin, that’s pretty much been shot down, from Sam Amick of USA Today:
On the Kevin Martin front, I’m told from the T-Wolves side that there’s “no way” he’s going to be bought out. Flip Saunders loves him.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 19, 2015
– Roy Hibbert has had yet another forgettable year, and the Indiana Pacers may be willing to move the defensive center if the price is right, according to Alex Kennedy of BasketballInsiders:
Rival executives say that Indiana is open to trading Roy Hibbert. Nothing is imminent, but the Pacers would move him for the right offer. One problem for Indiana when it comes to moving Roy Hibbert is that he can opt out after this season and become an unrestricted free agent.
Kennedy also reported that the Milwaukee Bucks are willing to move John Henson if something good comes along the way:
Sources say the Bucks may be willing to move John Henson if he could help them make a splashy addition (such as Reggie Jackson/Ty Lawson). — Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) February 19, 2015
– Joe Johnson is being coveted by the Detroit Pistons, according to former Executive Vice President Stu Jackson:
Sources confirm @pistons making pitch to @BrooklynNets for Joe Johnson for Brandon Jennings, @realtuffjuice @JonasJerebko and picks. — Stu Jackson (@StuJackson32) February 19, 2015
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Phil Jackson is looking to make some moves for the New York Knicks, but perhaps gave up a little too much information about some of his players, from Al Iannazzone of Newsday:
Phil Jackson said he expected the Knicks to be “busy” leading up to Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, and that “surprisingly” they have enough assets to do something.
But the Knicks president said there hasn’t been much of a market for Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani — two players the Knicks hope to move to clear salary and bring back someone who can help their rebuilding efforts.
“Surprisingly we seem to have enough to cover what we are looking for,” Jackson said. “I think we do. Our only big contract besides Carmelo [Anthony]’s is Andrea’s right now and no one seemed to jump to that right away.”
“He’s going to have to do some of that leadership that we anticipate,” Jackson said. “Is there a hue and cry for Jose from other teams in a trade possibility? No. There’s not that. And we’re not out selling Jose stickers to passing cars.”
– 
Like Dragic, Reggie Jackson is looking to make his mark in the league as one of the better starting point guards. That was obviously never going to happen with the Oklahoma City Thunder, so his agent has requested a trade from the team, from Woj:
The agent for Oklahoma City guard Reggie Jackson has asked general manager Sam Presti to trade his client before Thursday’s NBA deadline, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
CAA’s Aaron Mintz made the request in the past seven to 10 days, and several teams around the league became aware as officials probed for information on potentially dealing for Jackson, league sources said.
Jackson, 24, has made it clear to the Thunder that he would be resistant to returning to the franchise should it keep him for the rest of the season and then decide to match an offer sheet in restricted free agency this summer.
Presti has made no commitment to moving Jackson, but has been willing to gauge the market and listen to pitches on potential deals as always, sources said.
Broussard provided the names of some teams interested in acquiring Jackson:
Sources: Indy, Bos, Hou, Den all interested in Reggie Jackson. No guarantee OKC will trade him. They won’t give him away.
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) February 18, 2015
There is a reason not all teams are interested in the guard, though: he thinks way too highly of his own value, based on the following information from Amick:
Reggie is known to have turned down a Kemba type offer from OKC (4 yrs, $48 million). He wants more & believes he’ll prove worthy over time.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 18, 2015
KEVIN DURANT ADMITS MAKING A MISTAKE AFTER CRITICIZING THE MEDIA:
Kevin Durant made headlines during the All-Star weekend when he blasted the media, saying “they really don’t know “sh*t”.
The superstar now understands it was probably a mistake to go off in the manner that he did, but also explained where all the frustration stemmed from. Royce Young of ESPN has the story:
“Let’s be real. Let’s look at the whole thing,” Durant said. “I’ve been in the league eight years. The media and myself have had a great relationship for eight years. And I said something, two days in a row I said something. Am I allowed to be upset one time? Am I allowed to be mad? Am I human? Do you look at me that way? Do you look at me as if I can’t say nothing wrong? We had great communication for eight years, and it’s still that way.”
“I had a moment,” Durant said. “Everybody in life has moments. You had one for sure before, but it’s not broadcasted like mine. I was more so trying to take up for my teammates, my coach and other guys in the league that gets scrutinized and I don’t like. Maybe I should shut up about it. I had one moment. What made me more mad than anything I was told I bite the hand that feeds me. I don’t know what that means. I really don’t know what that means. I wish someone would explain it to me. But I don’t remember none of you guys being there when I was 8 years old and putting in that work, the nights when I’m in here putting in that work in. So I don’t really understand what that one means. But, hey, I gotta roll with it. That’s a part of it. I was told I shouldn’t cry ’cause everybody been through it. So I’m going to shut up.”
“It’s more so just an attack on our team and our players and our coach and all that stuff,” Durant said. “It’s not going to fly with me. I really don’t like it. I’m not going to sit here and agree with you when you’re trying to bash my coach or one of my teammates or anything. That’s just who I am as a person. Like I said, we had a great relationship. We still have a great relationship, myself and the media. I had a moment. I hope we can get past it. But I’m sure everybody has those types of moments.”
“I’ll try to work on just being honest with you guys but at the same time being more respectable. I made a mistake.”
Jim Park is a blogger and editor of Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on twitter @SheridanBlog.