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No big moves for Knicks on trade deadline day

No big moves for Knicks on trade deadline day

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Knicks, who are without Carmelo Anthony’s services for the rest of the season due to knee surgery, and face an even rougher final few months of the season with a mostly gutted roster:

Knicks president Phil Jackson’s first trade deadline passed quietly, with the club getting beaten out again by Miami president Pat Riley for the top prize — Suns point guard Goran Dragic.

Adding insult to injury, the free-agent-to-be Dragic will be at the Garden Friday night — possibly in a Miami uniform — when the Knicks resume their catastrophic 10-43 season following the All-Star break against the Heat.

As expected, Jackson dealt on-the-block point guard Pablo Prigioni to save a smidgen of cap space while netting two second-rounders (2017, 2019) from Houston and 6-foot-6 shooting guard Alexey Shved, a fringe player with an expiring contract. The deal will save the Knicks $300,000 in cap space in 2015. That’s the guaranteed amount of Prigioni’s $1.7 million pact next season.

Bucks make big trade deadline moves

Bucks make big trade deadline moves

Here’s the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting on a big Bucks change made yesterday, NBA trade deadline day:

Last week general manager John Hammond said it was all about the future with the Milwaukee Bucks.

On Thursday, moments before the 2 p.m. trade deadline, the Bucks showed they really meant it.

Instead of standing pat with a group that has compiled a surprising 30-23 record at the all-star break, the Bucks sent leading scorer and guard Brandon Knight to Phoenix as part of a three-team deal involving the Suns and Philadelphia 76ers.

The Bucks acquired 2014 NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, a guard, from the 76ers and rookie point guard Tyler Ennis and center Miles Plumlee from the Suns in a deal designed to enhance roster and salary flexibility.

All three players are on rookie-scale contracts while Knight will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Milwaukee also sent point guard Kendall Marshall — out with a torn knee ligament — to the Suns to create a roster spot. The Bucks released veteran forward Kenyon Martin to open up another spot, making room for the three new acquisitions.

Sixers continue to focus on future, not present

Sixers continue to focus on future, not present

Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting on the 76ers, who in their quest to build for the future have now tossed point guard Michael Carter-Williams away:

The Sixers made three trades, the first of which was easy enough to understand. They basically paid the Denver Nuggets $16 million for center JaVale McGee and a first-round draft pick. It was exactly the kind of trade everyone would expect the Sixers to make Thursday. They needed to get above the salary floor anyway, and McGee’s $11.25 million salary this season will help them do that.

Now, the Carter-Williams deal. For last season’s rookie of the year, Hinkie acquired the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2015 first-round pick – a valuable pick that’s protected if the Lakers land in one of the top five spots in this year’s draft and one of the top three spots in the 2016 draft. It’s likely that the Lakers will retain the pick this year, but think about 2016: The Lakers will probably improve, but are they going to improve so much, by 30 victories or more, that they catapult themselves out of the lottery and into the playoffs? Unlikely in the grueling Western Conference.

Next year, then, the odds are excellent that the Sixers will have a pick between No. 4 and No. 14 – in addition to their own first-round pick. Carter-Williams is 24, was the 11th-overall pick, and already had seen his value drop from last season, based on his poor shooting, his turnover-prone play, and the questions (dating to last season) of whether he was tough enough to be an exceptional NBA point guard.

Kevin Garnett, back in Minnesota

Kevin Garnett, back in Minnesota

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on Timberwolves activity on the day of the NBA trade deadline:

Thursday’s NBA trade deadline came and went … and veterans Kevin Martin, Chase Budinger and Gary Neal all still were present.

The Wolves swapped Thaddeus Young for Kevin Garnett, but made no other moves, meaning Martin is, as coach Flip Saunders, here to stay.

So, too, are Budinger and Neal, or at least until each is possibly bought out in time to sign with a playoff contender by March 1.

Saunders maintained he wouldn’t trade Martin because his scoring ability, veteran sense and efficiency made him too valuable to do so. And he didn’t, even though national reports said he was on the market.

“Flip and I had good laughs about what was being said,” Martin said. “I was pretty certain I wasn’t being traded from talking with him. He just told me I had a better chance getting hit by a car walking across the street.”

Westbrook scores 34, Thunder smack Mavs 104-89

Westbrook scores 34, Thunder smack Mavs 104-89

Here’s the Dallas Morning News reporting on the Mavs, who now have Amar’e Stoudemire to add depth off the bench once they decide to utilize him, which is good, but were treated rudely by the Thunder as the NBA regular season resumed Thursday:

[The Dallas Mavericks] were manhandled 104-89 by the Oklahoma City Thunder, who had traded away four players earlier in the day, none of whom were named Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook or Serge Ibaka.

That Big Three – and mostly Westbrook and Ibaka – were more than enough to pummel the Mavericks, who looked out of sync in the first game back from injury for Rajon Rondo. They never led and trailed by 20-something much of the night.

Worse, Rondo was glued to the bench for a long stretch in the third and fourth quarters. Clearly, the Mavericks offensively remain an unfinished product. They struggled to get their shooting above 35 percent against the Thunder.

When the Mavericks closed the gap to 10 in the fourth quarter, Westbrook scored eight points and assisted on a Nick Collison bucket to rebuild the lead to 99-83 with 2:24 to go. Westbrook finished with 34 points and 10 assists. Ibaka had 21 points and 22 rebounds.

Steve Blake will change jersey number to honor Jerome Kersey

Steve Blake will change jersey number to honor Jerome Kersey

Following the untimely and tragic loss of Trail Blazers legend Jerome Kersey, Portland guard Steve Blake will switch his jersey number to 5, hanging up the No. 25 that Kersey wore for the Trail Blazers from 1984-95.

“Jerome Kersey meant a lot to this team and to this city,” said Blake. “I’ve known Jerome for a long time now and wanted to honor him and his vast contributions both on and off the court. I consider it an honor to wear the number 25, but this just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Blake asked for and received NBA permission to change his jersey number to 5, effective beginning Friday at Utah.

Suns trade Isaiah Thomas to Celtics

Suns trade Isaiah Thomas to Celtics

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have acquired guard Isaiah Thomas from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for guard Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round draft pick, previously acquired from Cleveland.

Thomas, a 5’9″ guard, has appeared in 46 contests for the Suns this season and is averaging 15.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal in 25.7 minutes per game. He recorded a season-high 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field, three rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes on January 21 against Portland. During the 2013-14 season, Thomas averaged a career-high 20.3 points to go along with 6.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.29 steals in 72 games with Sacramento. He was one of six players in the NBA last season to average at least 20 points and six assists, joining LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Stephen Curry. Thomas was originally selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 60th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and is averaging 15.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.0 steal in 28.5 minutes per game on his career.

“Isaiah is a dynamic offensive player whose scoring and playmaking abilities add to an already well-rounded backcourt with Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley,” said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations. “We are excited to welcome Isaiah to the Celtics family.”

The Boston Celtics have also acquired forwards Jonas Jerebko and Luigi Datome from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for forward Tayshaun Prince. As part of this transaction, the Celtics created a $7.7 million trade exception.

Jerebko, a 6’10” forward, has appeared in 46 contests for the Pistons this season and is averaging 5.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 15.3 minutes per game. He tallied a season-high 13 points, including shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, and two rebounds in 13 minutes on December 17, 2014 against the Mavericks. Currently in his fifth season, Jerebko is averaging 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19.9 minute per game. Jerebko was born in Kinna, Sweden and was selected with the 39th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Pistons.

Datome, a 6’8” forward, has appeared in three contests for the Pistons this season and is averaging 3.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per game over that span. Datome is averaging 2.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.9 minutes per game over his two-year NBA career. Prior to joining Detroit for the 2013-14 season, Datome played professionally in Italy from 2003-13 and in his last season Acea Virtus Roma in 2012-13 he was named the Italian League Most Valuable Player, where he averaged 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 45 games.

Three-team trade sends Brandon Knight to Suns, Michael Carter-Williams to Bucks

The Phoenix Suns today completed a deal to acquire guard Brandon Knight from the Milwaukee Bucks in a three-team trade also involving the Philadelphia 76ers. The Suns also acquired guard Kendall Marshall, who will be waived. As part of the deal, the Suns send guard Tyler Ennis and center Miles Plumlee to the Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers’ protected 2015 first-round pick to the 76ers; the Bucks also receive guard Michael Carter-Williams from Philadelphia.

The 23-year-old Knight is a fourth-year pro who joins the Suns in the midst of a career year, averaging 17.8 points, a career-high 5.4 assists, career-high 4.3 rebounds and career-high 1.6 steals, while shooting career-highs of 43.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range as he has started all 52 games with the Bucks in 2014-15. Knight departs Milwaukee as the leader in scoring and assists for a team that entered the All-Star break seven games over .500 and with 30 first-half victories after winning 15 total games in 2013-14.

Originally the eighth overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft by Detroit, Knight played the first two seasons of his career with the Pistons before being acquired by the Bucks along with Khris Middleton and Slava Kravtsov in exchange for Brandon Jennings on July 31, 2013. An All-Rookie First-Team selection in 2011-12, Knight holds career averages of 15.3 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.00 steals in 265 games (256 starts) with the Bucks and Pistons.

An athletic 6-3 guard who boasts a nearly 6-7 wingspan, Knight was a collegiate standout in one season at the University of Kentucky in 2010-11. Knight earned All-SEC Second-Team honors after setting Kentucky freshman records in scoring and three-point field goals made. Knight was named the NCAA East Region Most Outstanding Player after helping the Wildcats reach the Final Four for the first time since 1998, ending the longest Final Four drought in the prestigious program’s history.

Philadelphia receives the Lakers’ protected 2015 first-round pick from the Suns in the deal. Phoenix initially acquired the draft pick from the Lakers as part of the sign-and-trade that sent Steve Nash to Los Angeles on July 11, 2012.

Timberwolves sign Lorenzo Brown for remainder of season

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed guard Lorenzo Brown for the remainder of the season.

Brown, 24, has appeared in five games (one start) with Minnesota, averaging 3.2 points, 3.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game. He played a career-high 47:55 against Cleveland on Jan. 31, dishing out a career-high nine assists.

Originally drafted by Minnesota with the 52nd pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Brown appeared in three preseason games before being waived on October 25, 2013. He signed with Philadelphia a month later, averaging 2.5 points and 1.6 assists in 8.6 minutes over 26 games.

Brown started this season in the NBA D-League, playing in 19 games (17 starts) with the Grand Rapids Drive and averaging 16.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. In his career, Brown has appeared in 39 games (31 starts) in the D-League and holds career averages of 17.1 points, 5.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 31.5 minutes per game.

Rockets trade Alexey Shved to Knicks for Pablo Prigioni

New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has acquired guard Alexey Shved and second round draft picks in 2017 and 2019 from the Houston Rockets in exchange for guard Pablo Prigioni.

Shved, 6-6, 190-pounds, averaged 7.6 points and 1.9 assists over 13.2 minutes in 26 games with Philadelphia and Houston this season. He holds career averages of 6.7 points and 2.4 assists over 17.2 minutes in 166 games over three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, 76ers and Rockets. The Belgorod, Russia-native originally signed with Minnesota on Jul. 25, 2012 after playing six seasons professionally in Russia.

Prigioni, 6-3, 185-pounds, averaged 4.7 points and 2.4 assists over 18.5 minutes in 43 games this season. He originally signed with the Knicks as a free agent on Jul. 24, 2012 and averaged 3.9 points and 3.0 assists over 17.9 minutes in 187 career games, over three seasons, with the team.