We passed along the report this trade was being discussed yesterday. Apparently it’s about to be much more than discussed, and with that the Nets continue to laugh at the NBA’s new, stiffer luxury tax.
The Nets and Kings have agreed in principle to a trade that would send Marcus Thornton to the Nets in exchange for Jason Terry and Reggie Evans, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. There are no picks or cash involved, just the players.
Thornton’s contract has two years and nearly $17 million remaining through the 2014-15 season. Terry, 36, has $10.7 million left on his deal, including $5.4 million next season.
Brooklyn had discussed a deal involving Terry for Cleveland’s Jarrett Jack, too, but sources tell Yahoo Sports that is an unlikely scenario based on the length of Jack’s contract, which guarantees a total of $12.6 million in the final two years of his deal through the 2015-16 season.
This move would save Sacramento just shy of $1 million, although most likely they would try to move Terry and Evans again this summer in future deals. It essentially breaks up the big Thornton contract into two smaller ones that may be easier to move.
The Nets clearly don’t care about the money because they are about to take on the salary of Jordan Hill from the Lakers.
The Nets’ $5.25 million Disabled Player Exception can be used in a trade or free-agent transaction until March 10 and they can use a portion of it to absorb the remaining $3.5 million on Hill’s expiring contract.
Nevertheless, the luxury tax penalty from absorbing Hill’s contract would be extraordinary for Brooklyn – nearly $17 million… If the Nets also were to complete a deal for Hill, the team’s salaries and luxury tax would reach $210 million.
That’s a lot of money to, at best, make the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Hill brings good energy on the court (although Mike D’Antoni was never a fan for several reasons including a lack of offensive skill) and could give the Nets some decent play at the four and five off the bench. But he’s a pedestrian NBA big about to cost the Nets $17 million. Ridiculous. It’s not my money and apparently Nets’ owner Mikhail Prokhorov doesn’t need it, but that is the definition of overpaying.
In the larger trade, basically these two teams are swapping disappointing players.
Thornton is in the midst of his worst season as a professional. Remember that two seasons ago he averaged 18.7 points a game with a true shooting percentage of 54.4 percent — back then he was seen as part of the Kings’ future.
What he’s evolved into is a volume scorer who is struggling to put points on the board. This season he is scoring 8.3 points a game with a true shooting percentage is 48.5. What made him dangerous before was his ability to knock down the three, but he is shooting just 31.8 percent from deep this season.
Brooklyn is betting that a change of scenery and surrounding him with veterans will bring back the old scorer and shooter. If so he certainly helps their wing depth.
Sacramento isn’t making this trade for the players. Terry’s game has been in decline for years — he can still shoot the three (37 percent, and he still loves the right corner) but he can’t create his own shot or defend well anymore. Reggie Evans brings energy and for that reason fans love him, and he works hard on the glass, but he is limited in just about every other way. He’s a decent big off the bench because of his effort but he’s a role player.
