Report: Anthony Davis’ agent tells Pelicans Davis will not re-sign with team, wants trade

By Kurt HelinJan 28, 2019, 7:42 AM EST

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Now the mad, mad race is on.

All along the Pelicans have pushed to win now with Anthony Davis and in the process win him over so he would sign a $239 million max extension with the team next July and stick around. But as the Pelicans have slumped to 22-28 this season, the odds of Davis deciding he wanted to stay in New Orleans grew longer and longer — he has said cares about legacy more than money — and Pelicans management could not put together a team around him that could win (or stay healthy enough to win). The Pelicans had their chance and blew it.

Rich Paul, Davis’ agent, has told the Pelicans that AD wants out, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Agent Rich Paul has notified the New Orleans Pelicans that All-NBA forward Anthony Davis has no intention of signing a contract extension if and when presented and that he has requested a trade, Paul told ESPN on Monday.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019

Davis could sign a 5-year, $240M contract extension this summer, and can become a free agent in the summer of 2020. https://t.co/Tl7zy7e9UE

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019

Rich Paul to ESPN on a preferred destination for Anthony Davis: "Anthony wants to be traded to a team that allows him the chance to win consistently and compete for a championship."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019

On timing of telling Pelicans now, Rich Paul tells ESPN: "Anthony wanted to be honest and clear with his intentions and that's the reason for informing them of this decision now. That's in the best interests of both Anthony's and the organization's future."

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 28, 2019

As I said, now the mad, mad race is on.

Although don’t expect the Pelicans to rush this. It would be a surprise if Davis is traded soon, more likely it is either around the draft or early July (probably the latter). New Orleans doesn’t want to trade him, but if they have to (and they do now, it would be a franchise killer not to) they are not going to rush into this, the Pelicans are going to extract as much as possible out of any trade. The Celtics and Lakers are the most mentioned suitors for Davis, but expect every team in the league to at least make a call.

The timing of this announcement opens the door for teams to rush in and try to make a move before the Feb. 7 trade deadline — before Boston can get involved. Specifically, there’s no reason to make this move — and make Davis a villain in New Orleans — other than to give the Lakers an advantage.

The Lakers will move aggressively before the Feb. 7 trade deadline because Boston cannot trade for Davis during this season (unless they trade Kyrie Irving away in the process). The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement does not allow a team to trade for two Rose-rule, max extension rookie contracts. Irving has one, so does Davis. The Lakers are not bound by such restrictions and should/would put any player on the roster not named LeBron James in a trade offer. (Remember LeBron has dined with Davis during this season, he’s started his recruiting process.)

Asked if the Pels would honor Anthony Davis' request before the Feb. 7 trade deadline, agent Rich Paul told @NYTSports: "They haven't said much, but we wanted to do the right thing to let them know by the deadline so they could do what's best for the organization going forward."

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 28, 2019

Boston, however, has higher-valued young talent. That starts with Jayson Tatum (who said even he would trade himself for Davis), but they have a deep roster of good, young players (Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier, Semi Ojeleye, among others) and they will have as many as four first-round picks in the upcoming NBA Draft: Theirs, Sacramento’s (they get the better of the Kings or Sixers picks, No. 1 protected), the Grizzlies (top 8 protected), and the Clippers (lottery protected). If the Pelicans are patient, the Celtics could make draft picks for them then trade them to New Orleans after July 1.

The question is, do the Pelicans want to rebuild or do they want a package of players to help them compete right away (sort of like the deal the Spurs got for Kawhi Leonard)? If it’s the latter, it opens up some interesting doors, such as Portland putting together an offer around C.J. McCollum then hoping they can win Davis over in a Paul George with Oklahoma City kind of way.

The more likely outcome is the Pelicans drag this out as they try to start a bidding war between teams. But, anything is possible.

It’s going to get wild.

Now the game is afoot.

Warriors GM Myers says team “unequivocally” wants to keep Green (and Poole and Wiggins)

By Kurt HelinSep 18, 2022, 10:32 AM EDT

Jim Poorten/NBAE via Getty Images

Things are about to get very expensive in Golden State.

Things already were expensive — the Warriors set an NBA record paying more than $350 million in player salaries and luxury tax last season. This season they will have a bill in the same ballpark. But there are limits to what even Joe Lacob and Peter Guber (the Warriors owners) will spend, even with the cash cow that is the new Chase Center filling their bank accounts. Stephen Curry is about to start a no-brainer $215.4 max contract extension, Klay Thompson is at the max, Andrew Wiggins is in the final year of a max and likely gets extended at a slightly lower but still steep price, and Jordan Poole is up for an extension and while not a max guy is a bridge to the future. All that has led to an interesting bit of speculation:

Are the Warriors going to have to break up the band soon? Could Draymond Green be the odd man out?

Green is also extension eligible right now, but Warriors GM Bob Myers denied he is out, talking to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.

“No, no, I would definitely, unequivocally say (he’s) not a guy we look at and say he’s not going to be around,” Myers said. “Now, at some point, decisions are going to have to be made. But as far as his importance to this organization and what he’s done, we’re going to do everything we can to keep him in the fold…

“Draymond, certainly it’s obvious to anybody what he’s done for us. I could never sit here and say, ‘Well, he’s not going to be around.’ I can’t even get the words out of my mouth.”

Green is set to make $25.8 million this season and is widely expected to opt-out of the $27.6 million player option he has next season. The Warriors can extend him off that deal for four years, $138.4 million ($34.6 million average a year), a big number for a 32-year-old but also short of what Curry and Thompson will make (they are both above $40 million this season). Green is not the offensive player he was six or seven years ago (7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 7 assists a game last season), but that’s never the end of the floor where he made his money — he was the Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner last season until injuries struck.

There are many questions: Will the Warriors put that max extension on the table? Would Green take it? Does Green think there could be a bigger contract for him as a free agent next summer? Green brings a very specific skill set to the table as a defender and passer, but it’s not a fit for every system, how many teams would step up with a huge offer for him?

The biggest question remains where the Warriors will make cuts? Coming off a title they are wisely bringing the band back together to chase another ring, and they are betting favorites to come out of the West. But with Green, Wiggins, and Poole back in the fold the 2023-24 Warriors could see payroll and taxes jump north of $400 million, a figure even they balk at. Changes have to come from somewhere. It’s something to watch as they sign players to extensions before this season starts, with an eye to the future.

P.J. Dozier signs contract with Minnesota Timberwolves

By Noah RubinSep 17, 2022, 4:09 PM EDT

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Tim Connelly is attempting to get the band back together.

Connelly took over as Minnesota’s Team President back in May, and he’s since acquired three former Nuggets in Austin Rivers, Bryn Forbes, and now P.J. Dozier.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted on Saturday that Dozier had signed a deal with the Timberwolves.

Free agent PJ Dozier is signing a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources tell ESPN. Dozier is coming back from a December 2021 ACL injury. Dozier played with Denver under new Wolves president Tim Connelly.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 17, 2022

Dozier is now the 20th player on Minnesota’s roster. With 12 guaranteed contracts already, Dozier likely signed a non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed deal, though the official terms of the contract were not disclosed.

While Connelly likely won’t be bringing Nikola Jokic over from Denver, Dozier has still been able to contribute when he’s been healthy throughout his career. Unfortunately, he’s faced more than his fair share of injuries.

Dozier was limited to just 18 games last season after tearing his left ACL in November. In those games, he averaged 5.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 18.9 minutes per game. The season before, he averaged 7.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 50 appearances, all of which were career-highs.

If he’s back to full strength, there’s a chance he makes Minnesota’s final roster and be a nice depth piece for them. However, if he doesn’t make the team, he’ll likely find a home elsewhere and potentially have a better chance to contribute than he would with the Timberwolves.

Gary Payton II has abdominal surgery, expected to be ready for season

By Kurt HelinSep 17, 2022, 2:00 PM EDT

Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images

The Portland Trail Blazers should ask for a volume discount on core muscle surgeries.

Damian Lillard got one last season and now says he is pain-free for the first time in years and expects a return to his MVP-ballot self. Nassir Little followed suit and had core muscle surgery in May. Now it is just-signed Gary Payton II who just had the same surgery, the Trail Blazers announced on Friday.

Gary Payton II underwent an off-season procedure in July to address a core muscle injury.

He is expected to make a full recovery by the start of the regular season.https://t.co/W3Kg8ksEFQ

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) September 16, 2022

The good news for Payton and the Trail Blazers is this is an injury expected to heal fairly quickly and Payton should not miss much, if any, of the season.

Payton came to Portland on a three-year, $26.1 million contract after playing a key role in the Warriors’ run to a title. He’s part of a revamped Trail Blazers roster around Lillard, with Jerami Grant and Payton being the two key additions. They are next to a re-signed Anfernee Simon and Jusuf Nurkic. Portland has a solid roster, maybe a playoff team if things go right, but in a very deep West it is one without much margin for error. They need everyone healthy and playing near their peak.

That includes Payton, who is now on the road to recovery from core muscle surgery.

Players union executive director calls for lifetime ban for Sarver

By Kurt HelinSep 17, 2022, 11:00 AM EDT

Two of the biggest name players in the NBA stepped up early and said the punishment for Suns owner Robert Sarver wasn’t enough. LeBron James said, “our league definitely got this wrong,” and the Suns’ Chris Paul said the one-year ban and $10 million fine “fell short in truly addressing what we can all agree was atrocious behavior.”

Now Tamika Tremaglio, the NBPA executive director, has called for a lifetime ban for Sarver. She appeared on ESPN’s NBA Today and said this:

“We are absolutely calling for that [lifetime ban]. We do not want him to be in a position where he is managing or engaging with individuals who are engaging with our players or the players themselves. We are absolutely clear from the findings that are in the report that we do not want him to be in that position…

“It is our players’ desire that while we understand that there has been a thorough investigation and while we’re very pleased that the NBA was able to follow through on that — because that’s clearly something that we want to see happen — we also want to make it very clear that we do not want him to be back in a position where he will be impacting our players and those who serve our players on a daily basis.”

A 10-month investigation into Sarver and the Suns found numerous instances of his racist and misogynistic behavior over 17 years: using the N-word at least five times (despite being told he can’t do that), telling a pregnant woman she probably couldn’t be at the event she was planning because a child needs a mother not a father at home, commenting on women’s appearances and bodies (multiple times), emailing pornography to male employees, berating women in the office, and the list goes on and on with more than 100 employees telling investigators of times Sarver “violated applicable standards” (to put it kindly).

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver settled on a one-year suspension for Sarver and a $10 million fine, a punishment seen as a slap on the wrist. When asked to explain why Sarver got one year for something that would have gotten an employee at the NBA league office — or with any of the 30 teams — fired, Silver stumbled.

“There are particular rights here of someone who owns an NBA team as opposed to somebody who is an employee…” Silver said. “I don’t have the right to take away his team… There’s no neat answer here, other than owning property, the rights that come with owning an NBA team, how that’s set up within our constitution, what it would take to remove that team from his control is a very involved process, and it’s different than holding a job. It just is, when you actually own a team. It’s just a very different proposition.”

Except what Tremaglio — and others — are calling for is not forcing Sarver to sell his shares of the Suns (he owns about a third of the team, the largest percentage of multiple owners). They are calling for a lifetime ban, an extension of his one-year suspension from having anything to do with the Suns’ business or basketball operations. Sarver would become a silent partner but retain his shares, which he could sell whenever he wished.

That ban is within Silver’s rights and was the first thing he did with Donald Sterling when tapes of the former Clippers owner’s racist statements went public in 2014. (The Clippers were only sold to Steve Ballmer because of a Machiavellian move by Sterling’s wife, Shirley, to have Sterling declared incompetent to run the team, then she sold it out from under him.)

Sarver likely would fight a lifetime (or even extended) ban, taking the league to court. That’s where Silver needs the backing of the other 29 NBA owners — Silver works for them, and many of those billionaires are not comfortable voting out one of their own (people who live in glass houses and all). They will not vote to force a sale, but the other owners might back a lifetime ban if there is enough public and financial pressure on them that they feel they have to choose the league over Sarver for the good of their businesses.

That’s why PayPal saying it will not renew as a jersey sponsor if Sarver returns as governor was a huge step (other sponsors joining that chorus would matter greatly). It’s why Tremaglio and the players’ union speaking up and calling for the ban matters. It’s why Paul and LeBron calling out the punishment matters.

Pressure is building for a harsher punishment for Sarver. Whether it will be enough to get Silver to act remains to be seen.

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