4:20 p.m.: There are two more deals to report and they are doozies. The Warriors traded Jeremy Tyler to Atlanta and Charles Jenkins to Philadelphia to get under the luxury cap, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Both players were moved for second-round picks, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. So, there’s that.
3:50 p.m.: Perhaps the biggest surprise of the trade deadline were the players who were not dealt. Eric Bledsoe stayed with the Clippers, Josh Smith stuck with the Hawks, Andrea Bargnani is still a Raptor and the Jazz kept Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are all still Celtics, as well.
3:44 p.m.: As part of the J.J. Redick deal, the Bucks will send Doron Lamb, Tobias Harris and Beno Udrih to the Magic, according to Wojo. Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith were sent to the Bucks along with Redick.
Harris and Lamb are both young players who have shown occasional flashes in Milwaukee. Udrih will serve as a backup to Jameer Nelson.
3:26 p.m.: Ronnie Brewer was one of the few members of this year’s Knicks who consistently defended his position, and now it appears he is gone. The Knicks sent Brewer to the Thunder for a second round pick, HoopsWorld’s Alex Kennedy reports, and the veteran guard/forward was just told of the move.
All in all, this is not a horrible move for Brewer. The Thunder are one of the league’s top teams and are all but assured of a deep playoff run. At the same time, Brewer’s main skills — defense and corner 3-point shooting — are somewhat redundant to Thabo Sefolosha’s. And Sefolosha has the benefit of already being entrenched in OKC’s rotation.
3:16 p.m.: Say goodbye to Jason Collins, Celtics fans. The veteran backup has been included in the deal that will bring Crawford to Boston, according to Wojo. (There is that guy again.)
This could mean that the traded involves more than a straight-up one-for-one swap that was reported earlier. Collins also makes the veteran’s minimum, and the Wizards are below the salary cap, so they could absord the extra expiring salary if they wish.
3:11 p.m.: The Hawks appear to have decided to hold on to Josh Smith, but Danny Ferry did not spend the deadline just sitting around. The Hawks have flipped Atlanta-area native Anthony Morrow to the Mavericks for Dahntay Jones, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, so there is that.
3:04 p.m.: Do not close the book on the Celtics’ deadline wheeling and dealing just yet. CSNNE’s Net’s A. Sherrod Blakely tweeted that he ran into Ainge, who was still on the phone, suggesting that Boston’s work may not be done.
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As for that pesky Redick deal, Orlando is reportedly sending Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith to Milwaukee as well. The Magic will get Hakim Warrick in a separate deal with Charlotte, while the Bobcats get Josh McRoberts.
Or something like that.
2:59 p.m.: Trying to sort this all out, but it appears that J.J. Redick has been traded to the Bucks, per multiple reports. Who the Magic will receive in return or whether there is another team involved is unclear. One thing that seems to be certain is that it is not a three-way deal involving the Hawks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Also, Eric Maynor indeed is headed to Portland. The Thunder will get the Blazers’ trade exception in exchange for the backup point guard. Boston College alum Reggie Jackson now becomes Russell Westbrook’s primary backup.
Stick with us for updates well past the deadline in one minute, since teams can take extra time to finalize deals in process.
2:47 p.m.: Around the NBA, executives are picking up the phone and just punching numbers randomly, hoping to get a representative from another team on the line. If teams are in serious discussions as of 3 p.m. ET, they are allowed to continue those discussions.
As a result, the last-minute reports are coming fast and furious.
ESPN’s Marc Stein reports the Thunder are working on a deal to send Eric Maynor to Portland, and Orlando Sentinel beat reporter Josh Robbins reports that the Magic have a three-way deal in place that could send J.J. Redick to Milwaukee.
General managers, the clock is ticking.
2:38 p.m.: With a little more than 20 minutes remaining until the deadline, J.J. Hickson is still trying to work his way out of Portland. The 24-year-old forward has had a resurgence with the Blazers, but he would like to join the talented-laden squad in Brooklyn, according to Sheridan Hoops.
Dishing Hickson would not be the worst thing for Portland, either. His $4 million deal is not gigantic, but it does have some value on the trade market since he has far outplayed that number by averaging 12.9 points and 10.4 rebounds this season.
Regardless, Chris Sheridan adds that a deal getting done by 3 p.m. ET is unlikely.
2:10 p.m.: More huge news (not), this time out of Toronto. Sebastian Telfair appears to be headed north of the border. The Suns have completed a deal to send Bassy to the Raptors for Hamed Haddadi, reports Chris Broussard.
1:47 p.m.: Here comes the boom. Jordan Crawford AND Dexter Pittman will both be traded, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Trade deadline excitement does exist.
Seriously, though, the Celtics’ reported pickup of Crawford does help Boston in its current roster crunch. Who has been sent to Washington is unclear, but it presumably is rookie center Fab Melo, who was connected in a deal with Washington earlier. Leandro Barbosa is also an option. Melo and Barbosa each make about the same as Crawford’s $1.2 million, so a straight-up trade could include one or the other, but not both.
Crawford would give the Celtics an extra body in the backcourt, where they are down to just three healthy rotation players plus Terrence Williams, who is on a 10-day contract.
Pittman’s deal is much less exciting. The Grizzlies agreed to take the 24-year-old center and a second-round pick in exchange for the trade exception Memphis received when it sent Sam Young to Philadelphia last March.
1:38 p.m.: We now take a break from your regularly scheduled trade deadline coverage to bring you a bizarre story involving Metta World Peace — as if there are any other types when it comes to this guy.
World Peace reportedly had to be woken up by police when his nephew and some of his nephews friends were “playing” with fake guns outside World Peace’s condo early Tuesday morning. The Lakers forward, donning Cookie Monster pajamas, apparently explained the situation to police and everybody walked away with a good laugh.
Hey, we told you deadline day wouldn’t be totally boring.
1:10 p.m.: The earl of NBA beat reporters, Adrian Wojnarowski, is feverishly working the rumor mill on this deadline day. And guess what he thinks will go down this afternoon?
[tweet https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/304644790190997504 align=’center’]
So, there you go.
12:57 p.m.: The San Jose Mercury News and The San Francisco Chronicle have been mostly silent on this, but we will forward this rumor anyway. Apparently the Warriors and Hornets have talked about a Klay Thompson-Eric Gordon swap, which has been reported by Warriors TV analyst Ric Bucher and reposted on numerous Warriors-themed blogs.
This seems unlikely. Truthfully, it seems outright idiotic for the Warriors, who would surrender a 23-year-old shooter on a long-term rookie deal for an injury-prone combo guard who is in the first season of a four-year, $50 million deal.
12:40 p.m.: Here is an often overlooked aspect of deadline day: The expiration of trade exceptions.
Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld has a look inside nine trade exceptions for seven teams that effectively expire if not used by 3 p.m. Thursday. The Lakers, Nuggets, Bucks, Net, Clippers and Grizzlies — all of whom have been active in actual or rumored deals in the lead-up to the deadline — have trade exceptions of $1.2 million each or more.
The Spurs also have an $854,000 trade exception for last year’s T.J. Ford deal, but they have been less active in trade reports beyond the long-standing knowledge that DeJuan Blair is available.
12:35 p.m.: J.J. Redick has been on the trading block for weeks, but the Magic may not want to part with him if they can help it. He may not be a part of Orlando’s long-term future, since he is a free agent at the end of this year, but if the Magic get any worse offensively it could get embarrassing.
Redick is one of the few shot-makers on the Magic’s roster. For the 12th straight game, the Magic shot a lower 3-point percentage than their opponent. That’s a lot of games and a lot of bad shooting.
12:18 p.m.: If the Celtics truly are interested in Jordan Crawford’s services, they may have some competition. The Mavericks are also said to be interested in the Wizards guard, whose shot selection is known to be, er, liberal. That said, Crawford is unlikely to bring much in return for Washington. As mention earlier, the Celtics would probably be willing to part with Fab Melo, but not much else.
12:06 p.m.: The Nets are never far from any trade talk, and from the sound of it they are extremely interested in adding Josh Smith. But if the Fighting Prokhorovs fail in their pursuit of the Atlanta forward, they are expected to stand pat at the trade deadline, Yahoo! Sports reports.
Since the Nets are far above the $70.3 million luxury tax line — they are responsible for more than $85.5 million next season in the first year of the new collective bargaining agreement’s more prohibitive luxury tax — they could not sign Smith outright this summer without making other moves to shed salary.
11:59 a.m.: Uh, oh. These Celtics-Clippers rumors simply will not die. Now Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, who is usually on top of these things, reports that the Clippers are still interested in getting a deal done with the Celts.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge expressed annoyance in an interview with Bulpett over other teams’ tendency to leak reports of their discussions. Ainge had to have been talking about the Clippers, and to a lesser extent the Hawks, who have been incredibly loose-lipped in the past few weeks.
11:35 a.m.: Tyreke Evans’ next stop could be… Boston?
The Celtics have expressed interest in the 6-foot-6 swingman before, and their interest may have been rekindled, according to ESPN. Marc Stein reports that the Celtics may make one more run at Evans Thursday, probably hoping to get some sort of discount in the waning hours before the deadline.
For what it’s worth, the trusted Jason Jones says, not so fast.
11:18 a.m.: The Kings might not be done dealing. According to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, the team could explore trading Tyreke Evans.
[tweet https://twitter.com/mr_jasonjones/status/304623996845039617 align=’center’]
Ridding themselves of Evans, who has regressed each year since winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2010 (because Blake Griffin was injured), would not be the worst thing for the Kings. Evans has never been the player he was as a rookie, when he averaged 20.1 points per game and started all 72 games he played in.
Since then, Evans has lost his starting job to the deserving Isaiah Thomas and even been shifted to small forward on occasion.
11:09 a.m.: Thanks to Kosta Koufos’ emergence and JaVale McGee’s sizable contract, the Nuggets do not really have room for Timofey Mozgov in their post rotation. Reports over the last few weeks have indicated that they would like to deal the 26-year-old Russian, and the Heat have registered some interest, although it is unclear what Miami can offer that Denver would want.
10:43 a.m.: The Hawks really seem to want to rid themselves of Smith, but no other team appears willing to bite. That should tell you something.
Smith is a perfectly fine player and an enticing 6-foot-9, super-athletic wing forward, but he tends to fall in love with his shaky jumper and his impressive stats have never translated into much success in the wins department. What’s more, he is due to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and he has told reporters that he fancies himself a maximum contract player.
If Smith wants $20 million or more per year, he is too pricey. But if some team acquired him at the deadline, they probably would feel pressured to give him his money to justify the move — then regret it for the next five years.
10:35 a.m.: Not quite sure what to make of these Josh Smith-Monta Ellis rumors. One minute, the Hawks and Bucks are talking. The next minute, one side or the other is striking down the rumor. Get used to this sort of back-and-forth in the next five hours.
10:25 a.m.: Fab Melo, we hardly knew you. According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard (I know, I know), the Celtics are dangling rookie center Fab Melo as bait to land a perimeter scorer like Washington’s Jordan Crawford.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Chris_Broussard/status/304610772414259201 align=’center’]
Crawford has one year remaining on his rookie contract before he becomes a restricted free agent after next season.
10:12 a.m.: The Maloofs are a menace that needs to be weeded out of the NBA. Fortunately, that time seems to be fast approaching. Unfortunately, it did not appear quickly enough to keep them from ruining their own franchise and, now, their current roster.
The Kings made the inexcusable move of dumping rookie Thomas Robinson, the No. 5 pick in the last draft, along with Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt on Wednesday night. In return, the Kings got Patrick Patterson, Cole Adrich and Toney Douglas, none of whom is anything beyond a role player. Patterson is an effective scorer but in non-existent on the glass or on defense.
Robinson, 21, has been far from a standout so far. He averaged just 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 51 games in Sacramento, but he was a young player on an affordable rookie contract who was worth the project. He was the kind of player a new ownership group could have molded in the organization’s new image. Instead, he is the latest victim of the Maloofs incompetence and awfulness.
8 a.m. ET: Everybody is on the clock. The NBA trade deadline arrives Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, marking the last chance this season for teams to add that last pivotal player to put them over the hump — or to dump that extra salary or free-agent-to-be before it is too late.
As usual, the run-up to the deadline has featured no shortage of rumors. Some are intriguing. Some are absurd, like the Nets’ reported offer of Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks and a draft pick for Paul Pierce. Seriously, Billy King? That was the best you could come up with for one of the all-time great Celtics?
There are plenty of more realistic deals to ponder, however. The Hawks really seem to want to move Josh Smith, the power forward who stuffs the box score but has yet to lead Atlanta to any real success. Interest in Smith, as one might expect, is tepid. The Jazz are expected to move either Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap if they can, as both members of Utah’s front line become free agents at the end of the season. A Millsap-Eric Bledsoe swap with the Clippers makes tons of sense for the Jazz, but the Clips would need to be really sure Chris Paul is re-signing this summer before they send away the 23-year-old guard.
A few teams would love to have Dwight Howard, no matter how far below his potential he has played this season. But Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak threw cold water on any Howard trade scenarios by reiterating that the Lakers will not trade the big man this season. Sorry, folks.
Join us throughout the day for updates and analysis for the moves, big and small, that take place right up to the last minute.
