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Two days before the deadline and there's a lot going on, predictably. We're tracking Andrew Bogut, Jamal Crawford, and of course, Dwight Howard throughout the day.
The forecast for this trade deadline is considerably cooler. But the talk will be the same as ever. Constant. Keep it right here throughout Monday for all the latest on NBA chatter as the deadline nears.
8:45 p.m.
We have our first major trade. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com confirms a Yahoo! Sports report that the Warriors have traded Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown to Milwaukee for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson. You can find our complete coverage here.
We begin with Ken Berger of CSSports.com who reported late Monday night that the Warriors, Bucks, and Magic are working on a three-team deal to send Bogut to the Warriors, Monta Ellis to the Magic, and unspecified assets to Orlando.
See if you can follow the dots here.
- The Warriors want Dwight Howard.
- The Magic are not giving up Dwight Howard.
- The Magic want to keep Dwight Howard, so they need to get a star to go with him.
- Dwight Howard likes Monta Ellis for some reason.
- So Golden State calls to get Howard on a "rental," and Orlando tells them no, but says they like Monta still a want to pair him with Dwight.
- First reports yesterday indicated that the Magic were trying to get the Warriors involved in a three-way with New Orleans to receive Chris Kaman and Hedo Turkoglu among other assets for Monta.
- Hell will freeze over before Golden State takes that deal.
- Golden State wants a defensive center... like Bogut.
So, naturally, talks moved to where Berger reported last night, with the Bucks being brought in. The questions are still two-fold.
A. Who's taking the money? There are three big contracts in play here, Andris Biedrins' $18 million-plus remaining, Hedo Turkoglu's $11.8 guaranteed remaining, and Stephen Jackson's $10 million remaining. That's all money after their hit this season. They can swap those pieces, but they'd have to take on some as well, which no team wants to. The Magic are willing to take on Jackson because of Dwight Howard's fondness of him, which is the same reason they're pursuing Monta.
B. What is Orlando giving up and what does Milwaukee want? That's hard to tell at this stage, as discussions continue that a move of Bogut could also prompt them to move Brandon Jennings. This deal has a lot of moving parts that are difficult to turn. Yahoo Sports reported late last night Jennings won't be traded.
Elsewhere around the web...
2:20 p.m.
A. Who's taking the money? There are three big contracts in play here, Andris Biedrins' $18 million-plus remaining, Hedo Turkoglu's $11.8 guaranteed remaining, and Stephen Jackson's $10 million remaining. That's all money after their hit this season. They can swap those pieces, but they'd have to take on some as well, which no team wants to. The Magic are willing to take on Jackson because of Dwight Howard's fondness of him, which is the same reason they're pursuing Monta.
B. What is Orlando giving up and what does Milwaukee want? That's hard to tell at this stage, as discussions continue that a move of Bogut could also prompt them to move Brandon Jennings. This deal has a lot of moving parts that are difficult to turn. Yahoo Sports reported late last night Jennings won't be traded.
Elsewhere around the web...
2:20 p.m.
- Could the Lakers be in the lead for landing Ramon Sessions? HoopsWorld says so: "The Lakers have been linked to Ramon Sessions for weeks and they continue to express significant interest in the Cleveland Cavaliers' point guard. While other teams have called about Sessions, the Lakers are believed to be the frontrunner to acquire his services, if they decide to pull the trigger on a deal."
- The Oakland Tribune reports that the Warriors are more likely to make a minor deal than a big one.
- Jazz GM Kevin O'Conner to the Deseret News: "We're active. We're listening," O'Connor said. "We're aggressive in trying to talk (about) things." Will the Jazz make a move? That's iffy, especially with the team fading quickly from the playoff hunt.
- Kris Humphries hasn't really had his name in trade talks yet, but he was asked about possibly waiving his no trade clause. His answer is, well, yeah: "Would you jump off a bridge? Depends on how high the water is. Depends on if there's a drowning baby in there ... I mean, would you jump off in the summer if you knew the water was warm?" Humphries told ESPNNewYork.com. "I don't know. It's all circumstantial. ... It might be the Golden Gate Bridge in some situations. in some situations it might be water hole in wherever where it's warm and deep."
- The Rockets already kind of traded Kevin Martin once, so naturally, his name is back in rumors. How's he feel about it? "My reaction is going to be, wherever I am, I'm going to play just how I have my whole career," Martin told the Houston Chronicle. "I'm not 37, 38-years-old. My body feels great. My game has been fine before we went on the road. There's just a lot of inconsistency this year about everything. It's just about being consistent."
- Danny Ainge says the Celtics are not trading Rajon Rondo. Maybe that rumor will die now.
- Our own Ben Golliver reports that the proposed deal to send Jamal Crawford to the Clippers hinges on Portland's willingnes to absorb Ryan Gomes' contract, a prospect that threatens to kill the deal.
- The Charlotte Observer reports that the Nets are interested in acquiring Boris Diaw's expiring contract from the Bobcats in order to clear space for Deron Williams and Dwight Howard in free agency.
