NBA Rumors Round-Up
NBA Rumors: Thunder Interested in Wilson Chandler?
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated06 Nov 2023
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Teams continue to look at Denver as an appealing trade partner. The Cavs have been trying to acquire center Timofey Mozgov, and league sources said the Thunder have inquired about swingman Wilson Chandler.
It’s not a surprise that the Cavaliers have continued their pursuit of Timofey Mozgov, but the Thunder pursuing Wilson Chandler is a new trade rumor.
This note from Mannix doesn’t say what Oklahoma City would be giving up in order to acquire Chandler.
Don’t be surprised if plenty of other teams express interest in Chandler (and other Denver veterans) as well, especially if the Nuggets continue to struggle.
Chandler is a productive player on an excellent contract. He’s only making $6,757,913 this season and just $2 million of his $7,171,662 salary is guaranteed next season (which is the final year of his contract).
This season, Chandler is averaging 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 22 games for Denver. He has started in 20 contests.
Six-time NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal says he intends to make a definitive declaration about his playing future early in 2015.
In a conversation Friday with ESPN.com, O’Neal acknowledged that he knows various teams have expressed interest in signing him in recent months and said he has not ruled out coming back for what would be his 19th NBA season.
“I’m going to make a clear-cut decision after the holidays,” O’Neal told ESPN.com.
According to Stein, the Cleveland Cavaliers, L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors are among the teams that have expressed interest in O’Neal.
O’Neal spent last season with the Warriors and, when pressed into the starting lineup due to injuries last year, he came through by averaging 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 13 games.
The 36-year-old obviously has a lot of wear and tear on his body after playing 18 seasons in the NBA, but he has held up pretty well. After a rough two-year stint with the Boston Celtics, O’Neal bounced back with two solid seasons, contributing as a solid rebounder and interior defender.
Teams will certainly be interested if in January he decides to put on an NBA jersey one last time. Like Ray Allen, O’Neal is a free agent to keep an eye on.
Carmelo Anthony says a published report stating that he is considering waiving his no-trade clause to green light a trade for the New York Knicks is false.
“Come on, man. After all the work I did to get here and get back here? If I was to get up and want to leave now that would just make me weak, make me have a weak mind,” Anthony said on Friday morning. “I’ve never been a person to try to run from any adversity or anything like that so I’m not going to pick today to do that.”
Anthony’s agent, Leon Rose, said the idea that Anthony wanted to leave the Knicks is “utter nonsense.”
The New York Post first reported that sources close to Carmelo Anthony said the star forward would be willing to waive his no-trade clause, as long as the new destination was a team he’d want to play for.
However, Anthony and his agent, Leon Rose, both shot down the rumor on Friday evening.
Anthony admitted that he was shocked to hear those kind of rumors since he just inked a five-year, $124 million deal with New York this past offseason, but understood those reports can surface when a team is free falling down the standings.
“I guess when you are losing games everything gets questioned,” he said. “That’s the state where we’re at as a team, that’s the state where we’re at as individuals. But it comes with territory.”
It’s worth noting that Anthony’s deal has a 15 percent trade kicker, so if he were to be traded he would make 15 percent more on whatever money is remaining on the contract.
The Knicks are currently 5-20, which is the third-worst record in the NBA.
