'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Some players exercised the early termination option and became unrestricted free agents, while others opted in to stay for the remaining time on their contracts. Some teams are struggling to decide which player to choose in the draft, while some others don’t have any picks in the draft. But all that was till yesterday night.
With less than 24 hours to go for the most anticipated draft in a decade, it turned out to be a busy night for many teams as more news of players opting in or out came their way. There was however much more going on than players exercising their player options.
Here’s a look at all the news of the events that occured a night before the draft:
Rockets send Omer Asik with cash to New Orleans Pelicans for 2015 first round pick
The aggressive tendency of the Houston Rockets to pursue the player they want has been very evident the last two years, where they grabbed James Harden and Dwight Hoawrd in consecutive years. But it was clear the franchise could pursue neither of Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James because they lacked the cap room to land them.
Any article which put Houston in the race for Anthony or James mentioned the need for the Rockets to make cap space, and the names Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin regularly made their way to the list of players that the team must trade in order to dump their salaries. Although there is no news of the latter yet, Asik has been shipped to the New Orleans with cash for a 2015 first round pick. This clears 15 million dollars from the Rockets’ pocket which they owed him, although on the Pelicans’ account sheets he will feature at 8 million dollars due to the way his contract is structred.
Asik came to Houston from Chicago as a free agent in the summer of 2012, but a year later his future with the Rockets was in doubt as they started looking to land Dwight Howard. One of the better rebounders in the league himself, Asik, who now had to play at a non traditional position since Howard was at power forward, asked for a trade during the mid-season trade duration. Although the Rockets complied, they couldn’t go through with any deal before the deadline.
In New Orleans, Asik would be playing at his traditional power forward position alongside the emerging center Anthony Davis.The trade cannot be officially announced until after the July moratorium; until then the teams can negotaitate deals but cannot formally execute them.
New York recieves draft picks while Tyson Chandler returns to Dallas in 6 man Knicks-Mavericks trade
After winning a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, Tyson Chandler makes his return to the team along with Raymond Felton as part of a six man trade with the New York Knicks which involves a couple of picks in this year’s Draft as well. With the Mavericks receiving two of the Knicks starters in return, Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Wayne Ellington and Shane Larkin head to the Big Apple along with the 34th and 51st picks in Thursday’s draft.
From the Knicks point of view they get a huge upgrade at the point guard position, receiving Calderon in place of Felton. But most importanatly, if well utilised, they have two important keys to the future with the couple of picks this trade gives them. Meanwhile, the Mavericks’ major concern will no more be thier defence, with their defensive anchor from the 2011 championship team making his return to the city. That said, Chandler has not been the same player that he was when he left the Mavericks, having to deal with multiple injuries over the past year and a half with the Knicks.
"The journey to build this team for the upcoming season and beyond continues. We have added players with this move that will fit right in to our system while maintaining future flexibility.We would like to thank Raymond and Tyson for their time and hard work with the organization over the past few years." – Knicks President of Bakestball Operations Phil Jackson
The move comes as no suprise as it is expected be the first of many more shuffles in the Knicks’ roster by Jackson. Whether or not this positively impacts Anthony’s decision to stay with the Knicks is yet to be seen, but receiving two draft picks after earlier having none is certainly a positive start towards a rebuild for the franchise.
Dallas Mavericks are seriesouly hoping to land either of Anthony or James, but unless they have more pieces to trade, 26.2 million dollars with Dirk Nowtizki still to be re-signed is simply not enough to pursue an All-Star duo. However, according to a source, they still consider themselves real contenders to land either of the players. How they intend to pull that off, is anybody’s guess.
