SBNation.com - Robin Lopez Traded To Hornets In 3-Way Deal

Robin Lopez Trade To Hornets Officially Complete With Small Changes

2012-07-27T17:25:57Z

A three-way trade that sent Robin Lopez and Hakim Warrick to the New Orleans Hornets has officially been completed, one day after salary cap complications put it on hold. In the trade, the Hornets will receive Lopez and Warrick, the Phoenix Suns will receive Wes Johnson, Jerome Dyson, Brad Miller, a first-round pick and a second-round pick, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will receive a 2014 second-round pick.

The trade had been put on hold on Thursday, with most suspecting that it did not fit into the NBA's trade rules. As it turned out, though, the Suns were also slated to take on $3 million in cash in the original deal, which would have been illegal because they already did so in the sign-and-trade arrangement that sent Steve Nash to the Lakers. Teams can only receive $3 million cash total over the course of a calendar year.

The Hornets receive some much-needed size in Lopez, while the Suns try to revive Johnson's career while taking on additional picks. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, clear enough cap space to complete their two-year, $20 million contract with Andrei Kirilenko.

For more on the Timberwolves, be sure to visit Canis Hoopus and SB Nation Minnesota. For more on the Suns, check out Bright Side of the Sun and SB Nation Arizona. SB Nation's Hornets blog is housed over at At The Hive.

Robin Lopez Trade To Hornets On Hold Because Of NBA Rules, According To Report

2012-07-26T17:54:48Z

A three-way trade between the New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves is on hold due to salary-cap complications, reports SB Nation's Suns blog Bright Side of the Sun. The current framework of the trade violates NBA rules because the Hornets would be over the salary cap, and therefore, they must send out more salary to make the trade work.

The current arrangement has the following happening:

Hornets acquire both Robin Lopez and Hakim Warrick for the Suns
Wesley Johnson, Brad Miller and a first-round pick head from Minnesota to Phoenix
Jerome Dyson and two second-round picks head from New Orleans to Minnesota.

But that current trade does not work under the rules of the collective bargaining agreement. As Alex Laugan of Bright Side of the Sun notes:

After absorbing [Brad] Miller's contract, signing Ryan Anderson and using Bird Rights to match on Eric Gordon, the Hornets are now "over the cap" meaning that any trade they execute must be close in salaries (within 150%, plus 100k). In other words, the Hornets can no longer participate in lopsided trades. This rule was specifically designed to discourage teams from exceeding the collectively-bargained salary cap by making it harder to add salary. The Hornets are now in that boat.

This means that the Hornets cannot take on Lopez AND Warrick ($9 million total) unless they can combine Miller's expiring contract ($5 million) with other players on their roster, which is also against the rules.

The Hornets must therefore either add more salary to the deal, or the Suns must drop Warrick out of the trade. The three teams could also split the parts into separate transactions, as described by Laugan.

If the trade can not be revived, Warrick and Lopez would stay in Phoenix, and Lopez would play on his one-year, $4 million qualifying offer. Reports indicated the Hornets, if they acquired Lopez, would sign him to a three-year, $15 million deal.

Robin Lopez Traded To Hornets In 3-Team Deal, According To Report

2012-07-25T21:00:53Z

After much speculation, a three-team deal that sends former Phoenix Suns center Robin Lopez to the New Orleans Hornets is nearing finalization, according to a report.

Speaking on anonymity because the move has not formally been announced and completed, a source tells the Associated Press that the deal will also include former Minnesota Timberwolves fourth overall pick Wesley Johnson to the Phoenix Suns, while the Hornets would send guard Jerome Dyson and the retiring Brad Miller's $5.1 million contract to the Wolves in an attempt to clear salary cap space.

The Suns are expected to also receive a lottery-protected first-round pick from the Timeberwolves and ship Hakim Warrick down to New Orleans.

For the Hornets, their efforts to get younger and more athletic are evident. Gone are Emeka Okafor and Chris Kaman, and in is an agile seven-footer in Lopez. Lopez should compliment the team's first overall pick, Anthony Davis, who is expected to be slotted into the power forward role due to his range on offense.

For the Timberwolves, they may finally have turned the corner as a team with a young nucleus and money to spend, as this move will give them space to perhaps bring in Andrei Kirelenko or have the luxury of pursuing a higher-priced player during next season's trade deadline or free agency period.

Timberwolves Helping Facilitate Robin Lopez Trade In Effort To Sign Andrei Kirilenko

2012-07-25T12:43:56Z

The NBA's biggest free agents are off the market already, but there are still some moving pieces out there that should allow the next couple of weeks to remain interesting. The rumors that made their rounds on Tuesday make it seem that way, anyway, as reports surfaced regarding a three-way trade between the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The main reason for the trade seems to be the Hornets acquiring Robin Lopez in a sign-and-trade deal, but the bigger move would seem to be the Timberwolves throwing in former fourth overall pick Wesley Johnson and a lottery-protected first-round pick in order to clear cap space, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

That seems like a pretty big risk at this point in the offseason to simply clear cap space, but it comes with a solid caveat as that cap space is expected to allow the team to sign Russian forward Andrei Kirilenko. The 31-year-old is under contract with CSKA Moscow at the time, but the former Utah Jazz standout apparently has a small enough buyout that the Wolves have interest in pursuing him.