2018-19 NBA Bric-a-brac (Week 19)

Firings
Dell Demps (Pelicans GM)
The Demps years were mostly not good for New Orleans. I understand the desire upon drafting Anthony Davis to get straight into win-now mode, but the moves they made left the Pelicans with a lumpy roster and no draft picks. So instead of building around Davis, they went for quick fixes when the foundation was never properly established. This year's roster is probably as good as its been in New Orleans in the Demps era and this is barely a playoff team. Not good. The only reason Demps hung around so long is because this is not an NBA team but rather an NFL-adjacent team that hasn't shown an understanding of how basketball works. The right GM could still build something interesting here but Demps didn't get it done.


Re-signings
Tim Connelly (Nuggets President of Basketball Operations)
The Connelly years have been moving in the right direction: hired the right coach, drafted well and even snagged some interesting free agents to give them a run into the post-season this year and a nice mix of youth and vets going forward.  I'd say he's earned himself a nice extension. 


Signings
(Remainder of season)
Pau Gasol (Bucks), Markieff Morris (Thunder), Corey Brewer (Kings),
Pau played for the last gasp of the Showtime Lakers, the grit-and-grind Thibodeau Bulls and the twilight of Pop's Spurs; this dude knows how to defend, knows how to score, knows how to play with stars, knows how to handle it on his own. He hasn't been a supremely effective player in the NBA for a few years now but he could be the perfect wily veteran for this Bucks team.
I know Morris has been hurt for most of the year but I still thought it was weird that the Pelicans let him go when they did--there something better waiting out there? Not sure how effective he will be but if he's got anything left, OKC is probably a good place for him.
Not sure Brewer is the right fit for the Kings but they could use a steady veteran down the stretch; Brewer will give them reliable defense and ball handling and a little bit of scoring for 10-15 minutes a night.

(Extension)
Eric Bledsoe (Bucks) (4yrs/$70m)
I think this is good for the Bucks: they're locked into a cornerstone player for a reasonable price establishing cost/roster certainty for the foreseeable future. Now they gotta re-sign Brogdon and figure out how to replace Middleton and Lopez this summer.

(Multi-year contracts)
John Jenkins (Knicks), Dairis Bertans (Pelicans), Henry Ellenson (Knicks), Ray Spalding (Suns)
These deals all strike me as late-season salary cap machinations rather than basketball moves (although I kinda like Ellenson with the Knicks, a low cost big body to go with whatever they end up doing this summer).


Waivings
Pau Gasol (Spurs), Tim Frazier (Pelicans), Isaiah Canaan (Bucks), Jodie Meeks (Raptors)
The Gasol era in San Antonio is over and was never as good as it might've been had they teamed up, say, five years earlier. As it is, Pau was mostly overpaid for what he brought to the Spurs and the Spurs never really had the proper spot to offer Pau for him to be his best. An amicable parting, I assume, but never as good as it should've been.
Frazier is a reliable 2nd string PG, I expect to see him back on a roster next year (possibly in New Orleans).
Canaan has bounced around for a while now, may or may not be back in the future (though he will be available for late-season roster manipulations, so wouldn't be surprised to see him getting signed by the end of the season for a team he'll never actually play for).
As a Kentucky fan I implore you to poor one out for Jodie Meeks. An absolutely electric scorer in NCAA (the original Malik Monk), never quite found the right situation in the NBA, derailed by injuries, hung around so long just on pure heart and talent. I wish I had nicer things to say about his basketball career but I'd definitely put Meeks among my all-time Wildcat faves.


Retiring
Channing Frye (Cavs)
Has confirmed (on Twitter, if I'm not mistaken) that this will be his last season in the NBA. Man, with Dirk, D-Wade and Vinsanity sucking up all the attention, doesn't feel like Frye will get his proper send off. Frye is not a Hall of Famer but he was kinda the original stretch-4 and played a pivotal role on some really good teams. Missed a year in Phoenix, then came back and played 82 games in 2013-14 (that team was loaded with Comeback and Most Improved candidates), then signed with Orlando, which was a conduit to the Lebron Cavs...where he kinda languished. *smh* He was exactly what they needed but they never quite figured out what to do with him (I'd call that 'the Lebron effect'). Not an all-time great player but a good one and significant in terms of the evolution of the game over the last decade.


Injuries
Omari Spellman (Hawks)
Spellman is out indefinitely with an ankle sprain. Spellman's rookie year has been fine but nothing superlative, wouldn't be surprised if they shut him down for the rest of the season with an eye toward getting him some Summer League run.