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Warriors Willing To Trade Alec Burks, Other Veterans

December 28th, 2019 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Shooting guard Alec Burks is among several players the Warriors are willing to part with before the February 6 trade deadline, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Poole suggests Golden State could be one of the most active teams on the trade market after virtually ignoring it during the past five years.

He identifies Burks as the most coveted of the Warriors’ assets because he can stretch defenses and has an affordable contract at $2.3MM. Burks is averaging 15.5 PPG through 30 games and shooting 34.9% from 3-point range.

Poole names the Lakers, Mavericks, Clippers, Pacers and Raptors as teams that could use another wing player who can shoot from the outside. He states that the Warriors will be looking for future assets such as draft picks and young players.

Although Golden State’s front office likes Burks, they need to open up roster spots soon to keep two-way players Damion Lee and Ky Bowman, who are both nearing their 45-day NBA limit. Lee has 12 days remaining and Bowman has 11. After that, they will have to have their contracts converted to NBA deals or remain in the G League until that season is over.

“It’s an awkward situation for us, because Ky and Damion are coming up on their limit,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Friday’s game. “And they’re two of our top seven players in our rotation. And yet the rules are that we only have them for another nine or 10 days each. Everybody is aware of that. We don’t know how it’s going to play out.”

Several league sources told Poole that the Warriors are ready to move into serious trade discussions. They added several veterans over the summer on contracts that they believed would be easy to move when the time came.

Those include Glenn Robinson III at $1.9MM, Marquese Chriss at a non-guaranteed $1.7MM and Willie Cauley-Stein at $2.2MM with a $2.3MM player option for next season. They also traded for Omari Spellman, who makes $1.9MM this year, and picked up his option for 2020/21 at nearly $2MM.

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Five Key Stories: 12/22/19 – 12/28/19

December 28th, 2019 at 6:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:

The NBA’s long trade drought ended this week as the Jazz acquired Jordan Clarkson from the Cavaliers in exchange for Dante Exum and two second-round picks. It was the first deal completed since the Thunder sent Russell Westbrook to the Rockets in mid-July. Clarkson adds more scoring punch in Utah and strengthens the bench unit.

The Jazz also waived veteran forward Jeff Green to create room to sign G League standout Rayjon Tucker. Green cleared waivers on Thursday and is now an unrestricted free agent.

Wizards guard Isaiah Thomas received a two-game suspension after going into the stands to confront an unruly fan in Philadelphia. Although Thomas talked to the fan calmly, the league has a strict policy about players leaving the court to interact with fans during games.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone received a contract extension through the 2022/23 season. He has improved the team’s record each season since taking over in 2015/16.

Pacers guard Victor Oladipo has set late January or early February as his target date to return to the court. He is still recovering from a ruptured quad tendon that he suffered 11 months ago.

Here are 10 more noteworthy headlines from around the basketball world this week:

  • Zach Randolph confirmed his retirement after 17 years in the NBA. He hinted in September that he wanted to join a team in training camp, but that opportunity never happened.
  • The Knicks have started monitoring Karl-Anthony Towns‘ situation with the Timberwolves to see if he might become available in a trade. Dealing for an unhappy star has become New York’s “dream scenario.”
  • LeBron James is being urged to take some time off after aggravating a groin injury in the Lakers‘ Christmas Day game. James, an outspoken critic of load management, has also been bothered by a rib injury.
  • The Wizards signed both Gary Payton II and Johnathan Williams as hardship players. Washington has four players with long-term injuries and several others who are currently sidelined.
  • The Rockets converted Chris Clemons‘ two-way deal to a three-year contract after he reached his 45-day limit in the NBA. Houston signed William Howard to the open two-way slot.
  • Kings guard Buddy Hield told reporters there are “trust issues” on the team after barely playing in the fourth quarter of a pair of games this week. Hield, who also clashed with former coach Dave Joerger, signed a four-year rookie scale extension in October.
  • Dewayne Dedmon is also reportedly unhappy in Sacramento after signing a three-year, $41MM deal as a free agent this summer. Dedmon has fallen out of the Kings‘ rotation and may have several teams interested in acquiring him.
  • The NBA conducted an investigation of the Clippers after they signed Kawhi Leonard in free agency. It was sparked by reports of improper benefits allegedly being requested by Leonard’s uncle, Dennis Robertson.
  • The Hawks are reportedly considering Thunder center Steven Adams as a trade target. He has one more season left on his contract and is owed $25.8MM this year and $27.5MM in 2020/21.
  • The NBA is still debating what type of incentive to offer as a prize in its proposed in-season tournament.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Dennis Smith Jr. Responds To Trade Rumors

December 28th, 2019 at 5:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dennis Smith Jr. insisted today that he wants to remain in New York, but rumors persist that he wouldn’t object to a trade, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.

Asked about that possibility at this morning’s shootaround, Smith responded, “I like playing for the Knicks. So whatever I’ve got to do, I’m going to take care of that.’’

When pressed on the topic, Smith said, “I want to be here” and “My thing is to take care of what I got going on now. I’m with the New York Knicks, so I try to be the best version of me with this team.”

Berman notes that Smith became concerned about his future in New York when the Knicks signed free agent Elfrid Payton in July and virtually promised him the starting point guard role. Smith’s camp considered asking for a trade at that point, but decided against it. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported this week that executives from several teams have contacted the Knicks about trading for Smith, and they believe he would welcome a fresh start.

“The way I look at it, of course, you come in and you want to play,’’ Smith said. “I don’t know how much you’re supposed to feed into it. You want to see (Payton) do well. You want to do well yourself. That’s what it’s really about.’’

Smith, Payton and Frank Ntilikina have been staging a three-way battle for playing time at point guard since training camp. Smith is currently at the back of the line, averaging just 16.1 minutes per night, and will miss his second straight game tonight with a strained oblique. He was slowed by a back injury in training camp and left the team for two weeks after his stepmother died.

The injuries and the lack of playing time are driving down Smith’s trade value, creating a difficult situation for team president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry, who are already on shaky ground. Smith was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks in January, and it would be embarrassing for the front office to ship him off now without getting something significant in return.

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Kyle Kuzma Distances Himself From Anti-LeBron Comments

December 28th, 2019 at 4:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

In the words of Omar Little: “If you come at the king, you best not miss.” Likely omitted from the famous The Wire quote is if someone associated with you comes at the king, you best distance yourself from said person, which is what Kyle Kuzma is currently doing.

Earlier this week, Kuzma’s personal trainer posted an Instagram story criticizing LeBron James. Some may have assumed that Kuzma shared those sentiments, but that is not the case, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times relays.

“I just told him that I can’t control what another man says,” Kuzma said. “Obviously I don’t feel that way. Everybody knows that me and LeBron have a great relationship, and left it at that. Can’t control another man’s mouth and what they say, so we left it at that.”

Kuzma’s trainer raved about Kawhi Leonard‘s skillset in comparison to LeBron’s after the Clippers took down the Lakers on Christmas day. Kuzma had then tweeted “call a spade a spade,” and if you thought that now-deleted tweet was related to his trainer’s comment, then the 24-year-old power forward would like to clarify.

“No correlation,” Kuzma said. “I didn’t even see what he said at first. Obviously you guys see, I tweet things all the time. So definitely not about that.”

James, who is nursing a groin injury, isn’t overly concerned about the comments, as lions don’t concern themselves with the opinion of sheep.

“I really don’t care for someone’s trainer or whatever the case may be,” James said. “Everyone can have their own opinion. And any time someone wants to get some notoriety they can throw my name in and people are going to pick it up. That’s why you’re asking me about it because my name was in it.

“I’ve never met the guy, I don’t know the guy, I could care less about the guy. Whatever the case may be. I wish him the best.”

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Hoops Rumors Originals: 12/22/19 – 12/28/19

December 28th, 2019 at 2:31pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:

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Utah’s Brass Discusses Jordan Clarkson Trade

December 28th, 2019 at 12:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Jazz made the first trade of the NBA season, sending Dante Exum and a pair of second-rounders to the Cavs for Jordan Clarkson. VP of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey said the Jazz needed to make the move to add depth to the team, as Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune relays.

“We could feel that the starters were being stretched. … As the team started to form, we started to see some of the challenges that we had scoring with the second unit,” Lindsey said. “It certainly became a priority.”

The executive added that he thought depth may be an issue when the team lost several veterans, including Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder, this offseason. Utah’s bench was a major strength last season, but the franchise went into this year with an improved starting unit at the expense of depth.

Exum’s injury history and Mike Conley’s current hamstring woes also played a role in the deal.

“That timing dictated where we’re at. The one piece of the evaluation that we feel like is incomplete is, obviously, getting Mike integrated in, with now two hamstring injuries,” Lindsey said. “You know, we feel like there was a little bit of a gap in knowing who we really are and our arc for improvement. But we still felt like the bench scoring was so challenged that we needed to address it. … When Mike got hurt, we had to kind of speed up the evaluation and become a little bit urgent.”

While Conley’s injuries created a short-term need for an additional playmaker, GM Justin Zanik emphasized that the team was going to need to be deeper regardless.

“It still doesn’t change the fact that the bench needed to up the production, and we needed to see if there were other avenues to address that,” Zanik said.

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Anthony Davis Talks His Journey To The Lakers

December 28th, 2019 at 11:57am CST by marksuleymanov

Despite having dropped their last four games, the Lakers remain atop the Western Conference and offseason import Anthony Davis has been a huge part of L.A.’s return to prominence. The Lakers’ dynamic duo – Davis and LeBron James – has lived up to the billing thus far and championship aspirations remain intact for the franchise.

Ahead of the team’s eventual Christmas Day loss to the Clippers, Davis spoke to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports to discuss the journey that brought him to Hollywood. Davis, a free agent at the end of the season, has not committed to the Lakers beyond the current season. However, he was reflective in his discussion on the mindset that led him to request a trade from the Pelicans and what his goals are for the remainder of the regular season.

Check out some of the highlights from Davis’ chat with Haynes below:

On which teams Davis had in mind as potential destinations after his trade request:

“There were several teams in mind. My agent [Rich Paul] was doing a good job talking to the front office and management over there. He was the one communicating back and forth with them, and I was just trying to continue being a leader over there and still playing when they allowed me to. I’m not sure what was really being talked about, but the Pelicans didn’t do anything. So I still tried to lead that team, and when I got a chance to play, I played my heart out. It’s basketball. I’m still going to be a professional, and any time I’m on the floor with four other guys, I’m going to go out there and compete.”

On when he decided that he wanted out of New Orleans:

“I think it was just the wins weren’t adding up, and it seemed like we weren’t making the playoffs. Everyone around me and everyone who knows me knows that I want to win. And I didn’t feel like we were going to be able to do that last year. I want to be able to win. We got off to a great start. We were 4-0. Then guys got hurt and little things started to go south. But my mindset at the time was to keep trying to lead my team.”

On the ultimate goal of a championship driving his decision:

“You don’t have a lot of time in this league. It goes by very fast. So for me, it was about putting myself in position where I can win before this career is over. And hopefully win several championships and have several winning seasons. That’s what was going through my head at that time. I’m not sure what the record was, but I felt like it was time for me to at least let the organization know where my head was at.”

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Zach Randolph Confirms Retirement With Heartfelt Tweet

December 28th, 2019 at 11:08am CST by marksuleymanov

After announcing his retirement earlier this week, 17-year NBA veteran Zach Randolph took to Twitter early Saturday to confirm the end of his career in a heartfelt post.

“I gave this game my all, and it gave everything back and more. Basketball will always be a part of me,” he wrote. “From Marion, to East Lansing, to Portland, NY, LA, Memphis and Sacramento and everyone in between — thank you all for an incredible journey.

“Special thank you to the Memphis Grizzlies and entire city which I will forever call home, my family for always supporting me — my mom, brother and sisters for taking this journey with me, the Portland Trail Blazers for taking a chance on a young kid from Marion, Coach Moe Smedley, Coach Tom Izzo, Commissioners David Stern and Adam Silver for the opportunity, all the NBA organizations, front offices, staff, and every single teammate. To my agent Raymond Brothers — you’ve not only been my agent my whole career, you’ve been my big brother as well.

One love. Z-Bo”

Randolph, 38, seemed intent on getting one more shot in the NBA just a few months ago, stating he “ain’t retired yet.” However, after not finding another opportunity, he decided to call it quits.

It was a stellar career for the two-time All-Star as he suited up for five teams (Blazers, Knicks, Clippers, Grizzlies, Kings), played in several NBA postseasons and netted north of $200MM for his career.

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Trae Young To Miss Time With Ankle Sprain

December 28th, 2019 at 9:32am CST by marksuleymanov

Hawks point guard Trae Young will miss Atlanta’s tilt against the Bulls on Saturday after he suffered a sprained right ankle in Friday’s loss to the Bucks, the team announced. X-rays were negative and Young will remain in Atlanta to receive treatment.

Young suffered the injury in the second quarter of Friday’s contest. He needed to be assisted off the court by Vince Carter and was not able to put much weight on the injured ankle.

“I rolled it pretty bad,” Young said, per USA TODAY. “It hurts pretty bad right now, but that’s to be expected. I’m getting treatment on it and iced it already.”

This is the second time of the year that Young has suffered an ankle injury. The first time came five games into the regular season but he ended up missing just one week before returning.

When he’s been healthy, Young has performed at an elite level during his sophomore campaign. In 31 games, the 21-year-old is averaging 28.5 PPG and 8.3 APG for the Eastern Conference-worst Hawks.

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Central Notes: Porter Jr., Oladipo, Green, Forman

December 27th, 2019 at 9:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

One of the big reasons why the Cavaliers made the Jordan Clarkson trade was to open up minutes for rookie Kevin Porter Jr., according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The team was aware that Clarkson would likely leave as an unrestricted free agent over the summer, while Porter is one of the team’s building blocks, Fedor continues. Teammates, coaches and members of the front office have raved about Porter’s talent for months, Fedor adds, and by moving Clarkson there’s more playing time available for the 30th overall pick in the draft.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • While ESPN reported that Victor Oladipo is aiming to return in late January or early February, Pacers coach Nate McMillan insists no timetable has been set for his star guard’s return, J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star relays.  Oladipo continues to work his way back from a serious quad injury suffered last season.“No. We haven’t come up with a date,” McMillan said. “I saw that report. We haven’t come up with a timeline for him to return.”
  • Veteran forward Jeff Green could fill a need for the Bulls, according to Michael Walton of NBC Sports Chicago. They are dealing with injuries at the small forward spot and Green, who was waived by Utah earlier this week, could help in that area. Otto Porter Jr.‘s foot ailment seems to be a long-term issue, Walton notes. The Bulls would have to open up a roster spot to sign Green since they’re currently at the maximum level.
  • Gar Forman’s draft record with the Bulls has been solid but unspectacular over the past four years with the club in rebuild mode, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times opines. Forman’s best pick was selecting Lauri Markkanen in the 2017 draft, Cowley notes.
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