Atlantic Notes: Korkmaz, Raptors, Claxton, Celtics

With the Sixers‘ 2022/23 team salary just barely over the luxury tax line, there have been rumblings that the team will look to trade a non-rotation player to duck out of tax territory. Furkan Korkmaz, one player who has been cited as a candidate to be moved in such a deal, has heard the rumors, but is trying to not let them affect him, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays.

“I just let those guys handle it — my agent, my organization-wise,” he said. “Right now, I don’t think it’s going to make a lot of sense for me to say anything about it, because it’s not in my hands at some point. … For me, the best thing that I can say is I want to be happy, you know? I want to be on the court. And whatever they think is working with the team, that’s fine with me.”

Korkmaz has been a rotation regular in Philadelphia over the last several years, averaging 20.8 minutes per game in 194 appearances during the three seasons prior to this one. In 2022/23, he has appeared in just 23 contests and averaged only 10.9 MPG.

Given his decline in production over the last year and the fact that he’s owed a guaranteed $5.37MM next season, Korkmaz wouldn’t be a positive asset on the trade market — especially since potential trade partners would recognize that the Sixers want to duck the tax, reducing Philadelphia’s leverage.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

• Asked on his podcast by co-host Izzy Gutierrez about the Raptors‘ struggles this season, Pelicans guard CJ McCollum said he expects Toronto to make a move or two before the trade deadline. “I think in terms of what they need or what they’re lacking, something’s gonna happen. I don’t know what,” McCollum said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “There’s rumblings about certain players on the team not being happy. And due to tampering, I can’t speak to that, but I think they’re gonna move someone at some point.”
• In a conversation with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Nets center Nic Claxton said he feels like he’s “barely scratching the surface” of his potential and that he believes he can become one of the NBA’s best two-way players. Claxton also believes he should be the frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year award. “I’m defending one through five and neck and neck as the (NBA’s) leading shot blocker,” he said. “I’m doing everything on the defensive end for the team, anchoring the defense every single night.”
• Jared Weiss of The Athletic takes a closer look at some of the Celtics‘ trade assets, examining which players might be available at the deadline and whether the team will have an opportunity to use its disabled player exception. Weiss identifies Danilo Gallinari and Payton Pritchard as two of the team’s top trade candidates and suggests the DPE will likely be saved for the buyout market.