Nuggets coach Michael Malone strongly hinted at possible rotation changes for Game 5 against the Suns on Tuesday night. Malone mentioned that he might use Reggie Jackson as an extra ball-handler and Peyton Watson as a defender, Ryan Blackburn of Mile High Sports tweets. Blackburn notes that the Nuggets were -37 when the starters weren’t on the floor together over the past two games.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Veteran forward Jeff Green has a simpler solution for how the Nuggets can win the series, which is currently tied at 2-2. “It’s about pride. It’s about effort,” Green told Harrison Wind of the TheDnvr.com. “And it’s about wanting to take on the challenge.” Denver has allowed 43 fast break points in the last two games.
- Dealing Karl-Anthony Towns, if the Timberwolves choose to go that path, could be made easier if the Knicks get eliminated by the Heat, Michael Rand of The Star Tribune opines. New York seems like a logical landing spot and rumors are already flying about the Knicks having interest in the Timberwolves big man. Towns will make $36MM next season and the Knicks have a combination of starters with suitable salaries (such as Julius Randle and RJ Barrett) and extra draft picks that could entice the Minnesota front office.
- Coming back from a serious knee injury, Collin Sexton saw his first season with the Jazz marred by hamstring strains. However, he showed improvement in his overall game compared to his time in Cleveland, particularly with his passing and decision-making, according to Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. Sexton shot a career-high 50.6% from the field and made 39.3% of his 3-point attempts. He averaged 14.3 points in 23.9 minutes while appearing in 48 games. Sexton inked a four-year, $71MM contract last summer in a sign-and-trade transaction.
It would be Julius and Mitchell sad to say for towns and someone else
I don’t see how that makes the Wolves any better. Towns at least can command more double-teams.
It’s about getting rid of KAT since they made the mistake of trading for Gobert.
Gobert is nearly untradeable so they have to try and trade KAT if they like the offers. It isn’t ideal but they have to do something. KAT doesn’t play D either and so he’s the most logical guy to move to improve the team all around
It’s been difficult to predict what the Jazz do in trades so far. That doesn’t change with Sexton as the subject. I could see either scenario of him with the Jazz or part of a trade.
One thing is pretty certain, the Jazz will likely make at least one trade before or on draft day. I doubt they want 3 rookies in place of the players they have, unless they make a trade or release/don’t resign some existing players on the roster. Too bad the NBA doesn’t allow more 2-way contracts. Feels like a waste.
Quite a thought that a second round exit is going to motivate the NYK to give up mega-assets for a 1 way player who’s never even been to the second round.
IDK why they’re looking to trade Towns, or if they are, but he certainly isn’t playing C for the Knicks (we believe in defense), and if he can’t play effectively alongside Gobert (which is presumably why they would trade him), then he’s not going to have much more success playing alongside Mitch.
Pretty sure Mitch would be benched in this scenario. He’s shown he’s not productive compared to someone like Towns. Besides, how often does a 2-way player ever become available?
A team trading for Towns is interested in his offense and floor-stretching ability. Plus, he’s a solid rebounder and can block some shots here and there. Maybe someone like Atlanta, Blazers, or Detroit would want him? Miami and the Nets could use more offense as well.
Any team that trades for Towns, as a star, is likely looking (like you and others) only at his offensive production. I’m saying that the Knicks don’t figure to be one of those teams.
Simply, a team that’s been built around defense for 3 years (including making investments in guys that fit like Mitch) is NOT a “logical landing spot” for a big who can’t defend the C position, unless he can play with another big that can. MIN told the entire NBA that Towns can’t do that when they made the Gobert deal. Of course, MIN does (or did) think Towns could play alongside a defensive big. We’ll see if they’re right. If they’re not, there are plenty of other teams that don’t prioritize defense, and they’d be logical landing spots for him.
Towns is a difficult fit if the perimeter defense isn’t very good. They would also need to be creative with using zones or maybe a switching defense would work. Otherwise,
I agree he would fit best on a purely offensive team, that would rely on blowing other teams away with overwhelming offense.
Based on Minnesota’s past behavior, they’ll triple down on building around Towns and trade other players. They do at least need a deeper bench.