2024 NBA Draft

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Longevity, Bronny, More

February 19th, 2024 at 2:35pm CST by Rory Maher

The Lakers may be without star forward LeBron James for their first game after the All-Star break, as he’ll be undergoing left ankle treatment this week, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. L.A. faces Golden State on Thursday.

An All-Star starter, James played 14 minutes in Sunday’s exhibition game but sat out the second half to manage the ankle injury. He missed his seventh game of the season last Wednesday, the final contest before the break.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

James set a record by being named to his 20th All-Star game in 2023/24. Several young players at All-Star weekend said they were amazed by his remarkable longevity, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, who notes that seven Rising Stars participants were born after James made his NBA debut, including Jazz rookie Keyonte George. “It’s crazy. There’s a stat when we played him the first time that he was older than our coach (Will Hardy),” George said Friday morning with a laugh. “… All the young guys coming into the league know who Bron is. To me, he’s the best that ever touched the basketball. … The main goal coming into the league is, ‘How can I stay in it for as long as possible?’ Being a good teammate, with your play. The name of the game is longevity. … I think the shot-making ability, not going to the rim all the time, get to their spots, pick them, play with a good pace. I think that helps with longevity and your body. And then it comes down to skill.“
Appearing on TNT’s Inside the NBA before the All-Star game, James said his son, Bronny James, has yet to decide whether he’ll declare for the 2024 draft, as McMenamin of ESPN relays. Bronny is a freshman guard at USC. “It’s up to him, it’s up to the kid,” LeBron said. “We’re going to go through the whole process. He’s still in season now. He has the Pac-12 tournament coming up. … We’re going to weigh all options and we’re going to let the kid make the decision.”
Jovan Buha of The Athletic lists five reasons to be optimistic about the Lakers down the stretch, including the new starting lineup of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, James and Anthony Davis. L.A. is 8-2 when those five players have shared the court together, Buha notes, including 5-0 with them starting.

And-Ones: Holland, 2024 Mock, All-Star Game, Rising Stars

February 17th, 2024 at 11:17am CST by Tristan Tucker

G League Ignite forward Ron Holland will miss the rest of the season to protect his injured right thumb, according to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears (Twitter link). Spears adds that Holland is expected to make a full recovery and will have complete involvement with the pre-draft cycle.

Holland, currently ranked 10th on ESPN’s 2024 best available players list, averaged 19.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals for the Ignite across the regular season and Showcase Cup.

As Spears observes, this case is similar to what happened with Scoot Henderson last season. In his second year with the Ignite, Henderson was shut down in mid-March to protect his health.

According to Spears, Holland injured his thumb on Jan. 31 against Iowa and his plan is to finish the season on the Ignite’s roster as an injured player.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Holland goes fourth off the board to the Hornets in Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report’s latest 2024 mock draft. Holland joins Alexandre Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher, Nikola Topic and Cody Williams in the top five of Wasserman’s mock. UConn’s Stephon Castle, Miami’s Kyshawn George and UNC’s Harrison Ingram are some of Wasserman’s top risers while Kentucky’s Justin Edwards, Arkansas’ Trevon Brazile, Duke’s Tyrese Proctor and Santa Clara’s Adama Bal are among the biggest fallers.
Despite several changes over the past decade, the NBA’s All-Star Game still lacks real competitiveness, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst opines. Even though the Elam ending helped make things interesting at first, the game has reverted back to players not engaging on defense. Everyone realizes some change needs to come and, according to Windhorst, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander suggested a financial incentive. Regardless of what happens, it’s clear the All-Star Game isn’t a finished product. “We need to make the message clear to players [so] guys come out and say, ‘It’s a game. Let’s go try to win it,’” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
The NBA’s next generation are among those who recognize the flaws with the All-Star Game and tried to do their part by putting on a good show in the Rising Stars game, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I think the only thing we can do is just go out there and just play like a real game,” Henderson said. “I think the All-Star Game and All-Star in general is just looked at like fun and games, but I think the fans, they want to see a competitive spirit. And there’s been sparks like that in the game in recent years but I think all that we can do as young guys coming up is try to continue to have that competitive edge.“

And-Ones: Buyout Market, Summer League, Dunk Contest, Cap Room, Risacher

February 11th, 2024 at 10:44am CST by Luke Adams

A pair of veteran point guards have already been plucked off the buyout market, with Spencer Dinwiddie officially signing with the Lakers on Saturday and Kyle Lowry lining up a deal with the Sixers. What other notable players could hit the buyout market in the coming days and weeks?

John Hollinger of The Athletic explores that topic in depth, identifying Delon Wright, Troy Brown, Marcus Morris, and Cedi Osman as several of the most intriguing options while acknowledging that some of those players likely won’t be waived.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA has confirmed the dates for the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League, announcing that it will take place from July 12-22 (Twitter link). That’s a few days later than the event typically begins and ends.
Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, who signed the largest contract in league history last summer, is the most accomplished player to participate in the NBA’s dunk contest in several years. He hopes to set an example for other stars, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.com (Twitter link). “I wish more top players (and) athletes decided to compete in the dunk contest,” Brown said. “I grew up watching that, and that’s what I love. Hopefully that comes around.”
Danny Leroux of The Athletic takes a look at where each team’s cap situation stands heading into the 2024 offseason, identifying the Pistons, Magic, Sixers, Jazz, Raptors, and Thunder as the teams with the ability to generate the most cap room.
Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) have updated their list of 2024’s top prospects, moving French wing Zaccharie Risacher into the No. 1 spot for the first time. Risacher is the fourth different player to sit atop ESPN’s ’24 big board since the start of the college season in November, signaling that there’s no clear-cut top prospect in this year’s draft class.

And-Ones: Dumars, Silver, 2024 Draft, Hill, Snell

February 2nd, 2024 at 9:24pm CST by Rory Maher

In an interview with Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, NBA executive vice president Joe Dumars said that while he has sympathy for injured players, such as Joel Embiid and Tyrese Haliburton, who may miss out on postseason awards due to the 65-game requirement, he noted the rule was collectively bargained and approved by the National Basketball Players’ Association last year.

“You’re always gonna have unintended consequences, that’s the first thing,” Dumars told Yahoo Sports. “The second thing, you kind of knew that the first couple of guys that were going to get close to that mark, it will become an issue. So it probably was going to become a talking point at some point. It could’ve been a month from now. The number is what the number is. I’m not surprised, (though).”

Dumars also said the NBA has been talking to coaches, general managers and the competition committee about the rise in scoring over the past decade.

“The question is posed to each one of those groups: Is the balance out of whack? Do we need to balance this more to allow defenses to defend more, to do more on the defensive end of the court? And by and large, people are saying it wouldn’t be bad to have a little bit more defense,” Dumars said.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Ringer’s staff listed what they view as the 15 biggest challenges facing NBA commissioner Adam Silver over his next 10 years in office. Silver recently signed a contract extension that will keep him in charge of the league office through the rest of the decade. Perhaps the biggest challenge? According to Howard Beck, that will be finding the next “face of the league” when LeBron James and Stephen Curry retire.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN (subscriber link) recently released an in-depth notebook from a 10-day scouting trip across Europe, with potential 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher among the players covered. At 6’10”, Risacher possesses a tantalizing blend of two-way skills and has excellent basketball instincts, according to Givony, who says the French 18-year-old has an “incredibly high floor” due to his “confidence, productivity and efficiency” while also having considerable upside.
Grant Hill, a Hall of Fame player who is currently managing director of USA Basketball as well as a minority owner of the Hawks, is among a group of noteworthy investors who have agreed to buy the MLB’s Baltimore Orioles, per The Associated Press (link via ESPN.com). Longtime Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr. is another investor in the team. Hill has ties to the area, as he’s from northern Virginia, not far from Washington D.C.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports explains why former NBA wing Tony Snell has family and health reasons for wanting to make it back to the league. Snell needs one more year of service (10) to qualify for the union’s premium medical insurance plan for families; he’s currently the only one covered, but he has two sons with autism spectrum disorder (Snell is also on the spectrum). The 32-year-old has spent the past two seasons with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate.

NBA, NBPA Finalize Plans For Two-Day Draft

January 31st, 2024 at 10:29am CST by Rory Maher

JANUARY 31: The NBA and the NBPA have now finalized plans for a two-day draft this June, reports Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

According to Woj (Twitter links), the first day of the draft will take place in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on June 26, while the second day will be held at ESPN’s Seaport studios in Manhattan on June 27. The time limit for first-round picks will remain at five minutes, but teams will be given four minutes (instead of two) to make second-round selections.

JANUARY 11: It still needs final approval from the National Basketball Players Association, but the NBA is planning to make this year’s draft a two-day event, held June 26 and 27 in Brooklyn, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The first day of the draft would conclude when the first round does, with the second day covering the second round. According to Wojnarowski, the NBA and the NBPA have had regular discussions about the plan.

In addition to more television air time, the NBA and its teams believe that having more time between the first and second rounds will allow for more trades and better planning, Wojnarowski writes, with teams “frustrated by the chaotic speed of the second round.” NBA teams currently have two minutes to make a second-round pick, versus five minutes for each first-round selection.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported in November that the NBA was considering making the draft a two-day event, with commissioner Adam Silver later confirming the league wanted to make the switch as soon as 2024.

And-Ones: IST, Load Management, Collier, 2024 Draft, All-Star Votes

January 12th, 2024 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

Unsurprisingly, NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed this week during a news conference in Paris that the in-season tournament will “no doubt be back” next season, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

According to Silver, the league will probably make “a couple tweaks” to the way the tournament works, but it’s not likely to undergo a significant overhaul. The commissioner mentioned the tiebreaker rules, the appearance of the courts, and the name of the tournament itself as some things worth looking at.

“Beyond that, as we’re talking to television partners and maybe figuring out exactly when the best time of year is to (hold the tournament), maybe it will make sense to make some other modifications to the format,” Silver said.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

After announcing in October that its data doesn’t support the idea that load management reduces a player’s injury risk, the NBA sent out a more in-depth report supporting that thesis to teams and select media members this week, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bontemps, who outlines the findings in more detail, notes that the study doesn’t suggest load management increases a player’s injury risk — it simply concludes there’s no discernible correlation one way or the other.
USC point guard Isaiah Collier, a candidate to be a top-five or top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, will miss the next four-to-six weeks due to a hand injury, the school announced on Thursday night (Twitter link). As Chris Mannix of SI.com observes (via Twitter), Collier’s absence could open up more minutes for another one of the Trojans’ NBA prospects: Bronny James.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) polled 20 NBA executives and scouts to get their thoughts on the 2024 draft class and the idea of a two-day draft. According to Woo, 12 of his 20 respondents expect Alexandre Sarr to be the No. 1 overall pick this June, while 13 respondents predicted that the 2013 draft class – considered one of the worst in the couple decades – will end up with more All-Stars (three) than the 2024 class.
The NBA issued an update on All-Star voting on Thursday, announcing that Lakers forward LeBron James and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo are the leading vote-getters to date. The tightest race is in the Eastern Conference backcourt, where Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has a comfortable lead, with Trae Young (Hawks) narrowly edging Damian Lillard (Bucks) and Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) for the No. 2 spot.

And-Ones: Dumars, Nwaba, Vildoza, 2024 Draft

January 9th, 2024 at 1:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Last week, the Nets became the first team to get fined for resting healthy players since the NBA introduced its new player participation policy in September. Joe Dumars, the league’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps that the rules will continue to be enforced when teams try to sit multiple players who are not legitimately injured.

“We are serious about this,” Dumars said. “We talked to people, we talked to everyone, all parties we talked to before the season started. And to not follow through with this would not be right of us. It would not be the thing to do, to not follow through. So yeah, we are very serious about this. We communicated, we overly communicated with everyone about this, and we made very clear that if your guys can play or we feel that your guys can play, they should be on the court. And it’s gone over extremely well this year.”

We have more from around the international basketball world:

The London Lions have officially signed former NBA guard David Nwaba, Sportando relays. The Lions’ interest in Nwaba was reported by BasketNews last week. Nwaba’s last NBA stint was with Houston in 2021/22. The six-year veteran appeared in 237 regular season games during his NBA career, averaging 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game.
Luca Vildoza, who played seven games with Milwaukee in 2021/22, suffered a ruptured lateral meniscus in his left knee while playing for Greece’s Panathinaikos, according to Sportando’s Allesandro Maggi. The Argentinean guard will undergo surgery on Tuesday, according to the Greek club.
In his latest mock draft, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has the Pistons taking French big man Alexandre Sarr with the top pick. Wasserman compares Sarr, who’s playing in Australia with the Perth Wildcats, with Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. Point guard Nikola Topic, who recently suffered a knee injury while facing EuroLeague competition, goes at the No. 2 spot to the Spurs in Wasserman’s mock, while another European, French wing Zaccharie Risacher, comes off the board at No. 3 to the Wizards.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) have put out another roundup of notes on 2024 draft prospects, exploring what’s gone wrong for UCLA’s top three NBA prospects (Aday Mara, Adem Bona, and Berke Buyuktuncel) and whether recent injuries to Sarr and Topic will hurt their stock, among other topics.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

And-Ones: 2024 Draft, HS Prospects, Breakout Players, Ray

January 2nd, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) continue to rotate prospects in and out of the No. 1 spot on their draft board for 2024, moving French big man Alexandre Sarr into that top spot in place of USC guard Isaiah Collier, who has struggled for the Trojans as of late.

The 2024 draft class doesn’t have a clear headliner, so the race for No. 1 remains wide open. Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland, two G League Ignite youngsters who were atop ESPN’s big board during the summer of 2023, are now in the back end of the lottery at No. 10 and 11, respectively, while Collier has slipped all the way to No. 8.

Conversely, the latest risers on ESPN’s board include Colorado wing Cody Williams, who is up to No. 3 from No. 10, and Serbian point guard Nikola Topic, who has risen four spots to No. 5. Two more notable prospects who jumped from outside of the lottery into the top seven are French forward Tidjane Salaun and Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, who moved up nine spots to Nos. 6 and 7, respectively.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report breaks down his top 10 prospects in high school basketball, with Cooper Flagg, Cameron Boozer, and A.J. Dybantsa topping his list.
Michael Pina of The Ringer singles out eight players across the NBA who are taking their games to another level this season, from stars like Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton to role players such as Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.
Former Nuggets forward James Ray, the No. 5 overall pick in the 1980 draft, died last week at age 66 due to complications from a surgery, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes. A college star for the Jacksonville Dolphins, Ray appeared in 103 NBA games across three seasons for Denver, then spent several years in Europe before retiring as a player.

Early Check-In On Traded 2024 First-Round Picks

December 29th, 2023 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

As our list of traded 2024 first-round picks shows, 14 teams have dealt their first-rounders in next year’s draft (either with protections or without) and another two clubs have surrendered swap rights to their picks. That means over half of 2024’s first-rounders could theoretically be changing hands, with more potentially on the move as a result of in-season trades.

In actuality, due to protections on several of those traded picks or the fact that certain swap rights won’t be exercised, several of the first-rounders that could change hands won’t do so. It’s still too early to say with certainty which picks will be on the move and which will stay put, but with the NBA season past the one-third mark, we’re starting to get a clearer picture.

Here’s an early look at the traded 2024 first-round picks:

Picks that will change hands

Nets‘ pick (unprotected) to Rockets
Lakers‘ pick (unprotected) to Pelicans
Clippers‘ pick (unprotected) to Thunder

These three picks don’t include any protections, meaning it’s a lock they’ll change hands. The only source of drama is where exactly they’ll land.

The Brooklyn pick looks like the best asset of the three — the Nets are currently tied for the 11th-worst record in the NBA, which means their pick would be in the lottery unless they earn a playoff spot via the play-in tournament.

The Lakers, currently eighth in the West, have the NBA’s 16th-best record, so their pick would come in around No. 15, though that could move in either direction if they end up in play-in territory. It’s also worth noting that the Pelicans have the option of deferring that pick to 2025 — if it stays around the middle of the first round, I expect New Orleans would have a hard time passing on it.

The Clippers are tied for the NBA’s eighth-best record, so their first-rounder would be at either No. 22 or 23 if the season ended today.

A Thunder pick (conditional) to Pacers

The Thunder owe the least favorable of their four first-round picks to Indiana, so it’s a sure thing that the Pacers will get a pick from Oklahoma City — we’ll just have to wait to find out which one it’ll be.

That group of first-rounders controlled by the Thunder includes their own selection, the Clippers’ pick (unprotected), the Rockets’ pick (top-four protected), and the Jazz’s pick (top-10 protected). If the season ended today, the Pacers would receive OKC’s own first-rounder at No. 25.

Picks expected to be protected

Pistons‘ pick (top-18 protected) to Knicks

While it’s not technically official yet, there’s no viable scenario in which the 2-29 Pistons will give up their first-round pick this season. They’ll keep that selection and will instead owe New York their 2025 first-rounder with top-13 protection. Based on how Detroit has looked this season, the Knicks probably won’t be holding their breath to get that pick before at least 2026 (when it’s top-11 protected) or 2027 (top-nine protected).

Wizards‘ pick (top-12 protected) to Knicks
Hornets‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Spurs
Trail Blazers‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Bulls

The Wizards, Hornets, and Trail Blazers haven’t been quite as bad as Detroit, but they’re each among the NBA’s bottom five teams so far and have shown little indication that a play-in push is around the corner.

Barring a huge surprise, the Wizards will keep their 2024 pick and owe the Knicks their top-10 protected first-rounder in 2025; the Hornets will keep their 2024 selection and owe San Antonio their top-14 protected first-rounder in 2025; and the Blazers will hang onto their pick in 2024 and owe Chicago their lottery-protected first-rounder in 2025.

Picks still up in the air

Raptors‘ pick (top-six protected) to Spurs

Toronto is tied for the seventh-worst record in the NBA right now, so the pick the Raptors owe to San Antonio could turn out to be a worst-case scenario for them by landing at No. 7 or No. 8. If the Raptors end up not making the playoffs, they’ll be rooting hard to move up into the top four on lottery night.

Jazz‘s pick (top-10 protected) to Thunder

The Jazz are currently the ninth-worst team in the league. If they finish the season that way, they’d hang onto their pick unless two teams below them in the lottery standings leapfrog them. It will be interesting to see how aggressively the front office sells off pieces this season in an effort to keep that first-rounder — or whether that will even be necessary.

Warriors‘ pick (top-four protected) to Trail Blazers
Rockets‘ pick (top-four protected) to Thunder
Mavericks‘ pick (top-10 protected) to Knicks
Kings‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Hawks

In all likelihood, the Houston, Golden State, Dallas, and Sacramento picks will change hands, but it’s not a lock yet. If the Warriors (currently at No. 11 or 12 in the draft order) and Rockets (No. 14) end up in the lottery, there’s always a chance they could jump into the top four.

The Mavs and Kings, meanwhile, look like probable playoff teams, but there are a lot of contenders in the West, so if those teams don’t secure a top-six seed, anything could happen in the play-in tournament. For now, Sacramento and Dallas hold the fifth and sixth seeds in the Western Conference standings.

Suns‘ swap rights to Wizards or Grizzlies
Bucks‘ swap rights to Pelicans

Assuming they keep their top-12 protected pick, which is a safe bet, the Wizards would have the opportunity to swap first-rounders with the Suns. And if Washington passes on that chance, the Grizzlies would get the same opportunity.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the Wizards will get to exercise that right, and I would’ve said the same thing about Memphis a week or two ago. Suddenly though, the gap in the standings between the Suns (15-15) and Grizzlies (10-20) doesn’t look insurmountable — it’s not entirely out of the question that Memphis will catch Phoenix and take advantage of the chance to swap first-rounders.

The gap between the Suns and Grizzlies is actually smaller than the one between the 23-8 Bucks and the 18-14 Pelicans. While we can’t rule it out yet, it seems unlikely that New Orleans will surpass Milwaukee in the standings and get to use the ability to swap picks with the Bucks.

And-Ones: Topic, Draft, Free Throws, Pangos, Pistons, Knicks

December 28th, 2023 at 6:47pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Nikola Topic, a projected top-10 pick in the 2024 draft, was called back to EuroLeague squad Red Star after spending the 2023/24 season so far with Mega MIS on a loan. Topic spoke to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) about the move and what it means for his draft value.

“It’s a huge risk, but I’m ready,” Topic said of the move. “I’m confident in myself 100%. My father, my agent Misko Raznatovic and I understand that this move could affect my draft chances if I don’t do well. But I’m ready to compete and fight.”

According to Givony, Topic replaces former NBA player Shabazz Napier, who departed for Milan, and will get a chance to play alongside former NBA guards Milos Teodosic and Nemanja Nedovic. While Red Star courted the Serbian guard heavily in recent weeks, the decision to return was ultimately Topic’s, and he’ll try to help his hometown squad overcome a 6-10 start to the year. Greek coach Giannis Sfairopoulos, who previously coached Deni Avdija, will coach Topic.

“We didn’t talk about the role I’ll play,” Topic said. “Whatever he says, I’ll do. If he says to die on the court, I will die. Whatever coach needs, I’ll try my best to do it.”

Topic has been impressive in Adriatic League play with Mega MIS so far this year, averaging 18.6 points and 6.9 assists per game and boasting a 63% true shooting percentage. According to Givony, NBA teams will be keeping a close eye on how Topic adjusts to the EuroLeague, which is considered the top level of competition in the world outside of the NBA.

Further breaking down Topic’s game, Givony writes that he’ll almost certainly be asked to adjust his play for a Red Star team ranked last in the league in pace. However, Givony expects the experience will positively benefit Topic’s defense and perimeter shooting.

“Basketball is a game of decisions,” Topic said. “It’s a mental game. Using angles. The player that makes a faster decision, that person will win. The EuroLeague is a mind game. It’s a game of reads.”

We have more notes from around the basketball world:

In the same Insider-only story, Givony and Jeremy Woo break down other draft-related topics. As the duo notes, one reason the 2024 draft class is considered weaker than usual is the fact that it will be older than most — it has a chance to boast the oldest first-round class since 2013. Upperclassmen like Zach Edey, Kevin McCullar and Oso Ighodaro are all playing their ways into first-round consideration while freshmen like Elmarko Jackson, Aday Mara and Caleb Foster are looking more like multi-year college players rather than the one-and-dones they appeared to be before the season, the Givony and Woo explain.
NBA coaches and players have made their feelings clear about how games are being refereed, with Warriors coach Steve Kerr among the latest to criticize the officiating this season. The Ringer’s Zach Kram argues the NBA doesn’t actually have a free throw problem though, given that free throw attempts and rates are trending downward. Kram singles out Joel Embiid as someone who’s receiving criticism for going for foul calls, but points out that Embiid leads the league in made field goals per game. Kram concludes that foul calls will always be a cat-and-mouse game for the NBA, as players will seek to push the boundaries to get free points and the league will continually react.
Former NBA guard Kevin Pangos is joining Spanish club Valencia after terminating his contract with Olimpia Milano, according to Sportando. Pangos has previously played for Gran Canaria and Barcelona in Spain. The 6’2″ point guard played one season in the NBA in 2021/22, appearing in 24 games (three starts) and totaling 39 points and 30 assists for the Cavaliers.
The Feb. 26 game between the Pistons and Knicks has been relocated to Madison Square Garden in New York from Detroit and will now tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET, according to a release from the NBA (Twitter link). “The cause for the change was unique scheduling complications associated with the In-Season Tournament,” the statement reads. Fred Katz of the Athletic tweets the Pistons’ 2-28 start likely factored into the decision — one team will end up playing 42 road games, and the NBA would presumably rather that team be one that’s not in playoff contention.