All-Star Game Rumors | Hoops Rumors

NBA To Resume Play March 10 After All-Star Break

February 15th, 2021 at 4:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA schedule will resume on March 10 after the All-Star break, one day earlier than originally planned, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets.

Games on that date will likely includes teams that have few or no All-Stars, giving the clubs with more All-Star players an extra day or two to prepare for the second half of the season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. As previously reported, all players must return to their home markets two days prior to their team’s first post-All-Star break contest (Twitter links).

The league is trying to squeeze in the remainder of the regular season games prior to the postseason, which is slated to begin on May 18 with the new Play-in Tournament. Resuming play the Wednesday after the All-Star break could help the league reach that goal. The Spurs-Pistons postponement this Tuesday is the 24th this season due to COVID-19, as we noted earlier today.

Earlier this month, the NBA and Players Association reached an agreement to hold an All-Star Game in Atlanta on March 7. The usual skills competitions will also be held but they will occur on the same day as the game. The 3-point event and Skills Challenge will be held prior to the game and the dunk contest will take place at halftime, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Wolves Notes: Towns, Edwards, G League Bubble

February 12th, 2021 at 8:46am CST by Luke Adams

After suiting up and taking the court for the first time in nearly a month on Wednesday, Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns admitted he endured a “rough journey” during his absence as he battled COVID-19.

“I am a high-risk case,” Towns said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “COVID did not treat me well whatsoever. A lot of scary nights. One of the things that I told my sister when I got COVID was that, ‘Hey, I got it, and I don’t got a good version of it. I got a lot of COVID in me, but I am going to fight and beat it.'”

While Towns acknowledged that many players around the NBA have experienced few symptoms – or none at all – after testing positive for the coronavirus, he noted that everyone’s experience is “totally different.” Several of Towns’ family members have died of complications from COVID-19, including his mother, to whom Towns said he is most “genetically connected.”

“You hear those stories where people get COVID,” Towns said, according to Youngmisuk. “And they’re like, ‘Oh, for four days, five days, I didn’t feel well, and then I turned the corner magically one day and I was feeling great.’ That did not happen with me.”

Towns was solid in his return to action, putting up 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, but he admitted to reporters that he didn’t feel mentally ready for the game. It may take a little more time before the 25-year-old back to his usual dominant self.

Here’s more on the Wolves:

As Youngmisuk relays, Towns also became the latest star player to question the logic of holding an All-Star Game in 2021. “I personally don’t believe there should be an All-Star Game, but what the hell do I know?” Towns said, sarcastically adding: “S–t, I obviously haven’t dealt with COVID, probably a guy who has some insight into that. What should I know about COVID, right?”
Anthony Edwards got off to a slow start during his rookie year, shooting just 34.4% from the floor and 27.4% from beyond the arc through his first 16 games. However, he has come on lately, averaging 16.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .435/.400/.800 shooting in his last nine, and entering Minnesota’s starting lineup during that time. The No. 1 overall pick is just getting started, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who says the Wolves drafted Edwards knowing he was raw and not expecting him to dominate right out of the gate.
The Iowa Wolves – Minnesota’s G League affiliate – have been penalized for violating the health and safety protocols at the NBAGL bubble at Walt Disney World. As Adam Zagoria of Forbes tweets, the club was fined $10K, while Charlie Brown, Ashton Hagans, Jaylen Johnson, Ade Murkey, and Dakarai Tucker were all suspended without pay for two games. Iowa added Isaiah Briscoe and Jaylen Morris from the bubble’s available player pool to temporarily fill the holes on its roster, tweets Adam Johnson.

NBA Planning To Add Dunk Contest, Other Events To All-Star Game

February 10th, 2021 at 4:27pm CST by Arthur Hill

Progress is being made toward holding a dunk contest, 3-point shootout, and skills competition on the night of the NBA All-Star Game, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The plan is for the dunk contest to take place at halftime, per Wojnarowski. It’s not clear whether the other competitions would also happen then, or if they’d take place earlier in the night.

Negotiations are continuing with the players’ union, and sources tell Wojnarowski that an agreement is expected to be finalized later this week, along with health and safety protocols for the event, which will take place March 7 in Atlanta.

Officials from the league and the NBPA are planning a condensed version of All-Star Weekend, which normally stretches events out over three days, culminating with the game on Sunday night. This year’s festivities will take place in a much smaller window, with participants expected to arrive on Saturday in private planes. They will be kept in private accommodations away from hotel crowds and will leave after the game is over.

Several prominent players have spoken out against holding the game this year because the league is operating under strict guidelines to contain the spread of COVID-19.

And-Ones: G League, Lin, All-Star Game, Sloan, ABA

February 10th, 2021 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

A trio of G League Ignite prospects – Jonathan Kuminga, Jalen Green, and Daishen Nix – headline Jeremy Woo’s SI.com list of players to watch during the 2020/21 NBAGL season, which tipped off this morning. Kuminga and Green are widely considered top-five prospects for the 2021 draft, and Kuminga and Nix got off to hot starts in their professional debut today.

Kevin Porter, Aleksej Pokusevski, Jontay Porter, and Malachi Flynn are among the G League players on assignment from NBA teams who will be worth keeping an eye on during the next few weeks, according to Woo.

Woo’s list also features Jeremy Lin, an NBA veteran who decided to play in the NBAGL this season rather than accepting more lucrative offers to spend another year in China, as he tells Shams Charania of Stadium (video link). Lin’s Santa Cruz Warriors are in action against the Ignite in today’s opener.

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

Sam Amick of The Athletic explains why the NBA is holding an All-Star Game this year despite the objections of many of its biggest stars. As Amick details, league officials feel that the modified event can be pulled off safely and believe that fans want to see the game played. Scrapping this year’s All-Star Game may also have required the league to go back to the negotiating table with Turner/TNT to figure out how to make up for the loss of one of the network’s marquee NBA events.
Veteran guard Donald Sloan, who appeared in 218 regular season NBA games from 2011-16, has been granted his release by the Adelaide 36ers of the Australian Basketball League, the club announced. The 36ers indicated that Sloan asked to be waived to pursue other opportunities internationally.
The NBA is in talks with the Dropping Dimes Foundation about potentially assisting more than 100 remaining American Basketball Association players, many of whom are struggling financially and are in need of pensions, a league spokesperson tells Dana Hunsinger Benbow of The Indianapolis Star.

Southeast Notes: Young, Magic, Wizards, Biyombo

February 9th, 2021 at 10:01pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Unlike some other probable All-Stars who have expressed reluctance about playing in a potential March 7 All-Star Game in Atlanta, Hawks point guard Trae Young has said he would relish the opportunity to participate if he earns a second straight All-Star berth, according to Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“I understand both sides,” said Young, who is averaging 26.7 PPG, 9.2 APG, and 4.0 RPG for the 11-12 Hawks. “Obviously, it’s in Atlanta, I’d love to be a part of it, if there is a game.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Magic assistant general manager Matt Lloyd spoke with Josh Robbins of The Athletic about how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Orlando’s scouting process. “We’ve gotten to the point with technology where we have so much to study,” Lloyd acknowledged. “Every game is on film… But there is still an advantage of being able to see how prospects look in person. There’s always going to be that one element of being in an arena or in a gym and being able to size players up to get some sort of sense of their real physicality, their size, their length and how fast they are.”
The Wizards have been performing better when $41.4MM point guard Russell Westbrook sits, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. In a somewhat alarming trend, Washington is 4-3 without Westbrook and 2-12 with him this season. Washington is 7.7 points per 100 possessions worse when Westbrook plays for the club this year.
Hornets center Bismack Biyombo is relishing his role as a mentor with a scrappy Charlotte team, according to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. Biyombo has become a key advisor to rookie guard LaMelo Ball, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft. “I was telling LaMelo when I first got to the league I was his age because I came from overseas as well,” Biyombo said. “The transition, how far you grow from playing overseas versus when you see kids who come out of college, it’s totally two different mindsets.”

Community Shootaround: Do We Need An All-Star Game?

February 6th, 2021 at 9:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The NBA has a literal all-star team opposed to playing the All-Star Game this year.

Since an agreement was announced Thursday between the league and the players union to hold the game March 7 in Atlanta, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and De’Aaron Fox have all spoken out against it.

Their objections are obvious. Twenty-three games have already been postponed due to COVID-19, and players are required to submit to frequent testing and follow a regimented lifestyle to make sure they haven’t been exposed to the virus. League personnel are even being forbidden to gather outside of their homes to watch the Super Bowl. But the NBA is planning to bring players from all over the country into Atlanta for the game and possibly skills competitions as well.

Leonard offered the best explanation for why the league insists on going through with the event.

“We all know why we’re playing it,” he said Friday. “It’s money on the line; it’s an opportunity to make more money. Just putting money over health right now, pretty much. … We’re playing games now, and it’s still a pandemic, doing all these protocols and rules, so it doesn’t really surprise me.”

The NBA has a serious need for revenue after going through nearly an entire calendar year with no paying customers, apart from severely limited capacity in 11 arenas. One of those is in Atlanta, which is why the city was chosen to host this year in place of Indianapolis, which will be given the 2024 game.

NBPA president Chris Paul is among the strongest advocates for holding a game and hopes to have proceeds benefit historically Black colleges and universities and COVID-19 relief efforts, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Still, prominent players continue to express their opposition, and the league may have to rethink its position if the outcry grows strong enough. Opt-out clauses are believed to be part of the discussions, Wojnarowski reports, so no player would be forced to participate.

We want to get your opinion. Should the NBA hold an All-Star Game under the current conditions? Please leave your responses in the comments section.

Wizards Notes: Brooks, Bertans, Winston, Hachimura, Avdija

February 6th, 2021 at 3:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Wizards head coach Scott Brooks doesn’t think the All-Star Game should be played this season, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. The league and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to hold it in Atlanta next month.

“I saw (LeBron James‘) thoughts on it. I agree. I’m upset,” Brooks said. “I love Atlanta, but I don’t want to go. I’ve been to two All-Star Games…and I don’t want to go. I agree with him.”

We have more on the Wizards:

Davis Bertans re-signed with the club for five years and $80MM in November, but his 3-point stroke has been off this season. Katz breaks down Bertans’ struggles in an in-depth Athletic story. Bertans is shooting 33.1% from long range after making 42% of his attempts the past two seasons and it appears he still doesn’t have his legs under him, according to Katz.
Rookie guard Cassius Winston has been transferred to the Erie BayHawks to play in the G League season in Orlando, the team tweets. Washington’s G League team, the Capital City Go-Go, is not participating in the event. The second-round pick out of Michigan State has appeared in six NBA games and will receive much-needed playing time in Orlando.
Prior to Washington’s 27-point loss to Miami on Friday, second-year forward Rui Hachimura and rookie forward Deni Avdija appeared to be trending in the right direction after the team’s COVID-19 pause, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post writes.

And-Ones: All-Star Game, Super Bowl, Trade Restrictions, Jerebko

February 6th, 2021 at 2:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LeBron James publicly spoke out this week against holding an All-Star Game this year. Several other stars have joined that chorus, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard also made their feelings public on Friday after the league and Players Association agreed to hold an All-Star Game in Atlanta on March 7.

“I’ve got zero energy, zero excitement,” Antetokounmpo said. “At the end of the day, if they tell us we’re going to show up, we’ve got to do our job. … Inside, deep down, I don’t want to do it. I want to get some break.”

We have more from the basketball world:

The league is discouraging players and personnel from holding Super Bowl parties, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. They are not permitted to gather outside of their home for Super Bowl Sunday. At home, individuals are expected to watch the game only with household members. Team members that are on the road may host up to four family members or close friends in a hotel with advance testing.
Trade restrictions on most free agents that signed contracts this offseason have been lifted, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. A total of 90 players that signed offseason deals are trade-eligible, while 29 others are still restricted in some fashion, Marks adds. However, there haven’t been any trades on the date that those restrictions were lifted in prior seasons, dating back to 2012, Marks adds.
Former NBA big man Jonas Jerebko had his contract with BC Khimki Moscow terminated last month and he told Swedish news organization Aftonbladet that his time there was an unpleasant experience, Sportando relays. The dispute began when Jerebko asked permission to visit his family in December. “The day before departure my agent writes me. He told me I could stay at home. Coach said I might not come back. It was not such a difficult decision to stay at home when he said so. Since then, there have been some non-payments and stuff like that.”

And-Ones: Vaccines, Ball, Trade Candidates, Defenders, All-Star Voting

February 5th, 2021 at 6:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In an effort to alleviate players’ – and some coaches’ – fears and skepticism about receiving COVID-19 vaccines, the NBA is arranging mandatory meetings over the next two weeks between its top medical expert and all 30 teams, Sam Amick, Joe Vardon and David Aldridge of The Athletic report. Teams felt there was a need to provide information and insight on this issue to its players.

The NBA wants everyone associated with the game — players, coaches, referees and chief front office personnel — to get the shots, not only for safety reasons but also as part of a national volunteering-public relations campaign.

We have more from around the basketball world:

LaMelo Ball ranks as the leading candidate for the Rookie of the Year award, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. The Hornets guard ranks first in assists and steals, second in rebounding and third in scoring among all rookies despite coming off the bench in all but two games. Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton sits in second place for Wasserman, who ranks the rookies from 10-1.
With Wizards guard Bradley Beal apparently off the market, there won’t be another blockbuster trade this season to rival the James Harden deal, Tim Bontemps of ESPN opines. Some of the players who could be moved by March’s trade deadline are Lonzo Ball, J.J. Redick, P.J. Tucker, George Hill, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon, though Hill and Gordon are currently injured.
Rudy Gobert‘s contract with the Jazz is a rare case in which a defensive stalwart is compensated like a elite scorer, Aldridge notes in a separate Athletic story. Aldridge takes a closer look at why top defenders are generally not as valued as scorers.
Kevin Durant has received the most All-Star votes in the early returns, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. Beal is the top vote-getter among Eastern Conference guards. LeBron James has the most votes among Western Conference forwards and Stephen Curry leads all Western Conference guards by a wide margin.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Curry, Celtics, Raptors

February 5th, 2021 at 3:40pm CST by JD Shaw

Sixers star Joel Embiid is widely expected to make the All-Star team this season, but the 26-year-old wouldn’t commit to playing in the game when asked about it on Thursday, Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

Embiid is currently enjoying a career-best season, averaging 29.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest. He’s made the All-Star Game in each of his last three campaigns.

“I am not sure if I am going to make it, but hopefully I get the chance to be part of it once again,” Embiid said. “I have always been conservative. I have always voiced my opinion since the pandemic started, starting with the bubble, wasn’t really all [for it] and then the season.”

Embiid isn’t the first player to seemingly voice concerns over the All-Star Game being held, with Kings star De’Aaron Fox recently opposing the decision and Lakers superstar LeBron James also speaking out against the idea on Thursday night. The game is currently set be held on March 7 in Atlanta.

Here are some other notes from the Atlantic Division:

Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines how Seth Curry‘s recovery from COVID-19 has impacted his performance. Curry was acquired by the Sixers last offseason, most recently going scoreless in the team’s loss on Thursday (0-for-1 shooting in 12 minutes). He also didn’t record a point on Wednesday, shooting 0-for-3 in nearly 29 minutes.
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores the Celtics‘ 10 most valuable trade assets. Boston has several young players on its roster and a $28.5MM trade exception, making them a team worth watching ahead of the March 25 trade deadline. The club is currently 11-9.
Blake Murphy of The Athletic examines topics related to Raptors guard Malachi Flynn, trade scenarios and Plan B’s in his latest mailbag. Toronto has opened the season with a 9-12 record, though the team is 6-4 in its last 10 games.