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Community Shootaround: All-Star Weekend

February 17th, 2024 at 11:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Two standouts from this year’s All-Star Weekend don’t even play in the NBA.

G League guard Mac McClung defended his Slam Dunk Contest title by beating Jaylen Brown in the final round, while WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu went shot-for-shot with Stephen Curry in a three-point competition before falling on Curry’s final attempt.

McClung needed an inspired finish on his final dunk to capture the title, and he delivered a reverse jam while jumping over 7’1″ Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. The feat earned McClung a 50 from all five judges as he became the first repeat winner since Zach LaVine eight years ago.

McClung didn’t commit to going for a three-peat next year in San Francisco, but he told an interviewer after the contest, “I would never say never. … It’s an honor to be here.”

Ionescu thrilled the Indianapolis crowd with her shooting display, sinking her first seven shots and hitting 8-of-9 money balls while using a WNBA ball and taking shots from the NBA three-point line. She missed five of her last 10, though, which allowed Curry to prevail in the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA Three-Point Challenge by making his last four.

“So much credit to them,” commissioner Adam Silver said. “I wish I could say that the league in its lab came up with this idea. This was about Steph and Sabrina, two friends who said, ‘Won’t this be fantastic?’ I know that Steph cares a lot about the women’s game, the opportunity to bring more attention to this fantastic shooting.”

Damian Lillard brought similar drama to the Three-Point Contest, which came down to his final shot before he became a back-to-back winner. Needing to make one shot for the victory, Lillard missed four in a row before sinking his last attempt.

We want to get your opinion on All-Star Weekend. Is the dunk contest still the highlight? Should the NBA vs. WNBA competition be brought back? Did the LED floor enhance the experience or distract from it? Please leave your responses in the space below.

Bucks, Celtics Bidding To Host All-Star Games

February 17th, 2024 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks are hoping to bring All-Star Weekend to Fiserv Forum in either 2027 or 2028, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

If the request is approved, it will be Milwaukee’s first All-Star game in half a century. The city played host to the 1977 contest, which saw Julius Erving capture MVP honors even though his East team lost to the West, 125-124, at the old MECCA Arena.

West Coast cities will host the festivities over the next two years. The 2025 game will take place at Chase Center in San Francisco, marking the first time it will be played in that city even though the Warriors have hosted it twice before. A year later, All-Star Weekend will move to the Inuit Dome, which will become the Clippers’ new home next season.

Bucks officials have been trying to win approval for an All-Star game in Milwaukee for several years, Owczarski adds. They submitted bids for the 2022 and 2023 contests, but those were awarded to Cleveland and Salt Lake City. This year’s festivities in Indianapolis mark a trade-off for 2021, when COVID forced the game to be moved from Indiana to a “bubble” setting in Atlanta.

Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe reports that the Celtics are making progress in their effort to host the game in 2029. Team president Rich Gotham told Washburn that the franchise is working in collaboration with city and state officials to set up Boston’s first All-Star Game since 1964.

“We’ve had those conversations with both the NBA and the city of Boston and a lot of different constituencies, including TD Garden and Meet Boston,” Gotham said. “We’ve had some preliminary conversations and there’s enthusiasm from all the parties to bring the game to Boston. We’re working at it.”

According to Washburn, the NBA is leaning toward Phoenix for 2027 and there’s a scheduling conflict at TD Garden in 2028, which is why the team is targeting the following year. The Celtics began exploring an All-Star bid before the pandemic, Washburn adds.

Gotham explains that the process is extremely competitive and involves more than just an available arena. The NBA requires host cities to have plenty of hotel space, a convention center for league events, and a secondary arena to hold practices and the celebrity game.

“It’s not a given (to host the game) but we’ve been given really good, positive feedback from the NBA that Boston is a city they feel like can handle an All-Star Game,” Gotham said. “From the Celtics perspective, we’d really love to host it. We think it would be a great thing for the city of Boston.

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: 2024 Offseason, Vegas, Mudiay, Forbes, More

February 15th, 2024 at 7:57am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA had a busy trade deadline, but there were no blockbuster deals completed last week, with role players like Buddy Hield, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Gordon Hayward among the biggest names who were on the move. However, according to Howard Beck of The Ringer, executives around the league are expecting more fireworks during the 2024 offseason.

“There will be a lot of parts moved this offseason,” one Eastern Conference executive told Beck. “There’s going to be some options, some high-level guys that ask to get moved.”

As Beck writes, this spring’s playoff results could have a significant impact on what the trade market looks like this offseason. If a team with expectations of a deep playoff run gets bounced early, rival executives will be watching closely to see if that team’s stars have a wandering eye. The Lakers (LeBron James), Suns (Kevin Durant), and Cavaliers (Donovan Mitchell) are among the examples Beck provides, with one exec predicting that “there’s no doubt” Mitchell leaves Cleveland at the end of his current contract in 2025.

There will also be franchises with increasingly expensive rosters who may begin to feel pressure to make a move to generate more financial flexibility or to avoid committing to a pricey luxury tax bill, Beck notes, identifying the Celtics, Timberwolves, and Pelicans as some of the teams that rivals will be monitoring.

Beck is also the latest reporter to say that executives around the NBA believe Trae Young‘s name will pop up in trade rumors this offseason. One Western Conference exec told Beck, “I think they would love to trade Trae,” while another said the Hawks discussed a potential Young deal with the Spurs prior to last Thursday’s deadline.

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

Appearing on ESPN on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver once again stated that Las Vegas is “definitely on our list” of markets that will receive consideration for the next round of expansion, according to The Associated Press. “We want to figure out what our media relationships are going to look like but then we will turn to expansion,” Silver said.
Former NBA lottery pick Emmanuel Mudiay has signed with Piratas de Quebradillas, according to an Instagram post from the Puerto Rican team. Mudiay, who also played in Puerto Rico’s BSN league last season for Cangrejeros de Santurce, was the seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft and has appeared in over 300 NBA games, most recently with Sacramento in 2021/22.
Former NBA sharpshooter Bryn Forbes has been arrested on a family violence charge, per an Associated Press report. Forbes, who was also arrested last February following a domestic incident, was jailed on Tuesday in San Antonio on a charge of assaulting a family member by choking/strangulation, which is considered a third-degree felony. The 30-year-old hasn’t been in the NBA since he was waived by Minnesota a year ago.
With G League Ignite prospect Ron Holland unable to participate in All-Star weekend due to a thumb injury, the NBA has announced that Cavaliers two-way forward Emoni Bates will replace him in the Rising Stars game (press release) and that Bulls two-way center Adama Sanogo will take his place in the G League Up Next game (Twitter link).

Adam Silver Talks 65-Game Rule, All-Star Game, Mexico City, IST

February 13th, 2024 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The push-back from some players and fans over how the NBA’s new 65-game minimum for end-of-season awards has affected certain stars didn’t come as a surprise to the league, according to commissioner Adam Silver, who told Shaun Powell of NBA.com that he believes the policy has worked as intended.

One noteworthy case has been that of Tyrese Haliburton, an All-Star whose new contract extension would increase in value by more than $40MM if he makes an All-NBA team in 2023/24. The Pacers guard has already missed 13 games so far this season, giving him little margin for error if he hopes to remain eligible to qualify for that salary bump.

“In a league where contracts are fully guaranteed, there’s no reduction in salary for a player who doesn’t make the playoffs or plays a reduced number of games, whether it’s because they were injured or because rest was appropriate for some of those games. They get their full salary,” Silver said. “What these designations are essentially about, in addition to the respect and accolades that come from these designations, there are also financial consequences. And the feeling was the 65-game limit, playing 80 percent of games, seemed like a fair cutoff to be eligible.

“As a reminder, I think what gets confused in some circles is that we pay a fixed sum of money every year to 450 players. It’s 51 percent of the (basketball-related income). I think the only appropriate way to judge the effect of this rule is when this season is over, to see how that money is distributed. Then it’s a fair question to say was the outcome fair for everyone involved – including putting in place the appropriate incentives – to decide who gets bonuses and who doesn’t?”

While Silver didn’t mention Haliburton’s situation specifically, he went on to say that there may be individual cases that may seem unfair. However, he stressed that the league has seen a “significant” increase in the amount that All-Star caliber players are playing, which was the intended effect of the new rule.

“We don’t want to turn the clock back and put players in position where they’re playing injured, but we have an obligation to our fans for players to play as many games as they reasonably can,” Silver said.

Here are a few more highlights from Silver’s conversation with Powell:

Silver, who indicated that the NBA reverted to the East vs. West format in this year’s All-Star game because it’s “what the fans wanted,” said that expanding All-Star rosters to 15 players (from 12) isn’t something the league is currently considering. “Part of the reason we’ve stayed at 12 is because it makes being an All-Star that much more special,” Silver said. “As you know, we just came through a collective bargaining cycle and (15-man All-Star rosters) were not high on anyone’s list. There’s a mutual interest with the teams and the players that being an All-Star remains that very special designation.”
Although the NBA has introduced a G League franchise in Mexico City and has spoken in recent years about the possibility of expanding the NBA south of the border, Silver doesn’t view that as a likely outcome in the short term. “In terms of Mexico City, we’ve played many regular season games in a first-class arena there,” he said. “It’s the largest market in North America and there’s a huge Hispanic and Mexican American population in the U.S. A potential expansion in Mexico City is on our radar. It’s probably not going to happen in the next wave of expansion but I think over time it would be very realistic.”
With a new media rights deal around the corner, the NBA wants to get feedback from its prospective TV partners before deciding on what changes it might make to the in-season tournament, according to Silver, who acknowledged that tiebreaker rules are one thing the league and players’ union will look at. “It’s too early to tell. I don’t want to make too many changes this quickly because people are just getting used to it,” the commissioner said. “Even the notion of a neutral site final four, we’ve only gone through one iteration of that. So, we’ll probably keep it roughly similar next season to get a better sense of whether that’s the right format.”
Silver also spoke to Powell about the league-wide increase in scoring, the NBA’s next media rights deal, and the high number of recent team ownership changes, among other topics. You can check out the full conversation here.

Trae Young, Scottie Barnes Named 2024 All-Stars

February 6th, 2024 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Hawks guard Trae Young and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes have been named All-Stars, according to the NBA, which announced the two players as Eastern Conference injury replacements (press release).

Young and Barnes will take the spots previously held by Sixers center Joel Embiid (knee) and Knicks forward Julius Randle (shoulder). Both players are sidelined with injuries that are expected to keep them on the shelf well beyond the All-Star break.

Young, 25, has been one of the NBA’s top scorers and play-makers once again in 2023/24, averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 assists, and 1.5 steals in 36.6 minutes per game across 45 appearances. He’s also making 38.4% of his three-point attempts, which would be a career high.

Young’s Hawks are just 22-28 so far this season, which presumably hurt his case in the initial round of All-Star voting. That’s also the case for Barnes, who is having a terrific third season despite Toronto’s underwhelming 17-33 record.

Barnes is averaging career highs in points (20.2), rebounds (8.1), assists (5.8), and blocks (1.5) per game, as well as three-point percentage (36.5%). With Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam no longer on the roster, the former Rookie of the Year is now the unquestioned centerpiece of the Raptors’ long-term plans.

Young was selected as an injury replacement despite the fact that he’s replacing a frontcourt player, signaling that the league felt he was the Eastern Conference’s most notable snub. It’s his third All-Star nod, while Barnes is a first-time All-Star.

Embiid was initially voted a starter, so East coach Doc Rivers will have to select one of the conference’s reserves to replace the reigning MVP in his starting lineup.

And-Ones: Brown, 3-Point Contest, Glass Floor, Bjelica

February 5th, 2024 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The All-Star dunk contest has lost its star power in recent years. That could change this month. The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown is strongly considering accepting an invitation to participate, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). Charania said Brown has been “mulling over the possibility for several weeks.”

We have more from around the basketball world:

A star-laden cast is lining up for the All-Star weekend’s 3-point contest. Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley, Jalen Brunson and Lauri Markkanen have agreed to participate, Charania tweets. The same goes for Tyrese Maxey, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT tweets. Donovan Mitchell has also added his name to the list, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The entire All-Star Saturday night lineup will be played on a full video LED court that will be installed at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. The skills competition, 3-point contest, slam dunk competition and shooting matchup between Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu will take place on the glass floor on Feb. 17. The All-Star Game on Feb. 18 will remain on a wooden court.
Former NBA player Nemanja Bjelica was allegedly threatened to be stabbed with scissors, Eurohoops.net relays. Nikola Petkovic, a former soccer player, confronted Bjelica in a children’s playroom in Belgrade, according to multiple Serbian outlets, and threatened Bjelica and his famly. Petkovic was arrested and detained for 48 hours. Bjelica, a member of the Warriors’ 2022 championship team, hasn’t played this season.

Wolves Notes: Finch, Film Session, Towns, Gobert, Edwards

February 5th, 2024 at 10:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch will coach the Western Conference All-Stars, the team announced in a press release.

Finch and his staff clinched the coaching honor with Sunday’s 111-90 victory over the Rockets. This marks the first time in Finch’s career been an All-Star head coach and the second time in Timberwolves history a head coach has been named to the All-Star Game. Flip Saunders coached the Western Conference All-Stars at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

Finch, who is in his fourth season as head coach, has guided the Wolves to a 35-15 record this season, which is tied for the best 50-game start to a season in franchise history.

We have more on the Timberwolves:

Following a fourth quarter collapse against the Magic on Wednesday, Finch held an hour-long film session on Saturday to point out the team’s second half mistakes. Assistant coach Corliss Williamson was instrumental in getting the message across to the players. “It’s very matter of fact. We don’t pull any punches. We’re direct,” Finch told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “We have a saying in our locker room. It’s called ‘brutal truth.’ Everyone has to give it to each other when it’s necessary. We just have to make sure we’re doing it in a non-threatening way, but these messages are being received.”
Speaking of the All-Star Game, Karl-Anthony Towns was disappointed that frontcouurt partner Rudy Gobert didn’t join him among the selections. “Big fella deserved to be in the All-Star Game and all of this is all possible because of him,” Towns told Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Being No. 1 in the West, you need to have a defensive impact. To have the best defensive player in the NBA definitely gave us better odds of making it. It’s all part of the reason we made it was because of him. So it felt weird that he’s not there with us.”
All-Star guard Anthony Edwards was fined $40K by the league last week for ripping the officials during a postgame TV interview. His reaction? He shrugged it off, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. “I don’t care about it. S–t, it needed to be said,” he said. “Like I said, I’ll take the fine. I’m OK with it.”

Doc Rivers To Coach In All-Star Game

February 3rd, 2024 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Five days after returning to the NBA sidelines, Doc Rivers has clinched a spot as the Eastern Conference coach in the All-Star Game, the league announced (via Twitter).

Rivers and his staff wrapped up the honor tonight when the Bucks overcame a 25-point deficit to win in Dallas and the Knicks lost at home to the Lakers. That ensures Milwaukee will have the best record in the East on Sunday’s cutoff date among teams with eligible coaches. The Celtics lead the conference at 37-12, but Joe Mazzulla took part in the 2023 game and coaches aren’t permitted to participate in back-to-back years.

This will be the fourth All-Star Game for Rivers, who also coached in 2008, 2011 and 2021, but he was reluctant to accept it under the circumstances, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein said Rivers told him before tonight’s contest that he doesn’t think he deserves to take part after just three games with the Bucks, but the NBA overruled him. Rivers plans to give his All-Star ring and bonus to former Bucks coach Adrian Griffin, who was fired on January 23, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

After picking up his first win with Milwaukee tonight, Rivers commented on the All-Star situation, saying, “That is so ridiculously bad.” He also joked about sending his coaching staff to the game and going on vacation (video link).

This year’s game will take place February 18 in Indianapolis. The format is reverting to an East-West matchup after six years of having team captains select the rosters.

Community Shootaround: NBA All-Star Snubs

February 2nd, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings currently hold a top-five seed in the Western Conference, with a pair of former All-Stars leading the way.

Center Domantas Sabonis has averaged 19.9 points, a league-leading 13.0 rebounds, and 8.0 assists in 46 games so far this season while shooting a career-best 61.6% from the floor. Point guard De’Aaron Fox is putting up career-best numbers in points per game (27.2) and three-point percentage (38.0%) while also averaging 5.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per night.

Neither player was part of the group of 2024’s Western All-Star reserves announced by the NBA on Thursday, however, which shocked head coach Mike Brown, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape.

“It’s clear to anyone who watches the NBA and Kings basketball that De’Aaron and Domantas should have been selected for this year’s All-Star game,” Brown told Spears. “They are playing at an unbelievably elite level, Domantas establishing historic numbers with his double-doubles and De’Aaron setting a new career mark for three-point field goals. Every year, there are deserving players left off the team but, to me, this is truly a glaring wrongdoing.”

Sabonis and Fox were two of the most notable snubs in the Western Conference, but there’s no shortage of worthy candidates who missed the cut. Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, and Rockets center Alperen Sengun are among those who had strong cases for consideration.

Of course, naming the snubs is easier than naming the All-Stars who don’t deserve to be there. It’s a little odd that the .500 Lakers had two players make the game, but LeBron James was voted a starter and Anthony Davis is having a monster year. Karl-Anthony Towns‘ selection was a minor surprise, but the Timberwolves have the best record in the conference, which perhaps warrants more than one All-Star rep. The Warriors are the West’s 12th seed and Stephen Curry‘s shooting percentages are below his career rates, but…he’s still Stephen Curry.

Over in the East, the list of snubs isn’t as long or as egregious. You could make a case for Hawks guard Trae Young, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Heat swingman Jimmy Butler, Magic forward Franz Wagner, and a couple more Celtics (Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White), but none of those omissions look especially glaring.

Of course, it looks like the NBA will need to name a couple injury replacements in the East, since both Joel Embiid and Julius Randle are currently sidelined. Since the East already has six guards on the roster, the league will likely stick to the frontcourt pool, which could open the door for two players from that group of Allen, Barnes, Butler, Wagner, and Porzingis.

With nearly two more weeks of games before the All-Star break, it’s possible an injury replacement or two will be necessary in the West as well, but that doesn’t appear to be the case for now. Sabonis would likely be first on the list of replacements if a frontcourt player misses the game, which would be a major financial boon for the Kings big man — his contract includes a $1.3MM bonus if he makes the All-Star team.

We want to know what you think. Were there any players that absolutely deserved to be All-Stars who didn’t make the cut? If so, who should they replace? And which two players in the East should be chosen as injury replacements for Embiid and Randle (assuming both are unavailable)?

Head to the comment section below to share your two cents!