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Atlantic Notes: Finney-Smith, Bridges, Embiid, Poeltl

February 15th, 2023 at 11:34pm CST by Rory Maher

The Grizzlies reportedly offered four first-round picks for Mikal Bridges, but he wasn’t the only new Nets addition that drew interest from rival teams. Sources tell Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link) that “multiple teams offered two firsts” for Dorian Finney-Smith, who was acquired from Dallas in the Kyrie Irving trade.

A strong, versatile defensive player and solid three-point shooter (36% career), Finney-Smith is in the first year of a four-year, $55.6MM extension, so he’s under contract long term (the final year is a player option for $15.4MM).

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

  • Bridges exploded for a career-high 45 points (on 17-of-24 shooting) during Wednesday’s victory over Miami, as Mark W. Sanchez of The New York Post relays. “If we keep learning and growing together, I feel like we’ll be a scary team that teams don’t want to play against,” said Bridges, who stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. “Defense comes first before anything.” The Nets lost major star power at the trade deadline, but Bridges has given the team hope that he can take his game to a new level, Sanchez writes.
  • Sixers star Joel Embiid might not compete in the All-Star Game, as he’s been dealing with a nagging foot injury, according to Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. “I’m not sure, I’m not healthy,” Embiid said when asked if he’d play in Sunday’s game. “I haven’t been healthy for the past three weeks or month, I was just trying to get to the All-Star break without missing games and stuff. I feel like I’ve reached the point where I really need to follow the doctor’s advice and miss, back then he said I should have been sitting for two weeks. Going to see how the next few days go and go from there.”
  • The Raptors re-acquired center Jakob Poeltl, whom the team drafted ninth overall in 2016, ahead of last week’s trade deadline. In his third game back with the Raptors, he became just the second player in NBA history (David Robinson is the other) to record 30-plus points without making a free throw or a three-pointer while also registering at least five blocked shots, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. The Austrian big man recorded 30 points (on 15-of-17 shooting), nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and six blocks in Tuesday’s victory over Orlando.
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NBA Announces All-Star Saturday Night Participants

February 14th, 2023 at 7:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It was quite a Valentine’s Day for Mac McClung. He was signed to a two-way contract by the Sixers and, hours later, was named as one of the four participants in this year’s Slam Dunk competition during All-Star weekend, according to an NBA press release.

He’ll be joined by the Rockets’ Kenyon Martin Jr., the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III and the Knicks’ Jericho Sims.

The Skills Challenge will feature a brother act. Team Antetokounmpo, predictably, will include Giannis Antetokounmpo and Thanasis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks and Alex Antetokounmpo of the G League’s Wisconsin Herd.

Team Jazz will include Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton, while Team Rookies will feature top pick Paolo Banchero of the Magic, as well as the Pistons’ Jaden Ivey and the Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. 

The participants in this year’s 3-point contest can be found here.

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Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, Pascal Siakam Named All-Stars

February 10th, 2023 at 12:25pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially named Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, and Raptors forward Pascal Siakam as injury replacements for next weekend’s All-Star Game in Salt Lake City (Twitter link).

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), who first reported that the trio was expected to make the All-Star Game, notes that Edwards and Fox will replace Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Pelicans forward Zion Williamson in the West, while Siakam will replace star forward Kevin Durant in the East.

Durant, of course, was traded from the Nets to the Suns this week, but was initially named an Eastern Conference All-Star, so his replacement comes from the East.

In his third season with the Timberwolves, Edwards is averaging a career-high 24.7 points per game on .464/.367/.767 shooting to go along with 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per night in 58 games (36.2 MPG). Fox, a sixth-year guard, is putting up similar numbers for Sacramento, with 24.2 PPG, 6.3 APG, and 4.3 RPG on .504/.326/.789 in 49 games (33.7 MPG).

Both Edwards and Fox are first-time All-Stars.

Siakam, meanwhile, will be playing in his second All-Star Game after making the team in 2020. This season, he’s averaging new career highs in points (25.0) and assists (6.2) per game. He has also put up 8.0 rebounds per game with a .475/.326/.767 shooting line in 46 games and is leading the league in minutes per contest (37.5) for the second straight year.

In a full press release announcing the All-Star changes, the NBA announced that Sixers center Joel Embiid, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant have all been promoted from All-Star reserves to starters, since Durant, Williamson, and Curry were all on track to start.

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Pacific Notes: Hachimura, Irving, Durant, Fox

February 5th, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Lakers combo forward Rui Hachimura is comfortably slotting in to his new role with the club, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. The athletic 6’8″ forward has become a solid fast-breaking force for Los Angeles so far.

His length, size and speed are massive attributes for a team desperately bereft of those components.

“[Russell Westbrook and LeBron James] get all the defensive attention so I have a lot of easy looks, in either transition of the half court,” Hachimura said. “So, yeah, I love playing with those guys.” 

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • Prior to his eventual move to the Mavericks, the Lakers had conversations with the Nets about a framework for a Kyrie Irving trade, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Woj reveals that Brooklyn prioritized the Dallas trade offer because it gave them better role-player depth than Los Angeles could offer, in addition to similar future draft equity.
  • Now that Irving is off the Brooklyn roster, the Suns are hoping to make a legitimate trade offer for the Nets’ lone remaining All-Star, power forward Kevin Durant, sources inform Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). There’s no indication that Brooklyn is willing to listen on Durant at this point — if that changes, plenty of other suitors figure to join the Suns.
  • With Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry likely to be sidelined for multiple weeks due to a leg injury, commissioner Adam Silver may have to select an injury replacement for the All-Star Game. Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets that Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox deserves to receive serious consideration for that spot.
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2023 NBA All-Star Reserves Announced

February 2nd, 2023 at 6:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The league has announced its 2023 All-Star reserves during a pregame broadcast on TNT, as voted on by NBA head coaches. As usual, the list of 14 selections featured some interesting surprises.

For the Eastern Conference, coaches voted in Sixers center Joel Embiid (the reigning Player of the Month in the East), Heat center Bam Adebayo, Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, and Knicks forward Julius Randle.

Holiday, who is making his second overall All-star appearance this year, last earned an All-Star nod a decade ago while playing for Philadelphia.

Randle will receive a $1.2MM salary bonus as a result of being named an All-Star this season, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Marks adds (via Twitter) that Holiday will get a $324K bonus. And as long as he appears in at least 65 contests this year, Brown will earn a $1.55MM bonus after having qualified for the All-Star game, Marks tweets.

Among the most notable omissions in the East were a handful of point guards: the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, the Hawks’ Trae Young, the Cavaliers’ Darius Garland, and the Sixers’ James Harden. Miami swingman Jimmy Butler also missed out. Young, Harden and Butler all made the cut last season.

In the Western Conference, Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, Kings center Domantas Sabonis, Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Clippers forward Paul George, Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, and Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. were selected as reserves.

Being named to the All-Star team again this year will earn Sabonis a $1.3MM bonus, per Marks (Twitter link).

Lakers center Anthony Davis, Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Suns guard Devin Booker, and Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon were among the Western Conference snubs.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Markkanen and Jackson are the lone first-time All-Stars among these 14 picks.

All-Star weekend tips off on February 17 in Salt Lake City. Los Angeles power forward LeBron James and Milwaukee power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the captains of their respective conferences, will draft their teams ahead of the 2023 All-Star Game on Sunday, February 19.

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Community Shootaround: All-Star Reserves

February 2nd, 2023 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

The 2023 NBA All-Star reserves will be officially announced on Thursday night during TNT’s broadcast prior to the tip-off of the Grizzlies/Cavaliers game.

As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, there will likely be plenty of players left disappointed once the announcements are made, given that there have been more All-Star caliber performances this season than there are spots on the All-Star rosters.

In the Eastern Conference, Sixers center Joel Embiid is a lock to be an All-Star reserve after missing out on a starting five that features Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, and Kyrie Irving, and Celtics wing Jaylen Brown is probably a safe bet to join him.

That leaves five spots up for grabs for a group that includes Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, Knicks teammates Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Sixers guard James Harden, Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan, and Bucks guard Jrue Holiday.

At least four of those players will miss the cut, and that’s before we even get to other worthy All-Star contenders like Hawks guard Trae Young, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, and Bulls guard Zach LaVine.

In the West, where LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic, and Stephen Curry are starters, a handful of would-be All-Stars may not have played enough games to earn a spot on the team.

The coaches who voted on reserves will have had to decide whether high-level performances by the likes of Suns guard Devin Booker (29 games), Lakers big man Anthony Davis (28 games), Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (28 games) outweigh the fact that they’ve been unavailable for significant chunks of the season.

Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, Kings center Domantas Sabonis, and Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen are probably the best bets to be named Western Conference reserves. If they all make it, that would leave two spots open.

Voters who believe Booker, Davis, and Leonard haven’t played enough may lean toward Leonard’s Clippers teammate Paul George, Sabonis’ Kings teammate De’Aaron Fox, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, or Pelicans guard CJ McCollum, among others.

Of course, injuries could open up more All-Star spots beyond the standard 12 in each conference. It remains to be seen whether Durant and Williamson will be able to play in Salt Lake City, and it’s possible more players will have their availability compromised in the next couple weeks. But picking this year’s initial 24 All-Stars is no easy feat.

We want to know what you think. Which seven players in each conference would you select as your All-Star reserves now that the starters have been locked in? Which players are the most difficult omissions?

Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your picks!

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Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Warren, Mazzulla, Celtics’ Targets, Barnes

January 31st, 2023 at 5:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said Ben Simmons is “showing signs of progress” regarding his left knee soreness, according to Mark Sanchez of the New York Post. However, Simmons will miss his third consecutive game when the team faces Boston on Wednesday, ESPN’s Nick Friedell tweets. Forward T.J. Warren (left shin contusion) will also miss his third straight contest.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, a little-known assistant when training camp approached, will now coach in the All-Star Game, the league’s PR department tweets. Boston’s interim head coach and his staff will coach Team Giannis, thanks to Boston’s Eastern Conference-leading record.
  • Could the Celtics target Mason Plumlee, P.J. Washington or even bring back Kelly Olynyk for a second stint? The Athletic’s Jay King examines some of the frontcourt trade options the franchise might explore.
  • While the Raptors may be sellers or buyers at the trade deadline, their star second-year forward Scottie Barnes — who isn’t going anywhere — continues to shine, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star notes. Warriors coach Steve Kerr compare Barnes to Draymond Green. “Guys like that have a feel for the game. They have a sense of what’s happening on the floor seemingly before the other nine people out there,” Kerr said. “That’s why I enjoy watching Barnes play. For a young guy, he has a great feel for the game.”
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NBA Announces Player Pool For Rising Stars Event

January 31st, 2023 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA officially unveiled the 28-player pool for this year’s Rising Stars event on Tuesday, making the announcement via the NBA App. The following players made the cut:

Rookies:

Sophomores:

G League players:

As was the case last season, the Rising Stars event will consist of four teams and three games. The seven G League players will comprise one team, coached by longtime NBA guard Jason Terry. The other 21 players will be drafted to three squads coached by former NBA stars Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, and Deron Williams.

The four teams will be split into two first-round matchups and the winners of those two games will face one another for the Rising Stars championship. The two semifinals will be played to a target score of 40 points, while the final will be played to a target score of 25 points.

All three contests will take place on Friday, February 17 as part of All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City. The NBA’s full press release with more information on the event can be found right here.

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Antetokounmpo, James Head All-Star Starters; Embiid Falls Short

January 26th, 2023 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers forward LeBron James tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday with his 19th NBA All-Star selection. James, who currently shares the record with Abdul-Jabbar for most All-Star Games played with 18, was chosen as a starter, according to a league press release.

All of the starters were revealed on Thursday night.

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic were the other starters chosen out of the Western Conference. James will serve as a team captain for the sixth straight year, since he received the most votes.

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, named a team captain for the third time, heads the list of starters out of the Eastern Conference. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Nets forward Kevin Durant, Nets guard Kyrie Irving, and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell will join him, but the league’s second-leading scorer, Sixers center Joel Embiid (33.4 PPG), didn’t garner enough votes.

The starters are selected by a weighted voting process with the fan vote accounting for half of the final outcome. The player and media portions of the vote each counted for 25 percent. Three frontcourt players and two guards were selected from each conference.

Embiid finished third in the player and media voting among Eastern Conference frontcourt players but fourth in the fan voting. All voting results can be found here.

The game will be played Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City. James and Antetokounmpo will choose their teams shortly before the game begins. James will set the league record for most All-Star appearances if he plays, since Abdul-Jabbar did not play in the 1973 game after being chosen.

The reserves, which are chosen by the league’s coaches, will be announced Feb. 2.

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And-Ones: Lin, Hawks, C. Grant, All-Star Game, T. Terry

January 26th, 2023 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Longtime NBA guard Jeremy Lin is resuming his playing career in Taiwan after parting ways with the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association last month.

Lin, who appeared in a total of 480 regular season NBA games across nine seasons, announced on his Instagram account that he’s joining the Kaohsiung Steelers. The club, which competes in the P. League+, Taiwan’s top basketball league, confirmed the news in an Instagram post of its own.

Lin last played in the NBA as a member of the champion Raptors during the 2018/19 season. Since then, he has continued to play in Asia and the G League — before he suited up for Guangzhou earlier this season, the 34-year-old spent time with the Beijing Ducks in 2019/20 and ’21/22, and with the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2021.

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

  • Shams Charania of The Athletic reported last week that the Hawks were in serious talks to hire former Cavs general manager Chris Grant as a senior advisor in their front office, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has heard that it won’t happen. “From what I’m told, even though they were interested in bringing him in, Chris has actually pulled his name from consideration,” Windhorst said on his Hoop Collective podcast, per RealGM. “He’s going to stay with the Spurs (in a scouting role). He’s happy in San Antonio.”
  • The NBA announced this week (via Twitter) that it will have its All-Star captains pick their 12-man squads right before the All-Star Game begins, rather than days in advance. The captains will be announced tonight when the league reveals the five All-Star starters from each conference.
  • Former second-round pick Tyrell Terry, who made a surprising retirement announcement last month at age 22 for mental health reasons, spoke to Julie Kliegman of SI.com about why he opted to give up basketball and why he isn’t regretting the decision. “If you Google my name it’ll probably be, ‘Ex-Athlete Steps Away From the Game for Mental Health,'” Terry said. “But when I read some of the DMs that people have sent me – I’ve had phone call conversations with parents of athletes who are struggling – and just the kind words and the gratitude that they’ve showed me, it pushes those second thoughts to the side and makes them less relevant.”
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