- Appearing on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said he doesn’t view a big man who can rebound as a pressing trade deadline need, but added that he’ll leave that decision up to the front office (Twitter link via Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News). “You know Mark (Cuban) and Donnie (Nelson),” Carlisle said. “These guys are gunslingers. They’re riverboat gamblers, and they’re ready to talk about anything that would get the team better.”
The NBA has revealed its 2021 All-Star Game starters. Here are those names:
Eastern Conference
- G Kyrie Irving, Nets
- G Bradley Beal, Wizards
- F/C Kevin Durant, Nets
- F/C Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks
- F/C Joel Embiid, Sixers
After missing all of the 2019/20 season while he recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Durant is making his triumphant return to the All-Star Game. In his first appearance as a Brooklyn player, the 11-time All-Star will captain a team, having led the Eastern Conference in fan votes.
[RELATED: Community Shootaround: Eastern All-Stars]
This is the seventh All-Star appearance for Durant’s teammate Irving. Antetokounmpo, the reigning two-time MVP, has just made his fifth All-Star game. A frontrunner for the 2021 MVP award, Embiid is appearing in his fourth such contest. Beal will be making his first All-Star start after playing as a reserve in the 2018 and 2019 All-Star contests. The Wizards are the No. 13 seed in the East.
Western Conference
- G Stephen Curry, Warriors
- G Luka Doncic, Mavericks
- F/C LeBron James, Lakers
- F/C Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
- F/C Kawhi Leonard, Clippers
James, who was the top vote-getter in the Western Conference and the entire NBA with 5,922,554 fan votes, will again be a team captain. He will be suiting up for his 17th All-Star appearance, the third-most ever behind only fellow Laker legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (19 appearances) and Kobe Bryant (18). James was previously tied for making the third-most cumulative All-Star contests alongside Hall of Fame Nets and Sixers wing Julius Erving, who was selected into five ABA All-Star games and 11 NBA All-Star games.
Jokic, an early top MVP contender along with James and Embiid, will earn his first All-Star start in his third appearance in the game. Curry will partake in his seventh All-Star contest, while Leonard has just been voted into his fifth All-Star game.
[RELATED: Community Shootaround: Western All-Stars]
Doncic barely edged out Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard to be the second All-Star guard next to Curry among the starters, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Despite extended absences from starters CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, and Zach Collins, the Blazers boast an 18-10 record, good for the No. 4 seed in the crowded West, largely thanks to Lillard. The Mavericks, meanwhile, are 13-15, the No. 10 seed in the West.
As was the case during the last two years, the top vote-getters of each conference will captain a team, and will be able to draft players from either conference. The “Elam Ending,” which made the conclusion of last year’s game much more entertaining than it had been in recent years, is set to return again this year.
Earlier today, the league officially announced that the 2021 All-Star Game is set to take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, as a one-night event on March 7. The evening will also include its three All-Star weekend mainstay events: the Skills Competition, the Three-Point Contest and the Dunk Contest.
A full list of fan voting totals is viewable at this Twitter link, courtesy of Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The complete voting breakdown by position and conference, including media and player votes, can be found at the bottom of this press release.
The league will announce the 14 players who will comprise the All-Star reserves on Tuesday, February 22, at 7 p.m. ET, per Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter).
Friday’s game in Houston between the Rockets and Mavericks has been postponed, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The NBA has issued a press release confirming the news.
This is the second postponement this week that is unrelated to COVID-19 and is instead due to the state of emergency in Texas, caused by severe weather conditions and a lack of power across many areas of the state. The local government has shut down the Rockets’ arena, the Toyota Center, as a result of those conditions.
The Mavericks, who also had their Wednesday game vs. Detroit postponed, aren’t scheduled to resume play until Monday, when they’ll tentatively host the Grizzlies. It’s unclear at this point whether the NBA might attempt to sneak another Mavs road game onto the schedule before then in order to reduce the number of games the team will have to play in the second half.
The Rockets, meanwhile, also have a Saturday home game vs. Indiana on their schedule, but it seems reasonable to assume that contest may be in jeopardy as well. Houston’s home stand would conclude with a game against Chicago on Monday.
This is the NBA’s 32nd postponement of the season. Of those postponements, 29 have been related to the coronavirus, two are due to weather, and one was a deliberate scheduling choice made weeks in advance to accommodate a makeup game.
The Mavericks announced today (via Twitter) that they are sending rookie shooting guard Josh Green to join the Salt Lake City Stars, the G League affiliate of the Jazz, in the NBAGL’s ongoing Orlando “bubble” campus.
The Mavericks announced today (via Twitter) that they are sending rookie shooting guard Josh Green to join the Salt Lake City Stars, the G League affiliate of the Jazz, in the NBAGL’s ongoing Orlando “bubble” campus.
Dallas’s own G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, is not participating in this year’s G League season. Green started in five games for the Mavericks earlier this season, but has been riding the bench recently. He is averaging 12.5 MPG across 17 contests.
- Despite severe winter weather in Texas, the Rockets still intend to return to Houston ahead of their scheduled contests on Friday (against the Mavericks) and Saturday (against the Pacers), according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. There is a chance these games are ultimately postponed as a result of continuing water and power trouble in Texas, Feigen notes. “If playing basketball games makes sense we will,” head coach Stephen Silas said about the situation. “If it doesn’t, Houstonians are most important and the thing that we should all be thinking about as we go home.”
12:55pm: The game has officially been postponed, tweets Eric Woodyard of ESPN.
10:58am: The Pistons will have back-to-back games in Texas postponed this week, as their contest against the Mavericks in Dallas on Wednesday will no longer be played as scheduled, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As Charania explains, this postponement is entirely unrelated to COVID-19 and is instead due to the weather-related state of emergency in Texas. Winter storms and unusually cold temperatures have hit the Dallas area and have caused massive blackouts in parts of the state.
The weather has also resulted in two postponements for the NHL’s Dallas Stars, who were initially scheduled to host the Nashville Predators on Monday and Tuesday.
The Pistons also had their Tuesday game in San Antonio postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak among the Spurs.
The fact that this postponement doesn’t have anything to do with the coronavirus is a silver lining for the NBA, but it’s still another game in a long line of them that will need to be made up at some point later in the season. The league has now postponed over 30 regular season games in 2020/21.
The Cavaliers would prefer not to take bad contracts with multiple years remaining in a potential Andre Drummond deal. However, they’re open-minded to that possibility if an asset is included that would justify a restricted future cap, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The front office would otherwise like to protect cap space with extensions for Collin Sexton and Jarrett Allen on the horizon.
Cleveland has received calls on Drummond, as well as Allen and JaVale McGee, but it is not interested in dealing Allen. Fedor explores potential trade partners for Drummond and what those deals could include.
We have more on the Cavaliers:
- Spencer Davies of Basketball News also speculates where Drummond, an impending unrestricted free agent after the season, could be dealt. The Raptors, Mavericks, Knicks and Kings could be among the teams in the mix if a trade is completed, while the Nets would be the front-runner if Drummond winds up on the buyout market.
- Drummond didn’t play on Sunday, but that didn’t solve any problems as the Cavaliers lost for the ninth time in 10 games. They were overwhelmed by a Clippers team playing without stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, demonstrating that the team’s issues go far deeper than Drummond, Fedor writes. The Cavs’ overall effort has been lacking, especially at the defensive end. “I think defensively we need to be better,” Cedi Osman said. “I mean, it’s just not enough, especially against these types of teams. We have to play harder.”
- Kevin Love has been making progress from the right calf strain that has kept him out since December 27 and coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the team could desperately use his veteran presence and scoring prowess, Fedor notes in a separate story. “There’s times in games when you can see ‘This is where Kevin would help us’ or ‘This is where he would help settle us in. I know right now he’d get a foul because we’re in the bonus.’ There’s those moments where you see,” Bickerstaff said.
Before they signed veteran swingman Iman Shumpert in an effort to improve their wing defense, the Nets considered longtime Thunder forward Andre Roberson, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), the Nets’ interest in Roberson wasn’t just cursory — the team actually worked him out before signing Shumpert.
Roberson, who is limited on offense but has a reputation as a defensive stopper, returned last August during the NBA’s summer restart after having missed over two full years due to knee issues. However, his contract expired at season’s end and he has yet to catch on with a new NBA team. Given how many of Brooklyn’s end-of-roster players have non-guaranteed salaries, it’s possible the Nets could open up a spot and circle back to Roberson later in the season, as Lewis notes.
Here’s more from Charania:
- The Raptors and Nets – who were both mentioned by Charania as possible Andre Drummond suitors via trade or buyout – are viewed as two teams in the market for frontcourt help. Charania suggests the Mavericks, Lakers, and Trail Blazers are among the clubs likely to join that list.
- Charania confirms that the Bulls have some interest in Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, but says the two teams haven’t engaged in any dialogue about a possible trade.
- Rival teams are keeping an eye on Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons, according to Charania. There’s no indication Portland has interest in moving Simons, but other clubs may envision a larger scoring and play-making role for him than he has in Portland, where he backs up an All-NBA point guard.
- Veteran big man Kenneth Faried, 31, is working out in Los Angeles and hopes to make an NBA comeback, per Charania.
The Cavaliers are planning to keep Andre Drummond on the bench as they work on finding a trade destination for the veteran center, according to Adrian Wojnarowsi and Brian Windorst of ESPN. As ESPN’s duo explains, Jarrett Allen is considered the Cavs’ center of the future and the team believes it’s unfair to Drummond to limit his minutes as the transition to Allen takes place.
According to Wojnarowski and Windhorst, general manager Koby Altman discussed the decision with Drummond and his agent, Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports. While Schwartz wouldn’t confirm or deny ESPN’s report, he offered the following statement:
“Whichever direction this goes, Andre is 27, in his prime, and I believe strongly that he has a great deal to add to a team building toward a postseason run.”
Drummond was ruled out of Sunday’s game for “rest” purposes, but sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic that the center sat on Sunday in part due to his recent “attitude and play.” Charania adds that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has had multiple sit-down discussions with the 27-year-old, who has been frustrated by the Cavaliers’ recent slump.
According to Charania, the Raptors and Cavs are engaging in trade discussions about Drummond. However, a deal could take a while to come together as Toronto and Cleveland navigate through cap-related challenges and the possibility of incorporating other teams, so nothing is imminent.
Wojnarowski tweets that, while Cleveland is gauging the Drummond market, there are no “serious” ongoing talks taking place. Addressing the Raptors possibility specifically, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca confirms (via Twitter) that Toronto has interest, but says discussions have only been exploratory and notes that matching Drummond’s $28.75MM salary would be difficult.
Other teams, including the Nets and Mavericks, would have interest in Drummond if he’s bought out, sources tell The Athletic. It’s unclear how many clubs besides Toronto would be interested in pursuing the big man via trade.
Cleveland’s obvious preference would be to avoid a buyout, especially since the team remains in the hunt for an Eastern Conference playoff spot and wouldn’t want to essentially hand Drummond to a conference rival for nothing, Charania writes. No buyout discussions have taken place to this point, sources tell ESPN.
Meanwhile, Drummond may not be the only Cavs center who is traded prior to the March 25 deadline. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reports that the club has received trade offers for all of its centers, though only Drummond and JaVale McGee are considered available — Allen isn’t going anywhere.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Even before his recent right foot injury, new Rockets shooting guard Victor Oladipo has been wrestling with his productivity this season, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
The sore right foot, meanwhile has hampered his mobility of late and may keep him unavailable during the Rockets’ upcoming road trip. At a high 31.8 usage rate, Oladipo is shooting just 38.6% from the floor and 29.9% from long range through his first 11 games in Houston.
“Victor’s gonna get there,” Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said, going on to highlight Oladipo’s contributions on the other side of the ball. “Hopefully, his injury isn’t too bad. He is a big part of what we do, and one of the of the reasons we’re top five defensively is because of Victor Oladipo.”
There’s more out of the Southwest:
- Whilst on the NBAGL Orlando “bubble” campus, two-way Mavericks rookie shooting guard Nate Hinton has been recalled from the Long Island Nets and transferred to the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to a team tweet. Dallas’ own affiliate, the Texas Legends, isn’t active this season.
- The Pelicans‘ offense has benefited from second-year forward Zion Williamson being utilized at the point, according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Williamson has frequently been starting the team’s offensive actions during the last five games. “That’s how I grew up playing the game,” Williamson said. “When I’m bringing it up, I take a quick snapshot of the court. I know where all my teammates are and I know where all my teammates are going to be.”
- Defensive-oriented 35-year-old Rockets iron man forward P.J. Tucker has yet to miss a game since joining Houston in 2017. writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. This season, Tucker and rookie forward Jae’Sean Tate are the only Rockets to have not missed any of Houston’s 26 games this season.
Throughout the season, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents this off-season. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we take a look at players from the Southwest Division:
Lonzo Ball, Pelicans, 23, PG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $33.5MM deal in 2017
Ball’s status has been a hot topic around the league. He’s a prime trade candidate as New Orleans ponders whether it wants to commit long-term to the second overall pick of the 2017 draft. The Pelicans would have to extend a $14.36MM qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent if they don’t deal him.
On the plus side, Ball’s recent play has pumped up his value. Prior to his quiet 12-point performance on Friday, he was averaging 17.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 4.3 APG in February while making 51.2% of his 3-point tries. Moreover, he’s kept his turnovers down. The Bulls have been linked to Ball for weeks and perhaps his recent play will convince them he’s the answer to their point guard conundrum.
Trey Lyles, Spurs, 25, PF (Down) – Signed to a two-year, $11MM deal in 2019
Lyles has been a disappointment since the Jazz made him a lottery pick in 2015. This season has been particularly trying for the Kentucky product. After starting regularly last season, Lyles has only seen spot duty in his walk year. With LaMarcus Aldridge out, Lyles scored a season-high 15 points in a blowout loss to Golden State on Tuesday. That was his first double-digit output this season, as he’s only averaging 12.0 MPG. Lyles doesn’t stand out in any one area and he’ll be looking at modest offers this summer.
Tim Hardaway Jr., Mavericks, 28, SG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $70.95MM deal in 2017
The Mavericks have been a disappointment but Hardaway has fulfilled his role, averaging 17.2 PPG in 31.1 MPG. He’s turned into a consistent 40% shooter from long range and that skill will serve him well as he enters unrestricted free agency. It will be interesting to see how much teams value Hardaway’s overall game and if he can get similar money to what the Knicks offered him as a restricted free agent in 2017. But it’s a shooter’s league and Hardaway is a proven starting wing. At 28, he’ll likely receive some quality multi-year offers.
DeMarcus Cousins, Rockets, 30, C (Down) – Signed to a one-year, $2.33MM deal in 2020
The former perennial All-Star signed a veteran’s minimum deal with Houston to try to rebuild his value. He’ll get ample playing time in the next few weeks with Christian Wood sidelined by an ankle sprain. However, knee and Achilles injuries have robbed Cousins of his explosion. He can still occasionally post some big numbers (28 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists vs. Dallas last month) but he can’t deliver those big stat lines on a consistent basis. He can do better than veteran minimum deals in the future, barring another major injury, but he’s not the force he was early in his career with the Kings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.