- In an interview with Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports Radio (Twitter link), GM Calvin Booth suggested the Nuggets might have a relatively quiet trade deadline. “When healthy, I don’t think we need much. I think we have a lot of what we need inside our locker room,” he said. The Nuggets are currently 30-13, the No. 1 seed in the West.
Bol Bol is enjoying a breakout season with the Magic after three frustrating years in Denver and he accepts the blame for things not working out better with the Nuggets, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Bol was a second-round pick in 2019 and was acquired by Denver in a draft-night trade. Even though the organization was excited about his combination of size and skill, he only appeared in 53 total games before being traded last January.
“Yeah, I can say there was a little bit, I feel I could’ve worked a lot harder,” Bol said. “That was just me being young. That’s one of the things I learned, you have to work hard or (stuff’s) not gonna work out for you.”
Bol was dealt twice prior to last year’s deadline and ended up with a rebuilding Orlando team that gave him a better opportunity to develop. He wasn’t able to play for the Magic last season because of injuries, but he has generated Most Improved Player talk this year, averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds in 39 games.
“New space, new opportunity for me,” Bol explained. “A younger team. It wasn’t like (Denver), where it was kind of hard for me to play because they were already a really good team, an established team, a playoff team. Now, I’m just getting a restart.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- In an interview with Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, Kyle Kuzma says he’s willing to consider re-signing with the Wizards when he becomes a free agent this summer. “Yeah, 100 percent, for sure,” Kuzma responded. “For me, it’s all about my growth and how I can improve. That’s the thing I’m always chasing — trying to get better.” There has been speculation that Kuzma will be looking for a change of scenery once he declines his $13MM player option for next season.
- Mental mistakes have played a role in the Hornets‘ collapse into the worst team in the East, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The roster is similar to the one that reached the play-in tournament the past two seasons, but players are having trouble staying focused for 48 minutes. “It’s just the discipline that we lack,” Dennis Smith Jr. said. “Ever since coming into the league, I was always taught ‘game plan discipline, game plan discipline.’ So, whatever the game plan is we’ve got to follow that to a ‘T.’ We show that whenever we do that we are a capable team.”
- Hawks center Clint Capela plans to return for Monday afternoon’s contest against the Heat after missing the past 10 games with an injured calf, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. Capela, who has been limited to 27 games this season, will be on a minutes restriction.
The Pistons aren’t eager to trade Bojan Bogdanovic, but they’re willing to part with him for the right price, league sources tell James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Detroit is asking for an unprotected first-round pick at minimum, Edwards adds, and the front office is confident that offers in that range will materialize. That will lead to a difficult decision on whether to keep Bogdanovic in an effort to be competitive next season or to move him in exchange for draft help.
Acquired from the Jazz in September, the 33-year-old Bogdanovic is in the midst of his best NBA season, averaging a career-high 21.2 points per game while shooting 48.7% from the field and 41.5% from three-point range. He signed an extension in October that keeps him under contract through the 2024/25 season.
Bogdanovic may be the best shooter available heading into the February 9 trade deadline. The list of teams that have expressed interest in acquiring him has reportedly reached double digits, so the Pistons appear to be in a good position to get their asking price.
Edwards offers more insight into Pistons trade rumors:
- Detroit hasn’t shown much interest in moving Alec Burks, who is also having his best offensive season, averaging 13.8 PPG as a reserve. The Pistons hold a $10.4MM option on the 31-year-old for next season and appear content to bring him back. Edwards believes a team would have to be willing to greatly overpay for Burks to get Detroit’s attention.
- The Pistons and backup center Nerlens Noel have agreed that a trade would be the best option for both sides, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be moved before the deadline. Edwards hears that if Noel remains with the team past February 9, he won’t be looking for a buyout. Detroit isn’t expected to pick up its $9.6MM team option on Noel for next season, Edwards adds, unless the move would be part of an offseason trade. Edwards cites the Heat, Nuggets and Mavericks as teams that have been most active in trade talks for Noel.
- Rival teams began monitoring Saddiq Bey when he lost his starting job in November, league sources tell Edwards. But the Pistons haven’t given up on the third-year small forward, who is only 23 and is coming off two productive seasons. Edwards believes it would take a significant offer for Detroit to part with Bey, who remains a steady part of the rotation.
Today is Sunday, January 15, which means that nearly two dozen players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.
Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:
- The player re-signed with his previous team.
- He got a raise of at least 20%.
- His salary is worth more than the minimum.
- His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.
The following players met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Sunday:
- Deandre Ayton (Suns) *
- Mohamed Bamba (Magic)
- Nicolas Batum (Clippers)
- Bradley Beal (Wizards) *
- Chris Boucher (Raptors)
- Vlatko Cancar (Nuggets)
- Nic Claxton (Nets)
- Amir Coffey (Clippers)
- Dewayne Dedmon (Heat)
- Luguentz Dort (Thunder)
- Tyus Jones (Grizzlies)
- Zach LaVine (Bulls)
- Kevon Looney (Warriors)
- Cody Martin (Hornets)
- Jusuf Nurkic (Trail Blazers)
- Jordan Nwora (Bucks)
- Victor Oladipo (Heat) *
- Bobby Portis (Bucks)
- Mitchell Robinson (Knicks)
- Anfernee Simons (Trail Blazers)
- Jae’Sean Tate (Rockets)
(* Players marked with an asterisk have the ability to veto trades.)
Most of the players on NBA rosters are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt. That group includes Thunder guard Isaiah Joe, who becomes trade-eligible on Monday, Bucks swingman Pat Connaughton (trade-eligible on Wednesday), and Thunder forward Kenrich Williams (trade-eligible on Friday).
There are also several players who won’t become trade-eligible before this season’s February 9 deadline, including Lakers star LeBron James. Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be dealt.
The right wrist injury that sidelined Nuggets star Nikola Jokic on Friday has been “bothering him for a while,” head coach Michael Malone said before the game, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter links). However, the team doesn’t seem to have any long-term concerns about that wrist issue, which doesn’t appear to be serious, Singer adds.
While it may be true that Jokic has been dealing with the ailment for a while, the impact on his performance hasn’t exactly been noticeable. In his last 10 games, he has averaged 24.9 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and 10.9 APG on .625/.524/.889 shooting.
Jokic and the Nuggets made the decision to sit him on Friday to let the wrist “calm down” a little, according to Malone, who expressed optimism that the two-time MVP will be available again on Sunday.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the league:
- Another former MVP has been dealing with a nagging injury, and it will sideline him on Saturday — Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is out for a second consecutive game due to left knee soreness, head coach Mike Budenholzer confirmed (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic). Antetokounmpo scored single-digit points last Friday for the first time all season, then did it again on Wednesday, so it certainly seems like the knee pain has been bothering him.
- Pacers center Myles Turner missed a second straight game on Friday due to back spasms, and while head coach Rick Carlisle doesn’t expect to be a long-term problem, he said the big man is unlikely to play on Saturday, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “It will be days, not hours, how about that?” Carlisle said. “There’s no concern that this will be anything but a minor thing. (Saturday) is maybe a reach. … Next week is more likely, but we’ll see.”
- Hawks center Clint Capela missed his ninth consecutive game on Friday due to a right calf strain. Capela is making steady progress, but is still feeling some soreness in his calf, and as long as that’s the case, the injury isn’t healed, according to head coach Nate McMillan, who said there’s still no timeline for the 28-year-old’s return (Twitter links via Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal Constitution).
Veteran guard Bruce Brown, who spent two seasons in Detroit and two more in Brooklyn before arriving in Denver, said the Nuggets‘ locker room is the best one he has been a part of, writes Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post.
“Everybody likes everybody, everybody is cool with everyone. We do mostly all things together, even if we have a night off, we’ll do things together. I’m happy I’m in this locker room,” Brown said. “It’s just a bunch of good guys. I’m not saying I didn’t play with other good guys with other franchises, but it’s just a bunch of good guys, all on the same page, so it’s been good.”
After winning 14 of their last 17 games, the Nuggets have a 28-13 record, tied with Memphis for the best mark in the Western Conference and 3.5 games ahead of third-place New Orleans. Head coach Michael Malone believes the close-knit nature of the team is one important reason for its success, according to Saunders.
“You’re either together or you’re not,” Malone said. “For me, it’s pretty simple. The best teams in the NBA are usually really connected, on and off the court. And you can see it. And on the flip side, you can see the teams that have no chemistry. You have five individuals playing for themselves out there.”
Here’s more out of Denver:
- Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic has been ruled out for Friday’s game vs. the Clippers due to right wrist injury management, per the NBA’s official injury report. Jokic played 28 minutes in a blowout win over Phoenix on Wednesday and didn’t seem to be favoring the wrist, tweets Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports, so there’s no indication at this point that it’s a major cause for concern.
- Three executives from different Western Conference teams speculated to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required) that if the Nuggets make a trade in the coming weeks to add size, defense, and/or experience, Bones Hyland would be part of the outgoing package. General manager Calvin Booth will have to determine whether Hyland’s timeline matches that of the win-now Nuggets, according to Singer, who notes that the second-year wing has played some of his best basketball as of late, averaging 16.6 PPG on .522/.519/.857 shooting in his last eight games (22.2 MPG).
- Hyland is hoping to get the opportunity to participate in next month’s three-point contest at All-Star weekend in Utah, Singer writes in a separate story for The Denver Post. “If it happens, it happens. I want to win it. I want to be in it,” said Hyland, who is averaging 2.6 made threes in just 20.8 minutes per game and knocking them down at a 41.7% clip. His name is on a preliminary list of players the NBA is considering inviting, a source tells Singer.
- Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is getting to the point where he’s not afraid to test his surgically repaired ACL, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Murray turned in a vintage performance Thursday with 13 first-quarter points. “For the most part, I’m just playing out there,” he said.
- Playing out of position as a center rather than a forward is getting Zeke Nnaji minutes in the Nuggets‘ rotation, but the role may not play to his strengths, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required). After making 61-of-139 threes (43.9%) in his first two seasons, Nnaji is just 3-of-18 this season from beyond the arc. “With the five, it’s a lot less picking-and-popping,” he said. “They want me more rolling and putting pressure on that rim because if I’m popping every time, there’s not as much thrust on the rim, which collapses the defense. Right now I gotta roll more, even though I feel like I’m a capable shooter, I gotta do what’s best for the team.”
As the Timberwolves deal with injuries and disappointing box scores alike, it has become clear that 21-year-old shooting guard Anthony Edwards should be the one to lead them, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
“All leaders have one thing in common,” head coach Chris Finch said. “People follow them.”
Krawczynski notes that Edwards is not without flaw, citing the swingman’s at-times questionable shot profile and occasional defensive gaffes. But over the past 10 contests, Edwards has emerged as the Wolves’ most reliable healthy player, averaging 28.1 PPG on 54.7% field goal shooting, 8.0 RPG, 5.6 APG, and 1.5 SPG.
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Although veteran Jazz power forward Rudy Gay has been putting up modest numbers for Utah, he has been a huge contributor beyond the traditional stats. The 6’8″ forward is helping the club achieve a net rating of +12.9 when he’s on the court, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Todd notes that Gay has a strong connection with first-year Jazz head coach Will Hardy, who counts on the veteran’s leadership to help the team’s younger players.
- The fractured left hand of Nuggets reserve power forward Jeff Green has been improving, reports Harrison Wind of DNR Sports (Twitter link). According nto Wind, Green has been wearing a protective glove on the hand in recent pregame shootarounds. Wind adds that Green is expected to have his hand reassessed in two weeks.
- According to Wind (via Twitter), rookie Nuggets shooting guard Peyton Watson will miss the next few weeks with a strained left adductor. Denver has liked what it has seen out of Watson while he’s spent time with the team’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, per Wind.
The biggest obstacle to Nikola Jokic being named MVP may be that he won the award the past two seasons, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird are the only players to capture MVP honors in three consecutive years, and it hasn’t happened since 1984-86. Voters tend to look for alternatives rather than casting their ballots for the same player every season.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone called that type of thinking “lazy” in a pre-game meeting with reporters Sunday night. He also expressed disgust with having to repeatedly make the argument for his center, adding, “I don’t really care what people think about Nikola.”
After Malone’s comments, Jokic bolstered his MVP candidacy with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in a win over the Celtics. It was the league-best ninth triple-double of the year for Jokic, who is averaging 25.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 9.5 assists per game — numbers very similar to his past MVP seasons.
There’s more from Denver:
- With Sunday’s matchup featuring the top teams in each conference, the Nuggets showed a defensive intensity that was lacking in their November meeting in Boston, Singer adds. Denver focused on closing out on three-point shooters and limited the Celtics to 3-of-19 from long distance in the first half. The defense got a boost from Bruce Brown, who was starting in place of Jamal Murray and who always gets excited about facing his hometown team. “I definitely look forward to (these games), just me being there, me growing up a Celtics fan,” Brown said.
- Bones Hyland has joined the campaign for Aaron Gordon to make the All-Star Game (video link from HoopsHype). Gordon has been the Nuggets’ second-best player this season, averaging 17.3 points and 6.6 rebounds in 31 games. “He does the junkyard work for us, and I feel like he doesn’t get a lot of praise,” Hyland said. “So definitely AG an All-Star for sure.”
- Nuggets assistant Ryan Saunders will make his first trip to Minnesota tonight since being fired as the Timberwolves‘ head coach in 2021, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Saunders took a year sabbatical from coaching, turning down multiple offers, before joining Denver’s staff this season. “Looking forward to seeing fans that I remember seeing in the crowd, especially before COVID hit,” Saunders said. “That’s something that you kind of forget about too. In professional sports, jobs come and go, and all of a sudden you might be in a different situation than you were the day prior. The people you saw every day, the ushers, the security guards, the parking attendants, people who are just coming by your office to say hello from Mayo Clinic Square, you don’t see them anymore. I’m really looking forward to seeing that.”