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Raptors, Spurs Swap Thaddeus Young, Goran Dragic

February 10th, 2022 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

2:22pm: The Raptors have issued a press release officially announcing the trade.

10:51am: The Raptors and Spurs have agreed to a trade that will send forward Thaddeus Young to Toronto in exchange for point guard Goran Dragic, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Charania (via Twitter), big man Drew Eubanks and the Pistons’ 2022 second-round pick are also headed to Toronto in the deal, with the Raptors sending San Antonio their 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected). That pick would be top-13 protected in 2023 if it doesn’t change hands this season, and would turn into two future second-rounders if it doesn’t convey in ’23.

The Raptors had been shopping Dragic and draft capital for much of the season as they looked to acquire a player who could step into their rotation. Dragic, who was part of the return in the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade last summer, appeared in just five games with Toronto before leaving the team for personal reasons.

In Young, Toronto gets a tough, playoff-tested veteran who – like Dragic – was a throw-in for salary-matching purposes in an offseason sign-and-trade, having been sent from Chicago to San Antonio in the DeMar DeRozan deal. Young had a nice year in Chicago in 2020/21, averaging 12.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 4.3 APG in 68 games (24.3 MPG), but wasn’t part of the Spurs’ plans and hasn’t played much this season.

Eubanks, 25, could also compete for minutes in Toronto after spending the first four years of his NBA career in San Antonio. He has averaged 4.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 49 games (12.1 MPG) this season.

[UPDATE: Raptors to waive Eubanks]

Young has an expiring $14.2MM contract, while Eubanks is earning the minimum this season, with a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2022/23 before he becomes eligible for free agency. The Raptors will create some extra breathing room below the luxury tax line by swapping Dragic’s $19.4MM expiring deal for those two players.

Meanwhile, the Spurs – who have historically been quiet at the trade deadline – have now completed three in-season deals in 2021/22. Their goal in this deal was to continue stockpiling draft assets, so Dragic almost certainly won’t remain on the roster.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter) reports that Dragic and the Spurs are expected to negotiate a buyout, with the Mavericks, Bucks, Bulls, and Clippers among his potential suitors. Dallas is believed to be the frontrunner, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca and Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links).

The Raptors have an opening on their 15-man roster, so they won’t have to waive a player to officially finalize the trade. They’ll also create a trade exception worth the difference between Dragic’s and Young’s salaries ($5.25MM).

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Trade Rumors: Mavs, R. Lopez, Hawks, Wizards, Pistons, More

February 10th, 2022 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have made Dwight Powell available, but they remain uninterested in moving Jalen Brunson or Dorian Finney-Smith, reports Matt Moore of ActionNetwork.com. If those two players are off the table, Dallas may have a hard time finding a deal that significantly upgrades its roster.

According to Moore, Tim Hardaway Jr., who is out indefinitely due to a foot injury, is the player the Mavericks have shopped most aggressively. Hardaway was having a down year prior to his injury and is on a sizable long-term contract ($53.7MM for three years after this season), so his value will be limited.

Still, Moore notes that Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is a big fan of Hardaway, whom he coached in Dallas. Moore has also heard that the Wizards and Mavericks discussed a deal involving Hardaway and Spencer Dinwiddie, though a source tells Moore that the two sides didn’t make much progress.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

  • The Magic have been willing to discuss center Robin Lopez, but are apparently asking for a first-round pick, according to Moore. I’d be surprised if a team is willing to meet that price.
  • The Hawks may have a quiet deadline, with John Collins appearing increasingly unlikely to be dealt, but they remain on the lookout for a backup point guard, Moore reports.
  • Within his trade-rumor roundup, Moore also says the Wizards have been willing to discuss anyone besides Bradley Beal or Kyle Kuzma, and adds that Pistons guard Cory Joseph is “gettable.” Moore has received mixed intel on whether Detroit is interested in moving Kelly Olynyk.
  • Pacers center Myles Turner appears less likely to be dealt now that the team has moved Domantas Sabonis, but the Knicks continue to pursue Turner, a league source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. The big man is dealing with a foot injury that may sideline him until at least March.
  • With Harrison Barnes looking like a good bet to stay with the Kings through the deadline, Richaun Holmes and Marvin Bagley III are the Sacramento players most often identified by rival teams as candidates to be moved in the next few hours, says Sam Amick of The Athletic.
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Blazers Notes: Lillard, McCollum, Grant, Draft Pick

February 9th, 2022 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard tells Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com that he and longtime teammate CJ McCollum had talked for years about the possibility that they may eventually end up playing on different teams. However, that didn’t necessarily cushion the blow when Lillard learned that McCollum was being traded to New Orleans.

“As a friend and a teammate, I love CJ, that’s like a real friend of mine, not just my teammate,” Lillard said. “… It is what it is, we both knew that this point would be coming. But that don’t make it no easier to deal with. I think that’s where I am now. Me and him literally talked about it happening, the possibility of it and it was likely and stuff like that, and I still woke up this morning like, sad. It’s actually done. When I’m seeing ‘CJ to the Pelicans’ and stuff like that, it’s like damn, ain’t no coming back from this, this is it. It ain’t gonna be no every day, pull up to the house, dinner on the road, all that stuff. It’s done, he’s on a new team.

“As much as I understood it and he understood it and we kind of have always communicated in a transparent way, it don’t make it any easier to deal with or to look at. Like man, is it really over? Is the run really over? And that’s where we are.”

While McCollum’s time as a Trail Blazer has come to an end, the team reportedly has no plans to move Lillard and hopes to reshape the roster around him. For his part, Portland’s star point guard sounds like he’s on board with that plan.

“For me, my heart is Portland Trail Blazer,” Lillard said, per Holdahl. “I want to win it. I know that I have a plan that’s going to put me on my best level when I come back to play. And I want our team to fit that.

“I’m a huge fan of Chauncey Billups. I love Chauncey, we’ve got a great relationship and I think he’ll continue to grow into the head coach that he wants to be. And I’m a Joe Cronin fan. In his position I think it takes being bold and doing bold things, doing what you see fit and standing on it. He’s told me that our plan is to build a winning team, not to rebuild. Because we had a prior relationship to him becoming GM, I trust his word.”

Here’s more on the Blazers:

  • Echoing Adrian Wojnarowski’s reporting, Chris Mannix of SI.com says the Trail Blazers may shift from selling to buying before Thursday’s deadline, using their newly-acquired assets to add pieces that could help them win as soon as next season. Mannix, like other reporters, has heard that Pistons forward Jerami Grant is a possible trade target for Portland.
  • The Trail Blazers will receive the Pelicans‘ first-round pick in 2022 if it lands between No. 5 and No. 14. However, if it ends up in the top four or outside of the lottery, New Orleans will instead owe Portland the Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected), tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com.
  • Jason Quick of The Athletic takes a look at the Blazers’ decision to finally move McCollum, suggesting that the move represented the team finally coming to grips with an uncomfortable truth.
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Pacers Rumors: Brogdon, Hield, Warren, Craig, Turner, Korkmaz

February 9th, 2022 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

There are rival executives around the NBA who believe the Pacers will trade Malcolm Brogdon this offseason following their acquisition of Tyrese Haliburton, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Brogdon isn’t eligible to be traded this season due to the contract extension he signed in the fall, but could be moved in the summer

The Pacers shouldn’t feel any urgency to deal Brogdon, since he and Haliburton are both solid ball-handlers, defenders, and shooters who could complement one another in the backcourt. But the presence of Haliburton certainly will give Indiana more options if the team wants to try to use Brogdon in a trade to address another area of the roster.

According to Scotto, the Pacers are also open to flipping newly-acquired shooting guard Buddy Hield prior to Thursday’s trade deadline. Hield’s $23MM cap hit and the $40MM he’s owed for the two seasons after this one will probably make it tricky for the club to get much of value for him, especially since he has had a down year — his .368 3PT% is the worst mark of his career.

Here’s more on the Pacers:

  • Veteran forwards T.J. Warren and Torrey Craig are among the other players the Pacers have made available in advance of Thursday’s trade deadline, league sources tell Scotto. Warren, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, hasn’t played since December 2020 due to a foot injury, so teams may be reluctant to take a flier on him.
  • Myles Turner is expected to remain with the Pacers beyond the deadline, a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking tells Chris Mannix of SI.com. Mannix and Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com have both heard that the Pistons and Pacers discussed a swap centered around Turner and Jerami Grant, but Bulpett says Indiana rejected it. According to Bulpett, the Bucks have also shown some interest in Turner to fill the Brook Lopez role on their roster, with Lopez’s availability for the rest of the season up in the air.
  • The Pacers have some interest in Sixers wing Furkan Korkmaz, believing that he could benefit from a change of scenery, sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. A career 37.7% three-point shooter entering this season, Korkmaz has made just 28.7% of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2021/22.
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NBA Announces Slam Dunk, Three-Point, Skills Challenge Contestants

February 8th, 2022 at 6:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has announced a full list of the participants for its three-point, slam dunk and skills challenge competitions ahead of the upcoming 2022 All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.

Per the NBA (Twitter link), the following players will partake in the Mountain Dew Three-Point Contest, which appears to have outpaced the dunk contest as the premiere event for established stars at All-Star Weekend. Four 2022 All-Stars will compete:

According to the league (via Twitter), these are the contestants in the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest:

Below are the NBA’s announced players for the newly revamped Taco Bell Skills Challenge (Twitter link). This year, the Skills Challenge will be divvied up into three teams: Antetokounmpo brothers (“Antetokounmpos”), Cavaliers players (“Cavs”), and rookies (“Rooks”).

These three events will take place on All-Star Saturday on February 19.

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Western Rumors: Haliburton, Blazers, Grant, Covington, Lakers, Wolves

February 8th, 2022 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The trade agreement between the Kings and the Pacers that will send Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana shocked people around the NBA, including Haliburton himself, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said during an appearance on NBA Today (video link).

“The league is stunned at this trade and the fact that (Haliburton) was even available,” Wojnarowski said. “I think there were a lot of teams who thought, ‘If we knew we could’ve gotten Tyrese Haliburton, we would’ve been really knocking at the door in Sacramento.’ … This was a player who everyone had thought, including Tyrese Haliburton, that he’d be the cornerstone for their future.”

Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the Western Conference:

  • Having already agreed to two major trades this week, the Trail Blazers may not be done yet. They continue to talk to the Pistons about a possible Jerami Grant deal, reports Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
  • It remains possible that newly-acquired Clippers forward Robert Covington will be on the move again prior to Thursday’s trade deadline, sources tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Covington can’t be aggregated with another player for salary-matching purposes in a second trade, but could still technically be flipped on his own this week.
  • Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times says sources have described Magic wing Terrence Ross as a realistic trade target for the Lakers, but Woike isn’t sure that L.A. would have the appetite to attach a future first-round pick to Talen Horton-Tucker to acquire Ross, who is having the worst three-point shooting season of his career.
  • Adding size in the frontcourt is a priority for the Timberwolves as the trade deadline approaches, per Dane Moore of Blue Wire Pods (Twitter link). Minnesota ranks dead-last in defensive rebounding rate this season, and Moore suggests the club would like to add a backup center who could help in that area.
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Fischer’s Latest: Nuggets, Fox, Poeltl, Brunson, Buyouts

February 8th, 2022 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets forward JaMychal Green and guard Facundo Campazzo are considered available in trade talks, reports Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Mike Singer of The Denver Post also recently identified Green and Campazzo as two players the Nuggets would probably be willing to move as they seek a defensive-oriented small forward.

The Nuggets’ ability to trade Green could be complicated by his ability to veto any trade that involves him. A source tells Singer that the veteran forward wouldn’t accept a move to a non-contending team.

Here are a few more trade rumors, courtesy of Fischer:

  • The Knicks and Pelicans have held exploratory conversations for Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, says Fischer, whose report was published before New Orleans reached an agreement to acquire CJ McCollum — it’s probably safe to assume the Pels are no longer a candidate to pursue Fox.
  • The Hornets are among the teams interested in Spurs center Jakob Poeltl, per Fischer. Toronto and Chicago have previously been reported as potential suitors for Poeltl.
  • The Pistons remain very interested in Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, but may have to wait until free agency if they want to make a play for him, according to Fischer, who says Dallas is still committed to retaining Brunson and Dorian Finney-Smith through the deadline.
  • Nets big man Paul Millsap, Kings center Tristan Thompson, Rockets guard D.J. Augustin, and guard Tomas Satoransky (who is reportedly being traded to the Trail Blazers) are considered potential buyout candidates, writes Fischer.
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No Progress In Jerami Grant Trade Talks

February 8th, 2022 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

As of Monday night, the Pistons had yet to make serious progress in any of their trade discussions about forward Jerami Grant, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report conveys a similar sentiment, suggesting that despite widespread interest from teams like the Wizards, Lakers, Jazz, Bulls, and Timberwolves, among others, it seems unlikely at this point that any team will meet Detroit’s high asking price.

As Fischer explains, general manager Troy Weaver has a strong relationship with Grant and there have been “clear indications” that Weaver is interested in hanging onto one of the first players he acquired after taking the reins in the Pistons’ front office in 2020. Previous reporting has suggested there may be a split in Detroit’s front office on trading Grant, with vice chairman Arn Tellem more open to the idea than Weaver.

Fischer acknowledges that even if Grant doesn’t go anywhere at this week’s deadline, there’s a “strong possibility” the team will revisit the possibility of trading him during the offseason.

Rival teams think the Pistons may want to see where they land in the 2022 draft and determine which prospects would be available to them at that spot before making a decision on the 27-year-old, says Windhorst.

Grant, who signed a three-year contract with Detroit in 2020, will be eligible for an extension this summer. The maximum amount he could add to his current deal would be about $112MM over four years.

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Trade Rumors: Harden, Rubio, Grant, McCollum, Smart

February 7th, 2022 at 10:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

James Harden isn’t going to wear a Sixers uniform this season. That’s what a Nets source told Jordan Schultz of Schultz Report (Twitter link). Brooklyn feels that dealing Harden at this point would damage its chances of winning a title, according to Schultz.

“James [Harden] isn’t going to Philly; I’ll tell you that with absolute certainty,” the unnamed source said. “They called and we didn’t listen. We want to win a championship and trading James does nothing but hurt that goal.”

We have more rumors from around the league:

  • The Pacers have a good chance of trading Ricky Rubio‘s expiring contract, which they just acquired from Cleveland, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Today (video link). “The Pacers are probably going to be able to flip that Rubio contract and get back some more assets as they kind of reshape this roster,” Wojnarowski said.
  • In the same segment, Woj said the Pistons could wait until the offseason before moving Jerami Grant. “They don’t have anything right now,” he said regarding a satisfactory trade offer.
  • As some recent reports indicated, the Knicks and Pelicans are interested in CJ McCollum and have been “fairly aggressive” in pursuit of the Trail Blazers’ high-scoring guard. “McCollum has a lot of value around the league,” Wojnarowski said. “You know what you’re getting with him.”
  • Add the Hawks to the list of potential suitors for McCollum, Chris Kirchner of The Athletic reports, citing sources. Atlanta is also interested in the Celtics’ Marcus Smart, Kirschner adds. Both of the guards are signed to hefty long-term contracts.
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Trade Rumors: Pelicans, Bulls, Poeltl, Grant, Nets

February 7th, 2022 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans, who have been described as trade deadline buyers, are making an effort to fortify their core, Marc Stein reports at Substack.com. In addition to Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, New Orleans views Jonas Valanciunas and Herbert Jones as part of that core, according to Stein, so those players appear to be off limits in trade talks.

While the Pelicans are apparently unwilling to move Valanciunas or Jones, they do have other players who would appeal to trade partners. Most notably, Stein suggests that forward Josh Hart, who is in the midst of a career year, could be on the move this week. Multiple previous reports have indicated Hart may be a trade candidate.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

  • The Bulls made an offer for center Jakob Poeltl that was centered around a first-round pick, but they were rebuffed by the Spurs, according to Stein. Chicago has already traded away two of its own future first-round selections – including one to San Antonio – so the pick in the offer for Poeltl may have been Portland’s 2022 first-rounder, which is top-14 protected and appears unlikely to convey this year.
  • In his preview of the Pistons‘ trade-deadline week, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic says the Wizards, Kings, and Trail Blazers are the teams that have exhibited the most interest in Jerami Grant. Sources tell Edwards that the Nets have also “poked around,” but are a longer shot to acquire the forward.
  • Within his look at the James Harden and Ben Simmons situations, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reports that the Nets have been looking for more shooting on the wing. That makes sense, given that Joe Harris‘ status for the second half and postseason remains up in the air. O’Connor also echoes some of the same points made in a series of other Harden/Simmons reports this morning, including reiterating that the Sixers aren’t willing to entertain trading Tyrese Maxey this week.
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