- Pacers wing Justin Holiday, who has missed the team’s last five games while in the health and safety protocols, returned to practice on Sunday and said he’ll likely remain unvaccinated after having contracted COVID-19, writes James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Assuming his stance doesn’t change, Holiday won’t be eligible to cross the Canadian border to play in Toronto on March 26.
Lakers star LeBron James has been named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week and Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis has won the weekly award for the Eastern Conference, the league announced today (Twitter link).
James, who hadn’t played more than three consecutive games this season until the past week, led Los Angeles to a 3-1 record in games vs. Boston, Memphis, Oklahoma City, and Orlando between December 6-12. He averaged 28.3 PPG, 8.0 APG, 7.5 RPG, 1.8 BPG, and 1.8 SPG, with a red-hot shooting line of .608/.417/.867. James had a 30-point triple-double against the Magic on Sunday.
Sabonis, meanwhile, had his best week of the season despite his name popping up in trade rumors. His Pacers were 3-0, defeating the Wizards, Knicks, and Mavericks, and the veteran center put up 25.0 PPG, 10.3 RPG, and 6.0 APG on .750/.750/.857 shooting in those three contests.
James beat out fellow nominees Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Donovan Mitchell in the West. The other Eastern Conference nominees were Jarrett Allen, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Kyle Lowry, and Sabonis’ teammate Caris LeVert (Twitter link).
- The Suns and Kings have shown interest in Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis in recent years, per Charania. It’s unclear if either Pacific team will make a run at Sabonis now that he’s rumored to be available, but they could be worth watching. Charania adds that “a slew” of teams are expected to pursue Myles Turner, and the expectation is that Indiana would only move one of its two big men, not both.
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Following up on ESPN’s recent report stating that there may be momentum toward a Ben Simmons deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms that the Sixers have increased their efforts to explore multi-team trade scenarios involving Simmons.
According to Charania, the Knicks and Lakers are among the teams with interest in Simmons. Charania adds that the Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Kings, Pacers, and Cavaliers also have interest, but those clubs have been previously cited as potential suitors for the three-time All-Star, whereas New York and Los Angeles are new additions to the list.
The Knicks would be a fascinating potential trade partner for Philadelphia. Their top offseason additions – Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker – haven’t been major successes so far and the team is off to a 12-15 start, perhaps increasing the likelihood of an in-season shakeup. New York would have the contracts necessary to match Simmons’ $33MM+ salary, and it’s probably safe to assume Tom Thibodeau would be a fan of what last season’s Defensive Player of the Year runner-up could bring to the table on defense.
Still, while the Knicks might be willing to roll the dice on Simmons if all it took was Fournier, Walker, and a couple draft picks, Philadelphia will presumably seek a more significant return. The 76ers remain on the hunt for an All-Star caliber player and/or multiple first-round picks in any deal for Simmons, Charania notes.
It’s even trickier to imagine the Lakers as a realistic trading partner for the Sixers. Given the salaries on the team’s books, Los Angeles would almost certainly have to include Russell Westbrook in any trade involving Simmons and I’m skeptical that 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey would want to acquire Westbrook again after doing so in Houston didn’t pay dividends. Perhaps a three-team structure could work, but the Lakers seem like a long shot at best in the Simmons sweepstakes.
It’s unclear whether the Sixers have gained any real traction in any of their discussions involving Simmons, according to Charania.
The Cavaliers‘ search for a scoring guard to replace the injured Collin Sexton and the Pacers‘ interest in moving some of their veteran players could lead to a possible trade, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Cleveland looks like a legitimate contender in the East with seven wins in its last nine games and will probably be seeking an upgrade before the February 10 trade deadline. An obvious area to address is replacing the 16.0 points per game that Sexton delivered before being lost for the year with a torn meniscus.
Caris LeVert is struggling with his shot this season, hitting just 42.1% from the field and 28.9% from three-point range, but he has a history of being a productive scorer. He is under contract for $17.5MM this season and $18.8MM in 2022/23, and at age 27 he fits in well with the Cavs’ timeline.
Indiana is known to like Sexton, who is only 22 and will be eligible for restricted free agency after the season. Vardon isn’t sure if the Pacers will commit to him in light of the injury, although it could allow them to re-sign him to a shorter, low-cost deal while he works his way back.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Cavaliers forward Lauri Markkanen has to fulfill a commitment to Finland’s military, but it shouldn’t affect his NBA availability, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
- Bulls center Nikola Vucevic has been struggling with his shot after missing two weeks with COVID-19 and he expressed his frustration after Saturday’s loss in Miami, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Vucevic was just 3-of-15 from the field and missed several opportunities close to the basket. ‘‘It’s tough when you want to play well and go out there and help the team win and don’t do your job,’’ he said. ‘‘I have a lot of pride in myself and put the work in, obviously. It’s not working for me right now, but that’s part of it. I’ve never been through a slump like this, and I just have to work myself out of it. I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do.’’
- When Donte DiVincenzo makes his season debut this week, he will return to a Bucks team that has changed since DiVincenzo suffered an ankle injury in the playoffs, notes Brian Sampson of Forbes. The offseason addition of Grayson Allen, who has become a starter in the backcourt and has provided a shooting upgrade, will likely push DiVincenzo into a reserve role, but he remains valuable because of his defense and rebounding.
The Knicks passed on a chance to give Chris Duarte a guarantee in this year’s draft, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that Duarte’s representatives were seeking a promise from New York before Duarte conducted any personal workouts that he would be selected with the 19th pick. The Knicks declined, so Duarte proceeded with his workout schedule and was eventually taken at No. 13 by the Pacers.
Duarte has been one of this season’s top rookies, becoming a starter in Indiana and averaging 13.3 points per game. At 24, he was the oldest prospect in the draft and may have fallen a few more spots without the workouts. Duarte was born in the Dominican Republic, and people close to him say he was interested in playing in New York because of the city’s significant Dominican population, Berman writes.
Duarte was held 0ut of the draft combine and didn’t begin his workouts until late in the process. A source tells Berman that the Pacers were sold on Duarte after watching him work out alongside Corey Kispert, Cameron Thomas and Ziaire Williams.
There’s more from New York:
- Obi Toppin has been much better in his second season, including a 19-point, 10-rebound performance Friday, but coach Tom Thibodeau isn’t thinking about putting him in the starting lineup, Berman states in a separate story. Any move with Toppin would be on hold now that he’s in the league’s health and safety protocols, and Thibodeau wants to keep the starting unit stable for a while after recently inserting Alec Burks and Nerlens Noel. Asked about a potential pairing of Toppin and Julius Randle, Thibodeau responded, “(It’s) very good offensively. Defensively, we lose the rim protection and rebounding. You’re sacrificing that part of the game which is critical. But I like the speed and the way they are playing.’’
- A rookie-scale extension for RJ Barrett next summer has gotten less likely since the season began, says Fred Katz of The Athletic. Barrett’s inconsistent play might make the front office think it’s safer to negotiate with him as a restricted free agent in 2023 than to give him a big-money deal after this season.
- Kemba Walker‘s benching could lead to his second buyout in less than a year, Katz adds. He doesn’t believe the Knicks would attach an asset to Walker to get another team to take him and it’s hard to envision Walker, who is under contract through next season, accepting a permanent role on the bench if that’s what it becomes.
Pacers center Myles Turner reiterated his desire for a bigger offensive role on Friday but also made it clear he’s not seeking a trade, according to James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star.
Turner has discussed his role with the staff and appears to be satisfied with the tone of those conversations.
“It’s easy for me to sit here and say I want to shoot the ball 20 times a game. Everybody does. There’s only one ball out there,” Turner said. “There have been active conversations about me ‘asserting myself’ more. … We don’t really run a lot of plays …. We get a lot of our stuff off of the flow of our offense, and that’s not even what I’m asking. I’m not asking for individual plays. It’s just role clarity. That’s the best way I can describe it. Those are the candid conversations that I’ve had and it’s made my job easier.”
Turner raised some eyebrows with recent comments to The Athletic, saying he was frustrated with being a “glorified role player.”
“It’s clear that I’m not valued as anything more than a glorified role player here, and I want something more, more opportunity,” Turner said earlier in the week. “I’m trying really hard to make the role that I’m given here work and find a way to maximize it. I’ve been trying to the past two, three seasons. But it’s clear to me that, just numbers-wise, I’m not valued as more than a rotational role player, and I hold myself in a higher regard than that.”
Turner added he didn’t want to be just a floor spacer and “hide in the shadows.” Turner said on Friday he’s just tired of doing the same thing every season and compared his desire for a bigger role with a media member seeking a better job.
“You don’t want to stay consistent at the same exact thing, going for four, five, six years. Eventually you’re gonna want to move up, whether it be a promotion, whether it be a senior writer or (however) it works out,” he said. “It’s the same thing, how I addressed it. It’s not like me saying, ‘I’m demanding a trade.’ It’s not like me saying, ‘Get somebody else out here.’ It’s none of that. All that was me saying that I know my worth. I hold myself to a high regard, and I expressed that.”
The Pacers have won three straight and Turner has played a prominent offensive role the last two games. He had a 22-point outing against the Knicks on Wednesday and a 17-point output against the Mavericks on Friday.
Even with the streak, Indiana is four games under .500 and there’s been plenty of speculation the front office will shake up the roster. A report this week indicated Indiana was receptive to going into rebuild mode by trading veterans, with Domantas Sabonis, Caris LeVert, and Turner being the most notable players available.
Turner’s four-year, $80MM contract runs through next season but it shouldn’t be an impediment to a trade. He’s the league’s leading shot-blocker.
Sabonis says there’s no issues sharing the floor with Turner.
“I think it works great. We love playing together,” he said. “So as long as we’re great on the court together and we feel great playing together, I don’t think it matters.”
The Warriors aren’t exploring deals involving second-year center James Wiseman and they believe they already have a roster in place that can contend for a championship, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic.
Wiseman, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, hasn’t played this season while rehabbing from meniscus surgery. He likely won’t return until January, but the organization is willing to wait as long as necessary. A source tells Kawakami that management views this as a development phase for Wiseman, who is seen as a future star, and that any contribution he makes this season will be considered “a bonus.”
Wiseman was Golden State’s starting center on opening night last season, but injuries and inconsistent play limited him to 39 games. His combination of size and skill makes him a tantalizing prospect despite the rookie-year frustrations. He’s still just 20 years old and the Warriors hope he will develop into an eventual franchise leader who can help extend the careers of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
The team also believes Wiseman has benefited from watching games and learning from his veteran teammates while he has been sidelined. He has built a rapport with Thompson while they’ve done rehab work together and he has gained a better understanding of the role the coaches want him to fill, which is similar to what Deandre Ayton does in Phoenix.
“I watch (Kevon Looney) and how he’s able to see the patterns on defense,” Wiseman said. “And also on offense, how he’s able to score. I just visualize myself out there, where I’m going to be out on the floor so I can make those opportunities happen for me as well.”
While there may be tempting names on the trade market, such as Myles Turner, whom the Pacers are reportedly making available, the Warriors believe their best lineup is already set, Kawakami adds. They have a long-time pattern of closing games with Green in the middle, so they don’t feel a need to upgrade at center.
Finances are also a concern, Kawakami writes. Golden State is already facing a record-setting $180MM luxury tax bill this season, pushing its total payroll cost above $300MM. With Curry signed through 2025/26, Thompson and Green under contract through 2023/24 and Andrew Wiggins signed through next season, the Warriors are looking at several years of high luxury tax payments.
That’s why there’s more value in keeping Wiseman, who will make $9.6MM next year on his rookie contract with a $12.1MM team option in 2023/24, rather than gambling on Turner, who has a $17.5MM salary this season and next and will be looking for big money as a free agent in the summer of 2023.
A PCR test confirmed that Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has COVID-19, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Carlisle will miss several games, starting tonight against Dallas, with lead assistant Lloyd Pierce taking over in his absence.
Carlisle was place in the league’s health and safety protocols on Thursday after returning a positive result on a rapid test. He took the PCR test later in the day, but the results weren’t available until this morning.
The 62-year-old coach is experiencing “mild symptoms” of COVID-19, according to an ESPN report. He is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot.
With the virus now confirmed, Carlisle will be required to isolate for at least 10 days or until he has two negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart. If he’s away from the team for 10 days, he will miss four games, including tonight’s. He could be able to return for a December 21 game in Miami.
The Pacers canceled practice Thursday, citing an “abundance of caution” relating to the protocols. After a relatively calm start to the season, COVID-19 is starting to create havoc throughout the league, with the Bulls, Sixers and Hornets among the teams most affected.
Hawks forward Cam Reddish, who is recovering from a wrist injury, went through a full practice on Thursday, according to coach Nate McMillan. Reddish did some shooting and participated in drills at 75% speed. He’s listed as probable to play on Friday.
Bogdan Bogdanovic still needs more time to return from his ankle injury, Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports in a series of tweets. “Bogi’s not doing anything other than shooting. He looks better,” McMillan said. “He’s up on his feet and he’s moving around.”
Second-year big man Onyeka Okongwu is continuing his rehab assignment from shoulder surgery. He’s with the G League College Park Skyhawks and is expected to play on Thursday.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- There’s been no change regarding the Hornets‘ COVID-19 issues. LaMelo Ball, Jalen McDaniels, Mason Plumlee, Terry Rozier and Ish Smith are all listed as out for Friday’s game against Sacramento due to the league’s health and safety protocols, the team’s PR department tweets. Charlotte’s depleted roster has managed to beat Atlanta and lose two close games to Philadelphia since those players were sidelined over the weekend.
- With a recent report claiming that the Pacers may shake up their roster, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington examines whether Domantas Sabonis should be a trade target for the Wizards. Hughes notes that Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant are expected to return soon and the front office would like to see how they fit with their revamped roster. Hughes adds that the club already has the look of a playoff team and the addition of Sabonis may not move the needle all that much.
- Caleb Martin may eventually have his two-way contract converted to a standard deal by the Heat but there are luxury tax concerns, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald notes. Martin has been active for 24 of the Heat’s 26 games and can only be active for 50 games under two-way rules. If he remained on the active roster for every game, he’d be able to play until nearly the end of January. But the Heat would have to wait a couple of weeks after that to convert his contract in order to avoid surpassing the tax threshold.