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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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Why Grizzlies Shouldn't Harm Chemistry Ahead Of Deadline

February 5th, 2022 at 1:26pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Mark Giannotto of the Memphis Commercial Appeal makes a case for why the Grizzlies shouldn’t harm their chemistry by making a major deal ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline. Memphis currently owns the third-best record in the NBA at 36-18. The team has seen productive seasons from MVP candidate Ja Morant, big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and others, showing great chemistry on both ends of the floor.
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Knicks Notes: Walker, Burks, Robinson, Trade Deadline

February 5th, 2022 at 11:57am CST by Dana Gauruder

Kemba Walker admits he’s struggling with his reduced role on the Knicks, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. Walker didn’t score against Memphis and Sacramento in his last two appearances. He scored in single digits the previous four games.

“It’s pretty difficult,” Walker said. “It’s just so different. I’m in a whole different position and role. But yeah, that’s on me to learn how to play with guys and learn when to get my shots and it’s just taking more time than what I’d like.”

The team’s brass is reportedly looking to move Walker before Thursday’s trade deadline.

We have more on the Knicks:

  • While Alec Burks has been mentioned frequently in trade rumors, the Knicks are seemingly not eager to move him, according to Ian Begley of SNY TV. They’re open to including Burks in a trade if it allowed them to shed other veterans but they’re not interested in trading Burks alone to create a spot in the rotation, according to Begley’s sources. Burks’ contract runs through the 2023/24 season, though the final year is a team option.
  • Mitchell Robinson was a bright spot in a loss to the Grizzlies, contributing 14 points, 11 rebounds and a whopping eight blocks. RJ Barrett said good health has allowed Robinson to show his talent, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. The young center, who is currently extension-eligible and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, was sidelined earlier this season by a concussion and fractured hand. “He’s just healthy,’’ Barrett said. “Now you’re seeing a guy getting in a groove. He’s such a gift offensively and defensively.”
  • With all the chatter surrounding the team, it seems almost inevitable the front office will make some moves before the trade deadline. The Athletic’s Fred Katz and John Hollinger discuss the front office’s potential approach in the coming days.
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2021/22 Rising Stars Team Rosters

February 4th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Rory Maher

As we previously relayed, the NBA announced a new format for its Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend, which will take place on Friday, February 18. The event will feature four seven-player teams competing in a three-game tournament (two semifinals and a final).

The player pool is comprised of 12 NBA rookies, 12 sophomores, and four players from the G League Ignite, while the games will be played to a target score: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

The rosters were announced on February 1, but now the four honorary coaches (75th anniversary team members Rick Barry, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton and James Worthy) have selected their seven-man teams, per our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Here are the rosters:

Team Barry:

Team Isiah:

Team Payton:

Team Worthy:

James Ham of ESPN 1320 and The Kings Beat provides (via Twitter) the full draft results.

The top 10, in order, were: Edwards, Mobley, Ball, Anthony, Giddey, Barnes, Cunningham, Bey, Bane, and Wagner. It’s worth noting that Worthy and Anthony both went to the University of North Carolina, so Anthony’s selection at No. 4 is less surprising given that context.

What do you think of the teams? Who do you think will come out on top? Head to the comments section and let us know your thoughts!

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Windhorst/MacMahon’s Latest: Jazz, Pelicans, Fox, Mavs, Grizzlies

February 4th, 2022 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The relationship between Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell is back to being “passively aggressively awkward,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon stated in the latest episode of Brian Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast. Windhorst said he has heard the same thing, suggesting Gobert and Mitchell have gotten “under each other’s skin” and referring to it as “the most underplayed story in the league.”

Asked today about the report, Mitchell dismissed it, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News: “No, no, no, no. We’re good. That’s not true. … I’m getting tired of answering (these questions) to be honest. Look, we put in the work, we’re leaders for our team, and we’re going through a tough stretch and that happens. But this is part of the business and that’s just how it goes.”

Rumors of tension between Gobert and Mitchell were at their height back in 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. We haven’t heard as much about the relationship since then — MacMahon says that when the Jazz have everyone healthy and are playing well, the issue “falls in the manageable category.”

Here are a few more highlights from Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast:

  • As the trade deadline nears, the Pelicans have been “pretty active looking to buy,” according to Windhorst, who reports that New Orleans has talked to the Trail Blazers, Kings, Rockets, and Hawks about CJ McCollum, De’Aaron Fox, Eric Gordon, and Kevin Huerter, respectively. Windhorst adds that Josh Hart is believed to be among the players the Pelicans would move.
  • Following up on Fox, Windhorst confirms that the Knicks have shown interest in the Kings‘ point guard and says that people around the league don’t really believe Sacramento is fully out of the Ben Simmons sweepstakes.
  • Windhorst and MacMahon have both heard whispers that the Mavericks are talking to the Celtics about Marcus Smart, though MacMahon admitted he’s not sure whether those discussions have taken place as of late. “I can say with certainty that they’ve shown interest in Marcus Smart in the past,” MacMahon said. “I don’t know how much of that has been recent.”
  • After stating earlier in the week that the Mavericks likely won’t move Jalen Brunson unless they get blown away by an offer, MacMahon repeated that point and applied it to Dorian Finney-Smith as well. MacMahon added that Brunson’s preference in free agency would be to stay in Dallas, but after earning a total of $6.1MM in his first four NBA seasons, the point guard’s top priority will be getting paid — he won’t be interested in taking a home-team discount.
  • Windhorst, MacMahon, and ESPN’s Tim Bontemps all agreed – based on what they’ve heard – that the Grizzlies are unlikely to do anything significant at the trade deadline unless they get an opportunity that’s a “grand slam home run.”
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Ja Morant: Grizzlies Want To Build "An Empire"

February 3rd, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams
  • With the Grizzlies firmly in control of a top-three seed in the West, Tim MacMahon of ESPN takes a deep dive into the young squad’s success and its short- and long-term goals. “Obviously, everybody’s ultimate goal is to win a championship,” All-Star point guard Ja Morant told ESPN. “We’ve just got to make sure we’re laying brick by brick each day to get better. At the end, we’ll build an empire.”
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Western Trade Rumors: Covington, Nurkic, Beverley, Culver, Lakers

February 2nd, 2022 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

Of the veteran Trail Blazers who are candidates to be traded by the February 10 deadline, Robert Covington has been described as the most likely one to be moved, says Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Ben McLemore‘s name has also emerged in recent trade discussions, Fischer adds.

Conversely, there doesn’t seem to be any momentum toward a trade involving Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, according to Fischer. Marc Stein said something similar in a recent Spotify Greenroom session, suggesting he hasn’t heard Nurkic’s name mentioned much in his recent conversations with teams. Stein gets the sense there’s not a “huge amount” of interest in the veteran center (hat tip to HoopsHype).

Nurkic himself recently told Jason Quick of The Athletic that he doesn’t think he’ll be traded this season. If the latest reports from Fischer and Stein are accurate, he may be right.

Here are a few more items from around the Western Conference:

  • The Timberwolves are exploring some possible trade avenues involving Patrick Beverley ahead of his upcoming free agency, Fischer reports. Responding to that report, Minnesota-based reporters Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links) said that head of basketball operations Sachin Gupta is casting a wide net and is willing to discuss anyone besides Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. However, neither Wolfson nor Krawczynski expects Beverley to be traded.
  • The Grizzlies aren’t considered likely to make any major moves at the trade deadline, but they may receive inquiries on fourth-year swingman Jarrett Culver, Fischer writes. There’s so much leaguewide interest in wings who can play defense that Culver – who isn’t currently part of Memphis’ rotation and will be a free agent this summer – could appeal to another team, Fischer explains.
  • The Lakers, who continue to shop veteran wing Kent Bazemore, have been mentioned as a potential suitor for big man Paul Millsap if he reaches the buyout market, says Fischer. Brooklyn is still looking to trade Millsap.
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NBA Announces 2021/22 Rising Stars Rosters

February 1st, 2022 at 6:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has revealed the 28 players (12 rookies, 12 sophomores, and four G League Ignite players) who will suit up for the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars Game in Cleveland this year, per its official PR account (Twitter links). There are a few intriguing surprises among the first-year NBA players.

Here are the players who made the cut:

Rookies:

Sophomores:

Additionally, four players from the G League Ignite will participate in the Rising Stars Game based on voting from NBA G League head coaches. The NBAGL has announced (Twitter link) that MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Jaden Hardy and Scoot Henderson will partake in the action. Players will be separated into four teams, and each G League player will be drafted to join one of the teams later this week.

Among the rookie NBA players, the additions who would be most surprising ahead of the 2021/22 season would be Dosunmu and Jones, both of whom were second-round draft selections. 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga, Ziaire Williams, James Bouknight, Joshua Primo and Moses Moody were all omitted from inclusion this year.

Among the second-year players, Ball could be appearing on multiple nights during All-Star Weekend this season, as he appears to be a very possible first-time All-Star this year thanks to his outstanding work with the upstart Hornets.

The lottery-bound Magic, Pistons, and Rockets can boast having the most inclusions here, with three players apiece.

As we detailed last week, this year’s Rising Stars event will look a little different, with the four teams taking part in a mini-tournament and playing to a target score in each game: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

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Kyle Anderson No Longer In Protocols

January 31st, 2022 at 7:21am CST by Luke Adams

Kyle Anderson returned to action for the Grizzlies on Saturday night after missing five games in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. While Anderson only scored four points in 23 minutes, he chipped in nine rebounds and four assists in Memphis’ 20-point win over Washington.

After dealing with a mini-outbreak of COVID-19 this month, the Grizzlies now have just one player still in the protocols. Tyus Jones, the team’s lone affected player, is listed as questionable for Monday’s game in Philadelphia, suggesting that he could be on the verge of being cleared.

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