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Stein’s Latest: Butler, Beal, Okogie, C. Johnson, Mavericks

January 20th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler‘s return from his seven-game suspension hasn’t changed the Heat‘s desire to work out a trade before the February 6 deadline, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column (subscription required).

Butler was back in the starting lineup and played 33 and 28 minutes as Miami split a pair of weekend games, but concerns remain that the relationship will continue to deteriorate if he’s still on the roster past the deadline. Sources tell Stein that the Heat are “exploring every potential pathway” to assemble a multi-team trade to get Butler off their roster.

The Suns remain Butler’s preferred location, but it’s not clear that Phoenix is eager to pursue him or that it has enough assets left to make a competitive offer, Stein adds. Phoenix gave up three second-round picks and got one in return in last week’s trade for Nick Richards. That leaves the Suns with just their 2031 first-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder from Denver to offer in any deal.

The Raptors have been mentioned as a team that might be interested in helping to facilitate a Butler trade, and Stein says a well-placed source told him that “about half the league” has expressed similar sentiments to Miami. He cites the Timberwolves as another club that might be willing to help the Heat move Butler on to his next location in exchange for other assets.

Stein shares more inside information from around the NBA:

  • League sources confirmed to Stein a report that Butler’s camp hasn’t told the Bucks not to pursue a deal. However, he believes Milwaukee might be more interested in reviving its previous interest in Suns guard Bradley Beal if it’s going to add a player in that salary range. Stein points out that the Bucks can’t trade for either player without dropping below the second apron, which would likely mean trading Pat Connaughton‘s $9.4MM contract without taking back any salary in return.
  • Some rival teams are questioning why the Hornets were willing to take on extra salary in the Richards trade while only netting two second-round picks, Stein adds. Charlotte acquired Josh Okogie at $8.3MM while parting with Richards’ $5MM contract, a move that will save the Suns more than $20MM in luxury tax. Stein speculates that the Hornets may have another move planned involving Okogie before the deadline.
  • Stein hears that the Nets don’t feel an urgency to trade Cameron Johnson because they’ve already weakened their team enough for tanking purposes by unloading Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith. Brooklyn is just 4-13 since sending Schröder to Golden State and has moved into sixth in the race for the best lottery odds.
  • Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is typically active at the deadline, but Stein doesn’t believe the team’s injury woes will force him into a move. “We look at everything,” Harrison said in a recent interview with Dalton Trigg for his Mavs Step Back Substack (subscription required), “but we’re not going to be reactionary to a short-term injury.”
  • Discussing the Mavericks, Stein also writes that it would be a “misnomer” to suggest Dallas is shopping center Daniel Gafford. However, he didn’t outright dispute a previous report stating that the Mavs have been willing to discuss the big man.
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Scotto’s Latest: Warriors, Vucevic, Centers, Connaughton, Suns

January 16th, 2025 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

After telling reporters earlier this week that he doesn’t want the Warriors to make a “desperate” trade that compromises the team’s long-term future for short-term gain, Stephen Curry clarified on Wednesday that his comments don’t mean he’s content playing on a .500 team that’s not trying to improve.

“Anyone who thinks I’m OK being on an average basketball team is insane,” Curry said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Take whatever I said, I still stand on it. But that doesn’t mean we’re not in a situation where we are trying to get better, make appropriate moves that help you do that. (General manager) Mike (Dunleavy Jr.) knows that. We’ve talked about it. That’s the expectation from me. It doesn’t mean you’re reckless.”

As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports, Dunleavy and the Warriors are indeed exploring their options on the trade market, with a focus on upgrades in the frontcourt rather than on the wing. Golden State has looked into centers like Nikola Vucevic, John Collins, Jonas Valanciunas, and Robert Williams, according to Scotto, who says the odds of the team making a trade for a forward like Jimmy Butler or Cameron Johnson have decreased.

While the Warriors want to give Curry and Draymond Green a chance to compete for another title, they won’t mortgage their future to make it happen, Scotto writes, adding that the front office still remains reluctant to part with forward Jonathan Kuminga.

Here’s more from Scotto:

  • Following up on the trade market for centers, Scotto says some NBA executives believe the Bulls could land a first-round pick in a deal for Vucevic, who is having a strong season in Chicago. The Wizards and Trail Blazers are expected to command second-rounders for Valanciunas and Williams, respectively, while Collins’ value is hard to pin down, Scotto notes, given the $26.6MM player option the Jazz big man holds for 2025/26.
  • Rival executives who spoke to Scotto are monitoring Bucks wing Pat Connaughton as a trade candidate, since Milwaukee could duck below the second tax apron and create more roster flexibility by moving off of his $9.4MM salary. Connaughton is having a down year and holds a $9.4MM player option for ’25/26, so the Bucks would have to attach draft picks and/or cash to move off of him. While the Bucks can’t trade cash as long as they remain above the second apron, they could do so in a trade that moves them below that threshold.
  • After trading for Nick Richards, the Suns are expected to continue gauging Jusuf Nurkic‘s trade market and trying to figure out a Butler deal as they seek out win-now upgrades, Scotto writes. Scotto points out that role players Royce O’Neale and Grayson Allen would both have positive value as trade chips, but there has been no indication that Phoenix would have interest in moving either player.
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Central Notes: Jackson, Beal, Hardaway, Mitchell

January 16th, 2025 at 10:59am CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks guard Andre Jackson Jr. suffered a right hip contusion late in the first half against Orlando on Wednesday, according to Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Jackson did not return in the second half. Milwaukee is currently playing without Gary Trent Jr., who strained a left hip flexor against the Magic on Jan. 12.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • What are the chances that the Pistons — the only team currently with cap room — will acquire Bradley Beal from the Sunsl? Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois writes in his latest mailbag that he doubts Beal would waive his no-trade clause to come to Detroit. Langlois is also skeptical that the Pistons’ front office would want to hamstring their cap flexibility by taking on Beal’s contract, which has two more years remaining.
  • Tim Hardaway Jr. has not only become a valuable part of the Pistons’ rotation, he’s also embraced the role of veteran leadership. Hardaway, a free agent after the season, was acquired from Dallas in an offseason trade. “We’re here for a great cause,” he told Hunter Patterson of The Athletic regarding the team’s veteran acquisitions. “We’re here to help the young guys and do the best we can to make their jobs easier out there on the floor. They’re doing a great job of listening and being sponges.”
  • In a subscriber-only story, Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor describes how Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell delivered a vintage performance against Indiana on Tuesday to avenge a loss to the Pacers two days earlier. Mitchell, who has focused more on spreading out the offensive wealth this season, scored 35 points in the victory, his highest output since Dec. 1.
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Latest On Jimmy Butler

January 15th, 2025 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Heat‘s game on Wednesday vs. the Lakers will be the seventh of Jimmy Butler‘s suspension, making him eligible to rejoin the team in advance of Friday’s contest against Denver. With Miami still apparently not close to finding a suitable trade involving Butler, it’s unclear what the next step in the standoff between the team and its star forward will look like.

Reporting earlier this week indicated that the Heat expect Butler to resume playing in games at the end of his suspension, and Sam Amick of The Athletic hears from a source close to Butler that the 35-year-old intends to report for duty. But given the strained relationship between the two sides, it would almost be surprising if Butler simply returns to action on Friday without incident.

The last time Butler returned from a multi-game absence amid trade rumors was on January 1, when he played vs. New Orleans after missing five games due to a minor ankle injury and an illness. He didn’t look fully engaged in that outing, frequently standing in the corner on offense without the ball in his hands.

NBA insider Chris Haynes stated during an appearance on the Le Batard Show on Tuesday (YouTube link) that the Heat openly questioned Butler’s effort after that game, which didn’t sit well with the six-time All-Star, who told reporters unprompted in his media session the following night that he always plays hard.

Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that the implication from team officials that Butler wasn’t playing his hardest was one reason why he requested a trade on Jan. 2. According to Haynes, Butler’s camp also privately pushed back against the team’s suggestion that his effort was lacking, using speed and acceleration data from Second Spectrum.

As has been widely reported, Butler’s initial unhappiness with the Heat stemmed from their unwillingness to offer him the maximum-salary contract extension he was seeking over the offseason. However, another source of frustration for Butler has been his role in the team’s new-look offense, according to both Haynes and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Appearing on the Le Batard Show, Haynes noted that Miami tweaked its offensive system prior to this season in an effort to reduce its mid-range looks and increase its three-point attempts, which doesn’t cater to Butler’s skill set. As Haynes observes, Butler’s usage rate this season has dipped to 21.2%, his lowest mark since his third season in Chicago in 2013/14.

According to Chiang, Butler’s camp inquired about the adjustments to Erik Spoelstra‘s system and was told that Miami made changes in part because the forward’s inconsistent regular season availability made it difficult to build the offense around him. Conversely, Chiang writes, some people with the Heat may contend that Butler has made his role look smaller than it actually is by “making it a point in some games to run to the corner and play without the ball in his hands.”

Here’s more on Butler:

  • According to Chiang, Butler’s meeting with Heat owner Micky Arison is tentatively expected to take place on Thursday, so there could be more clarity on next steps after that session.
  • Haynes provided several more interesting tidbits during his appearance on the Le Batard Show (YouTube link), revealing that Butler and Riley didn’t communicate for several months between the offseason and January 1; Haynes also shared a story about how Butler was irked by an accounting error last spring that resulted in him not being paid until the issue was resolved 10 days later (hat tips to HoopsHype).
  • According to Haynes, Butler’s camp wasn’t happy about leaks suggesting that he has repeatedly taken private flights instead of taking the team charter. Haynes hears that those flights only happened a handful of times, primarily during the 2023 NBA Finals when Butler’s father was ill.
  • While it’s unclear if the Bucks have legitimate trade interest in Butler, two league sources insist to Amick of The Athletic that Milwaukee hasn’t been told by the forward’s camp that he doesn’t want to play there. Multiple reports previously indicated that the Bucks had been advised not to pursue Butler, but it sounds like Memphis is the only team known to have received that message.
  • Speaking to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about the standoff between Butler and the Heat, team captain Bam Adebayo said his approach is to focus on winning games and letting the front office work out that issue. “You understand that it’s business at the end of the day, and I’ll leave it at that,” Adebayo said. “J.B. is one of my guys. So, for me, we give him space and we let him and management handle it, get involved in that. We worry about getting these wins because at the end of the day, whatever happens with him and the management, somebody still got to play these games.” According to Spears, teammate Tyler Herro praised Adebayo for showing “a lot of leadership” during a challenging time for the club.
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Central Notes: Siakam, Haliburton, Pistons, Lillard

January 14th, 2025 at 9:12pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Pascal Siakam continues to be a steadying force for the Pacers as they traverse the ups and downs of the season, according to Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar, who contends that the veteran forward has been Indiana’s most consistent player since his arrival via trade before last year’s deadline.

Even when they fell to 10-15 on the season, the Pacers continued to lean on Siakam and have gone 12-4 since, which included an impressive win over the contending Cavaliers on Sunday. More notable is the fact that Siakam hasn’t even been on Indiana’s injury report. In fact, the only game he’s been inactive for was his first as a Pacer the day after he was traded.

As Dopirak observes, Siakam leads the Pacers entering Tuesday with 19.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game to go along with 3.3 assists while shooting 52.1% from the field and 40.8% from deep. His three-point rate would be a career-high clip. He’s working on being a more vocal leader after being a core piece on the Raptors’ 2019 championship team. Siakam signed a four-year, maximum-salary contract with the Pacers this past offseason.

“I put a lot of work into my craft,” Siakam said. “I think every single night, I’m ready. I’m ready however the ball is gonna go. There’s going to be times when you might get more opportunity than others. It’s just all about preparation. For me, I prepare every single day for these moments. Every single night I’m out there, I want to be a threat on all three levels. I want to do it consistently every single night.”

We have more from the Central Division:

  • Tyrese Haliburton missed Tuesday’s rematch against the Cavaliers — a 127-117 loss that snapped a six-game Pacers win streak — due to a mild groin strain, Dopirak reports (Twitter link). Head coach Rick Carlisle said Haliburton would be “day-to-day.” According to Dopirak (Twitter link), it is not a hamstring injury for Haliburton, as initially believed. That’s worth noting, since the two-time All-Star battled hamstring problems last season.
  • Entering Tuesday, the Pistons led the league in wins in the month of January, earning them a nod for most surprising team of the year, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press opines. Cade Cunningham is establishing himself as a bona fide star and has a chance to start the All-Star Game just a year after the Pistons lost an NBA-record 28 consecutive games. “Our job is to put him in position to be successful. And then he’s got to go out there and do it,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Over these 40 games now, he and I and his teammates have learned a lot about each other and how we can best help each other. And that’s what it’s about — each of us playing our role and doing what we’re supposed to do together and collectively to just help one another, make this team as good as we possibly can. Cade knows his role and what this team needs, and he’s executed perfectly.” Cunningham is averaging 26.5 points and 8.3 assists per game this month while shooting a blistering 45.8% from deep.
  • Bucks star guard Damian Lillard is open to the idea of finishing out his career in EuroLeague, according to a report from BasketNews. “It’s something I’ve talked about with some members of my family the past two years but not seriously thought about,” Lillard said. It’s unlikely that will happen anytime soon, if at all. Lillard is still playing at an All-Star level at age 34, averaging 24.8 points and 7.3 assists per game while shooting 44.0% from the floor and 37.5% from three.
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Central Notes: Craig, Dosunmu, Cavs, Giannis, Haliburton

January 13th, 2025 at 6:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Torrey Craig likely won’t play for the Bulls for the remainder of the month. He has been diagnosed with a right ankle sprain and will be reevaluated in two weeks, the team tweets.

Craig has already missed the past six games due to what was listed as a leg contusion. The 34-year-old wing has only appeared in nine games this season after seeing action in 53 contests last season, his first with the Bulls. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

On a positive note, guard Ayo Dosunmu could return to action on Wednesday, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets. Dosunmu, who went through scrimmages with some of the team’s reserves on Monday, has been sidelined by a calf injury since Dec. 23.

We have more from the Central Division:

  • The Cavaliers had their 12-game winning streak snapped by the Pacers on Sunday. Indiana outscored Cleveland 68-40 in the second half. “What disappointed me was our first half was phenomenal, defensively, and then the second half, we fell off,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said, per ESPN News Services. “So, we couldn’t sustain our defense. Just disappointed.”
  • The Bucks were hammered by the Knicks 140-106 on Sunday and that didn’t sit well with franchise player Giannis Antetokounmpo. He’s tired of seeing his team taken apart by the Eastern Conference’s elite. Milwaukee is 0-8 against the top three teams in the East, ESPN’s Chris Herring said. “We’ve gotta get our stuff together. It’s as simple as that. We did not beat Boston. We did not beat the Cavs. We didn’t beat the Knicks,” Antetokounmpo said. “Those are the top three teams, and we’ve played horribly against them.”
  • Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is listed as doubtful for the team’s rematch with the Cavs on Tuesday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. He experienced left hamstring tightness in Sunday’s game and did not return for the second half.
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Stein’s Latest: Nets, Butler, Giannis, Suns, Nembhard, Coaches

January 12th, 2025 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets are the only NBA team projected to have maximum-salary cap room during the 2025 offseason, but they have no plans to pursue Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who could be the biggest free agent on the market next summer, reports Marc Stein in his latest Substack article.

According to Stein, despite their impressive cap flexibility and stash of future draft assets, the Nets aren’t necessarily locked in on the idea of pursuing a star via trade or in free agency over the summer — if no favorable opportunities to land a star arise, they may simply be patient and continue building through the draft.

On the other hand, if Giannis Antetokounmpo were to become available, that would substantially alter the Nets’ plans, according to Stein, who says rumblings around the NBA suggest the Bucks forward would be Brooklyn’s “dream target” and that the Nets would make a push for him if Milwaukee were willing to trade him. That’s probably a long shot this year though, since have been no indications the Bucks would ever consider moving Antetokounmpo unless he specifically asked for it.

Here’s more from Stein:

  • Stein is the latest reporter to confirm that there’s strong mutual interest between the Suns and Butler. “I’ve heard they want him bad,” one league source told Stein. Still, until Phoenix can find a taker for Bradley Beal and get Beal to sign off on that destination, the Suns don’t have a path to acquiring the Heat forward.
  • Andrew Nembhard would be an ideal target for a team facing apron restrictions due to his $2.02MM cap hit, his long-term team control, and his lack of poison pill restrictions following his extension. However, Stein says the Pacers guard is considered one of the most valuable assets on Indiana’s roster and is viewed as essentially “off-limits” in trade talks.
  • Taking an early look at the Coach of the Year race, Stein describes Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers as the clear favorite and says he’d fill out his hypothetical ballot with Jamahl Mosley of the Magic at No. 2 and J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons at No. 3. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka earns an honorable mention.
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Cap Observations: Bucks/Apron, Hornets’ Trade Chips, Nets’ Cap Room

January 12th, 2025 at 12:14pm CST by Luke Adams

It hasn't exactly been a quiet start to 2025 on the NBA rumor mill, as Jimmy Butler's trade request has led to plenty of speculation about where the Heat star could land and how a potential deal could impact the rest of the market. But it may still be a couple more weeks before the in-season trade market truly heats up ahead of the February 6 deadline.

In the meantime, we're taking a closer look at a handful of cap-related topics that have been on our minds, including a scenario in which the Bucks aren't subject to second-apron restrictions, an under-the-radar team to watch as a deadline seller, and why cap room projections for the Nets are a little all over the place.

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Jimmy Butler Notes: Bucks, Trade Timeline, Riley, More

January 10th, 2025 at 8:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Multiple reports this week indicated that the Grizzlies and Bucks are among the teams that have been advised not to pursue a trade for Heat forward Jimmy Butler, and while Sam Amick of The Athletic has “for sure” heard that Memphis received that message, he’s less certain about what’s going on with Milwaukee.

“The Milwaukee thing, I’m admittedly a little confused by,” Amick said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back (Twitter video link). “… I was told from somebody who 100% would and should know that Jimmy’s camp had not spoken about Milwaukee and also hadn’t been asked about Milwaukee.

While the Bucks were named on Monday as one of the clubs considering the possibility of making a play for Butler, Amick is skeptical that they plan to seriously explore that idea, whether or not they’ve been warned off by the forward’s camp.

“There is chatter about the Bucks and the idea of them kicking it around. Regardless of exactly what was said, I would move off that possibility,” Amick continued. “I don’t sense a lot of eagerness from the Bucks’ side to go down that road.”

Since the Bucks are currently operating about $6.5MM above the second tax apron, they’d have to reduce their team salary by more than that amount before – or as part of – any trade for Butler in order to legally aggregate multiple player contracts for matching purposes.

Here are a few more items related to the NBA’s most prominent trade candidate:

  • Within a detailed breakdown of where things stand with Butler, Kurt Helin of NBC Sports cites league sources who believe there’s a real chance the 35-year-old could remain in Miami all season and not be traded until the summer, at which time it would be easier for the Heat to construct a deal that works for both them and their trade partner(s).
  • Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald takes a closer look at what the Heat’s options in the 2025 offseason would be if they were to sign-and-trade Butler or allow him to walk as a free agent.
  • Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel checks in on the latest developments related to the Butler drama, including Heat president Pat Riley talking to Dan Le Batard about critics who say he’s “washed” and Butler seemingly taking a passive-aggressive jab at Riley and the Heat in a social media video.
  • In his most recent mailbag (subscription required), Winderman considers whether it’s fair to the rest of the players on the roster for the Heat to put them in the middle of more drama by bringing Butler back at the end of his suspension instead of taking the best offer on the table at that point.
  • A recent feature from Ben Golliver of The Washington Post includes some exclusive quotes from Butler. Those quotes are about a month old, predating the developments of the past few weeks, but one comment from Butler perhaps provides some insight into why he was upset that the Heat were unwilling to offer him a maximum-salary contract extension over the summer. “I still think I’m in my prime if I’m being brutally honest,” Butler told Golliver.
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And-Ones: Cousins, All-Star Voting, 2025 Draft, More

January 10th, 2025 at 7:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins hasn’t played in the league since finishing the 2021/22 season with Denver, but he continues to compete professionally in non-NBA leagues around the world. The 34-year-old center is joining Selenge Bodons in Mongolia, according to announcements from the club on Instagram and Cousins on Facebook.

The No. 5 overall pick in the 2010 draft, Cousins averaged 19.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in 654 regular season appearances for seven NBA teams from 2010-22. Cousins’ career was derailed by a series of major leg injuries, including a torn ACL and torn Achilles, which reduced his effectiveness on both ends of the court in his later NBA seasons.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

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