- The Bucks will be without Khris Middleton on Saturday vs. Utah due to right knee soreness, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter links). Giannis Antetokounmpo has also been added to the team’s injury report as questionable due to left knee soreness.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is the choice for Most Valuable Player one-third of the way through the 2022/23 NBA season, Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com argues in an early-season award ballot. Tatum is averaging over 30 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game with terrific shooting numbers and is a candidate for an All-Defensive spot on the other end of the floor, according to Duncan, who contends that doing all that for the NBA’s best team makes the MVP award Tatum’s to lose.
Duncan also checks in on the NBA’s other award races, selecting Bucks center Brook Lopez as the top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, Magic forward Paolo Banchero as the early Rookie of the Year frontrunner, and Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis as his Sixth Man of the Year choice, among others.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Which teams should be throwing in the towel on 2022/23 and focusing on next year’s draft? John Hollinger of The Athletic breaks down the potential tankers, ranging from the “pull the plug already” group (the Pistons and Hornets) to the “one injury away” tier, which includes playoff hopefuls like the Heat, Mavericks, and Raptors.
- A panel of SI.com basketball writers – including Howard Beck, Chris Mannix, and Chris Herring – prepared for NBA trade season by identifying a player they expect to be moved, picking an intriguing team to watch, and naming a trade they’d like to see happen this season. Three of the five panelists pointed to a Bradley Beal deal as one they’re hoping for, even if it’s probably unlikely in the first season of his five-year contract with the Wizards.
- Michael Pina of The Ringer poses and explores nine questions related to the trade market, including whether the league-wide parity we’ve seen so far this season will catalyze or stifle negotiations. Like those SI.com writers, Pina would welcome some action on the Beal front, referring to the union between the All-Star guard and the Wizards as “the most frustrating dead-end relationship in the entire NBA.”
The Rockets have had preliminary trade talks about veteran shooting guard Eric Gordon with approximately a half-dozen teams, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
According to Feigen, a number of contenders are expected to target Gordon, given his ability to make outside shots and defend multiple positions. His pseudo-expiring contract, which is non-guaranteed for next season, should also be appealing to potential suitors.
However, Gordon’s cap hit of $19.6MM will make him a tricky piece to move, and the Rockets don’t feel any urgency to get a deal done, given that he remains under contract for 2023/24. Although the 33-year-old’s $20.9MM salary for next season isn’t cheap, Houston projects to have significant cap room and may decide that hanging onto Gordon is the best way to use of a chunk of that room.
The Rockets’ asking price for Gordon remains high, which will also complicate a potential trade. According to Feigen, Houston doesn’t just want a 2023 first-round pick from a contending team, since such a first-rounder would likely end up in the mid- to late-20s. The Rockets would be looking to add a pick in a future season or one from a third team that has a chance of landing higher in the first round, Feigen explains.
Acquiring a future pick may be a more realistic outcome, since three-team deals are complicated and Houston isn’t all that interested in adding a third 2023 first-rounder to its collection with so many young players already on the roster, says Feigen. The Rockets owe their own first-rounders to Oklahoma City in 2024 and 2026, so they may be more inclined to fortify their cache of draft assets in those years (though they do control Brooklyn’s ’24 and ’26 picks).
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- As Shams Charania reported earlier in the week, the Rockets’ asking price for Kenyon Martin Jr. is even higher than their price for Gordon. Feigen classifies Houston as “hesitant” to move Martin, since he’s enjoying a career year and still has room to grow at age 21. Feigen also observes that Martin’s contract would give the Rockets the option of declining his 2023/24 team option to sign him to a long-term contract as a restricted free agent — the club took that path with Jae’Sean Tate this past summer.
- The proposed three-team trade involving the Rockets, Suns, and Bucks that Charania mentioned on Monday didn’t get very far down the line. According to Feigen, it “never gained traction past the proposal stage or a second phone call.”
- Stephen Silas rejoined the Rockets for Tuesday’s game just three days after the death of his father Paul Silas and his emotions remained raw before and after his club’s upset win over Phoenix, Feigen writes in another Houston Chronicle story. “Definitely great to be back,” said Silas, who added that his father would have told him to “get his butt out there and coach” his team. “I love these guys. I love this team. I kind of didn’t want the game to end because now, real life starts up again.”
Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo says that the Bucks and Milwaukee will always hold a special place in his heart, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. DiVincenzo won a championship with the Bucks two seasons ago before being traded to Sacramento in a deadline deal last season.
DiVincenzo, who signed a two-year contract with the Warriors as a free agent over the summer, is looking forward to tonight’s game at Milwaukee: “They opened the door to the NBA for me. I can play for every team in the NBA. No matter what, I’m still always going to have that special love for the organization, for that front office for giving me my first shot in the NBA. That goes with the fans as well.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Suns interim governor Sam Garvin is confident the front office will get a solid offer for Jae Crowder, who is sitting out while he awaits a trade. “(GM James Jones and his staff have) had a lot of discussions with a lot of teams that are interested in Jae. As James said, there’s no magic wand of a timeline,” Garvin told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic (subscription required). “It’s going to happen when it’s going to happen, but I think Jae is going to go somewhere and do well and I think we’re going to get value for Jae.” Garvin addresses other topics in the Q&A, including Jones’ extension and the team’s inability to sign Cameron Johnson to an extension.
- Suns star guard Devin Booker will sit out for the second straight game on Tuesday due to left hamstring tightness, Rankin writes in a separate story. Booker also missed Phoenix’s overtime loss to New Orleans on Sunday. Booker has a history of hamstring issues, Rankin notes.
- Malik Monk has a reputation of being a scorer but the Kings are also using him more as a play-maker, according to Spencer Davies of Basketball News. Monk is not only averaging a career-best 14.4 points per game but also 3.8 assists. His 2.9 APG with the Lakers last season represented a career high. “We’re just try to move it, move the defense as much as possible,” Monk said. “But they can’t help off me as much ’cause I can shoot. They can’t help off of (Domantas Sabonis) that much because he’s a big threat rolling. So whatever they do is going to be wrong, and I’ve just been making the right reads this year.” Monk signed a two-year, $19.4MM contract with Sacramento as a free agent.
The Lakers are seeking shooters in their trade talks with rival teams and have discussed a potential deal with the Pistons involving Bojan Bogdanovic, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Along with players to match Bogdanovic’s $19.343MM salary, the trade could include a protected first-round pick from L.A. in either 2027 or 2029, sources tell Charania.
Bogdanovic has been enjoying a career-best season since Detroit acquired him from the Jazz in September, averaging 21.0 points per game while shooting 50.8% from the field and 43.7% on three-pointers. He signed a two-year, $39.1MM extension in October that will keep him under team control through the 2024/25 season.
Charania hears there are about a dozen teams that have expressed interest in Bogdanovic, with all offering first- or second-round picks in return. Charania’s sources say the Pistons aren’t committed to moving Bogdanovic and have expressed a “significant reluctance” to some of the teams that have inquired.
The Athletic insider passes along a few more rumors:
- The Suns were trying to work out a three-team deal to send Jae Crowder to the Bucks, multiple sources told Charania. Phoenix would have received Eric Gordon and Kenyon Martin Jr. from the Rockets in the proposed trade, while four of Milwaukee’s second-round picks would have gone to Houston, along with unidentified players. The Rockets have nixed the deal so far and are hoping to get a first-round pick for Gordon and “a very good first-rounder” if they decide to move Martin. Charania hears that Houston has gotten interest in Gordon from several contenders, but is less willing to talk about parting with Martin. The Bucks may search for another team to help complete the deal for Crowder.
- The Hawks and Heat have also expressed interest in Crowder, Charania adds, and Miami will have more assets to offer when Dewayne Dedmon, Victor Oladipo and other players become trade-eligible on Thursday.
- The Hawks have talked to several teams about John Collins, including the Jazz, Nets and Mavericks, according to Charania, who adds that Atlanta hasn’t shown interest in a Brooklyn deal that would include Joe Harris. The Suns also like Collins, but they aren’t willing to take on his pricey contract. The Hawks would like to acquire Kyle Kuzma from the Wizards, but Charania hears there’s not much traction on a potential deal with Washington.
The Bucks spent their $6.479MM taxpayer midlevel exception on forward Joe Ingles over the summer despite the fact he was rehabbing from a torn ACL after undergoing surgery in February.
Ingles is “close” to making his Milwaukee debut, coach Mike Budenholzer told Eric Nehm of The Athletic on Sunday (Twitter link). Ingles has been assigned to the G League Wisconsin Herd twice this week for practice reps.
“I think it’s fair to say he’s getting close. I mean, if you’re playing with our G League group and you’re playing five on five and live action — but again, part of the questions towards the end of (Khris Middleton‘s rehab) is, you’ve got to get to a conditioning level to be ready to play in an NBA game,” Budenholzer said. “You’ve got to get kind of, I would say, a significant number of reps of just playing and doing things and building up just everything it takes to go into playing an NBA game. So, hopefully, somewhere there is an answer for you.”
Middleton made his season debut on Dec. 2 after rehabbing from wrist surgery. Middleton suffered a minor left ankle sprain in a loss to Houston on Sunday, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets.
Over the summer, Ingles expressed optimism he could get back in action by mid-December. It appears that timetable is just about right, though Budenholzer was vague regarding how much conditioning Ingles would require before he’ll suit up.
Ingles was dealt to Portland at the trade deadline in February after he was injured but never suited up for the Trail Blazers. All 590 of his career NBA games came with the Jazz. He averaged 7.2 points and 3.5 assists in 24.9 minutes while appearing in 45 games last season.
Ingles could become a valuable reserve, especially with wings Pat Connaughton and Jordan Nwora both struggling offensively.
- Bucks forward Joe Ingles, who continues to work his way back from an ACL tear, has been assigned to the Wisconsin Herd for a second time for practice reps, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Jordan Nwora and rookie MarJon Beauchamp were also sent to the Herd, Nehm notes.
Guard Ricky Rubio has been cleared to participate in 5-on-5 work, but the Cavaliers won’t rush his recovery from a torn left ACL, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link).
“He’s back,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said following Thursday’s practice. “He’s going to start doing more and more. More 5-on-5 and those types of things. He’s been given the green light to do that. Now it’s the progression that he has to go through to get ready to play in an NBA game. It’s something we won’t rush. But he’s heading in the right direction.”
Rubio suffered the injury last December, in the same knee that he’d previously torn an ACL several years ago. The Cavs wound up trading his expiring salary to Indiana in the Caris LeVert deal in February, but he signed a three-year contract with Cleveland as a free agent this past summer.
Bucks fans also received some good news on Thursday, as free agent addition Joe Ingles was assigned to the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, to get some practice reps in (Twitter link via Eric Nehm of The Athletic). Ingles sustained his own torn left ACL in January and had reconstructive surgery in February.
The last update on Ingles’ status came before the season started, when GM Jon Horst said the forward could return in December or January.
The Cavs are currently 16-9, the No. 3 seed in the East, while the Bucks are 18-6, the No. 2 seed, so neither club should feel any sense of urgency to get their respective veterans back. Still, the former Jazz teammates will provide a nice boost of leadership and play-making when they do return to action.
- The Lakers, Heat and Bucks are among the teams that have expressed interest in Reddish since the Knicks acquired him from the Hawks in January, though that interest isn’t necessarily recent, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Begley also reports that that the Lakers and Knicks explored a deal this month that “would have required a third team to complete,” but it’s unclear if those talks involved Reddish.
The Warriors, Clippers, and Nets are the three teams projected to pay a nine-figure luxury bill in 2023, according to Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom. In his roundup of each team’s proximity to the tax line, Pincus has Golden State’s tax bill estimated at $176.5MM, with L.A. at $144.7MM and Brooklyn at approximately $109MM.
The 2021/22 campaign represented a record-setting year for luxury tax payments, with the Warriors, Nets, and Clippers heading up seven taxpayers that were penalized a total of $481MM, by far a single-season NBA high.
However, as Pincus outlines, NBA teams are on track to smash that record in 2022/23, with the Bucks ($69.8MM), Celtics ($66MM), Lakers ($40.6MM), Mavericks ($33.6MM), Suns ($32.6MM), Nuggets ($17.6MM), and Sixers ($1.8MM) joining the three aforementioned clubs to total over $692MM in projected tax payments.
That number will likely dip a little before the end of the season, with certain teams trading some salary to reduce their end-of-season bill and others – such as Philadelphia – perhaps trying to get out of tax territory altogether. But it seems safe to assume the teams that finish the season below the tax line will still see a major windfall.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- There’s more parity than ever at the one-quarter mark of the 2022/23 NBA season, according to Howard Beck of SI.com, who breaks down the numbers on the glut of teams hovering around .500 and explores several theories from people around the league about why parity might be on the rise.
- ESPN’s Brian Windhorst takes a closer look at the NBA’s rule change allowing sovereign wealth funds to purchase minority stakes in NBA franchises, which we briefly covered last week. Under the new policy, a foreign fund could buy up to 20% of a team, though any such purchase would be “subject to significant vetting,” sources tell Windhorst. There are currently no sales to sovereign funds under review by the league, Windhorst adds.
- In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Mike Vorkunov speaks to Luis Scola about the veteran NBA forward’s transition from longtime player to team owner. Scola, who appeared in 743 games across 10 NBA seasons from 2007-17 and won an Olympic gold medal playing for Argentina in 2004, became the controlling owner of the Italian team Pallacanestro Varese earlier this year.