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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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Pelicans Notes: McCollum, Hayes, Temple

February 8th, 2022 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans, who rank 28th in halfcourt scoring efficiency this season, addressed one of their biggest weaknesses when they agreed to acquire CJ McCollum from Portland, says Christian Clark of NOLA.com. McCollum’s new backcourt partner Devonte’ Graham is excited about the move.

“He’s got everything in his bag,” Graham said of McCollum, per Clark. “Obviously, he’s a hell of a player. He’s going to bring extremely good offense and take a lot of pressure off B (Brandon Ingram) in those 1-on-1 situations.”

As Clark notes, the deal hasn’t yet been officially announced, so it’s possible it will be expanded to include a third team before it’s formally finalized. However, if that happens, it seems more likely to affect the Blazers than the Pelicans, since Portland needs to trade or waive a player to complete the move.

Here’s more on the Pelicans:

  • Jaxson Hayes‘ recent success in a power forward role boosted his value among Pelicans staffers, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who suggests that’s one reason New Orleans put Nickeil Alexander-Walker and not Hayes into the deal for McCollum.
  • Pelicans wing Garrett Temple exited the NBA’s health and safety protocols and will be available on Tuesday night vs. Houston, according to the team (Twitter link). Didi Louzada, who is headed from New Orleans to Portland in the McCollum trade, also cleared the protocols this week. There are now just two NBA players still in the protocols, including Pelicans center Willy Hernangomez.
  • Zach Harper of The Athletic likes the McCollum trade more for the Pelicans than the Trail Blazers, giving New Orleans a grade of A-minus for the deal. However, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton isn’t as bullish on the trade from the Pelicans’ perspective, writing that the move reflects “tremendous internal pressure” to win now. Pelton gave the Pels a grade of C-minus.
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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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Pelicans, Blazers In Serious Talks About CJ McCollum

February 8th, 2022 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

CJ McCollum is now the biggest name that people around the NBA expect to be dealt before this Thursday’s trade deadline, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who confirms that the Pelicans, Knicks, and Hawks remain in the mix for the Trail Blazers guard. Fischer also reported that the Pacers are among the teams believed to have interest in McCollum.

While a handful of new clubs have been identified this week as potential suitors for McCollum, the Pelicans may still be the frontrunners. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), New Orleans and Portland are engaged in “serious” discussions about McCollum, with those talks ongoing today.

Sources tell Bleacher Report that the Blazers, after sending Norman Powell to the Clippers, remain focused on creating more financial flexibility going forward and have expressed little interest in taking back future salary in a potential McCollum deal.

As Fischer explains, Portland wants to sign Anfernee Simons to a long-term deal this offseason and appears increasingly unlikely to trade Jusuf Nurkic, since he and the team have mutual interest in working out a new contract this offseason. If they keep McCollum and sign Simons and Nurkic to lucrative new deals, the Blazers would be at risk of going back into luxury tax territory next season.

A Pelicans offer for McCollum seems likely to include some combination of Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Jaxson Hayes, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, according to Fischer, who notes that New Orleans also still has a surplus of first-round picks available to include as sweeteners, if necessary.

Fischer suggests that a Hawks proposal for McCollum may include Danilo Gallinari and Delon Wright‘s expiring contract. He’s skeptical that the Knicks would be able to make an appealing offer, pointing to Evan Fournier‘s and Julius Randle‘s long-term contracts as pieces Portland wouldn’t want to take back. Theoretically, New York could put together a package of players on shorter-term contracts, such as Alec Burks, Kemba Walker, and Nerlens Noel, but it’s unclear exactly which players the club would be willing to put on the table.

Marc Berman of The New York Post, confirming the Knicks have talked to Portland about McCollum, says New York also had interest in Powell before he was sent to Los Angeles.

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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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Pascal Siakam, Brandon Ingram Named Players Of The Week

February 7th, 2022 at 2:40pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors forward Pascal Siakam has been named the Player of the Week for the Eastern Conference, while Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram earned the award in the Western Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter). It’s the first time this season that either Siakam or Ingram has been named Player of the Week.

Ingram returned from a five-game absence last Tuesday and led the Pelicans to three consecutive road wins in Detroit, Denver, and Houston, moving the team into the final play-in spot in the West. In those three games, Ingram averaged 27.3 points on .475/.400/.846 shooting and thrived as a play-maker, with 9.3 assists per game. He also chipped in 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest.

Siakam’s Raptors improved their playoff outlook with a winning streak this week too. After going 4-0, Toronto now holds the sixth seed in the East, having moved ahead of Brooklyn. In the Raptors’ four victories, Siakam put up 24.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG on .493/.500/.806 shooting while averaging over 40 minutes per game.

Ingram beat out fellow nominees Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, Luguentz Dort, Ja Morant, and Karl-Anthony Towns for the Western Conference award. The other Eastern Conference nominees were Jarrett Allen, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis, DeMar DeRozan, and Joel Embiid (Twitter link).

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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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Herbert Jones Breaks Down Defensive Film

February 6th, 2022 at 10:05pm CST by JD Shaw
  • Pelicans rookie Herbert Jones broke down film on some of his steals with Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Jones, the No. 35 pick in 2021, has become one of the league’s bright young defenders. He’s averaging 1.5 steals in 29.8 minutes per game this season.
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Scotto’s Latest: McCollum, Covington, Finney-Smith, Raptors, Gallinari

February 5th, 2022 at 5:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

In the wake of Friday’s trade that sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Clippers, many executives around the league expect the Trail Blazers to move CJ McCollum either before the deadline or during the offseason, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The Pelicans and Mavericks are among the teams with interest in McCollum, Scotto adds.

Joe Cronin, the interim general manager in Portland, said the trade with L.A. was designed to create more playing time for Anfernee Simons, who has emerged as a potential star in his fourth NBA season. Cronin calls Simons, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, a “core piece” and said the team “wanted to create a runway here for him.” The same reasoning could apply to moving the 30-year-old McCollum, who will make $69.13MM over the next two seasons.

Scotto shares a few more trade-related tidbits:

  • After Friday’s trade was completed, several teams called the Clippers to see if they were interested in flipping Covington, who has a $12.975MM expiring contract. However, L.A. sees Covington as insurance if Nicolas Batum decides to turn down his $3.3MM player option this summer and would consider re-signing him even if Batum remains with the team. Scotto views Serge Ibaka as the next Clipper who might be traded.
  • Sources tell Scotto that the Mavericks passed on an offer of a potential late-lottery pick in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith. The 28-year-old forward will be a free agent this summer, but Scotto cites “sentiment around the league” that Finney-Smith is outplaying his maximum extension of $55.6MM over four years.
  • Pacers center Myles Turner is among the names the Raptors have considered in their search for help in the middle. Scotto identifies Jakob Poeltl, Robert Williams, Nicolas Claxton and Jusuf Nurkic as other potential Toronto targets, saying the Raptors have considered offering a first-round pick to the Spurs for Poeltl. The price for Turner would be even higher, as Indiana wants either two first-round picks or one first-rounder and a young player with potential.
  • The Raptors are among several teams with interest in acquiring veteran forward Danilo Gallinari from the Hawks. Scotto notes that Goran Dragic, who hasn’t played since November, could be used to help match salaries in a deal with Atlanta.
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Examining Potential Pelicans Trade Scenarios

February 5th, 2022 at 1:26pm CST by JD Shaw
  • William Guillory of The Athletic examines potential trade scenarios for the Pelicans, who currently rank 11th in the Western Conference at 20-32. New Orleans is only one game behind Portland (21-32) for a spot in the play-in tournament. The team will be seeking its third straight win when it plays Houston on Sunday.
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