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Celtics Acquire Xavier Tillman From Grizzlies

February 7th, 2024 at 6:06pm CST by Luke Adams

6:06pm: The trade is official, the Celtics announced (via Twitter).

2:09pm: The Celtics will send forward Lamar Stevens to Grizzlies in the deal, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

That means Boston will maintain an open spot on its 15-man roster and won’t have to use an existing trade exception to take on Tillman. The C’s will also generate a small amount of tax savings, notes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link).

Stevens, who is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract could immediately see rotation minutes for the injury-plagued Grizzlies. He appeared in just 19 games for Boston, averaging 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per contest.

1:36pm: The Grizzlies have agreed to trade big man Xavier Tillman to the Celtics, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), Memphis will receive a pair of future second-round draft picks from Boston in the deal: Atlanta’s 2027 second-rounder and Dallas’ 2030 second-rounder.

Tillman is in his fourth NBA season and has appeared in 207 total regular season games for Memphis since being drafted 35th overall in 2020.

He’s having a down year for the struggling Grizzlies in 2023/24, shooting a career-worst 40.8% from the field, but has been a reliable depth piece in the past, averaging 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 17.1 minutes per game with a .552 FG% in his first three seasons. He’s also a stout, versatile defender.

Tillman emerged as a trade candidate this season because he’s in the final year of his contract and didn’t project to be part of the Grizzlies’ future plans — he hadn’t signed a new deal with the club despite having been extension-eligible for the past two seasons.

Having fallen out of postseason contention this year, Memphis opted to get what it could for the 25-year-old, adding a couple second-round picks to its collection of draft assets after acquiring three second-rounders for Steven Adams last week.

The Celtics, meanwhile, will add frontcourt depth behind primary big men Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Luke Kornet and two-way player Neemias Queta have given Boston some solid minutes this season, but the team wanted to add another body up front for insurance purposes, especially since Porzingis and Horford have missed several games. Porzingis has dealt with minor health issues, while Horford has been held out of one half of all the club’s back-to-back sets.

The Celtics have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so they won’t have to cut anyone to take on Tillman. They also don’t necessarily have to send out any matching salary, even though the big man’s minimum-salary contract can’t be acquired using the minimum salary exception, since they have a traded player exception available to accommodate the incoming cap figure.

An extension is no longer a viable option for Tillman due to extend-and-trade limitations, so he’ll remain on track to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Boston will hold his Bird rights at that time, allowing the team to re-sign him without requiring cap space.

Trae Young, Scottie Barnes Named 2024 All-Stars

February 6th, 2024 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Hawks guard Trae Young and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes have been named All-Stars, according to the NBA, which announced the two players as Eastern Conference injury replacements (press release).

Young and Barnes will take the spots previously held by Sixers center Joel Embiid (knee) and Knicks forward Julius Randle (shoulder). Both players are sidelined with injuries that are expected to keep them on the shelf well beyond the All-Star break.

Young, 25, has been one of the NBA’s top scorers and play-makers once again in 2023/24, averaging 27.3 points, 10.9 assists, and 1.5 steals in 36.6 minutes per game across 45 appearances. He’s also making 38.4% of his three-point attempts, which would be a career high.

Young’s Hawks are just 22-28 so far this season, which presumably hurt his case in the initial round of All-Star voting. That’s also the case for Barnes, who is having a terrific third season despite Toronto’s underwhelming 17-33 record.

Barnes is averaging career highs in points (20.2), rebounds (8.1), assists (5.8), and blocks (1.5) per game, as well as three-point percentage (36.5%). With Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam no longer on the roster, the former Rookie of the Year is now the unquestioned centerpiece of the Raptors’ long-term plans.

Young was selected as an injury replacement despite the fact that he’s replacing a frontcourt player, signaling that the league felt he was the Eastern Conference’s most notable snub. It’s his third All-Star nod, while Barnes is a first-time All-Star.

Embiid was initially voted a starter, so East coach Doc Rivers will have to select one of the conference’s reserves to replace the reigning MVP in his starting lineup.

Ricky Rubio Signs With Barcelona

February 6th, 2024 at 12:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 6: Rubio has officially signed a rest-of-season contract with Barcelona, the team announced today in a press release.

The veteran point guard isn’t prepared to return to the court at this point. However, the EuroLeague has a February 7 registration date for players changing teams or being imported from other leagues, so if Rubio had signed sometime after Wednesday, he wouldn’t been eligible to play in the EuroLeague this season. Now he’ll have the opportunity to do so if he decides to move forward with his comeback.

JANUARY 29: After retiring from the NBA earlier this month, Ricky Rubio will begin training with Barcelona as he begins his basketball comeback, according to Reuters. The Spanish club announced that he will join them for a workout on Tuesday, and Rubio confirmed on Twitter that he is ready to return to basketball after dealing with mental health issues.

“After several weeks of thinking and dedicated work on both my mind and body, I see myself with the desire and strength to see how I react with a ball in my hands,” Rubio wrote. “My next step has been to ask FC Barcelona if I could, with no obligations and without interrupting their plans for the season, train with them.”

The 33-year-old point guard spent 11 years in the NBA, but he missed significant parts of the 2021/22 and ’22/23 seasons while recovering from a torn ACL. He announced in August that he was taking a break from basketball to concentrate on his mental health, which meant he wouldn’t represent Spain in the FIBA World Cup and he wouldn’t join the Cavaliers for training camp or the start of the NBA season.

Rubio agreed to a buyout with Cleveland in early January that effectively ended his NBA career. He was owed about $3.5MM for the rest of this season and had a $4.25MM partial guarantee for 2024/25, and he reportedly gave up $5.4MM in the agreement.

Rubio was a teenage star with Barcelona before coming to the NBA, leading the team to two Spanish Cups, one league title and one European championship. He was selected by the Timberwolves with the fifth pick in the 2009 draft, but didn’t begin his NBA career until two years later.

Rubio earned first-team All-Rookie honors in 2012 and spent six years in Minnesota before being traded to Utah in 2017. He also spent a year with Phoenix and returned to the Wolves for a season before finishing his career in Cleveland. He appeared in 698 total games, making 603 starts, and posted career averages of 10.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.4 assists per night.

In an interview with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Rubio talked about the difficulties he faced in returning to Spain after the Cavaliers were eliminated from last season’s playoffs. Rubio couldn’t identify the cause of his depression, saying it went beyond the difficulties of his lingering knee injury, but he called July 30 “one of the toughest nights of my life. My mind went to a dark place.”

“I was lost. I didn’t know who I was. I had to rebuild myself,” he said. “I think eventually a lot of people have that point in their life that has to rebuild them because they have lost the focus on the purpose of their life. Luckily, I stopped it in time.”

Multiple Factors Slowing Down NBA Trade Market

February 6th, 2024 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

The rumor mill was relatively quiet at the start of NBA trade deadline week on Monday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who suggested to colleague Bobby Marks in the latest Woj Pod podcast that teams are a bit underwhelmed by what’s available on the market.

“There’s a bit of a logjam. There’s a bit of a sense of, I would almost say, ‘Is this all there is?'” Wojnarowski said. “I think a lot of GMs who want to get better – some have the assets to do it, some don’t necessarily have as many – are looking around going, ‘I just don’t see many guys out here who move the needle for us.'”

Wojnarowski still expects a busy deadline day on Thursday, perhaps with two or three trades completed on Tuesday or Wednesday. However, he’s not convinced that many of the deals made this week will involve difference-making players, noting that there haven’t been many recent conversations about presumed trade candidates such as Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, and Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic.

“I think we’re going to have trades and pieces are going to move around,” Woj said. “… We may see a lot of player number seven through 11, seven through 12 on rosters, second-round picks, a lot of those changing hands over the next 72 hours.”

Of course, a handful of major trades have been made since the 2023/24 season began, with players like James Harden, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam on the move. Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday were traded just ahead of training camp. In addition to the fact that some of this season’s top trade candidates have already been dealt, there are several other factors contributing to the slow development of the trade market.

One of those factors, according to Wojnarowski, is the continued impact of the play-in tournament, which has given teams more avenues to qualify for the postseason and has created more buyers than sellers during the season. Of the few sellers, some have set very high asking prices for their players, particularly the ones on multiyear deals. Meanwhile, many prospective buyers don’t have the assets or the flexibility to make significant deals, with three-quarters of the tradable future first-round picks controlled by just 11 teams.

A belief that the 2024 draft class is weaker than average may also slow down the trade market. “Nobody’s excited” about this year’s draft, according to Wojnarowski, so a team may be less inclined to move a useful veteran if the return package is headlined by a ’24 draft pick.

The new rules introduced in the league’s latest Collective Bargaining Agreement are another wild card in play as teams seek potential deals. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the more strict salary-matching rules for teams above either tax apron appear to be creating challenges for some front offices — those teams aren’t permitted to take back more than 110% of the salaries they send out in a trade. Under the previous CBA, it was 125%.

As previously noted, several of this season’s bigger-name trade candidates are also under contract for multiple seasons, affording sellers the opportunity to be patient if they don’t get offers they like this week. Fischer points to Atlanta and Dejounte Murray as one example, suggesting the Hawks could be in a better position this offseason to land the type of first-round compensation they’re seeking for Murray, since more teams will be able to move more picks at that time. The Lakers, for instance, could move up to three future first-rounders this summer, but can only trade one this week.

The more punitive restrictions facing tax apron teams after the end of this season has also made certain clubs hesitant to take on sizable long-term contracts or to trade for a third player on a maximum-salary deal, especially if that player isn’t an All-NBA caliber talent, per Tim Bontemps and Marks at ESPN.com. That’s one reason why interest in Bulls guard Zach LaVine was so tepid even before the team announced he’d be undergoing season-ending foot surgery.

With over 48 hours to go until Thursday’s 2 pm CT deadline, there’s still time for the trade market to roar to life, but it certainly doesn’t sound like we should expect a repeat of 2023’s deadline, when stars like Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving changed teams.

Joel Embiid To Be Reevaluated In Four Weeks Following Knee Procedure

February 6th, 2024 at 8:56am CST by Dana Gauruder

FEBRUARY 6: The Sixers announced today that Embiid underwent a procedure on the lateral meniscus in his left knee on Tuesday and will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks (Twitter link via Wojnarowski).

As we relayed on Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that an absence of one or two months is viewed as a best-case scenario for Embiid.

FEBRUARY 4: Sixers superstar and reigning Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid will undergo a corrective procedure this week to repair a left meniscus injury and is expected to miss an extended period of time, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

A timetable is expected to be established after the surgical procedure. Embiid was diagnosed this weekend with a displaced flap — a tear — of his left meniscus.

At minimum, an extended absence by Embiid will likely impact the Sixers’ seeding for the playoffs. It could derail the Sixers’ season if Embiid cannot come back and play effectively by the postseason.

His injury could also play a major role in the front office’s approach to the trade deadline, which looms on Thursday afternoon.

Embiid will be ineligible for any postseason awards under the new 65-game rule to qualify for individual honors.

Embiid was considered the frontrunner for the MVP award again in 2023/24, with superlative statistics across the board: a league-high 35.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.1 SPG and 1.8 BPG on .533/.366/.883 shooting in 34 games (34.0 MPG).

The 76ers are 30-18, but they’re 26-8 when Embiid plays and just 4-10 without him. They have lost five of their last six games, with the only exception occurring on Thursday when Tyrese Maxey erupted for 51 points against Utah.

Paul Reed has been starting in Embiid’s absence with Mohamed Bamba backing him up. Coach Nick Nurse has also used a number of smaller lineups.

Embiid suffered the injury during a Tuesday matchup between the Warriors and Sixers, when Golden State forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on his leg. The incident took place in the fourth quarter and Embiid left the court under his own power.

The seven-time All-Star missed three games early last month due to knee soreness before sitting out matchups against the Nuggets and Trail Blazers on Saturday and Monday, respectively, due to the same issue.

Embiid, 29, is under contract through at least 2026, with a player option for 2026/27.

Lakers’ Vanderbilt Out At Least 3-4 Weeks With Foot Sprain

February 5th, 2024 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 5: Vanderbilt has a right mid-foot sprain and will be reevaluated in about three-to-four weeks, the Lakers announced (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic). Wojnarowski reported a couple days ago that Vanderbilt may miss the rest of the season.

FEBRUARY 2: Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to be out for several weeks due to a right foot injury, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

According to ESPN’s duo, Vanderbilt will undergo further evaluation on his mid-foot area to see if the ailment is one that might sideline him for an even longer stretch — perhaps even the rest of the season.

It’s disappointing news for Vanderbilt, whose season debut was delayed until early December due to bursitis in his left heel. He had emerged as a regular part of the Lakers’ rotation in the past two months, averaging 20.0 minutes per night and starting six of his 29 games on the season, including Thursday’s win in Boston.

Los Angeles’ depth on the wing and at forward has taken a hit as of late, with Cam Reddish (right ankle sprain) also on the shelf and LeBron James and Anthony Davis both battling nagging injuries. Reddish figures to step into a role similar to Vanderbilt’s once he’s ready to return, but until then, the Lakers will likely lean more heavily on forwards like Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince, and Christian Wood.

Hachimura started the second half on Thursday after Vanderbilt left the game due to what the team referred to at the time as right foot soreness.

The Lakers’ injury woes may prompt them to take a longer look at some wings and forwards on the trade market in the coming days. Several of the team’s reported top targets – such as Dejounte Murray and Bruce Brown – are guards, but L.A. has also been linked to Royce O’Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith, among others.

Stein: Bucks, Mavs Had Exploratory Talks On Portis, G. Williams Trade

February 5th, 2024 at 2:25pm CST by Rory Maher

Milwaukee and Dallas have held exploratory talks centered around a trade of Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis for Mavericks forward Grant Williams, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack story.

At this time, it’s unclear if the discussions will become “more serious,” Stein adds.

As Stein writes, Williams has had a disappointing first season with the Mavs, but the Bucks are intrigued by his defensive versatility, with defense a priority for Milwaukee. Portis is certainly a much more accomplished scorer and rebounder than Williams, but he isn’t known for being a stout defender.

Portis, 28, is in his fourth season with the Bucks. The hard-working big man is a fan favorite in Milwaukee, playing an important role off the bench during the team’s championship in 2021.

Portis, who is averaging 12.6 points (on .500/.380/.779 shooting) and 6.9 rebounds in 23.7 minutes across 50 games for Milwaukee this season, earns $11.7MM this season and is under contract through 2025/26, with that final season a player option.

Williams, meanwhile, is averaging 8.1 points (on .410/.373/.729 shooting) and 3.5 rebounds in 45 games (26.5 minutes) this season for Dallas. He’s in the first year of a four-year, $53.3MM deal.

For what it’s worth, if this deal comes to fruition, I’d be surprised if it’s a straight one-for-one swap — I would imagine the Mavs would have to add at least another asset or two.

Clint Capela Strains Adductor, Will Be Reassessed In 7-10 Days

February 4th, 2024 at 2:09pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran Hawks starting center Clint Capela has sustained a left adductor strain, per an Atlanta press statement. The club indicates that its medical staff is set to reevaluate Capela’s health in seven-to-10 days.

Across 47 contests thus far this season, the 6’10” big man is averaging 11.5 PPG on 57.5% shooting from the field. He’s also logging 10.6 RPG, 1.5 BPG and 1.0 APG.

Capela is among a handful of well-compensated Hawks vets potentially being shopped for the squad by this Thursday’s trade deadline. He could theoretically provide significant value to a true contender’s front line, as a solid two-way, rim-rolling five.

At 22-27, Atlanta is currently the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, and is fighting for its play-in life.

Reserve Onyeka Okongwu seems likely to step in for Capela as the Hawks’ starting center while the 29-year-old recuperates.

Doc Rivers To Coach In All-Star Game

February 3rd, 2024 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Five days after returning to the NBA sidelines, Doc Rivers has clinched a spot as the Eastern Conference coach in the All-Star Game, the league announced (via Twitter).

Rivers and his staff wrapped up the honor tonight when the Bucks overcame a 25-point deficit to win in Dallas and the Knicks lost at home to the Lakers. That ensures Milwaukee will have the best record in the East on Sunday’s cutoff date among teams with eligible coaches. The Celtics lead the conference at 37-12, but Joe Mazzulla took part in the 2023 game and coaches aren’t permitted to participate in back-to-back years.

This will be the fourth All-Star Game for Rivers, who also coached in 2008, 2011 and 2021, but he was reluctant to accept it under the circumstances, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein said Rivers told him before tonight’s contest that he doesn’t think he deserves to take part after just three games with the Bucks, but the NBA overruled him. Rivers plans to give his All-Star ring and bonus to former Bucks coach Adrian Griffin, who was fired on January 23, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

After picking up his first win with Milwaukee tonight, Rivers commented on the All-Star situation, saying, “That is so ridiculously bad.” He also joked about sending his coaching staff to the game and going on vacation (video link).

This year’s game will take place February 18 in Indianapolis. The format is reverting to an East-West matchup after six years of having team captains select the rosters.

Woj: Jarred Vanderbilt May Be Out For The Season

February 3rd, 2024 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a “significant” injury to his right foot, and the Lakers are concerned that he might not be able to return this season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown (video link).

Team officials are consulting with specialists this weekend to determine the full extent of Vanderbilt’s condition and the best course of action, Wojnarowski adds. Sources tell Woj that Vanderbilt is expected to miss “several weeks” at a minimum.

Wojnarowski also speculates that the report on Vanderbilt will affect the Lakers’ strategy heading into Thursday’s trade deadline. He notes that Vanderbilt is one of the team’s best point-of-attack defenders, along with Gabe Vincent, who has only been available for five games this season.

“This is not a marketplace right now where there are a lot of difference makers available, and the Lakers do not have significant assets to add to this team,” Wojnarowski said. “If you are bringing in a player, how much does he move the needle with a team that very well could be without Vanderbilt now for the rest of the season.”

Wojnarowski points out that general manager Rob Pelinka could be in a better position for a major deal this offseason when he’ll have three future first-round picks that can be traded.

Vanderbilt suffered a non-contact injury to the foot during the first half of Thursday’s game at Boston, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Woike suggests the Nets‘ Dorian Finney-Smith and the Raptors‘ Bruce Brown as versatile forwards that the Lakers might target before the deadline.

Vanderbilt, who played a significant role in last season’s run to the Western Conference Finals, has only appeared in 29 games this season. Bursitis in his left heel kept him off the court until early December, but he has been part of the rotation since returning, averaging 5.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20 minutes per night.