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NBA Looking At Nets For Possible Load Management Violation

December 31st, 2023 at 11:45am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is reviewing the Nets‘ roster decisions for this past Wednesday’s game, reports Brian Lewis of The New York Post. According to Lewis, the league is evaluating whether Brooklyn opting to rest most of their top players qualifies as a fineable offense.

As we previously covered, the Nets held out starters Cameron Johnson, Nic Claxton, and Spencer Dinwiddie vs. Milwaukee in the second game of a back-to-back set after all three played on Tuesday. Johnson and Claxton were listed as out due to “injury maintenance,” while Dinwiddie was simply listed as out due to “rest.”

Brooklyn also didn’t use Mikal Bridges, Royce O’Neale, or Cam Thomas after the first quarter, giving their other starters a de facto rest day too. The move irked Bridges, who said after the game that he would’ve been fine handling his usual workload and pushing harder for a victory.

The new “player participation policy” instituted by the NBA this season only affects players who were named to an All-Star or All-NBA team in the past three seasons. The lone player on Brooklyn’s roster who meets that criteria is Ben Simmons, who has been sidelined since early November due to a back issue, so the team didn’t violate that policy on Wednesday.

However, the league has other rules related to resting healthy players that were implemented in the past in an effort to curb load management. Notably, the NBA discourages its teams from resting multiple healthy players in the same game.

As Lewis points out, the Nets were previously fined $25K last December when they held out eight regulars in a game against Indiana.

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Brooklyn Nets

Knicks Notes: Anunoby Trade, Murray, Barrett, Quickley

December 31st, 2023 at 10:52am CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks will remain active on the trade market after acquiring OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn from Toronto on Saturday, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Having previously named Dejounte Murray as a possible Knicks trade target, Scotto reports that New York is still interested in Murray following this weekend’s deal. However, the team would no longer be able to offer Immanuel Quickley, who might have been a key piece of any outgoing package for the Hawks guard.

Scotto also spoke to multiple NBA executives to get their thoughts on the Anunoby trade for the Knicks. One of those execs questioned whether it might have been overpay, but acknowledged that the team remains well positioned to make another big move and said that justified the decision to part with two talented scorers in Quickley and RJ Barrett. A second exec is curious to see what New York’s front office has up its sleeve for its next move.

“There’s not a lot of shot creation for other players on the roster now, and there’s a lot of pressure on (Jalen) Brunson,” the exec told Scotto. “I get why New York made the trade. The team was playing selfishly. Anunoby is a better fit with what they have than Barrett.”

Here’s more on the Knicks and their latest trade:

The Knicks players who weren’t involved in Saturday’s deal had mixed feelings about the move, as Peter Botte of The New York Post details. “This probably for me is one of the toughest ones just because of the relationship I built with those two,” Julius Randle said, referring to Barrett and Quickley as “little brothers” and suggesting he’ll continue to root for them. Taj Gibson expressed excitement for the addition of Anunoby but said that it “kind of sucked” to say goodbye to the two departing Knicks: “I’ve been around them since they came into the league. Great young men. It’s just tough, one of the tough parts about the business. Being able to see them this morning and talk, it was tough.
Zach Kram of The Ringer, John Hollinger of The Athletic, and Keith Smith of Spotrac took a closer look at the five-player trade from both the Knicks’ and Raptors‘ perspectives, breaking down why it could be a win-win move for the two Atlantic rivals. Smith also explores each team’s financial situation and considers how new deals in 2024 for Anunoby and Quickley will affect their cap outlooks going forward.
Frustration about roles and playing time had been mounting in the Knicks’ locker room, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, which is one key reason why the front office was motivated to make a consolidation trade sooner rather than later. Within Katz’s story, which examines the trade in greater detail, he cites league sources who say the Knicks and Celtics briefly discussed a deal centered around Quickley and Marcus Smart in the offseason before Smart was sent to Memphis. In other words, the team has been mulling swapping Quickley for an elite defender for a while.

Goran Dragic Officially Announces Retirement

December 31st, 2023 at 8:40am CST by Tristan Tucker

DECEMBER 31: Dragic has officially confirmed his retirement in a statement of his own, published in a story on Instagram.

“I am officially announcing my retirement from professional basketball. I have lived my greatest dream and I am extremely grateful for the countless people in my life who have enabled me to play and to play this long,” Dragic wrote before specifically thanking several of the people who have aided him in his journey, as well as the fans who supported him.

“… I am prepared to pursue my next challenge and I’d love to stay involved in the game of basketball, which is and always will be something I love. I also want to spend as much quality time as possible to raise my children. … All good things come to an end but this dream of basketball will always be with me.”

DECEMBER 30: Fifteen-year NBA veteran and Slovenian basketball legend Goran Dragic has announced plans to retire in 2024, with a farewell game set for August, according to Mozzart Sport.

The August farewell event, hosted by Spontanzo and the Goran Dragic Foundation, is set to take place over the span of two days in Ljubljana and, according to BasketNews, the details of the match are to be unveiled on Jan. 4.

It’s unclear if Dragic, currently a free agent, intends to call it a career immediately or if he still plans to seek out an opportunity before the end of the 2023/24 season. In November, we wrote Dragic was looking for an NBA job and; a report in September indicated that he had interest in playing for the Heat. However, he has remained unsigned.

Dragic, 37, most recently suited up for the Bucks last season. He spent 51 games with the Bulls in 2022/23 before being waived in February and joining Milwaukee in March.

Dragic made his NBA debut in 2008 with the Suns, then was traded to Houston in 2011. The Slovenian point guard returned to Phoenix in 2012 and it was there he emerged into one of the league’s top floor generals.

In ’13/14, Dragic was named to the All-NBA Third Team and earned the league’s Most Improved Player award, averaging 20.3 points and 5.9 assists with Phoenix. Then, in the ’14/15 season, the Suns traded Goran and his brother, Zoran Dragic, to the Heat. Goran aided the Heat to four playoff appearances, including a run to the Finals in 2020. He was named an All-Star with Miami in ’17/18 and also had stints with the Raptors and Nets.

In 946 career NBA games (530 starts), Dragic holds career averages of 13.3 points, 4.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds.

Raptors Notes: Siakam, Trade Rumors, Quickley, Barnes

December 31st, 2023 at 8:33am CST by Luke Adams

After word of the OG Anunoby trade broke on Saturday, the general consensus among league insiders who spoke to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca is that the Raptors were just getting started, with multiple sources suggesting that the deal with the Knicks may be the first of several moves made by Toronto.

“It’s a reboot around Scottie Barnes, that’s for sure,” one source told Grange.

After previously reporting that league sources expect Pascal Siakam to be on the move sooner or later, Grange adds the Mavericks to the list of teams likely to to pursue the Raptors forward. The Hawks, Pacers, and Kings are the clubs that have been repeatedly cited as presumed suitors for Siakam.

Jalen Johnson was a player the Raptors coveted in previous talks with Atlanta, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, though the Hawks won’t be particularly inclined to include him in an offer in the midst of his breakout season. Along similar lines, the Kings have been unwilling to discuss former No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray, Scotto confirms.

As Scotto has previously observed, Pacers forward Jarace Walker, this year’s No. 8 overall pick, seems to fit the mold of the kind of young, controllable player the Raptors would like. Walker’s lack of playing time so far in his rookie season has some people around the league wondering if Indiana would give him up in a package for an impact player.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Finding a guard who is comfortable playing off the ball and who can space the floor alongside Barnes was a priority for Toronto, according to Grange, who says there’s a lot of enthusiasm among Raptors officials about what Quickley can bring to the team. “Quickley is the perfect pairing next to Scottie Barnes because of the shooting and floor spacing he’ll provide,” one rival executive told Scotto.
While the Raptors’ goal is to add pieces that better complement Barnes, the young forward declined to comment when asked about Saturday’s trade, which sent three of his best friends on the team to New York, Grange notes. “This is the NBA, that’s the thing, right?” Siakam said of the deal. “Like we got to be robots and just move on. Because that’s what it is. We get paid for it, right? So you have to move on… (but) it sucks. It’s not easy. For some people is the first time (they’ve been through it) but I’ve seen it happen. So I understand. … It’s a business and you learn about it every day, and every day you try to just be out there you know, like look out for yourself, look out for your teammates, and do the best that you can.”
Following a loss to the lowly Pistons on Saturday, the Raptors are 12-20 on the season, and postgame comments from Dennis Schröder indicated that the club isn’t exactly a “cohesive, well-oiled” machine, writes Grange. “When I got here, (head coach) Darko (Rajakovic) did a great job just putting this system into the organization,” Schröder said. “But I think we just got to follow that. Everybody just being unselfish, sharing the ball… to be a winning team, we need everybody, Even the guys who don’t really, really play. People got to be grateful, cheering on their teammates when they get a stop, when they get on the floor, dive, pick them up, being excited for one another. I don’t want to go deep into that, but I need to feel that because in the summer I did. … I went to war with all my brothers from the (World Cup champion German) national team. But we knew we had each other. I don’t feel it here yet like that.”

Florida Notes: Butler, Highsmith, Carter, Fultz

December 30th, 2023 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat have a new injury concern with Jimmy Butler, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Returning to the lineup after missing the previous four games with a left calf strain, Butler had to leave Saturday’s contest at Utah after hurting his right foot in a collision with Collin Sexton. According to Chiang, Butler walked slowly to Miami’s bench after the play and then headed to the locker room.

Head coach Eric Spoelstra wasn’t able to offer an update on Butler’s condition after the game, but X-rays taken on his foot were negative. Chiang states that the team will see how Butler is feeling over the next few days before deciding whether to perform an MRI.

Chiang notes that Butler has already missed eight games this season and may have to add to that total. With Tyler Herro sidelined for a long stretch due to a sprained ankle and Bam Adebayo dealing with nagging injuries, the team’s three best players have only been together for eight games.

There’s more on the two Florida teams:

Haywood Highsmith was helped to the locker room in the final seconds of Saturday’s game after he also collided with Sexton and was hit in the head and neck area, Chiang adds. Injuries have already caused Highsmith to miss 11 games. The Heat were using their 18th different starting lineup of the season Saturday, as ongoing injuries gave rare starts to Nikola Jovic and two-way player R.J. Hampton.
Goga Bitadze was back in the Magic‘s starting lineup on Friday, but he didn’t find out about the assignment until an hour before game time, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Wendell Carter Jr.‘s right knee flared up during warm-ups and he was ruled out because of tendinitis. “Honestly, even before the game I thought he was going to play,” Bitadze said. “We talked with him an hour before the game. I don’t want to say it was hard, but it was different. You’ve got to lock in differently when you start the games than when you come off the bench. I had to lock in and find a place [mentally] where I was ready to start. I think I did a good job and it was a great win.” Coach Jamahl Mosley said the medical staff will monitor Carter closely as he continues to work his way back after missing 20 games with an injured left hand.
Markelle Fultz is listed as questionable for the Magic‘s contest Sunday at Phoenix, meaning there’s a chance he could return after missing 23 games with tendinitis in his left knee, Beede adds.

Miles McBride Signs Three-Year, $13MM Extension

December 30th, 2023 at 9:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

9:44pm: McBride’s extension is official, the Knicks announced (via Twitter).

9:29pm: The Knicks have reached an agreement with Miles McBride on a three-year contract extension worth $13MM, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal was confirmed to Wojnarowski by McBride’s agents, Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman of Priority Sports.

The 23-year-old guard was the 36th pick in the 2021 draft and was acquired by New York in a draft-night trade. He’s making $1.8MM this year and would have been on a path toward restricted free agency after the season if not for the extension. The deal will keep him under contract through the 2026/27 season.

All three years of McBride’s extension are fully guaranteed and his salary will decrease each season, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link).

The extension comes just hours after a trade that sent RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto, which should open up an opportunity for McBride. He saw a season-high 18 minutes in tonight’s game at Indiana, scoring five points with one assist.

McBride hasn’t received consistent playing time in any of his three seasons with the Knicks, averaging 10.0 minutes over 122 combined games. Before tonight, he had appeared in 18 games this season, putting up 1.9 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 4.6 minutes per night.

The extension clears up a small piece of New York’s upcoming offseason, but the team still has 11 potential free agents (including two-ways), as our tracker shows.

Celtics Notes: Kornet, Trade Deadline, Title Odds, Porzingis

December 30th, 2023 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Kornet looked comfortable in the Celtics‘ starting lineup Friday, even though he was making his first start in two-and-a-half years, writes Jay King of The Athletic. With Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford both sitting out the second night of a back-to-back, Kornet played 30 minutes and delivered a season-high 20 points and eight rebounds while shooting 9-of-11 from the field.

There had been doubts this week regarding Kornet’s future in Boston’s rotation considering the recent surge by two-way big man Neemias Queta. Kornet missed six games due to an adductor strain earlier this month and was held out of the last two in favor of Queta. He decided to focus on doing whatever he can to help the team rather than worrying about his own playing time.

“I feel like when you’re concerned about yourself and you’re in that situation, one, you start feeling a little bit powerless and stuff like that, which isn’t great,” Kornet said. “But then also you’re not really uplifting or benefiting anybody. And especially on an NBA roster and those 18 spots, there’s going to be a lot of guys who aren’t playing on any given night and you kind of have the choice to be able to, yeah, sort of like offer your work to the good of the group or just kind of close in on yourself. To me, it seems like the better solution is pretty clear in that.”

There’s more from Boston:

Kornet’s performance may reduce the urgency for the Celtics to pursue another big man before the trade deadline, observes Brian Robb of MassLive. Robb points out that that Boston doesn’t have many sizeable contracts to use for salary matching outside of its top six players, and Kornet and Queta are playing as well as any center who might be available in that salary range.
The Celtics are an even bigger favorite to win the NBA title after a successful West Coast trip and rival executives are taking notice, per Steve Bulpett of Heavy. “Before, they’d fall into a lot of one-on-one with (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown when things got tough, but you’re not seeing that really now,” a rival front office member told Bulpett. “Those guys are giving it up more when they should, and they’ve got too many people who can beat you.” Bulpett also spoke to sources about the impact that Boston’s offseason trades have had on the club.
In an interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Porzingis acknowledges that it wasn’t easy coming to a team that traded its emotional leader to acquire him. “What they’re giving up for me was a big piece of this team — Marcus Smart,” Porzingis said. “I’m having to come in and not replace him, but come in with who I am and bring what I bring to a team. There was some responsibility.”

Pistons End Record Losing Streak

December 30th, 2023 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

After going two months without a victory, the Pistons snapped their 28-game losing streak tonight with a 129-127 win over the Raptors.

Detroit still has the league’s worst record at 3-29, but the franchise won’t have to hold the record for the NBA’s longest-ever losing skid by itself. The 28-game slide matches what the Sixers did over the 2014/15 and ’15/16 seasons.

“I think people may have thought they were OK with losing, but they came in every day with a great spirit wanting to win,” coach Monty Williams told reporters. “… We always had our joy because knew that if we put it together we could win just not one game, but put a few together.” (Twitter link from Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press)

Cade Cunningham continued his recent hot streak, posting 30 points, three rebounds and 12 assists. He’s averaging 34.0 PPG in the Pistons’ last three games. Detroit also benefited from balanced scoring — with all five starters reaching double figures and Alec Burks adding 16 points off the bench — in notching its first victory since October 28.

“It’s been weighing on us heavy everywhere we go, which is two months,” Cunningham said of the losing streak (Twitter link). “Which is unreal for it to be that long … we’re not trying to go back. Now it really begins where we see what we can really be.”

Owner Tom Gores, who promised last week to make changes in response to the streak, issued a statement after the game acknowledging that everyone has been dealing with difficult circumstances, tweets Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.

“I’m proud of how our guys have continued to fight through adversity,” he said. “I know it’s been hard, but they’ve kept their heads up and showed real character. The streak is over, but the hard work continues.”

The game vs. Toronto appeared to be a prime opportunity for the Pistons to end the streak against because the Raptors were on the second night of a back-to-back and were playing shorthanded after trading OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn to New York earlier in the day. Detroit led by 11 points with 5:50 left to play, but had to hold off a late Toronto comeback before claiming the victory.

“It was a very emotional day … but I don’t want to take anything away from Detroit,” said Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic (Twitter link from Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca). “They played a good game and deserved the win.”

Latest On Knicks/Raptors Trade

December 30th, 2023 at 6:23pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the Knicks and Raptors both playing tonight, the two head coaches were able to talk about their new acquisitions in pregame sessions with reporters.

New York’s Tom Thibodeau started by saying he has handled personnel decisions before, so he understands how much work went into today’s trade. He added that it was difficult to part with RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, but OG Anunoby brings too many positives to pass up (video link from Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files).

“I think what OG has done and what he has shown is, one, he has positional size,” Thibodeau said. “Two, he can guard multiple positions. Three, he’s a terrific three-point shooter so he can space the floor. He’s also good in transition, very good finishing. And he’s young, so he still has a lot of development left in his game.”

Thibodeau added that Precious Achiuwa will give the team much-needed size and offensive rebounding, and he called Malachi Flynn “a good young player as well.”

Prior to tonight’s game in Detroit, Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic discussed how adding Barrett will affect the offense, tweets Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

“RJ is a very dynamic player,” Rajakovic said. “He is a very good cutter, good driver, an improved spot-up shooter as well. I’m really excited to see how he’s going to jell with our team.”

There’s more on today’s blockbuster trade:

Raptors president Masai Ujiri was in Detroit with the team and broke the news of the trade to Anunoby, Achiuwa and Flynn, tweets Kayla Gray of TSN Sports. She hears that Barrett and Quickley are expected to travel to Toronto tomorrow and meet with the media on Monday (Twitter link). They’ll likely make their debut in Monday night’s game against Cleveland.
Knicks veteran Taj Gibson talked to both Barrett and Quickley this morning after the deal became public, relays Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link). Gibson said it was “gut-wrenching” to lose the two players, but he told them they’ll have great opportunities in Toronto.
Although Anunoby is a nice addition to the roster, the Knicks don’t believe they’ll be able to obtain a true star player before next summer, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. New York still owns a wealth of draft assets, Katz adds, along with the salaries of Josh Hart, Evan Fournier, Donte DiVincenzo and Quentin Grimes to use in a trade for a max-salary player.

Nets Notes: Thomas, Walker, Bridges, Suns’ Picks

December 30th, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Cam Thomas isn’t complaining about being removed from the Nets‘ starting lineup, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Coach Jacque Vaughn shook things up Friday night by having Dorian Finney-Smith replace Thomas, who is the team’s leading scorer at 22.5 PPG. The third-year guard said he understands the move and is willing to do whatever is necessary to help the team.

“I’m going to just call it how it is: Everybody wants to start,” Thomas said. “At the end of the day, I want to start, but for what the team needs, I gotta come off the bench where it’s sixth or seventh man, come in and bring energy. So [I’m] just not getting down just staying positive and keep my energy high.”

Lewis notes that the previous starting five that teamed Thomas with Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Nic Claxton and Spencer Dinwiddie had been among the least efficient units in the NBA, sporting a minus-21.4 net rating that ranked last in the league among those with at least 100 minutes together. Vaughn was concerned that the Nets had been getting off too many slow starts, and he deemed that aspect of the new lineup successful, even though Brooklyn lost on Friday at Washington.

“At the first timeout, we did have a lead at that time. Finished the quarter even,” Vaughn said. “The numbers, they are what they are. That group that was previously starting … I was hoping that we’d be able to be so good offensively that it would cover up some of the holes defensively and just hadn’t, and so that’s what forced the change.”

There’s more on the Nets:

After missing 14 games with a strained left hamstring, Lonnie Walker could be ready to return Tuesday at New Orleans, Lewis states in a separate story. Vaughn told reporters that date isn’t definite, but Walker accompanied the team on its road trip and he’s getting closer to being cleared. “I’m getting there,” said Walker, who hasn’t played since November 30. “Still no timetable, but [Friday] was a very, very huge step forward as far as understanding how my physical aspect as far as movement and jumping and running, how I feel. I felt terrific and probably the best I felt in quite a long time.”
Bridges is averaging career highs in scoring, rebounding and assists, but Brooklyn’s sub-.500 record won’t help his All-Star chances, Lewis adds in another piece. There’s plenty of competition at forward in the Eastern Conference, and his teammates are aware of what’s at stake. “Mikal is playing his way into an All-Star-type of conversation,” Dinwiddie said, “if we can be fortunate enough to keep winning.”
The Nets’ front office is keeping a close eye on the Suns‘ slow start, Lewis observes. Last season’s Kevin Durant trade gave Brooklyn unprotected first-round picks from Phoenix in 2025, 2027 and 2029, along with a potential pick swap in 2028. The Nets stand to benefit greatly if the Suns’ Big Three experiment doesn’t work out.

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