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Southeast Notes: Kupchak, Hornets, Hayward, Gueye, Krejci, Beal

February 6th, 2024 at 5:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets’ front office could get a shakeup after the trade deadline. According to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, the scuttlebutt around league circles is that their new ownership group is planning to soon make a change in the front office.

Whether that involves Mitch Kupchak remains to be seen. Kupchak has been the Hornets’ president of basketball operations and general manager since April 2018.

We have more on the Southeast Division:

With Terry Rozier traded to Miami and LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward sidelined by injuries, the Hornets are struggling to get settled on offense. They’re saddled with an eight-game losing streak entering Wednesday’s contest against Toronto. ‘We gotta learn to trust the pass more, trust each other,” coach Steve Clifford said, per Alex Zietlow of the Charlotte Observer. “You know, that’s part of how we have to evolve. But we’re playing without one of the most creative players in the world in Melo. Terry obviously creates a lot of shots. And Gordon. So when you get used to playing a certain way, (it’s tough). Now we just have to just flick the switch a little bit. Move the ball, move our bodies a little bit more. And we have more than enough offense on the floor to play well for four quarters.”
Hayward, who hasn’t played since Dec. 26 due to a calf injury, is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game, the team’s PR department tweets.
Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (right low back stress fracture) has returned to modified practice with the NBA G League’s College Park Skyhawks, according to a team press release. He is traveling with the Hawks this week to continue his rehabilitation plan. Gueye has only appeared in two NBA games this season. Forward Vit Krejci (left shoulder subluxation) practiced Monday with the Skyhawks and is traveling with the Skyhawks for their games this week at Grand Rapids, Mich. Krejci, a two-way player, hasn’t appeared in an NBA game this season.
Bradley Beal returned to Washington and dropped a season-high 43 points on his former team on Sunday. The Suns wing said he has a lot of good memories regarding his former NBA home and has no ill will toward the Wizards organization, according to the Noah Trister of The Associated Press. “It was a mutual decision back in the summer. It wasn’t a spiteful or like a disgusting divorce,” Beal said of the offseason trade. “It was a good separation. No hard feelings in it.”

Stein’s Latest: Wiggins, Mavs, Finney-Smith, Bucks, Wizards

February 6th, 2024 at 3:52pm CST by Luke Adams

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Mavericks and Warriors weren’t engaged in any active discussions about an Andrew Wiggins trade, Marc Stein reports within his latest Substack article.

Dallas has repeatedly been cited as a team with interest in Wiggins, but sources tell Stein that interest has been overstated. As Stein previously reported, the Mavericks have been prioritizing power forwards over small forwards. Wiggins has played at the four, but is more of a small-ball option there and is a more traditional three.

That stance may explain why one recent report suggested that Dallas also hasn’t shown serious interest in Dorian Finney-Smith, another player who would be a smaller four. According to Stein, P.J. Washington of the Hornets and Kyle Kuzma of the Wizards are two of the players who remain on the Mavs’ radar.

Here’s more from Stein:

Speaking of Finney-Smith, Stein and Ian Begley of SNY.tv each confirm that the Bucks have shown interest in the Nets forward. However, Brooklyn has sought at least one first-round pick in return for Finney-Smith and Milwaukee doesn’t have one to trade, so it’s unclear whether the two sides would be able to find common ground. The Nets have been signaling that they’re willing to hang onto Finney-Smith beyond the deadline if their asking price isn’t met, Stein writes.
After reporting that the Bucks and Mavericks had exploratory talks about Bobby Portis and Grant Williams, Stein says those discussions didn’t advance any further because Milwaukee isn’t interested in a one-for-one swap and would want additional compensation from Dallas to make a move. Stein doesn’t specify what sort of additional compensation the Bucks sought, but given that they’re in win-now mode, presumably they wanted another rotation player or the sort of draft assets that could be flipped for one.
Among potential Wizards trade candidates, Tyus Jones and Delon Wright are “increasingly” viewed as more likely to be moved than Kuzma, says Stein.
Like Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Stein has heard that Kuzma, Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon, and Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic could all stay put this week, though he acknowledges there’s a chance one or more of those teams is posturing to gain leverage.

Lakers Rumors: Trade Market, Reaves, Russell, Vincent

February 6th, 2024 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

After completing a 4-2 road trip with a victory in Charlotte on Monday, Lakers star LeBron James was asked if he thinks the team has enough to contend as is, or if an upgrade is needed on the trade market.

“It’s not a question for me,” James responded, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I love who we have in the locker room. And that’s all I worry about. … We’re going to go out and prepare ourselves every single night no matter what it is. No matter who’s out on this team. No matter what.”

A team source tells McMenamin that Lakers head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka has been “stuck on calls” all day recently in search of trades that would make sense for the club. As Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes, Los Angeles would like to add another solid wing defender – ideally one who can shoot – and continues to seek a player who fits that bill.

Dejounte Murray, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jerami Grant, and Bruce Brown are still among the players who appeal to the Lakers, according to Buha, but Austin Reaves remains off limits in a deal for a trade target of that caliber, and veterans like D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Gabe Vincent aren’t nearly as coveted on the trade market. That means the club would have to add draft assets – including possibly its 2029 first-rounder and/or a first-round pick swap – in order to make a meaningful upgrade.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

The odds that the Lakers stand pat or just make a minor tweak along the edges of the roster have increased in recent days, writes Buha. There are a few reasons for that, Buha explains: L.A. has grown more confident in the possibility of internal improvement, the trade market favors sellers rather than buyers, and the team recognizes it could make a more significant move in the offseason when it has more first-round picks available to trade.
As trade rumors swirl around him, Russell was asked on Monday why he willingly gave up his right to veto a trade when he re-signed with the Lakers last summer. “I just thought it made sense,” Russell said, per McMenamin. “Obviously I’ve been here before, I played for the Lakers before, so I know what the requirements are to be successful here are. So, if you’re part of the future here you’ll be successful. If you’re not, you’ll get traded. And I’ve been traded before here. So, my approach is just a little different.”
Russell’s name has been mentioned in trade talks with the Nets, Hawks, and Raptors in recent weeks, sources tell McMenamin. Among players on those teams, Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, Royce O’Neale, Murray, and Brown have all been connected to the Lakers.
Vincent appears on track to return to the court in early March, reports Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. It’s not a sure thing that the injured guard will still be a Laker by then – since his name has popped up in some trade rumors – but he was given a recovery timeline of about eight-to-10 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in late December and remains on that schedule, Fischer says.
The Lakers have used 15 different starting lineups this season. As Khobi Price of The Orange County Register writes, head coach Darvin Ham is hoping his latest one – James, Anthony Davis, Hachimura, Reaves, and Russell – will stick. Of course, if either Hachimura or Russell is traded this week, that starting five will have already played its last game together.

Knicks Rumors: Fournier, Brown, Burks, Grimes, Murray

February 6th, 2024 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Knicks consider potential trade opportunities for Evan Fournier‘s expiring $18.9MM contract, they’re unlikely to trade him in order to take back more players on expiring deals, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. For instance, a deal of Fournier and a handful of second-round picks for Detroit guards Alec Burks and Monte Morris likely wouldn’t appeal to New York, according to Katz, given the team’s longer-term goals.

As Katz explains, the Knicks still hope to get the opportunity to acquire a star this summer, and if they don’t have an expendable player earning in the $20MM range, they may have to include at least two of Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo in that sort of deal for salary-matching purposes, which they’d rather not do.

The ideal outcome at this week’s deadline, then, would involve the Knicks sending out Fournier and another asset or two in exchange for a player earning in the $20MM range who is under contract beyond this season. Raptors wing Bruce Brown is one such player, and Katz confirms that the two teams have discussed a deal. Those talks haven’t included Quentin Grimes, instead centering around Fournier and draft compensation, Katz reports.

If the Knicks don’t find a deal involving Fournier by the deadline, a buyout is unlikely, according to Katz, who says the club would strongly consider hanging onto the swingman until the offseason in case his $19MM team option for 2024/25 comes in handy for matching purposes. Given that Fournier’s value on the open market would be well below $19MM, New York would presumably have to line up a trade agreement before or around draft night in order to feel comfortable exercising that option.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

New York has “dipped and dabbled” in talks for Burks, per Katz, and Ian Begley of SNY.tv expects those discussions between the Knicks and Pistons to continue leading up to the deadline. Katz speculates that couple second-round picks might be enough to pry Burks away from Detroit.
Katz, like Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, has heard that a trade involving Grimes seems increasingly less likely as the deadline nears. The Knicks’ don’t want to simply trade Grimes to the highest bidder, Katz notes, but would like to use him to acquire a player who could be a valuable long-term contributor. The club has yet to find that player.
Although the Knicks have spoken to the Hawks about Dejounte Murray, those talks have been informal, per Katz, who doesn’t think they’ve advanced past the “concept” stage.
Teams in touch with the Knicks suggest that New York has cooled on the idea of adding another big man, according to Begley. Precious Achiuwa‘s strong play as of late has presumably factored into that stance, Begley adds.

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.

Western Notes: Wolves, Graham, Suns, VanVleet, Rockets

February 6th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves‘ front office has been scouring the trade market in the hopes of addressing a couple areas of concern on the bench and better positioning the team for a deep postseason run, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. According to Krawczynski, Minnesota would like to bolster its second unit by adding another ball-handler and/or a scorer or shooter.

Krawczynski confirms a number of previously reported point guard targets for the Wolves, including Tyus Jones and Monte Morris, while also naming Dennis Schröder and Kyle Lowry as a couple more players of interest. Lowry would have to be a buyout target, since Minnesota isn’t in position to match his $29.7MM salary on the trade market.

If the Wolves focus on a scorer rather than a point guard, Alec Burks and Bones Hyland are among the players who could be fits, Krawczynski writes.

Krawczynski doesn’t expect Minnesota to move Kyle Anderson, referring to him as a key part of the team’s defense and an important voice in the locker room. That’s notable, since hanging onto Anderson and their other five highest-paid players (Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mike Conley, Anthony Edwards, and Naz Reid) would leave the Wolves with no trade chips earning more than $5MM, limiting their ability to salary-match for players earning much beyond the mid-level.

Here are a few more notes and rumors from around the Western Conference:

Veteran point guard Devonte’ Graham hasn’t griped about not having a role with the Spurs this season and has enjoyed being in San Antonio, but he acknowledged that he wouldn’t be opposed to a trade if it gives him an opportunity to play more, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. “I mean, yeah,” Graham said. “Everybody wants to play.”
Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic previews the trade deadline for the Suns, noting that a potential package of Nassir Little and second-round picks hasn’t generated a ton of interest among prospective trade partners.
The Rockets will be without starting point guard Fred VanVleet on Tuesday in Indiana, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, who says VanVleet has been ruled out due to a left adductor strain. That injury often requires a multi-game absence, but Houston hasn’t issued an update on the guard’s status beyond Tuesday.
Rockets center Jock Landale and forward Jae’Sean Tate are trying to tune out the trade rumors surrounding them as Thursday’s deadline nears, Feigen writes in another story for The Chronicle. “Whether they choose to trade me or keep me is completely up to them. I signed here to play for (head coach) Ime (Udoka),” Landale said. “I signed here to help the Rockets to get back to their winning ways. It’s not a decision that’s in my power or my control. We’ll see what happens.”

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.”

Klay Thompson Discusses Latest Fourth Quarter Benching

February 6th, 2024 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

Longtime Warriors star Klay Thompson sat out the final 7:19 of Golden State’s victory over Brooklyn on Monday, marking the second time in the past three games that he has been on the bench down the stretch in non-garbage-time minutes.

Thompson was part of the Warriors’ closing lineup on Saturday in Atlanta, but didn’t play the final 7:40 of Friday’s win over Memphis and was benched on Monday in favor of rookie Gui Santos, who had his best game as a pro in logging a career-high 18 minutes.

Asked after Monday’s win about his changing role and the fact that he’s no longer on a lock to be part of Golden State’s crunch-time lineup, Thompson said that winning is the most important thing, but admitted the adjustment hasn’t been easy, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN and Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

“Yeah, you kidding me?” Thompson said. “To go from, you know, one of the best players … it’s hard for anybody. I’ll be honest with you. It’s very hard.”

A five-time All-Star who led the NBA in three-pointers last season, Thompson is making 37.1% of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2023/24. That’s a solid rate for many players, but for Thompson, it represents a career low. Additionally, his 17.1 points per game are the fewest he has averaged since 2012/13.

“He’s fine,” head coach Steve Kerr said on Monday, according to Bontemps. “This is a season where he’s had a lot of ups and downs. It’s not easy for a guy who’s been so good and a Hall of Fame player to deal with the injuries and … it’s never easy for any player, getting older. (But) he’s mentally tough.”

Kerr added that, while there’s a “spotlight” on Thompson because of his career résumé, the story on Monday should be about how well role players like Santos, Moses Moody, and Lester Quinones performed off the bench to help the Warriors secure a road win. Thompson highlighted those performances by his teammates in explaining why he’s trying not to let his late-game benching bother him.

“I’ve accepted it,” Thompson said. “You can be mad. But I’m not going to be mad. I’m happy for these young guys. Yeah, we won. It’s hard to get wins in this league. … It’s all good. These guys played great. Gui played great. BP (Brandin Podziemski). Jonathan (Kuminga). At the end of the day, winning trumps all.”

Thompson is on an expiring contract and his name has popped up occasionally in the rumor mill leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently reported the Warriors have no interest in moving the veteran sharpshooter.

Slater expressed a belief last month that Golden State will ultimately work out a new contract with Thompson, who reportedly turned down a two-year extension offer from the team prior to the season.

Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 2/6/2024

February 6th, 2024 at 11:00am CST by Dana Gauruder

The transcript of Tuesday’s live chat can be accessed at this link.

Please join Luke Adams for our next live chat on Thursday.

Categories:
Hoops Rumors Chats

Eastern Rumors: Cavs, LaVine, Bulls, Celtics, Grimes

February 6th, 2024 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

A source with knowledge of the Cavaliers‘ plans told Jason Lloyd of The Athletic on Monday night that the club is unlikely to be active at this week’s trade deadline.

That wouldn’t be a bad thing, according to Lloyd, who notes that Cleveland’s front office could turn to the buyout market in search of a depth addition later this month. The Cavs, who have moved into possession of the No. 2 seed in the East, have been one of the NBA’s hottest teams over the last two months, winning 19 of their past 23 games, including 14 of their past 15.

Here are a few more items from around the Eastern Conference:

The Bulls could technically still trade Zach LaVine this week despite his season-ending foot injury, but teams with interest will almost certainly prefer to wait until at least this summer to see how that foot is healing, per Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks of ESPN. “We have red-flagged him until he gets back on the court,” one rival executive told ESPN.
A handful of Bulls veterans, including Nikola Vucevic, have expressed a desire for the team to roll with the pieces it has rather than buying or selling at the deadline, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “Those are things that are out of my control. We feel we have enough,” Vucevic said, adding that he likes it in Chicago and doesn’t want to go anywhere. “We have a lot of stuff we can do better on the court. We’ve also had some stuff, like injuries, that’s unfortunate to deal with. But I believe we have enough.”
Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com takes a look at how Boston will approach Thursday’s deadline, citing one source who thinks the Celtics should be careful not to “mess up what they have” and one rival executive who says the C’s aren’t being especially aggressive on the trade market. “They’re open to talking, but there’s no urgency there,” the exec said.
Given the injury bug that has plagued the team recently, the odds of the Knicks hanging onto Quentin Grimes through the trade deadline have increased, a source familiar with the situation tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). If Grimes remains on the roster for the rest of this season, he could be a trade candidate again in the summer, when he’ll be extension-eligible.