- If the Kings do sell, Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, and Nemanja Bjelica will be among the players to monitor. Barnes is known to be on the Celtics‘ radar, while the Sixers – who have long been tied to Hield – are also considering Bjelica, says Amick.
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New Sixers head coach Doc Rivers deserves a lot of credit for the 18-7 Philadelphia’s current perch as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
New Sixers head coach Doc Rivers deserves a lot of credit for the 18-7 Philadelphia’s current perch as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference standings, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Rivers commands respect in the Sixers locker room due to his championship pedigree and prior success across head coaching stops in Orlando, Boston, and most recently Los Angeles. Sixers center Joel Embiid is enjoying his best season as a pro thus far, averaging career-bests in scoring (29.1 PPG), steals (1.4 SPG), and shooting (.547/.377.855).
It has been an up-and-down 12 months for the NBA, which had to pause its operations for several months when its players first began testing positive for the coronavirus last March. Although the league was eventually able to play the 2020 postseason and is in the midst of its (slightly-abridged) 2020/21 regular season, fans still haven’t been able to return to arenas in many NBA cities, putting a major dent in projected revenues for the coming year.
Despite the financial challenges faced by many of the NBA’s teams, the overall value of those franchises continues to increase, according to a report from Kurt Badenhausen and Mike Ozanian of Forbes. While it’s the most modest year-over-year rise since 2010, Forbes estimates that average team values are up by about 4% from 2020.
The Knicks have become the first franchise to earn a $5 billion valuation from Forbes, with a league-high 9% increase in their value since last February. The Warriors, meanwhile, also saw their value rise by 9%, according to Forbes, surpassing the Lakers for the No. 2 spot on the annual report. The league-wide average of $2.2 billion per team in 2021 is a new record for Forbes’ valuations.
Forbes’ valuations are slightly more conservative than the ones issued by sports-business outlet Sportico last month — Sportico’s report featured an average team value of nearly $2.4 billion, with the Knicks, Warriors, and Lakers all surpassing the $5 billion threshold.
Here’s the full list of NBA franchise valuations, per Forbes:
- New York Knicks: $5 billion
- Golden State Warriors: $4.7 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $4.6 billion
- Chicago Bulls: $3.3 billion
- Boston Celtics: $3.2 billion
- Los Angeles Clippers: $2.75 billion
- Brooklyn Nets: $2.65 billion
- Houston Rockets: $2.5 billion
- Dallas Mavericks: $2.45 billion
- Toronto Raptors: $2.15 billion
- Philadelphia 76ers: $2.075 billion
- Miami Heat: $2 billion
- Portland Trail Blazers: $1.9 billion
- San Antonio Spurs: $1.85 billion
- Sacramento Kings: $1.825 billion
- Washington Wizards: $1.8 billion
- Phoenix Suns: $1.7 billion
- Utah Jazz: $1.66 billion
- Denver Nuggets: $1.65 billion
- Milwaukee Bucks: $1.625 billion
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $1.575 billion
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $1.56 billion
- Indiana Pacers: $1.55 billion
- Atlanta Hawks: $1.52 billion
- Charlotte Hornets: $1.5 billion
- Orlando Magic: $1.46 billion
- Detroit Pistons: $1.45 billion
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $1.4 billion
- New Orleans Pelicans: $1.35 billion
- Memphis Grizzlies: $1.3 billion
While most franchise values increased, that wasn’t the case across the board. The Thunder, Hawks, Hornets, Pistons, Pelicans, and Grizzlies all maintained the same value that they had in 2020. No teams decreased in value, however.
The Jazz had the biggest rise in the bottom half of this list, moving from 21st in 2020’s rankings to 18th this year. That’s because the team was actually sold to a new majority owner in recent months, with Ryan Smith assuming control of the franchise at its new $1.66 billion valuation.
As that Jazz example shows, the actual amount a team is sold for often exceeds Forbes’ valuation, so these figures should just be viewed as estimates.
Sixers center Joel Embiid is having the best season of his career and has emerged as a legitimate MVP candidate, writes Derek Bodner of The Athletic. In addition to anchoring a defense that ranks first in the Eastern Conference with a 107.4 rating, Embiid is having his best offensive season, with career highs in points per game (29.3), field-goal percentage (55.3%), and three-point percentage (39.0%), among other categories.
Even if he doesn’t earn MVP honors, Embiid is on track to be named to one of the league’s three All-NBA teams, which would bode well for his future earnings. If he earns an All-NBA spot this season, the Sixers star would become eligible to sign a super-max contract extension that would start at 35% of the 2023/24 salary cap instead of his standard limit of 30%.
- Seth Curry was encouraged by his 11-point performance against Brooklyn on Saturday, Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Curry, who missed approximately two weeks last month due to a bout with COVID-19, went scoreless in the Sixers’ previous two games. “I felt a little bit better all night, even in the first half, when I wasn’t making shots, I felt better than I have in the past week or two,” Curry said. “I think the key for me (Saturday) was I was able to get a little of my burst back and have more energy out on the floor offensively and defensively.”
Veteran shooting guard Kyle Korver is pondering his playing future after spending 17 straight seasons in the NBA, as relayed by Mark Medina of USA Today.
“I’m not sure. I’ve talked to a few teams about it,” Korver said of a potential return. “Coming out of the bubble, I believe in honoring the game. I believe you honor the season with a good offseason. Coming out of the bubble with the quick turnaround, I didn’t feel I really did that. So I don’t want to cheat the game.
“If I want to go play, I want to go play well. I haven’t signed any paperwork. My wife asks me this question every day. It’s one I have a hard time finding my exact words for. So I haven’t signed paperwork yet. I’ve enjoyed being with my family, and it’s been a challenging season across the board for the league and for the players. But we’ll see. I don’t know.”
Korver also discussed multiple other subjects with Medina, including the Bucks’ walkout in the bubble, the Jacob Blake shooting, and the racial justice movement.
Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Ariel Pacheco of Basketball Insiders examines the Executive of the Year watch, taking a detailed look into which executives could be under consideration for the award this season. Naturally, Pacheco mentions Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, who constructed a championship team last season and is coming off a respectable offseason.
- Joe Vardon of The Athletic explores whether NBA players will be able to represent Team USA at the Summer Olympics. The NBA Finals are set to extend into late July, with a potential Game 7 falling on July 22. Team USA is scheduled to open against France on July 25. “We’d like it if players on the roster could be replaced, even after [the tournament] starts,” managing director Jerry Colangelo said, recognizing the Olympic rules must be changed to allow this. As of right now, it’s unclear who will head to Tokyo on behalf of Team USA.
- The Delaware Blue Coats (the Sixers‘ G League affiliate) have acquired Jordan Bone and a 2021/22 third-round pick from the Lakeland Magic (Orlando’s G League affiliate), the team announced in a press release. In return, the club sent the returning player rights to J.P. Macura, the returning player rights to Doral Moore and a 2021-22 second-round pick. Bone was most recently on a two-way contract with the Magic.
Sixers star Joel Embiid is widely expected to make the All-Star team this season, but the 26-year-old wouldn’t commit to playing in the game when asked about it on Thursday, Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
Embiid is currently enjoying a career-best season, averaging 29.1 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest. He’s made the All-Star Game in each of his last three campaigns.
“I am not sure if I am going to make it, but hopefully I get the chance to be part of it once again,” Embiid said. “I have always been conservative. I have always voiced my opinion since the pandemic started, starting with the bubble, wasn’t really all [for it] and then the season.”
Embiid isn’t the first player to seemingly voice concerns over the All-Star Game being held, with Kings star De’Aaron Fox recently opposing the decision and Lakers superstar LeBron James also speaking out against the idea on Thursday night. The game is currently set be held on March 7 in Atlanta.
Here are some other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines how Seth Curry‘s recovery from COVID-19 has impacted his performance. Curry was acquired by the Sixers last offseason, most recently going scoreless in the team’s loss on Thursday (0-for-1 shooting in 12 minutes). He also didn’t record a point on Wednesday, shooting 0-for-3 in nearly 29 minutes.
- Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores the Celtics‘ 10 most valuable trade assets. Boston has several young players on its roster and a $28.5MM trade exception, making them a team worth watching ahead of the March 25 trade deadline. The club is currently 11-9.
- Blake Murphy of The Athletic examines topics related to Raptors guard Malachi Flynn, trade scenarios and Plan B’s in his latest mailbag. Toronto has opened the season with a 9-12 record, though the team is 6-4 in its last 10 games.
A Sunday report indicated that Pelicans sharpshooter J.J. Redick is interested in returning to a team in the Atlantic Division, where he could be closer to his family in Brooklyn. That report identified the Sixers, Nets, and Celtics as teams that would intrigue Redick, and noted that all three of those clubs have expressed some interest in the veteran wing.
In addition to those three teams, Redick would have interest in joining the Knicks, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. It’s unclear if New York reciprocates the 36-year-old’s interest. If so, it would be a pretty clean fit from a salary cap perspective, since the Knicks are the only team in the NBA with enough cap room to accommodate Redick $13MM cap hit without sending out any salary. The Celtics are among the teams that could take on Redick’s contract outright via a trade exception.
That leaves Toronto as the only Atlantic team not on Redick’s reported wish list, which makes sense — the Raptors are playing in Tampa this season due to the COVID-19 restrictions applying to the U.S./Canada border, so they’ve been temporarily displaced from the northeast.
Here’s more on Redick:
- One Eastern Conference general manager who spoke to Sean Deveney of Forbes is skeptical that the Pelicans will get much of a return for Redick, since he looks like a potential buyout candidate. “No one wants to give up a young player or a pick for a guy you could sign a week after the deadline passes anyway,” the GM said. For what it’s worth, I think the Pelicans will have a hard time finding a first-round pick for Redick unless they’re willing to take on some bad multiyear money, but landing a second-rounder or two seems more realistic, especially if suitors view his struggles this season as a short-term slump.
- David Aldridge, Joe Vardon, and John Hollinger of The Athletic consider whether Redick would fit best with the Nets, Sixers, or Celtics, ultimately concluding that Boston makes the most sense of the three. Hollinger suggests that a pair of second-rounders and some “dead-ish” money would be a fair return for the Pelicans if they make a deal with the C’s.
- As noted by The Athletic and others, Tuesday, February 2 is the last day this season that a player can be traded and then have his salary aggregated in a second trade by deadline day (March 25). If a player is traded on Wednesday, that re-aggregation restriction wouldn’t lift until March 26. It remains to be seen whether that deadline will prompt any action today or tomorrow on the Redick front or elsewhere.
- Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer examines how many All-Stars the Sixers should have this season. Joel Embiid, who’s currently enjoying a career-best season to date, is widely expected to be named to his fourth All-Star Game, but Pompey ponders whether Ben Simmons or Tobias Harris could make cases of their own.
The Pelicans are targeting Atlantic Division contenders – the Nets, Sixers, and Celtics – as trade destinations for swingman J.J. Redick, per The Athletic writers Shams Charania, William Guillory, Jay King, Derek Bodner, Alex Schiffer and Danny Leroux.
As we relayed last week, teams have been reaching out to New Orleans about guards Redick and Lonzo Ball.
The Athletic piece suggests that Redick, on an expiring $13.1MM contract, would like to play for one of these northeast-based clubs, as his wife and children live in Brooklyn. Should Redick not be dealt by the March 25 deadline, the veteran could also become a buyout candidate for a contending team.
A catch-and-shoot wing like Redick could be a fit for all three clubs, and all three have expressed interest, per The Athletic.
Redick was the starting shooting guard for the Sixers from 2017-19, while Boston could use another reliable shooter. Brooklyn, meanwhile, depleted many of its potential trade pieces in the blockbuster deal that netted the team All-Star guard James Harden. Schiffer notes that the presence of newly-extended swingman Joe Harris – a similar player to Redick – and the Nets’ relative lack of assets may make a deal a longer shot for Brooklyn.
The 36-year-old Redick has been a healthy scratch for the last two Pelicans contests. At 7-11, New Orleans is currently out of the playoff picture in the West.
Redick is averaging 7.9 PPG in 19.9 MPG, his lowest such totals since his age-24 season in 2008/09. A career 41.4% three-point shooter and 89.2% free throw shooter, Redick is connecting on just 29.8% of his long range attempts this season, though he is making a stellar 100% on his 1.6 free throw tries.