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Celtics-Lakers, Bucks-Knicks Among 2023/24 Christmas Day Games

August 10th, 2023 at 8:25pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The full Christmas Day game schedule is now known thanks to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). As usual, the holiday features five games, including a matchup between the rival Lakers and Celtics in Los Angeles.

Additionally, the Knicks host the Bucks, the Sixers and Heat play in Miami, the Mavericks and Suns square off in Phoenix, and the Nuggets host the Warriors.

Both the Celtics and the Lakers are expected to be title contenders next season. The Lakers revamped their roster, while the Celtics did the same. Boston made a huge switch-up when they moved longtime Celtic Marcus Smart in a trade that brought in Kristaps Porzingis. By moving Smart, the Celtics committed to playing a bigger lineup, with Porzingis, Al Horford and Robert Williams all expected to have major roles. The Celtics also lost Grant Williams but added Oshae Brissett to help fill the void.

The Bucks and Knicks are both interesting players in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee fell to the Heat as the No. 1 seed last year, but brought back the majority of their roster, including Brook Lopez to a two-year, $48MM deal and Khris Middleton to a three-year, $98MM deal. Jae Crowder also re-signed. Robin Lopez and Malik Beasley joined Milwaukee in free agency while the team drafted Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston.

New York didn’t have many moves to make in free agency, with most of their roster under contract. Josh Hart recently extended with the Knicks and they brought in Donte DiVincenzo, who will be squaring off against the team who drafted him. While the Knicks might not end up winning the chip, there’s thought that they improved on a roster that was the No. 5 seed last season.

The Heat and the Sixers may look vastly different by the time Christmas rolls around. Both teams are facing trade requests, but on different sides. Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard asked Portland a trade, with Miami as his preferred destination. There’s no telling when or if the Heat and Lillard will unite. If they do, the Heat immediately become one of the best teams in the NBA, pairing Lillard with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. If not, they’re likely worse off. Even though they added Josh Richardson, Thomas Bryant and Jaime Jaquez Jr. to their roster, the Heat lost Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, two key playoff contributors. The Heat did make the NBA Finals last season but did so after scraping past the play-in tournament.

Meanwhile, the Sixers saw James Harden request a trade out of Philadelphia and reportedly express a desire to be sent to the Clippers. That hasn’t happened yet, and Harden remains a member of Philly. There’s a chance the Sixers could bring Harden to camp and into the season, but it would be surprising if he was a member of the team by the time Christmas arrives. The Sixers won 54 games last season but losing Harden would hurt. Their best move this season has been to re-sign Paul Reed, but they have no avenue to adding additional talent and any Harden trade to the Clippers is unlikely to bring back a star return. That means an even bigger plate for last year’s MVP Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. Additionally, Patrick Beverley and Mohamed Bamba signed with the Sixers this offseason.

Any matchup between the Sixers and Heat is of note, considering Butler’s history in Philadelphia and the unofficial rivalry between the two teams.

The Suns added a new star to their roster while the Mavericks kept their co-star this offseason. While Dallas finished last year outside of the playoffs after trading for Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks doubled down on his pairing with Luka Doncic by signing him to a new three-year, $120MM contract. Dallas fleshed out the rest of the roster by adding Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Richaun Holmes and Derrick Jones Jr. while drafting Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper.

The matchup between the Suns and Mavericks features a battle between former Nets teammates Kevin Durant and Irving.

We went over the new-look Warriors and defending-champion Nuggets in a previous story.

Charania revealed the opening day matchups earlier today, which likely means the full schedule will be revealed sometime in the near future.

Poll: James Harden’s Team On Opening Night

August 8th, 2023 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams

One of two longtime All-Star guards to request a trade this summer, James Harden – like Damian Lillard – has a one-team wish list. While Lillard is trying to make his way from Portland to Miami, Harden is hoping for a deal that will send him from the Sixers to the Clippers.

As similar as the two situations are, there are two key factors that differentiate them.

For one, Harden’s contract situation is more typical of what we’ve historically seen for a player on the trade block — he’s on a $35.6MM expiring contract and will reach unrestricted free agency in 2024. That means any team acquiring him will only be assured of having him for one year. Harden’s new team would acquire his Bird rights and might be pretty confident about its ability to re-sign him next summer, but he won’t be extension-eligible before becoming a free agent, so there are no guarantees.

Secondly, Harden is at a slightly different point in his career than Lillard, who averaged a career-high 32.2 points per game last season and appears to still be very much in his prime. Harden, who will turn 34 later this month, is only a year older than Lillard, but he has seen his production dip since he left Houston. After averaging 35.3 PPG across two seasons from 2018-20, Harden has put up more modest numbers (22.3 PPG on .436/.358/.870 shooting) while playing for three different teams in the three years since then.

That drop-off is partly related to an adjustment in role(s) for Harden, who was the go-to scorer in Houston and has played second fiddle to stars like Kevin Durant and Joel Embiid in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. But he also doesn’t have the same explosiveness he showed when he was geetting to the basket and drawing fouls during his prime Rockets years. Harden averaged over 10 free throw attempts per game during his eight seasons in Houston, but went to the line just 6.2 times per night last year in Philadelphia.

Harden, the NBA’s assists leader in 2022/23 (10.7 APG), is still an All-Star caliber player and one of the league’s best offensive guards. But given his age, his declining production, and his contract situation, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Clippers have been reluctant to make the Sixers a substantial trade offer so far.

The fact that the Sixers want to contend for a title rather than enter another rebuild complicates matters. They won’t be content to accept a package of draft picks and/or young players that won’t make them better – or at least make them just competitive – in the short term.

In theory, the Clippers make sense as a trade partner for that reason. They have a handful of veterans earning between $11-18MM who could be used as salary-matching pieces and who could fit the Sixers’ roster. Marcus Morris ($17.1MM), Nicolas Batum ($11.7MM), and Robert Covington ($11.7MM) are on expiring contracts, while Norman Powell ($18MM) has three years left on his deal.

But the 76ers are reportedly hoping to maintain significant 2024 cap room, reducing the appeal of Powell. And a package of, say, Morris, Covington, and Amir Coffey ($3.7MM) wouldn’t move the needle much. Terance Mann, an improving 26-year-old guard who’s a career 38.3% three-point shooter, would be a nice get for Philadelphia, but the Clippers are said to be reluctant to include Mann in an offer for Harden.

Los Angeles could theoretically offer up to two future first-round picks, but the team can’t trade a first-rounder earlier than 2028 due to prior trade obligations and I suspect L.A. would want to include protections on any pick it moves. As noted above, draft picks wouldn’t appeal to the Sixers much anyway, unless they could immediately flip them for a win-now asset.

While the Clippers could make a viable offer for Harden, there’s no indication they’re eager to put Mann and/or an unprotected first-rounder on the table, and Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has shown in the past that he’s comfortable dragging these situations into training camp or even the regular season.

Perhaps the Clippers will feel more urgency as the season approaches or maybe a new suitor will emerge for Harden, but for now, no deal appears close.

With all that in mind, we want to know what you think: Will Harden open the regular season with the Sixers, the Clippers, or another team?

Weigh in below our poll, then head to the comment section to share your predictions!

Sixers Notes: Harden, Maxey, Morey, Nurse

August 6th, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

Some people with the Sixers were surprised that James Harden picked up his 2023/24 player option in June, says Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. According to Scotto, if Harden had opted out, Philadelphia would have been open to re-signing him to another two-year deal – possibly with a team option – but such a short-term commitment wouldn’t have appealed to the former MVP.

Having decided he wanted to leave Philadelphia to join the Clippers, Harden recognized that he wouldn’t be able to get to Los Angeles on a market-value contract if he opted for free agency, so he exercised his option and began pushing for a trade.

Now, the process is somewhat out of his hands, but there continues to be dialogue between the Sixers and Clippers, per Scotto. The start of training camp will be a key inflection point to watch, since the 76ers may not want to have to deal with a disgruntled star in camp this fall.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

Scotto wonders if the 76ers’ stance against extending Tyrese Maxey this offseason would change if the team takes back one or two multiyear contracts in a Harden deal, since its ability to open up significant cap room in 2024 would be somewhat compromised. However, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, who joined Scotto on the HoopsHype podcast, is skeptical that the Sixers will reverse course and extend Maxey, noting that putting off a deal until 2024 allows the club to maintain more trade flexibility. For his part, Maxey probably has no reason to pursue an extension unless Philadelphia is offering the max, Scotto observes.
The Sixers can no longer blame Doc Rivers or “The Process” if they remain unable to make a deep playoff run, notes Pompey, suggesting that president of basketball operations Daryl Morey could find himself on the hot seat within the next year or two if the team can’t get past the second round of the playoffs. “When Brett Brown was the coach, it was the second round. When Elton Brand was leading the front office, it was the second round,” Pompey said. “Now, you’ve got Morey and three max players or close to it in Harden, (Joel) Embiid, and Tobias Harris, and it’s been three seasons in a row that they ended their season in the second round. I think Morey could be in trouble if they don’t get out of the second round.”
According to Pompey, one source he spoke to recently indicated that new head coach Nick Nurse won’t be concerned about what the Sixers’ opening night roster looks like as long as it’s fully formed by the time the playoffs begin. However, Pompey believes it would put Nurse in a tough spot if the Harden situation hasn’t been resolved one way or another by the time the season begins. “If you’re a first-year coach taking over a team, you want to know what utensils you’re going to have when you start cooking the meal, not when you’re finishing the meal,” Pompey said. “You want to know what the flour is going to be. When you start baking the cake, you want to start with the flour. You don’t want to bring the flour in at the end when you’ve got to make the best cake possible. You can’t pause the oven and then sprinkle it in there.”

Mizell Explains How They'll Have Ability To Reshape Roster Next Summer

August 4th, 2023 at 5:44pm CST by Rory Maher

In a subscriber-only story for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Gina Mizell explains how the Sixers will have the financial flexibility to reshape their roster next summer, despite James Harden‘s trade request hanging over the organization. Both Harden and Tobias Harris are on expiring contracts, Mizell writes, and the 76ers prioritized signing free agents to short-term contracts this offseason. Technically, only Joel Embiid is currently on a guaranteed contract in 2024/25, though P.J. Tucker is essentially a lock to pick up his $11.5MM player option.

Atlantic Notes: Harrell, Nets, Hart, Brown

August 3rd, 2023 at 10:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Although reserve big man Montrezl Harrell tore the ACL and medial meniscus in his right knee this summer, the Sixers intend to keep him on their roster, at least for the time being, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Though Pompey notes that Harrell, who inked a one-year, minimum-salary contract to return to the Sixers, most likely will not recuperate in time to play for the team in 2023/24, he believes retaining the former Sixth Man of the Year is the right play. Pompey suggests the Sixers could look to package his salary in a trade later.

Given that Harrell was the third or possibly fourth center on the club’s depth chart, he wasn’t likely to have played major minutes anyway. The 6’7″ vet averaged 5.6 PPG and 2.8 RPG in 2022/23, his lowest numbers since his 2015/16 rookie season.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Nets still have three roster spots – including one two-way slot – open ahead of training camp this fall, Net Income of Nets Daily writes. Net Income notes that the team still has its bi-annual exception and full mid-level exception at its disposal, and its $157MM in cumulative player salary puts it $9MM beneath the NBA’s $165MM luxury tax threshold. The free agent market at this point is a bit threadbare, so one wonders if Brooklyn would opt to use more than a veteran’s minimum on any of the still-available personnel.
Knicks swingman Josh Hart becomes extension-eligible on August 9, but as Fred Katz of The Athletic notes, that isn’t stopping him from partaking in Team USA during this month’s FIBA World Cup. Katz writes that the typical move these days for players with big money potentially on the line is to preserve their bodies and avoid possible offseason injuries until a deal is done, but Hart is happy to buck that trend. An extension of his current deal could net him, at most, a four-year contract worth up to $81.3MM.
Although he inked a new five-year, maximum-salary contract extension this offseason, All-Star Celtics wing Jaylen Brown still has one glaring issue in his game: protecting the ball. As Jared Weiss of The Athletic notes, Brown coughed up the ball 66 times during the 2023 playoffs, including eight incredibly costly turnovers in a Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals defeat against the Heat. Weiss takes a look at how Brown might be able to limit this particular problem going forward.

Sixers’ Montrezl Harrell Has Torn ACL, Meniscus

August 2nd, 2023 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Montrezl Harrell underwent an MRI on Wednesday to evaluate swelling in his right knee following offseason workouts, and the results weren’t good. According to the team, Harrell has been diagnosed with a torn ACL and a medial meniscus tear (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer).

It’s a brutal blow for both Harrell and the Sixers, who re-signed the big man to a guaranteed one-year, minimum-salary contract last month after he turned down a player option to reach free agency.

Harrell, 29, didn’t see significant playing time in Philadelphia’s rotation last season, averaging 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in just 11.9 minutes per game across 57 appearances.

However, the 76ers will have a new head coach in 2023/24, with Nick Nurse replacing Doc Rivers, so Harrell wasn’t necessarily in line for the same limited role going forward. In his previous five seasons, he had put up 14.5 PPG and 5.9 RPG in 361 games (23.3 MPG), earning Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2020.

The Sixers’ announcement today didn’t include any sort of recovery timeline for Harrell, but a torn ACL typically requires upwards of a year – if not more – to come back from. We’ll have to wait more clarity on the veteran’s prognosis and the team’s plans for him, but if the injury is deemed season-ending and Philadelphia is comfortable eating the salary and accompanying luxury tax hit, Harrell could be waived to open up a roster spot for another player.

The 76ers should still have a good amount of depth up front with or without Harrell. Mohamed Bamba, Paul Reed, and Filip Petrusev are expected to compete for frontcourt minutes behind reigning MVP Joel Embiid.

Players Who Signed July 1 Are Now Eligible To Be Traded

July 31st, 2023 at 9:22am CST by Arthur Hill

The peak of the NBA’s transactions season has calmed down after an active start to July, but a few more players have become eligible to be traded on the final day of the month, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 30-day trade restriction window has expired for draft picks who signed their contracts on July 1, along with six players who inked two-way contracts on that date.

The designation won’t matter for those at the very top of the draft, as the Spurs and Trail Blazers obviously won’t consider trading Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, respectively. However, it could come into play for a few others, especially if more big-name players are on the move as the summer winds down.

In addition to those top-three picks, first-rounders who signed on July 1 are the Magic’s Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the Pacers‘ Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, the Trail Blazers‘ Kris Murray and the Heat’s Jaime Jaquez. The No. 18 pick out of UCLA, Jaquez has been mentioned as a potential asset in a trade to bring Damian Lillard to Miami.

Two-way players who signed on July 1, according to NBA.com’s transactions log, are the Sixers‘ Terquavion Smith and Ricky Council, the Heat‘s Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea, the Trail Blazers‘ Ibou Badji and the Rockets‘ Trevor Hudgins.

Most veteran free agents who signed this summer won’t become eligible to be traded by their teams until December 15 or January 15, depending on their circumstances. Those signings didn’t become official until July 6 or later because of the NBA’s summer moratorium.

International Notes: Doncic, Embiid, Gobert, Lessort

July 30th, 2023 at 11:58am CST by Arthur Hill

Mavericks star Luka Doncic was introduced Saturday as the new captain of the Slovenian national team for the FIBA World Cup competition, writes Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. He takes over for Edo Muric, who will miss the tournament with a torn ACL.

“I am honored to be the captain. The coach and the rest of the players made the decision,” Doncic said. “It is a pleasure to play for the national team. I have not played since April 10, so I can’t wait for the games.”

At 24, Doncic is already a veteran of international competitions. He was among the stars at the last Summer Olympics and competed twice in EuroBasket, helping Slovenia capture the gold medal in 2017. His team failed to defend its title at last year’s tournament, getting upset by Poland in the quarterfinals.

“As in every tournament, the goal is to win the championship,” Doncic said. “Last year’s failure in the EuroBasket did not make (me) too angry, but instead motivated me. You must look ahead. We don’t care what happened last year. I feel better this year. It is apparent. Much praise to the fitness coach pushing me.”

There’s more international news to pass along:

After saying earlier this week that he’s hoping to have Sixers center Joel Embiid for the 2024 Olympics, Team USA managing director Grant Hill expanded on those comments Saturday on Marc Stein’s podcast (hat tip to HoopsHype). Hill expressed guarded optimism about landing Embiid, who also has citizenship with France and Cameroon, stating that talks will continue as he puts the team together. “Joel Embiid is an incredible talent and he has options,” Hill said. “And I guess that’s a good thing. I’ll just say this: I’ve had some discussions with him, and he knows our desire to have him a part of our program. So we’ll see sort of where that goes. But we’ll certainly, as we get through this World Cup and start to sort of plan for next summer, we’ll continue with those conversations, and hopefully by then, I’ll have some numbers and percentages to give you in terms of where the possibility stands.”
Rudy Gobert had doubts about participating in the World Cup after the season ended, but now he believes France has a good shot at a gold medal, according to Eurohoops. Gobert said he continued to work hard after the Timberwolves were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. “The break after the end of the season wasn’t one,” Gobert said. “I trained a lot in June and July, I feel good and that’s also why I’m here.”
France may be without draft-and-stash player Mathias Lessort, whose NBA rights are owned by the Knicks, Eurohoops reports. Lessort has an ankle issue that will force him to miss an exhibition game with Tunisia next week.

Former Warriors Exec Bob Myers Likely To Get Job Offers

July 29th, 2023 at 9:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bob Myers indicated that he wanted some time away from the game when he stepped down as president of basketball operations and general manager of the Warriors, but fans should expect to hear his name mentioned in connection to any openings that arise in the next few months, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

The most obvious team for Myers, according to Fischer, is the Clippers because of his longtime association with team consultant Jerry West and the working relationship they developed during their time together with Golden State. Myers spent more than a decade with the Warriors and helped to win four championships, so Fischer believes he’ll be among the first names that any team will call if it decides to shake up its front office.

Fischer identifies a few other former general managers who may be in line for a second chance, including ex-Utah GM Dennis Lindsey, who is currently working in the Mavericks‘ front office, Kings assistant GM Wes Wilcox, who has rebuilt his reputation after his experience in Atlanta, and former Orlando GM Rob Hennigan, who is VP of basketball operations with the Thunder.

Fischer passes along more information about rising stars in NBA front offices:

Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon was among the candidates to become the Wizards’ president of basketball operations and he’ll likely be considered for similar jobs in the future, Fischer writes. Raptors GM Bobby Webster, Cavaliers GM Mike Gansey and new Clippers GM Trent Redden all appear headed for team president roles someday, Fischer adds.
Jeff Peterson, the Nets‘ assistant GM, is considered one of the league’s best young executives, according to Fischer. Peterson interviewed for the Pistons’ GM slot in 2020, and Fischer hears that he’s viewed as one of the favorites to take over the Hornets if they decide to replace Mitch Kupchak, who’s in the final year of his contract. Pelicans assistant GM Bryson Graham could be first in line to replace Langdon if he leaves, but league sources tell Fischer that he might get an opportunity with another team before that happens.
Tayshaun Prince is a valuable member of the Grizzlies‘ front office and has received overtures about running other teams, according to Fischer. Among other former NBA players, Jameer Nelson has built a strong reputation in the Sixers‘ front office for his work with their G League affiliate, and Acie Law appears headed for a promotion with the Thunder after Will Dawkins was hired by the Wizards.
Fischer identifies CAA’s Austin Brown as an agent who might move into a front office role, noting that he was a candidate to run the Bulls in 2020. Fischer also singles out agents Jason Glushon and Todd Ramasar, along with Kirk Berger, a legal counsel with the players’ union.

Western Notes: Jackson, Smart, Hughes, Pokusevski, Thunder

July 28th, 2023 at 9:59pm CST by Rory Maher

Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, says he’s excited to team up with Marcus Smart, who won the award in 2022, writes Jerry Jiang of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Smart was acquired from the Celtics last month in a three-team trade, and Jackson reached out to him when the news broke.

“That doesn’t happen pretty often or ever,” Jackson said, referring to a team having two DPOY winners at the same time. “I just know what he brings to Boston. I’ve seen it before I was in the league and it’s crazy.”

Here’s more from the West:

The Mavericks intend to hire Eric Hughes as an assistant coach, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Hughes got his NBA start as an assistant with Toronto and previously worked under head coach Jason Kidd with the Nets and Bucks, MacMahon notes. He has been with the Sixers for the past four seasons.
Thunder big man Aleksej Pokusevski won’t be able to represent his native Serbia in the FIBA World Cup next month, according to Eurohoops.net. The 17th pick of the 2020 draft, Pokusevski suffered a broken arm during an offseason workout at the end of May and won’t receive medical clearance to train with a basketball until late August, the report states. The World Cup starts August 25 and runs through September 10. The 21-year-old was hoping to secure a spot on the Serbian national team’s 12-man roster.
In a mailbag for The Oklahoman, Joe Mussatto predicts that Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Victor Oladipo, Jack White, Usman Garuba and TyTy Washington are the the most likely players to be on the chopping block due to the Thunder‘s roster crunch. However, Mussatto notes that OKC has a few months to figure things out and more trades could be in order rather than outright waiving all five players.

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