Cam Reddish

New York Notes: Reddish, Brunson, Bridges, Nets

March 11th, 2023 at 9:07am CST by Luke Adams

Now a member of the Trail Blazers, forward Cam Reddish spoke to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News about his disappointing stint with the Knicks, explaining that he felt as if the decision to bench him for his final 33 games with the team wasn’t about his on-court performance.

“It was tough but at the same time, it ain’t even about basketball,” Reddish said. “It had nothing to do with basketball. It was all the politics, all the favoritism. S–t like that. That’s why I wasn’t too worried about it.”

Reddish didn’t expand in any detail on that response, repeatedly telling Bondy that he’s simply happy to be in a better situation following the deadline deal that sent him to Portland. Reddish has started 10 of his 12 games for the Blazers, averaging a career-high 13.8 points per game on .464/.382/.857 shooting in 30.8 minutes per night. The 23-year-old added that he felt as if he had very little margin for error when he was a Knick.

“I can shoot a shot — and in New York, I feel like I HAD to make it,” Reddish said. “I know I’m not the only person that felt like that. I was putting too much pressure on myself. Now I can relax and play my game. You’re going to see it. The more I’m on the court, the more I’m going to grow and play. I’m happy.”

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (left foot soreness) has been ruled out for Saturday’s game vs. the Clippers and it’s unclear whether he’ll be available for either of the last two contests of the team’s road trip (on Sunday and Tuesday), writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. Brunson’s status going forward is a real cause for concern, Botte notes, given that the Knicks are far from locking up a top-six spot in the East and Brunson has been the team’s most indispensable player this season.
The Nets knew they were adding a talented player when they acquired Mikal Bridges as the centerpiece of their return for Kevin Durant, but they weren’t expecting the kind of offensive production they’ve gotten so far from the fifth-year forward, says Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Bridges has put up 25.8 PPG on .514/.492/.900 shooting in 12 games (34.0 MPG) since arriving in Brooklyn. “I don’t think anybody knew that Mikal was this amazing offensively. Just being completely real,” new teammate Spencer Dinwiddie said. “It’s our job that he can get to his spots and get his shots and continue to stack up these (30-point nights) as much as he possibly can.”
In last month’s trades of Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets were focused on getting back as many current and future assets as possible. Soon, they’ll need to make some major decisions about their direction, including which of their current players are keepers and whether they plan to shop or hang onto their newly acquired first-round draft picks. In a subscriber-only story for The New York Post, Lewis takes a closer look at the decisions on tap in Brooklyn.

Trade Breakdown: Josh Hart To The Knicks (Four-Team Deal)

March 5th, 2023 at 12:58pm CST by Rory Maher

This is the fifth entry in our series breaking down the significant trades of the 2022/23 season. As opposed to giving out grades, this series explores why the teams were motivated to make the moves. Let’s dive into a deal four-team deal involving the Knicks, Trail Blazers, Sixers and Hornets.

On February 9:

The Knicks acquired Josh Hart, the draft rights to Bojan Dubljevic, and the draft rights to Daniel Diez (all from Trail Blazers).
The Trail Blazers acquired Matisse Thybulle, Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, the Knicks’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), and the draft rights to Ante Tomic (from Knicks).
The Sixers acquired Jalen McDaniels, the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (from Hornets), and the Trail Blazers’ 2029 second-round pick.
The Hornets acquired Svi Mykhailiuk, either the Hornets’, Hawks’, or Nets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Sixers), and either the Pelicans’ or Trail Blazers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Trail Blazers).
Note: The Hornets had traded away their 2023 second-round pick in a prior deal.

Note: The Blazers, Sixers and Hornets all generated traded player exceptions in this deal, which can be found here.

The Knicks’ perspective:

Any time you deal away a first-round pick, even if it’s lottery-protected, ideally you want to re-sign the player you’re acquiring, particularly a player who can become a free agent in the offseason like Hart. The Knicks almost certainly would not have made this deal for 25 games of Hart – you can bet that they intend to bring him back, and they have his Bird rights, meaning they won’t require cap room to sign him.

Hart has already said multiple times that he’s looking for a home, is tired of moving, and hopes to remain with New York. That would certainly suggest that there’s mutual interest in the veteran wing sticking with the Knicks, even if the they haven’t publicly said anything about it.

I liked Hart’s fit with the Knicks when the trade was announced, and he has played very well for New York — the team is undefeated in his eight games. He’s averaging 11.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals on .618/.600/.667 shooting in 27.0 MPG thus far.

Obviously, those shooting splits are unsustainable, but Hart has a lot of desirable qualities that mesh well with the players on the roster. One interesting wrinkle is that Hart has been closing games over RJ Barrett, which I think is smart from head coach Tom Thibodeau – Hart is a better defender and doesn’t need the ball on offense. We’ll see if it continues going forward.

Hart has always struck me as a player Thibodeau would love because he plays with maximum effort, chasing after loose balls all over the court. He is a hard-nosed, versatile defensive player. He also is a solid passer on offense, even if he’s fairly limited as a half-court scorer.

The 27-year-old (he turns 28 on Monday) compensates for his relative lack of half-court scoring by being an absolute bull in transition, often pulling down rebounds and going coast-to-coast. He is one of the best rebounders in the league for a wing, particularly for his size (6’5”, 215 pounds), averaging 7.7 boards per game over the past three seasons.

There are two primary knocks against Hart. One is his all-out playing style has led to a number of injuries. He has missed an average of about 19 games per season in his five years leading up to 2022/23, though he has only been sidelined for three this season, not counting the two games missed due to the trade.

The second is that teams are going to dare him to shoot threes, as he’s only at 34.7% for his career from downtown (the league average is 36.0% this season). He was weirdly reluctant to shoot threes with Portland, going through long stretches where he would pass up wide-open shots. That inhibits offensive spacing and can be problematic when paired with a non-shooting big.

Still, he is a valuable role player who does a solid job defending against tough competition, and his ability to make plays for himself and others — especially on fast breaks — is a nice addition to the Knicks. They’re 27^th in pace, so he gives them some extra juice.

Reddish had not played in a game since December 3, and trading a protected first-rounder for him last year didn’t pan out. Arcidiacono and Mykhailiuk rarely saw the court, only playing a combined 66 minutes all season for New York. Trading away three players who weren’t contributing to the team’s on-court success for an impactful role player who almost immediately started closing games is a big deal, especially considering the Knicks have only made the playoffs once in the past nine years.

The Trail Blazers’ perspective:

Portland received a former first-round pick in Reddish and the Knicks’ lottery-protected first-rounder this season for a high-end role player in Hart. Arcidiacono was included for salary-matching purposes and is unlikely to have a role, but he’s not a bad fallback option as a third-string point guard – he takes care of the ball and is a decent shooter.

The Blazers also snagged Thybulle for a second-round pick (to Philly) and sent Charlotte another second-rounder to take a player they didn’t want (Mykhailiuk).

The primary reason the Blazers made this trade is that Hart has an odd contract and is expected to opt out of his player option in search of a long-term raise in free agency. Paying both Hart and Jerami Grant (UFA) would have pushed them into the luxury tax without other cost-cutting moves.

For as solid as Hart is, it’s not like Portland was going anywhere this season whether he was in the lineup or not. It’s a shame, because Damian Lillard has been phenomenal (he’s averaging a career-high 32.3 points with a 65.3 true shooting percentage — he’s at peak Stephen Curry levels of volume and efficiency), but the roster just isn’t good enough to do much beyond fighting for the back end of the play-in tournament.

As previously mentioned, Hart was oddly reluctant to shoot threes this season with the Blazers and I’m not really sure why. However, he will be missed for everything else he provides — most of their problems stem from rebounding and defense anyway, and he was one of their best players in both of those categories.

I like the Thybulle pickup and he looks like a good fit on the roster. He isn’t going to keep shooting 51.6% from beyond the arc like he has through seven games as a Blazer, but he was pigeonholed into a very narrow role with the Sixers and I believe he can provide more all-around value than he showed with them.

Thybulle is an absolute menace on defense and he knows that’s what he’s best at. A part-time wing player earning All-Defensive nods two seasons in a row is practically unheard of, but those awards were well deserved. The Blazers need all the help they can get on that end.

Reddish has now been dealt twice in a little over a year, with his value diminishing pretty drastically – the Knicks gave up a protected first-rounder to acquire him last year, but now moved him and a lottery-protected first to land Hart. The 23-year-old, who was the No. 10 overall pick in 2019, has yet to solidify himself as a solid NBA player.

Like Thybulle, Reddish has played well for Portland so far, averaging 14.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals on .470/.373/.941 shooting in eight games (27.7 minutes). Those numbers far exceed his career averages, which are pretty underwhelming (10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steal on .398/.327/.849 shooting in 161 games (24.7 minutes).

Both Thybulle and Reddish can be restricted free agents in the summer if the Blazers extend each of them a qualifying offer – I don’t think that’s a lock for either player, particularly Reddish.

The first-rounder Portland acquired from New York would currently land at No. 23 overall, which is decent. Definitely nothing to scoff at for a player on a pseudo-expiring contract whom the Blazers couldn’t reasonably afford to retain given the overall state of the team. If the Knicks go in a major slump to end the season and miss the playoffs — which seems extremely unlikely considering how hot they’ve been lately — the Blazers would instead receive four second-round picks.

Another aspect of this deal from Portland’s side is that it probably made them worse in the short term, which increases the odds of missing the playoffs and keeping their own lottery pick. The Blazers owe their pick to the Bulls if they make the postseason – if it doesn’t convey this year, the protections roll over to 2024 (it’s lottery-protected for several years, which makes it difficult for the team to trade future picks due to the Stepien rule).

The Hornets’ perspective:

Charlotte’s side of things is pretty straightforward. The Hornets were concerned about how much McDaniels would cost in unrestricted free agency and decided to move him and get something of value while they could.

I don’t think they necessarily wanted to trade McDaniels, especially after spending four years working with him on developing his game and seeing it start to pay off. Forwards who are 6’9″ with a bit of two-way versatility aren’t exactly common.

The problem is that Gordon Hayward is under contract through next season, the Miles Bridges situation still isn’t resolved, P.J. Washington will be a restricted free agent this summer, and Kelly Oubre is unrestricted. McDaniels is arguably the worst player of the group, making him relatively expendable.

The Hornets are almost certainly getting back their own 2023 second-rounder in the deal, which Philadelphia previously controlled and would currently land at No. 34 overall. Charlotte sent New York’s 2024 second-rounder to the Sixers as part of the multi-team agreement, which was slightly surprising, but if the Knicks are good again next year, that pick would land in the back half of the second round.

That No. 34 overall selection has real value and could be packaged with other seconds to move into the late first round this June. It could also be paired with Denver’s first-rounder (currently No. 28), which the Hornets control, to move up a little. Either way, it gives them more options in the upcoming draft and for trades.

The Hornets also picked up a 2027 second-rounder from Portland to take on Mykhailiuk’s salary. It’s reasonable to view that as a higher upside pick than the Knicks’ second-rounder they shipped to Philly. President of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak selected Mykhailiuk No. 47 overall back in 2016 when he was with the Lakers, so there is a connection there, but it seems unlikely that the veteran wing will have much of a role going forward.

The Sixers’ perspective:

The key takeaway from the Sixers’ side of things is they moved out of the luxury tax and arguably upgraded on the wing at the same time. I’m not sure I would take McDaniels over Thybulle in a vacuum, but it’s at worst debatable and he certainly provides length and positional size, which the team lacked.

Thybulle is a terrific defensive player, but he wasn’t consistently in the rotation this season due to his offensive limitations. He seemed to fall out of favor with the team after last year’s poor playoff showing, and the Sixers decided to trade him instead of letting him reach free agency.

McDaniels was averaging career highs in all the major counting stats for Charlotte, including points (10.6), rebounds (4.8), assists (2.0), steals (1.2) and minutes (26.7) per game. The 25-year old also hasn’t missed a game this season, which is impressive (he technically did miss one game due to the trade, but that was out of his control).

McDaniels doesn’t stand out in any one particular area, which is sort of a double-edged sword. It means he’s versatile enough to do a lot of different things on the court, but none at an elite level.

The big question mark with McDaniels is essentially the same as it was with Thybulle: can he make enough threes to stay on the court against top teams? With a roster loaded with talented scorers, other types of shots are hard to come by for role players like McDaniels. He is only at 34.1% for his career from deep, including 32.1% this season.

The Sixers picked up his Bird rights as part of the trade, giving them the ability to offer McDaniels more money and years than rival teams. For what they gave up, they likely aren’t committed to re-signing him though, nor should they be. They have the rest of the season to evaluate him and see how he does in the playoffs.

The 25-year-old’s minutes have been cut back pretty significantly since the trade, and his role is more in line with what it would be on a good team (which Philadelphia is). He was getting more run with the Hornets out of necessity due to injuries.

As previously mentioned, the Sixers basically swapped second-round picks with Charlotte, though the one they got back has far less upside. They also received Portland’s 2029 second-rounder for Thybulle — not much of a return, but he was only averaging 12.1 minutes per game with Philly this season and is on an expiring contract.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Wolves, Hyland, Jackson, Sexton

February 24th, 2023 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers continued to deal with a number of injury absences as the second half of their season got underway on Thursday night. As Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian writes, Jusuf Nurkic (calf), Justise Winslow (ankle), and Anfernee Simons (ankle) are still on the shelf for Portland.

Nurkic hasn’t returned to practice yet, though Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups said the veteran center is “getting better.” Winslow, meanwhile, has begun taking part in non-contact drills, while Simons is doing weight-bearing activities but no on-court work.

The Trail Blazers opted to give Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant the night off on Thursday following a series of weather-related travel days that saw Portland players spend several hours on the team plane on both Wednesday and Thursday. The club’s resulting starting lineup in Sacramento was an odd one that featured three trade-deadline additions (Cam Reddish, Matisse Thybulle, and Ryan Arcidiacono) along with two reserves (Drew Eubanks and Nassir Little).

While the Blazers lost in Sacramento, Billups liked what he saw from Little, whose 26 points were easily a season high (story via Fentress). Reddish also continued his solid play following the trade that sent him from New York to Portland, scoring 24 points of his own.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Timberwolves came close to acquiring Bones Hyland from the Nuggets at this month’s trade deadline, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North said in his podcast The Scoop (hat tip to HoopsHype). According to Wolfson, Minnesota “would have done what the Clippers did” (given up two second-round picks) or even more than that. However, Wolfson believes Denver’s ownership group was reluctant to do any favors for former Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who now runs Minnesota’s front office.
Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports spoke to Ish Smith, who previously played with Reggie Jackson in Oklahoma City and Detroit, about what the Nuggets‘ newest point guard can bring to the team. Jackson played 18 minutes in his Denver debut on Thursday, scoring seven points to go along with four rebounds and a pair of assists.
Jazz guard Collin Sexton, who strained his left hamstring in the team’s final game before the All-Star break, remains sidelined as a result of that injury. The expectation it that Sexton will be reevaluated on Monday, says Sarah Todd of The Deseret News.

Northwest Notes: Reddish, Thybulle, Thunder, Booth, Cancar

February 15th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After failing to establish themselves as long-term cornerstones in New York (and Atlanta) and Philadelphia, respectively, fourth-year forwards Cam Reddish and Matisse Thybulle are welcoming the opportunity to prove their worth in Portland, where they’ve immediately been inserted into the Trail Blazers‘ starting five.

As Jason Quick of The Athletic writes, Reddish shed tears when he learned of the trade sending him to Portland, which came as a surprise to the 23-year-old, who said he didn’t “really know why” it happened: “I think it was I just had so much stuff bottled up.”

Following the Blazers’ acquisition of Reddish, head coach Chauncey Billups told the former lottery pick that he has a “clean slate” in Portland and that he’ll only be judged on what he does going forward, rather than what he’s done in his first three-and-a-half NBA seasons.

“I just haven’t really had like a real, real shot to really play my game at the level I know I can play it,” Reddish said. “I feel like, honestly, I’m blessed to be in Portland, to have this opportunity. And I want to take full advantage of it. I’m not going to take it for granted, not even for one second.”

As for Thybulle, Billups pulled the two-time All-Defensive wing into his office before his first game as a Blazer to tell him how happy the team was to have him, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Billups also advised Thybulle to play freely and not worry about making mistakes.

“The first thing was I felt comfortable,” Thybulle said, per Fentress. “I didn’t realize how much you can take that for granted. So, just to be out there and feel comfortable and to feel and know that I’m wanted and needed, and this coaching staff and players have my back. I think it showed in just my ability to play and be more of myself.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Within a feature on Rockets rookie Jabari Smith Jr., his father Jabari Smith Sr. suggests to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that his son believed he had a promise from the Thunder to draft him second overall last June. Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link) doesn’t dispute that claim, but notes that Holmgren’s agent Bill Duffy told him on draft night that Holmgren – who was widely viewed as the favorite to be the No. 2 overall pick – was OKC’s “number one priority.” It’s possible the Thunder were counting on either Smith or Holmgren to be selected first overall and intended to draft the other.
Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com argues that Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth has a strong case for this year’s Executive of the Year award after drafting Christian Braun, trading for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and signing Bruce Brown as a free agent last summer. More recently, Booth addressed a pair of roster holes by acquiring Thomas Bryant at the trade deadline and signing Reggie Jackson on the buyout market.
One under-the-radar Nuggets move last offseason was the decision to sign little-used forward Vlatko Cancar to a new three-year deal. As Wind writes in another TheDNVR.story, Cancar has enjoyed a breakout season in the first year of his new contract, posting a shooting line of .506/.442/.958, making high-IQ plays, and holding his own against most assignments on the defensive end.

Blazers Notes: Grant, Deadline, Offseason, Lillard, Reddish

February 13th, 2023 at 4:21pm CST by Rory Maher

Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant sustained a right eye contusion during Friday’s loss to Oklahoma City. Although he was cleared to return at the time, he started experiencing “concussive symptoms” on Saturday morning and was placed in the league’s concussion protocol, Portland announced in a press release.

The impending free agent was initially questionable for Monday’s game against the Lakers, but he has been downgraded to out, per the Blazers (Twitter links). Forward Kevin Knox, who was acquired in a four-team trade that also involved Golden State, Detroit and Atlanta, will be active for his first game with Portland.

Here’s more on the Blazers:

Grant has switched agents ahead of free agency. He is now represented by Klutch Sports Group, he confirmed to Danny Marang of 1080 The FAN (Twitter link).
GM Joe Cronin says he was disappointed to not add a major impact player at the trade deadline, so he instead pivoted to “asset acquisition mode,” as Jason Quick of The Athletic relays. “We want to be championship level as soon as possible. So for us, it was disappointing. We want to get out there, and we would love to have a team out here tonight that is ready to rock. We are borderline anxious to push all of our chips in. We can’t wait for that moment to happen. It just hasn’t come up yet,” he said.
Cronin went on to say the Blazers will aggressively build around Damian Lillard in the offseason, according to Quick. “We are going to be ridiculously aggressive, to the point where once we push our chips all the way in, like, deal-to-deal you might say ‘Wow, they lost that deal. They gave a lot for that guy.’ But no, that’s just us pushing our chips in. We feel extremely obligated to put a great roster around Damian Lillard. And when I say we, that’s from the top. Jody (Allen) and I have had a lot of conversations about how important it is for us to do right by Damian. And we plan to do that,” Cronin said.
Lillard believes Cam Reddish has untapped upside and hopes the Blazers can bring out the best in the fourth-year wing. “You know he has all the tools…He hasn’t found a home yet…If we can change his life and get that potential out of him, create opportunity for him to blossom, then it could be a great thing…that’s our job, to try to get it out of him,” Lillard said (Twitter video link via New York Basketball).

Scotto’s Latest: McDaniels, Hornets, G. Williams, Nuggets

February 11th, 2023 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels drew significant trade interest around the NBA ahead of Thursday’s deadline, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who reports that about half of the league’s teams reached out to express interest in the 22-year-old.

However, after keeping him out of the Rudy Gobert blockbuster last summer, the Timberwolves continued to turn away inquiries on McDaniels. The front office views the third-year forward, who becomes extension-eligible during the coming offseason, as a member of the team’s core, Scotto writes.

McDaniels’ brother Jalen McDaniels was on the move this week, as the Hornets sent him to the Sixers in a four-team deal that also involved New York and Portland. According to Scotto, Charlotte was anticipating a strong free agent market for Jalen this offseason and was concerned about being outbid for the 25-year-old, who will be an unrestricted free agent.

After trading for him at the deadline, the Sixers are hoping to use their Bird rights on the older McDaniels brother to retain him, but they’ll face competition. League sources tell HoopsHype that the Jazz, Pacers, and Spurs are among the clubs expected to show interest in McDaniels in the summer.

Here’s more from Scotto:

With McDaniels no longer on the roster, the Hornets are prioritizing re-signing P.J. Washington this summer, as well as potentially negotiating a new deal with Miles Bridges, says Scotto.
The Celtics turned away multiple teams who expressed interest in trading for forward Grant Williams, Scotto reports. Clubs were interested in acquiring Williams ahead of his restricted free agency to secure his Bird rights, Scotto writes, adding that some executives around the NBA believe Boston will be hesitant to match an offer sheet exceeding $15MM+ per year for the forward this summer. The C’s never offered more than $50MM in guaranteed money over four years last fall when the two sides discussed an extension, Scotto notes.
Before sending him to the Clippers, the Nuggets discussed possible deals involving Bones Hyland with the Hornets (Jalen McDaniels), Timberwolves (Taurean Prince), and Knicks (Cam Reddish), according to Scotto.
In case you missed it, Scotto’s latest story for HoopsHype also included an interesting item on the Grizzlies’ offer for Mikal Bridges and some info on potential suitors for veteran wing Terrence Ross.

Eastern Notes: Korkmaz, McDaniels, Johnson, LeVert, Reddish, Celtics

February 10th, 2023 at 10:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey confirmed that Furkan Korkmaz requested a trade and said he tried find a new home for the sixth-year wing, Derek Bodner of The Daily Six tweets.

“Look, he’s a very good player,” the Sixers’ top exec said. “I think he would be in the rotation of many teams in the league, so we were hoping to help him out. He’s been a great partner with the organization.”

Morey added that Korkmaz has a “great attitude.” The Sixers did swing a deal for the Hornets’ Jalen McDaniels, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Philadelphia would like to retain him, Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice relays. “I think he’s got starter potential. We’d like to obviously have him have a great run, help us win a championship this year, and then re-sign him,” Morey said Friday.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

James Johnson was waived by the Pacers due to a roster crunch in the aftermath of the Kevin Durant multi-team blockbuster. However, Indiana plans to bring back the forward if he clears waivers, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Johnson, who appeared in 12 games this season, attended the Pacers’ game on Friday.
Caris LeVert was relieved he wasn’t dealt by the Cavaliers, he told Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Just a feeling of relief,” he said. “Relief that nothing happened and I’m going to be here, having an opportunity to finish out the season and finish it out with this group. We have been playing great basketball. I think we’re all glad that the group stayed together and we’re excited to make this final push. Can’t wait to see how far we can go.” LeVert is headed to free agency after the season.
Cam Reddish fell out of the Knicks’ rotation well before he was dealt to the Trail Blazers this week. New York coach Tom Thibodeau said the “change” may be good for the young forward’s career, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. “I don’t know if it didn’t work,” he said. “I just think there were some good moments, some moments that probably could’ve been better and that’s part of the league. Sometimes you need a change.”
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said he wasn’t close to making another deal after acquiring Mike Muscala from the Thunder, implying that they weren’t really interested in making another move, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets.

Knicks, Blazers, Sixers, Hornets Officially Complete Four-Team Trade

February 9th, 2023 at 10:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks, Trail Blazers, Sixers, and Hornets have folded two separate trade agreements into a single four-team trade, with press releases from New York and Portland confirming that the deal is official.

The trade combines the Knicks’ acquisition of Josh Hart from Portland with the three-team trade agreement that sends Matisse Thybulle to the Blazers and Jalen McDaniels to the 76ers. Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice first reported (via Twitter) that the two deals would be combined into one.

Here are the full terms of the trade:

Knicks acquire Josh Hart, the draft rights to Bojan Dubljevic (from Trail Blazers), and the draft rights to Daniel Diez (from Trail Blazers).
Trail Blazers acquire Matisse Thybulle, Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, the Knicks’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), and the draft rights to Ante Tomic (from Knicks).
Sixers acquire Jalen McDaniels, the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (from Hornets), and the Trail Blazers’ 2029 second-round pick.
Hornets acquire Svi Mykhailiuk, either the Hornets’, Hawks’, or Nets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Sixers), and either the Pelicans’ or Trail Blazers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Trail Blazers).

The deal expanded slightly to include the draft rights of three draft-and-stash players, but otherwise looks the same as what was previously reported.

As expected, Portland waived Greg Brown to help open up the necessary roster spots for their incoming players.

For more details on the deal, check out our full stories on the Knicks/Blazers half of the trade, as well as the Blazers/Sixers/Hornets portion.

Northwest Notes: Hyland, Blazers, Nurkic, Wolves, Thunder

February 9th, 2023 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

Second-year Nuggets guard Bones Hyland is considered a strong candidate to be moved ahead of this afternoon’s trade deadline, but if it were up to teammate Michael Porter Jr., Hyland wouldn’t be going anywhere, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required). In addition to wanting Hyland to remain in Denver, Porter would also like to see him back in the club’s rotation.

“Bones is one of my favorite players, and I think he’s such a great player and person,” Porter said. “Circumstances make it so that sometimes he’s misunderstood, but me and him have a good connection. He’s such a talented player, obviously he should be on the floor. Everyone knows that. I don’t know what the future’s gonna hold for him, but I wish he was here. I wish he would stay here, and I wish it could be figured out. Obviously, that’s not up to me. That’s up to the front office.”

Hyland, who reportedly hasn’t been thrilled with his modest role in Denver, has been a DNP-CD for the team’s past four games. The Nuggets are believed to be seeking a first-round pick or a defensive-minded wing in any deal involving the 22-year-old.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Although the Trail Blazers‘ deal sending Josh Hart to New York doesn’t exactly scream “win now,” star guard Damian Lillard didn’t mind the move, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I think it’s a game of chess … you gotta do what you gotta do, and trust the process that repositioning ourselves will be beneficial,” Lillard said. “… I’ve always liked Cam Reddish a lot.”
Jusuf Nurkic recognizes that the Trail Blazers‘ plans could change at the last minute before the deadline, but he said on Wednesday that general manager Joe Cronin has told him he won’t be on the move this week. “We had a really good, nice chat,” Nurkic said, per Quick. “I don’t know if I should really put it out there, but he said, ‘No, we are not trading you.'”
Given how aggressively the Timberwolves recruited and pursued D’Angelo Russell in 2019 and 2020, Wednesday’s trade agreement sending Russell out in a deal for Mike Conley represents a major philosophical shift in the team’s direction at point guard, says Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. While Russell was a scorer who could pass, Conley is more of a “classic” point guard, and the Wolves could use a veteran with his ability to organize and lead a team, Krawczynski explains.
It’s unlikely to be too eventful a trade deadline for the Thunder, who aren’t yet ready to be buyers and don’t have many veterans worth selling, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscription required).

Trail Blazers To Trade Josh Hart To Knicks

February 8th, 2023 at 10:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks have reached an agreement to acquire Josh Hart from the Trail Blazers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Portland will receive Cam Reddish and a first-round pick as part of the return.

Hart has an expiring $12.96MM contract, while Reddish is earning $5.95MM in the final year of his rookie deal, so at least one more player has to be included to match salaries.

Sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that Svi Mykhailiuk ($1.97MM) and Ryan Arcidiacono ($2.13MM) are also headed to the Blazers (Twitter link), which will satisfy the NBA’s matching rules.

The pick that New York is giving up is lottery protected for 2023, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link). If it doesn’t convey this year, it will turn into four future second-round picks. That’s presumably the Knicks’ own first-round pick, since the protection terms don’t match up with the other first-rounders they control.

New York appeared to be a late entry into the bidding for Hart, with the first rumors of a deal appearing earlier today. His toughness and tenacity on defense seem to make him a natural fit for coach Tom Thibodeau. The Cavaliers and Heat were among the other teams reported to have interest in trading for Hart.

The 27-year-old wing is expected to decline his $12.96MM option this summer and seek a long-term deal in free agency. He has been part of the starting lineup in Portland since the Blazers acquired him at last year’s trade deadline, and he’s averaging 9.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 51 games this season.

The Knicks gave up a protected first-round pick last February to acquire Reddish, but he has fallen out of favor and hasn’t played since December 3. The 10th selection in the 2019 draft has washed out in Atlanta and New York, but he will have two months to audition for the Blazers, who can make him a restricted free agent with a $7.7MM qualifying offer.

Mykhailiuk, who signed a non-guaranteed deal with New York shortly before the start of training camp, has seen minimal playing time in 13 games.

Arcidiacono has played even less than his teammate, appearing in just 11 games and logging 26 total minutes in 2022/23. Due to the terms of his contract, he had the ability to veto any trade that involves him, but he has signed off on this one, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

The Trail Blazers will gain some cap relief as a result of the deal and will move well clear of the luxury tax line after flirting with it for much of the season. Assuming no players are added to the deal and it remains a three-for-one swap, Portland will have to cut a player from its 15-man roster to make room for the newcomers.

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