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Stein’s Latest: Butler, Beal, Okogie, C. Johnson, Mavericks

January 20th, 2025 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Jimmy Butler‘s return from his seven-game suspension hasn’t changed the Heat’s desire to work out a trade before the February 6 deadline, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack column (subscription required). Butler was back in the starting lineup and played 33 and 28 minutes as Miami split a pair of weekend games, but concerns remain that the relationship will continue to deteriorate if he’s still on the roster past the deadline. Sources tell Stein that the Heat are “exploring every potential pathway” to assemble a multi-team trade to get Butler off their roster.

The Suns remain Butler’s preferred location, but it’s not clear that Phoenix is eager to pursue him or that it has enough assets left to make a competitive offer, Stein adds. Phoenix gave up three second-round picks and got one in return in last week’s trade for Nick Richards. That leaves the Suns with just their 2031 first-rounder and a 2025 second-rounder from Denver to offer in any deal.

The Raptors have been mentioned as a team that might be interested in helping to facilitate a Butler trade, and Stein says a well-placed source told him that “about half the league” has expressed similar sentiments to Miami. He cites the Timberwolves as another club that might be willing to help the Heat move Butler on to his next location in exchange for other assets.

Stein shares more inside information from around the NBA:

  • League sources confirmed to Stein a report that Butler’s camp hasn’t told the Bucks not to pursue a deal. However, he believes Milwaukee might be more interested in reviving its previous interest in Suns guard Bradley Beal if it’s going to add a player in that salary range. Stein points out that the Bucks can’t trade for either player without first dropping below the second apron, which would mean trading Pat Connaughton‘s $9.4 million contract without taking back any salary in return.
  • Some rival teams are questioning why the Hornets were willing to take on extra salary in the Richards trade while only netting two second-round picks, Stein adds. Charlotte acquired Josh Okogie at $8.3MM while parting with Richards’ $5MM contract, a move that will save the Suns more than $20MM in luxury tax. Stein speculates that the Hornets may have another move planned involving Okogie before the deadline.
  • Stein hears that the Nets don’t feel an urgency to trade Cameron Johnson because they’ve already weakened their team enough for tanking purposes by unloading Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith. Brooklyn is just 4-13 since sending Schröder to Golden State and has moved into sixth in the race for the best lottery odds.
  • Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is typically active at the deadline, but Stein doesn’t believe the team’s injury woes will force him into a move. “We look at everything,” Harrison said in a recent interview with Dalton Trigg for his Mavs Step Back Substack (subscription required), “but we’re not going to be reactionary to a short-term injury.”
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Jeff Peterson: Hornets Will Continue To ‘Listen To Everything’

January 16th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

After finalizing a deal to send Nick Richards to the Suns on Wednesday, Hornets president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson suggested in a Zoom call with reporters that the team isn’t done exploring its options on the trade market, writes Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

“We’ve received calls on multiple of our players,” Peterson said. “Nick Richards, we received multiple calls on him. We have good players. I think some of the injuries from a synergy standpoint have made it really tough to jell and see what this group can do.

“But, yeah, I think at this point, look, we are going to listen to everything. We are not going to do anything to compromise the future, but we are going to do what’s best for the organization that we see going forward in order to be sustainable going forward.”

Richards had been a productive contributor for the Hornets in recent years and was on a team-friendly contract, with a $5MM salary this season and a $5MM cap hit for 2025/26. However, as Boone details, Charlotte was comfortable sacrificing some depth in the middle due to the fact that starting center Mark Williams is healthy and looking like his old self, while two-way big man Moussa Diabate has emerged as a regular part of the rotation.

“We feel good about it,” Peterson said. “(Head coach) Charles (Lee) and me are lockstep in what a deal like this means for the roster.”

As Peterson explained, his goal is to build a “sustainable” contender and to avoid “taking shortcuts,” which is why he remains focused on stockpiling assets that will benefit the team in the long run.

“I have zero interest in making the playoffs for one year, and then being out for the next four or five, and then in for two and out again after that,” he said. “So, we want to again build something that has sustainability to it. So, at the same time, we’ve got to continue to take advantage of deals like this that’s adding picks to our treasure chest, if you will, or whatever it may be for us to have that optionality.”

Here’s more on the Hornets on the heels of their first in-season deal of 2024/25:

  • Josh Okogie may not end up being part of the Hornet’ long-term plans, but Peterson’s comments on Wednesday indicated that the club isn’t necessarily looking to flip him right away. As Boone relays, Charlotte’s head of basketball operations referred to Okogie as the kind of player “we want to bring into this organization,” lauding his character and competitiveness. “He’s having a career year shooting the basketball this year,” Peterson added. “It speaks to his work ethic and amount of time he puts into the gym. So he’s physical, he’s a great defender. We are just excited to get him into the organization.”
  • Michael Scotto of HoopsHype confirms that the Suns and Hornets explored a bigger deal involving Richards and Jusuf Nurkic before agreeing to their Richards/Okogie swap. According to Scotto, Phoenix coveted Hornets swingman Cody Martin, but Charlotte wasn’t willing to take on Nurkic’s sizable contract, which includes a $19MM+ guaranteed salary in 2025/26.
  • Scotto says the Hornets will continue to prioritize adding draft capital in the coming weeks while positioning themselves for a high pick in the 2025 draft. Scotto identifies Martin, point guard Vasilije Micic, and possibly Okogie as some trade candidates to watch.
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Hornets Trade Nick Richards To Suns

January 15th, 2025 at 6:43pm CST by Luke Adams

6:43 pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Suns and Hornets.

3:47 pm: The Suns and Hornets have agreed to a trade that will send center Nick Richards and a second-round draft pick to Phoenix in exchange for Josh Okogie and three second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Suns only have three tradable second-rounders on hand: Denver’s 2026 and 2031 selections, and Phoenix’s own 2031 pick. Those are the three picks headed to Charlotte in the deal.

According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the pick being sent from the Hornets to the Suns is a 2025 selection. It will be the least favorable of Denver’s and Philadelphia’s picks, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Charania (Twitter link). Barring an unexpected development in the second half of this season, that figures to be the Nuggets’ second-rounder.

Richards, 27, has seen regular rotation minutes in Charlotte since the start of the 2022/23 campaign and served as the team’s primary starting center in ’23/24 with Mark Williams sidelined. So far this season, he has appeared in 21 games, averaging 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 21.0 minutes per night.

Richards is on a team-friendly contract that pays him $5MM this season, with a $5MM non-guaranteed salary for next season. Okogie’s deal is also guaranteed in 2024/25 and non-guaranteed in ’25/26, but he’s earning $8.25MM this season, so the swap will reduce Phoenix’s projected end-of-season luxury tax bill by approximately $20MM, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), while giving the team an athletic option in the frontcourt.

Richards is expected to take over as the Suns’ starting center once he gets acclimated, tweets Gambadoro.

Reporting over the weekend indicated that the Suns and Hornets were in talks about a potential Richards trade that would send second-round draft capital to Charlotte.

Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic was believed to be part of those discussions, but the Hornets were likely unwilling to take on Nurkic’s contract, which has a significantly higher cap hit ($18.13MM) than Okogie’s and is also fully guaranteed for next season ($19.38MM). An Okogie/Richards swap is simpler from a cap perspective and doesn’t require Charlotte to include a second player.

Because they’re operating over the second tax apron, the Suns have limited options on the trade market this season. They’re not able to aggregate contracts or take back more salary than they send out. This deal meets those requirements while taking advantage of an Okogie contract that had been viewed as a probable trade chip since it was first signed in July. Not coincidentally, Okogie became trade-eligible on Wednesday.

Besides its newly acquired 2025 second-round pick, Phoenix’s only remaining tradable draft asset is its 2031 first-rounder. The front office figures to make that first-round selection available as the club continues to weigh its options on the market ahead of the February 6 deadline.

As Marks tweets, Phoenix will generate a $3.25MM trade exception as a result of this transaction. The Suns would be able to use that exception during the season, but not in the 2025 offseason as long as they continue to operate over the second apron.

As for the Hornets, after taking advantage of their significant breathing room below the luxury tax line to take on contracts and acquire three second-round picks from the Knicks in the Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster in the fall, they’re taking a similar path here, absorbing some extra salary in a deal for their backup center and netting multiple future second-rounders in the process.

Charlotte will still be operating $7MM+ below the tax line once this move is official, leaving the team with some flexibility to potentially facilitate another deal or two with a cap-strapped trade partner by Feb. 6.

While the Hornets are making this trade for the draft assets rather than for Okogie, the veteran swingman has been solid in limited minutes this season, averaging 6.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game across 25 outings, with career-high shooting percentages of 49.1% from the floor and 38.1% on three-pointers. He’s considered a versatile and above-average wing defender.

If Okogie isn’t part of Charlotte’s plans going forward, the club could look to flip him in the coming weeks, though he’ll be ineligible to have his salary aggregated with another player’s.

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Eighteen More Players Become Trade-Eligible

January 15th, 2025 at 7:00am CST by Luke Adams

Today is Wednesday, January 15, which means that a total of 18 players who signed free agent contracts meeting specific criteria this past offseason are now eligible to be traded.

Most offseason signees became trade-eligible on December 15, but players who met the following criteria were ineligible to be moved for an extra month:

  1. The player re-signed with his previous team.
  2. He got a raise of at least 20%.
  3. His salary is above the minimum.
  4. His team was over the cap and used Bird or Early Bird rights to sign him.

The following players met that criteria and are eligible to be traded as of Wednesday:

Most of the players on NBA rosters are now eligible to be moved, though a small handful still can’t be dealt.

That group includes Kings forward Doug McDermott, who becomes trade-eligible on Thursday, Celtics sharpshooter Sam Hauser (trade-eligible on January 23), Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (Jan. 26), Grizzlies big man Jay Huff (Jan. 28), Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (Feb. 2), and Knicks center Ariel Hukporti (Feb. 5).

Additionally, there are several players who won’t become trade-eligible at all prior to this season’s February 6 deadline, including stars like Joel Embiid, Lauri Markkanen, and Jamal Murray.

Players on 10-day contracts are also ineligible to be dealt.

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Suns’ Royce O’Neale Out For At Least 10 Days

December 31st, 2024 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Suns forward Royce O’Neale, who sprained his left ankle during Saturday’s game in Golden State, will be reevaluated in 10 days, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).

The injury occurred during the final minute of the second quarter, with O’Neale defending Dennis Schröder as the Warriors guard drove to the basket. O’Neale blocked Schröder’s shot, but landed awkwardly after doing so, turning his left ankle and falling to the floor (video link).

O’Neale has primarily been part of Phoenix’s second unit this season, but he has been one of the team’s most effective rotation players, averaging 10.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while making 44.1% of his 5.7 three-point attempts per night. He’s also one of the Suns’ most versatile defenders and ranks third on the roster with 817 total minutes played this season, so the club will miss him during his absence.

The Suns, who have fallen to 15-16 on the season, have been banged up lately, but should get some reinforcements as early as Tuesday, with guards Devin Booker and Grayson Allen seemingly on the verge of returning to action.

While Booker and Allen could play some of the minutes that would have been O’Neale’s, the forward’s absence will likely also result in increased roles for defense-first players like Ryan Dunn and Josh Okogie. Dunn has started the past three games, while Okogie was the first player off the bench in the second half of Saturday’s contest and logged a season-high 31 minutes.

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Pacific Notes: Melton, Reddish, Bronny, Suns

November 9th, 2024 at 10:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton said it felt “amazing” to be back on the court Friday night after missing five games due to a back strain, writes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. He was able to play 18 minutes, contributing 10 points, two rebounds and three assists as he moved right back into coach Steve Kerr‘s expanded rotation.

“Aggravation and they wanted to be cautious about it,” Melton said of the injury. “They just want to make sure I’m staying strong right now. Staying solid in terms of everything. Not worrying about necessarily being out there all the time, but the long haul.”

Melton experienced back pain while playing for Philadelphia last season and was unavailable for 40 of the final 45 regular season games. Golden State was aware of his physical issues when it signed him in free agency this summer, and the team’s medical staff is being careful in how it’s handling him.

“I’ve got a lot of trust in what they do,” Melton said, “and they’ve gotten me this far, so I’m in it.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • Lakers coach J.J. Redick considers his starting lineup to be “fluid,” per Khobi Price of The Orange County Register, so any changes like Friday’s move to replace D’Angelo Russell with Cam Reddish may not be permanent. Reddish put up modest stats with three points and five rebounds, but he impacted the game on defense, particularly in his matchups with Paul George. “Every team is different, every coach is different,” Reddish said. “I just go out there and do what (Redick) tells me to do. In my past life, I was going out there doing what I wanted to do. That doesn’t necessarily work all the time.”
  • Several members of the Lakers showed up Saturday night to support Bronny James in his first G League game, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. The group included Redick, general manager Rob Pelinka, Russell, Anthony Davis and of course Bronny’s father, LeBron James. He posted six points, three rebounds and four assists for South Bay.
  • Rookie Ryan Dunn could be coach Mike Budenholzer‘s choice to replace Kevin Durant in the Suns‘ starting lineup while he’s recovering from a calf strain, suggests Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Royce O’Neale is a more experienced option, Rankin adds, but Budenholzer seems to prefer using him off the bench. Rankin states that the injury could also result in more playing time for Josh Okogie, who made his season debut on Friday, and Bol Bol, who has yet to play this season.
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Pacific Notes: Draymond, Fox, Okogie, Durant

November 3rd, 2024 at 4:14pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors star forward Draymond Green, an eight-time All-Defensive Teamer, is hoping to get back into All-Defensive and Defensive Player of the Year consideration this season, he said in a conversation with former Warriors point guard Baron Davis on Green’s podcast, “The Draymond Green Show” (YouTube video link). Green, considered one of the best defenders of his generation, has only won the Defensive Player of the Year once, in 2017.

“That’s my goal, you know, just going through this offseason and then seeing my name not on an All-Defensive team last year,” Green said. “I know I wasn’t eligible because of the games I missed, but it still pissed me off. I want to keep building on what I hope ultimately becomes a Hall of Fame career. The more accolades, the better.”

The 34-year-old has been available for all six of the 5-1 Warriors’ games this season. He’s averaging 7.3 points on .438/.467/.643 shooting splits, along with 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists per night.

“I’m not seven feet, so I have to use positioning and my brain to be great,” Green added. “This year, that’s one of my goals: to get back in the Defensive Player of the Year race, get back on All-Defense First Team, and just keep running that up.”

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • Kings All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox has played all of his regular season games this year with a dislocated pinkie finger on his left (shooting) hand, reports Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. For now, his pinkie has been taped to his ring finger. Fox revealed that he suffered the injury in training camp. Imaging indicated that there’s no break, but it has yet to fully heal. “(It’s) probably a ligament,” Fox told Biderman. He plans to play through it rather than undergo a surgery, which he said would sideline him for about a month.
  • Suns reserve wing Josh Okogie has been on the shelf for the first five games of Phoenix’s season with a strained hamstring. He revealed to reporters on Saturday that he has been cleared to return, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). “I run very hard and I run very fast,” Okogie said of his playing style being a potential impediment to a quicker return. “So just being able to make sure my hamstring could take that. Not only to take it but sustain it.”
  • After being criticized for his leadership by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on the network’s “First Take” program, Suns All-Star forward Kevin Durant took umbrage with the assessment, per Doug Haller of The Athletic. “Yeah, Stephen A., I don’t understand how people even listen to Stephen A.,” Durant told Haller. “I’ve been in the league for 18 years. I’ve never seen Stephen A. at a practice, or a film session, or a shootaround. I’ve never seen him anywhere but on TV talking s–t about players and holding them to standards that he don’t even hold himself to or other people to. He’s a clown to me. He’s always been a clown. You can write that, too.” Phoenix seems to be responding well to Durant’s leadership this year. The club is off to an encouraging 5-1 start.
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Injury Notes: Embiid, George, Reaves, Suns, Murray

October 22nd, 2024 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers will be without two members of their “big three” when they open their season on Wednesday vs. the Bucks, the team announced today. As Ramona Shelburne of ESPN relays (via Twitter), Joel Embiid and Paul George have both been ruled out for that game.

Embiid didn’t play at all during the preseason due to left knee management. In addition to being ruled out for Wednesday’s opener, the star center will also miss Friday’s game in Toronto and Sunday’s in Indiana before being reevaluated this weekend. However, the former MVP is expected to ramp up his return-to-play activities and will scrimmage this week, so it sounds like the isn’t far off from making his season debut.

As for George, he’s said to be recovering well after hyperextending his left knee during the preseason. He’ll also ramp up his on-court activities this week and hasn’t been ruled out for any games beyond Wednesday’s vs. Milwaukee. The plan is for the star forward to be reassessed later this week.

While it’s a somewhat discouraging sign for 76ers fans that two of the team’s three stars will be on the shelf for the start of the season, the team has repeatedly expressed a desire to play it safe with Embiid and George this season in the hopes of having them at full strength for the postseason, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that the team isn’t rushing them back for the first of 82 regular season games.

Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:

  • Lakers guard Austin Reaves missed some time during the preseason with an ankle injury, but he said on Monday that the ankle feels great now and that he’s good to go for the club’s opener vs. Minnesota on Tuesday (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
  • Suns swingman Grayson Allen missed the team’s final four preseason contests due to a sore right Achilles, but he said he “did just about everything” in practice on Monday and hopes to be active when Phoenix’s season tips off on Wednesday vs. the Clippers, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Meanwhile, Suns guards Josh Okogie and Damion Lee are battling hamstring issues. “I think Damion is close,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Josh is a little bit behind those guys.”
  • Dejounte Murray isn’t injured, but his status for the Pelicans‘ opener on Wednesday vs. Chicago is up in the air since he’s away from the team due to a family emergency, tweets Christian Clark of NOLA.com. Head coach Willie Green said the team is “hopeful” Murray will be available to make his Pelicans debut on Wednesday.
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Suns Notes: Okogie, Dunn, Durant, Madkins

July 21st, 2024 at 10:31am CST by Arthur Hill

With a new two-year contract in hand, Josh Okogie hopes to help the Suns become a legitimate contender in the West, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Okogie, who has been a valuable reserve in Phoenix for the past two years, was rewarded with a $16MM deal, although only the first season at $8.25MM is guaranteed.

“My mentality is just to go out there and just try to try to give this team the energy that they need on both sides of the floor,” Okogie said. “We have a lot of talent on this team, but I want to be the battery of this team, if that makes sense. The motor of this team, to get people going, get people excited to play, get people moving. … Just, when JO steps on this court, everybody’s intensity level just rises.”

Okogie is with the team in Las Vegas, but he’s concentrating on his photography skills rather than basketball. After trying out his new hobby during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, Okogie is learning how to shoot the action of Summer League.

“I’m still not good,” Okogie said. “I’ll say 90-95% of my pictures are B.S., but I feel like I’ve gotten better — slightly — each day I’ve taken pictures. I’ve kind of figured out how the camera works, how to do the settings, how to do the white balance and all that. So it’s been pretty cool.”

There’s more on the Suns:

  • First-round pick Ryan Dunn didn’t play on Saturday as Phoenix closed out its Summer League schedule with a loss to Sacramento, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Playing for the fourth time in five days, the Suns chose to rest their top rookie, who displayed elite defensive instincts but struggled with his shot. In four games, Dunn averaged 5.8 PPG on 34.4% shooting, along with 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.3 steals. “Our guys loved him,” owner Mat Ishbia said in an NBA TV interview. “His work ethic. His defensive ability. His athleticism. He’s the kind of guy that fits in well with our team. We’re looking for some young guys that have energy and some positivity while playing great defense. He’s long, athletic and in the Summer League he’s performed just as we expected. It’s been fun having him so far and we’re excited to see what he can do during the season, too.”
  • After going through his first practice with Team USA on Friday, Kevin Durant sat out Saturday’s close call against South Sudan. Monday’s game with Germany will be Durant’s last opportunity to take the floor before the start of the Olympics.
  • Assistant general manager Gerald Madkins won’t return to the Suns next season, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Also leaving are personnel evaluation manager David Sevush and scouts Charles Payne and Darrel Johnson.
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Offseason Observations: Apron Impact, Rockets, Spurs, Okogie

July 18th, 2024 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA's offseason is far from over. As we saw last summer, when Damian Lillard was traded to Milwaukee in late September and Jrue Holiday was flipped from Portland to Boston on October 1, the trade market stays open into the fall.

We also could still see impactful moves on the free agent market occurring much later in the offseason, as was the case a year ago when Derrick Jones and P.J. Washington - two key members of the Mavericks' team that made the NBA Finals - signed their respective contracts during the second half of August (Washington signed with the Hornets before being traded to Dallas later in the season).

Still, the pace of the offseason action has certainly slowed down since the start of July, giving us an opportunity to look back and reflect on all that's gone down in the last few weeks.

From one of the biggest storylines of the summer (the impact of the new tax apron rules) to some under-the-radar developments (like the structure of Josh Okogie's new deal with the Suns), we're taking a closer look today at some of the more curious offseason subplots.

Let's dive in...

Has the impact of the new apron restrictions been overstated?

The concept of the tax apron has existed in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement for years, and a second apron was implemented in 2023, but the 2024 offseason is the first time all the new apron-related restrictions introduced in the current CBA have been in place. Those new restrictions affect the trade market most significantly, with teams operating over the first tax apron not permitted to take back more salary than they send out and teams over the second apron prohibited from aggregating player salaries.

While it's true that these rules have made it challenging for teams with high payrolls to make moves as easily as they used to, I think they've also become a convenient scapegoat for teams to justify certain roster decisions.

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