Luka Doncic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nets Rumors: Bridges, Finney-Smith, O’Neale, Murray, Claxton

February 5th, 2024 at 9:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets have no interest in rebuilding as Thursday’s trade deadline approaches, which means any rumored deals involving Mikal Bridges are off the table, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Scotto’s sources confirm that Brooklyn’s front office refused to discuss Bridges when the Rockets offered to return some of the draft assets they own from the James Harden deal in 2021.

According to Scotto, the Nets view Bridges as a foundation piece with a team-friendly contract that will pay him $23M next season and $24.9M in 2025-26. With Ben Simmons‘ $40.3M salary coming off the books after next season, Brooklyn officials believe they have a two-year window to add stars around Bridges. That could eventually make him a second or third option instead of the main focus of the offense, Scotto adds.

There’s more from Scotto on the Nets:

Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale are both attracting trade interest, according to Scotto’s sources. Rival teams believe the Nets could acquire a first-round pick and a rotation player in exchange for Finney-Smith, who is under contract for $14.9M next season and has a $15.37M player option for 2025/26. The price for O’Neale, who has a $9.5M expiring contract, is viewed as multiple second-round picks, Scotto adds. Sources tell Scotto that Finney-Smith has attracted “significant interest” from several playoff contenders, including the Mavericks and Lakers, who may have lost Jarred Vanderbilt for the rest of the season. Finney-Smith played for Dallas before being shipped to Brooklyn in last year’s Kyrie Irving deal and he remains a close friend of Luka Doncic, according to Scotto. The Bucks, Thunder, Suns and Kings are other teams to watch for Finney-Smith, Scotto adds, while the Mavericks, Nuggets, Pacers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Suns and Kings have interest in O’Neale.
Scotto suggests the Nets might be open to trading for Dejounte Murray if the Hawks are willing to accept Spencer Dinwiddie and a first-round pick in return. Atlanta is currently asking for two first-rounders in exchange for Murray, and Scotto notes that he has a 15% trade kicker as part of his contract, which will pay him $120.1M over the next four seasons (give or take a few million depending on incentives and that trade bonus).
A few teams have inquired about Nic Claxton, but Scotto says many rival executives believe the Nets will try to re-sign their starting center when he becomes a free agent this offseason.

Southwest Notes: Williamson, Wembanyama, Adams, Irving, Doncic

February 4th, 2024 at 8:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Zion Williamson scored the game-winning layup against the Spurs on Friday night. Afterward, the Pelicans forward lavished praise on Victor Wembanyama, who finished the game with 16 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and two steals.

“Vic is a very special player,” Williamson said of the Spurs rookie, per ESPN’s Andrew Lopez. “We were just talking about it in the locker room. He’s a dude that can get two or three Defensive Player of the Years and also, I don’t want to put a limit on it, but he can get Defensive Player of the Year and MVPs. We haven’t seen nothing like that. We’ve seen things close, but not like that. He’s an amazing player. Especially with [Spurs coach Gregg Popovich] over there, he’ll continue to develop.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Wembanyama played 27 minutes against Cleveland on Saturday the second night of a back-to-back and appeared visibly fatigued at times coming off the floor, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News noted. The Spurs big man admits the NBA grind is starting to wear on him. “I’m glad my body’s healthy, even though it’s hard,” Wembanyama said. “It’s not giving me any red flags. Of course, I like everything, the conditioning to be perfect, but you got to pick your battle.” He has also battled allergies in recent days. “My immune system is also impacted,” Wembanyama said.
The Rockets’ acquisition of Steven Adams shows they are determined to make deals for their long-range impact, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. Adams is out for the remainder of this season but will give Houston a quality backup center behind Alperen Şengün. It’s highly unlikely the Rockets will pursue a star-level player before the trade deadline, especially since they included Victor Oladipo’s contract in the Adams deal. They are also cautious about acquiring players who would take minutes away from rookies Cam Whitmore and Amen Thompson.
Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against Philadelphia, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. Irving has missed the last six games with a sprained right thumb. Luka Doncic is also questionable after aggravating his sore right ankle.

Mavericks Notes: Lively, Kleber, Irving, Doncic

February 3rd, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

A broken nose will prevent Dereck Lively II from playing Monday in his home city of Philadelphia, according to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. Instead of traveling with his teammates, the Mavericks’ rookie center will remain in Dallas to undergo a nasal procedure to ease the pain from the break. Lively tried out a face mask at Friday’s practice in hopes of playing tonight, but he didn’t enjoy the experience.

“Playing with the mask, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy,” he said, “but you got to be able to go through the highs and lows and work through it. Today, I gave it a shot on being able to wear the mask and adjust it and feel like how it’s going to be on the court. We’re still trying to figure out what I’m going to be doing moving forward. But … I will be having a procedure on Monday to reset my nose since it is broken.”

Injuries are the only thing that have slowed down Lively, who is averaging 9.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 36 games. He was one of 11 rookies selected this week to participate in the Rising Stars event at All-Star Weekend.

“To be given this chance is amazing,” Lively said. “At the beginning of the season, if you told me I’d be able to get this far – no way, I wouldn’t have imagined it. So just being able to know I’m going to this game, I’m excited to be part of the atmosphere and getting to know everybody.”

There’s more from Dallas:

Maxi Kleber also suffered a broken nose this week, with his injury occurring on Wednesday at Minnesota, Sefko adds. Kleber was active for tonight’s game against Milwaukee.
Kyrie Irving sat out his sixth straight game with a sprained right thumb, but there’s optimism he’ll return soon, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Coach Jason Kidd told reporters that Irving had “two good days of practice” and said “hopefully he’ll be available” for the road trip that starts Monday.
Kidd also said he’s trying to manage the load on Luka Doncic, who’s averaging a career-high 37.5 minutes per game so far this season, per Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). However, Kidd added, “This could be a night where he does play 40-something minutes” due to a shortage of available players.
Kidd made headlines this week with his comparison of Doncic and Dirk Nowitzki, but the Mavericks shouldn’t expect Doncic to spend his entire career in Dallas like Nowitzki did unless they can build a team capable of competing for a title, Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News argues in a subscriber-only piece.

Southwest Notes: Doncic, Kyrie, Lively, Rose, Champagnie

January 31st, 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd was a part of the 2010/11 Dallas team that won the NBA Finals, but he has already seen enough from Luka Doncic to place him ahead of that year’s Finals MVP – Dirk Nowitzki – on the franchise’s list of all-time best players.

“He’s better than Dirk,” Kidd said of Doncic during a Tuesday radio appearance on 97.1 The Freak (story via Tim MacMahon of ESPN). “He’s in the atmosphere of MJ (Michael Jordan), the best to ever do it, LeBron (James), Kobe (Bryant). And so, just to appreciate what this young man’s doing at the age of 24, (it) is something that Dallas has never seen. I’ve said this internally: He is better than Dirk. He does things that Dirk could never do, and now is the opportunity of getting the right people around him to ultimately win a championship.”

Kidd made his comments in the wake of a record-setting run from Doncic, who followed up a 73-point outburst on Friday with a 17-assist triple-double on Saturday and a 45-point, 15-assist, nine-rebound performance on Monday.

Doncic is now averaging 34.7 points per game this season, far exceeding Nowitzki’s career high of 26.6 PPG in 2005/06. Of course, as MacMahon points out, Luka’s playoff accomplishments fall far short of Nowitzki’s, let alone those of Jordan, James, and Bryant — the Mavs have only advanced beyond the first round once during Doncic’s time in Dallas. However, Kidd is confident that it’s just a matter of time until that changes.

“This young man is 24 and is breaking all the records that stand in front of him,” Kidd said. “He’s a winner, and his ultimate goal is to win a championship. And he will get there and not just win one, but he will win multiple when it’s all said and done.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Kyrie Irving (right thumb sprain) will miss a fifth straight game for the Mavericks on Wednesday in Minnesota, according to the official injury report. The banged-up Mavs will be down two more starters besides Irving, with Doncic (right ankle sprain) and Dereck Lively II (broken nose) also having been ruled out.
Grizzlies point guard Derrick Rose is nearing a return from the left hamstring strain that has sidelined him for nearly a full month, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Rose, who hasn’t played since January 2, is participating in five-on-five work and is in the “latter stages” of his recovery, per head coach Taylor Jenkins. The hope is that he’ll be able to return within Memphis’ next three games.
As Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) details, Julian Champagnie was inserted into the Spurs‘ starting lineup last month and has hung onto that spot for the past 20 games by following some simple advice from head coach Gregg Popovich: “Don’t be Kobe.” Popovich wanted to see the second-year forward blend in with the rest of the starters and not try to do too much — so far, so good. “Fitting in is pretty easy, you know?,” Champagnie said. “Just stick to my role, hit open shots, play defense, play hard.”

Mavericks Notes: Luka, Kyrie, Kleber, Williams

January 26th, 2024 at 11:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks star Luka Doncic had a frustrating night on Wednesday against Phoenix, earning a technical foul for repeatedly complaining to the referees and then requesting that a heckling fan be ejected, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Both incidents came in the third quarter, with the Suns fan leaving voluntarily.

Wednesday marked Dallas’ third straight loss and fifth in its past seven games. Doncic’s frustration boiling over was noteworthy, according to Tim Cato of The Athletic, who says the front office is well aware that it needs to continue to surround its best player with more talent after adding multiple young role players over the summer.

Friday’s matchup with Atlanta went much differently for Doncic and the Mavs, however. The Slovenian scored a franchise-record 73 points, tied for the fourth-highest mark in NBA history, and became the first player to score 70-plus while shooting at least 75% from the field (he was 25-of-33 overall, including 8-of-13 from three and 15-of-16 from the line). He also contributed 10 rebounds and seven assists in 45 minutes during the five-point win (Twitter links via the Mavs and the NBA).

Guard Trae Young said Atlanta tried everything it could to stop Doncic, tweets Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com.

“He was hot. He was going. S–t, we were trying everything,” Young said. “We were trying to trap him. We started off with Jalen (Johnson) on him … Sometimes you just have to pick your poison.”

While Doncic said the performance was probably the best of his career, he was more focused on getting a win, per ESPN.com.

“We’ve been struggling lately,” he said. “Mindset was [to] get a win. We played great.”

Here’s more on the Mavs:

Kyrie Irving missed his second straight game on Friday with a right thumb sprain. That marked his 18th missed game of 2023/24, which means he’ll miss out on a $1MM bonus for appearing in 65-plus games, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The bonus had been considered unlikely after Irving appeared in 60 games last year, Marks adds. The three-time All-NBA guard will also be ineligible for end-of-season awards.
Big man Maxi Kleber‘s toe is still bothering him, which is why he sat out Friday’s game after missing 35 games with a right small toe dislocation. As Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News observes (via Twitter), Kleber’s ongoing toe problem is a “significant consideration” for the front office with the trade deadline set for February 8. The Mavericks have reportedly been looking for frontcourt help.
Forward Grant Williams had nothing but good things to say about the Mavs in a conversation with Souichi Terada of MassLive.com. Williams was acquired from Boston in a sign-and-trade last offseason. “I’m enjoying it,” Williams said of Dallas. “It’s a great organization, great team, bunch of guys that really want to win. It’s an opportunity to compete and step into a role that I didn’t have before. And performance-wise, I definitely want to be better, definitely want to get healthier, want to get in a good frame. But outside of that, I’m just focused on the day-to-day. We have a long season.”

2024 All-Star Starters Revealed; LeBron Sets Selection Record

January 25th, 2024 at 6:33pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The NBA revealed the 2024 All-Star Game starters on Thursday night, with Lakers forward LeBron James leading the pack with his record-breaking 20th straight selection. James has been a starter since 2005, his second season in the league, and broke his tie with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most selections in league history (Twitter link via NBA PR).

James and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will serve as captains. Joining James as Western Conference starters are Suns forward Kevin Durant, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. James is a captain for a seventh straight year.

Joining Antetokounmpo as Eastern Conference All-Star starters are Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, Bucks guard Damian Lillard, Sixers center Joel Embiid and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.

Thursday’s selections represent milestones for several players. Antetokounmpo is making his eighth career start and was the top vote-getter. Lillard is making his first career All-Star start. Haliburton is the fourth player in Pacers history to be named an All-Star starter, joining Paul George, Reggie Miller and Jermaine O’Neal (Twitter link). Embiid is a starter after not being named one in his MVP season a year ago. Tatum is making his fifth All-Star Game.

In the West, Doncic set the Mavs’ franchise record with four All-Star Game starts. Jokic was first in player and media voting en route to his sixth straight selection. Gilgeous-Alexander is making his first start. Durant is making his 14th All-Star appearance.

The starters are selected by a weighted voting process with the fan vote accounting for half of the final outcome. The player and media portions of the vote each counted for 25 percent. Three frontcourt players and two guards were selected from each conference.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes there was little drama in the selections for the starting positions. The voting totals from fans didn’t vary much from week to week, with Embiid, Haliburton, Tatum, Antetokounmpo, James, Jokic and Durant well ahead in their respective positions. The second guard spot in the East was more competitive, with Lillard and Hawks guard Trae Young going back and forth in fan voting. The guard spots in the West were also tight, with Doncic, Gilgeous-Alexander and Warriors guard Stephen Curry close in voting. Bontemps points out Lillard finished well ahead of Knicks guard Jalen Brunson in fan voting to earn the starting nod.

Full voting results can be found here.

The coaches for each All-Star team will be determined via the standings on Feb. 4, with the top-seeded coach taking the reins for each conference. However, Boston’s Joe Mazzulla and Denver’s Michael Malone are ineligible by virtue of the fact that they coached the two teams last season. Entering Thursday, the Thunder and Timberwolves are tied atop the West while the Bucks are next up behind the Celtics in the East, with the Sixers one game behind Milwaukee.

This year, the league is returning to the East vs. West format, so these players are suiting up for their respective conferences in the 73rd NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 18.

The reserves, who are picked by the league’s coaches, will be announced Feb. 1.

Mavericks Notes: Irving, Williams, Prosper, Kuzma, Grant

January 22nd, 2024 at 9:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

So far, the Mavericks’ decision to re-sign Kyrie Irving is paying off, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. The Mavs currently rank sixth in the Western Conference standings and are considered a dangerous playoff matchup due to their dynamic backcourt.

“I feel like a lot of people misjudged me,” Irving told MacMahon. “Dallas gave me a chance to just focus on the main thing, which is being the best basketball player when I stepped foot here, and then off the court still support me.”

Irving has often come through in the clutch in close games this season, MacMahon notes. Irving feels an on-court connection to Luka Doncic.

“He’s a winner. I’m a winner,” Irving said. “He’s a big gamer. I’m a big gamer. We like going against the best. That’s where I feel like we connect.”

We have more on the Mavs:

Grant Williams doesn’t like talking about it, but injuries could be the cause of his inconsistent first season with the club, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. Acquired in a sign-and-trade with Boston, Williams lost his starting job after missing one game with a right knee bruise and two more with soreness in the same knee. He also missed a game early this month with a right ankle sprain. “You’ve got to stay disciplined, keep the work and keep being mindful of every little thing that’s going on. No matter the health, no matter what’s going on off the floor, you have to approach every single day like it could be your last,” Williams said. “No matter if I’m 100%, 60% or 50%, I’m gonna give this team all I have. If it’s 50, hopefully that 50 was valuable enough to help us get a win.”
First-round pick Olivier-Maxence Prosper could be the answer to the team’s defensive issues, Noah Weber of TheSmokingCuban.com argues. The team could use his rebounding and positional size, Weber writes, noting that Prosper is 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and solid frame. “I want to guard the best players in the world,” Prosper said. “This is just a stepping stone towards that. I believe I will be that [a defensive anchor] for the Mavs.” Prosper has appeared in 23 games but none since Jan. 5.
Breaking down the roster and the team’s assets, ESPN’s Bobby Marks explains in his video trade guide (Twitter link) why it’s unlikely the team can put together a package for a starting power forward like the Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma or the Trail Blazers’ Jerami Grant.

Texas Notes: Doncic, Irving, Sengun, Smith, Wembanyama

January 21st, 2024 at 3:33pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Mavericks All-NBA point guard Luka Doncic knows how lethal he and backcourt mate Kyrie Irving can be when they’re both firing on all cylinders, writes Mark Medina of Sportsnaut.

“Some days, one is going to have a good game,” Doncic said of the All-Star twosome. “Some days, others are going to have a good game… But when we play both at our best, it’s tough to stop us. Hopefully we can get that to that next game.”

To wit, Medina notes that Dallas is scoring at an average clip of 119.1 points per 100 possessions in 21 games, across 479 Doncic’s and Irving’s minutes together. Doncic is notching a career-high 33.6 PPG on a .485/.376/.778 shooting line, plus 9.2 APG and 8.3 RPG, while Irving is averaging 25.3 PPG on .473/.410/.893 shooting, along with 5.4 APG and 5.0 RPG.

At 24-18, the Mavericks are firmly ensconced in the Western Conference playoff hunt, but seem to be a tier below the best of the West.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

Rockets center Alperen Sengun is quietly making a legitimate case for All-Star consideration this season, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “He’s so skilled,” Houston point guard Fred VanVleet told Bontemps. “He’s unguardable. He’s got a thousand moves. He’s learning the higher aspects of the game now that he’s going to be a featured guy and probably be an All-Star this year.” As the best player on the 20-21 Rockets, Sengun is averaging career highs of 21.9 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 4.9 APG, and 1.2 SPG.
Rockets power forward Jabari Smith Jr. suffered a sprained ankle Saturday night during the club’s 127-126 overtime victory over the Jazz, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Iko notes that a return timeline for Smith is unclear at present, but the 6’11” big man has been ruled out for tonight’s matchup against the Celtics, according to the NBA’s latest injury report
Spurs rookie center Victor Wembanyama has been playing on a minutes limit since spraining his right ankle three times in December. He has also been held out of one game in back-to-back sets. While head coach Gregg Popovich indicated that Wembanyama will be held to his current restriction of 27 minutes per contest at least through Monday, he hinted that things could change once San Antonio’s road trip concludes, as Andrew Lopez of ESPN relays. The Spurs will host the Thunder on Wednesday.

Minimum Game Requirement For Awards Looms Large For Super-Max Candidates

January 20th, 2024 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

As we detailed back in September, there are several players around the NBA who would benefit financially from making an All-NBA team or winning a Most Valuable Player of Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023/24.

Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray are among the players who would become eligible to sign a super-max (Designated Veteran) contract during the 2024 offseason by earning one of those honors this season.

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could ensure they become eligible to sign a super-max extension in 2025 by making this year’s All-NBA team. Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. could do the same by winning a second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award.

Additionally, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, and Hornets guard LaMelo Ball signed maximum-salary rookie scale extensions that will be worth 30% of next season’s salary cap (instead of 25%) if they make an All-NBA team this spring. These “Rose Rule” contracts are essentially “mini” super-max deals.

Not all of those 10 players look like legitimate All-NBA, MVP, or DPOY candidates this season, but many of them will be in the mix. However, as Tim Bontemps and Bobby Marks write at ESPN.com, the newly implemented 65-game minimum requirement for award winners looms large for this group.

Without appearing in 65 games (including at least 63 of 20-plus minutes and two of 15-plus minutes), these players will be ineligible to earn an All-NBA spot, and without that end-of-season honor, they won’t be in position to receive a higher maximum salary.

According to Bontemps and Marks, a player who misses more than 17 of his team’s games, falling short of appearing in the required 65, can technically still qualify for award recognition, but only in very specific scenarios:

If the player appeared in at least 62 games (and 85% of his team’s games to that point) and then suffers a season-ending injury.
If the player files a grievance and presents “clear and convincing evidence” that his team limited his games or his minutes with the intention of depriving him of award eligibility.

While there’s also a clause for “extraordinary circumstances,” the NBA and NBPA don’t expect that clause to apply to injury absences, since it would essentially defeat the purpose of the rule, per ESPN’s duo.

Of the 10 players mentioned above, one is already ineligible for a major end-of-season award — Ball has appeared in just 19 of the Hornets’ first 39 games due to an ankle injury, so even if he doesn’t miss a game for the rest of the season, he’ll max out at 62 appearances. Given Charlotte’s spot in the standings, Ball would have been an All-NBA long shot anyway, but he has been playing at a very high level when he’s been healthy.

The 65-game mark remains within reach for the rest of this group, though some players can’t really afford any sort of extended absence. Adebayo, for instance, has missed 10 of Miami’s 42 games so far and only logged 12 minutes in an 11th, which means it won’t count toward his 65. Seven more missed games would cost him his award eligibility.

Murray is in a similar spot — he has missed 14 of Denver’s 43 games and played just 10 minutes in a 15th, so three more missed games would make him ineligible for award consideration.

Doncic has missed seven games for the Mavericks, while Fox has missed six for the Kings, so they’re on pace to play in enough games, but if either player turns an ankle or tweaks a hamstring and is forced to the sidelines for a couple weeks, he’d be in trouble.

It looked like that might happen with Haliburton, who sat out just three of the Pacers’ first 36 games, then strained his hamstring earlier this month. He was expected to be unavailable for at least a couple weeks, but returned to action on Friday night, ahead of schedule, after missing just five contests.

Haliburton is a legitimate All-NBA candidate and would be in line for a projected $41MM pay increase across his five-year extension if he earns one of those 15 spots. Were those financial considerations a factor in his early return to action? Would he still have been inactive on Friday if that 65-game minimum weren’t in play?

It’s hard to imagine the Pacers allowing their franchise player to risk potential re-injury by coming back too early, but Haliburton certainly has a ton of motivation to play in every game he can this year.

As Howard Beck of The Ringer writes, that 65-game minimum will be a fascinating subplot to follow in the second half of the season. Although we’ve focused here on players whose future earnings could be directly tied to whether or not they claim an end-of-season award, there are many other potential All-NBA candidates who may fall short of 65 games, changing the equation for voters.

Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Zion Williamson, and Lauri Markkanen are among the stars who have been out for eight or more games so far this season, Beck observes. Kevin Durant has missed seven.

The 65-game minimum isn’t necessary to earn votes for Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or an All-Rookie spot, but the other major awards require at least 65 appearances.

In 2023, five of the 15 players who made an All-NBA team appeared in fewer than 65 games, but that won’t be the case in 2024. The players who have the most riding on All-NBA honors from a financial perspective may be the ones most motivated to stay on the court, but as Adebayo points out, you “can’t stop injuries from happening.”

“God forbid nobody gets hurt, but you can’t [prevent] injury,” he said, per Bontemps and Marks. “I think it’s crazy that we even have the rule. It’s one of those things where you just accept the rule. … I guess use your 17 games as wisely as possible.”

Western Notes: Kuminga, Moody, Suns, Mavs, Hawkins

January 15th, 2024 at 1:44pm CST by Rory Maher

While the Warriors appear open to various trade possibilities, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic hears Golden State’s front office isn’t actively shopping 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.

According to Vecenie’s sources, GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. places a high value on both young players and prefers to keep them, but he also recognizes that other teams value them as well. It remains to be seen how things will shake out over the next three-plus weeks until the February 8 deadline.

Vecenie’s full article focuses on this season’s trade candidates, with Pascal Siakam, Dejounte Murray and Zach LaVine at the top of his trade board.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Suns‘ “big three” rotation was slow to form with all three players dealing with various injuries in 2023/24, particularly Bradley Beal, who has been limited to 15 games thus far. However, in recent games, head coach Frank Vogel seems to have settled on a substitution pattern he likes, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic details.
Star guard Luka Doncic will miss Monday’s game vs. New Orleans — his third straight absence — due to a right ankle sprain, the Mavericks announced (via Twitter). Starting forward Derrick Jones Jr. is a new addition to the injury report — he’s sidelined with a right calf contusion. Rookie center Dereck Lively, meanwhile, will return from a five-game absence after dealing with a left ankle sprain, and Maxi Kleber will be active for the second straight contest after a lengthy absence due to a toe injury.
With the Pelicans near full strength, rookie guard Jordan Hawkins had received erratic playing time of late. That changed in a major way during Saturday’s victory over Dallas, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson all missed the contest — the second of a back-to-back — for various reasons, creating an opening for Hawkins, who responded with a career-high 34 points (on 11-of-19 shooting), five rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes. “I was just playing basketball,” Hawkins said. “Early in the season, I got a chance to play a lot. I wasn’t really nervous or anything. I looked at it like, ‘I’m going to hoop and show what I can do.’ No CJ, Trey, BI or Z. I knew the shots were going to be there. I just had to make them.”