- Before he signed with the Nuggets as a free agent in November, Isaiah Hartenstein drew interest from the Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, Pelicans, and Wizards, league sources tell Singer in a separate Denver Post story.
- Typically a slow starter, Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum has been excellent so far in 2020/21, having averaged 28.0 PPG with a .431 3PT% in six games. Jason Quick of The Athletic takes a look at what has fueled the hot start for McCollum, who said he’s motivated by wanting to secure a postseason berth without having to take part in the play-in tournament again.
- 20-year-old Trail Blazers forward Nassir Little suffered through an intense 22 days with COVID-19, as Jason Quick of The Athletic details. He lost 20 pounds, experienced grinding headaches, and lost his senses of smell and taste. “For me, I was on the worst part of the spectrum, the hard end of the disease,” Little said. “It hit me really bad. For about seven to 10 days, I was just really miserable.”
During the offseason, before Giannis Antetokounmpo signed his super-max extension with the Bucks, he and Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard discussed the possibility of working out together, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports said on his Posted Up podcast (hat tip to NBC Sports).
The idea of two stars working out with one another during the offseason is hardly novel, but it would have been new for Giannis, who generally never works out with anybody who’s not on his team, per Haynes.
Sources tell Haynes that Antetokounmpo and Lillard also talked about what it would look like if they played together. While the idea of these two stars leaving for bigger markets has been a subject of speculation for years, both Lillard and Antetokounmpo have proven to be extremely loyal to their current clubs — and it doesn’t sound like this conversation was any exception.
“I believe Dame was trying to tell Giannis about what it would look like, him playing in Portland,” Haynes said, per NBC Sports. “And same vice versa, Giannis trying to tell him what it’d be like playing in Milwaukee.”
In other words, neither player expressed any interest in leaving his current team. And with Lillard locked up through at least 2024 and Antetokounmpo through 2025, it seems unlikely it will happen anytime soon.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Despite a flurry of preseason extension agreements that took some top 2021 free agents off the board, there will still be plenty of talent available on the open market next summer, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who ranks his top 21 FAs for ’21. Kawhi Leonard, Victor Oladipo, and John Collins lead the way, while Talen Horton-Tucker sneaks onto the list at No. 21.
- Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype identifies the 10 players most likely to sign maximum-salary contracts in 2021. In addition to top free agents like Leonard, Oladipo, and Collins, Gozlan lists a handful of players who will be eligible for rookie scale extensions later in the year, including Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
- Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) took a look 18 months into the future and published their first mock draft for 2022. Big man Chet Holmgren is their early projected top pick, while a pair of Duke commits – Paolo Banchero and Adrian Griffin Jr. – are in the top four.
In his latest look at the James Harden situation, Brian Windhorst of ESPN lists the Sixers, Nets, Heat, Celtics, and Raptors among the teams that have at least placed “courtesy calls” to the Rockets about the former MVP.
And while the Bucks reportedly don’t have interest in pursuing Harden, they did have an internal conversation about the possibility and ran it by Giannis Antetokounmpo before coming to that decision, Windhorst notes.
The Harden trade talk that dominated NBA headlines during the preseason has died down to some extent now that the season is underway and the 31-year-old is suiting up for the Rockets, but Windhorst believes it’s just a matter of time before a team convinces itself that Harden is the missing piece for a championship and pulls the trigger on a deal, like Toronto did for Kawhi Leonard in 2018.
Here’s more on Harden:
- Although the Nuggets have been linked to Harden directly, they’re also interested in potentially getting involved in a multi-team trade involving the star guard even if they don’t end up with him, according to Windhorst.
- Sam Amick of The Athletic wonders if the loss of scoring depth caused by Spencer Dinwiddie‘s ACL injury may motivate the Nets to push harder to acquire Harden. Of course, as we discussed earlier this week, Dinwiddie’s injury also diminishes the value of a player who likely would be part of any package the Nets offer.
- Within that same Athletic article, Amick examines where things stand for the other teams linked to Harden, writing that the Sixers remain content to continue evaluating their current roster under Doc Rivers before making any major changes, while the Bucks don’t view Harden as a fit for their culture. Amick also evaluates the Heat, Nuggets, Trail Blazers, and Raptors, but doesn’t suggest that there’s traction on any front.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will return to the lineup tonight, five days after being struck in the face by an accidental elbow from teammate Serge Ibaka, tweets Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Coach Tyronn Lue made the announcement in a pre-game session with the media.
Leonard missed two games with the injury, which caused him to bleed profusely from his mouth and required eight stitches. L.A. split the games, defeating the Timberwolves Tuesday night and losing by 51 points to the Mavericks on Sunday.
A second-team All-NBA selection last season, Leonard is off to another strong start, averaging 23.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals in his first two games.
There’s more injury-related news to pass along:
- The Trail Blazers will face the Clippers tonight without guard Gary Trent Jr., Portland coach Terry Stotts told reporters (Twitter link from Vardon). Trent suffered a strained calf in Monday’s game with the Lakers.
- Rookie swingman Isaac Okoro didn’t travel with the Cavaliers as they start a six-game road trip, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The fifth pick in this year’s draft suffered a sprained left foot in Saturday’s game and was recently placed into the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol. The league announced today that there have been no new positive tests since December 24, so Fedor believes Okoro likely came in contact with someone who tested positive, which limits his ability to travel. The Cavs hope he can join them before the trip ends January 9.
- Nets coach Steve Nash said Nicolas Claxton is “steadily improving,” but remains “weeks away” from playing, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. The second-year center is dealing with tendinopathy in his right knee and hasn’t played yet this season.
- Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari had to leave tonight’s game with a sprained ankle, according to Andrews (Twitter link). It was his first game since suffering a contusion in his left foot in last week’s season opener.
Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins underwent revision surgery today to repair a left medial malleolus stress fracture, the team announced today in a press release. A specific timeline for his return hasn’t been set, with the team indicating he’ll be out indefinitely.
It’s the second procedure Collins has undergone on his left ankle, which he injured during the NBA’s summer restart. He first had surgery on that ankle on September 1.
It’s a tough setback for Collins, who had hoped to return to action at some point in January. Since entering Portland’s starting lineup on a full-time basis at the start of the ’19/20 season, the 23-year-old has only been able to play in 11 games, having missed most of last year due to shoulder surgery.
In 154 career regular season games (17.5 MPG), Collins has averaged 5.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .444/.324/.722 shooting.
Collins was eligible for a rookie scale extension prior to the start of this season, but he and the Trail Blazers opted to table contract negotiations until the summer of 2021. The thinking was that Collins would get a chance to prove his value after a lost 2019/20 campaign. Now it’s no longer clear exactly if or when he’ll get that opportunity.
Bucks swingman Torrey Craig suffered a nasal fracture on Sunday against the Knicks and won’t play against the Heat on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets. Craig signed with Milwaukee last month after the Nuggets failed to extend a qualifying offer.
We have more injury and COVID-19 news:
- Heat star Jimmy Butler is doubtful to play against the Bucks on Tuesday, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel tweets. Butler sprained an ankle during the team’s game on Friday.
- Hawks rookie big man Onyeka Okongwu (left foot inflammation) and guard Tony Snell (right foot inflammation) have been cleared to progress to live contact workouts, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets.
- Alex Caruso became the first Lakers player to miss a game due to COVID-19 protocols. Caruso sat out against Portland on Monday. Coach Frank Vogel said no other players or staff members were held out due to contact tracing, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony wasn’t with his team due to the same reason, as Casey Holdahl tweets.
The Trail Blazers have picked up the 2021/22 season options for third-year guard Anfernee Simons and second-year forward Nassir Little, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
After appearing in just 20 games during his 2018/19 rookie campaign, Simons, 21, earned a slot in Portland’s rotation during his second season with the club, 2019/20. The 6’3″ guard averaged 8.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 20.7 MPG across 70 games.
The team has now locked in the $3,938,818 2021/22 season salary for Simons. If the Trail Blazers and Simons do not reach an agreement on a rookie scale extension next offseason, the guard will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022.
Little, 20, was drafted with the No. 25 pick in 2019 after one season at North Carolina. The 6’5″ forward appeared in 48 games during his rookie season, averaging 11.9 MPG. He is set to earn $2,316,240 next season.
The league deadline for teams to exercise third- and fourth-year team options on rookie scale contracts is December 29.
After James Harden added the Trail Blazers to his list of preferred destinations this week, CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard made a powerful statement Saturday night for keeping the current backcourt together, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic. McCollum especially stood out in the win over the Rockets with 44 points, eight assists, and a game-winning three-pointer in overtime.
“What am I supposed to think?” McCollum responded when asked about trade rumors. “I play the same position as James. If there is a trade for James, who is going to be in the trade?”
McCollum’s $29.3MM salary also makes him a logical candidate to be included if the Trail Blazers need to match salaries with Houston, Quick adds. The 29-year-old has been a 20+ PPG scorer for the past five years and would help replace some of the offense the Rockets will lose by dealing Harden. McCollum prefers to try to win a title with Lillard in Portland.
“I think besides Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson), we are probably the only backcourt that not only gets along, but like, empowers the other,” McCollum said. “There is no competition. I don’t force my way into the game if he is playing well; he doesn’t force his way into the game. I just let whatever is going to happen, happen. I’m comfortable not taking shots, I’m comfortable playing a role. I do what is necessary for the team.”
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Timberwolves got a scare when Karl-Anthony Towns had to leave Saturday’s game after falling hard on his left wrist, notes Chris Hine of The Star-Tribune. Towns returned to help Minnesota win at Utah, but the team won’t know how much damage was done until he undergoes further testing. “I didn’t want to just quit the game and go get X-rays and stuff,” he said. “I wanted to be available in case my team needed me, and just be out there cheering them on. I did what I had to do.”
- Mark Daigneault impressed Thunder players with his calm demeanor in his first NBA game as a head coach, according to Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. Daigneault picked up his first win Saturday, but not before OKC let a big lead slip away at Charlotte. “We, myself, almost gave the game away,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “But (Daigneault was) super composed, kept our heads up, kept us confident. He was our leader down the stretch, even though things weren’t going the right way. And just in the right mind frame. Cool, calm, collected.”
- Former NBA guard Tony Parker tells French outlet L’Equipe (hat tip to Stefan Djordjevic of EuroHoops) that Thunder rookie Theo Maledon should have been a first-round pick, but his stock fell because he wasn’t used properly in Europe by Zvezdan Mitrovic, the former head coach of Parker’s ASVEL franchise. OKC grabbed Maledon with the 34th selection.
Rockets All-Star guard James Harden, the talk of this young 2020/21 season for a variety of reasons, has expanded his wish list of NBA trade destinations to include the Trail Blazers and Celtics, according to Kelly Iko and Sam Amick of the Athletic.
The Nets, Sixers, Heat and Bucks were the four teams Harden has previously identified as preferred landing spots. The Heat have reportedly paused cursory talks surrounding a Harden trade, apparently balking at the Rockets’ asking price. The Bucks are also not expected to pursue Harden.
Finding salaries to match Harden’s in a trade is no small feat. The 31-year-old has two guaranteed years remaining on his current max contract, and holds a $47.4MM player option for the 2022/23 season.
The Trail Blazers, led by All-Star point guard Damian Lillard and talented shooting guard C.J. McCollum, impressed during their run to the 2019 Western Conference Finals. Though he has yet to make an All-Star team, the 29-year-old McCollum could be the kind of high-level scoring target around which Portland could begin build a trade. Last season, with Lillard clearly the focal point of Portland’s offense, McCollum averaged 22.2 PPG, 4.4 APG, 4.2 RPG, 0.8 SPF and 0.6 BPG while posting a shooting line of .451/.379/.757.
The Celtics have appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals for three of the last four seasons. All-Star forward Jayson Tatum is almost certainly untouchable in any Harden deal, but versatile 24-year-old forward Jaylen Brown, who has emerged as a two-way force, might appeal to Houston.
Iko and Amick note that the Rockets have talked with teams that are not on Harden’s list of preferred landing spots. The Nuggets are among this group. Denver has not made star guard Jamal Murray available in trade discussions yet, though the Rockets remain intrigued by second-year forward Michael Porter Jr.