- Speaking to Adam Caparell of Complex Sports, Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard reiterated that, despite a disappointing season, he remains committed to the franchise for the foreseeable future. “I’m loyal to what I believe,” Lillard said. “I do love living in Portland. I do love playing for the Trail Blazers. But I’ve built this. I’ve been part of this for 10 years. I’ve been part of the change here and us being a successful franchise. I know what means something to me in my heart. And that’s winning a championship here.”
Lakers superstar LeBron James has been the face of the NBA for the better part of the last two decades and is happy to continue in that unofficial role until he retires, as Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports writes.
“I’ve held that title of ambassador,” James said. “Nobody told me to do it, but I felt like if I wasn’t gonna do it, who was gonna do it? So I took that responsibility, and I’ll continue to do it till I’m done playing the game.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver tells Goodwill that he’s “not prepared to talk about the post-LeBron era” yet, since James is still playing at an All-NBA level and presumably has multiple strong seasons left in him. However, he’s not worried about having to prepare for a leadership void among the game’s superstars.
“At some point, a new player or players will emerge, I think, [to] take that leadership mantle in the league. It seems they always do,” Silver said. “I’m just not prepared, even in the slightest, to start thinking about the league without LeBron, because he continues to be as committed as ever to the competition, to the league overall.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Danny Leroux of The Athletic takes a look ahead at the 2022 offseason, identifying the teams that project to have the most cap flexibility. As Leroux outlines, the Pistons and Magic remain the best bets to create significant cap room, while teams like the Spurs, Trail Blazers, Pacers, and Grizzlies could potentially join them, but have more variance.
- Veteran big man Thon Maker spoke to Alec Strum of NetsDaily about his role with the Long Island Nets – Brooklyn’s G League affiliate – and his efforts to make it back to the NBA. Maker has played a limited role in Long Island so far, averaging 5.8 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 15 games (17.4 MPG), with a dismal .360 FG% (.133 3PT%).
- Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) updated his NBA rookie power rankings over the All-Star break, providing best-case comps for Evan Mobley (Anthony Davis), Cade Cunningham (Luka Doncic), Scottie Barnes (Scottie Pippen), and other standout rookies.
1:40pm: Watford’s promotion and Smith’s release are now official, according to an announcement from the Trail Blazers. Portland now has an open two-way slot.
11:40am: The Trail Blazers have reached an agreement on a deal with rookie forward Trendon Watford that will promote him from his two-way contract to the 15-man roster and give him a new four-year contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski, Portland will waive guard Dennis Smith Jr. in order to create an opening on the 15-man roster for Watford. Smith is currently sidelined due to an elbow injury.
Watford’s new four-year contract will be worth $5.8MM, says Wojnarowski. The Blazers will dip into their mid-level exception in order to go up to four years and to give the 21-year-old a salary worth a little more than the prorated minimum for the rest of 2021/22 — the remaining three years will be worth the minimum. Additionally, the final two seasons of the deal will be non-guaranteed, according to Woj.
Watford, who went undrafted out of LSU in 2021, quickly caught on with the Trail Blazers on a two-way deal and was one of the very first players to officially sign a contract once the ’21/22 league year started in August.
Watford began the season out of the rotation and didn’t play double-digit minutes in a game until January 3, but he has appeared in every one of Portland’s games since then. In 24 games since the calendar flipped to 2022, he’s averaging 5.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG on 60.4% shooting in 15.5 minutes per contest. We identified him last week as one of the players on two-way contracts who was a candidate for a promotion.
Smith, 24, signed a non-guaranteed contract with Portland in the 2021 offseason and won a roster spot in training camp. He appeared in 37 games for the team, averaging 5.6 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.2 SPG in 17.2 minutes per contest. Before he injured his elbow, the former lottery pick had become a more regular part of the rotation due to Damian Lillard‘s absence.
The fact that Portland is opting to waive Smith rather than injured forward Joe Ingles, who was acquired for salary-matching purposes at this month’s trade deadline, suggests that the team may still see value in Ingles’ Bird rights. However, with Ingles out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL, he remains a candidate to be cut in the coming weeks if the Blazers want to make another signing.
On Thursday, we asked you which Eastern Conference team will make the NBA Finals this season. At the moment, no team in that poll has more than 24% of the vote, and five clubs have at least an 11% vote share.
While the East has been the conference of parity this season, the Western Conference has been something quite different. Two teams, the Suns (48-10) and Warriors (42-17), have controlled the top of the standings for essentially the entire season — no other club has cracked the top two since November 10.
Teams that have a ton of regular season success but haven’t yet proven themselves in the playoffs are often regarded with skepticism, not considered true contenders until they make a deep postseason run. But Golden State’s current core, led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green – has a long history of playoff success. And while Phoenix certainly can’t match the Warriors’ recent track record, the Suns showed last spring that they were no fluke, making it all the way to the NBA Finals and coming within two wins of a title.
In other words, these two teams are legit, and look like the odds-on favorites to meet in the Western Conference Finals. But that’s obviously not a foregone conclusion yet, with a handful of intriguing clubs filling out the playoff picture.
The Grizzlies, for one, are putting pressure on Golden State for the No. 2 seed in the conference — their 41-19 record puts them just a game-and-a-half back of the Dubs. Memphis is one of those teams we alluded to above, whose lack of recent playoff success means they’ll have plenty of skeptics to win over. But Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson, and company have shown they’re not willing to back down from anybody and have made the Grizzlies one of the NBA’s most exciting teams.
The Jazz (36-22) have championships aspirations and look great when they’re firing on all cylinders, but they’ve been up and down this season and have been exposed at times by smaller lineups. The Mavericks (35-24) are hoping that this year’s supporting cast is a better fit for Luka Doncic, but they’ll still only go as far as their All-NBA guard takes them.
The Nuggets (33-25) are one of the Western Conference’s most interesting contenders. Nikola Jokic has kept them firmly in the playoff mix with another MVP-caliber performance, and he could get some help before the end of the season — if Jamal Murray (ACL) and Michael Porter Jr. (back) return for the playoffs and look anything like their 2020/21 selves, Denver will be an extremely tough out.
Like Denver, the Clippers (30-31) and Lakers (27-31) could be dangerous if they’re at full strength, but Kawhi Leonard seems like a long shot to make it back this spring for the Clips, and the Lakers haven’t been able to put it all together even when their stars are healthy.
The Timberwolves (31-28) currently hold the top play-in spot ahead of the two Los Angeles teams and are looking to clinch a playoff spot for just the second time since 2004. It’s too early to rule anything out, but a deep postseason run seems unlikely for a Minnesota team that would’ve been happy entering the season just to earn a playoff berth.
If the nine teams we’ve already mentioned finish in the top 10, that leaves one play-in spot for a group that includes the revamped Pelicans (23-36) and Kings (22-38), the surprisingly-surging Trail Blazers (25-34), and Gregg Popovich‘s young Spurs (23-36). Again, never say never, but it’s a pretty safe bet that none of these teams will be representing the West in the Finals this June.
What do you think? Which Western Conference team do you expect to make it to the NBA Finals? How many legitimate contenders do you think there are in the West?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
The Pistons could wind up with the No. 1 overall pick for the second straight year. In Chad Ford’s Mock Draft 2.0, they’ll take Auburn freshman forward Jabari Smith with the first pick. According to Ford’s sources, Detroit GM Troy Weaver would love to pair up Cade Cunningham with Smith. Ford throws a curveball with the second pick, with the Magic selecting Purdue wing Jaden Ivey. That leaves Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren for the taking at No. 3, where the Rockets snap him up.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Private equity firms have increasingly become a force in NBA ownership, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic notes. Private equity firms have purchased stakes in five teams, and their influence will continue to increase as the value of franchises continues to climb.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks not only takes a look at potential buyout candidates this month, he also turns his attention to the offseason, breaking down the free agent class, teams with significant cap space and significant players eligible for extensions. Regarding cap space, he notes that the Pacers and Trail Blazers have moved onto the list due to their trades. The Pistons, Magic and Spurs were already projected to have cap space.
- The Nets, Sixers and Celtics did the most to upgrade their 2021/22 rosters before the trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Seth Partnow. The Bucks, Jazz and Suns made slight alterations that could help them in the postseason, in Partnow’s evaluation.
The Trail Blazers acquired Josh Hart last week in the trade that sent CJ McCollum to New Orleans, and Hart is the exact type of player coach Chauncey Billups wants, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian.
“He’s my type of player from the standpoint of just being able to go and play both sides of the basketball and just be tough,” Billups said. “Not only tough, but skilled.”
Billups said Hart’s competitiveness shines through: “When he’s out there, he plays with a level of urgency that you love. I’m looking forward to just coaching him.”
In three games with his new club (all wins), Hart is averaging 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on .600/.524/.765 shooting. Through 44 total games this season (33.7 minutes), he’s averaging 14.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on .514/.351/.754 shooting.
Here’s more from Portland:
- Hart and rising star Anfernee Simons have showcased great chemistry in their brief time together, Fentress writes in a separate piece for The Oregonian. “He’s going to have a long, successful career in this league,” Hart said of Simons, after Portland beat New York 112-103 on Saturday. “For me, it was just really cool to be able to play off of him and see him take over the game in the third and fourth.”
- Jason Quick of The Athletic recently wrote an in-depth profile of two-way rookie Trendon Watford, who has become a regular member of Portland’s rotation since the start of 2022. “I’m just scratching the surface,” Watford said. “I’m going to keep getting better.”
- After dropping six straight games, the surging Blazers have won four in a row, due in no small part to the high-energy, all-around contributions of Hart and Justise Winslow. “I think he has found a home,” Nurkic said of Winslow, according to Quick of The Athletic. Through six games with Portland, Winslow is averaging 12 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals in 31.3 minutes per contest.
- Winslow concurs with Nurkic’s assessment, per Casey Holdahl of the team’s website. “I was just traded here, I’m very happy to be here. God works in his beautiful ways,” said Winslow. “I’ve found a home. I don’t want to go anywhere, I’ve got one more year on this contact. It feels like everyone here is kind of fresh. There’s people in the organization that’s been here a long time but the coaching staff, a lot of the players just got here… I think it’s a good time for me in my life and also my basketball career.” Winslow was acquired as part of the trade that sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Clippers.
Trail Blazers guard Dennis Smith Jr. is expected to be sidelined until at least mid-March due to a right elbow injury, the team announced today in a press release.
According to the Blazers, Smith has been diagnosed with a high-grade partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his elbow. He’ll be reevaluated in three or four weeks, the club added.
Smith, 24, signed a non-guaranteed contract with Portland in the 2021 offseason and won a roster spot in training camp. He has since appeared in 37 games for the team, averaging 5.6 PPG, 3.6 APG, 2.4 RPG, and 1.2 SPG in 17.2 minutes per contest. The former lottery pick became a more regular part of the rotation in the new year due to Damian Lillard‘s absence.
Portland doesn’t have a ton of depth at the point guard spot with Lillard, Smith, and Eric Bledsoe all sidelined, but has been relying on Anfernee Simons and Justise Winslow for play-making.
If the Blazers feel compelled to add another backcourt option, they could open up a spot on their roster by waiving an expendable player such as injured forward Joe Ingles.
Prior to last week’s trade deadline, a source close to Gary Harris said he didn’t think the Magic wing would be bought out in the coming weeks, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Harris in the final year of his contract and probably isn’t part of the long-term plans in Orlando, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the team decided to part ways with him to open up minutes for its younger players. However, one recent report stated that the Magic have appreciated the 27-year-old’s influence on their young guards.
Additionally, as Scotto observes, Harris has been one of the Magic’s most-used players this season and hasn’t seen his role reduced at all lately, logging nearly 37 minutes against his old team in Denver on Monday. Ahead of his upcoming free agency, it may be in Harris’ best interests to remain in Orlando, where he’s an important part of the rotation, Scotto says, rather than taking his chances in a situation where he’d be further down in the pecking order.
Here’s more from Scotto’s latest HoopsHype Podcast with Yossi Gozlan:
- The Lakers are a team worth keeping an eye on if Tristan Thompson is bought out by the Pacers, according to Scotto, who notes that the veteran center “certainly has a lot of relationships there.” Like Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Thompson is a Klutch Sports client.
- According to Scotto, NBA executives he has spoken to are trying to determine whether the Knicks will make a serious run at Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson in free agency this summer or whether New York’s rumored interest is being used as a leverage play to boost Brunson’s market.
- Scotto adds that rival execs always thought the Mavericks would end up choosing between Brunson or Dorian Finney-Smith due to the luxury tax implications of giving both players big long-term deals. However, Mavs owner Mark Cuban has expressed confidence about keeping both players, and has already extended Finney-Smith.
- Scotto confirms there’s mutual interest between Jusuf Nurkic and the Trail Blazers in continuing their relationship beyond this season, as has been previously reported. Nurkic would be eligible to sign a contract extension anytime before June 30, though he wouldn’t be able to receive a starting salary higher than $14.4MM unless he reaches free agency.
The Knicks are continuing to monitor Damian Lillard‘s situation in Portland, but he’s less interested in coming to New York than he was a year ago, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post.
The Trail Blazers plan to rebuild their roster around Lillard and turned away several teams that wanted to discuss trading for him before this week’s deadline. However, the Knicks want to be ready if something changes in Portland and Lillard does become available this summer.
New York continues to have a need at point guard, as the offseason addition of Kemba Walker hasn’t worked out. Berman states that the team tried to make deals this week involving Cam Reddish, Alec Burks and Evan Fournier, but weren’t able to move any of them.
Berman adds that the Knicks also tried to get CJ McCollum, Lillard’s longtime backcourt partner in Portland, but were outbid by the Pelicans. Although New York has all its future first-round picks and a few extra second-rounders, many of its other assets have been devalued because of a down season, Berman notes, adding that many people around the league are wondering if the franchise has enough available to make a serious offer for Lillard.
“If they’re going to be in the hunt for Lillard, they’d have to have a good lottery pick this year,’’ an unidentified NBA executive said. “Because they’d have to give up RJ Barrett. I don’t see how they get him otherwise.’’
Lillard, who would likely have influence with the Portland front office to send him to a desired location if he does request a trade, has lost some interest in joining the Knicks, according to Berman’s source. After being the fourth seed in the East last season, New York has fallen to 12th place at 25-32.
Another source tells Berman that the Knicks’ chances of trading for Lillard would have been helped by signing DeMar DeRozan, Lillard’s close friend, rather than Fournier in last year’s free agent market. General manager Scott Perry wanted to consider DeRozan, according to the source, but the idea was vetoed by William Wesley, who has become the top decision maker in the front office.
Lillard hasn’t played since undergoing abdominal surgery in mid-January and isn’t expected to return this season. He has three seasons remaining on his four-year, $196MM contract.
- The Pelicans and Trail Blazers didn’t require any physicals in the trade that featured star guard CJ McCollum, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report tweets. ESPN’s Bobby Marks said on The Lowe Post that New Orleans waived McCollum’s physical (hat tip RealGM), so it’s still unclear if physicals were waived for all of the players involved in the deal. As Marks notes, it’s unusual for a team to waive a physical when the player has significant money left on his contract. McCollum will make $30.9MM this season, $33.3MM in 2022/23 and $35.8MM in 2023/24. He missed time due to a collapsed lung back in December.