Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Officially Trade Jimmy Butler To Warriors In Five-Team Deal

February 6th, 2025 at 7:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The five-team blockbuster sending Jimmy Butler from the Heat to the Warriors is now official, according to press releases from multiple clubs involved in the trade. The terms of the deal, which also includes the Jazz, Pistons, and Raptors, are as follows:

Warriors acquire Butler.
Heat acquire Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Davion Mitchell, and the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected).
Pistons acquire Dennis Schröder, Lindy Waters, and either the Warriors’ or Timberwolves’ 2031 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Warriors).
Jazz acquire KJ Martin, Josh Richardson, a 2028 second-round pick (from Pistons; exact details TBD), either the Heat’s or Pacers’ 2031 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Heat), and cash (from Heat).
Raptors acquire P.J. Tucker, the Lakers’ 2026 second-round pick (from Heat), and cash (from Heat).

Utah waived Jalen Hood-Schifino in order to acquire two players while sending one out, as we detailed earlier. They’re also expected to cut Richardson.

The deal wraps up a saga that first began on December 10 when word broke that the Heat were open to listening to offers for Butler. By Christmas Day, Butler was said to prefer a trade out of Miami, and a little over a week later he formally asked the team to move him.

The situation only escalated from there, with the Heat repeatedly suspending Butler for conduct detrimental to the team and withholding services. He was serving an indefinite team-imposed suspension when news broke on Wednesday that the Warriors had struck a deal to acquire him.

Butler, who will be teaming up in Golden State with longtime Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, has reportedly already agreed to a two-year, maximum-salary extension with the team, as we outlined in our original story on the trade. We also published full stories on two side deals involving the Heat and Raptors and Pistons and Jazz that were folded into this larger trade structure.

The latest word, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), is that Saturday is the target date for Butler’s Warriors debut. Golden State will play in Chicago that night.

Jazz To Waive Josh Richardson, Jalen Hood-Schifino

February 6th, 2025 at 3:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

After being involved in two mega-deals over the past week, the Jazz will part with two of the players they received, sources tell Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link), who says the team plans to waive Josh Richardson and Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Richardson is being re-routed to Utah in the Jimmy Butler trade, along with KJ Martin, whom the Jazz plan to keep, according to Larsen. Richardson has a $3MM expiring contract, so Utah won’t be out much money by letting him go. The 31-year-old swingman appeared in just eight games with Miami prior to being traded.

Utah acquired Hood-Schifino over the weekend by helping to facilitate the massive trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers. L.A. had already declined the third-year option on the 2023 first-round pick, so Utah won’t have to pay him more than the balance of his $3.9MM salary for the rest of the season.

Both players will become unrestricted free agents once they clear waivers and will be eligible to sign with just about any team. Richardson won’t be able to rejoin the Heat, while Hood-Schifino will be ineligible to re-sign with the Lakers.

The Jazz will face an offseason decision on Martin, whose $8MM contract for 2025/26 is non-guaranteed. The 24-year-old forward has been out of action since December 23 due to a foot injury.

Pistons To Acquire Dennis Schröder

February 6th, 2025 at 1:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz agreed to take Dennis Schröder in the four-team Jimmy Butler trade, but he’s expected to wind up with the Pistons, sources tell Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Jake Fischer of The Stein Line and Chris Haynes both confirm Sankofa’s report.

Utah will receive KJ Martin, Josh Richardson and a 2028 second-round pick in return, a source tells Fischer (Twitter link). The Pistons initially took Richardson from Miami in the Butler deal and agreed to acquire Martin from the Sixers on Wednesday.

It’s possible the Martin deal with Philadelphia will get folded into the Butler trade. Otherwise, it appears the Pistons will complete their acquisition of Martin first, taking him into cap room. Once that’s done, Detroit, Utah, Golden State and Miami can officially pull the trigger on the Butler deal.

Counting the Jazz, this will be the fourth team of the season for Schröder, who was traded from Brooklyn to Golden State in mid-December. The Warriors were counting on him to stabilize their backcourt, but he turned out to be an unreliable shooter, connecting at just 37.5% from the field and 32.2% from three-point range in 24 games.

Schröder had been expecting to stay in the Bay Area and recently signed a new lease, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). He learned that he had been traded after Wednesday’s pre-game warm-up, and now he’s on the move again.

He should have an opportunity to play a regular role in Detroit, where the Pistons have been on the lookout for another ball-handler and play-maker since Jaden Ivey broke his fibula last month.

Schröder’s $13MM contract is expiring, so the Pistons will have to decide this summer whether to make a long-term commitment. Richardson’s $3MM deal is also expiring, while Martin has an $8MM non-guaranteed contract for next season.

Raptors Trading Davion Mitchell To Heat For P.J. Tucker, Second-Rounder, Cash

February 6th, 2025 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors appear to be getting involved in the multi-team Jimmy Butler blockbuster after all.

Initially thought to be involved in the deal as a facilitator to take on Kyle Anderson, Toronto is instead acquiring veteran forward P.J. Tucker, who was being sent from Utah to Miami as part of the Butler trade, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, the Raptors will also get a second-round pick and cash from the Heat in the swap, which will send guard Davion Mitchell to Miami. The second-rounder is the Lakers’ 2026 pick, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

While Charania doesn’t explicitly say so, this agreement will likely be folded in the larger framework of the Butler trade, with Tucker going directly from the Jazz to Toronto in the multi-team deal.

It’s a financially motivated maneuver for the Heat, who will take on Mitchell’s $6.45MM expiring contract instead of Tucker’s $11.54MM expiring deal. That will allow them to duck below the first tax apron by about $1.96MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who adds (via Twitter) that Miami remains above the luxury tax line by approximately $2.8MM.

It remains to be seen if the Heat will hang onto Mitchell or if they have additional moves to come. The former ninth overall pick is a talented point-of-attack defender who has a limited offensive game. In 44 games (22 starts) for the Raptors this season, he averaged 6.3 points and 4.6 assists in 24.5 minutes per night, with a .434/.359/.676 shooting line.

Mitchell will be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, though he seems unlikely to receive a qualifying offer.

Tucker has some history in Toronto — he was drafted by the franchise in 2006 and spent his rookie season with the Raptors, then was traded back to the team in 2017. However, his third stint with the organization will likely be a brief one, as he’s a virtual lock to be bought out or released outright.

Toronto still had a fair amount of breathing room below the luxury tax line after agreeing to acquire Brandon Ingram from New Orleans, which is why the club is willing to accommodating a salary dump. The second-round pick and cash they’re getting in the deal incentivized the Raptors to swap out Mitchell for Tucker and his pricier contract.

The Raptors could use Mitchell’s salary for matching purposes to complete the trade or could utilize its untouched mid-level exception to absorb Tucker’s incoming salary. In the latter scenario, the team would create a new trade exception worth Mitchell’s outgoing $6.45MM salary.

Trade Deadline Rumors: Warriors, Post, Bulls, Jazz, Schröder, Lakers, More

February 6th, 2025 at 6:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors may not be done after agreeing to acquire Jimmy Butler in a four-team blockbuster, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Golden State would still like to add a shooting big man, with Bulls center Nikola Vucevic among the club’s potential targets.

Slater notes that the Warriors can still offer the expiring contracts of Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney, which total more than $17MM. However, if they want to acquire Vucevic, they’d need to offer at least one more player besides those two, due to the center’s $20MM cap hit and Golden State’s proximity to the first-apron hard cap.

As they look to navigate that hard cap, one anticipated move for the Warriors is converting center Quinten Post from his two-way deal to a standard contract, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Because he was a second-round pick in the 2024 draft, Post can be signed for the prorated rookie minimum, which only counts for about half as much for cap and apron purposes as a prorated veteran’s minimum deal would.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

The Jazz and Bulls were engaged in trade talks as of Wednesday, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), though he doesn’t have any details on which players they were discussing. Neither team is considered a deadline buyer, so if the two clubs end up making a deal, it could be centered more around contracts and finances than win-now players.
The Jazz aren’t expected to retain guard Dennis Schröder after acquiring him as part of the four-team Butler trade, reports Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Utah’s plan is to flip Schröder to another team or simply to buy him out. If he’s bought out, the veteran point guard would be ineligible to sign with any teams operating above either tax apron, since his salary ($13MM) exceeds the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.8MM).
Having agreed to trade for Mark Williams, the Lakers have an open roster spot and could prioritize play-making and/or three-point shooting with that opening, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Based on conversations with sources around the NBA, as well as the fact that many of the Nets‘ top trade candidates were active for Wednesday’s game, Brian Lewis of The New York Post wouldn’t be shocked if it’s a relatively quiet deadline in Brooklyn. After previously reporting that a Cameron Johnson deal appears increasingly unlikely, Lewis says there have been no indications that anything “seismic” is imminent for the Nets.
Before making their Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis mega-deal, the Mavericks showed “strong” interest in center Jericho Sims, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link). The Knicks are reportedly sending Sims to the Bucks as part of a larger deal.

Jimmy Butler Headed To Warriors, Agrees To Extension

February 5th, 2025 at 7:20pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors will acquire Jimmy Butler from the Heat in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson and a protected first-round pick, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Pistons are also involved in the trade and will receive Lindy Waters III from Golden State and Josh Richardson from Miami, Charania tweets.

Schröder, meanwhile, is heading to Utah, which was first reported by Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). P.J. Tucker, whom the Jazz acquired over the weekend, will be sent to Miami, sources tell Charania (Twitter link). Tucker played for the Heat during the 2021/22 season.

It was originally slated to be a five-team deal with Anderson going to the Raptors, but that part fell through, sources tell Charania (Twitter links). He adds that Miami is currently holding onto Anderson, who has an $8.78MM salary and one more guaranteed year left on his contract after this season.

Miami will have a full 15-man roster if Anderson isn’t moved elsewhere before the trade deadline, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Charania reports that Butler has agreed to a two-year, maximum-salary extension with the Warriors that will run through the 2026/27 season. As part of that deal, which projects to be worth $111MM, he will decline his $52.4MM player option for next season.

An inability to work out an extension is the major reason that Butler was unhappy in Miami. He had been suspended three times over the past month and was away from the team as the front office tried to find an acceptable offer before Thursday’s deadline.

Butler, a six-time All-Star who had averaged 17.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game on .540/.361/.801 shooting in 25 games for Miami this season, had requested a trade in hopes of going to a team that was willing to make a long-term commitment.

Phoenix was widely reported to be his preferred destination, but the Suns were unable to work out a trade involving Bradley Beal, who holds a no-trade clause, and were apparently unwilling to make a deal with Miami that included Kevin Durant. As a result, Butler will instead join a Warriors team that was one of four clubs initially said to be on his wish list back in December and will get the extension he was seeking all along.

Under his new deal, Butler will earn a projected $54.13MM next season and $56.83MM in 2026/27, according to salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Gozlan notes that adding Butler ensures that the Warriors will continue to have a large payroll, and they’ll be deep in luxury tax territory if they re-sign restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.

Butler has a $407,123 trade bonus that would increase his current salary to $49.2MM, Gozlan adds. However, Butler may need to waive that trade bonus to help Golden State fill out its roster and remain under the first apron, per Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Without accounting for the bonus, the team projects to be $1.8MM below the apron with 11 players under contract. The Warriors will have to fill at least three of their four open roster spots within two weeks. Marks states that it’s possible, but the timing of each signing will be important.

The Heat had an opportunity to duck beneath the tax threshold, according to Gozlan (Twitter link), but that won’t happen if they hold onto Anderson. According to Marks (Twitter link), Miami is currently $7.8MM above the tax line and $3.1MM over the first apron.

Miami will receive the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick with top-10 protection, sources tell Zach Lowe (Twitter link). The same protection will be in effect for 2026 if the pick doesn’t convey this year. In the unlikely event it lands in the top 10 in each of the next two years, it would be unprotected in 2027.

The Heat had reportedly been opposed to taking back salary that extended beyond the 2025/26 season, but were willing to make an exception for Wiggins, who holds a $30.2MM player option for ’26/27. At his best, the former No. 1 overall pick is an impact two-way player capable of being a secondary scorer on offense and handling challenging defensive assignments on the other end of the court.

Wiggins is averaging 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per game across 43 outings this season, with a .444/.379/.777 shooting line.

The Pistons will receive a second-round pick from Golden State for taking on Waters’ and Richardson’s expiring minimum contracts, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press, who doesn’t offer any more specifics on the pick.

Detroit currently has 14 players under contract but also reached a deal to acquire KJ Martin from Philadelphia in addition to Waters and Richardson. Depending on the order in which the Pistons complete their reported deals, they’ll need to waive one or two players from their current roster.

It’s worth noting that the Pistons could theoretically fit Martin into their $8MM room exception and take on Waters and Richardson using the minimum salary exception, which means their $14MM in cap room could still be used for a separate trade before they complete their two reported agreements. We’ll see if that ends up happening before Thursday’s deadline.

As part of the Tucker-Schröder swap of expiring contracts, the Jazz will receive the more favorable 2031 second-round pick from the Heat or Pacers, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).

This week’s latest mega-deal seems to ensure that Kevin Durant will remain with the Suns past the deadline. The Warriors and Heat were reportedly the teams making the strongest effort to get Phoenix to part with Durant.

Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Injury Updates: Randle, Embiid, Sexton, Barrett

February 5th, 2025 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, who has missed the past two games after injuring his groin last Thursday vs. the Jazz, underwent an MRI and has been diagnosed with a right adductor strain, the team announced today in a press release. He’ll be reevaluated in two weeks, according to the Wolves.

A multi-week absence had been anticipated for Randle after head coach Chris Finch told reporters over the weekend that he expected to be without the forward “for the near future.”

Randle, who was sent from New York to Minnesota in the Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster right before training camp, has had a solid first season in Minnesota, averaging 18.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 32.6 minutes per game across 48 contests, with a .470/.321/.811 shooting line.

There has been some speculation that Randle, who holds a $30.9MM player option for 2025/26, could emerge as a trade candidate prior to the February 6 deadline, but it has always seemed more likely that Minnesota would postpone a decision on his future until the summer rather than shaking up the roster again during the season.

During Randle’s absence, Naz Reid has stepped into the lineup as the Wolves’ starting power forward. The team has dropped both games Reid started, but he had a big night on Monday, putting up 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting in a two-point loss to Sacramento.

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

After making his return from a month-long injury absence on Tuesday, Sixers center Joel Embiid will, predictably, be held out of the second end of the club’s back-to-back set on Wednesday vs. Miami, per head coach Nick Nurse (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN). Embiid had a strong first game back in a two-point win over Dallas, racking up 29 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The Jazz announced on Tuesday (via Twitter) that Collin Sexton has been diagnosed with a left ankle sprain. While X-rays on the injury were negative, the veteran guard will miss some time — he’ll be reevaluated in one week, according to the club.
Raptors forward RJ Barrett entered the NBA’s concussion protocol on Wednesday and missed a matchup with his former team, the Knicks, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. Barrett stayed in Sunday’s game after hitting his head on the court. According to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), he was evaluated by the team’s medical staff on court after hitting his head, after Sunday’s game, and again on Monday, but didn’t exhibit concussion symptoms until Monday night.

Trade Rumors: Johnson, Martin, Sixers, Lakers, Jazz

February 5th, 2025 at 10:28am CST by Luke Adams

It seems increasingly likely that Cameron Johnson will remain in Brooklyn beyond the trade deadline, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who has consistently heard that the Nets are willing to field calls about the veteran forward but aren’t actively shopping him.

While the Nets moved quickly this season to trade Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith, both of whom can reach unrestricted free agency this summer, Johnson is under contract for two more years beyond this one, so there’s no urgency in Brooklyn to move off of him at this point — especially since the team still projects to have substantial cap room for next season even with Johnson’s $20.5MM salary on the books.

Ian Begley of SNY.tv also reported on Tuesday that a Johnson trade may not happen this week.

We have more trade rumors from around the NBA:

There’s a chance that KJ Martin, whom the Pistons agreed to acquire from Philadelphia, could be rerouted to another team prior to Thursday’s trade deadline, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. If Detroit were to acquire Martin using cap space rather than the room exception, his salary could be aggregated with one or more other players in a subsequent deal.
According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, and Guerschon Yabusele are among the veterans who continue to draw interest for the Sixers, who already traded Caleb Martin in addition to KJ Martin. However, Philadelphia is reluctant to move Yabusele, preferring to find a way to retain him beyond his current one-year, minimum-salary contract, Stein and Fischer say.
Grant Afseth of RG.org takes a look at the Lakers‘ hunt for another center, suggesting that – despite Rob Pelinka‘s comments downplaying the urgency to find more than a stop-gap – the team is still considering a wide range of possible targets.
Tony Jones of The Athletic checks in on the Jazz‘s plans ahead of the trade deadline, writing that John Collins and Jordan Clarkson are considered more available than Collin Sexton and especially Walker Kessler. Utah values Sexton and has set a “very high” asking price for Kessler, Jones explains.

Western Notes: Davis, Sexton, LaVine, Bane, Blazers

February 3rd, 2025 at 10:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Davis won’t make his Mavericks debut on Tuesday. He has been ruled out due to the abdominal strain he suffered with the Lakers before their blockbuster trade with Dallas, Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal tweets. Davis was originally listed as questionable against Philadelphia.

Dallas wraps up its road trip at Boston on Thursday, then hosts Houston on Saturday.

We have more Western Conference news:

Jazz guard Collin Sexton sprained his left ankle as he drove to the basket in the first quarter against the Pacers on Monday, according to The Associated Press. Sexton, Utah’s second-leading scorer at 18.7 points per game, didn’t return, and will undergo further evaluation Tuesday. Sexton is considered a prime trade candidate. He has one year and $19.175MM remaining on his contract after this season.
Zach LaVine is expected to suit up for the Kings on Wednesday, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. Sacramento’s acquisition of LaVine became official on Monday. LaVine hasn’t played since last Monday due to the birth of his child.
Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane has a foot sprain but it’s not considered serious, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets. Bane underwent an MRI on Monday morning. Coach Taylor Jenkins said it was good news, based on the potential outcomes, so it appears Bane won’t be out an extended period. Bane is averaging 17.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per night.
The Trail Blazers are open to trading Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Highkin believes if Grant or Simons are moved, the Trail Blazers would prefer a player they can add to their long-term core, rather than prioritizing draft picks. Robert Williams is another potential trade piece but the bar is higher than most people would think for the big man, as a package of second-round picks probably wouldn’t be enough for Portland’s front office, Highkin writes.

More Notes On Luka Doncic Blockbuster

February 3rd, 2025 at 3:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz were involved in the Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis mega-deal between the Lakers and Mavericks as a third-team facilitator, taking on Jalen Hood-Schifino‘s expiring contract and getting a pair of 2025 second-rounders for their willingness to eat that salary.

However, according to Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, the talks between Dallas and Los Angeles were so closed off that Utah didn’t even know Doncic and Davis were involved in the trade until approximately an hour before it was completed. All the Jazz knew was that they were acquiring two second-round picks along with Hood-Schifino.

As ESPN’s duo writes, the Lakers had a few backup plans lined up if the Jazz ended up backing out. Utah had to complete a trade with the Clippers earlier on Saturday in order to make sure there was a roster spot available to take on Hood-Schifino — the Jazz ended up waiving Mohamed Bamba a day after acquiring him from the Clippers to open up that spot.

According to Shelburne and MacMahon, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison decided early in the process that the best way to go about trading Doncic was to target a specific deal he wanted and to keep it quiet. While the Mavs have faced some criticism for not opening up the process and potentially creating a bidding war, Harrison didn’t want to risk Doncic and his agent exerting leverage from their end — he also hoped to avoid creating a fan backlash during the negotiations, per ESPN.

Here’s more on the blockbuster trade whose shock waves are still reverberating across the NBA:

Within their in-depth look ta the deal, Shelburne and MacMahon write that Doncic’s habits on and off the court that had long frustrated the Mavericks. According to ESPN’s duo, when Doncic missed 11 days in November due to what was called a right wrist sprain, the primary motive was to give him time to shed weight, since he was in the high-260s. “I mean, who gains weight during the season when you’re playing 40 minutes a game?” one team source complained to ESPN last year. The Mavs considered Doncic’s ideal weight to be 245 points, but he frequently played in the 250-255 range or higher.
As Marc Stein previously reported, the full-time “body team” that Doncic hired out of pocket prior to the 2023/24 season was another source of frustration for Dallas. According to ESPN, the Mavs didn’t notice any improvements in the guard’s conditioning or availability, and complained about poor communication with Doncic’s team, which consisted of Slovenian national team strength coach Anze Macek, physiotherapist Javier Barrio Calvo, and nutritionist Lucia Almendros from Real Madrid.
New Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont didn’t have the same kind of personal relationship with Doncic that former majority owner Mark Cuban did, per Shelburne and MacMahon, who say Dumont trusted in Harrison’s belief that the trade would give the Mavs a better culture-setter in Davis, along with more financial flexibility and a defense-first identity. Cuban, who is still a minority stakeholder in the franchise, declined to comment on the deal, but one team source told ESPN, “No way Mark would ever trade Luka. It wouldn’t even be a conversation.”
Doncic had anticipated signing a five-year super-max extension with the Mavericks during the 2025 offseason, sources tell ESPN — he never gave any indication that he had considered the idea of leaving Dallas and had begun searching for a new home in the city. However, team sources tell Shelburne and MacMahon that the club was as concerned about Doncic signing that contract as they were about him not signing it.
David Aldridge of The Athletic spoke to several executives around the league about their impressions of the Doncic/Davis trade and how it was negotiated. While some of those execs questioned Dallas’ thinking, others pointed out that the Mavs knew Doncic better than any other team. “Luka has the ability to take a franchise to the highest level and has shown that,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “He is a winner, but it seems that Dallas knows something that others might not know and made a decision that they feel is best for now and their future.”
Marc J. Spears of Andscape hears that Doncic and the Lakers are targeting next week – likely either Monday or Wednesday vs. Utah – for his debut with the team (Twitter video link). Doncic has been out since Christmas Day due to a calf strain.