And-Ones: Expansion, Sweet 16, Coaches, All-Surprise Team
Although all 30 NBA governors voted this week to formally explore the possibility of expanding to Seattle and Las Vegas, there are at least two or three owners who have concerns about the financial aspect and aren’t thrilled by the idea of adding two new expansion teams, writes Howard Beck of The Ringer. According to Beck, there are also several front office executives who view expansion as being solely financially motivated and are skeptical about whether it’s a good idea from a basketball perspective.
“Is (expansion) good? I would say no,” one executive from a playoff team told Beck. “I look at some of these rosters and can say some teams have at least one, if not two, players that shouldn’t be in the NBA. There should be a concern about dilution of talent. The two new teams are going to be really bad for a while. Add to it that good players are staying in college for the paydays they are getting (via NIL), and there is even less talent available.”
As Beck notes within his story, the NBA’s decision to approve an “exploration” of expansion is something of a hedge, giving the league an out if the process doesn’t go as planned. For instance, while team owners would surely feel comfortable moving forward with expansion if it can extract fees in the $8-10 billion range for two new franchises, many of those some owners would be less enthusiastic if the bids topped out at, say, $5 billion.
Beck also wonders if the NBA might be willing to turn away from either Seattle or Las Vegas if a prospective ownership group from another city came through with a massive bid, given that the process appears to be driven by money. However, one executive he spoke to predicted that Seattle and Vegas would be “better markets than some we already have.”
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- With the Sweet 16 games set to tip off in a matter of hours, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shares his thoughts on how the NCAA tournament has impacted his perception of several of this year’s top draft prospects, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report updates his 2026 mock draft, and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints each identify several four players – one from each region – whom they’ll be watching on Thursday and Friday.
- Arguing that a single Coach of the Year award isn’t sufficient to recognize the exceptional performances in the NBA’s head coaching ranks, Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports introduces his “All-Coaching team,” headlined by J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons, Mitch Johnson of the Spurs, and Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.
- Elsewhere on the made-up-award front, Fred Katz of The Athletic unveils the 10 players who made his All-Surprise first and second teams this season. The first team consists of Pistons center Jalen Duren, Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson, Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, and Celtics center Neemias Queta.
Billy Donovan Addresses UNC Rumors, Says Focus On Bulls
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan‘s future has been a major subject of speculation of this week, with reports linking him to the open coaching job at the University of North Carolina and suggesting that he may be considering leaving his position in Chicago at the end of this season.
Asked ahead of Wednesday’s game in Philadelphia about the UNC rumors, Donovan didn’t explicitly deny that he’d be interested in the job, but said he’s focused on guiding the Bulls to a strong finish to the season, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic.
“My main focus is on these guys and this new team,” Donovan said. “I understand that there’s stuff out there, and I understand that there is going to be certain speculation. But, I have to concentrate on this group, and really, my focus is on what we’re doing here in Chicago, having a game (Wednesday), and traveling to go and play in a back-to-back.”
Before Donovan began being linked to the UNC vacancy, a Chicago Sun-Times report cited rumblings about the possibility that the veteran coach will step down as the Bulls’ head coach in order to take a year off and evaluate what he wants to do next.
While Donovan, who will turn 61 this May, didn’t confirm his plans one way or the other during his pregame media session on Wednesday, he acknowledged that the Bulls’ recent playoff drought has been frustrating. The team is headed for its fourth straight losing season and hasn’t advanced beyond the play-in tournament since 2022.
Donovan told reporters, including Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times and Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune (subscription required), that he’d have to talk to executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas this spring about the ongoing rebuilding process and the plan to get back to the postseason.
“We’re pivoting right now,” he said. “A lot of it’s going to be me sitting down with ownership, with Arturas, just to find out — OK, what’s the next step? How are we all looking at going through this? What do we need to do to continue to improve and to get better?
“The biggest thing, clearly, with the moves that were made at the trade deadline was — how do we get out of the middle? And if we’re taking a step back, what do we have to do to take a step forward where we’re actually building something? We may have to go through a play-in again, but how are we going to get into the playoffs?”
As Poe writes, there’s an understanding within the organization that if Donovan isn’t enthusiastic about management’s vision for the future, a split is a possibility.
“I wanted to get into coaching to win,” the Bulls’ coach said. “How are we going to work to get into a place where we’re really competing? And how do we build this out going forward? Those are the things I think we need to talk about. Because, yeah — selfishly, competitively, I want us to be in that situation where we’re playing in real, legitimate (games). … I want to be in that situation. I understand that that doesn’t happen overnight or in a blink of an eye. It takes a lot of hard work and diligence.”
Bulls Rule Out Jaden Ivey, Jalen Smith For Rest Of Season
Bulls guard Jaden Ivey and big man Jalen Smith will miss the rest of the 2025/26 season, the team announced on Thursday (via Twitter).
Ivey, who was acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline, appeared in just four games for Chicago before being shut down due to left knee pain. There had initially been hope that he’d return to action this season, but the team says he’ll continue his rehabilitation work and won’t play again this spring.
Smith, meanwhile, has missed seven of the Bulls’ 14 games since February 24 due to a right calf issue. According to the club, he aggravated that injury in Wednesday’s loss to Philadelphia and will be held out for the final two-and-a-half weeks of the season in order to fully recover.
The fact that Ivey spent so little time on the court following the deadline deal sending him to Chicago clouds his future to some extent. The Bulls will have to decide this June whether or not to issue him a qualifying offer worth $8.77MM in order to make him a restricted free agent. Even if the team puts that QO on the table, the next step would be figuring out if a multiyear contract agreement between the two sides is viable.
Before making either decision, the Bulls will want to ensure they have a clear and complete understanding of Ivey’s knee issue in order to assess the likelihood that the former fifth overall pick will be able to recapture his old form. Ivey was having a career year for the Pistons in 2024/25, averaging 17.6 points and 4.0 assists per game with a .460/.409/.733 shooting line, before he suffered a broken fibula in his left leg that ended his season. His return in the fall was delayed after he underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee.
Ivey lacked his usual explosiveness in 37 games for Detroit and Chicago this season, registering averages of 8.5 PPG and 1.8 APG on .445/.373/.809 shooting in a reduced role (18.1 MPG). He spoke last month about not feeling like “the same player I used to be.”
Smith’s calf issues appear unlikely to be a long-term concern. He’ll earn $9.43MM next season in the final season of the three-year, $27MM contract he signed with the Bulls as a free agent during the 2024 offseason.
Nick Richards and Guerschon Yabusele figure to play increased frontcourt roles in the short term with Smith sidelined. The Bulls have no shortage of options in the backcourt, where Josh Giddey, Tre Jones, Collin Sexton, and Rob Dillingham have all been playing regular minutes as of late.
Kings Sign DaQuan Jeffries To 10-Day Contract
The Kings have signed veteran swingman DaQuan Jeffries to a 10-day contract, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.
It’s a hardship deal, per Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), which means Sacramento didn’t have to waive anyone from its 15-man roster to make room for Jeffries. A team qualifies for a hardship exception if it has four players who have missed three or more games due to an injury and illness, assuming those four players are each expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.
Zach LaVine (hand), Domantas Sabonis (knee), De’Andre Hunter (eye), and Drew Eubanks (thumb) all out for the season, so the Kings meet the hardship criteria. Russell Westbrook (foot), Nique Clifford (foot), and Keegan Murray (ankle) are currently on the shelf too, but Westbrook and Clifford haven’t yet missed three consecutive games and the latest update on Murray suggests he should be back within the next two weeks.
Jeffries, 28, began his NBA career with Sacramento back in 2019 after going undrafted out of Tulsa. He has since bounced around the NBA, appearing in 111 total regular season games with the Kings, Rockets, Grizzlies, Knicks, and Hornets from 2019-25. The 6’5″ guard/forward holds career averages of 4.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per contest, with a .415/.315/.783 shooting line.
Known as a solid, versatile defender, Jeffries hadn’t been in the NBA at all in 2025/26 until today, having spent the season with the Kings’ G League affiliate in Stockton. In 35 total NBAGL appearances this season, he has averaged 21.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .506/.420/.843 shooting, making a strong case for an NBA call-up.
Jeffries will earn $165,197 over the course of his 10-day contract, which will run through April 4, covering Sacramento’s next five games. The Kings will take on a cap hit of $131,970.
Hoops Rumors Glossary: Bird Rights
The Bird exception, named after Larry Bird, is a rule included in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows teams to go over the salary cap to re-sign their own players. A player who qualifies for the Bird exception, formally referred to as a Qualifying Veteran Free Agent, is said to have “Bird rights.”
The most basic way for a player to earn Bird rights is to play for the same team for at least three seasons, either on a long-term deal or on separate one- or two-year contracts. Still, there are other criteria. A player retains his Bird rights in the following scenarios:
1. He changes teams via trade.
For instance, the Warriors will hold Kristaps Porzingis‘ Bird rights when he reaches free agency this offseason, despite just acquiring him in February. His Bird clock didn’t reset when he was traded from Atlanta to Golden State.
2. He finishes a third season with a team after having only signed for a partial season with the club in the first year.
The Wizards signed Tristan Vukcevic during the second half of the 2023/24 season, adding him to their roster in March 2024. If his contract were expiring this offseason, Vukcevic would have Bird rights despite not spending three full seasons with Washington, because that partial season in ’23/24 started his Bird clock.
3. He signs a full-season contract (ie. not a 10-day deal), his team waives him, and he cleared waivers. He subsequently re-signs with the club (without joining another team in the interim) and ultimately remains under contract through a third season.
This one’s a little confusing, but let’s use a hypothetical scenario involving Pistons forward Tobias Harris to illustrate what it would look like. Harris signed with Detroit as a free agent in 2024 and is nearing the end of his second season with the team.
If the Pistons were to waive Harris now, then re-signed him in July without him joining a new team in the interim, his Bird clock would pick up where it left off. He’d have full Bird rights in the summer of 2027, since he would’ve spent part or all of each of the previous three seasons with the Pistons without changing teams in between.
Although the Pistons could restart Harris’ Bird clock by re-signing him, they wouldn’t be able to use any form of Bird rights to add him to their roster this offseason in this hypothetical scenario — they would have to use cap room or another exception to do so. His Bird clock would only resume once he’s back under contract.
This rule also applies to players who are waived after they already have Bird rights. For example, let’s say the Kings were to waive DeMar DeRozan this offseason before his $25.74MM salary for 2026/27 becomes guaranteed. Releasing DeRozan would mean losing his Bird rights, but if they were to re-add him on a one-year contract after waiving him, the Kings would regain those full Bird rights in 2027.
That’s not really a realistic scenario for DeRozan, who would almost certainly join a new team if he were waived by the Kings. But it’s an example of how Bird rights would function in that sort of situation.
A player sees the clock on his Bird rights reset to zero in the following scenarios:
- He changes teams via free agency.
- He is waived and is not claimed on waivers (except as in scenario No. 3 above).
- His rights are renounced by his team. However, as in scenario No. 3 above, a player’s Bird clock picks up where it left off if he re-signs with the club that renounced them without having signed with another NBA team. For example, Kelly Oubre Jr. had his rights renounced by the Sixers during the summer of 2024, following his first year with the team. He signed a new deal with Philadelphia later that offseason, so his Bird clock picked up where it left off, and he’s on track to have full Bird rights this summer, two years later.
- He is selected in an expansion draft.
Players on two-way contracts accumulate Bird rights in the same way that players on standard contracts do. Knicks guard Kevin McCullar Jr. has been under contract with New York on two-way deals in each of the past two seasons. If he were to sign another one-year, two-way deal this summer and then reached free agency in 2027, he’d have full Bird rights at that time.
If a player who would have been in line for Bird rights at the end of the season is waived and claimed off waivers, he would retain only Early Bird rights.
It’s also worth noting that there’s one specific scenario in which a player with Bird rights can lose them in a trade. A player who re-signs with his previous team on a one-year contract (or a one-year deal with a second-year option) would have his Bird clock reset if he’s traded later that season. As such, he receives the ability to veto trades so he can avoid that scenario, though a team can require him to waive that right as a condition of their contract agreement.
[RELATED: Players who had the ability to veto trades in 2025/26]
Jonathan Kuminga is an example of a player who lost his Bird rights as a result of this rule, since he re-signed last summer with the Warriors on a deal that included a second-year team option, then was traded to the Hawks last month. He’ll have Non-Bird rights at the end of this season if Atlanta declines that team option for 2026/27.
The Bird exception was designed to allow teams to keep their best players, even when those teams don’t have the cap room necessary to do so.
When a player earns Bird rights, he’s eligible to re-sign with his team for up to five years and for any price up to his maximum salary (with 8% annual raises) when he becomes a free agent, no matter how much cap space the team has — or doesn’t have.
The maximum salary varies from player to player depending on how long he has been in the league, but regardless of the precise amount, a team can exceed the salary cap to re-sign a player with Bird rights.
A team with a Bird free agent is assigned a “free agent amount” – also called a cap hold – worth either 190% of his previous salary (for a player with a salary below the league average) or 150% of his previous salary (for an above-average salary), up to the maximum salary amount.
For players coming off rookie scale contracts, the amounts of those cap holds are 300% and 250%, respectively. The Pistons, for instance, will have a cap hold worth $19,449,432 for Jalen Duren on their books this offseason — 300% of his $6,483,144 salary for 2025/26.
Detroit could renounce Duren and generate nearly $20MM in additional cap flexibility, but doing so would cost the Pistons the ability to re-sign him using Bird rights, which would force them to use either cap room or a different cap exception to re-sign him. As such, we can count on the Pistons keeping Duren’s cap hold on their books until his free agency is resolved.
Note: This is a Hoops Rumors Glossary entry. Our glossary posts will explain specific rules relating to trades, free agency, or other aspects of the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. Larry Coon’s Salary Cap FAQ was used in the creation of this post.
Earlier versions of this post were published in previous years by Luke Adams and Chuck Myron.
Injury Notes: Giannis, Cade, Edwards, Kings, K. George, Wade
The National Basketball Players Association seemed to imply in a statement earlier this week that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is healthy enough to play, but that’s not the case, according to head coach Doc Rivers. As Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays, Rivers told reporters on Wednesday that Antetokounmpo continues to recover from the left knee hyperextension and bone bruise that have sidelined him since March 15.
“He’s not (healthy),” Rivers said. “He’s progressing. He’s just not healthy. Our focus right now is just getting him healthy. We’re just trying to get Giannis cleared and healthy; that’s our only focus. All the other stuff, we stay above.”
Reporting last week suggested that Antetokounmpo and the Bucks were at odds over whether he should be shut down for the rest of the season, with Milwaukee preferring to take a conservative approach and the two-time MVP pushing to return. The NBPA’s statement suggested that the Bucks are motivated to hold Giannis out of action to potentially improve their draft position, an idea Rivers downplayed.
“We didn’t have a meeting about this (statement from the NBPA),” Rivers said. “We didn’t have one discussion. (General manager) Jon Horst didn’t call me to talk about this, just to show you the concern we have.”
Here are several more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Appearing on NBA Countdown on Wednesday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania provided health updates on Cade Cunningham (collapsed lung) and Anthony Edwards (knee inflammation). According to Charania, the Pistons are optimistic that Cunningham will be able to return in time for the start of the playoffs, while the Timberwolves consider Edwards day-to-day at this point, and he could return as Saturday vs. Detroit or Monday at Dallas.
- Kings forward Keegan Murray, out since February 25 due to a left ankle sprain, is making “good progress” in his return-to-play process and is resuming contact work, the team announced on Wednesday (Twitter link via James Ham of ESPN 1320). The update suggests Sacramento plans on having Murray back before the end of the season. Veteran guard Russell Westbrook, meanwhile, underwent an MRI on his sore right foot and has been diagnosed with joint irritation of the first toe. He’ll remain out, with further updates provided as appropriate, per the Kings.
- The Wizards, who announced on March 4 that forward Kyshawn George had sustained a partial UCL tear in his left elbow and would be reevaluated in three weeks, provided an update right on schedule on Wednesday. According to the team (Twitter link), elbow specialist Dr. Keith Meister confirmed this week that George has a Grade 2 distal UCL tear. The plan is to continue to treat the injury “conservatively” and evaluate the 22-year-old again next Wednesday.
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade appeared to suffer an ankle injury during warm-ups prior to Wednesday’s contest vs. Miami, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter links). While Wade was held out of the game, Fedor refers to it as a “precaution,” which suggests the injury probably isn’t serious.
Atlantic Notes: George, Embiid, McBride, Tatum, Knicks
Paul George returned for the Sixers on Wednesday after serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, and Philadelphia came away with the 157-137 victory over the Bulls. Prior to the game, Tony Jones of The Athletic broke down five crucial aspects that the team has been missing in George’s absence.
The number one attribute George brings to the table at this point is his perimeter defense, Jones writes, given his ability to guard larger forwards due to the weight he’s added over the years. Jones also highlights his perimeter shooting and how his presence allows other plays to slot into their natural roles more smoothly.
After the game, George spoke about the rest of the year, per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), saying that his goal is to play in all nine remaining regular season games, assuming his body allows him to do so. He added that he felt more explosive in his return than he did prior to the suspension.
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers center Joel Embiid was also back in action on Wednesday following a 13-game absence due to an oblique strain. He scored 35 points in the blowout victory over Chicago, adding seven assists and six rebounds. After the victory, he spoke to reporters about how his body felt. “My knees haven’t been an issue for a long time. That’s past me,” Embiid said, via PHLY Sports (Twitter video link). “The oblique was very tricky, and it still is tricky. Really nothing you can do about it, gotta let it ride and hope it doesn’t get worse.”
- Knicks head coach Mike Brown says key reserve Miles McBride has begun scrimmaging as he continues his rehab from sports hernia surgery, according to SNY’s Ian Begley (Twitter link). The defensive-minded guard is listed as out for Thursday’s game against the Hornets, but James L. Edwards III of The Athletic speculates (via Twitter) that Sunday’s game against the Thunder could be the day he returns to action. McBride, who had been having a career year, hasn’t played since January 27.
- Jayson Tatum‘s reintegration into the Celtics mid-season has gone as well as could be hoped, but there are still moments of frustration for the six-time All-Star, as he expressed earlier this week. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps talks to Celtics coaches and NBA insiders to get their takes on how much of his usual form Tatum will be able to regain for this year’s playoff run. “I think they’re the best team in the East,” one rival assistant coach said. “I don’t think him being back helps now, but I think it will help in the playoffs. He just doesn’t look like he has confidence in that leg yet. (But) if you let him shoot spot-up jumpers and rhythm looks, he’ll be good.”
Grizzlies, Pelicans Eliminated From Playoffs; Warriors Locked Into Top-10 Seed
With the Grizzlies‘ 123-98 loss to the Spurs tonight, Memphis has officially been eliminated from playoff contention, while the Warriors have been locked into a top-10 seed. The Pelicans had their playoff possibilities officially extinguished by virtue of their 121-116 loss to the Knicks on Tuesday.
That means that the top 10 teams in the West, and therefore the playoff/play-in pool, have been finalized: the Thunder, Spurs, Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Rockets, Suns, Clippers, Trail Blazers, and Warriors will all be participating in the postseason, though there is still plenty of room for the seeding to change over the last few weeks of the season.
Wednesday night was a big night for the Western Conference playoff race, as the Nuggets, Rockets, Warriors, Clippers, Blazers, and Lakers were all in action. Coming into the night, three games separated the No. 6 Rockets from the No. 3 Lakers, and the No. 10 Warriors were just two games behind the No. 8 Clippers.
While no team is likely to catch the Spurs in second place, San Antonio is just two games behind the top-seeded Thunder, who had their 12-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson spoke about the team clinching home court advantage in the first round tonight. “I would expect it to be loud with a lot of excitement, enthusiasm,” he said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). “But it’s still a little bit away, so hopefully we can continue to get better and make some improvements in a lot of areas.”
On the other end of the postseason picture, the Warriors technically haven’t been eliminated from contention for a top-six seed, but they trail No. 6 Houston by 8.5 games and both teams have just nine left to play, so that will likely happen at some point in the coming days.
NBPA To Seek Change To 65-Game Rule
The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) is working to put forward a change to the league’s 65-game awards-eligibility rule, reports Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, citing an anonymous source within the players’ union.
The NBPA would like to introduce stipulations related to significant injuries and reevaluate the games-played criteria, Vorkunov writes, adding that the union intends to present its proposal to the league within the next few weeks.
The NBPA previously put out a statement calling for the rule to be either abolished or reformed, citing the looming potential ineligibility of Cade Cunningham, who has had an All-NBA season but currently sits at 60 games played with 20 or more minutes.
League commissioner Adam Silver, however, told reporters today that he believes the rule has been a success and is working as intended, seemingly resisting the call for changes to be made.
“We always knew when there’s a line you draw, that somebody’s going to fall on the other side of that line,” Silver said. “And it may feel unfair in that particular instance. Let’s see what happens at the end of this year… we also have to remember that to the extent that one player is no longer eligible, some other player will then be All-NBA and will slot into that spot. So I’m not ready to stand here saying I don’t think it’s working. I think it is working.”
Vorkunov notes that the rule has come under scrutiny for potentially pressuring players to return too quickly from injuries so as not to lose out on contract incentives based on end-of-year awards.
“There’s not nearly as much discussion around load management as there was, in part because the teams and the players have responded. You see them on the floor now,” Silver said. “So, now we have a separate issue that we’re dealing with in terms of tanking, and we’ll deal with that. And I get it. There’s part of my job. There’s always new issues, but I’m not ready to say, standing here today, that because there may be a sense of unfairness for one player, that means the rule doesn’t work.”
Southwest Notes: VanVleet, B. Williams, Nembhard, McLaughlin
It seems increasingly unlikely that Fred VanVleet will be able to rejoin the Rockets for their playoff push, Varun Shankar writes for the Houston Chronicle.
The veteran point guard, who has been out since September with a torn ACL, expressed hope earlier this month that he’d be able to return this season, but head coach Ime Udoka‘s recent comments made that seem unlikely, Shankar notes.
“On-court shooting, cutting, moving, non-contact. That’s pretty much the extent of the on-court (work),” Udoka said. “… (Contact will) come soon but you’re obviously not looking at playing if you’re not getting on the court and making contact this late in the season.”
VanVleet’s contract includes a $25MM player option for the 2026/27 season, which he seems likely to pick up coming off his ACL tear. General manager Rafael Stone expressed support for his his point guard and his role on the team.
“He’s a big part of what we’ve done over the last two years and we expect he’s going to be a big part of what we do moving forward,” Stone said. “He’s literally the toughest NBA player I’ve ever met. If he can play, he’ll play.”
The Rockets are sixth in the West heading into Wednesday’s games, but are just a game behind the fourth-place Nuggets.
We have more from around the Southwest Division:
- After missing the past three games with a concussion, Brandon Williams took to the court on Wednesday morning’s shootaround for the Mavericks and was upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game, Grant Afseth writes for Dallas Hoops Journal. Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News speculates (via Twitter) that his changed status could indicate his favorable chances of clearing concussion protocol.
- Ryan Nembhard recently discussed his rookie season growth with the Mavericks, Afseth writes. “I’ve been trying to get more catch-and-shoot threes off — that’s a big thing for me,” Nembhard said. “Just trying to space the floor, make guys close out, and respect my jump shot has been important.” He admitted that the length and demanding nature of the NBA season was unlike anything he’d experienced as a basketball player until now, but added that the All-Star break was a good break to get back to his usual form.
- Jordan McLaughlin‘s presence and professionalism have allowed the Spurs to rest some of their starters down the stretch without losing any ground in the standings, Tom Orsborn writes for the San Antonio Express-News. “J-Mac gave us 10 minutes of really mature, professional basketball,” coach Mitch Johnson said after a close win over the Clippers last week. “We needed every second.” Johnson said that the team specifically targeted the veteran point guard in their trade negotiations with the Kings for De’Aaron Fox last season. “We definitely didn’t view him as a throw in,” Johnson said. “… McLaughlin had good times in Minnesota and played well for Sacramento at times. And he was someone we thought could be a good member of this team. And we brought him back this year when he was a free agent.”