NBA Announces 2019 All-Star Starters
The NBA announced the starters and captains for the 2019 All-Star Game on Thursday, with the Lakers’ LeBron James and Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo being named team captains for their respective conferences.
The Western Conference starters are comprised of James, Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, Rockets guard James Harden, and Thunder forward Paul George.
Antetokounmpo, Hornets guard Kemba Walker, Celtics guard Kyrie Irving, Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard, and Sixers center Joel Embiid were named starters in the Eastern Conference.
James (4,620,809 votes) and Antetokounmpo (4,375,747 votes) received the most fan votes from each conference in the past month, giving them the honors of being captains this season.
James and Antetokounmpo will draft their teams from the list of these starters and reserves on Thursday, February 7, hours after the NBA’s trade deadline. The All-Star Game will take place on Sunday, February 17, with the reserve players set to be announced next Thursday night.
We made our All-Star picks for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference earlier this week.
Knicks Make Tim Hardaway, Courtney Lee Available
In an unsurprising development, the Knicks have made Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee available via trade in advance of the February 7 deadline, three sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times. The decision is largely financially motivated, Stein adds.
We’ve assumed for months that Hardaway and Lee would be on the trade block this season, since the’re both owed pricey salaries for 2019/20 and the Knicks would like to be players this summer for a group of free agents that includes Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Kemba Walker. A report earlier this week from Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic indicated that rival teams have inquired on Hardaway and Lee.
From the Knicks’ perspective, an ideal trade involving Hardaway or Lee would see New York acquire an expiring contract without having to attach an asset to either veteran to sweeten the deal. Stein suggests it’s unclear whether the Knicks will be able to find a suitable trade without attaching an additional asset — Vokunov said in his report that the front office has been averse to adding a sweetener.
Here are a few more Knicks-related notes and rumors:
- Howard Beck of Bleacher Report says he gets the impression the Knicks would be willing to trade “just about everyone not named Kristaps (Porzingis) or Kevin (Knox)” if it helps clear the team’s books for this summer (Twitter link).
- After Enes Kanter told the Knicks to play him or “get me out of here,” head coach David Fizdale responded to his veteran center and downplayed the idea that the situation will cause any distractions for the team. Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic has the full quotes from Fizdale.
- Vorkunov also relays the latest comments from Kanter, who took exception with being grouped in with veterans like Courtney Lee and Lance Thomas when Fizdale informed those players – and Trey Burke – that their minutes would be cut. “I mean, Courtney and Lance, they’re 33, 34, whatever years old. I’m 26 years old. It’s not like I am old. You know what I mean?” Kanter said. “They treat me like I’m old. I’m not old. I’m 26 years old.” In Marc Stein’s report (linked above), he wrote that Kanter is expected to seek a buyout if he’s not moved by the trade deadline.
- Tim Hardaway didn’t seem to love being thrown under the bus by Allonzo Trier in a Twitter direct message Trier sent to a fan. Responding to criticism from the fan for a defensive miscue vs. Houston, Trier retorted that Hardaway was supposed to have switched onto his man. “Oh, so he blaming other people, basically?” Hardaway said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “At the end of the day I think it all falls down on the team. Team defense, you learn from it.” Trier apologized for the message today after it leaked.
Larry Drew Unlikely To Coach Cavs Long-Term
The Cavaliers have begun searching for a permanent head coach for 2019/20 and beyond, and Larry Drew isn’t believed to be a serious candidate, according to a report from Joe Vardon and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. While Drew has served as Cleveland’s interim coach since Tyronn Lue‘s dismissal earlier this season, he’s unsure he’d want to return next season and doesn’t appear likely to be asked, per Vardon and Lloyd.
“I don’t know if I ever want to be a head coach again after this year,” said Drew, who has dealt with a constant stream of injuries since Lue’s ouster, guiding the Cavs to a 9-34 record.
According to Vardon and Lloyd, the Cavaliers will likely seek a first-time NBA head coach who has experience developing players and/or coaching in the G League. The club hasn’t yet begun reaching out to candidates or their agents, since the search is still in its infancy. However, The Athletic duo identifies six candidates who have ties to the Cavs or GM Koby Altman and could be fits. Those six candidates are:
- Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez
- Hornets assistant Steve Hetzel
- Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin
- Hawks assistant Chris Jent
- Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley
- Jazz assistant Alex Jensen
It’s not entirely clear whether Vardon and Lloyd are just speculating based on the criteria outlined by the Cavs and Altman’s history with those coaches, or if they have inside info on the club’s wish list. Either way, it seems safe to assume that at least a few of those assistants will receive consideration from Cleveland.
For now, Drew is still running the show and the 60-year-old coach admits that he’s happy Lue was let go early in the season — not because he wanted to supplant Lue, but because he believes the Cavs’ struggles this year would have been hard on the team’s former head coach, who battled stress and health issues last season.
“I wouldn’t want to see him go through this,” Drew said. “I wouldn’t want him to go through it from a physical and mental standpoint after some of the things that he went through. He deserves better after having won a championship. He deserves much, much better.”
When the Cavs initially replaced Lue with Drew, he resisted taking on the title of interim head coach until the team gave him a raise and a small financial guarantee for next season. Several months later, he still doesn’t sound like someone who wanted the job to begin with, as Vardon and Lloyd relay.
“I wasn’t looking to do this. I was not looking to do this at all,” Drew said. “But it happened. Ain’t a whole lot you can do about it.”
Sixers Notes: Patton, Z. Smith, Vonleh, Butler
The Sixers announced today in a press release that a pair of injured youngsters have been assigned to the G League to join the Delaware Blue Coats for rehab purposes. According to the team, Justin Patton will begin practicing with limited and controlled contact, while Zhaire Smith will participate in non-contact elements of Delaware’s practices.
Patton, who is coming off right foot surgery, has been plagued by foot issues throughout his two-year NBA career, appearing in just one regular season game to date. He was sent to Philadelphia in November’s Jimmy Butler blockbuster, but will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. It’s unlikely we see him play much of a role for the 76ers down the stretch even if he gets healthy.
Smith, on the other hand, was the Sixers’ first-round pick in 2018 and remains under team control for several seasons, so it’s notable that he’s taking the next step in his rehab process. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), while Smith is just doing non-contact work for now, he’ll ramp up his activities in the coming weeks. The rookie is coming off a Jones fracture in his left foot and a complication created by an allergy issue.
Here’s more on the Sixers:
- Derek Bodner of The Athletic takes an extensive look at the Sixers’ trade deadline options, writing that the team is in need of depth and perimeter defense. Bodner also explores whether the 76ers would move Markelle Fultz while his value is so low and whether the club would make a deal that cuts into its 2019 cap room.
- Within the same story, Bodner reports that sources with the Sixers “vigorously” denied a recent report suggesting that the team had expressed interest in Knicks power forward Noah Vonleh.
- Jimmy Butler missed Wednesday’s game with a wrist injury, but it’s not considered a major issue, according to head coach Brett Brown, who said that a Monday MRI on Butler’s wrist didn’t reveal anything concerning (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com).
Jazz Eyeing Mike Conley, Otto Porter
The Jazz have continued to search for a “dynamic” third piece to add to their star duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic, who hears from sources that Utah has expressed interest in both Mike Conley of the Grizzlies and Otto Porter of the Wizards. Shams Charania of The Athletic wrote on Wednesday about the Jazz’s interest in Porter.
As Jones explains, Utah’s interest doesn’t mean the club will necessarily make an offer for either player. Conley’s and Porter’s contracts will also complicate matters, as both players are owed massive salaries through the 2020/21 season. Still, both players intrigue the Jazz, who may throw their hat into the ring if “circumstances align” and if they feel comfortable with forfeiting future cap room to lock in a productive veteran like Conley or Porter.
Here’s more from Jones on the Jazz:
- While Conley or Porter would be expensive, their contracts are set to end around the same time Gobert’s deal expires and Mitchell’s second contract will begin, Jones observes. That timeline matches up well with what the Jazz would be looking for — there’s a sense that if they’re going to be aggressive trying to land a pricey impact player, it should happen while Mitchell is still on his rookie contract, says Jones.
- Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey will continue to monitor the trade market over the next couple weeks in search of opportunities, according to Jones, who points to last year’s acquisition of Jae Crowder and this season’s trade for Kyle Korver as the sort of smaller-scale deals that have really helped the club.
- Utah’s front office has “dreams” of being active and aggressive on the 2019 free agent market, sources tell Jones. So if they don’t make any major moves that cut into their future cap room before the trade deadline, the Jazz figure to be a team to watch this summer.
- The Jazz weren’t caught off guard by Mitchell’s shooting struggles during the first couple months of the season, sources tell Jones. The team knew that a toe injury prevented the second-year guard from working out in the offseason and figured he might be a little slow to get going in his sophomore season. Mitchell has been an efficient scorer so far in 2019, shooting 48.1% from the floor in his last 11 games, including 44.3% on three-pointers, after shooting 40.7% (29.1% on threes) in his first 34.
Latest On Kevin Love
It was exactly six months ago today that Kevin Love signed a four-year contract extension with the Cavaliers that locked him up through the 2022/23 season. That means, since players who sign veteran extensions can’t be dealt for six months, Love is now once again eligible to be traded.
[RELATED: Special Trade Eligibility Dates For 2018/19]
With two weeks left until the February 7 deadline, it’s possible the Cavs will explore the trade market in search of a Love deal, but there are two potential roadblocks in the way of such a move. Love’s health is one of those roadblocks. The other? Cleveland may just not want to trade him.
Sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com that the Cavaliers’ stance on Love hasn’t changed since he signed his extension, and that the club wants to keep him in Cleveland for the foreseeable future. According to Fedor, the franchise values his leadership and his “set-the-tone work ethic” in addition to what he can do on the court when he’s healthy.
Even if the Cavs wanted to move Love, his health would be a red flag for any potential trade partner, though he appears to be making progress toward a return from his foot injury. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic (Twitter link), the veteran power forward participated fully in a non-contact practice for the Cavs today.
Last we heard, Love was unsure about his recovery timeline, speculating that he may be ready to play again sometime around the All-Star break. Head coach Larry Drew said that there’s still no timetable for Love’s return, per Vardon.
Magic Notes: DSJ, Isaac, Gordon, Vucevic
It’s unclear how serious the Dennis Smith Jr. trade talks between the Magic and Mavericks have gotten, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. However, at least one rival NBA front office official believes Smith would make a lot of sense as a target for Orlando.
“Their priority should be a starting point guard,” the official said of the Magic. “Those guys don’t grow on trees, and Dennis Smith is pretty alluring because when are you going to get (a starting point guard otherwise)?”
As Robbins observes, there will be a couple intriguing point guard prospects – Murray State’s Ja Morant and Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland – near the top of the draft, but it’s not clear if the Magic will pick high enough to have a shot at either one — and the point guard class isn’t particularly strong after those two. Currently, Orlando ranks seventh in our 2018/19 Reverse Standings.
Robbins doesn’t go too in-depth on potential free agent targets for the Magic, but suggests it seems “unrealistic” that the team will land a marquee point guard in free agency. Most of 2019’s top free agent point guards are either restricted free agents (like D’Angelo Russell and Terry Rozier) or aren’t expected to consider Orlando (Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker).
Here’s more on the Magic from Robbins:
- Within his discussion of the DSJ rumors, Robbins notes that the Mavericks were interested in Jonathan Isaac in 2017, but Orlando remains “strongly disinclined to give him up.” The Magic also haven’t shown any signs that they’re willing to trade Aaron Gordon, sources tell Robbins.
- Exploring the possibility of a Nikola Vucevic trade, Robbins wonders what sort of impact a Vooch trade would have on the long-term development of Isaac, Gordon, and Mohamed Bamba. Robbins also questions whether the Magic would trade Vucevic in a deal for a first-round pick that falls outside of the lottery and wouldn’t necessarily change the club’s long-term outlook significantly.
- In a separate story on the Magic, Robbins posits that the franchise hasn’t found a “star-quality player” to replace Dwight Howard since losing him back in 2012. Head coach Steve Clifford drew attention to the star-shaped hole on Orlando’s roster after Wednesday’s loss to Brooklyn, pointing out that the Magic don’t have a player who can be relied upon to score a basket or make a play in crunch time. “It’s the most important thing that you can have in any NBA game: a guy that can go get a shot or create help so his teammate gets a shot,” Clifford said. “It’s the No. 1 thing that you want.”
Grizzlies Sign Bruno Caboclo To 10-Day Deal
JANUARY 24: The Grizzlies have officially signed Caboclo to a 10-day contract, the team announced today in a press release. The deal will run through February 2.
JANUARY 21: The Grizzlies are set to fill the opening on their 15-man roster, at least for the next week and a half, by signing forward Bruno Caboclo to a 10-day contract, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Caboclo, the 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, never developed into an NBA rotation player for the Raptors, who traded him to Sacramento in a cost-cutting move at last year’s trade deadline. After his rookie contract expired, the 23-year-old signed a camp contract with the Rockets last summer and was cut before the start of the 2018/19 season.
Although he didn’t stick with Houston for the regular season, Caboclo had been playing for the team’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, so far in 2018/19. In 28 games (28.3 MPG), he averaged 16.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 3.0 BPG with an impressive .516/.428/.744 shooting line.
In Memphis, Caboclo may get a shot at some playing time right away, as the Grizzlies have found themselves short-handed on the wing with Chandler Parsons, Dillon Brooks, and Kyle Anderson all unavailable. Caboclo’s 10-day deal will feature a cap hit of $85,458.
For a full list of this year’s 10-day contracts, including which deals remain active, be sure to check out our tracker. Caboclo’s deal will be added to that tracker once it becomes official.
NBA Players Who Can’t Be Aggregated In Trades
The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement includes a rule that states players who are acquired using an exception (ie. not using cap space) can’t be aggregated in a second trade for two months after the original deal.
Aggregating a player in a trade refers to the act of combining his contract with another player’s contract for salary-matching purposes. For instance, an over-the-cap team can’t trade a player with a $5MM salary straight up for a player with a $13MM salary. But if the team aggregates that player with a second player who also earns $5MM, the deal would work.
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: Traded Player Exception]
The rule against including a player in an aggregated trade for two months after he’s acquired doesn’t preclude the player’s team from adding him to a multi-player deal. His salary simply can’t be relied upon for matching purposes in such a trade.
For instance, even if a player earning a minimum salary can’t be aggregated in a trade, his team could still attach him to a swap involving a pair of $10MM players, since his minimum-salary cap hit wouldn’t be needed for salary matching.
With those rules in mind, here’s the list of players who have been traded within the last two months and can’t be aggregated in a trade, at least for now:
Restrictions lifting January 29:
- Alec Burks (Cavaliers)
- Kyle Korver (Jazz)
Restrictions lifting February 7:
- George Hill (Bucks)
- Jason Smith (Bucks)
- Sam Dekker (Wizards)
- Matthew Dellavedova (Cavaliers)
- John Henson (Cavaliers)
Restrictions not lifting before trade deadline:
- Trevor Ariza (Wizards)
- Kelly Oubre (Suns)
- Justin Holiday (Grizzlies)
- Carmelo Anthony (Bulls)
- Wayne Selden (Bulls)
Selecting The Western Conference All-Stars
Earlier in the week, we passed along our Eastern Conference All-Star selections. We’ll examine the Western Conference today…
West Starters
G Rockets James Harden
G Warriors Stephen Curry
FC Warriors Kevin Durant
FC Nuggets Nikola Jokic
FC Pelicans Anthony Davis
Slotting Harden and Curry into the guard spots is easy. Figuring out who should start in the frontcourt is an immensely difficult task.
Davis has done everything for the Pelicans and no player is responsible for a higher percentage of his team’s wins. Durant is averaging 28.0 points per game while shooting 51.1% from the field and dishing out a career-high 6.0 assists per game.
Paul George is proving he belongs among the league’s best, averaging 27.0 points and putting himself in position to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Jokic’s team had the best record in the west for a large part of the season. Harden and Russell Westbrook are the only players in the conference averaging more assists per game than Jokic and he’s in the top five in VORP, plus/minus, PER, and NBA Math’s TPA.
LeBron James missing the cut for the starters comes down to him missing a portion of the season to film Space Jam 2 to nurse a groin injury and the ridiculous level of competition alongside him in the Western Conference frontcourt ranks.
LBJ and George would likely be starters in other years and you could argue that either would be starting if the league simply picked the 10 best players this season rather than having the East-West distinction.
West Reserves
A brief backstory: Shortly after the 2016 NBA Finals, I engaged in a debate with a friend over Steven Adams‘ future in the league. Adams had just had a nice series against the Warriors and overall, He had an encouraging playoff run.
My friend envisioned Adams making the leap and become All-Star worthy but I couldn’t see it and two friendly wagers were formed: Will Adams ever make an All-Star game? Who will have more All-Star appearances in their respective careers, Adams or Dragan Bender? (This looks really bad in hindsight, but at the time, Bender was a highly-touted prospect a few weeks away from being a top-5 pick. It’s one of my Sam Hinkie manifesto moments where I’m happy to be wrong for the right reasons.)
Adams is unlikely to make this year’s game, even with a boost in fan voting as a result of his anime connection, but he deserves consideration, which is a sentence I never thought I’d write. He’s hit career highs in a slew of traditional categories and he’s among the top 10 in the West in win shares.
However, if Adams is ever going to make an All-Star game, he’ll likely need things to break right (injuries, talent migration into the east, being a key part of a No. 1 seed that completely exceeds expectations akin to the 2014/15 60-win Atlanta Hawks) or he’ll need to be traded to the East. There’s just too much frontcourt talent in the Western Conference.
As for who should make it, LeBron, George, and Karl-Anthony Towns are no-brainers. Damian Lillard will make his fourth All-Star appearance while Rudy Gobert should expect his first nod, as he’s leading the league in field goal percentage and essentially every advanced defensive statistical category.
LaMarcus Aldridge was in a funk during the first quarter of the season but he’s caught fire since Thanksgiving, scoring 22.7 points and shooting 57.0% from the field since the last week in November. He and DeMar DeRozan deserve credit for their part in keeping the Spurs in the playoff picture.
Can the Pelicans get two All-Stars while residing in the conference’s 12th spot? I can’t support it despite how important Jrue Holiday has been to New Orleans.
Luka Doncic should win the Rookie of the Year but he doesn’t deserve to be an All-Star. Yes, he has exceeded expectations for Dallas, but he’s shooting a ho-hum 35,6% from behind the arc and 42.8% from the field overall for a team that only has the depressing Grizzlies and inexperienced Suns behind them in the conference standings.
The Clippers could send either Danilo Gallinari or Tobias Harris to Charlotte. I’m giving the nod to Harris. His shooting percentage dipped slightly below 50% recently but he has a good chance to make at least half of his shots from the field and 40% from deep while averaging at least 20 points per game. Kyrie Irving is the only player who’s currently accomplishing that feat. Here are the qualified players to achieve those figures over the past four seasons:
- 2017/18: Towns, Durant
- 2016/17: None
- 2015/16: Curry (won MVP), Kawhi Leonard
- 2014/15: Durant, Blake Griffin
Each player made the All-Star game during those seasons and Harris warrants an invitation to this year’s event.
Lastly, Russell Westbrook is leading the league in assists. He’s scoring 21.8 points per game but he’s making just 41.6% of his shots, including 24.2% from 3-point range. He’s coughing up 3.5 turnovers per contest and is making just 65.5% of his six free throw attempts per contest.
Westbrook led the league in total missed shots in each of the past two seasons and somehow, he’s become even less efficient this year. The 30-year-old will likely make his eighth All-Star appearance next month but I wouldn’t bet on him making too many more beyond this season unless he figures out how to increase his efficiency and reduces the turnovers.
Recap of Western Conference Reserves
Thunder Paul George
Lakers LeBron James
Timberwolves Karl-Anthony Towns
Blazers Damian Lillard
Jazz Rudy Gobert
Clippers Tobias Harris
Thunder Russell Westbrook
Do you agree with the selections above? Are there any changes you would make to the list? What 12 players would you vote into this year’s All-Star game? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to hearing what you have to say!
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.