Five Key Stories: 1/19/19 – 1/26/19
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
The Pacers were hit with a devastating loss Wednesday when star guard Victor Oladipo suffered a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee. The injury will require surgery that will keep Oladipo out of action for the rest of the season and perhaps longer. Indiana was third in the East at the time of the injury and has until the February 7 trade deadline to try to remake the team before the playoffs.
The Rockets finally found a taker for Carmelo Anthony, but the deal won’t revive his NBA career. Houston sent Anthony to Chicago in exchange for some cash and a swap of draft-and-stash players, but the Bulls don’t plan to use him. They will either trade Anthony somewhere else before the deadline or waive him so he can search for another opportunity.
The Mavericks’ standoff with Dennis Smith Jr. appears to be over, at least for now. Smith returned to the team after missing more than two weeks and was re-inserted into the rotation. There had been rumors that Dallas was seeking to trade Smith, but those seem to have quieted.
There are fresh rumors that LeBron James wants to see Luke Walton replaced as Lakers’ head coach. Talk of a possible coaching change emerged early in the season as L.A. got off to a slow start, but seemed to subside as the team became more successful. With James missing more than a month because of injury, the Lakers have dropped into ninth place in the West.
The Knicks have made Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee available for trades. Both veteran guards have contracts that run beyond this season, and New York wants to maximize cap space for free agency. Enes Kanter expressed a desire to be traded after receiving a DNP in Wednesday’s loss.
Here are 10 more notable NBA headlines from the past week:
- The Grizzlies are willing to part with long-time stars Mike Conley and Marc Gasol as they look toward the future.
- Memphis added some roster depth by signing Bruno Caboclo to a 10-day contract.
- Corey Brewer signed a second 10-day deal with the Sixers, who will have to decide whether to keep for the rest of the season once this one expires.
- Gary Payton II, son of the Hall of Fame guard, agreed to a 10-day contract with the Wizards, bringing Washington back up to the minimum roster count of 14.
- Kenneth Faried agreed to a buyout with the Nets and joined the Rockets, giving Houston some frontcourt depth while Clint Capela recovers from a thumb injury. To make room for Faried, the Rockets waived James Nunnally before his 10-day contract expired.
- Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie opted for surgery to fix damaged ligaments in his right thumb. He is expected to miss three to six weeks.
- Lakers guard Lonzo Ball will be out four to six weeks after spraining his left ankle.
- Darius Garland, a potential lottery pick in this year’s draft, withdrew from Vanderbilt after suffering a season-ending knee injury.
- A pair of Disabled Player Exceptions were granted this week. The Grizzlies received one for an injury to Dillon Brooks, and the Wizards‘ request was approved in the wake of John Wall‘s injury.
- Starters were announced for this year’s All-Star Game. As the top vote-getters in each conference, James and Giannis Antetokounmpo will draft the rosters for each team.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 1/19/19 – 1/26/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Below are the original segments and features from the past seven days:
- Our Free Agent Stock Watch continued with a look at the Atlantic Division.
- Our Trade Candidate Series focused on the Northwest Division.
- Luke Adams examined the teams that have been granted Disabled Player Exceptions and how they might use them.
- Chris Crouse offered his latest batch of Fantasy Hoops advice.
- We conducted our weekly Chat ahead of the trade deadline.
- We provided our All-Star choices for the Eastern and Western conference.
- We also offered a look at players who can’t be aggregated in trades for the rest of the season.
- In this week’s Community Shootaround posts, we asked:
Specialist Confirms Jimmy Butler Suffered Sprained Wrist
JANUARY 26: The specialist that Butler saw confirmed the injury is merely a sprain, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Butler will miss tonight’s game, but is expected to return to the lineup on Tuesday.
JANUARY 25: Jimmy Butler‘s sprained right wrist may be more troubling than the Sixers originally believed. After an MRI taken Monday showed no serious damage, Butler will see a specialist today in Los Angeles to determine the extent of the injury, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Butler accompanied the team on its current four-game road trip and both he and Sixers officials remain optimistic that he will be able to play before it ends on February 2. He has been listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game in Denver (Twitter link).
Butler has missed Philadelphia’s past two games because of the injury, but coach Brett Brown said on Wednesday he doesn’t expect it to be a long-term issue. The Sixers won both games with much of Butler’s playing time being taken over by Corey Brewer, who signed a second 10-day contract today.
Garrett Temple To Miss 1-2 Weeks
Garrett Temple, one of the Grizzlies who is drawing interest on the trade market, will be sidelined for the next one to two weeks with a mild left shoulder sprain, according to a tweet from the team. The timing of the injury could complicate efforts to deal Temple with the trade deadline just 12 days away.
The 32-year-old is in his first season in Memphis after being acquired from the Kings in an offseason deal. He has started all 49 Grizzlies games, averaging 9.4 points and 3.1 assists per night. The release states that the injury happened last night when Temple collided with another player.
Teams have expressed interest in Temple because his $8MM expiring contract won’t require a huge financial commitment. Memphis made headlines this week with its decision to listen to trade offers for stars Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, but a report yesterday said more teams are calling about Temple and JaMychal Green.
Chandler Hutchison Sidelined Until All-Star Break
Bulls rookie Chandler Hutchison won’t play again until after the All-Star break because of an injury to his right foot, the team announced on its website.
Hutchison has been diagnosed with an acute injury to a sesamoid bone that he suffered in Wednesday’s game. He will wear a walking boot for the next two to four weeks, and his condition will be re-evaluated during the break.
The 22nd player taken in this year’s draft, Hutchison has appeared in 44 games, starting 14, and is averaging 5.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in about 20 minutes per night. His absence may open more playing time for Jabari Parker, whom the Bulls would like to trade before the February 7 deadline.
Thon Maker Asks Bucks To Trade Him
The Bucks have the NBA’s best record at 35-12, but not everyone is happy with how things are going in Milwaukee. Backup center Thon Maker, frustrated by his reduced role, is requesting a trade, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
A lottery pick in 2016, Maker has seen his minutes fall from 16.7 per game a year ago to 11.7 this season. Second-year forward D.J. Wilson has surpassed Maker in the rotation in recent weeks, leaving him with little chance to contribute.
Maker’s agent, Mike George, has told the Bucks his client would prefer a situation with greater opportunity. George and Milwaukee GM Jon Horst has been examining possible trades that would benefit both Maker and the team. Sources tell Wojnarowski that the Bucks have discussed deals with a few teams, but the organization hasn’t lost confidence that Maker will develop into a productive player.
The Bucks already picked up Maker’s $3,569,643 option for next season, so he’s under contract for another year. He will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, but under the circumstances it’s very unlikely that Milwaukee would offer such a deal.
The 21-year-old is averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds through 35 games in his third NBA season. He has been in and out of the rotation and had a spot with the second unit while Ersan Ilyasova was injured, but his playing time has fallen since Ilyasova’s return, including three DNPs this month.
Following Specific Players On Hoops Rumors
Hoops Rumors lets you keep up with your favorite NBA teams as they plot their next moves, and we also provide ways to easily follow the latest on all of your favorite players, along with the free agents and trade candidates from around the league.
You can get news about players wherever you go with our Trade Rumors app, available for iOS and Android devices. The app is free and allows you to add a feed for any player and set up notifications that will alert you whenever we write about him. It’s the easiest way to keep tabs on specific players.
If you’re using the desktop or mobile version of our site, there are other ways to follow your favorite player(s). Every player we’ve written about has his own rumors page. You can find any player by using our search box, by clicking his tag at the bottom of a post in which he’s discussed, or by simply typing his name in your address bar after hoopsrumors.com, substituting dashes for spaces. For example, LeBron James‘ page is hoopsrumors.com/lebron-james.
You can also set up an RSS feed for any of our player pages by adding /feed to the end of the page URL, like this: hoopsrumors.com/demarcus-cousins/feed. Entering that URL into the reader of your choice will enable you to get updates whenever we write about DeMarcus Cousins. It works for teams, too. If you’re a Warriors fan, you can enter hoopsrumors.com/golden-state-warriors/feed into your reader and stay on top of all the latest from Golden State.
In addition to players and teams, there are a number of other subjects you can track by clicking on the tags that we use at the bottom of posts. For example, you can keep tabs on our 2019 NBA draft stories right here. Items about the NBA G League can be found on this page. You can simply scan our top stories here. Again, you can set up an RSS feed with any of these pages by adding /feed to the end of the URL.
Hawks’ GM Travis Schlenk: ‘We’re Looking For Future Assets’
With the Feb. 7 trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Hawks are prioritizing the future in any transactions, general manager Travis Schlenk tells Chris Kirchner of The Athletic.
“We’re looking for future assets,” Schlenk said. “We already have five picks in this draft and more than likely, two firsts and three seconds. Any of the deals we do will be future assets or a deal that maybe will increase our (cap) flexibility moving forward. We’re still on the same trajectory.”
On the current Hawks roster, veteran point guard Jeremy Lin, swingman Kent Bazemore, forward Taurean Prince, and big man Dewayne Dedmon are all possible trade candidates. The emergence of John Collins and Atlanta’s first round pick from last summer, Trae Young, has given the Hawks a core to build around.
However, one year after not making a significant deal at the deadline last year, Schlenk also noted the team would not make a trade just for the sake of it.
“We’re certainly listening to a lot of stuff, but we’re not going to do a bad deal or do a deal that will hamper our objectives,” he said.
LeBron James’ Camp Reportedly ‘Prefers’ Coaching Change
While Lakers owner Jeanie Buss has praised head coach Luke Walton’s performance, LeBron James‘ camp reportedly prefers a coaching change, ESPN scribe Jackie MacMullan said on the Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective podcast.
“It’s clear to me, and probably to you, Brian, that LeBron’s camp would prefer a coaching change—they’re not too subtle about that,” she said (via Silver Screen & Roll).
In his third season as head coach, Walton has led the Lakers to a 25-24 record, two games short of the eighth seed in the Western Conference. However, the team has been without James since Christmas Day when he suffered a groin injury. The team has gone 5-10 in LeBron’s absence.
Walton was reportedly “admonished” by team president Magic Johnson earlier in the season after a subpar start. Despite that, Walton has the support of not just Buss, but also Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka.
“We are doing everything we can to make sure that Luke is successful in his job. That’s our job,” Buss recently said on Zach Lowe’s Lowe Post podcast. “I think he is doing a terrific job. Given the injuries that we’ve had, it’s a challenge and people forget that he has had two of our starters taken away from him and they’ve won really important games on the road, proving what is possible even without LeBron (James)… I think Luke has done an impressive job.”
In addition to James’ recent absence, the Lakers have been without Rajon Rondo for a bulk of the season. Rondo returned against the Timberwolves on Thursday and James is close to getting back on the court, which could happen on Sunday against the Suns in Los Angeles. Reports of Walton’s job security could subside if James returns and the team powers its way into the postseason.
Free Agent Stock Watch 2019: Atlantic Division
Every week, Hoops Rumors takes a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents next offseason. We examine if their stock is rising or falling due to performance and other factors. This week, we turn our attention to the Atlantic Division:
Marcus Morris, Celtics, 29, PF (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $20MM deal in 2015
Morris will get a nice bump in pay from the team-friendly contract he signed with Phoenix a few years ago. In the last couple of weeks, he’s been in a shooting slump. He’s 7-for-29 from long range over the last six games and has scored 11 or fewer points in five of them. The Celtics don’t rely on Morris for scoring, as evidenced by their five-game winning streak. He’ll eventually perk up offensively and his defensive versatility and rebounding will keep him in the rotation.
D’Angelo Russell, Nets, 22, PG (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $23MM deal in 2015
Has any free agent increased his value as much as Russell in recent weeks? If so, it’s an awfully close call. Russell has blown up this month, averaging 24.1 PPG and 7.7 APG for the surging Nets. In the past two weeks alone, Russell hung up 34 points and seven assists against Boston and 40 points and seven assists against Orlando. He added a 25-point, 10-assist performance against the Magic on Wednesday. Russell will be a restricted free agent and the Nets now have to consider using a chunk of their cap space to re-sign him. It will intriguing to see if any team calls the Nets’ bluff with an offer sheet.
Enes Kanter, Knicks, 26, C (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $70MM deal in 2015
Kanter is still in his prime but he’s been swept into the undertow of New York’s youth movement. Kanter didn’t leave the bench on Wednesday and is now pining for a trade. With the hope of landing a big fish in the free agent pond, the Knicks had no intention of re-signing Kanter. But his diminished role isn’t exactly enhancing his value during his walk year. Kanter puts up solid numbers in the points and rebounds columns but his defensive shortcomings and lack of shotblocking prowess will depress his market.
Kawhi Leonard, Raptors, 27, SF (Up) — Signed to a five-year, $94.3MM deal in 2015
The Raptors essentially gave Leonard a week’s vacation by sitting him out for four consecutive games. They’re treating him with kid gloves with the hope he’ll take off the gloves in the summer and sign the dotted line with them. When he has played, he’s been dynamite. He’s averaging career highs in points (27.6 PPG) and rebounds (7.9), alleviating concerns that the quad injury that limited him to nine games last season would be a long-term issue. The Raptors have played quite well without Leonard but there’s no doubt that their hopes of reaching the NBA Finals rest on Leonard’s shoulders.
Amir Johnson, Sixers, 31 (Down)– Signed to a one-year, $2.39MM deal in 2018
Johnson has carved out a nice career after getting drafted in the second round by Detroit in 2005. His playing time has gradually diminished over the last six seasons and he’s down to 9.3 MPG for Philadelphia this season. Johnson has never been a prolific rebounder but he can help at the defensive end. Lately, he’s dealt with some migraines. If Johnson wants to continue his career going forward, he’ll be looking at a veteran’s minimum contract once again.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.