Nowitzki, Wade Added To All-Star Game
A pair of NBA veterans will make one last All-Star appearance before retirement, as the league announced today that Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade will be “special team roster additions” for the February 17 game.
“Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade embody the best of the NBA: remarkable skill, drive and professionalism as well as a deep devotion to strengthening their communities and growing the game around the world,” said NBA commisioner Adam Silver. “As a global celebration of basketball, our All-Star Game is an ideal setting to salute these first-class NBA champions and Finals MVPs.”
Nowitzki and Wade won’t be part of the regular draft when LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo choose up sides on February 7. They will be selected in a third round that allows each team to add a 13th player. The remaining eight starters as chosen by the fans will be taken in the first round, with the reserves going in the second round.
This will be the 14th All-Star appearance for Nowitzki, who is in his 21st NBA season, all with the Mavericks. He is the seventh-leading scorer in league history with 31,275 points, has made 12 All-NBA teams and has won both an MVP and Finals MVP award. He hasn’t announced his retirement plans, but there is speculation that this will be his final season.
Wade, who is conducting his “Last Dance” tour around the league, will be headed to the game for the 13th time. He was named All-Star MVP in 2010 and put together a triple-double in 2012. He has won three NBA titles and an Olympic gold medal and was named MVP of the 2006 Finals.
Wade was an eight-time selection to the All-NBA team and made three appearances on the All-Defensive Team. He is the Heat’s career leader in points, assists, steals, field goals made, free throws made and games played.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kyrie Irving On Free Agency: “Ask Me July 1”
Amidst speculation that he may be wavering on his preseason verbal commitment to re-signing with the Celtics, Kyrie Irving was asked today about his free agency plans, and his response likely didn’t calm any nerves in Boston.
“Ask me July 1,” Irving said, adding that he plans to do what’s best for his career (Twitter link via Ian Begley of ESPN.com).
Irving also said that the Celtics remain “at the head of the race,” and that his plan for now is to remain in Boston, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). Still, his comments today seemed far more ambiguous than the ones he made at the fan event in October, where he stood up and told Celtics fans, “If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here.” Irving’s message today, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link), was: “I don’t owe anybody s—.”
Of course, verbal commitments are non-binding and Irving is well within his rights to change his mind between October 2018 and July 2019. Still, the timing of his hedging is pretty interesting. It comes on the heels of the Knicks opening up enough 2019 cap room for two maximum-salary free agents — and amidst rumors that Irving’s friend Anthony Davis could be traded.
As ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reiterated today, Davis’ camp has made it known that the big man doesn’t view Irving as a lock to re-sign with the Celtics, which would diminish Davis’ interest in Boston as a potential destination. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported today (via Twitter) that the Celtics still aren’t a preferred landing spot for Davis, who views Boston as a rental option.
While Windhorst acknowledges that his could be part of a disinformation campaign intended to land AD in L.A., he heard from multiple sources even before Irving’s comments today that the point guard may not be as committed to Boston as he had publicly stated.
Here’s more on Kyrie:
- Irving hasn’t informed the Celtics that his feeling have changed at all, sources tell Windhorst. A league source tells Himmelsbach the same thing, and both scribes suggests that the C’s remain confident they’ll ultimately be able to lock up Irving long-term.
- While there has been some speculation that Irving would have interest in teaming up with LeBron James again, a source with ties to Kyrie called that idea “a joke,” according to Himmelsbach.
- The Celtics have reached out to the Pelicans and let them know they’d be willing to discuss anyone on their roster besides Irving in the summer, sources tell Windhorst. Still, Windhorst wonders if the C’s might get skittish enough about Kyrie’s long-term future in Boston to entertain the idea of including Irving in an offer for Davis. Doing so would free up the team to make offers now, rather than waiting until the summer. That seems like a long shot to me though.
Porzingis Notes: Knicks, Durant, Mavs, Reactions
While NBA fans waited for word on a possible Anthony Davis trade, the Knicks came out of nowhere on Thursday to shake up the trade market by sending potential star Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks in a blockbuster deal that involved seven players and a pair of draft picks.
We’ve got plenty of notes and reactions related to that trade to round up this morning, so let’s dive right in, separating them by team…
Knicks notes:
- An “acrimonious divorce” between the Knicks and Porzingis has seemed inevitable since he blew off his exit meeting with the franchise two years ago, writes Frank Isola of The Athletic. Isola’s look at the situation includes a handful of other interesting details, including the fact that the Knicks had Thursday’s trade lined up for “a couple of days.” Isola also hears from a source that Porzingis’ camp had begun to wonder if the Knicks would be comfortable with a European as their franchise player.
- The meeting that took place on Thursday between Knicks management and Porzingis – as well as his brother Janis – took less than five minutes, reports Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “When the meeting occurred this morning, we’d already been having many conversations with a number of teams,” GM Scott Perry said on Thursday. “So we decided to act upon one.”
- According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, executives around the NBA were left with the same impression after Thursday’s trade: Knicks management must be confident that the team can land Kevin Durant this summer. Amick adds that some rival executives have indicated that Knicks officials themselves have been conveying “a very high level of optimism” regarding 2019 free agency.
- Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News examines some of the other top-tier free agent targets the Knicks will now be targeting this summer besides Durant.
- Porzingis issued a cryptic message on Instagram on Thursday, writing “The truth will come out :)” (Twitter link via JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors). He later deleted the post, but it seems he may not have loved Knicks management characterizing Thursday’s move as their reaction to a “trade request.”
Mavericks notes:
- The Mavericks aren’t sure when Porzingis, who is still recovering from his ACL tear, will be able to return to action, but they’re not too concerned about that, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. The club made the deal with an eye toward the next 5-10 years, not just 2018/19.
- Luka Doncic was enthusiastic about the Mavericks’ acquisition of Porzingis, as Dan Murphy of ESPN.com relays. “He’s such an amazing player, so this could be a good thing,” Doncic said. “He’s big, he can shoot, he can rebound, he can do a lot of things. I think he can be one of the best players in this league.”
- Longtime Mavs franchise player Dirk Nowitzki also liked the move, calling Porzingis “a perfect fit for the new NBA,” according to Murphy. “If you have a chance to add a franchise-caliber player like Porzingis you’ve just gotta go for it,” Nowitzki said. “… He’s mobile enough to play the four. He can be a spread five. He can move, block shots, post. Before he got hurt he played a great all-around game. He’s got the work ethic to be great. He’s a good dude.”
- While the Mavs are adding a potential star, the deal cost the team multiple players who are well-liked in the locker room, according to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News, who explores how Dallas’ veterans reacted to news of the trade. “It’s tough,” Devin Harris said. “The human emotion part of it, losing your teammates, and the shock of it, we all felt it this afternoon. We’ve still got a job to do. I thought the guys did a good job of coming out and still trying to win (Thursday’s) game.”