Month: April 2024

2019 Offseason In Review: Philadelphia 76ers

October 30th, 2019 at 5:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2019 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2019/20 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Signings:

Standard contracts:
- Tobias Harris: Five years, $180MM. Includes trade kicker of 5% or $5MM (whichever is lesser). Re-signed using Bird rights.
- Al Horford: Four years, $109MM. Fourth year partially guaranteed ($14.5MM). Signed using cap room.
  - Note: Horford’s fourth-year partial guarantee can increase to $19.5MM (if Sixers make Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022) or can fully guarantee to $26.5MM (if Sixers win Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022).
- Mike Scott: Two years, $9.77MM. Signed using room exception.
- Shake Milton: Four years, minimum salary. Fourth-year team option. Converted from two-way contract to standard contract using cap room.
- James Ennis: Two years, minimum salary. Second-year player option. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Furkan Korkmaz: Two years, minimum salary. Second year non-guaranteed. Re-signed using minimum salary exception.
- Raul Neto: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Kyle O’Quinn: One year, minimum salary. Signed using minimum salary exception.
- Trey Burke: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($405K). Signed using minimum salary exception.
  - Note: Guarantee increased to $810K at start of regular season.
Two-way contracts:
- Norvel Pelle
- Marial Shayok
Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Shizz Alston Jr.: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Jared Brownridge: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Terry Harris: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Haywood Highsmith: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Christ Koumadje: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Isaiah Miles: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Xavier Munford: One year, minimum salary (Waived).
- Julian Washburn: One year, minimum salary (Waived).

Trades:

Acquired the draft rights to Matisse Thybulle (No. 20 pick) from the Celtics in exchange for the draft rights to Ty Jerome (No. 24 pick) and Carsen Edwards (No. 33 pick).
Acquired cash ($2MM) from the Wizards in exchange for Jonathon Simmons and the draft rights to Admiral Schofield (No. 42 pick).
Acquired Josh Richardson in a four-team trade with the Heat, Clippers, and Trail Blazers in exchange for Jimmy Butler (sign-and-trade; to Heat) and the draft rights to Mathias Lessort (to Clippers).
Acquired the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick), the Hawks’ 2020 second-round pick (56-60 protected), and either the Hawks’, Hornets’, or Nets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable) from the Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Bruno Fernando (No. 34 pick).
Acquired the Heat’s 2024 second-round pick (top-55 protected) and cash ($2MM) from the Pistons in exchange for the draft rights to Jordan Bone (No. 57 pick).

Draft picks:

1-20: Matisse Thybulle — Signed to rookie contract.
2-54: Marial Shayok — Signed to two-way contract.

Contract extensions:

Ben Simmons: Five years, 25% maximum salary. Projected value of $168,200,000. Starting salary can be worth up to 30% of the cap if Simmons earns All-NBA honors in 2020 (full details). Includes 15% trade kicker. Starts in 2020/21; runs through 2024/25.

Departing players:

Jimmy Butler
Haywood Highsmith (two-way; waived)
Amir Johnson
Boban Marjanovic
T.J. McConnell
Greg Monroe
J.J. Redick
Jonathon Simmons

Other offseason news:

Lost lead assistant coach Monty Williams to Suns; hired Ime Udoka as lead assistant coach.
Hired Roy Hibbert as player development coach.
Renounced 2017 first-round pick Anzejs Pasecniks.
Minority stakeholder David Heller no longer part of ownership group.
Exercised 2020/21 rookie scale option on Zhaire Smith.

Salary cap situation:

Used cap space; now over the cap.
Carrying approximately $128.39MM in salary.
No cap exceptions available.

Story of the summer:

No team had a more crushing end to its 2018/19 campaign than the Sixers, who would have forced overtime and been in position to eke out a second-round series win over the Raptors if Kawhi Leonard‘s miracle Game 7 buzzer-beater hadn’t dropped in after bouncing four times on the rim.

As heartbreaking as that finish was for Philadelphia, the team had to be encouraged by the Raptors’ subsequent wins over the Bucks in the Eastern Finals and the Warriors in the NBA Finals. Neither of those teams forced Toronto to a seventh game, meaning it was Philadelphia that actually gave the eventual champs their biggest scare.

The Sixers appeared to take that silver lining to heart. Rather than buying into theories that the Ben Simmons/Joel Embiid pairing might not work in the long run, the team doubled down on that duo, signing Simmons to a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension. And despite some disappointing postseason showings from Tobias Harris, the 76ers heavily invested in the veteran forward, re-signing him to a five-year, $180MM deal.

Philadelphia likely would’ve been willing to run it back to an even greater degree by retaining Jimmy Butler, but he decided he wanted to head to South Beach, choosing the Heat in free agency. Fortunately for the Sixers, Miami didn’t have the cap room necessary to sign Butler outright and had to cooperate on a sign-and-trade, giving the 76ers the leverage to acquire Josh Richardson in the process.

Then, rather than bringing back sharpshooter and floor-spacer J.J. Redick, the Sixers opted to use their newly-opened cap room to bring aboard Al Horford, a veteran capable of either playing alongside Embiid or stabilizing the team’s defense when the All-NBA center is off the floor.

With Richardson and Horford replacing Butler and Redick in the starting lineup, the 76ers lost a little outside shooting and play-making, but potentially made a strong defense even stronger.

Philadelphia’s size flummoxed just about every Raptors player not named Kawhi Leonard during the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and this year’s starting five – Simmons, Richardson, Harris, Horford, and Embiid – is even bigger. After just missing out on a deep postseason run in 2018/19, the Sixers have gone all-in on their biggest strength for 2019/20.

Key offseason losses:

Butler’s 18.2 PPG during his 55 regular season games in Philadelphia would have been his lowest mark since the 2013/14 season. However, that was more a result of sharing the floor with so many other talented scorers than a sign of declining effectiveness. When both teams’ offenses bogged down in that playoff series against Toronto, Butler was one of the few players on the court capable of creating shots and making plays, a skill set the Sixers will miss.

Redick’s reliable outside shooting will also be missed. A 41.2% career shooter from beyond the arc, Redick made a career-best 3.2 threes per game in 2018/19, forcing opposing defenders to chase him all over the floor to avoid letting him get free for even a second.

Still, while the 76ers may struggle to replace his three-point shooting, Redick was perhaps the only member of the starting group who didn’t have the size and length necessary to create nightmares for opposing scorers. Although his departure removes an offensive threat, it could give the club some extra switching options on defense.

The other departing Sixers were bench players, though McConnell deserves to be singled out for his four seasons with the franchise. He endured a couple ugly years during the rebuild before evolving into a reliable backup point guard for a contender.

Big men Boban Marjanovic, Amir Johnson, and Greg Monroe thrived in certain matchups, but the Sixers had to pick their spots in order to avoid asking them to do too much. Jonathon Simmons, part of the return in the Markelle Fultz trade, was decent down the stretch but fell out of the rotation in the postseason.

Key offseason additions:

The Sixers’ signing of Horford made sense for both the team and the player. For Horford, joining the 76ers represented a chance to contend for a title, maximize his earnings, and see more time at power forward, his preferred position. For Philadelphia, it meant securing an insurance policy for Embiid.

Even if Embiid manages to stay healthy all season – which certainly isn’t a sure thing – the Sixers struggled when he went to the bench, posting a -3.5 net rating during the regular season. Those numbers got even worse during the playoffs — and became downright comical vs. the Raptors in round two. Philadelphia had a +18.6 net rating in the 237 minutes Embiid played against Toronto and a -52.5 net rating in the 99 minutes he sat. That was the season right there.

In Horford, the Sixers get a two-way difference-maker who will make the right play on offense and won’t let the defense fall apart when Embiid isn’t out there.

Richardson is the other new starter and was a nice get for the Sixers, as he’ll be under contract for at least two more seasons at a reasonable price. It was just a year ago that the Heat balked at including him in a deal for Butler. They changed their stance this summer after Richardson’s shooting efficiency slipped in 2018/19, but as a secondary play-maker and scorer in Philadelphia, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Richardson get those numbers back closer to where they were in 2017/18 (.451/.378/.845). And while he might not be the defender Butler is, the drop-off isn’t substantial.

The Sixers’ offseason focus on defense was also reflected in their first-round draft pick, Matisse Thybulle. The two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year posted eye-popping numbers during his final year at Washington, averaging 3.5 steals per game to go along with 2.3 blocks. Although he probably won’t match those numbers at the NBA level, the viral clips of Thybulle’s defensive highlights early in his rookie season suggest he’s going to be just fine going up against the best scorers in the world.

The Sixers also added Trey Burke, Raul Neto, and Kyle O’Quinn on minimum-salary deals for depth purposes. They likely won’t see major minutes if the team’s primary rotation players stay healthy.

Outlook for 2019/20:

Depending on how you feel about Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s supporting cast in Milwaukee, you could make a strong case that the Sixers have the best starting lineup and rotation in the East.

While it might take a couple in-season tweaks – including adding a shooter – for Philadelphia to maximize its ceiling, it’s hard to imagine this team not finishing at or near the top of the conference and winning a couple playoff series in the East. If it all comes together and the 76ers have some good health luck, an appearance in the NBA Finals may even be in the cards.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Cauley-Stein, Burks To Make Warriors Debuts

October 30th, 2019 at 4:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors will add some much-needed depth to their rotation on Wednesday night, with center Willie Cauley-Stein and swingman Alec Burks on track to make their season debuts vs. Phoenix, according to Nick Friedell of ESPN.com.

Cauley-Stein and Burks both signed with Golden State as free agents this summer, but haven’t been able to suit up for the team so far. Cauley-Stein missed all of training camp and the first three regular season games due to a left foot injury, while Burks was recovering from a right ankle sprain.

With Kevon Looney and Klay Thompson sidelined and a hard cap preventing them from adding a 15th player, the Warriors have had to play rookies like Eric Paschall and Jordan Poole big minutes in their first three games. Cauley-Stein and Burks figure to cut into those minutes, assuming they show they’re up to speed.

After getting blown out in their first two games, the Warriors got in the win column on Monday vs. the Pelicans. Cauley-Stein is hopeful that the team can continue to right the ship as more players get healthy and the new additions get acclimated.

“[Draymond Green] already said it, it’s going to take a few games for us to jell,” Cauley-Stein said, per Friedell. “Especially now that me and Alec, this is our first game to get minutes and stuff. For us to really jell, it’s going to take a few games for us to get that pace of how we’re playing. They’re playing extremely fast right now watching, so it’s like a lot of fast-paced learning.”

Cavs Won’t Exercise Ante Zizic’s 2020/21 Option

October 30th, 2019 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers won’t be picking up their 2020/21 option on Ante Zizic‘s rookie scale contract, league sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). The option would have been worth $3,872,215.

If Cleveland had exercised that fourth-year option, it would have put Zizic on track to become eligible for an extension during the 2020 offseason and restricted free agency during the summer of 2021.

Instead, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent next July. Assuming he finishes the season with the Cavs, they’ll be ineligible to offer him a starting salary higher than $3,872,215 on a new contract.

Zizic, 22, was part of the trade package that the Cavaliers received from the Celtics for Kyrie Irving during the summer of 2017. However, his contributions in Cleveland through two years have been modest. In 91 games, he averaged 6.4 PPG and 4.2 RPG in 14.2 minutes per contest. He has yet to make his 2019/20 debut due to a left foot injury.

Zizic, who is now on an expiring contract, has a $2,281,800 cap hit for the 2019/20 season.

Kings Not Entertaining Trade Offers For Bogdanovic

October 30th, 2019 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite some speculation that they might shop him, the Kings aren’t believed to be entertaining trade offers for Bogdan Bogdanovic at this time, as one general manager tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

“That’s not something they’re looking at too seriously now as far as anyone can tell,” the GM said. “They’re probably going to have to, but that’s not something to rush into. There would be a good market for Bogdanovic if they figure they can’t go far right now, but (the Kings) are still looking at how to make all of this work this season.”

There are number of factors contributing to trade speculation involving Bogdanovic. The Kings recently locked up Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield to deals worth in excess of $20MM per season, and will likely have to invest heavily in De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III within the next few years, creating uncertainty about whether the club would also want to pay big money to Bogdanovic. The Kings reportedly offered him a four-year, $51MM+ extension, but he hasn’t accepted it, and two ESPN reporters have heard he’s not thrilled about the idea of coming off the bench long-term in Sacramento.

On the other hand, Bogdanovic has denied that he’s unhappy with his role, and Deveney hears from a league source that the Serbian swingman hasn’t expressed any dissatisfaction to the Kings. It’s also worth noting that Bogdanovic could still accept that four-year extension offer during the season, since his eligibility didn’t expire on opening night. Plus, the Kings will face no cap restraints when it comes to retaining Bogdanovic and their other players, since he, Fox, and Bagley would all reach the market as restricted free agents. It could simply come down to how much Sacramento wants to spend.

The Kings have plenty of time to assess their options on Bogdanovic and see if they can turn things around after an 0-4 start. Even if they keep the 27-year-old through the 2019/20 season and bring him back as a restricted free agent, it wouldn’t prevent Sacramento from considering a trade down the road.

If Sacramento does listen to inquiries on Bogdanovic, the Knicks and Mavericks are expected to be among the clubs kicking the tires, according to Deveney, who notes that Dallas has had interest in the past. Deveney believes that the Kings should be able to get a first-round pick in return for Bogdanovic. Currently, New York owns two of Dallas’ future first-round picks.

Eastern Notes: Giannis, Raptors, Heat, Thompson

October 30th, 2019 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

If Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes a free agent during the summer of 2021, the Raptors are likely to be one of his “chief pursuers,” sources tell John Hollinger of The Athletic.

It’s entirely possible that Antetokounmpo won’t even reach the open market, since the Bucks intend to put a super-max extension offer on the table for him next summer as soon as they’re eligible to do so. And even if the star forward does opt for free agency, it’s not as if the Raptors won’t face competition from just about every other team in the NBA.

Still, it makes sense that the Raptors would zero in on Antetokounmpo specifically as they consider future targets. President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri reportedly helped Giannis and his family emigrate from Nigeria to Greece, and tried to trade into the 2013 draft to select him. The Raps haven’t had much luck luring top American-born free agents to Toronto in the past, but might believe they’d have a better shot with an international star like Antetokounmpo, especially now that they have a championship under their belt.

It’s far too early to draw any conclusions about Giannis’ future, but until he re-ups with the Bucks or ends up elsewhere, it’s safe to assume the Raptors will be retaining their 2021 cap flexibility in the hopes he considers them.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Dion Waiters and James Johnson both practiced with the Heat today, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. However, only Johnson will travel to Atlanta with the team, as he has reached his conditioning targets while Waiters hasn’t, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Neither player has suited up for the club yet this season due to conditioning issues.
Tristan Thompson, who is in a contract year with the Cavaliers, has never made an All-Defense team, but wants that to change this season, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com relays. “I want to guard the best wings and big on every team,” Thompson said. “I want to make their night tough, to gain that respect defensively around the league. [A] goal of mine is to make first team All-Defense. The way you do that is guarding the best players.”
Appearing on Big Apple Buckets, the New York Post’s podcast, Charles Oakley suggested that he’s open to trying to bury the hatchet with Knicks ownership after a contentious saga that saw him banned from MSG, writes Greg Joyce of The Post. Oakley also weighed in on how the Knicks should respond to Kevin Durant‘s comments about the team not being “cool.”

Rookie Scale Option Decisions Still To Come

October 30th, 2019 at 1:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Thursday, October 31 is the deadline for teams to exercise rookie scale options for the 2020/21 season. These options apply to either the third or fourth year of a rookie scale contract for players who were drafted in the first round. If they’re not exercised, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent the following summer.

These decisions must be made a year in advance, so even though Lonzo Ball has just started his third season, the Pelicans are already required to exercise his fourth-year option for $11MM+.

Most clubs facing these options decisions have already made them. As our tracker shows, of the 58 rookie scale options for 2020/21, 48 have been exercised so far. That leaves just 10 outstanding rookie scale options to be picked up or turned down by the end of the day on Thursday.

Here are the 2020/21 rookie scale options that have yet to be exercised:

Marvin Bagley III, Kings (third year, $8,963,640)
Josh Jackson, Grizzlies (fourth year, $8,930,242)
- Note: Memphis won’t exercise Jackson’s option.
De’Aaron Fox, Kings (fourth year, $8,099,627)
Harry Giles, Kings (fourth year, $3,976,510)
Ante Zizic, Cavaliers (fourth year, $3,872,215)
Caleb Swanigan, Kings (fourth year, $3,665,787)
Josh Okogie, Timberwolves (third year, $2,651,040)
Robert Williams, Celtics (third year, $2,029,920)
Jacob Evans, Warriors (third year, $2,017,320)
Omari Spellman, Warriors (third year, $1,988,280)

Teams only have to take action if they intend to pick up these options. Otherwise, they can simply let the deadline pass without exercising them. That’s reportedly what the Grizzlies intend to do with Jackson; we’ll see if any other teams follow suit.

Players like Bagley, Fox, and Okogie are locks to have their options picked up, but that’s not necessarily the case for everyone on this list. Zizic and Swanigan are among the candidates to potentially join Jackson as unrestricted free agents in 2020.

Latest On Trae Young’s Sprained Ankle

October 30th, 2019 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

1:02pm: Young will miss Thursday’s game vs. Miami and will be re-evaluated on Monday, per an official update from the Hawks.

11:46am: The Hawks got some good news, as Young won’t need an MRI on his ankle after all and is being considered day-to-day for now, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The 21-year-old could return as soon as next week, tweets Wojnarowski.

8:35am: Hawks guard Trae Young, the NBA’s second-leading scorer entering play on Tuesday, was limited to just 11 minutes in his team’s loss in Miami, having been forced out of action early due to a sprained right ankle. After the game, Young was on crutches and admitted that the sprain was “painful,” as Sarah Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.

“It’s definitely something they want me to stay off it as much as possible right now,” Young said.

While Young is undergoing an MRI on the ankle, X-rays were negative and there’s optimism that it’s not a serious injury, says ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Atlanta will be cautious with the second-year guard, who could be sidelined for a couple weeks. The team should be able to set an official recovery timetable once it gets the MRI results.

Young poured in 38 points in the Hawks’ opener against Detroit last week and 39 two nights later vs. Orlando, with Atlanta winning both games. He scored 25 more in a Monday loss to the Sixers before being held to five in 11 minutes against the Heat.

Assuming Young has to miss some time, Tyrone Wallace, DeAndre’ Bembry, and Jabari Parker are among the top candidates to take on additional ball-handling responsibilities for Atlanta. Evan Turner is in that mix as well, but missed Tuesday’s game with an Achilles injury.

Besides Young, only John Collins (18.3 PPG) and Parker (11.5 PPG) have averaged double-digit points so far this season, so the Hawks will have to get creative to find ways to score.

Kawhi Leonard Won’t Play On Wednesday

October 30th, 2019 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers will hold Kawhi Leonard out of Wednesday’s game vs. the Jazz, according to head coach Doc Rivers, who told reporters today that the star forward will be back in L.A.’s lineup on Thursday vs. San Antonio (Twitter link via Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com).

This is the first time in Leonard’s brief tenure as a Clipper that he will miss a game for load-management purposes, though it likely won’t be the last. The reigning Finals MVP only appeared in 60 games last season as the Raptors held him out of one end of back-to-backs and a few other contests.

Rivers said in September that he didn’t anticipate Leonard being on as strict a load-management plan for the 2019/20 season. However, it was clear he didn’t expect Kawhi to play in all 82 games.

This is the Clippers’ first back-to-back set of the year, so it’ll be interesting to see whether he also misses a game during the team’s next back-to-back — Rivers said today that the club will evaluate that on a “case-by-case” basis (Twitter link via MacMahon).

The Clips are scheduled to host the Bucks next Wednesday, followed by the Trail Blazers on Thursday. They have another back-to-back on tap for November 13 and 14 in Houston and New Orleans. Paul George may have returned to action by that time.

Leonard’s official listing for tonight’s game is “out – load management, knee,” per Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). As MacMahon notes (via Twitter), the NBA is requiring a specific body part to be listed this season, rather than just “load management.” The former Raptor reportedly battled a sore left knee during the team’s championship run in the spring, so the Clippers presumably want to limit the risk of that issue flaring up again.

Poll: Which Team Will Stay Winless Longest?

October 30th, 2019 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

On Tuesday, we published a poll asking which of the NBA’s four remaining undefeated teams would be the last to lose. The Nuggets received nearly 40% of the vote, making them the top choice, then promptly lost their first game about 12 hours later.

Today, we’ll shift our focus to the NBA’s three winless teams and see if we have more success forecasting their short-term futures. After eight days, there are three teams around the league that have yet to win a game. The Pelicans and Kings each have 0-4 records while the Pacers are 0-3.

The Pelicans were a popular dark horse playoff pick during the preseason, but they’ve been hit with injuries early on this year — they’re playing without star rookie Zion Williamson, and key veterans Jrue Holiday and Derrick Favors have missed time as well. Still, it’s not as if they’ve been blown off the floor in the first week. Despite a pretty tough schedule, New Orleans hasn’t lost by more than 11 points.

The same can’t be said of the Kings, who have been disastrous on the road so far, losing by 29 points in Phoenix and 32 in Utah. They’ve also dropped home games to the Blazers and Nuggets, digging an early hole for themselves as they look to improve upon last year’s 39-43 record and compete for a postseason spot.

De’Aaron Fox (.392 FG%), Buddy Hield (.351), and Bogdan Bogdanovic (.275) haven’t been making shots so far, and the team has missed Marvin Bagley III, who suffered a thumb fracture on opening night. The Kings have too much talent to be this bad, but so far they have the NBA’s worst net rating by a substantial margin, ranking in the bottom five on both offense and defense.

The Pacers, meanwhile, are trying to adjust to having four new players in their starting lineup and are without star guard Victor Oladipo. They can’t blame their schedule for their slow start, as they’ve dropped two games to a Pistons squad without Blake Griffin and one to the Cavaliers. Indiana also hasn’t shown yet that it has the firepower necessary to fight back from a defect, ranking 29th in the NBA in pace and dead last in made three-pointers per game.

These three teams have the following games on tap as they look to get in the win column:

Pelicans: vs. Den (10/31), @ OKC (11/2), @ Bkn (11/4), vs. Tor (11/8), @ Cha (11/9)
Kings: vs. Cha (10/30), vs. Utah (11/1), @ NYK (11/3), @ Tor (11/6), @ Atl (11/8)
Pacers: @ Bkn (10/30), vs. Cle (11/1), vs. Chi (11/3), @ Cha (11/5), vs. Wsh (11/6)

New Orleans probably has the most challenging short-term schedule, and would become this season’s last winless team by default if Sacramento and Indiana both win tonight. But the Pels have arguably looked the best of the three teams so far, and Holiday and Favors appear close to returning.

What do you think? Which of the NBA’s three winless teams will be the last to earn a victory?

Vote in our poll, then head to comment section below to weigh in!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Windhorst’s Latest: Celtics, Sixers, Blazers, Lakers

October 30th, 2019 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

The 2019/20 NBA regular season is only eight days old, but a handful of potential contenders may be starting to think about how to fill the obvious holes on their rosters, says ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

For instance, Windhorst believes that the Celtics will be keeping an eye on the trade market this season in search of a possible upgrade at the center spot. Boston was always expected to be thin up front after losing centers Al Horford and Aron Baynes, but missed games from Enes Kanter and Daniel Theis in the early going have exacerbated the issue.

Windhorst identifies Steven Adams and Clint Capela as two centers the Celtics might have on their radar, though he cautions that the Thunder have told teams they view Adams as part of their future. As for the Rockets, they expect to be a contender and may not want to move their starting center, but executives are still watching Capela — Windhorst notes that the Rockets explored moving the big man early in the 2019 offseason, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they do so again.

Here’s more from Windhorst:

Windhorst believes the Sixers would like to add a shooter — not a star, but someone who can reliably knock down three-pointers and space the floor. While Philadelphia may ultimately turn to the buyout market, the club has several extra second-round picks available if a trade target emerges.
The Trail Blazers could use a scoring forward, according to Windhorst, who thinks the Thunder‘s Danilo Gallinari is a more realistic target than Kevin Love. Gallinari’s expiring contract would make more sense, given Portland’s long-term cap outlook.
Rival executives view Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green as the Lakers‘ best trade assets, but both players will be important contributors in Los Angeles. With few other viable trade candidates, the Lakers may ultimately have to rely on the buyout market if they want to acquire a ball-handler and/or a wing defender, writes Windhorst.
Windhorst wonders if the Nuggets might try to find a small forward capable of slowing down stars like Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James in the postseason. Torrey Craig is Denver’s best option for now, but if the team seeks an upgrade, Andre Iguodala could be a target. Using Mason Plumlee‘s $14MM expiring salary, the Nuggets might be able to put together an offer that appeals to the Grizzlies, says Windhorst.

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