Kings Notes: Trade Talks, Brown, Fox, Carter
As the Kings began to slide down the Western Conference standings over the past several weeks, the front office contemplated making smaller trades “just to change things up,” and also discussed larger deals involving Bulls wing Zach LaVine, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, Nets guard Cam Thomas, and Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, league sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
According to Shelburne, the Kings consulted with former head coach Mike Brown on whether to make roster or coaching staff changes prior to parting ways with the 2023 Coach of the Year.
“Nobody wanted to fire Mike,” one Kings source told Shelburne. “He’s a good coach. People here really care about him. Until the very last moment we were trying to make it work.”
Sources tell Shelburne that general manager Monte McNair, assistant GM Wes Wilcox, team president Matina Kolokotronis and owner Vivek Ranadive had “several calls and meetings” to discuss Brown’s future with the organization during Sacramento’s recent 0-5 homestand. McNair ultimately called Brown to inform him of the decision as Brown was driving to the airport to board a team flight to L.A. — the timing and execution of the move drew criticism from around the NBA.
After speaking to Brown, McNair and Wilcox called De’Aaron Fox, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis to let them know, but none were consulted beforehand, Shelburne reports.
Shelburne also confirms a report from The Athletic stating that Kings players had grown weary of Brown publicly bashing the team in post-game press conferences.
For what it’s worth, Marc Stein writes that it’s a “struggle to find anyone around the league” who thinks the firing of Brown was justified (Substack link).
Here’s more on the Kings:
- There has been some speculation that Fox may have been unhappy with Brown, in part because of the way the veteran coach criticized him for committing a disastrous foul in the closing seconds of Thursday’s loss to Detroit, but the former All-Star tells Shelburne he enjoys being coached hard and was on good terms with Brown. “I feel like there’s this perception that people thought that we were at odds,” Fox says. “You can ask anybody in this organization: me and Mike have never even had an argument. We could disagree with something. We talked about it and it was gone.”
- According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, there have been “grumblings in NBA circles” suggesting that Fox will ask to be traded before the February 6 deadline. With that in mind, Pincus comes up with a hypothetical deal that sees Fox land with the Rockets.
- Rookie guard Devin Carter made his NBA G League debut with the Stockton Kings on Saturday and was recalled prior to Sunday’s matchup with the Lakers, though he didn’t end up playing in what would have been a back-to-back (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento). Still, it’s obviously a positive development, as Carter is inching closer to making his NBA regular season debut following offseason shoulder surgery.
Gilgeous-Alexander, Maxey Named Players Of The Week
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been named the NBA’s Player of the Week for the Western Conference, while Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has won the award for the East, the league announced today (via Twitter).
Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished runner-up for last season’s MVP award, continued his excellent play during the 2024/25 campaign over the past week. In victories over Washington, Indiana, Charlotte and Memphis, he averaged an eye-popping stat line of 35.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.5 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game on .630/.409/.970 shooting.
The Thunder, who are off to their best start in franchise history, are currently 26-5, the No. 1 seed in the West. Canadian star Gilgeous-Alexander has yet to miss a game this season.
Maxey put up stellar numbers himself in victories over San Antonio, Boston and Utah, averaging 32.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 2.7 steals on .465/.394/.857 shooting in his three appearances (40.7 minutes).
After opening the season with an abysmal 3-14 record, Philadelphia has been gradually climbing up the standings, having won nine of its past 12 games, including three straight. The 76ers are currently, 12-17, the No. 11 seed in the East, a half-game back of No. 9 Chicago.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Kyrie Irving, Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac, Julius Randle, Austin Reaves and Shaedon Sharpe. Maxey beat out Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Tyler Herro, De’Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, Trae Young and Donovan Mitchell to claim the East’s award.
International Notes: Marjanovic, Korkmaz, Samanic, Batum
Longtime NBA center Boban Marjanovic, who began the 2024/25 season with Fenerbahce in Turkey, is taking his talents to China after being released by his EuroLeague club, according to a report from Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops). That report states that Marjanovic is joining the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.
Marjanovic, who averaged just 8.7 minutes per game over the course of 331 regular season NBA appearances across nine seasons, also played a limited role with Fenerbahce, logging 10.0 MPG in six EuroLeague outings and 12.3 MPG in seven Turkish League contests. Fenerbahce decided against exercising its rest-of-season option on the 7’4″ center, making him a free agent.
Marjanovic has no shortage of international basketball experience, having played in Serbia, Russia, and Lithuania before making the move to the NBA in 2015. However, this will be the first time that he has played for a team in China.
Here are a few more items of interest from around the international basketball world:
- Turkish wing Furkan Korkmaz, who spent seven NBA seasons in Philadelphia, has returned to his native country, signing with Bahcesehir, according to an announcement from the club (Twitter link). Korkmaz began this season with AS Monaco, but recent reporting indicated that he planned to transfer ahead of the EuroLeague’s deadline. In addition to competing domestically in Turkey, Bahcesehir currently has a 10-2 record in EuroCup play.
- Former NBA forward/center Luka Samanic has officially signed with Baskonia, as expected, the Spanish team announced today in a press release. It has been an eventful few months for Samanic, who initially signed with Fenerbahce after finishing the 2023/24 season with the Jazz, but didn’t play for the Turkish team, instead returning to his home country of Croatia and playing with KK Cibona this fall. Now he’s back in the EuroLeague.
- Speaking to Grant Asfeth of RG.org about his decision to retire from the French national team, veteran Clippers forward Nicolas Batum explained that he felt the program was in good hands with all the young talent coming up behind him, led by rising star Victor Wembanyama. “I could retire peacefully from the national team. I don’t have to play every summer because there’s a new generation coming up,” Batum said. “Good guys are coming in the next draft. I feel like I’ve done my job for the country. I tried to inspire the young guys. They tell me they watched me when they were younger, and I like that. My son is eight, and he’s a fan of this generation now. It’s great for the country.”
- Aris Barkas of Eurohoops explores what the NBA’s rumored foray into European basketball might look like, reporting that Paris Basketball is among the clubs the NBA is targeting for its new league, while EuroLeague powerhouse Real Madrid has also been in contact with the NBA.
Northwest Notes: Murray, Jazz Rookies, Sensabaugh, Holmgren
After signing a four-year, maximum-salary extension during the offseason, Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has faced some criticism in recent months for a slow, inconsistent start to the season. However, after averaging 17.8 points per game on .402/.337/.782 shooting in his first 13 outings, Murray has registered 22.2 PPG on .481/.407/.905 shooting in his last 11, including a season-high 34 points in Saturday’s win over Detroit.
“If people are gonna talk about me not making shots, then so be it,” Murray said after that performance, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “I know what I’m capable of. I know what I do. There’s a reason why I’m here, and there’s a reason why I’ve been able to win with this team and be here for years and be able to develop chemistry and all that. So I just let people talk. That’s what they do best.”
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who told reporters that Murray’s best stretch of the season has come in the past “seven to eight games,” noted that the standout guard often gets off to slow starts in the fall before finding his rhythm and producing like an All-Star. Malone stressed that he remains fully confident in Murray and added that he hopes the 27-year-old is tuning out his critics.
“I know that everybody is really riding Jamal Murray really hard right now. That’s not gonna do him any favors, man,” Malone said. “The guy cares. He wants to play better. He wants to help this team. His heart’s in the right place. And supporting him will go a long way. And that’s why I tell guys, don’t look at the damn phone. I don’t give a damn what you guys say about me. And he shouldn’t either.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- The lack of progress so far this season from Jazz rookies Cody Williams and Isaiah Collier is an issue, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who points out that Williams and Collier rank 331st and 332nd in both PER and BPM out of the 332 players who have logged at least 200 minutes so far this season. While it’s good news for Utah’s draft position that the duo hasn’t been more productive, Williams’ ineffectiveness on offense and Collier’s shooting and turnover issues are becoming concerning, Hollinger opines.
- The Jazz did see some positive player development in Saturday’s loss to Philadelphia, with Brice Sensabaugh scoring a season-high 20 points and turning in one of the best games of his career, per Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required). Sensabaugh isn’t a defensive asset, but performance like Saturday’s suggest he may have enough offensive potential to make up for that, Larsen writes.
- Thunder big man Chet Holmgren‘s recovery from his pelvic fracture is “testing his patience,” according to head coach Mark Daigneault, who says Holmgren wants to be working out and playing, but still needs to fully heal. “I’m not going to give you guys the blow-by-blow of what he’s doing, but you don’t go from like crutches to playing,” Daigneault said on Sunday (Twitter link via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman). “So there’s going to be a progression, and he’s going to go through that, and he’s right where he should be right now.”
Trade Rumors: Grizzlies, Nets, C. Johnson, Wizards, Lakers
After Michael Scotto reported on Sunday that the Grizzlies wanted to include top-15 protection on their 2025 first-round pick in their offer to the Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith, Marc Stein writes at The Stein Line (Substack link) that one source said the protection on that pick was actually top-17.
Brian Lewis of The New York Post, confirming that the protection on the pick the Grizzlies offered was so heavy that “it might never have conveyed,” adds (via Twitter) that Memphis was asking for the Nets’ own 2025 second-round pick in return. Based on the current standings, those two selections are just 11 picks apart at No. 26 and No. 37, per Tankathon, and they could end up even closer than that if Brooklyn moves further down the standings.
As Stein explains, the Nets were more inclined to take the Lakers’ offer for Finney-Smith since it added three future second-round picks to their stash without requiring them to give up any draft assets of their own. It also didn’t include any guaranteed salary beyond this season, whereas the Grizzlies’ offer would’ve meant taking back John Konchar, whose deal is guaranteed through 2026/27.
Now that they’ve missed out on Finney-Smith, it wouldn’t surprise anyone around the NBA if the Grizzlies continue talking to the Nets and pivot to pursuing forward Cameron Johnson, according to Stein, who adds that Memphis is expected to continue shopping Konchar.
Brooklyn is said to be seeking multiple first-round picks for Johnson, but they were also asking for a first-round pick for both Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder and ultimately settled for second-rounders, Stein observes. That doesn’t mean they’ll take second-rounders for Johnson too, but it suggests the asking price of “multiple first-round picks” may come down a little before February 6.
Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from across the league:
- Many league observers had been expecting the Lakers to pursue the Wizards duo of Malcolm Brogdon and Jonas Valanciunas and were surprised to see them make a deal with Brooklyn, according to Stein. Los Angeles could still technically make a deal for both of those two Wizards, but it would be difficult to land more than one of them without D’Angelo Russell‘s expiring contract. “I like the combo of Finney-Smith and (Shake) Milton better for the Lakers than the two Washington guys,” one longtime talent evaluator told Stein.
- Citing team and league sources, Jovan Buha of The Athletic confirms that the Lakers will continue exploring the trade market for additional upgrades ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline. For now, the Lakers’ plan is to assess Finney-Smith’s fit with the current group and make a decision close to the trade deadline on whether it makes sense to give up one or both of their tradable first-rounders (2029 and 2031) in another deal.
- Given that Schröder and Finney-Smith were traded for second-round compensation, teams pursuing a first-round pick in exchange for their role-player trade candidates might have trouble getting the return they’re seeking, Stein notes, pointing to Bulls center Nikola Vucevic and Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma as a couple examples. Valanciunas, Brogdon, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, and Raptors teammates Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown are a few of the players believed to be available for second-round picks, Stein adds.
Heat/Rockets Altercation Likely To Result In Suspensions, Fines
An on-court altercation broke out during the final minute of Sunday’s Heat/Rockets game, resulting in several ejections that will likely to lead to suspensions and/or fines for the players involved.
With Miami up by five points and about to inbound the ball with 35.7 seconds left in the game, Heat guard Tyler Herro and Rockets guard Amen Thompson began exchanging words and bumping one another (Twitter video link).
Thompson grabbed Herro by the jersey and threw him to the floor, which led to Heat guard Terry Rozier tackling Thompson as Rockets guard Jalen Green went after Rozier and several other players and coaches converged on the melee.
Once the dust settled, those four players, along with Rockets head coach Ime Udoka and assistant Ben Sullivan, were ejected. Crew chief Marc Davis explained the decision after the game to pool reporter Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
“During the dead ball, Thompsons grabs the jersey and body slams Herro,” Davis said. “Herro responds and they are both ejected for fighting fouls. Green is ejected as his actions escalated the altercation. Rozier as well is ejected as his actions were escalators to the altercation. Coach Sullivan is assessed a technical foul and ejected for his unsportsmanlike comments directed at me as I was attempting to redirect (Alperen) Sengun.”
Tensions were already running high leading up to the play, as Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet was tossed from the game moments earlier after arguing that a timeout should have been awarded to Houston before Davis called the team for a five-second violation on its inbound play (Twitter video link).
VanVleet made contact with Davis during the argument, which the veteran official deemed to be intentional, resulting in the guard’s ejection. Udoka was also sniping back and forth with Davis at that time and was eventually ejected for “unsportsmanlike comments,” per the crew chief.
Naji Marshall (four games), Jusuf Nurkic (three games), and P.J. Washington (one game) received suspensions on Saturday for their roles in an incident involving the Mavericks and Suns in Friday’s game, so it would be a surprise if similar penalties aren’t handed out in response to this latest skirmish.
Thompson seems likely to face the most significant punishment from the league, with Rozier and Green at risk of possible suspensions as well. It’s unclear how the NBA will view Herro’s role, given that he didn’t reenter the fray after initially being thrown to the floor.
Although it took the NBA less than 24 hours to make its ruling after the Mavs/Suns altercation, that was at least partly because both teams were in the middle of back-to-back sets and the league wanted to announce suspensions prior to Saturday’s games. Neither the Heat nor the Rockets play until Wednesday, so the NBA may take a little more time to review this case.
Thompson didn’t speak to reporters after Sunday’s game, but Herro suggested with a smile during his post-game media session that his own big night (27 points, nine assists, six rebounds) led to Thompson’s frustration.
“Guess that’s what happens when someone’s scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing,” Herro said (Twitter video link). “I’d get mad, too.”
Lakers Notes: James, Christie, Finney-Smith, Trade Assets
Lakers forward LeBron James, who’s been the league’s oldest active player since the start of the 2023/24 season, turns 40 on Monday. As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press notes, James will become the first player in league history to suit up during his teens, 20s, 30s, and 40s. James will also become only the 30th player ever to appear in a regular season contest in his 40s.
“In some ways he’s a freak of nature,” league commissioner Adam Silver said of James. “I’ve been around a lot of great players and he’s one of the hardest-working players I’ve been around. I mean, he doesn’t take a day off. He seems to not take an afternoon off. He’s always working on some part of his body. You meet with him and he’s always soaking something or eating something with some contraption attached to him.”
The four-time league MVP continues to look like an All-Star while playing in his 22nd NBA season for the 18-13 Lakers. He’s averaging 23.5 points on .496/.357/.767 shooting splits, along with 9.0 rebounds and 7.9 boards per game.
There’s more out of Los Angeles:
- Although Lakers swingman Max Christie started his third season a bit unsteadily, he has rounded into form of late. Prior to L.A.’s trade for three-and-D wing Dorian Finney-Smith and point guard Shake Milton, Christie had emerged as a regular part of head coach JJ Redick‘s starting five. The arrival of Finney-Smith may change his role, but Christie has begun to deliver on the promise of the four-year, $32MM deal he signed to stay with Los Angeles over the summer. In a lengthy interview with The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Christie acknowledged he felt increased pressure to perform after signing his first big NBA contract. “There are a lot of things that happen in the offseason where you get re-signed, I have expectations for myself,” he said. “I think I had too much emphasis on trying to play perfectly [early in the season], do all the right things, and that led to me kind of thinking all the time when I’m out there. I wasn’t flowing. I wasn’t free.” Christie has really made the most of his time back in the rotation over the past month. “It’s been really good so far, honestly. I look back at it and reflect on my whole career up to this point,” he said. “I hadn’t really played a lot, and then I was just trying to work and work and work.”
- The Lakers surrendered three second-round draft picks to acquire Finney-Smith and Milton, in addition to the expiring $18.7MM deal of reserve guard D’Angelo Russell and second-year forward Maxwell Lewis. Zach Harper of The Athletic praises the deal for head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and projects that the 6’7″ Finney-Smith will immediately join the Lakers’ starting lineup, with Christie being moved back to the bench. Finney-Smith will add defensive length along the perimeter, plus a solid three-point shooting stroke. Harper is pessimistic that Milton will crack Redick’s rotation ahead of reserve point guard Gabe Vincent.
- Just who gets demoted to the Lakers’ bench has yet to be determined. Jovan Buha of The Athletic thinks forward Rui Hachimura could become a reserve, meaning Max Christie would play alongside Finney-Smith in a new starting unit. Buha notes that the deal will help free up a little cap flexibility for Los Angeles, with the team now $3.5MM below the league’s restrictive second tax apron. Losing Russell means the Lakers are sacrificing some play-making while gaining defense and off-ball shooting. Los Angeles still has some trade assets at its disposal if it wants to continue making deals. In addition to two remaining second-round picks and three first-round pick swaps, the Lakers technically have three tradable future first-round draft selections, but can move only two at most due to the Stepien rule.
Central Notes: Ivey, Cunningham, Mobley, Lillard
As his Pistons continue to improve into a frisky play-in-caliber team this season, guard Jaden Ivey has grown increasingly more comfortable in clutch moments, observes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic.
Patterson writes that the Pistons have gone 8-4 when Ivey scores 19 or more points. A confident Ivey scored six of his 19 points — including his second game-winning bucket of the year — during the last 15 seconds of Detroit’s 114-113 upset win over the Kings on Thursday.
“He knows how much work he puts in,” new Detroit head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “His teammates knew and trusted in him. We could have taken a tougher, contested (three-pointer), but we saw him in the corner and we made the play to him. He went ahead and knocked it down and then had the confidence to knock down the free throw and help us win the game.”
At 14-18 on the year, Detroit currently occupies the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. The team has also already matched its total win tally from 2023/24 and it’s still December.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- Ivey isn’t the only young Pistons guard on the rise this year. His backcourt mate Cade Cunningham has also taken major strides, writes Patterson in a separate story. Cunningham is currently enjoying his best season for a suddenly scrappy Detroit squad, averaging a career highs of 24.0 points, 9.7 assists, 6.7 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game. The former No. 1 overall draft pick has logged six triple-doubles, third-most in the league this year. “I’ve made some plays this year that I haven’t seen from myself in a long time,” Cunningham said. “I’ll watch a full game, and I’m like, ‘I was really hooping that game.’ I think it’s just the steady growth for me. I don’t really put a cap on myself as far as what I’m able to be. I just want to continue to get better.”
- Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley has taken a significant leap as a jump shooter, which has paid dividends thus far this season, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “Coaches and teammates, they’ve been really on me,” Mobley told Fedor. “Every time I turn down the shot, they tell me to shoot it again and again. Having coaches and teammates like that just helps your confidence. I’m gonna keep letting ‘em fly.” Mobley is making 43.7% of 2.4 three-point attempts per contest, a career-best mark.
- Bucks All-Star point guard Damian Lillard recently sat out a pair of games with a right calf injury and two more due to an illness. He made his return in a narrow 116-112 defeat to Chicago on Saturday. Afterward, the 6’2″ vet acknowledged that he felt physically okay, but was still dealing with lingering effects from his illness, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “I felt physically fine like moving around, but as the game went on, you just feel a little weak and I haven’t played,” Lillard said. “Still a little bit sick, feeling it in my chest and coughing a little bit, but I expected it to be like that coming into the game because I haven’t played.” Lillard contributed a 29-point, 12-assist double-double, though he didn’t score at all in the game’s final 5:07.
Atlantic Notes: George, Raptors, Hart, Brown
After signing him to a four-year, maximum-salary free agent contract this summer, the Sixers anticipated that former nine-time All-Star forward Paul George would help goose their scoring, but his contributions have been erratic so far, observes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Through 19 healthy games, the 34-year-old is averaging just 15.8 points per game on .404/.314/.787 shooting splits. His shooting percentages from the field overall and from long range in particular represent the second-worst rates of his 15-season career. In his last four contests, George’s long-range woes have gotten even worse. The six-time All-NBA honoree shot just 4-of-25 from deep.
Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid, however, is confident that George will bounce back as a shooter.
“He’s going to be great,” Embiid said. “I’m not worried about it. I think as we keep going and we start figuring out the best way to move forward, I think he’ll be way better than he’s been, more efficient, which he’s always been. Especially catch and shoot [and] shot creation.”
Pompey cites George’s difficulty integrating into the team’s offense next to Embiid as part of the problem.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- A lackluster defensive effort from the Raptors against Memphis on Thursday, in a 155-126 defeat, serves as just the latest example of a possible long-term issue for Toronto’s young core, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Toronto already ranked 23rd in defensive efficiency heading into the loss to Memphis and has since dropped a few more spots. As Koreen notes, while the Raptors have been effective at limiting opponent three-point attempts, the team has a tendency to foul too frequently and is too lenient with permitting enemy scoring within five feet of the basket.
- Knicks wing Josh Hart has been a critical component of New York’s defense this season, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The Knicks are 22-10 on the year, and winners of 16 of their last 20 contests. “My game is very simple,” Hart said. “I don’t go out there and try to do ball screens and 18 dribbles, dribble combos and all that. I keep it simple. If I don’t got a layup or a shot, I swing the ball, get these guys the ball. And fit in around them.” The team’s defensive rating this season ranks 14th out of 30 clubs, a slight step down from its No. 10 mark in 2023/24.
- Celtics All-Star wing Jaylen Brown is making a real case for a spot on an All-Defensive team, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “I feel like I’m one of the best two-way players in the world,” Brown said. “So I try to hang my hat on that side by doing different assignments like picking up guys full court, chasing guys off screens, switching onto bigs. That takes a lot of energy. Then to have to go back down and try to score 24, 25 a night, get other guys going. But defense is where our team kind of needs to set the tone and hang our hats with physicality, toughness, and I feel like I’m the leader of that, so I’ve got to hold myself accountable.” Himmelsbach notes that the athletic small forward has often been using his work on the defensive end of the court to kick off his explosive offense.
Multiple Playoff Hopefuls Eyeing Lonnie Walker
Veteran guard Lonnie Walker IV is drawing NBA interest, with the Sixers, Timberwolves, Heat, Nuggets and Celtics all viewed as potential suitors, reports Marc Stein (Twitter link).
Walker played on Boston’s training camp roster in the fall on an Exhibit 10 deal, but was cut ahead of the 2024/25 regular season.
The 6’4″ wing isn’t quite a free agent. He is currently playing for Lithuanian EuroLeague club Zalgiris Kaunas, having passed on an opportunity to suit up for Boston’s NBAGL squad, the Maine Celtics. Other EuroLeague squads, including Real Madrid and Maccabi Tel Aviv, were also reportedly interested in adding Walker, but he ultimately sided with Zalgiris.
However, Walker has a $450K buyout option in his current deal with Zalgiris, should any NBA squad be interested in bringing him back to the league prior to February 18.
Beyond the loaded Celtics, all the aforementioned squads could use a scoring spark off the bench, which Walker would provide in abundance.
The Miami product has spent six seasons in the league, playing for the Spurs, Lakers and – most recently – the Nets. Across 58 healthy games for Brooklyn off the bench last year, Walker posted averages of 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.6 steals per night, with a shooting line of .423/.384/.763.