And-Ones: Hall Of Fame, Brown, Maledon, Lessort, G League
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced its list of eligible candidates for the Class of 2025, including several-first-time nominees (Twitter link). Ten-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony and eight-time All-NBA team member Dwight Howard are among the notable names.
WNBA greats Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Chamique Holdsclaw and Maya Moore are first-time nominees, as are legendary coaches Lisa Bluder, Billy Donovan, Mark Few and Doc Rivers. NBA stars Marc Gasol and Amar’e Stoudemire round out the list of new candidates, while Heat owner Micky Arison is nominated as a contributor. According to a report from The Associated Press, the 2008 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team was among the repeat nominees.
Along with announcing the list, the Hall has adjusted its waiting period for candidates from three seasons out of the game to two.
“To better recognize the distinguished careers of potential first-ballot nominees in a more timely manner, the board has appropriately shortened the waiting period,” Hall of Fame chairman Jerry Colangelo said. “We are excited about this change and believe that honoring individuals while their contributions are still fresh in people’s minds is both meaningful and impactful.”
This is the first step in the process of enshrinement. Finalists are selected on Feb. 14 in San Francisco during NBA All-Star weekend and the full class will be revealed on April 5 in San Antonio at the NCAA Tournament. There are a total of 189 candidates in various categories, according to the Hall.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- ESPN announced that 91-year-old Hubie Brown will call the final game of his broadcasting career on Feb. 9. That game, between the Bucks and the Sixers, will be jointly called by Brown and Mike Breen. Brown, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, worked for the Knicks, Grizzlies and Hawks.
- Former NBA guard Theo Maledon is reportedly being targeted by Real Madrid, according to a report from Sportando. Maledon is currently playing with French club ASVEL and is fourth in the EuroLeague in points per game (18.8). According to the report, Real Madrid offered a buyout to current guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes with an eye toward giving Maledon a multi-year deal. Maldeon most recently played with the Suns in 2023/24 and also had stints with the Thunder and Hornets after being selected with the 34th overall pick in 2020.
- Mathias Lessort, whose draft rights are held by the Knicks, suffered a fibula fracture and will be out for the next four months, according to a report from Eurohoops.net. Lessort has been an impressive defensive force for Greek club Panathinaikos. There’s been some speculation that Lessort, the 50th overall pick in 2017, could make the move stateside at some point — he’s in the final year of his current contract.
- The G League Union elected a new executive committee as the league is in the negotiation process of creating its first-ever CBA for players, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets. Robert Baker of the Osceola Magic will serve as president, Yauhen Massalski of the San Diego Clippers will be secretary-treasurer, and College Park’s David Singleton and Salt Lake City’s Josh Pierre-Louis were elected as vice presidents, according to Bontemps (Twitter link).
Fischer: Valanicunas Among Several Centers On Trade Block
Jonas Valanciunas of the Wizards may be the most “attainable” and desirable trade candidate among centers this season, but he’s certainly not the only big man who could be on the move prior to the February 6 deadline, league sources tell Jake Fischer (Substack link via The Stein Line).
According to Fischer, several teams are looking for help in the middle, including the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks and Pelicans. The Clips and Bucks are interested in reserve centers to complement their starters (Ivica Zubac and Brook Lopez, respectively), with Lopez also drawing trade interest since last summer.
The Warriors are another team contemplating a trade involving big men, with Kevon Looney garnering “plenty of interest” from rival clubs, Fischer writes. Like Lopez, who earns $23MM in 2024/25, Looney is on an expiring contract ($8MM).
Confirming a recent report from Stefan Bondy, Fischer says Knicks center Jericho Sims is viewed as a potential trade candidate due to his inconsistent playing time as a backup this season. Fischer also notes that New York gauged injured center Mitchell Robinson‘s trade value around this time last year.
Despite his lengthy injury history, Trail Blazers center Robert Williams may be the “most coveted” big man on the market outside of Valanciunas, but it’s no lock that Portland will end up moving him, according to Fischer’s sources. If the Blazers do trade a member of their frontcourt, expect it to come closer to the deadline, Fischer adds.
Here’s more from Fischer:
- Like Clint Capela, whom we highlighted in another story, Nikola Vucevic is a starting center who could be on the move, but it’s unclear if the Bulls will be successful in their attempts to trade the two-time All-Star, in part due to his contract ($20MM in ’24/25, $21.5MM in ’25/26).
- Valanicunas, Williams and Walker Kessler are among the big men on the Lakers‘ trade wish list, sources tell Fischer. However, the Jazz have declined multiple offers for Kessler, so it’s difficult to decipher if Utah is actually willing to trade him or is simply gauging what he might bring in return.
- Chris Boucher (Raptors), Day’Ron Sharpe (Nets), Trey Lyles (Kings), Daniel Theis (Pelicans) and Nick Richards (Hornets) are also “known to be on the market,” according to Fischer.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 12/19/2024
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 2:00 pm Central time (3 pm Eastern).
Click here to read the transcript.
Our weekly live chats will be off for the holidays next Tuesday and Thursday, but we’ll be back the following week at our usual times:
- Tuesday, December 31 (11 am CT): Front Office subscriber chat with Arthur Hill
- Thursday, January 2 (2 pm CT): Chat with Luke Adams
Hawks Reportedly Want To Trade Clint Capela Before Deadline
The Hawks hope to trade starting center Clint Capela before his $22.27MM contract expires in the offseason, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Atlanta has seven weeks to try to move Capela, with the trade deadline set for 2:00 pm CT on February 6.
According to Fischer, the Hawks’ willingness to deal Capela is at least partially motivated by their confidence in young backup center Onyeka Okongwu, a former lottery pick who is in the first season of a four-year, $62MM rookie scale extension. Okongwu will miss at least the next four games due to left knee inflammation, but he’s reportedly viewed as a long-term part of the team’s core.
After playing a career-high 33.6 minutes per game during the 2018/19 campaign, Capela has seen his playing time decline in each of the past six seasons. He’s averaging 23.0 MPG in ’24/25, the third-lowest mark of his 11-year career.
Capela’s minutes may have been steadily dwindling over the past several seasons, but he remains quite productive, with his per-36 averages for ’24/25 right in line with his career rates. In 27 games this season, he’s averaging 10.0 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 1.0 BPG.
A 30-year-old big man from Switzerland, Capela has popped in several trade rumors in recent years. He’s in his sixth season with the Hawks, who acquired him in a four-team deal in February 2020.
As Fischer observes, the tricky part for Atlanta is Capela’s cap hit is pretty significant. It’s understandable that the Hawks would want to get something in return for him if they don’t plan to re-sign him (they already have a lot of money committed to their roster in ’25/26), but it might be difficult to get solid value back for Capela, given his salary, expiring contract, and the fact that center is a pretty deep position in the NBA.
Antetokounmpo Headlines All-Tournament Team For NBA Cup
The NBA announced the All-Tournament Team for the NBA Cup on Thursday, with Giannis Antetokounmpo headlining the five-player group (Twitter link). The Bucks superstar was named tournament MVP after Milwaukee defeated Oklahoma City in Tuesday’s final.
Here’s the full team, along with the amount of votes each player received (in parentheses) from a group of 20 media members:
- Antetokounmpo, Bucks (20)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (20)
- Damian Lillard, Bucks (19)
- Trae Young, Hawks (12)
- Alperen Sengun, Rockets (6)
All five players advanced to at least the semifinals of the league’s second in-season tournament. Antetokounmpo and Gilgeous-Alexander were unanimous selections, while Lillard fell one vote shy.
According to the full voting results, Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein (5), Magic forward Franz Wagner (5), Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (4) and Thunder forward Jalen Williams (3) narrowly missed out on making the team. Six other players received one vote apiece.
The voting for the team is based on each player’s performance over the entire NBA Cup, including group play and the knockout round games. The Bucks went undefeated (7-0) to claim the trophy.
Isaac Okoro Out At Least Two Weeks With Shoulder Injury
Cavaliers wing Isaac Okoro has been diagnosed with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder and will miss at least two weeks, which is when he’ll be reexamined, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
The 23-year-old was injured in the third quarter of Monday’s victory over Brooklyn, when Cleveland blew out the Nets by 29 points. Okoro finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 20 minutes.
A former No. 5 overall pick who re-signed with the Cavs on a three-year deal as a restricted free agent over the offseason, Okoro has started 16 of the 23 games in which he’s appeared in 2024/25 (21.0 minutes per game).
While his offensive role has been modest, the athletic guard/forward is often given the most difficult perimeter assignments on defense, and he’s shooting a career-best 49.2% from long distance (30-of-61).
Aside from Max Strus, who has yet to make his season debut as he recovers from an ankle injury (he was reportedly close to returning last week before experiencing more soreness than expected), the Cavaliers have been relatively healthy to open ’24/25. That’s always a helpful factor for any team, but Cleveland has certainly taken advantage of its opportunities, as the team has the best record in the NBA (23-4).
Based on the timeline the Cavs gave, Okoro will miss at least six games and his earliest possible return date would be Jan. 3 at Dallas. While he’s sidelined, LeVert, Dean Wade, Sam Merrill and — if he returns soon — Strus are among the wings who could receive more playing time.
Lakers Notes: Ham, James, Christie, Wood
Darvin Ham, now back with the Bucks as an assistant, admitted to Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he was stunned in May when the Lakers fired him after two seasons.
“To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension with what I did,” Ham said. “I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts. They go from not making it to the playoffs to the final four in the NBA, the conference finals. And then you win the in-season tournament, navigate through all the injuries and win both of your play-in games to get to the playoffs. People always talk about us losing to Denver, but they never talk about how we got to Denver.”
Ham received criticism for his coaching methods and in-game strategy and there were reports the team’s stars felt the same way. Ham was blindsided by the negativity.
“I’m not a mudslinger and I’m not going to wait until I’m 51 to become one,” Ham said. “You feel like you did enough to sustain in one spot. I felt like I did that. I get it. The franchise I’m working for, the expectations can be unrealistic at certain points in time.
“To be 33-49 when I was hired, with an unbalanced roster, turn that around, make it to the Western Conference Finals. The very next year we were a plus-10 in wins, going from 33-49 to 43-39. And guys got paid on my watch. It went from a lot of unknown scenarios to I think we have a little bit of a core. And then we got hit with the injury bug like crazy last [season]. We might have been top five in games lost to injury.
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- LeBron James is listed as questionable to play against Sacramento tonight due to left foot injury management, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin tweets. James has only missed two games this season, but both of those absences have come in the last 11 days.
- Max Christie has suddenly become a key member of the rotation, averaging 25.1 minutes per game since November 15 and getting an audition as a starter as of late. He didn’t contribute much offensively on Sunday against Memphis but did an excellent job guarding Ja Morant, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register writes. “It’s a lot of confidence,” Christie said. “I’ve been thrown in the fire guarding a lot of really good players. Trae Young, Ja Morant, to name a few. So it’s definitely a big confidence booster for me.”
- Christian Wood has yet to make his season debut but he will take a significant step in his rehab from knee surgery during the team’s road trip, according to Price. Wood will remain in Southern California and do live drills against the team’s coaching associates. “He’s doing more on the court with obviously just individual work,” coach JJ Redick said. “His Alter-G (anti-gravity treadmill) stuff, getting to 95%, 100% on the Alter-G. He’s had progress and it’s looking like it’ll be soon. Barring a setback, he’ll be back.”
Southwest Notes: Pelicans Trade Rumors, McCollum, Hawkins, Morant, Smart
Reacting to a report that the Pelicans have made most of their roster available in the trade market, head coach Willie Green said he’d address the rumors with the team at the appropriate time.
“Eventually, we’ll have some discussions on what’s true and what’s not true,” Green told Rod Walker of the New Orleans Times Picayune. “But for the most part, we try to block out any noise, any distractions. We’ve got a lot to focus on without that. Our focus is on coming in every day with the right perspective, getting after it at practice, locking in to our film work and getting prepared for our games. Some of the rumors and some of the things we are hearing are out of our control. We’ll do the best that we can to continue communicating with our group.”
Veteran guard CJ McCollum, one of the players who could be on the move, understands why there is so much trade buzz around the team.
“Obviously we aren’t doing well,” McCollum said. “So teams are going to be circling like sharks to try to figure out who they can poach. Our team may be entertaining trades, may not be entertaining trades. Who knows?”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Jordan Hawkins (lumbar spine annular fissure) could return to action tonight for the Pelicans against Houston. He was upgraded to questionable on Wednesday’s official injury report, according to a team press release. The second-year guard has missed the last eight games. Jose Alvarado (left hamstring strain), Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain), Karlo Matkovic (low back disc protrusion), Daniel Theis (personal reasons) and Zion Williamson (left hamstring strain) remain out.
- The Grizzlies could be without two prominent guards against Golden State tonight. Ja Morant is listed as questionable with left shoulder soreness, while Marcus Smart is doubtful due to lower back soreness, the team’s PR department tweets.
- Smart has been coming off the bench, but he’s been getting crunch time minutes. That has helped the Grizzlies guard accept his new role, he told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “At the end of the day, you want to be on the court,” he said. “You want to be on the court in the moment of the game that matters the most. That’s the goal. As long as I’m in those moments, I’m not really complaining. I think my resume speaks for itself that it shouldn’t even be a question on whether I’m going to be in those moments or not. But like I said, I can just control what I can control.”
Thunder Notes: NBA Cup Loss, Daigneault, Dieng, Williams
The Thunder, who claimed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last season and hold that spot again through their first 25 games this season, are still considered the strong betting favorites to represent the West in the NBA Finals.
However, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes, the Thunder’s small market and “low-key nature” mean they’re often not treated like a powerhouse — they’re not one of the 10 teams playing on Christmas Day next Wednesday, for instance. Thunder head of basketball operations Sam Presti has said the club has to “earn our arrival” and the players have conveyed that same sentiment.
“We’re a young team and a lot of times in the league you have to earn your stripes, you really don’t get given anything,” guard Alex Caruso. “For us, it isn’t about how loud you are. It’s about getting the job done.”
Here’s more on the 20-5 Thunder:
- Oklahoma City had a chance to showcase its talent on a national stage in Tuesday’s NBA Cup championship, but laid an egg, shooting just 33.7% from the field and 15.6% on three-pointers en route to just 81 points in a blowout loss to Milwaukee. All three marks were season lows, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPN. While forward Jalen Williams said after the game that he thought the Thunder got plenty of good looks, head coach Mark Daigneault wasn’t willing to simply chalk up the club’s underwhelming performance to bad luck. “I never look at it as like, we just missed shots,” Daigneault said, per MacMahon. “I could have done a better job shaking us free at different times in that game, but we can learn from it.”
- Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman suggests that Tuesday’s dud in front of a national audience should serve as motivation for the Thunder as they look to secure their hold on the No. 1 spot in the West.
- Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng, who fractured a finger on his right hand while playing in the G League in November, no longer shows up on the team’s injury report and should be available on Thursday in Orlando, tweets Rylan Stiles of SI.com. The former No. 11 overall pick has played limited minutes in 16 appearances off the bench for Oklahoma City this season.
- Jalen Williams, whose 21.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game this season are all career highs, continues to establish himself as a legitimate No. 2 option on a title-contending team, lining himself up for a massive payday when he becomes eligible for a rookie scale extension in July 2025, writes Shakeia Taylor of The Athletic. “It would be stupid for me to give him a ceiling,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said of his rising star teammate. “I think he can go as far as he wants to, as far as he takes it.”
Injury Notes: Doncic, Mavs, Barnes, Poeltl, Beal, Wizards, Harris
Luka Doncic (left heel contusion) has been ruled out for the Mavericks‘ game vs. the Clippers on Thursday, while Kyrie Irving (right shoulder soreness) is questionable to play, writes Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal (Substack link).
There was some good news on the injury front for Dallas, however, as neither Naji Marshall nor Maxi Kleber is on the injury report for Thursday’s game. Marshall has missed five of the Mavs’ past six games while battling an illness; Kleber was unavailable for the past three due to an illness and a rib injury.
- Raptors forward Scottie Barnes was originally expected to miss “several weeks” due to an ankle sprain, but just 10 days after sustaining that injury, he has been upgraded to questionable for Thursday’s game against Brooklyn after fully participating in Wednesday’s practice (Twitter links via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). “I’m so happy that it wasn’t as serious as I thought it was going to be,” Barnes said. In other Raptors injury news, starting center Jakob Poeltl is considered day-to-day with a bilateral groin strain and will miss Thursday’s contest.
- After missing the Suns‘ past two games with swelling in his right knee, star guard Bradley Beal “did everything” in practice on Wednesday and the team is “hopeful” he’ll be able to play Thursday against Indiana, according to head coach Mike Budenholzer (story via Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic). Beal has been listed as probable to suit up.
- Wizards guards Malcolm Brogdon, Kyshawn George, and Corey Kispert aren’t on the injury report for Thursday’s game vs. Charlotte and should be available to play, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Brogdon has been out since December 5 due to a hamstring strain, while both George and Kispert have been recovering from left ankle sprains since Dec. 3.
- Magic guard Gary Harris, who has been unavailable since November 25 due to a left hamstring strain, has been upgraded to questionable for Thursday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, notes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Harris has been averaging 17.2 minutes per game in his first 16 outings of the season before suffering that injury in his 17th appearance.