Central Notes: Haliburton, Garland, Cunningham, Pistons
Tyrese Haliburton barely got off the bench when he was in Paris with Team USA for the Summer Olympics, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. That won’t be a concern when the Pacers face the Spurs on Thursday and Saturday, and Haliburton is looking forward to showing the French crowd what he can do.
“I’m excited to actually play — like, play — in this arena,” Haliburton said at a press conference Wednesday in Paris. “But I’m just excited to be here. It will be a fun atmosphere and a fun game.”
Haliburton brought home a gold medal, but he saw the least playing time of anyone on the U.S. team. Dopirak notes that Haliburton was dealing with a leg injury at the time and got into just three Olympic games, playing 26 total minutes and scoring eight points. He remains good-natured about the experience and said it was still special to be part of the Olympics.
“Definitely just life-long memories,” Haliburton said. “Regardless of what the experience was for me personally, I was a part of a group of 12 guys — there’s only 12 players that got to experience that. It definitely means a lot.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Cavaliers guard Darius Garland is playing at an All-Star level, but tough competition might prevent him from being selected for the game, observes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. LaMelo Ball and Garland’s backcourt partner Donovan Mitchell are the leaders among Eastern Conference guards in the latest round of fan voting, leaving Garland to battle for reserve spots with Damian Lillard, Tyrese Maxey, Trae Young, Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham and Tyler Herro. “Listen, I’ll fight for (Garland),” teammate Tristan Thompson said. “I’ll be the bad guy. I’ll be Charles Oakley. I think Darius Garland should be (an All-Star), and everyone you guys put in front of him, he’s rang the bell and did what he had to do.”
- Cunningham renewed his long rivalry with Jalen Green by posting 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Pistons defeated the Rockets on Monday. Their battles date back to AAU games when they were in eighth and ninth grade, Green’s father told Kelly Iko and Hunter Patterson of The Athletic, and they intensified after Cunningham was selected No. 1 and Green went No. 2 in the 2021 draft.
- In a separate story, Patterson takes a mid-season look at the Pistons, who may be headed to the playoffs after winning just 14 games last season. He points to a few things that have helped Detroit exceed expectations, including Cunningham’s rise to stardom, the emergence of Jaden Ivey before suffering a broken fibula, the addition of Malik Beasley in free agency and the progress of second-year player Ausar Thompson and rookie Ron Holland.
Bucks Haven’t Contacted Suns About Bradley Beal
There have been rumors lately that the Bucks might be interested in taking on Bradley Beal as part of a larger trade that would send Heat forward Jimmy Butler to the Suns. However, NBA insider Chris Haynes says in a Twitter video that Milwaukee hasn’t contacted Phoenix at all to ask about a potential Beal trade.
“It was explained to me that a connection between the two is nonexistent,” Haynes said, “so if Phoenix is able to acquire Jimmy Butler, it would not come via the Milwaukee Bucks taking on the star guard.”
If the Bucks aren’t involved, it could become very difficult for the Suns to find any team willing to accept Beal’s contract, which pays him $53.7MM next season with a $57.1MM player option for 2026/27. That’s a huge financial risk for a 31-year-old guard whose scoring numbers have declined during both of his years in Phoenix and who hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season since 2018/19.
Beal also has a no-trade clause in his contract, which means he has the right to reject any deal the Suns make. He recently stated that no one from management has reached out to him or his agent to discuss a possible trade.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 states that he hasn’t heard of any teams that have expressed interest in acquiring Beal, and there are only “a select few” places that Beal would be willing to go (Twitter link).
As a second-apron team, Phoenix can’t take back more salary than it sends out and can’t aggregate players to match Butler’s $48.8MM deal. Miami reportedly isn’t interested in Beal, partially due to the no-trade clause, so at least one more team will have to get involved to facilitate the trade.
Phoenix made a trade with Utah on Tuesday, acquiring three first-round picks in exchange for its unprotected first-rounder in 2031. There has been an expectation that the Suns would use one or more of those picks to incentivize someone to add Beal, but they may be saved for other trades if there are no takers.
And-Ones: All-Star Game, Fernando, Snyder, NBRPA, Woj
Six NBA reporters at The Athletic, including Sam Amick, Fred Katz, and Joe Vardon, made their picks for the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star starters, with all six writers selecting the same three frontcourt players in the East: Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns.
Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic were the only unanimous choices in the West. Meanwhile, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama each showed up on all but one of the six ballots from The Athletic’s reporters.
The NBA will officially announce this year’s All-Star starters on Thursday evening during a TNT broadcast. The starters are determined by votes from fans (50%), players (25%), and the media (25%).
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Veteran NBA big man Bruno Fernando, who was waived earlier this month by Toronto before his full-season salary could become guaranteed, is in talks with Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, as Michalis Gioylenoglou reports for Eurohoops.net. Gioylenoglou describes Fernando as becoming more open to making the move to Europe after having initially been reluctant to head across the Atlantic. However, no deal is done yet.
- Hawks head coach Quin Snyder is among the candidates receiving serious consideration to become the next coach of Australia’s national team, sources tell Olgun Uluc of ESPN. The Boomers are seeking a successor to Brian Goorjian, who coached the national team at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
- Former NBA big man Antonio Davis, who appeared in over 900 games from 1993-2006 and made an All-Star team with Toronto in 2001, has been named the CEO of the National Basketball Retired Players Association, reports Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). According to Spears, Davis will “drive the strategic visions, business operations, member services, and growth” of the NBRPA, a non-profit association representing former NBA players.
- In a feature story for The New York Times, Bruce Schoenfeld checks in on Adrian Wojnarowski, exploring why the former star news-breaker, who was making $7.3MM annually at ESPN, accepted a job at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, that pays him about one percent of that amount ($75K per year).
Heat Notes: Highsmith, Butler, Adebayo, Jaquez, Herro
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra made a significant change to his starting lineup Tuesday night, using rookie big man Kel’el Ware alongside Bam Adebayo in a double-big frontcourt. That meant Haywood Highsmith came off the bench after starting 32 of the previous 33 games he had played, and he saw just four minutes of action in a loss to Portland.
“Just control what I can control,” Highsmith told reporters, including Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “It’s a long season. I know there are going to be ups and downs. I’m used to it, for sure.”
The 28-year-old forward has been primarily a reserve during his four seasons in Miami, but his role has expanded this season, even though his minutes aren’t always steady. Spoelstra emphasized that the team is still counting on Highsmith to contribute, even when he doesn’t start.
“I actually talked to him about it, that sometimes when things are fluid and they’re moving fast, sometimes things happen and it’s not at all an indictment or an indication of how you’re playing,” Spoelstra said. “He’s an example of that. He’s had really important minutes and his role is important for us. He just has to stay with it. We all believe in him, we all know his importance. And as we figure things out, his minutes will likely be more consistent.”
There’s more from Miami:
- In light of Jimmy Butler‘s latest suspension, Shams Charania of ESPN describes the situation with the volatile forward as “untenable” (Twitter video link). He adds that Heat coaches and players view the standoff as “a distraction” and “chaos,” and some cite a lack of clarity in the organization.
- Among the reasons for Butler’s first suspension was a perceived lack of effort, and Bobby Marks of ESPN offers several statistics to back that up (Twitter link). Among the highlights, Butler attempted fewer than 10 field goals in four of his last five games, and he moved at a “fast speed” – as defined by Second Spectrum – just 5% of the time in Tuesday’s game vs. Portland.
- Adebayo has helped to keep the team’s younger players focused on business rather than the daily news about Butler, per Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. “They’re handling it as professionally as they should,” Adebayo said. “I’m really emphasizing to the young guys to really be professional in this league. But, like I said before, we still have to play games.”
- Jaime Jaquez filled in well as Butler’s replacement in the starting lineup during his first suspension, but he was back in a reserve role once Butler returned, Winderman adds. The second-year forward has already learned how to handle such adjustments. “What I realize is that is part of the NBA,” Jaquez said. “And you’ve just got to be ready for what comes. And I think, myself, I’m starting to grow and realize just be ready for anything, not have any expectations, just go out here and be ready to hoop.”
- The Heat struggled to create good scoring opportunities on Tuesday as Tyler Herro missed his first game of the season, Winderman observes in a separate story. Herro is dealing with groin soreness, but he’s listed as probable for Thursday’s game at Milwaukee.
No Recent Talks Between Nets, Kings About Cameron Johnson
The Kings are considered to be among the top suitors for Nets forward Cameron Johnson, but the teams haven’t engaged in trade talks for several weeks, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack column (subscription required).
A source tells Stein that Sacramento officials currently don’t see a way to complete a deal for Johnson before the February 6 trade deadline. The Kings are pursuing deals with other teams instead of focusing on Johnson, Stein adds.
A weekend report from Jake Fischer at the Stein Line confirmed that the Nets haven’t lowered their price for Johnson, as they continue to ask for two first-round picks and a young player. Earlier this month, Stein stated that Sacramento wasn’t willing to part with rookie guard Devin Carter, and it appears that stance hasn’t changed.
Fischer added that the Cavaliers have called about Johnson, but their interest seems to just be exploratory. He points out that Cleveland doesn’t have a first-round pick that it can trade until 2031, so it’s nearly impossible to meet Brooklyn’s demands.
Stein brings up the Pacers as another team to watch in the Johnson pursuit. However, Indiana has risen to fifth in the East after a recent hot streak, and Stein questions whether the front office would want to break up the current roster in light of its success.
It’s possible that the Nets will hang on to Johnson past the trade deadline and see if better offers arise this summer. He’s in the midst of a career-best season, averaging 19.4 points per game while shooting 49.1% from the field and 41.9% from beyond the arc.
Mavs’ Lively Has Fracture In Ankle, Expected To Miss 2-3 Months
4:42pm: Lively suffered a stress fracture in his right ankle and will be reevaluated in four weeks, the Mavericks announced (via Twitter).
12:20pm: Mavericks center Dereck Lively has been diagnosed with a small fracture in his right foot and is expected to be sidelined for the next two-to-three months, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Lively has missed the past three games due to an injury he suffered last Tuesday vs. Denver that was initially listed as a right ankle sprain. Further testing revealed the fracture in that foot, sources tell Charania.
It’s a brutal blow for a Mavericks team that is already dealing with a series of injuries to key players, starting with top scorer Luka Doncic, who has been out since Christmas Day due to a calf strain.
Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) has yet to make his season debut, while Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) and Dwight Powell (right hip strain) are also currently unavailable. Kyrie Irving recently missed several games due to a back ailment and a handful of other Mavs are battling day-to-day issues. After starting the season 20-11, Dallas has lost nine of its last 12 games.
Lively was a key part of the Mavs’ early-season success. His +8.1 net rating in 768 minutes of action is the second-best mark on the team, behind only Doncic (+9.9 in 785 minutes). The second-year center, who will turn 21 next month, has averaged 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks in 24.0 minutes per night across 32 games (25 starts).
In Lively’s absence, the Mavs figure to lean more heavily on Daniel Gafford, who has split center minutes with Lively since arriving in Dallas at last year’s trade deadline. A recent report indicated that the club had been willing to discuss Gafford as it sought an impact perimeter defender, but I imagine that will no longer be the case.
Maxi Kleber and Powell are among the Mavs’ other options up front, with P.J. Washington also seeing some time as a small-ball center.
If Lively is able to make it back on the court within two or two-and-a-half months, he should be available for the end of the regular season and all of the postseason. If his recovery timeline is closer to three months – or beyond – he won’t have a chance to return until the playoffs, assuming the Mavs make it. They’re currently seventh in the West, with a 23-20 record.
Atlantic Notes: Drummond, Thomas, Hart, Raptors
Sixers center Andre Drummond cashed in with Detroit when he became a free agent in 2016, signing a five-year, maximum-salary contract worth in excess of $127MM. However, the veteran big man has had to settle for deals worth the minimum or a little above it in recent years — his current two-year, $10MM pact with Philadelphia is his most lucrative contract since that max deal ended.
Appearing this week on Podcast P with Paul George (YouTube link), Drummond told his Sixers teammate that he regrets how he responded after earning that max deal with the Pistons.
“Once I got that max contract, I was like, ‘Oh s–t, my work is done. I did it. I made it here. Now I get to play however I want to play. I’m the best guy on my team, making the highest amount of money, so I get to have this leadership role,'” Drummond said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “I don’t think I did it the right way, because not only did I not understand that that could’ve been $100 million two or three or four or five times — I only got it once because I didn’t maximize that time of being the max guy.
“If I could go back, I would’ve done it completely differently. I would’ve been a lot more attentive to working on my game and becoming more than just the best rebounder in the league. I would’ve tried to add more different pieces to my game so that when the league changed, it wouldn’t have been so difficult for me to make the adjustment with the league too.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Nets guard Cam Thomas, who has been out since January 2 due to a left hamstring strain, has resumed on-court activities but isn’t taking contact yet, according to head coach Jordi Fernandez. Bridget Reilly of The New York Post has the story.
- Josh Hart believes his comments earlier this month about the Knicks needing to put aside “egos” and “agendas” were blown out of proportion and made it clear he wasn’t referring to any specific teammates, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “Y’all look too much into everything,” Hart said on Tuesday. “… I said something about egos and y’all took that and ran with it. To win, you have to have a team that don’t have egos. That’s why Boston won. They have a team that doesn’t have egos. You got Jrue Holiday that’s been an All-Star, All-Defense, All-NBA, max player. He don’t give a damn about scoring. So that’s the ego-less attitude that we have to have. There was no pinpointing somebody. But that’s what you have to have to win.”
- Tuesday’s 16-point victory over Orlando served as a glimpse at what the first half of the Raptors‘ season could’ve looked like if the team hadn’t had to deal with so many injuries, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. As Grange observes, reliable second-unit veterans like Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown – both of whom didn’t make their season debuts until December – played key roles in the win. Olynyk, who was an incredible +39 in 22 minutes, and Brown are both considered candidates to be moved at the trade deadline.
Suns Rumors: Butler, Nurkic, Durant, Beal
There was an “undeniable vibe” in Miami on Tuesday that the Suns‘ draft-pick trade with Utah moved Phoenix a step closer to potentially acquiring Jimmy Butler, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), who say a source close to the process believes there’s a “real pathway” to a deal sending the Heat star to the Suns.
[RELATED: Likelihood Of Suns Acquiring Jimmy Butler Increasing?]
Still, sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking tell Stein and Fischer that the Suns made their deal with the Jazz – which sent out Phoenix’s 2031 first-round pick in exchange for three less valuable first-rounders – without a specific follow-up move lined up.
As Stein and Fischer write, while that trade puts the Suns in a better position to make a play for Butler, it also led to plenty of chatter around the league that the club was seeking more general flexibility. For instance, one of those first-round draft picks could be attached to Jusuf Nurkic to move off his contract and get something value in return.
One executive speculated that the Suns could keep the 2025 first-round pick they acquired from Utah (likely to be Cleveland’s pick at No. 30) and use it in June to trade back in the draft and acquire more future assets, like they did on draft night in 2024 when they moved down six spots from No. 22 to No. 28 and added three future second-rounders in the process.
For what it’s worth, John Hollinger of The Athletic expresses skepticism that the Suns don’t already have a plan in mind for a particular trade, arguing that you don’t make a move like that and then say, “Well, now maybe let’s see what we can do?” The Suns already know the answer to that question, according to Hollinger, who says Phoenix almost certainly made the move to meet a specific need conveyed by a potential trade partner.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Within his story analyzing the Suns/Jazz trade, Hollinger lauds Phoenix’s front office for its creativity in continuing to find new ways to add draft assets using its limited tradable picks. However, he compares Tuesday’s deal to swapping out a dollar for three quarters and notes that the Suns likely won’t have more options to continue unearthing draft capital — since they project to be well into second-apron territory next season as well, their 2032 first-round pick will be frozen, ineligible to be included in a trade.
- The Heat have spoken to multiple teams about Butler, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link), but the Suns remain atop the 35-year-old’s list of preferred destinations and are expected to be “aggressive” in seeking roster upgrades between now and the February 6 trade deadline, Charania adds.
- Kevin Durant dismissed the idea that he might run out of gas in the second half of the season, telling Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, “I ain’t a regular 36-year-old. … How many people playing at this level at my age? So you can’t compare me to anybody who’ve burnt out. It could happen, but does it look like it right now?” Durant also said he’s not frustrated by the restrictions the Suns face under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement: “I’ve seen a lot of crazy s–t just happen in this league. You know, regardless of rules and CBA is put in place, these dudes get paid a lot of money to figure out ways and stuff like that. So it isn’t frustrating. I mean, we just added Nick (Richards), which is a good pickup.”
- Within that same Yahoo Sports story, Goodwill confirmed that there are whispers about the Bucks and Raptors potentially getting involved in a multi-team deal sending Butler to the Suns and added the Wizards to the list of clubs rumored to be possible facilitators in that scenario.
- Bradley Beal, who is still listed as questionable to play on Wednesday vs. Brooklyn due to a left ankle sprain, referred to the game as “a must-win for us,” per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
Buford: No Timeline For Gregg Popovich’s Return To Spurs
After suffering a stroke in the fall, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is “attacking his rehab with the same resilience” that he has exhibited for decades on the team’s bench, team CEO R.C. Buford told reporters in Paris on Wednesday, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
While Buford isn’t ruling out the possibility that Popovich will resume his coaching duties for the Spurs later this season, he said it’s impossible to say for sure — or to project a recovery timeline for the longtime head coach, who will turn 76 next Tuesday.
“His improvement continues to get better, (but) I don’t know that we have any way to judge the clock,” Buford said. “Predicting what’s to come is just a function of where Pop’s rehab goes.”
Popovich initially stepped away from the Spurs in early November due to what was described at the time as a health issue. The club later put out a statement announcing that Popovich had suffered a mild stroke, and he subsequently issued a statement of his own in December that hinted he planned to return to the sidelines for the Spurs if and when his health allowed.
In the meantime, acting head coach Mitch Johnson continues to lead the club and has San Antonio within striking distance of a play-in spot at 19-22. According to Vardon, Johnson described his communication with Popovich as “consistent.”
“He is watching games, still as opinionated as he’s ever been, and competitive, and what you would think — giving praise and cussing me out, all at the same time,” Johnson said, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
“Pop’s health has been the priority since the start of this and until dot-dot-dot. That’s kind of how we, and I, take the approach. We want the best for Pop and I want the best for this team and however I can help is where I’ll put my energy.”
Chris Paul also said he remains in contact with Popovich, telling the media in Paris that the Spurs coach is in touch with players via phone.
“I’m not even sure if this is public, but he calls,” Paul said. “He calls after games and I talk to him, and he tells me what he sees, and I appreciate that more than anything because he doesn’t have to do that. And he does.”
As Vardon writes in a separate story for The Athletic, if Popovich were in France on the current road trip, he likely would have taken the Spurs out to a posh Paris restaurant for the sort of “wine-soaked” team dinner he’s known for. Instead, it was second-year star Victor Wembanyama who took the lead on that team dinner on Monday after the club arrived in his native country, per Vardon.
“We talked about it — Pop had a schedule here, and he would have done something like that too,” Wembanyama said. “Doing that on the first day was important for me to welcome (teammates) and to show them, because I know if I went to any of these guys’ country or city, I would have loved to find out about about where they come from to learn to know them better because they’re they’re all good human beings. So really, it’s a real chance to share these moments together.”
Lakers’ Vanderbilt Expected To Make Season Debut On Saturday
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been medically cleared to make his season debut on Saturday vs. Golden State and, barring any setbacks, will suit up in that game, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
A 2023 trade deadline acquisition, Vanderbilt has been an impactful role player for Los Angeles when healthy, providing strong, versatile defense and averaging 6.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 21.9 minutes per game. The Lakers, who had a +0.6 overall net rating last season, posted a +4.2 mark during Vanderbilt’s 581 minutes of action.
However, due to health issues, the forward has been limited to just 55 total appearances since he was traded from Utah to L.A., including 29 last season and zero so far in 2024/25. He hasn’t played in a game since February 1, 2024.
Vanderbilt underwent surgeries on both of his feet in the offseason and had a setback in his rehab process when he experienced a fluid build-up in his knee in December.
Vanderbilt is unlikely to be a difference-maker for the Lakers, especially since the team will likely be cautious with his usage following a layoff of nearly a full year. But if he stays healthy, he’ll give the club another defensive option on the wing against opponents’ top scorers.
A report earlier this week indicated that the Lakers are “cautiously optimistic” that they’ll get a better sense of their needs at the trade deadline after reintegrating Vanderbilt and seeing how his addition affects the rotation. The club’s two stars are reportedly hoping for an aggressive approach on the trade market.