Suns Notes: Booker, Road Trip, Allen, Trades
Within a discussion about Houston’s future trade options on the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), ESPN’s Tim MacMahon points out that the Rockets control “a lot of Suns draft capital” and have “let it be known they are Devin Booker fans.”
However, while Booker might be the sort of player the Rockets would be willing to go all-in for on the trade market, MacMahon quickly added that there’s no indication the Suns would be interested in making that sort of deal, despite having underachieved this season at 19-20 with the league’s most expensive roster. His ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst interjected to drive that point home.
“Devin Booker is staying with the Suns,” Windhorst said. “I don’t see any wavering on that whatsoever.”
“There’s interest that’s been expressed and no indication that it’s even a possibility,” MacMahon agreed.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Ahead of Tuesday’s game in Atlanta, Doug Haller of The Athletic described the Suns’ five-game Eastern Conference road trip as a make-or-break stretch for a team with aspirations of contention. The trip got off to a disappointing start, as Phoenix’s road record fell to 6-12 with a loss to the Hawks. The Suns will visit Washington next, on Thursday, followed by dates in Detroit (Saturday), Cleveland (Monday), and Brooklyn (next Wednesday).
- After sitting out the second half of Sunday’s win over Charlotte due to left knee soreness, Suns wing Grayson Allen said he’s been managing an issue with that knee for “two (or) three years,” Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “That makes it sound like it’s always bad,” Allen said. “It’s not always bad. It’s one of those things that’s better if I don’t miss time. So it’s used to getting minutes and everything.”
- Within a discussion of all five Pacific Division teams, John Hollinger of The Athletic says the Suns are in a precarious position due to their pricey, underachieving roster and their lack of future draft assets. Hollinger suggests that if the club doesn’t trade Booker and Kevin Durant over the summer to get its draft picks back, “the next decade will be one of the most dismal chapters in NBA history.”
- Still, Hollinger doesn’t believe a fire sale is coming anytime soon and expects the Suns to consider using their 2031 first-round pick to pursue a roster upgrade. If they go that route, they should focus on a young player who can help the club now and in the future, according to Hollinger, who wonders if a deal involving Jusuf Nurkic and the Suns’ lightly protected 2031 first-rounder for Wendell Carter Jr. might appeal to the Magic.
- Hollinger’s trade suggestion was published before word broke that the Suns have agreed to acquire another center, Nick Richards of the Hornets. The full story on that trade agreement can be found here.
Hornets Trade Nick Richards To Suns
6:43 pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Suns and Hornets.
3:47 pm: The Suns and Hornets have agreed to a trade that will send center Nick Richards and a second-round draft pick to Phoenix in exchange for Josh Okogie and three second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Suns only have three tradable second-rounders on hand: Denver’s 2026 and 2031 selections, and Phoenix’s own 2031 pick. Those are the three picks headed to Charlotte in the deal.
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), the pick being sent from the Hornets to the Suns is a 2025 selection. It will be the least favorable of Denver’s and Philadelphia’s picks, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks and Charania (Twitter link). Barring an unexpected development in the second half of this season, that figures to be the Nuggets’ second-rounder.
Richards, 27, has seen regular rotation minutes in Charlotte since the start of the 2022/23 campaign and served as the team’s primary starting center in ’23/24 with Mark Williams sidelined. So far this season, he has appeared in 21 games, averaging 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 21.0 minutes per night.
Richards is on a team-friendly contract that pays him $5MM this season, with a $5MM non-guaranteed salary for next season. Okogie’s deal is also guaranteed in 2024/25 and non-guaranteed in ’25/26, but he’s earning $8.25MM this season, so the swap will reduce Phoenix’s projected end-of-season luxury tax bill by approximately $20MM, per cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), while giving the team an athletic option in the frontcourt.
Richards is expected to take over as the Suns’ starting center once he gets acclimated, tweets Gambadoro.
Reporting over the weekend indicated that the Suns and Hornets were in talks about a potential Richards trade that would send second-round draft capital to Charlotte.
Phoenix center Jusuf Nurkic was believed to be part of those discussions, but the Hornets were likely unwilling to take on Nurkic’s contract, which has a significantly higher cap hit ($18.13MM) than Okogie’s and is also fully guaranteed for next season ($19.38MM). An Okogie/Richards swap is simpler from a cap perspective and doesn’t require Charlotte to include a second player.
Because they’re operating over the second tax apron, the Suns have limited options on the trade market this season. They’re not able to aggregate contracts or take back more salary than they send out. This deal meets those requirements while taking advantage of an Okogie contract that had been viewed as a probable trade chip since it was first signed in July. Not coincidentally, Okogie became trade-eligible on Wednesday.
Besides its newly acquired 2025 second-round pick, Phoenix’s only remaining tradable draft asset is its 2031 first-rounder. The front office figures to make that first-round selection available as the club continues to weigh its options on the market ahead of the February 6 deadline.
As Marks tweets, Phoenix will generate a $3.25MM trade exception as a result of this transaction. The Suns would be able to use that exception during the season, but not in the 2025 offseason as long as they continue to operate over the second apron.
As for the Hornets, after taking advantage of their significant breathing room below the luxury tax line to take on contracts and acquire three second-round picks from the Knicks in the Karl-Anthony Towns blockbuster in the fall, they’re taking a similar path here, absorbing some extra salary in a deal for their backup center and netting multiple future second-rounders in the process.
Charlotte will still be operating $7MM+ below the tax line once this move is official, leaving the team with some flexibility to potentially facilitate another deal or two with a cap-strapped trade partner by Feb. 6.
While the Hornets are making this trade for the draft assets rather than for Okogie, the veteran swingman has been solid in limited minutes this season, averaging 6.0 points and 2.9 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game across 25 outings, with career-high shooting percentages of 49.1% from the floor and 38.1% on three-pointers. He’s considered a versatile and above-average wing defender.
If Okogie isn’t part of Charlotte’s plans going forward, the club could look to flip him in the coming weeks, though he’ll be ineligible to have his salary aggregated with another player’s.
Trail Blazers’ Donovan Clingan Sprains Ankle
Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan exited Portland’s matchup with Brooklyn early on Tuesday night, hobbling to the locker room with just over a minute left in the game.
Now, Portland has announced (Twitter link) that the 7’2″ big man has been diagnosed with a mild sprained left ankle. The two-time NCAA champ will have the injury reevaluated in a week, the Blazers add.
During his first season for the 13-26 Trail Blazers, the 20-year-old has averaged 5.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 0.6 assists and 0.5 steals per game in his 31 healthy outings.
Another Portland reserve center, former All-Defensive Teamer Robert Williams III, missed Tuesday’s clash with an illness. Depending on Williams’ availability, Portland will have to lean on starter Deandre Ayton and perhaps fourth-string center Duop Reath for its next few games.
Clingan has already impressed defensively in his first year as a pro, though he remains fairly raw on the other end of the floor. With veterans Ayton and Williams both looking like potential trade chips, a healthy Clingan could get more minutes and touches soon enough.
The Trail Blazers selected Clingan with the No. 7 overall pick in this past summer’s draft following a run as an All-American Honorable Mention during his second and final college season with the Huskies.
Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu Returning From Calf Injury Wednesday
Bulls head coach Billy Donovan told reporters today that guard Ayo Dosunmu will be back in action for the first time in weeks during Chicago’s Wednesday tilt against the Hawks, per K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link).
As Johnson relays, Dosunmu will be playing under a restriction, and will see no more than 24-to-26 minutes of game action.
The 6’5″ pro hasn’t played since December 23 due to a calf injury. Johnson had reported earlier this week that a Dosunmu comeback Wednesday was possible.
The 25-year-old Illinois alum is one of his hometown Bulls’ stronger two-way options at guard. Through 30 healthy contests this year, including 17 starts, Dosunmu is averaging 12.6 points, 4.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game. He’s posting shooting splits of .490/.320/.796.
Wednesday’s Atlanta matchup is the second game in a back-to-back slate. On Tuesday, Chicago fell 119-113 to one of the league’s worst teams by record, the 9-32 Pelicans. That dropped the No. 10-seeded Bulls to a middling 18-22 mark on the season.
Veteran guard Lonzo Ball had a big night on Tuesday. He scored 11 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and dished out six dimes in 25 minutes off the bench for Chicago. Johnson notes that Ball, still working his way back from three knee surgeries, will miss the Hawks contest as Chicago continues to monitor him.
Thunder’s Hartenstein Injures Leg, Out At Least One Week
Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein suffered a minor leg injury against Philadelphia on Tuesday night, straining his left soleus (calf), per an Oklahoma City press statement.
The Thunder announced that the seven-footer will be reassessed in a week.
With Chet Holmgren having been sidelined since November 10 due to a hip fracture, Hartenstein has been serving as the 33-6 Thunder’s starting center. He’s averaging a career-best 11.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.3 blocks, along with 0.9 steals per night, across his 24 healthy bouts.
In that 118-102 Thunder victory on Tuesday, Hartenstein scored nine points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor and 1-of-2 shooting from the foul line. He also had an impressive 16 boards to go along with three assists, a block, and a steal.
Hartenstein was poached in free agency following an impressive showing with New York in 2023/24. The Thunder signed him to a lucrative three-year, $87M deal, bolstering their frontcourt with a key veteran presence. Now, Oklahoma City has emerged as the class of the Western Conference, led by perennial MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and rising star forward Jalen Williams.
The Thunder have a six-game lead on the No. 2 Rockets in the West standings. A steady two-way presence in the interior, the 26-year-old Hartenstein has been a critical component to the club’s early success.
With Hartenstein and Holmgren both out for at least the next week, the 6’5″ Williams will need to step up defensively inside. He will likely jump at center for the Thunder.
Lakers Release Two-Way Player Quincy Olivari
The Lakers have cut two-way guard Quincy Olivari, sources inform Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The move has been confirmed in the NBA’s official transaction log.
As Scotto notes, Olivari has put up solid numbers this season while mostly playing for L.A.’s NBAGL affiliate squad in El Segundo, the South Bay Lakers.
Across 13 combined Tip-Off Tournament and G League regular season games, Olivari averaged 17.2 points, 4.4 dimes, and 4.4 boards per night. He also notched a .421/.406/.711 shooting line, taking 7.8 three-point tries per game to reach that 40.6% mark.
The 23-year-old rookie guard cameoed in just two contests for the Lakers at the NBA level, logging 10 total minutes of mop-up time.
Scotto reports that Olivari is anticipated to have a market as a free agent.
The 6’3″ guard spent his first four collegiate seasons as an All-Conference USA talent at Rice, before finishing out his NCAA tenure at Xavier in 2023/24. He went undrafted over the summer, but impressed the Lakers enough in the 2024 preseason to earn a two-way slot.
The Lakers are reportedly expected to fill their newly opened two-way slot by signing big man Trey Jemison. Forward Armel Traore and center Christian Koloko are the club’s other two-way players.
Spurs’ Riley Minix Out For Season Following Shoulder Surgery
Rookie forward Riley Minix, who is on a two-way contract with the Spurs, underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, the team announced today in a press release.
Minix sustained the injury during a G League game vs. Iowa on January 1. He will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2024/25 season as he recovers from the procedure, according to the Spurs.
San Antonio signed Minix to an Exhibit 10 deal in July after he went undrafted in June. The 24-year-old averaged 20.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 block per game while shooting 34.9% on three-pointers as a senior at Morehead State last season.
Minix averaged 9.0 PPG in four Summer League games and 7.7 PPG in three preseason outings, impressing the Spurs enough to have his Exhibit 10 deal converted to a two-way contract ahead of the regular season.
The 6’7″ forward made just one NBA appearance for San Antonio as a rookie, spending most of his time in the G League, where he averaged 19.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, and 1.2 BPG with an impressive .524/.414/.853 shooting line in 19 total contests (31.6 MPG) for Austin.
Minix is assured of receiving his full-season two-way salary ($578,577), having stuck around through last week’s league-wide guarantee deadline. However, it’s unclear if the Spurs will keep him under contract for the rest of the season or replace him with a healthy player. March 4 is the deadline for NBA teams to sign players to two-way deals.
Latest On Jimmy Butler
The Heat‘s game on Wednesday vs. the Lakers will be the seventh of Jimmy Butler‘s suspension, making him eligible to rejoin the team in advance of Friday’s contest against Denver. With Miami still apparently not close to finding a suitable trade involving Butler, it’s unclear what the next step in the standoff between the team and its star forward will look like.
Reporting earlier this week indicated that the Heat expect Butler to resume playing in games at the end of his suspension, and Sam Amick of The Athletic hears from a source close to Butler that the 35-year-old intends to report for duty. But given the strained relationship between the two sides, it would almost be surprising if Butler simply returns to action on Friday without incident.
The last time Butler returned from a multi-game absence amid trade rumors was on January 1, when he played vs. New Orleans after missing five games due to a minor ankle injury and an illness. He didn’t look fully engaged in that outing, frequently standing in the corner on offense without the ball in his hands.
NBA insider Chris Haynes stated during an appearance on the Le Batard Show on Tuesday (YouTube link) that the Heat openly questioned Butler’s effort after that game, which didn’t sit well with the six-time All-Star, who told reporters unprompted in his media session the following night that he always plays hard.
Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that the implication from team officials that Butler wasn’t playing his hardest was one reason why he requested a trade on Jan. 2. According to Haynes, Butler’s camp also privately pushed back against the team’s suggestion that his effort was lacking, using speed and acceleration data from Second Spectrum.
As has been widely reported, Butler’s initial unhappiness with the Heat stemmed from their unwillingness to offer him the maximum-salary contract extension he was seeking over the offseason. However, another source of frustration for Butler has been his role in the team’s new-look offense, according to both Haynes and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
Appearing on the Le Batard Show, Haynes noted that Miami tweaked its offensive system prior to this season in an effort to reduce its mid-range looks and increase its three-point attempts, which doesn’t cater to Butler’s skill set. As Haynes observes, Butler’s usage rate this season has dipped to 21.2%, his lowest mark since his third season in Chicago in 2013/14.
According to Chiang, Butler’s camp inquired about the adjustments to Erik Spoelstra‘s system and was told that Miami made changes in part because the forward’s inconsistent regular season availability made it difficult to build the offense around him. Conversely, Chiang writes, some people with the Heat may contend that Butler has made his role look smaller than it actually is by “making it a point in some games to run to the corner and play without the ball in his hands.”
Here’s more on Butler:
- According to Chiang, Butler’s meeting with Heat owner Micky Arison is tentatively expected to take place on Thursday, so there could be more clarity on next steps after that session.
- Haynes provided several more interesting tidbits during his appearance on the Le Batard Show (YouTube link), revealing that Butler and Riley didn’t communicate for several months between the offseason and January 1; Haynes also shared a story about how Butler was irked by an accounting error last spring that resulted in him not being paid until the issue was resolved 10 days later (hat tips to HoopsHype).
- According to Haynes, Butler’s camp wasn’t happy about leaks suggesting that he has repeatedly taken private flights instead of taking the team charter. Haynes hears that those flights only happened a handful of times, primarily during the 2023 NBA Finals when Butler’s father was ill.
- While it’s unclear if the Bucks have legitimate trade interest in Butler, two league sources insist to Amick of The Athletic that Milwaukee hasn’t been told by the forward’s camp that he doesn’t want to play there. Multiple reports previously indicated that the Bucks had been advised not to pursue Butler, but it sounds like Memphis is the only team known to have received that message.
- Speaking to Marc J. Spears of Andscape about the standoff between Butler and the Heat, team captain Bam Adebayo said his approach is to focus on winning games and letting the front office work out that issue. “You understand that it’s business at the end of the day, and I’ll leave it at that,” Adebayo said. “J.B. is one of my guys. So, for me, we give him space and we let him and management handle it, get involved in that. We worry about getting these wins because at the end of the day, whatever happens with him and the management, somebody still got to play these games.” According to Spears, teammate Tyler Herro praised Adebayo for showing “a lot of leadership” during a challenging time for the club.
Southeast Notes: Herro, Bitadze, Williams, Wizards
After being referred to as “fragile” by Heat president Pat Riley last spring, Tyler Herro has responded in impressive fashion to Riley’s public challenge to improve his availability, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Acknowledging during his end-of-season press conference last year that Herro had dealt with some major injuries, Riley said he hoped to see the veteran shooting guard be able to play “in that 72- to 82-game range.”
Herro, who has never appeared in more than 67 games in a season and missed 40 contests in 2023/24, has yet to sit out a single game in ’24/25, having suited up for each of the Heat’s 38 matchups to date.
“I’m trying to play over 70, 75 games, for sure,” Herro said. “Obviously, if I can play all 82, I’ll play 82. But I’m just trying to be as healthy as possible.
“… I don’t need anyone to tell me I’m fragile or I haven’t played as many games,” he continued. “I’m aware of what’s going on. I know I missed the last two seasons, with the hand injury and half the season last year. I’ve seen the comments Coach Riley said. In my own world, I was going to try to play more games on my own either way. I took his words, obviously, into consideration and used it as motivation as I always do.”
As Chiang writes, a player’s availability often comes down to luck, but Herro also says he’s been “more conscious” than ever about managing his body and his weight this season. On top of being more available than in the past, Herro is enjoying a career year in Miami, averaging 24.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game on .469/.403/.862 shooting.
We have more from around the Southeast:
- Magic center Goga Bitadze has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol and won’t be available on Wednesday vs. Milwaukee, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Bitadze, who has been Orlando’s primary starting center this season, was struck in the head during Sunday’s win over Philadelphia. He didn’t exhibit any concussion symptoms right away, but has since developed those symptoms, Beede explains.
- In a conversation with Spencer Davies of RG.org, Hornets center Mark Williams spoke about having Taj Gibson as a veteran mentor, the team’s trust in first-year head coach Charles Lee, and his belief that Charlotte is better than its 8-28 record suggests. “I believe 100 percent we’re better than what our record shows,” Williams said. “I know it sounds kinda repetitive with guys being out, but you can’t control it. So I think for us, whoever is out there on the floor with us, maintaining the same style of play, playing hard, doing all the little things on the court, hustle plays, rebounds. And I think for us, it’s just finding a way no matter what.”
- Wizards rookies Alex Sarr, Carlton Carrington, and Kyshawn George, are beginning to feel the effects of the NBA’s 82-game regular season grind, writes Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. Carrington and Sarr rank first and second among first-year players in minutes per game, while George is seventh. “I’ve never played this (number) of games, never played this (many) minutes as well. So it’s definitely taken a toll,” Carrington said. “… Can’t really dwell on it; it’s just something you got to get through.”
NBA Announces New Dates For Nine Games
The NBA, which recently had to postpone four games as a result of wildfires in Los Angeles and severe weather in Atlanta, has rescheduled three of those contests and announced date changes for six others, the league announced in a press release (Twitter link).
The Hornets/Lakers game that was supposed to be played last Thursday will take place at Crypto.com Arena on February 19, while the Hornets/Clippers game that had been scheduled for last Saturday has been moved to March 16.
Additionally, last Saturday’s Rockets/Hawks that was postponed due to the weather in Atlanta will now be played on January 28 at State Farm Arena.
There’s still no new date for last Saturday’s Spurs/Lakers game, with the NBA indicating that a make-up date for that contest will be announced at a later time.
In order to accommodate the rescheduled games, the NBA has also announced the following tweaks to the schedule:
- The Bulls/Clippers game scheduled for January 21 in L.A. has been moved up to Jan. 20.
- The Wizards/Jazz game scheduled for Jan. 23 in Utah has been moved back to March 19.
- The Jazz/Lakers game scheduled for Feb. 11 in L.A. has been moved up to Feb. 10.
- The Wizards/Clippers game scheduled for March 16 in L.A. has been moved up to Jan. 23.
- The Wizards/Trail Blazers game scheduled for March 18 in Portland has been moved up to March 17.
- The Clippers/Jazz game scheduled for March 19 in Utah has been moved up to Feb. 13.
Despite not being involved in any of last week’s postponed matchups, the Jazz and Wizards will each have three games moved around in order to help minimize back-to-backs and reduce travel.
It’s perhaps not a coincidence that Utah and Washington are among the NBA’s cellar dwellers — the league likely wanted to avoid making schedule changes that would significantly impact teams involved in playoff races.