Central Notes: Mobley, Cavs, Mathurin, Holland, Sasser
Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley is viewed as one of the favorites for Defensive Player of the Year in 2024/25, and while he had no qualms about making a case for himself, he was more interested in talking about the team’s goals when he recently spoke to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.
“I’m mostly just focused on the playoffs,” Mobley said. “I’m just trying to be as great as possible in the playoffs and go as far as we can in the playoffs.”
Mobley has been highly impressive in his fourth NBA season, averaging a career-best 18.6 points to go along with 9.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.5 blocks in a career-low 30.2 minutes per contest across 63 outings. His shooting slash line is .568/.372/.729.
The 23-year-old forward/center is the only player from the East to have the won the new Defensive Player of the Month award two times this season, Medina notes. Mobley pointed out that his impact goes beyond what a traditional box score can measure.
“There are defenders not even taking a shot,” Mobley told Sportskeeda. “They’re coming in down the paint and see me there. Then they turn back around and go somewhere else. Those plays don’t necessarily get tracked. But that’s a big factor.”
Here’s more from the Central:
- Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link) and Tony Jones of The Athletic explain why Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson decided to have a “fun practice” on Saturday following a four-game losing streak, helping the players rediscover the joy they’ve played with all season. Instead of letting frustration seep in, the team instead played H.O.R.S.E and cracked jokes while watching highlights the coaching staff compiled of the players when they participated in the NCAA Tournament. “I think it’s been important to not overreact,” Atkinson said, per Jones. “To be clear, I’m not happy with the way we have played. We haven’t played well in the last week. But, you have to look at things in the big picture. And in the big picture, I’ll take who this team has been during the other 97 percent of the season over what we have been over the last week.” Cleveland snapped its four-game skid with a dominant second half on Sunday in Utah against the tanking Jazz.
- Over the course of Bennedict Mathurin‘s three seasons with the Pacers, there has been a constant effort to try to figure out how best to incorporate his more ball-dominant, one-on-one style within the movement-oriented flow of a Tyrese Haliburton-led offense. As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star writes, the issue becomes even more complicated in instances when Haliburton is unavailable — he missed time recently with a back ailment. When Haliburton is out, Mathurin, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, gets more freedom to try and score however he can out of necessity. The tension between the two playing styles has defined Mathurin’s tenure with the team to this point, Dopirak adds. “It’s two different styles,” Carlisle said, “and I just let him know at halftime (on Saturday vs. Brooklyn) that I acknowledge that if he had the ball every time and we spread it out every time and he was doing the stuff we were doing when we were down in those games (without Haliburton), that he would score and he would get to the free throw line. But in the flow of our normal game, that’s not who we are. We’ve gotta work to bring the two forces of nature together.”
- With Cade Cunningham (calf soreness) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (ankle sprain) out Sunday vs. New Orleans, rookie forward Ron Holland helped spark a Pistons victory, recording 26 points (on 10-of-14 shooting), six assists and five rebounds in 36 minutes off the bench. The fifth overall pick in last year’s draft tied his career high for points in a game and set a new one in assists. Second-year guard Marcus Sasser, who has been in and out of the rotation in 2024/25, was also instrumental to the win, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. Hunter Patterson of The Athletic and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com have the stories and quotes.
Contract Details: I. Jones, Bradley, Knox, Warriors
The two-year deal that Isaac Jones signed with the Kings when he was promoted from his two-way contract over the weekend is a minimum-salary agreement that will pay him $152,957 for the rest of this season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.
The second year of Jones’ contract is a minimum-salary team option that would be worth $1,955,377 if it’s exercised.
Picking up that option in June is one path Sacramento could take if the team decides it wants to keep the rookie forward/center around beyond this season. The other would be to decline the option and then issue Jones a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent — in that scenario, the club could attempt to negotiate a longer-term contract with him.
Here are more details on some recently signed contracts:
- Tony Bradley‘s new minimum-salary standard contract with the Pacers isn’t just a rest-of-season arrangement. It includes a 2025/26 team option worth $2,940,876. By tacking on an extra year to that deal, Indiana will carry a ’24/25 cap hit of $330,394 for Bradley. If the center had signed a one-year contract, that cap charge would’ve been $263,939, with the NBA reimbursing the Pacers for the remainder of his $330,394 salary.
- Kevin Knox‘s standard contract with the Warriors is a one-year, minimum-salary contract. That means Knox’s cap hit is just $263,939, though his salary is $330,394. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- After officially signing Knox, the Warriors remain below their first-apron hard cap by approximately $257K. A rest-of-season minimum-salary contract signed on Monday would carry a cap hit of $251,942, so Golden State could technically add a 15th man to its roster at any time between now and the end of the season. However, there’s probably no rush to do so quite yet.
Injury Notes: Sabonis, Davis, Maxey, Walker, Harden
The Kings announced on March 18 that center Domantas Sabonis, who was diagnosed with a moderate right ankle sprain, would be reevaluated in 10 days. However, just six days later, Sacramento has listed Sabonis as questionable to play on Monday vs. Boston.
As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes, the Kings announced that Sabonis has made significant progress in his recovery from the ankle sprain and fully participated in Sunday’s practice. It seems possible that an injury initially expected to sideline the big man for at least six games might only cost him three. Teammate Malik Monk predicted that outcome on the night Sabonis injured his ankle last Monday.
“It looked pretty bad,” Monk told reporters at the time. “But Domas (is) strong. He’ll probably be back sooner than we think.”
If Sabonis is able to return sooner rather than later, it would bode well for his potential end-of-season award eligibility — he needs to play at least 20 minutes in seven of the Kings’ remaining 12 contests to meet the requirements for the NBA’s 65-game rule. Sacramento also remains in the midst of a battle for a play-in spot. At 35-35, the team is ninth in the Western Conference standings, 1.5 games ahead of the Suns and Mavericks, who have matching 34-37 records.
Here are a few more injury notes from around the NBA:
- The Mavericks have upgraded big man Anthony Davis from doubtful to questionable for Monday’s game in Brooklyn, tweets Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. NBA insider Marc Stein previously reported that Davis was targeting Tuesday’s game in New York for his return from an adductor strain. I wouldn’t expect the Mavs star to play both ends of the back-to-back set, but it certainly sounds as if he could be back in action either today or tomorrow.
- There had been a belief that Tyrese Maxey (lower back sprain/finger sprain) might return on the Sixers‘ current road trip, but it doesn’t appear that will happen after all. The trip will wrap up in New Orleans on Monday and head coach Nick Nurse said on Sunday that he wasn’t expecting to have Maxey back for that game, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I do expect him back (before the end of the season),” Nurse said. “But I don’t think he’s going to make it for today or tomorrow, I’ve been told.”
- Sixers guard Lonnie Walker, who missed four games while in the concussion protocol, had to depart his first game back on Friday due to a headache. He sat out Sunday and the expectation is that he’ll miss Monday’s game too. “He just didn’t feel great,” Nurse said on Sunday, per Pompey. “And they just wanted to, with an abundance of caution, pull him back out of there. So they are going to take a look at him. He’ll be out tonight and tomorrow for sure. Then we will see where we go from there.”
- After injuring his foot in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma City, James Harden was able to finish the game, but the ailment seemed to be affecting him down the stretch and in the locker room afterward, writes Law Murray of The Athletic. Harden was playing some of his best basketball of the season as of late, having averaged 29.2 points per game with a .396 3PT% in the Clippers‘ last nine outings (including eight wins) entering Sunday, so the team will be holding its breath as it evaluates his foot, Murray notes.
Real Madrid Reportedly Eyeing Nuggets’ Dario Saric
Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid is interested in veteran NBA forward Dario Saric as a potential offseason target, according to a report from Javier Maestro of Encestando (Spanish link; hat tip to Sportando).
As Maestro explains, Real Madrid is on the lookout for a big man who can play the four and five and is capable of spreading the floor and playing alongside center Usman Garuba. Former NBA standout Serge Ibaka has filled that role for the club this season, but his production has been down this season and his contract is expiring.
Saric remains under contract with the Nuggets, but has played an extremely limited role since signing with the team as a free agent last offseason. The Croatian forward/center has appeared in just 15 games for Denver this season and hasn’t played at all this month.
Saric has struggled when given a chance to play, averaging just 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .339/.269/.700. All of those shooting percentages are career lows by a significant margin.
Saric is no stranger to the EuroLeague, having suited up for Anadolu Efes in Turkey before making the move to the NBA in 2016. However, it’s unclear if he’ll be looking to return to Europe for his age-31 season this summer or if his goal will be to exhaust his NBA options first.
Crucially, it’s worth noting that Saric’s contract with Denver includes a $5.4MM player option for the 2025/26 season. It’s not unprecedented for a player to give up guaranteed money in order to sign a lucrative contract and play a key role in Europe – Sasha Vezenkov did so last summer – but if Saric picks up that option, he’d have to be waived in order to become a viable option for Real Madrid or any other European team.
Mavericks Notes: Brunson, Davis, Gafford, Shammgod
While last month’s Luka Doncic trade has since overshadowed it, the Mavericks‘ mishandling of Jalen Brunson‘s contract situation back in 2022 still looms large over the franchise, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post writes ahead of the Mavs’ visit to New York on Tuesday.
Tim MacMahon of ESPN also revisits the Brunson contract saga in Dallas, sharing an excerpt from his new book ‘The Wonder Boy’ about how the Mavericks’ unwillingness to offer the guard a four-year, $55.6MM contract when they were first eligible to do so cost them a chance to retain the budding star at a bargain price through 2026. According to MacMahon, while that $55.6MM extension was the maximum deal Brunson could have received entering the 2021/22 season, he would’ve been open to accepting even a little less than that, perhaps $50MM over four years.
However, the Mavericks reportedly didn’t offer Brunson an extension before the season and then didn’t put his max extension on the table until February 2022, at which point he had outplayed it. When the guard reached unrestricted free agency later that year, Dallas had the ability to tack on a fifth year to its offer or simply to outbid the Knicks‘ four-year, $104MM proposal, but did neither, allowing him to leave for New York.
“I tell you this, this is a conversation we had,” Brunson’s father Rick Brunson told MacMahon. “If Dallas offers the same money or more, I don’t know if he leaves. Come with the money. Make it hard! You didn’t. You made it easy.”
Here’s more on the Mavs:
- Tuesday’s game in New York or Thursday’s contest in Orlando have emerged as the target dates for Anthony Davis‘ return from his adductor strain, reports NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). Stein said over the weekend that there’s increasing optimism about the possibility of Davis, who has been out since February 8, playing during this road trip. He’s listed as doubtful for Monday’s matchup with the Nets in Brooklyn.
- Daniel Gafford, who is recovering from a right knee sprain, spoke to MavsTV about his experience practicing with the Texas Legends in the G League on Friday, as Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal relays (via Twitter). “Practice was good — getting a lot of range of motion in the knee, getting my body right, and getting my cardio back,” Gafford said. “I’ve got to get the lungs going again, get the leg conditioning back, just working through everything. But everything went well (on Friday). It was just another step in the process and the progress, trying to get back on the floor with the guys. Good vibes, great atmosphere, great attitude — just trying to get better and feel better too.”
- Mavericks point guard Spencer Dinwiddie said the team is just hoping to stay afloat until its injured players – especially Davis – start to return, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “I think it’s just trying to keep the pulse, the heartbeat going, waiting on obviously the big dogs to get back,” Dinwiddie said. “That’s all we’re trying to do right now. … It’s a hold-down-the-fort mentality. Stay in striking distance. You get a top-75 guy back. Who knows what can happen?”
- Christian Clark of The Athletic takes a look at the impact that assistant coach God Shammgod has had in Dallas, including on Kyrie Irving. “I feel like he’s just one of my uncles just from Harlem, New York, that’s there to give me a little s–t when I need it, but be honest all the time,” Irving said of Shammgod.
Which Potential 2025 RFAs Will Actually Receive Qualifying Offers?
Within our list of 2025 free agents, there are currently 14 players in the "restricted free agents" section. However, not all of these players will actually become restricted free agents this offseason.
In order to make those players restricted free agents, their teams must issue them a qualifying offer, which is essentially a one-year contract offer that gives the club the right of first refusal in the event the player wants to sign with another team.
In some cases, that qualifying offer is a mere formality. There was a never a scenario in which the Sixers didn't extend a QO to Tyrese Maxey last offseason, for instance. But if the player's club decides not to issue that QO, he becomes an unrestricted free agent, able to freely sign anywhere.
Even if a team wants to retain a certain free agent, it might not make sense to tender him a qualifying offer if the club isn't comfortable with the idea of him actually accepting that offer due to the cost of the QO or the club's overall cap situation.
Last summer, New York opted not to issue a QO worth approximately $6.28MM to Precious Achiuwa, even though the team hoped to keep him. The Knicks were able to eventually re-sign Achiuwa to a one-year, $6MM deal after gaining a clearer understanding of their salary cap situation in free agency.
Of course, in other cases, a team that doesn't issue a qualifying offer to its potential restricted free agent is simply fine with the idea of losing that player. The Pistons passed on a $7.74MM QO for James Wiseman last offseason, then watched him sign a minimum-salary contract with Indiana as an unrestricted free agent.
In total, just 11 of 27 players on standard contracts (ie. non two-way deals) who were eligible to receive qualifying offers last June got them from their respective teams. A similar process could play out this time around.
Here's an early look at which potential restricted free agents are good bets to get their qualifying offers and which ones might end up as unrestricted FAs:
Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Braun, First-Round Opponents, Jordan
Nikola Jokic missed his fourth straight game on Sunday vs. the Rockets due to a left ankle impingement but Nuggets coach Michael Malone is hopeful his superstar center won’t be out much longer, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
The Nuggets begin a five-game homestand after playing at Houston, starting with a matchup against the Bulls on Monday. Malone said Jokic won’t play in that contest, but he believes the three-time MVP can return sometime during the stretch of home games.
“We’re just trying to get home and kind of see where he’s at,” Malone said. “It’d be great to have a chance to get our starting five some run together, because we haven’t had a lot of opportunity to do that this season.”
Jokic and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the top candidates for this season’s Most Valuable Player award.
We have more on the Nuggets:
- Christian Braun has quietly moved into the conversation for the league’s Most Improved Player award, Bennett Durando of the Denver Post writes. “I would hope that I’m in that mix,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of guys that get a lot of mentions, and they deserve it, too. But I want to be in that mix. I feel like I work hard to be in that mix. And that’s not just an individual award. I think that it shows how good those guys around me are, too.” As Durando points out, Braun posted one 20-point performance in his first two seasons, but has 16 of them this year. He’s averaging 15.2 points (a 7.9 point increase from last season), 5.0 rebounds (up 35%), 2.4 assists (up 50%) and 1.1 steals (up 120%) per game.
- The Clippers and Rockets are the two best matchups among the Nuggets’ potential first-round opponents, Durando opines. The Clippers may not be as equipped to expose Denver’s defensive deficiencies and league-low three-point volume, he notes. The Lakers and Timberwolves would present the most problems for them in the first round, in Durando’s estimation.
- DeAndre Jordan played 38 minutes on Sunday after not getting off the bench in the previous 10 games. He contributed 11 points and 15 rebounds in a five-point win over the Rockets. “DJ is one of the best defensive rebounders. He’s one of our best rim protectors and if we’re getting our butts kicked on the glass, let me put out one of our biggest, strongest guys that has a very impressive 17-year resume,” Malone said (video link). “Special day for Deandre because this is where he’s from, playing in front of a lot of family and friends. Fifteen rebounds, 12 defensive, four assists, a steal — did a lot of really good things for us.” Jordan, 36, was re-signed on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal last summer and will be a free agent again this offseason.
Community Shootaround: Most Improved Player
The Most Improved Player award has – at least according to the oddsmakers – become a two-man race.
On one side is Cade Cunningham, the face of the vastly-improved Pistons. On the other is Dyson Daniels, who has blossomed into a stat-sheet stuffing backcourt partner for Hawks star Trae Young.
Let’s examine their cases.
Cunningham came into Sunday’s action averaging 25.7 points, 9.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 35.2 minutes per game. Last season, when the Pistons won just 14 games, Cunningham averaged 22.7 points, 7.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 32.5 minutes per contest
The only negative would be an increase in turnovers per game this season (4.5) compared to 3.4 last season. That’s due in part to the season-ending leg injury to Jaden Ivey on New Year’s Day, which has put the ball in Cunningham’s hands more often. His usage rate is 34.4%, up from 31.7%.
Cunningham, a first-time All-Star, has benefited from an improved supporting cast. He’s got a better group of veterans around him this season, allowing him to be a more effective play-maker. He’s embraced his leadership role and delivered in the clutch, making game-winners such as his buzzer-beating three-pointer against Miami on Wednesday.
There was little doubt Cunningham could be this kind of player. After all, he was the top pick of the 2021 draft and got a max extension last season. Should those facts work against his candidacy? However, there’s no denying that Cunningham’s steady brilliance has silenced any doubters regarding the franchise’s faith in him after its worst season.
Daniels, a third-year wing, was mainly a second-unit player in his first two seasons with the Pelicans. Included in the blockbuster deal that sent Dejounte Murray to New Orleans, Daniels has seized the opportunity to become a full-time starter.
In 65 starts, Daniels is averaging 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 3.0 steals in 33.9 minutes per game. Last season, Daniels posted 5.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.7 APG, and 1.4 SPG in 22.3 MPG.
He’s the runaway leader in the league in steals per game, making him a dark-horse candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, an award typically dominated by centers and forwards.
Working against Daniels’ candidacy is that he doesn’t have the pressure of being the team’s star like Cunningham. The Hawks also have a losing record, though they still lead the weak Southeast Division. But the No. 8 pick of the 2022 draft has clearly made a name for himself after two nondescript seasons with the Pelicans.
Clippers veteran forward Norman Powell was a prime candidate for the award until an injury derailed his campaign and made him ineligible.
Christian Braun, Evan Mobley and Tyler Herro are some of the other players have been mentioned as candidates.
That brings us to today’s topic: Who’s your selection for the Most Improved Player award – the Pistons’ Cunningham or Hawks’ Daniels? Or is there another player more worthy of that honor?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Hinson, Post, Green
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said on Sunday that he’s hopeful Stephen Curry will rejoin the team at some point during their lengthy road trip, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets.
Curry suffered a pelvic contusion while taking a hard fall on Thursday against Toronto. He missed Saturday’s 124-115 loss in Atlanta and will be reevaluated on Monday.
The Warriors’ road trip will continue with games in Miami on Tuesday, New Orleans on Friday and San Antonio next Sunday. They’ll wrap up the road swing with games in Memphis and Los Angeles against the Lakers.
According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), the expectation is that Curry will join the Warriors in Miami, though his status for Tuesday’s game will depend on how he responds to treatment.
We have more on the Warriors:
- Blake Hinson has thrived with the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA G League, according to Spencer Davies of RG.org. Hinson went undrafted last year and had a two-way contract with the Lakers before being waived in September. The 25-year-old wing then joined the Warriors in training camp on an Exhibit 10 deal and was waived again before joining Santa Cruz in October. Hinson, who is averaging 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, praises the Warriors’ development program. “They’ll sacrifice a little bit of winning to get your player development correct — but they’re not gonna do it for long. I appreciate this program for being lenient with me early, and I’m reaping the benefits of it now,” he said.
- Quinten Post has become an integral part of the rotation and has become a candidate for All-Rookie consideration. Post anticipated he’d spend most of his rookie year in the G League after getting drafted late in the second round last year, he told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “I was focused on winning the G League at that point,” he said. “I was even thinking I hope I stay in the league. I hope the Warriors want to have me stick around. Playing wasn’t even something I was thinking about because I was focused on the G League. That’s crazy how fast it went after that.” He’s averaging 8.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per night.
- Even without Curry, the Warriors were mad at themselves for losing to the Hawks on Saturday, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. “Bad loss. It’s a terrible loss. Eleven games left with everything to play for, you shouldn’t have a loss like this,” Draymond Green said.
Pacers Sign Tony Bradley To Standard Contract
The Pacers have signed Tony Bradley to a standard contract for the remainder of the season, the team announced in a press release.
Bradley had signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the club and the Pacers opted to retain him once the second 10-day expired. He’s seen action in seven games off the bench, averaging 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds in 5.0 minutes per contest.
By adding Bradley, the Pacers now have a full roster as the postseason approaches, as our roster counts show.
The 28th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Bradley spent six years in the NBA from 2017-23, but wasn’t in the league last season and had gone more than two calendar years without playing in a regular season game before making four appearances for the Pacers during his first 10 days with the team.
According to coach Rick Carlisle, Bradley has emerged as the ideal third-string center for the club. “In practices and in simulated stuff in the gym, he’s been terrific,” Carlisle said. “Smart, great hands, defensively has a really good feel for what we’re doing here.”
Bradley is backing up Myles Turner and Thomas Bryant. The former UNC standout has earned just over $300K during his 20 days with the club and will now likely receive a prorated veteran’s minimum deal.