D’Angelo Russell’s Trade Market Was Not Robust
With over a year of speculation that D’Angelo Russell would end up on the Timberwolves, he is finally there. The team gave up a lightly protected first-rounder, in addition to a second-round selection and Andrew Wiggins in exchange for the former No. 2 overall pick.
Outside of Minnesota, the market for Russell wasn’t robust, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN (podcast). The Knicks were rumored to have interest in the guard, but New York was the only other team with an offer for Golden State, per Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
While it seemed like a deal wouldn’t happen because the two sides were far apart in value, the Wolves did not relent. The franchise remained determined to acquire Russell and continued to look for ways to do so, even speaking with other teams about taking on Wiggins, as I recently reported. In the end, the Warriors were happy to take on Wiggins and the picks for a player whose skillset overlapped with their star point guard, Stephen Curry.
Russell joined the Warriors via the Kevin Durant sign-and-trade over the summer. The franchise surrendered their 2020 first-round pick (protected 1-20) to Brooklyn to accommodate the sign-and-trade. Since it won’t convey this year, that pick will turn into a 2025 second-rounder.
LeBron, Giannis Draft Their All-Star Teams
Thursday night’s NBA All-Star draft has concluded, with captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo making their selections.
James surprised no one by taking Anthony Davis No. 1 overall. Giannis followed that up by selecting Joel Embiid. The two stars went back-and-forth selecting from the pool of starters with the Lakers’ star picking all of the Western Conference players that were voted in and the reigning MVP picking all of the Eastern Conference players.
In the second round, Team Giannis’ first pick was teammate Khris Middleton. LBJ’s first selection of this group was Damian Lillard, who will reportedly put on a rap performance during All-Star weekend.
Up until the selection of Ben Simmons, both Antetokounmpo and James had stayed within their respective conferences with their picks. After it was all said and done, each side will only have three players from the opposing conference. Here’s a full recap:
Team Giannis
- 2: Joel Embiid
- 4: Pascal Siakam
- 6: Kemba Walker
- 8: Trae Young
- 9: Khris Middleton
- 11: Bam Adebayo
- 13: Rudy Gobert
- 15: Jimmy Butler
- 17: Kyle Lowry
- 19: Brandon Ingram
- 21: Donovan Mitchell
Team LeBron
- 1: Anthony Davis
- 3: Kawhi Leonard
- 5: Luka Doncic
- 7: James Harden
- 10: Damian Lillard
- 12: Ben Simmons
- 14: Nikola Jokic
- 16: Jayson Tatum
- 18: Chris Paul
- 20: Russell Westbrook
- 22: Domantas Sabonis
Mavericks Attempted To Acquire Danny Green
As the trade deadline approached, it seemed Marcus Morris was heading to Los Angeles one way or another; it was just a matter of if it was going to be the Lakers or the Clippers. It ended up being the latter in a deal that saw Maurice Harkless and a 2020 first-round pick, among other pieces, head to New York.
[RELATED: Clippers to acquire Marcus Morris in three-team trade]
Had the Lakers found success with obtaining Morris, the Mavericks would have attempted to take Danny Green off their hands, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter links).
As Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets, New York was looking to acquire both Kyle Kuzma and Green in talks with the Lakers, who would have had to salary-match Morris’ $15M contract. The Knicks would’ve then flipped Green to Dallas. However, the Lakers were unwilling to part with both Kuzma and Green.
Dallas pursued Green over the summer. The shooting guard decided to sign with the Lakers over Mark Cuban‘s squad. He’s making $14.6M this season and will take home $15.4M next year.
To trade for Green, the Mavericks would have had to give up Courtney Lee‘s expiring contract and Golden State’s 2020 second-round draft pick, a source tells Townsend (Twitter link). That pick currently projects to be 31st overall.
Grizzlies Don’t Intend To Retain Dion Waiters
The Grizzlies will receive Dion Waiters in the three-way trade with the Heat, though they do not plan on keeping the guard. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), a buyout agreement or outright release is “on the horizon” for Waiters.
The former No. 4 overall pick had issues with the Heat prior to the trade. He’s been suspended three times this season, including one for conduct detrimental to the team and one for rules violations. Even when he was available, he wasn’t part of the team’s rotation, appearing in just 42 total minutes over three games.
Waiters is on a fully guaranteed contract worth $12.1MM this season and $12.65MM in 2020/21, so the Grizzlies will have to take on a sizable chunk of dead money to move on from him. His ’20/21 cap hit could be stretched across three seasons, but Memphis probably prefers to keep it limited to one year.
Justise Winslow is the lone Heat player in the trade who will actually play for Memphis. The franchise re-directed James Johnson to Minnesota, picking up Gorgui Dieng before the deadine.
Celtics Made Strong Offer For Davis Bertans
The Celtics made several strong offers to the Wizards for Davis Bertans, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. However, general manager Tommy Sheppard & Co. weren’t convinced to make a deal.
As we previously reported, the Wizards intend to keep Bertans long-term. Washington would like to re-sign the stretch four, who they believe will add spacing to the John Wall–Bradley Beal duo on the court.
There were reports that the Wizards wanted two first-round picks if they were to part with Bertans, who will be a free agent after the season. Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter link) hears that two first-round picks may not have even been enough to pry the forward from Washington. Boston was uninterested in paying that price tag anyway, the scribe adds.
Bertans has spoken openly about how he likes the Wizards’ organization. The feeling is mutual and it would be shocking if he plays anywhere other than Washington next season.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/4/20
Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Wizards have assigned and recalled Isaac Bonga, per the team’s Twitter feed. The team has also sent Anzejs Pasecniks to the Capital City Go-Go.
- The Thunder have assigned Deonte Burton and Isaiah Roby to the Oklahoma City Blue, per the team’s website. Burton has appeared in eight G League games while Roby – recently acquired from Dallas – has yet to play for the Blue.
- The Heat have recalled KZ Okpala, per the team’s Twitter feed. Okpala was the team’s second-round pick in the 2019 NBA draft.
- The Wolves have recalled Jaylen Nowell from the Iowa Wolves, according to the team’s website. Nowell was the No. 43 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
Trade Rumors: Bembry, Ojeleye, Celtics, Bertans
Hawks swingman DeAndre’ Bembry, who is dealing with a hand injury, could be moved before the deadline, per a source. The Timberwolves are among the teams with eyes on the wing, though interest around the league isn’t expected to be strong.
It’s possible that Bembry is included in a potential multi-team D’Angelo Russell trade. Bembry starred at St. Joe’s before being selected with the No. 21 overall pick. Through three-plus seasons on the Hawks, the New Jersey native hasn’t taken flight.
Here’s more from around the league:
- At least one team has an interest in trading for Celtics forward Semi Ojeleye, provided the price tag isn’t significant at all, a source tells Hoops Rumors. The 25-year-old has played in 47 games for Boston this season.
- All signs point to a quiet deadline for the Celtics, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “It feels like it’s kind of dead right now,” one league source told the Boston writer. Himmelsbach also noted that Houston was the party to initiate the Clint Capela talks, adding that it now appears those talks aren’t going anywhere because of the Rockets‘ high asking price.
- As we passed along last month, the Wizards love Davis Bertans and see him as a long-term piece. Not much has changed, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post, the team plans on keeping the 27-year-old power forward and wants to re-sign him this offseason.
- The Celtics remain interested in Bertans, per Himmelsbach. Chris Mannix of SI.com shared similar intel earlier today, writing that Boston’s interest in Bertans is “strong.” However, according to Himmelsbach, the C’s appears resigned to the fact that they’re not getting the power forward.
Warriors Notes: Trades, Russell, Looney
Draymond Green admits that the vibe in the locker room in Golden State is different this year because of the trade deadline. There’s a bit of angst among the Warriors‘ players, as he told Hoops Rumors and other media members recently.
“It’s not something that we focus on but we’re all realistic,” Green said. “We understand this business and what could possibly happen.”
D’Angelo Russell, who is being pursued by the Timberwolves, and Alec Burks, who has drawn interest from the Mavericks, are among the Warriors who could be dealt prior to the trade deadline. Here’s more from Golden State:
- Russell hears the trade chatter and isn’t letting it faze him, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic relays. “It bothered me when we were further away from [the deadline],” Russell said. “But when we’re closer to it really happening, I’m numb to it. I’m just expecting a phone call. Let me know. … I’m just ready for whatever happens.”
- The Warriors turned down a Kevin Knox-based package for Russell from the Knicks, according to Brandon Robinson of Heavy.com (Twitter link). Golden State would have wanted Mitchell Robinson and a future unprotected first-rounder for the former All-Star.
- Kevon Looney, who returned to the court on the Warriors’ current road trip, says he just wants to “get back to feeling like an athlete again” after an injury-plagued season, as Slater relays in a separate piece. While he could be traded before Thursday, Looney hopes to be part of Golden State’s future and prove that he’s worth the three-year, $15MM contract that he inked during the offseason. “You get paid and you want to prove your worth,” Looney said. “You want to show the team they made a smart investment in you.”
NBA Announces 3-Point, Slam Dunk, Skills Challenge Participants
Names have been gradually trickling out, but we now have all the participants for the league’s 3-point, slam dunk, and skills challenge contests, which will take place during All-Star weekend in Chicago later this month.
The three-point contest will contain a new wrinkle. There will be a pair of extra shots, with one location at the top of the key to the left and one to the right, as shown in this diagram. Those two basketballs, which will be green, will be worth three points apiece.
The following players will complete in this new format, according to the league’s press release:
- Davis Bertans, Wizards
- Devonte’ Graham, Hornets
- Joe Harris, Nets
- Buddy Hield, Kings
- Zach LaVine, Bulls
- Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
- Duncan Robinson, Heat
- Trae Young, Hawks
Here are the participants for the Slam Dunk Contest (press release):
- Pat Connaughton, Bucks
- Aaron Gordon, Magic
- Dwight Howard, Lakers
- Derrick Jones Jr., Heat
Here are the participants for the NBA’s Skills Challenge (press release):
- Bam Adebayo, Heat
- Patrick Beverley, Clippers
- Spencer Dinwiddie, Nets
- Khris Middleton, Bucks
- Derrick Rose, Pistons
- Domantas Sabonis, Pacers
- Pascal Siakam, Raptors
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics
Darren Collison Prefers Lakers, Clippers If He Returns
Darren Collison is expected to make a decision on his professional future after the All-Star game, a source tell Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
It was recently reported that Collison, who abruptly retired last offseason, was considering a return to the league. Deveney reports that the point guard will weigh all options later in the month. He doesn’t want to leave the Southern California area, meaning the Lakers or Clippers would be his preference.
The Clippers’ wish list includes a defensive-minded wing and a point guard, per Deveney, though the team is likely to wait on the point guard until the buyout market emerges. The Lakers have been using LeBron James as their point with much success, yet they could use an additional ball-handler.
The Nuggets and Sixers also have interest in Collison should he be willing to move away from the area, Shams Charania told Alex Kennedy on The HoopsHype podcast. Behind Ben Simmons, the Sixers have Raul Neto and Trey Burke, who isn’t getting much playing time. The Nuggets are without starting point guard Jamal Murray at the moment. They have Monte Morris and PJ Dozier manning the point guard spot.