Dwayne Wade “Knew” LeBron’s Goal Was L.A.
When Dwyane Wade signed with the Cavaliers before the beginning to the 2017/18 season, he wasn’t expecting his eventual trade back to the Heat. But, he also didn’t think he’d spend any more than one season in Cleveland, primarily because he didn’t think his best friend LeBron James would be in Cleveland for the 2018/19 season either, reports Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
“LeBron, first of all, he’s a guy who always plays his cards close to the vest, but I knew his ultimate goal was to be in Los Angeles,” Wade told Vardon. “He recruited me and he talked to me about signing there (Cleveland), and I said, ‘Listen, I know you might not be there long, you’re gonna be a free agent and there are some things that might happen, and we’ll have a conversation.’ I just thought I’d make it through the season first.”
Per Vardon, part of the reason why Wade knew LeBron was going to leave for the Lakers was because of his own free agency-related history with James, who left Miami for Cleveland in 2014 without telling Wade after Wade had already opted out of his own contract with the Heat. Wade ultimately came to the conclusion that LeBron would leave for L.A. the day after Wade was traded to Miami last season.
“It wasn’t like he came out said ‘Oh, you’re traded, I’m going to the Lakers,’ but like I said I knew where his heart was and what he was thinking big picture.”
Hoops Rumors Originals: 12/22/18 – 12/29/18
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Below are the original segments and features from the past seven days:
- In a special Fantasy Hoops post, Chris Crouse took a look at some helpful stats for this season’s Christmas Day games.
- In this week’s Community Shootaround posts, we asked:
- Which of the Christmas Day games were you most interested in watching?
- What were your thoughts of the Christmas Day games, match-ups, results, etc. after the fact?
- Our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry features an in-depth look at trade kickers and how they operate under the CBA.
- In this week’s lone poll, we asked: Who should be considered the most serious threat to Giannis Antetokounmpo in this season’s MVP race?
- Our Free Agent Stock Watch series highlighted the Southeast Division.
Five Key Stories: 12/15/18 – 12/22/18
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Below are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
In one of the more interesting stories of the week, general managers of smaller-market teams are “privately expressing outrage” over what they perceive as the NBA’s unwillingness to enforce its own tampering rules after Lakers’ star forward LeBron James said this week that it would be “amazing” to team up with Pelicans’ forward Anthony Davis in Los Angeles. Earlier in the week, it was already reported that the Lakers refused to break up their young core to acquire Trevor Ariza from the Suns because they’re saving their assets for a run at Davis. The NBA confirmed that James’ comments were not tampering.
The Suns waived veteran point guard Austin Rivers after it was determined between him and the team that Rivers probably fits better on an older team contending for the postseason. In 29 games this season, Rivers is averaging 7.2 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 2.0 APG. Those totals are down from the previous two seasons, but Rivers still has significant postseason experience and could be a helpful piece to a team that needs scoring off the bench. After initially being thought to be signing with the Grizzlies, there are now four or five teams expressing interest in Rivers.
The Wizards have signed guard Ron Baker to a new contract and waived forward Okaro White in a corresponding move. After trading away Rivers and Kelly Oubre to the Suns, the Wizards really needed a guard more than a forward/big man, so it makes sense that Baker would replace White. That said, the Wizards only have 14 players on standard contracts, so they could have kept White and signed Baker. They apparently chose not to do so for luxury tax reasons.
While not necessarily noteworthy stories on their own, the following injuries and transactions shaped a lot of the news cycle this week.
Injuries
- Bulls’ guard Zach LaVine is expected to miss two to four weeks with a sprained left ankle, but surgery is not expected.
- Heat guard Goran Dragic underwent surgery to clean up his right knee and is expected to be out until after the All-Star break.
- Celtics’ center Aron Baynes suffered a broken left hand and will be out indefinitely after he undergoes surgery.
- Rockets’ point guard Chris Paul injured his left hamstring and will miss at least two weeks of action.
- Kristaps Porzingis is making good progress in his rehabilitation and will be re-evaluated in mid-February.
Transactions
- The Rockets waived seldom-used big man Zhou Qi.
- The Wizards signed point guard Chasson Randle to a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract.
- The Bulls will sign shooting guard Brandon Sampson to a two-way deal and waive Tyler Ulis.
- The Nuggets signed rookie guard Brandon Goodwin to a two-way contract.
Here are 11 more notable NBA headlines from the last week:
- While things are going well for Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, hometown Los Angeles is still his focus.
- Both the Jazz and Knicks are said to have interest in Bulls’ trade candidate forward Jabari Parker.
- Knicks’ owner James Dolan won’t entirely rule out the possibility of selling the team.
- The Thunder picked up the fifth-year option on the contract of head coach Billy Donovan.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the Rockets‘ top trade target as they look for wing help. The Rockets have been offering guard Brandon Knight and a first-round pick in potential packages for a wing.
- The Nets are hinting in talks with other teams that they might be buyers at the trade deadline.
- Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo is not looking to join forces with other stars.
- The Pelicans will also be buyers at the trade deadline, and they have a certain type of player in mind.
- For the first time ever, the NBA will play games in India during the 2019 preseason.
- The Warriors are still prepared to match any offer sheet that restricted free agent Patrick McCaw signs.
- The NBA has granted the Bucks salary-cap relief on Mirza Teletovic’s contract due to his career-ending injury.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 12/15/18 – 12/22/18
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Below are the original segments and features from the past seven days:
- In this week’s Community Shootaround posts, we asked:
- Who is the second-best team in the Western Conference?
- Does Brandon Ingram have a long-term future with the Lakers?
- Should the league do more to protect small-market franchises from tampering or interference with their star players?
- Clark Crum analyzed the financial impact of the Suns/Wizards trade that saw Trevor Ariza land back in the nation’s capital.
- As December 15 came and went, Luke Adams broke down the players who still face trade restrictions.
- Luke Adams took a look at the latest roster moves by the Suns and Wizards following the aforementioned trade.
- In this week’s one poll, we asked: Which three teams will join the Raptors, Bucks, Pacers, Sixers, and Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoffs?
- Our Hoops Rumors Glossary entry features an analysis of the difference between the designated rookie rule and the 5th year, 30% max criteria.
- Chris Crouse analyzes two swingmen – the Wolves’ Robert Covington and the aforementioned Ariza, in his weekly Fantasy Hoops post.
- Luke Adams breaks down the NBA teams with open roster spots and updates our 2018/19 NBA Reverse Standings.
- Our Trade Candidate Watch series focused on the Southeast Division.
- Our Free Agent Stock Watch series highlighted the Central Division.
Celtics Hold Team Meeting After Blowout Loss To Bucks
After getting beat badly at home last night by the Bucks, trailing at one point by as many as 26 points, the Celtics held a private team meeting in their locker room to clear the air after three straight losses, reports Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Per Bontemps, the biggest criticism of the team’s recent play, and the reason for the meeting, was a feeling from star point guard Kyrie Irving that the team lacked cohesiveness and that certain players were playing selfish over the last few games.
“At this point it comes down to cohesion, being able to trust the pass, trust what we have going on out there,” Irving said. “Obviously some selfish play out there where … we have some really talented guys, but we’re better as a team sharing the basketball… I get caught up in that as well. For me it’s a hard challenge, because there’s a balance I have. I literally can do anything I want out there, but at the same time it’s what can I do for my teammates to be more successful. I have to be very conscious of that.”
The Celtics’ poor performance probably could have been attributed to player absence. Forward Marcus Morris and big men Al Horford and Aron Baynes are all out with injury. But, the team apparently will not use that as an excuse, as the meeting reflects.
Irving didn’t name names, but based on his comments and a quick hook from head coach Brad Stevens after a couple poor sequences in Friday’s loss, at least some of the blame appears to be going towards young forward Jayson Tatum, a breakout star during last season’s playoff run who appears to be going through somewhat of a sophomore slump at this point.
When asked whether he had an answer for the team’s struggles, Tatum did not, but he ultimately thinks everything will be “all right.” The Celtics take the floor again tomorrow night against the Hornets, where the team will look to regroup after last night’s loss.
Wizards Sign Ron Baker, Waive Okaro White
DECEMBER 21: The Wizards have officially signed Baker and waived White, the team announced today in a press release.
DECEMBER 19: The Wizards have agreed to sign Ron Baker to a new contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. In a related, albeit unnecessary move, Wojnarowski adds that Washington will waive forward Okaro White. Marc Berman of the New York Post adds that the Nuggets also had interest in Baker before he agreed to terms with the Wizards.
As it currently stands, the Wizards only have 14 players on their roster with standard NBA contracts, so they could have kept White and signed Baker. However, as we’ve noted on several previous occasions, Washington is extremely cognizant of their looming luxury tax bill, so it’s not surprising that they will waive White, the only player on the roster with a non-guaranteed contract, and keep their roster at 14.
Assuming that White is waived/Baker signs for the veteran’s minimum tomorrow (all that Washington can offer), and that White is not picked up off waivers, the Wizards will incur a cap hit of just over $957K for Baker and just under $248K for White, totaling approximately $1.2MM. The cap hit for White, had he remained on the roster past January 10, was for $1.19MM, so the ultimate tax difference is negligible.
Accordingly, the move likely comes down to roster fit and team need, and as Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports notes, the Wizards really need a guard more than a forward/big man right now, as further indicated by yesterday’s signing of point guard Chasson Randle and the surprisingly positive play from Sam Dekker.
Baker, 25, was recently waived by the Knicks to make room for the signing of former two-way standout Allonzo Trier. In his three NBA seasons with New York, Baker averaged only 3.3 points and 1.8 assists per game, but had become a fan favorite with his work ethic and hard-nosed play.
Meanwhile, White, 26, signed with the Wizards about a month into the 2018/19 season after spending the last couple of seasons in Miami. For his career, he’s averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per contest.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Aron Baynes Out Indefinitely With Broken Hand
As first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Celtics’ center Aron Baynes suffered a broken left hand in the first quarter of tonight’s game against the Suns and will undergo surgery.
The team has since confirmed the report, adding that the big man has been diagnosed with a left fourth metacarpal fracture and is out indefinitely.
While no timetable for his return has been set, Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports opines, based upon secondhand knowledge, that surgery will probably go forward tomorrow (depending on level of swelling) and Baynes should be reevaluated in about a month.
With the Celtics already facing an injury for starting big man Al Horford, who remains out with patellofemoral pain syndrome in his left knee, rookie big man Robert Williams will likely be looked upon to step up and play more minutes. Daniel Theis should see more playing time as well.
The Celtics also have an open two-way roster spot that they could use to sign someone with size and/or an interior presence, but there haven’t been any rumors of an imminent signing thus far.
New York Notes: Hardaway, Russell, Lin, Mudiay
After a strong start to the 2018/19 season, Knicks’ guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has seen his game go a little stagnant over the last month or so. And according to Stefan Bondy of the Daily News, we now know why, as it has been reported that Hardaway is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot and will have to manage the pain moving forward this season.
As Bondy notes, Hardaway missed the Knicks’ loss against the Suns on Monday to ease some inflammation he was having, but he returned tonight to score 27 points against the Sixers, albeit in a losing effort.
As numerous previous injuries have demonstrated, playing on plantar fasciitis prolongs the recovery because the only cure is rest. Knicks’ head coach David Fizdale says that Hardaway has been coping with the pain “for a while,” but Hardaway says the pain only began a few games ago, so it’s difficult to know when the pain actually started.
“I’ve never had (plantar fasciitis) before, just heard a lot of things about it, that if you keep playing on it, it could get worse,” Hardaway told Bondy. “So around this time last year (with the Knicks) I had an injury and I was out a month-and-a-half. Almost two months. So I just want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Hardaway’s status and pain tolerance will be something to keep an eye on as the Knicks’ season moves forward.
There’s more out of the Big Apple:
- Nets’ point guard D’Angelo Russell is beginning to look like a player who was taken with the No. 2 overall selection in the NBA Draft, and his teammates and others within the organization are starting to take notice, per NetsDaily. Russell is embracing Brooklyn and becoming a team-first player as he looks to become a leader and cash in on a big payday this summer.
- In a piece written by Brian Lewis of the New York Post, former Nets’ and current Hawks’ guard Jeremy Lin opens up about the pain he felt when he was traded to Atlanta from Brooklyn. Speaking on his meeting with head coach Kenny Atkinson after learning of the trade, Lin said he was hurt and that the trade was unexpected, but that he ultimately understood it was a business decision and he’s grateful for the time he spent in Brooklyn.
- Since being promoted to the starting lineup about a month ago, Knicks’ point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has been a bright spot for an otherwise underwhelming team, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. Mudiay has done a good job of improving his conditioning, but his defense is still a work in process. If he continues to get better this season, however, the Knicks could very well look at bringing him back next season and beyond.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 12/19/18
Below are today’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Jazz have assigned rookie guard Grayson Allen and big man Tony Bradley to the Salt Lake City Stars, Utah’s G League affiliate, per a press release from the team. Allen has averaged 16.8 PPG in four G League contests this season, while Bradley has posted 14.8 PPG in 12 contests with the Stars.
- The Kings have assigned rookie big man Harry Giles to their G League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, per an official media release from the team. In his lone G League appearance earlier this season, Giles poured in 30 points on 62% shooting.
- The Grizzlies have assigned big man Ivan Rabb to the Memphis Hustle, the team’s G League affiliate, per a tweet from the the team’s communications department. Rabb, who was recently named the G League player of the week, has averaged 24.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game for the Hustle so far this season.
- The Bucks have assigned rookie guard Donte DiVincenzo to their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, in anticipation of the Herd’s game against the Memphis Hustle tomorrow night. It will be DiVincenzo’s G League debut, per a tweet from the Bucks’ official Twitter account.
- The Rockets recalled rookie big man Isaiah Hartenstein from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team’s G League affiliate, in time for tonight’s game against the Wizards, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Hartenstein, 20, has averaged 2.1 PPG in 21 contests during his rookie season.
Pelicans Have Trade Targets In Mind
As we relayed just last week, the Pelicans are among a handful of teams who have been active prospective buyers on the trade market so far this season. Additional details have emerged from Jordan Brenner of the Athletic, who notes that the Pels are primarily interested in obtaining a long, defensive-oriented swingman/small forward before the trade deadline.
Some of the names that Brenner hears as potential targets in New Orleans from conversations with team executives, scouts and an assistant coach are the Pistons’ Stanley Johnson, Bulls’ swingman Justin Holiday, Hawks’ swingman Kent Bazemore, Nets’ veteran DeMarre Carroll, and even J.R. Smith – players who can knock down open threes and use their length on defense. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders also adds Lakers’ trade candidate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to that list.
And while none of these players may push the Pelicans to the next echelon of NBA teams, a trade for one of them would at least represent progress as the front office stares into the possibility of losing Anthony Davis to free agency or a trade demand if they do nothing.
Right now, the Pelicans have E’Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill playing the 3, but while Moore is vastly undervalued and on a team-friendly contract, he’s only 6’4” and not a viable small forward defensively. As Brenner notes, New Orleans has acknowledged as much by moving Moore to the bench and giving Hill another run in the starting lineup. But Hill has not shown he’s a capable piece moving forward either.
Unfortunately for the Pelicans, they have few assets to offer in any trade. Hill’s contract runs through 2020, Wesley Johnson and Darius Miller are on expiring deals but are only making $6.1MM and $2.2MM, respectively, and young assets like Cheick Diallo and Frank Jackson haven’t shown enough promise to net a real return.