Sixers’ Rivers Expects Maxey To Miss At Least Two More Weeks
When word first broke that Tyrese Maxey had broken a bone in his left foot, reports indicated that he was expected to miss about three or four weeks. However, with the four-week mark arriving on Saturday, the Sixers guard still isn’t close to returning, head coach Doc Rivers said on Thursday.
“Whatever he has to do, he’s nowhere near it,” Rivers said, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “So I would say he’s out at least, I don’t know, for at least a couple more weeks.”
Rivers had previously told reporters that he hoped Maxey would be able to practice this week, but the 22-year-old hasn’t been able to do any real on-court work yet.
“Nothing is the answer,” Rivers said on Thursday when asked what Maxey was able to do. “I mean, he can shoot. He can run a straight line, but that’s it.
“… He can sprint straight; he just can’t cut or he can’t stop. So it may get better in three days or five or six days. But I don’t see that happening. This is an uneducated guess, but I just can’t imagine him playing any time soon.”
Maxey, who has been sidelined since November 18, played in Philadelphia’s first 15 games of the season before missing the last 12. The team has held its own without him, going 7-5 in his absence despite also being without Joel Embiid and/or James Harden for some of those games.
Maxey appeared to be taking another step toward stardom prior to the injury, averaging a career-best 22.9 PPG, 4.4 APG, and 3.5 RPG on .462/.422/.738 shooting in 36.4 minutes per contest.
And-Ones: Award Frontrunners, Possible Tankers, Trade Market
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is the choice for Most Valuable Player one-third of the way through the 2022/23 NBA season, Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews.com argues in an early-season award ballot. Tatum is averaging over 30 points, eight rebounds, and four assists per game with terrific shooting numbers and is a candidate for an All-Defensive spot on the other end of the floor, according to Duncan, who contends that doing all that for the NBA’s best team makes the MVP award Tatum’s to lose.
Duncan also checks in on the NBA’s other award races, selecting Bucks center Brook Lopez as the top candidate for Defensive Player of the Year, Magic forward Paolo Banchero as the early Rookie of the Year frontrunner, and Bucks forward/center Bobby Portis as his Sixth Man of the Year choice, among others.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Which teams should be throwing in the towel on 2022/23 and focusing on next year’s draft? John Hollinger of The Athletic breaks down the potential tankers, ranging from the “pull the plug already” group (the Pistons and Hornets) to the “one injury away” tier, which includes playoff hopefuls like the Heat, Mavericks, and Raptors.
- A panel of SI.com basketball writers – including Howard Beck, Chris Mannix, and Chris Herring – prepared for NBA trade season by identifying a player they expect to be moved, picking an intriguing team to watch, and naming a trade they’d like to see happen this season. Three of the five panelists pointed to a Bradley Beal deal as one they’re hoping for, even if it’s probably unlikely in the first season of his five-year contract with the Wizards.
- Michael Pina of The Ringer poses and explores nine questions related to the trade market, including whether the league-wide parity we’ve seen so far this season will catalyze or stifle negotiations. Like those SI.com writers, Pina would welcome some action on the Beal front, referring to the union between the All-Star guard and the Wizards as “the most frustrating dead-end relationship in the entire NBA.”
Western Notes: Westbrook, Mavs, D. Rose, Barton, Robinson-Earl
Sam Amick of The Athletic is the latest NBA reporter to state that Lakers guard Russell Westbrook appears increasingly unlikely to be traded before this season’s deadline, citing a source with knowledge of the team’s plans. A similar report surfaced earlier in the week.
Based on how Westbrook has performed in a sixth-man role, he has made himself more valuable to the team as an on-court contributor than as a trade piece — Los Angeles would have to attach draft asset to get a team to take on his $47MM+ expiring contract. Most of the recent trade rumors involving the Lakers have revolved around a Patrick Beverley/Kendrick Nunn/draft pick(s) package rather than one that includes Westbrook.
Here are a few more items from around the Western Conference:
- The Mavericks have expressed a “level of interest” in Knicks point guard Derrick Rose, a league source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. However, Bondy suggests Dallas wants to get a longer look at Kemba Walker before deciding whether to address its backcourt on the trade market. Rose, who is earning $14.5MM this season and is out of New York’s rotation, likely doesn’t have much value at this point.
- Before facing his old team in Denver on Wednesday as a member of the Wizards, veteran guard Will Barton reflected on his eight-year tenure with the Nuggets, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscription required). Barton said he enjoyed seeing the club evolve from a lottery team to a contender during his time in Denver. “Just to be a part of that whole foundation, laying the bricks, to see where they are today,” Barton said. “Knowing that I was a part of that is gratifying enough for me.”
- Thunder forward/center Jeremiah Robinson-Earl isn’t expected to return from his right ankle sprain anytime soon. Head coach Mark Daigneault referred to Robinson-Earl as week-to-week rather than day-to-day, according to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, who tweets that Daigneault called the injury an “impressive” sprain.
Pacific Notes: Wiseman, Kuminga, Green, Suns, Lakers
Some league executives believe the Warriors will make one or more of their recent lottery picks available in trade talks this season, says Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. One of those execs told Bulpett that he thinks we could see James Wiseman or Jonathan Kuminga on the trade block, with Golden State seeking another reliable veteran to plug into the team’s rotation.
“(The Warriors) think (the young players) are decent enough talent-wise, but they just don’t think they can put those kids on the floor and execute,” the executive said. “They recognize their talent and their athletic ability; they just don’t have the execution piece.
“And their logic is this: they only have X number of years of Steph Curry‘s elite level of play, and they don’t want to waste any of it. So far those two kids have just not developed in the same way Jordan Poole has, and I would think there’s somebody out there who’ll say, ‘Yeah, I’ll take one of those young guys and see if I can’t, with patience, get them to develop.'”
The exec went on to say that he doesn’t think it would take a star player to pry one of those youngsters away from the Warriors, arguing that the defending champions simply need a solid veteran who can be counted on and is “not going to get in the stars’ way.”
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Warriors forward Draymond Green had an altercation with a fan in Milwaukee on Tuesday and claimed after the game that the fan said “some threatening things to my life,” according to Kendra Andrews of ESPN. The fan was ultimately kicked out of the arena after Green told a referee what happened, but the former Defensive Player of the Year expressed frustration that there aren’t more repercussions for that sort of behavior. “There are no real consequences,” Green said. “Yeah, you can’t come back to the game, or even if you get arrested, nothing really happens … you just hope it gets to a point where these leagues can work with legislators to implement laws, because that’s the only thing that’s really going to correct the issue.”
- Deandre Ayton (left ankle sprain) and Devin Booker (left hamstring tightness) are listed as questionable for the Suns‘ game on Thursday vs. the Clippers, tweets Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com. Booker has missed Phoenix’s last two games, but said on Tuesday that he feels “healthy” and “strong,” per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, so his return appears imminent. The team will be without point guard Cameron Payne, who left Tuesday’s loss due to a right foot sprain, Bourguet adds.
- Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times and Mirjam Swanson of The Southern California News Group argue that the Lakers owe it to LeBron James and Anthony Davis to make a trade to upgrade the team’s supporting cast, given how well the stars are playing and how little help they’ve had.
74 NBA Players Newly Eligible To Be Traded
Today is December 15, which means that – by our count – 74 NBA players who signed as free agents this offseason have officially become eligible to be traded. Approximately 88% of the players currently on NBA rosters are now trade-eligible, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The list of newly trade-eligible players, which can be found right here, features many who almost certainly aren’t going anywhere this season, including Sixers guard James Harden and Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
However, it also includes some players whose names have already popped up in trade speculation in the months since they were signed, such as Mavericks center JaVale McGee and injured Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari.
Twelve of the players on the list can’t be traded without their consent, since they have the ability to veto trades this season. Milwaukee is the only team carrying multiple players who fit that bill — three of the 12 players in that group are members of the Bucks.
Thirteen more newly trade-eligible players are still on non-guaranteed contracts, including multiple members of the Celtics, Nets, Timberwolves, and Kings.
Finally, it’s worth noting that there are still many recently-signed players around the NBA who remain ineligible to be dealt. Some will become trade-eligible on January 15, while others have specific dates to watch.
Of course, while December 15 is considered the unofficial start of the NBA’s trade season, we shouldn’t expect a flurry of deals in the coming days. Typically, teams wait until closer to the trade deadline (February 9) to make their moves, as we discussed over the weekend. The most recent trade to be completed on December 15 occurred in 2010, and there generally aren’t more than one or two deals made between now and the new year.
The league’s recent trade history doesn’t mean we won’t see any trades this month, but if there are more than a couple, it would be an exception to the rule. We should expect more activity in January and February, even as talks start to heat up in December.
LaMelo Ball Returning To Action On Wednesday
5:05pm: Ball will be “active and available” for tonight’s game against the Pistons, the Hornets confirmed (via Twitter)
11:17am: Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game against Detroit and is aiming to return to action, barring a setback during pregame warmups, according to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer.
Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) classifies Ball as “optimistic” about playing on Wednesday, while Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) says the former No. 3 overall pick is “hopeful” to return.
Ball, who missed the first 13 games of the Hornets’ season due to a left ankle sprain, re-injured his ankle in his third game back on November 16. He has been sidelined for 11 more games since then and has now been on the shelf for 24 of 27 total contests during the first third of the season.
The Hornets have struggled mightily without their All-Star available this fall, going 6-18 in the games Ball missed. They won one of the three he played, as the 21-year-old averaged 19.3 points, 7.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 32.7 minutes per night. Charlotte is currently on a five-game losing streak.
The Hornets will host the Pistons tonight and the Hawks on Friday. Assuming Ball returns and makes it through those two games without aggravating his ankle, he should be good to go for the team’s six-game road trip that begins on Sunday in Denver.
Early Check-In On Traded 2023 First-Round Picks
As our list of traded 2023 first-round picks shows, a dozen teams have dealt their first-rounders in next year’s draft (either with protections or without) and another three clubs have surrendered swap rights to their picks. That means more than half of 2023’s first-rounders could theoretically be changing hands, with more potentially on the move as a result of in-season trades.
In actuality, due to protections on several of those traded picks or the fact that certain swap rights won’t be exercised, several of the first-rounders that could change hands won’t do so. It’s still too early to say with certainty which picks will be on the move and which will stay put, but with the NBA season at approximately the one-third mark, we’re starting to get a clearer picture.
Here’s an early look at the traded 2023 first-round picks:
Picks likely to be protected
- Pistons‘ pick (top-18 protected) to Knicks
- Hornets‘ pick (top-16 protected) to Spurs
- Wizards‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Knicks
The Pistons and Hornets currently have the NBA’s two worst records and their picks have the heaviest protections of any traded 2023 first-rounders. In other words, it’s a pretty safe bet neither will go anywhere.
Assuming those picks fall in their protected range as expected, the Pistons will owe the Knicks their 2024 first-rounder with top-18 protection, while the Hornets will owe the Spurs their 2024 first-rounder with top-14 protection.
The Wizards‘ recent losing streak, meanwhile, has dropped them down to the NBA’s sixth-worst record. They’ll keep their first-rounder if they don’t make the playoffs, and it looks like earning a postseason berth will be an uphill battle at this point. If they keep their 2023 first-round pick, the Wizards will owe the Knicks their 2024 first-rounder with top-12 protection.
It’s also worth mentioning in this section that the Rockets have the ability to swap first-round picks with the Nets, while the Thunder have the right to swap first-round picks with the Clippers. However, neither of those swap rights appears likely to be exercised based on how those four teams have performed this season.
The most intriguing picks that could change hands
- Lakers‘ pick (unprotected) to Pelicans via swap rights
- Bulls‘ pick (top-4 protected) to Magic
- Timberwolves‘ pick (unprotected) to Jazz
- Mavericks‘ pick (top-10 protected) to Knicks
The Pelicans‘ ability to swap first-rounders with the Lakers doesn’t look quite as valuable today as it did at the start of the season when L.A. was off to a 2-10 start and at the bottom of the NBA’s standings, but there’s still a very real chance that pick will be in the lottery.
If the season ended today, the Lakers would be tied for seventh in the lottery standings, while the Pelicans would have either the No. 27 or No. 28 overall pick, resulting in a tantalizing swap for New Orleans. For what it’s worth, the Pelicans had the seventh-best lottery odds in 2019 when they won the No. 1 overall pick that was eventually used on Zion Williamson.
The Bulls, meanwhile, currently have the NBA’s ninth-worst record and could end up sending a second lottery pick to the Magic as a result of the Nikola Vucevic trade from two seasons ago. The first lottery pick Orlando received as part of that deal became Franz Wagner in 2021.
It seems safe to assume that the Timberwolves and Mavericks are better than they’ve played so far, but if the season ended today, Minnesota would be on the outside of the play-in picture in the West, while Dallas would have to win two play-in games to even make the postseason. It’s not inconceivable that one or both of those traded first-rounders could end up in the lottery if the second half doesn’t go well for the Wolves and Mavs. That would be good news for the Jazz and Knicks.
Later first-round picks likely to change hands
- Trail Blazers‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Bulls.
- Sixers‘ and Nets‘ picks (unprotected) to Nets and Jazz.
- Cavaliers‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Pacers.
- Nuggets‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Hornets.
- Bucks‘ pick (unprotected) to Rockets.
- Celtics‘ pick (top-12 protected) to Pacers.
If the season ended today, none of these picks would land in the top 20, with the Trail Blazers‘ and Sixers‘ first-rounders tied for No. 21 and No. 22. The Nets‘, Cavaliers‘, and Nuggets‘ picks would be 24th through 26th, respectively, while the Bucks‘ and Celtics‘ selections would be the last two in the first round.
That outlook could change, of course. Portland, for instance, is hardly considered a juggernaut and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Blazers ultimately had to go through the play-in tournament to even earn a playoff spot. But with fairly heavy protections on their traded first-rounder, there’s no chance they’ll surrender a lottery pick to the Bulls in 2023.
One point of clarification here is that the Nets will have their choice of swapping their own pick for the Sixers’ selection, with the Jazz receiving the less valuable of the two first-rounders. If the season ended today, that means Brooklyn would move up to Philadelphia’s spot in the draft (No. 21 or 22), with Utah getting the Nets’ pick at No. 24.
Trade Rumors: Sixers, Bogdanovic, Quickley, Bamba
Every trade deadline features at least a small handful of deals that are exclusively about money rather than players, and this season’s deadline likely won’t be any different, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. Pincus suggests the Sixers are one team worth keeping a close eye on for a possible financially motivated trade.
Philadelphia is just barely over the luxury tax line, so moving a player like Jaden Springer or Shake Milton to sneak under that threshold would save a ton of money for the team. Not only would the Sixers avoid paying a small tax bill in that scenario — they’d also be one of the non-taxpayers that receives a portion of the league-wide tax payments at season’s end. Pincus has estimated that each non-taxpayer will get a share of about $17MM, based on the current tax projections.
Here are a few more highlights from Pincus’ latest look at the trade market:
- Although the Pistons‘ front office has downplayed the likelihood of a Bojan Bogdanovic trade, Pincus hears from “well-placed” sources that Detroit may simply be waiting for an offer with a “suitable” first-round pick. Presumably, a suitable first-rounder would be one that doesn’t include heavy protections and has a chance to land in the teens or higher.
- While there has been no indication they’re pursuing him, some rival executives think the Mavericks should be targeting Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley, Pincus writes.
- Pincus identifies Magic center Mohamed Bamba as a possible trade candidate to watch, since his role has declined due to Paolo Banchero‘s arrival and Bol Bol‘s emergence. Bamba’s 2023/24 salary is non-guaranteed, so his two-year, $20.6MM contract is relatively team-friendly.
- The three-team trade talks the Suns had with the Bucks and Rockets about a possible Jae Crowder trade expanded to include the Warriors, who are among the teams with interest in Crowder, says Pincus. However, nothing came of those discussions.
Atlantic Notes: Randle, Tatum, Brown, O’Neale, Maxey
After being hit with 12 technical fouls and $130K in fines last season, Knicks forward Julius Randle came into 2022/23 hoping to keep his temper in check and to not be at odds with the referees nearly as often, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
Randle, who made a bet with a member of the Knicks organization that he wouldn’t get more than three technical fouls this season, received a pair on Sunday to push his season total to four. He referred to Sunday’s game as a “relapse” and said it was “selfish” of him to get those two techs that resulted in his ejection.
“Hopefully, that last one gets rescinded,” Randle said, per Bondy. “… I’m really trying my best. Sometimes my emotions get the best of me. But that’s just kind of what comes with it.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown spoke to Sam Amick and Jared Weiss of The Athletic about the heartbreak of losing the NBA Finals, the Ime Udoka controversy, and a handful of other topics. Tatum described the Udoka situation as “extremely frustrating,” noting that there’s still a lot that the team hasn’t explained, presumably for legal reasons.
- After missing Brooklyn’s last two games for personal reasons, forward Royce O’Neale is expected to return for Friday’s game in Toronto, a source tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post. As Lewis observes, with O’Neale back, the Nets will be as healthy as they’ve been all season, putting them in position to build some chemistry and perhaps extend their four-game winning streak.
- Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said on Tuesday that he hopes Tyrese Maxey is able to practice with the club later this week, though it’s not trending that way for now, tweets Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com. Maxey, recovering from a left foot fracture, has been doing some running and shooting, but hasn’t yet been able to fully practice.
NBA, NBPA Move CBA Opt-Out Deadline To February 8
The NBA’s Board of Governors has formally approved an extension to the deadline to opt out of the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Confirming Charania’s report, the league announced today in a press release that the deadline for either the NBA or the National Basketball Players Association to opt out of the CBA is now February 8, 2023, a day before the trade deadline. That opt-out deadline had previously been this Thursday (December 15), but a report last week indicated the two sides had agreed to push it back.
The current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which went into effect in 2017, runs through the 2023/24 season. However, the league and the players’ union hold a mutual option to terminate that agreement at the end of the ’22/23 league year (June 30).
Extending the opt-out deadline gives the league and the union more time to come to terms on a new agreement that would cover the next few seasons. Reporting last week indicated that the NBA and NBPA would be willing to extend the opt-out deadline beyond February 8 if they haven’t yet finalized terms and ratified the new CBA by then.
There has been a widespread expectation that the two sides will be able to work out a new agreement without any sort of work stoppage, though the NBA has reportedly been pushing harder this time around for the implementation of an “upper spending limit,” which would function like a hard cap and replace the current luxury tax system. The players’ side has been adamantly opposed to the idea, so the two sides will have to reach some sort of compromise on that issue.