Central Notes: Theis, Wade, Pistons, Bucks
Pacers center Daniel Theis hopes to make his 2022/23 season debut this coming week, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (subscription required). Acquired from Boston over the summer, Theis was dealing with recurring right knee soreness entering the season and underwent surgery in November to address the issue.
Although Theis seems unlikely to be part of the Pacers’ long-term plans, he has another guaranteed season on his contract beyond this one, so it would be a challenge for Indiana to extract much – if any – value for him at the February 9 trade deadline.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade is getting an opportunity to show whether he can help solve the team’s issues on the wing, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who notes that Wade’s minutes restriction following his return from a shoulder injury has been lifted. Fedor explores what it means for the rest of Cleveland’s rotation if Wade is getting regular playing time and whether there might be an odd man out.
- It has been an up-and-down week for the Pistons. While Detroit’s impressive road win in Brooklyn on Thursday served as a reminder that the team’s future is worth believing in, per James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, Saturday’s home loss to Houston was the worst of the season and signaled that a trade deadline deal should be welcomed, Edwards contends in another story for The Athletic.
- Eric Nehm of The Athletic evaluates a series of reader-proposed trades for the Bucks. Nehm considers hypothetical deals involving Cam Reddish, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Josh Hart, among others, but concludes that none of them quite work, with either Milwaukee or its proposed trade partner likely to say no.
Antetokounmpo, James Head All-Star Starters; Embiid Falls Short
Lakers forward LeBron James tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday with his 19th NBA All-Star selection. James, who currently shares the record with Abdul-Jabbar for most All-Star Games played with 18, was chosen as a starter, according to a league press release.
All of the starters were revealed on Thursday night.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic were the other starters chosen out of the Western Conference. James will serve as a team captain for the sixth straight year, since he received the most votes.
Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, named a team captain for the third time, heads the list of starters out of the Eastern Conference. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Nets forward Kevin Durant, Nets guard Kyrie Irving, and Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell will join him, but the league’s second-leading scorer, Sixers center Joel Embiid (33.4 PPG), didn’t garner enough votes.
The starters are selected by a weighted voting process with the fan vote accounting for half of the final outcome. The player and media portions of the vote each counted for 25 percent. Three frontcourt players and two guards were selected from each conference.
Embiid finished third in the player and media voting among Eastern Conference frontcourt players but fourth in the fan voting. All voting results can be found here.
The game will be played Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City. James and Antetokounmpo will choose their teams shortly before the game begins. James will set the league record for most All-Star appearances if he plays, since Abdul-Jabbar did not play in the 1973 game after being chosen.
The reserves, which are chosen by the league’s coaches, will be announced Feb. 2.
Community Shootaround: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers expected to be competitive in 2022/23 after trading for Donovan Mitchell, who is having a career year in Cleveland. That has certainly been the case — the Cavs are currently 11th in offense, second in defense, and third in the league in net rating, per NBA.com.
However, the season has been a little bit of a roller coaster, though there have definitely been more highs than lows. For example, the Cavs have had four winning streaks of three-plus games (three, four, five and eight), but also two losing streaks of three-plus games (three and five).
After starting 22-11, Cleveland has gone 7-9 over the past 16 games to currently sit with a 29-20 record, the fifth seed in the East. Interestingly, while trading for Mitchell has raised the team’s ceiling, the Cavs were actually 30-19 at this point last year before a disappointing finish (largely due to injuries) — they went 14-19 down the stretch and lost both play-in games.
Injuries to Mitchell, Darius Garland, Kevin Love and Dean Wade haven’t helped in 2022/23. But the one area people pointed to as a weakness entering the season — the small forward position — has yet to be solidified. Caris LeVert, Lamar Stevens and Isaac Okoro have all gotten starting opportunities, but none have really taken hold of the job.
Regaining a top-four seed will be crucial for a possible playoff run — the Cavs are 20-5 at home, but only 9-15 on the road. Cleveland will almost certainly attempt to upgrade the roster in the next couple weeks, but it doesn’t have many assets to work with, as no first-round picks are available to trade after acquiring Mitchell.
We want to know what you think. Who should the Cavs be targeting ahead of the trade deadline? Do you think they’ll be able to acquire them? Head to the comments and let us know what you think.
Central Notes: Mitchell, Rubio, Bucks, Bogdanovic
Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell returned from a three-game absence on Tuesday after dealing with a left groin strain, but unfortunately he aggravated the injury on the final play of the loss to New York, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“I went up to try and dunk it, both my legs cramped and my groin just tightened up and locked up on me,” Mitchell explained. “Those three things happened at the same time.”
The 26-year-old – who didn’t practice on Wednesday, per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link) – was unsure of his status going forward.
“I felt it a little (earlier in the game) but nothing to the extent at the end,” he continued. “We’ll figure it out and see what happens. It felt the same as before. I don’t know what comes next. I am just upset that it … I felt good enough to come back, and for that to be the last five seconds of the game really pisses me off. … I’m praying that I’m all right.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- While Ricky Rubio admits that he’s still readjusting to the speed of the NBA game following his year-long rehab from an ACL tear, the Cavaliers point guard said he feels “the best I’ve felt in my career,” according to Russo at The Athletic.
- Eric Nehm of The Athletic takes stock of how Bobby Portis‘ knee injury will impact the Bucks, exploring whether the team has enough depth on its roster to get by without the big man for a few weeks. If Serge Ibaka remains away from the Bucks, they’ll likely have to lean more on small-ball lineups when Brook Lopez is off the floor, Nehm observes.
- Within a look at Khris Middleton‘s return and the Bucks‘ championship aspirations, Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports confirms that the team remains “very much in play” for Suns forward Jae Crowder. However, Goodwill says he gets the sense that Milwaukee’s offer is its offer and that the Bucks will be prepared to pivot if Phoenix moves Crowder elsewhere.
- James L. Edwards III of The Athletic reacts to hypothetical Bojan Bogdanovic trade offers from a handful of his fellow writers at The Athletic, evaluating whether or not the Pistons would view them as viable. Edwards ultimately passes on all five offers he receives in the exercise, since none include a first-round pick that isn’t at least lottery-protected, and Detroit wants an unprotected pick.
Rory Maher contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Duren, Bucks, Pacers, Mobley
Pistons rookie center Jalen Duren is encouraged by his development through the midway point of the 2022/23 season, writes Mike Curtis of The Detroit News. Duren, who began the year coming off the bench, has emerged as a starter for Detroit.
“I feel like I got a lot better from the first game until now,” Duren reflected. “Honestly, my biggest thing is growth. I feel like I’m going to continue to grow and develop throughout the rest of the season, too.”
Through 40 games this season, the 6’10” big man is averaging 7.8 PPG on 64.1% field goal shooting and 8.6 RPG.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Bucks have had difficulty controlling turnovers all season, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “It’s something we gotta work on,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Jrue (Holiday)’s just got the ball in his hands a ton. We’re asking a lot of him, putting him in a lot of stuff, but I think he can be better. And some of the other ones, I think we can clean up. The guys are trying and we have our stretches, we have our moments where it really hurts us, but it’s just an area where we can improve.” Nehm writes that the Bucks lose the rock 15.1% of the time, and rank just 21st in turnover percentage league-wide this year.
- The Pacers are struggling to win without injured starting point guard Tyrese Haliburton, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Indiana has lost seven games in a row since Haliburton got hurt on January 11 with a left elbow sprain and bone bruise. “I knew he was a great player, but having him unavailable for seven games … and losing seven games is pretty strong [evidence of] how important he is to our franchise,” head coach Rick Carlisle said.
- Second-year Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley has stagnated somewhat on offense this season, thanks in part to the arrival of All-Star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, writes Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. Lloyd thinks getting the ball to Mobley early, and featuring him in the post, would be a strong way to adjust for that. The big man’s 38 points on Saturday vs. Milwaukee represented by far his highest single-game total this season.
Several Contenders Pursuing Malik Beasley
Malik Beasley is a popular target heading into this year’s trade deadline, with several contenders expected to make a play for the Jazz guard, writes Sean Deveney of Heavy.
The desire around the league for more shooting, combined with a shortage of sellers, could produce an “overheated” market for Beasley, an Eastern Conference executive tells Deveney. The 26-year-old is averaging 13.7 PPG for Utah while connecting at 39.9% from the field and 35.8% from three-point range. His contract is relatively affordable, with a $16.5MM team option for 2023/24.
“It is a thin market,” the executive said. “You are going to have to overpay because there are not a ton of guys you can go out and get. … A lot of playoff teams are trying to figure out what it is going to take to get him.”
The Jazz are asking for a first-round pick in return for Beasley, along with a young player and whatever it takes to match salaries, according to Deveney, who hears that Utah is willing to take on salary beyond this season if it believes the players if acquires can eventually be moved for another first-rounder.
Deveney cites the Heat as among the top contenders for Beasley, possibly as part of a larger deal that would also bring Kelly Olynyk back to Miami for a package that includes Duncan Robinson and Caleb Martin along with picks and other young players. Miami prefers to hold onto 2022 first-round pick Nikola Jovic, according to Deveney, who believes that stance could change as the deadline nears.
Deveney also mentions the Cavaliers in a rumor first floated last week by Marc Stein. The proposed three-team deal would send Beasley to Cleveland, Caris LeVert‘s expiring contract to the Hawks and John Collins to Utah.
The Bucks and Nets are also interested in Beasley, Deveney adds, but both teams are limited in the draft assets they can offer. Milwaukee doesn’t have a first-round pick to trade until 2029, while Brooklyn would like to deal Seth Curry or Joe Harris for Beasley, but can’t trade a first-rounder until 2028.
The Celtics, who nearly traded for Beasley last season before acquiring Derrick White, probably won’t be involved in the pursuit this year, Deveney states. He expects them to seek a less expensive wing if they’re active in the market at all, possibly offering Danilo Gallinari and Payton Pritchard in return.
Deveney identifies the Pelicans and Warriors as “dark horses” in the Beasley chase, with New Orleans having the combination of draft capital, young players and salary fillers that Utah is seeking, and Golden State able to get involved if management decides to part with either James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga or Moses Moody.
Cavs’ Dean Wade Set To Return On Saturday
Cavaliers forward Dean Wade intends to return to action on Saturday when Cleveland hosts the Bucks, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Wade hasn’t suited up for the Cavaliers since December 2, when he aggravated a prior left shoulder injury and was diagnosed with an AC joint sprain. The 26-year-old was expected to return earlier this month, but suffered a setback in his rehab process when he stepped on another player’s foot and injured his ankle. In total, he has missed Cleveland’s last 24 games.
Wade’s counting stats in a regular rotation role this season are modest — he has averaged 6.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per night across 17 appearances.
However, the Cavs like Wade’s two-way skill set and there are reportedly people in the organization who believe he’s the right player to fill out a starting five that features two backcourt stars (Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland) and two impact big men (Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley). Wade was part of J.B. Bickerstaff‘s starting lineup in the five games leading up to his injury and could reclaim that spot now that he’s healthy, though perhaps not in his first game back.
As Wojnarowski notes, Wade has made 41.1% of his three-point attempts so far this season and has ranked in the top 10 in shot quality allowed on defense, according to Second Spectrum’s data.
The Cavs will be looking to bounce back on Saturday after falling on Friday to a shorthanded Warriors team that was without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green.
Wade Suffered Setback In Rehab
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade, who has been sidelined since December 2 due to a shoulder ailment, suffered a setback in his rehab process earlier this month, injuring his ankle when he stepped on a player’s foot during practice, a source tells Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. “He’s not (doing) five-on-five yet,” head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said on Tuesday. “Again, because of where he was before, it won’t need as much to get him back to going because it wasn’t as big of a setback.”
Cavaliers Notes: Mitchell, Love, Rubio, Garland
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell won’t be available for an inter-conference showdown in Memphis on Wednesday night, having been officially ruled out due to a left groin strain, per an Associated Press report.
Mitchell suffered the injury during the third quarter of Cleveland’s win over New Orleans on Monday and was held out of practice on Tuesday. He was originally listed as doubtful for Wednesday’s game vs. the Grizzlies before being downgraded to out.
It remains to be seen whether Mitchell will have to miss more time beyond tonight’s contest. The Cavs have a challenging back-to-back set on tap for this weekend, as they’ll host Golden State on Friday and Milwaukee on Saturday.
Here’s more on the Cavs:
- Cavaliers forward Kevin Love continues to be affected by a hairline fracture in his right thumb, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com details. At the time Love sustained the injury, on November 18, he had made 40.9% of his three-point attempts on the season. Since then, he has knocked down just 29.5%. “Still doesn’t feel right,” Love said on Monday after making just 1-of-7 shots from the field, including 0-of-4 threes.
- Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said prior to Monday’s game that Ricky Rubio‘s minutes restriction would be bumped up to about 15 minutes as the team continues to monitor his return from a year-long ACL-related absence, tweets Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. Rubio, who played 10 minutes in his first game back and 13 in his second appearance, ended up logging 17 minutes on Monday.
- The Cavs like what they’ve seen this season from Darius Garland, who has adjusted nicely to sharing the backcourt with Mitchell and continues to grow as a team leader, Russo writes in a full story for The Athletic. “He’s still young — more years ahead of him than he has behind him,” Caris LeVert said of his teammate. “But I think he’s done a great job of feeling it out and not being afraid to put his voice out there, not being afraid to make mistakes even with communication. I think for us to just hear his voice is huge because, obviously, we all respect his game. So just for us to hear his voice is huge.”
Spurs, Hornets Expected To Be Among Top Deadline Sellers
The Spurs and Hornets are viewed as two of the NBA’s “assured” sellers in this season’s trade market, Shams Charania of The Athletic writes in his latest Inside Pass column.
In San Antonio, veterans Jakob Poeltl, Doug McDermott, and Josh Richardson are considered the team’s top trade candidates. Poeltl and Richardson are on expiring contracts, while McDermott is under contract for one more season at the same salary he’s earning this year ($13.75MM).
Confirming a previous report indicating that Poeltl is generating significant interest, Charania says the Raptors and Celtics are among the teams that have shown interest in the big man. According to Charania, Poeltl is widely respected within the organization and the Spurs would like him to be part of their long-term future, but they’ll have to take into account his price tag as a free agent and the risk of losing him for nothing this summer.
The Spurs have had a standing extension offer of four years and $58MM (his in-season max) on the table for Poeltl since before the season, per Charania, but the center has passed on that offer and is expected to do much better on the open market. Rival executives believe he could approach $20MM per year on his next deal, Charania adds.
San Antonio will have a ton of cap room available this summer, so it’s not as if the franchise won’t have the means to retain Poeltl. However, there’s a belief among rival teams that the 27-year-old’s desire to play for a contender could be an important factor as he weighs his future, Charania notes.
As for the Hornets, Mason Plumlee, Kelly Oubre, and Jalen McDaniels – all on track for unrestricted free agency in 2023 – are considered candidates to be moved. According to Charania, Charlotte is also expected to listen to inquiries on guard Terry Rozier, even though he’s still under contract for three years beyond this one.
More sellers besides Charlotte and San Antonio figure to emerge in the coming weeks, but for now, only two other teams are with them in the NBA’s cellar, well out of play-in contention. Those teams are the Pistons and Rockets.
Multiple recent reports have suggested that Detroit has set a high asking price for veterans like Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, but the team is believed to be open to conversations. The Raptors, Lakers, Pelicans, Bucks, Cavaliers, and Mavericks are among the clubs that have registered interest in Bogdanovic, league sources tell The Athletic.
As for the Rockets, their roster isn’t exactly loaded with expendable vets. Shooting guard Eric Gordon is the team’s most obvious trade candidate, but Houston is seeking either a good young player or a first-round pick in exchange for Gordon, says Charania.