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Pacific Notes: Durant, Hield, Morant, Curry, Kawhi

April 2nd, 2025 at 3:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Asked on Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link) about possible offseason trade destinations for Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Shams Charania said there was mutual interest between the Suns‘ star and a handful of potential suitors ahead of February’s trade deadline. According to Charania, that list of teams included the Timberwolves, Knicks, Rockets, Spurs, and Heat.

“Those are the types of teams, from my understanding, that had interest then,” Charania said. “And I expect them all to be in the mix this offseason.”

Charania didn’t explicitly mention the Warriors, but that’s likely due to the fact that Durant was known to be resistant to a Golden State reunion in February. If his stance changes this summer, it’s possible the Warriors could once again emerge as a suitor.

One report this week suggested that Durant is open to the idea of returning to Phoenix next season, but a trade still appears to be the most likely outcome. Unlike in February when the Suns unilaterally gauged the market for the veteran forward without consulting him, the team and Durant’s camp would likely work together on any deal this offseason, Charania notes.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • The NBA is looking into an incident from Tuesday’s Warriors/Grizzlies game when Golden State sharpshooter Buddy Hield and Memphis guard Ja Morant aimed finger-gun gestures at one another, according to Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. A video of that brief interaction can be found here (via Twitter). The NBA has fined players for that gesture in the past and is likely especially sensitive to this case since Morant has been suspended twice in the past for waving around an actual gun in social media videos.
  • Stephen Curry racked up 52 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in the Warriors‘ win over Memphis on Tuesday and told reporters after the game that he feels rejuvenated after taking a week off to recover from a pelvic injury in March, per ESPN. “I feel in a good rhythm,” Curry said. “The week off helped. The tank is pretty full.” Steve Kerr said a couple weeks ago that he wanted to get Curry some rest, but the Warriors coach no longer seems as concerned about his star guard’s condition. “I think (the week off) helped and I think two rounds of golf on this road trip helped,” Kerr said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
  • After missing the first two-plus months of the season while recovering from a knee procedure and then playing on a minutes limit for several more weeks after that, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has recaptured his All-NBA form, having averaged 25.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game with a .521/.397/.825 shooting line in 13 March outings. Law Murray of The Athletic takes a look at Leonard’s resurgence and the 33-year-old’s desire to enter the offseason healthy.
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NBA Announces Finalists For Sportsmanship, Teammate Of The Year Awards

April 2nd, 2025 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced the 2024/25 finalists for a pair of awards on Wednesday, naming the six players who are eligible to win the Sportsmanship Award for this season, as well as the 12 players who are in the running to be named Teammate of the Year.

The Sportsmanship Award honors the player who “best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court,” per the NBA. Each of the league’s 30 teams nominated one of its players for the award, then a panel of league executives narrows that group to six finalists (one from each division) and current players voted for the winner.

The trophy for the Sportsmanship Award is named after Joe Dumars, the Hall-of-Fame guard who won the inaugural award back in ’95/96. This season’s finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

Holiday is the only one of this year’s finalists for the Sportsmanship Award who has earned the honor in the past — he won it in 2021. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey won the award last season.

Meanwhile, the NBA also announced its finalists for the Teammate of the Year award for 2024/25. According to the league, the player selected for the honor is “deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”

The voting process is similar to the Sportsmanship Award — a panel of league executives selects 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award, then current players vote on the winner.

Holiday is a three-time Teammate of the Year, while Timberwolves guard Mike Conley has also won the award twice, including in 2024. However, neither of those veterans is a finalist this season.

The Teammate of the Year finalists are as follows (via Twitter):

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Award Candidates Who Still Need To Reach 65-Game Mark

April 2nd, 2025 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

There are just 12 days left in the 2024/25 regular season, which means time is running out for certain end-of-season award candidates to meet the 65-game minimum to qualify for consideration.

A player doesn’t need to reach that 65-game mark in order to be eligible for Sixth Man of the Year, Rookie of the Year, or All-Rookie teams, but it’s a necessary requirement for most of the marquee awards: Most Valuable Player, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and Most Improved Player.

According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the following players who could be in the mix for one or more of those awards haven’t yet met the 65-game criteria, but still have a chance to do so:

In some cases, a player’s actual games played total doesn’t match up with the figure noted above. That’s because in order for a game to count before the 65-game minimum, the player must be on the court for at least 20 minutes. A player is also permitted to count a maximum of two games between 15 and 20 minutes toward that minimum.

Let’s use Mobley as an example. The Cavaliers big man has technically appeared in 66 games this season, but he played just 12 minutes in one of those games, 18 minutes in two of them, and 19 minutes in one. That means he only has 64 games that actually count toward the minimum — all 62 games in which he played 20-plus minutes, along with two of those games between 15-20 minutes.

Mobley will have to play at least 20 minutes once more this season in order to be eligible for awards like Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defense, and All-NBA. Given that he’s healthy and the Cavs still have seven games left on their schedule, Mobley should have no problem meeting that requirement. But it’ll be a taller order for some of the other players on this list.

Durant is currently sidelined with an ankle sprain and has been ruled out for at least two more games. He would have to play 20-plus minutes in three of the Suns‘ final four games to be award-eligible. Brunson, on the shelf due to his own ankle sprain, is in a similar boat, though the Knicks guard has a chance to return before Durant does.

Lillard, who is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf, seems pretty unlikely to play in six of the Bucks‘ last seven games. Holiday is healthy but has no wiggle room to miss any of the Celtics‘ remaining seven games.

Many of this year’s other top award contenders have already met the 65-game criteria. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic did so in style on Tuesday night — his 65th game of the season was an incredible 61-point triple-double in a 140-139 double-overtime loss to Minnesota.

However, according to the latest straw poll conducted by Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Jokic is the clear runner-up to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (who has played 72 games) in the MVP race. Of the 100 media members polled by Bontemps, 77 picked the Thunder guard as their Most Valuable Player, while just 23 chose Jokic. The three-time MVP may need a couple more performances like Tuesday’s in order to close that gap by the end of the season.

Besides Jokic, one other notable player who has narrowly eclipsed the 65-game minimum is Cade Cunningham. The Pistons guard has missed four games in a row with a left calf injury and is considered doubtful to return on Wednesday, but he played his 65th game on March 19, prior to his recent absence.

That’s especially important for Cunningham and the Pistons because, as Bontemps notes, the fourth-year guard is considered a virtual lock to earn a spot on one of this year’s All-NBA teams, which will ensure that his maximum-salary rookie scale extension begins at 30% of the 2025/26 salary cap instead of 25%. That would increase the overall projected value of Cunningham’s five-year deal from $224.2MM to $269.1MM.

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Carmelo Anthony To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

April 2nd, 2025 at 11:44am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony has been notified that he has been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and will be part of the 2025 class, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Anthony was among 17 Hall of Fame finalists who were announced in February. While the new Hall of Famers from that group  won’t be formally revealed until this Saturday (April 5) at the NCAA Final Four, Charania’s report indicates Anthony will be among them.

The third overall pick in the 2003 draft, Anthony appeared in 1,260 regular season NBA games across 19 seasons in the league, averaging 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per contest, with a shooting line of .447/.355/.814. He spent his first six-and-a-half professional seasons with Denver before being traded to New York, where he played from 2010-17.

After playing his prime years with the Nuggets and Knicks, Anthony spent time with the Thunder, Rockets, Trail Blazers, and Lakers from 2017-22 before calling it a career. The 6’7″ forward was named an All-Star 10 times over the course of his career and earned six All-NBA nods (two Second Team and four Third Team).

Anthony also led the league in scoring in 2012/13, ranks 12th on the all-time points list, and was one of 75 players named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team.

In addition to his strong NBA résumé, Anthony made an impact in NCAA and international competition. He won a national championship during his first and only college season with Syracuse in 2002/03 and brought home three Olympic medals for Team USA. Anthony was widely lauded for how he adjusted to the FIBA game and was a valuable contributor to the U.S. teams that won gold in Beijing (2008), London (2012), and Rio (2016).

Anthony, who announced his retirement in 2023, is one of many former NBA players who have taken to podcasting and currently puts out weekly episodes of his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast.

Anthony said in the latest episode of 7PM in Brooklyn that he has interest in joining an NBA ownership group, specifically naming the Wizards as a team he’d like to get involved with (Twitter video link).

“Former player. I understand players. I understand personnel, I understand being fatigued,” Anthony said as part of a longer explanation for why he thinks he’d make a good team owner (hat tip to Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report). “I understand how to build teams, but I also understand what I don’t understand. I know what I don’t know. You also have to put people in those positions. President, GM, you put all the basketball acumen in those positions, and then you cover that with business model.”

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Knicks Notes: Tucker, Roster, Shamet, Wright, Robinson, Towns

April 1st, 2025 at 8:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks added P.J. Tucker on a standard two-year contract but they could still add another player to the 15-man roster within the next couple weeks, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.

There’s enough wiggle room under the second apron to add another veteran free agent on a minimum deal before the end of the regular season. However, the team would need to waive a player in order to create room on the roster to sign another free agent.

We have more on the Knicks:

  • Delon Wright and Landry Shamet are getting steady minutes with Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride and Cameron Payne on the mend. Wright, a defensive stopper, and Shamet, an offensive threat, could still play roles as the backcourt gets healthier, Andrew Crane of the New York Post writes. Wright started his third consecutive game on Tuesday against Philadelphia, while Shamet has delivered double-digit scoring off the bench in three of the last four games. Coach Tom Thibodeau appreciates Wright’s defensive prowess. “He’s got great size at his position,” Thibodeau said. “That’s his gift, is his defense, and he gets a lot of deflections.” Both players are on expiring contracts.
  • The return of Mitchell Robinson from ankle and foot injuries has impacted the defense, according to Begley and Robinson’s teammates. The team had the sixth-best defensive rating in March, its best ranking in any month this season. “The last month and a half, he’s been a monster defensively,” Josh Hart said. “Blowing up screens, blowing up handoffs, like a free safety on that backside.”
  • Robinson got a chance to start on Tuesday as Karl-Anthony Towns was ruled out due to a knee injury, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. Towns has appeared in 67 of 75 games.
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Knicks Re-Sign P.J. Tucker On Two-Year Deal

April 1st, 2025 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

April 1, 10:59 am: Tucker has officially re-signed with the Knicks, the team confirmed today in a press release (Twitter link).

March 31, 5:28 pm: The Knicks plan to sign Tucker to a two-year deal, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports (Twitter link). The contract will include a team option for next season.

March 31, 8:58 am: Even though he barely played during his two 10-day contracts, P.J. Tucker remains a “strong candidate” to re-sign with the Knicks by the end of the season, a source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

Tucker’s second 10-day deal expired over the weekend, making him a free agent again and opening a spot on New York’s 15-man roster. With eight games remaining, Bondy suggests the Knicks might consider signing another player to a 10-day contract, but Tucker is expected to get a standard deal at some point to make him eligible for the playoffs.

The 39-year-old forward made just one game appearance during his time with New York, playing two minutes without collecting any points or rebounds. It was his only NBA action of the season, as he reached an agreement in October to be away from the Clippers while they tried to trade him. He was eventually sent to Utah and then Toronto before last month’s deadline, but he didn’t suit up for either team before being waived February 28.

Bondy’s source added that Tucker understood he wouldn’t be guaranteed any playing time when he joined the Knicks, but they view him as valuable because of his locker room leadership and playoff experience.

“A lot of times when you become a vet and be in the league, like young guys and stuff on the bench, they’re not going to (encourage and motivate teammates). They’re not going to have your back like that,” Tucker said after joining the team. “So it’s always good to have vets and like-minded guys that just have each other’s back. And that’s what really makes a team strong — just knowing that they have people there and I support you whether you’re playing good or bad. We’re in it together.” 

Bondy adds that Tucker’s signing prompted veteran forward T.J. Warren to leave New York’s Westchester affiliate. Warren, who had been hoping for an NBA call-up, was the G League team’s leading scorer.

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Knicks’ Jalen Brunson Cleared For Basketball Activities

March 30th, 2025 at 3:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-NBA Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who will miss a 12th consecutive game on Sunday due to a right ankle sprain, has been given the green light to resume basketball activities as he continues his rehab, per Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitter link).

According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (via Twitter), Brunson told gathered reporters that his ankle is improving, though he doesn’t have a specific target date for his return. He didn’t go into any detail on what he’s been able to do on the court so far or whether he’s been cleared for contact.

Brunson said he “realistically” hopes to return prior to the start of this spring’s playoffs in order to regain his rhythm ahead of the postseason, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

The 28-year-old had looked like a lock to earn a second consecutive All-NBA berth prior to his ankle injury. He has played 61 games this season and needs to reach the 65-game mark to qualify for an All-NBA nod.

When healthy, Brunson has been spectacular. The Villanova alum is averaging 26.3 points, 7.4 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game this season, with a shooting line of .490/.384/.825.

Brunson’s primary backups at the point, Miles McBride and Cameron Payne, have also been on the shelf as of late due to a left groin contusion and a right ankle sprain, respectively.

Most recently, Delon Wright earned the starting point guard nod in an eventual road victory against Milwaukee on Friday.

At 46-27, the Knicks are currently the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, with a 3.5-game lead on No. 4 Indiana.

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Knicks Notes: Guards, Anunoby, Robinson, Tucker

March 30th, 2025 at 1:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The shorthanded Knicks will be without all three of their top point guards ahead of a Sunday meeting with the Trail Blazers.

Stefan Bondy of The New York Post tweets that All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson (ankle sprain) and his backups Miles McBride (groin contusion/strain) and Cameron Payne (ankle sprain) will all sit out. Rookie center Ariel Hukporti is also sidelined as he continues to recovery from knee surgery.

Brunson has been on the shelf for New York’s last 11 contests due to a right ankle sprain. The Knicks have gone just 6-5 in that span, but still control the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed by 3.5 games over the No. 4 Pacers as of this writing.

Veteran Delon Wright started at the point during the Knicks’ most recent game, a win over the Bucks on Friday. In his first extended action for the team, Wright scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field in 30 minutes.

There’s more out of New York:

  • Knicks swingman OG Anunoby has stepped into the scoring and leadership void left by Brunson during the point guard’s absence, per Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link). “I always try to be aggressive,” Anunoby said. “Just depending on situations, sometimes it comes or something doesn’t. Just today I was really aggressive. I try to play the right way and read the game, and also just trying to get fouled, get teams in the bonus, create fouls, being aggressive at all times.” Across the 11 bouts Brunson has missed, Anunoby has been averaging 22.4 PPG.
  • Knicks reserve center Mitchell Robinson is rediscovering his rebounding acumen as he settles into life with the 2024/25 iteration of the club following a lengthy injury layoff, writes Jared Schwartz of The New York Post. In the first half of New York’s 116-107 road victory against Milwaukee on Friday, Robinson pulled down 10 boards. “Yeah, I feel like [I’m getting my rhythm back],” Robinson said. “I definitely think that is true on my end. Once you get going and you get the first one, you see how shots are going, long, short, whatever, once you kind of get a pattern of it there you go.”
  • Veteran forward P.J. Tucker saw his latest 10-day deal with the Knicks expire on Saturday night. According to Bondy (Twitter link), while Tucker could rejoin the club at some point this season, he is not on the team’s roster for Sunday’s matchup with Portland. The 39-year-old veteran logged just two minutes in a single appearance for New York during his two 10-day contracts.
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Atlantic Notes: Wright, Maxey, Pritchard, Raptors

March 29th, 2025 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran guard Delon Wright had been glued to the Knicks‘ bench during his first month-and-a-half in New York after being acquired from Milwaukee in the Jericho Sims trade at February’s deadline. But with Jalen Brunson and Miles McBride both injured this week, Wright got the call from head coach Tom Thibodeau, entering the starting lineup for Friday’s game in Milwaukee.

While the Knicks were outscored by nine points during Wright’s 30 minutes on the floor, he held his own in just his second 30-minute game of the season, contributing 12 points, four assists, and three rebounds as New York registered a nine-point win. As Jared Schwartz of The New York Post writes, Thibodeau had the option of starting rookie Tyler Kolek at point guard, but opted for Wright’s experience and defensive ability over Kolek’s play-making.

“His defense you can always count on,” Thibodeau said of Wright. “That’s his strength, and he’s not afraid. He’s aggressive, and he knows how to play off people. I think he reads the game well. I think we got terrific point guard play. I was going back and forth on (who to start) and I was comfortable with both. A lot of it was based on I wasn’t quite sure who they were gonna start. Their size was a factor in it. But I was comfortable. And then you read the game like, ‘What do you need? What do you need more of?’ Both guys are really good players, they have different strengths, so you can adjust as the game goes.”

Wright, who entered the league in 2015/16, is averaging just 13.9 minutes per game in 34 outings this season and had logged only 37 total minutes in seven appearances for the Knicks before Friday. It’s his smallest role since his rookie year and he admitted this week that it’s difficult not knowing if or when he’ll play.

“It’s tough, I’m not going to lie. It’s easier said than done,” Wright said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required). “I try to tell young guys that — just stay ready, stay ready. But when you’re going through it, it’s tough. Some days are harder than others. But you got to continue to get your conditioning, continue to lift, continue to try to stay as engaged as possible.”

We have more from around the Atlantic:

  • The Sixers aren’t yet shutting down injured guard Tyrese Maxey for the season, but he’ll miss at least two more games as a result of his sprained finger, head coach Nick Nurse said on Friday (story via ESPN). That means Maxey, out since March 3 due to back and finger ailments, will be unavailable on Saturday vs. Miami and Sunday vs. Toronto. Philadelphia has seven more games on its regular season scheduled after that, starting with Tuesday in New York.
  • Two years after requesting a trade out of Boston, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard is a fan favorite who appears headed for a Sixth Man of the Year award. Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston takes a closer look at why a trade never happened and how Pritchard emerged as a crucial contributor for the defending champions. The 27-year-old, who averaged just 13.4 minutes per game in 2022/23, tells Forsberg that he “didn’t see a future” for himself in Boston when he asked to be dealt, but admits, “It ended up working out.”
  • The Raptors have been one of the NBA’s least effective outside shooting teams this season, ranking 29th in three-pointers made per game (11.5) and 26th in three-point percentage (34.5%). Toronto would like to change that by surrounding Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl with more floor spacers, which is one reason why the team targeted Cole Swider for a 10-day contract. For his part, Swider hopes that 10-day deal leads to something more, as Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca relays. “They’ve had a great track record of having two-ways get converted to contracts and guys with contracts getting converted to bigger contracts,” he said after Friday’s win over Charlotte. “So super excited to be here. I think it could be a great opportunity.”
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New York Notes: Simmons, Whitehead, Knicks

March 28th, 2025 at 7:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Speaking to Jared Schwartz of The New York Post (subscriber link), former Nets guard Ben Simmons reflected on his unhappy tenure in Brooklyn, discussing the differences between his Brooklyn and L.A. stints and explaining why he feels more comfortable with his new team, the Clippers, than he ever did during his injury-plagued years with the Nets.

“(Los Angeles) feels like home, honestly,” Simmons told Schwartz. “I never really felt like New York was home for me. Being in L.A., I feel like me as a person, it’s my kind of scenery or environment to be in. I think I thrive in situations like that. It was a blessing and a great experience to be in New York and experience being in New York City, there’s no city in the world like it. But I’m happy where I’m at, I love being in L.A.”

In his 11 games with L.A., Simmons is averaging 4.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.5 BPG. It’s a far cry from his All-Star peak, but the 28-year-old remains a solid, versatile defender who can pull down a rebound at will.

There’s more out of New York:

  • Second-year Nets wing Dariq Whitehead‘s call-up to Brooklyn represents just the latest step in his comeback from three recent leg surgeries. Head coach Jordi Fernandez weighed in on Whitehead’s progress this season, per Erik Slater of ClutchPoints (Twitter link). “It’s a process for him,” Fernandez said. “He’s gotta buy into all these things. He shows up and works. And now, when he has these minutes, he has to take advantage of them. So learning all that is extremely important.”
  • The 45-27 Knicks, currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference, have 10 games on their slate before this year’s playoffs. Stefan Bondy of The New York Post unpacks the seven most important questions that face the team down the stretch of the 2024/25 season.
  • In a reader mailbag, Ian Begley of SNY.tv fields questions about Knicks All-Star guard Jalen Brunson‘s ankle health, how rookie guard Tyler Kolek can carve out a rotational role, reserve center Mitchell Robinson‘s minutes restriction, and more.
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