Trail Blazers Insist Damian Lillard Won’t Be Traded
The Trail Blazers are getting calls about Damian Lillard, but they’re telling interested teams that he’s “unequivocally” not available, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
Lillard has repeatedly expressed his desire to remain in Portland and try to bring a championship to the city. He has signed three extensions with the team, including a two-year agreement in July that will run through the 2026/27 season if he decides to exercise a player option.
Lillard recently earned his seventh All-Star selection and remains an elite player at age 32, averaging 30.9 points and 7.3 assists through 43 games. He has bounced back fully from abdominal surgery that limited him to 29 games last season.
The Trail Blazers nose-dived once Lillard was sidelined last year, but they headed into the summer determined to rebuild a contender around him. After a series of offseason personnel moves, Portland is currently holding onto the final play-in spot at 27-28.
However, the Blazers sold off an asset Wednesday night, sending starting swingman Josh Hart to the Knicks in exchange for a draft pick and Cam Reddish, who had been stuck on New York’s bench since early December.
Portland appears committed to keeping Lillard, although it’s worth noting that the Nets leaked similar statements about Kevin Durant before agreeing to send him to Phoenix Wednesday night. Perhaps the use of the word “unequivocally” is a message that the Blazers’ stance is firm.
Nets, Suns Agree On Kevin Durant Trade
The Suns will acquire Kevin Durant from the Nets in exchange for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, four first-round picks and more draft consideration, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Jae Crowder, who has been sitting out since training camp in hopes of being traded, will also go to Brooklyn in the deal, Charania adds (Twitter link).
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Nets forward T.J. Warren will be part of the trade as well, and the additional draft consideration is a first-round pick swap in 2028. According to Woj, Durant wanted to be dealt to Phoenix, and new Suns owner Mat Ishbia pushed to get the deal completed tonight.
Brooklyn will receive unprotected first-rounders in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, a source tells Wojnarowski. The trade will help to replenish the Nets’ draft assets after they sent multiple picks and pick swaps to Houston to acquire James Harden in 2021.
The Suns were on Durant’s short list of preferred destinations when he issued a trade demand last summer. Although Phoenix was among the teams that submitted offers to Brooklyn, no progress was made at the time and Durant eventually rescinded the demand before the start of training camp.
At age 34, Durant remains among the league’s best players, averaging 29.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while lifting the Nets into a tight race for the best record in the East before suffering a sprained MCL in his right knee last month. Durant is expected to be sidelined until after the All-Star break, but Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said he received “a really good report” from doctors this week.
Durant still has three seasons remaining on the four-year extension he signed with the Nets in 2021, which led to speculation that the team didn’t feel any immediate pressure to trade him. Brooklyn had reportedly been telling teams that have called about Durant that he wasn’t being made available before the deadline.
A 13-time All-Star, Durant will earn $46.4MM, $49.9MM and $53.5MM over the next three seasons. He will team with Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Deandre Ayton, and the Suns’ remaining assets in hopes of bringing a title to Phoenix. Ironically, there was a report earlier this week that the Suns offered Paul to Brooklyn in hopes of landing Kyrie Irving.
The Durant-Irving pairing that seemed to make the Nets an instant contender when they both signed as free agents in 2019 will officially end with trades just a few days apart. Injuries limited their time on the court together, even when Harden was added to form a Big Three, and they managed to win just one playoff series as teammates, although they had a narrow loss to the eventual champion Bucks in 2021.
The Nets no longer have elite talent on their roster, but Bridges and Johnson have both been valuable during their time in Phoenix, and they join a team that has managed to remain competitive even with Durant and Irving in and out of the lineup.
Bridges, 26, is a strong defender and long-distance shooter and is under contract for three more years at a total of about $70MM. Johnson, also 26, is an elite three-point shooter who is headed for free agency this summer. The Nets can make him restricted with a qualifying offer worth around $8MM.
The trade ends Crowder’s long standoff with Phoenix, but Brooklyn may not be his final stop before the deadline. Wojnarowski tweets that the Nets plan to explore opportunities to move him to other teams.
The deal provides a homecoming for Warren, who spent his first five seasons with the Suns. He signed with Brooklyn in July and has managed to bounce back after missing most of the past two seasons with left foot issues.
Trail Blazers To Trade Josh Hart To Knicks
The Knicks have reached an agreement to acquire Josh Hart from the Trail Blazers, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Portland will receive Cam Reddish and a first-round pick as part of the return.
Hart has an expiring $12.96MM contract, while Reddish is earning $5.95MM in the final year of his rookie deal, so at least one more player has to be included to match salaries.
Sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that Svi Mykhailiuk ($1.97MM) and Ryan Arcidiacono ($2.13MM) are also headed to the Blazers (Twitter link), which will satisfy the NBA’s matching rules.
The pick that New York is giving up is lottery protected for 2023, per Wojnarowski (Twitter link). If it doesn’t convey this year, it will turn into four future second-round picks. That’s presumably the Knicks’ own first-round pick, since the protection terms don’t match up with the other first-rounders they control.
New York appeared to be a late entry into the bidding for Hart, with the first rumors of a deal appearing earlier today. His toughness and tenacity on defense seem to make him a natural fit for coach Tom Thibodeau. The Cavaliers and Heat were among the other teams reported to have interest in trading for Hart.
The 27-year-old wing is expected to decline his $12.96MM option this summer and seek a long-term deal in free agency. He has been part of the starting lineup in Portland since the Blazers acquired him at last year’s trade deadline, and he’s averaging 9.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 51 games this season.
The Knicks gave up a protected first-round pick last February to acquire Reddish, but he has fallen out of favor and hasn’t played since December 3. The 10th selection in the 2019 draft has washed out in Atlanta and New York, but he will have two months to audition for the Blazers, who can make him a restricted free agent with a $7.7MM qualifying offer.
Mykhailiuk, who signed a non-guaranteed deal with New York shortly before the start of training camp, has seen minimal playing time in 13 games.
Arcidiacono has played even less than his teammate, appearing in just 11 games and logging 26 total minutes in 2022/23. Due to the terms of his contract, he had the ability to veto any trade that involves him, but he has signed off on this one, tweets Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
The Trail Blazers will gain some cap relief as a result of the deal and will move well clear of the luxury tax line after flirting with it for much of the season. Assuming no players are added to the deal and it remains a three-for-one swap, Portland will have to cut a player from its 15-man roster to make room for the newcomers.
Lakers’ Westbrook, Ham Had Heated Halftime Exchange
Before LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Tuesday night, Lakers guard Russell Westbrook and head coach Darvin Ham had a “brief, heated verbal exchange” in the locker room at halftime, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
According to Wojnarowski, Ham expressed displeasure with the way Westbrook lingered on the court after being subbed out of the game late in the second quarter.
However, Wojnarowski says that after voices were raised, the discussion turned back to trying to win Tuesday’s contest vs. Oklahoma City. Westbrook and Ham dapped up before leaving the arena later in the night, according to Woj, who points out that the former MVP was part of the Lakers’ closing lineup in the loss to the Thunder.
Westbrook and assistant coach Phil Handy also had a heated discussion on the bench in the first half of the game, says Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Verbal confrontations between coaches and players aren’t exactly rare in the NBA, and the Lakers will surely downplay the heated discussion Westbrook and Ham had at halftime. Still, both the team and the veteran guard are under a microscope this week with the trade deadline looming.
Westbrook has been viewed as a trade candidate for the better part of a year and his name popped up in rumors again as of late. In addition to having reportedly talked to both Charlotte and Utah about possible deals involving the 34-year-old, the Lakers included him in their offer for Kyrie Irving before Brooklyn sent Irving to Dallas. James subsequently expressed disappointment that the Lakers were unable to land Irving.
Tuesday’s halftime exchange is unlikely to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and convinces the Lakers to trade Westbrook, but with the guard’s future in Los Angeles very much up in the air and the 25-30 Lakers looking for a shot in the arm, it’s one more reason to keep an eye on the situation in L.A.
LeBron James Becomes All-Time Regular Season Scoring Leader
On Tuesday night, Lakers forward LeBron James achieved a feat many of us had once thought impossible. The 19-time All-Star surpassed Hall of Fame center and Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar‘s all-time regular season scoring record of 38,387 career points.
With 10 seconds left in the third quarter of a nationally televised game against the visiting Thunder on Tuesday night, James scored his 35th and 36th points, which moved him into sole possession of the league’s scoring record (video link via Bleacher Report).
Play was stopped for a special mid-game presentation, as Abdul-Jabbar and NBA commissioner Adam Silver were on hand to congratulate the four-time champion and four-time MVP.
James actually passed Abdul-Jabbar in historic cumulative scoring last year, lapping the six-time MVP’s total combined regular season and postseason points.
Now, LeBron possesses both that record and this regular season mark. He looks poised to significantly widen his lead in both categories, given that he’s averaging an impressive 30.2 PPG this season and recently expressed a desire to play for a few more years.
Presumably, the four-time MVP’s next goal is simply making the 2022/23 postseason, which is no sure thing. L.A. is currently the No. 13 seed in a bunched-up West, behind Oklahoma City.
Suns Spokesperson Denies Team Hiring Isiah Thomas
7:50pm: A spokesperson for Ishbia tells Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link) that while Ishbia and Thomas are friends, Thomas will not be part of the Suns’ front office.
7:02pm: New Suns owner Mat Ishbia is planning to hire NBA TV analyst Isiah Thomas for a “prominent role” in the team’s front office, sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and TNT (Twitter link).
According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link), Thomas is on the board of directors of United Wholesale Mortgage, Ishbia’s company, so the two are obviously familiar with one another.
Thomas, who is in the Hall of Fame, is widely considered one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. He spent his entire 13-year career with the Pistons, which included two championships and 12 All-Star appearances.
The 61-year-old became a front office executive with the Raptors from 1994-97 after his playing days ended. Thomas also coached the Pacers from 2000-03 and was the Knicks’ president of basketball operations from 2003-08 (and their coach from 2006-08), so he certainly has a lot of experience.
However, his time in New York was controversial. As Vorkunov notes (via Twitter), in 2007 a Manhattan jury found that Thomas sexually harassed a former Knicks executive, who was improperly fired for reporting the unwanted behavior. The victim was awarded $11.6MM as part of the lawsuit.
Thomas’ tenure with the Knicks was also lousy from an on-court perspective. The team went just 151-259 during his five seasons as the lead basketball executive, a .368 winning percentage.
Hiring someone accused of sexual harassment and creating a hostile working environment is a pretty terrible look for Ishbia’s first move as an owner, considering the reason he was able to buy the Suns is because former owner Robert Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10MM for engaging in behavior that “clearly violated common workplace standards.”
Kings Acquire Kessler Edwards From Nets
6:05pm: The trade is now official, the Nets announced in a press release. Brooklyn received the draft rights to David Michineau, who currently plays for Napoli Basket in Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A, to complete the deal.
3:39pm: The Kings and Nets have finalized an agreement, a league source tells James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter links). Ham confirms that Sacramento will end Burton’s 10-day contract a little early to open up a roster spot for Edwards.
2:54am: The Kings and Nets are close to reaching an agreement on a trade that would send forward Kessler Edwards to Sacramento, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), the deal will send Edwards and cash to Sacramento. It’s essentially a salary dump, since moving off Edwards’ minimum-salary contract will save the Nets approximately $8MM in salary and tax money in addition to opening up a roster spot, per Wojnarowski.
As Wojnarowski notes, Edwards must sign off on the trade, since the terms of his deal with Brooklyn give him the ability to veto a trade. He intends to approve it, according to Woj (Twitter link).
The 44th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Edwards signed a two-year contract with the Nets this past offseason after spending his rookie year on a two-way deal that includes a second-year team option. He showed promise in a limited role last season, averaging 5.9 PPG and 3.6 RPG on .412/.353/.842 shooting.
However, Edwards hasn’t seen regular playing time in 2022/23, logging 79 total minutes across 14 contests. He has scored just 15 points on 6-of-24 (25.0%) shooting for the season.
It’s unclear whether Edwards will finish the season with Sacramento. According to Wojnarowski, the club’s plan for now is to give him the opportunity to play for its G League team, the Stockton Kings, but Woj says his future remains “fluid” with two days to go until the trade deadline. It sounds like if Sacramento needs to open a roster spot at the deadline, Edwards would probably be the odd man out.
The Kings technically have a full 15-man roster for now, but one of those spots is occupied by Deonte Burton, who is on a 10-day contract that expires Wednesday night. His deal may be terminated a little early to accommodate the acquisition of Edwards.
As for the Nets, they’ll create a trade exception worth approximately $1.6MM (Edwards’ salary), but the financial savings and the newly opened roster spot will likely end up being more valuable than that exception.
Kevin Durant Expected To Be Out Through All-Star Break
Nets star Kevin Durant, who is currently sidelined with a sprained MCL in his right knee, is expected to remain out through the All-Star break, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (via Twitter).
Brooklyn has five more games before the break, so Durant will miss at least those contests. The team resumes post-break on February 24 against Chicago.
Durant, who was named an All-Star for the 13th time last month, will also miss the exhibition event, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. An injury replacement will likely be named soon to take his place.
Head coach Jacque Vaughn told reporters, including Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), that Durant received a “really good report” from doctors. The veteran forward has been doing some on-court work, but hasn’t been taking contact yet.
Before Wojnarowski broke the news, Vaughn also suggested that Durant was looking unlikely to suit up before the break.
“I won’t step over that line…but the days are adding up,” Vaughn said (Twitter link via Alex Schiffer of The Athletic).
A couple of reports over the past couple weeks indicated that Durant was hopeful to return shortly before the mid-season event, but it makes sense for the Nets to be cautious with their best player. In addition to being 34 years old, Durant has had extended injury absences in each of the past three seasons after tearing his Achilles tendon in 2019.
In other injury news for the Nets, forward Yuta Watanabe will be out for Tuesday’s game against Phoenix due to back tightness and is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday, per ESPN’s Nick Friedell (Twitter link).
Mat Ishbia Officially Becomes Suns’ Owner
FEBRUARY 7: Ishbia has officially completed the purchase of a majority stake in the Suns, the team announced today in a press release.
“This is the culmination of a lifelong dream. I love the game of basketball deeply but it’s so much more than that for me,” he said in a statement. “Throughout my life, basketball has given me a second family, an education, and so much joy. I am honored to be the next steward of this community’s franchises in the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury and am totally committed to building an incredible organization on and off the floor.”
Ishbia and his group paid $2.28 billion for a 57% stake in the team, sources tell Baxter Holmes of ESPN. That’s the equivalent of a $4 billion valuation. Sarver received $1.48 billion for his 37% stake in the club, Holmes adds.
FEBRUARY 6: Mat Ishbia has been approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors as the Suns’ new owner, according to a league press release. The transaction is expected to close this week.
As Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets, the vote was 29-0 with the Cavaliers abstaining. Dan Gilbert, Cleveland’s owner, is also the majority owner of Rocket Mortgage. Ishbia is the chairman and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage, which – like Rocket Mortgage – is based in Michigan.
Mat Ishbia and his brother Justin agreed to buy the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury from Robert Sarver at a valuation of approximately $4 billion. Sarver, who was suspended by the league for a year and fined $10MM for behavior that “clearly violated common workplace standards,” subsequently decided to sell his controlling stake in the franchise.
Ishbia reached an agreement with Sarver in December.
Typically, it takes at least a couple months for the NBA to officially approve and complete the sale of a franchise because the process involves extensive criminal, financial, and background checks on prospective buyers, who also have to meet with the NBA’s advisory and finance committees.
Ishbia is reportedly eager for the Suns to seek upgrades prior to Thursday’s deadline and his impact may have already been felt, as Phoenix pursued a trade for Kyrie Irving.
Ishbia’s agreement to buy the Suns will give him control of more than 50% of the franchise, as he and his group are also buying out some of the minority shareholders.
Nets Telling Teams They Don’t Plan To Trade Durant At Deadline
Following the completion of the trade that sent Kyrie Irving to Dallas, the Nets and star forward Kevin Durant are having conversations about the franchise’s direction, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
While Durant’s future has been a popular topic of speculation around the NBA since Irving asked to be traded last Friday, there are now just 48 hours to go until the 2023 trade deadline and there has been no indication that KD will follow suit and submit a trade request of his own.
In fact, the Nets have been telling teams that they don’t plan to trade Durant this week, sources tell Wojnarowski, who adds (via Twitter) that multiple clubs have reached out to inquire.
Durant, of course, asked the Nets to trade him last summer, but after the front office unsuccessfully sought out a suitable deal for the better part of two months, he rescinded that request and he and the team agreed to “move forward” with its partnership.
Because Durant and Irving are known to be close and originally came to Brooklyn together in 2019, rival teams have been keeping a close eye on how Durant handles Kyrie’s departure. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on SportsCenter on Monday that Durant was “upset” when Irving asked for a trade, though Windhorst admitted he wasn’t sure whether the 34-year-old’s alleged displeasure was directed more at Kyrie or the Nets (hat tip to RealGM).
There has been a sense that if Durant asks out again, it’s more likely to happen in the offseason than right away. Even then, the Nets would be under no pressure to immediately grant the former MVP’s request, given that he’s under contract through 2026. Durant’s long-term deal and lack of leverage was thought to be a primary reason why Brooklyn opted to keep him this past offseason.
Having acquired two veterans – Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith – in the Irving trade who are capable of contributing immediately, the Nets are believed to be focused on remaining in contention in the short term and are reportedly scouring the trade market for upgrades to their roster.