Cavs Expected To Trade Or Release Porter Following Locker Room Incident
The Cavaliers are expected to either trade or release second-year wing Kevin Porter Jr. following an incident in the team’s locker room on Friday, multiple sources tell Jason Lloyd, Joe Vardon, Kelsey Russo, and Shams Charania of The Athletic.
According to The Athletic’s report, Porter became angry when he entered the locker room and found that the club had given his old locker to newly-acquired forward Taurean Prince. Sources tell The Athletic that Porter’s locker had been moved to a wall where the “younger, end-of-bench players reside.”
Porter began yelling and at one point threw food, according to The Athletic’s reporters, who say that the 20-year-old remained combative when confronted by general manager Koby Altman. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff also entered the locker room during the outburst, having heard the commotion from his office, and was “shocked and disgusted by what he heard,” per The Athletic.
Cleveland spent the weekend attempting to trade Porter, according to Lloyd, Vardon, Russo, and Charania.
Porter, the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft, had a promising rookie season, averaging 10.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG on .442/.335/.723 shooting in 50 games (23.2 MPG). However, he has yet to play for the Cavs this season for personal reasons.
The former USC swingman was arrested in November after flipping his Mercedes SUV. He was charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a felony, in addition to misdemeanors for driving without a license and marijuana possession. All charges were dropped in December by a grand jury.
Porter is earning $1.72MM this season and $1.78MM in 2021/22, with a $3.22MM team option for ’22/23. If he plays out the contract, he’d be extension-eligible in 2022 and RFA-eligible in 2023.
Rockets Seeking Three Second-Round Picks For Tucker?
After replenishing their stash of first-round picks by acquiring four first-rounders (and four more potential pick swaps) in their deal sending James Harden to Brooklyn, the Rockets are reportedly looking to stockpile second-round picks if they move forward P.J. Tucker.
League sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that the Rockets are currently demanding three second-round picks in return for Tucker, who has been receiving trade interest from teams around the NBA.
[RELATED: Wolves Expected To Re-Engage With Rockets On P.J. Tucker]
Tucker is a strong, versatile defender and a reliable three-point shooter who is making just $8MM this season, making him an ideal fit for any contender. On the other hand, he’s 35 years old and will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, so teams may be reluctant to meet Houston’s asking price.
Houston previously traded away its second-round picks in 2022, 2023, and 2027. The team has acquired Golden State’s 2024 second-round selection and has the ability to swap second-round picks with Philadelphia in 2021, but would benefit from landing two or three extra second-rounders for Tucker — those picks could be used to draft cheap young talent in future seasons or could help grease the wheels on future trades.
Within the same Ringer article, O’Connor reports that the Rockets were seeking Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey, and three first-round picks from Philadelphia when the two teams discussed Harden last week.
The Sixers were reportedly prepared to surrender Simmons and Matisse Thybulle, but were said to be reluctant to part with Maxey and apparently felt Houston’s final asking price was too high. It’s also unclear how willing Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta was to send Harden to Philadelphia, where former Houston GM Daryl Morey is the Sixers’ new president of basketball operations.
Sixers-Thunder Sunday Game Postponed
The Sixers–Thunder game scheduled for Sunday night has been postponed due to ongoing contract tracing, the 14th postponement of the young season, the NBA announced in a press release.
Philadelphia doesn’t have the league-required eight players available to proceed, the league said. The team was seen warming up prior to the decision.
The cause is connected to the Sixers’ game against the Grizzlies on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds (via Twitter) that the 76ers have no new positive cases to report at this time.
Seth Curry (health and safety protocols), Vincent Poirier (health and safety protocols), Mike Scott (knee) and Joel Embiid (knee) were the only players listed as out on the original injury report. The game was scheduled to commence at 7:00 pm ET on NBA TV.
Philadelphia has upcoming games scheduled against the Celtics on both Wednesday and Friday. The Sixers currently own the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 9-5.
Kansas City, Las Vegas May Battle For Expansion Team
Seattle is considered a lock whenever the NBA decides to expand, and Kansas City and Las Vegas could be fighting for the other new franchise, according to Jabari Young of CNBC. Young breaks down the assets that each city could offer and notes that finding billionaires to finance the bids will be crucial.
Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the possibility of expansion at a press conference in December, but said it’s “not on the front burner.” The NBA isn’t expected to consider adding teams until after the 2021/22 season at the earliest.
Former Grizzlies president Andy Dolich, who helped move the team from Vancouver to Memphis, believes the league will try to create a “horse race” among cities leading up to expansion. He says the components the NBA is looking for can be described as A-B-C-D.
“The A is avidity: the market you’re picking has to be an avid sports market,” Dolich said. “The B is simple: Who is your billionaire? If you don’t have your billionaire, you don’t have anything. The C is the community: the elected officials, the leading businesses who are going to support you and the fan base. The D (destination) is where are you playing? The NBA is not playing in yesterday’s arena. Those are the four key parts.”
As the former home of the Kings, Kansas City already has an NBA history, Young notes, and Mayor Quinton Lucas gained the league’s attention when he offered to serve as a temporary location for the Raptors. The 19,000-seat T-Mobile Center is already in place to house an expansion franchise, but there’s no obvious person to bid for the team.
“I just don’t know who would be the owner, at least locally,” said Kathy Nelson, CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission. “Financially, what does that ownership team look like? That’s the billionaire-dollar question. It’s not a million dollar. It’s a billion dollars.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a minority owner of baseball’s Kansas City Royals and may be willing to get involved with an NBA team. Nelson’s committee has identified other potential investors, but no one has been pegged as a majority stakeholder.
That’s also a concern with Las Vegas, Young adds. The city already has a WNBA franchise and an established relationship with the NBA as host of the Summer League. There’s a 20,000-seat arena that serves as the home of the NHL’s Golden Knights.
However, there are concerns about Las Vegas because so much of the city’s economy depends on tourism. That has taken a hit due to COVID-19, and the NBA isn’t sure if a franchise can survive there if the tourism decline drags on.
“It just reinforces the importance of the ownership,” said Patrick Rishe, sports business director at Washington University in St. Louis. “You’re going to need a very strong ownership group. The market that has the most financially viable ownership group, that will trump any other consideration.”
Isaiah Thomas Says He’s Discussed A Comeback With Several Teams
Free agent guard Isaiah Thomas says he has talked to a few teams about a possible return to the NBA, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Thomas, who will turn 32 next month, has been out of the league since last February, when he was waived by the Clippers after they acquired him from the Wizards in a three-team trade. Thomas played 40 games for Washington last season, averaging 12.2 points and 3.7 assists while shooting 41.3% from 3-point range.
He underwent hip surgery in May and declared that it relieved the “relentless” pain he had been living with.
Thomas averaged 28.9 points per game for the Celtics during 2016/17, but he hasn’t been the same since suffering a hip injury midway through that season. He has played for four teams over the past three years.
As his comeback attempt continues, Thomas will have new representation, Haynes adds. After parting ways with Excel Sports Management earlier this month, Thomas said he recently hired Bernie Lee of Quartexx Basketball.
Thomas had apparently been hoping to return to the Celtics, particularly with starting point guard Kemba Walker out of action, according to Matt Vautour of MassLive. Thomas recently responded to a Boston Globe article about the team’s need for more bench scoring by posting, “I could definitely help with that! Ima just keep workin though.”
However, Vautour notes that the emergence of rookie guard Payton Pritchard has made that unlikely, and Thomas has since deleted the tweet.
Caris LeVert Out Indefinitely
Pacers guard Caris LeVert will be sidelined indefinitely after an MRI found that he has a small mass on his left kidney, according to a statement from the team. More medical tests will be conducted and details will be released as needed, per the Pacers.
“On behalf of my family and myself, we want to thank the Indiana Pacers for their support and guidance,” LeVert said. “We are grateful for their extreme thoroughness during the physical process.” (Twitter link)
LeVert was part of this week’s four-team deal that sent James Harden to Brooklyn, and the mass was discovered during a physical that was required for the trade to be completed, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). The medical issue delayed the deal, which wasn’t officially finalized until today.
Indiana could have opted to void the trade, but chose to accept additional compensation in the form of a 2024 second-round pick and cash. That indicates a level of trust that LeVert will eventually be OK physically, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (via Twitter).
“His basketball skill and on court play speaks for itself and we know he has a great career ahead of him,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “We will support Caris through this time and know that he will join us on the court as soon as he is able.”
Pritchard will address the situation further in a media session later tonight, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files.
LeVert, 26, was a first-round pick in 2016 and had spent his entire career with the Nets. He was averaging 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 12 games this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Oladipo-LeVert Deal Complete; Pacers Get Additional Compensation
The Rockets and Pacers have officially completed their swap of high-scoring guards, with Caris LeVert going to Indiana and Victor Oladipo heading to Houston, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
It’s part of the four-team blockbuster that sent former Most Valuable Player James Harden to Brooklyn, even though all other aspects were officially announced earlier this week. LeVert was acquired by the Rockets in that trade.
The part of the deal flipping LeVert to Indiana initially looked like it would be completed as a separate transaction, which would’ve allowed the Rockets to maximize the value of a trade exception created in the original trade.
However, an additional second-round pick and cash are being sent to Indiana due to an issue discovered in LeVert’s physical, per Charania, requiring the trade to be formally completed as a four-teamer.
[UPDATE: LeVert Out Indefinitely Due To Small Mass On Left Kidney]
In addition to Oladipo and a 2023 second-round pick (from the Rockets), the Pacers are also receiving cash and a 2024 second-round pick, says Charania. That additional pick, which is coming from Cleveland, was originally supposed to land with the Nets.
Per RealGM’s list of traded picks, the two picks headed to Indiana will technically be the least favorable of Houston’s, Dallas’, and Miami’s 2023 second-rounders; and the least favorable of Cleveland’s and Utah’s 2024 second-rounders.
With all aspects of the deal now completed, Harden is available to play Saturday for the Nets. Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press tweets.
Oladipo will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and the Pacers feared they wouldn’t be able to re-sign him. In contrast, LeVert is in the first year of a three-year, $52.5MM contract. Both players have missed time in recent years due to injuries, but are healthy and playing well this season.
“We want to thank Victor for what he gave to the Pacers through his play, his diligence in rehab coming back from a serious injury, and his community efforts,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement confirming today’s deal. “These decisions are obviously never easy and this one in particular was hard because of our relationship.
“Caris is a high-quality person who will fit in with what we as an organization are doing, on and off the floor. He’s a versatile young talent who we think will be a great fit with the direction our team is taking. He can play multiple positions and affect the game at both ends of the floor.”
The Rockets, meanwhile, could retain Oladipo and attempt to re-sign him beyond 2021 or could explore flipping him at the March 25 trade deadline. Houston can trade him immediately but would have to wait until after March 7 to move him in a deal that aggregates his salary for matching purposes. For now, the Rockets will probably want to see how Oladipo looks in their revamped lineup.
Because of the amended structure of the trade, the trade exception generated by the Rockets will be worth approximately $10.65MM instead of $15.45MM.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this story.
Karl-Anthony Towns Reveals He’s Tested Positive
Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has tested positive for COVID-19, he revealed on his Twitter account.
His announcement came shortly after the league postponed the Grizzlies–Timberwolves game on Friday due to coronavirus issues within Minnesota’s team.
Towns, whose family has been devastated by the virus, said he will “immediately isolate and follow every protocol.”
“I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to take it seriously by taking all of the necessary precautions,” Towns said.
Towns lost his mother and several other relatives to the virus. In his statement, he expressed concern for the health of his father and sister.
President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas says it is “heartbreaking” that Towns tested positive, especially with what the Towns family has been through with COVID-19, ESPN’s Malika Andrews tweets.
“It’s a lesson for all of us. Basketball is a microcosm of society right now…this virus is powerful,” Rosas said.
Rosas confirmed two players have tested positive and another is out due to contact tracing, Andrews adds in another tweet.
The Timberwolves previously announced that power forward Juan Hernangomez would isolate for at least 10 days due to health and safety protocols and that point guard Ricky Rubio would miss Friday’s game due to those regulations.
Wizards GM Confirms That Six Players Have Coronavirus
The Wizards have six players who have tested positive for COVID-19 and three others under health and safety protocols, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets.
GM Tommy Sheppard revealed those totals during a press conference. Coach Scott Brooks said he hopes the team can start practicing sometime next week.
Sheppard is optimistic that players who have tested negative can come in for individual workouts as soon as Saturday, Bontemps adds in a separate tweet. No staff member has tested positive.
Out of the six players who have tested positive, four are asymptomatic, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets.
The Wizards have been forced to postpone a number of games. They were supposed to play the Jazz on Wednesday and the Pistons on Friday. Earlier in the day, the league announced that Washington’s back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday against Cleveland had been postponed as well.
The next game on the club’s schedule is next Wednesday at Charlotte. All of the league’s postponements can be found here.
Timberwolves-Grizzlies Game Postponed
The Timberwolves–Grizzlies game, scheduled for Friday evening, has been postponed in accordance with health and safety protocols, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
Minnesota is the latest team with COVID-19 issues. The Timberwolves do not have the required eight players available to play the game due to ongoing contact tracing, according to a team press release.
The Timberwolves previously announced that power forward Juan Hernangomez would isolate for at least 10 days due to health and safety protocols and that point guard Ricky Rubio would miss Friday’s game due to those regulations. The postponement suggests that Minnesota’s COVID-19 issues may have worsened.
This mark the 13th postponement in the league this season. The Wizards, Suns, Heat, Celtics, Mavericks and Rockets have been in the same predicament, forcing at least one postponement for those teams.
All of the previous postponements can be found here.