Knicks Notes: Quickley, Toppin, Randle, Dolan
While Evan Fournier and Cam Reddish are considered the most available trade candidates in New York, one league executive who spoke to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com pointed to another Knicks player who would bring back a far greater return if the team were willing to move him.
“The one guy who is really their trade asset is the one guy they’d like to keep, and that’s (Immanuel) Quickley,” the exec said. “Great kid. But he sees himself as a starting point guard, and the Knicks see him as a combo guard. Thibs (head coach Tom Thibodeau) doesn’t like to play young guys, but he’s embraced Quickley.
“The problem is Quickley sees what Tyrese Maxey is doing 80 miles south of there and he thinks, ‘Hey, I’m every bit as good as Tyrese. The only difference is he’s had opportunity and I haven’t.’ So he’s worried that the Knicks will never commit to letting him do what he wants to do. But he would bring back some value if they ever decided to trade him.”
It’s probably safe to take the anonymous executive’s commentary on Quickley with a grain of salt, since there’s no reason to think he’d have any inside insight on the 23-year-old’s thinking. Still, it’s worth noting that Quickley has posted some of the best numbers of his career in the Knicks’ last two games with Jalen Brunson and RJ Barrett unavailable, racking up 15 assists on Tuesday and 36 points on Thursday.
“He’s not going to get those opportunities when they’re whole,” the exec added.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- An Eastern Conference executive who spoke to Sean Deveney of Heavy.com believes the Knicks have spoken to the Pacers about a possible Obi Toppin trade. “There has been some talk between the Pacers and Knicks about Obi,” the exec said. “He fits in Indiana, especially if they keep (Myles) Turner. Obi is a rim-runner, he has some toughness, he has athleticism. He needs minutes and a team that is rebuilding with young talent like Indy is a really good match.”
- A productive December has increased Julius Randle‘s season-long averages to 23.8 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 3.7 APG, but he’s not thinking about the possibility of earning a second All-Star nod, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. “I’m just trying to focus on the team, helping us get wins, day by day, how I can improve as a player and a leader, and how we can improve as a team,” Randle said. “Those things, if they happen, whatever it is, it’s great. But I’m more focused on the team.”
- Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News identifies five moments that defined a disappointing 2022 for the Knicks.
- Writing for his Substack (subscription required), Ethan Strauss takes a closer look at troubling reports and stories about Madison Square Garden security using facial recognition technology to turn away fans based on James Dolan‘s personal vendettas. Botte passes along some of the highlights of Strauss’ story in an article for The New York Post.
NBA Players Who Can’t Be Traded This Season
As we explained when we identified the players who will become trade-eligible on unique dates this season, there’s a small group of players whose trade restrictions won’t lift until sometime after the February 9 trade deadline. These players meet one of the following criteria:
- They signed a free agent contract after November 9.
- A player who signs a free agent contract doesn’t become eligible to be traded for at least three months.
- They signed a veteran contract extension (meeting certain criteria) after August 9.
- A player who signs a veteran extension that keeps him under contract for more than three total years (including his current contract) and/or includes a raise exceeding 5% doesn’t become eligible to be traded for six months.
- They signed a super-max contract.
- A player who signs a super-max contract (or a designated veteran contract) doesn’t become eligible to be traded for one year.
We identified all the players who fell into these three categories in our previous story on unique trade dates, but they may have slipped through the cracks amid the larger list of players we discussed in that article.
For that reason, we want to specifically single them out today to make sure it’s clear which players won’t become trade-eligible at all until sometime after the 2022/23 regular season.
Here are the players who fall into the three aforementioned groups and who can’t be traded this season:
Players who have signed free agent contracts since November 9:
- Stanley Johnson (Spurs)
- Kemba Walker (Mavericks)
There has been little action on the free agent market since the regular season began, with most players who have signed with NBA teams receiving two-way contracts rather than standard deals. Technically, three players have signed standard free agent contracts since November 9, but one of those players (Alize Johnson) was waived since then.
More names will join this list if more free agents sign standard contracts between now and February 9.
Players who have signed veteran contract extensions meeting certain criteria since August 9:
- LeBron James (Lakers)
- Maxi Kleber (Mavericks)
- CJ McCollum (Pelicans)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Pelicans)
- Dean Wade (Cavaliers)
- Andrew Wiggins (Warriors)
This is the most notable group of the three, if only for the presence of James at the top of the list.
It’s extremely unlikely that the Lakers would ever trade LeBron unless he asked to be moved, but his recently signed extension eliminates even the remote possibility of a deal until at least the 2023 offseason. If you’re advocating for the slumping Lakers to blow up their roster, you’ll have to leave James out of any hypothetical pre-February 9 trade scenarios.
Before they signed extensions, any of the rest of the players in this group – with the exception of McCollum – could have become viable trade candidates this season. Now, they’re all ineligible to be dealt until after the season.
Players who have signed super-max contracts:
- Devin Booker (Suns)
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
- Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves)
Booker and Jokic were never going to be traded this year, and the same can probably be said for Towns, even as messy as Rudy Gobert‘s integration has been so far. Still, their newly signed super-max extensions make them officially ineligible to be moved until at least next July.
Bulls Notes: LaVine, Ball, Inconsistent Play
After getting off to an up-and-down start this fall and resting his surgically repaired knee multiple times in the first month of the season, Bulls guard Zach LaVine hasn’t missed a game since November 6 and appears to be hitting his stride. LaVine scored a season-high 43 points in Friday’s win over Detroit, emphatically showing that he’s in midseason form, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.
“Go look at my last 10, 15 games,” LaVine said after the game. “I been feeling good.”
In his last 13 games, LaVine has averaged 25.5 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.1 rebounds in 35.8 minutes per night, with a scorching hot shooting line of .536/.432/.830.
One of the most encouraging signs, Collier writes, has been LaVine’s soaring field goal percentage around the rim — he has shot 79.5% in the restricted area in December, a major step up from his 58.8% mark in October and November.
“I give him a lot of credit of just sticking with the process and just continuing to work,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “I think when you’re as elite as he is offensively and you start the year off the way he did offensively and just trying to find himself. He put a lot of work into it just to stay the course.”
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Should LaVine’s best stretch of the season restore faith in this Bulls core? That remains to be seen, but his “noticeably improved health” is the best reason for optimism that the club is better than it showed in the early part of this season, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic.
- Donovan provided an update on Lonzo Ball‘s recovery from left knee surgery on Friday, telling reporters that the point guard has been doing some light jogging, shooting, and a “little bit” of jumping while shooting, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “(Since) we last talked, it is progressing, it’s just really slow,” Donovan said. “But there has definitely been some improvements and he’s actually doing more physically than the last time we spoke.” As Schaefer observes, there are still several major hurdles for Ball to clear in the rehab process, including sprinting, cutting, and taking contact without pain.
- The most frustrating part of the Bulls’ season to date has been their inexplicable losses to some of the NBA’s worst teams despite impressive wins against several contenders, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago has a 5-8 record against sub-.500 opponents, including losses to Orlando, Houston, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio, but has gone 5-1 against Boston, Brooklyn, and Milwaukee, the East’s top three seeds.
Anthony Davis Discusses Foot Injury, Recovery
After head coach Darvin Ham spoke to reporters on Friday about Anthony Davis‘ foot injury, the Lakers big man held his own media session for the first time since being sidelined, echoing Ham’s optimism about how the recovery is progressing.
“Feeling a lot better, pain has subsided tremendously,” Davis said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I think the next step is (the foot) healing right now. I don’t want to use timetables because that’s a whole different thing, but it’s healing pretty quickly. So when we get back to L.A., we’ll do another image of the foot, and see how far it’s healed.”
According to Davis, the injury initially felt like a nine out of 10 in terms of pain, but that number has decreased to a one or two within the last couple weeks. He’s dealing with a bone spur fractured off the navicular bone in his right foot, as well as a stress reaction in that same bone.
“The stress reaction (can lead to) a stress fracture, and that’s a whole different ballgame,” Davis said in explaining why he and the Lakers are being careful with his recovery process.
As McMenamin details, the plan is for Davis to undergo another MRI on the injury next week — if it comes back clear, he’ll begin to undergo treatment on the injury, including shockwave and bone stimulation therapy.
When Davis first underwent an MRI on the injury earlier in the month, the Lakers shared the results with five different doctors and foot specialists in an effort to determine a recovery plan, McMenamin writes. Undergoing a procedure to remove the bone spur was one option presented, but Davis doesn’t view the bone spur as the most pressing issue in the short term, explaining that he hopes to avoid surgery for now, though he’s open to going under the knife after the season.
“Something to consider, in the offseason, to remove (the bone spur),” he said. “I think the biggest thing is the stress reaction though, just monitoring that. Because that can definitely lead to six, seven, eight months out — I would rather take four weeks than seven months. I’m not saying I’ll be back in four weeks — but hopefully.”
Davis was playing some of the best basketball of his career prior to suffering the injury on December 16 vs. the Nuggets. In his last 12 full games, he had averaged an eye-popping 35.0 points, 14.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals on 64.1% shooting.
The 29-year-old admits that it has been “tough mentally” to deal with this ailment just as he was rounding into peak form, but expressed confidence that he’ll be able to pick up where he left off once he returns.
“I’m just really excited to get back on the floor,” Davis said. “(It) hasn’t been a ‘Man, it’s going to take me X amount of games to get back in rhythm,’ or, ‘Might not be the same.’ That’s not even been a thought in my mind. My thought has been, ‘Whenever that day is, it’s go time.'”
NBA Dates, Deadlines To Watch In January
At the start of the 2022/23 campaign, we looked ahead and identified several dates and deadlines to watch on the NBA calendar this season. While that list covered the general highlights, it’s worth taking a closer look at some of those key dates to keep an eye out for in January, which should be a busy month.
Let’s dive in…
Non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed
January 10 is the date that all non-guaranteed NBA contracts for 2022/23 will officially become guaranteed, but January 7 is really the day to watch.
If a team wants to avoid having a salary become guaranteed, the player must clear waivers before January 10, which means he needs to be cut by January 7 — at the latest.
Many players without fully guaranteed salaries are in no danger of being waived by next Saturday, but some teams will take the opportunity to save a little money and open up a roster spot.
Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts
As of January 5, clubs will be able to sign players to standard 10-day contracts, which count against team salary for cap and tax purposes and require an opening on the 15-man roster to complete.
Rebuilding teams generally use 10-day contracts to audition G League standouts or other prospects to see if they might be worth investing in beyond this season. Contending clubs are more inclined to use 10-day contracts to bring in veterans who can step in right away to address a need or provide depth at a position hit hard by injuries.
We extensively outlined the details of 10-day contracts and explained how they work in our glossary entry on the subject.
More players become trade-eligible
A significant portion of the NBA’s offseason signees became eligible to be traded on December 15, but there are still many players who can’t be dealt. By the end of January, that list of players ineligible to be traded will shrink further, since there are 28 players currently on track to have those restrictions lift between now and January 31.
January 15 is the key date, with 21 players becoming trade-eligible as of that Sunday. That group includes some players who almost certainly aren’t going anywhere, but a handful of players on the list could be involved in trade rumors in 2023, including some who have already been popular subjects of speculation. Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, and Deandre Ayton are a few of the headliners.
A number of other offseason signees have unique trade-eligible dates in January, since they signed as free agents in October or inked a veteran extension in July. That list features names both big (like Damian Lillard) and small (such as Isaiah Joe).
Other odds and ends
There are a few other dates in January that are worth mentioning, despite the fact that they’ll likely come and go without much fanfare.
On January 10, mid-level and room exceptions – along with other cap exceptions like the bi-annual exception – will start to prorate for the year, meaning a team with its full mid-level exception available would no longer be able to offer the full $10.49MM amount to a free agent. Exceptions will decline in value by 1/174th per day, starting on January 10.
January 15 is the last day that teams can apply for a disabled player exception to replace an injured player who is deemed unlikely to return this season. A disabled player exception can give a club extra cap flexibility, though that team may still have to open up a roster spot to add a player using its DPE. Only the Celtics and Thunder have received DPEs so far this season, and the Thunder already used theirs.
On January 20, all players on two-way contracts will have their minimum salaries for the season become fully guaranteed.
Nate McMillan Responds To Resignation Rumors
Shortly after Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday that Hawks head coach Nate McMillan had “strongly considered” the possibility of resigning from his position, McMillan met with reporters for a pregame press conference ahead of the team’s matchup with the Lakers. Predictably, the first question he received focused on Charania’s report.
“I read that article briefly,” McMillan responded (Twitter video link via Brad Rowland). “I’ve never spoken to that reporter before. I think the last two weeks, he’s written a couple articles with some sources in our organization that are making some comments about me and some things that I’m saying and doing.”
Earlier in December, Charania also received a byline (along with Sam Amick) on a story about a verbal confrontation between McMillan and star Trae Young, which is presumably the other report McMillan was referring to.
“Look, at the end of the year, I’ll do as I’ll always done,” McMillan continued. “At the end of the season, I talk with my family and see if I still have that flame, that fire to continue next season. But that’s the end of the season. All of us think about retiring. But that’s at the end of the season.
“We’re going to move on past that, that story. We have a (playoff) race to prepare for. We’re trying to get our guys healthy and make another run at the playoffs. But the things that were reported — look, I’m here to coach this team and I’ve talked to (team owner) Tony (Ressler) many times. Our goal is to make the playoffs and that’s what we’re working towards.
After concluding his statement, McMillan waited a beat and jokingly added, “So we’ve squashed that, right?”
While it sounds like McMillan doesn’t intend to step down from his position anytime soon, his comments probably won’t quell speculation about his long-term future in Atlanta. Charania wrote that McMillan “appears to be near the end of his tenure with the Hawks after the season,” suggesting that either the head coach or the team (or both) may want to move on in the spring. That still sounds like a very real possibility.
Of course, winning solves a lot of problems, so if McMillan can replicate his second-half success from the last two seasons, perhaps his future will look a whole lot different a few months from now. McMillan, who took over for Lloyd Pierce midway through the 2020/21 campaign, led the team to a 27-11 record and two playoff series wins that year. In ’21/22, following a 17-25 start, Atlanta went 26-14 the rest of the way and won a pair of play-in games to secure a postseason berth.
This season, following a splashy summer trade for Dejounte Murray, the Hawks are once again off to a slow start. The club has lost three games in a row and nine of its last 13 to drop its overall record to 17-19. Atlanta holds the No. 9 seed in the East and is only ahead of the No. 11 Raptors by a single game.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Kuzma, M. Williams, Dedmon, Strus
The Wizards need to figure out what Kyle Kuzma‘s intentions are ahead of the February 9 trade deadline, writes David Aldridge of The Athletic. If the 27-year-old doesn’t commit to re-signing with the Wizards in advance — technically forbidden, but of course early discussions happen all the time and that’s why dozens of signings occur within minutes of free agency “opening” — then the team would be better off dealing him for assets, according to Aldridge.
Aldridge isn’t opposed to the idea of a swap for John Collins — he thinks Kuzma is a better overall player, but the difference isn’t “prohibitive.” However, the Wizards have more questions to answer about the roster than just Kuzma’s potential future with the team, including what an expensive trio of Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal might mean for the future.
After dropping 10 in a row, the Wizards have now won five of their past six games, including four straight. They currently sit at 16-21, one game behind the Bulls for the No. 10 seed in the East.
Here’s more from the Southeast:
- Mark Williams‘ emergence has created a “welcomed dilemma” for the Hornets, according to Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. The rookie first-rounder, selected 15th overall in June’s draft, was given backup center minutes in recent games due to an ankle sprain to Nick Richards. With Richards available on Thursday, head coach Steve Clifford continued to use Williams, and he responded with a career night, Boone notes, recording 17 points (on 7-of-7 shooting), 13 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in just 21 minutes. “To me, they’re both developing players,” Clifford said of Richards and Williams. “When you have a roster of a lot of younger players, you do them both. You want to try to develop them and win as many games as we can. And we’re in a place where we need to win. But we’ve got to see. Yeah, it’s not easy. We have a lot of guys at that position. Nick’s going to be a part of things. I like the way he plays. He’s done a good job. But I also want to see what Mark can bring.”
- Heat backup center Dewayne Dedmon is away from the team as he continues to be plagued by plantar fasciitis in his left foot. On top of that, he has now entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. The 33-year-old might be a trade chip ahead of the deadline if the Heat look for a roster upgrade — his salary for next season is non-guaranteed, and he’s making $4.7MM this season.
- Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports details how wing Max Strus went from an undrafted free agent to a rotation regular for the Heat, becoming a developmental success story in the process. Strus, an unrestricted free agent in 2023, has been in a prolonged shooting slump this month, posting a miserable .328/.266/.500 slash line leading up to Friday night’s loss in Denver, when he scored 19 points on .539/.500/1.000 shooting. Twenty-year veteran Udonis Haslem, another former undrafted player, says Strus can be hard on himself — a byproduct of having a chip on his shoulder due to his difficult path to the NBA. “My message to Max, a lot of the time, outside of leading and teaching, is don’t be so hard on yourself sometimes. It’s OK to give yourself a break,” Haslem said.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Vaughn, Fournier, Quickley
The Raptors have struggled lately, losing 13 of their past 20 games. Eric Koreen of The Athletic says there’s plenty of blame to go around for the team’s poor performance this season, and while injuries have certainly taken a toll, Toronto has been “uninspiring and predictable” on both ends of the court.
Quite simply, the Raptors do not fit, Koreen argues, noting that “developmental progress has stalled” in multiple areas. That’s on the front office for putting the team together, Nick Nurse and his coaching staff for not making the most of the available talent, and the players for not performing at a high level, according to Koreen.
After going 48-34 last season and claiming the East’s No. 5 seed, the Raptors have fallen to 16-20 thus far in 2022/23. Toronto’s defensive rating has dropped from ninth to 17th, and the team’s effort has been called into question multiple times.
Here’s more from the Atlantic:
- The Nets started the season 2-5, but have gone 21-7 under head coach Jacque Vaughn after parting ways with Steve Nash. How has Vaughn guided such a dramatic turnaround? Brian Lewis of The New York Post has the details, including quotes from Vaughn and several players.
- Evan Fournier saw his first playing time since November 13 in the Knicks‘ loss to the Spurs on Thursday, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 17 minutes, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. The veteran wing says it wasn’t easy to be a healthy scratch for so long. “I’ve just tried to stay present this whole time. It was a lot easier to play than to actually sit on the bench and watch the guys play,” Fournier said. “Basically, the way I treated it when I first got benched, was just to stay ready. … Today I felt like I needed to be ready, just in case.” Fournier was reinserted into the rotation due to injuries to RJ Barrett and Jalen Brunson.
- Immanuel Quickley recorded a career-high 15 assists on Tuesday and a career-high 36 points on Thursday, but those achievements don’t mean much to the third-year guard, according to Botte. “I mean, we lost both games. So career high or not, it kind of sucks. It don’t really matter because we lost,” Quickley said. “I’d rather win. Everybody looks for opportunities to come in and try to prove themselves. Whether I play 50 minutes or whether I play 25, I try to do my job, try to come out and play hard each and every game and be aggressive and just do my job. But you want to see those turn into wins, and we’re gonna get that done.”
Western Notes: Gordon, Nnaji, Brown, Wood
Aaron Gordon is having a career season for the Nuggets, and Mike Singer of The Denver Post (subscriber link) writes that the veteran forward has a compelling case to make his first All-Star appearance.
Gordon’s traditional stats — 17.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG through 29 games (30.0 MPG) — are all solid, if unspectacular. However, as Singer details, the 27-year-old’s efficiency (61.1 FG%, 68.0 2PT%, 39.0 3PT%, 66.9 true shooting percentage), defense, and synergy with center Nikola Jokic are what really stand out.
Singer also notes that Gordon is playing for one of the top teams in the league, which might matter to coaches (who select the All-Star reserves) — the Nuggets are currently 22-12, tied for the best record in the West.
Gordon (right shoulder strain) will return to the starting lineup on Friday against Miami following a two-game absence, tweets Singer.
Here’s more from the West:
- With Nuggets forward Jeff Green sidelined for at least three more weeks due to a left hand fracture and left finger sprain, forward/center Zeke Nnaji has an opportunity to earn increased playing time. The former first-round pick plans to do the “dirty work” to help fill Green’s void, according to Singer (subscriber link). Head coach Michael Malone has a straightforward task for Nnaji. “I just want to feel Zeke’s energy out there,” Malone said.
- The Kings announced that head coach Mike Brown has cleared the health and safety protocols and will resume his coaching duties on Friday against Utah, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com. Brown entered the protocols on Tuesday, so his stint was brief. The Kings have been a pleasant surprise thus far, currently holding an 18-15 record, the No. 7 seed in the West.
- Mavericks big man Christian Wood will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. How much will he make on his next contract? Keith Smith explores that topic in an article for Spotrac, ultimately concluding that Wood’s maximum extension number — about $77MM over four years — seems pretty fair. He’d be eligible for more than that if he reaches unrestricted free agency.
Ham On Anthony Davis: “His Pain Has Just About Dissipated”
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham provided an encouraging update on the status of injured star Anthony Davis on Friday, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin (Twitter link).
“The biggest thing is, his pain has just about dissipated,” Ham said, adding that Davis was trending in a positive direction as far as a possible ramp-up to return to action.
According to Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group (Twitter link), Davis told reporters that he has multiple injuries in his foot, including a bone spur and a stress reaction, but the latter is what has been causing him pain and it has been healing well with rest. Davis added that he has been encouraged by the recovery process, tweets McMenamin.
Davis also said he would “probably” have the bone spur surgically repaired in the offseason, Goon notes (via Twitter).
The 29-year-old big man sustained the stress reaction in a win over Denver on November 16.
There were mixed reports as far as possible timetable for Davis’ return in the aftermath of the injury. Shams Charania of The Athletic wrote that he would be out for at least a month, but Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said the Lakers planned to reevaluate Davis in a week-to-10 days because his pain was subsiding. That was seven days ago.
While the updates from Ham and Davis are certainly positive, it has already been two weeks since he last played, and it’s hard to say how much additional time he’ll miss. The Lakers were vague in their initial press release regarding the injury and there wasn’t even a rough timetable given today.
The Lakers’ season basically hinges on how quickly Davis can recover. They have gone 2-5 since he went down and now hold a 14-21 record, trailing the Warriors by three-and-a-half games for the final spot in the play-in tournament.
Davis was having an outstanding season prior to his latest injury, averaging 27.4 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.3 SPG and 2.1 BPG while shooting a career-high 59.4% from the field and 82.6% from the charity stripe. His impact is felt on both ends of the court, but the team’s defense in particular has absolutely cratered without the eight-time All-Star.