James Dolan Calls For More Transparency Regarding NBA Finances
Knicks owner James Dolan wants the NBA to adopt a more open accounting process for its finances and he plans to call for a vote on a resolution to that effect when the board of governors meets later this month, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
In a letter sent this week to the league office and the board of governors, Dolan stated that the NBA needs “increased financial transparency and operating efficiency.” His proposed resolution, which would take effect beginning with the 2025/26 fiscal year, would “adopt a zero-based method of budgeting operating costs, headcount, and capital expenditures for all League and Affiliate League operations” and “adopt a process to present and distribute the League’s annual proposed budgets inclusive of all underlying account detail summarized by department and type of expense, headcount, and fully allocated costs against each League revenue stream.”
The letter was co-signed by Dolan and Madison Square Garden chief operating officer Jamaal Lesane, who serves as the team’s alternate governor. They point out that the league’s operating budget has risen by nearly 8% over the previous year and cite an increase of more than 800 people in “League office headcount.”
The letter also requests further details “summarized by department and type of expense — including headcount, capital expenditures, and fully-loaded budgeted costs with respect to the League and each of its subsidiaries and Affiliate Leagues.” Dolan and Lesane are seeking an estimate of projected costs and employment numbers relating to the NBA’s new media rights deal, along with “any contemplated NBA Europe league operations.”
In addition, the Knicks are calling for next year’s budget proposal to be presented at the annual Las Vegas meeting in July so a vote can be taken in September when the owners meet again prior to the start of next season.
Bontemps points out that Dolan has clashed with the league on numerous topics over the last few years. He resigned from the advisory/finance and media committees in the summer of 2023 and sent a letter to the league last year criticizing its new television deal, which he claims will make regional sports networks “unviable.”
Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports notes that Sphere Entertainment Co., which is led by Dolan, released a statement Monday saying that its MSG Networks may have to file for bankruptcy soon unless $800MM in debt can be restructured. The company warned that the NBA’s new national media deal could take too many games away from local outlets.
Reed Sheppard Out At Least Four Weeks With Thumb Fracture
Rockets rookie guard Reed Sheppard will miss at least the next four weeks due to a fracture in his right thumb, writes Sam Warren of The Houston Chronicle.
Meeting with reporters before tonight’s game, coach Ime Udoka said Sheppard hurt the thumb while “slapping down” in an attempt to steal the ball from the Pelicans’ Zion Williamson during Thursday’s contest. Sheppard was able to continue playing after the contact and his hand wasn’t bandaged following the game, according to Warren.
Udoka said Sheppard will have his thumb in a splint for the next four weeks to give the fracture time to heal. He added that it’s fortunate that the fracture occurred in the top joint of the thumb, rather than the lower joint, which would have carried a longer recovery timeline.
With a little more than five weeks remaining in the regular season, Sheppard may not be able to return before the start of the playoffs.
The No. 3 pick in last year’s draft, Sheppard got off to a slow start and was sent to the G League for a few games in the middle of the season. He has been more productive since being called back up to the NBA in early February, averaging 11.8 minutes and 4.0 points per game over the past month and scoring a career-high 25 points Monday at Oklahoma City.
Sheppard was selected to appear in the Rising Stars event at All-Star Weekend. For the season, he’s averaging 3.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 45 games while shooting 33.2% from the field and 27.9% from three-point range.
Heat’s Bam Adebayo Fined $50K For Response To Official
Heat center Bam Adebayo has been fined $50K for “making inappropriate contact with and directing profane language toward a game official,” the NBA announced (via Twitter). The incident happened following Miami’s 106-104 loss to Minnesota Friday night.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was also critical of the officiating, believing that Adebayo got fouled by Minnesota’s Julius Randle on a last-second three-point attempt, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Adebayo said he was “too busy shooting the ball” to determine if Randle fouled him, but he was upset about referee Kevin Cutler’s refusal to discuss the play.
“Nothing, nothing,” Adebayo told reporters when asked if Cutler offered an explanation. “And it wasn’t even about the last play. It was throughout the whole game. To me, like I said, I don’t really get too confrontational. I really don’t get into it with the refs because it’s their job and it’s our job too at the end of the day. We got dudes fighting for everything on the line. So to me, it’s like have the decency enough to look me in my eyes when I’m having a conversation.
“Obviously, we lost. I don’t understand why they think we can’t be emotional. We’re going to be emotional. Win or lose games, if we have a conversation and it gets heated, it’s not because I just want to go at you. It’s because [expletive] is happening in the game. Like I said, man, have the decency enough to look a man in his eye and not walk away. That to me is utterly disrespectful in a man’s game.”
Chiang points out that Adebayo has only been whistled for one technical foul all season and has just one ejection in his career. Adebayo indicated that the respect he shows toward officials made it especially frustrating when Cutler refused to respond.
“I’m pretty cool with all the referees,” Adebayo continued. “That’s the thing. I’m not confrontational, but I am emotional when I’m out there because we’re fighting to get wins. Everybody does it. I’ve seen dudes really say some crazy stuff to referees and they don’t take them out. So I had the decency enough to wait until after the game to have my conversation because it’s like, ‘I want to have a conversation with you.’ That’s what you’re supposed to do as a man, face to face. But when you’re walking away and stuff like that, that’s just truly disrespectful and I feel like stuff should happen when they do that. Because when we get emotional and we walk away, we get (technicals) and we get fined and I think that’s crazy.”
Chiang adds that the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report issued today confirms that the no-call was the correct decision, stating that Randle made “marginal contact.”
Disabled Player Exceptions For 2024/25 Expire On Monday
A series of disabled player exceptions granted to teams earlier in the 2024/25 season will expire on Monday if they go unused. The annual deadline to use a disabled player exception is March 10.
We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, if a team has a player suffer a season-ending injury prior to January 15, the exception gives that team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.
Here are the teams whose DPEs will expire if they aren’t used on by the end of the day on Monday, per Eric Pincus of Sports Business Classroom:
- Charlotte Hornets: $6,512,625 (Grant Williams) (story)
- Orlando Magic: $5,500,000 (Moritz Wagner)
- Utah Jazz: $2,924,340 (Taylor Hendricks) (story)
- Indiana Pacers: $2,217,691 (Isaiah Jackson) (story)
- Philadelphia 76ers: $2,010,180 (Jared McCain)
- Denver Nuggets: $1,532,820 (DaRon Holmes) (story)
The Pacers were granted a second disabled player exception worth $1,118,846 for James Wiseman‘s season-ending injury, but forfeited it when they dealt Wiseman to Toronto at the trade deadline.
Since the trade deadline has passed and no players are currently on waivers, there’s essentially just one way left for those teams with disabled player exceptions to use them: signing a free agent. However, that seems unlikely, given that there are no free agents on the buyout market who would warrant a contract worth more than the veteran’s minimum.
In other words, these exceptions will, in all likelihood, expire on Monday without being used. Assuming that happens, no team will have used a disabled player exception this season.
Disabled player exceptions have never been used with much frequency, but the fact that mid-level and bi-annual exceptions could be used for the first time this season to acquire players via trade or waiver claim has further reduced their importance.
Southwest Notes: Fox, Rockets, Jackson, Jensen
De’Aaron Fox has been playing this season with a dislocated left pinky finger, according to Mike Monroe of The Athletic, who says that the Spurs guard is expected to undergo surgery sooner or later to address the injury. With San Antonio falling out of play-in contention, that procedure could even happen before the end of the season so that the recovery process doesn’t extend too far into the offseason, Monroe notes.
“Oh, obviously, for me and (general manager Brian Wright), we’ve talked about the surgery thing,” Fox said. “At some point, I’m going to have to get it, but we’ll see where we are before that comes.”
Speaking to reporters on Friday in Sacramento after a loss to his former team, Fox pointed to March 17 as a possible date for the procedure, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). The Spurs will be in Los Angeles at that time for a rescheduled game vs. the Lakers and Fox said he’ll have the injury evaluated by a specialist in L.A. during that trip.
“The surgery may or may not happen that day,” he said.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Veteran center Steven Adams has served as a backup to Rockets starter Alperen Sengun for most of the season, but the two big men shared the court for seven minutes against New Orleans on Thursday and Houston outscored the Pelicans 23-5 during that time, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). “It’s good because it’s something new,” Adams said after the win. “It’s just engaging. Also, a lot of my career has been spent that way as well, playing double-big lineup anyway. It’s just good, just figuring it out and I feel like we play with each other pretty well, just gravitate the defense. In a sort of way it’s a different look, so I think it’s a pretty useful tool going forward.”
- In a Rockets-centric mailbag for The Athletic, Kelly Iko takes a look at Houston’s cap situation going forward, explains why Cam Whitmore is out of the rotation, and considers what the team’s optimal starting lineup would look like. Even though Amen Thompson has thrived in the starting five, Iko thinks it might benefit the Rockets as a whole to move him back to the bench, with Jabari Smith reclaiming his starting spot.
- Santi Aldama returned to action on Friday for the Grizzlies following a two-game absence due to a right calf strain and Jaren Jackson Jr., who has missed two games with a left ankle sprain, might not be too far behind him. According to Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter link), Jackson was on the floor for the team’s shootaround on Friday morning, dribbling and getting up shots. The team said on Tuesday that the big man is considered “week to week.”
- Although Mavericks assistant Alex Jenson has accepted the head coaching job at the University of Utah, he’ll finish out the season in Dallas before officially transitioning into that new position with the Utes, he tells NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link).
The Non-Blockbuster Deadline Deals Making An Impact
The NBA's 2025 trade deadline has the potential to be the most impactful in recent memory, primarily because of two trades: the Lakers' acquisition of Luka Doncic and the Warriors' deal for Jimmy Butler.
The Lakers are 9-2 since Doncic made his Los Angeles debut and have moved from fifth place in the Western Conference standings up to the No. 2 spot. Golden State has been just as hot, going 10-1 in games Butler has played over the past month and rising from 10th in the conference to sixth. Suddenly, two teams that looked like they'd be lucky to win a playoff series this spring are playing like legitimate contenders to come out of the West.
Outside of those two trades, there's at least one more you could absolutely call a blockbuster -- the three-team deal that sent De'Aaron Fox to the Spurs and Zach LaVine to the Kings may not have the same sort of short-term effect on the Western Conference playoff picture, but Fox's presence in San Antonio alongside Victor Wembanyama figures to be a major factor in future seasons.
I'd add one more deal to this list of pre-deadline "blockbusters" by including the four-team trade that saw Khris Middleton head from the Bucks to the Wizards, with Kyle Kuzma going in the other direction.
Classifying it as a blockbuster may be generous, given Middleton's recent injury history and Kuzma's down year, but Middleton is a three-time All-Star, Kuzma averaged over 21 points per game in each of the past two seasons, and both players have won championships as top-three scorers on their respective teams. A trade that includes both of them is a significant one.
Beyond those four deals, there were 16 others completed during the week leading up to the trade deadline. Many of those have rightly flown under the radar -- the Hornets and Thunder swapping 2029 and 2030 second-round picks, for instance, won't have any effect on the rest of the 2024/25 season.
But there are a handful of deals that have already made a real impact in the month since the February 6 trade deadline and have been somewhat overshadowed by the Doncic and Butler mega-deals. We want to shine a light on several of those trades today, highlighting the best and worst of them.
Paul George To Miss At Least Two More Games With Groin Injury
Sixers forward Paul George will miss at least two more games due to the left groin ailment that sidelined him on Thursday in Boston, as Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com relays. Head coach Nick Nurse updated reporters on George’s status after the team’s practice on Saturday.
The news means George will be out for Sunday’s home game vs. Utah and Monday’s road game in Atlanta. The earliest he could potentially return would be on Wednesday in Toronto, which will be a crucial game for lottery positioning — the Sixers and Raptors are currently separated by a half-game in the standings.
George, who was listed as out on Thursday due to left groin soreness, also missed Monday’s game with the same injury designation. He played nearly 30 minutes on Wednesday in Minnesota and scored just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting, though he contributed six assists and a pair of steals and was a +7 in a game the Sixers lost by 14 points.
With Joel Embiid having been ruled out for the season and the Sixers’ front office perhaps more focused on keeping its top-six protected first-round pick than claiming the Eastern Conference’s final play-in spot, it wouldn’t be a surprise if George continues to miss time during the season’s home stretch. He’s in the first season of a four-year, maximum-salary contract, so the organization will probably prioritize getting him fully healthy for next fall rather than getting the most out of him in the final weeks of what increasingly looks like a lost season.
Philadelphia’s other star, Tyrese Maxey, has been sidelined for the team’s past two games with what the team is calling a lower back sprain. Maxey did some individual work on Saturday, but appears likely to remain on the shelf for Sunday’s matchup with Utah, per Aaronson. His status beyond Sunday is still up in the air.
Central Notes: Allen, Stewart, Bucks, Antetokounmpo
The midseason arrival of De’Andre Hunter to the Cavaliers altered center Jarrett Allen‘s role, but he has no problem with taking a step back for the greater good, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. As Fedor observes, heading into Friday’s game against Charlotte, Allen wasn’t a part of recent closing lineups, with Hunter joining the other four starters.
“It’s not really difficult for me,” Allen said. “I trust Kenny [Atkinson] wholeheartedly. Sometimes I wish I was out there. Sometimes I understand why I’m not. At the end of the day, it’s not my job to decide. It’s my job to do the best I can whenever my number is called.”
That closing lineup changed a little in a close game with the Hornets on Friday, with the team in need of rim protection. Allen took over a closing role in place of Max Strus.
“They know they’ve got to earn it,” Atkinson said. “There’s earning it and then there’s matchups. We’ve had a discussion with the whole team. Whether it’s you’re in the rotation or not in the rotation, you might deserve to be in a rotation but you’re still not in the rotation because we’re so deep. You might finish the game, you might not. That’s just kind of how it is. That’s what it takes to get to that next level. That’s part of the sacrifice and chemistry thing we’ve got going on.”
Allen said he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win and is drawing tremendous reviews from his teammates for his consistency, confidence and leadership.
We have more from the Central Division:
- Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today (Twitter video link), Pistons center Jalen Duren complimented fellow big man Isaiah Stewart, arguing that his teammate deserves more recognition and should be on an All-Defensive team at the end of the season. Just one year after winning only 14 games, Detroit is in prime playoff position and is just two games back of the fourth-place Bucks. Over an impressive month-long stretch that has seen them win 10 of their past 12 games, the Pistons are allowing fewer points per possession than any other team, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic. Katz agrees with Duren’s sentiment that Stewart, averaging 1.4 blocks per game, should get an All-Defensive nod. Stewart is holding opponents a 46% shooting percentage on dunk and layup attempts, which is the best such number in the league in the last five years, Katz notes.
- The Bucks have demonstrated a willingness to build around the duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard and their deadline moves are paying off, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Hopefully, I think that it’s more about, ‘How do we make the top two guys their best selves?’” general manager Jon Horst said. “And, ‘How does everyone else play their role around them?’” The Bucks brought in Kyle Kuzma (15.2 PPG) and Kevin Porter Jr. (9.2 PPG), along with Jericho Sims (4.6 RPG) at the deadline.
- Antetokounmpo became the sixth-youngest player to reach 20,000 career points on Wednesday, Jamal Collier of ESPN observes. “I always look back at myself, and I don’t want to say I get emotional, but it’s a good feeling,” the Bucks star said. “I’m proud of the journey, but I have so much more to give.“
Atlantic Notes: Grimes, Celtics, Thomas, Martin
Quentin Grimes has been traded three times since February 2024, but he’s not letting that impact his play, as Jared Weiss of The Athletic details. As we wrote on Thursday, Grimes is looking like a keeper for the Sixers, having averaged 16.8 points per game in his first 12 appearances with the team.
“It’s tough. As soon as you get comfortable, you get traded,” Grimes said. “But you gotta keep a level head. You got to go out there and produce.”
While Grimes had productive moments in New York and Dallas, he’s getting a chance to have the ball in his hands far more than before, initiating offense as opposed to simply spotting up.
“He’s been able to still kind of find his way, even with the extra pressure, extra bodies,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s doing a good job of just getting into his shots and getting to places that he wants to go and getting the shots off. Obviously, he’s on a bit of a hot streak.”
According to Weiss, Grimes was shocked to be traded from Dallas this season. He had been productive there, averaging 10.2 points while shooting 39.8% from three in 47 games (12 starts).
“It’s crazy what’s going on, so it’s a blessing in disguise that I got moved,” Grimes said. “But I feel for them for sure. We had a tight-knit group over there this season. We had a good chance of winning it all. But that’s the NBA and dudes get moved all the time.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics blew out the Sixers on Thursday, winning by nearly 20 points despite being down five rotation players. None of Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis or Sam Hauser were able to suit up, allowing for Boston’s bench players to step up. According to MassLive’s Brian Robb, Baylor Scheierman, Torrey Craig and Jordan Walsh were among the standouts. Scheierman scored a career-high 15 points, Craig accounted for 12 and Walsh had several good moments. Neemias Queta and two-way player Drew Peterson also both started for Boston. Queta recorded eight points, nine rebounds and four assists.
- Nets guard Cam Thomas is looking to finish the season strong after injuries disrupted a promising year, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Thomas will hit restricted free agency after the season. “I mean, that’s just the name of it. I just want to finish strong just to finish strong,” Thomas said. “I’m not really worried about [my] contract year or anything. I mean, I think all of that will take care of itself.”
- In his last six games, Nets forward Tyrese Martin is averaging 12.0 points per contest, including a 23-point outburst against Detroit on March 1 and a 17-point outing in a close loss to Golden State on Thursday. As the New York Post’s Bridget Reilly writes, Martin is becoming an indispensable bench piece for Brooklyn. “Yeah, consistency. He’s a true pro. I play him off the ball, he plays well. I play him at point guard, he does his best and he’s getting better, like [Thursday],” coach Jordi Fernández said. “Defensively, he’s on point. He knows coverages, he knows everything. He shows up and works every day with a good attitude and he’s a great teammate. That’s what we want from everybody, but it’s not that easy to do it. He’s doing it consistently and that’s why he deserves all these good things that are coming to him, that he’s doing, that are coming his way.” Martin was recently converted from a two-way contract to a standard deal and has a team option for next season.
Southeast Notes: Magic, Johnson, Hawks Injuries, Snyder, Adebayo
Almost nothing is going according to plan for the Magic this season, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins writes. Orlando’s loss to the Bulls on Thursday was the fifth loss in a row for the team, which has been left searching for answers.
As recently as last season, it seemed like the Magic was following a trajectory similar to that of the Thunder or Rockets. All three teams added to their cores with the top-three picks in the 2022 draft, and the tandem of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner led the Magic to the fifth seed in the East last season, where they were able to push the Cavaliers to seven games.
But now, the Thunder are the top team in the West with Houston firmly in the playoff picture. As Robbins writes, a season with promise is in danger of falling apart as the Magic sit in ninth place this season and will have to win at least one play-in game (and possibly two) to earn a first-round date with the Cavs or Celtics.
“It’s a different year,” Banchero said. “It’s almost the end of this season, so we’re a different team. Teams, I think, are seeing what our weaknesses are and they’re attacking it, and we’ve had trouble adjusting.”
Injuries and three-point shooting are the biggest reasons for the tougher year, Robbins writes. Defensive ace Jalen Suggs is out for the season while Banchero and Wagner both had long-term absences in the first half. That trio has only shared the court for 97 total minutes. With Suggs out for the foreseeable future, the Magic will need to figure out how to get into a groove without him. They’re 9-20 this season when the former Gonzaga standout isn’t available.
Additionally, the Magic have missed the production they received from Moritz Wagner off the bench. He’s not only their statistically best three-point shooter, but he also gives them optionality at center, which the team is sorely missing. The Magic rank last in the league in three-point percentage.
“The message at the end was we’ve got to fight our way out of this funk,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That’s exactly what it is. It’s a funk, and we’ve got to fight our way out of it.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- Rising Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, who is out for the season due to a torn labrum, is confident he’ll be ready for the start of the ’25/26 season, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Lauren L. Williams. “When you’re in the league, you’re constantly learning about your body, how things may need to tweak here and there,” Johnson said. “So, I’m still learning things, learning new things. I got a great staff around me who provides great insight on things like that. So I just been trying to take knowledge from a lot of people, other athletes and stuff like that as far as you know, maybe what they do, I mean their preparation. But I’m confident in what I do, and I know I’ll get back to 100%.”
- Hawks guard Vit Krejci, out since Feb. 10 due to a lumbar fracture, was upgraded to questionable for the team’s Saturday game against the Pacers, Brad Rowland of Locked On Hawks tweets. Krejci is averaging 6.9 points per game while shooting 38.4% from three in 39 games (15 starts) this season. Meanwhile, impressive trade deadline acquisitions Caris LeVert (knee inflammation) and Terance Mann (quad contusion) are in danger of missing a game for the first time since arriving in Atlanta. Both players are questionable for Saturday’s contest.
- Hawks head coach Quin Snyder returned to the bench on Thursday against the Pacers after missing one game due to illness, ESPN reports. Snyder missed that game due to the flu and assistant Igor Kokoskov took his place. “His level of experience makes you very comfortable in those situations,” Snyder said of Kokoskov.
- Bam Adebayo is working his way up the Heat’s all-time rankings, recently surpassing Rony Seikaly for the most double-doubles in franchise history. Impressively, Adebayo is already fourth in all-time scoring for the Heat and has a shot to move into second place as soon as next season. He’s already No. 2 among the Heat’s all-time leading rebounders and, according to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, isn’t shy to let current leader Udonis Haslem know he’s coming for his record. “He’s been texting me every spot,” Haslem said. “Every spot he comes up the chain, he texts me.”